2^=2 
AMERICAN AGRICUJLTURIST. 
[July, 
Contents for July, 1873. 
Bee Notes fov July 4 Illustrations. .250 
Bittern or Stake-driver Illustrated . .253 
Blackbird, Red-wiug Illustrated. .253 
Blue-Ashing Illustrated. .259 
Boys and Girls' Columns— Menagerie Prizes— Result 
of the Prize Trial— Aunt Sue's Puzzle-Box— A Peep 
at the Show Illustrated. . 267, 268 
Boys and Girls, To the 250 
Buckwheat, Climbing Illustrated. . 203 
Budding 2 Illustrations . .264 
Butter-worker, An Efficient 2 Illustrations . .256 
Chicken Coop, Safety Muslraled . 25T 
"Common Cows " in England? What are 253 
Cottage, Neat Farm. Laborer's 4 Illustrations. .252 
Destroying Insects— Bellows-Syringe Illustrated. . 2G3 
Eggs, Impregnation of. 253 
Filter, Cheap Bain-water Illustrated . .25" 
Flower-Garden and Lawn in July 243 
Foxes 256 
Fruit Garden for July 243 
Garden Plans 263 
Greenhouse and Window Plants in July 244 
Heifers, How Early should have Calves 258 
Household Department — Hoop-skirts, Use for Old — 
What to Do with Bleeding Wounds -Home Topics 
— How to Cook a Beefsteak— Mosquito Guards — 
Lemon Pies— Watermelon Vinegar 2 111. .265. 266 
Kitchen Garden for July 243 
Manufactories in Farming Districts - 255 
Market Reports 244 
Milk Cellar Illustrated . .257 
Milk-Pail Holder 2 Illustrations. .259 
Notes from the Pines — Spring? Foliage— Weeping 
Poplar— Double Lily-of-the-Valley— Double Crimson 
Thorn— Aquilcgius— Vines and Shrubs 262 
Ogden Farm Papers. No. 41 — Jersey Cow — Abortion 
anion" Cows— Labor 251, 252 
Oil-producing Crops 250 
Orchard and Nursery for July 243 
Packing and Marketing Produce 261 
Po atoes. Second Crop of 257 
Road Mending Illustrated . .241 
Sheep. Removing Vermin from 256 
Soiling Question 259 
Stacks, Thatching 5 Illustrations . .255 
Steam Plowing in Europe 25S 
Turkeys, Feeding Young 25S 
Walks and Talks on the Farm. No. 115— Wheat Crop 
— Plaster — Nutritive Value of Hay, Straw, and Corn 
—Feeding Cows Corn Meal— Pigs — Ammonia. .254, 255 
Water Plants 2 Illustrations. .261 
Which should Yield tlia Bast Crops 259 
Woolen Mills, Waste from 257 
Work, Hints about 242 
INDEX TO "BASKET." OK SUOUTEIt ARTICLES. 
Abortion in Cows 248 
Agricultural Colleges 246 
Agriculturist. Value of. . .250 
Apple of Sodom 245 
Apple- seed from Pomace. 245 
Arithmetical Problem.. .248 
Ayrsbires or Jerseys iu 
'Texas ....245 
Bailee. Soil for 249 
Bog Spavin 249 
Bushel Size of 246 
Canada Thistles. To Kill.247 
Castration of Colts 24S, 
Cattle. When to Water.. .248! 
