756 HOW TO MAKE THE FARM PAY. 



JUNE WORK 



Weeds. Now is the time to fight the weeds. Every weed takes 



up room that should be oc^eupied by something else. Every weed 

 draws sustenance that belongs to the growing crops. I'ake ad- 

 vantao-e of all dry, hot days, keep the horse among the hoed 

 crops," thoroughly stirring the soil, to kill weeds. With good 

 horse implements, hoeing Iw hand may be nearly dispensed with 

 after a stand is established. Before this, hoeing must be done so 

 as to nip the weeds in the seed-leaf, if possible. Soon after corn 

 beo-ins to grow well, the hand hoe must be entirely dispensed wfth, 

 for weeds between the rows will be taken care of with tlie cultiva- 

 tors and horse hoes ; and most of those in the rows will bo killed 

 by the earth thrown upon them. The few which escape should be 

 pulled by hand when the corn is about a foot high. 



Keep the potatoes clear of weeds ; it will make a vast difference 

 in the crops. Thorough work in June will tell all the rest of the 

 season, and for years to come. 



Hoeing and weeding may aff'ord constant employment to men 

 and teams during most of the month, when the ground is dry. 

 Stirring Avet soil is not only a detriment, but loss of time. Till 

 deep before the roots of the plants occupy the soil, but more .shal-" 

 low afterwards. Toward the close of the hoeing season, the etfect 

 of running a subsoil i)low deeply between the rows of corn, or 

 between alternate rows of root crops, is very beneficial. 



AnotJier word on Boots. — Sow beets, mangels, and carrots early, 

 and ruta-bagas late in the month. Plow, crossplow, and harrow 

 at intervals before sowing ; it does the weeding in advance. A 

 field thus worked l)efore sowing will not only grow more and bet- 

 ter roots, but with one-third the labor of weeding. Cariots can 

 be raised by almost any farmer for six cents a bushel after he 

 learns the most economical ways of doing it. We judge carrots 

 to be, all things considered, the best of all the root crops for tlie 

 ■soil and for feeding. 



" Catch Grops.^^ — When failures occur in the hills of corn, rows 

 of potatoes, or elsewhere, put in pumpkins, if the ground is rich 

 with fnanure, or field beans, if it is only in fair condition. There 

 will be spots, also, here and there, which should be filled with 

 something rather than left to weeds. Kuta-bagas, carrots, white 

 turnips, white beans, and peas oflfer a choice of good things. 



Haying. — Nothing seems more necessar}'' to the farmer at this 

 season, than to secure his hay crop well, and it is best to begin 

 early : 1st. because clover and some grass is usually fittest to cut. 

 Grass cut rather green makes sweet, palatable hay, and a good 

 aftermath. Cut a little after the best time, the hay is tough, 

 vfiry, and neither so palatable nor nutritious, while the meadows 

 remain bare and brown until the fall rains. 



