Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1890-08-27
FARM, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN.

| FARM, ORCHARD, AND GARDEN.
Oar native orchard birds should be pro-
tec.ed, for almost all ofthem feed upon the
codliDg moth (the greatest enemy to sue
cesszul apple culture) 10 oEe form or au-
other. The woodpeckers and the creepers
and the black capped titmonse, which run
up and down the bark of the trees, find the
cocoons in the cregices and quickly rob
them of the enclosed pure. The .downy
| woodpeeker and the chickadee have also
proven, by their stomach contents, to feed
upon the codiing moth larva.
Hints on killing weeds: Plants can not
| live indefinitely deprived of their leaves;
hence preventing their appearance above
thu surface will kill them sooner or later.
Plants have greater need of their leaves
and can be more easily killed in ths grow
ing season than when dormant. Cultiva-
| ton in q dry time is most injurious to
| weeds After cam mer crop has ripened,
instead Of allowing the land 30 grow up to
weeds, it is often veil TO SOW rye or some
other crop to keep them dom.
Lime wash is presehtive of blight upon
pear aad other trees to shis extent: That
blight N-ill not maintsin upon the portion
covered with the wash, but it will not pre-
vent blight upon the extreme points of
branches which can not be reached with
the brush. If blight is discovered on
twig or branch it should be removed with
out delay. With this attention, and cover
ing the main branches with the wash,
losses from blight may not be generally
feared.
The corn worm (known as'the boil worm
in the South) has been unusually destruc-
tive upon sweet corn tais season in many
regions. Especially has this been so in
districts affected by the drought, as the
slow growth of the corn gave it special
facilities for work. Where it appears in
any considerable quantity spraying is pro-
badly the only effective method of checking
it. Kerosene emulsion, arsenical poisons
or pyrethrum will destroy it, but the latter,
for obvious reasons, is best to use upon
corn.
Fall tree planting is preferable to spring
planting, because the conditions of soil and
climate are then most favorable. In this |
latitude, during the month of October, the
soil averages several degrees warmer than
the atmosphere. This gives kind of ma
tural hot-bed into which we place the now
ly removed tree, and the formation of new
roots commences at once. In the spring |
these conditions are reversed, the soil being |
then cold and accumulating heat slowly, |
while the warmth of the atmosphere in
cresses rapidly.
Shelter for animals is as necessary in |
summer as in winter over q large portion |
of our country. In the South it is greater, |
and even in the North, during the intense |
heat which W. often have in July and Au- |
gust, our cattle would he much better off |
with such protection. If they can be in a
cool place while their food digests they will |
digest higher per cent of it, and assimi- |
late is better. Whatever adds to the com. |
fort of animals adds to their thrift, and,
therefore, their profltableness. There |
should be other summer shelter than trees, |
for trees do not protect from rain, for there |
are cold rains in summer which do much |
harm to animals exposed to them. Sheds
should be built in convenient places.
These are best open, for they will be cool.
er, and may have straw, clapboard or
BOARD roof.
Waldo f. Brown, in the american ,igri-
culturist, gives some "reminiscences which
show that agriculture has not now fallen
upon worse times than it has known at
least oace before in the history of orr coun-
try. From 1916 to 1850 prices of farm |
products were very low; wheat was wagon
ed to Cincinnati when the roads were in
such condition that it required 10 days
with four horse team to make the round
trip Q00 mles) with a load of 30 bushels
and the wheat then sold az 81! cents per
bushel, the entire receipts amounting to
less than 81 so per day for the time, and
the driver was obliged to carry his provis-
ions aud feed and camp ont, or he would
come back the loser. Tn the fall of 1S46
dressed hogs sold for 81 70 per 100 pounds,
yearlipg calves for 81 to So head. Not
much comfort in this, maybe, for the far.
mer who to-day is struggling against debt
with poor crops and poor prices; but it must
DO remembered that -afterward came the
hey-day Of American agricultural prosper
ity. Agriculture has it's ups and downs, as
has every other business.
We hear good deal about Intensive cul-
tivation in America, but we see very little
of it. In Saxony, where intensive clltiva-
tion is the rule every where, it is safe to
say that not one foot of land is allowed to
remain idle. In many places the public
highways are made to contribute their
share toward the support of the communI
ty. In some places they are planted with
cherry trees; in others with plum or apple
trees, as may be found suitable. The pro.
ceeds from the sale Of the fruit go to de-
frayiag the communal expenses, the amount
being generally deducted from the commun-
al taxes. The contrast between this and
the American custom, where fruit tree
planted outside an enclosure is the prey of
every vagabond, is certainly 10. in our IA
vor. Local taxation depends largely upon
the extent and condition of the highways
that the township has to maintain, and
here would be most apparent the benefit of
making a public road contribute toward
its own maintenance by planting fruit bear
ing trees upon it for that purpose. 1t
would certainly seem better than the GUS
tom of working out'' road taxes-better
both for the road and the farmer.
Whenever farmer has a field that, in
any season, be has not time nor available
labor to plaut aad cultivate properly, it is
a sure indication that he has too much land,
and that implanted or untitled field should |
be sold at onca to one who can make better
use of it. The time and labor which might
be devoted to it, hy neglecting something
else, had better be added to the Other
aelds,
The results of some experiments in feed.
Jag steers at the Michigan Station are sum-
med up as follows: There is no profit in
feeding Average native steers which will |
weigh from 1, 100 to 1900 pounds at three
years, though there may bs in raising thor
os!ga5red steers which will weigh from 500
to 500 pounds more st the same age; but it |
requires close care aud knowledge of the
most economical methods of feeding to
make any profit from feeding beeves atpre-
sect prices.
A recent lecturer on agricultural science /
at Oxford, England, coatradicts the asser-
tion that wheat can no longer be grown at
a profs in Great Britain. Etimating the
cost of production at $50 81! per acre, and |