Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1861-04-05

THE lark sits high in the walnut tree,
And it rains, 1t rains it rainsi
A jolly philosopher sure is he,
While it rains, it rains, It rains;
Blthely he looks at the meadows below,
Where his nest will be when the grass blades
grow,
And pours out his song in liquid now,
While it rains, il rains, it rains"
The active season for the farmer opens
with APRIL, when the varied labors that
are to come before him through the
months which are TO supply his crops de-
mand especial attention. II man OF
forecast and system, like prudent gen.
eral who perfects his plans before he en-
tiers the field Of his campaign, he has
mapped out his plans, and has them all
at his command, so that men nor teams
wait for him TO decide what is TO be done
with this field or that
April brings a reviviication Of nature,
and.this inspires US all with new life,
hope and ambition. The opening flower
springing grass, the lowing herds, and
other cheerful voices Of animated nature,
all serve to kinGle in us a new class
of emotions of the most agreeable kind.
The labor of the farmer leads him into
the midst of these kindly influences, where
he may mediate upon their connection
with bis labors, and, with his springing
plants, rise rapidly towards heaven him
self. In this pleasant field of labor, then,
let US see what is to be done.
CLEAN SURRoUNDIEGs.-Nothing is
more important than to make Home
pleasant and attractive, and the first step
towards this, is to make its approaches
clean. As soon as the snow is oil, the
frost out, and the surface settled, put the
hoe and rake in use TO gather up what
ever rubbish may have accumulated
about she buildings during the winter.
In this work you will need short tooth
rake. When this is done, sweep the
lawn, and issue decree, that whatsoever
defiles it with sticks, chips, bits Of paper,
old rags, bones or egg SHE'LL, shall not
only remove them instantly, but be fined
a dime for each offence, or be posted On
the walls of the house, as a-sloven
Who ever approached farmhouse
and found arousd the buildings a neat
little. lawn, with its velvet carpet Of rich
est green, and not a blemish upon il,
without thinking, if not saying, This is
the abode Of neatness and tranquility
the graces are here, let us enter and en-
joy them?"
THE WooD PLE.-Do not allow
this TO remain unhoused till midsummer
II is money at interest, under cover,
where it can receive daily airing Out
OF doors, it is blo;ch in the surround
ings, unless neatly piled aud covered with
boards.
DRoPPlNGs IN MOVING FIELDs.--
Where cattle fed on moving grounds,
last autumn, little heaps will be found,
and unless scattered and broken to pieces
will be uncomfortable in haying time.
Broken, and dissolved by rains, they are
valuable fertilizers. Close fall feeding,
by the way, is a wretched policy
ly anything is more fatal to the grass
it is much like continually stripping a
plant of its foliage, and expecting it to
flourish. After grass is cut to be made
into hay, the roots have sufficient strength
left to throw out new leaves and these
in turn, are wanted to inyigorate the
roots, and when the leaves are cropt off
day after day, the roots are so weakened
that they cannot withstand the drought
of autumn or the col of winter, and the
grass runs out" as it is called. Close
fall feeding of moving lands, is more
costly than feeding the stock on hay and
grain.
OVERHAUL MANUREs.--If manure is
to be spread upon the sward and plowed
under. no matter how green and crude il
is, and all ogerhauling will only impair
its value for such a purpose. Bot # il
is to Se spread on sward land after it i;
plowed, it should be overhauled once Of
twice, and made as fine as possible, and
then plowed under only two or three
inches. IF fine, it can be more evenly
distributed over the field, and more con
veniently and certainly got under the
surface. The rains penetrate it more
readily, and wash out its fertilizing prop
critics and convey them to the roots o
the plants. If fine, it comes in contac
with a larger portion of the surrounding
minerals, bringing them to act together
and thus furnish sustenance for the grow
ing crops.
On the other hand, if it is coarse, j
requires nearly double the labor to get i