306 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August. 
Contents of This Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations. ] 
Art and Agriculture.31(5 
Bed-Bugs Once More.. .-'508 
Bee Notes for August.. .310 
Bicycle, Its Utility, etc.310 
Birds and Fruit.341 
Blackberry Gatherers, A Party of.*..305 
Books for all Readers .339 
Boys’ and Girls’ Columns -.—Doctor's Talks.- Puzzle 
Box. Noted Trees. A Trouble with Early Ap¬ 
ples.9*..330-331 
“ Burn Heap,” A. 341 
Business Men, Reliable. 340 
Celery, Autumn Treatment of.*. .308 
Cicada, Periodical, The.5*..312 
Contributors, Our Special. 313 
Corn, Selecting Seed. 312 
Coverlets from Silkweed Down.310 
Cow, A Cure for a Kicking.341 
Drills, Wheat..340 
Eggs, Preserving.338 
Ensilage, Its Ways andMeans.4*. .322 
Ensilage, The Nutritive Value of.323 
Exhibitions, Annual.339 
Fairs, The Coming. . .339 
Farming, American.338 
Fay, Cyrus J., Death of.338 
Fence, A Flood. s . .309 
Fowl, Crate for Shipping a .*. .316 
Fraxinella, “The Gas Plant’’.341 
Gate, Latch, and Fence, A California.2*..315 
Ginseng, and its Culture.310 
Grapes, 181,583 Acres of. 340 
Grass, Quack.341 
Hay Gatherer, Home-made.(>*..321 
Hints and Helps for Farmers.2*. .318 
Hopper, Vine, or Tlirips.339 
Horses, American Race.341 
Horses, Barefooted..9*..319 
Horse, Keeping One.320-321 
Horse, Tether for a. *..318 
Household : — Cupboard and Book-Rack. Home 
Topics. Folding Cot or Bed for Children. Cu¬ 
cumber Catsup. Hints About Papering. Notes 
and Queries. Pipe Picture Frame. “ Saving of the 
Nation,” Dry Earth.4*..328-329 
House, Country School.,.339 
Humbugs, Sundry .313 
Hygiene, Farm. .309 
Ice Houses. 339 
Knot, Black.339 
ILadder, Attachment, A Handy.*..309 
Land, Cleaning Swamp. 339 
Leeehes, American.338 
“Locust,” Seventeen-Year. 339 
Market Prices, Commercial Matters.. . 3-10 
Nitrogen as Nitric Acid . 311 
Nitrogen, Dr. Lawes on. 339 
Notes from the Pines.325-326 
Notes on Farm Stock. 307 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work.307-308 
Fea, Bliss’ American Wonder. 313 
Peach, Fiat, of China, “Peen To”.*..326 
Peaches, Seedling, and Other Fruits. 311 
Pickles, Sweet Cucumber. 341 
Pig Feeding, Experiments in. 314 
Plow Early. 314 
Poultry House, Sliding Door for.*..316 
Premiums, Special. 339 
Products, Farm, Exported. 339 
Pump, Crank, A Home-made. *..340 
Pump Handle, A Handy Device .*..309 
Kail Holder, A Trestle.*..318 
Railroads, to Agriculture, etc., Relation of. 324 
Roots, Thinning. 315 
“Rose Bug”.341 
Roses, Single, The Many Flowered.2*..325 
Rye for Soiling .338 
Salt Box with “Lick-Board”.*..321 
Sheep and Dogs. 338 
Silos and Ensilage. 339 
Smut, Corn. 318 
Societies, Local. The Washtenaw, Mich. 309 
Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science... .339 
Society, Horticultural, of New York.338-340 
South, The New. 315 
Squirrels of North America, The.12*..317 
Stable, Cheap, with Sliding Partitions.3*..308 
Strawberries, Among the.4*..327 
Suggestions of and for the Season.306 
Sunstroke . 338 
Swine, Shelter for. 340 
Timber, Cutting. 339 
Watermelon, Carrying a. 339 
Washer, Root, A Home-made.*. 314 
Wheat, Seed .321 
Yurd, School, Beautifying the. 341 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST, 1881. 
Suggestions of and for the Season. 
