'434 
SOUTHERN CULTIVATOR 
Stable manure, (ten or fifteen loads to the acre,) vvoods- 
jnould, ashes and broken bones, equal parts, (six or eight 
loads to the acre,) or three hundred pounds of guano, 
acallered broadcast and plowed in, will give you a good 
£j!op. Shoutd you wish to manure in the drill, open a 
^ide and deep furrow with a long shovel plow, scatter 
■your mars® re thickly along this drill, throw a fiat, broad 
bed on the manure with a turning plow, and after raking 
the surfece smooth and even, drill in the seed as above 
directed. From one to one and a half pounds of seed, 
mixed with sand and carefully sown, will be sufficient for 
tin acre. [A friend recommends the sowing of the 
seed kte in the after noon, leaving the drill open 
And the seed exposed to the action of the dew until 
daybreak, next morning, when they must be covered, and 
the ground rolled cr pressed down firmly on them. This 
plan well worthy of a trial in dry wei^iher.] If 
■you hnvt. plenty of leached ashes, you may top-dress the 
ground witli ten or fifreen bushels per acre, after sowing, j 
k win be well, also, to dust the plants when they first 
oornc up, with a mixture of ashes, soot, plaster and salt, 
(a bushei to the acre,) to prevent the att-acks of the fiy, 
(VnUoue this until they get into the rough leaf, when 
ihey may be considered out of danger. When the plants 
are well up, clear out all grass and weeds wuh the hoe, 
thin them to a stand of from six to twelve inches 
according to the size of the variety. After thin- 
siTtg,, work them out from time to time, until the tops 
the ground, when you may lay them by. 
Sweet Potatoes. — Keep the earth fresh and loose around 
plants, and the rows entirely free from weeds, until 
mnes take complete possession of the patch. Lose 
m> dma now in cutting and setting out vines for the pro- 
(iaeiioii of next year’s seed. 
Maya%d Fodder. — Cut and carefully save drilled corn 
fodder (as directed in July number, page 201); also, make 
ail Ike Hay you possibly can from Crab (or Crop) Grass, 
Crowfoot, Fea Vines, tops of Ground Peas, Bermuda 
^^cass, Chinese Sugar Cane blades. Millet, etc., etc. 
I>iicfvmigi Mauling Muck. Woodland Pastures^ Siraw- 
Beds. tic. — The dry weather of this month will be 
Sjiand favorable to the ditching and draining of low, wet 
clearing up of swamps, cutting underbrush, dig- 
and embanking fish-ponds, preparing Strawberry 
l^lches, clearing the undargrewth of forests for wmods 
Pastures, hauling of muck to the compost heap, destruc- 
rioa, by campost fermenting or burning, of noxious wmeds, 
etc. 
THE GAEDEN. 
All plaats of the Cauliflower, Brocoli, or Cabbage 
‘^jraily, may be set out the latter part of this month for 
and winter use. This month may be considered the 
^second spring in the South. All work done in the 
should now be repeated, and will, in most cases, 
fsavmsh us with excellent vegetables until frost. Continue 
&& transplant Celery. Full crops of the dififerent kinds of 
Tumlps shouM be sown during the month, as directed 
above. Sow sesds of Beets, Salsify, Carrots, etc,, for 
winter use— shading the ground, by a slight brush 
from the hot sun. Radishes, Spinach, Lettuce, 
*46.3 may be sown, and Snap Beans and English Peas 
jm&y be planted, and the drills, as soon as filled up, cov- 
aisd with a pretty heavy mulching, at least one inch 
saw-dust or well rotted leaves are very good for 
St;- the young plants will easily come up through the 
aaulsfiiing. Plant, also. Melons and Cucumbers for man- 
and pLcMes, Keep down all weeds— use the hoe, 
«'ater freely. Plant a second or fall crop of Irish 
and Peas, mulching both heavily with leaves. 
Parpife Egg Plant, Tomato, and Lima Bean, may be 
planted for a late crop, and will come yet, with “ favora- 
ble seasons.” Keep your Stawberry beds clean, open aad 
mellow, now, if you desire to increase your plants, and 
encourage the growth of runners by an occasional water- 
ing. If you do not want runners^ cut them oflf and turn 
them und'.,'.', to g’ve back their substance to the bearing^ 
plants. Give these occasionally a. light top-dressing of 
Jeached ashes just before a shower, or water them with a 
very weak solution of potash. Gather all your ripe gar- 
den seeds. It is a mistaken notion that we cannot save 
our own garden seeds; we can and ought to do it. 
THE ORCHARD AND THE NURSERY. 
Gather up all fallen and defective fruit and feed to the 
hogs. Save stones of the Peach to produce new varieties 
and for seedling stocks. Let the Peaches, from which you 
obtain seeds for planting, h& fully ripe, if you are endeav- 
oring to re-produce them or originate new varieties. 
Bury the Peaeh .stones at once, or plant them immediate- 
ly, in drills, where you want them to grow. This is the 
best way. They will come up next April. Try a few 
hundreds or thousands yearly, and yeu will, from time to 
time, be rewarded with valuable Southern seedlings, espe- 
cially suited to our own soil and climate. Budding of all 
stone-fruits may still be continued by those who have the 
proper stocks. Insert the bud on the north side of the 
stock, early in the morning, or just before nightfall, ceas- 
ing operations in the heat sfAic day. Now is, also, the. 
time to make cuttings of Evergreens. 
THE FLOWER GARDEN. 
Collect seeds of all Annuals, and preserve them care- 
fully, Bud Oranges and Lemons. Propagate Aloes and 
the Cacti, (or Cactus,) by slips. Sow bulbous rooted 
flower seeds to obtain new varieties. Stake your Dahlias 
and thin out your flowers, if too profuse. Clip Box edg- 
ings in moist weather. Cut and roll Grass plats and 
lawns. Clean up walks, put on fresh gravel, and roll 
smoothly. Water your potted Annuals and other plants 
daily, in hot weather. Sow Tulip and other bulb seed. 
Gather all valuable seed as soon a.s ripe, and save for 
future use. Use water frequently, as heretofore directed. 
IMPROVEMENT OF LAND. 
Mr. G. D. Harmon has a short, but quite suggestive 
article on the improvement of land in our last issue, 
which prompts us to take up the subject at the point 
where he has left it and discuss it at greater length. He 
asks, “What is agricultural improvement'? Is it to be 
found in the theory of planting 25 acres to the hand and 
working a ‘big crop’ for 4 or 5 years, wearing out your 
land, and being compelled to clear the balance of your 
woodland that you had left for timber, or move to another 
country'?” 
Of course, this practice is the reverse of what Mr. H. 
regards as agricultural imprevement. He does not define 
the meaning of the terms as he understands them; but we 
infer that he would at least keep land as productive as it 
was in its best estate as a virgin soil. In that case the 
improvement would consist in the subdueing and culti- 
vation, and in adding, from time to time, so much of the 
elements of fertility as would keep the supply in the soil 
equal in amount to all that nature originally furnished. 
In this way there would be no diminution of the raw ma- 
terial for making annual crops, and the perpetual fresh- 
ness of Nature would extend her choicest blessings to the 
wise and just cultivator. 
Something like this ought to be the popular and com- 
