Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1850-01-22
AGRICULTURAL.
From the American Farmer.
Work for the Month.
WINTER PLoUGHING,

As there are many times during winter, ~heh
the ground may be ploughed without INJURY,
therefore, if you have any stiff clayey fields That
you intend for spring crops, you should sieze any
opportunity through the winter, when the ground
is not wet, to have such fields we'll Ploughed, ia
king care to lap the burrows, so as to insure the
water which nav fall, TO find drains beneath
them TO carry it Off By attention to this rec
commentator, YOU will, through the action OF
the frost have the tenacity of such clay soils bro
ken down, and its texture greatly improved, as
there is nothing, except the application OF large
quantities of coarse manure, mari or lime, better
calculated than exposure to winter freezings and
thawings, 10 .sfect this object, than winter
plouching when effectively done, at time when
the land is not saturated with water. If plough
cd when wet, your object will not only be defeat
ed, but the soil will remain in bad condition
throughout the season.
SURFACE DRAISs.-Examine the surface
drains in your grain fields, and be careful TO
have all impediments to the free passage OF the
water removed, as there is nothing which tends
more toprevent the winter-killing OF your gram,
than the keeping it free from flooding through
the winter and early spring. Keep your dram
beds dry, and the danger Of being killed IS but
,trfing. with deep tillage and well constructed
surface drains you will be able to avoid loss
from this cause.
Cow AND CATTLE YARDs.-These should at all
ltimes, through winter and spring, be well sup
piled with coarse materials Of some kind-the
more Of them the better TO absorb the urine of the
stock, and preserve it from waste Beneath
these coarse materials there should be at least
twelve, eighteen or twenty-four inches ofmould,
or earth of some kind TO receive and absorb such
,of the urine as might not be taken up by the
coarse materials above. Indeed, know no
better use that could be made of mari, peat or
marsh mud, by those who have either, or all of
those substances on their farms, as the whole
would be prepared to shovel over in mass by
spring, and be as rich manure as can be applied
ITO any crop needing nutrient and mineral ma
lnure. Neglect in this particular, is the reason
why so many farmers are without the means OF
sfertilizing their lands. If cattle yards were
formed with an inclination to the centre, from
the sides, each head of cattle enclosed in such
yards, that might be well fed, would drop and
void enough from fall to spring, to convert TWEEN
" double horse or ox-loads into excellent ma
nure-howeyer rich the dung Of COWS may be,
their urine is still richer in all the elements OF
.fertility-in those salts which go to sustain the
Vie of the living plant-infuse vitality into it,
and carry it through all the stages of IFS growth
yUh " ShOnd
1t be aoSt through the negligence of the husband
man? Why should he, for the want Of the exer-
ertion of well-directed energy, suffer that to &c
10 waste, which, if saved would keep up the fer
tlity of his arabic land?
A New PREMuM.-We notice that the Agri
cultural Society of Keene, New Hampshire, have
awarded a premiam 10 a Mrs. Liyermore, a cler
gyman's lady, for the best homemade bread
We like this idea well, and hope to see it acted
upon by other Societies. Let the staff of life bt
taken in hand, and let the premiums offered b.
appropriate and worthy the object Of having
good loaf Of bread.
The truth is, the premium lists of Agriculture
Societies do need revising, altering, and amend
ing exceedingly. We shall take an early oPpor
tunity to offer a few hints upon this matter
Among the rest we shall certainly remembe
rood bread. For we maintain that good breat
is intimately related to good morals, as well a
happiness, and certainly to good health. Ladies
if YOU would keep all quiet at home, and keel
your husbands there, keep them well supplied
with good bread, and let it be the handiwork o
YOUR own hands, sweetened with smiles, ant
lightened with love; and my word for it, YOU
household shall not only be blessed, but it shall
bless YOU [Amercan Agriculturist,
"Too POOR TO LIVE WITHOUT 1T. -
woman in the Mesopotamia of Maine sen
her pay, recently, to the Christian Mirror
for another years subscription to that pa
per, adding, at the close of her letter, tina
she was {" infinitely too poor to DO with
out it," There are some things in thi:
world which people are rich enough &c
dispense with; they have so many luxu
ries that they can do quite well without
certain necessaries but who can afford to
live without food! Whose mind is sc
poor that it can dispense with instructions
The truth is, men should, sometimes
make their very poverty reason for eX
erting themselves to possess certain neces
saries. They are too poor TO live with
out them. SO with the lady on Br. Cum
n;nuSs list of subscribers She has