M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1860-03-15
SarituItural,
Some Hints on spring work.

MdICu, lHc euIllSet luuHln VI a.
, theIyear," has come again, and, thougl
in many localities icy wintef'stil CON
tinues to reign, the tocsin of prrpara,
tion sounded on every side by nature
begins to be heard.
Now is the time for the farmer tt
exercise all his vigilance and fore.
thought. and to see that every mo
ment Of time is turned to account -
See that q sufficient stock Of fuel ia
laid in at the hO1se tor summer wants,
and that the rails are drawn and laid
where they are likely 70 be handy toI
repairing fences. Put the fences and
gates into repair, as soon as the
ground is thawed enough to Tx the
stakes.
Have YOU a stock ofroots on handj
Every good farmer ought to have
Now is the time to feed them out tC
the animals on the farm, especially
milch COWS and breeding ewes, to eua
Bile them to give full supply Of milk
for their young.
See that the yeaning ewes are sep,
arated from the rest of the flock, given
q little extra food, and all tags and
dirt removed from them. At lamb
ing time, keep them comfortably
housed, with plenty Of good, clean
straw to lie on, and do not forget to
let them have access to clear, pure
water at all times, They require con.
slant care at this time il it is desired
to raise the lambs. The ewes may bc
let out into the yard every afternoon,
but the lambs are better to remain in
the house till they are at least week
old, strong and healthy. All chan
yes and exposure, especially to the sun
or rain, is injurious to them, as also is
lying on the cold, damp earth. The
lambs will soon learn to eat, If a lit
tie fine chopped hay or oatmeal is
placed in shallow box or trough in
their house, while the ewes are out,
and il it is desired to bring them Ior.
ward early for the butcher, this extra
feeding will help them greatly.
Feed the COWS well, and do not let
them tall off in their milk while
waiting for the grass to come. Give
the working animals enough Vi such
food as will produce muscle, hot fat
and give them moderate amount
OF daily exercise.
Keep the yard well Uttered with
straw, and the cattle confined TO it
There is nothing gained by lettiny
them wander over the farm. making
tracks in the soft gr, und wherever
they 60. Stock should never 20 to
grass till the ground becomes settled
firmly enough to bear them without
showing Ot.prints half an inch deep.
Pile up the manure in the yard as
fast as it is maGe, mixing into the
heap all the scraplngs ol the house,
fowl and sheep yards, hog pens, etc.
Pick over the potatoes, and select
the largest and soundest TOR seed Ii
they are cut, roll them in plaster oi
Paris, and sprinkle plaster over them
while lying in the cellar 1t is sald
to act in some degree, as u preventive
of the rot. We know OF some farmers
who SOW tablespoonful OF plaster IN
each hill, or over each set, ut the time
of planting, and who ascribe the free
dom Of their potato crop from disease
to the use OF plaster From the known
tendency salt to destroy tnngold
life in its early stages, We think SOW.
ing it on the potato plant might be
the means Of mitigating therot. We,
however, only throw this out as sug.
gestion to those who may be willing to
try the experiment.
Sow bushel Of plaster per acre on
clover as soon as the ground is dry.
Clover and grass seeds may be sown
this month, ION the snow if you like
though they will do as well, if not
better, when sown just after the warm
spring rains. narrowing is general.
ly unnecessary, but light brush har
row is used sometimes with advan.
tage Where it is desired to amelio
rate the soil, or obtain good pasturage,
and plow it again in yeai or two, we
should SOW nothing but pure clover,
at the rate OF 10 to 15ibs. per acre.
But where permanent moving mead
ows are desired, it is well to SOW a
mixture Of equal parts of clover and
timothy, with the addition, perhaps.
OF some other grasses, Of such sorts as
can be grown in the locality with all
vantage; say 8 TBS of Italian rye grass.
or 2 TBS Vi meadow fescue, or l ib. Of
red-top, Or 2 tbs. Of meadow fox tail, -,
or 8 lbs. OF Kentucky blue grass, or
4 TBS. Of orchard grass. Glover or
grass seeds do better when sown on
barley or spring wheat than ON any
other spring crop.
Roll the meadows and winter wheat
as soon as the frost is ont and the land
tolerably dry. Old meadows will be
the better fer good narrowing in the
spring before rolling.