The soil for window boxes is the same as for plant culture in pots; the best is that formed by rotted sods with a little well decomposed stable manure mixed with it.
Rhubarb requires deep, rich soil. A good dressing of well-rotted manure, put on the ground this winter when it is not frozen, will start off the plants briskly in the spring. The same is true for asparagus.
Mr. Russel Heath, Carpenteria, Cal., has an "English walnut orchard" of two hundred acres of rich, level land, near the sea-shore. The trees are from ten to twenty-five years planted. His crop in 1882 was 630 sacks of 70 pounds each; this season he expects the harvest will aggregate about one-third more.
Gardener's Monthly: The writer found among the gardeners in Canada, when in that country recently, that the English plan of preserving grapes in bottles of water was in not uncommon use. The bunches are cut with pieces of stems, and then so arranged that the ends are in bottles of water. By this plan the grapes can be preserved far into the spring season.
The American Cultivator: "Can you tell we what kind of weather we may expect next month?" wrote a farmer to the editor of his paper, and the editor replied: "It is my belief that the weather next month will be like your subscription bill." The farmer wondered for an hour what the editor was driving at, when he happened to think of the word "unsettled," and he sent a postal note forthwith.
The Farmer and Fruit Grower: Mr. Willis, Lamer, a prominent fruit grower of the Cobden region, says he very distinctly remembers that the freeze of 1864 killed young fruit trees to the snow line, and that he cut his peach trees to that line, and saved that much. In 1864 the temperature was about the same as it was on January 5, 1884—in the neighborhood of 21 degrees below zero. Mr. Lamer thought no damage was done to strawberry plants.
A pomologist gives the following excellent advice in regard to maintaining the fertility of fruit lands: "Encourage the utmost variety of vegetable growth near and upon your orchard lands, and never rob the soil of its honest dues. Give judicious and thorough cultivation and pruning; and with our generous soils and climate, I do not believe the child is yet born that will live to see our orchards languish on account of poverty of soil, or any necessity arise for the importation of fertilizers."
The Country Gentleman says two things are necessary for the growing of good asparagus, namely, plenty of room for the plant to grow, and copious manuring. The latter is best applied to thick beds by covering the whole surface with manure two or three inches thick, late in autumn, and forking it in very early in spring, before the new shoots start. Thick beds, however, should not be planted, but the plants allowed three or four feet each way to each. Three by five is a common and suitable distance, and large stalks may be obtained in this way.
Charles Merritt, of Battle Creek, has been very successful with strawberries. His plan is to plant rows about two and one-half feet apart and plants nine inches in the row; he prefers the spring time. He manures highly, cultivates thoroughly and mulches with clean straw late in the autumn. The next season he gets a large crop, and, while he is taking it off, another patch is being treated in a similar manner for the next year's crop. The second year with any bed he simply pulls out the weeds, and after picking turns it under. This plan proves to be satisfactory.
T. F. Leeper, of Warsaw Horticultural Society, says: I have been greatly interested in the condition of orchards this season, and have examined quite a number. One orchard in my neighborhood died during the summer—I supposed it was winter-killed, but an investigation showed that the roots had been destroyed by mice. Last spring I reported a number of trees in my orchard, winter-killed. These trees have been dug up and it appears that they too, were killed by mice. In my orchard the greatest injury by winter-killing has occurred in the draws or low places and I would not plant another orchard without tile drawing such places.