290 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
ciates no other reason for it, than the fact oftheir 
example. 
The young abhor this routine, as everything 
else does that is full of life. God is constantly 
working in Nature to destroy it, and to compel 
man to forecast, and a constant use of his rea¬ 
soning faculties. The young farmer wants to 
follow nature, to plant ornamental trees and or¬ 
chards, to try new crops, and new stock, to plow 
deep and manure high, without any reference to 
tne ways of the fathers. He wants to use his 
reason, and study the phenomena around him, and 
when he finds his ways crossed and his inquiries 
mocked, he turns his back upon a business that 
he thinks must keep him forever stupid and clown¬ 
ish. 
Such are some of the causes that repel the 
young from rural life. It is hardly necessary to 
say that the power of these influences is already 
waning, and the good time coming for the farmer 
is near at hand. 
--*-«»- 
Calendar of Operations for Oct. 1858. 
[We note down sundry kinds of work to be done during 
the month, not so much to afford instruction to practical 
men, as to call to mind the various operations to be at¬ 
tended to A glance over a table like this will often sug¬ 
gest some piece of work that might otherwise be forgotten 
or neglected. Our remarks are more especially adapted 
to the latitudes of 3S° to 45° ; but will be equally applica¬ 
ble to points further North and South by making due 
allowance for each degree of latitude, that is, earlier for 
the North, later for tire South. 
Explanations.— / indicates thejirst; m the middle; 
and l the last of the month.—Doutding the letters thus: ff\ 
or mm, or U, gives particular emphasis lothe period indi¬ 
cated.—Two letters placed together, as fm or ml, signifies 
that the work may be done in either or in both periods in¬ 
dicated ; thus, work marked fm indicates that it is to be 
attended to from the first to the middle of the month.] 
Farsis. 
In this month the thrifty farmer finds mu; h to claim his 
attention. Most of the remaining crops are ready for har¬ 
vesting, a stock of manure is wanted for next season’s 
crops, and now is the time to procure a large quantity of 
absorbent materials for use through the Winter. Stock 
will soon need a warm shelter from sleet and frost, and 
the humane farmer, next to his own dwellings, will look 
to the protection of his animals. Some permanent im¬ 
provements may also very properly now be taken in hand, 
such as draining and clearing up waste land, building 
stone fences or walls, digging cisterns, wells, &c.. 
Agricultural Exhibitions are still being held in many 
localities. Strive by your presence, wholesome counsel 
and contributions to make them worthy of an enlightened 
and improving community. 
Barns ani Hovels—Make these early as per directions 
elsewhere given. 
Beeves lay on flesh much faster during mild than cold 
weather. Prepare them early for the shambles. 
Buildings of all kinds—Look to early, and repair the 
leaky roof, glaze broken windows, nail on the started 
siding, renew the broken hinges, and fit the tie-ups and 
stables for their Winter tenants. Have everything in 
readiness against the cold and storms of next Winter, re¬ 
membering that the subtle snow finds its way through 
small chinks and crevices. 
Cabbages, Beets and Carrots—See Kitchen Garden. 
Cattle —Give extra feed now that the pastures afford 
but little grass. Allow no animal to begin a cold Winter 
in thin flesh. Milch cows should have all the refuse of 
the garden, witli small roots, pumpkins, cornstalks, &c. 
Young stock, especially, should be well fed the first Win¬ 
ter. 
Cellars—Cleanse 'horoughly and make rat proof, before 
putting in the vegetables and fruit. Ventilate well until 
cold weathei, and bank up about them, if necessary, to 
keep out frost. 
Corn—Select seed, f, if not already done, and trace it 
up as directed elsewhere. Cut and shock any fields still 
Standing. See implement for shocking and binding on a 
following page. Husk early and save the fodder in good 
condition for feeding. Avoid putting the corn up in a 
green or wet condition into large bins or cribs, with poor 
ventilation. 
Draining-October is a good month for this operation, 
and the sooner it is now done the better, before Fall rains 
set in. 
Grain Stacks—Thresh out any remaining, ff, and put 
the grain beyond the reach of vermin, fowls and birds, 
saving the straw for feed and bedding. 
Hemp—Complete harvesting, if ro 
Hoes- Commence, ff, giving full feed to fattening hogs. 
Cook foo- where practicable, using unripened corn, pump¬ 
kins, apples, tomatoes, carrots, &c., stirring in a quantity 
of Indian meal. Do not neglect their yards, as abundance 
of the best of manure should be made while the fattening 
is going on. 
