Connecticut western news., 1882-03-22
FARM AND GARDEN.
SPRING WORK ON THE FARM.

SPRING WORK ON THE FARM.
 It is time to talk about the work for spring, says a young farmer in the Bos- ton Journal, and it is time to prepare for warmer weather, open ground and the busy days of seed time. Soon they will be upon us, and if we are not ready we may find ourselves hurrying all the spring to catch up with work that is few days ahead of us.
 The good farmer has probably taken time this winter to overhaul his carts and wagons, blows, forks and other tools which he will need to use in the early spring; has put them in good order and supplied all deficiencies in his equipments by mending or buying new tools in place of those lost, worn out or broken since last spring. If he has not, he should do so at once, as the time to do this cannot we'll be spared after the blowing and planting begins.
 Some, also, have drawn their manure upon their fields during the good sled- ding we have had the past month, and in so doing they have got good job finished. The loss by drainage or evaporation is probably larger than the earnest advocates of this method are willing to acknowledge, but it probably does not counterbalance the saving of time by getting it done when you would not be doing anything, and the saving of labor by the difference between good sledding or wheeling when the ground is frozen, and the drawing heavy loads when the ground is soft and muddy.
 It will pay also to take bright, pleasant day in early spring for washing and oiling the harnesses, and putting in @ few stitches here and there if they are needed. The we'll oiled harness not only looks better and wears longer, but it enables the team to work much easier and much longer without getting galled and saddle-sore.
 If the team has had but little work the past winter, do not put them at work too severely at first. A half a day at time the first week will probably save time before the spring work is over. And if you have economized this winter by reducing their grain while idle, or nearly so, increase it gradually, if you wish to avoid getting them "off
 their feed," or having them troubled
 with collie or indigestion.
 If you can remember where those
 places were that the grass seed did not
 catch good when you seeded last year,
 or those spots in the meadow where the
 grass was so thin as to scarcely pay for
 moving, though not large enough to
 blow up, just scatter little clover seed
 on them as soon as the ground seems to
 be thawing out. If done upon an inch
 or so of snow, just as the snow is melt
 ing, it seems to take as well as in any
 phosphate at the same time.
 If you top-dress your meadows with
 superphosphate, do it as soon as the
 ground has thawed out, and before the
 spring rains come. When it is done,
 then pray for rain, and if rain comes
 soon, you may expect to see grass start
 soon after.
 Nitrate of soda or other chemical top- dressings may be applied later in the season, if you are lucky enough to get } rain after they are put on, but super phosphates produce the best results il used in early spring, and barn-yard ma. nure gives best results when used as g top dressing in the fall.
 Before planting time comes be sure that you have seed enough, and that ot good varieties, especially for the garden ) for it is waste of time, labor and ma nure to grow poor vegetables, wher better sorts will often yield quite a: , we'll, and will prove luxuries, while tht poorer kinds are like poor company, ai | likely to be worse than none as to bt better than none.
 ) Take one day down cellar to throv l out and carry away all dirt, rotten wood 2 decaying vegetables and other accumu I lations that have gathered there brusl 8 down cobwebs, and with bucket c [ lime give the walls and ceiling goot 0 coat of whitewash. No matter if yo1 0 don't understand the business no mat g ter if you have not got whitewasl d brush take an old broom that the goo e wife has worn out and spread 1t o, e thick and strong. It will sweeten II @ the air in the cellar, the parlor and tn K bed chambers Gf your cellar is like tn '- ordinary farmhouse cellars), and it ma $ save your family from the affiictions ( d levers, diphtheria and doctors. Whil d the lime is about you might as will giv r, the inside of the hen house coat of it l, It will be good thing for the fowl, n you do.
 It English Apple Tart.