The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1884-05-15
EOTELFT5.

NoTELETs
Morgan Butler, of Oneida county, NJ z,
has for fifteen years cut an average of more than
two tons of hay per acre from a meadow seeded
with fescue, cat grass, bent grass, Kentucky blue
grass timothy, veTnal grass and clover This list
shows the Importance of seeding with great
variety of grasses No one alone could pro-
duce 50 large crop for so long time
The proper time TO prune spring and early
summer Towering shrubs is Immediately after
their flowers fade. Then the plants can be
thinned out, strong or struggling shoots short
ened and decaying branches removed. Expert
primers will leave the plant, after pruning, so
natural looking that no appearance of recent
cutting can readily be detected. The worst
pruning is that which leaves the plant shaped
like cabbage; this may be called trimming,
but 1T Is not pruning.
An Ohio farmer washes his apple trees
every spring and fall with strong lye that
viii float an egg and finds it to be sure death
TO the borer He claims that he has not lost
tree since beginning this practice, although he
had lost several previously.
One pound of rice gives eighty-eight per
cent. of nutriment; one pound Of beef, twenty
five per cent. And yet many strain a point
daily TO purchase beef at fifteen cents 3 pound,
when they could get pound of rice at one
third OF that amount, and the rice having
three times as much nuriment as the beef and
being three times easier of digestion.
The progressive farmer learns that his soil
must be fed-somewhat on the same principle
that he feeds his cows but less frequently STILL
the question comes up, How shall we feed our
lands with stable manure or with CONNER
cial fertilizers? Stable manure is best if it
can be obtained. Leave the commercial fer
tilizers as last resort or depend upon It's
feeding one crop.
Dana, author of the "a Muck Manual" claims
| that two parts Of muck mixed with one part
of stable manure will make three parts of as
much mauurial value as the part of pure
dung. This viii depend greatly upon the
kind Of muck used; some of the material
| called muck is Of but little value at best
| When muck is not too much deeomposed il is
beneficial for use upon sandy and gTavelly soils
and it is 2 valuable article TO mix with the ma
nure in the barnyaTd.
For several years past the curculio or pluPI
weevil has been puneturing the apple par,
peach and cherry. and although it has been stated
/ that the grubs do not reach to destructive
state in any of these fruits, recent observations
! have shown that much of the injury to apples
which have been attributed to the codling moth
and apple maggot is really the work of the
curculio. Following from the well known
! crescent-shaped mark ninty-nine per cent of
those punctured the fruit contained the active
Larvae.
1t is becoming more and more matter Of
| conviction among fruit growers that the
| simplest and most effectual way of fighting the
| insects which destroy fruits is to allow swine
and sheep free range in the orchard SO that all
| the fruit which drops from the trees may be
eaten up, and the laryee thus be gotten rid of.
Sheep are said TO be even better than swine for
| this purpose.
Strawberries will grow and produce fairly
we'll on almost any kind OF soil, but the finest
and fairest fruit will be from plants grown on
soils which rather clayey. But these soils
should be well drained and deeply worked BE-
| fore planting.
| QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Can TIE NATIoSAI. TRIBUNE tell me what trea
s 4 called the f01sl0v' 'Fss'-Emna' Trenton
Ans Probably the Catalpa or the Pauloraia
we have heard of these by the above name,
because of the resemblance of their flowers to
those of the garden plant called foxgloye.
What are the best purple-Ieaved trees and shrubs
| for lawn? ] mean trees coored ike the purple
beech.-S X. r., Pittsburgh, Pa.
Ans There is no tree equal to the purple
beech; the purple-leaved peach holds its color
well; so, also, does the purple-leaved fl5ert.
| There are also fairly good purple-leaved varie-
| ties OF the European sycamore maple and the
English oak. There is also purple-leaved
birch, which is well-colored for short time in
spring. The purple-leayed berberry has fine
colored foliage.
/ I have noticed . recommendation TO grow q
| wild flower garden, but | co not understand
what 1t means, or how it L. made.-Julia S. H
Urbsno.
Ans One method Of making a wild flower
garden is TO procure dozen or more packages
of flower seeds, mix them all together, and SOW
broadcast First prepare the ground good, rake
1t rather fine on the surface, and deeply forked
and after scattering the seeds on the surface
cover them by raking the ground carefully
Weeds must be promptly removed, and where
the plants are very thick, pull some of them
up. If allowed to stand as chance has directed
1t viii form good example of the surriral Of
the 6ttsst. Upon the whole, we can hardly rec
ommend this method of flower gardening