autumn.

sown as early as circumstances permit.

At the time of stirring the soil between any of the crops, strew a little soot close to the stems of the plants, which will prevent slugs and insects harboring there and eating them off under the surface of the soil, which they are very apt to do in the early part of the season. Use the hoe and cultivator between the winter standing crops, and keep every part of the garden clean and free from litter.

The Fruit Garden.

Premising that all pruning, cleaning, training, &c. of fruit trees and bushes to be now completed and the ground ploughed or forked up between them, attention should be directed to the strawberry plantations, which should be cleaned of weeds, the covering removed from the plants and a dressing of good rotten manure spread between the rows, which may afterwards be forked in very lightly, so as not to injure the roots. In doing this, place a little soil up by the crown of the plants, which will assist the growth of the surface roots. Last autumn's plantations should be gone over and those plants made firm in the soil which have been thrown out by the action of the frost; after which, the surface should be well mulched. Continue to make new plantations

of the best kinds.

GRAPE VINES.-To obtain good early grapes from vines in the open ground, all that is necessary is, established vines, a common hot-bed frame or two, a load or two of stable manure and leaves and a few slats. If the vines are pruned, (which they should be before this time,) make a bed about two feet from the main stem of the vine, of the dung and leaves, of the size of two frames, about two feet high, using short dung for the top, putting on the frame immediately. After the violent heat has somewhat subsided, cut notches in the back of the frame and bring in the branches of the vines. A trellis should be fixed inside about six inches from the glass, to which the vines should be tied. When this is completed close the frames, and let them so remain, unless the beds are very hot, when a little air must be given until the beds begin to push. After which, they must have air according to

heat and steam. When it is necessary for stopping and thinning the shoots and fruit, the sash can be taken off.

When danger of frost is over, fig trees should be neatly pruned, in order that they may not be crowded with wood. Finish the planting of raspberries, currants, gooseberries, &c. Destroy all insects before the trees bud. Prepare for grafting. Commence with plums and cherries and finish with apples and pears.

The Flower Garden.

Where lawns are in a bad state and difficult to mow in summer, they should now be topdressed with some light, rich soil, composed of decayed vegetable mold and good decom posed barn-yard manure, and some white clover sown upon it. In the formation of grass lawns there are two modes pursued— the one by sowing a selection of grass seed, the other by laying down turf. The former is done much more expeditiously and economically. In selecting the seed, great care should be taken in choosing only such as are of a short and compact growth, such as cynosurus cristatus, alopecurus pratensis, anthoxanthum adoratum, festuca tenuifolia and white Dutch clover. This is a good time for preparing the ground for the purpose. Plough or spade it carefully over, pick out all roots of weeds, shrubs, &c.; drag and rake the surface to the required level, and then roll with a good heavy roller. After which give the ground a slight stir with the rake. Sow the seed and finally roll.

Where the family is resident the greater part of the year, herbaceous plants should always form a principal feature in the garden, as they give a succession of flowers from early spring "until nipt by death's untimely frost." We would recommend for the farmer's garden a selection of the more showy phloxes, delphinums, campanulas, liliums and other hardy herbaceous plants. For planting among shrubs they are very valuable and ought to be in more general cultivation, particularly where cut flowers are essential.

Sweep and thoroughly clean walks and lawns and give them a good rolling with a heavy roller. If any alteration remain un

finished, every available hand should be concentrated so as to complete it as early as possible. Stir the surface soil of beds planted with bulbs, so as to keep it open and friable and to give it a neat, clean appearance.

The Greenhouse.

Proceed as diligently as possible with the repotting of such plants as require it, so as to afford them every chance of making a vigorous growth. Endeavor to keep the newly potted plants by themselves as much as possible, keeping the house rather more moist

than usual.

Pelargoniums, geraniums, cinerarias, should have plenty of space and be kept free of insects. Give air freely upon every favorable opportunity, but do not allow cold winds to blow over the foliage and disfigure it. While the variable weather which usually characterizes March continues, attention must be directed in maintaining a steady and uniform temperature. The heavy showers and boisterous gales which frequently occur at this season, succeeded by intervals of mild weather and brilliant sunshine, render some management necessary.

