1 24 = 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[April, 
Contents of this Number. 
Among the Farmers, No. 39.—Milk and Batter Record 
for Cows—Testing Farm—Pedigrees in Butter.136 
Anemone, Star. Illustrated. .145 
Baby’s Play-house.. Illustrated. Ail 
Barn, Plan of. Illustrated. .141 
Bark, for Buildings, Use of.".5 Illustrations . .134 
Bee-keeping for Everybody.9 Illustrations. .127 
Bird s Nest, Strange Place for.14S 
Blackberry. Double Flowering. Illustrated . .143 
Boys and Girls Column.—The Doctor’s Correspond¬ 
ence—The House-fly—Raising Butterflies—Setting 
a Butterfly.—The Doctors’s Talks—Wagon on In¬ 
clined Road—Carrying a Load—Ladders, Good and 
Bad—Metrical System.14 Illustrations.. 147-149 
Butter, Artificial, How Made. .. .130 
Calves, Raising. 137 
Capontzing Fowls Explained.5 Illustrations.. 139 
Cattle, Guernsey.3 Illustrations. .135 
Ceylon Jungle Fowl . Illustrated. .123 
Chair. Easy, for the Country. Illustrated. .147 
Cheese, Cream, How Made.3 Illustrations. 141 
Clothes Rack, Handy. § Illustrations .134 
Cows, Self-Sucking, Cure for. Illustrated. .139 
Cultivator Johnson.2 Illustration. Ail 
Dairy Appliances, New. .2 Illustrations. .138 
Farm Experiments, Important.12S 
Farm Work for April. 124 
Farm Work. Hints for, in April.124 
Farms, Cheap, near New York.137 
Fence Posts, Temporary. 2 Illustrations. .134 
Fence. Rustic.. Illustrated. .145 
Fertilizers, A Talk About—Editors Plain Talk—Bet¬ 
ter Crops and Larger Profits—Fertilizers and Their 
Action—Constituents of Soils and Manures—Quack 
Fertilizers—Important Farm Experiments...127 
Fish. Custard. 146 
Fish Trap. Illustrated. 139 
Fodder, Green, Preservation of. Illustrated.. 142 
Garden, Flower and Lawn.126 
Garden. Fruit.125 
Gate Fastenings...3 Illustrations. .140 
Gate Latch..2 Illustrations. 137 
Gardens Where does this Hit ?—What Have You ?.. .141 
Grapevines. One for Everybody. Illustrated. .145 
Greenhouse and Window Plants.126 
Greens .144 
fiorse-Brusb.3 Illustrations.. 139 
Horseshoe, Safety.3 Illustrations. .137 
Household—Decorative Art—Wood-Carving_5 111.. 145 
Humbugs. Sundry .130 
Implements. Farm and Garden.142 
Kitchen and Market Garden.125 
Labels, Zinc ...143 
Measure for Rafters. Illustrated.. 138 
Notes and Queries, Household. Illustrated. .147 
Orchard and Garden.125 
Pearls, What They Are.4 Illustrations. .150 
Peas, Green, Half Bushel a Day.145 
Paeony, Fine-Leaved. Illustrated.. 144 
Prickly Comfrey, Its Propagation_2 Illustrations. .136 
Pumps, Wooden. Repairing.2 Illustrations. .139 
Puzzle-Box Our. Illustrated. .148 
Question, a Curious.149 
Read—Read Carefully. 134 
Rope. How to Mend a.4 Illustrations.. 141 
Rowing-Machine, a. Illustrated.. 149 
Salsify, Do You Grow It ?.. .. 145 
Sait-Box. Illustrated.. 138 
Science Applied to Farming—Results with Corn—Ex¬ 
periments for 1879.129 
Seed-Drill, Monitor. . Illustrated. .142 
Shed a Feeding.2 Illustrations.. 137 
Sod-Cutter, Prof. Beale’s. Illustrated.. 144 
Swill Barrel. Illustrated.. 138 
Swine. Shelter for.2 Illustrations.. 141 
Tree-Planting State Aid to.143 
West, Far. Correspondence From.140 
INDEX TO "BASKET,” AND OTHER SHORT ARTICLES. 
