1878.1 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
49 
ISotli Instruction and Amusement, 
in large amount, will surely be obtained from the Ameri¬ 
can Agriculturist Microscopes during this year, by all 
readers, old and young, who will take a little pains to 
study how to use it. The “Doctor” has begun his les¬ 
sons, (p.66,) which we advise all to consult and follow out. 
Feeding’ Potatoes to Pigs. — “J. R. 
M.,” New Brunswick, Canada. The plan which we have 
found as good as any other, if not better, for feeding pota¬ 
toes to pigs, is to provide a kettle, or boiler, to cook them 
in, and after the potatoes are roughly washed, if they 
have much earth adhering to them, they are mixed with 
corn ears, and the whole is boiled until the potatoes are 
softened to a mush. This, when cool, may then be fed as 
it is, or some barley, or oat meal, or bran, may be mixed 
with it when hot, and left to soak until cool enough 
to feed. We believe this plan saves one-fourth the 
value of the feed, which more than pays for the trouble. 
Heavy Bin-oc Pigs.— We lately inspected 
a shipment of Duroc swine, whose weights were above 
the average of large pigs. The pig bred by W. M. 
Holmes, of Greenwich, N. Y., and illustrated in the 
American Agriculturist of December last, was among the 
number ; he weighed 63" pounds, and was 20 months old. 
28 carcasses shipped from New Jersey weighed 11,864 lbs. 
Best Time to Cut Sprouts.—“ H. P.,” 
Georgetown, Texas. Sprouts from the roots of trees 
should be cut when in full leaf and vigor; the shock is 
then generally fatal to them. 
Yield of Corn Fodder.—“ R. M.,” Pitts¬ 
field, Ohio. 2,000 lbs. of corn fodder for 10 bushels of 
corn is a fair average estimate. The average yield of corn 
is 30 to 40 bushels per acre, and the crop of stalks should 
amount to 3 to 4 tons per acre. Where the crop of corn 
is above the-average, this estimate should be modified; 
as where 60 to 80 bushels per acre is produced the pro¬ 
portion of stalks would be probably not more than one 
ton to 15 or 20 bushels of corn. 
Curing - Hay in Pits.—“ J. A.,” Chehalis 
Co., W. T. In a moist climate where it is difficult to 
cure hay, the plan of preserving it by ensilage, as de¬ 
scribed in the American Agriculturist for June, 1875, may 
be adopted. This plan, if the directions given are prop¬ 
erly carried out, will be successful. It is now practised 
by hundreds of large farmers in Germany and France, for 
the curing of green corn stalks, clover lucern, and leaves 
of beets, and is also in use for keeping brewer’s grains in 
this country, by some prominent dairymen. 
Ylie N. .S'. State Hoetieultural So¬ 
ciety will hold its next Annual Meeting in Geological 
nail, at Rutgers College, New Brunswick, N. J., on Feb. 
6th and 7th. An interesting programme for papers and 
discussions is offered. “All interested are invited.” 
Whicli Is tl&e Best Single Book 
for a Farmer ?— While we think that every farmer 
may profitably invest in a library of moderate size, we are 
often called upon to answer the question proposed above. 
In giving a reply, we have to consider the wants of two 
classes. One, the average farmer, brought up to his oc¬ 
cupation, but who wishes a work which he can consult 
upon matters in which he has had no experience. The 
other, the novice in farming, who would have some gen¬ 
eral guide which he can safely follow. We know of no 
work that will meet the wants of both these classes so 
well as the “New American Farm Book'' originally by 
R. L. Allen, one of the founders of the American Agricul¬ 
turist, and later revised, enlarged, and brought up to the 
times by his brother, Lewis F. Allen, well known as an 
authority on agricultural matters. This work covers the 
whole routine of ordinary farming. Of course if one 
makes a specialty of cattle, sheep, wine, or such crops 
as hops, broom-corn, etc., he will naturally procure 
works on these particular topics, but we know of no 
book that so thoroughly meets the wants of the general 
farmer as this. A glance at its contents shows that 
while all ordinary farming topics are treated in a satis¬ 
factory manner, sufficient is given upon special crops to 
give one an idea of their culture. Soils, their improve¬ 
ments, and their mechanical working, and mannres 
of various kinds, and their uses, are discussed without 
introducing confusing scientific terms. Grasses and clo¬ 
ver, being the groundwork of successful agriculture, 
have an important place; these are naturally followed 
by the various grains, root crops, and the different for¬ 
age plants. The orchard, as an important part of every 
farm, has a chapter, while fences, hedges, roads, farm- 
buildings, timber-lands, cisterns—indeed, almost every 
thing belonging to a farm is treated plainly and in full. 