CANDLEING EGGS.-This operation of looking through an egg by means of a candle placed behind it, is called candleing an egg, by poulterers, who have taken advantage of its transparency in order to ascertain its soundness. From a mere trade practice it it has risen to the dignity of a scientific manipulation, and a more perfect apparatus has been made for detecting the changes going on in the eggs, at different periods of incubation; also in assisting in researches on the formation of monstrosities by coating portions of the shell. Carbonnier's apparatus consisted of a hollow cylinder, in the centre of which was powerful light. The Bulletin de la Societe d'Acclimatation has lately published the description of another plan, which consists in a screen sliding in a groove cut in a block used as a pedestal. This screen, which is of wood, has a longitudinal slit in a vertical direction, behind which is a lamp, the light of which is imprisoned so as to fall on the egg placed in front of the slit. In large egg-hatching establishments, eggs are generally candled on the tenth day of incubation.

Loss of Appetite in Horses. Written for the "American Farmer" by G. H. DADD, V. S., Baltimore, Md.

Loss of appetite sometimes arises from over exertion; occasionally it is the result of overfeeding or overcrowding the stomach with food, thus impairing the function of this organ. In such case the stomach needs rest from its labors, and cessation of appetite is the very best accident that could happen.

Should the appetite fail without any assignable cause, a change in the quality or kind of food might prove of benefit. It is well known that inferior hay, oats, &c. disgust the appetite and is unprofitable fodder.

Young horses, while teething, often refuse to masticate, in consequence of the pain they suffer at this period, which is then often attributed to "lampas." The pain does not arise from “lampas," but from the pressure on the dental nerve by the fang of the tooth, and then instead of burning the palate or bars of the roof of the mouth, the tooth or teeth, as the case may be, should be liberated from their imprisonment by making a crucial incision through the mucous membrane or gum. The crown of the tooth being thus exposed, relief is immediate; yet a loathing of food may, for a short time, exist, in consequence of inflammatory or sympathetic fever. In such case, the diet ought to consist of cooked food, composed of boiled carrots, rice, oats; and hay tea will serve as the best drink. Under this treatment, the desire for ordinary diet, uncooked, will soon return; but should the mouth feel hot and appear inflamed, then keep a bucket of cold water before the colt, so that he may cool his mouth and quench thirst at the same time.

The appetite, when faulty, may be improved by giving, each morning, for a week or ten days, two ounces of tincture of gentian; the food to be of the best quality and only a little at a time offered. Should any remain in the manger, at the period of the next feeding time, let it be removed, and keep the patient hungry for awhile, and see that cleanliness prevails in the rack, manger and stall. It is customary in some stables to cram the filthy straw, or whatever bedding may have been used, under the manger, thus compelling the animal to rospire vapors which must ultimately impair his health and pervert the appetite. No wonder that the appetite is

"lost," it is more wonderful that it was not his life instead.

A good and uniform appetite may be very desirable, especially when the animal is needed for constant hard work, yet over-indulgence leads to the high road of disease and death. Some horses thrive and work well on shorter rations than others; but the facts in the case do not form any objection to the establishment of a fixed allowance, so that we take into consideration age, size, the kind of work demanded of the animal, and the capacity of his digestive functions. In some stables—say, containing from twenty to fifty horses-there must exist diversity in size, weight and diges

tive capacity; hence some must require more food than others, yet it often happens that the “feeder” serves all his equine guests alike

out of the same measure. In such establishments I have often known disease and death to run riot.

A great proportion of the diseases occurring among both men and horses owe their exciting, if not direct cause, to overtaxing the stomach; thus it is said that "some men dig their graves with their teeth," and the carcase of the equine often brings up at the glue factory from a similar cause; therefore loss of appetite is not always so deplorable an event as some persons might suppose. The evil consequences of overfeeding are not always apparent; sometimes they are so insidious as to escape notice, yet disorder is almost sure, sooner or later, to occur. A horse when standing idle in the stable for a day or more, is almost sure to get more food than he needs. This creates, often, a morbid appetite. The best way of correcting this is to dip a lighter hand in the meal bag, or, if the season permits, prescribe a short run at grass, which will not only benefit the animal, but prevent a great waste of food.

In France, milk is packed in small tin cans, easily moved by one man, and by a simple contrivance the stopper screws close down upon the contents of each can, so that the motion of the railway cannot churn the milk in tarnsitu. The cans are then placed in covered wagons, and in summer are wrapped in cloths, which are watered from time to time so as to promote coolness by evaporation. The result of this care, which costs but little, is that the milk supply of Paris is proberbially excellent.

For the "American Farmer."

The Law of Inclosure.

MR. EDITOR: Are the laws of Maryland, with respect to stock and enclosures, similar to those of Virginia, and most, if not all, of the Southern States? If so, is there no hope that the people of these States can be brought to see the necessity of some modification, if not entire change of these laws?

