DEVOTED TO AGRICULTURE AND ITS KINDRED ARTS AND SCIENCES. 



VOL. III. 



SATURDAY, MARCH 29, 1851, 



NO. 7. 



RAYNOLDS & NOIJRSE, 

 Proprietors. 



OFFICE, QUINCY HALL, BOSTON. 



S. W. COLE, Editor. 



WORK FOR THE SEASON. 



April. — In this month, we frequently have a se- 

 rene sky, gentle zephyrs, and the warm sun of sum- 

 mer. Anon the storm rages, and then comes old 

 Boreas with his biting blast. A fitful season t^is. 

 In Maine, we have known it so warm the first of 

 April that our bees gained 12 pounds to each hive 

 in one week. Again we have known recent snows 

 piled so high on the first Monday in April, that 

 people had to go to town-meeting on foot, and the 

 best mode of travelling was on snow-shoes. Anoth- 

 er year there was 6 feet of snow in the woods the 

 first of April, and in the open land the snow was 

 so deep and hard, that teams could pass in any di- 

 rection on the crust, over walls and fences. A few 

 years ago, in this region, on the first day of April, 

 the thermometer was down to zero, and the sleigh- 

 ing was excellent. This is one of the most busy 

 months to the farmer and gardener, and those who 

 have neglected to prepare for work, at a more lei- 

 sure season, will have a double task in making 

 ready for work and doing it. There is a great ad- 

 vantage in having every tool, and every thing else, 

 in readiness. 



ON THE FARM. 



Soioing Grain. — All kinds of small grain, ex- 

 cepting buckwheat and millet, do better when sowed 

 rather early, as they are liable to ruat when they 

 mature late in summer. But if the land is heavy, 

 and liable to fall hard from heavy rains, it is ad- 

 visable to sow very early; and some farmers sow 

 their wheat late, in order to escape the grain worm. 

 This is an exception to the general rule, and in 

 some cases the rust proves more destructive to the 

 grain that the worms would from early sowing. 

 Washing wheat in strong salt water, and liming it 

 before sowing, is a preventive of the rust. 



Potatoes. — It is a well established fact, that plant- 

 ing potatoes early, and digging them in dry weath- 

 er as soon as ripe, is one of the very best guards 

 against rot; and there is generally a great advan- 

 tage in planting on dry, or rather dry soils. Spread 



the manure. That which is well decomposed is 

 the best. Plant hardy kinds. 



Stock should be kept in good condition, and if any 

 animals are weak, they should have extra feed, of 

 meal, roots, &c. They are more liable to diseas- 

 es in the spring than at any other season. This 

 arises from our long, hardy winters, and feeding 

 mostly on dry fodder. And those animals not well 

 cared for, often suffer for want of water in winter. 

 Sheep are very eager to get to the ground, even before 

 the grass has started. If they are let out where they 

 can get but little abroad, they must have clo- 

 ver hay, meal and roots, for they will not eat com- 

 mon food, after they are turned out, though they 

 get but scanty sustenance. 



Fences. — Wooden fences are expensive, and this 

 is too busy a season for making stone walls. Wood 

 must answer a temporary purpose; but in removing 

 stones from tillage, preparation should be made to 

 make walls as fast as possible, for in this way a 

 double purpose is accomplished, the making of a 

 permanent fence, and ridding the land of an incum- 

 brance. Better keep the cattle in the barn, than 

 allow them to roam at large, while the fields and 

 orchards are exposed to their depredations. 



Manure, kept in barn cellars, is saved frqm loss 

 by being mixed with peat, mud, loam, sand, &c. 

 But when it is in heaps, it will ferment, as the 

 weather warms, and in some cases it becomes so 

 hot that a great part is burnt up and destroyed. If 

 lime be added the loss will be still greater. Before 

 there is much fermentation, the manure should be 

 hauled out, and mixed with soil. Peat, mud and 

 clayey loam is preferable for manuring light soils; 

 and gravel, sand, or light loam for wet or moist 

 soils. The soil mixed with the manure, will mod- 

 erate the fermentation, and absorb the gases which 

 escape from the manure. Tiiis may be considered 

 much labor, but manure not applied, in heaps or 

 scattered will waste in warm weather, if not mixed 

 with some absorbing substance. When plenty of 

 soil is mixed with manure, a busliel or two of fresh- 



