AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
Contents for February, 1 874. 
Agaseiz Illustrated . .41 
Agriculturist Strawberry 64 
Bee Notes for February 49 
Boys and Girls' Columns— Beautiful and Curious Stone 
—How Business is done under the Sea— "English 
Currants "—Aunt Sue's Puzzle-Bos— Goats. 
9 Illustrations.. C7, 08 
Books Noticed 4h 
Calf-Feoder Illustrated. .57 
Catalogues received 49 
Cattle, Covered Stalls for 3 IUustrations . .56 
Catfrle, Transportation of 59 
Cow, What may be Expected of a Jersey 59 
Currant*, Cultivation of 62 
Dog, Shepherd Illustrated. .60 
Drain, Safety Illitst rated.. 5S 
Duck, Imperial Pekia 53 
Eggs, Early 53 
Evergreen, An Ornamental 62 
Fertilizers for Particular Plants, Special 63 
Fish in Small Ponds 58 
Flower Garden and Lawn for February _ 44 
Flowers, Blue Vervain Illustrated. . 64 
Fruit Garden for February 43 
Fruit Growing in Utah 63 
Greenhouse and Window Plants for February 44 
Harrow, Square Illustrated. . 53 
Horse, Morgan Abdallah Illustrated.. 53 
Horse Trough, An Improved Illustrated . .51 
Horticultural Stealing -. 61 
Hot-Beds, Profit from 49 
Household Department — Supports for Shovel and 
Tongs— Home Topics — What Shall we Have for 
Breakfast?— Renovating Old Feathers— Cake-Mak- 
ing 2 Illustrations.. 65, 66 
Kitchen Garden for February 44 
Lime, Burning Shells to Make, Illustrated . .57 
Market Report for Febrnary 44 
Notes from the Pines— Balance of Things— Exotic 
Aquatic Plants— Fish— Winter-Blooming Pelargoni- 
ums— Double Chinese Primrose— Propagating Eche- 
veriaa 62, 63 
Ogden Farm Papers, No. 4S— Water—Jersey Cattle- 
Feeding Clover— Dairy Statistics— Food for Cattle- 
Laborers — Butter — Soiling Crops 50, 52 
Orchard and Nursery for February 43 
Pea, Japan lllusirat&l . .63 
Saw, Protection for a Circular Etustraled. .57 
Sheep, A New Method of Hurdling Illustrated.. ho 
Sheep-Rack Illustrated.. 53 
Sheep, Shropshire-Down Illustrated. .53 
Stock, Watering in Winter 50 
Turkeys, Loss of Weight in Dressing 59 
Verbena, The Garden Illustrated.. 61 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 122— Cellars Freez- 
ing— Corn— Farming— Money— Wages— Potatoes. 54, 55 
Work, Hints about 43 
iNr>EX to "basket," on siiohteu. articles. 
American Da i rymen's Ass.47 
Boat Bnildlng 47 
Bones, Grinding ...48 
Book by Prof. Wtnchell...48 
"Brahma Fowl,'" L. 
Ladder, How to Carry a.. .47 
Land Sales 47 
Lard Oil 47 
Leather and Tanners' 
Fleshings 75 
Wright's .'...46iLeather Scraps, Value of.47 
Butter Packages 47 1 Manure for Potatoes 47 
Castor Beans and Oil 47 Mich. AenculttTl College.46 
Cattle, Soiling 47;Milk, Temperature for 
Chips and Bark. Value of .48 Setting 48 
Clfvl -, Three-Horse 48 Mnltum in Parvo 75 
Cochins, Buff TolOleo Margarine 75 
Colt, For n -lumping 75 Orchard, Crop for 75 
Concrete Buildings'. 75. Ox, Heavy 75 
Congress to do, Three | Patrons of Industry 47 
Things for 48, Plaster, Nova Scotia 47 
Co-operative Store 75:Poitou Ass 75 
Corn, Broom Hi P<wt:il Cards Use of 45 
Corn, Harrowing ;."> Potato Disease 75 
Cow, Worms in a 75' Potato Premiums, Liberal. 47 
Cyclopaedia, American 46 Potato Planter 47 
Darnel 75 P ■ ml try for Profit 75 
Death of H'-nry A. Dreer.. 4o Railroad, Burlington and 
Diseased Udder 75| Missouri. 75 
Drains and Irrigating, | Roofing Material 4S 
Pipes for 75 Scratches 75 
Emigration to Kansas 48: Seeds, Agricultural Dep't.47 
Farmers'' Club, Volinia. ..75 Sheep Farming in Texas. 75 
Fence Posts, Improving.. 47 Sheep, Foot and Mouth 
Fertilizers, Artificial 46 Disease in 75 
Floriculture, Henderson's Sheep in South Carolina. .4S 
Practical 46 Sheep on Shares, Caring 
Florida Agriculturist 47 for 48 
Forestry, Memorial 47 Spinning Wheel, New 4S 
Fowls' 1 Legs, Disease in. .75 .Steaming Feed 48 
Gail Borden 47 : Stove, Vapor 47 
Gardeners' Monthly 46 WeBt, Going 4S 
Goats for Milk. 75 What we Call Mean 46 
Grass, Italian Rye 48, Wheat, Harrowing 48 
Grass, Sowing in Spring, .47] Whent, Head of Spring. -17 
Hay, Measure for 75 Wheeler's Anti Snow-ball- 
Hog Cholera 47 ititf Pad 47 
Horses Hanging Back .... 48, Wi mlmill 75 
Humbugs, Sundry 45 i Wool 4(1 
Kansa^llomosteader 47' Woolen Mill Refuse 47 
Calendar for February. 
