m 



m& fMmAL Amtiit^itiit. uma i, tm- 



^aa^i!^"^ 



and the dairy; milk them at uniform and unchange- 

 able intervals, say five in the morning and six in 

 the evening; let the operation of milking be per- 

 formed as gently and silently as possible; and to 

 remember that passion and threats will not win the 

 confidence of cows, nor will a blow in their Hank 

 be the means for dispelling their fear. 



The only grain which succeeds in all soils is oats, 

 due to the great development of its roots and leaves, 

 that is, its organs of development. For sprmg oats, 

 as well as for barley and maize, the most economic 

 and efficacious sources of azote, phosphoric acid and 

 potash are nitrate of soda, the salts of Strassfurt ; 

 and the dephosphoration-clinkers and phosphate of 

 lime nodules reduced to powder. The collective 

 dose to apply depends on the richness of the soil 

 and the wants of the plant to be cultivated ; the 

 expenditure should, under the head of fertilizers for 

 top-dressing spring cereals, be about fr. 40 per acre. 

 For barley, the Chevalier is the pet variety ; for 

 oats, the Canadian or the Hallet Tartary. The 

 practice of farmers, residing in different and distant 

 districts, exchanging grains for sowing, cannot be 

 too highly encouraged. The vigour of a plant at 

 its first stage? depends uniquely on the reserve of 

 aliment contained in the grain. This magazined 

 food is destined to furnish the plant with all its 

 nutrition, till the moment where the development 

 of its roots and stem permits it to rely on the air 

 and soil. Hence, the importance of seed being dense, 

 plump, flat and heavy, and the utility of sifting out 

 of cereals intended for sowing all seeds either light, 

 small or shrivelled. In the case of oats 75 per cent 

 of the grains germinate, for barley 88, and maize 

 70. To germinate, oats must swell to the extent of 

 60 to 70 per cent of their weight of water, and 

 which is absorbed in soils of ordinary humidity in 

 twelve or twenty-four hours. When the soil has a 

 temperature of 65 or 66 degrees, germination will 

 take place in the course of two days, but not till 

 eight days if the temperature be as low as 39 degrees. 

 Above 86 degrees the grain will not germinate at 

 all. On an average the germination is effected within 

 six to seven days. 



These conditions are modified by the depth to 

 which the seed is buried ; in compact clays one 

 inch of covering will suffice ; for soils of average 

 consistency '2h inches in depth, while in light sandy 

 land a covering of 3 to .3A inches will be required. 

 The growth of the plant commences by the deve- 

 lopment of three rootlets ; next, by the first leaf. 

 With a soil of 65 degrees temperature, the daily 

 increase of the stem is less than half an inch. Oats 

 require a larger sujn of heat to mature than barley, 

 and the average period of maturation may vary from 

 131 days as in P^ngland to 100 round Paris, and 

 only 88 at Kcenigsberg in Prussia. Oata should be 

 sown in 6 inch rows. Barley possesses the faculty 

 to germinate at a soil-temperature of i)7 degrees, 

 while oats can only sustain that of 85 ; this ex- 

 plains yy'hy in warm latitudes barley replaces oats 

 jn the alimentation of stock. Barley will germinate 

 ftfter absorbing 55 per cent of ita weight of water. 

 Around Fans it ripens in 96 days, while in lEngland 

 it takes 137, Mai^ie exacts only 41 to 50 per cent 

 of water to germinate; from its appearance above 

 ground, till coming into flower, 45 to 10.'^ days are 

 ♦required ; 15 to IS more for fecundation, and .lO to 

 m days to mature- In i'rance, the total mean time 

 from the sowing of msA^e to it? reaping i04 to 

 iSO days, nnd even more are aeceasary, 



Hince ten years a professional agricultural school 

 haa been established at Harouc, in Lorrain, by 

 Monsieur I'abbi" Harmand for orphan girls, and which 

 is conducted by the Sisters of Charity. The area 

 of land attached to the institution is 35 acres ; it is 

 worked alnioet eHclusively by the pupils and their 

 mistreeses. Practical everyday instruction is not only 

 given in household management and the elements of 

 ordinary education, but in kitchen gardening, dori^ 

 culture, small farming ; the culture of fruit trees, 

 vines, hops, tobacco, A'c; dairy management, poultry, 

 and the rearing of cattle. The school ia a success, 

 and the girls are eagerly sought as servants and 



\\m&, WquIsI it not Jbe t>m§ (o make i^xm&ts' 



daughters at least as welMnformed as their helps? 



