The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1855-11-07
Further Hints for the Season.

Indian summer is approaching with its
soft haze Of dreamy beauty and that sweet
intoxication of the senses, which along
with forests bright with the hues of de-
caying verdure and full-orbed moons rising
in crimson bushes from the cloudless east,
make this season the most glorious of the
year. While the farmer amid such scenes
pursues his tolls, his thoughts may with
propriety turn to those labors which are
most appropriate to the hour, and espe-
cially to those preparations for the frosts
and storms that must soon mar the en-
chantment that rests like crown on the |
brow of expiring autumn, as he lays his
head to breathe his last on the bosom of
the stern winter.
But we must not give play to ,senti-
ment Let us then to our work
/. Look after your gardens IN variety
of respects Let all fall crops be remov-
ed from the soil and placed in good keep
ing for the winter. Let all vegetables
and plants that need winter protection be !
attended to in q proper manner. Let a
rich coat of well rotted manure be spread
over the remainder of the ground, and
with the spade or the plow followed by a
good subsoiler, let the whole be turned
under, aud let the ground be stirred from
twenty to twenty-four inches deep. When
all this is done, see that trenches
are traced, so that no water shall be left
standing anywhere in the garden. One
thing we had nearly forgotten. If the
garden has not been underdrained, see that
| it is done this fall See our articles on
this subject, published last spring, for the
details of the process. If the land has
been underdrained, see that the outlets
are clear, and that the water passes off
readily. A little neglect may result in
considerable losses, also that your garden
fences, and those around your fruit-yards
be in the best condition; for hungry cattle
in the winter are more likely to attack the
young trees or trample the ground, or
bite off the green plants, that you have
preserved, than at any other season of the
year. If you should sow some lettuce in
some sheltered spot, late this fall, you
would have bed of early lettuce in the
spring that would surprise some of your
neighbors.
II. Protect tender frat trees, shrubs and
zines, by sorapping them in acisps Of strar,
or By buryi'eg them an dry eorth, or 4"
saudust. Young peach-trees, tender grape
vines, and shrubbery of all sorts, whose
natural home is much south of US, need
protection in one of these ways. This
should be done after their growth has en-
tirely ceased, and yet before the severe
freezing of winter has begun. When
earth or sawdust is used, pains should be
; taken to avoid smothering the limbs and
to prevent their becoming affected with
mildew or rot. You may say, "I am in
experienced in all these things, and I am
afraid l shall do them in a wrong way"
l Yes, we reply, there is danger of this; but
| you will never learn till you begin. And
it is better to pay the penalty of late
learning than to pay the greater penalty
/ of perpetual ignorance. Besides when
1 you have fully commenced doing this
t work, you will begin to ask how skilled
r workman do the same work. And day
3 spent in some we'll conducted garden
: where well-trained hands are preparing
a everything for winter, will add to your
D practical knowledge an amount that vii
f surprise yourself.
y III. A word on another point. A
0 good mulching of coarse straw or othel
; coase manure, after you have dug in thu
: lime and rotten manure around yard frui
T trees, recommended few weeks aga, actl
be Of great use. 1t will prevent the freez
o ing of the ground as deep as it woule
! otherwise freeze. The frost that is in th'
r ground in the spring will be longer il
/ coming out and will retard somewhat tn
q growth in spring. This will diminish tn
IL peril to the fruit from early frosts. l
e will prevent the growth of grass, and will
keep the ground under the trees melloN
all the next year.
e " One thing more. Good clea
m straw is too good for littering stables.
has too much nourish,nent in it. And
le will soon gain commercial value frol
the use made of it in manufactured art
I'd cles of various kinds, which will enhanc
ID its price mnch beyond what is now though
of. What then can be used We answt
"various things" damaged hay or stray
er not fit for food--also that which may
ry left after foddering, and which will not
's' eaten; swamp grass, fern, saw-dust, an
'g forest leaves, may all be used for fodde
" ing with good effect. They should all |
ne provided when dry, and kept under COW
10 for the time of need. Most of these CO
ay be found everywhere almost, in suficie
quantity to make the use easy and econor
A. ical We hope they will be tried and Il
~ straw saved. Ohio Farmer
lr- -
co THINGS WORTH KNOWING TO mea