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2 
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4 
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5 
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6 
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11 
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13 
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15 
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11. 
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IS 
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111 
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81 
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I'll 
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28 
S 
Bot*tOH.2i Eng- 
land. N. Yoi'k 
State. Michi- 
gan, IFitcon- 
xiu, fatva. and 
Oregon. 
3 8 3 « i £ S 
7 H 
7 18 
7 II 
7 10 
7 9 
7 
7 
5 
4 
7 2 
7 1 
7 
6 58 
6 55 
6 55 
11 54 
6 5! 
6 51 
II :." 
G 48 
6 47 
G 4'. 
6 44 
6 42 
40 
38 
H.M 
.". II 
5 15 
16 
18 
5 19 
5 20 
5 22 
23 
25 
26 
5 27 
29 
10 
31 
5 33 
SI 
33 
:;.; 
5 38 
89 
3 II 
5 II 
3 18 
45 
40 
S II 
is 
I. M. 
5 26 
G 28 
7 30 
8 30 
930 
10 31 
11 31 
morn 
35 
1 40 
2 45 
3 57 
5 1 
5 55 
6 39 
sets 
fi 51 
8 10 
9 26 
10 42 
11 57 
morn 
1 11 
2 21 
3 29 
4 26 
5 11 
5 49 
.V. F. City, Ct., 
Philadelphia, 
New Jersey. 
Penn.. Ohio. 
Indiana, and 
Illinois. 
1 10 
1 9 
7 5|5 
7 4|5 
7 3" 
7 2 
7 1 
7 
II 59 
G 
G 57 
6 56 
G54 
53 
n :.i - 
.'. 50 5 
6 40 5 
6 48 
G 46 
45 
il I". 
42 
40 
G 31 
II 37 
G 35 
a. m. 
5 30 
fi 82 
7 82 
8 31 
9 30 
10 29 
It 29 
morn 
31 
1 35 
2 42 
3 51 
4 54 
5 49 
6 33 
sets 
6 sit 
8 10 
9 25 
10 39 
11 51 
morn 
1 6 
2 )5 
3 22 
4 19 
5 4 
5 43 
Washington, 
Maryland, 
Virginia. Ken- 
tucky. Jlixxon- 
fi, and C'ali. 
fornia. 
n.M n.n 
7 6 5 22 
7 5 5 23 
7 4|5 24 
7 3i5 25 
7 2 3 26 
7 1 5 21 
7 0,5 28 
6 59|5 29 
G 51 5 31 
6 57 5 32 
6 56 5 S3 
6 55 5 "4 
G 5415 S5 
6 63 5 86 
6 WR 3-1 
50[5 39 
6 49 5 40 
6 48 5 41 
6 47 5 42 
6 40,5 43 
6 44 5 45 
6 43 
•I 11 
III 
13 IK 
6 87 
6 35 
a. M. 
5 33 
6 33 
7 83 
8 32 
930 
10 58 
11 26 
morn 
28 
1 30 
2 36 
3 41 
4 47 
5 42 
6 28 
seta 
6 55 
8 11 
9 24 
10 37 
11 49 
morn 
1 1 
2 8 
3 15 
4 12 
4 58 
5 88 
PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON'. 
BOSTON*. 
M.TORK. 
wasiTn*. 
CHA'STON' 
CHICAGO. 
n 
ft. 31. 
[it. m. 
rr. H. 
IT. Jl. 
n. yt. 
Full M'n 
1 
6 51 m. 
6 39 in. 
G 27 ill. 
G 15 m. 
5 45 m. 
Stl Quart. 
9 
11 45 m. 
11 33 m. 
11 51 m. 
11 09 m. 
10 39 m. 
New M'n 
HI '.' 
2 hi ev. 
2 7ev. 
l 55 ev. 
1 25 ev. 
1st Quart 
G 1 in. 
. 5 19 m. 
5 37 m. 
5 .;5 111. 
4 55 m. 
AMERICA* A G R 1 C V I,T V R I S T. 
NEW TORE, FEBRUARY, 1874. 
One more month and spring will be here. It is 
a good thing to look forward. A farmer lives 
largely in the future. In the ealf he sees the ripe 
steer. His plans are far-reaching, and require 
months and years for their perfect development. 
A man who can not wait with patience will not dc 
a happy farmer. He must work and hope. We 
have had much to discourage us, but our prospects 
are now decidedly brighter. For two or three 
years past we have seen hard times. Wages have 
been high and prices low. Our expenses have 
been out of all proportion to our receipts. The 
" panic " of last September was the effect and not' 
the cause of the general agricultural distress. As 
we have repeatedly stated, farmers for two or 
three years past have not been getting adequate 
compensation for their labor and capital. Many a 
farmer of skill, experience, and intelligence has 
received less pay for his labor than the average 
mechanic, or even, in some cases, than the un- 
skilled laborer on our railroads and public works. 
