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OBSERVATIONS

BY THE REV. GABE TUCKER.

"You may notch it on de palin's as a mighty resky plan

To make your judgment by de clothes that kivers up a man,

For I hardly needs to tell you how you often come ercross

A fifty-dollar saddle on a twenty-dollar hoss.

ANSWERS TO CHARADE, RID-
DLES, ETC., IN LAST YEAR'S
ALMANAC.

ANSWER TO CHARADE.

A chair (hair, air).

ANSWER TO RIDDLES.

1. The blind beggar was the drowned man's sister.

2. She was the niece of one and the 3. Her son.

An', wukin' in de low groun's, you dis- daughter of the other.

kiver as you go,

Dat de fines' shuck may hide de meanes' nubbin' in a row.

"I think a man has got a mighty slender chance for heben

Dat holds onto his piety but one day out ob seben;

Dat talks about de sinner with a heap o' solemn chat,

An' nebber drops a nickel in de missionary hat;

Dat's foremost in de meetin'-house for raisin' all de chunes,

But lays aside his 'ligion wid his Sunday pantaloons.

"I nebber judge o' people dat I meets
along de way

By de places whar dey comes from and
de houses whar dey stay;
For de bantam chicken's awful fond o'
roostin' pretty high,

An' de turkey-buzzard sails above de
eagle in de sky;

Dey ketches little minners in de middle
ob de sea,
An'

you finds de smalles' 'possum up de
bigges' kind o' tree.

SCRIBNER.

YANK IT OUT. -The patriotism of Artemus Ward in sacrificing all his wife's relations, has been entirely eclipsed by the self-devotion of a man who said to the dentist," Don't spend no money for gas; yank it out if it does hurt." "You are plucky," said the dentist. "Let me see the tooth." "O, "tain't me that's got the toothache; it's my wife. She'll be here in a minute."

HE SAW IT.-Slocum is a good fellow, but he has no idea of a joke. The other night, I was telling of a guide post with this inscription: "Five miles to D. If you can't read, inquire at the blacksmith's shop." All except Slocum laughed. Slocum could not conceive what they were laughing at. He said he thought it very kind to give that notice to those that couldn't read. I told him if he couldn't see the joke before morning, I'd tell him. The next morning Slocum came in, his face wreathed with smiles, "Oh, yes," said he, I see the joke-ha! ha! ha! I see it the blacksmith might not be at home, you know."

FRECKLES."Ain't that a lovely critter, Jolin," said Jerusha, as they stopped opposite the leopard's cage. "Waal, yes," said John, "but he's dreadfully freckled, ain't he!"

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THE GRASS OR HAY CROP.

THERE can be no question that the grass and hay crop of this country is the most valuable and the most important crop we raise. It is indispensable, and we depend upon it for carrying through our cattle, and for stall feeding, nearly six months in the year in all our high northern latitudes. Such being the case, we need to give to it the most careful study to perfect the details as to cultivating, handling and curing, and to know how we may best secure the highest results, and increase the aggregate product. The experience of the best farmers is always regarded as the highest authority in practical matters relating to the farm, and this experience seems to justify us in maintaining the following propositions: That early fall seeding without grain should be adopted in practice in preference to seeding in spring.

That as a general rule, it is poor economy to take any grain crop either with or immediately preceding the seeding down to grass. That the grass being the ultimate and paying crop, it is bad practice to reduce the land by the draught which a grain crop naturally makes upon it.

That wherever from any local reason it becomes desirable to take a crop of spring grain, it is more economical to sow the grain alone in the spring, and to plough up the stubble and sow the grass seed alone in the early fall, say soon after the middle of August, unless prevented by a serious drought.

That in cases where it seems desirable to sow grass seed in the spring, it is better to sow it alone and let it take its chance, without compelling it to struggle for existence under the disadvantages of a grain or any other crop.

That in seeding down in August, or early in September, we are following nature as to time, and that, unless the ground is already rich and in high condition it is necessary to give the seed the benefit of an application of manure on or near the surface to which the seed is applied.

That in the selection of seed for mowing lots and hay, we should choose varieties to mix that blossom at or nearly at the same time, and not mix very early and very late varieties together.

If these propositions could be adopted and applied in practice on every farm in New England, it would greatly increase the grass and hay crop, and so promote the prosperity of our agriculture.

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In sowing grass seed it is best to follow it with a good roller. The seeds of the grasses are so small that if covered too deep they will not germinate. An iron tooth harrow will bury many of them too deeply. If a farmer cannot afford to buy and own an expensive roller, it is easy to make a common wooden drag, which is the best substitute for it. It is to be made with plank, eight or ten feet long and say three feet wide, very much like a stone boat," only one side, which is to be the front or forward part, bevels up so as to avoid or glide over the little bunches or uneven surfaces on the field. The bevel, or inclined portion, need not be more than a foot wide. It is the next best thing to an expensive roller, and leaves the surface beautifully even for the mowing machine. It is worth ten times its cost, as it can be made in the tool-house in the stormy days of winter. It is a good plan to put a cleat on the bottom, running the whole length, and say one inch thick by three inches wide. It fills up the holes made by the horses' feet in travelling over the mellow surface of the land.

