The farmer and mechanic., 1910-01-18
Progressive Farmer.)
harm Work for January.

FARMERS whose DdT1S are liiielA Win
feed and whose stalls have cattle III
them to make beef, or cows to make
butter, will have plenty to do during
the winter. But the man like an OLD
fellow / struck once at an institute III
Eastern North Carolina, who don
want to be pestered with them, VIII
have no COWS nor beeves to feed, and
will kick his heels by the fire and
borrow money to start his cotton
crap" in the spring, and year after
year will be doing the same thing over
and over.
The farmer will now have chance
to improve his soil by driving out
daily with a load on a manure spread
er and leaving it we'll spread on the
land, whenever he can go with team
and spreader- II you have q chance
to get a lot of good rich woods earth
when you have nothing better to do,
haul that ont and spread it, too. But
do not waste manure and time and
labor mixing up a lot Of fence-roW
earth, cottonseed and poor lot manure
into what you call compost" and
then imagine that it is good manure,
dribbling it n the cotton rows like
something precious, when it has very
little more value than much leaf
mold, Spread over the land anything
you can get that will help it, but have
good feed and feed we'll and then you
will have good manure to spread. But
COWS standing outside all winter and
living on corn Shucks or straw cannot
make manure of much value. 1t will
be shucks and straw and nothing bet
ter.
But feed peayine hay, cOttonseed
meal. corn, and corn fodder, and yol.
will have the nanurial value repre-
sented by the feed. And peavin. ma
h Il c-fx
the hay is above the straw before
feeding.
Repair all buildings that need it.
and you will find that comfortable
quarters will save feed in the barn.
Inc boards may be higher than usual
but they are cheaper than corn and
hay to maintain the animal heat.
If you left any implements or ma
chimes out an the field last fall get
them in at once. clean them up, and
oil the metal parts and paint the wood
work. Farm tools and machines cost
too much to let them waste for lack Of
care and shelter
Land that is now bare can be
plOWed in readiness for the spring
crops. but the real farmer will not
have any such, but will have winter
cover of crimson clover, or even of
rye. to protect the land in winter.
Low is good time to see where the
land needs drainage, for if water
stands at any time it will be standing
now. Then while other work is not
pressing, look after the bitches, and
see if you cannot protitably use some
tile drains. Nothing like tiles for
sinking the water level in the soil
Y.
There is this difference between
feeding dairy cows in winter and
feeding beeves: the COWS will need
more work and attention. but the pro-
duct will bring money every day, while
you must wait till spring for the
beeves But where dairying cannot be
done in the best way, it is better to
feed beeves.
Cows that will be coming in fresh
in the spring should have extra good
attention in winter, and do not
Imagine that because a cow is dry she
can live on nothing and make q good
calf.
See that the sows that are to furnish
the spring litters have dry and COM
fOrta bic shelter
Get all your hog meat smoked dur
lng the winter and have it ready to
sack and secure from flies before
warm weather.
If YOU have to buy corn or cotton
seed To plant III spring get it early. But
do not go far away to distant sections
OF the country to seek seed corn. You
may have better for your purposes in
your own granary. And if you get
good and early cottonseed try to keen
IL up TO standard, or above, by careful
selection next su1nmer
Brlght indeed is the future for such
farmers as Mr.. Jesse M. Jones, who has
realized the value of deep p1owing as
means not only for checking surface
washing, but for conserving the mois-
ture of the soil to tide over the sum-
mer drouths. L hope to see the day
when the hill farmers ia the South
wlll realize that with deep pIowing and
hlllng the soil with humus- making ma
ter al, having a sod 10 turn Whenever
breaking for a hoed crop. they can