AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS

 BY

 CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT

 EDITOR OF THE _AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST_ FORMERLY DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE

 FRANK LINCOLN STEVENS

 PROFESSOR OF PLANT PATHOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS FORMERLY TEACHER OF SCIENCE IN HIGH SCHOOL COLUMBUS, OHIO

 AND

 DANIEL HARVEY HILL

 FORMERLY PRESIDENT OF THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND MECHANIC ARTS

 _REVISED EDITION_

 GINN AND COMPANY BOSTON · NEW YORK · CHICAGO · LONDON ATLANTA · DALLAS · COLUMBUS · SAN FRANCISCO

 COPYRIGHT, 1903, 1904, 1914, BY CHARLES WILLIAM BURKETT, FRANK LINCOLN STEVENS AND DANIEL HARVEY HILL ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 329. 7

 The Athenæum Press GINN AND COMPANY · PROPRIETORS · BOSTON · U. S. A. 

[Illustration: GETTING READY FOR WINTER]

PREFACE

Since its first publication "Agriculture for Beginners" has found awelcome in thousands of schools and homes. Naturally many suggestions asto changes, additions, and other improvements have reached its authors. Naturally, too, the authors have busied themselves in devising methodsto add to the effectiveness of the book. Some additions have been madealmost every year since the book was published. To embody all thesechanges and helpful suggestions into a strictly unified volume; to addsome further topics and sections; to bring all farm practices up to theideals of to-day; to include the most recent teaching of scientificinvestigators--these were the objects sought in the thorough revisionwhich has just been given the book. The authors hope and think that theremaking of the book has added to its usefulness and attractiveness. 

They believe now, as they believed before, that there is no line ofseparation between the science of agriculture and the practical art ofagriculture. They are assured by the success of this book thatagriculture is eminently a teachable subject. They see no differencebetween teaching the child the fundamental principles of farming andteaching the same child the fundamental truths of arithmetic, geography, or grammar. They hold that a youth should be trained for the farm justas carefully as he is trained for any other occupation, and that it isunreasonable to expect him to succeed without training. 

If they are right in these views, the training must begin in the publicschools. This is true for two reasons:

1. It is universally admitted that aptitudes are developed, tastesacquired, and life habits formed during the years that a child is in thepublic school. Hence, during these important years every child intendedfor the farm should be taught to know and love nature, should be led toform habits of observation, and should be required to begin a study ofthose great laws upon which agriculture is based. A training like thisgoes far toward making his life-work profitable and delightful. 

2. Most boys and girls reared on a farm get no educational trainingexcept that given in the public schools. If, then, the truths thatunlock the doors of nature are not taught in the public schools, natureand nature's laws will always be hid in night to a majority of ourbread-winners. They must still in ignorance and hopeless drudgery teartheir bread from a reluctant soil. 

The authors return hearty thanks to Professor Thomas F. Hunt, Universityof California; Professor Augustine D. Selby, Ohio Experiment Station;Professor W. F. Massey, horticulturist and agricultural writer; andProfessor Franklin Sherman, Jr. , State Entomologist of North Carolina, for aid in proofreading and in the preparation of some of the material. 

 CONTENTS

 CHAPTER I. THE SOIL

 SECTION PAGE

 I. ORIGIN OF THE SOIL 1

 II. TILLAGE OF THE SOIL 6

 III. THE MOISTURE OF THE SOIL 9

 IV. HOW THE WATER RISES IN THE SOIL 13

 V. DRAINING THE SOIL 14

 VI. IMPROVING THE SOIL 17

 VII. MANURING THE SOIL 21

 CHAPTER II. THE SOIL AND THE PLANT

 VIII. ROOTS 25

 IX. HOW THE PLANT FEEDS FROM THE SOIL 29

 X. ROOT-TUBERCLES 30

 XI. THE ROTATION OF CROPS 33

 CHAPTER III. THE PLANT

 XII. HOW THE PLANT FEEDS FROM THE AIR 39

 XIII. THE SAP CURRENT 40

 XIV. THE FLOWER AND THE SEED 42

 XV. POLLINATION 46

 XVI. CROSSES, HYBRIDS, AND CROSS-POLLINATION 48

 XVII. PROPAGATION BY BUDS 51

 XVIII. PLANT SEEDING 59

 XIX. SELECTING SEED CORN 66

 XX. WEEDS 69

 XXI. SEED PURITY AND VITALITY 72

 CHAPTER IV. HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE

 XXII. GRAFTING 78

 XXIII. BUDDING 81

 XXIV. PLANTING AND PRUNING 83

 CHAPTER V. HORTICULTURE

 XXV. MARKET-GARDENING 89

 XXVI. FLOWER-GARDENING 108

 CHAPTER VI. THE DISEASES OF PLANTS

 XXVII. THE CAUSE AND NATURE OF PLANT DISEASE 122

 XXVIII. YEAST AND BACTERIA 127

 XXIX. PREVENTION OF PLANT DISEASE 129

 XXX. SOME SPECIAL PLANT DISEASES 130

 CHAPTER VII. ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS

 XXXI. INSECTS IN GENERAL 144

 XXXII. ORCHARD INSECTS 152

 XXXIII. GARDEN AND FIELD INSECTS 165

 XXXIV. THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL 173

 CHAPTER VIII. FARM CROPS

 XXXV. COTTON 180

 XXXVI. TOBACCO 189

 XXXVII. WHEAT 192

 XXXVIII. CORN 197

 XXXIX. PEANUTS 202

 XL. SWEET POTATOES 204

 XLI. WHITE, OR IRISH, POTATOES 206

 XLII. OATS 209

 XLIII. RYE 213

 XLIV. BARLEY 215

 XLV. SUGAR PLANTS 217

 XLVI. HEMP AND FLAX 226

 XLVII. BUCKWHEAT 229

 XLVIII. RICE 231

 XLIX. THE TIMBER CROP 232

 L. THE FARM GARDEN 235

 CHAPTER IX. FEED STUFFS

 LI. GRASSES 238

 LII. LEGUMES 244

 CHAPTER X. DOMESTIC ANIMALS

 LIII. HORSES 262

 LIV. CATTLE 270

 LV. SHEEP 276

 LVI. SWINE 279

 LVII. FARM POULTRY 282

 LVIII. BEE CULTURE 286

 LIX. WHY WE FEED ANIMALS 290

 CHAPTER XI. FARM DAIRYING

 LX. THE DAIRY COW 293

 LXI. MILK, CREAM, CHURNING, AND BUTTER 297

 LXII. HOW MILK SOURS 302

 LXIII. THE BABCOCK MILK-TESTER 304

 CHAPTER XII. MISCELLANEOUS

 LXIV. GROWING FEED STUFFS ON THE FARM 309

 LXV. FARM TOOLS AND MACHINES 313

 LXVI. LIMING THE LAND 315

 LXVII. BIRDS 318

 LXVIII. FARMING ON DRY LAND 323

 LXIX. IRRIGATION 326

 LXX. LIFE IN THE COUNTRY 330

 APPENDIX 339

 GLOSSARY 342

 INDEX 351

TO THE TEACHER

Teachers sometimes shrink from undertaking the teaching of a simpletextbook on agriculture because they are not familiar with all theprocesses of farming. By the same reasoning they might hesitate to teacharithmetic because they do not know calculus or to teach a primaryhistory of the United States because they are not versed in all history. The art of farming is based on the sciences dealing with the growth ofplants and animals. This book presents in a simple way these fundamentalscientific truths and suggests some practices drawn from them. Hence, even though many teachers may not have plowed or sowed or harvested, such teachers need not be embarrassed in mastering and heartilyinstructing a class in nature's primary laws. 

If teachers realize how much the efficiency, comfort, and happiness oftheir pupils will be increased throughout their lives from being taughtto coöperate with nature and to take advantage of her wonderful laws, they will eagerly begin this study. They will find also that theirpupils will be actively interested in these studies bearing on theirdaily lives, and this interest will be carried over to other subjects. Whenever you can, take the pupils into the field, the garden, theorchard, and the dairy. Teach them to make experiments and to learn bythe use of their own eyes and brains. They will, if properly led, astonish you by their efforts and growth. 

You will find in the practical exercises many suggestions as toexperiments that you can make with your class or with individualmembers. Do not neglect this first-hand teaching. It will be a delightto your pupils. In many cases it will be best to finish the experimentsor observational work first, and later turn to the text to amplify thepupil's knowledge. 

Although the book is arranged in logical order, the teacher ought tofeel free to teach any topic in the season best suited to its study. Omit any chapter or section that does not bear on your crops or does notdeal with conditions in your state. 

The United States government and the different state experiment stationspublish hundreds of bulletins on agricultural subjects. These are sentwithout cost, on application. It will be very helpful to get such ofthese bulletins as bear on the different sections of the book. Thesewill be valuable additions to your school library. The authors wouldlike to give a list of these bulletins bearing on each chapter, but itwould soon be out of date, for the bulletins get out of print and aresupplanted by newer ones. However, the United States Department ofAgriculture prints a monthly list of its publications, and each stateexperiment station keeps a list of its bulletins. A note to theSecretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. , or to your own stateexperiment station will promptly bring you these lists, and from themyou can select what you need for your school. 

AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS

CHAPTER I

THE SOIL

SECTION I. ORIGIN OF THE SOIL

The word _soil_ occurs many times in this little book. In agriculturethis word is used to describe the thin layer of surface earth that, likesome great blanket, is tucked around the wrinkled and age-beaten form ofour globe. The harder and colder earth under this surface layer iscalled the _subsoil_. It should be noted, however, that in waterless andsun-dried regions there seems little difference between the soil and thesubsoil. 

Plants, insects, birds, beasts, men, --all alike are fed on what grows inthis thin layer of soil. If some wild flood in sudden wrath could sweepinto the ocean this earth-wrapping soil, food would soon become asscarce as it was in Samaria when mothers ate their sons. The face of theearth as we now see it, daintily robed in grass, or uplifting wavingacres of corn, or even naked, water-scarred, and disfigured by man'sneglect, is very different from what it was in its earliest days. Howwas it then? How was the soil formed?

Learned men think that at first the surface of the earth was solid rock. How was this rock changed into workable soil? Occasionally a curious boypicks up a rotten stone, squeezes it, and finds his hands filled withdirt, or soil. Now, just as the boy crumbled with his fingers thissingle stone, the great forces of nature with boundless patiencecrumbled, or, as it is called, disintegrated, the early rock mass. Thesimple but giant-strong agents that beat the rocks into powder with aclublike force a millionfold more powerful than the club force ofHercules were chiefly (1) heat and cold; (2) water, frost, and ice; (3)a very low form of vegetable life; and (4) tiny animals--if such minutebodies can be called animals. In some cases these forces acted singly;in others, all acted together to rend and crumble the unbroken stretchof rock. Let us glance at some of the methods used by these skilledsoil-makers. 

Heat and cold are working partners. You already know that most hotbodies shrink, or contract, on cooling. The early rocks were hot. As theoutside shell of rock cooled from exposure to air and moisture itcontracted. This shrinkage of the rigid rim of course broke many of therocks, and here and there left cracks, or fissures. In these fissureswater collected and froze. As freezing water expands with irresistiblepower, the expansion still further broke the rocks to pieces. Thesmaller pieces again, in the same way, were acted on by frost and iceand again crumbled. This process is still a means of soil-formation. 

Running water was another giant soil-former. If you would understand itsaction, observe some usually sparkling stream just after a washing rain. The clear waters are discolored by mud washed in from the surroundinghills. As though disliking their muddy burden, the waters strive tothrow it off. Here, as low banks offer chance, they run out intoshallows and drop some of it. Here, as they pass a quiet pool, theydeposit more. At last they reach the still water at the mouth of thestream, and there they leave behind the last of their mud load, andoften form of it little three-sided islands called _deltas_. In the sameway mighty rivers like the Amazon, the Mississippi, and the Hudson, whenthey are swollen by rain, bear great quantities of soil in their sweepto the seas. Some of the soil they scatter over the lowlands as theywhirl seaward; the rest they deposit in deltas at their mouths. It isestimated that the Mississippi carries to the ocean each year enoughsoil to cover a square mile of surface to a depth of two hundred andsixty-eight feet. 

[Illustration: FIG. 1. ROCK MARKED BY THE SCRAPING OF A GLACIER OVER IT]

The early brooks and rivers, instead of bearing mud, ran oceanwardeither bearing ground stone that they themselves had worn from the rocksby ceaseless fretting, or bearing stones that other forces had alreadydislodged. The large pieces were whirled from side to side and beatenagainst one another or against bedrock until they were ground intosmaller and smaller pieces. The rivers distributed this rock soil justas the later rivers distribute muddy soil. For ages the moving watersground against the rocks. Vast were the waters; vast the number ofyears; vast the results. 

Glaciers were another soil-producing agent. Glaciers are streams "frozenand moving slowly but irresistibly onwards, down well-defined valleys, grinding and pulverizing the rock masses detached by the force andweight of their attack. " Where and how were these glaciers formed?

Once a great part of upper North America was a vast sheet of ice. Whatever moisture fell from the sky fell as snow. No one knows what madethis long winter of snow, but we do know that snows piled on snows untilmountains of white were built up. The lower snow was by the pressure ofthat above it packed into ice masses. By and by some change of climatecaused the masses of ice to break up somewhat and to move south andwest. These moving masses, carrying rock and frozen earth, ground themto powder. King thus describes the stately movement of these snowmountains: "Beneath the bottom of this slowly moving sheet of ice, whichwith more or less difficulty kept itself conformable with the face ofthe land over which it was riding, the sharper outstanding points werecut away and the deeper river cañons filled in. Desolate and ruggedrocky wastes were thrown down and spread over with rich soil. "

The joint action of air, moisture, and frost was still another agent ofsoil-making. This action is called _weathering_. Whenever you havenoticed the outside stones of a spring-house, you have noticed that tinybits are crumbling from the face of the stones, and adding little bylittle to the soil. This is a slow way of making additions to the soil. It is estimated that it would take 728, 000 years to wear away limestonerock to a depth of thirty-nine inches. But when you recall thecountless years through which the weather has striven against the rocks, you can readily understand that its never-wearying activity has addedimmensely to the soil. 

In the rock soil formed in these various ways, and indeed on the rocksthemselves, tiny plants that live on food taken from the air began togrow. They grew just as you now see mosses and lichens grow on thesurface of rocks. The decay of these plants added some fertility to thenewly formed soil. The life and death of each succeeding generation ofthese lowly plants added to the soil matter accumulating on the rocks. Slowly but unceasingly the soil increased in depth until highervegetable forms could flourish and add their dead bodies to it. Thisvegetable addition to the soil is generally known as _humus_. 

[Illustration: FIG. 2. GROUND ROCK AT END OF A GLACIER]

In due course of time low forms of animal life came to live on theseplants, and in turn by their work and their death to aid in making asoil fit for the plowman. 

Thus with a deliberation that fills man with awe, the powerful forces ofnature splintered the rocks, crumbled them, filled them with plant food, and turned their flinty grains into a soft, snug home for vegetablelife. 

SECTION II. TILLAGE OF THE SOIL

A good many years ago a man by the name of Jethro Tull lived in England. He was a farmer and a most successful man in every way. He first taughtthe English people and the world the value of thorough tillage of thesoil. Before and during his time farmers did not till the soil veryintelligently. They simply prepared the seed-bed in a careless manner, as a great many farmers do to-day, and when the crops were gathered theyields were not large. 

Jethro Tull centered attention on the important fact that careful andthorough tillage increases the available plant food in the soil. He didnot know why his crops were better when the ground was frequently andthoroughly tilled, but he knew that such tillage did increase his yield. He explained the fact by saying, "Tillage is manure. " We have sincelearned the reason for the truth that Tull taught, and, while hisexplanation was incorrect, the practice that he was following wasexcellent. The stirring of the soil enables the air to circulate throughit freely, and permits a breaking down of the compounds that contain theelements necessary to plant growth. 

You have seen how the air helps to crumble the stone and brick in oldbuildings. It does the same with soil if permitted to circulate freelythrough it. The agent of the air that chiefly performs this work iscalled carbonic acid gas, and this gas is one of the greatest helpersthe farmer has in carrying on his work. We must not forget that in soilpreparation the air is just as important as any of the tools andimplements used in cultivation. 

[Illustration: FIG. 3. SLOPE TO WATER SHOWS SOIL WEATHERED FROM FACEOF CLIFF]

If the soil is fertile and if deep plowing has always been done, goodcrops will result, other conditions being favorable. If, however, thetillage is poor, scanty harvests will always result. For most soils atwo-horse plow is necessary to break up and pulverize the land. 

A shallow soil can always be improved by properly deepening it. Theprinciple of greatest importance in soil-preparation is the gradualdeepening of the soil in order that plant-roots may have morecomfortable homes. If the farmer has been accustomed to plow but fourinches deep, he should adjust the plow so as to turn five inches at thenext plowing, then six, and so on until the seed-bed is nine or teninches deep. This gradual deepening will not injure the soil but willput it quickly in good condition. If to good tillage rotation of cropsbe added, the soil will become more fertile with each succeeding year. 

[Illustration: FIG. 4. MIXED GRASSES GROWN FOR FORAGE]

The plow, harrow, and roller are all necessary to good tillage and to aproper preparation of the seed-bed. The soil must be made compact andclods of all sizes must be crushed. Then the air circulates freely, andpaying crops are the rule and not the exception. 

Tillage does these things: it increases the plant-food supply, destroysweeds, and influences the moisture content of the soil. 

 =EXERCISE=

 1. What tools are used in tillage?

 2. How should a poor and shallow soil be treated?

 3. Why should a poor and shallow soil be well compacted before sowing the crop?

 4. Explain the value of a circulation of air in the soil. 

 5. What causes iron to rust?

 6. Why is a two-horse turning-plow better than a one-horse plow?

 7. Where will clods do the least harm--on top of the soil or below the surface?

 8. Do plant roots penetrate clods?

 9. Are earthworms a benefit or an injury to the soil?

 10. Name three things that tillage does. 

SECTION III. THE MOISTURE OF THE SOIL

Did any one ever explain to you how important water is to the soil, ortell you why it is so important? Often, as you know, crops entirely failbecause there is not enough water in the soil for the plants to drink. How necessary is it, then, that the soil be kept in the best possiblecondition to catch and hold enough water to carry the plant through dry, hot spells! Perhaps you are ready to ask, "How does the mouthless plantdrink its stored-up water?"

The plant gets all its water through its roots. You have seen the tinythreadlike roots of a plant spreading all about in fine soil; they aredown in the ground taking up plant food and water for the stalk andleaves above. The water, carrying plant food with it, rises in a simplebut peculiar way through the roots and stems. 

The plants use the food for building new tissue, that is, for growth. The water passes out through the leaves into the air. When the summersare dry and hot and there is but little water in the soil, the leavesshrink up. This is simply a method they have of keeping the water frompassing too rapidly off into the air. I am sure you have seen the cornblades all shriveled on very hot days. This shrinkage is nature's way ofdiminishing the current of water that is steadily passing through theplant. 

A thrifty farmer will try to keep his soil in such good condition thatit will have a supply of water in it for growing crops when dry and hotweather comes. He can do this by deep plowing, by subsoiling, by addingany kind of decaying vegetable matter to the soil, and by growing cropsthat can be tilled frequently. 

The soil is a great storehouse for moisture. After the clouds haveemptied their waters into this storehouse, the water of the soil comesto the surface, where it is evaporated into the air. The water comes tothe surface in just the same way that oil rises in a lamp-wick. Thisrising of the water is called _capillarity_. 

[Illustration: FIG. 5. AN ENLARGED VIEW OF A SECTION OF MOIST SOIL, SHOWING AIR SPACES AND SOIL PARTICLES]

It is necessary to understand what is meant by this big word. If into apan of water you dip a glass tube, the water inside the tube rises abovethe level of the water in the pan. The smaller the tube the higher willthe water rise. The greater rise inside is perhaps due to the fact thatthe glass attracts the particles of water more than the particles ofwater attract one another. Now apply this principle to the soil. 

[Illustration: FIG. 6. THE RIGHT WAY TO PLOW]

The soil particles have small spaces between them, and the spaces actjust as the tube does. When the water at the surface is carried away bydrying winds and warmth, the water deeper in the soil rises throughthe soil spaces. In this way water is brought from its soil storehouseas plants need it. 

[Illustration: FIG. 7. APPARATUS FOR TESTING THE HOLDING OF WATER BYDIFFERENT SOILS]

Of course when the underground water reaches the surface it evaporates. If we want to keep it for our crops, we must prepare a trap to hold it. Nature has shown us how this can be done. Pick up a plank as it lies onthe ground. Under the plank the soil is wet, while the soil not coveredby the plank is dry. Why? Capillarity brought the water to the surface, and the plank, by keeping away wind and warmth, acted as a trap to holdthe moisture. Now of course a farmer cannot set a trap of planks overhis fields, but he can make a trap of dry earth, and that will do justas well. 

When a crop like corn or cotton or potatoes is cultivated, the fine, loose dirt stirred by the cultivating-plow will make a mulch that servesto keep water in the soil in the same way that the plank kept moistureunder it. The mulch also helps to absorb the rains and prevents thewater from running off the surface. Frequent cultivation, then, is oneof the best possible ways of saving moisture. Hence the farmer who mostfrequently stirs his soil in the growing season, and especially inseasons of drought, reaps, other things being equal, a more abundantharvest than if tillage were neglected. 

 =EXERCISE=

 1. Why is the soil wet under a board or under straw?

 2. Will a soil that is fine and compact produce better crops than one that is loose and cloddy? Why?

 3. Since the water which a plant uses comes through the roots, can the morning dew afford any assistance?

 4. Why are weeds objectionable in a growing crop?

 5. Why does the farmer cultivate growing corn and cotton?

SECTION IV. HOW THE WATER RISES IN THE SOIL

[Illustration: FIG. 8. USING LAMP-CHIMNEYS TO SHOW THE RISE OF WATERIN SOIL]

When the hot, dry days of summer come, the soil depends upon thesubsoil, or undersoil, for the moisture that it must furnish its growingplants. The water was stored in the soil during the fall, winter, andspring months when there was plenty of rain. If you dig down into thesoil when everything is dry and hot, you will soon reach a cool, moistundersoil. The moisture increases as you dig deeper into the soil. 

Now the roots of plants go down into the soil for this moisture, becausethey need the water to carry the plant food up into the stems andleaves. 

You can see how the water rises in the soil by performing a simpleexperiment. 

 =EXPERIMENT=

 Take a lamp-chimney and fill it with fine, dry dirt. The dirt from a road or a field will do. Tie over the smaller end of the lamp-chimney a piece of cloth or a pocket handkerchief, and place this end in a shallow pan of water. If the soil in the lamp-chimney is clay and well packed, the water will quickly rise to the top. 

 By filling three or four lamp-chimneys with as many different soils, the pupil will see that the water rises more slowly in some than in others. 

 Now take the water pan away, and the water in the lamp-chimneys will gradually evaporate. Study for a few days the effect of evaporation on the several soils. 

SECTION V. DRAINING THE SOIL

A wise man was once asked, "What is the most valuable improvement evermade in agriculture?" He answered, "Drainage. " Often soils unfit forcrop-production because they contain too much water are by drainagerendered the most valuable of farming lands. 

Drainage benefits land in the following ways:

1. It deepens the subsoil by removing unnecessary water from the spacesbetween the soil particles. This admits air. Then the oxygen which is inthe air, by aiding decay, prepares plant food for vegetation. 

2. It makes the surface soil, or topsoil, deeper. It stands to reasonthat the deeper the soil the more plant food becomes available for plantuse. 

3. It improves the texture of the soil. Wet soil is sticky. Drainagemakes this sticky soil crumble and fall apart. 

4. It prevents washing. 

5. It increases the porosity of soils and permits roots to go deeperinto the soil for food and moisture. 

6. It increases the warmth of the soil. 

7. It permits earlier working in spring and after rains. 

[Illustration: FIG. 9. LAYING A TILE DRAIN]

8. It favors the growth of germs which change the unavailable nitrogenof the soil into nitrates; that is, into the form of nitrogen mostuseful to plants. 

9. It enables plants to resist drought better because the roots go intothe ground deeper early in the season. 

A soil that is hard and wet will not grow good crops. Thenitrogen-gathering crops will store the greatest quantity of nitrogen inthe soil when the soil is open to the free circulation of the air. These valuable crops cannot do this when the soil is wet and cold. 

Sandy soils with sandy subsoils do not often need drainage; such soilsare naturally drained. With clay soils it is different. It is veryimportant to remove the stagnant water in them and to let the air in. 

When land has been properly drained the other steps in improvement areeasily taken. After soil has been dried and mellowed by proper drainage, then commercial fertilizers, barnyard manure, cowpeas, and clover canmost readily do their great work of improving the texture of the soiland of making it fitter for plant growth. 

[Illustration: FIG. 10. A TILE IN POSITION]

=Tile Drains. = Tile drains are the best and cheapest that can be used. It would not be too strong to say that draining by tiles is the mostperfect drainage. Thousands of practical tests in this country haveproved the superiority of tile draining for the following reasons:

1. Good tile drains properly laid last for years and do not fill up. 

2. They furnish the cheapest possible means of removing too much waterfrom the soil. 

3. They are out of reach of all cultivating tools. 

4. Surface water in filtering through the tiles leaves its nutritiouselements for plant growth. 

 =EXPERIMENTS=

 =To show the Effect of Drainage. = Take two tomato cans and fill both with the same kind of soil. Punch several holes in the bottom of one to drain the soil above and to admit air circulation. Leave the other unpunctured. Plant seeds of any kind in both cans and keep in a warm place. Add every third day equal quantities of water. Let seeds grow in both cans and observe the difference in growth for two or three weeks. 

 =To show the Effect of Air in Soils. = Take two tomato cans; fill one with soil that is loose and warm, and the other with wet clay or muck from a swampy field. Plant a few seeds of the same kind in each and observe how much better the dry, warm, open soil is for growing farm crops. 

SECTION VI. IMPROVING THE SOIL

We hear a great deal about the exhaustion or wearing out of the soil. Many uncomfortable people are always declaring that our lands will nolonger produce profitable crops, and hence that farming will no longerpay. 

Now it is true, unfortunately, that much land has been robbed of itsfertility, and, because this is true, we should be most deeplyinterested in everything that leads to the improvement of our soils. 

When our country was first discovered and trees were growing everywhere, we had virgin soils, or new soils that were rich and productive becausethey were filled with vegetable matter and plant food. There are notmany virgin soils now because the trees have been cut from the bestlands, and these lands have been farmed so carelessly that the vegetablematter and available plant food have been largely used up. Now thatfresh land is scarce it is very necessary to restore fertility to theseexhausted lands. What are some of the ways in which this can be done?

[Illustration: FIG. 11. CLOVER IS A SOIL-IMPROVER]

There are several things to be done in trying to reclaim worn-out land. One of the first of these is to till the land well. Many of you may haveheard the story of the dying father who called his sons about him andwhispered feebly, "There is great treasure hidden in the garden. " Thesons could hardly wait to bury their dead father before, thud, thud, thud, their picks were going in the garden. Day after day they dug; theydug deep; they dug wide. Not a foot of the crop-worn garden escaped theprobing of the pick as the sons feverishly searched for the expectedtreasure. But no treasure was found. Their work seemed entirely useless. 

[Illustration: FIG. 12. INCREASING THE PRODUCTIVE POWER OF THE SOILSecond crop of cowpeas on old, abandoned land]

"Let us not lose every whit of our labor; let us plant this pick-scarredgarden, " said the eldest. So the garden was planted. In the fall thehitherto neglected garden yielded a harvest so bountiful, so unexpected, that the meaning of their father's words dawned upon them. "Truly, " theysaid, "a treasure was hidden there. Let us seek it in all our fields. "

The story applies as well to-day as it did when it was first told. Thorough culture of the soil, frequent and intelligent tillage--theseare the foundations of soil-restoration. 

Along with good tillage must go crop-rotation and good drainage. Asupply of organic matter will prevent heavy rains from washing the soiland carrying away plant food. Drainage will aid good tillage in allowingair to circulate between the soil particles and in arranging plant foodso that plants can use it. 

But we must add humus, or vegetable matter, to the soil. You rememberthat the virgin soils contained a great deal of vegetable matter andplant food, but by the continuous growing of crops like wheat, corn, andcotton, and by constant shallow tillage, both humus and plant food havebeen used up. Consequently much of our cultivated soil to-day is hardand dead. 

There are three ways of adding humus and plant food to this lifelessland: the first way is to apply barnyard manure (to adopt this methodmeans that livestock raising must be a part of all farming); the secondway is to adopt rotation of crops, and frequently to plow under cropslike clover and cowpeas; the third way is to apply commercialfertilizers. 

To summarize: if we want to make our soil better year by year, we mustcultivate well, drain well, and in the most economical way add humus andplant food. 

 =EXPERIMENT=

 Select a small area of ground at your home and divide it into four sections, as shown in the following sketch:

 On Section _A_ apply barnyard manure; on Section _B_ apply commercial fertilizers; on Section _C_ apply nothing, but till well; on Section _D_ apply nothing, and till very poorly. 

 _A_, _B_, and _C_ should all be thoroughly plowed and harrowed. Then add barnyard manure to _A_, commercial fertilizers to _B_, and harrow _A_, _B_, and _C_ at least four times until the soil is mellow and fine. _D_ will most likely be cloddy, like many fields that we often see. Now plant on each plat some crop like cotton, corn, or wheat. When the plats are ready to harvest, measure the yield of each and determine whether the increased yield of the best plats has paid for the outlay for tillage and manure. The pupil will be much interested in the results obtained from the first crop. 

 [Illustration: FIG. 13]

 Now follow a system of crop-rotation on the plats. Clover can follow corn or cotton or wheat; and cowpeas, wheat. Then determine the yield of each plat for the second crop. By following these plats for several years, and increasing the number, the pupils will learn many things of greatest value. 

SECTION VII. MANURING THE SOIL

In the early days of our history, when the soil was new and rich, wewere not compelled to use large amounts of manures and fertilizers. Yetour histories speak of an Indian named Squanto who came into one of theNew England colonies and showed the first settlers how, by putting afish in each hill of corn, they could obtain larger yields. 

If people in those days, with new and fertile soils, could use manuresprofitably, how much more ought we to use them in our time, when soilshave lost their virgin fertility, and when the plant food in the soilhas been exhausted by years and years of cropping!

To sell year after year all the produce grown on land is a sure way toruin it. If, for example, the richest land is planted every year incorn, and no stable or farmyard manure or other fertilizer returned tothe soil, the land so treated will of course soon become too poor togrow any crop. If, on the other hand, clover or alfalfa or corn orcotton-seed meal is fed to stock, and the manure from the stock returnedto the soil, the land will be kept rich. Hence those farmers who do notsell such raw products as cotton, corn, wheat, oats, and clover, but whomarket articles made from these raw products, find it easier to keeptheir land fertile. For illustration: if instead of selling hay, farmersfeed it to sheep and sell meat and wool; if instead of selling cottonseed, they feed its meal to cows, and sell milk and butter; if insteadof selling stover, they feed it to beef cattle, they get a good pricefor products and in addition have all the manure needed to keep theirland productive and increase its value each year. 

[Illustration:FIG. 14. RELATION OF HUMUS TO GROWTH OF CORN1, clay subsoil; 2, same, with fertilizer; 3, same, with humus]

If we wish to keep up the fertility of our lands we should not allowanything to be lost from our farms. All the manures, straw, roots, stubble, healthy vines--in fact everything decomposable--should beplowed under or used as a top-dressing. Especial care should be taken instoring manure. It should be watchfully protected from sun and rain. Ifa farmer has no shed under which to keep his manure, he should scatterit on his fields as fast as it is made. 

[Illustration: FIG. 15. THE COTTON PLANT WITH AND WITHOUT FOODIn left top pot, no plant food; in left bottom pot, plant food scanty;in both right pots, all elements of plant food present]

He should understand also that liquid manure is of more value thansolid, because that important plant food, nitrogen, is found almostwholly in the liquid portion. Some of the phosphoric acid andconsiderable amounts of the potash are also found in the liquid manure. Hence economy requires that none of this escape either by leakage or byfermentation. Sometimes one can detect the smell of ammonia in thestable. This ammonia is formed by the decomposition of the liquidmanure, and its loss should be checked by sprinkling some floats, acidphosphate, or muck over the stable floor. 

Many farmers find it desirable to buy fertilizers to use with the manuremade on the farm. In this case it is helpful to understand thecomposition, source, and availability of the various substancescomposing commercial fertilizers. The three most valuable things incommercial fertilizers are nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric acid. 

The nitrogen is obtained from (1) nitrate of soda mined in Chile, (2)ammonium sulphate, a by-product of the gas works, (3) dried blood andother by-products of the slaughter-houses, and (4) cotton-seed meal. Nitrate of soda is soluble in water and may therefore be washed awaybefore being used by plants. For this reason it should be applied insmall quantities and at intervals of a few weeks. 

Potash is obtained in Germany, where it is found in several forms. It isput on the market as muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, kainite, which contains salt as an impurity, and in other impure forms. Potash isfound also in _unleached_ wood ashes. 

Phosphoric acid is found in various rocks of Tennessee, Florida, andSouth Carolina, and also to a large extent in bones. The rocks or bonesare usually treated with sulphuric acid. This treatment changes thephosphoric acid into a form ready for plant use. 

These three kinds of plant food are ordinarily all that we need tosupply. In some cases, however, lime has to be added. Besides being aplant food itself, lime helps most soils by improving the structure ofthe grains; by sweetening the soil, thereby aiding the little livinggerms called _bacteria_; by hastening the decay of organic matter; andby setting free the potash that is locked up in the soil. 

CHAPTER II

THE SOIL AND THE PLANT

SECTION VIII. ROOTS

[Illustration: FIG. 16. ROOT-HAIRS ON A RADISH]

You have perhaps observed the regularity of arrangement in the twigs andbranches of trees. Now pull up the roots of a plant, as, for example, sheep sorrel, Jimson weed, or some other plant. Note the branching ofthe roots. In these there is no such regularity as is seen in the twig. Trace the rootlets to their finest tips. How small, slender, anddelicate they are! Still we do not see the finest of them, for in takingthe plant from the ground we tore the most delicate away. In order tosee the real construction of a root we must grow one so that we mayexamine it uninjured. To do this, sprout some oats in a germinator or inany box in which one glass side has been arranged and allow the oats togrow till they are two or more inches high. Now examine the roots andyou will see very fine hairs, similar to those shown in the accompanyingfigure, forming a fuzz over the surface of the roots near the tips. Thisfuzz is made of small hairs standing so close together that there areoften as many as 38, 200 on a single square inch. Fig. 17 shows how aroot looks when it has been cut crosswise into what is known as a crosssection. The figure is much increased in size. You can see how theroot-hairs extend from the root in every direction. Fig. 18 shows asingle root-hair very greatly enlarged, with particles of sand stickingto it. 

[Illustration: FIG. 17. A SLICE OF A ROOTHighly magnified]

These hairs are the feeding-organs of the roots, and they are formedonly near the tips of the finest roots. You see that the large, coarseroots that you are familiar with have nothing to do with _absorbing_plant food from the soil. They serve merely to _conduct_ the sap andnourishment from the root-hairs to the tree. 

When you apply manure or other fertilizer to a tree, remember that it isfar better to supply the fertilizer to the roots that are at somedistance from the trunk, for such roots are the real feeders. The plantfood in the manure soaks into the soil and immediately reaches theroot-hairs. You can understand this better by studying the distributionof the roots of an orchard tree, shown in Fig. 19. There you can seethat the fine tips are found at a long distance from the main trunk. 

[Illustration: FIG. 18. A ROOT-HAIR WITH PARTICLES OF SOIL STICKINGTO IT]

You can now readily see why it is that plants usually wilt when they aretransplanted. The fine, delicate root-hairs are then broken off, and theplant can but poorly keep up its food and water supply until new hairshave been formed. While these are forming, water has been evaporatingfrom the leaves, and consequently the plant does not get enough moistureand therefore droops. 

[Illustration: FIG. 19. DISTRIBUTION OF APPLE-TREE ROOTS]

Would you not conclude that it is very poor farming to till deeply anycrop after the roots have extended between the rows far enough to be cutby the plow or cultivator? In cultivating between corn rows, forexample, if you find that you are disturbing fine roots, you may be surethat you are breaking off millions of root-hairs from each plant andhence are doing harm rather than good. Fig. 20 shows how the roots fromone corn row intertangle with those of another. You see at a glance howmany of these roots would be destroyed by deep cultivation. Stirringthe upper inch of soil when the plants are well grown is sufficienttillage and does no injury to the roots. 

[Illustration: FIG. 20. CORN ROOTS REACH FROM ROW TO ROW]

A deep soil is much better than a shallow soil, as its depth makes itjust so much easier for the roots to seek deep food. Fig. 21 illustrateswell how far down into the soil the alfalfa roots go. 

[Illustration: FIG. 21 ALFALFA ROOT]

 =EXERCISE=

 Dig up the roots of several cultivated plants and weeds and compare them. Do you find some that are fine or fibrous? some fleshy like the carrot? The dandelion is a good example of a tap-root. Tap-roots are deep feeders. Examine very carefully the roots of a medium-sized corn plant. Sift the dirt away gently so as to loosen as few roots as possible. How do the roots compare in area with the part above the ground? Try to trace a single root of the corn plant from the stalk to its very tip. How long are the roots of mature plants? Are they deep or shallow feeders? Germinate some oats or beans in a glass-sided box, as suggested, and observe the root-hairs. 

SECTION IX. HOW THE PLANT FEEDS FROM THE SOIL

Plants receive their nourishment from two sources--from the air and fromthe soil. The soil food, or mineral food, dissolved in water, must reachthe plant through the root-hairs with which all plants are provided ingreat numbers. Each of these hairs may be compared to a finger reachingamong the particles of earth for food and water. If we examine theroot-hairs ever so closely, we find no holes, or openings, in them. Itis evident, then, that no solid particles can enter the root-hairs, butthat all food must pass into the root in solution. 

An experiment just here will help us to understand how a root feeds. 

[Illustration: FIG. 22. EXPERIMENT TO SHOW HOW ROOTS TAKE UP FOOD]

 =EXPERIMENT=

 Secure a narrow glass tube like the one in Fig. 22. If you cannot get a tube, a narrow, straight lamp-chimney will, with a little care, do nearly as well. From a bladder made soft by soaking, cut a piece large enough to cover the end of the tube or chimney and to hang over a little all around. Make the piece of bladder secure to the end of the tube by wrapping tightly with a waxed thread, as at B. Partly fill the tube with molasses (or it may be easier in case you use a narrow tube to fill it before attaching the bladder). Put the tube into a jar or bottle of water so placed that the level of the molasses inside and the water outside will be the same. Fasten the tube in this position and observe it frequently for three or four hours. At the end of the time you should find that the molasses in the tube has risen above the level of the liquid outside. It may even overflow at the top. If you use the lamp-chimney the rise will not be so clearly seen, since a greater volume is required to fill the space in the chimney. This increase in the contents of the tube is due to the entrance of water from the outside. The water has passed through the thin bladder, or membrane, and has come to occupy space in the tube. There is also a passage the other way, but the molasses can pass through the bladder membrane so slowly that the passage is scarcely noticeable. There are no holes, or openings, in the membrane, but still there is a free passage of liquids in both directions, although the more heavily laden solution must move more slowly. 

A root-hair acts in much the same way as the tube in our experiment, with the exception that it is so made as to allow certain substances topass in only one direction, that is, toward the inside. The outside ofthe root-hair is bathed in solutions rich in nourishment. Thenourishment passes from the outside to the inside through the delicatemembrane of the root-hair. Thus does food enter the plant-root. From theroot-hairs, foods are carried to the inside of the root. 

From this you can see how important it is for a plant to have fine, loose soil for its root-hairs; also how necessary is the water in thesoil, since the food can be used only when it is dissolved in water. 

This passage of liquids from one side of a membrane to another is called_osmosis_. It has many uses in the plant kingdom. We say a root takesnourishment by osmosis. 

SECTION X. ROOT-TUBERCLES

Tubercle is a big word, but you ought to know how to pronounce it andwhat is meant by root-tubercles. We are going to tell you what aroot-tubercle is and something about its importance to agriculture. Whenyou have learned this, we are sure you will want to examine some plantsfor yourself in order that you may see just what tubercles look like ona real root. 

Root-tubercles do not form on all kinds of plants that farmers grow. They are formed only on those kinds that botanists call _legumes_. Theclovers, cowpeas, vetches, soy beans, and alfalfa are all legumes. Thetubercles are little knotty, wart-like growths on the roots of theplants just named. These tubercles are caused by tiny forms of lifecalled, as you perhaps already know, bacteria, or _germs_. 

[Illustration: FIG. 23. TUBERCLES ON CLOVER ROOTSThe specimen at the right was grown in soil inoculated with soil from anold clover field. The one at the left was grown in soil not inoculated]

Instead of living in nests in trees like birds or in the ground likemoles and worms, these tiny germs, less than one twenty-five thousandthof an inch long, make their homes on the roots of legumes. Nestlingsnugly together, they live, grow, and multiply in their sunless homes. Through their activity the soil is enriched by the addition of muchnitrogen from the air. They are the good fairies of the farmer, and nomagician's wand ever blessed a land so much as these invisible folkbless the land that they live in. 

Just as bees gather honey from the flowers and carry it to the hives, where they prepare it for their own future use and for the use ofothers, so do these root-tubercles gather nitrogen from the air and fixit in their root homes, where it can be used by other crops. 

[Illustration: FIG. 24. SOY BEANS AND COWPEAS, TWO GREAT SOIL-IMPROVERS]

In the earlier pages of this book you were told something about the foodof plants. One of the main elements of plant food, perhaps you remember, is nitrogen. Just as soon as the roots of the leguminous plants begin topush down into the soil, the bacteria, or germs that make the tubercles, begin to build their homes on the roots, and in so doing they addnitrogen to the soil. You now see the importance of growing such cropsas peas and clover on your land, for by their tubercles you canconstantly add plant food to the soil. Now this much-needed nitrogen isthe most costly part of the fertilizers that farmers buy every year. Ifevery farmer, then, would grow these tubercle-bearing crops, he wouldrapidly add to the richness of his land and at the same time escape thenecessity of buying so much expensive fertilizer. 

 =EXPERIMENT=

 Take a spade or shovel and dig carefully around the roots of a cowpea and a clover plant; loosen the earth thoroughly and then pull the plants up, being careful not to break off any of the roots. Now wash the roots, and after they become dry count the nodules, or tubercles, on them. Observe the difference in size. How are they arranged? Do all leguminous plants have equal numbers of nodules? How do these nodules help the farmer?

SECTION XI. THE ROTATION OF CROPS

Doubtless you know what is meant by rotation, for your teacher hasexplained to you already how the earth rotates, or turns, on its axisand revolves around the sun. When we speak of crop-rotation we mean notonly that the same crop should not be planted on the same land for twosuccessive years but that crops should follow one another in a regularorder. 

Many farmers do not follow a system of farming that involves a change ofcrops. In some parts of the country the same fields are planted to cornor wheat or cotton year after year. This is not a good practice andsooner or later will wear out the soil completely, because thesoil-elements that furnish the food of that constant crop are soonexhausted and good crop-production is no longer possible. 

Why is crop-rotation so necessary? There are different kinds of plantfood in the soil. If any one of these is used up, the soil of courseloses its power to feed plants properly. Now each crop uses more of someof the different kinds of foods than others do, just as you like somekinds of food better than others. But the crop cannot, as you can, learnto use the kinds of food it does not like; it must use the kind thatnature fitted it to use. Not only do different crops feed upon differentsoil foods, but they use different quantities of these foods. 

Now if a farmer plant the same crop in the same field each year, thatcrop soon uses up all of the available plant food that it likes. Hencethe soil can no longer properly nourish the crop that has been year byyear robbing it. If that crop is to be successfully grown again on theland, the exhausted element must be restored. 

[Illustration: FIG. 25. GRASS FOLLOWING CORN]

This can be done in two ways: first, by finding out what element hashere been exhausted, and then restoring this element by means either ofcommercial fertilizers or manure; second, by planting on the land cropsthat feed on different food and that will allow or assist kind MotherNature "to repair her waste places. " An illustration may help you toremember this fact. Nitrogen is, as already explained, one of thecommonest plant foods. It may almost be called plant bread. The wheatcrop uses up a good deal of nitrogen. Suppose a field were planted inwheat year after year. Most of the available nitrogen would be taken outof the soil after a while, and a new wheat crop, if planted on thefield, would not get enough of its proper food to yield a payingharvest. This same land, however, that could not grow wheat couldproduce other crops that do not require so much nitrogen. For example, it could grow cowpeas. Cowpeas, aided by their root-tubercles, are ableto gather from the air a great part of the nitrogen needed for theirgrowth. Thus a good crop of peas can be obtained even if there is littleavailable nitrogen in the soil. On the other hand wheat and corn andcotton cannot use the free nitrogen of the air, and they suffer if thereis an insufficient quantity present in the soil; hence the necessity ofgrowing legumes to supply what is lacking. 

[Illustration: FIG. 26. COWPEAS AND CORN--AUGUST]

Let us now see how easily plant food may be saved by the rotation ofcrops. 

If you sow wheat in the autumn it is ready to be harvested in time forplanting cowpeas. Plow or disk the wheat stubble, and sow the same fieldto cowpeas. If the wheat crop has exhausted the greater part of thenitrogen of the soil, it makes no difference to the cowpea; for thecowpea will get its nitrogen from the air and not only provide for itsown growth but will leave quantities of nitrogen in the queer nodules ofits roots for the crops coming after it in the rotation. 

[Illustration: FIG. 27. COWPEAS AND CORN--OCTOBER]

If corn be planted, there should be a rotation in just the same way. Thecorn plant, a summer grower, of course uses a certain portion of theplant food stored in the soil. In order that the crop following the cornmay feed on what the corn did not use, this crop should be one thatrequires a somewhat different food. Moreover, it should be one that fitsin well with corn so as to make a winter crop. We find just such aplant in clover or wheat. Like the cowpea, all the varieties of cloverhave on their roots tubercles that add the important element, nitrogen, to the soil. 

From these facts is it not clear that if you wish to improve your landquickly and keep it always fruitful you must practice crop-rotation?

AN ILLUSTRATION OF CROP-ROTATION

Here are two systems of crop-rotation as practiced at one or moreagricultural experiment stations. Each furnishes an ideal plan forkeeping up land. 