With this month begins the fall work, and 
the more promptly it is entered upon the bet¬ 
ter. The stubbles are now idle, and they can 
be plowed at once for the fall sowing, thus 
preventing a growth of weeds from ripening 
their seeds. Wheat requires a deep, rich, and 
mellow soil. All the hard lumps should be 
broken up by the harrow and pulverized, 
using a field roller to aid in this work, if the 
harrow does not bring them to a fine state. 
In answer to a number of inquiries as to a 
cheap home-made field roller, we reproduce 
a cut of one which was given several years 
ago. It is so simple in its construction that 
an explanation of the engraving is unneces¬ 
sary. For a more expensive roller, in which 
the wheels of an old reaping machine are 
used, the reader is referred to our April num¬ 
ber, page 154. The bringing of the soil to a 
fine state is now recognized, and there are a 
great many “Pulverizers” upon the market 
especially designed for this work. To those 
who cannot afford (or think they cannot) 
such an implement, the common harrow and 
a log roller will be sufficient, if used thor¬ 
oughly, to prepare the soil as a proper bed for 
the seed. The old method of broad-cast sow¬ 
ing of wheat is fast being superseded by the 
superior one of drilling the grain. The drill 
secures uniformity of depth, and by putting 
all the grains in a proper place for growth, 
there is a saving in the amount of seed to be 
used—six pecks of good plump grain—and no 
other should be used—is sufficient per acre, 
if sowed with a drill. Much depends upon 
the variety of seed sown, and the farmer 
should make a study of this matter, to de¬ 
termine which is the best kind of wheat for 
his soil and locality. Early sowing is the 
best, except when there is danger from the 
Hessian Fly. Late sowed wheat makes such 
a poor growth before the frosts come that it 
is not in good shape for winter, and is not 
sure of giving even a fair crop. The prepara¬ 
tion of the soil for rye is the same as for 
wheat, though it will do well on a poorer soil 
than wheat. A soil that is rich enough for a 
good crop of rye, can be made, in many cases, 
to produce a more paying crop by adding a 
dressing of 300 pounds of any good fertilizer, 
and sowing it to wheat. The value of rye- 
straw in some localities may make the rye 
crop, grain and straw together, more profit¬ 
able than even a good crop of wheat. This 
only is the case near cities where the straw 
brings a high price. A number of crops may 
be grown for fall fodder. White turnips may 
be sown this month, and on good soil, with 
proper care, 600 to 800 bushels of this excel¬ 
lent feed may be obtained per acre. These 
roots need to be fed out rapidly ; but if care¬ 
fully stored will last until January. Millet, 
if sown early this month, on rich soil, will 
make an excellent feed for late fall; and 
rye, sowed now, will, if not needed for pas¬ 
ture, produce a fine growth for the spring 
soiling of the farm stock. 
The root crops, mangels and beets, and field 
cabbages, need frequent cultivation during 
this month, and until the leaves cover the 
ground. If weeds are allowed to grow, and 
the soil is left unstirred, the crop will be 
small. Sugar beets are best if earthed up at 
the hoeings, so that the roots are entirely be¬ 
low ground. Mangels do not require this 
“hilling up.” Potatoes should be harvested 
so soon as they are ripe, otherwise the tubers 
may start into a new growth. They are much 
more apt to be affected by the “ rot” if left 
long in the soil. If this “ disease,” which is a 
fungus growth, makes its appearance, the 
vines should all be burned so soon as the 
potatoes are dug, as the spores are thus de¬ 
stroyed in vast quantities. When other work 
is out of the way, much may be done to make 
the spring work lighter by plowing in the 
fall. When this is done early, it is much 
like a fallow in its effect upon the soil—it 
kill s the weeds, loosens the soil, and allows of 
chemical changes that make plant food avail¬ 
able. Heavy clay soil is much improved by 
early fall plowing. Muck is a valuable mate¬ 
rial for the barn-yard, stable, and compost 
heap, and can be dug with the greatest ease 
at this season of the year. It may be drawn 
from the bed to a heap near by, where it can 
dry out, and afterwards be taken to the place 
where it is to be stored for use. During the 
dry weather of this month drains can be dug 
with greater comfort and less expense than 
when the soil is full of water. The value of 
a drain depends upon the thoroughness with 
which the work is done. It should be a per¬ 
manent improvement. 
