DECEMBER.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 21, 3 December 1874, Page 3

DECEMBER.

Eitc-JeN Garden.-—Keep the surface of the soil occupied by crops frequently stirred and kept loose. In long continued dry weather watering may be necessary. Jt should not be had recource to until the plants begin to flag; when absolutely necessary do not stint it, as a mere sprinkling is worse than useless. Asparagus. —Discontinue cutting at midsummer. Dress beds with liquid manure or common salt. Beans. — Hake the last sowing this month ; attend to earthing up and topping, as previously recommended Beet.-^-Thin to 9 inches apart. Borecole.-—Plant out. Broccoli. —-Sow for late crop. Plant out from former sowings if weather is moist. Brussels Sprouts.— Plant out. Gahbages.-—Continue plant*, ing for autumn use. Cauliflowers.— Plant as formerly directed. Celery.— * Continue planting out as the plants attain sufficient size. Kidney Beans.-— Sow succesions. Lettuce.—^Continue sowing and planting; water liberally if the weather continues dry. Leeks. —Transplant j make holes with a dibble, leaving the holes .open after putting in the plants, covering only the roots with soil. Pease.-—Make the last sowing about the end of the month, of Ringleader, M'Lean's Little Gem, or other early sort. Radishes. —Sow. Savoys. —Plant out for winter use. Turnips. —Continue to sow for successions ; hoe and thin* . Eutjit Garden. Continue the operations of disbudding trees and thinning fruit, as recommended for last month. Flower Garden.—This department will now be showing its beauty, and giving some recompense for previous labors. The principal work will consist in beeping every part of it in the best possible order, looking sharply after all insect pests, and keeping them in check by syringing, &c, applying water in dry weather. ■• - ■■ ~m

Hen manure can hardly be used amiss in the garden if suitably diluted or composted. It is especially excellent in growing all rank-feeding pladts, strawberries, peppers, onions, lettuce, rhubarb, corn, peas, celery. Experience alone can teach ho>v much the plants can stand without detriment. For garden use the liquid formed is unquestionably the best. Seeing some inquiry about the transplanting of beets, I will give my method, which has never failed with me, nor within my knowledge. Make a hole in the ground two or three inches deep, fill it with water (if cold all the better) put the beet into it as far as you wish it to go, then fill, in with dirt, pressing it firmly around the plant. That is all ; so much and no more. This method might be too expensive and slow where the plants were started in a hot-bed • but where they are sowed in the bed in which they are to grow, I know of no way so hood. I have transplanted them in this manner in a clear, hot sunshiny day, with no loss. A garden trowel is the best tool to use in transplanting. I prefer to have the plants from two to four inches in height at the time. Last year I transplanted cabbages in the same manner that were not over two inches in height, and did not lose one. — H. A. Tripp, Hancock Co., Me. Asparagus in the Shade.— We would not advise planting asparagus in a place shaded by trees. This plant loves an open, sunny- border. - Preparing Ground for Onions. —Onions require a well prepared mellow soil free from weeds. A newly ploughed sod is not at all fit for this crop. If sod ground is to be prepared for it, it would be better to plough the sod and sow a crop of buckwheat, which would mellow the ground and give the sod time to rot. The buckwheat may be harvested when' ripe, 'or it may be ploughed in when in blossom and another seeding given. This second crop should be ploughed in before it is cut by the frost. A bushel of seed per acre would be a proper quantity of seed. The Spring preparation should consist of ample - manuring, 'crossploughing, repeated harro wings ahd rollings, until the soil is .fine and well mixed with the manure. It would be better to plant onion '• sets" than' tosow seed. Starting a Nursery, -?-Tt is not r probable that any person who knows" nothing of the business can succeed in a nursery. If the trees are to be raised for private use, ic will be found cheaper to buy one year old plants than to grow them from . the seed. Growing e ver-; greens from the seed is a difficult business to ! one ignorant of the propermethods. Nor s can 'the' methods be taught in the space of a few lines, or bjr a few words. There are many nurseries where plants can be purchased at very low rates. "" ;. : ; Transplanting Plum Trees:-? When trees require the: main point is to keep the- -roots -from drying. If they are to be sent Ho 'a 5 disf tance, 4he tops ;? should 'be ?Teduce3 iii size and/as many, of the small 'roots left as possible. The H;rees should r then be put in bundles <of six. freight, and the roots carefully 'made into a compact ball withisbm^emoss oi-swamp' earth and bound up tightly with matting. Spring is the best reason 'for transplanting j))um teees. /

