The Daily state journal. [volume] (Alexandria, Va.) 1868-1874, 1871-08-05
From the American Agriculturist. ]
Hints About Work for August.

no advocates of the English system of
stacking and matching hay. 1t is far better
and cheaper to put it in barn. But
where this can not be done, the stacks
should be matched with more or less care,
according to circumstances and the value OF
the hay. With carefully made roof much
may be done to enable it to shed the rain
by rdh,iag the hay downward on the roof,
so as to make it lie smooth and straight. Ii
is better to do this during or immediately
after a rain. 1t is better, however, to
regularly thatch the stack, directions for
which we've given in the Ag,icultmfst for
October, 1870, page 374. Long grass, very
useful for matching hay stacks, may fire.
quently be cut on low land. 1t should be
put on while green, and laid straight, and
carefully raked. Ii straw is used, the great
point is to have it thoroughly wet, so that
it can be made to lie straight on the roof of
the stack. If matching is considered too
much trouble, at any rate do not neglect to
tie some poles together with Highlands, land
place them astraddle the roof to prevent
the wind from tearing up the hay. 49,
THRAsHING GRAIN.--A farmer had
better hire an extra man than to work at
any steady job connected with thrashing.
He can save more by seeing that everything
is done properly, than by doing, as is fire.
labor himself. A thrashing machine is a
Irregular horse lliller.n The thrashers are
inclined to save their own horses at the ex-
pense of those of the farmer. The outside
horse has towalk much faster than the in
side one, and should have acorrespondingly
longer part Of the evener. Bore hole in
the evener of the inside horse, for the cleyis,
from two to three inches nearer the centre
than that of the outside horse. See that the
track is firm, even and free from stones.-
If possible, let it be on level ground, as a
free horse is inclined to pull harder when
going up hill. When stopping for lunch,
let the horses have some water, and if a
pint of meal is Stirred up in pail Of wa
ter for each horse, twill enable them to
do extra work without feeling it. The
granary. of course, will be put in or
der. before the thrashers arrive, If
there is a cellar underneath the grana-
ry or the thrashing floor, it is better to
be on the safe side and put an extra prop
or two underneath to support the floor.
Fodder will be scarce the coming winter.
and all the straw and chat should be care
fully saved. 1t is common mistake to
make the straw stack too wide, and not
high enough. This gives too flat roof,
and much of the straw is damaged by the
rain. Better make the bottom Of the stack
too small than too large. The great point
in stacking straw is to keep the middle full
and tread it down solid. For the first ten
or twelve feet the better plan is to put a
horse or an OK on the stack, and drive him
about to tread down the straw. With a
horse that is used to it, there is no trouble
in getting him off the stack, especially if a
part of one side is made a little slantmg,
and few forksful of straw are placed at
the bottom for him to alight on. When
the middle is kept full and well trodden,
the outsides will settle more than the mid
die, and thus make better roof. The hole
where the man stands to take the straw
from the carrier, should, after the stack is
be carefully filled with few
bundles of straw, SO placed and held in by
thatch-pegs that they will keep out water.
y WEEDS in corn and potatoes must be de-
stroyed. Better knock down a few hills of
corn in cultivating, than suffer the land to
be covered with weeds. A shallow-run-
ming cultivator with broad shares will not
lnjure the corn by cutting Off the roots. Go
W. OuSoil eiiO Will dltSI stiic CuiliNtUOr anu
pull or hoe all the weeds from the hills of
corn. 1t is hardly safe to use cultivator
on potatoes so late IN the season. Pull the
weeds out by hand.
WEEDS in pastures and fence corners
should not on any account be suffered to
90 to seed. Let them be moved at once.
STUBBLE LAND, especially after bar
ey, is often full of weeds "a moving ma
thine may be used with advantage to cut
hem. Also, in pastures where thistles and
'ther weeds or rough grass and rushes are
abundant, a moving machine affords an
Easy method of checking or destroying
hem. 4ad4 I}l ~ III
MICH Cows are apt to fall off rapidly
n their milk this month, and that dairyman
5 fortunate, or, more correctly speaking,
prudent and enterprising, who has good
upply OF corn fodder. There is little pro-
it in keeping cows, unless they have all
he food they can eat and digest. The trou-
lie with corn fodder is that it is too bulky.
The cows are capable of digesting more of
than their stomachs will hold. They
eed, if the grass is Of poor quality, a little
orii meal, in addition to the fodder. A.
HORSES suffer greatly from lies this
aonth, and should be provided with nets or
ght cotton covers. Washing them with
Tatcr containing little crude carbolic acid
a temporary relief. eF4la
1aH ifA FEMININE ITEMS.
u b.