1871.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
203 
Peas. —la sections where the “bug” affects the 
peas, it is sometimes customary to sow this crop 
the first or second week in June. The bug seldom 
attacks crops sown so late. But the yield is usually 
small. 
Summer-fallows for 'Wheat. —On clover sod, not 
over three years old, a summer-fall*w on clay 
ground is the best of all preparations for wheat. 
Break up the soil early in June. Harrow thor¬ 
oughly, and continue to harrow or cultivate suf¬ 
ficiently to kill weeds ; then cross-plow in July, 
and harrow, cultivate, and roll. Plow again the 
last of August, and drill in the wheat. Some 
farmers break up the land in June, and do not 
plow again, depending on the frequent u>se of the 
cultivator and harrows to keep down the weeds. 
On light, loamy soil, such treatment docs very 
well; but heavy soil should be plowed twice or 
three times. An old, tough sod, broken up in June, 
does not make a good fallow for wheat. Better 
fallow it for oats, or break it up early in the fall, 
and plant corn in the spring. 
Weeds. —If not already done, pull Out red-root 
from winter wheat. Spud the thistles; pull docks 
after a soaking rain,while the ground is loose. At¬ 
tend to the weeds in the fence corners and along 
the ditches, and around stone heaps, and suffer 
none to go to seed. The oftener thistles and 
other weeds can be mown in pastures, the better. 
The weeds generally rob us of half our profits, and 
often take the whole. Declare a war of extermina¬ 
tion. Give up the silly notion that weeds cannot 
be killed and go at the business with energy and 
promptness, and success will attend him who per¬ 
severes. Recollect that it is the last blow that kills. 
If you stop short of this, your labor is thrown away. 
Horses. —Feed liberally and regularly, and groom 
thoroughly. Do not work them too many hours. 
From 7 A. M. until 11:30 A. M., and from 1:30 P. 
M. to 6 P. M., if kept steadily at work, is long 
enough. Let them rest in the stable and not in the 
field. Give cut feed and allow them plenty of time 
to digest it. Nearly all our horse complaints come 
from indigestion—and this arises very frequently 
from working too hard and too soon after eating. 
Working Oxen differ essentially from horse* in 
their digestive organs. The horse lias but one 
stomach and that a very small one, while the ox 
has four, and one of these is capable of carrying a 
large quantity of food that the ox can bring up and 
cot at his leisure. Oxen may bo worked for this rea¬ 
son far more hours than a horse without injury; 
neither do they require such rich food. If they are 
allowed too much grain or meal, much of it is 
voided undigested. Feed them all they will digest, 
but it is a waste to give more. It is well to work 
them earlier and later than horses, and let them 
rest in the shade during the extreme heat of the 
day. They should be well cleaned every day with 
currycomb and brush. 
The Dairy. —Let everything about the dairy be 
done with unvarying regularity and with scrupu¬ 
lous cleanliness. Tolerate no noise, harsh words 
or rough treatment. Never hurry or run the cows, 
or excite them iu any way. Milk with a steady, 
unceasing flow, and leave not a drop in the udder. 
Next to liberal feed, pure water and clean milking, 
we place in importance, petting the cows. A dairy 
farmer must be a gentleman. And the cows like to 
see a kind-hearted, sensible woman in the yard or 
stable at milking time! Let every dairy utensil be 
scalded every day. Mere washing iii warm water 
will not answer. The water must be boiling hot. 
Nearly all the trouble of the butter not coming, 
bad flavor, etc., arises from ignorance of or inatten¬ 
tion to the necessity of having the water boiling 
hot. A dirty vessel dipped in boiling hot water for 
a minute or two is far better than one that has been 
washed perfectly clean in merely warm water, but 
not scalded. The hot water penetrates into every 
pore or crack, and destroys the germs of the fungus 
that produces the mischief. 
Sheep .—Tag all that need it, and wash the sheep 
as soon as the water is warm, but not earlier. At¬ 
tend to the washing yourself and recollect that it will 
be better (at least for the sheep) to allow the wash¬ 
ers more warm coffee than whiskey. A little grain 
for a week or ten days before and after washing, 
will do much to prevent the sheep from taking 
cold—and it will start the oil sooner after washing, 
and they can be sheared earlier. If a shearer is 
rough with the sheep, kick him out of the barn— 
figuratively, of course. Fat, long wooled sheep 
should be fasted a few hours before shearing. Look 
out for foot-rot. On the first symptom of lame¬ 
ness, separate the lame sheep, and dress the feet of 
the whole flock with a strong solution of carbolic 
acid. There is nothing better than carbolic acid to 
cure the foot-rot, and nothing so good as a preven¬ 
tive. Lambs troubled with ticks should be dipped 
in a weak solution of carbolic acid—say a gallon of 
the crude acid to twenty gallons of water. 
Swine .—Spring pigs intended for the butcher next 
winter should be favored in the distribution of the 
milk, and should have nearly as much corn or corn- 
meal as they will eat, with a few hours’ run every 
day, if possible, in a good clover pasture. If in¬ 
tended to be kept until eighteen months old, it 
will not be necessary to give so much grain. If of 
a good breed they will thrive well on clover, and a 
pint of corn each, per daj r , increasing the quantity 
as they get older. Fall pigs should have the same 
treatment, with the exception of being allowed 
more corn. In our experience there is no way of 
making cheaper or better pork than allowing well- 
bred, early fall pigs that have been well wintered, 
to have the run of a good clover pasture and a lib¬ 
eral allowance of corn during the summer and 
autumn. See that all the pigs have abundance of 
fresh water. If any are taken sick separate them 
from the rest of the herd. Some farmers say if 
they feed corn to pigs in summer they eat but lit¬ 
tle clover. This is because the corn is not fed reg¬ 
ularly, and the pigs are constantly expecting the 
corn. Feed regularly night and morning, and none 
at any other time, and you will have no trouble. 