 ---------------------++----------------------++---------------------- ---------------------++----------------------++---------------------- FIRST YEAR || SECOND YEAR || THIRD YEAR ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+---------- Summer | Winter || Summer | Winter || Summer | Winter ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+---------- Corn | Crimson || Cotton | Wheat || Cowpeas | Rye for | clover || | || | pasture ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+----------

 or

 ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+---------- Summer | Winter || Summer | Winter || Summer | Winter ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+---------- Corn | Wheat || Clover | Clover || Grass | Grass for | || and grass | and grass|| |pasture or | || | || | meadow ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+---------- ----------+----------++-----------+----------++-----------+----------

In these rotations the cowpeas and clovers are nitrogen-gathering crops. They not only furnish hay but they enrich the soil. The wheat, corn, andcotton are money crops, but in addition they are cultivated crops; hencethey improve the physical condition of the soil and give opportunity tokill weeds. The grasses and clovers are of course used for pasturage andhay. This is only a suggested rotation. Work out one that will meet yourhome need. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Let the pupils each present a system of rotation that includes the crops raised at home. The system presented should as nearly as possible meet the following requirements:

 1. Legumes for gathering nitrogen. 2. Money crops for cash income. 3. Cultivated crops for tillage and weed-destruction. 4. Food crops for feeding live stock. 

CHAPTER III

THE PLANT

SECTION XII. HOW A PLANT FEEDS FROM THE AIR

If you partly burn a match you will see that it becomes black. Thisblack substance into which the match changes is called _carbon_. Examinea fresh stick of charcoal, which is, as you no doubt know, burnt wood. You see in the charcoal every fiber that you saw in the wood itself. This means that every part of the plant contains carbon. How important, then, is this substance to the plant!

You will be surprised to know that the total amount of carbon in plantscomes from the air. All the carbon that a plant gets is taken in by theleaves of the plant; not a particle is gathered by the roots. A largetree, weighing perhaps 11, 000 pounds, requires in its growth carbon from16, 000, 000 cubic yards of air. 

Perhaps, after these statements, you may think there is danger that thecarbon of the air may sometime become exhausted. The air of the wholeworld contains about 1, 760, 000, 000, 000 pounds of carbon. Moreover, thisis continually being added to by our fires and by the breath of animals. When wood or coal is used for fuel the carbon of the burning substanceis returned to the air in the form of gas. Some large factories burngreat quantities of coal and thus turn much carbon back to the air. Asingle factory in Germany is estimated to give back to the air dailyabout 5, 280, 000 pounds of carbon. You see, then, that carbon isconstantly being put back into the air to replace that which is used bygrowing plants. 

The carbon of the air can be used by none but green plants, and by themonly in the sunlight. We may compare the green coloring matter of theleaf to a machine, and the sunlight to the power, or energy, which keepsthe machine in motion. By means, then, of sunlight and the greencoloring matter of the leaves, the plant secures carbon. The carbonpasses into the plant and is there made into two foods very necessary tothe plant; namely, starch and sugar. 

Sometimes the plant uses the starch and sugar immediately. At othertimes it stores both away, as it does in the Irish and the sweet potatoand in beets, cabbage, peas, and beans. These plants are used as food byman because they contain so much nourishment; that is, starch and sugarwhich were stored away by the plant for its own future use. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Examine some charcoal. Can you see the rings of growth? Slightly char paper, cloth, meat, sugar, starch, etc. What does the turning black prove? What per cent of these substances do you think is pure carbon?

SECTION XIII. THE SAP CURRENT

The root-hairs take nourishment from the soil. The leaves manufacturestarch and sugar. These manufactured foods must be carried to all partsof the plant. There are two currents to carry them. One passes from theroots through the young wood to the leaves, and one, a downward current, passes through the bark, carrying needed food to the roots (see Fig. 28). 

If you should injure the roots, the water supply to the leaves would becut off and the leaves would immediately wither. On the other hand, ifyou remove the bark, that is, girdle the tree, you in no way interferewith the water supply and the leaves do not wither. Girdling does, however, interfere with the downward food current through the bark. 

[Illustration: FIG. 28 MOVEMENT OF THE SAP CURRENT]

If the tree be girdled the roots sooner or later suffer from lack offood supply from the leaves. Owing to this food stoppage the roots willcease to grow and will soon be unable to take in sufficient water, andthen the leaves will begin to droop. This, however, may not happen untilseveral months after the girdling. Sometimes a partly girdled branchgrows much in thickness just above the girdle, as is shown in Fig. 29. This extra growth seems to be due to a stoppage of the rich supply offood which was on its way to the roots through the bark. It could go nofarther and was therefore used by the tree to make an unnatural growthat this point. You will now understand how and why trees die when theyare girdled to clear new ground. 

[Illustration: FIG. 29. A THICKENING ABOVE THE WIRE THAT CAUSED THEGIRDLING]

It is, then, the general law of sap-movement that the upward currentfrom the roots passes through the woody portion of the trunk, and thatthe current bearing the food made by the leaves passes downward throughthe bark. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Let the teacher see that these and all other experiments are performed by the pupils. Do not allow them to guess, but make them see. 

 Girdle valueless trees or saplings of several kinds, cutting the bark away in a complete circle around the tree. Do not cut into the wood. How long before the tree shows signs of injury? Girdle a single small limb on a tree. What happens? Explain. 

SECTION XIV. THE FLOWER AND THE SEED

Some people think that the flowers by the wayside are for the purpose ofbeautifying the world and increasing man's enjoyment. Do you think thisis true? Undoubtedly a flower is beautiful, and to be beautiful is oneof the uses of many flowers; but it is not the chief use of a flower. 

You know that when peach or apple blossoms are nipped by the springfrost the fruit crop is in danger. The fruit of the plant bears theseed, and the flower produces the fruit. That is its chief duty. 

[Illustration: FIG. 30. PARTS OF THE PISTIL]

Do you know any plant that produces seed without flowers? Some oneanswers, "The corn, the elm, and the maple all produce seed, but have noflower. " No, that is not correct. If you look closely you will find inthe spring very small flowers on the elm and on the maple, while the earand the tassel are really the blossoms of the corn plant. Every plantthat produces seed has flowers, although they may sometimes seem verycurious flowers. 

[Illustration: FIG. 31. A BUTTERCUP]

Let us see what a flower really is. Take, for example, a buttercup, cotton, tobacco, or plum blossom (see Figs. 31 and 32). You will find onthe outside a row of green leaves inclosing the flower when it is stilla bud. These leaves are the _sepals_. Next on the inside is a row ofcolored leaves, or _petals_. Arranged inside of the petals are somethreadlike parts, each with a knob on the end. These are the _stamens_. Examine one stamen closely (Fig. 33). On the knob at its tip you shouldfind, if the flower is fully open, some fine grains, or powder. In thelily this powder is so abundant that in smelling the flower you oftenbrush a quantity of it off on your nose. This substance is called_pollen_, and the knob on the end of the stamen, on which the pollen isborne, is the _anther_. 

[Illustration: FIG. 32. A PLUM BLOSSOM]

The pollen is of very great importance to the flower. Without it therecould be no seeds. The stamens as pollen-bearers, then, are veryimportant. But there is another part to each flower that is of equalvalue. This part you will find in the center of the flower, inside thecircle of stamens. It is called the _pistil_ (Fig. 32). The swollen tipof the pistil is the _stigma_. The swollen base of the pistil forms the_ovary_. If you carefully cut open this ovary you will find in itvery small immature seeds. 

[Illustration: FIG. 33. STAMENS_a_, anther; _f_, filament]

Some plants bear all these parts in the same flower; that is, eachblossom has stamens, pistil, petals, and sepals. The pear blossom andthe tomato blossom represent such flowers. Other plants bear theirstamens and pistils in separate blossoms. Stamens and pistils may evenoccur in separate plants, and some blossoms have no sepals or petals atall. Look at the corn plant. Here the tassel is a cluster of manyflowers, each of which bears only stamens. The ear is likewise a clusterof many flowers, each of which bears only a pistil. The dust that yousee falling from the tassel is the pollen, and the long silky threads ofthe ear are the stigmas. 

[Illustration: FIG. 34. A TOMATO BLOSSOM]

Now no plant can bear seeds unless the pollen of the stamen falls on thestigma. Corn cannot therefore form seed unless the dust of the tasselfalls upon the silk. Did you ever notice how poorly the cob is filled ona single cornstalk standing alone in a field? Do you see why? It isbecause when a plant stands alone the wind blows the pollen away fromthe tassel, and little or none is received on the stigmas below. 

[Illustration: FIG. 35. CUCUMBER BLOSSOMS]

In the corn plant the stamens and pistils are separate; that is, they donot occur on the same flower, although they are on the same plant. Thisis also true of the cucumber (see Fig. 35). In many plants, however, such as the hemp, hop, sassafras, willow, and others, the staminateparts are on one plant and the pistillate parts are on another. This isalso true in several other cultivated plants. For example, in somestrawberries the stamens are absent or useless; that is, they bear nogood pollen. In such cases the grower must see to it that near by arestrawberry plants that bear stamens, in order that those plants which donot bear pollen may become _pollinated_; that is, may have pollencarried to them. After the stigma has been supplied with pollen, asingle pollen grain sends a threadlike sprout down through the stigmainto the ovary. This process, if successfully completed, is called_fertilization_. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Examine several flowers and identify the parts named in the last section. Try in the proper season to find the pollen on the maple, willow, alder, and pine, and on wheat, cotton, and the morning-glory. 

 How fast does the ovary of the apple blossom enlarge? Measure one and watch it closely from day to day. Can you find any plants that have their stamens and ovaries on separate individuals?

SECTION XV. POLLINATION

Nature has several interesting ways of bringing about pollination. Inthe corn, willow, and pine the pollen is picked up by the wind andcarried away. Much of it is lost, but some reaches the stigmas, orreceptive parts, of other corn, willow, or pine flowers. This is a verywasteful method, and all plants using it must provide much pollen. 

Many plants employ a much better method. They have learned how to makeinsects bear their pollen. In plants of this type the parts of theblossom are so shaped and so placed as to deposit pollen from the stamenon the insect and to receive pollen from the insect on the stigmas. 

When you see the clumsy bumblebee clambering over and pushing his wayinto a clover blossom, you may be sure that he is getting well dustedwith pollen and that the next blossom which he visits will secure a fullshare on its stigmas. 

When flowers fit themselves to be pollinated by insects they can nolonger use the wind and are helpless if insects do not visit them. Theytherefore cunningly plan two ways to invite the visits of insects. First, they provide a sweet nectar as a repast for the insect visitor. The nectar is a sugary solution found in the bottom of the flower and isused by the visitor as food or to make honey. Second, flowers advertiseto let each insect know that they have something for it. The advertisingis done either by showy colors or by perfume. Insects have wonderfulpowers of smell. When you see showy flowers or smell fragrant ones, youwill know that such flowers are advertising the presence either ofnectar or of pollen (to make beebread) and that such flowers depend oninsects for pollination. 

[Illustration: FIG. 36. BEES CARRYING POLLEN]

A season of heavy, cold rains during blossoming-time may often injurethe fruit crop by preventing insects from carrying pollen from flower toflower. You now also understand why plants often fail to produce seedsindoors. Since they are shut in, they cannot receive proper insectvisits. Plants such as tomatoes or other garden fruits dependent uponinsect pollination must, if raised in the greenhouse where insectscannot visit them, be pollinated by hand. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Exclude insect visitors from some flower or flower cluster, for example, clover, by covering with a paper bag, and see whether the flower can produce seeds that are capable of growing. Compare as to number and vitality the seeds of such a flower with those of an uncovered flower. Observe insects closely. Do you ever find pollen on them? What kinds of insects visit the clover? the cowpea? the sourwood? the flax? Is wheat pollinated by insects or by the wind or by some other means? Do bees fly in rainy weather? How will a long rainy season at blossoming-time affect the apple crop? Why? Should bees be kept in an orchard? Why?

SECTION XVI. CROSSES, HYBRIDS, AND CROSS-POLLINATION

In our study of flowers and their pollination we have seen that the seedis usually the descendant of two parents, or at least of two organs--onethe ovary, producing the seed; the other the pollen, which is necessaryto fertilize the ovary. 

It happens that sometimes the pollen of one blossom fertilizes the ovaryof its own flower, but more often the pollen from one plant fertilizesthe ovary of another plant. This latter method is called_cross-pollination_. As a rule cross-pollination makes seed that willproduce a better plant than simple pollination would. Cross-pollinationby hand is often used by plant-breeders when, for purposes ofseed-selection, a specially strong plant is desired. The steps in handpollination are as follows: (1) remove the anthers before they open, toprevent them from pollinating the stigma (the steps in this process areillustrated in Figs. 37, 38-39); (2) cover the flower thus treated witha paper bag to prevent stray pollen from getting on it (see Fig. 40);(3) when the ovary is sufficiently developed, carry pollen to the stigmaby hand from the anthers of another plant which you have selected tofurnish it, and rebag to keep out any stray pollen which mightaccidentally get in; (4) collect the seeds when they are mature andlabel them properly. 

Hand pollination has this advantage--you know both parents of your seed. If pollination occur naturally you know the maternal but have no meansof judging the paternal parent. You can readily see, therefore, how handpollination enables you to secure seed derived from two well-behavedparents. 

Sometimes we can breed one kind of plant on another. The result of suchcross-breeding is known as a _hybrid_. In the animal kingdom the mule isa common example of this cross-breeding. Plant hybrids were formerlycalled mules also, but this suggestive term is almost out of use. 

[Illustration: FIG. 37The bud on right at top is in proper condition for removal of anthers;the anthers have been removed from the buds below]

It is only when plants of two distinct kinds are crossed that the resultis called a hybrid; for example, a blackjack oak on a white oak, anapple on a pear. If the parent plants are closely related, for example, two kinds of apples, the resulting plant is known simply as a _cross_. 

Hybrids and crosses are valuable in that they usually differ from bothparents and yet combine some qualities of each. 

[Illustration: FIG. 38. ORANGE BLOSSOM PREPARED FOR CROSSINGFirst, bud; second, anthers unremoved; third, anthers removed]

[Illustration: FIG. 39. TOMATO BLOSSOM READY TO CROSSFirst, bud; second, anthers unremoved; third, anthers removed]

[Illustration: FIG. 40. First, blossom bagged to keep out stray pollen; second, fruit bagged forprotection]

They often leave off some of the qualities of the parentplants and at other times have such qualities more markedly than didtheir parents. Thus they often produce an interesting new kind of plant. Sometimes we are able by hybridization to combine in one plant the goodqualities of two other plants and thus make a great advance inagriculture. The new forms brought about by hybridization may be fixed, or made permanent, by such selection as is mentioned in Section XVIII. Hybridization is of great aid in originating new plants. 

It often happens that a plant will be more fruitful when pollinated byone variety than by some other variety. This is well illustrated in Fig. 41. A fruit-grower or farmer should know much about these subjectsbefore selecting varieties for his orchard, vineyard, etc. 

 =EXERCISE=

 With the help of your teacher try to cross some plants. Such an experiment will take time, but will be most interesting. You must remember that many crosses must be attempted in order to gain success with even a few. 

SECTION XVII. PROPAGATION BY BUDS

It is the business of the farmer to make plants grow, or, as it isgenerally called, to propagate plants. This he does in one of two ways:by buds (that is, by small pieces cut from parent plants), or by seeds. The chief aim in both methods should be to secure in the most convenientmanner the best-paying plants. 

Many plants are most easily and quickly propagated by buds; for example, the grape, red raspberry, fig, and many others that we cultivate for theflower only, such as the carnation, geranium, rose, and begonia. 

[Illustration: FIG. 41. Brighton pollinated by 1, Salem; 2, Creveling; 3, Lindley; 4, Brighton;5, Self-pollinated; 6, Nectar; 7, Jefferson; 8, Niagara]

In growing plants from cuttings, a piece is taken from the kind of plantthat one wishes to grow. The greatest care must be exercised in order toget a healthy cutting. If we take a cutting from a poor plant, what canwe expect but to grow a poor plant like the one from which our cuttingwas taken? On the other hand, if a fine, strong, vigorous, fruitfulplant be selected, we shall expect to grow just such a fine, healthy, fruitful plant. 

We expect the cutting to make exactly the same variety of plant as theparent stock. We must therefore decide on the variety of berry, grape, fig, carnation, or rose that we wish to propagate, and then look for thestrongest and most promising plants of this variety within our reach. The utmost care will not produce a fine plant if we start from poorstock. 

[Illustration: FIG. 42. GERANIUM CUTTINGDotted line shows depth to which cutting should be planted]

What qualities are most desirable in a plant from which cuttings are tobe taken? First, it should be productive, hardy, and suited to yourclimate and your needs; second, it should be healthy. Do not takecuttings from a diseased plant, since the cutting may carry thedisease. 

Cuttings may be taken from various parts of the plant, sometimes evenfrom parts of the leaf, as in the begonia (Fig. 46). More often, however, they are drawn from parts of the stem (Figs. 43-45). As to theage of the twig from which the cutting is to be taken, Professor Baileysays: "For most plants the proper age or maturity of wood for the makingof cuttings may be determined by giving the twig a quick bend; if itsnaps and hangs by the bark, it is in proper condition. If it bendswithout breaking, it is too young and soft or too old. If it splinters, it is too old and woody. " Some plants, as the geranium (Fig. 42), succeed best if the cuttings from which they are grown are taken fromsoft, young parts of the plant; others, for example, the grape or rose, do better when the cutting is made from more mature wood. 

[Illustration: FIG. 43 GRAPE CUTTINGShowing depth to which cutting should be planted]

[Illustration: FIG. 44. CARNATION CUTTING]

Cuttings may vary in size and may include one or more buds. After ahardy, vigorous cutting is made, insert it about one half or one thirdof its length in soil. A soil free from organic matter is much the best, since in such soil the cuttings are much less liable to disease. A fine, clean sand is commonly used by professional gardeners. When cuttingshave rooted well--this may require a month or more--they may betransplanted to larger pots. 

Sometimes, instead of cutting off a piece and rooting it, portions ofbranches are made to root before they are separated from the parentplant. This method is often followed, and is known as _layering_. It isa simple process. Just bend the tip of a bough down and bury it in theearth (see Fig. 47). The black raspberry forms layers naturally, butgardeners often aid it by burying the over-hanging tips in the earth, sothat more tips may easily take root. Strawberries develop runners thatroot themselves in a similar fashion. 

Grafts and buds are really cuttings which, instead of being buried insand to produce roots of their own, are set on the roots of otherplants. 

[Illustration: FIG. 45. ROSE CUTTING]

Grafting and budding are practiced when these methods are moreconvenient than cuttings or when the gardener thinks there is danger offailure to get plants to take root as cuttings. Neither grafting norbudding is, however, necessary for the raspberry or the grape, for thesepropagate most readily from cuttings. 

It is often the case that a budded or grafted plant is more fruitfulthan a plant on its own roots. In cases of this kind, of course, graftsor buds are used. 

The white, or Irish, potato is usually propagated from pieces of thepotato itself. Each piece used for planting bears one eye or more. Thepotato itself is really an underground stem and the eyes are buds. Thismethod of propagation is therefore really a peculiar kind of cutting. 

Since the eye is a bud and our potato plant for next year is to developfrom this bud, it is of much importance, as we have seen, to knowexactly what _kind_ of plant our potato comes from. If the potato istaken from a small plant that had but a few poor potatoes in the hill, we may expect the bud to produce a similar plant and a correspondinglypoor crop. We must see to it, then, that our seed potatoes are drawnfrom vines that were good producers, because new potato plants are likethe plants from which they were grown. Of course when our potatoes arein the bin we cannot tell from what kind of plants they came. We musttherefore _select our seed potatoes in the field_. Seed potatoes shouldalways be selected from those hills that produce most bountifully. Beassured that the increased yield will richly repay this care inselecting. It matters not so much whether the seed potato be large orsmall; it must, however, come from a hill bearing a large yield of finepotatoes. 

[Illustration: FIG. 46. BEGONIA-LEAF CUTTING]

Sweet-potato plants are produced from shoots, or growing buds, takenfrom the potato itself, so that in their case too the piece that we usein propagating is a part of the original plant, and will therefore belike it under similar conditions. Just as with the Irish potato, it isimportant to know how good a yielder you are planting. You should watchduring harvest and select for propagation for the next year only suchplants as yield best. 

We should exercise fully as much care in selecting proper individualsfrom which to make a cutting or a layer as we do in selecting a properanimal to breed from. Just as we select the finest Jersey in the herdfor breeding purposes, so we should choose first the variety of plant wedesire and then the finest individual plant of that variety. 

If the variety of the potato that we desire to raise be Early Rose, itis not enough to select _any_ Early Rose plants, but the very best EarlyRose plants, to furnish our seed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 47. LAYERING]

It is not enough to select large, fine potatoes for cuttings. A largepotato may not produce a bountifully yielding plant. _It will produce aplant like the one that produced it. _ It may be that this one largepotato was the only one produced by the original plant. If so, the plantthat grows from it will tend to be similarly unproductive. Thus you seethe importance of _selecting in the field a plant that has exactly thequalities desired in the new plant_. 

One of the main reasons why gardeners raise plants from buds instead offrom seeds is that the seed of many plants will not produce plants likethe parent. This failure to "come true, " as it is called, is sometimesof value, for it occasionally leads to improvement. For example, supposethat a thousand apple or other fruit or flower seeds from plants usuallypropagated by cuttings be planted; it may be that one out of a thousandor a million will be a very valuable plant. If a valuable plant be soproduced, it should be most carefully guarded, multiplied by cuttings orgrafts, and introduced far and wide. It is in this way that newvarieties of fruits and flowers are produced from time to time. 

Sometimes, too, a single bud on a tree will differ from the other budsand will produce a branch different from the other branches. This isknown as _bud variation_. When there is thus developed a branch whichhappens to be of a superior kind, it should be propagated by cuttingsjust as you would propagate it if it had originated from a seed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 48. CURRANT CUTTING]

Mr. Gideon of Minnesota planted many apple seeds, and from them allraised one tree that was very fruitful, finely flavored, and able towithstand the cold Minnesota winter. This tree he multiplied by graftsand named the Wealthy apple. It is said that in giving this one apple tothe world he benefited mankind to the value of more than one milliondollars. It will be well to watch for any valuable bud or seed variantand never let a promising one be lost. Plants grown in this way fromseeds are usually spoken of as seedlings. 

[Illustration: A LUSCIOUS AND EASILY GROWN BERRY]

PLANTS TO BE PROPAGATED FROM BUDS

The following list gives the names and methods by which our commongarden fruits and flowers are propagated:

 _Figs_: use cuttings 8 to 10 inches long or layer. _Grapes_: use long cuttings, layer, or graft upon old vines. 

 _Apples_: graft upon seedlings, usually crab seedlings one year old. 

 _Pears_: bud upon pear seedlings. 

 _Cherries_: bud upon cherry stock. 

 _Plums_: bud upon peach stock. 

 _Peaches_: bud upon peach or plum seedlings. 

 _Quinces_: use cuttings or layer. 

 _Blackberries_: propagate by suckers; cut from parent stem. 

 _Black raspberries_: layer; remove old stem. 

 _Red raspberries_: propagate by root-cuttings or suckers. 

 _Strawberries_: propagate by runners. 

 _Currants_ and _gooseberries_: use long cuttings (these plants grow well only in cool climates; if attempted in warm climates, set in cold exposure). 

 _Carnations_, _geraniums_, _roses_, _begonias_, etc. : propagate by cuttings rooted in sand and then transplanted to small pots. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Propagate fruits (grape, fig, strawberry) of various kinds; also ornamental plants. How long does it take them to root? Geraniums rooted in the spring will bloom in the fall. Do you know any one who selects seed potatoes properly? Make a careful selection of seed at the next harvest-time. 

SECTION XVIII. PLANT SEEDING

In propagating by seed, as in reproducing by buds, we select a portionof the parent plant--for a seed is surely a part of the parentplant--and place it in the ground. There is, however, one greatdifference between a seed and a bud. The bud is really a piece of theparent plant, but a piece of _one_ plant only, while a seed comes fromthe parts of two plants. 

You will understand this fully if you read carefully Sections XIV-XVI. Since the seed is made of two plants, the plant that springs from a seedis much more likely to differ from its mother plant, that is, from theplant that produces the seed, than is a plant produced merely by buds. In some cases plants "come true to seed" very accurately. In others theyvary greatly. For example, when we plant the seed of wheat, turnips, rye, onions, tomatoes, tobacco, or cotton, we get plants that are inmost respects like the parent plant. On the other hand the seed of aCrawford peach or a Baldwin apple or a Bartlett pear will not produceplants like its parent, but will rather resemble its wild forefathers. These seedlings, thus taking after their ancestors, are always farinferior to our present cultivated forms. In such cases seeding is notpracticable, and we must resort to bud propagation of one sort oranother. 

While in a few plants like those just mentioned the seed does not "cometrue, " most plants, for example, cotton, tobacco, and others, do "cometrue. " When we plant King cotton we may expect to raise King cotton. There will be, however, as every one knows, some or even considerablevariation in the field. Some plants, even in exactly the same soil, willbe better than the average, and some will be poorer. Now we see thisvariation in the plants of our field, and we believe that the plant willbe in the main like its parent. What should we learn from this? Surelythat if we wish to produce sturdy, healthy, productive plants we must gointo our fields and _pick out just such plants to secure seed from as wewish to produce another year_. If we wait until the seed is separatedfrom the plant that produced it before we select our cotton seed, weshall be planting seed from poor as well as from good plants, and mustbe content with a crop of just such stock as we have planted. Byselecting seed from the most productive plants _in the field_ and byrepeating the selection each year, you can continually improve the breedof the plant you are raising. In selecting seed for cotton you mayfollow the plan suggested below for wheat. 

[Illustration: FIGS. 49 AND 50. CHRYSANTHEMUMS AND ASPARAGUS]

The difference that you see between the wild and the cultivatedchrysanthemums and between the samples of asparagus shown in Figs. 49and 50 was brought about by just such continuous seed-selection from thekind of plant wanted. 

[Illustration: FIG. 51. TWO VARIETIES OF FLAX FROM ONE PARENT STOCK]

By the careful selection of seed from the longest flax plants theincrease in length shown in the accompanying figure was gained. Theselection of seed from those plants bearing the most seed, regardless ofthe height of the plant, has produced flax like that to the right in theillustration. These two kinds of flax are from the same parent stock, but slight differences have been emphasized by continued seed-selection, until we now have really two varieties of flax, one a heavy seed-bearer, the other producing a long fiber. 

You can in a similar way improve your cotton or any other seed crop. Sugar beets have been made by seed-selection to produce about double thepercentage of sugar that they did a few years ago. Preparing andtilling land costs too much in money and work to allow the land to beplanted with poor seed. When you are trying by seed-selection toincrease the yield of cotton, there are two principles that should beborne in mind: first, seed should be chosen only from plants that bearmany well-filled bolls of long-staple cotton; second, seed should betaken from no plant that does not by its healthy condition showhardihood in resisting disease and drouth. 

The plan of choosing seeds from selected plants may be applied to wheat;but it would of course be too time-consuming to select enough singlewheat plants to furnish all of the seed wheat for the next year. In thiscase adopt the following plan: In Fig. 52 let _A_ represent the totalsize of your wheat field and let _B_ represent a plat large enough tofurnish seed for the whole field. At harvest-time go into section _A_and select the best plants you can find. Pick the heads of these andthresh them by hand. The seed so obtained must be carefully saved foryour next sowing. 

[Illustration: FIG. 52. ]

In the fall sow these selected seeds in area _B_. This area shouldproduce the best wheat. At the next harvest cull not from the wholefield but from the finest plants of plat _B_, and again save these asseed for plat _B_. Use the unculled seed from plat _B_ to sow your crop. By following this plan continuously you will every year have seed fromseveral generations of choice plants, and each year you will improveyour seed. 

It is of course advisable to move your seed plat _B_ every year or two. For the new plat select land that has recently been planted in legumes. Always give this plat unwearying care. 

In the selection of plants from which to get seed, you must know whatkind of plants are really the best seed plants. First, _you must notregard single heads or grains, but must select seed from the mostperfect plant_, looking at the plant as a whole and not at any singlepart of it. A first consideration is yield. Select the plants that yieldbest and are at the same time resistant to drouth, resistant to rust andto winter, early to ripen, plump of grain, and nonshattering. What afine thing it would be to find even one plant free from rust in themidst of a rusted field! It would mean a _rust-resistant plant_. Itsoffspring also would probably be rust-resistant. If you should ever findsuch a plant, be sure to save its seed and plant it in a plat by itself. The next year again save seed from those plants least rusted. Possiblyyou can develop a rust-proof race of wheat! Keep your eyes open. 

In England the average yield of wheat is thirty bushels an acre, in theUnited States it is less than fifteen bushels! In some states the yieldis even less than nine bushels an acre. Let us select our seed withcare, as the English people do, and then we can increase our yield. Bycareful seed-selection a plant-breeder in Minnesota increased the yieldof his wheat by one fourth. Think what it would mean if twenty-five percent were added to the world's supply of wheat at comparatively no cost;that is, at the mere cost of careful seed-selection. This would mean anaddition to the world's income of about $500, 000, 000 each year. TheUnited States would get about one fifth of this profit. 

It often happens that a single plant in a crop of corn, cotton, or wheatwill be far superior to all others in the field. Such a plant deservesspecial care. Do not use it merely as a seed plant, but carefully plantits seeds apart and tend carefully. The following season select the bestof its offspring as favorites again. Repeat this selection and culturefor several years until you fix the variety. This is the way newvarieties are originated from plants propagated by seed. 

In 1862 Mr. Abraham Fultz of Pennsylvania, while passing through a fieldof bearded wheat, found three heads of beardless, or bald, wheat. Thesehe sowed by themselves that year, and as they turned out speciallyproductive he continued to sow this new variety. Soon he had enough seedto distribute over the country. It became known as the Fultz wheat andis to-day one of the best varieties in the United States and in a numberof foreign countries. Think how many bushels of wheat have been added tothe world's annual supply by a few moments of intelligent observationand action on the part of this one man! He saw his opportunity and usedit. How many similar opportunities do you think are lost? How much doesyour state or country lose thereby?

 =EXERCISE=

 Select one hundred seeds from a good, and one hundred from a poor, plant of the same variety. Sow them in two plats far enough apart to avoid cross-pollination, yet try to have soil conditions about the same. Give each the same care and compare the yield. Try this with corn, cotton, and wheat. Select seeds from the best plant in your good plat and from the poorest in your poor plat and repeat the experiment. This will require but a few feet of ground, and the good plat will pay for itself in yield, while the poor plat will more than pay in the lesson that it will teach you. 

 Write to the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. , and to your state experiment station for bulletins concerning seed-selection and methods of plant-improvement. 

SECTION XIX. SELECTING SEED CORN

If a farmer would raise good crops he must, as already stated, selectgood seed. Many of the farmer's disappointments in the quantity andquality of his crops--disappointments often thought to come from othercauses--are the result of planting poor seed. Seeds not fully ripened, if they grow at all, produce imperfect plants. Good seed, therefore, isthe first thing necessary for a good crop. The seed of perfect plantsonly should be saved. 

By wise and persistent selection, made in the field before the crop isfully matured, corn can be improved in size and made to mature earlier. Gather ears only from the most productive plants and save only thelargest and best kernels. 

[Illustration: FIG. 53. THE KIND OF EAR TO SELECT]

You have no doubt seen the common American blackbirds that usuallymigrate and feed in such large numbers. They all look alike in everyway. Now, has it ever occurred to you to ask why all blackbirds areblack? The blackbirds are black simply because their parents are black. 

Now in the same way that the young blackbirds resemble their parents, corn will resemble its parent stock. How many ears of corn do you findon a stalk? One, two, sometimes three or four. You find two ears of cornon a stalk because it is the nature of that particular stalk to producetwo ears. In the same way the nature of some stalks is to produce butone ear, while it is the nature of others sometimes to produce two ormore. 

This resemblance of offspring to parent is known to scientists asheredity, or as "like producing like. "

Some Southern corn-breeders take advantage of this law to improve theircorn crop. If a stalk can be made to produce two ears of corn just aslarge as the single ear that most stalks bear, we shall get twice asmuch corn from a field in which the "two-eared" variety is planted. Inthe North and West the best varieties of corn have been selected to makebut one ear to the stalk. It is generally believed that this is the bestpractice for the shorter growing seasons of the colder states. 

[Illustration: FIG. 54. SELECT SEED FROM A STALK LIKE THAT ON LEFT]

These facts ought to be very helpful to us next year when our fathersare planting corn. We should get them to plant seed secured only fromstalks that produced the most corn, whether the stalk had two or moreears or only one. If we follow this plan year by year, each acre of landwill be made to produce more kernels and hence a larger crop of corn, and yet no more work will be required to raise the crop. 

In addition to enlarging the yield of corn, you can, by proper selectionof the best and most productive plants in the field, grow a new varietyof seed corn. To do this you need only take the largest and bestkernels from stalks bearing two ears; plant these, and at the nextharvest again save the best kernels from stalks bearing the best ears. If you keep up this practice with great care for several years, you willget a vigorous, fruitful variety that will command a high price forseed. 

 =EXPERIMENT=

 [Illustration: FIG. 55. IMPROVEMENT OF CORN BY SELECTION Boone County white corn on left, and original type, from which it was developed by selection, on right]

 Every school boy and girl can make this experiment at leisure. From your own field get two ears of corn, one from a stalk bearing only one ear and the other from a stalk bearing two well-grown ears. Plant the grains from one ear in one plat, and the grains from the other in a plat of equal size. Use for both the same soil and the same fertilizer. Cultivate both plats in the same way. When the crop is ready to harvest, husk the corn, count the ears, and weigh the corn. Then write a short essay on your work and on the results and get your teacher to correct the story for your home paper. 

SECTION XX. WEEDS

Have you ever noticed that some weeds are killed by one particularmethod, but that this same method may entirely fail to kill other kindsof weeds? If we wish to free our fields of weeds with the greatest ease, we must know the nature of each kind of weed and then attack it in theway in which we can most readily destroy it. 

[Illustration: FIG. 56. PIGWEED]

The ordinary pigweed (Fig. 56) differs from many other weeds in that itlives for only one year. When winter comes, it must die. Each plant, however, bears a great number of seeds. If we can prevent the plant frombearing seed in its first year, there will not be many seeds to come upthe next season. In fact, only those seeds that were too deeply buriedin the soil to come up the previous spring will be left, and of thesetwo-year-old seeds many will not germinate. During the next season someold seeds will produce plants, but the number will be very muchdiminished. If care be exercised to prevent the pigweed from seedingagain, and the same watchfulness be continued for a few seasons, thisweed will be almost entirely driven from our fields. 

A plant like the pigweed, which lives only one year, is called an_annual_ and is one of the easiest weeds to destroy. Mustard, plantain, chess, dodder, cockle, crab grass, and Jimson weed are a few of our mostdisagreeable annual weeds. 

The best time to kill any weed is when it is very small; therefore theground in early spring should be constantly stirred in order to kill theyoung weeds before they grow to be strong and hardy. 

[Illustration: FIG. 57. WILD CARROT]

The wild carrot differs from an annual in this way: it lives throughoutone whole year without producing seeds. During its first year itaccumulates a quantity of nourishment in the root, then rests in thewinter. Throughout the following summer it uses this nourishment rapidlyto produce its flowers and seeds. Then the plant dies. Plants that livethrough two seasons in this way are called _biennials_. Weeds of thiskind may be destroyed by _cutting the roots below the leaves_ with agrubbing-hoe or spud. A spud may be described as a chisel on a longhandle (see Fig. 58). If biennials are not cut low enough they willbranch out anew and make many seeds. Among the most common biennials arethe thistle, moth mullein, wild carrot, wild parsnip, and burdock. 

[Illustration: FIG. 58. A SPUD]

[Illustration: FIG. 59. HOUND'S TONGUE]

A third group of weeds consists of those that live for more than twoyears. These weeds are usually most difficult to kill. They propagate bymeans of running rootstocks as well as by seeds. Plants that live morethan two seasons are known as _perennials_ and include, for example, many grasses, dock, Canada thistle, poison ivy, passion flower, horsenettle, etc. There are many methods of destroying perennial weeds. Theymay be dug entirely out and removed. Sometimes in small areas they maybe killed by crude sulphuric acid or may be starved by covering themwith boards or a straw stack or in some other convenient way. A methodthat is very effective is to smother the weeds by a dense growth ofsome other plant, for example, cowpeas or buckwheat. Cowpeas are to bepreferred, since they also enrich the soil by the nitrogen that theroot-tubercles gather. 

[Illustration: FIG. 60. CANADA THISTLE]

Weeds do injury in numerous ways; they shade the crop, steal itsnourishment, and waste its moisture. Perhaps their only service is tomake lazy people till their crops. 

 =EXERCISE=

 You should learn to know by name the twenty worst weeds of your vicinity and to recognize their seeds. If there are any weeds you are not able to recognize, send a sample of each to your state experiment station. Make a collection, properly labeled, of weeds and weed seeds for your school. 

SECTION XXI. SEED PURITY AND VITALITY

Seeds produce plants. The difference between a large and a small yieldmay depend upon the kind of plants we raise, and the kind of plant inturn is dependent upon the seeds that we sow. 

Two things are important in the selection of seeds--purity and vitality. Seeds should be _pure_; that is, when sown they should produce no otherplant than the one that we wish to raise. They should be able to grow. The ability of a seed to grow is termed its _vitality_. Good seed shouldbe nearly or quite pure and should possess high vitality. The vitalityof seeds is expressed as a per cent; for example, if 97 seeds out of 100germinate, or sprout, the vitality is said to be 97. The older the seedthe less is its vitality, except in a few rare instances in which seedscannot germinate under two or three years. 

Cucumber seeds may show 90 per cent vitality when they are one year old, 75 per cent when two years old, and 70 per cent when three yearsold--the per cent of vitality diminishing with increase of years. Theaverage length of life of the seeds of cultivated plants is short: forexample, the tomato lives four years; corn, two years; the onion, twoyears; the radish, five years. The cucumber seed may retain life afterten years; but the seeds of this plant too lose their vitality with anincrease in years. 

It is important when buying seeds to test them for purity and vitality. Dealers who are not honest often sell old seeds, although they know thatseeds decrease in value with age. Sometimes, however, to cloakdishonesty they mix some new seeds with the old, or bleach old andyellow seeds in order to make them resemble fresh ones. 

It is important, therefore, that all seeds bought of dealers should bethoroughly examined and tested; for if they do not grow, we not only payfor that which is useless but we are also in great danger of producingso few plants in our fields that we shall not get full use of the land, and thus we may suffer a more serious loss than merely paying for a fewdead seeds. It will therefore be both interesting and profitable tolearn how to test the vitality of seeds. 

To test vitality plant one hundred seeds in a pot of earth or in dampsand, or place them between moist pieces of flannel, and take care tokeep them moist and warm. Count those that germinate and thus determinethe percentage of vitality. Germinating between flannel is much quickerthan planting in earth. Care should be used to keep mice away fromgerminating seeds. (See Fig. 61. )

[Illustration: FIG. 61. A SEED-GERMINATORConsisting of two soup plates, some sand, and a piece of cloth]

Sometimes the appearance of a package will show whether the seed hasbeen kept in stock a long time. It is, however, much more difficult tofind out whether the seeds are pure. You can of course easilydistinguish seeds that differ much from those you wish to plant, butoften certain weed seeds are so nearly like certain crop seeds as not tobe easily recognized by the eye. Thus the dodder or "love vine, " whichso often ruins the clover crop, has seeds closely resembling cloverseeds. The chess, or cheat, has seeds so nearly like oats that only aclose observer can tell them apart. However, if you watch the seeds thatyou buy, and study the appearance of crop seeds, you may become expertin recognizing those that have no place in your planting. 

One case is reported in which a seed-dealer intentionally allowed animpurity of 30 per cent to remain in the crop seeds, and this impuritywas mainly of weed seeds. There were 450, 000 of one kind and 288, 000 ofanother in each pound of seed. Think of planting weeds at that rate!Sometimes three fourths of the seeds you buy are weed seeds. 

In purchasing seeds the only safe plan is to buy of dealers whosereputation can be relied upon. 

It not seldom happens that seeds, like corn, are stored in open cribs orbarns before the moisture is entirely dried out of the seeds. Such seedsare liable to be frozen during a severe winter, and of course if thishappens they will not sprout the following spring. The only way to tellwhether such seeds have been killed is to test samples of them forvitality. Testing is easy; replanting is costly and often results in ashort crop. 

[Illustration: FIG. 62. IMPURITIES IN SEEDSTube 1 represents one pound of redtop grass as bought; Tube 2, amount ofpure redtop grass seeds in Tube 1; Tube 3, amount of chaff and dirt inTube 1; Tube 4, amount of weed seeds in Tube 1; Tube 5, amount of totalwaste in Tube 1; Tube 6, amount of pure germinable seeds in Tube 1]

 =EXERCISE=

 Examine seeds both for vitality and purity. Write for farmers' bulletins on both these subjects. What would be the loss to a farmer who planted a ten-acre clover field with seeds that were 80 per cent bad? Can you recognize the seeds of the principal cultivated plants? Germinate some beet seeds. What per cent comes up? Can you explain? Collect for your school as many kinds of wild and cultivated seeds as you can. 

CHAPTER IV

HOW TO RAISE A FRUIT TREE

Let each pupil grow an apple tree this year and attempt to make it thebest in his neighborhood. In your attempt suppose you try the followingplan. In the fall take the seed of an apple--a crab-apple is good--andkeep it in a cool place during the winter. The simplest way to do thisis to bury it in damp sand. In the spring plant it in a rich, loosesoil. 

Great care must be taken of the young shoot as soon as it appears abovethe ground. You want to make it grow as tall and as straight as possibleduring this first year of its life, hence you should give it rich soiland protect it from animals. Before the ground freezes in the fall takeup the young tree with the soil that was around it and keep it allwinter in a cool, damp place. 

Now when spring comes it will not do to set out the carefully tendedtree, for an apple tree from seed will not be a tree like its parent, but will tend to resemble a more distant ancestor. The distant ancestorthat the young apple tree is most likely to take after is the wildapple, which is small, sour, and otherwise far inferior to the fruit wewish to grow. It makes little difference, therefore, what kind of appleseed we plant, since in any event we cannot be sure that the tree grownfrom it will bear fruit worth having unless we force it to do so. 

[Illustration: FIG. 63. A YOUNG FRUIT-GROWER]

SECTION XXII. GRAFTING

By a process known as _grafting_ you can force your tree to producewhatever variety of apple you desire. Many people raise fruit treesdirectly from seed without grafting. Thus they often produce reallyworthless trees. By grafting they would make sure not only of havinggood trees rather than poor ones but also of having the particular kindof fruit that they wish. Hence you must now graft your tree. 

First you must decide what variety of apple you want to grow on thetree. The Magnum Bonum is a great favorite as a fall apple. The Winesapis a good winter apple, while the Red Astrachan is a profitable earlyapple, especially in the lowland of the coast region. The Northern Spy, Æsop, and Spitzenburg are also admirable kinds. Possibly some otherapple that you know may suit your taste and needs better than any ofthese varieties. 

If you have decided to raise an Æsop or a Magnum Bonum or a Winesap, youmust now cut a twig from the tree of your choice and graft it upon thelittle tree that you have raised. Choose a twig that is about thethickness of the young tree at the point where you wish to graft. Becareful to take the shoot from a vigorous, healthy part of the tree. 

[Illustration: FIG. 64. TONGUE GRAFTING]

There are many ways in which you may join the chosen shoot or twig uponthe young tree, but perhaps the best one for you to use is known as_tongue grafting_. This is illustrated in Fig. 64. The upper part, _b_, which is the shoot or twig that you cut from the tree, is known as the_scion_; the lower part, _a_, which is the original tree, is called the_stock_. 

Cut the scion and stock as shown in Fig. 64. Join the cut end of thescion to the cut end of the stock. When you join them, notice that underthe bark of each there is a thin layer of soft, juicy tissue. This iscalled the _cambium_. To make a successful graft the cambium in thescion must exactly join the cambium in the stock. Be careful, then, tosee that cambium meets cambium. You now see why grafting can be moresuccessfully done if you select a scion and stock of nearly the samesize. 

[Illustration: FIG. 65. A COMPLETED GRAFTShowing scion and stock from which it was made]

After fitting the parts closely together, bind them with cotton yarn(see Fig. 65) that has been coated with grafting wax. This wax is madeof equal parts of tallow, beeswax, and linseed oil. Smear the waxthoroughly over the whole joint, and make sure that the joint iscompletely air-tight. 

[Illustration: FIG. 66. To make a root graft, cut along the slanting line]

The best time to make this graft is when scion and stock are dormant, that is, when they are not in leaf. During the winter, say in February, is the best time to graft the tree. Set the grafted tree away again indamp sand until spring, then plant it in loose, rich soil. 

Since all parts growing above the graft will be of the same kind as thescion, while all branches below it will be like the stock, it is well tograft low on the stock or even upon the root itself. The slanting doubleline in Fig. 66 shows the proper place to cut off for such grafting. 

[Illustration: FIG. 67. A COMPLETED ROOT GRAFT]

If you like you may sometime make the interesting and valuableexperiment of grafting scions from various kinds of apple trees on thebranches of one stock. In this way you can secure a tree bearing anumber of kinds of fruit. You may thus raise the Bonum, Red Astrachan, Winesap, and as many other varieties of apples as you wish, upon onetree. For this experiment, however, you will find it better to resort to_cleft grafting_, which is illustrated in Fig. 68. 

[Illustration: FIG. 68. CLEFT GRAFTING]

Luther Burbank, the originator of the Burbank potato, in attempting tofind a variety of apple suited to the climate of California, graftedmore than five hundred kinds of apple scions on one tree, so that hemight watch them side by side and find out which kind was best suited tothat state. 

SECTION XXIII. BUDDING

If, instead of an apple tree, you were raising a plum or a peach tree, aform of propagation known as _budding_ would be better than grafting. Occasionally budding is also employed for apples, pears, cherries, oranges, and lemons. Budding is done in the following manner. A singlebud is cut from the scion and is then inserted under the bark of aone-year-old peach seedling, so that the cambium of the bud and stockmay grow together. 

