1871. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



243 



feet. Citron and Nutmeg same distance as 

 cucumbers ; cover the seed one inch with fine 

 soil. 



MtJSTAKD. — All good farmer's wives under- 

 stand the value of mustard, both the seed for 

 condiment, medicinal and other purposes, and 

 the young plants for greens. Sow in drills six 

 inches apart. 



Onions. — Seed may be sown the first of the 

 month, in rich, moist sandy loam. Set out 

 rareripe, potato, and top onions, if not al- 

 ready done. For seed, set perfect bulbs, sLx 

 to ten inches apart. 



Parsnu'S. — Seed of last season's growth is 

 best and surest. Sow in deep-worked, rich 

 soil, in drills sixteen inches apart, dropping 

 the seed two inches apart to be thinned to six 

 inches. 



Peas. — Make successive sowings of early 

 varieties ; sow tall growing, and Marrowfats, 

 in double rows, four feet apart ; put up neatly 

 prepared bushes as soon as the plants are 2 

 to 3 inches high. 



Peppeu. — Sow seed of the Cajenne and 

 long Red in soil euriehed with hen manure. 

 Sow in drills one foot apart to be thinned to 

 six inches in the row. 



Potatoes. — Plant the Early Rose in drills 

 2 1-2 feet apart and half foot in the drill, give 

 to each hill four <|uarts of well decouij)osed 

 compost, or a pint of ashes, with a Httle salt. 



Radish. — Make successive sowings in light, 

 mellow, rich soil, deeply worked. 



Rhubakb. — Old stools may be divided and 

 reset in rich, moist soil. Cut out all seed 

 stalks soon as they show ; pull, not cut, the 

 leaves and stems with a sideways jerk, when 

 desired. 



Sage. — Old roots may be divided or seed 

 sown in good rich soil if new beds ai'e desired. 

 Give established beds a good dressing of Avell 

 rotted manure, and work in around the roots 

 of plants. 



Salsify, or Oyster Plant. — Plant and 

 treat same as directed for the parsnip. 



Spinach, or Spinage. — Sow the round- 

 leaved variety in rich cjuick soil, stirring ii fre- 

 (juently after the plants are up, as it depends 

 for its goodness and succulence on the ra- 

 pidity and quickness M'ith which it grows. 

 Sow in beds, broadcast, or in drills. 



Squash. — Plant the summer varieties same 

 as cucumbers. Fall and winter kinds will 

 need more space, but same general treatment 

 in planting ; five or six seeds are sufficient to 

 a hill. 



Straavberries. — See that the strawberry 

 worm, C ijcloccphala immaciduta,()]W. — do not 

 get on the vines to destroy the crop and vines. 

 Hand picking is a slow process, but sure. 



T\"hme. — Sow seed in beds or borders of 

 light fine soil, covering lightly. 



Tomatoes. — Plants started in the hot-bed 

 or in boxes in the house, may be set in the 

 open ground the last of the month. A flower 

 pot or box is convenient to cover them cool ; 



nights, and also after transplanted, till estab- 

 lished. W. H. White. 

 South Windsor, Conn., IS 71. 



TOP 



For the yeiD England Farmer. 



DRESSING vs. PIjOUGHING UN"- 

 DER.-No. 3. 



Another example of considerable magnitude 

 furnished by nature, proving that manure 

 does not, to any considerable extent, pass into 

 the atmosphere in the form of vapor or gas, 

 is found in the guano districts where this de- 

 posit has accumulated for ages and is regarded 

 as one of the best fertilizers known. It has 

 been exposed to atmospheric action, rains and 

 thermal influences ; yet it is so rich in the ele- 

 ments of plant food that manufacturers of 

 artificial fertilizers esteem it a suflicient re- 

 commendation for their goods if the public 

 can be made to believe them "equal to the 

 best Peruvian guano." If manure is princi- 

 pally lost in the atmosphere, this deposit 

 should not be worth the transport of half a 

 dozen miles. 



Different soils require different treatment 

 in some respects ; yet I cannot understand 

 why, if it is a general law that manure goes 

 up, or the reverse — or that it goes both ways — 

 that this law should not be universal. The 

 retentive capacity of some soils is much 

 greater than others, owing to a compact sub- 

 soil ; hence such lands are among the most 

 valuable to the farmer. The soil in this and 

 the surrounding towns is ge;ierally of this de- 

 scuiption. It is deep, and uiuler good cultiva- 

 tion produces large crops of grass, oats, bar- 

 ley and potatoes. Indian corn is not grjwn 

 largely, the crops above named being deemed 

 the most profitable ; yet it is not uncommon 

 to see small pieces under good management 

 yielding fifty bushels per acre. 



In the spring of 1869 I had a piece of land 

 to seed down that had been planted with 

 potatoes two years and manured sparingly — 

 the soil was deep and humid above the aver- 

 age, and rather tenacious. As is my custom, 

 it was manured upon the surface, so that the 

 land was nearly out of sight. The yield of 

 oats was large and the catch of grass all that 

 could be desired, covering the ground at reap- 

 ing time with a thick coat six or eight inches 

 in length and hiding the land from view. 

 The prospect of a large yield of grass the 

 next year was fully realized. Notwithstand- 

 ing the drought of 1870 the first crop was 

 very heavy, as large as could be dried upon 

 the gi'ound in two of the hottest days, with 

 close attention. A second crop followed, about 

 half as lai'ge, though during the interim th'e 

 fall of rain was light. The yield per acre I 

 am unable to give ; but the crops of those two 

 years I have seldom seen equalled. The pros- 

 pect at this writing of another large crop is 

 very good. 



Now I contend that this manure is exactly 



