Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-10-25
Horticultural Notes.

there is one acre of Strawberries in q
thousand cultivated in this country,
that Yields overone-half what it would
if the ground was properly prepared
before planting,
Mr.. A. NJ. Purdy has whitewashed
his fruit trees for thirty years and
q closely observed the results, which
y have invariably been to make smooth
er bodiesand healthiertrees. He there
fore designates the articles in some of
his exchanges which oppose white
washing as injurious to trees, as mere
bosh.
"A correspondent writes to the
Y NelC York Tribune that it is true that
man may grow larch trees planted
by himself at twenty-five years Of age
and at fifty use them for heavy barn
timbers or ought else. They grow
straight and clean, never divaricatlng
into secondary small stems like the
locust or trees in general. Hence they
cut up to great advantage for posts or
ties, and being straight they make eX-
celleut barn sleepers. The numerous
knots from the many slender side
branches become exceedingly hard
when the wood is seasoned, and Will
break or turn the edge of any but the
best tempered steel.
Cabbage keeps well If the climate
is cold the heads may be buried with
the roots, upward Or lnamoderate eli
mate, the roots may be down and the
heads up provided they are covered
with straw over which brushis placed
to retain it in position. Beets, car
rots, parsnips and tomatoes may be
stored in bins, or the three former may
a be preserved in mounds outside. Too
much heat is to be guarded against as
well as the cold. Sweet potatoes must
at no time receive the touch of frost
nor must the temperature be too high
Onions keep well if spread out on the
floor of a barn and there remain
Handle them as little as possible
Sweet corn, beans Dina, and such
like may be dried, and all vegetables
may be canned.
Most people have observed. no
doubt, that self grown seeds that have
dropped from the growing of the pre-
vious season, sometimes produce the
strongest and most healthy plants
that bloom the most freely. This is
true ofseveral kinds, but particular
ly those that suffer under exposure of
our midsummer sun. The reason is
that self grown seeds get an early
growth in the spring, negotiating as
soon as the frost is gone, and are good
sized plants by the time we usually
put seeds in the ground, even if they
donot start in the fall They thus
mature and flower during the cool
weather Of spring The clarkias and
nemophilas and annual larkspurs are
noted examples. There are also sew
eral varieties of hardy ANIMALS that
do well with spring sowing that viii
bear autumn sowing in open ground
and reward us with early plants
I0lCd Homestead.
The difficulty of fruit raising in
creases from year to year. Even APP
pies have become very uncertain
insect pests and enemies of various
kinds making it to impossible to secure
good crop even in the most favored
districts. When apples are abundant
they are wormy or have other faults
that discourage production. PomOlogi-
cal societies are doing good work in
bringing to light obstacles that lie in
the way of fruit production and in
disseminating information regarding
the chances of removing such obsta-
Giles. The one great requirement is
care. There will be insect pests so
long as fruit is raised but their ravages
Will be lessened very greately if due
precautions are taken to head them
off If all will practice up TO the
knowledge attained the degree of sue
cess will be much greater, but it Will
be found probably that fruit raising,
to have anything like satisfactory de-
gree of s-Iccess, must be managed with
much greater skill than in the past,
hence the necessity for obtaining infor-
NATION from every available source,
and to disseminate this in the practi-
cal field of chronological societies. ~
HuSbdHdmdlt
The Rural NeC YORKER says
Now, when leaves are plentiful and
drifting about everywhere, is the time
TO secure a pile for leaf mold. Almost
any kind of tree-leaves are good
enough but those of the oak are reck-
oned the best and anything in the
way of pine tree leaves, or needles as
they are often called, should be reject
ed 4 barrowful won't do. Why,
that would hardly yield mold enough
for three Or four Pelargoniums; get a
big pile-may be a dozen barrowfuls
or more or less, as your requirements
may be Pack it into a solid heap in
the back yard, or in a corner Of the
garden; IN fact, IN any place where it
viii not be scattered by the wind, to
prevent which, few branches placed
over the heap, or even some spadefuls
of dirt VIII help considerable. Don't
make the pile on a hill, but rather in
a hole, as it needs deal of water to
make the leaves rot quickly. Discard
any sticks that may be among the
leaves, as decaying wood is productive
of fungi which are extremely detri-
mental to the very plants we want to
improve.
In order to sweeten the mass and