This section is from "The Horticulturist, And Journal Of Rural Art And Rural Taste", by P. Barry, A. J. Downing, J. Jay Smith, Peter B. Mead, F. W. Woodward, Henry T. Williams. Also available from Amazon: Horticulturist and Journal of Rural Art and Rural Taste.
Of all my experiments to preserve flower sticks against rot, the following is the only mode that has proved fully successful:
Heat ordinary coal tar to the boiling point; pour into a tub or barrel to a depth sufficient that the stakes may be covered four to six inches above the point of contact with the ground; put the lower ends of the stakes into the tar and allow them to remain at least one hour, then take them out; and after allowing the surplus nar to drain off, roll them in dry sharp sand until the tarred portion is completely covered; afterward allow them to dry thoroughly. Dip the stakes a second time in cold tar over the sanded portion, and let them get thoroughly dry again, and they are fit for use.
I treated a lot of stakes of different sizes in this manner over nine years ago: many of them have since been painted at two different periods with substantial paint, and now need repainting; still, the lower portion is as sound as ever, and will, no doubt, last for some years, although the sand has mostly disappeared.
W. F. Heins, Paterson, N. J.
Lime, Bone-dust, etc., are better to be applied to the orchard or the vineyard in autumn than spring. Let the application be made just before plowing up to the plants in the fall, when it will all be absorbed in the soil during winter, and be ready for the use of the trees and vines in spring. Dwarf pear orchards and vineyards may receive from twenty to fifty bushels of lime to the acre, and one ton of bone-dust, with, say, two bushels of plaster, and the result will be most satisfactory to the owner.
 
Continue to: