1877 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
o23 
close, rain that may reach the inside, will not dry, 
but will cause mold and injure the fodder. 
Plowing Corn-Stubble. —When fall grain is sown 
upon corn-stubble, the stooks should be as wide as 
possible. The plan of binding in sheaves, will then 
be found very convenient, as the stooks may readily 
be set up 14 rows apart, or 7 rows on each side of 
each row of stooks. This will give nearly 40 feet 
of plowed ground in each strip, and leave very lit¬ 
tle space to be plowed afterwards. Then, if the 
ground is plowed by throwing the first furrows 
lightly towards the stooks, and finishing by an open 
furrow between them, the strips left may be plow¬ 
ed by throwing the furrows to those first made, 
again lightly, and finishing by a dead furrow in the 
middle. Then the ground will be left in lands 21 
feet wide, a width, nearly 10 paces, that is usually 
given to the lands. 
Thrashing Wheat. —When it is convenient, it is 
far the best plan to thrash wheat early. When put 
into the barn, it always undergoes a process of 
“ sweating.” This is caused by the water contained 
in the grain and straw, and which cannot all be 
dried out in the field, but which is evaporated by 
the process, of heating and “ sweating.” The barn 
should be thoroughly ventilated during this pro¬ 
cess, and the doors thrown open every fine day, 
especially when a breeze is blowing. After this 
sweating has occurred, the grain thrashes easily, 
and may then be put away into the granary safely 
The Straw is too valuable to be used for litter. 
Plenty of material can be procured for this purpose 
which costs nothing, and is good for nothing else, 
such as leaves, coarse grass, weeds cut before they 
blossom or seed, sand, dry earth, swamp muck, etc. 
These should be gathered in good time, and stored 
under cover or protected from the rain. 
Digging Potatoes. —Potatoes should be harvested 
in good time, and put away in pits lightly covered. 
It is a good plan to sort the potatoes when picking 
them up, and thus save another and unnecessary 
handling. Keep the different sizes separate. 
Clover Seed. —The second crop of clover for seed, 
may be cut with a mower, and gathered upon a 
frame, made of light strips of wood, or iron rods, 
to which a piece of canvass is sewed, and fastened 
to the cutter-bar by two bolts. The clover gathered 
upon the cloth can be raked off by a boy following 
with a wide hay-rake. The straw and chaff are use¬ 
less for hay, and are not worth the trouble of pre¬ 
serving from the weather, but will make excellent 
litter for farrowing sows. To be wetted and dried 
two or three times, causes the seed to hull easily. 
Fattening Animals. —It is now time to begin to 
fatten swine, sheep, and beeves intended for the 
market. The more of this work that can be done, 
the better for the farm and the farmer. We would 
purchase as many head as we could feed, and buy 
bran, corn-meal, oil-meal, or any other products of 
this character to be procured. If stock were bought 
with judgment, and fed with skill, they should 
bring in a handsome money profit, and leave a 
large quantity of valuable manure. 
Cows. —Fresh milk cows should be liberally fed. 
If they fall off now, they can not be brought up 
again when colder weather comes. Failing pas¬ 
tures should be helped out with some fresh fodder, 
bran, or meal. Look out for injurious weeds in 
clover aftermath, such as lobelia and St. John’s 
wort. When plentiful, these may cause fatal dis¬ 
ease in cows, as we have known them to do with 
horses and colts. The presence of these weeds is 
indicated by profuse salivation or slobbering in the 
animals that have eaten them. 
Sheep. —The breeding flock should now be put in 
order, culled over, and liberally fed. Half a pint 
of grain, per head, daily, given now, will help to 
bring the ewes in season early, and insure strong 
lambs, if good care is kept up through the winter. 
Separate all the ram lambs from the ewes, and keep 
the ewe lambs by themselves. Now that good 
mutton is becoming more popular in the markets, 
it would be well to consider the merits of the long 
wools as profitable sheep. 
Whitewash. —There is no more healthful mode of 
cleaning stables, pens, and sheds, than to give them 
a good coat of hot lime-wash. An easy mode of 
doing this, is to make a barrel of the wash by slack¬ 
ing a bushel of fresh lime in a pork or other tight 
barrel, with only water enough to make a thick 
paste. When the lime is thoroughly slacked, fill up 
with boiling water, and let it stand six hours. Then 
take one of the Fountain Pumps described in the 
American Agrciulturist for May, 1877, and spatter 
the walls with the wash, until every corner is 
covered. The lime that falls upon the floor will 
not be wasted, it will help to sweeten the place. 
Sundry Matters. —Look out for the insurance on 
bams and stock; do not let the policy expire with¬ 
out renewing it; and by all means choose a re¬ 
sponsible company to insure with... .Clean out and 
whitewash cellars and root-houses_Remove rub¬ 
bish from back yards and gardens_Repair fences. 
_Open drains_Repair the com-crib_Hunt 
out vermin and do all those things which need to 
be done to have all snug for the winter. Keep an 
observant eye open, and carry a note-book and pen¬ 
cil with you. It will be surprising how many things 
will be written down in it in the course of a few days. 
Holes on Orchard and Garden Work. 
This month is the orchardist’s and gardener’s 
harvest time—not so much for the ingathering of 
fruit and other crops, but for the collecting of the 
experience of othera, and the harvesting of in¬ 
formation that shall be of use hereafter. This is 
eminently the month of fairs and exhibitions. Be¬ 
sides the special horticultural shows, the State 
fairs, and in many cases the local or county fairs, 
have a special department for garden and orchard 
products, and the cultivator may properly give up 
a good share of this month to attending these gath¬ 
erings—not altogether as a matter of recreation, 
but as an investment for profit. The profit we re¬ 
fer to is not that which comes in the shape of pre¬ 
miums awarded to the articles he exhibits, for 
while it is a laudable ambition to carry off as many 
as possible of these, this should not be the sole, or 
even the leading motive for attending the fairs. 