To succeed on the farm a man must have a love for it. If he hates or detests his work, no matter what calling it may be, he ought not to expect to thrive, and his failure ought not to be attributed to the nature of the business, but to the nature of the man. And one must come to his calling, not only with a love for it, but with just notions and conceptions of its nature and the duties which it imposes, otherwise he will be sure to fail. First comes disappointment, then discontent, then downright failure. Character and energy are sure to tell on the farm as well as

INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION.

THE time seems to have come when it is imperative for the growers of fruit to study the nature and habits of the insect pests that meet them at every turn. These pests have multiplied partly from the vast increase in the growth of fruits of every kind adapted to our climate and locality, and partly from the introduction of new species from Europe and elsewhere, so that the difficulty of growing perfect fruit has greatly increased. In some cases insects have changed their habits, having previously lived on some other plant which they have abandoned to attack fruits and fruit trees and shrubs which they had never before molested.

At the recent meeting of the American Pomological Society, held in Boston the past year, Dr. Lintner, the entomologist of the state of New York, gave a valuable paper upon this subject, in which he stated that there are in the United States, at least, one thousand species of fruit insects, and that the number was increasing rather than diminishing every year. Such being the case it becomes a matter of absolute necessity to give attention to this subject, as success in the growing of fruits will surely depend upon knowing how to deal with our insect enemies. The following seem to be reasonable requisites for the successful fruit grower: He should be acquainted with all the more common insects that appear in his vicinity, their names, their injuries and their habits.

He should be able to detect new insect pests, so that he could promptly submit them for scientific study. He should be able to distinguish between insect foes and insect friends, so that in fighting the former he will not destroy the latter.

He should be able to refer them to each one of the several orders to which they may belong, so that he can speak or write of them understandingly without grouping them all under the name of "bugs."

He should know the manner of insect feeding, whether by means of biting jaws or with a proboscis, so as to be able to use the proper class of remedies.

He should experiment with such remedies and preventives as his own observations and experience may suggest. He should avail himself of the works on economic entomology, like Harris on Insects Injurious to Vegetation, and other treatises which would be of great service.

A compliance with these requisites of his calling would not only yield the fruit grower a pecuniary reward, but at the same time add to his mental wealth and accomplishments. The study of insect life soon becomes fascinating as well as useful.

THOUGH the systematic cultivation of fruit in this country dates back scarcely more than half a century, the progress that has been made in it is simply incredible. The number of acres in orchards, vines and small fruits amounted, ten years ago, to 4,500,000. The number of trees at the same time was: Apples, 112,000,000; pears, 28,260,000; peaches, 141,260,000; - an aggregate of 393,790,000. Since that time these figures have been vastly increased.

THE estimated value of the annual fruit products of this country exceeds, for apples, $50,000,000; pears, $15,000,000: peaches, $60,000,000; grapes, $2,500,000; strawberries, $5,000,000; other fruits, $15,000,000; making a total of nearly $150,000,000. That was ten years ago. If we had the accurate statistics of these annual products now, there can be no doubt they would be very largely increased.

A CENTURY ago it would have been impossible to find the number of varieties of good fruit in all New England that are now found in a single town. There were no nurseries where trees were raised for sale, and comparatively little attention was paid to the raising of fruits, except for the making of cider, to which the orchards were chiefly devoted. Most of our favorite and best varieties of apples and pears were then entirely unknown.

FACTS FOR FARMERS.

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THE first fruit raised in this country was upon Governor's Island, in Boston Harbor, from which, on the 10th of October, 1639, ten fair pippins were brought up to the town. The words of the old record are, there being not one apple or pear tree planted in any part of the country, but upon that island.' The island seems to have belonged at that time to John Winthrop, the first governor of the colony of Massachusetts Bay.

THE Baldwin, which must be regarded as, on the whole, the best of our New England apples, originated in the town of Wilmington, Mass., and was named from Loammi Baldwin, the engineer who laid out the old Middlesex canal from Lowell to Boston. The Hubbardston Nonsuch originated in the town of that name in Worcester county, Mass. The Minister originated on the farm of a Mr. Saunders, in Rowley, Mass. The Porter was first raised by the Rev. S. Porter of Sherburne, Mass. The Williams originated on the farm of Maj. Benj. Williams of Roxbury, Mass. All these favorites were accidental. They have, perhaps, been somewhat improved by cultivation, but they were not the product of any attempt to create new varieties.

