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DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



VOL. III. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 1, 1851. 



NO. 5. 



RAYNOLDS & NOURSE, 



Proprietors. 



OFFICE, aUINCY HALL, BOSTON. 



S. W. COLE, Editor. 



WORK FOR THE SEASON. 



March is a busy month, as the farmers not only 

 find that it brings its common share of work, but 

 this is the peculiar season for preparation for the 

 campaign that is about opening. 



Fuel — Every farmer that has not already pro- 

 cured sufficient fuel to last him one year, should 

 attend to it immediately, and if for want of snow 

 or other causes it cannot be hauled at present, let it 

 be chopped and split, that it may season. 



Care of Stock. — If cattle and horses usually 

 used for labor, have but little to do at this season, 

 as is the case with some farmers in New England, 

 they should be kept in good condition, and have 

 moderate exercise, as high feeding and idleness 

 produce weakness, and engender disease. 



Animals with young should be kept in good, 

 but not high condition. To keep them in very 

 high flesh is as dangerous as the opposite extreme, 

 poverty. If they are fed on dry food, and become 

 bound or costive, a few roots, or bran mashes, 

 will correct the evil. But they should have but 

 few roots, as a liberal sfpply will cause a flow of 

 milk, prematurely. After a cow has calved, it is 

 better not to give her cold water. x\n old method 

 and a good one of preparing the first pail of water, 

 is to throw into it a shovelful of embers. This 

 will warm it, and give it a slight alkaline quality, 

 which is useful. It is better to give warm water 

 for two or three days, especially if the animal ap- 

 pears to be rather feeble. The same course in 

 regard to sheep would be a good one. Frequently 

 for want of attention, the ewe is in a feverish hab- 

 it, which greatly reduces the quantity as well as 

 the quality of the milk. 



Swine require particular attention; their house 

 should be dry, clean and warm. They should 

 have access to pure soil, such as yellow loam. A 

 little charcoal is very acceptable to them, and a 

 change of food is desirable. Those with young 

 should be separated from others several weeks be- 

 fore farrowing; they should have a plenty of room 



and a good shelter. Also a moderate, but not a 

 large quantity of litter. To prevent a sow from 

 devouring her offspring, give her a comfortable 

 house, and a chance to take exercise in the open 

 air, and supply pure loam, charcoal, and occasion- 

 ally raw apples, potatoes, carrots and parsneps. 

 In fine, keep her in good health. When it be- 

 comes warm, let her run at large. 



Implements. — Many farmers make and repair 

 their own coarse implements, carts, &c., and this 

 is the proper time to attend to these things, that 

 they may be ready when the time for action arrives , 

 which is near at hand. The success of a farmer 

 depends much on having all his tools ready in due 

 season, and having the best of every kind. With 

 a good implement a man can do twice as much la- 

 bor as with a poor one. 



Seeds, 4"C- — Every farmer and gardener who in- 

 tends to improve their crops by collecting superior 

 seeds, tubers, and plants, should attend to this 

 now, that everything may be ready in due season, 

 that there may be no loss by delay in waiting for 

 these things in the season of planting, or loss of 

 time in procuring them in a more busy season. 



Trees and Scions. — Cultivators should look over 

 their notes and memorandums and see what they 

 want in this line Scions may be cut at any time 

 in this month. Lay them in a tight moistened box, 

 with moist saw dust or moss at the bottom; or 

 moist mats or cloths will answer. Lay moss, a 

 cloth, or mat, moistened, over the scions, and set 

 the box in a cool place in the cellar; and if dark, 

 the better. Do not apply water to the scions, as 

 they are often injured by keeping them too damp 

 or wet. 



Preparing Seeds. — It is rather late to prepare 

 seeds of fruit trees that have been kept dry, but it 

 may be better late than never. If apple, pear, or 

 quince seeds are moistened, and put into damp 

 loam, and put where they will undergo the chang- 

 ges of freezing and thawing, which are common in 

 this month, they will probably vegetate, though 



