Southern live-stock journal. (Starkville, Miss.) 1876-1891, 1879-08-16

derson, on frming the soil as q
means of encouraging the germi-
nation and growth of seeds in dry
weather. We have repeatedly no
ticed facts such as he describes in
our own experience, and have fol
years adopted the plan of pressing
small seeds down in the drill, 9th
er by foot or with the edge of q
thick plank. The past spring, in
planting some corn when the earth
was quite dry, we had the drop
pers step upon the grains as they
dropped them, and the result was
one of the best stands of corn we
ever had. In brOad-castlng seed
the "iirming' can only be done by
passing a heavy roller over the
land after the seed are ploughed,
narrowed or brushed ina prac-
tice long and heartily advocated
by the best farmers in grain and
grass growing countries. 1ri
Our readers will not be offended
if we urge upOn them to devote
quite a large area to fall crops; a
cOuntry afflicted with such diSaS
trous summer droughtS as visit us,
ought to,push winter crops to the
utmost. These crops are also
commended to US by the compar-
atively small amount of labor they
reqnire--the planting and the
gathering sum up the whole. A
farmer within our knowledge, by
sowing four acres to the mule in
oats, made this year (notwithstand-
ing the dry spring. enough oats to
feed each mule Z months without
other grain or forage, and an
abundance for seed purposes in
addition. Suppose every farmer
in the South had done likewise,
how little corn would suffice to
bridge over another year. If it
has not been done and the supply
OF food is too short to last till next
years crops are laid by, what then
buy Western corn? BY no
means-Be at once to take
steps to supply the deficiency by
home grown crops. First give the
peas already planted, all the work
ing needed to make a full crop
and when made gather and store
away in the hull, to be fed in that
state. Where the crop does not
promise fair yield Of seed, cut the
vines and cure them; if mixed
with grass so much the better. II
roofing can be had, cure in rail or
pole pens, making a floor of same
6 or eight inches above ground,
putting in layer of green vines
2 feet thick, then another floor,
then vines and so on, as high as
desired. If roofing cannot be had
put stout stack poles securely in
the ground and beginning IS inch
es from the ground, nail on cross
pieces or arms, decreasing in
length as you go upwards and
standing off ia every direction like
the limbs ola tree. Make an open
rail floor one foot from the ground
and build up stack with the
green vines, shaping and Gaping
it so as to shed rain. An old
field pine, if conveniently situated,
can be trimmed, leaving the large
part of its limbs as arms, and an
swer quite as well as the stack
pole. The green vines arranged
in either OF above ways, will soon
shrink and being unable to settle
down into a compact mass, on ac-
count of the intervening rails or
on account of the arms or limbs,
will cure beautifully; and being
unexposed to the sun will retain
their leaves. l.
In addition to pea vines, cut and
save all the crab or other grass to
be found Where long ecythes
cannot be used Gas in corn fields J
get the short stout blades, known
as "bush7 blades, (not Fhooks'')
and set them more at right angles
on the snath than you would a
regular grass blade. They can be
made Gf sharp to do very good
work in tall tangled grass. Cut
down also and cure in shocks, all
the stalks of corn which have not
produced ears--do this as early a.
possible. So much for material