PI sib cnnp<:. 83 



«prmg plowing is that it docs not allow of the winter application of mannl*, 

 shonld it be required, though with an early spring and favorable weather, 

 this may be done withont interfering mnch ^"ith the work which usually 

 requires all the time. The aim should be always to get the plowing done 

 near to winter (or in it) as possible, so as to get the benefit of the freezing 

 and thawing, and avoid the packing of the heavy rains. 



The Philo-Mjpliy of Hoeing — It maybe overdone or underdone. There 

 is reason in everjthing, " even in roasting eggs,*' as the saying is. So in 

 hoeing crops. If we hoe up the soil in large lumps, as we are apt to do with 

 the .very serviceable modem prong-hoes, we let the keen, dry air into con- 

 tact with the starting but enfeebled roots, and, by their parching, an irre- 

 parable injury is done. Such lumps shonld be crushed down so aa to be 

 permeable to air throughout, and yet serve to protect the roots from ita free 

 sweep. But, as in avoiding Scylla we may run to wreck on Charybdis, so, in 

 crushing the soil, we may make it too fine, in which case the first heavy rain 

 will run the surface together in a crust impervious to the air, and, for want 

 of enough of air, essential to active root action, growth will be checked until 

 the hoe or its equivalent ia tised. 



Q,aantit)r of Seed to an Acre — The following should be kept for 

 reference: " Barley, broadcast, two to three bushels; bean, pole, in hills, 

 ten to twelve quarts; beets, in drills, five to six pounds; broom com, in hilla, 

 eight to ten quarts; bitckwheat, one bushel; cabbage, in beds, to transplant, 

 half jKjund; carrots, in drills, three to four pounds; Chinese sugar canv 

 twelve quarts; clover, red, alone, fifteen to twenty pounds; clover, alsike, 

 alone, eight to ten pounds; clover, lucerne or alfalfa, twenty pounds; com, 

 in hills, eight to ten quarts; com for soiling, three bushels; cucumber, in 

 hills, two pounds; flas, broadcast, one and one-half bushels; grass, Ken- 

 tucky blue, three bushels; grass, orchard, three bushels; grass, English rye, 

 two bushels; grass, red top, three bushels; grass, timothy, one-half bushel; 

 grass, Hungarian, one bushel; grass, mixed lawn, four bushels; hemp, one 

 and one-half bushels; mustard, broadcast, half bushel; melon, musk, in 

 hills, two to three pounds; melon, water, in hills, four to five pounds; millet, 

 common, broadcast, one bushel; oats, broadcast, two to three bushels; 

 onion, in drills, five to six pounds; onion for sets, in drills, thirty pounds; 

 onion, sets, in drills, six to twelve bushels; parsnips, in drills, fotir to six 

 pounds; peas, in drills, one and one-half bushels; peas, broadcast, three 

 bushels; ix)tatoes (cut tubers), ten bushels; pumpkin, in hills, four to six 

 pounds; radish, in drills, eight to ten pounds; rye, broadcast, one and one- 

 half to two bushels; salsijfy, in drills, eight to ten pounds; spinach, in drilla, 

 twelve to fifteen pounds; sage, in drills, eight to ten pounds; squash, bush 

 varieties, in hills, four to six pounds; squash, running varieties, lulls, three 

 to four pounds; tomatoes, to transplant, quarter pound; turnip, in drills, one 

 pound; turnip, broadcast, half pound; vetches, broadcast, two to three 

 bushels; and wheat broadcast, one and one-half to two bushels." 



Soaking Seed;*. — I am often asked, writes a New England agriculturist, 

 whether it does any good to soak seeds before sowing them? In general I 

 beUeve it does more harm than good, and if done at all, a good deal of 

 judgment should be used to prevent mischief. Thus peas, beans and com 

 are often soaked to hasten germination with the t)elief that they will come a 

 day or two earlier, but in case the weather is cold and wet for some time 

 after sowing the seed, it will be more likely to suffer injury frx>m the weather 