The laws of Virginia permit all kinds of domestic animals to run at large and devolve upon the farmer the heavy burden of protecting his crops with a fence of specified dimensions. It is true that since the close of the war, the Legislature has empowered the County Courts, within their respective counties, to require the owners of all, or particular kinds of stock, to restrain them upon their own premises, or make compensation for any trespassing upon the premises of others, but such is the prejudice against change that comparatively few of the Courts have accepted the provisions of this law. It is a subject upon which the people want information and are naturally unwilling to abandon long established usage until they can be made to see clearly that their interest will be thereby promoted. The difficulty is to bring the subject to their attention, as the great body of them do not read newspapers or agricultural publications. It is however a subject of pressing importance; with a revolution in our agricultural system, a modification of our laws of inclosures has become a necessity, which sooner or later, our people will recognize, and by deferring which we are doing ourselves vast injury. Perhaps it would be unwise to attempt to introduce a sweeping change at once, but I think a great deal would be gained by the introduction of a partial change. I propose suggesting, in a brief way, some of the advantages which would result from a law by which the owners of the smaller domestic animals, such as hoge, sheep and goats, should be required to restrain them upon their own premises, or be made responsible for trespassing by them upon the premises of others. Whatever differences of opinion there may be as to other animals, I think there can be no doubt, that the interests of every part of Virginia, at least, would be promoted by a general law to this effect.

I am satisfied that more than half the cost of fencing is caused by permitting hogs to run

at large. They are the most destructive and lawless of all domestic animals. They range over a wide extent of country, at all seasons of the year, attack all kinds of crops, in all stages of their growth, necessitate high and close fences along highways and byways, across water-courses and over the most rugged ground, are but little restrained by ditches, hedges, water-courses or even any but the most substantial stone fences, and after all, derive no benefit from this outside range at all proportionate to the cost of fencing, which they impose upon the farmers. They thrive well in limited inclosures, and the labor of fencing them out of cultivated land, if expended in producing food for them, would at a vastly reduced cost feed them in lots or pens. No matter what kind of crop the farmer may cultivate, as long as hogs are permitted to run at large he must inclose his land with a fence sufficient to turn them and keep it constantly in good repair. The smallest hole is certain to be discovered by some roving hungry hog, and when once they have obtained access to a field, which offers them any attractions, it is difficult to get, or keep them out. Almost every farmer finds it necessary to keep a dog to aid him in driving hogs from his fields, and the food allowed these comparatively useless and often destructive curs, would raise as many hogs.

The subject enlarges itself so much that I find it difficult to keep within the limits which I proposed for myself. The whole question may be stated in a few words. Individually, it is cheaper for each farmer to fence up his own hogs, than to fence out the hogs of others, or if, from peculiar circumstances, this may not be true of a few farmers it is unquestionably true of the great mass of them. If then it be conceded that this system is a tax upon agriculture, it is necessarily a tax upon all other trades or callings, for agriculture is the basis of them all. Any law upon production must, to a great extent, be borne by consumption. The small housekeeper who raises a hog at the expense of agriculture is apt to pay well for his meat in the enhanced cost of such agricultural products as he may require. This is true of the city and village consumer, in fact, is true of all classes. The hireling finds his wages diminished because the farmer has to employ so much of it in protecting instead of adding to his crops. The purchaser of land is compelled to invest from one-third

to one-half of his capital in forest from which to draw his material for fencing,

The renter, is often deprived of a home, because neither he nor his landlord is willing to do the fencing. Many land-holders prefer to let their land be idle, rather than for a small sum furnish a home to a tenant, whose stock soon become intermixed with his or are disagreeably convenient to any opening which may chance to be in his fence.

The cost of fencing seems to be but little understood by most of our farmers. How many of them can tell you what it is worth to inclose an acre of land? The calculation is a simple one and yet few seem to have made it. I will give the results of some of my calculations, and those who doubt may verify for themselves. To inclose an acre of land with the ordinary worm-fence ten rails high will take eleven hundred and twenty rails. The cost of such an inclosure will of course be varied by circumstances, but that of cutting, splitting and putting up will rarely, if ever, be less than one dollar per hundred; with this as a basis, others may add the cost of transportation and the value of timber to suit their respective situations. The cost of transportation is rarely less than that of cutting, splitting and putting up. A four-horse team cannot usually haul more than fifty new rails at a load, and with the assistance of an extra hand, will not often move more than five hundred rails a day, even for a very short distance, especially when the rails have to be collected where they are made. A farmer is fortunate who can get his farm fenced at a cost of less than two cents a rail.

