The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-11-19
November Paragraphs.

N0VGmDGE Eaha8N1R@
 The time having come when we may exnect kl.a.nR frosts, seed cane Tor next years planting must be prolhp lv dug and bedded. When this task is completed it is time to cut the re- rnaininR portion of the sugar cane and to begin the making of syrup as soon as practicable. This operatloh should not be begun without the pur- chase of A Baume- -hydrometer. an in- strument costing only about seventy five cents. the intelligent use oftwnlch results in the boiling down of every pan of juice to the same degree or thickness. Tn other words, it's use ar lords a uniform syrup, quality the lack of w .h has done much in the past to interfere with the sale of syrup made by some farmers. A syrup max er who has not already read the ouile- tins on the subject of syrup making written by professor B. B Ross and published b. the Alabama Experiment Station should at once make use or this sourceeof information.
 The sowing of small grain. if not ai- ready completed, should be hurried to a conclusion as rapidly as possiole. Every acre sown in small grain TOT food for animals lessens to that ex- tent the number of acres of corn that will make A demand for labor during the coming spring and early sum mer.
 Tn sowing any of the small grains when the soil Is as dry as 1t has been here during ... last few weeks there is great advantage in using either roller or a plank or log drag. This is not as 6 substitute for the harrow, but as an addition to the usual meth cd of covering seed sown broadcast. Our oats and wheat sown in well pre- pared land during dry weather show cd a coat of green much more prompt ly in that part of the field where a plank drag had followed the harrow. The smoothing of the surface makes harvesting much more satisfactory and on rocky land may be the means sof preventing annoying breaks In the binder or mower. The more prompt germiuation of seed against which the earth is closely pressed by plank drag or roller enables half tender plants, like late-sown oats, to resist winter killing in the same way that earlier sowing would have given the plant a better chance to endure the winter
 No skill is required to make the implement. The most effective form consists Of three pieces of two by twelve sawed timber, placed parallel and overlapping each other about two inches, after the fashion of weather boarding. Two cleats cross-wise of the three blanks join them together by means of nails driven through cieats and blanks. To the front end of these cleats chains are hitched to connect with double tree or single tree. The length may be four feet for the one-horse size or eight feet for the two-horse size. If sawed lumber of these dimensions is not available q substitute can be made by chaining together, about ons foot apart and parallel. three logs, each eight to twelve inches in diameter and six to eight feet long.
 If the pulling of corn has not been completed, there is still an opportuni- ty to select seed ears by a method that gives much more satisfactory yield than is possible when the choice of ears is made in the crib. The owner or some trusty and instructed laborer should precede the hands that will pull the corn, and select and carry out the ears from the best plants, that is, from the plants yielding most grain. These plants will usually be those contain ing two ears, and planting seed from such plants the tendency to produce two ears will be increased. Later, a more careful examination can be made of these twin ears, which are best cut with a portion of the stalk holding them together. In thus selecting corn in the field there Is an opportunity to reject stalks that are undesirable in any way, as for example through weakness of root system or stalk re- sulting in the falling of the plant; likewise plants bearing the ear too high may be rejected.
 Apparently an unusually small crop of seed of cowpeas has been saved. There will probably be difficulty in getting seed for one's own planting next spring and any surplus will doubtless command a good price. Hence, if any late peas are still sound and unpicked in the field, one can af- ford to make a liberal offer to have them picked on shares.
 The digging of sweet potatoes. if not already done, demands attention im- mediately after a killing frost. It is well to impress upon each laborer, fl this be possible, that every bruise may mean a rotten potato, and that sweet potatoes should be handled almost ike eggs. Stalks, pine needles, or other litter. should be ready for prompt use in partially covering the bank.
 
 If any farmer Is so fortunate as to havo Spanish peanuts still in the ground and unsprouted, he should has ten to secure nuts for seed, knowing that soundness will not last long.
 Much can be said in favor of fall blowing, although cannot recommend the fall blowing of sandy land with an open subsoiI and relatively free from litter. On the other hand stin soils are usually better for being plowed in the fall. although this may necessitate freshening the land in spring, either by the use of the blow or of the disc harrow. Especially if It important to blow stif land that Is foul with weeds. stalks, crab grass pr other litter. This vegetation needs to be covered with soil as promptly as possible so that rotting may occur If the vegetation to be plowed under consists of very rich and easily decom- posabe material like cowpea vines fl should probably not be plowed in be- fore December, unless some winter