6,2                TTHE WISCONSIN FARMER.

obviate the necessity of the knife now, but the ed. The scions should be
secured now, if not
summer is a busy season with farmers, and already done. The grafting may
be performed
such attention is often quite impracticable.  during April.
  In pruning, cut close, just outside the shoul- I  Old Orchards that have
been turned out to
der or swell, at the hase of the shoot or limb, yras.' for years, and which
from this or other
being careful to avoid injiuring the surrounding cause have ceased to grow,
producing only
bark: use sharp tools and pare smooth. C'ov- small, poor and scabby fruit,
will be greatly
er every wound over half an inch in diameter improved by the general treatment
advised for
with grafting wax, paint or like preparation. the young orchard.   A. G.
HANFORD.
An excellent one for this purpose is shellac CoLeVErs, Feb., 1863.



dissolved in alcohol. Common rosin will an-
swer nearly a> well, and is cheaper.
  (2 anLiqJ th. alfrk-A little later in the sea-
son, or early in April, choosing a cloudy, rainy
day, go into the orchard with a stiff broom, a
pail (o Fott moap diluted with an eqital portion
of soft water, and give the trees .. thorough
scrubbing froll the ground up as high as you
can reach; it will cleanse the bark of tungous
growth, insects and dluri, give it a lively, pleas-
ing appearance and ..tttrulate growth.  Ley of
medium strength, the last run of the leach-tub,
or sal soda I IX. to I tbl. of water are exce-
len:. It will be well to, repeat this application
early in J1ute
  ('C'tvaveaa.- We arc most decidedlv in favor
of thoroughly cultivating the orchard. even in
the severe and soimewhai peculiar climate of
Wisconsin.  After the first two or three years
avoid dcry plowing : keep the surface mellow
by frequent use of tHe cultivator during the
early part ot the growing season, and cease
entirely by mid sunnier. that the growth may
ripen up measotuably   While the trees are
young, soirte hoed crop will pay for manure
anl culture. When they reach a bearing age,
they will need the entire soil, the increase in
both quantity and  iuality of' fruit will then
abundantly pay for the culture.
  Diseased 7irees.-Promptly remove from the
young orchard all diseased or decaying trees,
and replace with healthy, thrifty ones. Better
do this than put up with the good-for-nothing-
ness of their lingering life, which in a few
years fails entirely. Fill all vacancies at once.
  Poor kroui.-Common seedling trees, and
others producing inferior fruit should be graft-
ed as soon as their poor character is discover-



   Grapes, Their Culture, and Other Things.
   Every successive year brings to light some
new development, either in varieties or culture.
Not long since the Clinton and its class was
thought good enough for any epicure; and the
Isabella and Catawba were for the few, not the
masses, and none thought of improvements.
But how changed!   Hybridizing, crossings,
anl raising seedlings is pre-eminently the rule;
and though we may be treading on the verge of
a -grape mania," good is surely to come from
the labors of those few who are riding their
hobby grape horse so severely these trying
times.
  Now there are many varieties that have made
a long stride beyond the sorts named above,
and no atnateur list is complete without some
of them.  Says an esteemed correspondent;
-We have attended all the County Fairs of
northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin.
Grapes have been largely shown and comment-
ed on. The four leading sorts for another sea-
son's planting will be the Delaware, Concord,
and Hartford Prolific, named in order." These
sorts lave more than equalled the expectations
of their friends the past season, wherever rip-
ened in the State. Whether the Delaware will
become a favorite in all soils is yet unoertain,
but it appears to be a settled fact of its popu-
larity in limestone situations; and wherever
known is thought to be the best native grape
in America, which is saying considerable for
any one sort. It can scarcely help being a fa-
vorite in the northwest, with the hardiness of
the Isabella, ripening as it does some three
weeks earlier than that sort in similar loca-
tions.