There is another fact to which I wish to call attention. The cost of inclosures per acre diminishes rapidly by enlarging them. Double the number of rails which it takes to inclose one acre of land will inclose four, twice the latter quantity will inclose sixteen acres, and so on indefinitely in geometrical progression. If it cost twenty dollars to inclose one acre of land, forty dollars will inclose four, eighty dollars will inclose sixteen, one hundred and sixty dollars will inclosure sixty-four, and so on indefinitely.

The logical conclusion from these facts, then, is, that the burden of fencing is heavier in proportion upon small farmers than large ones, and that their forest or dead capital must be in greater proportion to their open land.

It

The abolition of slavery will compel the division of Southern lands into smaller farms. What an obstacle to this division is our present expensive system of inclosures? hinders selling, renting and cultivating.Large areas of forest land are left uncleared either to supply fencing material or because it will not pay to clear and fence. Broom-straw and briars are rapidly taking possession of cleared land because the owner can't fence himself or find purchasers or tenants who will do it. Heavily burdened with Federal, State and county taxes, we are raising hogs upon acorns and roots, and sheep upon broom-straw and briars at a greater cost to ourselves than all our other taxes combined.

The subject, Mr. Editor, is far from being exhausted, but for fear that the patience of your readers may be, I will dismiss it, with the hope that what has been written may be the means of attracting other and abler pens. A VIRGINIA FARMER.

Use of Natural History. A correspondent of the Scientific American paid a visit, in 1862, to Col. Pike, of Brooklyn, N. Y., an amateur naturalist. During the visit, the Colonel said: "I am very frequently asked what is the use of this study of natural history. Some of our very intelligent citizens say to me,' How are you going to make anything out of this? What good does it do to catch butterflies?' Not long ago I saw one of the wealthiest men in Brooklyn at work on the trees in front of his house. He had them all scraped and whitewashed at an expense of $80. Said I, 'Mr. Hunt, what are you doing that for? To keep off the worms,' he said. That's no use,' I remarked, 'Oh,' said he, 'I think it is.' Well, now, the insect was a Geometer, or measuring-worm; the moth that produces these worms, lays its eggs on the ends of the branches, and it is almost impossible to kill the eggs. The strongest northwest winds have no effect upon them. I have seen them in Maine, and it is difficult to crush

For the American Farmer."

Tobacco, Corn, &c. in Virginia.

DINWIDDIE Co., VA., Feb. 5, 1868.

MR. EDITOR: The February number of your welcome journal is to hand, and I have thought a few dottings of things in this section might not be uninteresting. In fact, I think if farmers in different sections of the country, who are your subscribers, would have a kind of family talk through the "Farmer" occasionally, it would add to the interest of your paper, and if at any time we taxed your time and space too much, you could use your own discretion in laying them aside. Horace has truly said "no man is contented with his lieve we have greater trials and more difficulown lot," and we are naturally prone to beties to contend with than other men, and by these interchanges of opinion, &c., might often brighten our hopes.

In the few lines I design to pen, it is my wish to say as few words as possible about the nigger, for I am tired of him in every sense of the term, and can only look upon them as a doomed race, with pity. Poor, deluded race! the time is not far distant when they must exclaim "save me from my friends (pretended friends) or I perish!"

I think, so far as I am able to learn through correspondents and the papers, we are getting

on as well as most in the South, but even this may be saying very little. Last year was rather unfavorable for crops, and we will not realize as great profits as we could have desired, but perhaps greater than we deserve. Most farmers in this section made plenty of corn, but from a disease among our hogs (and not knowing a better name called hog-cholera) very many of them will not have meat enough to carry them through the year. The tobacco who have carried in their crops is, the tobacco crop will fall short. The experience of those is light, and of course can't hold out in weight. I heard one gentleman say, out of a barn he sold last year upwards of two thousand

scraping of the trunk would do. I went by some months afterward, and Mr. Hunt was in front of his house, looking up at his trees, which had not a leaf on them, and I remarked, 'Your trees are looking finely, Mr. Hunt; the scraping was more profitable than hunting butterflies.-Practical Entomologist.

three hundred pounds last year, he sold this year only fourteen hundred, and that more sticks of tobacco were put into the barn the last than the first year, but he does not think this difference was in quality, but some must bave been stolen. Some tobacco was lost by the frost; I myself had thirty-five thousand