k J jLi 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. [Ms rch, 
Contents of this Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated: the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.') 
Agricultural Association, American.101 
Apples, Lady..•.100 
Apples, Maggots in.127 
Barn, A Grain and Stock.4*..10G 
Bee Notes for March. 93 
Boats in Wet Weather.127 
Books, Some New Kural. 98 
Boxes, Feed.. 5*.. 108 
Boys and Girls’ Columns The Doctor's I ' alks .— 
What is Wind ?—The Air in Motion—Anemometers 
or Wind Measurers—Another Boy; His Sad Fate— 
The Death of Aunt Sue—Paper Ornaments—Puzzle 
Box— 1 The Dog and the Crane—How to Amuse Your 
Young Friends—A Candy Pull.6*. .110-118 
Catalogues Received. 120 
Cattle, Guernsey—'• Gypsy Boy of Woodlawn 103 
Chicks, Early Spring.105 
Cold Frames. .. -. .. 109 
College, The Agricultural of Ohio.100 
College, The Indiana Agricultural.100 
Coins—Weighing Money.-_100 
Conifer®, Manual of the .127 
Corn Bread Recipes . 101 
Corn, Changing His.100 
Corn Marker.*..101 
Cut Worms and Other Insects in Georgia.110 
Bisease, A New, Among Dairy Stock.102 
Duck, The Mallard.108 
EnsBage “ Congress ”. 99 
Fairs for 1882. 127 
Farmers’ Club.127 
Farm Homes, Western. 101 
Fertilizers, A Farmer’s Experiments with. 94 
Fodder Rations and Feeding Values. 106 
Garden Marker.*..101 
Garden, The Albert Workingmen's.*.. Ill 
Gates with Wooden Hinges. .3*..109 
Glass, Kentucky Blue.101 
Grass, The Hungarian. 95 
Haemorrhoids in Cattle .100 
Hops, Raising.127 
Horse, An Uneasy.127 
Horses and Dahlias.127 
Horses, Millet for. 127 
Hot-Beds—Boxes, A Farmer’s. 95 
Hot-Beds with Fire Heat.100 
Household A Spoon Case. Overwork Among Wom¬ 
en. Making the Table Attractive. Household 
Notes and Queries. The Disposal'of House Slops. 
A Home-Made Desk. Cottage Cheese.4*.. 114-115 
House, Pioneer’s, Costing $250 to $500.5*.. 96 
House Plans, 183 Prize Plans. 95 
..98 
.100 
.100 
.105 
. 98 
.103 
.. 191 
.105 
Humbugs, Sundry. 
Indiana Wheat and Corn Crops. 
Kansas Products in 1881. 
Ladder, Bracing a. 
Lamps, The Care of the.. 
Land, How Much For Each. 
Letters, Careless, and Lost Ones. 
Lime and Limestone.. 
IWaggot, Remedy For Cabbage.112 
Milk, Experiments with.104 
New Jersey.106 
Notes on Orchard and Garden.92-93 
Oil Cake and Linseed Meal. . 95 
Onions, A Dish. 97 
Onitins, Raising a Crop of. 113 
Orange Culture, Profits of.fi27. 
Oregon—Washington Territory. 99 
“ Pasture,” A Chicken.102 
Peq, the “ American Wonder”.113 
Peaches and Pears. .. .126 
Peaches, The Profit from Thinning.113 
Persimmon Trees, Large.100 
Petroleum, Crude.. 100 
Phlox, Drummond’s and Its Varieties.*..111 
Plants, Watering House. 106 
Potato Bug Swindle. 100 
“Prairie Rice,” Egyptian Corn, etc.127 
Boiler, A Barrel.*.. 105 
“ Sagging Bar ” For a Gate.....*.. 107 
Screw-Driver, An Improved.*..102 
Seeds, A Large Sale of.102 
Shears, Perfection Pruning. *..112 
Silk Worms and Their Food.107 
South America, Matters in.127 
States, Area and Relative Size of.101 
Strawberry Plants, Distance to Set.100 
Strawberry Season. 100 
Strawberries in Minnesota.127 
Sunflower Sulture.127 
Sunflower, The Globe.*..111 
Suggestions of the Season. 92 
Teosinte, The, in Louisiana.108 
Tie, Another Cattle .*.. 104 
Tim Bunker on Points in Deacon Smith's Farming.. 108 
Tomato, The Best.120 
Trees InjureJny Vines.*..112 
Turkeys, Live and Dead. Weight of. 102 
Varieties. Wbat Shall I Plant?.100 
White Grub in Illinois.100 
See Extraordinary ©fl- 
fers on Pages 1SB4 and 125. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, MARCH, 1882, 
Suggestions for the Season. 
March is the first spring month, and by this time 
all the plans for the season’s work should be well 
matured. The farmer who plans little, often 
does but a small amount of the work that'pays the 
best. He should be fully aware of the importance 
of being ready for work when the time comes. 
In some parts of the country there is a homely 
phrase, “ Getting a good ready.” It is not schol¬ 
arly, but very expressive. It really means making 
thorough preparation, and in doing this there will be 
men to hire, seeds to provide, implements to buy, 
and a general overhauling and putting in readiness 
of all the machinery of the farm. The matter of 
Hired help is an important one, and requires much 
thought. There is a great difference in hired men; 
they rauge all the way from the thoughtful, consci¬ 
entious man who is as much interested in the suc¬ 
cess of the farm as if it was his own, to the shift¬ 
less, iudifferent, and sometimes bad man, who cares 
for nothing but his pay, and is not fit to have a 
place on any farm, especially if there are children 
iu the farmer’s household. This is a more important 
matter than many suppose. Aside from the danger 
to the morals of young people from improper lan¬ 
guage and acts, a man who is not kind to them has 
no business on a place where there are children. 
