174 



THE ILLINOIS FAEMER. 



June 



Hints for the Season. 



SWEET POTATOES. 



Finish planting as early in the month as 

 you can. Plants are now plenty and cheap, 

 and no farmer should neglect to plant this 

 vegetable. Remember that the Nansemond 

 is the only variety that is of any value here- 

 away. 



THE GARDEN. 



Look well to the garden this month, and 

 not only keep the beds clear of weeds, but 

 stir up the surface with a steel rake. The 

 morning is the best time for this work. A 

 steel rake vigorously applied is a wonderful 

 fertilizer in the garden, especially if kept 

 bright ; it then tickles the sides of mother 

 earth so that the plants fairly laugh. Well, 

 let them laugh, they will be all the tenderer 

 for it, and three times as genial ; so tickle 

 away while the sun is licking up the diiw. 

 Besides this, we have found a poisonous 

 property to weeds in this same steel rake ; 

 we cannot say whether it is forged in on 

 purpose, or merely accidental, but it is there 

 at all events, and where we stir the surface 

 to break the thin crust that keeps the air 

 out of the soil the little weeds that are just 

 poking themselves out are certainly killed. 



THE CORN CROP. 



Keep on working the corn if there is no 

 weeds, stir the soil and let in the air. Re- 

 member, the finer the surface is made the 

 better the crop. As much of the corn was 

 planted late, it will need all the more atten- 

 tion. We have often thought that a roller 

 made to run between the rows to crush the 

 lumps would be a fine thing, this to be fol- 

 lowed with a harrow or cultivator to loosen 

 up the soil would certainly be valuable. 



STRAWBERRIES. 



We do nothing more with our strawber- 

 ry beds than to take oflF the fruit as it ripens, 

 until the fruiting season is over ; wo then 

 with a sharp, clean spade, spade up one-half 

 of the beds in alternate strips of a foot in 

 width ; these spaded strips are raked smooth 



and the weeds taken out from among the 

 strips of plants. The young plants will fill 

 up the spaded spaces ready for the next 

 year's crops, when the old plants are in turn 

 spaded under. This is the cheapest and 

 best mode to manage the strawberry in gar- 

 den culture, and will give you an abundance 

 of excellent fruit. 



SWEET CORN AND CABBAGE. 



A patch of evergreen sweet corn should 

 be planted about the middle of this month^ 

 to give you late roasting ears and for drying. 

 But few of our farmers have half enough 

 green corn. Its use has been tabooed by 

 some of our would-be scientific men as redo- , 

 lent of summer complaint, but its daily use 

 from August to November, a period of throe 

 months, will be found healthful, aud pro- 

 duce no bad effect if fully matured and well 

 cooked. It is One of our summer staples 

 and winter luxuries. Give it a thorough 

 trial, and you will be a convert to its value. 



The first of this month is a good time for 

 late cabbage. Remember, the ground must 

 be rich and finely pulverized and kept thor- 

 oughly cultivated ; twice a week the culti- 

 vator should pass through the cabbage rows. 

 Don't have any fears of having too much 

 cabbage, it is good to cook in various ways, 

 good for krout, good to sell, and renaarkably 

 good for your cows, so you will be safe in 

 having a good supply of it. 



POTATOES. 



In a former number we gave such full di- 

 rections in regard to this great staple, that 

 we need not repeat any part of it here. 



TURNIPS. • 



Though turnips are not a sure crop on the 

 prairie, yet as they always do remarkably well 

 we often sow more or less of them. A rather 

 moist soil suits them best ; plow the land 

 deep by trenching or subsoiling, harrow fine, 

 sow and roll. They should be weeded out 

 with a scuffle hoe. as with it the plants can 

 be thinned and weeds killed. Some drill 

 them, but of late years we have sown broad- 