[Illustration: FIG. 69. HOW TO CUT A BUD FROM A SCION]

[Illustration: FIG. 70. THE STEPS IN BUDDING]

Cut scions of the kind of fruit tree you desire from a one-year-old twigof the same variety. Wrap them in a clean, moist cloth until you areready to use them. Just before using cut the bud from the scion, asshown in Fig. 69. This bud is now ready to be inserted on the north sideof the stock, just two or three inches above the ground. The north sideis selected to avoid the sun. Now, as shown at _a_ in Fig. 70, make across and an up-and-down incision, or cut, on the stock; pull the barkback carefully, as shown in _B_; insert the bud _C_, as shown in _D_;then fold the bark back and wrap with yarn or raffia, as shown in _E_. As soon as the bud and branches have united, remove the wrapping toprevent its cutting the bark and cut the tree back close to the bud, asin Fig. 71, so as to force nourishment into the inserted bud. 

[Illustration: FIG. 71. Sloping line shows where to cut tree]

Budding is done in the field without disturbing the tree as it stands inthe ground. The best time to do budding is during the summer or fallmonths, when the bark is loose enough to allow the buds to be easilyinserted. 

Trees may be budded or grafted on one another only when they are nearlyrelated. Thus the apple, crab-apple, hawthorn, and quince are allrelated closely enough to graft or bud on one another; the pear grows onsome hawthorns, but not well on an apple; some chestnuts will unite withsome kinds of oaks. 

[Illustration: FIG. 72. Lines show where to trim]

By using any of these methods you can succeed in getting with certaintythe kind of tree that you desire. 

[Illustration: BOTH BUSY STORING APPLES]

SECTION XXIV. PLANTING AND PRUNING

The apple tree that you grafted should be set out in the spring. Dig ahole three or four feet in diameter where you wish the tree to grow. Place the tree in the hole and be very careful to preserve all the fineroots. Spread the roots out fully, water them, and pack fine, rich soilfirmly about them. Place stakes about the young tree to protect it frominjury. If the spot selected is in a windy location, incline the treeslightly toward the prevailing wind. 

[Illustration: FIG. 73. Present shape comes from pruning]

[Illustration: FIG. 74. Correct shape]

You must prune the tree as it grows. The object of pruning is to givethe tree proper shape and to promote fruit-bearing. If the bud at theend of the main shoot grows, you will have a tall, cone-shaped tree. If, however, the end of the young tree be cut or "headed back" to the linesshown in Fig. 72, the buds below this point will be forced to grow andmake a tree like that shown in Fig. 73. The proper height of heading fordifferent fruits varies. For the apple tree a height of two or threefeet is best. 

Cutting an end bud of a shoot or branch always sends the nourishment andgrowth into the side buds. Trimming or pinching off the side buds throwsthe growth into the end bud. You can therefore cause your tree to takealmost any shape you desire. The difference between the trees shown inFigs. 73 and 74 is entirely the result of pruning. Fig. 74 illustratesin general a correctly shaped tree. It is evenly balanced, admits lightfreely, and yet has enough foliage to prevent sun-scald. Figs. 75 and 76show the effect of wisely thinning the branches. 

[Illustration: FIG. 75. Unthinned]

[Illustration: FIG. 76. Properly thinned]

The best time to prune is either in the winter or before the buds startin the spring. Winter pruning tends to favor wood-production, whilesummer pruning lessens wood-production and induces fruitage. 

Each particular kind of fruit requires special pruning; for example, thepeach should be made to assume the shape illustrated in Fig. 77. This isdone by successive trimmings, following the plan illustrated in Figs. 71, 78, 79. You will gain several advantages from these trimmings. First, nourishment will be forced into the peach bud that you set onyour stock. This will secure a vigorous growth of the scion. By a secondtrimming take off the "heel" (Fig. 78, _h_) close to the tree, and thusprevent decay at this point. One year after budding you should reducethe tree to a "whip, " as in Fig. 79, by trimming at the dotted line inFig. 78. This establishes the "head" of the tree, which in the case ofthe peach should be very low, --about sixteen inches from the ground, --inorder that a low foliage may lessen the danger of sun-scald to the maintrunk. 

[Illustration: FIG. 77. THE CUSTOMARY WAY OF PRUNING A PEACH]

[Illustration: FIG. 78. TWO-YEAR-OLD TREECut off heel, _h_]

In pruning never leave a stump such as is shown in Fig. 78, _h_. Such astump, having no source of nourishment, will heal very slowly and withgreat danger of decay. If this heel is cleanly cut on the line _ch_(Fig. 78), the wound will heal rapidly and with little danger of decay. Leaving such a stump endangers the soundness of the whole tree. Fig. 80shows the results of good and poor pruning on a large tree. When largelimbs are removed it is best to paint the cut surface. The paint willward off fungous disease and thus keep the tree from rotting where itwas cut. 

Pruning that leaves large limbs branching, as in Fig. 74, _a_, is not tobe recommended, since the limbs when loaded with fruit or when beaten byheavy winds are liable to break. Decay is apt to set in at the point ofbreakage. The entrance of decay-fungi through some such wound or througha tiny crevice at such a crotch is the beginning of the end of many afruitful tree. 

[Illustration: FIG. 79. THREE-YEAR-OLD TREE CUT BACK]

Sometimes a tree will go too much to wood and too little to fruit. Thisoften happens in rich soil and may be remedied by another kind ofpruning known as _root-pruning_. This consists in cutting off a few ofthe roots in order to limit the food supply of the plant. You ought tolearn more about root-pruning, however, before you attempt it. 

[Illustration: FIG. 80. Refuses to Heal--Heals promptly]

How is a peach tree made? First, the blossom appears. Then pollinationand fertilization occur. The fruit ripens. The pit, or seed, is saved. In the spring of the next year the seed is planted. The young tree, known as the stock, comes up quickly. In August of that year a bud ofthe variety which is wanted is inserted in the little stock, near theground. One year later, in the spring, the stock is cut off just abovethe bud. The bud throws out a shoot, which grows to a height of aboutsix feet, and in the fall this little peach tree is sold as aone-year-old tree. However, as is seen, the root is two years old. 

[Illustration: FIG. 81. READY TO BEAR]

How is an apple tree made? The seeds are saved in the fall of one yearand planted the following year. The seedlings of the apple do not growso rapidly as those of the peach. At the end of the year they are takenup and sorted, and in the following spring they are planted. In July orAugust they are budded. In the spring of the next year the stock is cutoff above the bud, and the bud-shoot grows three or four feet. One yearlater the shoot branches and the top begins to form; and in the fall ofthe following year the tree may be sold as a two-year-old, although mostpersons prefer to buy it a year later as a three-year-old. In some partsof the country, particularly in the West, the little seedling is graftedin the second winter, in a grafting room, and the young grafts are setin the nursery row in the spring to complete their growth. 

The planting in the orchard of the young peach and the young apple treeis done in practically the same way. After the hole for the tree hasbeen dug and after proper soil has been provided, the roots should bespread and the soil carefully packed around them. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Do you know any trees in your neighborhood that bear both wild and budded or grafted fruit? What are the chief varieties of apples grown in your neighborhood? grapes? currants? plums? cherries? figs? What is a good apple tree worth? Is there any land near by that could support a tree and is not now doing so? Examine several orchards and see whether the trees have the proper shape. Do you see any evidence of poor pruning? Do you find any heels? Can you see any place where heels have resulted in rotten or hollow trees? How could you have prevented this? Has the removal of branches ever resulted in serious decay? How is this to be prevented?

 If your home is not well stocked with all the principal kinds of fruit, do you not want to propagate and attend to some of each kind? You will be surprised to find how quickly trees will bear and how soon you will be eating fruit from your own planting. Growing your own trees will make you feel proud of your skill. 

CHAPTER V

HORTICULTURE

SECTION XXV. MARKET-GARDENING

The word _horticulture_ is one of those broad words under which much isgrouped. It includes the cultivation of orchard fruits, such as applesand plums; of small fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries; ofgarden vegetables for the table; of flowers of all sorts, includingshrubbery and ornamental trees and their arrangement into beautifullandscape effects around our homes. Horticulture then is a name for anart that is both far-reaching and important. 

The word _gardening_ is generally given to that part of horticulturewhich has for its chief aim the raising of vegetables for our tables. 

Flower-gardening, or the cultivation of plants valued for their bloom inmaking ornamental beds and borders and furnishing flowers for thedecoration of the home, is generally called _floriculture_. Landscape-gardening is the art of so arranging flower-beds, grass, shrubbery, and trees as to produce pleasing effects in the groundssurrounding our homes and in great public parks and pleasure grounds. 

Landscape-gardening, like architecture, has developed intoll as theartist makes them on canvas, but uses natural objects in his picturesinstead of paint and canvas. 

=Market-Gardening. = Formerly market-gardening was done on small tractsof land in the immediate vicinity of large cities, where supplies ofstable manure could be used from the city stables. But with the greatincrease in the population of the cities, these small areas could nolonger supply the demand, and the introduction of commercial fertilizersand the building of railroads enabled gardeners at great distances fromcity markets to grow and ship their products. Hence the markets, even inwinter, are now supplied with fresh vegetables from regions where thereis no frost. Then, as spring opens, fruits and vegetables are shippedfrom more temperate regions. Later vegetables and fruits come from thesections nearer the great cities. This gradual nearing of the supplyfields continues until the gardens near the cities can furnish what isneeded. 

[Illustration: FIG. 82. STRAWBERRY-GROWING IS AN ART]

The market-gardeners around the great Northern cities, finding thatwinter products were coming from the South and from warmer regions, began to build hothouses and by means of steam and hot-water pipes tomake warm climates in these glass houses. Many acres of land in thecolder sections of the country are covered with heated glass houses, andin them during the winter are produced fine crops of tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, cauliflowers, eggplants, and other vegetables. The degree ofperfection which these attain in spite of having such artificialculture, and their freshness as compared to the products brought from agreat distance, have made winter gardening under glass a very profitablebusiness. But it is a business that calls for the highest skill and theclosest attention. 

[Illustration: FIG. 83. SETTING PLANTS IN A COLD-FRAME]

No garden, even for home use, is complete without some glass sashes, andthe garden will be all the more successful if there is a small heatedgreenhouse for starting plants that are afterwards to be set in thegarden. 

=Hotbeds. = If there is no greenhouse, a hotbed is an important help inthe garden. The bed is made by digging a pit two feet deep, seven feetwide, and as long as necessary. 

The material for the hotbed is fresh horse manure mixed with leaves. This is thrown into a heap to heat. As soon as steam is seen coming fromthe heap the manure is turned over and piled again so that the outerpart is thrown inside. When the whole is uniformly heated and has beenturned two or three times, it is packed firmly into the pit already dug. 

A frame six feet wide, twelve inches high on the north side and eightinches on the south side and as long as the bed is to be, is now made ofplank. This is set upon the heated manure, thus leaving six inches oneach side outside the frame. More manure is then banked all around it, and three or four inches of fine light and rich soil are placed insidethe frame. 

[Illustration: FIG. 84. THE GLADIOLUS]

The frame is then covered with hotbed sashes six feet long and threefeet wide. These slide up and down on strips of wood let into the sidesof the frame. A thermometer is stuck into the soil and closely watched, for there will be too much heat at first for sowing seed. When the heatin the early morning is about 85°, seeds may be sowed. The hotbed isused for starting tomato plants, eggplants, cabbage plants, and othervegetables that cannot stand exposure. It should be made about eight orten weeks before the tender plants can be set out in the locality. Inthe South and Southwest it should be started earlier than in the North. For growing the best tomato plants, and for such hardy plants as lettuceand cabbage, it will be better to have cold-frames in addition to thehotbed; these need not be more than two or three sashes. 

=Cold-Frames. = A cold-frame is like the frame used for a hotbed, but itis placed on well-manured soil in a sheltered spot. It is covered withthe same kind of sashes and is used for hardening the plants sowed inthe hotbed. The frame must be well banked with earth on the outside, andthe glass must be covered on cold nights with straw, mats, or oldcarpets to keep out frost. 

[Illustration: FIG. 85. FRAME TO CARRY THE SASH OF A HOTBED OR COLD-FRAME]

=Care of Hotbed and Cold-Frame. = If the sun be allowed to shine brightlyon the glass of a cold-frame or hotbed, it will soon raise thetemperature in the hotbed to a point that will destroy the plants. It isnecessary, then, to pay close attention to the bed and, when the sunshines, to slip the sashes down or raise them and place a block underthe upper end to allow the steam to pass off. The cold-frame also mustbe aired when the sun shines, and the sashes must be gradually slippeddown in mild weather. Finally, they may be removed entirely on sunshinydays, so as to accustom the plants to the open air, but they must bereplaced at night. For a while before setting the plants in the opengardens, leave the sashes off night and day. 

[Illustration: FIG. 86. GREENHOUSE AND COLD-FRAMES]

While the hotbed may be used for starting plants, it is much better andmore convenient to have a little greenhouse with fire heat for thispurpose. A little house with but four sashes on each side will be enoughto start a great many plants, and will also give room for some flowersin pots. With such a house a student can learn to manage a moreextensive structure if he gives close attention to airing, watering, andkeeping out insects. 

=Sowing. = The time for sowing the different kinds of seeds is animportant matter. Seeds vary greatly in their requirements. All needthree conditions--a proper degree of heat, moisture, and air. Someseeds, like English peas, parsnips, beets, and radishes, will germinateand grow when the soil is still cool in the early spring, and peas willstand quite a frost after they are up. Therefore we plant English peasas early as the ground can be worked. 

But if we should plant seeds like corn, string (or snap) beans, squashes, and other tender plants before the ground is warm enough, theywould decay. 

Seeds cannot germinate in soil that is perfectly dry, for there must bemoisture to swell them and to start growth. The oxygen of the air isalso necessary, and if seeds are buried so deeply that the air cannotreach them, they will not grow, even if they are warm and moist. 

[Illustration: FIG. 87. GATHERING AND SHIPPING CELERY]

The depth of planting must vary with the character and size of the seed. English peas may be covered six inches deep and will be all the betterfor such covering, but if corn be covered so deep, it hardly gets abovethe ground. In planting small seeds like those of the radish, cabbage, turnip, lettuce, etc. , a good rule is to cover them three times thethickness of the seed. 

In sowing seeds when the ground is rather dry, it is a good plan, aftercovering them, to tramp on the row so as to press the soil closely tothe seeds and to help it to retain moisture for germination, but do notpack the soil if it is damp. 

In spring never dig or plow the garden while it is still wet, but alwayswait until the soil is dry enough to crumble freely. 

=What Crops to grow. = The crops to be raised will of course depend uponeach gardener's climate, surroundings, and markets. Sometimes it may paya grower, if his soil and climate are particularly suited to one crop, to expend most of his time and energy on this crop; for example, in somesections of New York, on potatoes; in parts of Michigan, on celery; inGeorgia, on watermelons; in western North Carolina, on cabbage. Ifcircumstances allow this sort of gardening, it has many advantages, forof course it is much easier to acquire skill in growing one crop than ingrowing many. 

[Illustration: FIG. 88. A LARGE YIELD OF CABBAGES]

On the other hand, it often happens that a gardener's situation requireshim to grow most of the crops known to gardening. Each gardener thenmust be guided in his selection of crops by his surroundings. 

=Care of Crops. = The gardener who wishes to attain the greatest successin his art must do four things:

First, he must make his land rich and keep it rich. Much of his successdepends on getting his crops on the market ahead of other growers. To dothis, his crops must grow rapidly, and crops grow rapidly only in richsoil. Then, too, land conveniently situated for market-gardening isnearly always costly. Hence the successful market-gardener must plan tosecure the largest possible yield from as small an area as ispracticable. The largest yield can of course be secured from the richestland. 

Second, the gardener must cultivate his rich land most carefully andeconomically. He crowds his land with products that must grow apace. Therefore he, least of all growers, can afford to have any of his soilgo to feed weeds, to have his land wash, or to have his growing cropssuffer for lack of timely and wise cultivation. To cultivate his landeconomically the gardener must use the best tools and machines and thebest methods of soil management. 

Third, to get the best results he must grow perfect vegetables. To dothis, he must add to good tillage a knowledge of the common plantdiseases and of the ways of insects and bacterial pests; he must knowhow and when to spray, how and when to treat his seed, how and when topoison, how and when to trap his insect foes and to destroy theirhiding-places. 

Fourth, not only must the gardener grow perfect vegetables, but he mustput them on the market in perfect condition and in attractive shape. Whocares to buy wilted, bruised, spoiling vegetables? Gathering, bundling, crating, and shipping are all to be watched carefully. Baskets should beneat and attractive, crates clean and snug, barrels well packed and wellheaded. Careful attention to all these details brings a rich return. 

Among the gardener's important crops are the following:

=Asparagus. = This is a hardy plant. Its seed may be sowed either earlyin the spring or late in the fall. The seeds should be planted in rows. If the plants are well cultivated during the spring and summer, theywill make vigorous roots for transplanting in the autumn. 

In the fall prepare a piece of land by breaking it unusually deep and bymanuring it heavily. After the land is thoroughly prepared, make in itfurrows for the asparagus roots. These furrows should be six inches deepand three feet apart. Then remove the roots from the rows in which theyhave been growing during the summer, and set them two feet apart in theprepared furrows. Cover carefully at once. 

[Illustration: FIG. 89. A CRATE OF ASPARAGUS]

In the following spring the young shoots must be well cultivated. Inorder to economize space, beets or lettuce may be grown between theasparagus rows during this first season. With the coming of cold weatherthe asparagus must again be freely manured and all dead tops cut off. Some plants will be ready for market the second spring. If the bed iskept free from weeds and well manured, it will increase inproductiveness from year to year. 

=Beans. = The most generally planted beans are those known as string, orsnap, beans. Of the many varieties, all are sensitive to cold and hencemust not be planted until frost is over. 

Another widely grown kind of bean is the lima, or butter, bean. Thereare two varieties of the lima bean. One is large and generally grows onpoles. This kind does best in the Northern states. The other is a smallbean and may be grown without poles. This kind is best suited to thewarmer climates of the Southern states. 

=Cabbage. = In comparatively warm climates the first crop of cabbage isgenerally grown in the following way. The seeds are sowed in beds inSeptember, and the plants grown from this sowing are in Novembertransplanted to ground laid off in sharp ridges. The young plants areset on the south side of the ridges in order that they may be somewhatprotected from the cold of winter. As spring comes on, the ridge ispartly cut down at each working until the field is leveled, andthereafter the cultivation should be level. 

[Illustration: FIG. 90. CABBAGE READY FOR SHIPMENT]

Early cabbages need heavy applications of manure. In the spring, nitrateof soda applied in the rows is very helpful. 

Seeds for the crop following this early crop should be sowed in March. Of course these seeds should be of a later variety than the first used. The young plants should be transplanted as soon as they are largeenough. Early cabbages are set in rows three feet apart, the plantseighteen inches apart in the row. As the later varieties grow largerthan the earlier ones, the plants should be set two feet apart in therow. 

In growing late fall and winter cabbage the time of sowing varies withthe climate. For the Northern and middle states, seeding should be doneduring the last of March and in April. South of a line passing west fromVirginia it is hard to carry cabbages through the heat of summer and getthem to head in the fall. However, if the seeds are sowed about thefirst of August in rich and moist soil and the plants set in the samesort of soil in September, large heads can be secured for the Decembermarket. 

[Illustration: FIG. 91. CELERY TRIMMED, WASHED, AND BUNCHED]

=Celery. = In the extreme northern part of our country, celery seeds areoften sowed in a greenhouse or hotbed. This is done in order to secureplants early enough for summer blanching. This plan, however, suits onlyvery cool climates. 

In the middle states the seeds are usually sowed in a well-prepared bedabout April. The young plants are moved to other beds as soon as theyneed room. Generally they are transplanted in July to rows prepared forthem. These should be four feet apart, and the plants should be set sixinches apart in the row. The celery bed should be carefully cultivatedduring the summer. In the fall, hill the stalks up enough to keep themerect. After the growing season is over dig them and set them intrenches. The trenches should be as deep as the celery is tall, andafter the celery is put in them they should be covered with boards andstraw. 

In the more southern states, celery is usually grown in beds. The bedsare generally made six feet wide, and rows a foot apart are runcrosswise. The plants are set six inches apart, in September, and thewhole bed is earthed up as the season advances. Finally, when wintercomes the beds are covered with leaves or straw to prevent the plantsfrom freezing. The celery is dug and bunched for market at any timeduring the winter. 

By means of cold-frames a profitable crop of spring celery may beraised. Have the plants ready to go into the cold-frames late in Octoberor early in November. The soil in the frame should be made very deep. The plants should make only a moderately rapid growth during the winter. In the early spring they will grow rapidly and so crowd one another asto blanch well. As celery grown in this way comes on the market at atime when no other celery can be had, it commands a good price. 

In climates as warm as that of Florida, beds of celery can be raised inthis way without the protection of cold-frames. A slight freeze does nothurt celery, but a long-continued freezing spell will destroy it. 

Some kinds of celery seem to turn white naturally. These are calledself-blanching kinds. Other kinds need to be banked with earth in orderto make the stalks whiten. This kind usually gives the best and crispeststalks. 

=Cucumbers and Cantaloupes. = Although cucumbers and cantaloupes are verydifferent plants, they are grown in precisely the same way. Somegardeners plant them in hills. However, this is perhaps not the bestplan. It is better to lay the land off in furrows six feet apart. Afterfilling these with well-rotted stable manure, throw soil over them. Thenmake the top flat and plant the seeds. After the plants are up thin themout, leaving them a foot or more apart in the rows. Cultivate regularlyand carefully until the vines cover the entire ground. 

It is a good plan to sow cowpeas at the last working of cantaloupes, inorder to furnish some shade for the melons. As both cucumbers andcantaloupes are easily hurt by cold, they should not be planted untilthe soil is warm and all danger of frost is past. 

Cucumbers are always cut while they are green. They should never bepulled from the vine, but should always be cut with a piece of the stemattached. Cantaloupes should be gathered before they turn yellow andshould be ripened in the house. 

[Illustration: FIG. 92. STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE AND LARVAAll magnified]

In some sections of the country the little striped cucumber-beetleattacks the melons and cucumbers as soon as they come up. These beetlesare very active, and if their attacks are not prevented they willdestroy the tender plants. Bone dust and tobacco dust applied just asthe plants appear above the ground will prevent these attacks. Thistreatment not only keeps off the beetle, but also helps the growth ofthe plants. 

=Eggplants. = Eggplants are so tender that they cannot be transplantedlike tomatoes to cold-frames and gradually hardened to stand the coldspring air. These plants, started in a warm place, must be kept thereuntil the soil to which they are to be transplanted is well warmed bythe advance of spring. After the warm weather has fully set in, transplant them to rich soil, setting them three feet apart each way. This plant needs much manure. If large, perfect fruit is expected, theground can hardly be made too rich. 

Eggplants are subject to the same bacterial blight that is sodestructive to tomatoes. The only way to prevent this disease is toplant in ground not lately used for tomatoes or potatoes. 

[Illustration: FIG. 93. AN ONION HARVEST]

=Onions. = The method of growing onions varies with the use to which itis intended to put them. To make the early sorts, which are eaten greenin the spring, little onions called _sets_ are planted. These are grownfrom seeds sowed late in the spring. The seeds are sowed thickly in rowsin rather poor land. The object of selecting poor land is that thegrowth of the sets may be slow. When the sets have reached the size ofsmall marbles, they are ready for the fall planting. 

In the South the sets may be planted in September. Plant them in rows inrich and well-fertilized soil. They will be ready for market in Marchor April. In the more northerly states the sets are to be planted asearly as possible in the spring. 

To grow ripe onions the seeds must be sowed as early in the spring asthe ground can be worked. The plants are thinned to a stand of threeinches in the rows. As they grow, the soil is drawn away from them sothat the onions sit on top of the soil with only their roots in theearth. 

[Illustration: FIG. 94. HOTBED FOR STARTING TOMATO PLANTS]

As soon as the tops ripen pull the onions and let them lie in the sununtil the tops are dry. Then put them under shelter. As onions keep bestwith their tops attached, do not remove these until it is time formarketing. 

=Peas. = The English pea is about the first vegetable of the season to beplanted. It may be planted as soon as the ground is in workablecondition. Peas are planted in rows, and it is a good plan to stretchwire netting for them to climb on. However, where peas are extensivelycultivated they are allowed to fall on the ground. 

There are many sorts of peas, differing both in quality and in time ofproduction. The first to be planted are the extra-early varieties. Theseare not so fine as the later, wrinkled sorts, but the seeds are less aptto rot in cold ground. Following these, some of the fine, wrinkled sortsare to be planted in regular succession. Peas do not need much manureand do best in a light, warm soil. 

=Tomatoes. = There is no vegetable grown that is more widely used thanthe tomato. Whether fresh or canned it is a staple article of food thatcan be served in many ways. 

By careful selection and breeding, the fruit of the tomato has in recentyears been much improved. There are now many varieties that produceperfectly smooth and solid fruit, and the grower can hardly go amiss inhis selection of seeds if he bears his climate and his particular needsin mind. 

Early tomatoes are started in the greenhouse or in the hotbed about tenweeks before the time for setting the plants in the open ground. Theyare transplanted to cold-frames as soon as they are large enough tohandle. This is done to harden the plants and to give them room to growstrong before the final transplanting. 

In kitchen gardens tomatoes are planted in rows four feet apart with theplants two feet apart in the rows. They are generally trained to stakeswith but one stalk to a stake. When there is plenty of space, however, the plants are allowed to grow at will and to tumble on the ground. Inthis way they bear large crops. During the winter the markets aresupplied with tomatoes either from tropical sections or from hothouses. As those grown in the hothouses are superior in flavor to those shippedfrom Florida and from the West Indies, and as they command good prices, great quantities are grown in this way. 

In the South the bacterial blight which attacks the plants of thisfamily is a serious drawback to tomato culture. The only way to escapethis disease is to avoid planting tomatoes on land in which eggplants, tomatoes, or potatoes have been blighted. Lime spread around the plantsseems to prevent the blight for one season on some soils. 

At the approach of frost in the fall, green tomatoes can easily bepreserved by wrapping them in paper. Gather them carefully and wrap eachseparately. Pack them in boxes and store in a cellar that is closeenough to prevent the freezing of the fruit. A few days before thetomatoes are wanted for the table unpack as many as are needed, removethe paper, and allow them to ripen in a warm room. 

Tomatoes require a rich soil. Scattering a small quantity of nitrate ofsoda around their roots promotes rapid growth. 

=Watermelons. = As watermelons need more room than can usually be sparedin a garden, they are commonly grown as a field crop. 

A very light, sandy soil suits watermelons best. They can be grown onvery poor soil if a good supply of compost be placed in each hill. Theland for the melons should be laid off in about ten-foot checks; thatis, the furrows should cross one another at right angles about every tenfeet. A wide hole should be dug where the furrows cross, and into thiscomposted manure should be put. 

The best manure for watermelons is a compost of stable manure andwood-mold from the forest. Pile the manure and wood-mold in alternatelayers for some time before the planting season. During the winter cutthrough the pile several times until the two are thoroughly mixed andfinely pulverized. Be sure to keep the compost heap under shelter. Compost will lose in value if it is exposed to rains. 

At planting-time, put two or three shovelfuls of this compost into eachof the prepared holes, and over the top of the manure scatter a handfulof any high-grade complete fertilizer. Then cover fertilizer and manurewith soil, and plant the seeds in this soil. In cultivating, plow bothways of the checked rows and throw the earth toward the plants. 

Some growers pinch off the vines when they have grown about three feetlong. This is done to make them branch more freely, but the pinching isnot necessary. 

A serious disease, the watermelon wilt, is rapidly spreading throughmelon-growing sections. This disease is caused by germs in the soil, andthe germs are hard to kill. If the wilt should appear in yourneighborhood, do not allow any stable manure to be used on your melonland, for the germs are easily scattered by means of stable manure. Thegerms also cling to the seeds of diseased melons, and these seeds bearthe disease to other fields. If you treat melon seeds as you aredirected on page 135 to treat oat seeds, the germs on the seeds will bedestroyed. By crossing the watermelon on the citron melon, a watermelonthat is resistant to wilt has recently been developed and successfullygrown in soils in which wilt is present. The new melon, inferior inflavor at first, is being improved from season to season and bids fairto rival other melons in flavor. 

[Illustration: FIG. 95. DEWBERRIES]

SECTION XXVI. FLOWER GARDENING

The comforts and joys of life depend largely upon small things. Of thesesmall things perhaps none holds a position of greater importance incountry life than the adornment of the home, indoors and outdoors, withflowers tastefully arranged. Their selection and planting furnishpleasant recreation; their care is a pleasing employment; and eachlittle plant, as it sprouts and grows and develops, may become as much apet as creatures of the sister animal kingdom. A beautiful, well-keptyard adds greatly to the pleasure and attractiveness of a country home. If a beautiful yard and home give joy to the mere passer-by, how muchmore must their beauty appeal to the owners. The decorating of the homeshows ambition, pride, and energy--important elements in a successfullife. 

[Illustration: FIG. 96. AN EASY WAY TO BEAUTIFY THE HOME]

Plant trees and shrubs in your yard and border your masses of shrubberywith flower-beds. Do not disfigure a lawn by placing a bed of flowers init. Use the flowers rather to decorate the shrubbery, and for bordersalong walks, and in the corners near steps, or against foundations. 

If you wish to raise flowers for the sake of flowers, not asdecorations, make the flower-beds in the back yard or at the side of thehouse. 

[Illustration: FIG. 97. A BACK YARD TO REFINE THE CHILDREN OF THEFAMILY]

Plants may be grown from seeds or from bulbs or from cuttings. Therooting of cuttings is an interesting task to all who are fond offlowers. Those who have no greenhouse and who wish to root cuttings ofgeraniums, roses, and other plants may do so in the following way. Takea shallow pan, an old-fashioned milk pan for instance, fill it nearlyfull of clean sand, and then wet the sand thoroughly. Stick the cuttingsthickly into this wet sand, set the pan in a warm, sunny window, andkeep the sand in the same water-soaked condition. Most cuttings willroot well in a few weeks and may then be set into small flower-pots. Cuttings of tea roses should have two or three joints and be taken froma stem that has just made a flower. Allow one of the rose leaves toremain at the top of the cutting. Stick this cutting into the sand andit will root in about four weeks. Cuttings of Cape jasmine may be rootedin the same way. Some geraniums, the rose geranium for example, may begrown from cuttings of the roots. 

[Illustration: FIG. 98. REPOTTING]

Bulbs are simply the lower ends of the leaves of a plant wrapped tightlyaround one another and inclosing the bud that makes the futureflower-stalk. The hyacinth, the narcissus, and the common garden onionare examples of bulbous plants. The flat part at the bottom of the bulbis the stem of the plant reduced to a flat disk, and between each twoadjacent leaves on this flat stem there is a bud, just as above-groundthere is a bud at the base of a leaf. These buds on the stem of the bulbrarely grow, however, unless forced to do so artificially. The numberof bulbs may be greatly increased by making these buds grow and formother bulbs. In increasing hyacinths the matured bulbs are dug in thespring, and the under part of the flat stem is carefully scraped away toexpose the base of the buds. The bulbs are then put in heaps and coveredwith sand. In a few weeks each bud has formed a little bulb. Thegardener plants the whole together to grow one season, after which thelittle bulbs are separated and grown into full-sized bulbs for sale. Other bulbs, like the narcissus or the daffodil, form new bulbs thatseparate without being scraped. 

[Illustration: FIG. 99. A CLEMATIS]

There are some other plants which have underground parts that arecommonly called bulbs but which are not bulbs at all; for example, thegladiolus and the caladium, or elephant's ear. Their underground partsare bulblike in shape, but are really solid flattened stems with eyeslike the underground stem of the Irish potato. These parts are called_corms_. They may be cut into pieces like the potato and each part willgrow. 

The dahlia makes a mass of roots that look greatly like sweet potatoes, but there are no eyes on them as there are on the sweet potato. The onlyeyes are on the base of the stem to which they are joined. They may besprouted like sweet potatoes and then soft cuttings made of the greenshoots, after which they may be rooted in the greenhouse and laterplanted in pots. 

There are many perennial plants that will bloom the first season whengrown from the seed, though such seedlings are seldom so good as theplants from which they came. They are generally used to originate newvarieties. Seeds of the dahlia, for instance, can be sowed in a box in awarm room in early March, potted as soon as the plants are large enoughto handle, and finally planted in the garden when the weather is warm. They will bloom nearly as soon as plants grown by dividing the roots orfrom cuttings. 

[Illustration: FIG. 100. OUTDOOR-GROWN CHRYSANTHEMUMS]

In growing annual plants from seed, there is little difficulty if thegrower has a greenhouse or a hotbed with a glass sash. Even withoutthese the plants may be grown in shallow boxes in a warm room. The bestboxes are about four inches deep with bottoms made of slats nailed aquarter of an inch apart to give proper drainage. Some moss is laid overthe bottom to prevent the soil from sifting through. The boxes shouldthen be filled with light, rich soil. Fine black forest mold, thoroughlymixed with one fourth its bulk of well-rotted manure, makes the bestsoil for filling the seed-boxes. If this soil be placed in an oven andheated very hot, the heat will destroy many weeds that would otherwisegive trouble. After the soil is put in the boxes it should be wellpacked by pressing it with a flat wooden block. Sow the seeds instraight rows, and at the ends of the rows put little wooden labels withthe names of the flowers on them. 

[Illustration: FIG. 101. THE CARNATION (ELDORADO)]

Seeds sowed in the same box should be of the same general size in orderthat they may be properly covered, for seeds need to be coveredaccording to their size. After sowing the seed, sift the fine soil overthe surface of the box. The best soil for covering small seeds is madeby rubbing dry moss and leaf-mold through a sieve together. This makes alight cover that will not bake and will retain moisture. After coveringthe seeds, press the soil firm and smooth with a wooden block. Nowsprinkle the covering soil lightly with a watering-pot until it isfairly moistened. Lay some panes of glass over the box to retain themoisture, and avoid further watering until moisture becomes absolutelynecessary. Too much watering makes the soil too compact and rots theseed. 

As soon as the seedlings have made a second pair of leaves, take them upwith the point of a knife and transplant them into other boxes filled inthe same way. They should be set two inches apart so as to give themroom to grow strong. They may be transplanted from the boxes to theflower-garden by taking an old knife-blade and cutting the earth intosquares, and then lifting the entire square with the plant and settingit where it is wanted. 

There are many flower-seeds which are so small that they must not becovered at all. In this class we find begonias, petunias, and Chineseprimroses. To sow these prepare boxes as for the other seeds, and pressthe earth smooth. Then scatter some fine, dry moss thinly over thesurface of the soil. Sprinkle this with water until it is wellmoistened, and at once scatter the seeds thinly over the surface andcover the boxes with panes of glass until the seeds germinate. Transplant as soon as the young plants can be lifted out separately onthe blade of a penknife. 

[Illustration: FIG. 102. THE POET'S NARCISSUS]

Many kinds of flower-seeds may be sowed directly in the open groundwhere they are to remain. The sweet pea is one of the most popularflowers grown in this way. The seeds should be sowed rather thickly inrows and covered fully four inches deep. The sowing should be varied intime according to the climate. From North Carolina southward, sweet peasmay be sowed in the fall or in January, as they are very hardy andshould be forced to bloom before the weather becomes hot. Late springsowing will not give fine flowers in the South. From North Carolinanorthward the seeds should be sowed just as early in the spring as theground can be easily worked. When the plants appear, stakes should beset along the rows and a strip of woven-wire fence stretched for theplants to climb on. Morning-glory seeds are also sowed where they are togrow. The seeds of the moonflower are large and hard and will fail togrow unless they are slightly cut. To start their growth make a slightcut just through the hard outer coat of the seed so as to expose thewhite inside. In this way they will grow very readily. The seeds of thecanna, or Indian-shot plant, are treated in a similar way to start themgrowing. 

[Illustration: FIG. 103. A CYCLAMEN]

[Illustration: FIG. 104. A MODERN SWEET PEA]

The canna makes large fleshy roots which in the North are taken up, covered with damp moss, and stored under the benches of the greenhouseor in a cellar. If allowed to get too dry, they will wither. Fromcentral North Carolina south it is best to cover them up thickly withdead leaves and let them stay in the ground where they grew. In theearly spring take them up and divide for replanting. 

[Illustration: FIG. 105. DAHLIAS]

Perennial plants, such as our flowering shrubs, are grown from cuttingsof the ripe wood after the leaves have fallen in autumn. From NorthCarolina southward these cuttings should be set in rows in the fall. Cuttings ten inches long are set so that the tops are just even with theground. A light cover of pine leaves will prevent damage from frost. Farther north the cuttings should be tied in bundles and well buried inthe ground with earth heaped over them. In the spring set them in rowsfor rooting. In the South all the hardy hybrid perpetual roses can begrown in this way, and in any section the cuttings of most of thespring-flowering shrubs will grow in the same manner. The Japanesequince, which makes such a show of its scarlet flowers in early spring, can be best grown from three-inch cuttings made of the roots and plantedin rows in the fall. 

[Illustration: FIG. 106. FOUR-O'CLOCKS SET IN A GOOD PLACE]

Many of our ornamental evergreen trees, such as the arbor vitæ, can begrown in the spring from seeds sowed in a frame. Cotton cloth should bestretched over the trees while they are young, to prevent the sun fromscorching them. When a year old they may be set in nursery rows todevelop until they are large enough to plant. Arbor vitæ may also begrown from cuttings made by setting young tips in boxes of sand in thefall and keeping them warm and moist through the winter. Most of themwill be rooted by spring. 

The kinds of flowers that you can grow are almost countless. You canhardly make a mistake in selecting, as all are interesting. Start thisyear with a few and gradually increase the number under your care yearby year, and aim always to make your plants the choicest of their kind. 

Of annuals there are over four hundred kinds cultivated. You may selectfrom the following list: phlox, petunias, China asters, Californiapoppies, sweet peas, pinks, double and single sunflowers, hibiscus, candytuft, balsams, morning-glories, stocks, nasturtiums, verbenas, mignonette. 

[Illustration: FIG. 107. A WINDOW BOX]

Of perennials select bleeding-hearts, pinks, bluebells, hollyhocks, perennial phlox, perennial hibiscus, wild asters, and goldenrods. Frombulbs choose crocus, tulip, daffodil, narcissus, lily of the valley, andlily. 

Some climbers are cobæa, honeysuckle, Virginia creeper, English ivy, Boston ivy, cypress vine, hyacinth bean, climbing nasturtiums, androses. 

To make your plants do best, cultivate them carefully. Allow no weeds togrow among them and do not let the surface of the soil dry into a hardcrust. Beware, however, of stirring the soil too deep. Loosening thesoil about the roots interrupts the feeding of the plant and does harm. Climbing plants may be trained to advantage on low woven-wire fences. These are especially serviceable for sweet peas and climbingnasturtiums. Do not let the plants go to seed, since seeding is a heavydrain on nourishment. Moreover, the plant has served its end when itseeds and is ready then to stop blossoming. You should therefore pickoff the old flowers to prevent their developing seeds. This will causemany plants which would otherwise soon stop blossoming to continuebearing flowers for a longer period. 

[Illustration: FIG. 108. A WINDOW-GARDEN]

=Window-Gardening. = Growing plants indoors in the window possesses manyof the attractions of outdoor flower-gardening, and is a means ofbeautifying the room at very small expense. Especially do window-gardensgive delight during the barren winter time. They are a source of cultureand pleasure to thousands who cannot afford extended and expensiveornamentation. 

The window-garden may vary in size from an eggshell holding a minuteplant to boxes filling all the available space about the window. Thesoil may be in pots for individual plants or groups of plants or inboxes for collections of plants. You may raise your flowers inside ofthe window on shelves or stands, or you may have a set of shelves builtoutside of the window and inclosed in glazed sashes. The illustration onpage 119 gives an idea of such an external window-garden. 

[Illustration: FIG. 109. AN INSIDE WINDOW BOX IN ITS FULL GLORY]

The soil must be rich and loose. The best contains some undecayedorganic matter such as leaf-mold or partly decayed sods and some sand. Raise your plants from bulbs, cuttings, or seed, just as in outdoorgardens. Some plants do better in cool rooms, others in a warmertemperature. 

[Illustration: FIG. 110. MAKING THE OUTSIDE OF A WINDOW BLOOM]

If the temperature ranges from 35° to 70°, averaging about 55°, azaleas, daisies, carnations, candytuft, alyssum, dusty miller, chrysanthemums, cinerarias, camellias, daphnes, geraniums, petunias, violets, primroses, and verbenas make especially good growths. 

[Illustration: A BEAUTIFUL WINDOW FLOWER]

If the temperature is from 50° to 90°, averaging 70°, try abutilon, begonia, bouvardia, caladium, canna, Cape jasmine, coleus, fuchsia, gloxinia, heliotrope, lantana, lobelia, roses, and smilax. 

If your box or window is shaded a good part of the time, raise begonias, camellias, ferns, and Asparagus Sprengeri. 

[Illustration: FIG. 111. FERNS FOR BOTH INDOORS AND OUTDOORS]

When the soil is dry, water it; then apply no more water until it againbecomes dry. Beware of too much water. The plants should be washedoccasionally with soapsuds and then rinsed. If red spiders are present, sponge them off with water as hot as can be borne comfortably by thehand. Newspapers afford a good means of keeping off the cold. 

CHAPTER VI

THE DISEASES OF PLANTS

SECTION XXVII. THE CAUSE AND NATURE OF PLANT DISEASE

Plants have diseases just as animals do; not the same diseases, to besure, but just as serious for the plant. Some of them are so dangerousthat they kill the plant; others partly or wholly destroy its usefulnessor its beauty. Some diseases are found oftenest on very young plants, others prey on the middle-aged tree, while still others attack merelythe fruit. Whenever a farmer or fruit-grower has disease on his plants, he is sure to lose much profit. 

You have all seen rotten fruit. This is diseased fruit. Fruit rot is aplant disease. It costs farmers millions of dollars annually. Afruit-grower recently lost sixty carloads of peaches in a single yearthrough rot which could have been largely prevented if he had known how. 

Many of the yellowish or discolored spots on leaves are the result ofdisease, as is also the smut of wheat, corn, and oats, the blight of thepear, and the wilt of cotton. Many of these diseases are contagious, or, as we often hear said of measles, "catching. " This is true, amongothers, of the apple and peach rots. A healthy apple can catch thisdisease from a sick apple. You often see evidence of this in the applebin. So, too, many of the diseases found in the field or garden arecontagious. 

Sometimes when the skin of a rotten apple has been broken you will findin the broken place a blue mold. It was this that caused the apple todecay. This mold is a living plant; very small, certainly, butnevertheless a plant. Let us learn a little about molds, in order thatwe may better understand our apple and potato rots, as well as otherplant diseases. 

If you cut a lemon and let it stand for a day or two, there willprobably appear a blue mold like that you have seen on the surface ofcanned fruit. Bread also sometimes has this blue mold; at other timesbread has a black mold, and yet again a pink or a yellow mold. 

These and all other molds are tiny living plants. Instead of seeds theyproduce many very small bodies that serve the purpose of seeds andreproduce the mold. These are called _spores_. Fig. 112 shows how theyare borne on the parent plant. 

[Illustration: FIG. 112. TANGLED THREADS OF BLUE MOLDThe single stalk on the left shows how spores are borne]

It is also of great importance to decide whether by keeping the sporesaway we may prevent mold. Possibly this experiment will help us. Moistena piece of bread, then dip a match or a pin into the blue mold on alemon, and draw the match across the moist bread. You will thus plantthe spores in a row, though they are so small that perhaps you may notsee any of them. Place the bread in a damp place for a few days andwatch it. Does the mold grow where you planted it? Does it growelsewhere? This experiment should prove to you that molds are livingthings and can be planted. If you find spots elsewhere, you must bear inmind that these spores are very small and light and that some of themwere probably blown about when you made your sowing. When you touch themoldy portion of a dry lemon, you see a cloud of dust rise. This dust ismade of millions of spores. 

[Illustration: FIG. 113. MAGNIFIED ROSE MILDEW]

If you plant many other kinds of mold you will find that the molds cometrue to the kind that is planted; that like produces like even amongmolds. 

[Illustration: FIG. 114. A MILDEWED ROSE]

You can prove, also, that the mold is caused only by other mold. To dothis, put some wet bread in a wide-mouthed bottle and plug the mouth ofthe bottle with cotton. Kill all the spores that may be in this bottleby steaming it an hour in a cooking-steamer. This bread will not molduntil you allow live mold from the outside to enter. If, however, at anytime you open the bottle and allow spores to enter, or if you plantspores therein, and if there be moisture enough, mold will immediatelyset in. 

[Illustration: FIG. 115. A HIGHLY MAGNIFIED SECTION OF DISEASED PEAR LEAFShowing how spores are borne]

The little plants which make up these molds are called _fungi_. Somefungi, such as the toadstools, puffballs, and devil's snuff-box, arequite large; others, namely the molds, are very small; and others areeven smaller than the molds. Fungi never have the green color ofordinary plants, always reproduce by spores, and feed on living matteror matter that was once alive. Puffballs, for example, are found onrotting wood or dead twigs or roots. Some fungi grow on living plants, and these produce plant disease by taking their nourishment from theplant on which they grow; the latter plant is called the _host_. 

The same blue mold that grows on bread often attacks apples that havebeen slightly bruised; it cannot pierce healthy apple skin. You canplant the mold in the bruised apple just as you did on bread and watchits rapid spread through the apple. You learn from this the need ofpreventing bruised or decayed apples from coming in contact with healthyfruit. 

[Illustration: FIG. 116. SPORES OF THE PEAR SCABThe spores are borne on stalks]

Just as the fungus studied above lives in the apple or bread, so othervarieties live on leaves, bark, etc. Fig. 113 represents the surface ofa mildewed rose leaf greatly magnified. This mildew is a fungus. You cansee its creeping stems, its upright stalk, and numerous spores ready tofall off and spread the disease with the first breath of wind. You mustremember that this figure is greatly magnified, and that the wholeportion shown in the figure is only about one tenth of an inch across. Fig. 114 shows the general appearance of a twig affected by thisdisease. 

Mildew on the rose or on any other plant may be killed by spraying theleaves with a solution of liver of sulphur; to make this solution, useone ounce of the liver of sulphur to two gallons of water. 

The fungus that causes the pear-leaf spots has its spores in little pits(Fig. 115). The spores of some fungi also grow on stalks, as shown inFig. 116. This figure represents an enlarged view of the pear scab, which causes so much destruction. 