One of the best workmen we ever knew utterly 
ignored the children, taking no more notice of 
them than if they were so many stones. We are 
not aware that he was everunkind to them, but the 
little things soon became afraid to go near him, and 
would mu away whenever he approached. We 
would not have such a man on the farm. Some 
men are dear at any price, while others are worth 
much more than the wages that they are paid. Be¬ 
tween these two extremes is the great mass of farm 
laborers, and it requires more than a passing glance 
to engage the best men. The farmer who will be 
particular enough to have only good men about 
him, will also know that they must be treated as 
men, and from them he will receive, in return, the 
thoughtful services of men, instead of the bare 
labor of their hands. 
Several thiugs are to be taken into account in the 
purchase of the more expensive farm machines, 
and they are so much of a personal nature that it 
is impossible for us to answer such questions as to 
which is the best reaper, or plow, or hay-rake, or 
harrow, etc. ? as many of the reapers aDd mowers 
and other farm implements are so near perfection 
that the buyer cannot go amiss in choosiug anyone 
of a dozen of the most prominent. The character 
of the soil, whether clayey or sandy, level or hilly, 
will, for example, help to decide which of the vari¬ 
ous plows is the best. Other things being equal, it 
is better to buy those farm implements that are 
made nearest home, on account of the greater 
readiness with which any needed repairs may be 
made. There are many implements used upou the 
farm that an ingenious farmer, one handy with 
tools, can make for himself during stormy days, 
and at other odd times. If a corn-marker will be 
needed, now is the time to make it, and not wait 
until the field is ready to plant, and be obliged to 
delay a day in getting a marker. In the 6ame 
way the shovels, forks, wliiffletrees, etc., may be 
provided in advance of their time of use. A great 
deal of this work of getting ready should be done 
in advance, so that when the busy weeks of farm 
work come, they may be made the most of. Some 
errors are committed by beginning the regular 
spring work too soon, in which “ the more haste is 
the worst speed.” Much work that is done too 
soon must be done over again. 
In the Notes through the winter months it has 
been our endeavor to impress upon cultivators the 
importance of giving proper thought to their work. 
During the busy season soon to open, the atten¬ 
tion to head work will here give place to hints and 
suggestions that apply to the labor of the hand. 
By this we do not mean that less thought is now 
required, but it is not so much a planning for the 
future as execution of the work on hand that now 
demands our attention. Winter is the season of 
peace, in which every farmer should prepare forthe 
war of the summer. The campaign opens this 
month, and until October we shall be in the field, 
working out the plans that have been made. Up 
early and late, the fight for the victory of a great 
crop in 1882 will go on, and the farmer will not be 
the only one to rejoice in labors well rewarded. 
The tiller of the soil can never be too deeply im¬ 
pressed with the importance of his calling, for 
upon it rests, as upon no other, the prosperity of 
the nation, and the happiness of each one of our 
millions of homes. 
’1’Iie Live Stock. 
The lack of proper care during the winter leaves 
the farm stock in poor condition in the spring. 
Any such animal should be well eared for now. A 
mess of warm bran-slop daily—a little ginger some¬ 
times stirred in—will be useful for a cow. If calves 
are infested with vermin they should be freed from 
these pests at once. A mixture of sulphur and 
lard, rubbed along the spine and on the brisket, is 
effective. A tablespoonful of sulphur and mo¬ 
lasses, taken internally once a day, will help to 
drive away the lice ; it will also prevent the disease 
known as “ black-leg,” frequently found among 
calves in early spring. Sheep that are suffering 
from an irritation of the skin and consequent loss 
of wool, should have a few doses of a mixture of 
equal parts of Cream of Tartar and Sulphur. Ewes 
with early lambs should have special favors shown 
them in the form of dry, warm pens, and rich food. 
The lambs need to be pushed forward at a rapid 
pace. A little fresh cow’s milk may be given them 
while they are still quite youug. Over feeding 
of young animals is, however, to be avoided. 
The breeding sows should he separated from 
the others, aud provided with dry and warm pens, 
bedded with cut straw or leaves, aud furnished 
with a fender, or plank fastened to the wall eight 
jnches above the fioor, to prevent the youug pigs 
from being crushed. As early chickens are the 
ones that pay the best* when practicable set all 
brooding hens, and take good care of all chicks 
hatched this month. The poultry house should be 
kept wholesome by frequent sprinklings of plaster 
or ashes. Kerosene may be applied to the perches 
if lice or fleas are present. Horses’ feet will need 
attention at this season of the year, when the roads 
are iu bad condition, and there is so much slush and 
wet everywhere. 
Fai-ra Work for 6lie Moulin. 
The surface water should be let off from the 
grain and other fields before the ground is entirely 
thawed. All drains require frequent inspection, 
especially at this time, when the outlets may be 
clogged by ice and snow. Clover seed may be sown 
this month. A very even cast can be obtained by 
sowing upon a light fall of snow on a still day. 
There will be larger quantities of artificial fertil¬ 
izers used this spring, and an application of those of 
the right kind will in many eases greatly benefit the 
crops receiving them. As a caution we would say, 
buy no fertilizer without knowing it to he as repre¬ 
sented. These are special and expensive manures, 
and should be bought of respousible dealers (of 
whom there are several) and used understaudingly. 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work. 
We talk about “spring work.”' But, unfortu¬ 
nately, iu this country, we have no spring, at 
least not the vernal season celebrated in English 
poetry and prose as the connecting link between 
winter and summer. If we must forego the vernal 
season, we can find our compensation in an 
autumn, the like of which is not known in the Old 
World. Our transition from winter to summer is 
usually marked by some days—it may be a week or 
