invention or improvement of farm tools and machines. Perhaps some of you
know how tiresome was the old up-and-down churn dasher that has now
generally 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 of
the way of the mowing-machine and the horserake. The old heavy,
sweat-drawing grain-cradle is slinking into the backwoods, and in its
place we have the horse-drawn or steam-drawn harvester that cuts and
binds the grain, and even threshes and measures it at one operation.
Instead of the plowman's wearily making one furrow at a time, the
gang-plows of the plains cut many furrows at one time, and instead of
walking the plowman rides. The shredder and husker turns the hitherto
useless cornstalk into food, and at the same time husks, or shucks, the
corn.
The farmer of the future must know three things well: first, what
machines 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 makes
the farmer's life so much easier and more comfortable is too complicated
to be put into the hands of bunglers who will soon destroy it, and it is
too 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 storing
his tools and machines. As soon as a plow, harrow, cultivator--indeed
any tool or machine--has finished its share of work for the season, it
should receive whatever attention it needs to prevent rusting, and
should be carefully housed.
Such care, which is neither costly nor burdensome, will add many years
to the life of a machine.
SECTION LXVI. LIMING THE LAND
Occasionally, when a cook puts too much vinegar in a salad, the dish
becomes so sour that it is unfit to eat. The vinegar which the cook uses
belongs to a large group of compounds known as acids. The acids are
common in nature. They have the power not only of making salads sour but
also of making land sour. Frequently land becomes so sour from acids
forming in it that it will not bear its usual crops. The acids must then
be removed or the land will become useless.
The land may be soured in several ways. Whenever a large amount of
vegetable matter decays in land, acids are formed, and at times sourness
of the soil results. Often soils sour because they are not well drained
or because, from lack of proper tillage, air cannot make its way into
the soil. Sometimes all these causes may combine to produce sourness.
Since most crops cannot thrive on very sour soil, the farmer must find
some method of making his land sweet again.
So far as we now know, liming the land is the cheapest and surest way of
overcoming the sourness. In addition to sweetening the soil by
overcoming the acids, lime aids the land in other ways: it quickens the
growth of helpful bacteria; it loosens stiff, heavy clay soils and
thereby fits them for easier tillage; it indirectly sets free the potash
and phosphoric acid so much needed by plants; and it increases the
capillarity of soils.
However, too much must not be expected of lime. Often a farmer's yield
is so increased after he has scattered lime over his fields that he
thinks that lime alone will keep his land fertile. This belief explains
the saying, "Lime enriches the father but beggars the son." The
continued use of lime without other fertilization will indeed leave poor
land for the son. Lime is just as necessary to plant growth as the
potash and nitrogen and phosphoric acid about which we hear so much, but
it cannot take the place of these plant foods. Its duty is to aid, not
to displace them.
We can tell by the taste when salads are too sour; it is more difficult
to find out whether land is sour. There are, however, some methods that
will help to determine the sourness of the soil.
In the first place, if land is unusually sour, you can determine this
fact by a simple test. Buy a pennyworth of blue litmus paper from a drug
store. Mix some of the suspected soil with a little water and bury the
litmus 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 and
vetch remove so much lime from the soil that they are often called lime
plants. If clover and vetch refuse to grow on land on which they
formerly flourished, it is generally, though not always, a sign that the
land needs lime.
In the third place, when water grasses and certain weeds spring up on
land, 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 less
sourness.
Four forms of lime are used on land. These, each called by different
names, 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 the
chemists as sulphate of lime. Do not forget that this last form is never
to 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 gas
called carbon dioxide. This is the same gas that you breathe out from
your lungs.
Water-slaked lime is quicklime to which water has been added. In other
words, both of these are merely weakened forms of quicklime. One hundred
pounds of quicklime is equal in richness to 132 pounds of water-slaked
lime and to 178 pounds of air-slaked lime. These figures should be
remembered by a farmer when he is buying lime. If he can buy a fair
grade of quicklime delivered at his railway station for $5.00 a ton, he
cannot afford to pay more than $3.75 a ton for water-slaked lime, nor
more than $2.75 for air-slaked lime of equal grade. Quicklime should
always be slaked before it is applied to the soil.
As a rule lime should be spread broadcast and then harrowed or disked
thoroughly into the soil. This is best done after the ground has been
plowed. For pastures or meadows air-slaked lime is used as a
top-dressing. When air-slaked lime is used it may be spread broadcast in
the spring; the other forms should be applied in the fall or in the
early winter.