You see, then, that fungi are living plants that grow at the expense ofother plants and cause disease. Now if you can cover the leaf with apoison that will kill the spore when it comes, you can prevent thedisease. One such poison is the Bordeaux (_bôr-do_') mixture, whichhas proved of great value to farmers. 

Since the fungus in most cases lives within the leaves, the poison onthe outside does no good after the fungus is established. The treatmentcan be used only to _prevent_ attack, not to cure, except in the case ofa few mildews that live on the outside of the leaf, as does the rosemildew. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Why do things mold more readily in damp places? Do you now understand why fruit is heated before it is canned? Try to grow several kinds of mold. Do you know any fungi which may be eaten?

 Transfer disease from a rotten apple to a healthy one and note the rapidity of decay. How many really healthy leaves can you find on a strawberry plant? Do you find any spots with reddish borders and white centers? Do you know that this is a serious disease of the strawberry? What damage does fruit mold do to peaches, plums, or strawberries?

 Write to your experiment station for bulletins on plant diseases and methods for making and using spraying mixtures. 

SECTION XXVIII. YEAST AND BACTERIA

Can you imagine a plant so small that it would take one hundred plantslying side by side to equal the thickness of a sheet of writing-paper?There are plants that are so small. Moreover, these same plants are ofthe utmost importance to man. Some of them do him great injury, whileothers aid him very much. 

You will see their importance when you are told that certain of them intheir habits of life cause great change in the substances in which theylive. For example, when living in a sugary substance they change thesugar into a gas and an alcohol. Do you remember the bright bubbles ofgas you have seen rising in sweet cider or in wine as it soured? Thesebubbles are caused by one of these small plants--the yeast plant. As theyeast plant grows in the sweet fruit juice, alcohol is made and a gas isgiven off at the same time, and this gas makes the bubbles. 

[Illustration: FIG. 117. YEAST PLANTS_A_, a single plant; _B_, group of two budding cells; _C_, group ofseveral cells]

Later, other kinds of plants equally small will grow and change thealcohol into an acid which you will recognize as vinegar by its sourtaste and peculiar odor. Thus vinegar is made by the action of twodifferent kinds of little living plants in the cider. That these areliving beings you can prove by heating the cider and keeping it tightlysealed so that nothing can enter it. You will find that because theliving germs have been killed by the heat, the cider will not ferment orsour as it did before. The germs could of course be killed by poisons, but then the cider would be unfit for use. It is this same little yeastplant that causes bread to rise. 

When you see any decaying matter you may know that in it minute plantsmuch like the yeast plant are at work. Since decay is due to them, wetake advantage of the fact that they cannot grow in strong brine orsmoke; and we prepare meat for keeping by salting it or by smoking it orby both of these methods. 

You see that some of the yeast plants and _bacteria_, as many of theseforms are called, are very friendly to us, while others do us greatharm. 

Some bacteria grow within the bodies of men and other animals or inplants. When they do so they may produce disease. Typhoid fever, diphtheria, consumption, and many other serious diseases are caused bybacteria. Fig. 118, _e_, shows the bacterium that causes typhoid fever. In the picture, of course, it is very greatly magnified. In realitythese bacteria are so small that about twenty-five thousand of them sideby side would extend only one inch. These small beings produce theirgreat effects by very rapid multiplication and by giving off powerfulpoisons. 

[Illustration: FIG. 118. FORMS OF BACTERIA_a_, grippe; _b_, bubonic plague; _c_, diphtheria; _d_, tuberculosis;_e_, typhoid fever]

Bacteria are so small that they are readily borne on the dust particlesof the air and are often taken into the body through the breath and alsothrough water or milk. You can therefore see how careful you should beto prevent germs from getting into the air or into water or milk whenthere is disease about your home. You should heed carefully allinstructions of your physician on this point, so that you may not spreaddisease. 

SECTION XXIX. PREVENTION OF PLANT DISEASE

In the last two sections you have learned something of the nature ofthose fungi and bacteria that cause disease in animals and plants. Nowlet us see how we can use this knowledge to lessen the diseases of ourcrops. Farmers lose through plant diseases much that could be saved byproper precaution. 

First, you must remember that every diseased fruit, twig, or leaf bearsmillions of spores. These must be destroyed by burning. They must not beallowed to lie about and spread the disease in the spring. See thatdecayed fruit in the bin or on the trees is destroyed in the samemanner. Never throw decayed fruit into the garden or orchard, as it maycause disease the following year. 

Second, you can often kill spores on seeds before they are planted andthus prevent the development of the fungus (see pp. 134-137). 

Third, often the foliage of the plant can be sprayed with a poison thatwill prevent the germination of the spores (see pp. 138-140). 

Fourth, some varieties of plants resist disease much more stoutly thanothers. We may often select the resistant form to great advantage (seeFig. 119). 

Fifth, after big limbs are pruned off, decay often sets in at the wound. This decay may be prevented by coating the cut surface with paint, tar, or some other substance that will not allow spores to enter the wound orto germinate there. 

Sixth, it frequently happens that the spore or fungus remains in thesoil. This is true in the cotton wilt, and the remedy is so to rotatecrops that the diseased land is not used again for this crop until thespores or fungi have died. 

SECTION XXX. SOME SPECIAL PLANT DISEASES

=Fire-Blight of the Pear and Apple. = You have perhaps heard your fatherspeak of the "fire-blight" of pear and apple trees. This is one of themost injurious and most widely known of fruit diseases. Do you want toknow the cause of this disease and how to prevent it?

First, how will you recognize this disease? If the diseased bough atwhich you are looking has true fire-blight, you will see a blackenedtwig with withered, blackened leaves. During winter the leaves do notfall from blighted twigs as they do from healthy ones. The leaves witherbecause of the diseased twig, not because they are themselves diseased. Only rarely does the blight really enter the leaf. Sometimes a sharpline separates the blighted from the healthy part of the twig. 

This disease is caused by bacteria, of which you have read in anothersection. The fire-blight bacteria grow in the juicy part of the stem, between the wood and the bark. This tender, fresh layer (as explained onpage 79) is called the _cambium_, and is the part that breaks away andallows you to slip the bark off when you make your bark whistle in thespring. The growth of new wood takes place in the cambium, and this partof the twig is therefore full of nourishment. If this nourishment isstolen the plant of course soon suffers. 

The bacteria causing fire-blight are readily carried from flower toflower and from twig to twig by insects; therefore to keep these andother bacteria away from your trees you must see to it that all thetrees in the neighborhood of your orchard are kept free from mischievousenemies. If harmful bacteria exist in near-by trees, insects will carrythem to your orchard. You must therefore watch all the relatives of thepear; namely, the apple, hawthorn, crab, quince, and mountain ash, forany of these trees may harbor the germs. 

[Illustration: FIG. 119. A RESISTANT VARIETY OF SEA ISLAND COTTONAll the other plants in this field died. This one row lived because itcould resist the cotton wilt]

When any tree shows blight, every diseased twig on it must be cut offand burned in order to kill the germs, and you must cut low enough onthe twig to get all the bacteria. It is best to cut a foot below theblackened portion. If by chance your knife should cut into woodcontaining the living germs, and then you should cut into healthy woodwith the same knife, you yourself would spread the disease. It istherefore best after each cutting to dip your knife into a solution ofcarbolic acid. This will kill all bacteria clinging to the knife-blade. The surest time to do complete trimming is after the leaves fall in theautumn, as diseased twigs are most easily recognized at that time, butthe orchard should be carefully watched in the spring also. If a largelimb shows the blight, it is perhaps best to cut the tree entirely down. There is little hope for such a tree. 

A large pear-grower once said that no man with a sharp knife need fearthe fire-blight. Yet our country loses greatly by this disease eachyear. 

[Illustration: FIG. 120. FIRE-BLIGHT BACTERIAMagnified]

It may be added that winter pruning tends to make the tree form much newwood and thus favors the disease. Rich soil and fertilizers make it mucheasier in a similar way for the tree to become a prey to blight. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Ask your teacher to show you a case of fire-blight on a pear or apple tree. Can you distinguish between healthy and diseased wood? Cut the twig open lengthwise and see how deep into the wood and how far down the stem the disease extends. Can you tell surely from the outside how far the twig is diseased? Can you find any twig that does not show a distinct line of separation between diseased and healthy wood? If so, the bacteria are still living in the cambium. Cut out a small bit of the diseased portion and insert it under the bark of a healthy, juicy twig within a few inches of its tip and watch it from day to day. Does the tree catch the disease? This experiment may prove to you how easily the disease spreads. If you should see any drops like dew hanging from diseased twigs, touch a little of this moisture to a healthy flower and watch for results. 

 Cut and burn all diseased twigs that you can find. Estimate the damage done by fire-blight. 

 Farmers' bulletins on orchard enemies are published by the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. , and can be had by writing for them. They will help your father much in treating fire-blight. 

=Oat Smuts. = Let us go out into a near-by oat field and look for all theblackened heads of grain that we can find. How many are there? To countaccurately let us select an area one foot square. We must lookcarefully, for many of these blackened heads are so low that we shallnot see them at the first glance. You will be surprised to find as manyas thirty or forty heads in every hundred so blackened. These blackenedheads are due to a plant disease called _smut_. 

[Illustration: FIG. 121. LOOSE SMUT OF OATSThe glumes at _a_ more nearly destroyed than the glumes at _b_]

When threshing-time comes you will notice a great quantity of black dustcoming from the grain as it passes through the machine. The air is fullof it. This black dust consists of the spores of a tiny fungous plant. The fungous smut plant grows upon the oat plant, ripens its spores inthe head, and is ready to be thoroughly scattered among the grains ofthe oats as they come from the threshing-machine. 

These spores cling to the grain and at the next planting are ready toattack the sprouting plantlet. A curious thing about the smut is that itcan gain a foothold only on very young oat plants; that is, on plantsabout an inch long or of the age shown in Fig. 121. 

When grain covered with smut spores is planted, the spores develop withthe sprouting seeds and are ready to attack the young plant as it breaksthrough the seed-coat. You see, then, how important it is to have seedgrain free from smut. A substance has been found that will, withoutinjuring the seeds, kill all the smut spores clinging to the grain. Thissubstance is called _formalin_. Enough seed to plant a whole acre can betreated with formalin at a cost of only a few cents. Such treatmentinsures a full crop and clean seed for future planting. Try it if youhave any smut. 

[Illustration: FIG. 122. A CROP FROM OATS TREATED WITH FORMALIN]

Fig. 122 illustrates what may be gained by using seeds treated toprevent smut. The annual loss to the farmers of the United States fromsmut on oats amounts to several millions of dollars. All that is neededto prevent this loss is a little care in the treatment of seed and aproper rotation of crops. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Count the smutted heads on a patch three feet square and estimate the percentage of smut in all the wheat and oat fields near your home. On which is it most abundant? Do you know of any fields that have been treated for smut? If so, look for smut in these fields. Ask how they were treated. Do you know of any one who uses bluestone for wheat smut? Can oats be treated with bluestone?

 At planting time get an ounce of formalin at your drug store or from the state experiment station. Mix this with three gallons of water. This amount will treat three bushels of seeds. Spread the seeds thinly on the barn floor and sprinkle them with the mixture, being careful that all the seeds are thoroughly moistened. Cover closely with blankets for a few hours and plant very soon after treatment. Try this and estimate the per cent of smut at next harvest-time. Write to your experiment station for a bulletin on smut treatment. 

[Illustration: FIG. 123. A SCABBY SEED POTATO]

[Illustration: FIG. 124. A HEALTHY SEED POTATO]

=Potato Scab. = The scab of the white, or Irish, potato is one of thecommonest and at the same time most easily prevented of plant diseases. Yet this disease diminishes the profits of the potato-grower verymaterially. Fig. 123 shows a very scabby potato, while Fig. 124represents a healthy one. This scab is caused by a fungous growth on thesurface of the potato. Of course it lessens the selling-price of thepotatoes. If seed potatoes be treated to a bath of formalin just beforethey are planted, the formalin will kill the fungi on the potatoes andgreatly diminish the amount of scab at the next harvest. Thereforebefore they are planted, seed potatoes should be soaked in a weaksolution of formalin for about two hours. One-half pint of formalin tofifteen gallons of water makes a proper solution. 

[Illustration: FIG. 125From a scabby potato, like the one in Fig. 123, this yield was obtained]

[Illustration: FIG. 126From a healthy potato, like the one in Fig. 124, this yield was obtained]

[Illustration: FIG. 127. EFFECT OF SPRAYINGSprayed potatoes on left; unsprayed on right]

One pint of formalin, or enough for thirty gallons of water, will costbut thirty-five cents. Since this solution can be used repeatedly, itwill do for many bushels of seed potatoes. 

=Late Potato Blight. = The blight is another serious disease of thepotato. This is quite a different disease from the scab and so requiresdifferent treatment. The blight is caused by another fungus, whichattacks the foliage of the potato plant. When the blight seriouslyattacks a crop, it generally destroys the crop completely. In the year1845 a potato famine extending over all the United States and Europe wascaused by this disease. 

[Illustration: FIG. 128. YIELD FROM TWO FIELDS OF THE SAME SIZEThe one at the top was sprayed; the one at the bottom was unsprayed]

Spraying is the remedy for potato blight. Fig. 128 shows the effect ofspraying upon the yield. In this case the sprayed field yielded threehundred and twenty-four bushels an acre, while the unsprayed yieldedonly one hundred bushels to an acre. Fig. 127 shows the result of threeapplications of the spraying mixture on the diseased field. Figs. 129and 130 show how the spraying is done. 

[Illustration: FIG. 129. SPRAYING MACHINE]

[Illustration: FIG. 130. SPRAYING MACHINE]

 =EXERCISE=

 Watch the potatoes at the next harvest and estimate the number that is damaged by scab. You will remember that formalin is the substance used to prevent grain smuts. Write to your state experiment station for a bulletin telling how to use formalin, as well as for information regarding other potato diseases. Give the treatment a fair trial in a portion of your field this year and watch carefully for results. Make an estimate of the cost of treatment and of the profits. How does the scab injure the value of the potato? The late blight can often be recognized by its odor. Did you ever smell it as you passed an affected field?

[Illustration: FIG. 131. CLUB ROOT]

=Club Root. = Club root is a disease of the cabbage, turnip, cauliflower, etc. Its general effect is shown in the illustration (Fig. 131). Sometimes this disease does great damage. It can be prevented by usingfrom eighty to ninety bushels of lime to an acre. 

=Black Knot. = Black knot is a serious disease of the plum and of thecherry tree. It attacks the branches of the tree; it is wellillustrated in Fig. 132. Since it is a contagious disease, great careshould be exercised to destroy all diseased branches of either wild orcultivated plums or cherries. In many states its destruction is enforcedby law. All black knot should be cut out and burned some time beforeFebruary of each year. This will cost little and save much. 

[Illustration: FIG. 132. BLACK KNOT]

=Peach Leaf Curl. = Peach leaf curl does damage amounting to about$3, 000, 000 yearly in the United States. It can be almost entirelyprevented by spraying the tree with Bordeaux mixture or lime-sulphurwash before the buds open in the spring. It is not safe to use strongBordeaux mixture on peach trees when they are in leaf. 

[Illustration: FIG. 133. MOLDY PEACHES]

=Cotton Wilt. = Cotton wilt when it once establishes itself in the soilcompletely destroys the crop. The fungus remains in the soil, and noamount of spraying will kill it. The only known remedy is to cultivate aresistant variety of cotton or to rotate the crop. 

[Illustration: FIG. 134. PEACH MUMMIES]

=Fruit Mold. = Fruit mold, or brown rot, often attacks the unripe fruiton the tree, and turns it soft and brown and finally fuzzy with a coatof mildew. Fig. 133 shows some peaches thus attacked. Often the fruitsdo not fall from the trees but shrivel up and become "mummies" (Fig. 134). This rot is one of the most serious diseases of plums and peaches. It probably diminishes the value of the peach harvest from 50 to 75 percent. Spraying according to the directions in the Appendix will kill thedisease. 

[Illustration: FIG. 135. HALF OF TREE SPRAYED TO PREVENT PEACH CURLNote the difference in foliage and fruit on the sprayed and unsprayedhalves of the tree, and the difference in yield shown below]

CHAPTER VII

ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS

SECTION XXXI. INSECTS IN GENERAL

The farmer who has fought "bugs" on crop after crop needs no argument toconvince him that insects are serious enemies to agriculture. Yet evenhe may be surprised to learn that the damage done by them, as estimatedby good authority, amounts to millions and millions of dollars yearly inthe United States and Canada. 

[Illustration: FIG. 136. ANTS]

Every one thinks he knows what an insect is. If, however, we are willingin this matter to make our notion agree with that of the people who havestudied insects most and know them best, we must include among the trueinsects only such air-breathing animals as have six legs, no more, andhave the body divided into three parts--head, thorax, and abdomen. Theseparts are clearly shown in Fig. 136, which represents the ant, a trueinsect. All insects do not show the divisions of the body so clearly asthis figure shows them, but on careful examination you can usually makethem out. The head bears one pair of feelers, and these in many insectsserve also as organs of smell and sometimes of hearing. Less prominentfeelers are to be found in the region of the mouth. These serve asorgans of taste. 

[Illustration: FIG. 137. PARTS OF AN INSECT]

[Illustration: FIG. 138. COMPOUND EYE OF DRAGON FLY]

The eyes of insects are especially noticeable. Close examination showsthem to be made up of a thousand or more simple eyes. Such an eye iscalled a _compound eye_. An enlarged view of one of these is shown inFig. 138. 

Attached to the thorax are the legs and also the wings, if the insecthas wings. The rear portion is the abdomen, and this, like the otherparts, is composed of parts known as segments. The insect breathesthrough openings in the abdomen and thorax called _spiracles_ (see Fig. 137). 

An examination of spiders, mites, and ticks shows eight legs; thereforethese do not belong to the true insects, nor do the thousand-leggedworms and their relatives. 

[Illustration: FIG. 139. THE HOUSE FLY_a_, egg; _b_, larva, or maggot; _c_, pupa; _d_, adult male. (Allenlarged)]

The chief classes of insects are as follows: the flies, with two wingsonly; the bees, wasps, and ants, with four delicate wings; the beetles, with four wings--two hard, horny ones covering the two more delicateones. When the beetle is at rest its two hard wings meet in a straightline down the back. This peculiarity distinguishes it from the true bug, which has four wings. The two outer wings are partly horny, and infolding lap over each other. Butterflies and moths are much alike inappearance but differ in habit. The butterfly works by day and the mothby night. Note the knob on the end of the butterfly's feeler (Fig. 143). The moth has no such knob. 

It is important to know how insects take their food, for by knowing thiswe are often able to destroy insect pests. Some are provided with mouthparts for chewing their food; others have a long tube with which theypierce plants or animals and, like the mosquito, suck their food fromthe inside. Insects of this latter class cannot of course be harmed bypoison on the surface of the leaves on which they feed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 140. A TYPICAL BUG_a_, adult; _b_, side view of sucking mouth-part Both _a_ and _b_ aremuch enlarged]

[Illustration: Fig. 141. BEETLE_a_, larva; _b_, pupa; _c_, adult; _d_, burrow]

Many insects change their form from youth to old age so much that youcan scarcely recognize them as the same creatures. First comes the egg. The egg hatches into a worm-like animal known as a grub, maggot, orcaterpillar, or, as scientists call it, a _larva_. This creature feedsand grows until finally it settles down and spins a home of silk, calleda _cocoon_ (Fig. 145). If we open the cocoon we shall find that theanimal is now covered with a hard outside skeleton, that it cannot movefreely, and that it cannot eat at all. The animal in this state is knownas the _pupa_ (Figs. 145 and 146). Sometimes, however, the pupa is notcovered by a cocoon, sometimes it is soft, and sometimes it has somepower of motion (Fig. 141). After a rest in the pupa stage the animalcomes out a mature insect (Figs. 142 and 143). 

From this you can see that it is especially important to know all youcan about the life of injurious insects, since it is often easier tokill these pests at one stage of their life than at another. Often it isbetter to aim at destroying the seemingly harmless beetle or butterflythan to try to destroy the larvæ that hatch from its eggs, although, asyou must remember, it is generally the larvæ that do the most harm. Larvæ grow very rapidly; therefore the food supply must be great to meetthe needs of the insect. 

[Illustration: FIG. 142. MOTH AND COCOON]

Some insects, the grasshopper for example, do not completely changetheir form. Fig. 147 represents some young grasshoppers, which veryclosely resemble their parents. 

[Illustration: FIG. 143. BUTTERFLY]

[Illustration: FIG. 144. STRUCTURE OF THE CATERPILLAR]

[Illustration: FIG. 145. MOTH PUPA IN COCOON]

Insects lay many eggs and reproduce with remarkable rapidity. Theirnumber therefore makes them a foe to be much dreaded. The queen honeybeeoften lays as many as 4000 eggs in twenty-four hours. A single house flylays between 100 and 150 eggs in one day. The mosquito lays eggs inquantities of from 200 to 400. The white ant often lays 80, 000 in a day, and so continues for two years, probably laying no less than 40, 000, 000eggs. In one summer the bluebottle fly could have 500, 000, 000descendants if they all lived. The plant louse, at the end of the fifthbrood, has laid in a single year enough eggs to produce 300, 000, 000young. Of course every one knows that, owing to enemies and diseases(for the insects have enemies which prey on them just as they prey onplants) comparatively few of the insects hatched from these eggs livetill they are grown. 

[Illustration: FIG. 146. A BUTTERFLY PUPANote outline of the butterfly]

The number of insects which are hurtful to crops, gardens, flowers, andforests seems to be increasing each season. Therefore farm boys andgirls should learn to recognize these harmful insects and to know howthey live and how they may be destroyed. Those who know the forms andhabits of these enemies of plants and trees are far better prepared tofight them than are those who strike in the dark. Moreover suchknowledge is always a source of interest and pleasure. If you begin tostudy insects, you will soon find your love for the study growing. 

[Illustration: FIG. 147. THE GROWTH OF A GRASSHOPPER]

 =EXERCISE=

 Collect cocoons and pupæ of insects and hatch them in a breeding-cage similar to the one illustrated in Fig. 149. Make several cages of this kind. Collect larvæ of several kinds; supply them with food from plants upon which you found them. Find out the time it takes them to change into another stage. Write a description of this process. 

 The plant louse could produce in its twelfth brood 10, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000, 000 offspring. Each louse is about one tenth of an inch long. If all should live and be arranged in single file, how many miles long would such a procession be?

[Illustration: FIG. 148. PLANT LICE]

[Illustration: FIG. 149. CAGE IN WHICH TO BREED INSECTSFlower-pot, lamp-chimney, and cloth]

SECTION XXXII. ORCHARD INSECTS

=The San Jose Scale. = The San Jose scale is one of the most dreadedenemies of fruit trees. It is in fact an outlaw in many states. It is anunlawful act to sell fruit trees affected by it. Fig. 150 shows a viewof a branch nearly covered with this pest. Although this scale is a veryminute animal, yet so rapidly does it multiply that it is verydangerous to the tree. Never allow new trees to be brought into yourorchard until you feel certain that they are free from the San Josescale. If, however, it should in any way gain access to your orchard, you can prevent its spreading by thorough spraying with what is known asthe lime-sulphur mixture. This mixture has long been used on the Pacificcoast as a remedy for various scale insects. When it was first tried inother parts of the United States the results were not satisfactory andits use was abandoned. However, later experiments with it have provedthat the mixture is thoroughly effective in killing this scale and thatit is perfectly harmless to the trees. Until the lime-sulphur mixtureproved to be successful the San Jose scale was a most dreaded nurseryand orchard foe. It was even thought necessary to destroy infectedtrees. The lime-sulphur mixture and some other sulphur washes not onlykill the San Jose scale but are also useful in reducing fungous injury. 

[Illustration: FIG. 150 SAN JOSE SCALE]

[Illustration: FIG. 151. SINGLE SAN JOSE SCALEMagnified]

There are several ways of making the lime-sulphur mixture. It isgenerally best to buy a prepared mixture from some trustworthy dealer. If you find the scale on your trees, write to your state experimentstation for directions for combating it. 

[Illustration: FIG. 152. THE CODLING MOTH_a_, burrow of worm in apple; _b_, place where worm enters; _c_, placewhere worm leaves; _e_, the larva; _d_, the pupa; _i_, the cocoon; _f_and _g_, moths; _h_, magnified head of larva]

=The Codling Moth. = The codling moth attacks the apple and often causesa loss of from twenty-five to seventy-five per cent of the crop. In thestate of New York this insect is causing an annual loss of about threemillion dollars. The effect it has on the fruit is most clearly seen inFig. 152. The moth lays its egg upon the young leaves just after thefalling of the blossom. She flies on from apple to apple, depositing anegg each time until from fifty to seventy-five eggs are deposited. Thelarva, or "worm, " soon hatches and eats its way into the apple. Manyaffected apples ripen too soon and drop as "windfalls. " Others remain onthe tree and become the common wormy apples so familiar to growers. Thelarva that emerges from the windfalls moves generally to a tree, crawlsup the trunk, and spins its cocoon under a ridge in the bark. From thecocoon the moth comes ready to start a new generation. The lastgeneration of the larvæ spends the winter in the cocoon. 

[Illustration: FIG. 153. SPRAYING THE ORCHARD BRINGS LUSCIOUS FRUITThe picture in the corner at the top shows the right time to spray forcodling moth]

_Treatment. _ Destroy orchard trash which may serve as a winter home. Scrape all loose bark from the tree. Spray the tree with arsenate oflead as soon as the flowers fall. A former method of fighting this pestwas as follows: bands of burlap four inches wide tied around the treefurnished a hiding-place for larvæ that came from windfalls or crawledfrom wormy apples on the tree. The larvæ caught under the bands werekilled every five or six days. We know now, however, that a thoroughspraying just after the blossoms fall kills the worms and renders thebands unnecessary. Furthermore, spraying prevents wormy apples, whilebanding does not. Follow the first spraying by a second two weeks later. 

It is best to use lime-sulphur mixture or the Bordeaux mixture witharsenate of lead for a spray. Thus one spraying serves against bothfungi and insects. 

[Illustration: FIG. 154. PLUM CURCULIOLarva, pupa, adult, and mark on the fruit. (Enlarged)]

=The Plum Curculio. = The plum curculio, sometimes called the plumweevil, is a little creature about one fifth of an inch long. In spiteof its small size the curculio does, if neglected, great damage to ourfruit crop. It injures peaches, plums, and cherries by stinging thefruit as soon as it is formed. The word "stinging" when applied toinsects--- and this case is no exception--means piercing the objectwith the egg-layer (ovipositor) and depositing the egg. Some insectsoccasionally use the ovipositor merely for defense. The curculio has anespecially interesting method of laying her egg. First she digs a hole, in which she places the egg and pushes it well down. Then with her snoutshe makes a crescent-shaped cut in the skin of the plum, around the egg. This mark is shown in Fig. 154. As this peculiar cut is followed by aflow of gum, you will always be able to recognize the work of thecurculio. Having finished with one plum, this industrious worker makesher way to other plums until her eggs are all laid. The maggotlike larvasoon hatches, burrows through the fruit, and causes it to drop beforeripening. The larva then enters the ground to a depth of several inches. There it becomes a pupa, and later, as a mature beetle, emerges andwinters in cracks and crevices. 

[Illustration: FIG. 155. LEAF GALLS OF PHYLLOXERA ON CLINTON GRAPE LEAF]

_Treatment. _ Burn orchard trash which may serve as winter quarters. Spraying with arsenate of lead, using two pounds of the mixture to fiftygallons of water, is the only successful treatment for the curculio. Forplums and peaches, spray first when the fruit is free from the calyxcaps, or dried flower-buds. Repeat the spraying two weeks later. Forlate peaches spray a third time two weeks after the second spraying. This poisonous spray will kill the beetles while they are feeding orcutting holes in which to lay their eggs. 

[Illustration: FIG. 156. THE CANKERWORM]

Fowls in the orchard do good by capturing the larvæ before they canburrow, while hogs will destroy the fallen fruit before the larvæ canescape. 

=The Grape Phylloxera. = The grape phylloxera is a serious pest. You haveno doubt seen its galls upon the grape leaf. These galls are caused by asmall louse, the phylloxera. Each gall contains a female, which soonfills the gall with eggs. These hatch into more females, which emergeand form new galls, and so the phylloxera spreads (see Fig. 155). 

_Treatment. _ The Clinton grape is most liable to injury from this pest. Hence it is better to grow other more resistant kinds. Sometimes thelice attack the roots of the grape vines. In many sections whereirrigation is practiced the grape rows are flooded when the lice arethickest. The water drowns the lice and does no harm to the vines. 

=The Cankerworm. = The cankerworm is the larva of a moth. Because of itspeculiar mode of crawling, by looping its body, it is often called thelooping worm or measuring worm (Fig. 157, _c_). These worms are suchgreedy eaters that in a short time they can so cut the leaves of anorchard as to give it a scorched appearance. Such an attack practicallydestroys the crop and does lasting injury to the tree. The worms aregreen or brown and are striped lengthwise. If the tree is jarred, theworm has a peculiar habit of dropping toward the ground on a silkenthread of its own making (Fig. 156). 

[Illustration: FIG. 157. THE SPRING CANKERWORM_a_, egg mass; _b_, egg, magnified; _c_, larva; _d_, female moth; _e_, male moth]

In early summer the larvæ burrow within the earth and pupate there;later they emerge as adults (Fig. 157, _d_ and _e_). You observe thepeculiar difference between the wingless female, _d_, and the wingedmale, _e_. It is the habit of this wingless female to crawl up the trunkof some near-by tree in order to deposit her eggs upon the twigs. Theseeggs (shown at _a_ and _b_) hatch into the greedy larvæ that do so muchdamage to our orchards. 

Nearly all the common birds feed freely upon the cankerworm, and benefitthe orchard in so doing. The chickadee is perhaps the most useful. Arecent writer is very positive that each chickadee will devour on anaverage thirty female cankerworm moths a day; and that if the averagenumber of eggs laid by each female is one hundred and eighty-five, onechickadee would thus destroy in one day five thousand five hundred andfifty eggs, and, in the twenty-five days in which the cankerworm mothscrawl up the tree, would rid the orchard of one hundred and thirty-eightthousand seven hundred and fifty. These birds also eat immense numbersof cankerworm eggs before they hatch into worms. 

[Illustration: FIG. 158. EGGS OF THE FALL CANKERWORM]

_Treatment. _ The inability of the female to fly gives us an easy way toprevent the larval offspring from getting to the foliage of our trees, for we know that the only highway open to her or her larvæ leads up thetrunk. We must obstruct this highway so that no crawling creature maypass. This is readily done by smoothing the bark and fitting close to ita band of paper, and making sure that it is tight enough to preventanything from crawling underneath. Then smear over the paper somethingso sticky that any moth or larva that attempts to pass will beentangled. Printer's ink will do very well, or you can buy eitherdendrolene or tanglefoot. 

[Illustration: FIG. 159. APPLE-TREE TENT CATERPILLAR_a_, eggs; _b_, cocoon; _c_, caterpillar]

Encourage the chickadee and all other birds, except the English sparrow, to stay in your orchard. This is easily done by feeding and protectingthem in their times of need. 

=The Apple-Tree Tent Caterpillar. = The apple-tree tent caterpillar is alarva so well known that you only need to be told how to guard againstit. The mother of this caterpillar is a reddish moth. This insect passesthe winter in the egg state securely fastened on the twigs as shown inFig. 159, _a_. 

_Treatment. _ There are three principal methods, (1) Destroy the eggs. The egg masses are readily seen in winter and may easily be collectedand burned by boys. The chickadee eats great quantities of these eggs. (2) With torches burn the nests at dusk when all the worms are within. You must be very careful in burning or you will harm the young brancheswith their tender bark. (3) Encourage the residence of birds. Urge yourneighbors to make war on the larvæ, too, since the pest spreads rapidlyfrom farm to farm. Regularly sprayed orchards are rarely troubled bythis pest. 

[Illustration: FIG. 160. THE TWIG GIRDLER AT ITS DESTRUCTIVE WORK_a_, the girdler; _b_, the egg-hole; _c_, the groove cut by girdler;_e_, the egg]

=The Twig Girdler. = The twig girdler lays her eggs in the twigs of pear, pecan, apple, and other trees. It is necessary that the larvæ develop indead wood. This the mother provides by girdling the twig so deeply thatit will die and fall to the ground. 

_Treatment. _ Since the larvæ spend the winter in the dead twigs, burnthese twigs in autumn or early spring and thus destroy the pest. 

=The Peach-Tree Borer. = In Fig. 161 you see the effect of the peach-treeborer's activity. These borers often girdle and thereby kill a tree. Fig. 162 shows the adult state of the insect. The eggs are laid on peachor plum trees near the ground. As soon as the larva emerges, it boresinto the bark and remains there for months, passing through the pupastage before it comes out to lay eggs for another generation. 

[Illustration: FIG. 161. BORER SIGNS AROUND BASE OF PEACH TREE]

_Treatment. _ If there are only a few trees in the orchard, digging theworms out with a knife is the best way of destroying them. You can knowof the borer's presence by the exuding gum often seen on the tree-trunk. If you pile earth around the roots early in the spring and remove it inthe late fall, the winter freezing and thawing will kill many of thelarvæ. 

 =EXERCISE=

 How many apples per hundred do you find injured by the codling moth? Collect some cocoons from a pear or an apple tree in winter, place in a breeding-cage, and watch for the moths that come out. Do you ever see the woodpecker hunting for these same cocoons? Can you find cocoons that have been emptied by this bird? Estimate how many he considers a day's ration. How many apples does he thus save?

 [Illustration: FIG. 162. PEACH-TREE BORERS, MALE AND FEMALE Female with broad yellow band across abdomen]

 Watch the curculio lay her eggs in the plums, peaches, or cherries. What per cent of fruit is thus injured? Estimate the damage. Let the school offer a prize for the greatest number of tent-caterpillar eggs. Watch such trees as the apple, the wild and the cultivated cherry, the oak, and many others. 

 Make a collection of insects injurious to orchard fruits, showing in each case the whole life history of the insect, that is, eggs, larva, pupa, and the mature insects. 

[Illustration: THE TROUBLESOME CHINCH BUG (ENLARGED)1, bugs on plant; 2, eggs; 3, young bug; 4 and 5, older bugs; 6, long-winged bug; 7 and 8, short-winged bug]

SECTION XXXIII. GARDEN AND FIELD INSECTS

=The Cabbage Worm. = The cabbage worm of the early spring garden is afamiliar object, but you may not know that the innocent-looking littlewhite butterflies hovering about the cabbage patch are laying eggs whichare soon to hatch and make the dreaded cabbage worms. In Fig. 164 _a_and _b_ show the common cabbage butterfly, _c_ shows several examples ofthe caterpillar, and _d_ shows the pupa case. In the pupa stage theinsects pass the winter among the remains of old plants or in near-byfences or in weeds or bushes. Cleaning up and burning all trash willdestroy many pupæ and thus prevent many cabbage worms. In Fig. 164 _e_and _f_ show the moth and zebra caterpillar; _g_ represents a moth whichis the parent of the small green worm shown at _h_. This worm is acommon foe of the cabbage plant. 

[Illustration: FIG. 163. THE DREADED CHINCH BUG]

_Treatment. _ Birds aid in the destruction of this pest. Paris greenmixed with air-slaked lime will also kill many larvæ. After the cabbagehas headed, it is very difficult to destroy the worm, but pyrethruminsect powder used freely is helpful. 

=The Chinch Bug. = The chinch bug, attacking as it does such importantcrops as wheat, corn, and grasses, is a well-known pest. It probablycauses more money loss than any other garden or field enemy. In Orangecounty, North Carolina, farmers were once obliged to suspendwheat-growing for two years on account of the chinch bug. In one year inthe state of Illinois this bug caused a loss of four million dollars. 

[Illustration: FIG. 164. CABBAGE WORMS AND BUTTERFLIES]

_Treatment. _ Unfortunately we cannot prevent all of the damage done bychinch bugs, but we can diminish it somewhat by good clean agriculture. Destroy the winter homes of the insect by burning dry grass, leaves, andrubbish in fields and fence rows. Although the insect has wings, itseldom or never uses them, usually traveling on foot; therefore a deepfurrow around the field to be protected will hinder or stop the progressof an invasion. The bugs fall into the bottom of the furrow, and maythere be killed by dragging a log up and down the furrow. Write to theDivision of Entomology, Washington, for bulletins on the chinch bug. Other methods of prevention are to be found in these bulletins. 

[Illustration: FIG. 165. A PLANT LOUSE COLONY]

=The Plant Louse. = The plant louse is very small, but it multiplies withvery great rapidity. During the summer the young are born alive, and itis only toward fall that eggs are laid. The individuals that hatch fromeggs are generally wingless females, and their young, born alive, areboth winged and wingless. The winged forms fly to other plants and startnew colonies. Plant lice mature in from eight to fourteen days. 

The plant louse gives off a sweetish fluid of which some ants are veryfond. You may often see the ants stroking these lice to induce them togive off a freer flow of the "honey dew. " This is really a method ofmilking. However friendly and useful these "cows" may be to the ant, they are enemies to man in destroying so many of his plants. 

_Treatment. _ These are sucking insects. Poisons therefore do not avail. They may be killed by spraying with kerosene emulsion or a strong soapsolution or with tobacco water. Lice on cabbages are easily killed by amixture of one pound of lye soap in four gallons of warm water. 

[Illustration: FIG. 166. A CHEAP SPRAYING OUTFIT]

=The Squash Bug. = The squash bug does its greatest damage to youngplants. To such its attack is often fatal. On larger plants singleleaves may die. This insect is a serious enemy to a crop and isparticularly difficult to get rid of, since it belongs to the class ofsucking insects, not to the biting insects. For this reason poisons areuseless. 

[Illustration: FIG. 167. A SQUASH BUG]

_Treatment. _ About the only practicable remedy is to pick these insectsby hand. We can, however, protect our young plants by small nettings andthus tide them over the most dangerous period of their lives. These bugsgreatly prefer the squash as food. You can therefore diminish theirattack on your melons, cucumbers, etc. By planting among the melons anoccasional squash plant as a "trap plant. " Hand picking will be easieron a few trap plants than over the whole field. A small board or largeleaf laid beside the young plant often furnishes night shelter for thebugs. The bugs collected under the board may easily be killed everymorning. 

=The Flea-Beetle. = The flea-beetle inflicts much damage on the potato, tomato, eggplant, and other garden plants. The accompanying figure showsthe common striped flea-beetle which lives on the tomato. The larva ofthis beetle lives inside of the leaves, mining its way through the leafin a real tunnel. Any substance disagreeable to the beetle, such asplaster, soot, ashes, or tobacco, will repel its attacks on the gardencrops. 

[Illustration: FIG. 168. FLEA-BEETLE AND LARVA_a_, larva; _b_, adult. Lines on sides show real length of insects]

=The Weevil. = The weevil is commonly found among seeds. Its attacks areserious, but the insect may easily be destroyed. 

_Treatment. _ Put the infected seeds in an air-tight box or bin, placingon the top of the pile a dish containing carbon disulphide, atablespoonful to a bushel of seeds. The fumes of this substance areheavy and will pass through the mass of seeds below and kill all theweevils and other animals there. The bin should be closely covered withcanvas or heavy cloth to prevent the fumes from being carried away bythe air. Let the seeds remain thus from two to five days. Repeat thetreatment if any weevils are found alive. Fumigate when the temperatureis 70° Fahrenheit or above. In cold weather or in a loose bin thetreatment is not successful. _Caution:_ Do not approach the bin with alight, since the fumes of the chemical used are highly inflammable. 

=The Hessian Fly. = The Hessian fly does more damage to the wheat cropthan all other insects combined, and probably ranks next to the chinchbug as the second worst insect enemy of the farmer. It was probablyintroduced into this country by the Hessian troops in the War of theRevolution. 

[Illustration: FIG. 169. THE HESSIAN FLY]

In autumn the insect lays its eggs in the leaves of the wheat. Thesehatch into the larvæ, which move down into the crown of the plant, wherethey pass the winter. There they cause on the plant a slight gallformation, which injures or kills the plant. In the spring adult fliesemerge and lay eggs. The larvæ that hatch feed in the lower joints ofthe growing wheat and prevent its proper growth. These larvæ pupate andremain as pupæ in the wheat stubble during the summer. The fall brood offlies appears shortly before the first heavy frost. 

_Treatment. _ Burn all stubble and trash during July and August. If thefly is very bad, it is well to leave the stubble unusually high toinsure a rapid spread of the fire. Burn refuse from thethreshing-machine, since this often harbors many larvæ or pupæ. Followthe burning by deep plowing, because the burning cannot reach theinsects that are in the base of the plants. Delay the fall plantinguntil time for heavy frosts. 

=The Potato Beetle; Tobacco Worm. = The potato beetle, tobacco worm, etc. , are too well known to need description. Suffice it to say that nogood farmer will neglect to protect his crop from any pest thatthreatens it. 

The increase, owing to various causes, of insects, of fungi, ofbacterial diseases, makes a study of these pests, of their origin, andof their prevention a necessary part of a successful farmer's training. Tillage alone will no longer render orchard, vineyard, and gardenfruitful. Protection from every form of plant enemies must be added totillage. 

[Illustration: FIG. 170. SPRAYING THE ORCHARDOne way of increasing the yield of fruit]

In dealing with plants, as with human beings, the great object should benot the cure but the prevention of disease. If disease can be prevented, it is far too costly to wait for it to develop and then to attempt itscure. Men of science are studying the new forms of diseases and newinsects as fast as they appear. These men are finding ways of fightingold and new enemies. Young people who expect to farm should early learnto follow their advice. 

 =EXERCISE=

 How does the squash bug resemble the plant louse? Is this a true bug? Gather some eggs and watch the development of the insects in a breeding-cage. Estimate the damage done to some crops by the flea-beetle. What is the best method of prevention?

 [Illustration: FIG. 171. AN APPLE TREE SHOWING PROPER CARE]

 Do you know the large moth that is the mother of the tobacco worm? You may often see her visiting the blossoms of the Jimson weed. Some tobacco-growers cultivate a few of these weeds in a tobacco field. In the blossom they place a little cobalt or "fly-stone" and sirup. When the tobacco-worm moth visits this flower and sips the poisoned nectar, she will of course lay no more troublesome eggs. 

SECTION XXXIV. THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL

So far as known, the cotton-boll weevil, an insect which is a native ofthe tropics, crossed the Rio Grande River into Texas in 1891 and 1892. It settled in the cotton fields around Brownsville. Since then it haswidened its destructive area until now it has invaded the wholeterritory shown by the map on page 177. 

[Illustration: FIG. 172. ADULT COTTON-BOLL WEEVILEnlarged]

This weevil is a small gray or reddish-brown snout-beetle hardly over aquarter of an inch in length. In proportion to its length it has a longbeak. It belongs to a family of beetles which breed in pods, in seeds, and in stalks of plants. It is a greedy eater, but feeds only on thecotton plant. 

The grown weevils try to outlive the cold of winter by hiding snuglyaway under grass clumps, cotton-stalks, rubbish, or under the bark oftrees. Sometimes they go down into holes in the ground. A comfortableshelter is often found in the forests near the cotton fields, especiallyin the moss on the trees. The weevils can stand a good deal of cold, butfortunately many are killed by winter weather. Moreover birds destroymany; hence by spring the last year's crop is very greatly diminished. 

In the spring, generally about the time cotton begins to form "squares, "the weevils shake off their long winter sleep and enter the cottonfields with appetites as sharp as razors. Then shortly the females beginto lay eggs. At first these eggs are laid only in the squares, andgenerally only one to the square. The young grub hatches from these eggsin two or three days. The newly hatched grub eats the inside of thesquare, and the square soon falls to the ground. Entire fields may attimes be seen without a single square on the plants. Of course no fruitcan be formed without squares. 

[Illustration: FIG. 173. EGGS AMONG THE ANTHERS OF A SQUARE AT THEPOINT INDICATED BY THE ARROW]

[Illustration: FIG. 174. CROSS SECTION SHOWING ANTHERS OF A SQUAREWITH EGG OF WEEVIL, AND SHOWING THE HOLE WHERE THE EGG WAS DEPOSITEDGreatly enlarged]

In from one to two weeks the grub or larva becomes fully grown and, without changing its home, is transformed into the pupa state. Then inabout a week more the pupæ come out as adult weevils and attack thebolls. They puncture them with their snouts and lay their eggs in thebolls. The young grubs, this time hatching out in the boll, remain thereuntil grown, when they emerge through holes that they make. These holesallow dampness to enter and destroy the bolls. This life-round continuesuntil cold weather drives the insects to their winter quarters. By thattime they have increased so rapidly that there is often one for everyboll in the field. 

[Illustration: FIG. 175. THE LARVA OF THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVILINJURING A SQUARE]

This weevil is proving very hard to destroy. At present there seem butfew ways to fight it. One is to grow cotton that will mature too earlyfor the weevils to do it much harm. A second is to kill as many weevilsas possible by burning the homes that shelter them in winter. 

[Illustration: FIG. 176. PUPA OF COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL FROM ABOVE AND BELOWGreatly enlarged]

[Illustration: FIG. 177. THE PUPA OF THE COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL IN A SQUARE]

The places best adapted for a winter home for the weevil are trashpiles, rubbish, driftwood, rotten wood, weeds, moss on trees, etc. Afurther help, therefore, in destroying the weevil is to cut down andburn all cotton-stalks as soon as the cotton is harvested. 

[Illustration: FIG. 178. A COTTON BOLL WITH FEEDING-HOLES OF WEEVIL, AND BEARING THREE SPECIMENS OF THE INSECT]

[Illustration: FIG. 179. THE MEXICAN COTTON-BOLL WEEVIL, SHOWING STRUCTURE]

This destroys countless numbers of larvæ and pupæ in the bolls andgreatly reduces the number of weevils. In addition, all cornstalks, alltrash, all large clumps of grass in neighboring fields, should beburned, so as to destroy these winter homes of the weevil. Also avoidplanting cotton near trees. The bark, moss, and fallen leaves of thetree furnish a winter shelter for the weevils. 

[Illustration: FIG. 180. A SERIES OF FULL GROWN WEEVILS, SHOWINGVARIATIONS IN SIZE]

A third help in destroying the weevil is to rotate crops. If cotton doesnot follow cotton, the weevil has nothing on which to feed the secondyear. 

[Illustration: FIG. 181. MAP SHOWING DISTRIBUTION OF THE COTTON-BOLLWEEVIL IN 1913]

In adopting the first method mentioned the cotton growers have foundthat by the careful selection of seed, by early planting, by a free useof fertilizers containing phosphoric acid, and by frequent plowing, theycan mature a crop about thirty days earlier than they usually do. Inthis way a good crop can be harvested before the weevils are ready to bemost destructive. 

