i859. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



439 



14. It keeps off the effects of cold weather long- 

 er in the fall. 



16. It prevents the formation of acetic [that is, 

 sour, — vinegar contains one or two ounces 

 in a pound of acetic acid. — Ed.] and other 

 acids, which induce the growth of sorrel 

 and similar weeds. 



16. It hastens the decay of vegetable matter, 



and the finer comminution of the earthy 

 parts of the soil. 



17. It prevents in a great measure, the evapora- 



tion of water, and the consequent ab- 

 straction of heat from the soil. 



18. It admits fresh quantities of water from 



rains, &c., which are always more or less 

 imbued with the fertilizing gases of the 

 atmosphere, to be deposited among the 

 absorbent parts of soil, and given up 

 to the necessities of plants. 



19. It prevents the formation of so hard a crust 



on the surface of the soil as is customary 

 on heavy lands. 



We will add another item to make out the 

 score, and one of no less consequence than the 

 most important he has named. 



20. It prevents, in a great measure, grass and 



winter grains from being winter-killed. 



In May last, upon an examination of their 

 fields, farmers were astonished at the amount of 

 their lands which they found bare, in consequence 

 of the winter-killing of grass and grain. We are 

 compelled to confess in fairness, that this de- 

 struction was caused by the coating of ice which 

 covered the surface during most of the winter 

 and a portion of March and April. But the 

 question arises, "If the land had been thorough- 

 ly under-drained, would the ice have remained 

 upon it so long, and clung to it, like the shirt of 

 Nessus, until the breath of life was gone ?" We 

 think not — and look upon this as one of the 

 chief merits of underdraining. But our story is 

 getting long, for a single topic, and we must 

 leave it to say a word upon the subject of 



TOP-DRESSING GRASS LANDS. 



The annual top-dressing of grass lands, or 

 even doing it once in two years, will save a 

 heavy item of cost in the matter of plowing and 

 re-seeding. Quite moist lands may be kept in 

 grass, yielding a ton or a ton and a half per acre, 

 for fifty years in succession, if they are frequent- 

 ly top-dressed, and seed sometim.es scattered 

 with It, or if the grass is allowed to go to seed 

 occasionally before it is cut. 



It is an excellent time to apply composted 

 manure as a top-dressing immediately after the 

 hay is carried from the field, as the young grass 

 will grow up and cover it in a few days. It then 



supplies the roots with new food, and gives them 

 a vigorous setting for another crop. 



If this work is not already done, it should be, 

 before the grass ceases to grow, so that the au- 

 tumnal rains shall moisten the manure and car- 

 ry its fertilizing properties among the roots. 



There are some other items which we should 

 be glad to present, but our space for to-day is 

 exhausted. 



For the New England Farmer. 

 FAHM "WOKK FOR AUGUST. 



With most farmers, August is a month of com- 

 parative leisure, and often a portion of the help 

 employed during the three months previous is 

 dispensed with, as soon as haying and harvesting 

 are done, as a matter of economy, at least for 

 this month. But let Patrick and John remain; 

 there is work enough that should be done on 

 every ordinary farm to fill up profitably the time 

 of this month. True, the demand for the hoe is 

 not imperative now, among the growing crops, 

 and if it was used with good effect at the proper 

 time, perhaps its use now, to any great extent, 

 is not advisable, unless the weeds have been re- 

 markably obstinate. But in the fields and pas- 

 tures, and meadows, and perhaps by t'ne road- 

 sides, there is a demand for labor that can better 

 be done in this month than in any other, and 

 with better effect. 



Nothing looks more slovenly upon a farm than 

 clumps of bushes growing here and there in the 

 improved fields, or corners of fences ; mulleins 

 and yellow weeds by the side of the walls and 

 edges of mowing lots, and hedges encroaching 

 upon the adjoining fields, and the road-sides 

 growing up to birches, alders, or other brush- 

 wood. Every day's work with a bush-scylhe and 

 axe in the highway adjoining your premises, 

 where it is needed, will tell to the passer-by, 

 more to your thrift than the publication in the 

 newspapers of a premium for a fat hog, or nice 

 steer. 



I do not wish to deprive you of your accustom- 

 ed respite in this month, but with an axe and 

 bog-hoe upon your shoulder, lead the way, and 

 at least tell what must be done, and see that it is 

 done. Grub up the birches and alders a'.;rl shrub- 

 oaks ; hitch the cattle to that bunch of willows 

 that have taken root and shelter almost under 

 the wall, and see if there isn't music in the snap- 

 ping of the roots, when old Broad and Bright 

 straighten the chain ! Have the wall re-built 

 where the frost threw it down last winter, if you 

 have not alr^^ady done it; and you, Farmer 

 Loose-ends, will do well to clear the stone heaps 

 from that mowing lot that the grass has been 

 growing over these three seasons, and — Eh? 

 "Haven't got time ?" 'Twas only last week that, 

 three times, smack went the point of your scythe 

 into them, in one forenoon, and how you sweated 

 after it because you hadn't got time — to t^top and 

 grind up ! Last year, the boys might have got 

 them off while they were hunting pigeons and 

 woodcock, or fishing for trout and dace, with 

 your assistance. 



And the weeds and briers in the highway, or 

 the by-roads over the farm, and along the fences, 



