The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-12-12

/ 4 little. 1X6I II dlOIc III l "AA Coi
out all right.
Every day, if practicable to get on
the land. haul out the n made
and spread it where the corn is 10 be
planted next spring. That land should
now be in crimson clover, and the
manure will help the clover, too. n
there will be far less loss than If it
is kept in the stables or the lot. Get
the manure out as fast as practicable
t. the soil where it will be feeding
plant roots instead Of wasting in
heaps or spread out in the barn-lot.
4 manure spreader will be a great
help and will make the manure go
much further than spread by hand.
Then, these long winter evenings
are a good time for study and plan
ming for the next season. Have all
the work we'll planned ahead and all
the tools and farm machinery under
shelter and oiled n repaired so that
there will be no delay when the work
ing season opens.
If YOU still have bare land in the
cotton or the corn field, YOU can still
SOW rye for a winter cover. 1T would
have been better to hav soWed it a
mont or more age, but do not let the
land lie bare Of green all winter, for
it will be leaking cash out of your
pocket.
December is a good month in the
South to plant fruit trees. The land
should nave been we'll prepared be-
fore this, but the planting can be
dcne very we'll now.
From North Carolina southwark
there is no better time for setting
strawberry, blackberry and raspberry
Plants. The farm work is not push
Jig now, and every farmer should
have his own fruit supply both Of the
orchard fruits and the small fruits,
for when you lave an abundance for
home use, and some over, you cal
can the surplus at a good profit to
sell in the nearby town. Have plenty
of hog and hominy, but do not try to
live on hog and hominy altogether,
but have fruit on the table daily. You
will find that there is nothing hat SO
diminishes the doctors bill as plenty
OF fruit to eat.
If you have no sweet potato curing
house and bank them outside, you
will have better success if you put
a rough shelter over the banks, for
the dry earth will keep out frost bet
ter than wet earth.
The late turnips, the parsnips, sal
sify and carrots will all be better left
in the rows where they grew, but
will be all the better to have the soil
thrown to the COWS C side.
My onions, the sets for which were
planted in September, are now ridged
up for the winter, but the soil will be
pulled away in the early spring to let
them bulb better near the surface.
II you had done as I did in August
and September and sowed plenty OF
spinach and kale, you would. now be,
as l am. enjoying the greens. Their
| have Green Curled Scotch kale from
spring-soWn seed. These are great
plants. larger than a collard and, to
my taste, far better eating in winter
I cut the beautifully curled leaves
and they keep growing right where
they stand all winter, and one plant
will give three or four times the
amount Of food that a co1lard plant
will.
My Early Wakefield cabbage plants
we're set in open burrows, and so fa1
seem to be doing we'll.
Ii you want asparagus in the
spring, and have a be- growing, now
is the time to cover it heavily with
!, manur Every farm garden should
have its plot of asparagus, and once
planted and kept fed we'll, it is good
for almost d lifetime.
Work the garden as I have otter
suggested, and you can have some
ining green from it every day ir
the year.
Extract From a Letter to Professor
Massey.
l must thank you for what YOU
nave done for me or helned me t6