CHAPTER VIII

FARM CROPS

Every crop of the farm has been changed and improved in many ways sinceits forefathers were wild plants. Those plants that best serve the needsof the farmer and of farm animals have undergone the most changes andhave received also the greatest care and attention in their productionand improvement. 

While we have many different kinds of farm crops, the cultivated soil ofthe world is occupied by a very few. In our country the crop that ismost valuable and that occupies the greatest land area is generallyknown as the _grass crop_. Included in the general term "grass crop" arethe grasses and clovers that are used for pasturage as well as for hay. Next to grass in value come the great cereal, corn, and the mostimportant fiber crop, cotton, closely followed by the great bread crop, wheat. Oats rank fifth in value, potatoes sixth, and tobacco seventh. (These figures are for 1913. )

Success in growing any crop is largely due to the suitableness of soiland climate to that crop. When the planter selects both the mostsuitable soil and the most suitable climate for each crop, he gets notonly the most bountiful yield from the crop but, in addition, he getsthe most desirable quality of product. A little careful observation andstudy soon teach what kinds of soil produce crops of the highestexcellence. This learned, the planter is able to grow in each field theseveral crops best adapted to that special type of soil. Thus we havetobacco soils, trucking soils, wheat and corn soils. Dairying can bemost profitably followed in sections where crops like cowpeas, clover, alfalfa, and corn are peculiarly at home. No one should try to grow anew crop in his section until he has found out whether the crop which hewants to grow is adapted to his soil and his climate. 

[Illustration: FIG. 182. ALFALFA IN THE STACKThis is the second cutting of the season]

The figures below give the average amount of money made annually an acreon our chief crops:

Flowers and plants, $1911; nursery products, $261; onions, $140; sugarcane, $55; small fruits, $110; hops, $175; vegetables, $78; tobacco, $80; sweet potatoes, $55; hemp, $53; potatoes, $78; sugar beets, $54;sorghum cane, $22; cotton, $22; orchard fruits, $110; peanuts, $21;flax-seed, $14; cereals, $14; hay and forage, $11; castor beans, $6(United States Census Report). 

SECTION XXXV. COTTON

Although cotton was cultivated on the Eastern continent before Americawas discovered, this crop owes its present kingly place in the businessworld to the zeal and intelligence of its American growers. So great aninfluence does it wield in modern industrial life that it is oftencalled King Cotton. Thousands upon thousands of people scan thenewspapers each day to see what price its staple is bringing. From itsbounty a vast army of toilers, who plant its seed, who pick its bolls, who gin its staple, who spin and weave its lint, who grind its seed, whorefine its oil, draw daily bread. Does not its proper production deservethe best thought that can be given it?

In the cotton belt almost any well-drained soil will produce cotton. Thefollowing kinds of soil are admirably suited to this plant: red and grayloams with good clay subsoil; sandy soils over clay and sandstone andlimestone; rich, well-drained bottom-lands. The safest soils are mediumloams. Cotton land must always be well drained. 

Cotton was originally a tropical plant, but, strange to say, it seems tothrive best in temperate zones. The cotton plant does best, according toNewman, in climates which have (1) six months of freedom from frost; (2)a moderate, well-distributed rainfall during the plant's growing period;and (3) abundant sunshine and little rain during the plant's maturingperiod. 

[Illustration: FIG. 183. GROWTH OF COTTON FROM DAY TO DAY

In America the Southern states from Virginia to Texas have theseclimatic qualities, and it is in these states that the cotton industryhas been developed until it is one of the giant industries of the world. This development has been very rapid. As late as 1736 the cotton plantwas grown as an ornamental flowering plant in many front yards; in1911, 16, 250, 276 bales of cotton were grown in the South. In recentyears the soil and climate of lower California and parts of Arizona andNew Mexico have been found well adapted to cotton. 

[Illustration: FIG. 184. COTTON IN THE GROWING SEASON]

There are a great many varieties of cotton. Two types are mainly grownby the practical American farmer. These are the short-stapled, uplandvariety most commonly grown in all the Southern states, and thebeautiful, long-stapled, black-seeded sea-island type that grows uponthe islands and a portion of the mainland of Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida. The air of the coast seems necessary for the production ofthis latter variety. The seeds of the sea-island cotton are small, smooth, and black. They are so smooth and stick so loosely to the lintthat they are separated from it by roller-gins instead of by saw-gins. When these seeds are planted away from the soil and air of their oceanhome, the plant does not thrive. 

Many attempts have been made and are still being made to increase thelength of the staple of the upland types. The methods used are asfollows: selection of seed having a long fiber; special cultivation andfertilization; crossing the short-stapled cotton on the long-stapledcotton. This last process, as already explained, is called_hybridizing_. Many of these attempts have succeeded, and there are nowa large number of varieties which excel the older varieties inprofitable yield. The new varieties are each year being more widelygrown. Every farmer should study the new types and select the one thatwill best suit his land. The new types have been developed under thebest tillage. Therefore if a farmer would keep the new type as good asit was when he began to grow it, he must give it the same good tillage, and practice seed-selection. 

[Illustration: FIG. 185. COTTON READY FOR PICKING]

The cotton plant is nourished by a tap-root that will seek food asdeeply as loose earth will permit the root to penetrate; hence, inpreparing land for this crop the first plowing should be done at leastwith a two-horse plow and should be deep and thorough. This deep plowingnot only allows the tap-root to penetrate, but it also admits acirculation of air. 

On some cotton farms it is the practice to break the land in winter orearly spring and then let it lie naked until planting-time. This is nota good practice. The winter rains wash more plant food out ofunprotected soil than a single crop would use. It would be better, inthe late summer or fall, to plant crimson clover or some otherprotective and enriching crop on land that is to be planted in cotton inthe spring. This crop, in addition to keeping the land from beinginjuriously washed, would greatly help the coming cotton crop by leavingthe soil full of vegetable matter. 

In preparing for cotton-planting, first disk the land thoroughly, thenbreak with a heavy plow and harrow until a fine and mellow seed-bed isformed. Do not spare the harrow at this time. It destroys many a weedthat, if allowed to grow, would have to be cut by costly hoeing. Thorough work before planting saves much expensive work in the laterdays of the crop. Moreover, no man can afford to allow his plant foodand moisture to go to nourish weeds, even for a short time. 

The rows should be from three to four feet apart. The width depends uponthe richness of the soil. On rich land the rows should be at least fourfeet apart. This width allows the luxuriant plant to branch and fruitwell. On poorer lands the distance of the rows should not be so great. The distribution of the seed in the row is of course most cheaply doneby the planter. As a rule it is best not to ridge the land for the seed. Flat culture saves moisture and often prevents damage to the roots. Insome sections, however, where the land is flat and full of water, ridging seems necessary if the land cannot be drained. 

[Illustration: FIG. 186. PICKING COTTON]

The cheapest way of cultivating a crop is to prevent grass and weedsfrom rooting, not to wait to destroy them after they are well rooted. Todo this, it is well to run the two-horse smoothing-harrow over theland, across the rows, a few days after the young plants are up. Repeatthe harrowing in six or eight days. In addition to destroying the younggrass and weeds, this harrowing also removes many of the young cottonplants and thereby saves much hoeing at "chopping-out" time. When theplants are about two inches high they are "chopped out" to secure anevenly distributed stand. It has been the custom to leave two stalks toa hill, but many growers are now leaving only one. 

The number of times the crop has to be worked depends on the soil andthe season. If the soil is dry and porous, cultivate as often aspossible, especially after each rain. Never allow a crust to form aftera rain; the roots of plants must have air. Cultivation after each rainforms a dry mulch on the top of the soil and thus prevents rapidevaporation of moisture. 

If the fiber (the lint) only is removed from the land on which cotton isgrown, cotton is the least exhaustive of the great crops grown in theUnited States. According to some recent experiments an average crop ofcotton removes in the lint only 2. 75 pounds of nitrogen, phosphoricacid, potash, lime, and magnesia per acre, while a crop of ten bushelsof wheat per acre removes 32. 36 pounds of the same elements of plantfood. Inasmuch as this crop takes so little plant food from the soil, the cotton-farmer has no excuse for allowing his land to decrease inproductiveness. Two things will keep his land in bounteous harvestcondition: first, let him return the seeds in some form to the land, or, what is better, feed the ground seeds to cattle, make a profit from thecattle, and return manure to the land in place of the seeds; second, atthe last working, let him sow some crop like crimson clover or rye inthe cotton rows to protect the soil during the winter and to leave humusin the ground for the spring. 

The stable manure, if that is used, should be broadcasted over thefields at the rate of six to ten tons an acre. If commercial fertilizersare used, it may be best to make two applications. To give the youngplants a good start, apply a portion of the fertilizer in the drill justbefore planting. Then when the first blooms appear, put the remainder ofthe fertilizer in drills near the plants but not too close. Many goodcotton-growers, however, apply all the fertilizer at one time. 

[Illustration: FIG. 187. WEIGHING A DAY'S PICKING OF COTTON]

_Relation of Stock to the Cotton Crop_. On many farms much of the moneyfor which the cotton is sold in the fall has to go to pay for thecommercial fertilizer used in growing the crop. Should not this factsuggest efforts to raise just as good crops without having to buy somuch fertilizer? Is there any way by which this can be done? Thefollowing suggestions may be helpful. Raise enough stock to use all thecotton seed grown on the farm. To go with the food made from the cottonseed, grow on the farm pea-vine hay, clover, alfalfa, and other suchnitrogen-gathering crops. This can be done at small cost. What will bethe result?

First, to say nothing of the money made from the cattle, the largequantity of stable manure saved will largely reduce the amount ofcommercial fertilizer needed. The cotton-farmer cannot afford to neglectcattle-raising. The cattle sections of the country are likely to makethe greatest progress in agriculture, because they have manure always onhand. 

[Illustration: FIG. 188. MODERN COTTON BALES]

Second, the nitrogen-gathering crops, while helping to feed the stock, also reduce the fertilizer bills by supplying one of the costly elementsof the fertilizer. The ordinary cotton fertilizer consists principallyof nitrogen, of potash, and of phosphoric acid. Of these three, by farthe most costly is nitrogen. Now peas, beans, clover, and peanuts willleave enough nitrogen in the soil for cotton, so that if they areraised, it is necessary to buy only phosphoric acid and sometimespotash. 

SECTION XXXVI. TOBACCO

The tobacco plant connects Indian agriculture with our own. It hasalways been a source of great profit to our people. In the earlycolonial days tobacco was almost the only money crop. Many rich men cameto America in those days merely to raise tobacco. 

Although tobacco will grow in almost any climate, the leaves, which, asmost of you know, are the salable part of the plant, get their desirableor undesirable qualities very largely from the soil and from the climatein which they grow. 

The soil in which tobacco thrives best is one which has the followingqualities: dryness, warmth, richness, depth, and sandiness. 

Commercial fertilizers also are almost a necessity; for, as tobacco landis limited in area, the same land must be often planted in tobacco. Hence even a fresh, rich soil that did not at first require fertilizingsoon becomes exhausted, and, after the land has been robbed of its plantfood by crop after crop of tobacco, frequent application of fertilizersand other manures becomes necessary. However, even tobacco growersshould rotate their crops as much as possible. 

[Illustration: FIG. 189. A LEAF OF TOBACCO]

Deep plowing--from nine to thirteen inches--is also a necessity inpreparing the land, for tobacco roots go deep into the soil. After thisdeep plowing, harrow until the soil is thoroughly pulverized and is asfine and mellow as that of the flower-garden. 

Unlike most other farm crops the tobacco plant must be started first ina seed-bed. To prepare a tobacco bed the almost universal custom hasbeen to proceed as follows. Carefully select a protected spot. Over thisspot pile brushwood and then burn it. The soil will be left dry, and allthe weed seeds will be killed. The bed is then carefully raked andsmoothed and planted. Some farmers are now preparing their beds withoutburning. A tablespoonful of seed will sow a patch twenty-five feetsquare. A cheap cloth cover is put over the bed. If the seeds come upwell, a patch of this size ought to furnish transplants for five or sixacres. In sowing, it is not wise to cover the seed deeply. A lightraking in or an even rolling of the ground is all that is needed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 190. A PROMISING CROP OF TOBACCO]

The time required for sprouting is from two to three weeks. The plantsought to be ready for transplanting in from four to six weeks. Weedsand grass should of course be kept out of the seed-bed. 

The plants, when ready, are transplanted in very much the same way ascabbages and tomatoes. The transplanting was formerly done by hand, butan effective machine is now widely used. The rows should be from threeto three and a half feet apart, and the plants in the rows about two orthree feet apart. If the plants are set so that the plow and cultivatorcan be run with the rows and also across the rows, they can be moreeconomically worked. Tobacco, like corn, requires shallow cultivation. Of course the plants should be worked often enough to give clean cultureand to provide a soil mulch for saving moisture. 

[Illustration: FIG. 191. TOPPING TOBACCO]

In tobacco culture it is necessary to pinch off the "buttons" and to cutoff the tops of the main stalk, else much nourishment that should go tothe leaves will be given to the seeds. The suckers must also be cut offfor the same reason. 

The proper time for harvesting is not easily fixed; one becomes skillfulin this work only through experience in the field. Briefly, we may saythat tobacco is ready to be cut when the leaves on being held up to thesun show a light or golden color, when they are sticky to the touch, andwhen they break easily on being bent. Plants that are overripe areinferior to those that are cut early. 

The operations included in cutting, housing, drying, shipping, sweating, and packing require skill and practice. 

SECTION XXXVII. WHEAT

Wheat has been cultivated from earliest times. It was a chief crop inEgypt and Palestine, and still holds its importance in the temperateportions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and America. 

[Illustration: FIG. 192. A HAND]

[Illustration: FIG. 193. WHEAT HEADS]

This crop ranks third in value in the United States. It grows in cool, in temperate, and in warm climates, and in many kinds of soil. It doesbest in clay loam, and worst in sandy soils. Clogged and water-soakedland will not grow wheat with profit to the farmer; for this reason, where good wheat-production is desired the soil must be well drainedand in good physical condition--that is, the soil must be open, crumbly, and mellow. 

Clay soils that are hard and lifeless can be made valuable forwheat-production by covering the surface with manure, by good tillage, and by a thorough system of crop-rotation. Cowpeas and other legumesmake a most valuable crop to precede wheat, for in growing they addatmospheric nitrogen to the soil, and their roots loosen the root-bed, thereby admitting a free circulation of air and adding humus to thesoil. Moreover, the legumes leave the soil with its grains fairly closepacked, and this is a help in wheat growing. 

One may secure a good seed-bed after cotton and corn as well as aftercowpeas and other legumes. They are summer-cultivated crops, and theclean culture that has been given them renders the surface soil mellowand the undersoil firm and compact. They are not so good, however, ascowpeas, since they add no atmospheric nitrogen to the soil, as allleguminous crops do. 

[Illustration: FIG. 194. ROOTS OF A SINGLE WHEAT PLANT]

From one to two inches is the most satisfactory depth for plantingwheat. The largest number of seeds comes up when planted at this depth. A mellow soil is very helpful to good coming up and provides a mostcomfortable home for the roots of the plant. A compact soil below makesa moist undersoil; and this is desirable, for the soil water is neededto dissolve plant food and to carry it up through the plant, where it isused in building tissue. 

There are a great many varieties of wheat: some are bearded, others aresmooth; some are winter and others are spring varieties. Thesmooth-headed varieties are most agreeable to handle during harvest andat threshing-time. Some of the bearded varieties, however, do so well insome soils and climates that it is desirable to continue growing them, though they are less agreeable to handle. No matter what variety you areaccustomed to raise, it may be improved by careful seed-selection. 

[Illustration: FIG. 195. SELECTING WHEAT SEED]

The seed-drill is the best implement for planting wheat. It distributesthe grains evenly over the whole field and leaves the mellow soil in acondition to catch what snow may fall and secure what protection itaffords. 

[Illustration: FIG. 196. ADJOINING WHEAT FIELDSThe yield of the lower field, forty-five bushels per acre, is due tointelligent farming]

In many parts of the country, because not enough live stock is raised, there is often too little manure to apply to the wheat land. Where thisis the case commercial fertilizers must be used. Since soils differgreatly, it is impossible to suggest a fertilizer adapted to all soils. The elements usually lacking in wheat soils are nitrogen, phosphoricacid, and potash. The land may be lacking in one of these plant foods orin all; in either case a maximum crop cannot possibly be raised. Thesection on manuring the soil will be helpful to the wheat-grower. 

[Illustration: FIG. 197. A BOUNTIFUL CROP OF WHEAT]

It should be remembered always in buying fertilizers for wheat thatwhenever wheat follows cowpeas or clover or other legumes there isseldom need of using nitrogen in the fertilizer; the tubercles on thepea or clover roots will furnish that. Hence, as a rule, only potash andphosphoric acid will have to be purchased as plant food. 

The farmer is assisted always by a study of his crop and by a knowledgeof how it grows. If he find the straw inferior and short, it means thatthe soil is deficient in nitrogen; but on the other hand, if the strawbe luxuriant and the heads small and poorly filled, he may be sure thathis soil contains too little phosphoric acid and potash. 

 =EXERCISE=

 Let the pupils secure several heads of wheat and thresh each separately by hand. The grains should then be counted and their plumpness and size observed. The practical importance of this is obvious, for the larger the heads and the greater the number of grains, the larger the yield per acre. Let them plant some of the large and some of the small grains. A single test of this kind will show the importance of careful seed-selection. 

[Illustration: FIG. 198 A WIDELY GROWN CROP]

SECTION XXXVIII. CORN

When the white man came to this country he found the Indians using corn;for this reason, in addition to its name _maize_, it is called _Indiancorn_. Before that time the civilized world did not know that there wassuch a crop. The increase in the yield and the extension of the acresplanted in this strictly American crop have kept pace with the rapidand wonderful growth of our country. Corn is king of the cereals and themost important crop of American agriculture. It grows in almost everysection of America. There is hardly any limit to the uses to which itsgrain and its stalks are now put. Animals of many kinds are fed onrations into which it enters. Its grains in some form furnish food tomore people than does any other crop except possibly rice. Its stalk andits cob are manufactured into many different and useful articles. 

A soil rich in either decaying animal or vegetable matter, loose, warm, and moist but not wet, will produce a better crop of corn than anyother. Corn soil should always be well tilled and cultivated. 

The proper time to begin the cultivation of corn is before it isplanted. Plow well. A shallow, worn-out soil should not be used forcorn, but for cowpeas or rye. After thorough plowing, the harrow--eitherthe disk or spring-tooth--should be used to destroy all clods and leavethe surface mellow and fine. The best results will be obtained byturning under a clover sod that has been manured from the savings of thebarnyard. 

When manure is not available, commercial fertilizers will often proveprofitable on poor lands. Careful trials will best determine how muchfertilizer to an acre is necessary, and what kinds are to be used. Alittle study and experimenting on the farmer's part will soon enable himto find out both the kind and the amount of fertilizer that is bestsuited to his land. 

The seed for this crop should be selected according to the plansuggested in Section XIX. 

[Illustration: FIG. 199. CORN SHOCKED FOR THE SHREDDER]

The most economical method of planting is by means of the horse planter, which, according to its adjustment, plants regularly in hills or indrills. A few days after planting, the cornfield should be harrowed witha fine-tooth harrow to loosen the top soil and to kill the grass and theweed seeds that are germinating at the surface. When the corn plantsare from a half inch to an inch high, the harrow may again be used. Alittle work before the weeds sprout will save many days of labor duringthe rest of the season, and increase the yield. 

[Illustration: FIG. 200. THE DIFFERENCE IS DUE TO TILLAGE]

Corn is a crop that needs constant cultivation, and during the growingseason the soil should be stirred at least four times. This cultivationis for three reasons:

1. To destroy weeds that would take plant food and water. 

2. To provide a mulch of dry soil so as to prevent the evaporation ofmoisture. The action of this mulch has already been explained. 

3. Because "tillage is manure. " Constant stirring of the soil allows theair to circulate in it, provides a more effective mulch, and helps tochange unavailable plant food into the form that plants use. 

Deep culture of corn is not advisable. The roots in their early stagesof growth are shallow feeders and spread widely only a few inches belowthe surface. The cultivation that destroys or disturbs the roots injuresthe plants and lessens the yield. We cultivate because of the threereasons given above, and not to stir the soil about the roots or toloosen it there. 

[Illustration: FIG. 201. ]

In many parts of the country the cornstalks are left standing in thefields or are burned. This is a great mistake, for the stalks are wortha good deal for feeding horses, cattle, and sheep. These stalks mayalways be saved by the use of the husker and shredder. Corn after beingmatured and cut can be put in shocks and left thus until dry enough torun through the husker and shredder. This machine separates the cornfrom the stalk and husks it. At the same time it shreds tops, leaves, and butts into a food that is both nutritious and palatable to stock. For the amount that animals will eat, almost as much feeding value isobtained from corn stover treated in this way as from timothy hay. Thepractice of not using the stalks is wasteful and is fast beingabandoned. The only reason that so much good food is being left to decayin the field is because so many people have not fully learned thefeeding value of the stover. 

 =EXERCISE=

 To show the effect of cultivation on the yield of corn, let the pupils lay off five plats in some convenient field. Each plat need consist of only two rows about twenty feet long. Treat each plat as follows:

 Plat 1. No cultivation: let weeds grow. 

 Plat 2. Mulch with straw. 

 Plat 3. Shallow cultivation: not deeper than two inches and at least five times during the growing season. 

 Plat 4. Deep cultivation: at least four inches deep, so as to injure and tear out some of the roots (this is a common method). 

 Plat 5. Root-pruning: ten inches from the stalk and six inches deep, prune the roots with a long knife. Cultivate five times during the season. 

 Observe plats during the summer, and at husking-time note results. 

SECTION XXXIX. PEANUTS

This plant is rich in names, being known locally as "ground pea, ""goober, " "earthnut, " and "pindar, " as well as generally by the name of"peanut. " The peanut is a true legume, and, like other legumes, bearsnitrogen-gathering tubercles upon its roots. The fruit is not a real nutbut rather a kind of pea or bean, and develops from the blossom. Afterthe fall of the blossom the "spike, " or flower-stalk, pushes its wayinto the ground, where the nut develops. If unable to penetrate the soilthe nut dies. 

In the United States, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennesseehave the most favorable climates for peanut culture. Suitable climateand soil, however, may be found from New Jersey to the Mississippivalley. A high, porous, sandy loam is the most suitable. Stiffer soils, which may in some cases yield larger crops than the loams, are yet notso profitable, for stiff soils injure the color of the nut. Lime is anecessity and must be supplied if the soil is deficient. Phosphoric acidand potash are needed. 

Greater care than is usually bestowed should be given to the selectionof the peanut seed. In addition to following the principles given inSection XVIII, all musty, defective seeds must be avoided and allfrosted kernels must be rejected. Before it dries, the peanut seed iseasily injured by frost. The slightest frost on the vines, either beforeor after the plants are dug, does much harm to the tender seed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 202. A PEANUT PLANT]

In growing peanuts, thorough preparation of the soil is much better thanlater cultivation. Destroy the crop of young weeds, but do not disturbthe peanut crop by late cultivation. Harvest before frost, and shockhigh to keep the vines from the ground. 

The average yield of peanuts in the United States is twenty-two bushelsan acre. In Tennessee the yield is twenty-nine bushels an acre, and inNorth Carolina and Virginia it reaches thirty bushels an acre. 

SECTION XL. SWEET POTATOES

The roots of sweet potatoes are put on the market in various forms. Aside from the form in which they are ordinarily sold, some potatoes aredried and then ground into flour, some are canned, some are used to makestarch, some furnish a kind of sugar called glucose, and some are evenused to make alcohol. 

The fact that there are over eighty varieties of potatoes shows thepopularity of the plant. Now it is evident that all of these varietiescannot be equally desirable. Hence the wise grower will select hisvarieties with prudent forethought. He should study his market, hissoil, and his seed (see Section XVIII). 

[Illustration: FIG. 203. SWEET POTATOES]

Four months of mild weather, months free from frost and cold winds, arenecessary for the growing of sweet potatoes. In a mild climate almostany loose, well-drained soil will produce them. A light, sandy loam, however, gives a cleaner potato and one, therefore, that sells better. 

The sweet potato draws potash, nitrogen, and phosphoric acid from thesoil, but in applying these as fertilizers the grower must study andknow his own soil. If he does not he may waste both money and plant foodby the addition of elements already present in sufficient quantity inthe soil. The only way to come to reliable conclusions as to the needsof the soil is to try two or three different kinds of fertilizers onplats of the same soil, during the same season, and notice the resultingcrop of potatoes. 

Sweet potatoes will do well after almost any of the usual field crops. This caution, however, should be borne in mind. Potatoes should notfollow a sod. This is because sods are often thick with cutworms, one ofthe serious enemies of the potato. 

It is needless to say that the ground must be kept clean by thoroughcultivation until the vines take full possession of the field. 

In harvesting, extreme care should be used to avoid cutting and bruisingthe potato, since bruises are as dangerous to a sweet potato as to anapple, and render decay almost a certainty. Lay aside all bruisedpotatoes for immediate use. 

For shipment the potatoes should be graded and packed with care. Anextra outlay of fifty cents a barrel often brings a return of a dollar abarrel in the market. One fact often neglected by Southern growers whoraise potatoes for a Northern market is that the Northern markets demanda potato that will cook dry and mealy, and that they will not accept thejuicy, sugary potato so popular in the South. 

The storage of sweet potatoes presents difficulties owing to their greattendency to decay under the influence of the ever-present fungi andbacteria. This tendency can be met by preventing bruises and by keepingthe bin free from rotting potatoes. The potatoes should be cleaned, andafter the moisture has been dried off they should be stored in a dry, warm place. 

The sweet-potato vine makes a fair quality of hay and with properprecaution may be used for ensilage. Small, defective, unsalablepotatoes are rich in sugar and starch and are therefore good stock food. Since they contain so much water they must be used only as an aid toother diet. 

SECTION XLI. WHITE, OR IRISH, POTATOES

Maize, or Indian corn, and potatoes are the two greatest gifts in theway of food that America has bestowed on the other nations. Since theiradoption in the sixteenth century as a new food from recently discoveredAmerica, white potatoes have become one of the world's most importantcrops. 

[Illustration: FIG. 204. CULTIVATING AND RIDGING POTATOES]

No grower will harvest large crops of potatoes unless he chooses soilthat suits the plant, selects his seed carefully, cultivates thoroughly, feeds his land sufficiently, and sprays regularly. 

The soil should be free from potato scab. This disease remains in landfor several years. Hence if land is known to have any form of scab init, do not plant potatoes in such land. Select for this crop a deep andmoderately light, sandy loam which has an open subsoil and which is richin humus. The soil must be light enough for the potatoes, or tubers, toenlarge easily and dry enough to prevent rot or blight or otherdiseases. Potato soil should be so close-grained that it will holdmoisture during a dry spell and yet so well-drained that the tubers willnot be hurt by too much moisture in wet weather. 

If the land selected for potatoes is lacking in humus, fine compost orwell-rotted manure will greatly increase the yield. However, it shouldbe remembered that green manure makes a good home for the growth of scabgerms. Hence it is safest to apply this sort of manure in the fall, or, better still, use a heavy dressing of manure on the crop which thepotatoes are to follow. Leguminous crops supply both humus and nitrogenand, at the same time, improve the subsoil. Therefore such crops areexcellent to go immediately before potatoes. If land is well suppliedwith humus, commercial fertilizers are perhaps safer than manure, forwhen these fertilizers are used the amount of plant food is more easilyregulated. Select a fertilizer that is rich in potash. For gardensunleached wood ashes make a valuable fertilizer because they supplypotash. Early potatoes need more fertilization than do late ones. Whilepotatoes do best on rich land, they should not be overfed, for a tooheavy growth of foliage is likely to cause blight. 

Be careful to select seed from sound potatoes which are entirely freefrom scab. Get the kinds that thrive best in the section in which theyare to be planted and which suit best the markets in which they are tobe sold. Seed potatoes should be kept in a cool place so that they willnot sprout before planting-time. As a rule consumers prefer a smooth, regularly shaped, shallow-eyed white or flesh-colored potato which ismealy when cooked. Therefore, select seed tubers with these qualities. It seems proved that when whole potatoes are used for seed the yield islarger than when sliced potatoes are planted. It is of course toocostly to plant whole potatoes, but it is a good practice to cause theplants to thrive by planting large seed pieces. 

[Illustration: FIG. 205. GATHERING POTATOES]

Like other crops, potatoes need a thoroughly prepared seed-bed andintelligent cultivation. Break the land deep. Then go over it with anordinary harrow until all clods are broken and the soil is fine and wellclosed. The rows should be at least three feet from one another and theseeds placed from twelve to eighteen inches apart in the row, andcovered to a depth of three or four inches. A late crop should beplanted deeper than an early one. Before the plants come up it is wellto go over the field once or twice with a harrow so as to kill allweeds. Do not fail to save moisture by frequent cultivation. After theplants start to grow, all cultivation should be shallow, for the rootsfeed near the surface and should not be broken. Cultivate as often asneeded to keep down weeds and grass and to keep the ground fine. 

Allow potatoes to dry thoroughly before they are stored, but never allowthem to remain long in the sunshine. Never dig them in damp weather, forthe moisture clinging to them will cause them to rot. After the tubersare dry, store them in barrels or bins in a dry, cool, and dark place. Never allow them to freeze. 

Among the common diseases and insect pests that attack the leaves andstems of potato vines are early blight, late blight, brown rot, theflea-beetle, and the potato beetle, or potato bug. Spraying withBordeaux mixture to which a small portion of Paris green has been addedwill control both the diseases and the pests. The spraying should beginwhen the plants are five or six inches high and should not cease untilthe foliage begins to die. 

Scab is a disease of the tubers. It may be prevented (1) by using seedpotatoes that are free from scab; (2) by planting land in which there isno scab; and (3) by soaking the seed in formalin (see page 135). 

SECTION XLII. OATS

The oat plant belongs to the grass family. It is a hardy plant and, under good conditions, a vigorous grower. It stands cold and wet betterthan any other cereal except possibly rye. Oats like a cool, moistclimate. In warm climates, oats do best when they are sowed in the fall. In cooler sections, spring seeding is more generally practiced. 

There are a great many varieties of oats. No one variety is best adaptedto all sections, but many varieties make fine crops in many sections. Any variety is desirable which has these qualities: power to resistdisease and insect enemies, heavy grains, thin hulls, good color, andsuitability to local surroundings. 

As oats and rye make a better yield on poor land than any other cereals, some farmers usually plant these crops on their poorest lands. However, no land is too good to be used for so valuable a crop as oats. Oatsrequire a great deal of moisture; hence light, sandy soils are not sowell adapted to this crop as are the sandy loams and fine clay loamswith their closer and heavier texture. 

If oats are to be planted in the spring, the ground should be broken inthe fall, winter, or early spring so that no delay may occur atseeding-time. But to have a thoroughly settled, compact seed-bed thebreaking of the land should be done at least a month before the seeding, and it will help greatly to run over the land with a disk harrowimmediately after the breaking. 

[Illustration: FIG. 206. OATSCommon oats at left; side oats at right]

Oats may be planted by scattering them broadcast or by means of a drill. The drill is better, because the grains are more uniformly distributedand the depth of planting is better regulated. The seeds should becovered from one and a half to two inches deep. In a very dry seasonthree inches may not be too deep. The amount of seed needed to the acrevaries considerably, but generally the seeding is from two to threebushels an acre. On poor lands two bushels will be a fair averageseeding; on good lands as much as three bushels should be used. 

[Illustration: FIG. 207. HARVESTING OATS]

This crop fits in well, over wide areas, with various rotations. As thepurpose of all rotation is to keep the soil productive, oats shouldalternate every few years with one of the nitrogen-gathering crops. Inthe South, cowpeas, soy beans, clovers, and vetches may be used in thisrotation. In the North and West the clovers mixed with timothy hay makea useful combination for this purpose. 

Spring-sowed oats, since they have a short growing season, need theirnitrogenous plant food in a form which can be quickly used. To supplythis nitrogen a top-dressing of nitrate of soda or sulphate of lime ishelpful. The plant can gather its food quickly from either of thesetwo. As fall-sowed oats have of course a longer growing season, thenitrogen can be supplied by well-rotted manure, blood, tankage, orfish-scrap. Use barnyard manure carefully. Do not apply too much justbefore seeding, and use only thoroughly rotted manure. It is alwaysdesirable to have a bountiful supply of humus in land on which oats areto be planted. 

The time of harvesting will vary with the use which is to be made of theoats. If the crop is to be threshed, the harvesting should be done whenthe kernels have passed out of the milk into the hard dough state. Thelower leaves of the stalks will at this time have turned yellow, and thekernels will be plump and full. Do not, however, wait too long, for ifyou do the grain will shatter and the straw lose in feeding value. 

On the other hand, if the oats are to be cut for hay it is best to cutthem while the grains are still in the milk stage. At this stage theleaves are still green and the plants are rich in protein. 

Oats should be cured quickly. It is very important that threshed oatsshould be dry before they are stored. Should they on being stored stillcontain moisture, they will be likely to heat and to discolor. Anydiscoloring will reduce their value. Nor should oats ever be allowed toremain long in the fields, no matter how well they may seem to beshocked. The dew and the rain will injure their value by discoloringthem more or less. 

Oats are muscle-builders rather than fat-formers. Hence they are avaluable ration for work animals, dairy cows, and breeding-stock. 

SECTION XLIII. RYE

Rye has the power of gathering its food from a wider area than mostother plants. Of course, then, it is a fine crop for poor land, andfarmers often plant it only on worn land. However, it is too good acereal to be treated in so ungenerous a fashion. As a cover-crop forpoor land it adds much humus to the soil and makes capital grazing. 

[Illustration: FIG. 208. RYE READY FOR CUTTING]

There are two types of rye--the winter and the spring. The winter typeis chiefly grown in this country. Rye seeds should be bought as nearhome as possible, for this plant thrives best when the new crop growsunder the same conditions as the seed crop. 

Rye will grow on almost any soil that is drained. Soils that are toosandy for wheat will generally yield good crops of rye. Clay soils, however, are not adapted to the plant nor to the grazing for which theplant is generally sowed. For winter rye the land should be broken fromfour to six inches. Harrows should follow the plows until the land iswell pulverized. In some cold prairie lands, however, rye is put in witha grain-drill before a plow removes the stubble from the land. Thepurpose of planting in this way is to let the stubble protect the youngplants from cold, driving winds. 

Rye should go into the ground earlier than wheat. In cold, bleakclimates, as well as on poor land, the seeding should be early. Theyoung plant needs to get rooted and topped before cold weather sets in. The only danger in very early planting is that leaf-rust sometimesattacks the forward crop. Of course the earlier the rye is ready forfall and winter pasturage, the better. If a drill is used for planting, a seeding of from three to four pecks to the acre should give a goodstand. In case the seeds are to be sowed broadcast, a bushel or a busheland a half for every acre is needed. The seed should be covered as wheatseed is and the ground rolled. 

Rye is generally used as a grazing or as a soiling crop. Therefore itsvalue will depend largely on its vigorous growth in stems and leaves. Toget this growth, liberal amounts of nitrogenous fertilizer will have tobe applied unless the land is very rich. Put barnyard manure on the landjust after the first breaking and disk the manure into the soil. Acidphosphate and kainite added to the manure may pay handsomely. A springtop-dressing of nitrate of soda is usually helpful. 

Rye has a stiff straw and does not fall, or "lodge, " so badly as some ofthe other cereals. As soon as rye that is meant for threshing is cut, itshould be put up in shocks until it is thoroughly dry. Begin the cuttingwhen the kernels are in a tough dough state. The grain should neverstand long in the shocks. 

SECTION XLIV. BARLEY

Barley is one of the oldest crops known to man. The old historian Plinysays that barley was the first food of mankind. Modern man howeverprefers wheat and corn and potatoes to barley, and as a food thisancient crop is in America turned over to the lower animals. Brewers usebarley extensively in making malt liquors. Barley grows in nearly allsections of our country, but a few states--namely, Minnesota, California, Wisconsin, Iowa, and North and South Dakota--are seedinglarge areas to this crop. 

For malting purposes the barley raised on rather light, friable, poroussoil is best. Soils of this kind are likely to produce a medium yield ofbright grain. Fertile loamy and clay soils make generally a heavieryield of barley, but the grain is dark and fit only to be fed to stock. Barley is a shallow feeder, and can reach only such plant food as isfound in the top soil, so its food should always be put within reach bya thorough breaking, harrowing, and mellowing of the soil, and byfertilizing if the soil is poor. Barley has been successfully raisedboth by irrigation and by dry-farming methods. It requires abetter-prepared soil than the other grain crops; it makes fine yieldswhen it follows some crop that has received a heavy dressing of manure. Capital yields are produced after alfalfa or after root crops. This cropusually matures within a hundred days from its seeding. 

[Illustration: FIG. 209. BARLEY]

When the crop is to be sold to the brewers, a grain rich in starchshould be secured. Barley intended for malting should be fertilized tothis end. Many experiments have shown that a fertilizer which containsmuch potash will produce starchy barley. If the barley be intended forstock, you should breed so as to get protein in the grain and in thestalk. Hence barley which is to be fed should be fertilized withmixtures containing nitrogen and phosphoric acid. Young barley plantsare more likely to be hurt by cold than either wheat or oats. Hencebarley ought not to be seeded until all danger from frost is over. Theseeds should be covered deeper than the seeds of wheat or of oats. Fourinches is perhaps an average depth for covering. But the covering willvary with the time of planting, with the kind of ground, with theclimate, and with the nature of the season. Fewer seeds will be neededif the barley is planted by means of a drill. 

Like other cereals, barley should not be grown continuously on the sameland. It should take its place in a well-planned rotation. It mayprofitably follow potatoes or other hoed crops, but it should not comefirst after wheat, oats, or rye. 

Barley should be harvested as soon as most of its kernels have reachedthe hard dough state. It is more likely to shatter its grain than areother cereals, and it should therefore be handled with care. It mustalso be watched to prevent its sprouting in the shocks. Be sure to putfew bundles in the shock and to cap the shock securely enough to keepout dew and rain. If possible the barley should be threshed directlyfrom the shock, as much handling will occasion a serious loss fromshattering. 

SECTION XLV. SUGAR PLANTS

In the United States there are three sources from which sugar isobtained; namely, the sugar-maple, the sugar-beet, and the sugar-cane. In the early days of our country considerable quantities of maple sirupand maple sugar were made. This was the first source of sugar. Thensugar-cane began to be grown. Later the sugar-beet was introduced. 

=Maple Products. = In many states sirup and sugar are still made frommaple sap. In the spring when the sap is flowing freely maple trees aretapped and spouts are inserted. Through these spouts the sap flows intovessels set to catch it. The sap is boiled in evaporating-pans, and madeinto either sirup or sugar. Four gallons of sap yield about one pound ofsugar. A single tree yields from two to six pounds of sugar in a season. The sap cannot be kept long after it is collected. Practice and skillare needed to produce an attractive and palatable grade of sirup or ofsugar. 

=Sugar-Beets. = The sugar-beet is a comparatively new root crop inAmerica. The amount of sugar that can be obtained from beets varies fromtwelve to twenty per cent. The richness in sugar depends somewhat on thevariety grown and on the soil and the climate. 

So far most of our sugar-beet seeds have been brought over from Europe. Some of our planters are now, however, gaining the skill and theknowledge needed to grow these seeds. It is of course important to growseeds that will produce beets containing much sugar. 

[Illustration: FIG. 210. CATCHING MAPLE SAP]

These beets do well in a great variety of soils if the land is rich, well prepared, and well drained, and has a porous subsoil. 

Beets cannot grow to a large size in hard land. Hence deep plowing isvery necessary for this crop. The soil should be loose enough for thewhole body of the beet to remain underground. Some growers prefer springplowing and some fall plowing, but all agree that the land should not beturned less than eight or ten inches. The subsoil, however, should notbe turned up too much at the first deep plowing. 

Too much care cannot be taken to make the seed-bed firm and mellow andto have it free from clods. If the soil is dry at planting-time andthere is likelihood of high winds, the seed-bed may be rolled withprofit. Experienced growers use from ten to twelve pounds of seeds to anacre. It is better to use too many rather than too few seeds, for it iseasy to thin out the plants, but rather difficult to transplant them. The seeds are usually drilled in rows about twenty inches apart. Ofcourse, if the soil is rather warm and moist at planting-time, fewerseeds will be needed than when germination is likely to be slow. 

[Illustration: FIG. 211. SUGAR-BEET]

A good rotation should always be planned for this beet. A verysuccessful one is as follows: for the first year, corn heavilyfertilized with stable manure; for the second year, sugar-beets; for thethird year, oats or barley; for the fourth year, clover; then go backagain to corn. In addition to keeping the soil fertile, there are twogains from this rotation: first, the clean cultivation of the corn cropjust ahead of the beets destroys many of the weed seeds; second, thebeets must be protected from too much nitrogen in the soil, for anexcess of nitrogen makes a beet too large to be rich in sugar. Themanure, heavily applied to the corn, will leave enough nitrogen andother plant food in the soil to make a good crop of beets and avoid anydanger of an excess. 

When the outside leaves of the beet take on a yellow tinge and drop tothe ground, the beets are ripe. The mature beets are richer in sugarthan the immature, therefore they should not be harvested too soon. Theymay remain in the ground without injury for some time after they areripe. Cold weather does not injure the roots unless it is accompanied byfreezing and thawing. 

[Illustration: FIG. 212. SUGAR-BEETS ON THE WAY TO A FACTORY]

The beets are harvested by sugar-beet pullers or by hand. If the rootsare to be gathered by hand they are usually loosened by plowing on eachside of them. If the roots are stored they should be put in long, narrowpiles and covered with straw and earth to protect them from frost. Aventilator placed at the top of the pile will enable the heat andmoisture to escape. If the beets get too warm they will ferment and someof their sugar will be lost. 

=Sugar-Cane. = Sugar-cane is grown along the Gulf of Mexico and the SouthAtlantic coast. In Mississippi, in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, SouthCarolina, northern Louisiana, and in northern Texas it is generally madeinto sirup. In southern Louisiana and southern Texas the cane is usuallycrushed for sugar or for molasses. 

[Illustration: FIG. 213. STALK OF SUGAR-CANE_A-B_, joints of cane showing roots; _B-C_, stem; _C-D_, leaves]

The sugar-cane is a huge grass. The stalk, which is round, is from oneto two inches in thickness. 

The stalks vary in color. Some are white, some yellow, some green, somered, some purple, and some black, while others are a mixture of two orthree of these colors. As shown in Fig. 214 the stalk has joints atdistances of from two to six inches. These joints are called nodes, andthe sections between the nodes are known as internodes. The internodesripen from the roots upward, and as each ripens it casts its leaves. Thestalk, when ready for harvesting, has only a few leaves on the top. 

[Illustration: Fig. 214. STICK OF SUGAR-CANE_A_, buds, or eyes; _C_, nodes; _D_, internodes; _X_, semi-transparentdots in rows]

Under each leaf and on alternate sides of the cane a bud, or "eye, "forms. From this eye the cane is usually propagated; for, while intropical countries the cane forms seeds, yet these seeds are rarelyfertile. When the cane is ripe it is stripped of leaves, topped, and cutat the ground with a knife. The sugar is contained in solution in thepith of the cane. 

Cane requires an enormous amount of water for its best growth, and wherethe rainfall is not great enough, the plants are irrigated. It requiresfrom seventy-five to one hundred gallons of water to make a pound ofsugar. Cane does best where there is a rainfall of two inches a week. Atthe same time a well-drained soil is necessary to make vigorous canes. 

The soils suited to this plant are those which contain large amounts offertilizing material and which can hold much water. In southernLouisiana alluvial loams and loamy clay soils are cultivated. InGeorgia, Alabama, and Florida light, sandy soils, when properlyfertilized and worked, make good crops. 

[Illustration: FIG. 215. PLANTING SUGAR-CANE]

[Illustration: FIG. 216. LOADING SUGAR-CANE]

Cane is usually planted in rows from five to six feet apart. A trench isopened in the center of the row with a plow and in this open furrow isplaced a continuous line of stalks which are carefully covered withplow, cultivator, or hoe. From one to three continuous lines of stalksare placed in the furrow. From two to six tons of seed cane are neededfor an acre. In favorable weather the cane soon sprouts and cultivationbegins. Cane should be cultivated at short intervals until the plantsare large enough to shade the soil. In Louisiana one planting of caneusually gives two crops. The first is called plant cane; the second isknown as first-year stubble, or ratoon. Sometimes second-year stubble isgrown. 

[Illustration: FIG. 217. A COMMON TYPE OF SIRUP FACTORY]

In Louisiana large quantities of tankage, cotton-seed meal, and acidphosphate are used to fertilize cane-fields. Each country has its owntime for planting and harvesting. In Louisiana, for example, canes areplanted from October to April. In the United States cane is harvestedeach year because of frost, but in tropical countries the stalks arepermitted to grow from fifteen to twenty-four months. 

On many farms a small mill, the rollers of which are turned by horses, is used for crushing the juice out of the cane. The juice is thenevaporated in a kettle or pan. This equipment is very cheap and caneasily be operated by a small family. While these mills rarely extractmore than one half of the juice in the cane, the sirup made by them isvery palatable and usually commands a good price. Costly machinery whichsaves most of the juice is used in the large commercial sugar houses. 

SECTION XLVI. HEMP AND FLAX

In the early ages of the world, mankind is supposed to have worn verylittle or no clothing. Then leaves and the inner bark of trees werefashioned into a protection from the weather. These flimsy garments werelater replaced by skins and furs. As man advanced in knowledge, helearned how to twist wool and hairs into threads and to weave these intodurable garments. Still later, perhaps, he discovered that some plantsconceal under their outer bark soft, tough fibers that can be changedinto excellent cloth. Flax and hemp were doubtless among the firstplants to furnish this fiber. 

=Flax. = Among the fiber crops of the world, flax ranks next to cotton. It is the material from which is woven the linen for sheets, towels, tablecloths, shirts, collars, dresses, and a host of other articles. Fortunately for man, flax will thrive in many countries and in manyclimates. The fiber from which these useful articles are made, unlikecotton fiber, does not come from the fruit, but from the stem. It is thesoft, silky lining of the bark which lies between the woody outside andthe pith cells of the stem. 