THE Red Astrachan, an apple of extraordinary beauty and one of the earliest to please the palate, was first imported into England from Sweden in 1816, and from there imported into this country. The Pound Sweeting, sometimes called the Pumpkin Sweet, seems to have been raised first in Manchester, Conn. The Early Harvest, one of our beautiful and most excellent early apples, beginning to ripen soon after the first of July and continuing through that month, is an American apple, but we do not know where it originated. It is of medium size, roundish, of a very smooth skin and of a bright straw color when ripe.

THE Baldwin, like most other varieties of winter apples which originated in the northern and eastern states, when grown at the south, becomes a fall or early winter apple, and loses much of its sprightly taste and its good quality as a table fruit. But the early varieties or summer apples originating here are usually greatly improved when grown at the south.

IT used to be regarded as absurd for any but a young man to set out fruit trees. A curious incident in the life of the venerable Mr. Cobb of Kingston, Mass., aptly illustrates the feeling which prevailed very generally throughout New England. He began to set out an orchard at the age of seventy. The idea seemed so ludicrous as to subject him to the ridicule of the whole neighborhood. He lived to the age of one hundred and seven and died in 1801, having enjoyed for many years the fruits of his labors.

THE best time for grafting fruit trees is in the spring about the time the sap begins to move. This is earliest in the plum and the cherry, and later in the apple and the pear. The exact time, of course, varies a little with the climate and the season, but will usually be in March and April. A mild atmosphere and occasional showers are favorable to success. The scions should generally be selected beforehand, say very early in the spring, and kept in inoist earth in the cellar. In other words the stock on which the scion is to be placed, ought to be a little more advanced, with the sap in more active circulation, than that of the scion.

THE practice of grafting as a means of multiplying and propagating choice fruit is of very ancient date. It was well known to the ancient Greeks and Romans, and the latter adopted a great variety of methods about as ingenious as any known to our modern gardeners. The French, who are among the most expert in grafting, practising as many as fifty different methods, have succeeded perfectly in grafting annuals like the

By grafting we can hasten the bearing of seedling varieties of fruit, and such as are slow in coming into bearing, and so obtain their fruit much sooner than we otherwise could. A seedling pear, for example, which would require at least a dozen years to produce fruit on its own stock, will begin to bear the third or fourth year if grafted on or near the ends of the branches of a mature tree.

THE market garden is a specialty which many a young man thinks he can master, but in which he often fails for want of knowing the conditions requisite for sucesss. The market gardens within six miles from Boston are worth often more than a thousand dollars per acre for purposes of cultivation. Capital, therefore, is one of the great requisites for success in this business; but, in addition, there must be good soil, and that within easy reach of a good market.

THE market garden implies the highest cultivation. A very large amount of manure is to be applied to a small amount of land. Twenty to thirty cords to the acre, every year, is not uncommon, and for a garden of ten or a dozen acres a two-horse team is kept going nearly every day to draw manure, to say nothing of the carting of the produce, which, if skilfully marketed, will amount to from eight hundred to a thousand dollars per acre.

WITH the conditions absolutely necessary for success in market gardening, one must have a natural tact for it, and this implies habits of industry and a keen eye, together with some years of experience, so as to be familiar with the infinite details of the business. Within five or six miles of a large city both the market and the manure wagon can make two trips or more a day, if necessary, and this is often the case.

THE number of hands required to run a market garden within five or six miles of the city will be about one man to the acre in summer, and a horse for every three acres, and the crops most frequently produced are the bulky but valuable ones, such as lettuce, spinach, radishes, dandelions for greens, beets, early cabbages, onions, kale, horseradish, celery, the early crops being followed by later ones on the same land, such as squashes, melons, tomatoes, cauliflowers, carrots, parsnips, etc. Dandelions and rhubarb occupy the land for the whole year, but with most other things two crops are grown on the same land, and sometimes even three or four crops a year are raised on the same ground.

As to gardens, or farms devoted to market gardening, at a greater distance from market, say from eight to twelve or fifteen miles, the conditions are different. Land is cheaper, ranging from one to two hundred dollars per acre, the cost of hauling manure and produce is much greater, and the management varies accordingly. The capital required will be less, and the crops raised, such as need less manure, and are in general less bulky, like beans, pease, asparagus, early potatoes, strawberries and other small fruits, squashes, late cabbages and turnips, cucumbers for pickles. The market wagon will make fewer trips, say three or four times a week in summer, only once or twice in winter.

WHILE market gardens near the city will require a working capital of five to eight hundred dollars per acre, to be invested in tools, teams, buildings, hot beds, manure, etc.: those lying at a greater distance may be worked with a capital of from one hundred to two hundred dollars per acre, and the force required for efficient working will be less, say on an average one man and a horse for every two or three acres.

If you hear the question asked, "Does farming pay?" you can safely answer yes, when the right man is found in the right place. Those who fail will be found to be the wrong men in the right men's place. They would as a general rule fail in any other calling for which they were no more fitted than they were for the farm. In other words, it depends more upon the energy and intelligence of the man and his love for the work, than upon the kind of business which he follows.

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