All the domestic animals, including poultry, with their 
management and their diseases, including their prod¬ 
ucts. whether of the dairy, or their flesh when slaughter¬ 
ed, are treated of in a condensed, but most comprehensive 
manner. Not the least useful portion of the work is the 
tables, which give those things that one finds it so dif¬ 
ficult to carry in mind, and equally difficult to find just 
when the information is needed—such as the amount of 
different farm seeds to sow to the acre ; the number of 
trees or plants required for an acre at different distances 
apart; the comparative value of different foods; bulk of 
a ton of different articles; weight of a bushel of grains; 
contents of cisterns; value of fuel; composition of va¬ 
rious agricultural products, etc. To those who, like the 
writer, do not dare to trust to memory for such data, a 
work of reference of this kind is of the greatest value. 
We cannot recollect having consulted this work on such 
matters without finding just the information we sought. 
It comes the nearest being an Encyclopedia of Agricul¬ 
ture of any work in the language. For the great varie¬ 
ty' of topics, the clearness of its teachings, and for its di¬ 
rectness, we feel warranted in commending Allen's 
“New American Farm Book” as the best single work 
for the American farmer, and we are sure that it will 
prove to every one of a value far above its cost. It is a 
large 12mo. volume or over 500 pages, in clear type. It 
will be sent from this office, post-paid, for $2.50. 
Farmers W5i® Five Year Cities 
or large towns, especially if these have a manufacturing 
population, can not afford to continue the old style of 
farming, and get only small crops of corn, potatoes, and 
hay to the acre. If the growth of towns and cities in¬ 
creases the farmer’s taxes, it also enlarges their oppor¬ 
tunities, by offering a market for certain crops, and at the 
same time affording a supply of manure. One used to the 
routine of the farm may not care to go into the details of 
market-gardening, where perishable crops must be 
marketed daily. But there is a medium between regular 
market-gardening, and the ordinary routine of farming, 
which is termed “ Market Faming." This differs from 
market-gardening, in raising but a few of the less perish¬ 
able crops, and from regular farming, in requiring higher 
culture, the sale of the crops, and the buying of manures. 
The farmer who lives within ten miles of a large manu¬ 
facturing town makes a great mistake if he does not con¬ 
sult the wants of that place, and supply them. Take two 
crops for example—carrots - and cabbages. In any large 
place where many horses are kept, there is a good market 
for carrots, and there is generally a ready sale for them, 
to be delivered direct from the field. Working people, 
such as factory operatives, know the nutritive value of 
cabbages, and these always meet with a ready sale in such 
places. Either of these crops is easily managed, and is 
sure to bring a larger profit than any regular farm crop. 
While market-gardening has been over-done in the 
vicinity of some large cities, there are many smaller 
places where it .may be profitably undertaken, to supply 
the home market, and farmers’ sons, instead of looking 
for work in the cities, had better buy Peter Henderson’s 
“ Gardening for Profit,” and go to work at supplying the 
wants of the nearest towns. To those who ■would raise 
some of the less perishable crops, like those we have 
mentioned, we also commend P. T. Quinn’s “Money 
in the Garden,” and Frank Brill’s “Farm Gardening 
and Seed Growing.” The first two are sent post-paid 
from this office for $1.50 each, and the last named for 
$1.00. Any farmer near a large town, can profitably 
invest in all three of these works. Thougu on similar 
subjects, each has its peculiar features, and is well worth 
the price to any cultivator of the crops on which it treats. 
Basket Items continued 
on page 73. 
Important Farm Experiments. 
Most soils, after a few years cropping, begin to lose 
their fertility. This is because the crops have taken 
away more of certain of the ingredients of plant-food 
than the soil has been able to re-supply. Barn-yard ma¬ 
nure, which contains all the elements of plant-food, is 
usually employed to restore the lost fertility. But there 
is not half enough manure produced to give the re¬ 
newed or increased fertility needed,! or the greatest profit, 
except on farms where a good deal of live stock is kept. 
Other fertilizers are needed for the most profitable farm¬ 
ing. What shall they be ? Farmers have been groping 
in the dark, trying guano, phosphates, bone, poudrettes, 
and what not, without knowing either what their soils 
and crops needed, or what the fertilizers supplied. And 
it is a fact that a very large part of the cost of all such 
applications has been wasted—an immense sum, certain¬ 
ly millions of dollars in the aggregate,—because many of 
these fertilizers have proved, if not really worthless, at 
least not the thing needed—and others, while supplying 
the needed elements for the soil or crop, have furnished, 
at much cost, a large amount of material, valuable in its 
place, but not needed by the particular soil to which they 
were applied. Prof. Atwater, in his articles published 
in the American Agriculturist, during three years past, 
has been urging farmers, each for himself and on his own 
particular soil, aud before investing largely in commer¬ 
cial fertilizers, to address questions to their individual 
soils in the form of experiments on a small and inexpen¬ 
sive scale, but so carefully that the questions would be 
answered. There is no doubt that this is the best way. 