The Old World engages largely in flax culture and flax manufacture, butin our country flax is grown principally for its seed. From the seeds wemake linseed oil, linseed-oil cake, and linseed meal. 

Flax grows best on deep, loamy soils, but also makes a profitable growthon clay soils. With sufficient fertilizing material it can be grown onsandy lands. Nitrogen is especially needed by this plant and should beliberally supplied. To meet this demand for nitrogen, it pays to plant aleguminous crop immediately before flax. 

[Illustration: FIG. 218. FLAX]

After a mellow seed-bed has been made ready and after the weather isfairly warm, sow, if a seed crop is desired, at the rate of from two tothree pecks an acre. A good seed crop will not be harvested if theplants are too thick. On the other hand, if a fiber crop is to beraised, it is desirable to plant more thickly, so that the stalks maynot branch, but run up into a single stem. From a bushel to two bushelsof seed is in this case used to an acre. Flax requires care and workfrom start to finish. 

When the seeds are full and plump the flax is ready for harvesting. InAmerica a binder is generally used for cutting the stalks. Our averageyield of flax is from eight to fifteen bushels an acre. 

=Hemp. = Like flax, hemp adapts itself wonderfully to many countries andmany climates. However, in America most of our hemp is grown inKentucky. 

[Illustration: FIG. 219. CUTTING HEMP]

Hemp needs soil rich enough to give the young plants a very rapid growthin their early days so that they may form long fibers. To give this cropabundant nitrogen without great cost, it should be grown in a rotationwhich includes one of the legumes. Rich, well-drained bottom-landsproduce the largest yields of hemp, but uplands which have been heavilymanured make profitable yields. 

The ground for hemp is prepared as for other grain crops. The seed isgenerally broadcasted for a fiber crop and then harrowed in. Nocultivation is required after seeding. 

If hemp is grown for seed, it is best to plant with a drill so that thecrop may be cultivated. The stalks after being cut are put in shocksuntil they are dry. Then the seeds are threshed. Large amounts of hempseed are sold for caged birds and for poultry; it is also used forpaint-oils. 

SECTION XLVII. BUCKWHEAT

Buckwheat shares with rye and cowpeas the power to make a fairly goodcrop on poor land. At the same time, of course, a full crop can beexpected only from fertile land. 

The three varieties most grown in America are the common gray, thesilver-hull, and the Japanese. The seeds of the common gray are largerthan the silver-hull, but not so large as the Japanese. The seeds fromthe gray variety are generally regarded as inferior to the other two. This crop is grown to best advantage in climates where the nights arecool and moist. It matures more quickly than any other grain crop and isremarkably free from disease. The yield varies from ten to forty bushelsan acre. Buckwheat does not seem to draw plant food heavily from thesoil and can be grown on the same land from year to year. 

In fertilizing buckwheat land, green manures and rich nitrogenousfertilizers should be avoided. These cause such a luxuriant growth thatthe stalks lodge badly. 

The time of seeding will have to be settled by the height of the landand by the climate. In northern climates and in high altitudes theseeding is generally done in May or June. In southern climates and inlow altitudes the planting may wait until July or August. The plantusually matures in about seventy days. It cannot stand warm weather atblooming-time, and must always be planted so that it may escape warmweather in its blooming period and cold weather in its maturing season. The seeds are commonly broadcasted at an average rate of four pecks tothe acre. If the land is loose and pulverized, it should be rolled. 

[Illustration: FIG. 220. BUCKWHEAT IN SHOCK]

Buckwheat ripens unevenly and will continue to bloom until frost. Harvesting usually begins just after the first crop of seeds havematured. To keep the grains from shattering, the harvesting is best doneduring damp or cloudy days or early in the morning while the dew isstill on the grain. The grain should be threshed as soon as it is dryenough to go through the thresher. 

Buckwheat is grown largely for table use. The grain is crushed into adark flour that makes most palatable breakfast cakes. The grain, especially when mixed with corn, is becoming popular for poultry food. The middlings, which are rich in fats and protein, are prized for dairycows. 

SECTION XLVIII. RICE

The United States produces only about one half of the rice that itconsumes. There is no satisfactory reason for our not raising more ofthis staple crop, for five great states along the Gulf of Mexico arewell adapted to its culture. 

[Illustration: FIG. 221. THRESHING RICE]

There are two distinct kinds of rice, upland rice and lowland rice. Upland rice demands in general the same methods of culture that arerequired by other cereals, for example, oats or wheat. The growing oflowland rice is considerably more difficult and includes the necessityof flooding the fields with water at proper times. 

A stiff, half-clay soil with some loam is best suited to this crop. Thesoil should have a clay subsoil to retain water and to give stiffnessenough to allow the use of harvesting-machinery. Some good rice soilsare so stiff that they must be flooded to soften them enough to admit ofplowing. Plow deeply to give the roots ample feeding-space. Goodtillage, which is too often neglected, is valuable. 

Careful seed-selection is perhaps even more needed for rice than for anyother crop. Consumers want kernels of the same size. Be sure that yourseed is free from red rice and other weeds. Drilling is much betterthan broadcasting, as it secures a more even distribution of the seed. 

The notion generally prevails that flooding returns to the soil theneeded fertility. This may be true if the flooding-water deposits muchsilt, but if the water be clear it is untrue, and fertilizers orleguminous crops are needed to keep up fertility. Cowpeas replace thelost soil-elements and keep down weeds, grasses, and red rice. 

Red rice is a weed close kin to rice, but the seed of one will notproduce the other. Do not allow it to get mixed and sowed with your riceseed or to go to seed in your field. 

SECTION XLIX. THE TIMBER CROP

Forest trees are not usually regarded as a crop, but they are certainlyone of the most important crops. We should accustom ourselves to look onour trees as needing and as deserving the same care and thought that wegive to our other field crops. The total number of acres given to thegrowth of forest trees is still enormous, but we should each year add tothis acreage. 

Unfortunately very few forests are so managed as to add yearly to theirvalue and to preserve a model stand of trees. Axmen generally fell thegreat trees without thought of the young trees that should at once beginto fill the places left vacant by the fallen giants. Owners rarely studytheir woodlands to be sure that the trees are thick enough, or to findout whether the saplings are ruinously crowding one another. Disease isoften allowed to slip in unchecked. Old trees stand long after they haveoutlived their usefulness. 

The farm wood-lot, too, is often neglected. As forests are being sweptaway, fuel is of course becoming scarcer and more costly. Every farmerought to plant trees enough on his waste land to make sure of a constantsupply of fuel. The land saved for the wood-lot should be selected fromland unfit for cultivation. Steep hillsides, rocky slopes, ravines, banks of streams--these can, without much expense or labor, be set intrees and insure a never-ending fuel supply. 

[Illustration: FIG. 222. WOOD LOTBefore proper treatment]

The most common enemies of the forest crop are:

First, forest fires. The waste from forest fires in the United States ismost startling. Many of these fires are the result of carelessness orignorance. Most of the states have made or are now making laws toprevent and to control such fires. 

Second, fungous diseases. The timber loss from these diseases isexceedingly great. 

Third, insects of many kinds prey on the trees. Some strip all theleaves from the branches. Others bore into the roots, trunk, orbranches. Some lead to a slow death; others are more quickly fatal. 

Fourth, improper grazing. Turning animals into young woods may lead toserious loss. The animals frequently ruin young trees by eating all thefoliage. Hogs often unearth and consume most of the seeds needed for agood growth. 

[Illustration: FIG. 223. WOOD LOTAfter proper treatment]

The handling of forests is a business just as the growing of corn is abusiness. In old forests, dead and dying trees should be cut. Trees thatoccupy space and yet have little commercial value should give way tomore valuable trees. A quick-growing tree, if it is equally desirable, should be preferred to a slow grower. An even distribution of the treesshould be secured. 

In all there are about five hundred species of trees which are nativesof the United States. Probably not over seventy of these are desirablefor forests. In selecting trees to plant or to allow to grow from theirown seeding, pick those that make a quick growth, that have a steadymarket value, and that suit the soil, the place of growth, and theclimate. 

SECTION L. THE FARM GARDEN

Every farmer needs a garden in which to grow not only vegetables butsmall fruits for the home table. 

The garden should always be within convenient distance of the farmhouse. If possible, the spot selected should have a soil of mixed loam andclay. Every foot of soil in the garden should be made rich and mellow bymanure and cultivation. The worst soils for the home garden are light, sandy soils, or stiff, clayey soils; but any soil, by judicious andintelligent culture, can be made suitable. 

In laying out the garden we should bear in mind that hand labor is themost expensive kind of labor. Hence we should not, as is commonly done, lay off the garden spot in the form of a square, but we should mark offfor our purpose a long, narrow piece of land, so that the cultivatingtools may all be conveniently drawn by a horse or a mule. The use of theplow and the horse cultivator enables the cultivation of the garden tobe done quickly, easily, and cheaply. 

Each vegetable or fruit should be planted in rows, and not in littlepatches. Beginning with one side of the garden the following plan ofarrangement is simple and complete: two rows to corn for table use; twoto cabbages, beets, radishes, and eggplants; two to onions, peas, andbeans; two to oyster-plants, okra, parsley, and turnips; two totomatoes; then four on the other side can be used for strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, currants, and gooseberries. 

[Illustration: FIG. 224. WHERE DELICIOUS GARDEN VEGETABLES GROW]

The garden, when so arranged, can be tilled in the spring and tendedthroughout the growing season with little labor and little loss of time. In return for this odd-hour work, the farmer's family will havethroughout the year an abundance of fresh, palatable, and health-givingvegetables and small fruits. 

The keynote of successful gardening is to stir the soil. Stir it oftenwith four objects in view:

 1. To destroy weeds. 

 2. To let air enter the soil. 

 3. To enrich the soil by the action of the air. 

 4. To retain the moisture by preventing its evaporation. 

 corn corn

 cabbage beets radishes cabbage beets eggplants

 onions peas beans onions peas beans

 oyster-plants okra parsley parsnips oyster-plants okra parsley parsnips

 tomatoes tomatoes

 strawberries currants raspberries blackberries strawberries currants raspberries blackberries strawberries currants raspberries blackberries strawberries currants raspberries blackberries

[Illustration: FIG. 225. HOW TO LAY OUT THE GARDEN[1]]

This illustration shows that practically every garden vegetable and allthe small fruits can be included in the farm garden, and all the work bedone by horse-drawn tools. 

[Footnote 1: The number of rows and arrangement of the vegetables in theoutline above are merely suggestive. They should be changed to meet theneeds and the tastes of each particular family. ]

CHAPTER IX

FEED STUFFS

SECTION LI. GRASSES

Under usual conditions no farmer expects to grow live stock successfullyand economically without setting apart a large part of his land for thegrowth of mowing and pasture crops. Therefore to the grower of stock themanagement of grass crops is all-important. 

In planting either for a meadow or for a pasture, the farmer should mixdifferent varieties of grass seeds. Nature mixes them when she plants, and Nature is always a trustworthy teacher. 

In planting for a pasture the aim should be to sow such seeds as willgive green grass from early spring to latest fall. In seeding for ameadow such varieties should be sowed together as ripen about the sametime. 

Even in those sections of the country where it grows sparingly and whereit is easily crowded out, clover should be mixed with all grasses sowed, for it leaves in the soil a wealth of plant food for the grasses comingafter it to feed on. Nearly every part of our country has some cloverthat experience shows to be exactly suited to its soil and climate. Study these clovers carefully and mix them with your grass seed. 

The reason for mixing clover and grass is at once seen. The truegrasses, so far as science now shows, get all their nitrogen from thesoil; hence they more or less exhaust the soil. But, as several timesexplained in this book, the clovers are legumes, and all legumes areable by means of the bacteria that live on their roots to use the freenitrogen of the air. Hence without cost to the farmer these clovers helpthe soil to feed their neighbors, the true grasses. For this reason somelight perennial legume should always be added to grass seed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 226. SINGLE PLANT OF GIANT MILLET]

It is not possible for grasses to do well in a soil that is full ofweeds. For this reason it is always best to sow grass in fields fromwhich cultivated crops have just been taken. Soil which is to have grasssowed in it should have its particles pressed together. The small grassseeds cannot take root and grow well in land that has just been plowedand which, consequently, has its particles loose and comparatively farapart. On the other hand, land from which a crop of corn or cotton hasjust been harvested is in a compact condition. The soil particles arepressed well together. Such land when mellowed by harrowing makes asplendid bed for grass seeds. A firm soil draws moisture up to theseeds, while a mellow soil acts as a blanket to keep moisture fromwasting into the air, and at the same time allows the heated air tocirculate in the soil. 

In case land has to be plowed for grass-seeding, the plowing should bedone as far as possible in advance of the seeding. Then the plowed landshould be harrowed several times to get the land in a soft, mellowcondition. 

If the seed-bed be carefully prepared, little work on the ground isnecessary after the seeds are sowed. One light harrowing is sufficientto cover the broadcast seeds. This harrowing should always be done assoon as the seeds are scattered, for if there be moisture in the soilthe tiny seeds will soon sprout, and if the harrowing be done aftergermination is somewhat advanced, the tender grass plants will beinjured. 

There are many kinds of pasture and meadow grasses. In New England, timothy, red clover, and redtop are generally used for the mowing crop. For permanent pasture, in addition to those mentioned, there should beadded white clover and either Kentucky or Canadian blue grass. In theSouthern states a good meadow or pasture can be made of orchard grass, red clover, and redtop. For a permanent pasture in the South, Japanclover, Bermuda, and such other local grasses as have been found toadapt themselves readily to the climate should be added. In the MiddleStates temporary meadows and pastures are generally made of timothy andred clover, while for permanent pastures white clover and blue grassthrive well. In the more western states the grasses previously suggestedare readily at home. Alfalfa is proving its adaptability to nearly allsections and climates, and is in many respects the most promising grasscrop of America. 

[Illustration: FIG. 227. BERMUDA]

It hardly ever pays to pasture meadows, except slightly, the firstseason, and then only when the soil is dry. It is also poor policy topasture any kind of grass land early in the spring when the soil is wet, because the tramping of animals crushes and destroys the crowns of theplants. After the first year the sward becomes thicker and tougher, andthe grass is not at all injured if it is grazed wisely. 

[Illustration: FIG. 228. ALFALFA THE WONDERFULThe first crop of the season is being cut and stored for winter]

The state of maturity at which grass should be harvested to make hay ofthe best quality varies somewhat with the different grasses and with theuse which is to be made of the hay. Generally speaking, it is a goodrule to cut grass for hay just as it is beginning to bloom or just afterthe bloom has fallen. All grasses become less palatable to stock as theymature and form seed. If grass be allowed to go to seed, most of thenutrition in the stalk is used to form the seed. 

[Illustration: FIG. 229. HARVESTING ALFALFA]

Hence a good deal of food is lost by waiting to cut hay until the seedsare formed. 

Pasture lands and meadow lands are often greatly improved by replowingand harrowing in order to break up the turf that forms and to admit airmore freely into the soil. The plant-roots that are destroyed by theplowing or harrowing make quickly available plant food by their decay, and the physical improvement of the soil leads to a thicker and betterstand. In the older sections of the country commercial fertilizer can beused to advantage in producing hay and pasturage. If, however, cloverhas just been grown on grass land or if it is growing well with thegrass, there is no need to add nitrogen. If the grass seems to lacksufficient nourishment, add phosphoric acid and potash. However, grassnot grown in company with clover often needs dried blood, nitrate ofsoda, or some other nitrogen-supplying agent. Of course it is understoodthat no better fertilizer can be applied to grass than barnyard manure. 

SECTION LII. LEGUMES

Often land which was once thought excellent is left to grow up in weeds. The owner says that the land is worn out, and that it will not pay toplant it. What does "worn out" mean? Simply that constant cropping hasused up the plant food in the land. Therefore, plants on worn-out landare too nearly starved to yield bountifully. Such wearing out is soeasily prevented that no owner ought ever to allow his land to becomepoverty-stricken. But in case this misfortune has happened, how can theland be again made fertile?

On page 24 you learned that phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen arethe foods most needed by plants. "Worn out, " then, to put it inanother way, usually means that a soil has been robbed of one of theseplant necessities, or of two or of all three. To make the land once morefruitful it is necessary to restore the missing food or foods. How canthis be done? Two of these plant foods, namely, phosphoric acid andpotash, are minerals. If either of these is lacking, it can be suppliedonly by putting on the land some fertilizer containing the missing food. Fortunately, however, nitrogen, the most costly of the plant foods, canbe readily and cheaply returned to poor land. 

[Illustration: FIG. 230. ALFALFA READY FOR THE THIRD CUTTING]

As explained on page 32 the leguminous crops have the power of drawingnitrogen from the air and, by means of their root-tubercles, of storingit in the soil. Hence by growing these crops on poor land the expensivenitrogen is quickly restored to the soil, and only the two cheaper plantfoods need be bought. How important it is then to grow these leguminousplants! Every farmer should so rotate his planting that at least onceevery two or three years a crop of legumes may add to the fruitfulnessof his fields. 

Moreover these crops help land in another way. They send a multitude ofroots deep into the ground. These roots loosen and pulverize the soil, and their decay, at the end of the growing season, leaves much humus inthe soil. Land will rarely become worn out if legumes are regularly andwisely grown. 

From the fact that they do well in so many different sections and in somany different climates, the following are the most useful legumes:alfalfa, clovers, cowpeas, vetches, and soy beans. 

=Alfalfa. = Alfalfa is primarily a hay crop. It thrives in the Far West, in the Middle West, in the North, and in the South. In fact, it will dowell wherever the soil is rich, moist, deep, and underlaid by an opensubsoil. The vast areas given to this valuable crop are yearlyincreasing in every section of the United States. Alfalfa, however, unlike the cowpea, does not take to poor land. For its cultivation, therefore, good fertile land that is moist but not water-soaked shouldbe selected. 

Good farmers are partial to alfalfa for three reasons. First, it yieldsa heavy crop of forage or hay. Second, being a legume, it improves thesoil. Third, one seeding lasts a long time. This length of life may, however, be destroyed by pasturing or abusing the alfalfa. 

[Illustration: FIG. 231. SHEEP FATTENING ON ALFALFA STUBBLE]

Alfalfa is different from most plants in this respect: the soil in whichit grows must have certain kinds of bacteria in it. These cause thegrowth of tubercles on the roots. These bacteria, however, are notalways present in land that has not been planted in alfalfa. Hence ifthis plant is to be grown successfully these helpful bacteria mustsometimes be supplied artificially. 

There are two very easy ways of supplying the germs. First, fine soilfrom an alfalfa field may be scattered broadcast over the fields to beseeded. Second, a small mass of alfalfa tubercle germs may be put into aliquid containing proper food to make these germs multiply and grow;then the seeds to be planted are soaked in this liquid in order thatthe germs may fasten on the seeds. 

Before the seeds are sowed the soil should be mellowed. Over thiswell-prepared land about twenty pounds of seed to the acre should bescattered. The seed may be scattered by hand or by a seed-sower. Coverwith a light harrow. The time of planting varies somewhat with theclimate. Except where the winters are too severe the seed may be sowedeither in the spring or in the fall. In the South sow only in the fall. 

[Illustration: FIG. 232. HERD OF DAIRY CATTLE GRAZING ON ALFALFA STUBBLE]

During the first season one mowing, perhaps more, is necessary to insurea good stand and also to keep down the weeds. When the first blossomsappear in the early summer, it is time to start the mower. After thisthe alfalfa should be cut every two, three, or four weeks. The number oftimes depends on the rapidity of growth. 

This crop rarely makes a good yield the first year, but if a good standbe secured, the yield steadily increases. After a good stand has beensecured, a top-dressing of either commercial fertilizer or stable manurewill be very helpful. An occasional cutting-up of the sod with a diskharrow does much good. 

=Clovers. = The different kinds of clovers will sometimes grow on hard orpoor soil, but they do far better if the soil is enriched and properlyprepared before the seed is sowed. In many parts of our country it hasbeen the practice for generations to sow clover seed with some of thegrain crops. Barley, wheat, oats, and rye are the crops with whichclover is usually planted, but many good farmers now prefer to sow theseed only with other grass seed. Circumstances must largely determinethe manner of seeding. 

Crimson clover, which is a winter legume, usually does best when seededalone, although rye or some other grain often seems helpful to it. Thiskind of clover is an excellent crop with which to follow cotton or corn. It is most conveniently sowed at the last cultivation of these crops. 

Common red clover, which is the standard clover over most of thecountry, is usually seeded with timothy or with orchard grass or withsome other of the grasses. In sowing both crimson and red clover, aboutten to fifteen pounds of seed for each acre are generally used. 

To make good pastures, white and Japan clover are favorites. Whiteclover does well in most parts of America, and Japan clover isespecially valuable in warm Southern climates. Both will do well evenwhen the soil is partly shaded, but they do best in land fully open tothe sun. 

Careful attention is required to cure clover hay well. The clover shouldalways be cut before it forms seed. The best time to cut is when theplants are in full bloom. 

[Illustration: FIG. 233. CRIMSON CLOVER]

Let the mower be started in the morning. Then a few hours later run overthe field with the tedder. This will loosen the hay and let in air andsunshine. If the weather be fair let the hay lie until the next day, andthen rake it into rows for further drying. After being raked, the haymay either be left in the rows for final curing or it may be put incocks. If the weather be unsettled, it is best to cock the hay. Manyfarmers have cloth covers to protect the cocks and these often aidgreatly in saving the hay crop in a rainy season. In case the hay is putin cocks, it should be opened for a final drying before it is housed. 

=Cowpeas. = The cowpea is an excellent soil-enricher. It supplies morefertilizing material to turn into the soil, in a short time and at smallcost, than any other crop. Moreover, by good tillage and by the use of avery small amount of fertilizer, the cowpea can be grown on land toopoor to produce any other crop. Its roots go deep into the soil. Hencethey gather plant food and moisture that shallow-rooted plants fail toreach. These qualities make it an invaluable help in bringing worn-outlands back to fertility. 

The cowpea is a warm-weather legume. In the United States it succeedsbest in the south and southwest. It has, however, in recent years beengrown as far north as Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Michigan, andMinnesota, but in these cold climates other legumes are more useful. Cowpeas should never be planted until all danger of frost is past. Somevarieties make their full growth in two months; others need four months. 

There are about two hundred varieties of cowpeas. These varieties differin form, in the size of seed and of pod, in the color of seed and ofpod, and in the time of ripening. They differ, too, in the manner ofgrowth. Some grow erect; others sprawl on the ground. In selectingvarieties it is well to choose those that grow straight up, those thatare hardy, those that fruit early and abundantly, and those that holdtheir leaves. The variety selected for seed should also suit the landand the climate. 

The cowpea will grow in almost any soil. It thrives best and yields mostbountifully on well-drained sandy loams. The plant also does well onclay soils. On light, sandy soils a fairly good crop may be made, but onsuch soils, wilt and root-knot are dangerous foes. A warm, moist, well-pulverized seed-bed should always be provided. Few plants equal thecowpea in repaying careful preparation. 

[Illustration: FIG. 234. COWPEAS]

If this crop is grown for hay, the method of seeding and cultivatingwill differ somewhat from the method used when a seed crop is desired. When cowpeas are planted for hay the seeds should be drilled orbroadcasted. If the seeds are small and the land somewhat rich, aboutfour pecks should be sowed on each acre. If the seeds are comparativelylarge and the soil not so fertile, about six pecks should be sowed tothe acre. It is safer to disk in the seeds when they are sowed broadcastthan it is to rely on a harrow to cover them. In sowing merely for ahay crop, it is a good practice to mix sorghum, corn, soy beans, ormillet with the cowpeas. The mixed hay is more easily harvested and moreeasily cured than unmixed cowpea hay. Shortly after seeding, it pays torun over the land lightly with a harrow or a weeder in order to breakany crust that may form. 

Mowing should begin as soon as the stalks and the pods have finishedgrowing and some of the lower leaves have begun to turn yellow. Anordinary mower is perhaps the best machine for cutting the vines. Ifpossible, select only a bright day for mowing and do not start themachine until the dew on the vines is dried. Allow the vines to remainas they fell from the mower till they are wilted; then rake them intowindrows. The vines should generally stay in the windrows for two orthree days and be turned on the last day. They should then be put insmall, airy piles or piled around a stake that has crosspieces nailed toit. The drying vines should never be packed; air must circulate freelyif good hay is to be made. As piling the vines around stakes is somewhatlaborious, some growers watch the curing carefully and succeed ingetting the vines dry enough to haul directly from the windrows to thebarns. Never allow the vines to stay exposed to too much sunshine whenthey are first cut. If the sun strikes them too strongly, the leaveswill become brittle and shatter when they are moved. 

When cowpeas are grown for their pods to ripen, the seeds should beplanted in rows about a yard apart. From two to three pecks of seeds toan acre should be sufficient. The growing plants should be cultivatedtwo or three times with a good cultivator. Cowpeas were formerlygathered by hand, but such a method is of course slow and expensive. Pickers are now commonly used. 

Some farmers use the cowpea crop only as a soil-enricher. Hence theyneither gather the seeds nor cut the hay, but plow the whole crop intothe soil. There is an average of about forty-seven pounds of nitrogen ineach ton of cowpea vines. Most of this valuable nitrogen is drawn by theplants from the air. This amount of nitrogen is equal to that containedin 9500 pounds of stable manure. In addition each ton of cowpea vinescontains ten pounds of phosphoric acid and twenty-nine pounds of potash. 

There is danger in plowing into the soil at one time any bountiful greencrop like cowpeas. As already explained on page 10, a processcalled capillarity enables moisture to rise in the soil as plants needit. Now if a heavy cowpea crop or any other similar crop be at oneplowing turned into the soil, the soil particles will be so separated asto destroy capillarity. Too much vegetation turned under at once mayalso, if the weather be warm, cause fermentation to set in and "sour theland. " Both of these troubles may be avoided by cutting up the vineswith a disk harrow or other implement before covering them. 

The custom of planting cowpeas between the rows at the last working ofcorn is a good one, and wherever the climate permits this custom shouldbe followed. 

=Vetches. = The vetches have been rapidly growing in favor for someyears. Stock eat vetch hay greedily, and this hay increases the flow ofmilk in dairy animals and helps to keep animals fat and sleek. Only twospecies of vetch are widely grown. These are the tare, or spring vetch, and the winter, or hairy, vetch. Spring vetch is grown in comparativelyfew sections of our country. It is, however, grown widely in England andnorthern continental Europe. What we say here will be confined to hairyvetch. 

After a soil has been supplied with the germs needed by this plant, thehairy vetch is productive on many different kinds of soil. The plant ismost vigorous on fertile loams. By good tillage and proper fertilizationit may be forced to grow rather bountifully on poor sandy and clayloams. Acid or wet soils are not suited to vetch. Lands that are toopoor to produce clovers will frequently yield fair crops of vetch. Ifthis is borne in mind, many poor soils may be wonderfully improved bygrowing on them this valuable legume. 

[Illustration: FIG. 235. VETCH]

Vetch needs a fine well-compacted seed-bed, but it is often sowed withgood results on stubble lands and between cotton and corn rows, where itis covered by a cultivator or a weeder. 

The seeds of the vetch are costly and are brought chiefly from Germany, where this crop is much prized. The pods ripen so irregularly that theyhave to be picked by hand. 

In northern climates early spring sowing is found most satisfactory. Insouthern climates the seeding is best done in the late summer or earlyfall. As the vetch vines have a tendency to trail on the ground, it iswisest to plant with the vetch some crop like oats, barley, rye, orwheat. These plants will support the vetch and keep its vines from beinginjured by falling on the ground. Do not use rye with vetch in theSouth. It ripens too early to be of much assistance. If sowed with oatsthe seeding should be at the rate of about twenty or thirty pounds ofvetch and about one and a half or two bushels of oats to the acre. Vetchis covered in the same way as wheat and rye. 

Few crops enrich soil more rapidly than vetch if the whole plant isturned in. It of course adds nitrogen to the soil and at the same timesupplies the soil with a large amount of organic matter to decay andchange to humus. As the crop grows during the winter, it makes anexcellent cover to prevent washing. Many orchard-growers of theNorthwest find vetch the best winter crop for the orchards as well asfor the fields. 

=Soy, or Soja, Bean. = In China and Japan the soy bean is grown largelyas food for man. In the United States it is used as a forage plant andas a soil-improver. It bids fair to become one of the most popular ofthe legumes. Like the cowpea, this bean is at home only in a warmclimate. Some of the early-ripening varieties have, however, beenplanted with fair success in cold climates. 

While there are a large number of varieties of the soy bean, only abouta dozen are commonly grown. They differ mainly in the color, size, andshape of the seeds, and in the time needed for ripening. Some of thevarieties are more hairy than others. 

Soy beans may take many places in good crop-rotations, but they areunusually valuable in short rotations with small grains. The grains canbe cut in time for the beans to follow them, and in turn the beans canbe harvested in the early fall and make way for another grain crop. 

It should always be remembered that soy beans will not thrive unless theland on which they are to grow is already supplied, or is supplied atthe time of sowing, with bean bacteria. 

[Illustration: FIG. 236. CHINESE SOY BEANS]

The plant will grow on many different kinds of soil, but it needs aricher soil than the cowpea does. As the crop can gather most of its ownnitrogen, it generally requires only the addition of phosphoric acid andpotash for its growth on poor land. When the first crop is seeded, applyto each acre four hundred pounds of a fertilizing mixture which containsabout ten per cent of phosphoric acid, four per cent of potash, and fromone to two per cent of nitrogen. 

If the crop is planted for hay or for grazing, mellow the ground well, and then broadcast or drill in closely about one and a half bushels ofseed to each acre. Cover from one to two inches deep, but never allow acrust to form over the seed, for the plant cannot break through a crustwell. When the beans are planted for seeds, a half bushel of seed to theacre is usually sufficient. The plants should stand in the rows fromfour to six inches apart, and the rows should be from thirty to fortyinches from one another. Never plant until the sun has thoroughly warmedthe land. The bean may be sowed, however, earlier than cowpeas. A mostconvenient time is just after corn is planted. The rows should becultivated often enough to keep out weeds and grass and to keep a gooddust mulch, but the cultivation must be shallow. 

[Illustration: FIG. 237. SOY BEANS]

As soy beans are grown for hay and also for seed, the harvesting will, as with the other legumes, be controlled by the purpose for which thecrop was planted. In harvesting for a hay crop it is desirable to cutthe beans after the pods are well formed but before they are fullygrown. If the cutting is delayed until the pods are ripe, the fruit willshatter badly. There is a loss, too, in the food value of the stems ifthe cutting is late. The ordinary mowing-machine with a rake attached isgenerally the machine used for cutting the stalks. The leaves should bemost carefully preserved, for they contain much nourishment for stock. 

[Illustration: FIG. 238. SOY BEANS IN CORN]

Whenever the beans are grown for seeds, harvesting should begin whenthree fourths of the leaves have fallen and most of the pods are ripe. Do not wait, however, until the pods are so dry that they have begun tosplit and drop their seeds. A slight amount of dampness on the plantsaids the cutting. The threshing may be done with a flail, withpea-hullers, or with a grain-threshing machine. 

The beans produce more seed to the acre than cowpeas do. Forty bushelsis a high yield. The average yield is between twenty and thirty bushels. 

 DESCRIPTIVE TABLE

 ADAPTATION ASCrop FOOD FOR ANIMALS LIFE REMARKS

Alfalfa Hay Perennial All animals like it; hogs eat it even when it is dry. Red clover Hay and pasture Perennial Best of the clovers for hay. Alsike clover Hay and pasture Perennial Seeds itself for twenty years. This clover is a great favorite with bees. Mammoth clover Hay and pasture Perennial Best for green manure. White clover Pasture Perennial Excellent for lawns and bees. Japan clover Pasture Perennial Excellent for forest and old soils. Cowpea Hay and grain Annual Used for hay, green manure, and pastures. Soy bean Hay and grain Annual Often put in silo with corn. Vetches Hay and soiling Annual Pasture for sheep and swine. With cereals it makes excellent hay and soiling-food. 

CHAPTER X

DOMESTIC ANIMALS

The progress that a nation is making can with reasonable accuracy bemeasured by the kind of live stock it raises. The general rule is, poorstock, poor people. All the prosperous nations of the globe, especiallythe grain-growing nations, get a large share of their wealth fromraising improved stock. The stock bred by these nations is now, however, very different from the stock raised by the same nations years ago. Assoon as man began to progress in the art of agriculture he becamedissatisfied with inferior stock. He therefore bent his energies toraise the standard of excellence in domestic animals. 

By slow stages of animal improvement the ugly, thin-flanked wild boar ofearly times has been transformed into the sleek Berkshire or thewell-rounded Poland-China. In the same manner the wild sheep of the OldWorld have been developed into wool and mutton breeds of the finestexcellence. By constant care, attention, and selection the thin, long-legged wild ox has been bred into the bounteous milk-producingJerseys and Holsteins or into the Shorthorn mountains of flesh. From thesmall, bony, coarse, and shaggy horse of ancient times have descendedthe heavy Norman, or Percheron, draft horse and the fleet Arab courser. 

The matter of meat-production is one of vital importance to the humanrace, for animal food must always supply a large part of man's ration. 

Live stock of various kinds consume the coarser foods, like the grasses, hays, and grains, which man cannot use. As a result of this consumptionthey store in their bodies the exact substances required for building upthe tissues of man's body. 

When the animal is used by man for food, one class of foods stored awayin the animal's body produces muscle; another produces fat, heat, andenergy. The food furnished by the slaughter of animals seems necessaryto the full development of man. It is true that the flesh of an animalwill not support human life so long as would the grain that the animalate while growing, but it is also true that animal food does not requireso much of man's force to digest it. Hence the use of meat forces a partof man's life-struggle on the lower animal. 

When men feed grain to stock, the animals receive in return power andfood in their most available forms. Men strengthen the animal that theythemselves may be strengthened. One of the great questions, then, forthe stock-grower's consideration is how to make the least amount of foodfed to animals produce the most power and flesh. 

SECTION LIII. HORSES

While we have a great many kinds of horses in America, horses are notnatives of this country. Just where wild horses were first tamed andused is not certainly known. It is believed that in early ages the horsewas a much smaller animal than it now is, and that it gradually attainedits present size. Where food was abundant and nutritious and the climatemild and healthful, the early horses developed large frames and heavylimbs and muscles; on the other hand, where food was scarce and theclimate cold and bleak, the animals remained as dwarfed as the ponies ofthe Shetland Islands. 

[Illustration: FIG. 239. THE FAMILY PET]

One of the first records concerning the horse is found in Genesis xlix, 17, where Jacob speaks of "an adder that biteth the horse heels. "Pharaoh took "six hundred chosen chariots" and "with all the horses andchariots" pursued the Israelites. The Greeks at first drove the horsefastened to a rude chariot; later they rode on its back, learning tomanage the animal with voice or switch and without either saddle orbridle. This thinking people soon invented the snaffle bit, and bothrode and drove with its aid. The curb bit was a Roman invention. Shoeingwas not practiced by either Greeks or Romans. Saddles and harnesses wereat first made of skins and sometimes of cloth. 

Among the Tartars of middle and northern Asia and also among some othernations, mare's milk and the flesh of the horse are used for food. Oldand otherwise worthless horses are regularly fattened for the meatmarkets of France and Germany. Various uses are made of the differentparts of a horse's body. The mane and tail are used in the manufactureof mattresses, and also furnish a haircloth for upholstering; the skinis tanned into leather; the hoofs are used for glue, and the bones formaking fertilizer. 

[Illustration: FIG. 240. PERCHERON HORSE (A DRAFT TYPE)]

Climate, food, and natural surroundings have all aided in producingchanges in the horse's form, size, and appearance. The varyingcircumstances under which horses have been raised have given rise to thedifferent breeds. In addition, the masters' needs had much to do indeveloping the type of horses wanted. Some masters desired work horses, and kept the heavy, muscular, stout-limbed animals; others desiredriding and driving horses, so they saved for their use the light-limbed, angular horses that had endurance and mettle. The following table givessome of the different breeds and the places of their development:

[Illustration: FIG. 241. Diagram shows the proper shape of the fore and hind legs of a horse. When the straight lines divide the legs equally, the leg action isstraight and regular]

 I. _Draft, or Heavy, Breeds_

 1. Percheron, from the province of Perche, France. 2. French Draft, developed in France. 3. Belgian Draft, developed by Belgian farmers. 4. Clydesdale, the draft horse of Scotland. 5. Suffolk Punch, from the eastern part of England. 6. English Shire, also from the eastern part of England. 

 II. _Carriage, or Coach, Breeds_

 1. Cleveland Bay, developed in England. 2. French Coach, the gentleman's horse of France. 3. German Coach, from Germany. 4. Oldenburg Coach, Oldenburg, Germany. 5. Hackney, the English high-stepper. 

 III. _Light, or Roadster, Breeds_

 1. American Trotter, developed in America. 2. Thoroughbred, the English running horse. 3. American Saddle Horse, from Kentucky and Virginia. 

There is a marked difference in the form and type of these horses, andon this difference their usefulness depends. 

[Illustration: FIG. 242. WIDE HOCKThis horse stands great strains and is not fatigued easily]

[Illustration: FIG. 243. NARROW HOCKThis horse becomes exhausted very easily]

The draft breeds have short legs, and hence their bodies arecomparatively close to the ground. The depth of the body should be aboutthe same as the length of leg. All draft horses should have uprightshoulders, so as to provide an easy support for the collar. The hockshould be wide, so that the animal shall have great leverage of musclefor pulling. A horse having a narrow hock is not able to draw a heavyload and is easily exhausted and liable to curb-diseases (see Figs. 242and 243). 

[Illustration: FIG. 244. THE ROADSTER TYPE]

The legs of all kinds of horses should be straight; a line dropped fromthe point of the shoulder to the ground should divide the knees, canon, fetlock, and foot into two equal parts. When the animal is formed inthis way the feet have room to be straight and square, with just thebreadth of a hoof between them (Fig. 241). 

Roadsters are lighter in bone and less heavily muscled; their legs arelonger than those of the draft horses and, as horsemen say, more"daylight" can be seen under the body. The neck is long and thin, butfits nicely into the shoulders. The shoulders are sloping and long andgive the roadster ability to reach well out in his stride. The head isset gracefully on the neck and should be carried with ease anderectness. 

Every man who is to deal with horses ought to become, by observation andstudy, an expert judge of forms, qualities, types, defects, andexcellences. 

[Illustration: FIG. 245. SIDE VIEW OF LEGSThe diagram shows how the straight lines ought to cross the legs of aproperly shaped horse]

The horse's foot makes an interesting study. The horny outside protectsthe foot from mud, ice, and stones. Inside the hoof are the bones andgristle that serve as cushions to diminish the shock received whilewalking or running on hard roads or streets. When shoeing the horse thefrog should not be touched with the knife. It is very seldom that anycutting need be done. Many blacksmiths do not know this and oftengreatly injure the foot. 

Since the horse has but a small stomach, the food given should not betoo bulky. In proportion to the horse's size, its grain ration should belarger than that of other animals. Draft horses and mules, however, canbe fed a more bulky ration than other horses, because they have largerstomachs and consequently have more room to store food. 

[Illustration: FIG. 246. HOW TO MEASURE A HORSE]

The horse should be groomed every day. This keeps the pores of the skinopen and the hair bright and glossy. When horses are working hard, theharness should be removed during the noon hour. During the cool seasonsof the year, whenever a horse is wet with sweat, it should on stoppingwork, or when standing for awhile, be blanketed, for the animal is asliable as man to get cold in a draft or from moisture evaporatingrapidly from its skin. 

 EXERCISE

 If the pupil will take an ordinary tape measure, he can make some measurements of the horse that will be very interesting as well as profitable. Let him measure:

 1. The height of the horse at the withers, 1 to 1. 2. The height of the horse at croup, 2 to 2. 3. Length of shoulder, 1 to 3. 4. Length of back, 4. 5. Length of head, 5. 6. Depth of body, 6 to 6. 7. Daylight under body, 7 to 7. 8. Distance from point of shoulder to quarter, 3 to 3. 9. Width of forehead. 10. Width between hips. 

 NOTE. Many interesting comparisons can be made (1) by measuring several horses; (2) by studying the proportion between parts of the same horse. 

 PROPORTIONS OF A HORSE

 1. How many times longer is the body than the head? Do you get the same result from different horses?

 2. How does the height at the withers compare with the height at the croup?

 3. How do these compare with the distance from quarter to shoulder?

 4. How does the length of the head compare with the thickness of the body and with the open space, or "daylight, " under the body?

SECTION LIV. CATTLE

All farm animals were once called _cattle_; now this term applies onlyto beef and dairy animals--neat cattle. 

Our improved breeds are descended from the wild ox of Europe and Asia, and have attained their size and usefulness by care, food, andselection. The uses of cattle are so familiar that we need scarcelymention them. Their flesh is a part of man's daily food; their milk, cream, butter, and cheese are on most tables; their hides go to makeleather, and their hair for plaster; their hoofs are used for glue, andtheir bones for fertilizers, ornaments, buttons, and many otherpurposes. 

[Illustration: FIG. 247. A PRIZE-WINNER]

There are two main classes of cattle--beef breeds and dairy breeds. Theprincipal breeds of each class are as follows:

 I. _Beef Breeds_

 1. Aberdeen-Angus, bred in Scotland, and often called _doddies_. 2. Galloway, from Scotland. 3. Shorthorn, an English breed of cattle. 4. Hereford, also an English breed. 5. Sussex, from the county of Sussex, England. 

 II. _Dairy Breeds_

 1. Jersey, from the Isle of Jersey. 2. Guernsey, from the Isle of Guernsey. 3. Ayrshire, from Scotland. 4. Holstein-Frisian, from Holland and Denmark. 5. Brown Swiss, from Switzerland. 

Other breeds of cattle are Devon, Dutch Belted, Red-Polled, Kerry, andWest Highland. 

In general structure there is a marked difference between the beef anddairy breeds. This is shown in Figs. 248, 249. The beef cow is square, full over the back and loins, and straight in the back. The hips arecovered evenly with flesh, the legs full and thick, the under line, orstomach line, parallel to the back line, and the neck full and short. The eye should be bright, the face short, the bones of fine texture, andthe skin soft and pliable. 

[Illustration: FIG. 248. ABERDEEN-ANGUS COW (A BEEF TYPE)]

The dairy cow is widely different from the beef cow. She shows a decidedwedge shape when you look at her from front, side, or rear. The backline is crooked, the hip bones and tail bone are prominent, the thighsthin and poorly fleshed; there is no breadth to the back, as in the beefcow, and little flesh covers the shoulders; the neck is long and thin. 

The udder of the dairy cow is most important. It should be full but notfleshy, be well attached behind, and extend well forward. The larger theudder the more milk will be given. 

The skin of the dairy cow, like that of the beef breeds, should be softand pliable and the bones fine-textured. 

=The Dairy Type. = Because of lack of flesh on the back, loins, andthighs, the cow of the dairy type is not profitably raised for beef, noris the beef so good as that of the beef types. This is because in thedairy-animal food goes to produce milk rather than beef. In the same waythe beef cow gives little milk, since her food goes rather to fat thanto milk. For the same reasons that you do not expect a plow horse to winon the race track, you do not expect a cow of the beef type to winpremiums as a milker. 

[Illustration: FIG. 249. JERSEY COW (A DAIRY TYPE)]

"Scrub" cattle are not profitable. They mature slowly and consequentlyconsume much food before they are able to give any return for it. Evenwhen fattened, the fat and lean portions are not evenly distributed, and "choice cuts" are few and small. 

By far the cheapest method of securing a healthy and profitable herd ofdairy or beef cattle is to save only the calves whose sires arepure-bred animals and whose mothers are native cows. In this way farmersof even little means can soon build up an excellent herd. 

=Improving Cattle. = The fact that it is not possible for every farmer topossess pure-bred cattle is no reason why he should not improve thestock he has. He can do this by using pure-bred sires that possess thequalities most to be desired. Scrub stock can be quickly improved by thecontinuous use of good sires. It is never wise to use grade, orcross-bred, sires, since the best qualities are not fixed in them. 

[Illustration: FIG. 250. HEAD OF A GALLOWAY COW]

Moreover, it is possible for every farmer to determine exactly theproducing-power of his dairy cows. When the cows are milked, the milkshould be weighed and a record kept. If this be done, it will be foundthat some cows produce as much as five hundred, and some as much as tenhundred, gallons a year, while others produce not more than two or threehundred gallons. If a farmer kills or sells his poor cows and keeps hisbest ones, he will soon have a herd of only heavy milkers. Ask yourfather to try this plan. Read everything you can find about taking careof cows and improving them, and then start a herd of your own. 

=Conclusions. = (1) A cow with a tendency to get fat is not profitablefor the dairy. (2) A thin, open, angular cow will make expensive beef. (3) "The sire is half the herd. " This means that a good sire isnecessary to improve a herd of cattle. The improvement from scrubsupward is as follows: the first generation is one-half pure; the secondis three-fourths pure; the third is seven-eighths pure; the fourth isfifteen-sixteenths pure, etc. (4) By keeping a record of the quantityand quality of milk each cow gives you can tell which are profitable toraise from and which are not. (5) Good food, clean water, kindness, andcare are necessary to successful cattle-raising. 

[Illustration: FIG. 251. HOLSTEIN COW]

The ownership of a well-bred animal usually arouses so much pride in theowner that the animal receives all the care that it merits. The watchfulcare given to such an animal leads to more thought of the other animalson the farm, and often brings about the upbuilding of an entire herd. 

SECTION LV. SHEEP

The sheep was perhaps the first animal domesticated by man, and to-daythe domesticated sheep is found wherever man lives. It is founddomesticated or wild in almost every climate, and finds means to thrivewhere other animals can scarcely live; it provides man with meat andclothing, and is one of the most profitable and most easily cared-for ofanimals. 

[Illustration: FIG. 252. A YOUNG SHEPHERD]

Sheep increase so rapidly, mature at such an early age, and have fleshso wholesome for food that nearly every farm should have its flock. Another consideration that may be urged in favor of sheep-raising isthat sheep improve the land on which they are pastured. 

Sheep are docile and easily handled, and they live on a greaterdiversity of food and require less grain than any other kind of livestock. In mixed farming there is enough food wasted on most farms tomaintain a small flock of sheep. 

