The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1886-07-14
farm 9otes.
GRASS NOT A FULL RATION.

GRASS o A FULL RATION.
Excellent as pasture is for many
purposes, there are others for which
it is inferior unless supplemented by
something else. 1t is doubtful
whether alone it is a perfect ration
for any stock excepting milch cows,
and then only for a brief time.
Early in the spring the grass is too
watery. Late in Summer the seed
stalks appear and then it is coarse
and hard.
BREEDING HEEP.
The ram must be kept from breed
ing ewes from now until the time
for them to commence breeding. If
this is not done fockmasters will be
having lambs at all times during late
Fall and Winter, and it will be i'm
possible to properly care for them
as could be done if lambs were drop
ped when expected, and after proper
arrangements had been provided for
them.
RICH SOIL FOR CABBAGE.
1t is impossible to make land too
rich for cabbage, but it must also be
moist. 1t is always a forced crop,
in which ucces requires an unnat-
ural development ofthe leaves, called
the head. If left to itself a cabbage
plant would grow few leaves and
from these send up a seedstalk as
quickly as possible. On poor land
poorly titled seed is sometimes
formed the same season as planting.
BREEDING COWS FOR THE DAIRY.
The Jersey COW is a specimen of
what careful breeding exclusively
for butter and cream can do. Its
small size is due to the fact that for
successive generations the breed has
been bred very early, and thus its
vitality is turned to other uses than
to building up itself: Jersey heifers
will breed very early, many drop
ping their first calf when a little
more than a year and a half old.
THE TURNIP CROP.
The idea that turnips need no
hoeing is a great mistake. If sown
in corn or potato fields that have
been we'll titled up to this time the
shade of these crops will partly OBJ
viate the necessity of hoeing. But
enough nor per acre can be grown
to SOW in drills and run the hoe
through them. Thinning turnips is
very important. They are always
sown too thickly and, the turnip,
like most roots, is its OWL worst
weed.
GROWING TOMATOES IN FIELDS.
The tomato is almost the only
garden vegetable that succeeds bet
ter without the richness of soil of
the garden. Too large growth of
vines make the fruit larger and more
liable to rot. In field culture the
fertility sufficient to grow a good
crop of corn or potatoes is ample for
this crop. The yield is generally
0 than that Of potatoes on sim
liar soil, and the price averages
higher, making it a profitable crop
to grow.
CLOVER AFTER HEAVY MATURING.
Market gardeners and others who
manure heavily find it pays to seed
clover frequently. Some of the ex-
cess of manure necessarily used is
lcached into the sub-soil, and the
clover roots better than any other
reach this, and not only save it from
loss, but bring it in reach of the
other crops that feed near the sur
face. Potash and phosphate nat
urally sink into the soil, and when
it is cropped with only surface feed
ing plants, these valuable fertilizers
are wasted.
KILLING POTATOES.
The almost universal practice is
to make some sort of a hill about
potato plants. 1t at least saves the
tubers from becoming sunburnt,
which makes them worthless for
cooking. The killing should be done
when the tubers have set, as break
ing the roots after this may cause a
second crop to form, and neither
crop will be of marketable size.
Early killing also I'VE labor. After
potato vines begin to fall down, the
c%ultivator cannot be got through
them without covering many leaves
which late in the season seriously
Injuries the crop.
STEALING CHICKENS.