A few experiments, with fertilizers costing $5 to $10, 
much if not all of which will be returned in the crop, 
will do more to tell the farmer what his soil needs, than 
$500 or $1,000 spent in analysis of the soil.—Such experi¬ 
ments have been recommended over and over again, by 
the leading agricultural chemists in Europe and Ameri¬ 
ca, and have been carried out by practical men with the 
greatest profit. They are rational, simple, easy, and 
cheap. To facilitate their introduction last season, sam¬ 
ples of fertilizers of tested qualities, were sent out, at 
cost price, $4.50—$6.00 per set, from the Agricultural 
Experiment Station, at Middletown, Conn. Prof. At¬ 
water gives some of the results elsewhere, (page 50.) 
For farmers to get samples of genuine fertilizers, with 
explanations of their composition and use, at such low 
cost, was something; to have the offer to test the ferti¬ 
lizers. and with them their soils, was more. Numerous 
reports from the men who have made the experiments, 
and are more than pleased with the results, attest their 
utility. These experiments ought to lead many other 
farmers to make similar ones. To aid them in so doing, 
there is talk of making arrangements to supply the sub¬ 
scribers of the American Agriculturist, who may wish 
them, samples of fertilizers for the coming season, as 
was done by the Connecticut Station last year ; but no 
plan has yet been adopted, and may not be. If this 
is arranged for, it will be announced in our next paper. 
American Cheese—Foreign Demand. 
The broad pastures of our vast country are rapidly be¬ 
coming feeders of Europe. The year just past has wit¬ 
nessed an increase of several hundred per cent in the ex¬ 
port of fresh beef and mutton, mainly produced on the 
grass-growing and corn-producing Western prairie lands; 
and it only requires the general introduction of Short¬ 
horn blood among Western cattle to extend this export 
of fresh beef in the carcass, and of live beef cattle, to an 
immense amount. As fresh meat can now be taken from 
the Atlantic seaboard, and laid down in good condition 
in the chief seaporrs of Western Europe at small cost, 
we only need to produce good beef, to be able to com¬ 
pete successfully in the meat markets of the Western 
portions of the Old World. 
But the South and the far West are not alone yielding 
exportable products. Large quantities of Cheese to 
meet a foreign demand are produced in the Middle 
States, as well as in several of the Western States. The 
following figures, from the LT. S. Bureau of Statistics, 
shows a wonderful increase in the 
EXPORT OP CHEESE TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 
1860... . 
.15,515,790 lbs. 
1869. 
1861. 
.32,361,428 “ 
1870. 
1852. 
.34,052,678 “ 
1871. 
.63,098,867 “ 
1863. 
.42,045,054 “ 
1872_ 
.60,204,025 “ 
1864. 
.47,751,329 “ 
1878. 
.80,366,540 “ 
1865. 
1874. 
.90,611,077 “ 
1866. 
1875. 
.. ..101,010,853 “ 
1867..... 
.52,352,127 “ 
1876. 
.97.676,264 “ 
1868. 
.51,097,203 “ 
1877. 
.. ..107,364,066 “ 
Bee Notes for February. 
BY L. C. ROOT, MOHAWK, N. Y. 
If all the proper requirements may be observed without 
disturbing bees during'this month, it will be desirable. 
I found, by a quiet examination in my bee cellar a few 
days ago, that mice had found their way into the place, 
and were disturbing the bees by making their nests in the 
cotton quilts directly over the clusters of bees, where 
they found it very warm and comfortable. This may be 
agreeable to the mouse, but is not conducive lo the quiet, 
desirable for the bees. The mice maybe easily caught 
by baiting ail ordinary trap with cheese_For hives 
wintered out of doors, follow directions given last month. 
I propose to give, during the present winter, the re¬ 
spective amounts of honey consumes! by four hives of bees 
each month. I have left one swarm on its summer stand, 
to show the difference in the amount required when bees 
are -Wintered out of doors, or when properly wintered in 
a well-arranged in-door repository. During the month of 
December, three swarms in the cellar consumed honey as 
followsNo. 1, i/ 2 lb. ; No. 2, % lb.; No. 3,lbs. No 
