The National tribune., 1884-08-21
OUR RURAL TOPICS,
Some Practical Suggestions for Our
Agricultural Readers.
ORCHARD GRASS.


ORCHARD GRASS
| In many respects orchard grass has advan-
| tages over any other for meadow or pasture.
In suitable localities it yields more and better
food for stock than any variety of grass or
| clover. large yield may be expected the
season after the seed is sown. A sod of orchard
| grass once established will last as long as one
OF blue grass. This grass affords feed earlier
in the Spring than any other forage crop. If
| not allowed to produce seed, it will continue to
afford tender and sweet food till the plants are
| killed by the Fall frosts Cattle horses and
sheep prefer it to any kind of grass or clover.
| Orchard grass makes excellent hay, but it is
necessary to cut it two or three times during
| the season. The only objection to orchard
grass for meadow is its liability to grow in
| the form of tassocks. These are liable to in
terfere with the operations of the mower or
horse rake. They may be prevented by thick
seeding or by sowing red clover and stimulat-
ing its growth with fertilizers. By using a
heavy roller early in the Spring while the
| ground is soft, the formation of tassocks may,
| in great measure, be prevented. They are
not objectionable in a permanent pasture, es-
pecially if it is devoted to sheep. Every con-
siderable portion of land devoted to pasturage
should contain at least few acres that have
| been well prepared and seeded to orchard grass.
1t will afford excellent feed at least two weeks
before blue grass, timothy, red-top and clover
have shown much sign of life The turf formed
| of orchard grass is SO firm that it is not likely
to be injured by the feet of cattle, even when
the ground is very soft. 1t is noticed that
orchard grass stands drought better than al
most any forage plant, and on this account it
! is desirable for portions of the country where
| the rainfall in Summer is small In its habits
it resembles the "bunch grass" of the Western
plains
| Orchard grass does best on a rich, deep and
| tolerbly moist soil. The ground should be
deeply plowed and well pulverized. 1t should
| be prepared and manured with view Of being
| kept in the same crop for many years. Two
| bushels of seed are required for an acre. The
seed is very light, q bushel weighing only IL
| or Ia pounds. 1t should be sown on calm
| day; otherwise, the seed would be blown to
distance. Orchard grass does better in par
! tial shade than any of the grasses or clovers.
1t is, therefore, well adapted to seeding orch
ards and woodlands that are to be devoted to
pasturage.
HARVESTING THE CORN CROP.
In view of the fact that in few weeks the
| work of cutting corn will begin, we print the
following seasonable hints from an exchange:
There is a great deal in knowing how to
| manage fodder in the best manner. Sometimes
the size of the stocks or shocks are too large,
| tending to produce mold, and thus very seri-
ously injuring alike the grain and fodder.
| Sometimes they are too small, allowing too
| much surface to be exposed to the rains and
causing increased damage to the fodder from
inclement weather. Hence moderate-sized
| shock is to be preferred. We have long noticed
| and commented on the fact that great deal of
cornfodder, after the ears are removed, is al
lowed to remain in the field, in very ex-
posed condition, until late in November, and
even up to the first half of December, thus
permitting the weather to destroy large pro-
portion of its value as feed for cattle, which
eat the leaves in preference to hay, and would
| much OF the stalk If cut into inch pieces,
sprInkied over with little cornmeal, and,
when convenient, steamed. We could never
understand the reason why the fodder should
not all be carefully stacked at the barn or
housed in the latter end of October OF begin
ming of November, when it would prove
| valuable addition to the Winters stock of
provender. By that time also the grain will
all have been sown and the potatoes dug, and
| there is no work of hurry to interfere with
the proper securing of the fodder crop 1t is
well known that for horses carefully y-harvested
| corn leaves are regarded as particularly nutri-
tious, and to the race horse they are especially
valuable and sought after.
4 KILL THE LATE WEEDS.
| The fight with the weeds in the cornfeld
should not stop with the cultiyator We have
frequently seen farmers strive man nfuIly against
negligence, subject themselves to annoyance
through the next season. Some weeds have
limited season of growth, and If kept rooted
out until Midsummer will rarely come up
again; others continue growing until severe
frosts come. An old Illinois farmer said cookie
| burr would como up in the morning, grow
| until four in the evening, and mature seeds
| before the frost could kill it that night. This
is an exaggeratiOn, yet the cockleburr must be
fought until there are heavy frosts. The vel
vet leaf jimson, and rag-weeds viii commence
growth almost as late. Weeds are very pro-
life, and an occasional one gone to seed in the
cornfeld will insure good crop the next sea-
son. Corn should not be cultivated after it is
tasseled, but the weeds can be cut out without
disturbing the soil. For this purpose we have
seen short scythe used but we much prefer
hoe with q sharp edge.-American AgTiea.I-
turist.
| MANURING MEADOWS.
The proper top-dressng of meadows is q GER
tain means TO prolong a full crop of grass for
ali almost indefinite period. In portions of
the eastern Counties of Pennsylvania, we have
seen meadowland in grass, without disturbance
as we were assured, for so years; and the
only top-dressing or fertilizing ever applied
was light coat of hme-about 30 bushels to
the acre-eyery five or six years. We have our
selves top-dressed timothy in the Spring, fol-
lowed Immediately by couple of bushels of
plaster or gypsum to the acre. which gave us
full yield of grass for seven years, at which
time the natural grasses asserted their supreni-
acy. We think it good policy to follow top
dressing of fine, weil-rotted barnyard manure
with plaster, as it secures the ammonia in the
manure, giving the soil all it's aff1uence, in ad-
dition to its own antiseptic qualities so valu-
able, especially in dry seasons, attracting mois-
ture from the atmosphere as Weu.-Ge Germantown
Telegraph.
NoTELETs.
For diarrhea in calves give two or three
ounces of castor oil, with three to four drains
of laudanum; three to four hours thereafter
give mixture of two drams of compound clalk
powder with opium, one dram of powdered gem
tian, one ounce of peppermint water, and three
ounces of starch emulsion. Such dose may
be given twice or thrice daily until the symp-
toms abate. Change the diet.-Breeders' Ga
sette, Chicago.
Small fruits can be raised while we arc
waiting for the trees to come into bearing
good supply of them can be obtained the second
year after setting out. Raspberry, blackberry,
and gooseberry plants can be got for very
small sum, and their cultivation will certainly
add much to the farmers table as well as his
pocket
- All manures deposited by nature are left
on near the surface The whole tendency
of manure is to go down into the soil rather
than to rise from it. There is probably very