Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1871-06-14
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June on tie Farm.

June on the Farm.
Hoeing and wedding are the most pressing
Just now, for those who have finished plant
ing, and we take it all good farmers have got
thus far ahead with corn and potatoes, and
most of the staple crops. Those who main
tain that it is Of little use to plant till the
land is warm can hardly make that excuse 81
late as th s. AZ t. mangOlds they should
nave gone in the tenth Of May, and the car
rOts also rutabagas may be put in by the
middle Of June, and Hungarian grass ought
to be sOwn now
1t is a good plan to run the cultivator
through the corn and other hOed crops az
often as once a week 1t saves great deal
of hard hand hOeng, stirs re ground and
keeps down the weeds. A good cultivatOr Is
one of the most important implements on the
farm. 1t Is handy to use VIII never there Is
an hour 70 spare irt m the work.
Planting and hoeing ought to be done be
tore getting INTO hayIng. Ii is very annoy
ing to be compelled to leave hayiIg day or
two to bring up the hoeing, though it is Of
ten necessary if the spring work has dragged
With the use OfLhe moving machine, how
ever, it Is possible 10 do much hOeing in the
morning before starting the machine, and
now and then there will come day from bad
weather or some other cause when the b Je-
ing can be pressed forward rapidly.
If a farmer b ss adopted the general plan
of stocking his far up To its full capacity
and Of making the most Of everything to
raise food. he will naturally be looking a0Out
to see what he can do to increase his feeding
material at little expense. Now we are well
aware of the prejudice that exists IN the
minds of some against the cabbage crop, thai
after trying 1t they have been dIsgusted at
the fact THAI they couldn't sell it 50 well a.
they expected and SO become out of all pa
thence with il as a crop to raise to sell.
Why didn t 1t occur to them to keep il and
feed it out % their own stock? Why didn [
il occur to th IN to ask what other green crop
they had produced at 50 little expense it
comparison with its intrinsic value as an
article OF cattle food
The fact is, the cabbage is one of the most
nutritious Of all our cultivated green crops.
and the one Of all others most relished by
stock of all kinds Just look at Its comp0-
sitiOn a moment. 1t contains Of
Water So .
Flesh forming substance 4.15
Heat and fat forming substance 10
Inorganic matter (ash) 81
1t is apparent that in the proportion of h,sh
forming substances its composition is all OF
three tunes as great as that OF turnips, and
our common grasses. This explains why II
is 50 easily devoured by all kinds Of stock,
especially young and growing animals like
lambs and calves and mich cows, and Why
1t Is SO great milk producer when fed to
the latter. As summer crop, therefore.
why is it not superior TO the clOveTs and
grasses, since, though the expense of produc
ing a little greater, the yield In weight
per acre Is two or three times "a great
We speak of il IN this connection, of course,
simply economical market crop OF
as a garden vegetable designed for family
w nat Is there that can be put in now that
is more available as a field crop? What II
there that will yield as great an amount OF
nutrItive food at the same expense of labor
ard cost? We say it Il worthy of a more
prominent place the farm, especially on
the dairy farm
Here is what DR.. Voelcker says oft. .'No
kird of green food cultivated on a large
scale in the field contains SO much nutritious
matter as cabbage. Being much more nutri-
tiOus, weight for weight, than turnips,
and at the same time very succulent,
cabbages form valuable food for mich
cows. Cattle are very fond of cabbages, and
dairy cows ted upon it and some hay, pro-
duce much and rich milk and the butter
made from the latter is free from the dis
agreeable flavor which is has when cows are
fed upon turnips Cabbages, for this reason,
are a valuable substitute for turnips, and
deserve to be more extensively cultivated
than they are at present. This is a square
endorsement Of the position VIC have taken,
and we could give equally unequlvocal testi-
mony from the few intelligent farmers who
are in the habit Of growing fields of cabbages
every year to feed out to dairy cows.
Now Is Just the time TO be thinking of set
ting out this plant 1t needs sandy loan
that is thoroughly drained, either naturally
OF artificially, and to insure success the soil
must be deeply titled. well MANFRED and pull
verified before planting. To begin the cul-
tivation at this late date, it will be necessary
of course to buy the plants, since the seed
should have been put into the ground by the
first of May to get the plants tit to set out in
the field by the tenth of June. The late vari-
ties are what you want, and the ground being
ready, the plants may be set any where from
the middle to the end Of this month.
Cabbages Will do on sod land, and light
clover sod is perhaps the best for a field crop.
and on such land 1t is better to spread the
coarse manure broadcast and turn it under,
and then spread good dressing Of old
manure and harrow in. This gives the crop
an advantage in Its early growth. Ii is bet
ter, of course, to select wet weather to trans
plant and the ground being ready, a smart
man can easily set five thousand plants day
and do il well. A fair days work is six
thousand five hundred plants, and a very
good nan viii do that, or If hurried, seven
little the first week, especially ifthe weather
is warm and dry, but az soon as they hold
up their heads let the cultivator be run
through them to keep down the weeds and
stir the surface. If the plants are set two
feet by two and half, this is easily done.
and the number of plants to the acre will
be eight thousand nine hundred. Out OF
these there will be, perhaps, six thousand
heads. Some will be lost by disease or by
insects whtn it j. too late to reI lace them.
They VIII be worth from forty TO fifty dol
lars thousand, and the amount of feeding
substance they will give to the acre is some
thing enormous. Is it not worth while to
try II?
We do not discourage the raising Of
swedes. They are equally necessary on
stock farm, aud this is the month TO plant
them. Tie middle the month is in season
II sown too early they more apt TO rot or
not to keep go well as when own about the
18th or Goth of June. They give abundant