Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1866-04-19
Sgrienltnral.
Work for April.

tions for field operations ON the farm and
work in the garden ; and April invites the
polished plow and glittering spade to break
up the fertile soil and scatter the seed for
the promised crops. In many localities,
however, where the REPORTER is circulated,
the fields should not be plowed, nor the
gardens spaded, until May. What to do
and what not to do, on the farm and in the
garden, during this month, demands more
than passing notice. There are many
things done in the garden as well as in the
cultivable field, in April, which had better
been deferred till May, even were the job
to require double the expenditure OF force
to accomplish it.
WHAT TO DO IN APRIL.
Grass seed may be sowed and the ear
lier it is put in the better. Whether the
ground is to be appropriated to grazing, or
meadow, SOW several kinds of seed, as the
sod will be frmer and the grass more abuL-
dant When land is stocked down with red
clover, unless seed is the chief object, it
will be far better to SOW one bushel OF or
Chard grass and one of Kentucky blue
grass, per acre, with four quarts of red clio
yer seed, than nothing but clover, as the
grass will be far better for either hay or
pasture, than when only one kind of grass
seed is sowed Orchard and Kentucky
blue grass seed weigh, with us, IA lbs, per
bushel.
There is no better time than April to pre-
pare meadows for the mower. See that all
the heaps and Jumps of manure are broken
to atoms and scattered over the ground,
b fore the grass starts. Rally all the for
ces, when you are in doubt what to do first,
and clear the ground of stones, and every
the moving machine.
Sow ashes, gypsum, lime, or any other
fertilizing matter, as early as practicable.
Ashes will be found excellent for meadows
and pastures, on most soils. If the ground
is covered with moss, and the grass appears
to be bound out, sharpen the harrow teeth
and give the ground thorough scarifying.
Apply liberal dressing of ground bone,
or some other fertilizer, previous to har-
rowing
When grass seed is sowed on winter
wheat, or winter rye,if the surface appears
crusted over so that it is difficult for the
seed to find depressions where they will be
covered with soil, give the ground light
narrowing. A few stools of wheat may be
torn up but the narrowing will benefit the
growing crop far more than the little injury
done by the teeth of the harrow and feet of
teams
To make an excellent bed of fertilizing
matter for the garden, to be used in May,
turn up the privy on one side, and dip out
the fecal matter with a strong pail. attached
to the end of pole, and pour it on bed
of muck, or fine soil, and mingle the whole
thoroughly together.
If any fax seed is to be sowed, defer
putting it in until after the ground has been
worked long enough for all the seeds of
weeds near the surface to germinate. Then
a heavy narrowing will destroy large
crop of noxious weeds in the seed-leaf and
the flax will get the start of the weeds and
maintain the ascendancy during the entire
season
Prepare stubblc ground for crop OF sor-
ghum where the ground is heavy and was
not plowed last autumn, by blowing, ma
nuring and narrowing By this process, it
will be thoroughly pulverzed, the weeds
will be destroyed and the great proportion
of the labor of dressing out the young
plants will be done previous to planting
the seed This kind of management will
save a vast amount of hard labor. The
ground for turnips and Indian corn may be
treated in the same manner.
Teams require not only care in feeding,
but judlciOus management. And the same
is true of laborers. After working few
hours at some heavy labor, it will be a
great relief to engage in something else,
less fatiguing, for few hours. When a
workman first begins to cut bitches, it will
be better to make fence, or engage in some
light labor, for part of the day.
See that milch cows do not grow poor
when they come in. Every COW should
have a few quarts of roots daily and af-
ter they have come in feed each one three
or four quarts of Indian corn and peas
ground fine.
Give every brood mare the benefit Of a
box stall sufficiently large for her to turn
around in, as mares often drop their colts
before the udder and teats are developed
sufficiently to indicate the termination OF
the period Of CESSATION.
Seperatc brood sows from other swine
before the enlargement of the udder and
make a warm sty, where the young pigs will
not be exposed to the cold winds and storms
of April Keep SOW on a few boiled po,
tatoes, skinned milk and oat meal, prop
erly salted, and she will never devour her
pigs.
Let early lambs and their dams be sepa-
rated from the flock and receive extra feed
till grass appears. Ewes should not be suf.
fered to drop their lambs where they will
be chilled.