SECTION LXVII. BIRDS
What do birds do in the world? is an important question for us to think
about. First, we must gain by observation and by personal acquaintance
with the living birds a knowledge of their work and their way of doing
it. In getting this knowledge, let us also consider what we can do for
our birds to render their work as complete and effective as possible.
Think of what the birds are doing on every farm, in every garden, and
about every home in the land. Think of the millions of beautiful wings,
of the graceful and attractive figures, of the cunning nests, and of the
singing throats! Do you think that the whole service of the birds is to
be beautiful, to sing charmingly, and to rear their little ones? By no
means is this their chief service to man. Aside from these services the
greatest work of birds is to destroy insects. It is one of the wise
provisions of nature that many of the most brilliantly winged and most
enchanting songsters are our most practical friends.
Not all birds feed on insects and animals; but even those that eat but a
small amount of insect food may still destroy insects that would have
damaged 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 called
insectivorous birds. Chief among these are the warblers, cuckoos,
swallows, martins, flycatchers, nighthawks, whippoorwills, swifts, and
humming-birds. We cannot have too many of these birds. They should be
encouraged and protected. They should be supplied with shelter and
water.
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 to
this group. These birds never fail to perform a service for us by
devouring many weed seeds.
[Illustration: FIG. 280. A KINGBIRD]
The third class is known as the hard-billed birds. It includes those
birds 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 of
special service in destroying insects before the insects lay their eggs
for the season.
The robins on the lawn search out the caterpillars and cutworms. The
chipping sparrow and the wren in the shrubbery look out for all kinds of
insects. They watch over the orchard and feed freely on the enemies of
the apple and other fruit trees. The trunks of these trees are often
attacked by borers, which gnaw holes in the bark and wood, and often
cause the death of the trees. The woodpeckers hunt for these appetizing
borers and by means of their barbed tongues bring them from their
hiding-places. On the outside of the bark of the trunk and branches the
bark lice work. These are devoured by the nuthatches, creepers, and
chickadees.
During the winter the bark is the hiding-place for hibernating insects,
which, like plant lice, feed in summer on the leaves. Throughout the
winter a single chickadee will destroy great numbers of the eggs of the
cankerworm moth and of the plant louse. The blackbirds, meadow larks,
crows, quail, and sparrows are the great protectors of the meadow and
field crops. These birds feed on the army worms and cutworms that do so
much injury to the young shoots; they also destroy the chinch bug and
the 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 up
nine tenths of them. Hence it is easy to see that if something did not
check their increase they would soon almost overrun the earth. Our
forests and orchards furnish homes and breeding-places for most of these
insects. Suppose the injurious insects were allowed to multiply
unchecked in the forests, their numbers would so increase that they
would invade our fields and create as much terror among the farmers as
they did in Pharaoh's Egypt. The birds are the only direct friends man
has to destroy these harmful insects. What benefactors, then, these
little feathered neighbors are!
It has been estimated that a bird will devour thirty insects daily. Even
in a widely extended forest region a very few birds to the acre, if they
kept up this rate, would daily destroy many bushels of insects that
would play havoc with the neighboring orchards and fields.
Do not imagine, however, that to destroy insects is the only use of
birds. The day is far more delightful when the birds sing, and when we
see them flit in and out, giving us a glimpse now and then of their
pretty coats and quaint ways. By giving them a home we can surround
ourselves 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 often
turn to him for protection. During times of severe storm, extreme
drought, or scarcity of food, if the birds were sufficiently tamed to
come to man as their friend, as they do in rare cases now, a little food
and shelter might tide them over the hard time and their service
afterwards would repay the outlay a thousandfold. If the boys in your
families would build bird-houses about the house and barn and in shade
trees, they might save yearly a great number of birds. In building these
places of shelter and comfort, due care must be taken to keep them
clear 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 must
be done at the right time and in the right way. Think out carefully what
materials to provide for them. Bits of string, linen, cotton, yarn, tow
and other waste material, all help to induce a pair to build in the
garden.
[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, overgrown
corner in the garden will invite some birds to nest.
Wrens, bluebirds, chickadees, martins, and some other varieties are all
glad to set up housekeeping in man-made houses. The proper size for a
bird-room is easily remembered. Give each room six square inches of
floor space and make it eight inches high. Old, weathered boards should
be used; or, if paint is employed, a dull color to resemble an old
tree-trunk will be most inviting. A single opening near the top should
be made two inches in diameter for the larger birds; but if the house is
to be headquarters for the wren, a one-inch opening is quite large
enough, and the small door serves all the better to keep out English
sparrows.