The principal profit comes from seeing what others 
are doing, seeing new varieties of fruits, vegetables, 
etc., in examining new implements, and above all, 
in meeting with other cultivators, and in talking 
with them as to their ways and methods. The suc¬ 
cessful men are. generally enthusiasts in their pur¬ 
suit, or, as often said—“ride hobbies.” Such men 
are willing and glad to talk with others engaged in 
similar occupations, and it is hardly possible for a 
wide-awake man to visit even an ordinary fair, with¬ 
out learning something that he can turn to a use¬ 
ful account. Making the acquaintance of a va¬ 
riety of fruit or vegetable, that in earliness or 
other quality, is superior to that we now cultivate, 
will often put one on the road to prosperity. 
But one should visit the fairs to show, as well as 
to see. If every one held back, because he felt 
sure that some one else would have something bet¬ 
ter, there would be no show at all. It is very dis¬ 
gusting to the managers of a fair—as we know from 
experience—to be told by a visitor: “I’ve got at 
home better grapes, (cabbages, or whatever,) than 
any I see here.”—If you have made a mistake in 
not exhibiting, do not say anything about it, but 
resolve to do better next year. The proper course 
is, to show the best you have from the orchard or 
garden, and if others have better, try to learn the 
cause of the inferiority of your own. 
This is the gala year of the fruit growers, as the 
biennial session of the American Pomological So¬ 
ciety will be held Sept. 12th to 14th at Baltimore, 
Md. This is an association which every fruit-grower 
can, and which every one, large or small, should join. 
The work of the Society consists in recording new 
fruits, and in cataloguing the success of varieties in 
the different States. Besides this, and quite as 
important, are the opportunities for social inter¬ 
course, and the great advantages that come from 
personal acquaintance with fruit-growers from 
every State and Territory in the Union. We strong¬ 
ly urge all engaged in fruit culture, whether as 
amateurs or as a business, to connect themselves 
with this very useful National Society. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
The genera] failure of the fruit crop in England, 
indicates good prices for shipping varieties, es¬ 
pecially of apples. American apples have estab¬ 
lished an excellent reputation in England, and meet 
with ready sale. Formerly the shipments were con¬ 
fined to a few hundred barrels of Newtown Pippins, 
but now Baldwins, Northern Spys, Spitzenberg, and 
other well-keeping and high flavored varieties are 
sent, in large quantities. 
Marketing Autumn fruit, while less risky than 
that of the earlier varieties, requires care, and it 
is more likely to be picked and packed in too ma¬ 
ture, rather than in a too unripe condition. What¬ 
ever the variety of apple or pear, it should always 
reach the market in a firm condition. Over-ripe 
fruit will bruise, and the sale is ruined. Sufficient 
is said last month and the preceding on the details 
of Marketing. See article on the Peach Harvest, in 
August, and on Orchard Helps, in the present issue. 
Cider Making. —If any considerable portion of 
the crop is to be made into cider, to be disposed of 
as such, or converted into vinegar, the ways and 
means should be considered well before hand, and 
grinder, press, barrels, and the needed store-room 
be all in readiness. Presses of the capacity of a few 
bushels, up to those that work up 800 bushels a day, 
may now be had. An account of a powerful press 
was given in July last. Those who make nearly 
their whole crop of apples into 
Vinegar, find it profitable to have a small press to 
work up the windfalls every few days. This both 
prevents the increase of insects, and utilizes for 
vinegar what would otherwise go to waste. 
Drying Fruit, for family use or for sale, is suffi¬ 
ciently discussed in an article on page 338. 
• Budding will continue until the sluggish growth 
renders the stocks unfit. Full notes were given 
last month. Do not omit to examine the budded 
trees, as there directed, and cut the ties at the proper 
time. If the stocks are in good condition, the fail¬ 
ures may be rebudded. 
Seeds of Stone Fruits, peaches, plums, and cherries, 
need be kept from drying too much, and in a cooi 
place. Mixing with a plenty of sand, is the best 
treatment. The notion that stones from “natural,” 
or unbudded peach trees only, should be used to 
raise stocks, is founded upon the fact that such 
trees'are generally healthy, but some experienced 
planters use stones from the best peaches, provided 
they are from healthy trees. 
Preparing for Fall Planting. —Except in northern 
localities, where the season is brief, fall has sev¬ 
eral advantages over spring as a season for planting. 
Not only is the soil in better condition, but there is 
more time to devote-to the work, which is likely to 
be more thoroughly done, and the season is more 
favorable for the taking up and the safe transporta¬ 
tion of trees. If the planting is not to be done un¬ 
til spring, it is better to prepare the land by ma¬ 
nuring and plowing in the fall. 
IFrasifi; Garden. 
Excepting the grape vines and fruit trees, the 
plants have yielded their crop, and should now be 
treated with reference to next year’s fruiting. 
Fall Planting is as desirable here, for most things, 
as it is in the orchard, and for the same reasons. 
Blackberries and Raspberries, especially, are better 
set in the fall, as they push underground shoots 
very early in the spring, and growth is apt to be 
well advanced before it is suspected. Keep the canes 
and branches shortened, .as directed last month. 
Currants and Gooseberries should be pruned as 
soon as growth ceases and the leaves fall, and cut¬ 
tings for new planes put in. If these are set in the 
fall, they will often be rooted by the time the 
ground freezes. 
Strawberries. —While there is nothing to be gained 
in the time of bearing by setting in the fall, it is 
often a more convenient, and always a pleasanter 
time for the work, but in northern localities the 
plants do not get sufficiently well established, and 
are liable to be thrown out by the frost, hence fall 
