The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1876-01-22
PLANTATION TOPICS.
HINTS FOR JANUARY.

If system and method are ne cessary
to secure success in the workshop, the
mandatory, and the counting-house,
it is no less so for the same purpose on
the farm or in the household. Days
are usually counted by working hours
everywhere except on the farm. The
artisan, the accountant, the banker,
the mechanic, and even the day labor
er, well knows how many hours consti-
tute day. But the farmer least of all
computes time in this way This is one
of many failures upon the farm which
can only be obyiated by the owner him.
self becoming exemplary as to system.
At no time in the year is it better to
begin methodical labor and plan than
in January. Once begun, and laid out
for the successive months, these plans
can and will become quite feasible, and
their adoption more natural and easy
than their rejection.
First, then, every farmer should at
once look to his fencing. and where
tenants are employed they should be
counselled and advised on this subject,
and not forced. The compulsory pol
icy is disagreeable, futile, and will pro-
duce failure.
Manure should be hauled out, spread
and covered. Thrown in heaps to be
leached by wind and rain, it will
scarcely pay for the trouble of hand
ling. But covered either in the drill
or broadcast, it will decay into mould
and become plant-foOd in seasonable
time. Cotton seed had better be rot
ted in the manure heap than taken to
the field green in January. Sheep
and cow lots should be ploughed every
week to prevent baking byspring winds,
if not sowed, as they should have been,
in small grain in the fall. No stock
should be allowed to remain exposed to
wintry weather in pens at night, nor in
daylight if the weather be wet. Food
fed to the cattle, sheep, hogs, or plough
stock under shelter during foul weather
in the winter time, is strict economy;
and provender thrown on the ground
to be trampled under foot, Gas is too
often seen in the south,) is shameful
extravaganza Stables, COW houses,
and stock lots, should be well Uttered
this month. Much manure made in
this way in January and February will
pay to be put under cotton in March
and April.
Let every farmer see to it, that his
wife's garden is looked after in Janu-
airy. Blacken the earth with manure,
and plough or spade under As soon
as a day can be had when the land will
work easily, SOW in drills a bed of
spring turnips and a bed of English
peas. Cover the rows of peas with
cotton seed to prevent the earth's freez-
ing. They will die and become plant
food to the growing crop. Fork over
and broadcast the asparagus bed with
salt. Plant few rows of parsnips
and carrots, and towards the last of
the month SOW onion seed and plant
onion buttons and few rows of rad
ishes. Lettuce will do well, unless
February is very cold month. Irish
potatoes may be planted in January, if
litter is at hand to cover the bed foot
deep or more after planting.
Orchard and shade trees should be
trimmed and transplanted, as also all
kinds of berry roots and cuttings.
Experience teaches us that fertilizers
had better be scattered for summer
crops at the time of sowing the seed.
Broadcasted upon small grain in Febru-
airy Just after rain, they will pay bet
ter than if sown with the grain.
Small grain of all kinds, unless the
warm month of November and part of
December made it stool out SO as to
completely cover the ground, will be
benefited by being narrowed with a
two-horse iron-toothed harrow. Phos-
pilates sown ahead of the harrow will
be nicely covered.
These hints, of course, are depend
ent upon many contingencies. If
January should prove to be, as it often
is, very cold, frozen, wet month,
much that is here suggested must be
postponed. If labor cannet be had for
January, the chances must be AIKEN for
future effort. But all things working
well, there is nothing suggested above
that cannot and should not be done,
and well done, in Januarv.-Rurul
Cdrolinian
REST FOOD FOR SWINE.
What would be considered the best
food for swine in summer would not
answer the same purpose in winter
In summer, such food should be given
as would keep the animal in an i'm
proving condition, and would cause it
to lay on little fat, but not so much
as to cause it to suffer from the heat, as
fat porker undoubtedly does. Cool
ing foods, such as plenty of young clover
and bran and middlings slop, is what
we use much of, not forgetting to give
regular and abundant supplies of fresh,
cool water. In putting up swine for
exhibition purposes, we have tried
many different kinds of food for the
fall exhibitions, but have found none 80
desirable as slop made of corn and
oats ground together, one-third of the
| former, by measure, to two-thirds OF
the latter One of the best ways to
prepare it is to scald it at night and feed
next morning; put on the mass only
enough hot water to thoroughly moisten
it, and then cover up the barrel tight
so it can steam well, and make the mass
mellow and nice by morning. If it is
found undesirable to scald it, moisten
/ the mass with water and then put in
one or more pans of sour milk-thick
milk or clabber-to cause it to sour BY
/ the time it il used. We Use both or
either plan, and find them both good.
/ As an ordinary summer feed, we have
| found this food to answer almost all
purposes, though we do not feed so high
as when feeding the animals for exhi-
bition purposes, Us experience has
abundantly proved that breeding stock
should not be very fat, only in healthy
growing condition, to insure healthy,
vigorous of ing. The refuse from
the truck patches, such As tomatoes,
cabbage, etc, come nicely into play for
Il