Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-09-04
farm. 6mleu 4 NollsetOId.
nnIEF nINTs FoR THE sEAsoN.

U,.oda IN pastures are apt 10 be neglected
:. M season, and not only present disa-
,-aesble appearance to the eye Of the neat
ssrmer. but ripen and scatter seeds 70 the
5s.riment Of many future crops. Il they
crow in thick patches, cat them down with a
moving machine; but scattered mullen, bull
tbistles, SC, may be cut up singly with q
sharp grub hoe. 4,
Weeds in corn, potatoes, and other hoed
crops, frequently spring up in considerable
numbers as q sort of second growth after the
6elds have been kept clean up to the present
time. II is very important, and will save
,nncb f,tpre wedding to destroy these weeds
while they are yet green and sofl, and have
not formed seeds, Many sorts viii bear a
tbousand seeds on single plant, and if a
tenth part Of these grow, they will make a
busdred the first year, ten thousand the sec
ond. a million the third, hundred million
the fourth, and ten thousand million the fifth
which viii be enough to cover a thonsa1d
acre farm with twenty plants to the square
foot. and crowd out every vestige Of a crop If
allowed to remain. 1t is better to destroy
the first plant.
subble ground may be cleared Of most Of
;ts weeds bv running over it with furrows,
about two feet or more apart and then har.
rowing the whole. The weeds will spring up
in profasion. and the first blowing viii turn
the whole crop under. On soft mellow
1s-----...-- -l,,,o Ill oregurar
Timothy seed, in order to be perfectly clean
which is Of the utmost Importance, must be
obtained from this grass alone. by previously
and very carefully pulling out all foul weeds.
II is often cut too late, or when the seed
sbclIs The best time IS when most Of the
heads have become brown. It may be cut
with hand scythe, a little practice of the
workman enabling him to throw the heads all
one way. and rendering it easily bound, when
drv enough, in the course Of a day or two.
Sometimes the tops are cut with cradle and
afterwards the lower part with a moving ma
chine.
Feeding animals should be commenced
carly in the season--the earlier the better
when the same amount of food viii accom-
nlisb more than in cold weather-One Of the
best managers Of swine commences fattening
in spring, and continues urinterruptedly
throughout the season-the result Of which
is. together with good management, nearly
double the amount Of pork from the same
quantity Of feed as compared with the COM
mon practice.
Straw stacks, from early thrashed grain,
should be made as carefully as stacks of hay.
Straw is valuable in many ways, and is well
worth saving bright and clean, instead of be-
ing thrown into irregular heaps, to become
irregularly soaked with rains and spoiled for
all practical use. Much hay may be saved
when bllt in stacks by handsomely finishing
the top with load or two of good straw.
Harvest tools, as well as all other tools, on
the day they are done with, should be careful
ly cleaned and brushed bright, and then Sc
curely placed under shelter. We are glad to
be able to say that it is now much rarer to see
horse rakes and moving machines remaining
half month in the fields, exposed to the
cracking sun and rot,iug storms, than form
erly.
Draining wet lands in many instances can
be done only during the present season. It
should, therefore, be done promptly, and the
result will often be an increased crop the first
year, sufficient to nay the labor.
Muck swamps may frequently be drained
without difficulty during the month of August
or early September, and will afford valuable
supplies of material for compost heaps and
for barnyard dressings. Being usually the
driest at this period of the year, it may be
shovelled out into heaps more readily, and
with much less labor than when soaked with
water. II the surfaces Of these heaps are
made steep, aud are beaten smooth with the
spade, they viii throw off water and become
little affected inside. A covering Of straw
will be still more eGectuaI. The muck viii
then be dry when drawn for use in the early
part Of winter, and be more valuable as an
absorbent than if previously saturated with
moisture. - Country Gentleman.