Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1866-12-13
From the American Farmer for December
FARM WORK FOR THE MONTH.

The work to be done now, is chiefly that
of closing up the fall labors, and only a
! few points of interest need be noted.
| CORN
| Let the corn be got i'll with all despatch,
as there is now continued loss and waste.
Be sure that q correct account is kept of
the quantity put away, and Of every several
parcel, if put in different places. Note al
so the quantities fed to different kinds of
fattening stock. See that the fodder is
well secured, and fed without waste.
TOBACCO.
It is sometimes, we find, advised. that
no tobacco be stripped before January, but
every suitable "season " should, we think,
be availed of, so as not to have the work
run into the spring. Much of the value of
the crop depends upon the manner in
which it is handled in stripping. The
| sorting of the qualities, pressing the bun
| lies into the shape they should have in all
the after handling, neatness and order in
laying the bulks, and watchfulness to pre-
vent heating and discoloring in the bulk,
are all points which well demand attention.
| The stalks make valuable manure when
we'll preserved, and should not be exposed
to rains which wash off the gum on the
outside.
PLOUGHING.
The ploughing of stiff lands may be pro-
perly continued in any good weather when
| the ground is in order
STOCK.
| Stock of all sorts, now in the yards, need
much more careful looking after by the
master than when they take care of them
selves in the field. If they come into tho
yards in good condition, they should be
kept so, and not allowed to fall off by de-
grees in flesh, till spring finds them poor.
| Good shelter, sound, nutritious food, and O
sufficient supply of water above the freez-
ing point, should all be duly provided
Above allkeep them from tramp;p through
mud and mire
HORSES, MULES AND OXEN.
Those having work to do should have es-
| pecial Cure 1t is not enough that they arc
well supplied with food. Ample stable
room, clean bedding, and free use of cur
ry comb and brush and rubbing dry, and
cleaning heir feet and legs, always after
the days work. Working oxen must have
a feeding apartment to themselves. They
would be more valuable workers if more
care were bestowed upon them. 1t is true
that they may consume always coarser food
than horses, but something of the same
care that horses get, especially i'll the busy,
working season, would make them little
less valuable for the plough than they
now are for slow, heavy draft.
CALVES.
Keep calves in roomy pens, with shelter,
and let no older cattle have the opportuni-
ty of mastering them. Feed them with
| best hay or corn fodder and bran. They
do very well if kept in the sheep pens.
COWS.
| Cows giving milk require, of course,
| something more than dry provender. Bran
and meal mixed, and a half bushel a day of
sugar beet, or ruta baga, is the best extra
food for them.
Sheep do better in all ordinary winter
weather if allowed to range at will in dry
| PASTURE but shelter should be provided for
bad weather, and troughs for feeding oats
and bran.
| Pen hogs should be now fat enough to
| kill. Keep breeding sows, and other store
hogs in good condition through the win
ter. Good shelter and dry beds will econ
omize food.
| MANURE.
| The great mass of manure which may be
made from the waste of the farm would be
now a matter of special interest. Whatev-
er material you can command should be
now gathered and put through the process
of preparation for use. Let it be used as
an absorbent for the yards as far as may be
required, or made into compost, or hauled
direct to the land as a top-dressing. Be-
yond the needs of the stock for bedding,
and as absorbents of the moistures of the
yards, there is no need to accumulate straw
and coarse material in the yards. Much
labor may be saved by hauling directly to
the field, all that may not he 50 needed,
| and time canned .nrpQdInU of
the ground.