358 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



Aug. 



dodgers," brown bread, "Indian puddings," 

 com cake of a dozen different patterns, corn 

 fritters, corn starch, and many others which 

 the "cook book" would tell us about if we had 

 time to turn to it. The stems and leaves, also, 

 of the corn plant are largely used in a gi-een 

 state for feeding to milch cows, and when 

 dried they are our best fodder, next to English 

 hay. A crop every way so valuable should 

 not be checked by a growth of weeds, or by 

 neglect of hoeing and otherwise stirring the 

 soil, and especially if the season is a dry one. 

 Laying Lajo) to Grass. As the grass crop 

 is an important one, it should be a matter of 

 constant care to see that the land devoted to 

 it is in a proper condition for its growth, by 

 drainage and depth and richness. A consid- 

 erable portion of the lands which are mowed 

 are suffered to remain until they are so much ex- 

 hausted that the crops they produce will 

 scarcely pay for going over the ground. This 

 may be prevented by a light annual top- 

 dressing of fine manure, but it must be com- 

 menced while the roots are in a vigorous con- 

 dition. There is no better time, perhaps, to 

 renew old grass land, or to reclaim low lands, 

 than the month of August. If properly man- 

 aged, it requires but a single year to change a 

 hard and unproductive field into a productive 

 one. 



In order to accomplish this no more must be 

 undertaken at once than there is team and 

 time sufficient for the work, and manure enough 

 to give the grass a vigorous start and sustain 

 it well until the field gets a top-dressing. The 

 work is often attempted with teams too weak 

 and plows too light. In trying to get a suffi- 

 cient depth, one gets broken and the other 

 tired, and then come the doubts Avhether it will 

 ever pay to reclaim an old meadow, or plow 

 deep and subsoil upland. 



Plow eight to twelve inches, harrow thor- 

 oughly, level with great care with hoe and 

 spade, then enrich with fine manure, sow seed 

 plentifully, say eight quarts of herds grass, 

 one bushel of redtop, and early next April 

 eight pounds of clover per acre. In a soil 

 thus prepared, the seeds find all things neces- 

 sary for a quick and healthy germination and 

 rapid growth. The air, light, heat and mois- 

 ture are admitted in such proportions as the 

 seeds n'quire to give them a sure and early 

 start. Thus by deep plowing, fine manure, 



and thorough preparation, little or no loss is 

 sustained in seed, while a good crop is quite 

 certain, let the succeeding season be wet or 

 dry. 



Seeds. Gather seeds as they ripen, and 

 save only those that are plump and perfect 

 for your next year's use. They will require 

 attention every day. If you do not give it 

 the birds will. 



Army Worm. You will probably find them 

 on the apple trees, side by side, like a platoon 

 of soldiers, eating clean as they go — ugly 

 looking, repulsive customers. Cut off the 

 twig that holds them and put your heel on it. 

 They ought not to be allowed to multiply. 



Milch Cows. In dry seasons, in many 

 pastures, cows lack water, and during the hot, 

 sultry days, they suffer, and in consequence 

 the milk pails are not filled at night. When 

 you are exceedingly thirsty think of this, pro- 

 cure a refreshing drink, and then go directly 

 and ascertain if the cattle in their pastures are 

 abundantly supplied with pure, cool water. 



Budding. August is a suitable time for 

 this work. Put the boys to practice in bud- 

 ding apples, peaches, pears, plums, and any 

 thing that requires it. 



Weeds. Do not allow one in the garden, 

 and none around the outside rows of the corn 

 or potato fields. 



PAGE'S PUMP AND SPRINKLER. 



This is a new pumping and sprinkling appa- 

 ratus, that, in our opinion, excels anything of 

 the kind heretofore invented. We have now 

 four or five different pumps or sprinklers, in- 

 tended for house, garden and hot-house use, 

 but none of them equal to this in ease of opera- 

 tion or efficiency of work. It is small, light 

 to carry, easy to operate, and adapted to al- 

 most every use, from that of sprinkling the 

 most delicate plant, to dashing the water forci- 

 bly against dirty windows or carriages. 



Water can be spread with it so as to fall in 

 a fine mist over a space from two inches to ten 

 feet square, or changed instantly to a "coarse 

 spray" or a "single jet," and thrown thirty or 

 forty feet. 



It requires no change of nozzle, and in our 

 experience with it, it has never clogged or 

 needed cleaning out. It is a beautiful and 

 useful invention. 



Nothing that we have seen is so admirably 



