News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-02-28
FARM AND GARDEN.

A HILLSIDE ORCHARD - Mrs. Allen
Olney can raise very fine apples on her
steep hillside, if it has good deep soil.
A good orchard is paying investment,
and one can well afford to take deal of
extra care and labor to establish the
trees on such con paratively worthless
land. First, grub out all brush and
roots where the young trees are to be
planted, taking pains to put the soil in
good condition. Plant, if possible, so
as to have about each tree a level space
not less than two feet in diameter.
Cover this with a mulch of coarse
manure, leaves or muck, something to
keep down weeds and grass and enrich
the soil. Seed the whole hillside thickly
to blue grass, and remember that any
soil to grow two crops at the same time
must be literally MANFRED, unless
already very rich. The whole surface
should be moved at least twice each
summer, to exterminate the bushes and
to keep down the grass; the mown
grass and weeds make very good
mulch if nothing better can be obtained.
Sheep are capital; they help to kill
weeds and bushes, to keep down the
grass, making the finest kind of sod.
They can be prevented from injuring
the trees by putting a guard about each,
made of small poles or stakes, or of two
large stakes with boards nailed on each
side, or by using sawed 1ath, woven in
three tiers of double wires, so as to
form a sort of fence. Or they can be
kept away by washing the stems of the
trees once each month of summer with
q wash made very strong of dirty, soft
soap and water, and to every eight gal
Ions add one pound of whale-oil soap;
thicken this with sheep manure to the
consistency of thick whitewash, and
apply with brush or broom as high as
the sheep can reach. If the trees are
kept we'll mulched until they attain
good size, they will grow as rapidly
and healthy as with the best of cultiva-
ton, but extra care will be required that
mice do not make nests in the mulch,
and in deep SHOWS gnaw the trees.-J.
S. WOODWARD, Niagara Co., N. Y.
CANNING MILK-Mrs. S. W. W.,
Monticello, n. Y, suggests, through
the Orange County Farmer, the idea of
canning milk, which may in some cases
be desirable, as, for instance, to bridge
over dairy drouth:
''Visiting farm a few years ago,
some excellent coffee upon the table
disclosed the presence of cream. This
me, for | knew the COWS were
dry, and there were no very near neigh
bors. [ asked, and the answer was,
'Ol that is canned milk Since then,
have done the same way two seasons,
and intend to do so again soon. When
the milk is brought in and strained, put
it on to boil in a steamer, or pail set
into a kettle of boiling water. As soon
as it reaches the boiling point and
begins to bubble, pour into glass jars
prepared and heated, and screw
up Immediately. Keep it where it will
not freeze, and when needed it is ready
for use"
Frozen WATER PIPES. This is the
season of frozen water pipes. Those
who did not thoroughly protect the
water pipes before cold weather arrived
are now trying various means every
cold morning to get the water running
in the pumps and elsewhere.
The Massachusetts PLOUghDadn says:
''The first thing TO do is to find the por-
ton of the pipe where the water is
frozen. If it is above ground, where 1t
can be reached, dip bag or any thick
cloth i'll hot water and Immediately
wind it around the pipe where it is sup
posed to be frozen. Then pour ON 1t
boiling water to keep the cloth hot. In
this way the pipe will be thawed out III
q few minutes.
"Should the pipe be under ground,
and yet where the upper end can be
worked from, take a lead or rubber pipe
that is small enough to go inside of the
frozen pipe, running it in until it strikes
the ice, then into the upper end OF this
pipe pour boiling water, being careful
to force the lead or rubber pipe down as