than the old plan of sunimcr-fallowing-. We get oa aa average 10 bu. ^^ ., . '^ ' 

 ibs. oi dressed flax per acre. The seed sells here for $1.25 n,"- ^ ' " '^*^ ^^'^ '^ '^^^''^ 

 ets. per lb. So that a crop yields us $40.50 dpi- "- ■" ^^iessed fkx. I do not think it 

 prepared, we get 16 bu. npr o-^~^ » uariey or an oat crop." 

 iHipoveri-<J>^- 



SPRING AND SUMMER WORK. 



The intelligent farmer will have all his plans of culture for the succeeding year formed 

 in his mind the autumn beforehand. During the winter he will reflect upon them, and 

 use every means to increase his knowledge ; so that he may perform all his operations 

 with facility and economy. He will also make and repair many of his implements, and 

 get everything ready for spring ; so that when it comes he can avail himself of the first 

 opportunity to commence operations. The sh irtness of our working season renders this 

 forecast doubly necessary and advantageous. 



Barley is a crop which has paid very well for the last few years, and the demand is 

 increasing ; so that we may expect good prices for the future. Light, dry, sandy loam, 

 is best adapted for this crop. If the soil is rich, it may be sown after wheat ; the earlier 

 the better, providing the soil is dry enough to work well. Two bushels of seed to the 

 aci^ is usually sown, though we think two and a half, and in some instances, three 

 bushels, is none too much. The land should always be iX)Ued after it is sown. If not 

 in good condition before, it will do to roll when the barley is an inch or two out of the 

 ground. To insure a good crop, it should always be sown the first or second week in April. 



Oats should be sown as soon after the barley as possible. They will grow on almost 

 any kind of soil, from a stiff clay to a black muck. The heavy land, however, yields the 

 heaviest weight per bushel. Two to three bushels of seed are generally sown per acra. 

 Sixty bushels }5er acre is a good crop, and is not often though sometimes obtained- 

 There is an opinion, in some districts, that oats are an exhausting crop, and that wheat 

 does not do Avell after them. We are inclined to think this view erroneous. They 

 should be cradled and tied up, as they are apt to shed much if loose. One and a half 

 bushels of oats, half a bushel of barley, and a peck of gi-ay peas, are often sown together 

 per acre in England. The produce is very large, and when ground, forms an excellent 

 food for horses in the spring, 



Indian Corn is, of all the cereals, best a^lapted to this climate ; and on the rich lands 

 of the great west, is raised in large quantities with little labor, excepting planting and 

 harvesting. In New York and the eastern States, however, it is absolutely necessary to 

 have the soil well and deeply pulverized, and in many instances well manured, and also 

 hand-hoed twice or thrice, to insure a large crop. In this district it is usually planted 

 about the middle of May. It should be marked each way, three feet apart, as it is then 

 planted straighter and is much more easily horse-hoed, plowed, &c. It delights in a 

 light, gravelly loam, and does best on an old meadow or clover ley plowed the previous, 

 fall. Barn manure is always gratefully received and handsomely remunerated. Four 

 to six grains are planted in a hill. When the corn is up about an inch it should be 

 dressed with plaster — a good handful to a hill. Its good eftect is speedily visible. 

 Wood ashes applied in the same way is often attended with good profit. 



Potatoes, till within the last few years, were considered one of the safest crops — never 

 being attacked by insects or injured by disease ; but the " potato disease," which has 

 extended to all countries, defies conjecture to account for it, and science to provide a 

 remedy. A well drained, light, black soil, if well manured, is best calculated to produce 

 a heavy crop. But a dry, hght, sandy soil, now yields the soundest and most palatable 





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