The barn attic should be turned over to the swallows. Small holes may be
cut high up in the gables and left open during the time that the
swallows remain with us. They will more than pay for shelter by the good
work 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 a
vast area in which very little rain falls. This section includes nearly
three hundred million acres of land. It stretches from Canada on the
north into Texas on the south, and from the Missouri River (including
the Dakotas and western Minnesota) on the east to the Rocky Mountains on
the 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 the
difference between farming in this dry belt and farming in most of the
other sections of our country is a difference mainly due to a lack of
moisture.
As water is so scarce in this region two things are of the utmost
importance: first, to save all the rain as it falls; second, to save all
the water after it has fallen. To save the falling rain it is necessary
for the ground to be in such a condition that none of the much-needed
rain may run off. Every drop should go into the soil. Hence the farmer
should never allow his top soil to harden into a crust. Such a crust
will keep the rain from sinking into the thirsty soil. Moreover the soil
should 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 a
porous soil freely. The addition of humus in the form of vegetable
manures will keep the soil in the porous condition needed. Second, after
the water has entered the soil it is important to hold it there so that
it may supply the growing crops. If the land is allowed to remain
untilled after a rain or during a hot spell, the water in it will
evaporate too rapidly and thus the soil, like a well, will go dry too
soon. To prevent this the top soil should be stirred frequently with a
disk or smoothing harrow. This stirring will form a mulch of dry soil on
the surface, and this will hold the water. Other forms of mulch have
been suggested, but the soil mulch is the only practical one. It must be
borne in mind that this surface cultivation must be regularly kept up if
the moisture is to be retained.
[Illustration: FIG. 284. THE DISK HARROW]
Some experiments in wheat-growing have shown how readily water might be
saved if plowing were done at the right time. Wheat sowed on land that
was plowed as soon as the summer crops were taken off yielded a very
much larger return than wheat sowed on land that remained untilled for
some time after the summer crops were gathered. This difference in yield
on lands of the same fertility was due to the fact that the early
plowing 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 in
these dry climates must give his land the same careful attention that
lands in other regions need. The seed-bed should be most carefully
prepared. It should be deep, porous, and excellent in tilth. During the
growing season all crops should be frequently cultivated. The harrow,
the cultivator, and the plow should be kept busy. The soil should be
kept abundantly supplied with humus.
Some crops need a little different management in dry-farming. Corn, for
example, does best when it is listed; that is, planted so that it will
come up three or four inches beneath the surface. If planted in this
way, it roots better, stands up better, and requires less work.
Just as breeders study what animals are best for their climates, so
farmers in the dry belt should study what crops are best suited to their
lands. Some crops, like the sorghums and Kafir corn, are peculiarly at
home in scantily watered lands. Others do not thrive. Experience is the
only sure guide to the proper selection.
To sum up, then, farmers can grow good crops in these lands only when
four things are done: first, the land must be thoroughly tilled so that
water can freely enter the soil; second, the land must be frequently
cultivated so that the water will be kept in the soil; third, the crops
must be properly rotated so as to use to best advantage the food and
water supply; fourth, humus must be freely supplied so as to keep the
soil in the best possible condition.
SECTION LXIX. IRRIGATION
Irrigation is the name given to the plan of supplying water in large
quantities to growing crops. Since the dawn of history this practice has
been more or less followed in Asia, in Africa, and in Europe. The
Spanish settlers in the southwestern part of America were probably the
first to introduce this custom into our country. In New Mexico there is
an irrigating trench that has been in constant use for three hundred
years.
[Illustration: FIG. 286. PUMPING WATER FOR IRRIGATION]
The most common source of water for irrigating purposes is a river or a
smaller stream. Artesian wells are used in some parts of the country.
Windmills are sometimes used when only a small supply of water is
needed. Engines, hydraulic rams, and water-wheels are also employed. The
water-wheel is one of the oldest and one of the most useful methods of
raising water from streams. There are thousands of these in use in the
dry 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, the
buckets are filled, raised, and then emptied into a trough called a
flume. The water flows through the flume into the irrigating ditches,
which distribute it as it is needed in the fields. In some parts of
California and other comparatively dry sections, wells are sunk in or
near the beds of underground streams, and then the water is pumped into
ditches which convey it to the fields to be irrigated.
