136 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April 
Contents of This Number. 
AMERICAN 
AGRICULTURIST. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Among the Farmers, No. 63.—Farm Dogs—Polled 
Angus Durham Cattle. 148-149 
Artichokes, Shall we Grow. 143 
Bad Saving.170 
Barn, A Small...2*.. 141 
Bacf, Another Method of Raising.*..141 
Bee Notes. 168 
Beetle. Colorado Potato.150 
Birds and Seeds. 140 
Bones, How to Use .151 
Boys’ and Girls’ Columns:— Doctor's Talks .—Our 
Puzzle Box — Illustrated Rebus—Among Some 
American Cities -Easter and Easter Eggs. .4*.. 160-162 
Bulbs, New Early—The Snow Glory.— *. 156 
Bull, The Jersey Ramapo....*.. 147 
Catalogues Received.169 
Chicken Coop, Barrel. ...*..153 
Chicken Coop, Box...*.. 148 
Close Breeding, Is it Injurious ?. 149 
Coal Tar for Corn.167 
Coating a Waste Pipe . .. 170 
Commercial Matters. 169 
Conveniences in a Cow Barn.2*. .140 
Cottonwoods, Raising from Cuttings.*..157 
Cows, Self-sucking, An Illustration..2*..150 
Cranberry Culture..... .170 
Disease, Breeding. 153 
Dogs, Wild...2*..147 
Door Fastener for Barn..*.. 151 
Draining... 151 
Ejectment of a Squatter. .*. .135 
Ensilage. 168 
Factory, Keep the. Busy.141 
Fair for 1881. 167 
Farmers, Valuable to.142 
Fender or Safeguard for Pigpen.*..151 
Fern, The Maidenhair..*.. 157 
Flax, A New Demand for....3”. .143-144 
Fork for Pulling Docks.*. .141 
Gardening without a Garden.*. .155 
Gate Latch, A Self Closing.. *..150 
Glass, Substitute for, in the Garden. 154 
Ground, A Good Corn . 140 
Hams and Shoulders, Curing. 170 
Harrow, A Live.149 
Harrow, A Useful Home-made. *..153 
Holder. A Post.*..149 
Household : — A Home-made Cheese Press—A Clothes 
Dryer- Hints on Health and,Comfort —Home Topics, 
“ Counter-Irritants.”.,.2*. .158-159 
House, A Country, Costing $1,600...5*..146 
Houses for Two Families.... 168 
Humbugs, Sundry.145 
Insect Powder. 169 
Jack, Another Wagon...*..152 
Jug, Bail for Water. 2*.. 153 
Lambs, Management of, in Spring.150 
Light, Agricultural.143 
Lights in the Stable.*..144 
Medlar, The.*..155 
Mill for Hen Manure..2*. . 150 
“Mother” for Chickens. *..152 
Orchard and Garden Work for April. 
Pea-nut and Its Culture... 
Pump, A Cheap Home-made —... . 
Potatoes Without Manure. 
Population of the United States .. . 
Puddling.. . 
Boiler, A Cheap Field. 
Rose, The Pillar. 
Rye, Spring . 
Sawdust, New Lise for. 
Scab, Treatment of. 
Science Applied to Farming, No. 68 . 
Scraper, A Stable . 
Seeds, Growing Forest. 
“ Separator,” A Corn. 
Set, A New Riveting . 
Sheep, Taking South. 
Soils, Weight of. 
Spinach for Everybody. 
Stakes and Trellis Posts. 
Stock, Selecting Farm. 
Stool. Another Milking. 
Stump Puller, A.. 
Suggestions of and for the Season... 
Sweet Peas, Sow Early. 
Tagging Sheep. 
Texan, What A, Says . 
Tim Bunker on Advertising. 
Tools, A Place for Farm. 
Topping the Apples . 
Trap, A Rat and Mouse. 
Water Melon, A New. “ Cuban Queen”, 
Windlass for Drawing Water. 
*..137-138 
. *..156 
... 3*..151 
.170 
.168 
.142 
...2*..154 
.*..143 
.167 
.153 
... .168 
....138-139 
....*.. 151 
.171 
. ...*..141 
.... *..152- 
..167 
.154 
.157 
........140 
..154 
.*..154 
.. ..*..150 
....136-137 
.157 
.140 
.168 
.152 
.*..149 
........ 170 
....2* 148 
.*..143 
... 2*..140 
NEW YORK, APRIL, 1881. 
Suggestions of and for the Season. 
The active work of the year has now be¬ 
gun over a large part of the country. The 
plow is already in thousands of fields, and 
would be in many more were it not for the 
sodden soil. Never turn the soil when so wet 
that it will bake into hard lumps. The soil is 
too wet to be plowed whenever the mould- 
board is smeared, does not keep clean and 
bright while passing through the furrow. A 
soil that is late in becoming dry enough for 
the plow, needs draining. The success of 
a crop largely depends upon the proper prep¬ 
aration of the seed-beds. The soil must not 
only be loose, deep, and mellow, but it should 
contain, all the essential elements of plant 
food, and these in an available form. This 
requires thorough tillage—plowing, harrow¬ 
ing, etc.—and a good supply of well-rotted 
manure or its equivalent in some other form. 