Indoor Work—While butter making is going on by dav, 
the lengthened evenings allow of a systematic course of 
reading, or the younger members of the family may take 
up a series of studies, to very good advantage. Give 
your wife a sewing machine, now that the Winter clothing 
is to be made up, and dispense with tl.e annual services 
of the seamstress, who has usually been employed for 
weeks at least, at this season. 
Manures—Manufacture all that is possible, drawing 
upon the muck deposit, pond orcanal sediment, collecting 
saw dust, spent tan and forest leaves as absorbents. Turf 
from the road sides or headlands may also be added, es¬ 
pecially to the compound in the hog hards, throwing in a 
little shelled corn to induce rooting or turning over of the 
mass. See article on “Value of Muck.” 
Muck—Have a large quantity in readiness to use about 
the eow and horse stables, hog pens and privies. Besides 
being a good deodorizer, it will make a valua >le absorb¬ 
ent and fertilizer. 
Paint buildings and fences, m, 11, as it strikes in more 
gradually and lasts longer than when put on in Spring, 
besides avoiding flies and dust. 
Plow stiff or clayey soils, turning them up to the ac¬ 
tion of air and Winter frosts. 
Potatoes—Complete digging, f, m, and when conve¬ 
nient put in lime barrels, or dust a little dry lime among 
those for Winter keeping where rot is feared. Try the 
potato digger where several acres on smooth- ground are 
to be harvested. 
Poultry require a greater supply of meat or fish as their 
insect food diminishes. Cleanse their roosts often, and 
barrel the contents for a home guano. Pack away a 
quantity of eggs in salt, or pickle in lime water for Winter 
use and market. 
Pumpkins—Gather and house before heavy frosts. 
Expose in a cool place under cover to as much wind and 
air as possible, and only remove to a cool dry cellar when 
in actual danger of freezing. 
Sheep—Supply with salt, and see that their feed is suf¬ 
ficient. Keep the buck from them at present, except at 
the south. Lambs should not come in until warm settled 
weather in Spring. 
Stone Fences or Walls—Build along roads and on lines 
between neighbors where changes are not required. Be¬ 
sides making substantial fences you are clearing lands 
for the plow, mowing machine and horse-rake. 
Sugar Cane—Cut and manufacture the remainder as 
fast as tlie boiling process will permit. See article on 
page 259 of the September number. 
Timber if omitted till now, should be cut, ff, ralher 
than leaving it till Winter. 
Tools—Put away in a dry place under cover any which 
are no longer wanted, first cleaning and oiling, or coating 
steel and iron surfaces with lard and resin. 
Trees—Plant for ornament and shade about the dwell¬ 
ings, along the avenues, and in the pastures, as directed 
elsewhere. 
Winter grain should all be growing finely now. Keep 
animals of all kinds from feeding it off. 
ami I¥asr§ery. 
Gathering fruit and cider making, marketing or storing 
it away for Waiter will constitute an important part of 
the Orchardists’ labors for the present month. Where 
Fall planting is to be done, early in October is the best 
time. 
The Nurseryman will be very busy now, as his semi¬ 
annual harvest usually commences with the fall of the 
leaves in the fore-part of this month. To facilitate the 
rapid filling of orders, as soon as it will do to take up 
trees, collect from various parts of the nursery those of a 
kind and S't them loosely and thickly in rows, near the 
house or office so as to be convenient for selecting when 
hurried. Have labels with wire or string attached to 
marl: the kinds as sent from the nursery. 
Apples—Pick Winter varieties with care, mm, and lay 
them in the fruit room or barrels at once, leaving the heads 
offuntilthe sweating process is completed. Keep cool 
and dry. Late keeping sorts do better when left on the 
trees until pretty hard frosts occur, when ice begins to 
form. Gather only in dry weather. 
Evergreens may be removed, f, m, if done with care— 
but, as oftea stated, Spring is preferable. 
Grapes—See “Kitchen and Fruit Garden.” 
Iloe nursery rows still, and also about the trunks of 
orchard trees to prevent grass or weeds from forming a 
harbor for mice. 
Labels—Examine those on standard or orchard trees to 
see that they are plainly written and rufliciently fastened 
to remain over Winter. Prepare, if, a sufficient supply to 
mark all trees sent out of the nursery, and do not allow 
them to be taken away without having the naai» at¬ 
tached. 
Lands for Orchard or Nursery planting—Manure thor¬ 
oughly, plow and subsoil or trench well drained land and 
prepare it for early Fall or Spring planting. 
