In the following spring the young shoots must be well cultivated

In the following spring the young shoots must be well cultivated

In the following spring the young shoots must be well cultivated

In the following spring the young shoots must be well cultivated. In order to economize space, beets or lettuce may be grown between the asparagus rows during this first season. With the coming of cold weather the 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 is kept free from weeds and well manured, it will increase in productiveness from year to year.

After the land is thoroughly prepared

After the land is thoroughly prepared

After the land is thoroughly prepared

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

Fig. 89. A Crate of Asparagus

Among the gardener s important crops are the following

Among the gardener s important crops are the following

Among the gardener s important crops are the following

Among the gardener's important crops are the following:

Asparagus. This is a hardy plant. Its seed may be sowed either early in 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, they will make vigorous roots for transplanting in the autumn.

Not only must the gardener grow perfect vegetables

Not only must the gardener grow perfect vegetables

Not only must the gardener grow perfect vegetables

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

To get the best results he must grow perfect vegetables

To get the best results he must grow perfect vegetables

To get the best results he must grow perfect vegetables

Third, to get the best results he must grow perfect vegetables. To do this, he must add to good tillage a knowledge of the common plant diseases and of the ways of insects and bacterial pests; he must know how and when to spray, how and when to treat his seed, how and when to poison, how and when to trap his insect foes and to destroy their hiding-places.

He crowds his land with products that must grow apace

He crowds his land with products that must grow apace

He crowds his land with products that must grow apace

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

On the other hand it often happens

On the other hand it often happens

On the other hand it often happens

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

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

First, he must make his land rich and keep it rich. Much of his success depends on getting his crops on the market ahead of other growers. To do this, his crops must grow rapidly, and crops grow rapidly only in rich soil. Then, too, land conveniently situated for market-gardening is nearly always costly. Hence the successful market-gardener must plan to secure the largest possible yield from as small an area as is practicable. The largest yield can of course be secured from the richest land.

If his soil and climate are particularly suited to one crop

If his soil and climate are particularly suited to one crop

If his soil and climate are particularly suited to one crop

What Crops to grow. The crops to be raised will of course depend upon each gardener's climate, surroundings, and markets. Sometimes it may pay a 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 some sections of New York, on potatoes; in parts of Michigan, on celery; in Georgia, on watermelons; in western North Carolina, on cabbage. If circumstances allow this sort of gardening, it has many advantages, for of course it is much easier to acquire skill in growing one crop than in growing many.

Fig. 88. A Large Yield of Cabbages

In sowing seeds when the ground is rather dry

In sowing seeds when the ground is rather dry

In sowing seeds when the ground is rather dry

In sowing seeds when the ground is rather dry, it is a good plan, after covering them, to tramp on the row so as to press the soil closely to the seeds and to help it to retain moisture for germination, but do not pack the soil if it is damp.

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

But if corn be covered so deep

But if corn be covered so deep

But if corn be covered so deep

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 better for such covering, but if corn be covered so deep, it hardly gets above the ground. In planting small seeds like those of the radish, cabbage, turnip, lettuce, etc., a good rule is to cover them three times the thickness of the seed.

But if we should plant seeds like corn

But if we should plant seeds like corn

But if we should plant seeds like corn

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

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

Fig. 87. Gathering and shipping Celery

Seeds vary greatly in their requirements

Seeds vary greatly in their requirements

Seeds vary greatly in their requirements

Sowing. The time for sowing the different kinds of seeds is an important matter. Seeds vary greatly in their requirements. All need three conditions—a proper degree of heat, moisture, and air. Some seeds, like English peas, parsnips, beets, and radishes, will germinate and grow when the soil is still cool in the early spring, and peas will stand quite a frost after they are up. Therefore we plant English peas as early as the ground can be worked.

While the hotbed may be used for starting plants

While the hotbed may be used for starting plants

While the hotbed may be used for starting plants

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

To pay close attention to the bed and

To pay close attention to the bed and

To pay close attention to the bed and

Care of Hotbed and Cold-Frame. If the sun be allowed to shine brightly on the glass of a cold-frame or hotbed, it will soon raise the temperature in the hotbed to a point that will destroy the plants. It is necessary, then, to pay close attention to the bed and, when the sun shines, to slip the sashes down or raise them and place a block under the upper end to allow the steam to pass off. The cold-frame also must be aired when the sun shines, and the sashes must be gradually slipped down in mild weather. Finally, they may be removed entirely on sunshiny days, so as to accustom the plants to the open air, but they must be replaced at night. For a while before setting the plants in the open gardens, leave the sashes off night and day.