Ants, Red. a Pest.133 Millet, Pearl.133 
Beet. Sugar in Maine_155 Mud, Let It Dry First_131 
Boats, How to Make.133 Paints. Asbestos, Liquid.132 
Butter, Borax for_ .. .132!Pickerel, Large.155 
Charcoal Burning in Kiln 1.33 Plows, Chilled..132 
Cheese Factory, Stock...133 Plowing in green crops..133 
Churn a Reliable .133 Plowing with 3-horses...133 
Concrete. Strength of....133 Pomological Soc'y, Am..133 
Cow, Grade Jersey.133 Potato Bug, Poison for. 132 
Cow Leaking Milk.133 Reapers, Champion, etc. .132 
Cow, to Feed on 1 Acre..132 Roots for Cows.133 
Cud, Lost.133 Russian Fair .132 
Eggs. White Leghorn....132 Seed Drill and Cultivator. 133 
Engines Agricultural_132 Sheep, Grub in Head_134 
Sheep,Information about.!31 
Agr: 
Farm, Good!.133 
Fish. Large. Pickerel_155 
Gains. More .131 
Grain Fan Montgomery. 132 
Horses, Watering..,,.133 
Horses, Whole Grain for. 133 
Insurance. Life. Reduc 
tion in Price..132 
Lambs in Market .131 
Lawn Mower, Phila.133 
Milk and Butter Record..131 
Sheep Pelts, Tanning.. 133 
Shingling Stage.132 
Shoe Dressing. Satin....132 
Sod vs. Stubble fox Corn.133 
Turnips for a Horse.133 
Turnips for Milk.133 
Walking Match, the _131 
Wheat and Chess.133 
Wool, Sheep Pulling... .133 
Wound in the Fork,Cure.l33 
Calendar for April, 1879. 
Boston. N lin a- 
iV. Y.Ciu/. Ct„ 
land. iV. 
York 
Philadelvhia, 
State, J tichi 
New Jersey, 
4 
a an 
Wi/tcon- 
Penn.. 
Ohio. 
sin. Iowa, and 
Indiana 
and 
- 
Oregon. 
Illinois . 
O* 
cS 
- 
CO 
sS 
ZQ oo 
n ^ 
^ & 
n £ 
H.M 
H.M 
H. M. 
H.M 
n.M 
H. M. 
T 
5 42 
6 26 
2 39 
5 43 
6 25 
2 33 
w 
5 41 
6 27 
3 11 
5 42 
6 26 
3 8 
T 
5 39 
6 28 
3 40 
5 40 
6 2 : 
3 as 
F 
5 37 
6 29 
4 6 
5 38 
6 28 
4 5 
s 
5 35 
6 30 
4 31 
5 37 fi 29 
4 32 
s 
5 34 
6 31 
rises 
5 35 6 30 
rises 
M 
5 3; 
6 32 
8 3 
5 34 6 31 
7 59 
T 
5 30 
6 31 
9 24 
5 32 fi 32 
9 49 
W 
5 29 
fi 37 
10 42 
5 30 fi 33 
10 35 
T 
5 27 
6 36 
11 50 
5 29 6 34 
11 43 
F 
5 25 
6 37 
morn 
5 27.6 35 
morn 
s 
5 24 
6 38 
0 46 
5 26 G 36 
0 40 
s 
5 22 
6 39 
1 31 
5 24 6 37 
1 25 
M 
5 20 
6 40 
2 6 
5 22 
6 38 
2 1 
T 
5 19 
6 41 
2 34 
5 21 
6 39 
2 31 
w 
5 17 
6 42 
2 58 
5 19 
6 40 
2 56 
T 
5 16 
6 44 
3 20 
5 18 
6 41 
3 19 
F 
5 14 
6 45 
3 40 
5 16 
6 42 
3 40 
s 
5 12 
fi 4fi 
4 0 
5 15 
li 43 
4 2 
s 
5 11 
6 47 
4 21 
5 13 
6 44 
4 24 
M 
5 9 6 48 sets 
5 12 
6 45 
sets 
T 
5 8 6 49 
8 22 
5 11 
6 46 
8 16 
W 
5 6 6 50 
9 22 
5 9 
6 47 
9 16 
T 
5 5 6 51 
10 20 
5 g 
fi 48 
10 13 
F 
5 3 6 52 
11 12 
5 6 6 49 
11 6 
S 
5 2 6 54 
11 57 
5 5 6 51 
11 52 
S 
5 0 6 55 morn 
5 4 6 52,morn 
M 
4 59 6 56 
0 37 
5 2 6 53 
0 31 
T 
4 58 6 57 
1 10 
5 1 6 54 
1 6 
w 
4 56 6 5S 
1 38 
5 0 6 55 
1 36 
Washington , 
Maryland, 
Virginia. Ken¬ 
tucky, Missou¬ 
ri, and Cali¬ 
fornia. 