Engines are often used for pumping water from streams and transferring
it to ditches or canals. The canals distribute the water over the land
or 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 large
areas of land. Hence, as the value of farm lands increased other methods
were sought. Shrewd men began to turn longing eyes on the wide stretches
of barren land in the West. They knew that these waste lands, seemingly
so unfertile, would become most fruitful as soon as water was turned on
them. Could water enough be found? New plans to pen up floods of water
were prepared, and immense sums were spent in carrying out these plans.
Enormous dams of cemented stone were thrown across the gorges in the
foothills of the mountains. Behind these solid dams the water from the
rains and the melting snow of the mountains was backed for miles, and
was at once ready to change barrenness into fruitfulness. The stored
water is led by means of main canals and cross ditches wherever it is
needed, and countless acres have been brought under cultivation.
Water is generally applied either by making furrows for its passage
through the fields or by flooding the land. The latter plan is the
cheaper, but it can be used only on level lands. Where the land is
somewhat irregular a checking system, as it is called, is used to
distribute the water. It is taken from check to check until the entire
field has been irrigated.
[Illustration: FIG. 288. THE PROCESS OF IRRIGATING CORN]
The furrow method is usually employed for fruits and for farm and garden
crops. In many places the grass and grain crops are now supplied with
water by furrows instead of by flooding.
Irrigated lands should be carefully and thoroughly tilled. The water for
irrigation is costly, and should be made to go as far as possible. Good
tillage saves the water. Moreover, all cultivated crops like corn,
potatoes, and orchard and truck crops ought to be cultivated frequently
to save the moisture, to keep the soil in fit condition, and to aid the
bacteria in the soil. It was a wise farmer who said, "One does not need
to grow crops many years in order to learn that nothing can take the
place of stirring the soil."
METHODS OF IRRIGATING CROPS
_Tree fruits._ Water is conducted through very narrow furrows from three
to five feet apart, and allowed to sink about four feet deep, and to
spread under the ground. Then the supply is cut off. The object is to
wet the soil deeply, and then by tillage to hold the moisture in the
soil.
_Small fruits._ The common practice is to run water on each side of the
row 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 to
cultivate the ground as early as it can be worked after it has been
irrigated.
_Meadows and alfalfa._ Flooding is the most common method in use. The
first irrigation comes early in the spring before growth has advanced
much, 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 girl
ought 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 citizenship
on 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 the
country could begin their training in good citizenship by becoming
workers 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 become
active workers for these things and continue their work through life,
then, in less than half a century, life in the country would be an
unending delight.
One of the problems of our day is how to keep bright, thoughtful,
sociable, ambitious boys and girls contented on the farm. Every step
taken to make the country home more attractive, to make the school and
its grounds more enjoyable, to make the way easy to the homes of
neighbors, to school, to post-office, and to church, is a step taken
toward keeping on the farm the very boys and girls who are most apt to
succeed 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 who
wishes can have an attractive house. Not every woman who is to spend a
lifetime at the head of a rural home can have a luxuriously furnished
home, but any woman who is willing to take a little trouble can have a
cozy, tastefully furnished home--a home fitted with the conveniences
that 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 means
of circulating book clubs, and by a little self-denial, earnest parents
can 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 of
farm 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 of
the family; books that rest tired bodies and open and strengthen growing
minds--all of these are so cheap that the money reserved from the sale
of 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, an
unsightly, ill-furnished, ill-lighted, and ill-ventilated school-house
can at small cost be changed into one of comfort and beauty. In many
places pupils have persuaded their parents to form clubs to beautify the
school grounds. Each father sends a man or a man with a plow once or
twice a year to work a day on the grounds. Stumps are removed, trees
trimmed, drains put in, grass sowed, flowers, shrubbery, vines, and
trees planted, and the grounds tastefully laid off. Thus at scarcely
noticeable money cost a rough and unsightly school ground gives place to
a charming school yard. Cannot the pupils in every school in which this
book is studied get their parents to form such a club, and make their
school 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 until
all the roads are improved. Winter-washed roads, penning young people
in their own homes for many months each year and destroying so many of
the innocent pleasures of youth, build towns and cities out of the wreck
of country homes. Can young people who love their country and their
country homes engage in a nobler crusade than a crusade for improved
highways?
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, churn
with spraying pump for at least ten minutes, until the mixture changes
to a creamy, then to a soft, butterlike, mass. This gives three gallons
of 66-per-cent oil emulsion, which may be diluted to the strength
desired. To get 15-per-cent oil emulsion add ten and one-half gallons of
water.
