1878 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
313 
Three Most Important Works. 
Winter Greeneries at Home. 
By REV. E. A. JOHNSON. D.D. 
FINELY 1LLVSTBATED. 12mo. PRICE, POST-PAID, 81.00. 
Thi* work difl'ers from most other works on winter gar¬ 
dening in giving the results of actual practice. The title 
Winter Greeneries better expresses the scope of the work 
than would that of Window Gardening. All can make their 
rooms cheerful with green, while to successfully cultivate 
many flowers requires more Bkill than the majority of peo¬ 
ple possess; still flowers are not omitted. A small but 
judicious selection of easily-procured and easily-managed 
plants is given, witli which to enliven the greenery. 
House Plans for Everybody. 
By S. B. REED, Architect. 
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED. 12mo. PRICE, POST-PAID, $1.50. 
This is a valuable work which meets the wants of persons 
Of moderate means, and we predict that it will prove one of 
the most popular architectural books fever issued. It gives 
a wide range of design from a dwelling costing $250 up to 
$8,000, and adapted to farm, village, and town residences. 
Nearly all of these plans have been tested by practical 
workings. They provide for heating, ventilation, etc., and 
give a large share of what are called Modern Improvements. 
One feature of the work gives it a value over any similar 
publications of the kind that we have seen. It gives an 
estimate of the quantity of every article used in the con¬ 
struction, and the cost of each material at the time the 
building was erected, or the design made. Even if prices 
vary from time to time, one can, from these data, ascertain 
within a few dollars, the probable cost of constructing any 
one of the buildings here presented. 
TALKS ON MANURES. 
By JOSEPH HARRIS, M. S., 
Of Morelon Farm, Rochester , New York. Author of “ Walks and Talks on the Farm," “ Talks on Farm Crops" 
“Harris on the Pig," etc. 
12mo. PRICE, POST-PAID, $1.50. 
In the present work Mr. Harris continues the talking style 
which he has made entirely his own in agricultural teachings. 
He also continues our acquaintance with the “ Deacon," the 
"Doctor,” and the “Squire," and others of Ills neighbors 
who have been made, through the medium of these Talks, 
almost as well known as the author himself. While we 
have no lack of treatises upon artificial fertilizers, we know 
of no recent work in which the main stay of the farm—the 
manure made upon the farm—Is treated at all satisfactorily 
or thoroughly. If this work should do nothing more than 
convince farmers throughout the country that the value of 
manure depends upon the quality of the food they feed, 
rather than upon the kind of animal that eats it, It will 
accomplish much. 
But It does a great deal more than this; starting with the 
question, 
“What Is Manure?” 
it runs through in sufficient detail every source of manure 
on the farm, discussing the methods of making rich ma¬ 
nure; the proper keeping and applying it, and especially the 
Uses of Manure, 
and the effects of different artificial fertilizers, as compared 
with farm-yard manure, upon different crops. In this the 
author makes free use of the remarkable series of experi¬ 
ments instituted years ago, and still continued, by Lawes 
and Gilbert, of Eothamsted, Eng. The 
Remarkable Tables 
in which the results of these experiments are given, are 
here for the first time made accessible to the American 
farmer. In fact, there is scarcely any point relating to 
fertilizing the soil, including the suitable manures for 
special crops, that is not treated, and while the teachings 
are founded upon the most elaborate scientific researches, 
they are so far divested of the technical language of science 
as to commend themselves to farmers as “ practical '* and 
Inhospitable to science as the Deacon himself. The book 
should have a hearty welcome from every farmer, except 
the fortunate few who cultivate soils, the natural fertility 
of which Is not yet exhausted. 
Any of these three books will be sent post-paid on receipt of the price* 
Orders from the trade will be supplied in succession as received. 
ORANGE JUDD COMPANY, 245 Broadway, New York. 
containing a great variety of Items, including many 
good Hints and Suggestions which we throw into smaller 
type and condensed form, for want of space elsewhere. 
Continued from p, 287. 
