WII^IilAM S. 
JO?^ES, Publisher. 
DANIEL LEE, M. D., anct D, REDflIOND, Editors. 
^ See Terms on Last Page. 
^lantatinE ^tDEDiraj u\ 
WORK FOR THE 3IONTH— DECEMBER. 
THE PLANTATION. 
Coito/i Picking ought to be finished, early this month, 
and the balance of the crop packed and sent forward to 
market, so that the planter, and his hands may have a little 
leisure before commencirlg the next year’s labors. Cotton 
planting, necessarily laborious, is made much more so by 
the “never ending, still beginning'’ system of most our 
planters. Let our readers, who are particularly interest- 
ed, begin the reform at once. 
Corn land of last year, intended for the same crop next 
year, should be broken up thoroughly and deeply; and if 
stiff, bedded up and exposed to the ameliorating influence 
of the winter’s rain and frost. Plow across the furrows of 
last year, and subsoil, if possible. Land cannot be made 
too deep and rich for corn— it is a gross and exacting feed- 
er, Clear up, also, some good new, fresh land for the 
coming corn crop. 
Wheod, Rye, Oat,s and Barley, may also be sown yet, 
but the sooner the better. Note what has been heretofore 
said about “thorough preparation of the soil,” and put 
your seed in right. Manure heavily, plow deep, and pul- 
verize as fine as possible. 
plenty of manure on yo-ur garden, plow it under deeply; 
or, better still, have it well spaded, burying under all ani- 
mal or vegetable matter. Cover up the Globe Artichoke 
with litter and pine boughs. Dress and manure your 
Aspara,gus beds, not forgetting to give them a liberal top- 
dressing of salt before spring. Save all old bones, soap- 
suds, dead leaves, decaying vegetables, &c., &c., and 
make up into compost heaps for future use. Plant choice 
Fruit Trees, selecting varieties which are known to be 
adapted to the South, and begin pruning your fruit trees 
and grape vines. Our Southern Nurserymen have paid 
especial attention to the propagation of choice varieties, 
and will probably be able to supply all orders. 
Straicberry Beds, for spring bearing, may also still be. 
planted, according to directions given last month. 
THE NUESEEY AND OECHAED. 
Propagate all the choicest and best varieties ot Souihern 
Fruits. The Quince, the Fig, the Grape and the Pome-, 
granate grow readily from cuttings, when planted in moist 
shady ground. Now is the best time for plar^ting Orch- 
ards. 
Look over your bearing Peach trees, and where the exu- 
dation of gum betrays the presence of the borer, apply 
boiling water, as the best remedy for destroying him- We 
have poured as much as 14 gallons of boiling v/at.ev around 
the stems of small peach trees, after which they gre.n} heau^ 
hfidly. 
f^DBVOTED EXCLUSIVELY TO THE IMPROVEMENT OP SOUTHERN AGRICULTURE, 
^Li^V. AUGUSTA, GA.. DECEMBER, 1857. ~ NO. 12. 
Fruit Trees of all kinds should be set out during Decem- 
ber and January, if possible. For directions, see articles 
in previous numbers, and for the proper selection of trees 
consult the Catalogues of the various Southern Nursery- 
men, whose advertisements will be found in our pages. 
One good Southern seedling fruit tree, worked on a native 
Southern stock, is worth half a dozen of dwarfish, slow- 
See list of 
growing foreign trees. 
Hedges of all kinds should nov) be planted 
plants and directions in November number. 
With the closing year, close up all accounts ; open new 
books, and make a fresh start with the new year which is 
approaching. 
Sow Cabbages, Turnips, Parsnips, Lettuce, Carrots, 
Radishes, Onions (black seed), Parsley, &c., &c. Haul 
Grasshoppers and Locusts. — Is it too late to arrest the 
misuse ofthese words in the United StatesI The seven- 
teen year insects, and the dog-day fly, of rjrnilar appear- 
ance, are not locusts, as they are commiapjy called. They 
are harvest flies, or cicadas. The grasshopper be- 
longs to a tribe of insects that fly, chiefly by night, of 
which the katydid is a familiar example. The insects 
which are in America called graiS'dioppers are in reality 
locusts, as their ravages in the F" ar West^would prove to 
any man acquainted with Bu'he antiquities. Grasshoppers 
have four joints in their feet, aMd the females have piercers, 
or swords; locusts have three joints in their feet, and the 
females no swords; ♦.hey fly much better than grasshop- 
pers, having narro'w wing-covers and larger wings. The 
Californians, the creatures in Utah, the men in Kansas, 
the farmers in the old States, are trouble with locusts. 
Grasshopper s are rarely destructive, being found in large 
numbers only in moist meadows. They unjustly, ir. 
Americ^,, bear the blame of what the locusts do, H. 
