1881.] 



THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



73 



The subsoil must not be turned up, liowever, 

 as that would prove an injury rather than a 

 benefit. Where a second plowiup; is intended, 

 the earliest period the season will allow should 

 be chosen to plow down the manure. The 

 second plowing may be done a week or two 

 before the time of planting comes around, 

 not so mucli because the ground would be in 

 better order as IwcaUse unfavorable weather 

 may intervene and the land not be ready 

 when the plants are large enough to be set in 

 the field. The prudent planter will so regu- 

 late these matters us not to be caught napping, 

 but be prepared to avail himself of every 

 favorable condition of weather that may pre- 

 sent itself, and thus lose no time in giving liis 

 crop the most favurable start tlie circum- 

 stances will allow. 



The Proper Condition of the Ground. 

 Tlie old adage, " A good preparation is half 

 cultivation," is novvliero more applicable than 

 in the thorougli preparation of the tobacco 

 field. Let no labor lie spared to put the soil in 

 perfect condition. The more complete and 

 thorough the tiltli, the more likely is final 

 success to attend the grower's efforts. The 

 cultivator and tlie harrow sliould be put into 

 the field until every clou and lump has dis- 

 appeared, and it looks more like a carefully 

 prepared garden bed than anytliiug' else. 

 The move frequently the field is gone over in 

 this way, the less likely are the worms to 

 bother you, or the grass to annoy you. Let 

 the latter get no foothold thus early, and the 

 field will be all the better for it the entin; 

 season through. Nothing more offends the 

 tobacco planter's eye than a tobacco field in 

 which the few weeks' old plants are hidden 

 from sight by a rank growth of grass and 

 weeds. A few acres of tobacco ground are 

 soon gone over with a harrow, and every 

 time this is done another step in the direction 

 of final success has been made. The season 

 may be dry, and therefore unfavorable to 

 putting the ground into the best condition ; 

 unusual and persistent efforts must, there- 

 fore, be made to do the best possiljle under 

 the circumstances. If the grower has availed 

 himself of the earliest opportunity the season 

 afibided him of preparing his ground properly, 

 he will attain the desired tilth and" not be 

 compellBd to trust to luck and the elements 

 when the last moment arrives. It pays to 

 take time by the forelock in tliis matter as it 

 does in many others. 



Throwing up the Ridges. 

 The ground having been thoroughly gone 

 over, and brought to its highest possible con- 

 dition, it is ready for ridging. The favorite 

 . implement with our farmers for this work is 

 the common plow. It is not well to plant on 

 an even surface, as heavy rains may inundate 

 the young crop, and do it irreparable injury. 

 The ridge is made by throwing two furrows 

 together from opposite sides. These should 

 be about eight inches high and raked even at 

 the top, all stones, clods and rubbish being 

 carefully removed. After this is done the 

 ridges should not be higher than six inches. 

 In a wet season a greater elevation would do 

 no harm, but it would hardly be beneficial, while 

 in a dry one the plants would certainly suffer 

 from drouth. The ridges having been made, 

 a man should go over the field with some stick 



of proper length, or a wooden compass of the 

 requisite expansion, and mark out where the 

 plants.aro to be set. Another person with a 

 lioe sliould come after him and cut down the 

 row sliglitly at the marked places and press 

 the place lightly witli the back of the hoe to 

 provide a firm and level bed in •whicli the 

 plant may be set. 



Distance Between the Rows and Plants. 



Considerable ditfereuce of opinion cxi.sts as 

 to the proper distance at which the rows 

 should be apart, and aLsoas to how clo.sely tlic 

 plants sliould be set in the row. The former 

 varies from three to four feet, and the latter 

 from twenty-two to thirty inches. These 

 matters should be controlled by the quality of 

 the soil and the kind of tobacco planted. 

 Where the soil is thin, and a heavy growth 

 cannot reasonably be expected, three feet be- 

 tween the rows may be enough. When 

 "Havana seed" is planted, three feet will 

 also be ample. When, liowever, the soil is 

 naturally rich, and has been heavily manured 

 besides, four feet is not too close. We have 

 seen a crop of " Pennsylvania Seedleaf " and 

 of " Glesner " at maturity completely hide the 

 ground when planted at this distance, show- 

 ing that any nearer distance would have 

 given inferior results. Extremes are, how- 

 ever, to be avoided in this matter as in all 

 things else, and we incline to the opinion that 

 taking one season with another, and one crop 

 with another, the roost satisfactory results 

 will be obtained by making the rows .Si feet 

 apart. This is the general practice by the 

 large majority of farmers. 