H.M 
5 44 
5 43 
5 41 
5 40 
5 3S 6 
5 37 6 
5 35 6 
5 31 6 
5 32 6 
5 31 6 
5 29 6 
5 28 0 
5 2S 6 
5 25 6 
5 23 6 
5 22 6 
5 20 6 
5 19 b 
5 18 0 
5 10 0 
5 15 6 
5 13 6 
5 12 6 
5 11 6 
5 9 0 
5 7 0 
5 0 6 
5 5 6 
5 4 6 
5 3 6 
II. M. 
2 29 
3 4 
3 35 
4 4 
4 33 
rises 
7 55 
9 14 
10 29 
11 37 
morn 
0 33 
1 19 
1 57 
2 28 
2 54 
3 18 
3 41 
4 4 
4 23 
sets 
8 11 
9 11 
10 7 
11 58 
11 46 
mom 
0 22 
1 2 
1 33 
PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON. 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
WASH’N. 
oha’ston 
CHICAGO. 
D. 
Full M’n 6 
3d Quart. 13 
New M’n 21 
1st Quart 30 
n. m. 
5 40 ev. 
9 25 mo. 
9 11 mo. 
9 32 mo. 
H. M. 
5 28 ev. 
9 13 mo. 
8 59 mo. 
9 20 mo. 
H. M. 
5 16 ev. 
9 1 mo 
8 47 mo 
9 8 mo 
TT. M. 
5 4 ev. 
8 49 mo. 
8 ai mo. 
8 56 mo. 
n. m. 
4 34 ev. 
8 19 mo. 
8 5 mo. 
8 26 mo. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, APRIL, 1879. 
Hints for the Work of the Month. 
[The Hints and Suggestions in these columns are 
never copied from previous years, but are freshly pre¬ 
pared for every month, from the latest experience and 
observations, by practical men in each department.'] 
These hints are intended to suggest thoughts 
which may be made helpful in the study of farm 
work and the learning of the best practice, and not 
as a list of orders to do this or that at any particu¬ 
lar time. A farmer who does not know his busi¬ 
ness would not be helped much by reading that in 
April oats must be sown or the ground plowed 
for corn, because in this wide country, oats are 
sown from January to May, and corn from March 
to June. We desire to give hints that will help 
not only the beginners, but the old farmer who 
must live and learn, because something new is 
occurring in farm practice every day. 
Top-dressing .—An early top-dressing of artificial 
manure upon fall grain and grass fields is often of 
the greatest advantage. The ground is now moist 
and mellow, and the soluble fertilizers are at once 
ready to be utilized. We have seen the effect in 
the changed color of the foliage in twelve hours 
after an application, when a gentle shower has 
fallen immediately afterwards. If the fertilizer can 
be sown during a shower so much the better, other¬ 
wise we choose the afternoon for the work, so that 
the dew of the night may act as a rapid solvent. 
What Fertilizers to Use .—For grass, 150 lbs. of 
Rectified Peruvian Guano per acre is often useful, 
and so may be the same quantity of complete 
grass manures made for this purpose. Those 
who cannot procure these easily, can use 100 lbs. 
of gypsum per acre, with 250 lbs. of fine bone dust 
and as many wood ashes as possible up to 40 bush¬ 
els per acre. The German Potash Salts are a good 
substitute for ashes. For grain the prepared com¬ 
plete fertilizers, or Peruvian guano, bone dust, or 
superphosphate of lime may be used. Wood 
ashes never come amiss for any crop. See page 127. 