Fig. 86. Greenhouse and Cold-Frames

A cold-frame is like the frame used for a hotbed

A cold-frame is like the frame used for a hotbed

A cold-frame is like the frame used for a hotbed

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

Fig. 85. Frame to carry the Sash of a Hotbed or Cold-Frame

A thermometer is stuck into the soil and closely watched

A thermometer is stuck into the soil and closely watched

A thermometer is stuck into the soil and closely watched

The frame is then covered with hotbed sashes six feet long and three feet wide. These slide up and down on strips of wood let into the sides of 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 heat in the early morning is about 85°, seeds may be sowed. The hotbed is used for starting tomato plants, eggplants, cabbage plants, and other vegetables that cannot stand exposure. It should be made about eight or ten weeks before the tender plants can be set out in the locality. In the South and Southwest it should be started earlier than in the North. For growing the best tomato plants, and for such hardy plants as lettuce and cabbage, it will be better to have cold-frames in addition to the hotbed; these need not be more than two or three sashes.

This is set upon the heated manure

This is set upon the heated manure

This is set upon the heated manure

A frame six feet wide, twelve inches high on the north side and eight inches on the south side and as long as the bed is to be, is now made of plank. This is set upon the heated manure, thus leaving six inches on each 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 inside the frame.

The material for the hotbed is fresh horse manure mixed with leaves

The material for the hotbed is fresh horse manure mixed with leaves

The material for the hotbed is fresh horse manure mixed with leaves

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 from the heap the manure is turned over and piled again so that the outer part is thrown inside. When the whole is uniformly heated and has been turned two or three times, it is packed firmly into the pit already dug.

Is complete without some glass sashes

Is complete without some glass sashes

Is complete without some glass sashes

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

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

Fig. 84. The Gladiolus

Agriculture for Beginners

Agriculture for Beginners

Getting ready for winter

PREFACE

Since its first publication "Agriculture for Beginners" has found a welcome in thousands of schools and homes. Naturally many suggestions as to changes, additions, and other improvements have reached its authors. Naturally, too, the authors have busied themselves in devising methods to add to the effectiveness of the book. Some additions have been made almost every year since the book was published. To embody all these changes and helpful suggestions into a strictly unified volume; to add some further topics and sections; to bring all farm practices up to the ideals of to-day; to include the most recent teaching of scientific investigators—these were the objects sought in the thorough revision which has just been given the book. The authors hope and think that the remaking of the book has added to its usefulness and attractiveness.

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

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

1. It is universally admitted that aptitudes are developed, tastes acquired, and life habits formed during the years that a child is in the public school. Hence, during these important years every child intended for the farm should be taught to know and love nature, should be led to form habits of observation, and should be required to begin a study of those great laws upon which agriculture is based. A training like this goes far toward making his life-work profitable and delightful.

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

The market-gardeners around the great Northern cities

The market-gardeners around the great Northern cities

The market-gardeners around the great Northern cities

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

Fig. 83. Setting Plants in a Cold-Frame

Has developed intoll as the artist makes them on canvas

Has developed intoll as the artist makes them on canvas

Has developed intoll as the artist makes them on canvas

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

Market-Gardening. Formerly market-gardening was done on small tracts of land in the immediate vicinity of large cities, where supplies of stable manure could be used from the city stables. But with the great increase in the population of the cities, these small areas could no longer supply the demand, and the introduction of commercial fertilizers and the building of railroads enabled gardeners at great distances from city markets to grow and ship their products. Hence the markets, even in winter, are now supplied with fresh vegetables from regions where there is no frost. Then, as spring opens, fruits and vegetables are shipped from more temperate regions. Later vegetables and fruits come from the sections nearer the great cities. This gradual nearing of the supply fields continues until the gardens near the cities can furnish what is needed.

Fig. 82. Strawberry-Growing is an Art

The word gardening is generally given to that

The word gardening is generally given to that

The word gardening is generally given to that

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

Flower-gardening, or the cultivation of plants valued for their bloom in making ornamental beds and borders and furnishing flowers for the decoration 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 grounds surrounding our homes and in great public parks and pleasure grounds.

Market-gardening

Market-gardening

The word horticulture is one of those broad words under which much is grouped. It includes the cultivation of orchard fruits, such as apples and plums; of small fruits, such as strawberries and raspberries; of garden vegetables for the table; of flowers of all sorts, including shrubbery and ornamental trees and their arrangement into beautiful landscape effects around our homes. Horticulture then is a name for an art that is both far-reaching and important.

The planting in the orchard of the young

The planting in the orchard of the young

The planting in the orchard of the young

The planting in the orchard of the young peach and the young apple tree is done in practically the same way. After the hole for the tree has been dug and after proper soil has been provided, the roots should be spread 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.