Cesspool. To Empty 247 
Cheese Factories in Kan.246 
China Buries 245 
Cholera in Chickens 248 
Clover Alsike 249 
Coal-ashes, Value of. . . 246 
Composting 246 
Corns iu Horses' Feet. . ..246 
Corn. Suckeriug 249 
Cotton-seed as Manure. ..249 
DoGood andMakeMoney.249 
Draining 24 
Earth-closet Minnie 246 
Eggs for Winter Use. ... 248 
Farming and Hnniing.. .246 
Food. Consumption of.. .249 
" For Information "... .245, 
Four Months in Texas. .. 249 
Fourteen Weeks iu Hu- 
man Physiology 249 
Fowls. Five-toed 247 
Frauds on Farmers 247 
Furs. Dressing 247 
Grafting 250 
Grain-bags, Hiring 247 
Grape. Summer Pruning. 246 
Grass and Clover, Sowing 
in Fall 246 
Grass Seed, Sowing 249 
Ground Sumac Waste 249 
Hand-mill for Wheat 247 
Harrow, Thomas 248 
Hatching-boxes, Patent.. 249 
Hogs, Large 246 
Horse with Sore Sllouldcr24S 
Humbugs, Sundry 245 
Hydrangea paniculata in 
Wisconsin 245 
Land Sales of Union Pa- 
cific R.R 247 
Lead Pipe 24N 
LiC3 on Sitting Hens 24' 
Maine Poraological Soc.245 
Manure, A Cord of. 249: 
Manure, Drawing 249' 
Manure. Making 249 
Milk, Keeping Sweet 246 
Milk, Loss of 248 
Mole-plow 248 
Mrs. or Miss ! 245 
New Subscriber's Ques- 
tions 249 
Northern Pacific R.R 250 
Not u Bad Thing to Have. 247 
Oil-cake for Poultry... .24S 
Peat-ashes, Value of 249 
Pickles 050 
Pigs. Grade or Thorough 
bred 247 
Pigs. Keeping without 
Clover 247 
Plaster iu Stables 248 
Potash 247 
PolAtoes for Cows 219 
Poultry Farming 248 
Prairie Farmer 245 
Ramie. Preparing 248 
Right and Wrong 245 
Roller, To Prevent Clog- 
ging 247 
Roots orTreesin theWell248 
Rose- bugs onGrape-viiies246 
Rye for Cows 248 
Rye, Plowiug Under for 
Manure 247 
" Salt-fish " Cnmpnsting.248 
Sawdust as a Mulch 246 
Scales on Chickeus'Feet.248 
Self-opening Gate 245 
Sheep, Folding 249 
Sheep-tick 246 
Skin Diseases in Dogs... 246 
Snake-bitten Horse, Cure. 248 
Snow, Benefits of. 248 
Soiling, Believes in 250 
Steaming Food 249 
Steam Plow 246 
Stocks. French 246 
Sulphur and Salt 247 
" Suint." Composition of 247 
Superphosphate or Plas- 
ter for Potatoes 247 
Thumps 24S 
Tumors, Removal of 247 
Turnips among Corn 249 
Turnips. How to Raise.. 247 
ViuePiinctilred l>vlnsects2:6 
Warts on Cows' Teals., .249 
Water in aMilk-trongh. 24S 
What is a Globule?. . . .249 
Wheat and Chess 249 
Wlnffletreos 246 
Wind, Force of the 249 
Wool-box 246 
Calendar for July. 
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44 m. 
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4 2 ev. 
3 50 ev. 
3 Si ev. 
3 8ev. 
New MM 
124 
5 50 IU. 
5 33 iu. 
5 26 in. 
5 11 IU. 
4 41 in. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NSW YORK, JULY, 1S73. 
The great truth which the American Agriculturist 
aims to teach and enforce is the necessity for bet- 
ter farming. Every year the partial failure of some 
of our crops illustrates the importance of the 
lesson. These failures rob us of half our profits. 
Some years we have poor corn, and some years 
poor potatoes or poor hay. This year, in our own 
neighborhood, we have poor winter wheat. It is 
time we looked this matter squarely in the face. 
The seasons do not change. What has been will 
be. Wc have always had floods and drouth, cold 
winters and In t summers. It is the part of wis- 
dom to expect them and prepare for them. 
Right before our eyes where we now write is a 
twenty-acre field of wheat, half of which will pro- 
duce over 30 bushels per acre, and Ihe other half 
not three bushels. The poor crop is attributed to 
the bad season. The good crop is due to richer 
land and better culture. It will not do to say that 
the season has nothing to do with the failure on 
one-half of the field ; but it is certain that good 
farming will to a considerable extent enable us to 
get profitable crops even in the worst seasons. 
This is a lesson we are »xceedingly slow to learn. 
We must farm better. "We do not advocate any 
great radical changes in our system of farming. 
Yv'e propose no extravagant expenditures. We 
recommend nothing that farmers can not carry 
out. We simply urge them to spare no efforts to 
clean and enrich their laud. "We want them to 
fully realize the absolute necessity there is for a 
better system of farmiug. 
