THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



77 



CALENDAR OF AGRICULTURE. 



Turnips sown this month are less liable to the 

 fly than those sown last month, and are not so 

 much mildewed. Horse and hand-hoe potatoes, 

 beet, and the earliest sown Swedish turnips, and 

 repeat the ])rocesses, that no weeds appear : plough 

 the intervals the first time with a heavy scufller, as 

 Morton's expanding drill hoe ; a lighter tool may 

 afterwards be used. The young plants derive much 

 benefit by stirring the intervals of the drills with a 

 scuffler, and most in dry weather; it causes evapo- 

 ration of moisture, which is imbibed by the plants. 



Plough, harrow, and roll clay land fallows for 

 wheat, pick off by hand all weeds and stones from 

 the ground, and get ready the dung and lime that 

 are to be apphed. 



Proceed with draining both on grass lands and 

 on fallows; the last not to stop the operations of 

 working the land. Draining is very neatly and 

 conveniently done on grass lands; the surface is 

 clean from filth, and the turf is easily got to cover 

 the tiles or stones in the drains ; but the course of 

 drains is best marked in winter during wet weather. 



Wean the latest lambs, and give them the best 

 encouragement. Put mares to the stallion regu- 

 larly. Attend that the pasture fields have a supply 

 of water, and that no gaps are continued in the 

 fences. 



Sprinkle over the sheep the contents of the 

 dredging box, to prevent the fly depositing the 



eggs ; dress clean the posterior parts of the animals 

 from the adhesion of any excrements. 



The hay season will be ended this month : make 

 dry and carry the grass quickl)', build into long 

 ricks, lay it lightly together, and allow it to settle 

 by its own weight; it is a mistake to tread it firmly 

 together. Pull nothing from the ricks till well set- 

 tled ; then dress into any form, and thatch without 

 delay. To get the hay up to a high rick, use a 

 scaifold raised on four upright posts, resting below 

 on a four-wheeled platform, and elevate or depress 

 the scaffold by means of pulleys to any position 

 that may be required ; lay some loose straw on the 

 extreme top of the rick till it be thatched. When 

 hay is damaged by rains, mix with salt, as directed 

 last month. During nights, spread over the rick 

 a tarpaulin cloth, which will defend the hay ; 

 remove it in the early morning, to let the 

 sweating of the grass escape. To defend the 

 rick from day showers, suspend over it a light 

 cloth, by means of a rope passing the length of the 

 rick, and attached at each end by an upright pole. 



Harvest will begin this month in early localities ; 

 early peas, barley, and rye will be the first cut ; tie 

 the barley and rye into sheaves, and place in shocks 

 of twelve sheaves each ; lay the peas in small heaps, 

 and turn them over frequently ; carry the grain 

 quickly when dry; have rick stands ready, and 

 barns cleaned out. 



AVAILABLE SUBSTITUTES FORGUANO. 



Sir, — In reading your number for this month 

 (June), in the article headed " Guano : its com- 

 position, and the available substitutes," I find an 

 allusion made to the use of poultry and pigs' dung 

 mixed with ashes as a substitute for guano. As I 

 have /or some years made what I call home-made 

 guano for my own use, it may perhaps be useful to 

 some of your readers to know my simple and eco- 

 nomical plan of manufacturing this useful manure. 



Between the months of May and harvest I set 

 some men to burn the borders of the ditches round 

 my fields of heavy clay land ; some of these ashes 

 I cart home into my rick-yard ; the floor of the 

 henroost is coated over 6 in. deep with ashes, and 

 when the place becomes dirty from the fowls' dung, 

 another coating of ashes is laid upon it, and so on, 

 as required. 



The sties that I feed my pigs in have 

 their brick floors sunk as low as the foundation of 

 the building, and below the level of the farm-yai'd. 



Before I put any pigs up to feed, I spread ashes on 

 the floor about 6 in. thick ; upon that I place cut 

 straw chaff about 4 in. thick, which makes a bed 

 for the pigs. When this becomes dirty, I repeat 

 the dose of ashes and chafi:' until the pigs are raised 

 nearly 6 ft. above the floor. By this time the 

 "guano" underneath them begins to heat, when I 

 remove it^ and place it under a covered shed to fer- 

 ment ; on wet days it is turned over, and the com- 

 post from the henroost mixed with it. I also have 

 a tank to catch the liquid manure from the cattle 

 sheds, some of which I sprinkle over the heap. 

 Before turnip sowing, I have the whole screened 

 over, with which I mix superphosphate in the pro- 

 portion of 2 cwt. to twenty-five bushels of compost, 

 which I consider suflScient to drill in with one acre 

 of turnips : by this means I generally obtain good 

 turnips, without the cost of Peruvian guano. 



A Cold Land Farmer. 