[Illustration: FIG. 253. SHEEP HAVE LONG BEEN CALLED THEGOLDEN-HOOFED ANIMALS]

Sheep may be divided into three classes:

 I. _Fine-Wooled Breeds_

 1. American Merino. 2. Delaine Merino. 3. Rambouillets. 4. Hampshire Down. 5. Oxford Down. 6. Cheviot. 

 II. _Medium-Wooled Breeds_

 1. Southdown. 2. Shropshire. 3. Horned Dorset. 

 III. _Long-Wooled Breeds_

 1. Leicester. 2. Lincoln. 3. Cotswold. 

[Illustration: FIG. 254. IN THE PASTURE]

The first group is grown principally for wool, and mutton is secondary;in the second group, mutton comes first and wool second; in the thirdgroup both are important considerations. Wool is nature's protection forthe sheep. Have you ever opened the fleece and observed the clean skinin which the fibers grow? These fibers, or hairs, are so roughened thatthey push all dirt away from the skin toward the outside of the fleece. 

Wool is valuable in proportion to the length and evenness of the fiberand the density of the fleece. 

 EXERCISE

 1. How many pounds ought a fleece of wool to weigh? 2. Which makes the better clothing, coarse or fine wool? 3. Why are sheep washed before being sheared? 4. Does cold weather trouble sheep? wet weather?

SECTION LVI. SWINE

The wild boar is a native of Europe, Asia, and Africa. The wild hogs arethe parents from which all our domestic breeds have sprung. In manyparts of the world the wild boar is still found. These animals areactive and powerful, and as they grow older are fierce and dangerous. Intheir wild state they seek moist, sandy, and well-wooded places, closeto streams of water. Their favorite foods are fruits, grass, and roots, but when pressed by hunger they will eat snakes, worms, and even higheranimals, like birds, fowls, and fish. 

[Illustration: FIG. 255. WHICH WILL YOU RAISE?]

Man captured some of these wild animals, fed them abundant andnutritious food, accustomed them to domestic life, selected the best ofthem to raise from, and in the course of generations developed ourpresent breeds of hogs. The main changes brought about in hogs werethese: the legs became shorter, the snout and neck likewise shortened, the shoulders and hams increased their power to take on flesh, and theframe was strengthened to carry the added burden of flesh. As the animalgrew heavier it roamed less widely, and as it grew accustomed to man itstemper became less fierce. 

[Illustration: FIG. 256. A PAIR OF PORKERS]

Meat can be more cheaply obtained from hogs than from any other animal. When a hog is properly fed and cared for it will make the farmer moremoney in proportion to cost than any other animal on the farm. 

The most profitable type of hog has short legs, small bones, straightback and under line, heavy hams, small well-dished head, and heavyshoulders. The scrub and "razorback" hogs are very unprofitable, andrequire an undue amount of food to produce a pound of gain. It requirestwo years to get the scrub to weigh what a well-bred pig will weighwhen nine months old. Scrub hogs can be quickly changed in form and typeby the use of a pure-bred sire. 

A boy whose parents were too poor to send him to college once decided tomake his own money and get an education. He bought a sow and began toraise pigs. He earned the food for the mother and her pigs. His hogsincreased so rapidly that he had to work hard to keep them in food. Bysaving the money he received from the sale of his hogs he had enough tokeep him two years in college. Suppose you try his plan, and let the hogshow you how fast it can make money. 

[Illustration: FIG. 257. A GOOD TYPE]

We have several breeds of swine. The important ones are:

 I. _Large Breeds_

 1. Chester White. 2. Improved Yorkshire. 3. Tamworth. 

 II. _Medium Breeds_

 1. Berkshire. 2. Poland-China. 3. Duroc-Jersey. 4. Cheshire. 

 III. _Small Breeds_

 1. Victoria. 2. Suffolk. 3. Essex. 4. Small Yorkshire. 

Hogs will be most successfully raised when kept as little as possible inpens. They like the fields and the pasture grass, the open air and thesunshine. Almost any kind of food can be given them. Unlike other stock, they will devour greedily and tirelessly the richest feeding-stuffs. 

The most desirable hog to raise is one that will produce a more or lesseven mixture of fat and lean. Where only corn is fed, the body becomesvery fat and is not so desirable for food as when middlings, tankage, cowpeas, or soy beans are added as a part of the ration. 

[Illustration: FIG. 258. DINNER IS OVER]

When hogs are kept in pens, cleanliness is most important, for only bycleanliness can disease be avoided. 

SECTION LVII. FARM POULTRY

Our geese, ducks, turkeys, and domestic hens are all descendants of wildfowls, and are more or less similar to them in appearance. 

The earliest recorded uses of fowls were for food, for fighting, and forsacrifice. To-day the domestic fowl has four well-defineduses--egg-production, meat-production, feather-production, andpest-destruction. 

[Illustration: STANDARD-BRED FOWLSBarred Plymouth Rocks, male and female; White Wyandottes, female andmale]

Hens of course produce most of our eggs. Some duck eggs are sold fortable use. Goose and duck body-feathers bring good prices. Aspest-destroyers turkeys and chickens are most useful. They eat largenumbers of bugs and worms that are harmful to crops. A little properattention would very largely increase the already handsome sum derivedfrom our fowls. They need dry, warm, well-lighted, and tidily kepthouses. They must have, if we want the best returns, an abundant supplyof pure water and a variety of nutritious foods. In cold, rainy, orsnowy weather they should have a sheltered yard, and in good weathershould be allowed a range wide enough to give them exercise. Theirbodies and their nests must be protected from every form of vermin. 

For eggs, the Leghorn varieties are popular. Some hens of this breedhave been known to lay more than two hundred eggs in a year. Speciallycared-for flocks have averaged eleven or even twelve dozen eggs a year. Farm flocks of ordinary breeds average less than eight dozen. Otherexcellent egg breeds are the Spanish, Andalusian, and Minorca. 

[Illustration: FIG. 259. COCK]

The principal so-called meat breeds are the Brahma, Cochin, andLangshan. These are very large, but rather slow-growing fowls, and arenot noted as layers. They are far less popular in America, even asmeat-producers, than the general-purpose breeds. 

The Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Rhode Island Red, and Orpington are theleading general-purpose breeds. They are favorites because they are atonce good-sized, good layers, tame, and good mothers. The chicks ofthese breeds are hardy and thrifty. In addition to these breeds, thereare many so-called fancy breeds that are prized for their looks ratherthan for their value. Among these are the Hamburg, Polish, Sultan, Silkie, and the many Bantam breeds. 

The leading duck breeds are the Pekin, Aylesbury, Indian Runner, Muscovy, Rouen, and Cayuga. The principal varieties of geese are theToulouse, Emden, Chinese, and African. 

Among the best breeds of turkeys are the Bronze, White Holland, Narragansett, Bourbon, Slate, and Buff. 

Geese, ducks, and turkeys are not so generally raised as hens, but thereis a constant demand at good prices for these fowls. 

[Illustration: FIG. 260. BROODER]

The varieties of the domestic hen are as follows:

 I. _Egg Breeds_

 1. Leghorn. 2. Minorca. 3. Spanish. 4. Blue Andalusian. 5. Anconas. 

 II. _Meat Breeds_

 1. Brahma. 2. Cochin. 3. Langshan. 4. Dorking. 5. Cornish. 

 III. _General-Purpose Breeds_

 1. Plymouth Rock. 2. Wyandotte. 3. Rhode Island Red. 4. Orpington. 

 IV. _Fancy Breeds_

 1. Polish. 2. Game. 3. Sultan. 4. Bantam. 

[Illustration: FIG. 261. BREEDING YARDS]

[Illustration: FIG. 262. INCUBATOR]

As the price of both eggs and fowls is steadily advancing, a great manypeople are now raising fowls by means of an incubator for hatching, anda brooder as a substitute for the mother hen. 

The use of the incubator is extending each year and is now almostuniversal where any considerable number of chicks are to be hatched. Doubtless it will continue to be used wherever poultry-production isengaged in on a large scale. 

The brooder is employed to take care of the chickens as soon as theyleave the incubator. 

SECTION LVIII. BEE CULTURE

Stock-raisers select breeds that are best adapted to their needs. Plant-growers exercise great care in their choice of plants, selectingfor each planting those best suited to the conditions under which theyare to be grown. Undoubtedly a larger yield of honey could be had eachyear if similar care were exercised in the selection of the breed ofbees. 

[Illustration: FIG. 263. A CARNIOLAN WORKER]

To prove this, one has only to compare the yield of two different kinds. The common East Indian honey bee rarely produces more than ten or twelvepounds to a hive, while the Cyprian bee, which is a most industriousworker, has a record of one thousand pounds in one season from a singlecolony. This bee, besides being industrious when honey material isplentiful, is also very persevering when such material is hard to find. The Cyprians have two other very desirable qualities. They stand thecold of winter well and stoutly defend their hives against robber beesand other enemies. 

The Italian is another good bee. This variety was brought into theUnited States in 1860. While the yield from the Italian is somewhat lessthan from the Cyprian, the Italian bees produce a whiter comb and are atrifle more easily managed. 

The common black or brown bee is found wild and domesticated throughoutthe country. When honey material is abundant, these bees equal theItalians in honey-production, but when the season is poor, they fall farshort in the amount of honey produced. 

The purchase of a good Cyprian or Italian hive will richly repay thebuyer. Such a colony will cost more at the outset than an ordinarycolony, but will soon pay for its higher cost by greater production. 

[Illustration: FIG. 264. A CARNIOLAN DRONE]

A beehive in the spring contains one queen, several hundred drones, andfrom thirty-five to forty thousand workers. The duty of the queen is tolay all the eggs that are to hatch the future bees. This she does withuntiring industry, often laying as many as four thousand in twenty-fourhours. 

The worker bees do all the work. Some of them visit the flowers, take upthe nectar into the honey-sac, located in their abdomens, and carry itto the hive. They also gather pollen in basketlike cavities in theirhind legs. Pollen and nectar are needed to prepare food for the youngbees. In the hive other workers create a breeze by buzzing with theirwings and produce heat by their activity--all to cause the water toevaporate from the nectar and to convert it into honey before it issealed up in the comb. After a successful day's gathering you may oftenhear these tireless workers buzzing till late into the night or even allthrough the night. 

You know that the bees get nectar from the flowers of various plants. Some of the chief honey plants are alfalfa, buckwheat, horsemint, sourwood, white sage, wild pennyroyal, black gum, holly, chestnut, magnolia, and the tulip tree. The yield of honey may often be increasedby providing special pasturage for the bees. The linden tree, forexample, besides being ornamental and valuable for timber, produces amost bee-inviting flower. Vetch, clover, and most of the legumes andmints are valuable plants to furnish pasture for bees. Catnip may becultivated for the bees and sold as an herb as well. 

[Illustration: FIG. 265. A CARNIOLAN QUEEN]

In spraying fruit trees to prevent disease you should always avoidspraying when the trees are in bloom, since the poison of the sprayseriously endangers the lives of bees. 

The eggs laid by the queen, if they are to produce workers, requireabout twenty-one days to bring forth the perfect bee. The newly hatchedbee commences life as a nurse. When about ten days old it begins to tryits wings in short flights, and a few days later it begins active work. The life of a worker bee in the busy season is only about six weeks. Youmay distinguish young exercising bees from real workers by the fact thatthey do not fly directly away on emerging from the hive, but circlearound a bit in order to make sure that they can recognize home again, since they would receive no cordial welcome if they should attempt toenter another hive. They hesitate upon returning from even these shortflights, to make sure that they are in front of their own door. 

[Illustration: FIG. 266. GOOD FORM OF HIVE]

There are several kinds of enemies of the bee which all beekeepersshould know. One of these is the robber bee, that is, a bee from anothercolony attempting to steal honey from the rightful owners, an attemptoften resulting in frightful slaughter. Much robbery can be avoided byclean handling; that is, by leaving no honey about to cultivate a tastefor stolen sweets. The bee moth is another serious enemy. The larva ofthe moth feeds on the wax. Keep the colonies of bees strong so that theymay be able to overcome this moth. 

[Illustration: FIG. 267. ANTI-ROBBING ENTRANCE_st_, stationary piece; _s_, slide; _p_, pin, or stop]

Queenless or otherwise weak colonies should be protected by a narrowentrance that admits only one bee at a time, for such a pass may beeasily guarded. Fig. 267 shows a good anti-robbery entrance which may bereadily provided for every weak colony. Mice may be kept out bytin-lined entrances. The widespread fear of the kingbird seemsunfounded. He rarely eats anything but drones, and few of them. This isalso true of the swallow. Toads, lizards, and spiders are, however, trueenemies of the honeybee. 

 EXERCISE

 Can you recognize drones, workers, and queens? Do bees usually limit their visits to one kind of blossom on any one trip? What effect has the kind of flower on the flavor of the honey produced? What kinds of flowers should the beekeeper provide for his bees? Is the kingbird really an enemy to the bee?

SECTION LIX. WHY WE FEED ANIMALS

In the first place, we give various kinds of feed stuffs to our animalsthat they may live. The heart beats all the time, the lungs contract andexpand, digestion is taking place, the blood circulates through thebody--something must supply force for these acts or the animal dies. This force is derived from food. 

In the next place, food is required to keep the body warm. Food in thisrespect is fuel, and acts in the same way that wood or coal does in thestove. Our bodies are warm all the time, and they are kept warm by thefood we eat at mealtime. 

Then, in the third place, food is required to enable the body toenlarge--to grow. If you feed a colt just enough to keep it alive andwarm, there will be no material present to enable it to grow; hence youmust add enough food to form bone and flesh and muscle and hair and fat. 

In the fourth place, we feed to produce strength for work. An animalpoorly fed cannot do so much work at the plow or on the road as one thatreceives all the food needed. 

Both food and the force produced by it result from the activity ofplants. By means of sunlight and moisture a sprouting seed, taking outof the air and soil different elements, grows into a plant. Then, justas the plant feeds on the air and soil to get its growth, so the animalfeeds on the plant, to get its growth. Hence, since our animals feedupon plants, we must find out what is in plants in order to know whatanimal food consists of. 

Plants contain protein, carbohydrates, fat, mineral matter, water, andvitamins. You have seen protein compounds like the white of an egg, leanmeat, or the gluten of wheat. The bodies of plants do not contain verymuch protein. On the other hand, all plant seeds contain a good deal ofthis substance. Animals make use of protein to form new blood, muscles, and organs. Because of the quality of protein, milk is the best food forchildren and young animals. 

The protein in some foods is of poor quality. To insure a well-balancedsupply of protein a variety in foods is desirable. Do not rely on asingle kind of mill feed, but combine several kinds, such as cotton-seedmeal, linseed meal, wheat bran and middlings, gluten, and similar grainby-products. Tankage for young pigs and meat scraps for chickens arehigh-grade proteins and are of animal origin. 

It is no less important to get the necessary vitamins--those mysterioussubstances that keep the body healthy and promote growth and well-being. Scientists claim that many diseases are food-deficiency diseases--thebody gets out of order because these peculiar vitamins are lacking inthe food. Children require about one or two quarts of milk a day, freshfruits, cereal breakfast foods, leafy vegetables as salads, and cookedvegetables. 

Farm animals require the vitamins also. The legume pasture or hay, milk, grain concentrates when supplied in variety, pasture grass, and greenforage crops are basic foods for farm animals. Very young animals shouldhave milk also. 

Let us next consider the carbohydrates. Sometimes the words _starchyfoods_ are used to describe the carbohydrates. You have long knownforms of these in the white material of corn and of potatoes. Thecarbohydrates are formed of three elements--carbon, oxygen, andhydrogen. The use of these carbohydrates is to furnish to animal bodieseither heat or energy or to enable them to store fat. 

In the next place, let us look at the fat in plant food. This consistsof the oil stored up in the seeds and other parts of the plant. Thegrains contain most of the oil. Fat is used by the animal to make heatand energy or to be stored away in the body. 

The next animal food in the plant that we are to think about is themineral matter. The ashes of a burnt plant furnish a common example ofthis mineral matter. The animal uses this material of the plant to makebone, teeth, and tissue. 

The last thing that the plant furnishes the animal is water--just commonwater. Young plants contain comparatively large quantities of water. This is one reason why they are soft, juicy, and palatable. But, sinceanimals get their water chiefly in another way, the water in feed stuffsis not important. 

WHAT THESE COMPOUNDS DO IN THE BODY

 _Protein_

 1. Forms flesh, bone, blood, internal organs, hair, and milk. 2. May be used to make fat. 3. May be used for heat. 4. May be used to produce energy. 

 _Carbohydrates_

 1. Furnish body heat. 2. Furnish energy. 3. Make fat. 

 _Fat_

 1. Furnishes body heat. 2. Furnishes energy. 3. Furnishes body fat. 

 _Mineral Matter_

 Furnishes mineral matter for the bones in the body. 

 _Water_

 Supplies water in the body. 

CHAPTER XI

FARM DAIRYING

SECTION LX. THE DAIRY COW

Success in dairy farming depends largely upon the proper feeding ofstock. There are two questions that the dairy farmer should always askhimself: Am I feeding as cheaply as I can? and, Am I feeding the bestrations for milk and butter production? Of course cows can be kept aliveand in fairly good milk flow on many different kinds of food, but infeeding, as in everything else, there is an ideal to be sought. 

[Illustration: FIG. 268. MILKING-TIME]

What, then, is an ideal ration for a dairy cow? Before trying to answerthis question the word _ration_ needs to be explained. By ration ismeant a sufficient quantity of food to support properly an animal forone day. If the animal is to have a proper ration, we must bear in mindwhat the animal needs in order to be best nourished. To get material formuscle, for blood, for milk, and for some other things, the animalneeds, in the first place, food that contains protein. To keep warm andfat, the animal must, in the second place, have food containingcarbohydrates and fats. These foods must be mixed in right proportions. 

[Illustration: FIG. 269. A DAIRY]

With these facts in mind we are prepared for an answer to the question, What is an ideal ration?

First, it is a ration that, without waste, furnishes both in weight andbulk of dry matter a sufficient amount of digestible, nutritious food. 

Second, it is a ration that is comparatively cheap. 

Third, it is a ration in which the milk-forming food (protein) isrightly proportioned to the heat-making and fat-making food(carbohydrates and fat). Any ration in which this proportion isneglected is badly balanced. 

Now test one or two commonly used rations by these rules. Would a rationof cotton-seed meal and cotton-seed hulls be a model ration? No. Such aration, since the seeds are grown at home, would be cheap enough. However, it is badly balanced, for it is too rich in protein; hence itis a wasteful ration. Would a ration of corn meal and corn stover be adesirable ration? This, too, since the corn is home-grown, would becheap for the farmer; but, like the other, it is badly balanced, for itcontains too much carbohydrate food and is therefore a wasteful ration. 

A badly balanced ration does harm in two ways: first, the milk flow ofthe cow is lessened by such a ration; second, the cow does notprofitably use the food that she eats. 

The following table gives an excellent dairy ration for the farmer whohas a silo. If he does not have a silo, some other food can be used inplace of the ensilage. The table also shows what each food contains. Asyou grow older, it will pay you to study such tables most carefully. 

 =============================================================== | DIGESTIBLE MATTER |---------------------------------- FEED STUFFS | Dry |Protein|Carbohydrates| Fat |matter| | | --------------------------------------------------------------- Cowpea hay = 15 pounds[1] | 13. 50| 1. 62 | 5. 79 | . 16 Corn stover = 10 pounds | 5. 95| . 17 | 3. 24 | . 07 Corn ensilage = 30 pounds | 6. 27| . 27 | 3. 39 | . 21 Cotton-seed meal = 2 pounds | 1. 83| . 74 | . 33 | . 24 --------------------------------------------------------------- Total = 57 pounds | 27. 55| 2. 80 | 12. 75 | . 68 ===============================================================

[Footnote 1: Alfalfa or clover hay may take the place of cowpea hay. ]

=Care of the Cow. = As the cow is one of the best money-makers on thefarm, she should, for this reason, if for no other, be comfortablyhoused, well fed and watered, and most kindly treated. In your thoughtsfor her well-being, bear the following directions in mind:

1. If you are not following a balanced ration, feed each day severaldifferent kinds of food. In this way you will be least likely to wastefood. 

2. Feed at regular hours. Cows, like people, thrive best when theirlives are orderly. 

3. Milk at regular hours. 

4. Brush the udder carefully with a moist cloth before you begin tomilk. Cleanliness in handling makes the milk keep longer. 

5. Always milk in buckets or cups that have been scalded since the lastusing. The hot water kills the bacteria that collect in the dents orcracks of the utensil. 

6. Never let the milk pail remain in the stable. Milk rapidly absorbsimpurities. These spoil the flavor and cause the milk to sour. 

7. Never scold or strike the cow. She is a nervous animal, and roughusage checks the milk flow. 

[Illustration]

[Illustration: THREE GENERATIONS OF HIGH-BRED COWS]

SECTION LXI. MILK, CREAM, CHURNING, AND BUTTER

=Milk. = Milk is, as you know, nature's first food for mammals. This isbecause milk is a model food--it contains water to slake thirst, ash tomake bone, protein to make flesh and muscle, and fat and sugar to keepthe body warm and to furnish energy. 

=The Different Kinds of Milk. = Whole, or unskimmed, milk, skimmed milk, and buttermilk are too familiar to need description. When a cow is justfresh, her milk is called _colostrum_. Colostrum is rich in the veryfood that the baby calf needs. After the calf is a few days old, colostrum changes to what is commonly known as milk. 

The following table shows the composition of each of the different formsof milk:

 ======================================================= | DIGESTIBLE MATTER IN 100 POUNDS |---------------------------------- COMPOSITION OF MILK | Dry |Protein|Carbohydrates| Fat |matter| | | ------------------------------------------------------- Colostrum | 25. 4 | 17. 6 | 2. 7 | 3. 6 Milk (unskimmed) | 12. 8 | 3. 6 | 4. 9 | 3. 7 Skimmed milk | 9. 4 | 2. 9 | 5. 2 | 1. 3 Buttermilk | 9. 9 | 3. 9 | 4. 0 | 1. 1 =======================================================

A noticeable fact in this table is that skimmed milk differs fromunskimmed mainly in the withdrawal of the fat. Hence, if calves are fedon skimmed milk, they should have in addition some food like corn mealto take the place of the fat withdrawn. A calf cannot thrive on skimmedmilk alone. The amount of nourishing fat that a calf gets out of enoughmilk to make a pound of butter can be bought, in the form of linseed orcorn meal, for a very small amount, while the butter-fat costs, fortable use, a much larger sum. Of course, then, it is not economical toallow calves to use unskimmed milk. Some people undervalue skimmed milk;with the addition of some fatty food it makes an excellent ration forcalves, pigs, and fowls. 

Along with its dry matter, its protein, its carbohydrates, and its fats, milk and its products possess another most important property. Thisproperty is hard to describe, for its elements and its powers are notyet fully understood. We do, however, know certainly this much: milk andthe foods made from it have power to promote health and favor growth ina more marked degree than any other foods. It is generally agreed thatthis is due to the health-promoting and health-preserving substanceswhich are called vitamines. Men of science are working with much care totry to add to our knowledge of these vitamines, which have so marvelousan influence on the health of all animals. Unless food, no matter howgood otherwise, contains these vitamines, it does not nourish the bodynor preserve bodily health as it should. A complete lack of vitamines inour food would cause death. Since, then, milk and its products--butter, cheese, curds--are rich in vitamines, these health-giving andhealth-preserving foods should form a regular part of each person'sdiet. 

[Illustration: FIG. 270. AIRING THE CANS]

=Cream. = Cream is simply a mixture of butter-fat and milk. Thebutter-fat floats in the milk in little globe-shaped bodies, orglobules. Since these globules are lighter than milk, they rise to thesurface. Skimming the milk is a mere gathering together of thesebutter-fat globules. As most of the butter-fat is contained in thecream, pains should be taken to get all the cream from the milk atskimming time. 

After the cream has been collected, it must be allowed to "ripen" or to"sour" in order that it may be more easily churned. Churning is only asecond step to collect in a compact shape the fat globules. It oftenhappens that at churning-time the cream is too warm for successfulseparation of the globules. Whenever this is the case the cream must becooled. 

[Illustration: FIG. 271. A HAND SEPARATOR]

=The Churn. = Revolving churns without inside fixtures are best. Hence, in buying, select a barrel or a square box churn. This kind of churn"brings the butter" by the falling of the cream from side to side as thechurn is revolved. Never fill the churn more than one-third or one-halffull of cream. A small churn is always to be avoided. 

=Churning. = The proper temperature for churning ranges from 58° to 62°Fahrenheit. Test the cream when it is put into the churn. If it be toocold, add warm water until the proper temperature is reached; if toowarm, add cold water or ice until the temperature is brought down to62°. Do not churn too long, for this spoils butter. As soon as thegranules of butter are somewhat smaller than grains of wheat, stop thechurn. Then draw off the buttermilk and at a temperature as low as 50°wash the butter in the churn. This washing with cold water so hardensthe granules that they do not mass too solidly and thus destroy thegrain. 

=Butter. = The butter so churned is now ready to be salted. Use good finedairy salt. Coarse barrel salt is not fit for butter. The salt can beadded while the butter is still in the churn or after it is put upon thebutter-worker. Never work by hand. The object of working is to get thesalt evenly distributed and to drive out some of the brine. It isusually best to work butter twice. The two workings bring about a moreeven mixture of the salt with the butter and drive off more water. Butone cannot be too particular not to overwork butter. Delicate coloring, attractive stamping with the dairy owner's special stamp, and propercovering with paper cost little and of course add to the ready andprofitable sale of butter. 

[Illustration: FIG. 272. A POWER CHURN]

DAIRY RULES

_Stable and Cows_

1. Whitewash the stable once or twice each year; use land plaster, muck, or loam daily in the manure-gutters. 

2. On their way to pasture or milking-place, do not allow the cows to bedriven at a faster gait than a comfortable walk. 

3. Give abundance of pure water. 

4. Do not change feed suddenly. 

5. Keep salt always within reach of each cow. 

_Milking_

1. Milk with dry hands. 

2. Never allow the milk to touch the milker's hands. 

3. Require the milker to be clean in person and dress. 

4. Milk quietly, quickly, thoroughly. Never leave a drop of milk in thecow's udder. 

5. Do not allow cats, dogs, or other animals around at milking-time. 

_Utensils_

1. Use only tin or metal cans and pails. 

2. See that all utensils are thoroughly clean and free from rust. 

3. Require all cans and pails to be scalded immediately after they areused. 

4. After milking, keep the utensils inverted in pure air, and sun them, if possible, until they are wanted for use. 

5. Always sterilize the churn with steam or boiling water before andafter churning. This prevents any odors or bad flavors from affectingthe butter. All cans, pails, and bottles should also be sterilizeddaily. 

[Illustration]

SECTION LXII. HOW MILK SOURS

[Illustration: FIG. 273. MICROSCOPIC APPEARANCE OF PURE AND IMPURE MILKAt the left, pure milk; at the right, milk after standing in a warm roomfor a few hours in a dirty dish, showing, besides the fat-globules, manyforms of bacteria]

On another page you have been told how the yeast plant grows in ciderand causes it to sour, and how bacteria sometimes cause disease inanimals and plants. Now you must learn what these same living forms haveto do with the souring of milk, and maybe you will not forget how youcan prevent your milk from souring. In the first place, milk soursbecause bacteria from the air fall into the milk, begin to grow, andvery shortly change the sugar of the milk to an acid. When this acidbecomes abundant, the milk begins to curdle. As you know, the bacteriaare in air, in water, and in barn dust; they stick on bits of hay andstick to the cow. They are most plentiful, however, in milk that hassoured; hence, if we pour a little sour milk into a pail of fresh milk, the fresh milk will sour very quickly, because we have, so to speak, "seeded" or "planted" the fresh milk with the souring germs. No one, ofcourse, ever does this purposely in the dairy, yet people sometimes dowhat amounts to the same thing--that is, put fresh milk into poorlycleaned pails or pans, the cracks and corners of which are cozy homesfor millions of germs left from the last sour milk contained in thevessel. It follows, then, that all utensils used in the dairy should bethoroughly scalded so as to kill all germs present, and particular careshould be taken to clean the cracks and crevices, for in them the germslurk. 

In addition to this thorough cleansing with hot water, we should becareful never to stir up the dust of the barn just before milking. Suchdusty work as pitching hay or stover or arranging bedding should be doneeither after or long before milking-time, for more germs fall into themilk if the air be full of dust. 

To further avoid germs the milker should wear clean overalls, shouldhave clean hands, and, above all, should never wet his hands with milk. This last habit, in addition to being filthy, lessens the keeping powerof the milk. The milker should also moisten the parts of the cow whichare nearest him, so that dust from the cow's sides may not fall into themilker's pail. For greater cleanliness and safety many milkmen currytheir cows. 

The first few streams from each teat should be thrown away, because theteat at its mouth is filled with milk which, having been exposed to theair, is full of germs, and will do much toward souring the other milk inthe pail. Barely a gill will be lost by throwing the first drawingsaway, and this of the poorest milk too. The increase in the keepingquality of the milk will much more than repay the small loss. If theseprecautions are taken, the milk will keep several hours or even severaldays longer than milk carelessly handled. By taking these steps toprevent germs from falling into the milk, a can of milk was once keptsweet for thirty-one days. 

The work of the germ in the dairy is not, however, confined to souringthe milk. Certain kinds of germs give to the different sorts of cheesestheir marked flavors and to butter its flavor. If the right germ ispresent, cheese or butter gets a proper flavor. Sometimes undesirablegerms gain entrance and give flavors that we do not like. Such germsproduce cheese or butter diseases. "Bitter butter" is one of thesediseases. To keep out all unpleasant meddlers, thoroughly cleanse andscald every utensil. 

 EXERCISE

 What causes milk to sour? Why do unclean utensils affect the milk? How should milk be cared for to prevent its souring? Prepare two samples, one carefully, the other carelessly. Place them side by side. Which keeps longer? Why?

SECTION LXIII. THE BABCOCK MILK-TESTER

It is not sufficient for a farmer or a dairyman to know how much milkeach of his cows yields. He should also know how rich the milk is inbutter-fat. Wide-awake makers of butter and cheese now buy milk, not bythe pound or by the gallon, but by the amount of butter-fat contained ineach pound or gallon of milk. A gallon of milk containing four and ahalf per cent of fat will consequently be worth more than a galloncontaining only three per cent of fat. So it may happen that a cowgiving only two gallons of milk may pay a butter-maker more than a cowgiving three gallons of milk. Of course it is easy to weigh or measurethe quantity of milk given by a cow, and most milkers keep this record;but until recent years there was no way to find out the amount of fat ina cow's milk except by a slow and costly chemical test. Dairymen couldonly guess at the richness of milk. 

In 1890 Dr. S. M. Babcock of the Wisconsin Experiment Station invented awonderful little machine that quickly and cheaply measures the fat inmilk. Few machines are more useful. So desirous was Dr. Babcock ofhelping the farmers that he would not add to the cost of his machine bytaking out a patent on his invention. His only reward has been the famewon by the invention of the machine, which bears his name. This mostuseful tester is now made in various sizes so that every handler of milkmay buy one suited to his needs and do his own testing at very littlecost. 

The operation of the machine is very simple. Suppose that the members ofthe class studying this book have been asked to take a Babcock machineand test the milk of a small herd of cows. They can readily do so byfollowing these directions:

While the milk is still warm from the first cow to be tested, mix itthoroughly by pouring it at least four times from one vessel to another. A few ounces of this mixed milk is then taken for a sample, andcarefully marked with the name of the cow. A number is also put on thesample, and both the cow's name and the number entered in a notebook. Asmall glass instrument, called a pipette, comes with each machine. Putone end of the pipette into the milk sample and the other end into themouth. Suck milk into the pipette until the milk comes up to the mark onthe side of the pipette. As soon as the mark is reached, withdraw thepipette from the mouth and quickly press the forefinger on the mouthend. The pressure of the finger will keep the milk from running out. Then put the lower end of the pipette into one of the small long-neckedbottles of the machine, and, lifting the finger, allow the milk to flowgently into the bottle. Expel all the milk by blowing through thepipette. 

The next step is to add a strong, biting acid known as sulphuric acid tothe test-bottle into which you have just put the milk. A glass marked toshow just how much acid to use also comes with the machine. Fill thisglass measure to the mark. Then pour the acid carefully into thetest-bottle. Be sure not to drop any of the acid on your hands or yourclothes. As the acid is heavier than the milk, it will sink to thebottom of the bottle. With a gentle whirling motion, shake the bottleuntil the two fluids are thoroughly mixed. The mixture will turn a darkbrown and become very warm. 

Now fill the other bottles in the same way with samples drawn fromdifferent cows. Treat all the samples precisely as you did the first. Donot forget to put on each sample the name of the cow giving the milk andon each test-bottle a number corresponding to the name of the cow. 

You are now ready to put the test-bottles in the sockets of the machine. Arrange the bottles in the sockets so that the whirling frame of themachine will be balanced. Fit the cover on the machine and turn thehandle slowly. Gradually gain in speed until the machine is whirledrapidly. Continue the turning for about seven minutes at the speedstated in the book of directions. 

After this first turning is finished, pour enough hot water into eachtest-bottle to cause the fat to rise to the neck of the bottle. Re-coverthe machine and turn for one minute. Again add hot water to each bottleuntil all the fat rises into the neck of the bottle and again turn oneminute. 

There remains now only the reading of the record. On the neck of eachbottle there are marks to measure the amount of fat. If the fat insidethe tube reaches only from the lowest mark to the second mark, thenthere is only one per cent of fat in this cow's milk. This means thatthe owner of the cow gets only one pound of butter-fat from eachhundred pounds of her milk. Such a cow would not be at all profitable toa butter-seller. If the fat in another test-bottle reaches from thelowest mark to the fourth mark, then you put in your record-book thatthis cow's milk contains four per cent of butter-fat. This record showsthat the second cow's milk yields four pounds of fat to every hundredpounds of milk. This cow is three times more valuable to a butter-makerthan the first cow. In the same way add one more per cent for eachhigher mark reached by the fat. Four and one-half per cent is a goodrecord for a cow to make. Some cows yield as high as five or six percent but they do not generally keep up this record all the year. 

[Illustration: FIG. 274. BABCOCK TESTER AND HOW TO USE ITThe tester, acid, acid measure, test-bottle, and thermometer at bottom;filling the pipette on right; adding the acid and measuring the fat attop]

The Babcock tester shows only the amount of pure butter-fat in the milk. It does not tell the exact amount of finished butter which is made from100 pounds of milk. This is because butter contains a few other thingsin addition to pure butter-fat. Finished and salted butter weighs on anaverage about one sixth more than the fat shown by the tester. Hence toget the exact amount of butter in every 100 pounds of milk, you willhave to add one sixth to the record shown by the tester. Suppose, forexample, you took one sample from 600 pounds of milk and that your testshowed 4 per cent of fat in every 100 pounds of milk. Then, as you had600 pounds of milk, you would have 24 pounds of butter-fat. This fat, after it has been salted and after it has absorbed moisture as butterdoes, will gain one sixth in weight. As one sixth of 24 is 4, this new 4pounds must be added to the weight of the butter-fat. Hence the 600pounds of milk would produce about 28 pounds of butter. 

 EXERCISE

 1. Find the number of pounds of butter in 1200 pounds of milk that tests 3 per cent of butter-fat. 

 2. A cow yields 4800 pounds of milk in a year. Her milk tests 4 per cent of butter-fat. Find the total amount of butter-fat she yields. Find also the total amount of butter. 

 3. The milk of two cows was tested: one yielded in a year 6000 pounds of milk that tested 3 per cent of fat; the other yielded 5000 pounds that tested 4 per cent. Which cow yielded the more butter-fat? What was the money value of the butter produced by each if butter-fat is worth twenty-five cents a pound?

CHAPTER XII

MISCELLANEOUS

SECTION LXIV. GROWING FEED STUFFS ON THE FARM

Economy in raising live stock demands the production of all "roughness"or roughage materials on the farm. By roughness, or roughage, of courseyou understand that bulky food, like hay, grass, clover, stover, etc. , is meant. It is possible to purchase all roughage materials and yet makea financial success of growing farm animals, but this certainly is notthe surest way to succeed. Every farm should raise all its feed stuffs. In deciding what forage and grain crops to grow we should decide:

 1. The crops best suited to our soil and climate. 2. The crops best suited to our line of business. 3. The crops that will give us the most protein. 4. The crops that produce the most. 5. The crops that will keep our soil in the best condition. 

1. _The crops best suited to our soil and climate. _ Farm crops, as everychild of the farm knows, are not equally adapted to all soils andclimates. Cotton cannot be produced where the climate is cool and theseasons short. Timothy and blue grass are most productive on cool, limestone soils. Cowpeas demand warm, dry soils. But in spite ofclimatic limitations, Nature has been generous in the wide variety offorage she has given us. 

Our aim should be to make the best use of what we have, to improve byselection and care those kinds best adapted to our soil and climate, andto secure, by better methods of growing and curing, the greatest yieldsat the least possible cost. 

2. _The crops best suited to our line of business. _ A farmer necessarilybecomes more or less of a specialist; he gathers those kinds of livestock about him which he likes best and which he finds the mostprofitable. He should, on his farm, select for his main crops those thathe can grow with the greatest pleasure and with the greatest profit. 

[Illustration: FIG. 275. FILLING THE BARN WITH ROUGHAGE FROM THE FARM]

The successful railroad manager determines by practical experience whatdistances his engines and crews ought to run in a day, what coal is mosteconomical for his engines, what schedules best suit the needs of hisroad, what trains pay him best. These and a thousand and one othermatters are settled by the special needs of his road. 

Ought the man who wants to make his farm pay be less prudent and lessfar-sighted? Should not his past failures and his past triumphs decidehis future? If he be a dairy farmer, ought he not by practical tests tosettle for himself not only what crops are most at home on his land butalso what crops in his circumstances yield him the largest returns inmilk and butter? If swine-raising be his business, how long ought he toguess what crop on his land yields him the greatest amount of hog food?Should a colt be fed on one kind of forage when the land that producedthat forage would produce twice as much equally good forage of anotherkind? All these questions the prudent farmer should answer promptly andin the light of wise experiments. 

3. _The crops that will give us the most protein. _ It is the farmer'sbusiness to grow all the grass and forage that his farm animals need. Heought never to be obliged to purchase a bale of forage. Moreover, heshould grow mainly those crops that are rich in protein materials, forexample, cowpeas, alfalfa, and clover. If such crops are produced on thefarm, there will be little need of buying so much cotton-seed meal, corn, and bran for feeding purposes. 

4. _The crops that produce the most. _ We often call a crop a cropwithout considering how much it yields. This is a mistake. We ought togrow, when we have choice of two crops, the one that is the best and themost productive on the farm. Average corn, for instance, yields on anacre at least twice the quantity of feeding-material that timothy does. 

5. _The crops that will keep our soil in the best condition. _ A goodfarmer should always be thinking of how to improve his soil. He wantshis land to support him and to maintain his children after he is dead. 

Since cowpeas, clover, and alfalfa add atmospheric nitrogen to the soiland at the same time are the best feeding-materials, it follows thatthese crops should hold an important place in every system ofcrop-rotation. By proper rotating, by proper terracing, and by properdrainage, land may be made to retain its fertility for generations. 

 EXERCISE

 1. Why are cowpeas, clover, and alfalfa so important to the farmer?

 2. What is meant by the protein of a food?

 3. Why is it better to feed the farm crops to animals on the farm rather than to sell these crops?

SECTION LXV. FARM TOOLS AND MACHINES

The drudgery of farm life is being lessened from year to year by theinvention or improvement of farm tools and machines. Perhaps some of youknow how tiresome was the old up-and-down churn dasher that has nowgenerally given place to the "quick-coming" churns. The toothed, horse-drawn cultivator has nearly displaced "the man with the hoe, "while the scythe, slow and back-breaking, is everywhere getting out ofthe way of the mowing-machine and the horserake. The old heavy, sweat-drawing grain-cradle is slinking into the backwoods, and in itsplace we have the horse-drawn or steam-drawn harvester that cuts andbinds the grain, and even threshes and measures it at one operation. Instead of the plowman's wearily making one furrow at a time, thegang-plows of the plains cut many furrows at one time, and instead ofwalking the plowman rides. The shredder and husker turns the hithertouseless cornstalk into food, and at the same time husks, or shucks, thecorn. 

The farmer of the future must know three things well: first, whatmachines he can profitably use; second, how to manage these machines;third, how to care for these machines. 

[Illustration: FIG. 276. PROPERLY PROTECTED TOOLS AND MACHINES]

[Illustration: FIG. 277. UNPROTECTED TOOLS AND MACHINES]

[Illustration: FIG. 278. THE HARVESTER AT WORK]

[Illustration: FIG. 279. IN NEED OF IMPROVEMENT]

The machinery that makes farming so much more economical and that makesthe farmer's life so much easier and more comfortable is too complicatedto be put into the hands of bunglers who will soon destroy it, and it istoo costly to be left in the fields or under trees to rust and rot. 

If it is not convenient for every farmer to have a separate tool-house, he should at least set apart a room in his barn, or a shed for storinghis tools and machines. As soon as a plow, harrow, cultivator--indeedany tool or machine--has finished its share of work for the season, itshould receive whatever attention it needs to prevent rusting, andshould be carefully housed. 

Such care, which is neither costly nor burdensome, will add many yearsto the life of a machine. 

SECTION LXVI. LIMING THE LAND

Occasionally, when a cook puts too much vinegar in a salad, the dishbecomes so sour that it is unfit to eat. The vinegar which the cook usesbelongs to a large group of compounds known as acids. The acids arecommon in nature. They have the power not only of making salads sour butalso of making land sour. Frequently land becomes so sour from acidsforming in it that it will not bear its usual crops. The acids must thenbe removed or the land will become useless. 

The land may be soured in several ways. Whenever a large amount ofvegetable matter decays in land, acids are formed, and at times sournessof the soil results. Often soils sour because they are not well drainedor because, from lack of proper tillage, air cannot make its way intothe soil. Sometimes all these causes may combine to produce sourness. Since most crops cannot thrive on very sour soil, the farmer must findsome method of making his land sweet again. 

So far as we now know, liming the land is the cheapest and surest way ofovercoming the sourness. In addition to sweetening the soil byovercoming the acids, lime aids the land in other ways: it quickens thegrowth of helpful bacteria; it loosens stiff, heavy clay soils andthereby fits them for easier tillage; it indirectly sets free the potashand phosphoric acid so much needed by plants; and it increases thecapillarity of soils. 

However, too much must not be expected of lime. Often a farmer's yieldis so increased after he has scattered lime over his fields that hethinks that lime alone will keep his land fertile. This belief explainsthe saying, "Lime enriches the father but beggars the son. " Thecontinued use of lime without other fertilization will indeed leave poorland for the son. Lime is just as necessary to plant growth as thepotash and nitrogen and phosphoric acid about which we hear so much, butit cannot take the place of these plant foods. Its duty is to aid, notto displace them. 

We can tell by the taste when salads are too sour; it is more difficultto find out whether land is sour. There are, however, some methods thatwill help to determine the sourness of the soil. 

In the first place, if land is unusually sour, you can determine thisfact by a simple test. Buy a pennyworth of blue litmus paper from a drugstore. Mix some of the suspected soil with a little water and bury thelitmus paper in the mixture. If the paper turns red the soil is sour. 

In the second place, the leguminous crops are fond of lime. Clover andvetch remove so much lime from the soil that they are often called limeplants. If clover and vetch refuse to grow on land on which theyformerly flourished, it is generally, though not always, a sign that theland needs lime. 

In the third place, when water grasses and certain weeds spring up onland, that land is usually acid, and lime will be helpful. Moreover, fields adjoining land on which cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, or gallberries are growing wild, may always be suspected of more or lesssourness. 

Four forms of lime are used on land. These, each called by differentnames, are as follows:

First, quicklime, which is also called burnt lime, caustic lime, builders' lime, rock lime, and unslaked lime. 

Second, air-slaked lime, which is also known as carbonate of lime, agricultural lime, marl, and limestone. 

Third, water-slaked, or hydrated, lime. 

Fourth, land plaster, or gypsum. This form of lime is known to thechemists as sulphate of lime. Do not forget that this last form is neverto be used on sour lands. We shall therefore not consider it further. 

Air-slaked lime is simply quicklime which has taken from the air a gascalled carbon dioxide. This is the same gas that you breathe out fromyour lungs. 

Water-slaked lime is quicklime to which water has been added. In otherwords, both of these are merely weakened forms of quicklime. One hundredpounds of quicklime is equal in richness to 132 pounds of water-slakedlime and to 178 pounds of air-slaked lime. These figures should beremembered by a farmer when he is buying lime. If he can buy a fairgrade of quicklime delivered at his railway station for $5. 00 a ton, hecannot afford to pay more than $3. 75 a ton for water-slaked lime, normore than $2. 75 for air-slaked lime of equal grade. Quicklime shouldalways be slaked before it is applied to the soil. 

As a rule lime should be spread broadcast and then harrowed or diskedthoroughly into the soil. This is best done after the ground has beenplowed. For pastures or meadows air-slaked lime is used as atop-dressing. When air-slaked lime is used it may be spread broadcast inthe spring; the other forms should be applied in the fall or in theearly winter. 

SECTION LXVII. BIRDS

What do birds do in the world? is an important question for us to thinkabout. First, we must gain by observation and by personal acquaintancewith the living birds a knowledge of their work and their way of doingit. In getting this knowledge, let us also consider what we can do forour birds to render their work as complete and effective as possible. 

Think of what the birds are doing on every farm, in every garden, andabout every home in the land. Think of the millions of beautiful wings, of the graceful and attractive figures, of the cunning nests, and of thesinging throats! Do you think that the whole service of the birds is tobe beautiful, to sing charmingly, and to rear their little ones? By nomeans is this their chief service to man. Aside from these services thegreatest work of birds is to destroy insects. It is one of the wiseprovisions of nature that many of the most brilliantly winged and mostenchanting songsters are our most practical friends. 

Not all birds feed on insects and animals; but even those that eat but asmall amount of insect food may still destroy insects that would havedamaged fruit and crops much more than the birds themselves do. 

As to their food, birds are divided into three general classes. First, those that live wholly or almost wholly on insects. These are calledinsectivorous birds. Chief among these are the warblers, cuckoos, swallows, martins, flycatchers, nighthawks, whippoorwills, swifts, andhumming-birds. We cannot have too many of these birds. They should beencouraged and protected. They should be supplied with shelter andwater. 

Birds of the second class feed by preference on fruits, nuts, and grain. The bluebird, robin, wood thrush, mocking-bird, catbird, chickadee, cedar-bird, meadow lark, oriole, jay, crow, and woodpecker belong tothis group. These birds never fail to perform a service for us bydevouring many weed seeds. 