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 of
water. Slake the lime slowly so as to get a smooth, thick cream. Never
cover the lime with too much water. After thorough slaking add
twenty-five gallons of water. When the lime and the bluestone have
dissolved, pour the two liquids into a third vessel. Be sure that each
stream mixes with the other before either enters the vessel. Strain
through a coarse cloth.
Mix fresh for each time. Use for molds and fungi generally. Apply in
fine 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 when
bitter 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 deg. Baume) about 3 pt.
Water 50 gal.
Dissolve the copper carbonate in the smallest possible amount of
ammonia. This solution may be kept in stock and diluted to the proper
strength as needed.
Use this instead of the Bordeaux mixture after the fruit has reached
half or two thirds of the mature size. It leaves no spots as does the
lime-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 boiled
together for forty-five minutes in a kettle over a fire, or in a barrel
or other suitable tank by steam, strained, and then diluted to 50
gallons. This is the wash regularly used against the San Jose scale. It
may be substituted for Bordeaux mixture when spraying trees in the
dormant state. Commercial lime-sulphur may also be used in place of this
homemade wash. Use one gallon of the commercial lime-sulphur to nine
gallons of water in the dormant season.
SELF-BOILED LIME-SULPHUR WASH
The self-boiled lime-sulphur wash is a combination of lime and sulphur
boiled only by the heat of the slaking lime, and is used chiefly for
summer spraying on peaches, plums, cherries, etc. as a substitute for
the 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 to
start 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 up
the lumps, may then be added, and, finally, enough water to slake the
lime into a paste. Considerable stirring is necessary to prevent caking
on the bottom. After the violent boiling which accompanies the slaking
of the lime is over, the mixture should be diluted ready for use, or at
least enough cold water added to stop the cooking. From five to fifteen
minutes are required for the process. If the hot mass is permitted to
stand undiluted as a thick paste, a liquid is produced that is injurious
to peach foliage and, in some cases, to apple foliage.
The mixture should be strained through a sieve of twenty meshes to the
inch in order to remove the coarse particles of lime, but all the
sulphur should be worked through the strainer.
GLOSSARY
To enable young readers to understand the technical words necessarily
used 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 lemon
juice 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 plant
food. It is one of the products of decay.
=Annual=: a plant that bears seed during the first year of its existence
and then dies.
=Anther=: the part of a stamen that bears the pollen.
=Atmospheric nitrogen=: nitrogen in the air. Great quantities of this
valuable plant food are in the air; but, strange to say, most plants
cannot use it directly from the air, but must take it in other forms, as
nitrates, etc. The legumes are an exception, as they can use atmospheric
nitrogen.
=Available plant food=: food in such condition that plants can use it.
=Bacteria=: a name applied to a number of kinds of very small living
beings, some beneficial, some harmful, some disease-producing. They
average about one twenty-thousandth of an inch in length.
=Balanced ration=: a ration made up of the proper amounts of
carbohydrates, fats, and protein, as explained in text. Such a ration
avoids all waste of food.
=Biennial=: a plant that produces seed during the second year of its
existence and then dies.
=Blight=: a diseased condition in plants in which the whole or a part of
a 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 destroy
disease-producing fungi.
=Bud= (noun): an undeveloped branch.
=Bud= (verb): to insert a bud from the scion upon the stock to insure
better fruit.
=Bud variation=: occasionally one bud on a plant will produce a branch
differing in some ways from the rest of the branches; this is bud
variation. 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 a
horse.
=Carbohydrates=: carbohydrates are foods free from nitrogen. They make
up the largest part of all vegetables. Examples are sugar, starch, and
cellulose.
=Carbolic acid=: a chemical often used to kill or prevent the growth of
germs, 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 is
produced by breathing, and whenever carbon is burned. It is the source
of the carbon in plants.
=Cereal=: the name given to grasses that are raised for the food
contained 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 closely
packed.
=Concentrated=: when applied to food the word means that it contains
much feeding value in small bulk.
=Contagious=: a disease is said to be contagious when it can be spread
or 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 from
a flower on some other plant.
=Croup=: the top of the hips.
=Culture=: the art of preparing ground for seed and raising crops by
tillage.
=Curb disease=: a swelling on the back part of the hind leg of a horse
just behind the lowest part of the hock joint. It generally causes
lameness.
=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 body
to be used by the blood.
=Dormant=: a word used to describe sleeping or resting bodies,--bodies
not in a state of activity.
=Drainage=: the process by which an excess of water is removed from the
land 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 from
a solid or liquid state into vapor, usually by heat.
=Exhaustion=: the state in which strength, power, and force have been
lost. When applied to land, the word means that land has lost its power
to produce well.
