The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1872-05-31
AGRICULTURAL ITEMS.

PREMIUM FOR GRASS LANDS.-Ihe
Cumberland, Me-, Agricultural Society
has voted to award the sum of two hun
dred and twenty-five dollars, to be paid
in the autumn of 1874, as follows: 800
for the best conducted experiment in
repovating, reseeding and improving
grass lands in the country; SIS for the
second, and $50 for the third, under GER
tain regulations aud restrictions, which
will be embodied in circular and dis
trIbuted through the country. The OBJ
iect the officers had in combining this
premium to the improvement of the
grass crop, was simply that this time
and for a.series of years it is to lie the
most important crop of the farm. But
since the short crops of two years past,
the discouraging condition of our grass
lands, and the consequent diminution
of stock it becomes matter of four
fold importance to see what can be
done to increase the crop of hay, so as
keep the amount of stock necessary for
successfulsfl aiming, and supply the de-
mands of the market.
Roof CROP FOR HOGS.-But very
small PERCENTAGE of farmers grow root
crops for stock Occasionally patch
of carrots or mangOlds are found, but
as u general thing they constitute no
part of the standard farm products.
Still all experience points to them as
among the most economical crops to
be fed out upon the farms, and at the
same time they constitute a healthful
and nutritive article of diet. In a re-
cent letter to the Rural World, w. j.
Medley, OF LaSalle county, Illinois, say
that last year he grew. five acres of mans
colds, which yielded about thirty-One
fons to the acre. He says that hogs
are very fond of them, aud in fall will,
when other food is scarce, eat them
tops and all. He thinks that one acre
of them willIproduce rs much food a.
five acres of corn. Mr.. J. s. Tibbets
writes to the Michigan Farmer that he
raised sugar beets for his. hogs last years.
He is ready to believe them 3 very val
liable food for fattening hogs, and su.
perior to any other root crop for stock
of all kinds.
FIELD CARROTS. plowed
and narrowed the ground, mark, for
seed, twenty inches apart, leaving dri Is
two inches deep. Soak seed over night
i'm water as hot as the had can be held
in: drain mix with dry ashes until the
seed will separate. Sow about the 10th
Of May. After sowing, brush q little
dirt on the seed. The row should be
rolled or stamped hard, leaving tue
space between rs light and loose "a
possible. The carrots iii seed is goohj
will appear in about ten days, or ahouI
two weeks sooner than by the or. mary
manner OF planting. They should be
hOed as soon as they begin to come up.
The previous rolling in the row will
hold the small plants so that the hoe
may cut close without disturbing them.
Repeat the hoeing in a week. The
Tie weeds and surplus carrots may
now be easily pulled from the rows
How TO DESTROY THE TOBACCO FLY.
The New York Tobacco Leaf urges
earnestly tobacco growers to try the
f. flowing method of destroying the to-
barco fly; Plant Jimson weed in spot
through aud around tile field, three o.
four plants in a clump, about the time
tObsccO plants are set out. When The
Jimson blooms, put three or four drops
of cobalt so ution, which can be had at
any drug store, into each bloom every
evening; the fly will suck the poison
which is certain death. To make the
cobalt solution, dissolve one ounce in
a pint of warm water, put into cork
ed bottle with qnil inserted in the
cork. Every morning after using the
solution, the bloom charged the even
ing previous should lie pulled off, as
the poison will reach the stalk and kill
the weed If our farmers would club
together q d ag ee 10 use this remedy,
the result will be, in few seasons, il |
faithfully used, every field will be COM
paratively free from the pest known as
the tobacco worm.
IRRIGATING HILL-SIDES.-A CORES |
pendent of The Country Gentleman,
writing from Italy, says: In the noun
famous countries about Come and Mag
giole, and also Switzerland, irrigation |
is carried on, but somewhat differently
from the ordinary method. A noun
tain stream. which passes through a
farm damned up every few yards, and
the water by backing up into dictches
cut at right angles 10 the stream, over |
flows the field which lies down hill
from the ditch, and so on till it reaches
its proper bed again in the valley below
This more primitive mode of irrigation
could be resorted to at comparatively
small expense on any of our hiiiy farms
which have q stream running through
them. In othea parts of Europe L
have seen artisan wells with horse
power pump answer the same purpose.