Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1858-09-09
Gle 5arn,er.
Farm Work for Sentemher.

We are now close upon September and
bid adieu to the summer months The pre-
sumption is that farmers of New England
have finished haying and now have leisure
to attend to Improvements of a permanent
character.
September is an important month for va
rious seeds. Wheat and rye succeed best
when sown early in the month as their roots
strike deeper and are better prepared for
winter.
The common grasses, herds-grass and red
top, succeed best when sown early in Sep
tember-no matter how early in case the soil
happens to be dry enough, and not too dry,
for the operation of the plough and harrow.
When sown in good season, with top dress
ing and most thorough narrowing, good
harvest is expecte in the following season.
The last narrowing may take place five days
after the seeds are sown, or just before they
are sprouted; then the seeds will have five
days start of the Weeds the seeds of which
are always ready to spring up and get the
advantage because they are always swollen
enough to sprout as soon as the plough or har-
., TOW UTluSS lHoul tuO
Therefore in seeding, whether in the spring
or autumn let the cultivated seeds have as
fair chance as you do the seeds of weeds
and this you may do in most cases by har-
rowing the sown field number of days after
sowing just before the sprouting takes
place.
We see an account in some of the western
papers of great and unexpected harvest of
wheat on ground that has been narrowed eoe-
ry day after sowing, till his wheat sprouted.
The owner ascribed his success to his beat
ing the soil down hard and pulverizing finely
but he also had the benefit of weeks
start of the various weeds which might have
~choked his wheat
We say then to our friends, try this
scheme of narrowing just before your sown
seeds vegetate and see if you cannot master
the weeds, while you pulverize the surface
better and give courage to the young plants.
When you plough greensward in September
you turn in all the grass &C., that is on it.
This soon rots and you have the benefit OF a
green crop, and a top dressing will not need
to be as heavy as in case of planting corn Or
potatoes. But most thorough narrowing is
useful on green sward farrows-for they al
ways lie light compared with the burrows of
old titled land.
Corn should be topped in the fore part Of
September unless you choose the modern
mode practised by many farmers-that is, to
let the whole stand till the day before the
frost comes and then cut up top and bottom
together, shocking it up in bundles as we
shock up the tops.
One advantage is derived from cutting the
up at the roots-the ground may be sooner
cleared for another sowing. One objection
to cutting the whole at the bottom is that
where it has not been practiced you are at
the trouble to teach green hands new modes
of operation, and where no decided advan'
tage is shown in new scheme many farmers
prefer to follow the old course.
Rocks may be dug and thrown into walls
at this season rather better than at any Other
time, and where rocks are plenty there is nc
question but that they make the cheapest
and best fence for cattle A common wal
three and half feet high, will turn all de-
cent cattle, and will be quite as permanent as
any fence that is put up. We see in all di
rections walls of this kind which have stoot
without repairs for more than century
What would you have better?
Cattle must be attended to and old woo.
en- fences repaired. AT this season cows anc
young cattle begin to be tired Of the old pas
ture and to look for something new. Let
them not harvest the fields which you intended
Tor your own use.--Ploughman.