1860. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



483 



FABM WORK FOR THE AUTUMN. 



In the successful management of a farm it is 

 important to do the work at the rigid time, as 

 well as in the right way. Indeed, this essential 

 point is so sadly overlooked in many cases, that 

 the profit that might otherwise be obtained is 

 mainly lost. The seasons seem to have changed 

 considerably, and if they have, our operations 

 must change with them, — we must do the work 

 when the elements and other circumstances will 

 permit,- even if Ave break through the old practi- 

 ces to M'hich we have been accustomed. Within 

 the last ten years, among good farmers, much of 

 the work that was formerly done in the spring 

 has been done in the fall, and in consequence of 

 this the whole summer labor has been greatly fa- 

 cilitated. 



For several years past the months of October 

 and November have been sufficiently mild to al- 

 low almost any farm work to be done as well as 

 it could have been in May or September ; and, 

 occasionally, as late as the middle of December, 

 most of the out-door work of the farm might 

 have been performed with comfort and profit. 

 Let us suggest, then, some of the things that seem 

 to call for attention in the fall. 



Cutting Bushes. — A vast amount of labor is 

 annually expended in New England in cutting 

 bushes on pasture lands, where they are usually 

 left to decay by gradual decomposition, in the way 

 of the cattle, and unsightly objects to the eye of 

 the neat farmer. These bushes are cut in August, 

 under the probability that they will not start 

 again so readily as if cut at any other time. But 

 August is a busy season — much haying is left un- 

 done, in low grounds ; weeds are to be looked 

 after, and the stalks in the corn field are to be 

 cut ; the early potatoes, turnips, apples, and 

 other things are to be marketed, and many mat- 

 ters are to be attended to which have been a 

 little neglected during the busy days of haying. 

 Many pastures have probably been cut over an- 

 nually during two or three generations, and the 

 only thing gained is in the bushes themselves, — 

 they have taken deeper and deeper root every 

 year, until they have nearly exterminated the 

 grass, left the surface covered with innumerable 

 stubs, and a thick coating of mosses in infinite 

 variety. 



The question we desire to ask is this : If the 

 bushes are cut on a piece of pasture land twice 

 or three times in a year, the stubble burned on 

 the places where they stood the thickest, and the 

 ashes spread upon the grass-producing spots, will 

 not such a process exterminate them in three or 

 four years ? We are told that it will, and that 

 next to plowing and thoroughly reclaiming, this 

 is the best method. 



The operation of Ditching and Draining may 

 usually be done with comfort and advantage be- 

 tween the middle of September and the middle 

 of November. So may that of Reclaiming Mea- 

 dows. In this laboi it is of the utmost impor- 

 tance that the first step shall be to draw off the 

 water and leave the surface free for man and 

 beast to work upon ; and it should be taken off 

 some ten or fifteen inches below the surface, so 

 as not to interfere with the plow, if that imple- 

 ment is used. The cost of reclaiming a meadow 

 is sometimes doubled by not pursuing ^his course, 

 — and there is scarcely any greater discomfort 

 than working in a black mud saturated with wa- 

 ter, where men and teams are occasionally floun- 

 dering, and strained to little purpose. 



On rocky farms, the autumn affords an appropri- 

 ate time to lift the large stones to the surface, and 

 set them on small ones so that they will not freeze 

 to the ground, in readiness for hauling away on 

 the snow in the winter. In this course a treble 

 advantage is derived ; the cost of labor is not so 

 much as in summer, and twice or three times as 

 much weight can be removed in a given time on 

 the snow as on the bare ground, if the stones 

 are so large as to make it necessary to remove 

 them on a drag. 



Plowing is also another important work ap- 

 propriate to the fall. Sward land, intended for 

 corn or potatoes, derives great benefit from fall 

 plowing. It covers up a large amount of grass 

 and roots that commence the process of decay, 

 and become serviceable to the future crop, while 

 the fine soil laid up receives valuable elements 

 from the atmosphere, and the frosts of winter 

 pulverize the particles and destroy some of the 

 cut worms that are exposed. The teams, alsB, are 

 generally in better condition to labor than they 

 are in the spring, and the work, being done, is off 

 the mind, and leaves it free to act on other matters. 



Top dkessing is another item worthy of espe- 

 cial attention. Some persons do this on mowing 

 fields immediately after the grass is cut ; where 

 this is done there is not only usually a second 

 crop, but the grass retains its roots for many 

 years, and yields annually abundant crops. But 

 few persons, however, think they can afford the 

 time at such a season for that work. Where 

 there is a special objection to plowing land, this 

 course is certainly a good one. 



Manures. — Every care should be taken before 

 the ground closes up to provide loam or muck to 

 sprinkle on the winter heaps of manure, so that 

 none of their nutritive properties may be lost. 

 This saving is not the only gain, for the whole 

 barn and fodder will be sweeter, and the stock 

 kept more healthy by preventing the escape of the 

 ammonia and other gases from the manure heaps. 



