1869. 



NEW ENGLAND FARRIER. 



'147 



FARM MA.TTEBS IN OCTOBER. 



Each month in the year has its special, as 

 well as general duties. The special ones are 

 those which can more appropriately be per- 

 formed now than at any other time. October 

 will probably afford all farmers better oppor- 

 tunities for doing many things than will occur 

 during any other month of the year. It is 

 certain that many kinds of work cannot be 

 done while the graund is in a frozen condi- 

 tion. 



One of these duties is that of draining 

 lands which are unfit f r cultivation in conse- 

 quence of a surplus of standing water in and 

 upon them. 



The importance cf drainage is brtter ap- 

 preciated than it formerly was; mdeed, many 

 persons believe in it now, who never did be- 

 fore. Some progressive neighbor has placed 

 an example before them, whose e-xcellent re- 

 sults have won them over to the good work. 



Few operations on the farm are scarcely 

 less economical than attempting to cultivate 

 land that has standing water in it It is in a 

 great measure labor thrown away. The soil 

 is iiiactive, torpid as ir, were, so th.t it is 

 about as capable of producing crops as tht- 

 frog pond itself. Such lands will produce a 

 certain amount of grass of an ordinary qual- 

 ity, and if drainage upon them is inexpedient 

 in consequence of want of outlet, distance 

 from home, too rocky or otherwise expensive, 

 the best way is to let it produce what fodd- r 

 it will without bestowing much labor upon it, 

 or allow it to grow up to wood, if it will 

 Thorough drainage will pay a better interest 

 on the sum expended in doing it, than United 

 States bonds, or most other investments. 



Another October duty is wiih regard to 

 manure. We have of en ^tated as our o[)inion 

 that there is no mode of app'jing manure 

 to the soil, Wuich is to cheap, and at the 

 same time so efficacious, as to apply it in its 

 crudest condition and plough it under the 

 surfaie some two to four inches. This opin- 

 ion was formed from the most carefal practice 

 in the employment of manures in various 

 forms and ways. 



When ploughed under towards the close of 

 Octoder, it suffers no loss whatever. When- 

 ever the soil becomes sufficiently warm to in- 

 duce fermentation, the gases thrown off are 

 at once taken up and held by the soil— storing 



them in fact — for future use. This operation is 

 said also to have a mechanical effect upon the 

 soil, similar to that of yeast in a pan of dough, 

 raising it by separating the particles, and thus 

 making it lighter for the roots of plants to 

 travel in, and to admit warmth and air. 



If inconvenient to plough undt r, manure 

 may be taken to the field, placed in a com- 

 pact heap and covered with loam. It thould 

 be placed as near the spot where it is to be 

 used as possible. In this form and place it 

 will be ready for early ovei hauling in the 

 sprlr.g. 



It is time in October to commence fattening 

 the swine, by feedingtbem more liberally th.in 

 they have been through the warmer months. 

 They will gain faster now than wht n the 

 weather is cold. Always furnish them with a 

 dry bed. and where the wind will not reach 

 them, e.'^pecially through cracks in the floor. 

 They will thrive better if fed upon a variety 

 of food, and some cf it should be of a succu- 

 lent or juicy nature, in order to keep the sys- 

 tem in the most healthy condition. 



Do not allow the stock to feed the mowing 

 fields too closely. .The effect is hunful to 

 future crops. The g owth of the plants is 

 stopped by taking off the leaves continually. 

 If the plants continue to grow until arrested 

 by f o.'-t they take det per root, are better able 

 to resist winter killing, and are made perma- 

 iiently better. 



October affords a good time to clear up 

 under walls, to repair fences, cut bushes, to 

 pur the buildings in ordt r by making needed 

 repairs before November winds break down 

 barn doors, or set shingles and clapboards 

 tiding. 



Fuially, the present is an excellent time to 

 make a great deal of preparation for the work 

 of next spring. Very much may be done now 

 to forward busmess, in removing stones from 

 fields that are to he sowed to grain and grass 

 in the spring, and by ploug'aing and levelling 

 them for that purpose. This preparation is a 

 slow work, so that by doing much of it now, 

 the spiing woik will go briskly along, and 

 crops will be in all in good time. 



These and many other things may be done 

 in the pleasant month of October. 



The Country Oentleman says that all heavy 

 oats that have been introduced have degener- 

 ated after a few years to the old standard. 