=Fermentation=: a chemical change produced by bacteria, yeast, etc. A
common example of fermentation is the change of cider into vinegar.
=Fertility=: the state of being fruitful. Land is said to be fertile
when it produces well.
=Fertilization=: the act which follows pollination and enables a flower
to produce seed.
=Fetlock=: the long-haired cushion on the back side of a horse's leg
just above the hoof.
=Fiber=: any fine, slender thread or threadlike substance, as the
rootlets of plants or the lint of cotton.
=Filter=: to purify a liquid, as water, by causing it to pass through
some substance, as paper, cloth, screens, etc.
=Formalin=: a forty per cent solution of a chemical known as
formaldehyde. 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 green
color. Molds and toadstools are examples.
=Germ=: that from which anything springs. The term is often applied to
any very small organism or living thing, particularly if it causes great
effects 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 of
constant 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 that
it 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 close
quarters.
=Hock=: the joint in the hind leg of quadrupeds between the leg and the
shank. 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 or
vegetable matter.
=Hybrid=: the result of breeding two different kinds of plants together.
=Hydrogen=: a chemical element. It is present in water and in all living
things.
=Individual=: a single person, plant, animal, or thing of any kind.
=Inoculate=: to give a disease by inserting the germ that causes it in a
healthy 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 =larvae=): the young or immature form of an insect.
=Larval=: belonging to larva.
=Layer=: to propagate plants by a method similar to cutting, but
differing from cutting in that the young plant takes root before it is
separated 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 enlarge
the 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 roots
of plants to protect them from heat, drought, etc., and to preserve
moisture.
=Nectar=: a sweetish substance in blossoms of flowers from which bees
make honey.
=Nitrate=: a readily usable form of nitrogen. The most common nitrate is
saltpeter.
=Nitrogen=: a chemical element, one of the most important and most
expensive plant foods. It exists in fertilizers, in ammonia, in
nitrates, 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 or
animals.
=Ovary=: the particular part of the pistil that bears the immature
seed.
=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 rock
phosphates.
=Pistil=: the part of the blossom that contains the immature seeds.
=Pollen=: the powdery substance borne by the stamen of the flower. It is
necessary to seed production.
=Pollination=: the act of carrying pollen from stamens to pistils. It is
usually done by the wind or by insects.
=Porosity=: the state of having small openings or passages between the
particles of matter.
=Potash=: an important part of plant foods. The chief source of potash
is kainit, muriate of potash, sulphate of potash, wood ashes, and
cotton-hull ashes.
=Propagate=: to cause plants or animals to increase in number.
=Protein=: the name of a group of substances containing nitrogen. It is
one of the most important of feeding stuffs.
=Pruning=: trimming or cutting parts that are not needed or that are
injurious.
=Pulverize=: to reduce to a dustlike state.
=Pupa=: an insect in the stage of its life that comes just before the
adult condition.
=Purity= (of seed): seeds are pure when they contain only one kind of
seed 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 off
attacks of the disease; for example, some varieties of the grape are
resistant to the phylloxera.
=Rotation= (of crops): a well-arranged succession of different crops on
the same land.
=Scion=: a shoot, sprout, or branch taken to graft or bud upon another
plant.
=Seed bed=: the layer of earth in which seeds are sown.
=Seed selection=: the careful selection of seed from particular plants
with 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 as
to exclude air and moisture.
=Sire=: father.
=Smut=: a disease of plants, particularly of cereals, which causes the
plant 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. It
serves 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 of
a 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 or
budding the scion is inserted upon the stock.
=Stover=: as used in this book the word means the dry stalks of corn
from 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 the
earth to a considerable depth without dividing.
=Terrace=: a ridge of earth run on a level around a slope or hillside to
keep the land from washing.
=Thorax=: the middle part of the body of an insect. The thorax lies
between the abdomen and the head.
=Thermometer=: an instrument for measuring heat.
=Tillage=: the act of preparing land for seed, and keeping the ground in
a proper state for the growth of crops.
=Transplant=: a plant grown in a bed with a view to being removed to
other 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, AEsop,
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 good
vitality 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 in
the wheat field would be regarded as a weed, as would any plant growing
in a place in which it is not wanted.
=Wilt= (of cotton): a disease of cotton in which the whole plant droops
or wilts.
=Withers=: the ridge between the shoulder bones of a horse, at the base
of the neck.
=Yeast=: a preparation containing the yeast plant used to make bread
rise, 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