In Belgium, farmers are compelled by law to keep 

 down weeds on their holdings, so as not to allow 

 propagation by the wind carrying away the seeds. 

 The farmers have petitioned that the State should 

 take the beam out of its own eye, by ordering that 

 all the vacant land it owns be kept clear of weeds, 

 and that the roadsides especially be maintained as 

 a model in the way of freedom from weed propa- 

 gation. 



The truth is now making way that meadow lands 

 require their fertility to be as much studied as 

 tilled soils. Indeed, when the grasses commence to 

 get thin and dwarfish, when irrigation too fails, 

 something is wrong with the soil. It wants potash 

 and nitrogen, or, it may in addition be sour. If 

 the latter, commence by drainage and fresh limiugs ; 

 next apply fertilizers, such as potash or bone dust 

 singly, or in the proportion of two of kanite and 

 one of bone powder. This dosing will not only aug- 

 ment the yield, but the quality of the grass. There 

 was a time when potash alone was relied on as a 

 sufficient top-dressing for pastures ; it was concluded, 

 meadows contained a sufficiency of the othr-r elements 

 of plant nutrition. This belief has been of late 

 shaken by the failure of potash to act as a heal-all, 

 because when phosphates are added the efficacy of 

 potash becomes developed, proof that phosphoric 

 acid was wanting, and when co-operating witji an 

 alkali, the best action of both stimulants were obtained. 



Tobacco culture is making rapid strides. The 

 secret of success perhaps lies in the preparation of 

 good compost or mould-manure to form the nursery 

 beds. The compoct should be prepared twelvemonths 

 in advance, and blcod and urine vvill form excellent 

 ingredients. The site for the beds should be such 

 as to secure sunshine from nine in the morning till 

 four in the afternoon. Many enclose the beds with 

 bricks or boards, so as to keep the farm-yard 

 manure, which ought to be two feet thick, and the 

 compost well together to produce heat — it is in 

 March the seed is sown — for the young sprouting 

 plants against the chance rigors of spring. Over 

 the trampled-down manure the compost should be 

 placed, the first layer three inches, and also tram- 

 pled, iDut the next left loose. Mix the seed with 

 ashes and a little of the compost, sow broadcast, 

 rake in, cover with matting, and regulate air and 

 light, till the young plants are able to hold their 

 own. If watering be necessary, leave the water in 

 the pot exposed to the sun a day before being em- 

 ployed. 



In planting out, care must be taken to water 

 liberally, so that the rootlets can readily take up 

 sap when dibbled in the field. Water after dibbling. 

 Good black calcareous soil suits tobacco best. And 

 the soil must be kept rich by winter mauurings, 

 and not too often stirred, as this might induce ex- 

 cessive porosity, and hence dryness. The soil before 

 planting out cannot be rendered too friable by skim- 

 plough, harrow and roller. In soils not the best 

 for tobacco culture, such should be well dosed with 

 sulphates of potash and lime. Bad land produces 

 a tobacco without much flavour, and which burns 

 badly. Dibble the young plant in firmly "il by 16 

 inches in straight lines. 



If after some days any of the plants fade replace 

 theiii. Hoeing, earthing, stripping off the lower 

 leaves, and nipping the top shoot of the plant, so 

 aa to leave d to 10 leaves, is all that is necessary. 

 The tobacco raised on plains is more aromatic than 

 that grown in a garden, while that produced on eonie 

 southern slopes is superior to both. Tobacco sue 

 ceeda all crops in a rotation if the soil be rich. In 

 Alsace it follows best after maize and beet, Both 

 the large and narrow-leaved varieties of tobacco aro 

 cultivated. In France the revenue officers insist 

 upon the plants being spaced at fixed distances ac- 

 cording to defined regions- In the south 4,000 plants 

 per aero ia the government number, while in the 

 north it is 20,000. In Alsace 12,000 plants are limited 

 to an acre. 



The harvest generalljr takes place at the end of 

 August, and the plant is considered ripe, when oa 

 cutting tho stem a reddicb circle appears, M\t9i 



