Middletown transcript., 1877-04-21
NO. l6.
9gritaltural.
WORK fer the sIonth-AprlI.

with alaerlty when the weather permits.
Oats should be in at the earliest
moment, but not so early as to prevent
the proper preparation of the land.
This crop often fails to receive, but It
as certainly always deserves to have
fair treatment.
PorAToEs 1t is advisable, too, to
plant these early, but preferable to wait
later with them also. If the condition Of
the ground is thereby to be improved.
One point is made in their successful
culture when the preparation before
planting is thorough and effective.
Plow the land deep, fertilize abundant
ly, with such ingredients as bone-dust,
plaster. salt and ashes. superphosphate,
and Peruvian guano, avoiding the em-
ployment of rank, green manuEes =
Keep the ground loose, never allowing
the surface to crust, and do not allow
a weed or sprig of grass to be seen.
MANGELs AND SUGAR BEETs.-GroW
few of these this year if you never
have before Their health-giving,
health-preserving qualities, if fairly
tried, next winter will be potent argu-
ment for your growing them thereafter.
For these roots, have your land in good
heart, deeply worked and mellow The
best method of sowing is in drills
about two feet apart. and by means Of
one of the now-numerous hand-drills
which open the furrow. drop the seed
and cover it, marking the next row at
the same time Thin out the plants
to stand about 9 or 10 inches apart in
the rows, for the beets, or IL inches
for mangels, and keep the surface
stirred constantly and the ground we'll
worked Four pounds of seed is enough
for an acre.
CARROTS require some labor in the
early stage Of their cultivation, from the
difficulty in keeping down the weeds
but their rich and nutritive properties
make them one Of the most valuable Of
root-crops. A sandy loan. rich and
well-prepared, and if possible sub-soil-
ed, suits them best The seed is sown
in drills l6 or 20 inches apart, and the
roots thinned to stand 6 inches in the
rows. By mixing radish or turnip seed
with the carrot seed they will germinats
quicker, and by indicating the location
of the rows enable them to be worked
before the carrots are up, and thus gain
headWay on the weeds. The ground
should be warmed up before carrots are
soWsd.
PARsNIPs are not so extensively grown
as they should be. Near markets they
are profitable crop, while on the farm
they are useful as nutritious food for
cows and hogs They should be given
the same treatment as carrots, but be
sown as early as possible Make the
rows sixteen inches apart, and let them
stand 5 or 6 inches in the rows.
CoRN.-Indubitably the best working
the corn crop gets is that given before
it is planted The better the condition
of the land at the start, the easier the
after cultivation and the more pro6ta-
bic the return. The crop demands,
and deserves the best treatment, the
best land and the best manures at your
command 1t is truly said of it that it
is ''the sheet-anchor Of American farm
ing" Large crops pay better, too,
than small ones in a comparison of cost.
While corn is largely potash plant, it
requires also abundant supplies of al
most all the inorganic elements COM
bined in the food of plants. Available
mineral supplies must, therefore, be
present in some abundance to supply
the phosphoric acid, soda, lime, and
other ingredients essential to its COM
plete growth and maturity Good barn
yard manure and rich composts are
equally serViceable. and the. crop is one
taking grosser food than the ether more
dainty cereals. The seed, the distance
Of planting, whether in hills or drills,
vary in each locality; heavier applica-
cations of fertilizing materials being re-
quired where close planting is adopted.
Drill culture is growing in favor, the
product being larger, and the ease and
facility of working greatly increased BY
the newly-improved machines for plant
ing.
For manuring in the hill a mixture
of five bushels-one Of salt, one of plas-
ter, and one of fine bone-dust-is admi-
rable to give the plant start
Corn FOR FODDER Provide patch
of this against the time of failing pas
lures. To dairy farmers it is indispen-
sable Sow in drills q feet apart; run
the cultivators through two or three
times in the season, and nothing more
is required on moderately good ground
to secure an enormous quantity Of for
age The stalks should stand about
twelve to the foot.
SowING PLAsTER.-This important
duty is too much neglected. We say
duty because no farmer is doing justice
to himself who neglects its use. Cost
considered, it is one of the cheapest of
fertilizers for clover. corn and potatoes.
Spread on your clover fields at.the rate
of from one to two bushels per acre as
early now as you can, The following
is the experience of Col Robert Bsvsr-
ly, well-knowu farmer Of Virginia,
and bis estimate of its value: 9 | have
been using plaster for thirty years, and
of late years as much as 100 tons a
year; sometimes with no perceptible
benefit, generally with good results, and
remarkable, equal to that of
Peruvian gusno-depending, in my
opinion (now that have more expert
eDce.) on the quality of the article aud
the fneness of its grinding. l have
seen part Of clover field unsown and
persons passing would ask why l did
not SOW the balance of the field in clo-
yer, when it was all we'll set alike, but
a part bad no plaster on it. I have seen
stripes in corn as far as you uould see
the field, where the plaster was soWn
being foot or two taller and several