Haying. —Clover will be ready to cut towards the 
last of the month. Sec that everything is ready. 
Implements and Machines. —We probably shall not 
need sleighs before next winter! And it would be 
well to stow them away under cover for the sum¬ 
mer. And so with all other tools and machines 
that will not be needed until winter. Wagons, 
cultivators, harrows, plows, and other implements 
in constant use, should be kept housed as much as 
possible—or failing in this, wash or paint them with 
crude petroleum. Never use an implement or ma¬ 
chine without first seeing that all the bolts are tight. 
Do not run a wagon with a loose tire. 
A Grindstone with a treadle, or better still, one 
which can be run by horse-power, is indispensable 
to good farm management. A dull scythe, a blunt 
spade, and above all, a dull, rusty hoe, absorb many 
hours of hard labor. Better grind a hoe all away 
in a season than use it dull for two days. 
Work in the Horticultural Departments. 
The abundant work which the month of June 
brings is amply rewarded by the many beautiful 
flowers which the warm days bring forth, and the 
harvest is also a great attraction, the beginning of 
which will appear in the shape of the strawberries, 
soon followed by the other small fruits. Seeds, if 
sown now iu the well warmed soil, will germinate 
very rapidly, and a good crop of most varieties of 
vegetables may still be obtained this season. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Trees set this spring will need constant care in 
rubbing off all buds that start from the trunk, and 
are not wanted for limbs : if trees become bent 
by strong winds they must be tied up to stakes 
or else reset. Young trees may be successfully 
transplanted a short distance, even when in 
full leaf, if the roots are not dried by the sun. 
Pruning. —This mouth is preferred by many for 
pruning bearing orchards. Cover the wounds 
with shellac varnish. 
Thinning, though seldom practised on large trees 
is of great benefit, as the tree will continue in bear¬ 
ing longer, and the fruit is much finer. 
Cultivation. —All young orchards do better if the 
ground is kept cultivated, and if any crop is raised 
between the rows, supply a plenty of manure. 
Seed-beds of evergreens and other forest trees 
will need attention; they ought to be kept free 
from weeds and furnished with a shading of laths 
to protect them fr»m the sun. 
Insects. —Look out for insects of all kinds. When 
the tent caterpillars appear, destroy their nests. 
Curculio .—The best remedy for the curculio is to 
place a sheet under the trees and shake the insects 
into it, when they can be collected and destroyed. 
Slugs , upon pear and other trees, may be killed 
by dusting the leaves with Iwne, ashes or dry eartla. 
I’mit Garden. 
Strawberries ought to be mulched now, if not al¬ 
ready done, to prevent th'c growth of weeds as well 
as to keep the fruit free from dirt. If the hay or 
straw used in mulching can be run through a hay 
cutter, it forms a better material than when uncut. 
Plants set this spring ought not to be allowed to 
bear until the next season. 
Grape-vines set this season should be allowed 
to grow but one shoot. Rub off all other buds and 
keep the single shoot tied up to a stake. Young 
bearing vines should not ripen more than two 
bunches to a shoot, as the quality of the fruit will 
then be much better. Wherever mildew makes its 
appearance use sulphur, applied by a bellows. 
Currants ought to be heavily mulched, as it saves 
a time iu hoeing during the busy season. 
Raspberries. —Allow only three or four canes to 
grow to each Stool, unless it is desired to propa¬ 
gate the variety. 
Blackberries. —Canes must not be allowed *»grow 
more than four or five feet; the pinching induces 
the growth of side shoots, and these should be 
stopped when eighteen inches iu length. 
Kitchen Garden. 
Weeds will require the constant use of the hoe 
and rake, and if attended small it requires much 
less time to destroy them than when they are older. 
Where the rows are wide enough to admit the cul¬ 
tivator, the horse can be used with good effect. 
Seeds. —Many seeds require to be sown this 
month for a succession, as well as for late planting. 
Asparagus may be cut until green peas are ready 
for the table; stop cutting, and spade in a dressing 
of manure between the rows. 
Beans. —Bush varieties may still be planted for 
late crops, and the Limas started in the hot-bed 
may be set out. Put poles to all running varieties. 
Beets must be thinned out as soon as they are 
two or three inches high; the thinnings maybe 
used for greens ; many prefer them to Spinach. 
Cabbages from cold-frame plants will be ready for 
market this month. Set out plants from the seed¬ 
beds. Seed of late varieties for winter use may be 
sown. The Savoy or Curled varieties are much su¬ 
perior to the other sorts for home use. 
Carrots need great care in weeding, and those 
sown early need to be thinned out. Seed may still 
be sown early this month and make a good crop. 
Cauliflowers.— Set out plants in fine, rich soil, and 
keep well hoed. 
Celery may be planted on ground from which 
early cabbages were taken. The plants in the seed 
beds ought not to become drawn, but set out when 
two er thro# inches high in another bed, or where 
they are to grow. 
Corn.—Plant early varieties for use late in the 
fall, and keep that already up free from weeds. 
Plant a few rows of the pop-corn. 
Cucumbers.— Set out plants started in the hot-bed, 
and keep free from insects by the use of ashes or 
dust sprinkled upon the plants when covered with 
dew. 
Egg-Plants need a rich, warm soil; they amply 