[Illustration: FIG. 280. A KINGBIRD]

The third class is known as the hard-billed birds. It includes thosebirds which live principally on seeds and grain--the canary, goldfinch, sparrow, and some others. 

Birds that come early, like the bluebird, robin, and redwing, are ofspecial service in destroying insects before the insects lay their eggsfor the season. 

The robins on the lawn search out the caterpillars and cutworms. Thechipping sparrow and the wren in the shrubbery look out for all kinds ofinsects. They watch over the orchard and feed freely on the enemies ofthe apple and other fruit trees. The trunks of these trees are oftenattacked by borers, which gnaw holes in the bark and wood, and oftencause the death of the trees. The woodpeckers hunt for these appetizingborers and by means of their barbed tongues bring them from theirhiding-places. On the outside of the bark of the trunk and branches thebark lice work. These are devoured by the nuthatches, creepers, andchickadees. 

During the winter the bark is the hiding-place for hibernating insects, which, like plant lice, feed in summer on the leaves. Throughout thewinter a single chickadee will destroy great numbers of the eggs of thecankerworm moth and of the plant louse. The blackbirds, meadow larks, crows, quail, and sparrows are the great protectors of the meadow andfield crops. These birds feed on the army worms and cutworms that do somuch injury to the young shoots; they also destroy the chinch bug andthe grasshopper, both of which feed on cultivated plants. 

[Illustration: FIG. 281. A WARBLER]

A count of all the different kinds of animals shows that insects make upnine tenths of them. Hence it is easy to see that if something did notcheck their increase they would soon almost overrun the earth. Ourforests and orchards furnish homes and breeding-places for most of theseinsects. Suppose the injurious insects were allowed to multiplyunchecked in the forests, their numbers would so increase that theywould invade our fields and create as much terror among the farmers asthey did in Pharaoh's Egypt. The birds are the only direct friends manhas to destroy these harmful insects. What benefactors, then, theselittle feathered neighbors are!

It has been estimated that a bird will devour thirty insects daily. Evenin a widely extended forest region a very few birds to the acre, if theykept up this rate, would daily destroy many bushels of insects thatwould play havoc with the neighboring orchards and fields. 

Do not imagine, however, that to destroy insects is the only use ofbirds. The day is far more delightful when the birds sing, and when wesee them flit in and out, giving us a glimpse now and then of theirpretty coats and quaint ways. By giving them a home we can surroundourselves with many birds, sweet of song and brilliant of plumage. 

[Illustration: FIG. 282. THE HAIRY WOODPECKER]

If the birds felt that man were a friend and not a foe, they would oftenturn to him for protection. During times of severe storm, extremedrought, or scarcity of food, if the birds were sufficiently tamed tocome to man as their friend, as they do in rare cases now, a little foodand shelter might tide them over the hard time and their serviceafterwards would repay the outlay a thousandfold. If the boys in yourfamilies would build bird-houses about the house and barn and in shadetrees, they might save yearly a great number of birds. In building theseplaces of shelter and comfort, due care must be taken to keep themclear of English sparrows and out of the reach of cats and bird-dogs. 

Whatever we do to attract the birds to make homes on the premises mustbe done at the right time and in the right way. Think out carefully whatmaterials to provide for them. Bits of string, linen, cotton, yarn, towand other waste material, all help to induce a pair to build in thegarden. 

[Illustration: FIG. 283. PROTECTING OUR FRIENDS]

It is an interesting study--the preparation of homes for the birds. Trees may be pruned to make inviting crotches. A tangled, overgrowncorner in the garden will invite some birds to nest. 

Wrens, bluebirds, chickadees, martins, and some other varieties are allglad to set up housekeeping in man-made houses. The proper size for abird-room is easily remembered. Give each room six square inches offloor space and make it eight inches high. Old, weathered boards shouldbe used; or, if paint is employed, a dull color to resemble an oldtree-trunk will be most inviting. A single opening near the top shouldbe made two inches in diameter for the larger birds; but if the house isto be headquarters for the wren, a one-inch opening is quite largeenough, and the small door serves all the better to keep out Englishsparrows. 

The barn attic should be turned over to the swallows. Small holes may becut high up in the gables and left open during the time that theswallows remain with us. They will more than pay for shelter by the goodwork they do in ridding the barn of flies, gnats, and mosquitoes. 

SECTION LXVIII. FARMING ON DRY LANDS

Almost in the center of the western half of our continent there is avast area in which very little rain falls. This section includes nearlythree hundred million acres of land. It stretches from Canada on thenorth into Texas on the south, and from the Missouri River (includingthe Dakotas and western Minnesota) on the east to the Rocky Mountains onthe west. In this great area farming has to be done with little water. This sort of farming is therefore called "dry-farming. "

The soil in this section is as a rule very fertile. Therefore thedifference between farming in this dry belt and farming in most of theother sections of our country is a difference mainly due to a lack ofmoisture. 

As water is so scarce in this region two things are of the utmostimportance: first, to save all the rain as it falls; second, to save allthe water after it has fallen. To save the falling rain it is necessaryfor the ground to be in such a condition that none of the much-neededrain may run off. Every drop should go into the soil. Hence the farmershould never allow his top soil to harden into a crust. Such a crustwill keep the rain from sinking into the thirsty soil. Moreover the soilshould be deeply plowed. The deeper the soil the more water it can hold. The land should also be kept as porous as possible, for water enters aporous soil freely. The addition of humus in the form of vegetablemanures will keep the soil in the porous condition needed. Second, afterthe water has entered the soil it is important to hold it there so thatit may supply the growing crops. If the land is allowed to remainuntilled after a rain or during a hot spell, the water in it willevaporate too rapidly and thus the soil, like a well, will go dry toosoon. To prevent this the top soil should be stirred frequently with adisk or smoothing harrow. This stirring will form a mulch of dry soil onthe surface, and this will hold the water. Other forms of mulch havebeen suggested, but the soil mulch is the only practical one. It must beborne in mind that this surface cultivation must be regularly kept up ifthe moisture is to be retained. 

[Illustration: FIG. 284. THE DISK HARROW]

Some experiments in wheat-growing have shown how readily water might besaved if plowing were done at the right time. Wheat sowed on land thatwas plowed as soon as the summer crops were taken off yielded a verymuch larger return than wheat sowed on land that remained untilled forsome time after the summer crops were gathered. This difference in yieldon lands of the same fertility was due to the fact that the earlyplowing enabled the land to take up a sufficient quantity of moisture. 

[Illustration: FIG. 285. RED KAFIR CORN IN SHOCK]

In addition to a vigilant catching and saving of water, the farmer inthese dry climates must give his land the same careful attention thatlands in other regions need. The seed-bed should be most carefullyprepared. It should be deep, porous, and excellent in tilth. During thegrowing season all crops should be frequently cultivated. The harrow, the cultivator, and the plow should be kept busy. The soil should bekept abundantly supplied with humus. 

Some crops need a little different management in dry-farming. Corn, forexample, does best when it is listed; that is, planted so that it willcome up three or four inches beneath the surface. If planted in thisway, it roots better, stands up better, and requires less work. 

Just as breeders study what animals are best for their climates, sofarmers in the dry belt should study what crops are best suited to theirlands. Some crops, like the sorghums and Kafir corn, are peculiarly athome in scantily watered lands. Others do not thrive. Experience is theonly sure guide to the proper selection. 

To sum up, then, farmers can grow good crops in these lands only whenfour things are done: first, the land must be thoroughly tilled so thatwater can freely enter the soil; second, the land must be frequentlycultivated so that the water will be kept in the soil; third, the cropsmust be properly rotated so as to use to best advantage the food andwater supply; fourth, humus must be freely supplied so as to keep thesoil in the best possible condition. 

SECTION LXIX. IRRIGATION

Irrigation is the name given to the plan of supplying water in largequantities to growing crops. Since the dawn of history this practice hasbeen more or less followed in Asia, in Africa, and in Europe. TheSpanish settlers in the southwestern part of America were probably thefirst to introduce this custom into our country. In New Mexico there isan irrigating trench that has been in constant use for three hundredyears. 

[Illustration: FIG. 286. PUMPING WATER FOR IRRIGATION]

The most common source of water for irrigating purposes is a river or asmaller stream. Artesian wells are used in some parts of the country. Windmills are sometimes used when only a small supply of water isneeded. Engines, hydraulic rams, and water-wheels are also employed. Thewater-wheel is one of the oldest and one of the most useful methods ofraising water from streams. There are thousands of these in use in thedry regions of the West. Small buckets are fastened to a large wheel, which is turned by the current of a stream. As the wheel turns, thebuckets are filled, raised, and then emptied into a trough called aflume. The water flows through the flume into the irrigating ditches, which distribute it as it is needed in the fields. In some parts ofCalifornia and other comparatively dry sections, wells are sunk in ornear the beds of underground streams, and then the water is pumped intoditches which convey it to the fields to be irrigated. 

Engines are often used for pumping water from streams and transferringit to ditches or canals. The canals distribute the water over the landor over the growing crops. 

[Illustration: FIG. 287. THE MAIN DITCH OF AN IRRIGATION PLANT]

None of these methods, however, can be used for watering very largeareas of land. Hence, as the value of farm lands increased other methodswere sought. Shrewd men began to turn longing eyes on the wide stretchesof barren land in the West. They knew that these waste lands, seeminglyso unfertile, would become most fruitful as soon as water was turned onthem. Could water enough be found? New plans to pen up floods of waterwere prepared, and immense sums were spent in carrying out these plans. Enormous dams of cemented stone were thrown across the gorges in thefoothills of the mountains. Behind these solid dams the water from therains and the melting snow of the mountains was backed for miles, andwas at once ready to change barrenness into fruitfulness. The storedwater is led by means of main canals and cross ditches wherever it isneeded, and countless acres have been brought under cultivation. 

Water is generally applied either by making furrows for its passagethrough the fields or by flooding the land. The latter plan is thecheaper, but it can be used only on level lands. Where the land issomewhat irregular a checking system, as it is called, is used todistribute the water. It is taken from check to check until the entirefield has been irrigated. 

[Illustration: FIG. 288. THE PROCESS OF IRRIGATING CORN]

The furrow method is usually employed for fruits and for farm and gardencrops. In many places the grass and grain crops are now supplied withwater by furrows instead of by flooding. 

Irrigated lands should be carefully and thoroughly tilled. The water forirrigation is costly, and should be made to go as far as possible. Goodtillage saves the water. Moreover, all cultivated crops like corn, potatoes, and orchard and truck crops ought to be cultivated frequentlyto save the moisture, to keep the soil in fit condition, and to aid thebacteria in the soil. It was a wise farmer who said, "One does not needto grow crops many years in order to learn that nothing can take theplace of stirring the soil. "

METHODS OF IRRIGATING CROPS

_Tree fruits. _ Water is conducted through very narrow furrows from threeto five feet apart, and allowed to sink about four feet deep, and tospread under the ground. Then the supply is cut off. The object is towet the soil deeply, and then by tillage to hold the moisture in thesoil. 

_Small fruits. _ The common practice is to run water on each side of therow until the rows are soaked. 

_Potatoes. _ A thorough soaking is given the land before planting-time, and then no more than is absolutely necessary until blossoming-time. After the blossoms appear keep the soil moist until the crop ripens. 

_Garden crops. _ Any method may be employed, but the vital point is tocultivate the ground as early as it can be worked after it has beenirrigated. 

_Meadows and alfalfa. _ Flooding is the most common method in use. Thefirst irrigation comes early in the spring before growth has advancedmuch, and the successive waterings after the harvesting of each crop. 

SECTION LXX. LIFE IN THE COUNTRY

As ours is a country in which the people rule, every boy and every girlought to be trained to take a wide-awake interest in public affairs. This training cannot begin too early in life. A wise old man once said, "In a republic you ought to begin to train a child for good citizenshipon the day of its birth. "

[Illustration: FIG. 289. BEAUTY FROM FLOWERS AND GRASS]

[Illustration: FIG. 290. A COUNTRY ROAD IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA]

Happy would it be for our nation if all the young people who live in thecountry could begin their training in good citizenship by becomingworkers for these four things:

First, attractive country homes. 

Second, attractive country schoolhouses and school grounds. 

Third, good country schools. 

Fourth, good roads. 

If the thousands on thousands of pupils in our schools would becomeactive workers for these things and continue their work through life, then, in less than half a century, life in the country would be anunending delight. 

One of the problems of our day is how to keep bright, thoughtful, sociable, ambitious boys and girls contented on the farm. Every steptaken to make the country home more attractive, to make the school andits grounds more enjoyable, to make the way easy to the homes ofneighbors, to school, to post-office, and to church, is a step takentoward keeping on the farm the very boys and girls who are most apt tosucceed there. 

Not every man who lives in the country can have a showy or costly home, but as long as grass and flowers and vines and trees grow, any man whowishes can have an attractive house. Not every woman who is to spend alifetime at the head of a rural home can have a luxuriously furnishedhome, but any woman who is willing to take a little trouble can have acozy, tastefully furnished home--a home fitted with the conveniencesthat diminish household drudgery. Even in this day of cheap literature, all parents cannot fill their children's home with papers, magazines, and books, but by means of school and Sunday-school libraries, by meansof circulating book clubs, and by a little self-denial, earnest parentscan feed hungry minds just as they feed hungry bodies. 

[Illustration: THE QUEEN OF FLOWERS FOR THE HOME]

[Illustration: FIG. 291. AN ATTRACTIVE COUNTRY HOME]

Agricultural papers that arouse the interest and quicken the thought offarm boys by discussing the best, easiest, and cheapest ways of farming;journals full of dainty suggestions for household adornment and comfort;illustrated papers and magazines that amuse and cheer every member ofthe family; books that rest tired bodies and open and strengthen growingminds--all of these are so cheap that the money reserved from the saleof one hog will keep a family fairly supplied for a year. 

[Illustration: FIG. 292. AN UNIMPROVED SCHOOLHOUSE]

[Illustration: FIG. 293. AN IMPROVED SCHOOLHOUSE]

[Illustration: FIG. 294. THE SAME ROAD AFTER AND BEFORE IMPROVEMENT]

If the parents, teachers, and pupils of a school join hands, anunsightly, ill-furnished, ill-lighted, and ill-ventilated school-housecan at small cost be changed into one of comfort and beauty. In manyplaces pupils have persuaded their parents to form clubs to beautify theschool grounds. Each father sends a man or a man with a plow once ortwice a year to work a day on the grounds. Stumps are removed, treestrimmed, drains put in, grass sowed, flowers, shrubbery, vines, andtrees planted, and the grounds tastefully laid off. Thus at scarcelynoticeable money cost a rough and unsightly school ground gives place toa charming school yard. Cannot the pupils in every school in which thisbook is studied get their parents to form such a club, and make theirschool ground a silent teacher of neatness and beauty?

[Illustration: FIG. 295. WASHINGTON'S COUNTRY HOME]

Life in the country will never be as attractive as it ought to be untilall the roads are improved. Winter-washed roads, penning young peoplein their own homes for many months each year and destroying so many ofthe innocent pleasures of youth, build towns and cities out of the wreckof country homes. Can young people who love their country and theircountry homes engage in a nobler crusade than a crusade for improvedhighways?

APPENDIX

SPRAYING MIXTURES

FOR BITING INSECTS

DRY PARIS GREEN

 Paris green 1 lb. Lime or flour 4 to 16 lb. 

WET PARIS GREEN

 Paris green 1/4 to 2 lb. Lime 1/4 to 1/2 lb. Water 50 gal. 

FOR SOFT-BODIED SUCKING INSECTS

KEROSENE EMULSION

 Hard soap (in fine shavings) 1/2 lb. Soft water 1 gal. Kerosene 2 gal. 

Dissolve soap in boiling water, add kerosene to the hot water, churnwith spraying pump for at least ten minutes, until the mixture changesto a creamy, then to a soft, butterlike, mass. This gives three gallonsof 66-per-cent oil emulsion, which may be diluted to the strengthdesired. To get 15-per-cent oil emulsion add ten and one-half gallons ofwater. 

FOR FUNGOUS DISEASES

COPPER SULPHATE

 Copper sulphate 1 lb. Water 18 to 25 gal. 

Use only before foliage opens, to kill wintering spores. 

BORDEAUX MIXTURE

 Copper sulphate (bluestone) 4 to 5 lb. Lime (good, unslaked) 5 to 6 lb. Water 50 gal. 

Dissolve the copper sulphate (bluestone) in twenty-five gallons ofwater. Slake the lime slowly so as to get a smooth, thick cream. Nevercover the lime with too much water. After thorough slaking addtwenty-five gallons of water. When the lime and the bluestone havedissolved, pour the two liquids into a third vessel. Be sure that eachstream mixes with the other before either enters the vessel. Strainthrough a coarse cloth. 

Mix fresh for each time. Use for molds and fungi generally. Apply infine spray with a good nozzle. 

BORDEAUX-PARIS-GREEN MIXTURE

 Ordinary Bordeaux mixture 50 gal. Paris green 4 oz. To 2 lb. 

Use for both fungi and insects on apple, potato, etc. 

BORDEAUX-ARSENATE-OF-LEAD MIXTURE

 Ordinary Bordeaux mixture 50 gal. Arsenate of lead 2 to 3 lb. 

Used for fungous and insect enemies of the potato, and of the apple whenbitter rot is troublesome. 

COMMERCIAL LIME-SULPHUR ARSENATE OF LEAD

 Commercial lime-sulphur 1-1/2 gal. Arsenate of lead 2 to 3 lb. Water 50 gal. 

Use for spraying apples. 

AMMONIACAL COPPER CARBONATE

 Copper carbonate 5 oz. Ammonia (26° Baumé) about 3 pt. Water 50 gal. 

Dissolve the copper carbonate in the smallest possible amount ofammonia. This solution may be kept in stock and diluted to the properstrength as needed. 

Use this instead of the Bordeaux mixture after the fruit has reachedhalf or two thirds of the mature size. It leaves no spots as does thelime-sulphur wash or the Bordeaux mixture. 

SPRAYS FOR BOTH FUNGOUS AND INSECT PESTS

HOME-MADE LIME-SULPHUR WASH

 Lime 20 lb. Sulphur 15 lb. Water 50 gal. 

The lime, the sulphur, and about half of the water required are boiledtogether for forty-five minutes in a kettle over a fire, or in a barrelor other suitable tank by steam, strained, and then diluted to 50gallons. This is the wash regularly used against the San Jose scale. Itmay be substituted for Bordeaux mixture when spraying trees in thedormant state. Commercial lime-sulphur may also be used in place of thishomemade wash. Use one gallon of the commercial lime-sulphur to ninegallons of water in the dormant season. 

SELF-BOILED LIME-SULPHUR WASH

The self-boiled lime-sulphur wash is a combination of lime and sulphurboiled only by the heat of the slaking lime, and is used chiefly forsummer spraying on peaches, plums, cherries, etc. As a substitute forthe Bordeaux mixture. 

 Lime 8 lb. Sulphur 6 to 8 lb. Water 50 gal. 

The lime should be placed in a barrel and enough water poured on it tostart it slaking and to keep the sulphur off the bottom of the barrel. The sulphur, which should first be worked through a sieve to break upthe lumps, may then be added, and, finally, enough water to slake thelime into a paste. Considerable stirring is necessary to prevent cakingon the bottom. After the violent boiling which accompanies the slakingof the lime is over, the mixture should be diluted ready for use, or atleast enough cold water added to stop the cooking. From five to fifteenminutes are required for the process. If the hot mass is permitted tostand undiluted as a thick paste, a liquid is produced that is injuriousto peach foliage and, in some cases, to apple foliage. 

The mixture should be strained through a sieve of twenty meshes to theinch in order to remove the coarse particles of lime, but all thesulphur should be worked through the strainer. 

GLOSSARY

To enable young readers to understand the technical words necessarilyused in the text only popular definitions are given. 

=Abdomen=: the part of an insect lying behind the thorax. 

=Acid=: a chemical name given to many sour substances. Vinegar and lemonjuice owe their sour taste to the acid in them. 

=Adult=: a person, animal, or plant grown to full size and strength. 

=Ammonia= (_ammonium_): a compound of nitrogen readily usable as a plantfood. It is one of the products of decay. 

=Annual=: a plant that bears seed during the first year of its existenceand then dies. 

=Anther=: the part of a stamen that bears the pollen. 

=Atmospheric nitrogen=: nitrogen in the air. Great quantities of thisvaluable plant food are in the air; but, strange to say, most plantscannot use it directly from the air, but must take it in other forms, asnitrates, etc. The legumes are an exception, as they can use atmosphericnitrogen. 

=Available plant food=: food in such condition that plants can use it. 

=Bacteria=: a name applied to a number of kinds of very small livingbeings, some beneficial, some harmful, some disease-producing. Theyaverage about one twenty-thousandth of an inch in length. 

=Balanced ration=: a ration made up of the proper amounts ofcarbohydrates, fats, and protein, as explained in text. Such a rationavoids all waste of food. 

=Biennial=: a plant that produces seed during the second year of itsexistence and then dies. 

=Blight=: a diseased condition in plants in which the whole or a part ofa plant withers or dries up. 

=Bluestone=: a chemical; copper sulphate. It is used to kill fungi, etc. 

=Bordeaux Mixture=: a mixture invented in Bordeaux, France, to destroydisease-producing fungi. 

=Bud= (noun): an undeveloped branch. 

=Bud= (verb): to insert a bud from the scion upon the stock to insurebetter fruit. 

=Bud variation=: occasionally one bud on a plant will produce a branchdiffering in some ways from the rest of the branches; this is budvariation. The shoot that is produced by bud variation is called a_sport_. 

=Calyx=: the outermost row of leaves in a flower. 

=Cambium=: the growing layer lying between the wood and the bark. 

=Canon=: the shank bone above the fetlock in the fore and hind legs of ahorse. 

=Carbohydrates=: carbohydrates are foods free from nitrogen. They makeup the largest part of all vegetables. Examples are sugar, starch, andcellulose. 

=Carbolic acid=: a chemical often used to kill or prevent the growth ofgerms, bacteria, fungi, etc. 

=Carbon=: a chemical element. Charcoal is nearly pure carbon. 

=Carbon disulphide=: a chemical used to kill insects. 

=Carbonic acid gas=: a gas consisting of carbon and oxygen. It isproduced by breathing, and whenever carbon is burned. It is the sourceof the carbon in plants. 

=Cereal=: the name given to grasses that are raised for the foodcontained in their seeds, such as corn, wheat, rice. 

=Cobalt=: a poisonous chemical used to kill insects. 

=Cocoon=: the case made by an insect to contain its larva or pupa. 

=Commercial fertilizer=: an enriching plant food bought to improve soil. 

=Compact=: a soil is said to be compact when the particles are closelypacked. 

=Concentrated=: when applied to food the word means that it containsmuch feeding value in small bulk. 

=Contagious=: a disease is said to be contagious when it can be spreador carried from one individual to another. 

=Cross=: the result of breeding two varieties of plant together. 

=Cross pollination=: the pollination of a flower by pollen brought froma flower on some other plant. 

=Croup=: the top of the hips. 

=Culture=: the art of preparing ground for seed and raising crops bytillage. 

=Curb disease=: a swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horsejust behind the lowest part of the hock joint. It generally causeslameness. 

=Curculio=: a kind of beetle or weevil. 

=Dendrolene=: a patented substance used for catching cankerworms. 

=Digestion=: the act by which food is prepared by the juices of the bodyto be used by the blood. 

=Dormant=: a word used to describe sleeping or resting bodies, --bodiesnot in a state of activity. 

=Drainage=: the process by which an excess of water is removed from theland by ditches, terraces, or tiles. 

=Element=: a substance that cannot be divided into simpler substances. 

=Ensilage=: green foods preserved in a silo. 

=Evaporate=: to pass off in vapor, as a fluid often does; to change froma solid or liquid state into vapor, usually by heat. 

=Exhaustion=: the state in which strength, power, and force have beenlost. When applied to land, the word means that land has lost its powerto produce well. 

=Fermentation=: a chemical change produced by bacteria, yeast, etc. Acommon example of fermentation is the change of cider into vinegar. 

=Fertility=: the state of being fruitful. Land is said to be fertilewhen it produces well. 

=Fertilization=: the act which follows pollination and enables a flowerto produce seed. 

=Fetlock=: the long-haired cushion on the back side of a horse's legjust above the hoof. 

=Fiber=: any fine, slender thread or threadlike substance, as therootlets of plants or the lint of cotton. 

=Filter=: to purify a liquid, as water, by causing it to pass throughsome substance, as paper, cloth, screens, etc. 

=Formalin=: a forty per cent solution of a chemical known asformaldehyde. Formalin is used to kill fungi, bacteria, etc. 

=Formula=: a recipe for the making of a compound; for example, fertilizer or spraying compounds. 

=Fungicide=: a substance used to kill or prevent the growth of fungi;for example, Bordeaux Mixture or copper sulphate. 

=Fungous=: belonging to or caused by fungi. 

=Fungus= (plural =fungi=): a low kind of plant life lacking in greencolor. Molds and toadstools are examples. 

=Germ=: that from which anything springs. The term is often applied toany very small organism or living thing, particularly if it causes greateffects such as disease, fermentation, etc. 

=Germinate=: to sprout. A seed germinates when it begins to grow. 

=Girdle=: to make a cut or groove around a limb or tree. 

=Glacier=: an immense field or stream of ice formed in the region ofconstant snow and moving slowly down a slope or valley. 

=Globule=: a small particle of matter shaped like a globe. 

=Glucose=: a kind of sugar very common in plants. The sugar from grapes, honey, etc. Is glucose. That from the sugar cane is not. 

=Gluten=: a vegetable form of protein found in cereals. 

=Graft=: to place a living branch or stem on another living stem so thatit may grow there. It insures the growth of the desired kind of plant. 

=Granule=: a little grain. 

=Gypsum=: land plaster. 

"=Head back=": to cut or prune a tree so as to form its head, that is, the place where the main trunk first gives off its branches. 

=Heredity=: the resemblance of offspring to parent. 

=Hibernating=: to pass the winter in a torpid or inactive state in closequarters. 

=Hock=: the joint in the hind leg of quadrupeds between the leg and theshank. It corresponds to the ankle in man. 

=Host=: the plant upon which a fungus or insect is preying. 

=Humus=: the portion of the soil caused by the decay of animal orvegetable matter. 

=Hybrid=: the result of breeding two different kinds of plants together. 

=Hydrogen=: a chemical element. It is present in water and in all livingthings. 

=Individual=: a single person, plant, animal, or thing of any kind. 

=Inoculate=: to give a disease by inserting the germ that causes it in ahealthy being. 

=Insectivorous=: anything that eats insects. 

=Kainit=: salts of potash used in making fertilizers. 

=Kernel=: a single seed or grain, as a kernel of corn. 

=Kerosene emulsion=: see Appendix. 

=Larva= (plural =larvæ=): the young or immature form of an insect. 

=Larval=: belonging to larva. 

=Layer=: to propagate plants by a method similar to cutting, butdiffering from cutting in that the young plant takes root before it isseparated from the parent plant. 

=Legume=: a plant belonging to the family of the pea, clover, and bean;that is, having a flower of similar structure. 

=Lichen=: a kind of flowerless plant that grows on stones, trees, boards, etc. 

=Loam=: an earthy mixture of clay and sand with organic matter. 

=Magnesia=: an earthy white substance somewhat similar to lime. 

=Magnify=: to make a thing larger in fact or in appearance; to enlargethe appearance of a thing so that the parts may be seen more easily. 

=Membrane=: a thin layer or fold of animal or vegetable matter. 

=Mildew=: a cobwebby growth of fungi on diseased or decaying things. 

=Mold=: see mildew. 

=Mulch=: a covering of straw, leaves, or like substances over the rootsof plants to protect them from heat, drought, etc. , and to preservemoisture. 

=Nectar=: a sweetish substance in blossoms of flowers from which beesmake honey. 

=Nitrate=: a readily usable form of nitrogen. The most common nitrate issaltpeter. 

=Nitrogen=: a chemical element, one of the most important and mostexpensive plant foods. It exists in fertilizers, in ammonia, innitrates, and in organic matter. 

=Nodule=: a little knot or bump. 

=Nutrient=: any substance which nourishes or promotes growth. 

=Organic matter=: substances made through the growth of plants oranimals. 

=Ovary=: the particular part of the pistil that bears the immatureseed. 

=Ovipositor=: the organ with which an insect deposits its eggs. 

=Oxygen=: a gas present in the air and necessary to breathing. 

=Particle=: any very small part of a body. 

=Perennial=: living through several years. All trees are perennial. 

=Petal=: a single leaf of the corolla. 

=Phosphoric acid=: an important plant food occurring in bones and rockphosphates. 

=Pistil=: the part of the blossom that contains the immature seeds. 

=Pollen=: the powdery substance borne by the stamen of the flower. It isnecessary to seed production. 

=Pollination=: the act of carrying pollen from stamens to pistils. It isusually done by the wind or by insects. 

=Porosity=: the state of having small openings or passages between theparticles of matter. 

=Potash=: an important part of plant foods. The chief source of potashis kainit, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, wood ashes, andcotton-hull ashes. 

=Propagate=: to cause plants or animals to increase in number. 

=Protein=: the name of a group of substances containing nitrogen. It isone of the most important of feeding stuffs. 

=Pruning=: trimming or cutting parts that are not needed or that areinjurious. 

=Pulverize=: to reduce to a dustlike state. 

=Pupa=: an insect in the stage of its life that comes just before theadult condition. 

=Purity= (of seed): seeds are pure when they contain only one kind ofseed and no foreign matter. 

=Ration=: a fixed daily allowance of food for an animal. 

=Raupenleim=: a patented sticky substance used to catch the cankerworm. 

=Resistant=: a plant is resistant to disease when it can ward offattacks of the disease; for example, some varieties of the grape areresistant to the phylloxera. 

=Rotation= (of crops): a well-arranged succession of different crops onthe same land. 

=Scion=: a shoot, sprout, or branch taken to graft or bud upon anotherplant. 

=Seed bed=: the layer of earth in which seeds are sown. 

=Seed selection=: the careful selection of seed from particular plantswith the object of keeping or increasing some desirable quality. 

=Seedling=: a young plant just from the seed. 

=Sepal=: one of the leaves in the calyx. 

=Set=: a young plant for propagation. 

=Silo=: a house or pit for packing away green food for winter use so asto exclude air and moisture. 

=Sire=: father. 

=Smut=: a disease of plants, particularly of cereals, which causes theplant or some part of it to become a powdery mass. 

=Spike=: a lengthened flower cluster with stalkless flowers. 

=Spiracle=: an air opening in the body of an insect. 

=Spore=: a small body formed by a fungus to reproduce the fungus. Itserves the same use as seeds do for flowering plants. 

=Spray=: to apply a liquid in the form of a very fine mist by the aid ofa spraying pump for the purpose of killing fungi or insects. 

=Stamen=: the part of the flower that bears the pollen. 

=Stamina=: endurance. 

=Sterilize=: to destroy all the germs or spores in or on anything. Sterilizing is often done by heat or chemicals. 

=Stigma=: the part of the pistil that receives the pollen. 

=Stock=: the stem or main part of a tree or plant. In grafting orbudding the scion is inserted upon the stock. 

=Stover=: as used in this book the word means the dry stalks of cornfrom which the ears have been removed. 

=Subsoil=: the soil under the topsoil. 

=Sulphur=: a yellowish chemical element; brimstone. 

=Taproot=: the main root of a plant, which runs directly down into theearth to a considerable depth without dividing. 

=Terrace=: a ridge of earth run on a level around a slope or hillside tokeep the land from washing. 

=Thorax=: the middle part of the body of an insect. The thorax liesbetween the abdomen and the head. 

=Thermometer=: an instrument for measuring heat. 

=Tillage=: the act of preparing land for seed, and keeping the ground ina proper state for the growth of crops. 

=Transplant=: a plant grown in a bed with a view to being removed toother soil; a technical term used by gardeners. 

=Tubercle=: a small, wart-like growth on the roots of legumes. 

=Udder=: the milk vessel of a cow. 

=Utensil=: a vessel used for household purposes. 

=Variety=: a particular kind. For example, the Winesap, Bonum, Æsop, etc. , are different varieties of apples. 

=Ventilate=: to open to the free passage of air. 

=Virgin soil=: a soil which has never been cultivated. 

=Vitality= (of seed): vitality is the ability to grow. Seed are of goodvitality if a large per cent of them will sprout. 

=Weathering=: the action of moisture, air, frost, etc. Upon rocks. 

=Weed=: a plant out of place. A wheat plant in a rose bed or a rose inthe wheat field would be regarded as a weed, as would any plant growingin a place in which it is not wanted. 

=Wilt= (of cotton): a disease of cotton in which the whole plant droopsor wilts. 

=Withers=: the ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the baseof the neck. 

=Yeast=: a preparation containing the yeast plant used to make breadrise, etc. 

INDEX

 Acid phosphate, 23, 214, 225

 Alfalfa, 28, 179, 187, 242, 244, 245, 246-248

 Alfalfa root, 28

 Animals, domestic, 261-292 why we feed, 290

 Annual, 69, 112, 118, 260

 Ant, 144, 150

 Anther, 43

 Apple, 42, 59, 76, 78, 83-85, 123 fire-blight of, 130

 Apple-tree tent caterpillar, 161, 162

 Arsenate of lead, 156, 157

 Ashes, 207

 Asparagus, 98

 Babcock milk-tester, 304

 Bacteria, 24, 127, 128, 129, 131, 133

 Balanced ration, 294-295

 Barley, 215-217

 Beans, 95, 98

 Bee, 286-290

 Beehive, anti-robbing entrance of, 289

 Beet, 95, 96 sugar-, 218-221

 Beet sugar, 218

 Beetle, 146, 148 cucumber, 102 potato, 170

 Biennials, 70

 Bird homes, 322

 Birds, 318-323

 Black knot, 140

 Blackberry, 59

 Blight, 106 eggplant, 103 pear and apple, 130 potato, 138, 209 tomato, 106

 Bordeaux mixture, 127, 141, 142, 156, 209

 Borer, peach, 163, 164

 Breeding-cage, insect, 152

 Buckwheat, 229-230

 Bud variation, 58

 Budding, 55, 81-82

 Buds, 51, 59

 Bug, 147

 Bulbs, 109, 110, 111

 Burbank, Luther, 80

 Butter, 297, 300

 Butterfly, 146, 148, 149

 Cabbage, 93, 95, 96, 99

 Cabbage worm, 165, 166

 Caladium, 111

 Cambium, 79, 131

 Cankerworm, 159, 160

 Canna, 116

 Cantaloupes, 101

 Cape jasmine, 110

 Capillarity, 10

 Carbohydrates, 291, 292, 295

 Carbon, 39, 40, 291

 Carbon disulphide, 169

 Carbonic acid gas, 6, 317

 Caterpillar, 147, 149, 161

 Cattle, 270-275 beef type of, 272 dairy type of, 273 improving of, 274

 Cauliflower, 91, 140

 Celery, 100, 101

 Cherries, 59, 81, 164

 Chinch bug, 165, 167

 Churn, the, 297, 299, 300

 Churning, 299

 Cleft grafting, 80

 Clover, 187, 249-251

 Club root, 140

 Cocoon, 147, 148, 150, 151

 Codling moth, 154, 156, 164

 Cold-frame, 93-97, 101

 Colostrum, 297

 Consumption, germ of, 129

 Corms, 111

 Corn, 197-202 blossom of, 45 freezing of seed, 75 roots of, 27, 28 selection of seed, 66, 67, 68

 Cotton, 180-188 resistant variety of, 132 Sea Island, 132, 182 short-stapled, 182

 Cotton wilt, 142

 Cotton-boll weevil, 173

 Cotton-seed meal, 24, 225, 295

 Cow Aberdeen Angus, 272 Galloway, 274 Holstein, 275 Jersey, 273 care of, 296 the dairy, 293-296

 Cowpeas, 251-254

 Cream, 297, 298

 Crop-rotation, 33-37

 Crops, 178-237 rotation of, 20, 33, 189, 211, 217, 219, 228 value of, per acre, 179

 Cross section, 26

 Crosses, 49

 Cross-pollination, 48

 Cucumber, 73, 101

 Cucumber beetle, 102

 Curculio, plum, 156

 Currant, 59

 Cuttings, 52, 53, 54, 55, 109

 Cyclamen, 115

 Dahlia, 111, 112, 116

 Dairy rules, 301

 Dairying, 297-301

 Dendrolene, 160

 Diphtheria, germ of, 129

 Diseases of plants, 122-143

 Domestic animals, 261-292

 Drainage, benefits of, 15

 Dry farming, 323-326

 Ducks, 282

 Eggplants, 102, 103

 Ensilage, 295

 Farm crops, 178-237

 Farm garden, 235-237

 Farm tools, 313-315

 Farming on dry lands, 323-330

 Fats, 291, 292, 295

 Feed stuffs, 238-260 digestible nutrients in, 290-292 growing, on the farm, 309-313

 Feeding animals, 290 reasons for, 290, 292

 Fertilization, 45

 Fertilizers, 22-24

 Field insects, 144-177

 Figs, 51, 59

 Fire-blight, 130

 Flax, 226-229

 Flea-beetle, 169, 172, 209

 Floriculture, 89, 108

 Flower, the, 42, 43

 Flower box, 112

 Flower gardening, 108-121

 Fly, 146, 150

 Formalin, 135, 136, 138

 Fowls, 282-286

 Fruit mold, 126, 142

 Fruit rot, 122

 Fruit tree, how to raise a, 76-87

 Fultz, Abraham, 65

 Fungi, 125, 126, 127

 Garden, 235-237

 Garden insects, 165-177

 Gardening, market-, 89-90

 Geese, 284

 Geranium, 52, 54, 109, 110

 Germs, 24, 127, 129, 131, 135; _see also_ Bacteria

 Girdler, 162

 Girdling, 41

 Glacier, 3, 4, 5

 Gladiolus, 92, 111

 Gooseberries, 59

 Grafting, 55, 78-81 cleft, 80 root, 79 time for, 79 tongue, 79, 80

 Grafting wax, 79

 Grape, 51, 53, 58, 59

 Grape cutting, 54

 Grape phylloxera, 157, 158

 Grape pollination, 52, 53

 Grasses, 238-244

 Grasshopper, 148, 151

 Greenhouse, 91-94

 Heading back, 83

 Hemp, 226-229

 Hens, 282-286

 Heredity, 67

 Hessian fly, 170

 Homes, country, 330-337

 Honey dew, 167

 Horse, 262-270 diagrams by which to judge, 265-269 Percheron, 264 proportions of, 270 roadster, 267

 Horticulture, 89-121

 Host, 126

 Hotbed, 91-97

 How to raise a fruit tree, 76-87

 Humus, 5, 20, 21, 22, 193, 207

 Husker and shredder, 201

 Hybrids, 49, 50, 51, 183

 Insects, cage for breeding, 152 classes of, 146 eggs of, 150 eyes of, 145 field, 144, 165 garden, 144-177 general, 144 how they feed, 146, 147 orchard, 144 parts of, 145

 Irish, or white, potato, 206-209 propagation of, 56, 57

 Irrigation, 326-330 method of, 330

 Kafir corn, 325, 326

 Kainite, 214

 Kerosene emulsion, 168

 Land, improvement of, 17, 21, 31, 34, 244

 Landscape-gardening, 89

 Larva, 147, 148

 Layering, 55, 57

 Legumes, 31, 207, 244-260

 Lettuce, 91, 93, 95

 Life in the country, 330-337

 Lime, 140

 Lime-sulphur wash, 141, 142, 153, 154, 156

 Liming land, 315-318

 Louse, plant, 150, 151, 152, 167

 Machines, farm, 313-315

 Maize, 197

 Manures, 20, 21-24

 Maple sugar, 217

 Market-gardening, 89, 90

 Meadows, 240, 242

 Melons, 101, 106

 Mildew, 124 how to prevent, 126

 Milk, 297 sours, how, 302

 Milk-tester, Babcock, 304

 Mineral matter, 291, 292

 Moisture, 9

 Mold, 123, 124, 125

 Moonflower, 115

 Morning-glory, 115

 Moth, 148 codling, 154, 156, 164 mosquito, 150

 Mulch, 12

 Narcissus, 114

 Nectar, 46, 47

 Nitrate of soda, 24, 99, 211, 214

 Nitrogen, 15, 23, 24, 31, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 188, 246

 Nitrogen-gathering crops, 15, 18, 244-260

 Nodules, 36

 Oats, 209-215

 Oat smut, 134

 Onion, 103, 104

 Orchard insects, 143

 Osmosis, 30

 Ovary, 44

 Ovipositor, 157

 Paris green, 165, 209

 Parsnips, 94

 Pasture grasses, 238-244

 Peach, 42, 59, 81, 84, 85, 87, 141, 142

 Peach curl, 141, 143

 Peach mold, 142

 Peach mummies, 142

 Peach tree, how made, 86-87

 Peach-tree borer, 163, 164

 Peanuts, 202-203

 Pear, 44, 49, 59, 81, 130

 Pear fire-blight, 130

 Peas, 95, 104, 251-254

 Perennials, 71, 112, 116, 118, 260

 Petal, 43

 Phosphoric acid, 23, 24, 186, 188, 196, 216, 244, 254

 Phylloxera, 157, 158

 Pipette, 305

 Pistil, 43, 44

 Plant, the, 25, 39

 Plant disease, cause of, 122 nature of, 122 prevention of, 122, 129

 Plant food, 18, 19, 20, 21, 24 from air, 39 from soil, 29 kinds of, 33

 Plant louse, 150, 152, 167, 168

 Plant seeding, 59, 109

 Planting a tree, 76-87

 Plant-propagation, 51-59 by buds, 51

 Plants grown from seed, 109 from bulbs, 109

 Plow, right way to, 11

 Plum curculio, 156, 157

 Plums, 43, 59, 81, 164

 Pollen, 43, 47, 48

 Pollination, 45-48 by hand, 49 cross-, 49, 50 grape, 52, 53

 Potash, 23, 24, 186, 188, 196, 207, 216, 244, 246, 254

 Potato, sweet, 204, 205 white, or Irish, 56, 57, 206-209

 Potato beetle, 170, 209

 Potato blight, 138, 209

 Potato scab, 136, 205, 209

 Potato seed, 56, 57

 Poultry, 282-286

 Prevention of plant diseases, 129, 130

 Propagation of plants by buds, 58 by cuttings, 52

 Protein, 212, 291, 294, 295, 297

 Pruning, 83, 84-87 root, 85, 86

 Pupa, 147, 150, 151

 Purity of seed, 72-75

 Pyrethrum powder, 165

 Quince, 59

 Radish, 95

 Raspberry, 59

 Ration, balanced, 294, 295

 Ratoon, 225

 Red raspberry, 59

 Rice, 231-232

 Roads, 332, 337

 Root-hairs, 24, 25, 27, 29, 32

 Root-pruning, 86

 Roots, 25, 26, 27, 28

 Root-tubercles, 30, 37

 Rose, 109, 121, 124

 Rot of fruit, 122

 Rotation of crops, 8, 20, 21, 33-37, 189, 211, 217, 219, 258

 Rye, 213-215

 San Jose scale, 152, 153

 Sap current, the, 40

 Scab, 136, 209

 Schoolhouses, 334

 Scion, 79, 81, 82

 Seed, 42

 Seed purity, 72-75

 Seed vitality, 72-75

 Seed-germination, 74

 Seed-germinator, 74

 Seeding, 60, 114

 Seed-selection, 56, 62, 64, 66 in the field, 56, 62, 68 of corn, 66 of cotton, 60, 61 of potatoes, 56, 57 of wheat, 64, 65

 Seed-selection plat, 63, 64

 Selection of seed. _See_ Seed-selection

 Sepal, 43

 Sheep, 276-279

 Silo, 295

 Smuts, 134, 135

 Soil, 1 bacteria in, 24 deepening of, 8 definition of, 1 drainage of, 14

 Soil, how formed, 2, 3 how water rises in, 13 improving, 17 manuring of, 21 moisture of, 9 origin of, 1 particles of, magnified, 10 and plant, 25 retention of water by, 12 tillage of, 6 virgin, 17, 18

 Sowing seed, 94

 Soy beans, 256-260

 Spiders, red, 121

 Spiracles, 145

 Spores, 123, 124, 125, 130, 135 prevention of, 130

 Spraying, 137, 138, 139, 155, 156, 157, 209

 Spraying outfit, 138, 155, 168, 171

 Squanto, 21

 Squash, 45, 95

 Squash bug, 168

 Stamen, 43-48

 Starch, 40

 Starchy food, 291

 Stigma, 44-45

 Stock, 79, 82

 Strawberry, 45, 55, 59, 90

 Style, 43

 Subsoil, 1

 Subsoiling, 10

 Sugar, 40

 Sugar plants, 217

 Sugar-beet, 218-221

 Sugar-cane, 221

 Sugar-maple, 217

 Sulphate of ammonia, 211

 Sun-scald, 84

 Sweet pea, 114, 115

 Sweet potato, 56, 57, 111, 204-205

 Swine, 279-282

 Tent caterpillar, 162

 Tile drain, 15, 16 benefits of, 14

 Tillage, 6-9, 19, 28, 200

 Timber, 232-235 enemies of, 233

 Tobacco, 189-192

 Tobacco worm, 170, 172

 Tomato, 40, 105

 Tongue grafting, 79, 80

 Tools, 313

 Topping tobacco, 191

 Trap plant, 168

 Tree, manuring of, 26

 Truck crops, 98-107

 Tubercle, 30, 32

 Tull, Jethro, 6

 Turkeys, 282

 Turnip, 95

 Twig girdler, 162

 Typhoid fever, germ of, 129

 Vetches, 255-257

 Vitality of seed, 72-75

 Vitamines, 298

 Wasp, 146

 Water, 10 absorption of, by plants, 10 retention of, by soil, 9 rise of, in soil, 13 saved by plants, 10 saved by soils, 12

 Watermelons, 106

 Wax, 79

 Weathering, 4, 7

 Weeds, 69, 74 annual, 69 biennial, 70 perennial, 71

 Weevil, 169 cotton-boll, 173-177 plum, 156

 Wheat, 192-197 selection of seed, 63 yield of, 64

 Why feed animals, 290

 Wilt cotton, 142 watermelon, 107

 Window box, 118

 Window-garden, 119-121

 Window-gardening, 119

 Worn-out land, reclaiming of, 19, 244

 Yeast, 127, 128