Mice—Use early precautions to prevent their girdling 
either the trunks or roots of trees. Glean tillage is one of 
tlie requisites, and in the vicinity of stone walls, or other 
shelter, birch bark, oil cloth, or thin iead coverings may 
be placed around the trunks of standard trees to good ad¬ 
vantage. 
Orchard Trees—Go over these and destroy borers • 
scrape off rough bark and thus dislodge the cocoons of in¬ 
sects ; and place around the roots a coaling of lime and 
muck, or muck and ashes to render them fruitful another 
year. 
Planting—As soon as the frost has killed the foliage, 
set out apple, pear, quince and the hardy varieties of 
cherries w ith the different kinds of deciduous ornamental 
shade trees. Most of the stone fruits and tender shade 
trees are better planted in early Spring. 
Pruning may still be done, though as formerly stated we 
prefer July and August. 
Seeds and Stones of Fruit—Sow early or put in boxes 
of earth, the seeds of apples, pears, plums, cherries, peach 
es, walnuts, chestnuts, butternuts, filberts, thorns, acorns, 
holly, beech, ash, maple, &c. Allow none of them to be 
come thoroughly dry before planting. 
MlJclsciia amt Fs’ialt <K«u’«tcaa. 
October is a busy month witli the market gardener, who 
has his remaining crops to harvest and store, or dispose 
of; and that he may commence his operations as early as 
possible next Spring, lie now prepares cold frames and 
fills them with the more hardy plants sown last month; 
he looks after his compost, drains wet lands, ridges up 
clayey soils, and carts muck or sand to add next Spring 
and spreads straw or salt hay over crops which are to re 
main out during the Winter. 
Asparagus—Prepare the ground, f, m, by thorough 
drainage, heavy manuring and deep trenching, and set 
out new beds, II. Salt old beds and cover them with ma¬ 
nure or stable litter, Where hot-bed forcing is intended 
in the Spring, take up some good strong roots before the 
ground freezes up and bury in the cellar. 
Bean Poles, Raspberry and Blackberry Stakes—Col¬ 
lect, II, and put away in Winter quarters undercover. 
Beets-Harvest, m, or befo-e hard freezing. In re¬ 
moving the tops do not wound the crown to cause bleed¬ 
ing, and consequent decay. 
Blackberries—Plant, mm, 1, on deep good soil. 
Cabbages and Cauliflowers—Late plantings are now 
growing and heading finely. They wili mostly need har¬ 
vesting, II. Set those sown last month in frames, m, 1, 
for Winter protection. Cauliflowers that have not (lead¬ 
ed in the garden will sometimes form heads during the 
Winter by transplanting to tlie cellear, at this season. 
Carrots—Dig and store for Winter, m, 1. 
Celery—Continue to earth up, ff, in dry weather. Avoid 
covering the crown of the plant. Pull, 11, and put in Win¬ 
ter quarters. 
Clayey and heavy soils—Plow or dig heavy loams or 
clay in ridges, so that tlie freezing and thawing of Winter 
will render them fine and friable. Underdraining will 
prepare them for much earlier working in the Spring. 
Cold Frames—If not in readiness, prepare them, m, 11, 
to receive lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, &c., 
for protection during the Winter. 
Currants and Gooseberries—Set out, f, m. Cuttings 
may be put in, m, 1. 
Fruit Trees—Plant, m. 1, as directed under Orchard 
Garlic, Shallots and Chives—Plant, m, 11. 
Grapes—Gather the crop with care, m, 11, or when hard 
frosts occur, if for keeping. See page 307. For wine, 
gather and manufacture as soon as they are fully ripe. 
Set out roots, m, 11, and lay down tender varieties at the 
same time and cover with earth. 
Lettuoe—Plant, f, m, in cold frames for Winter protec¬ 
tion. 
Manures—Look out for and collect, f, m, i, for another 
year. 
Mushrooms—«Beds may be made any time during this 
month. Protect with a covering of straw, any exposed 
beds upon the approach of heavy Posts. New beds better 
be made under cover at this season. For full directions 
to make beds use last volume, page 204 (Nov. No.). 
Onions—Cover those sown last month with litter, strauf 
or brush, II. 
Parsneps—Take up, m, II, or early next month, what 
are wanted for Winter use, and bury in sand in the cellar 
or put in barrels, sifting sand among them. Leave those 
for Spring use in the ground during Winter. 
Radishes—Scatter seed among the contents of the cold 
frame, ff, m. 
I Raspberries—Plant, ff, m, on rich, deeply worked, 
rather dry soil. Cover tender varieties with earth, 11 or 
