No. 63.] 113 



frequently great failures and complaints in regard to the germination 

 of beet, carrot, and onion seeds, which may be prevented by soaking in 

 water and garden mold, of a proper temperature, until the germination 

 has commenced, and then sowing or planting them in the usual man- 

 ner. One thing, however, must be remembered, and that is, if seeds 

 once brought to this condition, are afterwards thoroughly dried, 

 whether in the ground or otherwise, a failure must be expected, A 

 spoonful of common salt strewed around a hill of corn, a few inches 

 distance from the plants, will protect it from the cut worm, as it also 

 will cabbages and other garden plants attacked by them. The tur- 

 nep fly is the most formidable enemy the root grower has to encoun- 

 ter; but all trouble from this source is avoided, if the seed previous 

 to sowing is fully steeped in train or blubber oil. These are only a 

 few of the instances in which much benefit is gained by attention to 

 the seed; to the experienced cultivator, many other instances wall 

 readily suggest themselves. In the after culture of crops, much, in- 

 deed it may be said every thing, is depending on their being kept 

 clean or free from weeds. Every thing growing, not belonging to 

 the crop under cultivation at the time, however valuable it may be in 

 another place or at another time, is a weed, and must be treated as 

 such. Where cultivated crops are grown for a particular use, a mix- 

 ture of seeds is sometimes admissible; as when peas and oats are 

 sown for fodder; but where perfection in a plant is expected, there 

 should be nothing to lessen its hold on the soil, or detract fiom its 

 nourishment. The value of any grain is much enhanced by its being 

 free from admixture with any other; and the man who allows what 

 are commonly called weeds, to grow in his corn, root or grain fields, 

 cannot be said to have practiced the first and simplest elements of 

 agricultural success. 



One of the most vital, yet most common examples of mismanage- 

 ment on the part of farmers, is to be found in their selections of stock 

 Choice of ^°'' ^^^'^^^ purposes and for rearing. If there is one truth 

 Stock. jjjQj.g self-evident than another, it is that the best breeds 

 and the best animals always pay best on the farm, and that the at- 

 tention of the farmer should be directed to such in stocking his farm. 

 The ditference, in coming to maturity, in weight, in ease of fattening, 

 and in other respects, is so much in favor of the improved breeds, 

 that the farmer may be said to exhibit a culpable neglect who does 



(Senate No. 63.J P 