Hints about W»rk, 
Haying and Harvesting arc supposed to be the 
most important work of the month. In one 
sense this is, of course, true. But any one who 
keeps a record of the daily and hourly work doue 
on the farm will be astonished to find how small a 
proportion of his time is spent in the actual opera- 
tions of cutting and gathering the crops. 
Thirteen Hours a Day spent in actual work gives 
us 338 hours in the month. An average farm cm- 
ploys perhaps five persons. This gives 1690 work- 
ing hours during the month. 
How tire these Hours Spent? — Will our readers 
take a peucil and figure up ? We think it will be 
found that not one-half of these working hours 
are spent in doing what we call important work. 
And if this is so, the really important work of the 
farm must be looked for outside of the regular 
operations that wc think aud talk about. 
Look for the Weak Spot. — The success of a 
farmer depends very much on his ability to dis- 
cover where time is lost, and on his skill aud 
promptness in rectifying the trouble. The weak 
spot differs on different farms, but it always exists. 
See if you cau find it. 
Machinery is a great help, provided a farmer 
knows how to use it. He must keep it iu thor- 
ough repair and in working order. As a rule, a 
farmer will generally do better to hire as much of 
his work doue by machinery as possible, rather 
than to keep the machines himself. 
Haying on a large grain farm should be pushed 
forward as rapidly as possible, so as to be out of 
the way before the grain is ready to cut. 
Better Cut Grass too Early than too Late; and we 
have found from experience that it is not well to 
be too timid iu regard to the weather. ■ 
Get ihe Hay in as Fast as you can Cure it. — If }'OU 
do this, you need not hesitate to cut down the 
grass for fear of bad weather. On the other hand, 
however, be careful not to cut down more hay than 
you have force enough to handle. 
In Making Hay, the essential points are to get 
rid of the moisture in the grass as rapidly as pos- 
sible. We should aim to expose it as much as 
possible to the sun and air; but the shorter the 
time it is exposed the better, provided it is suffi- 
ciently cured to keep without molding. Above all, 
aim to avoid exposing cured or partially cured hay 
to dew and rain. 
Green Grass, freshly cut, can be exposed to rain 
or dews with little or no damage. For this reason 
wc like to cut in the afternoon or evening, and let 
the grass lie undisturbed until the dew is off the 
next morning. Theu use the tedder, aud try to 
get the hay ready to draw in during the afternoon. 
Any bay that can not be drawn iu should be made 
into cocks before the dew falls. Where there is 
force enough, the most economical way to draw 
ill hay is with three wagons. The pitcher remains 
in the fiald all the time. One wagon is going 
back and forth all the time, one is at the barn, and 
one iu the field. A good pitcher should send 
home a fair two-horse load every 25 miuutes. 
Make Good Loads, but not high ones. All loaders 
have a tendency to draw in their loads at each end. 
This involves an unnecessary expenditure of 
power on the part of the pitcher. 
A Boy to Drive the Wagon from Cock to Cock 
will save much time. A good pitcher will give 
a loader all lie wants to do without his having 
to look after the team. Where the loader drives, 
kalf the time is olten spent in getting from cock 
to cock. If you doubt it, test it by the watch. 
.1 Little Salt, say a quart to a ton, may be scat- 
tered ou the hay as it is put iu the burn or stack 
with advantage. It is a mistake to suppose that 
salt draws moisture from the atmosphere. It draws 
it out of the hay. 
Wheat should be Cut as soon as the grain ceases 
to have any "milk "in it, but not before. With 
us, straw is so valuable that we cut as close to tl** 
ground as possible. An inch of straw at the flp" ouai 
weighs as much as two iuches at the tor. 
Binding is now the costly work of harvesting 
wheat. We have known « "farmer pay $4 per day 
to men to bind a light crop of wheat that was so 
full of thistles that they could not do more than 
half a good day's work. We would have made 
" raking* " of the whole crop ; or rather we would 
have left it in the gavils as thrown off by the 
reaper aud pitched it with a barley -fork. Anything 
is better than submitting to the extortionate de- 
