Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-01-18

Are YOU sure that the trees you are GO
ing 10 plant are of the varieties ordered
When Won buy of the groceryman guam
ti;v oi white sugar and he sends you brown,
he is compelled to make the transaction
satisfactory. There are old orchards and
Young trees coming into bearing in Cali
fornia that are anything but what the dis
gusted owners wanted or ordered. By the
preparation upon him of fraud of some
kind. he has spent hundreds and perhaps
thousands of dollars and unlimited hopes
upon an orchard that is, wholly or in part,
worthless for the intended purposes. Such
frauds come about in several ways some
times the nurseryman, Intentionally or
otherwise, neglects to knock out the budded
or grated stumps that do not take. Suck
ers come up and grow in the place OF buds
or gratis. The trees are all counted in,
and should it be bad stand, the pur-
chasing orchardist suffers no inconsidsrable
loss. Again inexperienced workmen are
employed to lift the trees and the varieties
become mixed or wrongly labeled. This
could be remedied by skillful separation;
but in the hurry of business it is allowed
to go. Trees may also become mixed in
the trenches by the careless displacing Of
labels. All of these mistakes can be
avoided by proper system and care and the
employment of skilled labor.
The first cost of a tree is a small item to
its subsequent cost and value One should
not hesitate on account of shade higher
price to secure from reliable firms stock
which is guaranteed to be true tc name.
We have but little sympathy for the army
of weakened who are periodically swim
died by itinerant tree peddlers. These gen.
try ply their nefarious business assisted
with brilliantly pictured horticultural i'm
possibilities, for which they ask fabulous
prices Their glowing descriptions should
be interpreted as follows: "You are one of
the favored suckers who have been foolish
enough to enrich me by purchasing re-
markable worthless novelties, with large
stock of exasperating experience thrown
In This class of buyers are always blam-
ing their luck, but never fail to bite ut
every bait. OF course, there are honest
tree agents representing reHable nurseries,
but of this fact you should assure yourself
| before listening to their often times mis-
leading eloquence. A nurseryman selling
you trees, direct or through an agent, that
are not true to name, thereby causing you
pecuniary loss and disappointment, should
be made liable for resulting damages; but,
as the law now stands, the surest means of
protecting yourself is to require a written
guarantee that the trees are correctly
named.-CdiJornia Fruit GrOUer.
ONION SETS.
The growing of onion setssin California
| will in time become an important industry
and any information bearing on the SUBJ
iect is of interest. The american Aqri-
cultuaIist gives the following hints: Onion
seed cannot be sown too early in spring or
on too rich land The real point is to SOW
very thick, say twenty seeds to each inch
of row. One practical difficulty in sowing
so thick is to get the seeds to terminate
As every one knows before a seed can
terminate it must absorb considerable
water, or, as we say, swell" 1t absorbs
this water from the soil in immediate con-
tact with the seed. But when you have
large number of seeds in a small place
only those in direct contact with the soil
will get moisture. The others will re-
main dry and hard, and sometimes
"burn" There are two remedies for this
difficulty. Either sow very early in the
spring when the ground is moist, and
when we are likely to have an abundance
of rain, or soak the seed two or three days
before sowing. We say two or three days,
but by this we do not mean that the seed
should remain in the water unchanged for
that length of time Soak the seed for
twelve hours, and then throw it on a sieve
or cloth and let the water drain off Keep
the seed in moist state in warm room
for four or FIVE hours and then soak it
again in fresh water another twelve hours,
and keep repeating this till you are ready
to SOW. After such treatment for two or
three days, if the weather will not permit
sowing, put the seed in cold room and no
harm will be done. We have kept the
seed moist till it commenced to sprout
without harm. In fact, we never had bet
ter sets than from this sprouted seed. We
repeat that early spring, rich land, thick
seeding and clean culture are the great
secrets of success.
APPEARANCE OF THRIFT.
Nothing adds more to the value OF a
farm than general appearance ofprosper-
ity. In the public estimation it is also a
sign that the owner is thrifty and pros
porous man. 1t costs but little to spruce
things up; grade the roads, nail up the
loose planks, clear out the weeds, put new
hinge on the gate, plant a few trees and
flowers, and use little paint around the
house. Out-buildings and fences which
are neither painted nor whitewashed are
unsightly, and heavy rate Of interest is
being paid on their days of usefulness. The
following recipe is for a durable and
- L i
that its publication will not be in vain:
One-half bushel of good lime, FIVE
pounds rock salt, dissolved, ope-half pound
of whiting, four pounds ground rice boiled
to thin paste, one-half pound clean
grease Slack the lime in tight box or
barrel with hot water, keeping the box
covered that the steam may not escape. 1t
can be tinted if desired. Slack to the
consistency of thick cream. Thin it when
used so that it flow freely from the brush.
If put on too thick it will fake off more
or less when dried.
FARM NOTES.
Stake young trees if they are liable to
be severely shaken by the wind On light,
sandy soils, where the ground is soft and
loose, it may be necessary to stake trees
from two to three years old.
1t is claimed that variety of tomatoes
will "run OUT in about ten years. As new
and better varieties are being introduced
every year there is no liability of the i'm
proved varieties becoming extinct.
The richest land on the farm may be
that which is not cultivated, simply be-
cause of lack of drainage. The swamp
land is full of alluvial soil, and can be
made to grow all kinds of crops if drained
and cleared.
The curry-comb is never more useful
than in the winter. 1t is a pretty useful
thing at any time. 1t should be used care
fully, however, at times. The man who
uses sharp curry-comb as he would a
spade in digging had better not use one