THE GEKESEE FARMEE. 



lOT 



Fig. 8. 



heavy duty, it is desirable to get the very best 

 samples for malting purposes, the two-rowed kinds 

 ore generally preferred. In Ireland, the six-rowed 

 is sown as a winter crop. 



"We must again express the be- 

 lief that farmers are somewhat 

 disposed to be too sparing of 

 seed. We think two and a half 

 bushels of barley per acre none 

 too much when sown broadcast, 

 or from two to two and a quarter 

 when drilled. Of course, the 

 earlier barley can be sown after 

 the soil is in good working con- 

 dition, the better. 



Oats. — This crop should be at- 

 tended to as soon as the soil is in 

 good working order. Good crops 

 of oats are frequently obtained 

 when sown late, but it is general- 

 ly better to sow early — say im- 

 mediately after you are through 

 sowing barley. Oats do much 

 better than barley either on heavy 

 clays or on low, mucky land. 

 From one and a half bushels on the latter to two 

 and a half bushels on the former soil is about the 

 Qsual quantity of seed sown. 



Peas. — In this section, and in others where the 

 pea-bug prevails, this crop is not considered profit- 

 able. "We believe, however, that peas might be 

 grown with advantage on all wheat farms, for the 

 purpose of feeding hogs early in the fall, before the 

 bug does them much injury. That such a practice 

 •would enrich the land, there can be no doubt. 

 They do well on an inverted sod, and are adapted 

 to nearly all soils ; but a strong wheat soil, well 

 pulverized, suits them best. For feeding to hogs, 

 the earlier they can be sown, the better. Sown 

 late — say the 10th of June — they sometimes es- 

 cape the bug. Two bushels per acre are usually 

 sown. One or two bushels of plaster per acre will 

 ■usually prove useful on peas. 



Spring Wheat. — This crop has not given much 

 satisfaction in this section, on dry upland that is 

 suited to the growth of winter wheat. On land 

 too low for winter wheat, and sown quite late — 

 say middle of May — good crops in some instances 

 have been grown, the midge doing little damage. 

 The Fife is one of the best varieties for such land. 

 The Canada Club is among the best kinds on dry 

 upland, and should be sown early. Some farmers 

 think it is not well to plow land too deep for spring 

 ■wheat, and good crops have been obtained by 



merely cultivating it without plowing. We think 

 spring wheat requires a more friable and fiuer-tiUed 

 soil than winter wheat. From one and a half to 

 two bushels is the usual quantity of seed. 



Howard's prize plow. 



Plowing. — A word on this important operation 

 is all that our space will allow. 



Land should never be worked when it is wet. 

 Subsequent cultivation will never correct the in- 

 jury done land by plowing it when it is wet. We 

 flow too wide. Our springs are so short, that it is 

 desirable to plow as much land in a day as possible. 

 But still it is bad policy to flop over such wide fur- 

 rows. One of the objects of plowing is to pulver- 

 ize the soil. This can be better done with narrow 

 furrows than with wide iiat ones. The best Scotch 

 and English farmers consider that the depth and 

 width of the furrow should bear a constant propor- 

 tion — that the furrow should be rectilinear — and 

 that, when raised, the exposed surfaces should be 

 of equal breadth on either side of the furrow. We 

 annex a cut of what is undoubtedly the best, the 

 lightest draft, and most efficient English plow. A 

 furrow seven inches deep by ten inches wide, with 

 a lap of three inches, leaves seven inches on each 

 side the furrow, and forms an admirable seed-bed 

 when harrowed down. 



How THICK SHALL WE SOW Oats ? — An experi- 

 ment made on the State Farm at Westborough, 

 Mass., to determine the best quantity of oats to 

 sow per acre, resulted as follows : Two bushels of 

 seed per acre gave 26-^ bushels; three bushels, 40 

 bushels per acre ; four bushels, 35^ ; and five bush- 

 els, 42 bushels per acre. Before the general intro- 

 duction of underdraining, and other improved 

 methods of cultivation, five bushels of oats per 

 acre was the usual quantity sown in England. 

 Now, three to four bushels are sown. In this sec- 

 tion, two bushels are considered sufficient ; and in 

 the Western States, one and a half bushels. Prob- 

 ably we sow too little. 



Cutting Potatoes — One Ete in a Set. — A 

 correspondent of the Country Gentleman, records 

 his testimony in favor of cutting potatoes in 

 very small pieces, with one eye to each piece, for 

 planting. He has tried it on a small scale with 

 success. I have tried the same experiment with 

 a favorable result. — John Bkadfield, Eocheater 



