234 
WORK FOR AUGUST, SOUTH. 
and save only the best, so that your future crops 
may improve rather than run out. 
Sowing Winter Rye. — The earlier, this month, 
you sow your winter rye, the better it will he for 
the crop, as the roots will more firmly set, and bet- 
ter be enabled to withstand the pressure of frosts 
and thaws. Remember to plow deep, and thorough- 
ly pulverize the soil. The quantity of seed may 
vary from one to two bushels per acre. If conve- 
nient, it would be preferable to sow and plow in 
each acre, 200 lbs. of Peruvian guano, well mixed 
with a bushel of plaster of Paris. After the seed 
is in, the ground should be harrowed and afterwards 
rolled. 
Preparation for Sowing Winter Wheat. — As the 
period is approaching for sowing winter wheat, all 
necessary arrangements should seasonably be made. 
In breaking up the ground, let it be done thorough- 
ly, and if guano be applied, it should always be 
plowed under to the full depth of the furrow, say 
from six to nine inches, according to the depth of 
the soil. Where only a single crop be the object, 
200 lbs. per acre will be sufficient ; but, where the 
permanent improvement of the soil is in view, 400 
lbs. per acre will be necessary. In either case, a 
bushel of plaster of Paris may be mixed with the 
guano. The ground, previous to being sown, should 
be made as fine as harrow and roller can make it, 
as the more perfect the pulverization to which it is 
reduced, the better will be the chance for the wheat 
plants to thrive, and in the end the greater yield of 
grain. 
Hoeing Potatoes. — If your late-planted potatoes 
have not already received their second hoeing, let 
it be done the early part of this month without de- 
lay. 
Kitchen Garden. — Finish planting lettuce, Savoy 
and other cabbages for autumn or winter use. 
Sow turnips, spinach, and small salading early this 
month. Plant a crop of late celery, which continue 
to cultivate by drawing up earth. Sow water- 
exesses in moist ground, which can afterward be 
overflowed with water. Hoe melons, cucumbers, 
and Lima beans. 
Fruit Garden and Orchard. — This month is ge- 
nerally regarded as the proper time for budding 
apples, pears, plums, cherries, nectarines, apricots, 
almonds, walnuts, &c. Keep the ground about your 
nurseries, and grape vines loose and clean. 
Flower Garden and Pleasure Grounds. — Trans- 
plant from seed beds the various kinds of flowers 
that were omitted last month. Plant the bulbs that 
have begun to vegetate, such as amaryllises, lilies, 
&c. Keep the earth loose about dahlias. Take up, 
separate, and transplant the roots of peonias and 
other tuberous-rooted plants, the leaves of which 
have decayed. Plant the seeds of polyanthuses, 
cowslips, &c. Clip hedges; mow lawns; clean 
gravel walks. 
WORK FOR AUGUST, SOUTH. 
General Remarks. — Several of the hints given 
this month for the work north and west will also 
apply to the south, as cutting bushes and destroying 
weeds, composting manure, draining wet lands, sow- 
ing turnips, and gathering seeds. 
Picking Cotton. — About the middle of this month, 
cotton will have sufficiently ripened to burst its 
covering, and will bear to be picked. In the mean 
time, make it a matter of special attention, to have 
everything in readiness, in order that there may be 
no detention. Examine baskets, sacks, gin stands, 
running gear, presses, &c, and if anything requires 
repairing, let it immediately be done. Should the 
cotton be tardy in ripening, open the branches to 
the sun, that a freer circulation «f air may pass 
through them, which will cause the bolls to open 
sooner, and not rot in consequence of rain or dew. 
Cutting Fodder. — Cut crab grass and throw it 
into heaps, thfere to remain for a day, and then into 
heavy windrows until cured. Gather fodder from 
late-sown corn. 
Harvesting Rice. — As soon as three or four of the 
lowermost grains of your rice begin to turn yel- 
low it may be cut and carefully stacked. Be care- 
ful to shut off the water from the fields, a week or 
ten days before you begin to cut. 
Harvesting Tobacco. — Tobacco plants should be 
cut as soon as they have come to maturity. This 
may be known by the leaves becoming mottled, 
coarse, and of a thick texture, and gummy to the 
touch. The ends of the leaves, also, by being 
doubled, will break short, which they will not do 
to the same extent when green. They should not 
be cut in wet weather, as then, they lose their na- 
tural gumminess, so necessary to be preserved. 
When the harvesting is to commence, procure a 
quantity of forked stakes, set upright, with a pole, 
or rider, resting on every two stakes, in readiness 
to support the tobacco, and keep it from the ground, 
when cut. The plants should be cut obliquely, 
even with the surface of the ground, and should 
receive two or three smart raps with the back of 
the knife, in order to remove the sand, or soil, from 
the leaves. Then they may be tied two stalks 
together, and gently placed across the riders, or 
poles, where they should remain in the sun until 
they become wilted. They should then be carried 
into the drying house, and strung upon frames, 
leaving a small space between each plant, that 
air may circulate freely, and promote the drying. 
As the latter process advances, the stalks may be 
brought closer to each other, so as to make room 
for others. Exclude, as far as possible, all damp 
air, and be equally guarded against the admission 
of all drying winds, so that the operation may not 
be too rapid, unless the season be rainy, when, the 
sooner it is effected, the better. As soon as the 
middle stem becomes quite dry, the leaves may be 
stripped and put in bulk to sweat. This may be done 
more conveniently in cloudy weather, when the 
leaves are moist, and more easily handled. The 
leaves should be assorted according to their quali- 
ties, with their stems all kept in one direction, in 
the bulk, which should be two or three feet high, 
and of any convenient length and breadth. To 
guard against the tobacco becoming overheated, and 
to equalize the fermentation, or sweating, after the 
first twenty-four hours, place the outside leaves in 
the middle of the pile, and those of the centre to 
the outside of the bulk. By doing this, once or 
twice, taking care to exclude the air from the pile, 
and leaving it in this state for about forty days, 
the tobacco will acquire the odor and other quali- 
ties desired. 
