Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-09-30
w. d. WALLACH.
s.ps.as.r-s..eki 6 Down Land.


September strews the woodland o'er,
With many q brilliant color;
The world Is brighter than before.
-a-sf WHY should our hearts be duller!
Why is our earth so gaily dressPdt
This pomp that autumn beareth. ...
"A funeral seems. where every guest
bridal garment weareth .n-Asos.
The last days Of rosy summer have departed.
With what rapidify the seasons roll round
For month after month We were ascending
higher and higher, until We reach the very
summit, where We begin to descend into the
cbeerless vale Of winter. September reminds
us, very forcibly, that the geeful days of child
hood-the pleasures of youth-and the vigor Of
manhood have passed away, and that our little
bark Is gliding swiftly down the smooth stream
OF time TO hoary age.
In September, the faithful husbandman often
experiences the full fruition Of his hopes. For
many months past be has plowed and soHed,
and cultivated and guarded with vigilant eye;
and now his hopes are net blasted The
boughs of his fruit trees begin to bend beneath
the abundance Of delicious fruit; the golden
corn rustles in the gentle breezes, and invites
the nimble fingers to make the dry husks rattle,
and the corn cobs crack; and old Jack Frost
begins to crack his jokes, and admOnish US
that il Is time TO urge forward our lsbors with
increased speed, and to begin TO gather in the
stores for winter. s
One Of the items of field labor for the present
month which ought not to be neglested when
winter grain is putin, is
LEvELISG OFF THE SOIL.
have observed during the past season on
most farms that have visited, that but very
few farmers finish up field in farmer-like
manner. They are not at all particular to have
the last blowing neatly performed, having
every sod well turned under, and the dead
burrows we'll filed up and lsveled of. Many
farmers are in such haste to get q Job of their
hands-to have it said it is done-that they
often lose more dollars in consequence Of il,
than they are aware Of.
Whether we intend to stock field down for
either meadow or pasture, or not, il ought to be
well leveled of, If there are high ridges, and
deep dead furrows, and hummocks and depres-
siOns innumerable, no man can plow that field
neatly, the next time il is to be plowed: and
If it is to be moved, either by hand or with q
mower, it will not be practicable to perform it
an farmer-like manner, unless il is smooth.
The neatest and most efectual way to keep
field level and smooth, is to commence ploe-
ing in tho middle of the field, and continue to
60 around and around, turning the burrows
inuards, until the entire field is plowed. This
manner Of ploring leaves no dead burrows or
ridges, (see details and diagrams of fields plow-
ed IN this way in the Young Farmers Manual,
page 34l.) Dead furrows are often very bad
places 10 pass over with a loaded wagon or
cart and sometimes when mower or reaper
IL passed along lengthways of them, or even
across them, they will work very badly, and
sometimes not at all; and sometimes such
places are the cause Of break down
On the day write this article, was In a field
whore sresper was cutting barley. The ma
chine was Sufficiently strong for any ordinary
work: and performed Its work as neatly as any
machine could do it; but, when running along
n deep dead furrow, it broke down in conse-
quence of Ii, and cost journey of over thirty
miles, besides q cash expense Of from two to
three dollars, to put it again in running order
Ny usual prsetice, in years past, has been,
when leveling of field, when it was not plow-
ed by commencing in the middle, but piowed
In lands, to turn from two to four burrows into
the dead burrows, with the plow adjusted to
run not quite as deep as usual Then, If there
were any knolls, the dirt seraper was used, and
large h!llows filed up. After the harrow had
passed over for the last time, we would 90 over
al uneven portions Of the field, and haul Jumps
of earth and sods, or mellow earths into all de-
pressions, and lever down all little ridge be-
fore the roller was brought forward to finish
the job. A few hours spent In this way, are
very probably consumed, and make very
smooth surface for any man, or implement to
work upon. This Job Is intimately connected
with
STOCKING DOWN POOR LAND
There Is often no little complaint with many
farmers in reference TO ''poor catch' of their
grass seed, and the catch Is frequently 30 poor
that IL. r thought best to pillow the ground
: II
crspof sfain, and try again to secure q tOler-
ably good catch Of grass seed, if the thing is
possible. Many men appear to think that 1t is
All 'sLhck and chance" whether their grass
seed catches we'll or not. But If the seed has
not lost its vitality, from too great an age, or
from any other cause, If the soil is in a proper
state OF fertility, We may calculate upon good
catch Of seed, with as much certainty as we cal
cnlate upon having any kind Of cereal grain
vegetate after it has been soued in a very fer
Tile and well prepared soil. 1t is safe TO say
that failure 70 get good catch Of grass seed
may always be attributed to bad seed, or to
the poor condition Of the soil, and In most in
stances the later.
have known farmers TO pillow and SOW GER
tain fields for many years In succession. and
SOW grass seed every season, with the determi-
nation to stock them down. But they failed al
most sutirety, and fearing that they might run
their soil too much, have determined to allow
them TO rest unseeded in most places. This is
particularly true Of old fields which are at
great distance from the barn, from which every
thing has been removed for many years, and TO
which nothing in the form Of manure has been
returned to the soil. Grass seed needs little
mellow, rich earth 10 make it catch we'll: and
rs these fields which are near the barn usually
receive much more manure than those at q dis
tsnce, it is a rare thing that grass seed does
not catch well In such localities
IL We scatter little grass seed on the most
barren Suosou mat can be found, and spread
. little Of the drsppings Of neat cattle, or Of
horses, over IL, almost every seed will germi-
nate, aAd IL unmolested will grow luxuriantly.
This fact furnishes good clue 10 what Is often
looked upon rs great secret in our efforts TO
secure . good catch Of grass seed either in the
spring Il the year or In autumn. Ifa soil Is
kept In good state Of fertility, and will pro-
duce good crops Of grain, there viii seldom be
any difheulty In stocking 10 down. Still there
are certain conditions Tor the soil to be In
which are very essential. Grass seed will yegs-
tate we'll on some soils IL it does not have half
chance to grow, while on very compact and
stubborn soils, evenf they are in good state
Of fertility. the soil must be put In good con-
dition a. 70 msllouness and freshness of earth,
or there viii In = measure be failure to secure
good catch.
The question is often asked, whether autumn
or the spring Of the year is the best and most
fvorabIs TO stock down land? And, also,
whether Il is not as uell, or better, to SOW moth
ing tut grass seed, without grain, in order to
seeurss good catch2
shall answer these questions only with ref
erence % the condition Of the sOil, and 10 other
eircamstaness-