At the end of the year they are taken up and sorted

At the end of the year they are taken up and sorted

At the end of the year they are taken up and sorted

How is an apple tree made? The seeds are saved in the fall of one year and planted the following year. The seedlings of the apple do not grow so rapidly as those of the peach. At the end of the year they are taken up and sorted, and in the following spring they are planted. In July or August they are budded. In the spring of the next year the stock is cut off above the bud, and the bud-shoot grows three or four feet. One year later the shoot branches and the top begins to form; and in the fall of the following year the tree may be sold as a two-year-old, although most persons prefer to buy it a year later as a three-year-old. In some parts of the country, particularly in the West, the little seedling is grafted in the second winter, in a grafting room, and the young grafts are set in the nursery row in the spring to complete their growth.

Then pollination and fertilization occur

Then pollination and fertilization occur

Then pollination and fertilization occur

How is a peach tree made? First, the blossom appears. Then pollination and 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 of the variety which is wanted is inserted in the little stock, near the ground. One year later, in the spring, the stock is cut off just above the bud. The bud throws out a shoot, which grows to a height of about six feet, and in the fall this little peach tree is sold as a one-year-old tree. However, as is seen, the root is two years old.

Fig. 81. Ready to bear

Sometimes a tree will go too much to wood and too little to fruit

Sometimes a tree will go too much to wood and too little to fruit

Sometimes a tree will go too much to wood and too little to fruit

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

Pruning that leaves large limbs branching

Pruning that leaves large limbs branching

Pruning that leaves large limbs branching

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

Fig. 79. Three-Year-Old Tree cut back

Fig. 80. Three-Year-Old Tree cut back
Refuses to Heal—Heals promptly

In pruning never leave a stump such as is shown in Fig

In pruning never leave a stump such as is shown in Fig

In pruning never leave a stump such as is shown in Fig

In pruning never leave a stump such as is shown in Fig. 78, h. Such a stump, having no source of nourishment, will heal very slowly and with great 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. 80 shows the results of good and poor pruning on a large tree. When large limbs are removed it is best to paint the cut surface. The paint will ward off fungous disease and thus keep the tree from rotting where it was cut.

Winter pruning tends to favor wood-production

Winter pruning tends to favor wood-production

Winter pruning tends to favor wood-production

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

Each particular kind of fruit requires special pruning; for example, the peach should be made to assume the shape illustrated in Fig. 77. This is done 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 on your stock. This will secure a vigorous growth of the scion. By a second trimming take off the "heel" (Fig. 78, h) close to the tree, and thus prevent decay at this point. One year after budding you should reduce the tree to a "whip," as in Fig. 79, by trimming at the dotted line in Fig. 78. This establishes the "head" of the tree, which in the case of the peach should be very low,—about sixteen inches from the ground,—in order that a low foliage may lessen the danger of sun-scald to the main trunk.

Fig. 77. The Customary Way of pruning a Peach

Fig. 78. Two-Year-Old Tree
Cut off heel, h

The difference between the trees shown in Figs

The difference between the trees shown in Figs

The difference between the trees shown in Figs

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

You must prune the tree as it grows

You must prune the tree as it grows

You must prune the tree as it grows

You must prune the tree as it grows. The object of pruning is to give the tree proper shape and to promote fruit-bearing. If the bud at the end 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 lines shown in Fig. 72, the buds below this point will be forced to grow and make a tree like that shown in Fig. 73. The proper height of heading for different fruits varies. For the apple tree a height of two or three feet is best.

Fig. 75.
Unthinned

Fig. 76.
Properly thinned

Planting And Pruning

Planting And Pruning

Fig. 73.
Present shape comes
from pruning

The apple tree that you grafted should be set out in the spring. Dig a hole 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 fine roots. Spread the roots out fully, water them, and pack fine, rich soil firmly about them. Place stakes about the young tree to protect it from injury. If the spot selected is in a windy location, incline the tree slightly toward the prevailing wind.

Fig. 74.
Correct shape
to trim

The best time to do budding is during the summer or fall months

The best time to do budding is during the summer or fall months

The best time to do budding is during the summer or fall months

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

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

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

BOTH BUSY STORING APPLES

Moist cloth until you are ready to use them

Moist cloth until you are ready to use them

Moist cloth until you are ready to use them

Cut scions of the kind of fruit tree you desire from a one-year-old twig of the same variety. Wrap them in a clean, moist cloth until you are ready to use them. Just before using cut the bud from the scion, as shown in Fig. 69. This bud is now ready to be inserted on the north side of the stock, just two or three inches above the ground. The north side is selected to avoid the sun. Now, as shown at a in Fig. 70, make a cross and an up-and-down incision, or cut, on the stock; pull the bark back 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 to prevent its cutting the bark and cut the tree back close to the bud, as in Fig. 71, so as to force nourishment into the inserted bud.