The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-04-17
Farm Notes.

Old sod that has been plowed up for corn
usually contains cutworms. Look over the
field daily, after the corn is up, and destroy
them.
The bassano and eclipse are the varieties OF
early beets to plant. They can be planted now,
the seed il slow in coming up.
Lawn grass seed should be in the ground. II
deferred the growth OF the grass will be delayed
by the dry days of summer.
Dry earth can be procured now, and should
be used freely. 1t is the best absorbent of any
of the cheap materials known.
The roots of lucern extend very deeply into
the soil, thus enabling the plant to endure
drought.
The best food for making hens lay is a pound
of lean meat, chopped fine given three times a
week to flock of twenty hens. But very little
grain is required at this season.
Sheep fescue grass grows soil that would
not produce clover or other grasses and should
be sown for sheep. About thirty pounds OF
seed are required for one acre.
A hen and chicks in a garden sometimes
prove beneficial, as thew destroy many insects,
but they should be kept away from plots that
have been recently seeded.
For stock the mammoth long red mangel
wurzel is the best on light loamy soils that have
been deeply plowed. The globe varieties are
best suited for stiff soils.
The emerald gem is a small canteleup, but
probably the best favored. The gain of size in
the melon family is often at the expense OF
quality.
Outdoor cabbage beds may be prepared.
Have the bed rich and fine, and sow the seed in
rows so as to keep the grass out Transplant
as soon as the young plants are large enough.
Popcorn is a valuable crop In some sections.
II is sold by the pound, grain and cob together.
The rice popcorn, which is uniformly clear and
bright, is tbs ,tavorite market variety.
n. II
but two or three feet in hight. For later crop
the evergreen may be planted. Do not put the
seed in until danger of frost has passed.
Narrowing should be repeated if the Jumps
are not reduced after each rain (but not when
the ground is too wet, in order to get the soil
fine. Narrowing is work that pays in the end.
The finer the soil, and the better its condition
for receiving seed, the more advantages of
growth are secured.
Thin out all surplus plants in the hotbeds if
they are crowded, and those remaining will be-
come more stocky. The hot-bed may be left
open during the day at this season.
The ground is ready for peas if an early sup
ply is to be continued. Peas may be planted in
succession, two weeks apart for family use, as
the early kinds seldom afford but a single pick
ing.
Millet seed should not 20 in until after all
danger of frost is over. Like buckwheat it is
a summer plant and requires but short period
for growth. 1t destroys weeds and yields enor-
mously.
Artichokes become pest after they once get
q stand, as the small tubers remain in the
ground all winter and shoot out in the spring.
gradually spreading over more ground every
season. They serve well in field where the
pigs can be turned in TO root them up.
The parsley bed is an important adjunct to a
garden, and the seed can go in early 1t is usu-
ally long time terminating, and if the bed is
not frequently hand-weeded the grass will take
possession before the seed can start, and the
bed will be ruined.
Pole beans entail more labor than do the
bush kinds, but they give more groupings. 1t
is better to plant the wax varieties in success
sion. The old well-knoTn refugee variety is
one OF the best early bush varieties to plant.
Sow your celery seed. An ounce of seeds
should produce 1000 plants. Sow on a fine
seed-bed and cover the seed very lightly. If
the weather becomes dry, water the young
plants. Grass must be kept out and should
there be danger from heavy winds at night or
frosts, a covering of muslin held at the corners
with weights may be spread over them, though
the young plants are quite hardy.
The. early weeds that spring up on fields not
intended for cultivation can be Kept down by a
flock of sheep. Many weeds that are unfit for
food when matured serve as choice morsels for
many kinds of stock when they are lust shoot
ing out of the ground. Sheep Craze very close,
and forage all over a field very industriously.
They find every vestige of green food that APP
pears, and by keeping down the weeds early
the fields can in time be entirely cleared of the
pests.