Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1885-08-14
farmfrs' Gulumn.
Give fools their gold * knaves their power
Let fortunes bubbles rise and fail;
Who sOyvs n field or trains flower.
Or plants a tree. is more than all.
Farm Work for August.


Farm Work for August
The month Of August may be called
the winding up month Of the making
of the crops for the year; it is the last
month of Summer. In August the
bulk Of the great peach crop natures
and other fruit becomes abundant;
corn and other grain come to matur
ity, while the hay and the small grain
crops have been secured. Wheat, &c.
is usually threshed and cleaned this
month if not marketed. The melon
and the tomato crops are not crowded
into the markets, and each have be-
come, and are yearly on the increase,
important branches Of trade. The
melon culture, in certain localities is
profitable, and it, with the sweet po-
tato, adds greatly to the industrial pc
cuniary resources Of the people Of the
Middle and Southern States.
C0rn.-This crop, owing to many
reasons: has proved backward, but is
now ''laid by" we presume. If We
have wet August, good crop may
be expected.
Cl0rer Seed.-By sowing clover seed
this month, and before the 10th Of
next month, an early crop next year is
secured, and the chance offered to SOW
it over in Winter or next Spring, if
the sowing should now fail to take.
CleaningtAe Fields and Fal7owing.-
The fields should now be gone over
and the briars and bushes cut and
grubbed up and piled in heaps for
burning when dry. Clean out the
fence corners, trim up the trees, and
if there be time, haul the turf from
the fence bulks and the high lands to
the poor spots or to the barn yard for
compost and to absorb the liquids.
Ditch the wet places and nnderdrain,
if possible-but get rid Of the surplus
water that stagnates in the soil.
St0ck.-The pastures are commonly
bare at this season of the year, and
stock become Troublesome, therefore
the fences ought to be kept in order
that they may not acquire the habit
breaking out of the enclosure. As We
have often said, there is no use in
keeping poor, Indifferent stock half
starved. Keep all you can, bat keep
no more than you can keep we'll, and
let it be of the most approved kind of
its particular breed. Two good COWS
properly fed and managed OF some one
of the best breeds will give more salts
faction, cost less in keeping and yield
yearly profit much greater than half
a dozen half starved, badly MIXED
and managed common old felders.
1t is important that stock of all
kinds be we'll cared for this month, as
the pasture is generally deficient. 1t
should be helped by feeding fodder or
grain with some vegetables or fruits.
Keep the stock this month we'll fed,
for the flies and insects OF all sorts do
them much harm at this season and
annoy them greatly. Let them have
pure water, salt and shade in abund
ance.
1obacco.-Try aud keep it clean of
worm; top it low, and GO not permit
the suckers to intrude. House it when
ripe and handle each plant carefully.
There is now great competition all
over the country in growing this prof.
table crop, therefore it requires every
year more attention, care aud judy
ment to grow, cure and condition it.
TurnipS.-Prepare the grosnd in
tended Tor turnips by deep blowing
and manuring, then get into good
filth by frequent narrowing; fertllize
with bone dust or superphosphate--
SOW the seed broadcast or in drills Is
inches apart, which is much the better
plan-sow between the 10th and 25th
of the month. Keep clear of weeds,
thin to 6 inches apart in the drill.
Sow turnips in the rich spots and low
grounds among the corn-they often
prove a good crop without any work.
Ruta Baga-Keep the Ruta Baga
free from grass and we'll worked. A
dressing of leached ashes, bonemeal
and plaster in equal quantities would be
OF much service to this crop at this
stage. 1t is presumed it has, however,
been highly fertilized, besides the land
made rich with stable manure, applied
some time before the seed was sown.
Orchards.-Kill the caterpillers and
other insects-remove all the broken
limbs thin the fruit where too crowd
ed; prop limbs that are likely to break
off, and pick up all the fallen fruit and
dispose of it to the COWS and hogs.
Poultry.-As the moulting season
for poultry is at hand, they require at
tention and good feeding-keep the
poultry house clean and whitewashed
the floors covered with short dry
grass or straw, and see the fowls get
access to plenty of clean water, with
grass or vegetable leaves, or a few
hours run in plowed ground or grass
lands. Have low roosts for the i'm
proved breeds of the large kind, such
as Cochins, Brahmas, &c.-they often
injure themselves by getting down
from high roosts.-Maryland Far,aer.
Ordinarily much of the value of hen
manure is lost to the poulterer by al
lowing it to remain on the floor of the
l Al.