Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1861-07-31
dMurrester Daily Spg.
Tim Bunker ON ,rOp-dresSing and Feeding
A fiaan


Tim Bunker ON Top-dressing and Feeding
Aftermath.
LOOK AT HOMETOWN IMPROVEMENTS.
Bigger than twas last year." said Seth
Twiggs, as he looked over into the horse-pond
lot where was moving this morning
Il declare it looks like a rye field, :" said Mr.
Spooner, as he measured a head of herds.grass
ten inches long, by a small rule that he carries
in his pocket. mighty accurate man, is Mr..
Spooner. expect he gets in the way Of exact
speech, studying his sermons, for he makes
the joints fit so close, that they won't leak
water. When he says ten inches, you may
know it amt sixteenth short. l should ex.
pect to find it quarter over.
''You see it is up 10 the Squire's breast,
plump four foot high" exclaimed Jake Frink,
as he leaned over the wall Guess was the
biggest fool in town when sold that piece of
land for song.
"Not half SO big fool then as you are now,
for keeping the better half of your farm as
starved as this was three years ago." re-
piled.
1t is curious to see how the minds of some
people work. They see no beauty, or value in
anything until it has passed out of their hands
and begins to show its good points under diff:
erent treatment. The twoacre lot, that was
always qnagmire and an eye-sore to the
neighborhoOd, when Jake owned it, is now
very charming spot, as the grass turns out
three tuns to the acre. 1t never paid him the
interest on ten dollars an acre. 1t pays me
ten per cent. on three hundred, to say nothing
OF the satisfaction of turning swamp into
meadow.
Seth Twiggs is right about the size Of the
grass, and yet have done nothing extra for
it this year. To be sure the season has been
more moist, but that hardly accounts for the
diff, renee. You see in draining piece of wet
land two or more feet deep you bring large
quantity OF surface soil gradually to the action
OF the atmosphere, and OF the rains and frosts.
1t undergoes curing process, and the soil
improves, year by year, until the water line is
reached. This is the third crop l have got off
of this lot since put the drain down, and each
year has been marked Improvement upon
the last. / suppose | might cut second crop
if the lot was not so handy for pasturing
And then have noticed that it is a good |
plan to feed and NOW alternately. l much |
prefer to NOW common meadow one year. |
and pasture the next, than to NOW straight |
along for four or five years, as most farmers |
do. If meadow is very rich, like this drain
ed lot, think it does better to feed the second
crop than to NOV it. II it produces tun and
a half at the second growth, as think it will |
of course SO much is returned to the soil in the
manure of the cattle. And then have anoth- |
er important advantage in the seeds of the
clover that are scattered by the cattle. have
noticed that the secondlgrowth OF clover starts
Immediately, and as do not turn in until the |
last of August, many OF the plants, both of the |
white and red, go to seed, and are scattered be-
fore the cattle eat them. l do not believe in
feeding late, but leave time for the grass to
make good covering for the roots. AS Il re
suit of this treatment, l find that clover does
not die out the first year as is usual. have |
n of in Halle th
ago. Other grasses are benefited in the same
way, and the sod remains thick and strong. / |
have sometimes thought that the feet OF the |
cattle acted like roller, pressing the seed into
the soil. AT any rate, the fact is as stated,
and do not NOW any second crop where | |
can pasture it. | don't think second moving
pays best.
Have you got rid Of 'em? asked Jake
Frink, as he looked over into Uncle Jotlam
Srs.ses@.Eraes' reelaits,ea bog
" Rid OF what!" asked lothian with feign-
ed astonishment
Why them pesky muskrats, that used to
eat up all the outside rows of corn in your
field aud mine 3"
Haven't seen muskrat in these parts for
well nigh two year. Have seen some corn,
though, and occasionally potato" said 10Th
am, with swing Of his cane that showed he
felt as if he was lord of all he surveyed
He dug over three hundred bushels to the
acre there last fall, and the part now planted J.
to that crop is as handsome as any thing l I
have seen this season. Uncle lothian manag-
es pretty well Tor an old style farmer, catching
at any improvement with good deal OF eager
ness, bnt stoutly denying that it is new. He
has always seen something like it over on the
island thirty years ago He has had, this
year, in about equal patches potatoes, corn,
oats, and clover, upon this deserted domain of
nj Dba oil m
too large for good fodder, OR would have been,
if he had let it grow till the usual time of cut
ting. But it was cut in June, thing he
would not have thought of, three years ago, !
and he will have, at least, two tuns at the sec
ond cutting, if he does not steal my thunder,
and feed it off, But if he does that, he will be !
sure to state positively, that he knew Ben
Woodruff on Long Island, 10 do the same
thing as long ago as when he was boy.
Coming back TO my horse-pond lot, Mr.. |
Spooner had to ask, 'what makes that grass
SO much heavier on the back part OF the lot ?
Ii is almost another story high"
=" Well, you see, thereby hangs tale. Last
year, as soon as l got through moving that
part OF the field say about the tenth OF July, |
/ spread on few loads of compost there, and |
you can just see where it stopped. The COM
post was made of pig-pen manure, with muck
rather fresh dug. had good deal of query
in my own mlnQ about tile pest time OiSpreaQ- |
ing the manure on moving land, and had pref
ty serious doubts about midsummer, and
feared the loss of ammonia, etc. This don't
look as if the manure lost much of its strength.
The rest of tile piece was top dressed in March,
and it is not near as heavy am not prepared
to say, exactly, that l think midsummer is the
best time, Tor | suppose the grass has not got
all the strength of the manure put on this
spring, and another season, or the after feed
this year. may make the case look different. l
have no doubt the manure put on last summer
acted as mulch, sheltering the roots OF the
herds-grass, which suffer extremely, and are
often killed by too close cutting. The roots
got strong and vigorous during the fall, made
good math for protection during the winter,
and started early this spring.
AS advised at present, should put manure
upon any level piece Of land ,0henecer should hap
pen to haze 1t. | think it will pay better inter
est on the meadow than in the yard, and ac-
cordingly / shall clean up this month, and
spread every spare load have upon the mca-
dows. Cutting ton of hay to tue acre don't
liouidate, when you can get three, just as easy
with more manure. Things are looking up
Notwithstanding the war. Breastworks will
be plenty. Yours to command,
TIMOTHY BUNKER, ESQ.
Hookertown, July Is, 1861.
rI,he New Sultan Reforms the Harem.