The distance between the plants in the row, 

 as we have said, varies at the whim of growers 

 from 22 to 30, and sometimes even more 

 inches. Cuban tobacco, which grows tall, is 

 short-leaved and not so spreading as our 

 native varieties, would not be too close proba- 

 bly at 22 inches, but this is entirely foo little 

 for our broad-leaved kinds. For the latter 27 

 inches has been found to yield the best results 

 in average seasons, and is pretty generally 

 adopted. These distances allow ample room 

 for a sutlicient development of leaf, which in 

 due season shades the ground most effectually, 

 not only keeping down the weeds, but pre- 

 venting the rapid evaporation of moisture 

 from the ground. The planter cannot go far 

 amiss if he adopts the schedule of 3i feet by 

 27 inches in setting out his plants. 



INSANITY OF FARMERS' WIVES. 



It has been currently stated that of insane 

 vv'omen a larger proportion are the wives of 

 farmers than of any other class. The statis- 

 tics of insane asylums are appealed to as wit- 

 nesses, and the cause of the sad condition of 

 these sufferers is supposed to be their exces- 

 sively hard work, enforced upon tliem neces- 

 sarily in the duties of their position. 



This is a very serious indictment of the 

 domestic side of farm life, and "can it be 

 true V" is the spontaneous and anxious ques- 

 tion. If.it be accepted as true, it casts a 

 gloomy shade over all our farms. I am not 

 able to show how the records of the institu- 

 tions for the insane reckon the proportions. 

 Do they show that there are more wives of 

 farmers within their walls than those of other 

 classesjor more in proportion to the whole num- j 



bcr ? If the latter, then it should appear that 

 about lialf of the women in these hospital's are 

 the wives of farmers, for it is known from the 

 census that almo.st half— forty -eight per cent, 

 —of the families in the United States are 

 farmers' families. This estimate is entirely 

 contrary to my knowledge and belief concern- 

 ing the matter. From a wide and extended 

 acquaintance with fariiiers' families all my 

 life, and from my historical knowledge of 

 them over several generations, I testify that 

 tliere is, in my observation, no class of the 

 country, heads of families, more exempt from 

 insanity than the wives of farmers, and I 

 have reason to believe that this is true in the 

 rural population of the whole land. Out of 

 all the insane women I have ever known, 

 personally or otherwise, only a small propor- 

 tion were wives of farmers, and I do not 

 know of a single instance where the malady 

 was induced by excessive work. 



Two or three generations ago, domestic 

 labor in the farm or household was not less 

 than it is now. Then the dairy was more 

 entirely in female hands than at present ; and 

 there was added the work of domestic manu- 

 factures, not at all known in rural households 

 now. It does not appear that there was any 

 tendency to unsoundness of mind in tlie in- 

 dustrious women of those days. 



At the present day there is scarcely any 

 more work for female hands in the farmer's 

 house than in the houses of other well-to-do 

 rural families. It is not the farm that makes 

 so much work; it is generally house-keeping, 

 house-cleaning, carpet-making, dress-making, 

 company, perhaps boarders. The industrious 

 fingers of a woman will find work to do, or 

 make it; if they are relieved in one depart- 

 ment of labor, they make themselves busy in 

 another ;' the sewing-machine becomes as 

 wearyuig as the churn was— and that instru- 

 ment is not confined to the farm. 



It is not the hard work in a comfortable 

 country home that damages the mental con- 

 stitution so much a.s the toil of those who are 

 shut up in the narrow and unwholesome shops 

 of a town. It is not, indeed, work that makes 

 people insane; it is excessive desire for wealth, 

 strife forsocial position, vitiated imagination, 

 romantic aflections, frequent changes, too 

 much society, late hours, exciting literature, 

 and having nothing to do. To these hurtful 

 influences the wife of the farmer is not greatly 

 exposed. She enjoys the wholesome infiu- 

 ences of surrounding nature. She is out of 

 the giddy whirl of fashionable society. She 

 escapes the terrible anxieties of a hazardous 

 business, and gains health in the hopefulness 

 of moderate gain. She has good hours for 

 sleep and time for boots, with her family 

 about her. These are some of the reasons 

 why the wives of fanners are less disposed 

 than others to become insane, and it is a hap- 

 py thing if a right understanding of this may 

 remove an uneces.sary shade from our farm 

 life.— N. Heed in Oninlry Gentleman. 



Lice may be destroyed by dip))ing the 

 jjlants in hot water, so hot that the hand 

 can just bear it and no more. Dip them in 

 and take them out again instantly, and re- 

 peat it two or three times. It will not huit 

 the plants. 