The cities and villages seemed to be prospering, 
while farmers found it difficult to raise money to 
pay taxes and grocery bills. It needed the panic 
to convince our bankers, manufacturers, business, 
commercial, and railroad men that tin nation 
could not prosper when com was used for fuel, 
and when the money got for a hog would hardly 
buy a pair of children's boots. It was well that 
they should know that a firmer who had to pay S3 
or ?4 per day and board to get men to help him 
biud a crop of wheat that only yielded eight bush- 
els per acre was not likely to buy many silk 
dresses or railroad bonds. And so the col- 
lapse came. 
Now things are changed. Farmers, like all 
other classes, suffered by the pauic, but we shall 
lose nothing by it in the end. 
Favored by low prices, our exports of farm pro- 
duce have been enormous. It is a good thing to 
get rid of our surplus. It will give us better prices 
for what we have left. To-dny there is nothing in 
the prospect ahead that should discourage a good 
farmer. It seems brighter to us than at any time 
for several years past. Wages will come down, 
implements, machines, dry-goods, and groceries 
will be 6old at reasonable rates. What we have to 
sell will be higher ; what we need to buy will be 
lower— in fact, is lower already. 
But let it not be forgotten that to the poor far- 
mer times are always hard. We must raise good 
crops and produce good beef, mutton, pork, cheese, 
butter, and fruit before we have any right to ex- 
pect good times. It would he a sad thing for the 
country to have prices so high that a poor farmer 
•who raises only ten bushels of wheat per acre on 
the average could get rich. The writer is a farmer, 
and all his interests and sympathies are with the 
farmer, but we can not but feel that many of our 
troubles are due to ourselves. We need, it maybe, 
an "elastic curreucy," cheap freights, and fewer 
middlemen, more sheep and fewer dogs, a better 
Department of Agriculture, more farmers' clubs, 
more agricultural books and papers, and more 
farmers in Congress — but above all we need a better 
snslmt of farming. Nothing will help us unless wc 
help ourselves. We must farm better or quit the 
business. We must raise as much wheat, barley, 
oats, corn, beans, peas, and potatoes as we do now, 
but we must raise them on less land. We can not 
afford to spread our labor over three acres of land 
to raise 250 bushels of potatoes, when we can raise 
the same amount on one acre. And so with all the 
other crops. We shall never make money by fann- 
ing until we aim to raise large crops per acre. 
Half our troubles come from spreading our labor 
over too much land. 
Hints al>out Work. 
On our own farm the most important labor of th« 
winter is feeding stock and making manure. 
Good Manure can only be made from good food. 
The more nitrogen the food contains the richer 
and more valuable will be the manure. 
Oil- Cake, either from linseed or cotton-seed, 
makes the richest manure. Malt-combs, beans, 
and peas come next, and are nearly as good. Next 
come bran and clover hay. Then oats, Indian- 
corn, and barley ; then timothy hay and corn- 
stalks. Bean and pea straw come next ; then oat- 
straw, »bwt =tmw. mid lastly barley straw. 
Bran or Sfiorts is a favorite food witn us. Wo 
feed it largely to sheep, store pigs, cows, and 
horses. We can sell timothy hay for $23 per ton 
and buy shorts for $18 per ton. And the manure 
from a ton of bran wc estimate to be worth $15, 
while that from a ton of timothy hay or corn is 
worth less than $7, and that from a ton of clover 
hay about S10, and from a ton of straw $2.50 to $3. 
Straw and Stalks are scarce and high. We run 
them all through a cutting box, both for food and 
for litter. When cut up, straw will absorb much 
more liquid, and is consequently more valuable for 
, than long ft raw. 
Uorn-Meal for Manure has been much talked 
about lately. We recommend it. heartily — but it 
should ilrst be passed through some animal ma- 
u'li as a cow, horse, sheep, or pig. 
For Ston A nimals, half a pound of corn-meal per 
day for each 103 pounds of live weight, mixed with 
two pounds of chaffed straw or stalks is, with us, 
an economical food. 
for Fattening Animals, three-fourths to one 
pound of meal per day to each 100 pounds of live 
weight is about the proper quantity. 
Three Good Plans for Managing Manure are : 1st, 
to draw it out every dny and spread it on the land, 
or put it in a large pile in the field where it is to be 
used ; 2d, to let it fall into a manure cellar; 3d, to 
wheel it out every day, or as often as convenient, 
to some central spot in the barn-yard and make it 
into a heap. The latter is our owu plan. 
No Plan can be Worse than leaving the cow manure 
in a scattered heap just outside the cow stable, 
and the horse manure in another heap, and the pig 
manure, half mud and eorn-cobs, in another heap, 
where it freezes solid. Mix the whole in a compact 
heap, and it will ferment all winter and be ready 
for use in the spring. 
A few Planks are Needed on which to wheel the 