In justice to tlie majority of our sub¬ 
scribers, who have been readers for many 
years, articles and illustrations are sel¬ 
dom repeated, as those vvlio desire in¬ 
formation on a particular subject can 
cheaply obtain one or more of the back, 
numbers containing what is wanted. 
Rack numbers of the “ American Agri¬ 
culturist,” containing articles referred to 
in the “ Basket ” or elsewhere, can al¬ 
ways be supplied and sent post-paid for 
15 cts. each, or $1.60 per volume. 
Ritter Sutter. — “Mrs. C.,” Rockland Co., N. 
Y. The bitterness of the cream and the butter may 
occur from several causes. The cows may not be in 
perfectly good health ; the feed maybe in a condition to 
produce the flavor, or the weather may have this effect 
A pinch of powdered saltpetre added to each pan of milk 
when it is put away, may prevent the bitter flavor. 
Spots in Eggs.— “ Barter.” It is not unusual 
to find small reddish globnles in Brahma eggs. We 
do not know the cause, and take no notice of it in our 
own case. When fowls are preparing to moult, the new 
feathers appear as small nodules in the skin. This is 
probably what you have observed in your fowls. 
Cow Holding back her Milk.—“E. H.” 
Atlanta, Ga. When a cow holds hack her milk, 
there is no way to compel her to let it down, unless her 
attention is attracted elsewhere. By the use of milking 
tubes we have been able to draw all the milk from a very 
obstinate cow. Probably fr@m the absence of the usual 
handling she did not suspect she was being milked. 
When to Sow Timothy. — “ O. M. Y.” Mon¬ 
roe Co., W. Va. Where the winter is mild, it is safe 
to sow Timothy seed in the fall; where it is cold, there 
is danger of unfavorable exposure. Fall sowing is pref¬ 
erable to spring sowing, as the risks of the spring and 
summer are the greater. Yet spriug sowing is very suc¬ 
cessful when the weather is favorable. When grass seed 
is sown alone, we would choose the spring rather than 
the fall. It is rarely that a good catch is missed when the 
ground is newly plowed, and the seed thoroughly well 
harrowed into the mellow soil in the spring. The earlier 
grass, or clover seed, is sown in the spring, the better. 
Clogging of a Water-Pipe.—“ J. L. M." 
Wash’n Co., Pa. If it is possible to avoid spilling 
milk in the milk trough, it would be the best way to pre¬ 
vent the clogging of the pipe which carries off the waste. 
If this can not be avoided, we would suggest, that the “foun¬ 
tain force pumps,” made by Whitman, of Providence, R. 
I., be procured and used once a week for a few minutes to 
force water through the pipe in a rapid stream, by which 
sediment would be washed through. This force pump is 
very useful for clearing drain pipes of all kinds. 
Value of Poultry in the United States. 
—“ Subscriber,” Attleboro, Mass. The statement 
that the value of the annual product of poultry in 
this country is greater than that of hay, corn, cotton, or 
wheat, is absurd. Any person who has a moderate ac¬ 
quaintance with what is going on about him, can make a 
pretty near estimate of the value of the poultry product. 
For instance, there are four million families in the coun¬ 
try, and many of these do not keep fowls. Few persons 
produce over $20 worth of eggs and poultry in a year; 
and if the average product were taken at $20 for each 
family, the utmost total value of the yearly income from 
poultry would be only $40,000,000. 
Feeding Roots.—" C. H.,” Schoharie Co., 
N. Y. Roots are fed eithersliced or pulped. Machinesare 
made for cutting large quantities. Smaller quantities 
may he chopped with a sharp spade, in a box. 
Hemlock Boards for Granaries.—“ F. H., ,r 
Bangor,Kans. It is held that, hemlock boards are the best 
for granaries, because the timber is so full of splinters, 
that rats find difficulty in gnawing through it. A double- 
hoarded floor is better than a single plank floor.becattse the 
joints are broken, and mice and rats, in gnawing through 
a joint of a double-boarded floor, are obliged to stop 
half way, when they could go right on through a plank- 
