268 



THE PARMFRS CABINET. 



VOL. I. 



If you purpose carrying your mixture still 

 further, sow 10 lbs. or clover seed, 6 quarts of 

 timotliy, I bushel of herd's grass to the acre, 

 —or 



Of clover 8 lbs., orchard grass 1 bushel, 

 tall meadow oat 1 bushel, and herds grass ^ 

 bushel. 



In Europe the following is in many districts 

 a popular mixture, 2 bushels of rye grass 

 seed, and from 12 to 20 lbs. of clover seed to 

 the acre. 



It is usual to sow the orchard and tall 

 meadow oat in early autumn, but there is no 

 question that they would succeed now. The 

 orchard grass should be moistened with water 

 and permitted to remain so for a day before 

 sowing. 



Whatever grass seeds you sow on your 

 winter grain, be sure to pass a light harrow, 

 and roller over them. You need not appre- 

 hend any injury to your grain, for although 

 some roots may be dragged out, you will be 

 more than remunerated by the addition you 

 will receive from the tillering of the branches 

 of the plants which will be imbedded in the 

 soil during the process. That the grass seed 

 will derive advantage from beingr thus secure- 

 ly placed beneath the soil, common sense and 

 reason both concur in affirming. They will 

 be much more likely to escape destruction 

 from birds than if left upon the surface; they 

 will vegetate with greater certainty, and be- 

 ing well fixed in the earth, their roots will be 

 much better able to withstand the droughts of 

 summer and the frosts of winter. VVe need 

 not say that the operation of harrowing 

 ■ and rolling should be performed when the 

 ground is in a state to bear the treading of the 

 horse without injury, as it will strike the 

 intelligent reader that if done when the 

 ground is wet, much injury will result to the 

 grain. 



LUCERNE. 



Those who may feel disposed to try their 

 fortune with this valuable grass, can do so as 

 soon as the ground is relieved from the frost 

 and dampness. It should be sown on a dry 

 rich soil, which had been previously well 

 cleaned. From 16 to 20 quarts of seed should 

 be sown. It may be put in with the spring 

 barley and oats. In England and Scotland it 

 is frequently cut four times in the season. 



OATS. 



The earlier, after the frost is out of the 

 ground, tiiat you get your oats in, the better, 

 and if you can possibly spare from your 

 other crops, a portion of manure, do so; for 

 you may rest assured, notwithstanding custom 

 has allotted them to grow on the poorest part 

 of the farm, unaided by nutritious substances 

 of any kind, tliey would be all tiic belter of a 



dressing of something calculated to urge them 

 forward. It is to be sure in the general by 

 no means a profitable crop, but then it is a 

 most necessary one, and, therefore, should 

 find fiivor. But should there be no manure to 

 spare, do, if you can, give the soil an extra 

 ploughmg, and thus in part atone for your 

 neglectful culture. We often hear farmers 

 complaining of the degeneracy of, and the 

 falling off of this grain in weight, and may not 

 this be accounted for in the fact, that they 

 are generally grown on the very poorest spots 

 that are to be found, and left to grope their 

 way to maturity in the best way they can. 



Two or 2A bushels to the acre is the proper 

 quantity of seed. They should be well 

 harrowed in. 



POTATOES. 



Should the weather admit of it, you should 

 get in your early potatoes from the middle to 

 the latter end of this month. But you should 

 not dream of reaping a good crop unless you 

 are liberal in your bestowal of labor and ma- 

 nure in the preparation of the soil. Your 

 ground should have a southern exposure, and 

 either be a good soil naturally, or be made so 

 by art. It should be thoroughly and deeply 

 ploughed and harrowed ; then strike your 

 rows 27 or 30 inches apart, place your seta 

 about 10 inches distant from each other, throw 

 in your rows a goodly portion of unfermented 

 stable manure, then cover them with the soil, 

 either by running a furrow on either side, or 

 by hand-hoeing. In either event, no clods 

 should be permitted to come in contact with 

 the sets. As soon as there is the least indi- 

 cation that the potatoes are coming up, run 

 the harrow crosswise the rows; when the 

 potatoes are up two or three inches, plough a 

 furrow on either side from the potatoes; this 

 must be replaced by throwing the furrow 

 back again. This process will greatly im- 

 prove the tilth of the soil, and thereby afford 

 the young potatoe plants an additional chance 

 of moving onward in their growth. After 

 the furrow is thrown hack, the rows should 

 be gone over with a hand-hoe, cleaned of all 

 weeds, and so regulated as neither to retain 

 too much moisture, nor to prevent a surface 

 that would easily suffer by draught. In two 

 or three weeks more another ploughing and 

 hoeing will be necessary ; for it is important 

 to keep the ground stirred and clean. This 

 second ploughing however should not be so 

 near to the plants in the rows as the former; 

 and after this, the cultivator instead of the 

 plough must bo used to complete the work in 

 about two or three weeks, which will be de- 

 termined by the advance of weeds, and the 

 wants of the potatoes. 



CARROTS AND PARSNEP.<5. 



As soon as the frost is entirely out of the 