A Caution. —Great damage may be done by using 
concentrated fertilizers in close contact with seed 
or very young plants. A teaspoonful of such a 
fertilizer dropped upon a seed or young sprouted 
grain will kill the germ, or the tender sprout or 
“ growing point ” of the plant. Any concentrated’ 
fertilizer should be well mixed with the soil or 
scattered very thinly over the surface, and unless 
it is raining at the time, should never be sown upon 
a growing crop while the leaves are wet. Common 
sense will guide a thoughtful man when he knows 
that most of these fertilizers are either caustic 
or corrosive, excepting gypsum, which is harmless. 
Harrowing Winter Crain is a practice now gen¬ 
erally adopted, and there are many good harrows 
made especially for this purpose, with teeth that 
slope backwards, or that may be reversed for or¬ 
dinary work. Harrowing after applying fertilizers 
or sowing grass or clover seed is doubly useful. 
Sowing Clover .—From considerable experience the- 
writer prefers to delay sowing clover until the 
ground has become settled and the weather warm. 
A warm spell earlier may start the seed and a strong 
frost afterwards kill the young germs. Our present 
agricultural practice must be no longer carried on 
by “ rule of thumb ” or in the old hap-hazard back- 
woods fashion. We have “a hard row to hoe” 
now and must make use of the very best methods 
by which every seed must count and every hour’s 
labor be made effective. 
Fodder Crops .—No farm where animals are kept 
can be profitably worked without a provision for- 
some green fodder, such as oats, oats and peas 
mixed, oats and barley mixed, or other crops to be 
sown later. Earliness is indispensable, and the first 
work of this month should be to prepare the ground 
and sow seed for fodder. The leafiest kind of oats 
should be chosen ; New Brunswick, Excelsior, and; 
Probsteier oats have a good stalk and leaf, and 
answer well for this purpose. But two crops can 
be grown at once and a double yield secured by- 
sowing two kinds of seeds. Thus li bushels each of 
oats and Canada peas sown together, will yield as 
much fodder on good soil on one acre as the same- 
seed sown separately on two acres. So with oats 
and barley mixed, and other mixtures which should 
be studied and experimented upon. 
Spring Wheat should be sown as early as possible,, 
and so should oats. These grains need a long sea¬ 
son to develop their full growth. Some new 
varieties of wheat are very promising, and should 
be tried in a 6mall way as a test. No one should 
risk his whole crop on any new and untried variety.. 
As wheat does not mix in the field, a new variety- 
may be tried in a strip with other kinds, without 
risk of mixing the varieties. 
Soft and Hard Wheats .—The millers are generally- 
opposed to what they call “ soft wheats,” and re¬ 
fuse to pay full price for them. This may be a just 
discrimination, because hard wheats are more 
profitable to them. But it may be better to grow 
30 bushels per acre of soft wheats, (which is gen¬ 
erally more prolific than the hard varieties) at 60 
cents a bushel, than 20 bushels of hard at 70 cents. 
So that the soft, prolific kinds may be the more- 
profitable and millers and farmers both be satisfied. 
Oats .—From 50 to 60 bushels of oats should be- 
the least satisfactory yield, and the aim should be 
to have the ground in a condition to produce this 
instead of the 25 or 30 which is now a usual harvest. 
The whole secret is in the fertilizing of the soil. 
Barley should not be considered as merely a ma¬ 
terial for brewing. There is no better grain for 
horses, and barley-meal with corn or potatoes is- 
excellent for cows and pigs. The two-rowed variety 
yields more than the six-rowed, but the six-rowed 
brings 10 cents more from the malsters. Two- 
rowed is the better for fodder purposes also. For 
a good yield of barley the soil must be fine and 
rich, otherwise oats should be sown. 
Peas may be made profitable where the green 
pods can be sold in the market and the straw cut 
for fodder. As nearly all our native grown seed is 
half spoiled hy the weevil, seed from Canada, or 
other localities free from it, should be procured. 
Peas may be sown with a grain drill by stopping 
every alternate spout, and may be cultivated with 
the grain horse-hoe (described in the American 
Agriculturist, August, 1878). 
Cultivating Small Grains .—The practice of culti¬ 
vating small grains, oats, barley, wheat, and peas,. 