Small : Vineyards.-— Personsj|^HH have set out small plantationg|bJ|||^^^H vines, and: do not know*- how ;tb|J|^^H them, will do wisely to fbllow^^^H practice of a neighbor. Thefi§t^B|[| but one cane is allowed to £ t oas__^^__\ all laterals are rubbed off as-j^^^B they appear. The ensuing Ahtur|i^^^H cane is cut back to 'three QsMvm_\\__\\\ strongest two of which are only to grow the following spring. C^fJf^^Hj trell is now prepared by setting a s^HB post between each vine, say eighj^^^H ten feet apart, and- to these nail tOTHj narrow strips, one eighteen in|9Bj above the ground, the next oneln^H higher, and the third two feet; abl9|H that, so that the whole trellis will- H^^H be about four and a-half feet in h6i||BH As soon as the canes; in the secaj^^Hj spring have growh sufficiently hmgi^HH tie, ; fasten them down to the lowMB slat, one to the right and the other JHB the left. l?he next spring canes wj^^H start all along these horizontal; ar^Hß and when they reach the topmost sI«H must be pinched off a few inches- abof^H Now comes the fruiting season.--^^^H down all these upright canes to say t^^H eyes in the fall, and next spring alloaH only the stronger of the two shoots ;^H grow as an upright fruiting canj^H pinching off in .the meantime rtjSH laterals beyond the second leaf barnyard manure is used, but boneduf^H ashes, lime, plaster, and superphosphafflH are the sole dependence; -^H Regarding Roses. — The persofH[ who expects to have a nice yard withal out a bed of roses might just as wej^H undertake to make a first-class plum9| pudding without fruit j but how fe^Hj persons really know how to take careaH of these roses after they are plantedJH In the first place the novices pay theiinn first visit to the florist, and state theirjfl wishes somewhat in this wise : ThejS desire a variety that is hardy in thefl first place ; then it must bloom all then time ; of course, it must be delightfully^ fragrant; and to cap the climax, itM must be unexceptionable in form andfl color. My unsophisticated friends, thatjM particular variety has not yet beenJM introduced, so for the present you will|H have to rest content with a few of theses desirable qualities. The Tea, China;" jH and Bourbon classes possess the above 'jH requisites, excepting hardiness — that is,jH the cream of the collection does, but tof« compensate for this necessary trait, we;JS are obliged to resort to artificial aids in \' : M accomplishing our purpose. A large' ym circle cut in the lawn and filled withljl choice Tea roses, as for instance, La : M Praotole, Safrano, Isabella, Bprwd t 'M &c, will yield a constant supply of buds ~ : 'm and flowers all summer long ; and then -if as freezing weather sets - in,' they may :^| be carefully lifted and closely planted in ,;| large boxes, so as to winter in the || cellar. I have had excellent success by ?=| merely cutting the. plants, down -to the | ground, and covering the crown with -| coarse litter by way of shade, but *| should the season prove unusually II severe, the roots will often kill out. ?| Planting an Orchard.— ln plant- ~:| ing an orchard, the first thing is to :^| have the ground well underdrained and. M liberally supplied with well rotted stable M manure. Early in Spring it should be | ploughed from eight to ten inches deep,- $f when it will be ready for planting. I ffjl recommend the following list of all ; good apples for an orchard of 300 trees-: Ten Newtown Pippins, 30 . Yel- § low Belflowers, 13 red Belflowers, 50 ■% Rhode Island Greenings, .50 Smith's 3 Scid, 30 Northern Spy, 20 Baldwins. I 30 Peck'.s Pleasant, 20 Wine Sap, Bft-.^ Talpahawkin. These varieties sire all hardy and salable. In purchasing fruit :;| , trees the best plan is to select from the ?■$ nearest nursery. . Many have "beea I brought to a painful 'sense of the de^'X pressing fact that a large portion of the j trees purchased from a distant nursery \ prove untrue to name : and utterly worth- .1 less., When trees, <or seeds are pur- ~.f •chased the buyer should take a receipt '■■■■■ specifying the -number or quantity of :. each variety for which the, money was - paid. In planting these trees, for the . r sake of convenience in, gathering the - fruit, dt is better, to. place. the trees of , each variety dn squares or blocks, ' rather than in long rows, as is'the common custom. The trees Should not be | over two years old. The ground should | be loosened for about 18 inches around v the trees, in 'the Pall; .'manure should be hahld to every ".one. ' To prevent •': mice from inakirig tlieir nests in it, «t '= should 'be left till after a frost or snow, -r-An Ohio Farmer. ; Culture of Nuts.— Those readers who are opposed to " common" "trees and plants—^meaning,, of , cpurse^^our native species-— might lay the: j/psrper • away at this point, as T intend to "hand in my experience bii this -very •subjgpt^ y 1 Having imbibed the idea at^a ; very early ,c.;| age ,tha;t;.all kinds, of^nuts^are, exceed- * r f • ingly palatable and appropriateforilbng:- : Winter evenings, T selected p, lo,w piece ;, of grorind •bordered 'by a 'stream '* ; b£ watery aiid^here Tset out* the following.: : shellbarks,- pecan ;nuts,h;persimm6ns,-X ■ white walnuts, chinquupins, An4.|hazel <y L nuts. — J. fi. Chester Co. j.Pe'nri, " .''*•; 'A*. I'.* •:•.'"-.•/• T.*,'u^-'ns4'K. i s^4'i •>-7^'' The belief , commonly^^eld^maJpMgi sunflowers "follow %aecqnvße^^T^^^ff'^ '- throiiglit'the day ? .and always^p^^ntr-4^ their, .fjpwers^ to Js r^ncorrectr^&|;| every ' jnpance in '. AyhicQ ? the habits - of ; ? X this ij^laht 'lijiv'e been observeaV^^hasM been "seen that the. flower3|:^^^^ ■ changed their : position as regar^^^plg .'; sun after'the|bud was fbnned^E^^g : poptilar ideai be correct^Hp^|lbn^j ■| would, it take for the plahf3|o||wi^^B '■ieadjfjSiiidts ,sujmosed:,dai^^y^lvi|i l^^B