The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-11-27
THE FARM AND THE GARDEN.
WATERS OF INTEREST TO AGRI--
CULTURIsT AND HOUSEWIFE.

CULTURIsT AND HOUSEWIFE.
May weather In Novem ber-scannlng
Records Lest We Forget" when
the DestructIve Cold COmes-sam-
PIES of Tea From south Carolina.
The value of Grass as a CrOD-The
Tomato as IA Tonic.
A very unusual spring has been followed
by very exceptional autumn. While 1t
is not uncommon for US to have but little
severe weather before Christmas, il IL very
rare to have such a continued period OF
mild, sprnglike weather, as has been ex-
perienced the present autumn. With rain
barely sufficient to keep down the dust and
frosts hardly severe enough to destroy ten
der vegetation, there is little appearance
of winter, even in Middle Georgia. and
here we are at the close OF November!
Weather as mild as a morning in May;
the air resonant with the chirp and song
of the birds, the woods and gardens a
mass of color, with flowers abloom like
as in midsummer. Fire is altogether I'M
necessary for comfort. Instead doors and
windows are all ajar to admit the invigor-
ating air.
How long such weather will continue
can only be a matter for speculation. Even
the weather bureau can tell US nothing Of
the future beyond forty-elght hours or
50, and even for this limited period 1t is
often at fault. But of one thing we may
be sure, It is the part of wisdom to an
ticlpate a change for the worst before
many days. A cold wave may bear down
upon us any day now, and with but a
few hours notice. And we will feel 1t all
the worse for the balmy weather that has
preceded its coming. A comparatively
mild wave will impress the body as If 1t
were the old Ice King himself holding
the body in his embrace After such mild,
facilitating weather a wind out of the
Northwest with a temperature of 80, or
even 40, coming suddenly, will produce the
shivers of cold that temperature of u
or 10 would hardly produce in January.
Simply because we are not yet Injured to
the cold. These sudden changes are
fraught with danger, and 1t is wise to be
wen prepared for them.
Unless we have a record" to scan oc-
casionally we are very likely to forget the
exceptional weather that has characteriz-
ed previous years and those within a very
recent PERIOD too. We have occasionally
had winters where cotton plants and 9TH
er vegetation as tender survived the en-
tire winter, and II is quite frequent oc-
currence for the tenderer plants of our
garden to remain green until Christmas.
Many of our readers doubtless can
recall the mild winter of S1-S2, when the
growing season was barely interrupted
when toma to and pepper and other tender
plants remained green and growing long
after Christmas.
Our winters are certainly extremely va
riable and we cannot count on what the
weather will be. II we only could know
it would greatly simplify the problem
"how to make money at farming"
In 81 oats that were sown in December
came up and grew off without the least
check or interruption from cold in De-
cember or january. If we only knew that
we were TO have a repetition of 81 there
would be thousands of acres of small
grain sown that win not be sown, be-
cause we have to act upon the assump-
ton that the average January freeze Will
certainly destroy such belated sowings.
Yet in the past fifteen years there have
occurred several winters when small grain
properly sowed In December passed
through the winter without serious injury
and that on latitude SO. In South
ern Georgia wheat properly put in
with the roller can be sown in December
with the probability of escaping injury
four years out OF hVe.
OF late years our destructive cod has
occurred at the close of winter-in Feb
ruary or March-lnstead of in December or
January as seemed to be the rule years
agone. For the sake of our fruit inter-
ests 1t is to be regretted that we do not
have more freezing weather in November
and December than we usually have. Of
tentimes our fruits are hardly dormant
before late in December and usually cur
February weather invites to renewed
growth.
1t may be that this is the reason why
our tree fruits are so short lived Their
period of repose is so short Is not this
the reason why the apple Is not success
fully grown in our climate?