194 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR. 
peated the third day, which will generally be sufficient, if 
the weather is dry and favorable. It may then be perma- 
nently stacked or packed away under cover ; and if while 
packing the different layers are sprinkled with salt, at the 
rate of about 8 quarts to an ordinary 2-horse wagon load, 
it will be more highly relished by stock, and all danger of 
heating obviated. The same plan, of course, applies to 
the Chinese Sugar Cane fodder. In drilling either Corn 
or Chinese Sugar Cane for fodder, sow very thickly in the 
drill, so that it may grow like coarse grass instead of be- 
ing heavy and “stalky.” Be sure, also, to make the land 
deep and rich. 
Cutting up Corn in the field, and using the stalk and 
leaf for the winter feeding of stock, has also many advan- 
tages, which we will speak of in detail hereafter. 
Sweet Potatoes must now be worked carefully, throw- 
ing up some fresh mellow earth to the ridges, and destroy- 
ing all weeds. Make your last planting of “draws,” and 
if the weather is very dry, before planting dip the roots in 
a thin batter— plant just at night-fall— and manage as 
heretofore directed. As soon as possible, prepare a rich, 
moist piece of land, and plant out an abundance of cut 
vines to produce next year’s seed. 
Turnips . — This is a most important crop for the plant- 
er and farmer, though not yet appreciated fully. A dis- 
tinguished English statesman has said that England could 
better afford to lose its navy than its turnip crop. There- 
fore plan largely ; it is indispensable as a winter forage. 
We will hereafter describe the best and most profitable 
way of feeding. If you have not already prepared your 
land for Turnips, do it at once, pulverizing it thorougly by 
several plowings and cross-plowings. If you have no land 
which recently has been cow-penned, scatter some guano 
(250 pounds per acre) previously to the last plowing, and 
turn it under immediately. Sow in rows, at such dis- 
tances as to allow the turnips to be worked with “Knox’s 
Improved Horse Hoe,” if you have this excellent imple- 
ment. Make arrangements to sow often and largely, 
commencing early, as it is sometimes extremely difficult 
to get a stand. Make your first sowing about the 20th 
of this month, and if that should fail, try again every 10 
days until the last of September, and your perseverance 
will be crowned with success. Guano, supe-phosphate of 
lime, broken bones, or a compost of woods-mould or well 
rotted stable manure with crushed bones and ashes, are 
each and all proper fertilizers for the turnip crop. The 
manure may be applied in the drill or put on plentifully 
broadcast, and plowed in well. The Rutabaga^ Red Top 
(“strap leaf,”) Early Flat Dutch, Yellow Aberdeen, Nor- 
folk and Globe are all good varieties— the two first, fifth 
and sixth being the best for field culture. As food for 
stock, we believe.the Rutabaga is conceded to stand fore- 
most. 
Draining and Ditching . — The richest land on the plan- 
tation is often allowed to run waste, worthless and wild, 
presenting only stagnant puddles of water, rank grasses, 
weeds and brambles, and forming a harbor and receptacle 
for snakes, lizzards, turtles and “vermin” of every de- 
scription. Now, during the “summer solstice,” when the 
ground is comparatively dry, and the heavy field-work 
over, is a good time to change these offensive blotches on 
the face of Nature into cultivated fields of the most produc- 
tive character. Dig wide and deep under-drains, or open 
ditches to carry off the surplus water, cut down and grub 
up trees, bushes and briars, destroy noxious weeds, &c., 
and plant the reclaimed ground next spring in Irish Pota- 
toes, Corn, Cotton, or Grass for meadows. [See notice 
of a capital work on Draining, in “Our Book Table.”] 
Grass and Woodland Pastures . — Select a piece of na- 
turally moist, good land, timbered with spreading trees — 
cut down and grub out all small shrubbery, briars, brush, 
&c., leaving only large trees standing. Then break up 
the ground as finely as possible, by plowing and cross 
plowing, with a long, stout, sharp rooter, and seed down 
heavily with White Clover, Kentucky Blue, Texas Mus- 
quit. Herds, Italian Ray, or other grasses for woodland 
pasture. Grass will not succeed without plenty ot mois- 
ture, under our parching suns, and to such as are not 
able to supply moisture and sustenance, by deep sub- 
soiling and liquid manure, we recommend a trial of shade 
for their pastures, meadows and lawns, as above indi- 
cated. 
Hay . — Now is the time to make hay. Cut the grass 
while in bloom, spread it immediately, and turn it over 
in the afternoon. In the evening rake it up, in long and 
rather thick rows. By turning them once a day for the 
next two or three days, your hay will be nicely cured, 
and equal to, if not better than the Northern hay. Should 
rain threaten while the hay is drying, make a rush with 
full force, and pack the rows up into sharp pyramidal 
cocks the size of a molasses hogshead, and when the 
ground dries again, spread out thin to cure. Northern 
hay ranges in price from $1*25 to $2 per hundred pounds, 
and it is a shame that we of the South should ever be 
obliged to buy a pound of it at any price ! when we can 
produce as good an article with little or no trouble or ex- 
pense. 
Weeds and Grass . — All crops on the plantation require 
particular attention during the present month. The weeds 
will choke up and strangle everything unless they are 
promptly dealt with — cut down and destroy them before 
they go to seed ; and thus prevent present and (in a mea- 
sure) future annoyance from them. 
The Kitchen Garden. — The earlier spring vegetables 
being now nearly all gone, little can be done to advantage. 
It will be well, however, to clear off or turn under all 
weeds and the remains of early vegetables, and manure 
liberally by way of preparation for fall crops. Celery 
seed may be sown, but the bed must be shaded from the 
direct rays of the sun. Sow, also. Rutabaga and other 
Turnips, as directed under the previous head ; Lima or 
“Butter Beans,” the Green Glazed Cabbage; purple Egg 
Plants, Radishes, Cabbage, Lettuce, Tomatoes, &c., for 
late crops. In the latter part of this month, transplant 
Cabbages for fall and winter use. Take off limbs of your 
Tomato vines, shorten the top and set them out »s cut- 
tings, and shade them with a little brush wood ; they 
will soon come to bearing, and yield fruit until frost. 
