The Portland daily press., 1878-11-22
AGRICULTURAL.
Autumn Preparation of The Lnud.


For many years past we have steadily and
land, for spring planting and sowing, just as
certainly as the autumn has come round;
and believing it to be one of the great reforms
needen in our farm practice, generally, we
keep pounding away at it-not for the multi
tude of good farmers who now practice it,
but for that yet very large number, who
either from Indifference or want Of faith in
the method, do not practice it.
There are many very good reasons why we
in this state need to get in the regular prac-
tice of preparing our land for crops In the
fall-not simply the blowing of the stubble
and the turning over OF green sward, but the
narrowing and even manuring out OF fields to
be planted and sown the coming spring.
Among these are the following. The fall
months are more favorable for doing this
work than the spring months, the team is
generally in better condition and the weather
Is more conducive to work; in the matter of
carting manure to fields the ground is harder
and the teams can pass over it without iDjur-
ing them as it does when they are soft in the
spring; where cattle are stabbed during the
summer mouths, as is now 80 frequently the
case-especially with those who have barn
cellars-there Is ample manure made to dress
the land intended for corn or wheat, and it
may be moved to the fields to be planted or
oOWA III tuO opllu5 dAu dpphCo w ehCm al
the fall, thus having them ready for putting
10 the seed with the approach of the first
favorable opportunity in spring; and chief
among the reasons for preparing and manur-
ing land in the fall for spring crops, is that it
lengthens the season-a measure of itself Of
sufficient Importance to bring the plan into
common favor. Throughout Maine the snow
remains on so late, and there is so much
land used in tillage that Is insuficiently
t~~As l-A- L. Al,
spring before land is fit to be worked, and in
many cases the spring gets so far advance
before anything is done that land is often
worked to disadvantage -when if the same
had been prepared in the fall, even to manur
ing in the hill for corn, it could have re-
manned untouched flor nothing is so njuri-
Gus to the texture OF soil as to work it ic an
unfit condition) until time for paintings when
the seed can be put in just at that time when
all the conditions are most favorable for its
growth. This can only be done in the case
Of fall prepared land. Such plan as this
will bring hard work upon the labor force
until the practice becomes fully established in
the farm management, and then farm work
will be more evenly distributed throughout
the year than is now the case. Any one
year when it is proposed to inaugurate the
plan 1t will bring an extra amount of labor to
be done IN the fall after that the farm work
VIII simply pc reversed, mucn OF Inc nardest
labor coming in the fall when it Jean the
be done under favorable conditions, rather
than spring, when the season is somewhat
enervating.
Especially should autumn preparation be
made positive requirement on all land that
is to receive root crop. In locations where
sugar beets are to be planted another spring,
the land should by all means be plowed and
manured the present fall. 1t will for this
crop also require cultivation in the spring
but no land was ever yet injured for crop
by too much pulverization, and it will be
and good cultnre-which is the best prepara-
tiog for any crop the farmer grows-go hand
IN hand, and are in certain sense, indepen-
dent For root crop the soil must be well
prepared in the fall!-Mdine Farmer.