It is folly to espect good crops from a poorly 
prepared soil, and one lacking the food up¬ 
on which the plants can feed. 
There are two general kinds of farming, 
with all gradations between—the extensive 
and the intensive. The former term is applied 
to that style of farming in which a large area 
of soil is expected to produce a medium crop. 
The farms are large, and the attention given 
to any single acre is small, both as to tillage 
and manure. This kind of farming includes 
much of that at present practised in the 
western and far western States. It may be 
the best—at least the most profitable for the 
present—but in time the soil will become ap¬ 
preciably exhausted, and a new kind of deal¬ 
ing with the soil will be imperative. Inten¬ 
sive farming is where a large amount of 
products is obtained from a small area ; the 
attention to each acre in manure and tillage 
being comparatively great. This is some¬ 
times styled “high farming,” but by this is 
meant, strictly, the greatest gains for the 
least outlay, and it may be either extensive 
or intensive. Both have their place in our 
agriculture, as each pays in its proper place. 
The first grain crop to be put into- the 
ground is spring wheat, and this should be 
sown so soon as the ground can be made 
ready. Out of its proper district, marked by 
climate, it is of no use to grow spring wheat. 
There are other crops that are sure and give 
much better returns. Oats should come im¬ 
mediately after spring wheat in time of sow¬ 
ing. Success with oats in our hot climate 
largely depends upon early sowing. The 
cooler climate of Canada and New Bruns¬ 
wick is more favorable for oats, where they 
are plumper and much heavier than those 
grown in most parts of the United States. 
By using seed from the northern localities 
above mentioned we can grow heavier and 
better oats than when our own seed is sown. 
The aim should be to harvest '50 to 60 bushels 
per acre. This can be obtained by having 
the soil rich and in good condition, and sown 
with about three bushels of the best seed. 
Oats are a successful crop in the far Southern 
States, as they can be sown and make their 
growth in winter, and the crop kept out of 
the way of hot weather. 
Barley, under favorable conditions, is a re¬ 
liable and profitable crop, and should not be 
considered simply as material for brewing. 
There is no better grain to feed to horses, and 
when ground with com it makes a most ex¬ 
cellent feed for cattle and growing swine. 
The two-rowed varieties yield more than the- 
six-rowed, but brings somewhat less in the 
market. The grain should be sown thickly, 
2 ’/■> bushels per acre. Barley will succeed in 
any good, well prepared soil, but it prefers 
a mellow, clay loam, in good tilth. 
Com planting comes later in the spring, as 
it requires a warm soil for the grain to ger¬ 
minate, and suffers from late frosts. The 
time of planting of course varies with the 
locality, and the soil can be prepared in readi¬ 
ness for the coming of warm, settled weather. 
Sod turned under, not too deeply, is consid¬ 
ered as the best for com, but excellent crops 
can be grown upon stubble, provided there is 
a good supply of manure given to take the 
place of the vegetable matter of the rotting 
grass, etc., of the turned sod. 
Beets, including mangels, need to be put- 
in very early. There is much difference of 
opinion as to the advantage of soaking and 
sprouting the seeds before sowing them. If 
thus treated they should be carefully watch¬ 
ed, and be sown as soon as the minute germ, 
or sprout, appears on a few of them. Dry¬ 
ing with fine gypsum (land plaster) will make 
the sowing easy. This treatment will insure 
quick germination, and the young plants will 
get the start of the weeds. As soon as the 
plants are up sufficiently for the rows to be- 
seen, run a hand cultivator between them 
and within an inch or so of the plants. This 
will leave a strip next to the rows to be 
treated with hand-hoes. Use a horse-hoe for 
most of the later cultivation. The manufac¬ 
ture of beet-sugar promises success, provided 
enough roots are grown in any one locality 
to make it profitable to erect the necessary 
buildings and machinery for extracting the 
sugar. This needs co-operation among the- 
farmers themselves, and between them and 
the manufacturers ; upon this the success of 
beet sugar making in our country depends. 
Farmers have so thoroughly learned how 
to manage the potato-beetle that it is not 
necessary to plant early with a view to escape- 
its ravages. But it is well to plant early^ 
especially if the crop is to be sold, and there- 
is a ready market. The earliest pays the best,, 
and the one who is first gets the cream of the- 
market. The Early Rose still holds its rank 
among the most desirable varieties. 
The most essential crop upon a farm is 
grass. The better the system of farming the- 
more important will grass become, both in 
its own value and the good effect it has upon 
the soil and the crops that are to follow it. 
Our farmers have not given proper attention 
to the study of the different grasses and the 
soils best fitted for each. Meadows and pas¬ 
tures, to do their best, often ■ need a little- 
stimulating fertilizer. Two hundred pounds 
of Guano, or of Nitrate of Soda, often more 
than double the crop, and returns a large 
profit on the cost. Improved grass lands 
mean more milk, cheese, butter, and beef, 
and a farm with a rich, never-failing per¬ 
manent pasture is one where live stock will: 
thrive, and the owner of it is very sure to be 
prosperous. Look well to the grass land. 
Cows with calf should receive special care 
both as to feed and handling. Good hay is 
the best feed; over-feeding must he avoided, 
as with high-bred cows, especially, there is 
danger of milk fever or garget. Light feed- 
