188 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[May 
Contents of tMs Number. 
AMERICAN 
AGRICULTURIST. 
205 
104 
203 
190 
203 
190 
191 
191 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated: the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Barn, A Medium Bank. 
Beans, English, What are They Like?.*-.206 
Bed, Flower for Use.20b 
Bee Notes for May. ■ • 
Beef Raiser, A British Columbia.*--201 
Boxes, Handy for the Barn ..2 . .20o 
Boys, Delaware, at Corn Raising..• • ■■■ • 194 
Boys 1 and Girls 1 Columns : — The Doctor s J oiks 
About Flowers; Production of Seed; Puzzle Box ; 
Corners Up ... Corners Down ; A Few Things about 
Italy ; Six Problems for Boys and Girls ; A Good 
State; An Odd Easter Egg; Pea-nuts or Ground 
Peas ; What Makes the Ground Crack in Freez¬ 
ing ? .9*..212-214 
Brains, The Use of in Farming.---198 
Butterworts, The Pinguicula.*•-207 
Cabbages and Cabbage Stems....*. -208 
Cabbages, About Savoy.-..209 
Catalogues Received.- - -221 
Climbers and Their Supports. * • • 194 
Com, About Sweet.-.189 
Cotton Seed: An Important Product....20o 
Cow, A Device for a Sucking.*. .205 
Crows, Making Useful. 
Crusher, A Home-made Clod. 
Currants and Gooseberries. 
Burra, Some Experiments with. 
Egg Plant. 
Flower Gardening. 
Flowers, Wild, in Garden... 
“Foreign Names,” Protest Against.194 
Gardening in May.- 199 
Gate, A Good Farm.*--202 
Golden Bell, orForsythia.209 
Grafting Wax.220 
Grape vine, That Old.190 
Hay, Some Facts about Cutting . 204 
Heap, The Burn.191 
Holder for Splitting Wood.*..200 
Horses, Care of the.189 
Horses. Handling. 204 
House, Country, Costing $3,000 to $4,000.5*. .190-197 
House Cleaning, About Spring.193 
Household;— Rain Water Strainer; Something about 
Pancakes; Conveniences in Houses: Children’s 
Aprons ; Christmas and other Winter Decorations; 
Abusing the Sense of Taste ; An Egg Tester.9* .210-211 
Humbugs, Sundry.192 
Laurel, The Native or Kalmia.191 
Lawns, Bare Places in.191 
Levelling Devices for Ditching.2*. .204 
Lime, The Use of.202 
Locust Tree Seeds. . • -221 
Logs, A Holder for.* • -204 
Manure, Liquid.-191 
Manuring, Green.•■•201 
Marker, Another Corn.*--203 
Market, Taking Produce to.209 
Melons and their Enemies..209 
Melons, Protecting, and Other Vines.4*.. 189 
Milk, Judging by Test or Taste.202 
Mower, The Lawn .191 
Mulberries for Fruit.221 
Mulching, What is?.190 
“No Shoe, No Horse”.223 
Oat Crop of the U. S.223 
Peach Culture, Some Practical Points.206 
Plants, House, Out of Doors.198 
Plants, Shading.200 
Potato “Bugs,” Kill the.209 
Potatoes, How are New Varieties Produced.200 
Potatoes, Sweet.189 
Poultry Yard, In the. 189 
Publishers 1 Department.223 
Pyrethrum—Insect Powder.*. .207 
Road Making.189 
Rubbish, Disposal of.189 
Sheep and Lambs. 189 
Sieves, Tightening .*..200 
Silk Worms and Mulberries.223 
Skins, Curing.220 
Soil, Compacting the.194 
Soil, Gardening with Covered. 206 
Sparrows, Those Bad.223 
“Subscriber,” What Makes a.221 
Swine, “Red” Berkshire.*..200 
Tool Houses and Tools .190 
Trap, A New Mole. * • • 203 
Traps for June Bugs.223 
Turkies, Breeding for Profit.201 
AVeeds in Lawn and Elsewhere.191 
White Grub and June Bug.190 
Yam, The Chinese.*..208 
The Attention of the Reader is invited to 
the Announcements on pages 220 and 221.— 
The “Gallery of Paintings’’ is an unusually 
fine work, very highly appreciated by all 
who see it. The Special Premiums for MAY, 
are valuable.—The Call for Canvassers is a 
good opportunity for thousands of persons 
desiring light, pleasant employment. The 
General Premiums are still open as noted 
on page 221. 
NEW YORK, MAY, 1882. 
Suggestions for the Season. 
About Repairing Ituildiiigs. 
The barns are usually empty at this season, and 
now is the best time to make any necessary repairs. 
If experience has shown the stables to be in¬ 
convenient, let the improvements be made before 
the barns are again filled. There may be some 
holes in the roof, and a little patching may 
save many times its cost, if done in season ; in 
short, leaks of every kind about the farm buildings 
should be promptly stopped. Look well into the 
granary for mouse holes, through which the profits 
of a whole field may pass. They may be closed with 
a strip of tin. The work of half a day in look¬ 
ing for aud closing these places, may be the 
most profitable of any done on the farm. 
The roofs, the floors, the sides, the doors, and all 
other parts of the barns, should now be put in good 
order, and another coat of paint be applied if the 
last one is beginning to wear through. A stitch in 
time will save more than nine in makingBuchrepairs. 
Treatment of Bones. 
Bones accumulate on every farm, and a hunt for 
them will bring out many more than one would ex¬ 
pect to find. When properly treated, they furnish 
very valuable food for growing plants. Whole 
bones, as they are thrown out from the kitchen, are 
so slowly decomposed, that they are of little use, 
unless applied very largely. They need to be 
broken up or made fine in some way that the large 
amount of phosphoric acid, etc., contained in them 
may be available. It is not practicable for ordinary 
farmers to have bone mills, and the next best thing 
is to break them up somewhat with an axe or heavy 
hammer, and mix them with unleached ashes, 
keeping the heap moist enough so the alkali will 
“ eat ” them, and render the bones soft. The bones 
thus treated will crumble to fine pieces when dried, 
and are then ready to be spread upon the land. 
Every- farmer should see that all bones are thus 
made into a valuable home-made fertilizer. 
The Mangold Wurtzel. 
Root Crops should hold a prominent place in the 
system of rotation, wherever the land is adapted to 
their production. One of the best of this class is 
the Mangold Wurtzel, concerning which “ C. H.W.,” 
Kings County, Nova Scotia, and several others 
make inquiries. This crop is very exhaustive when 
removed from the farm, but may be profitably 
grown for feeding purposes. It grows fairly on 
nearly all soils, but best on upland loams. Land 
free from stones and other obstructions, should be 
chosen. Deep plowing is beneficial, and for long 
varieties, is essential to success. After plowing, 
apply a liberal dressing of manure. The manure 
must be fined with a wheel-harrow, or other pul¬ 
verizer. Cross-plow the manure under, aud mix 
well with the soil to a depth of at least six inches. 
Commercial fertilizers, either the “ Complete Ma¬ 
nures,” or the special fertilizers, which are made 
for this crop by several reputable firms, and are 
on sale throughout the country, may be applied to 
the surface, and will usually prove highly beneficial. 
Wood-ashes (unleached), ground bone, and super¬ 
phosphates, are also valuable fertilizers for this 
crop. Salt, in quantities ranging from five to 
twenty-five bushels per acre, sometimes increases 
the crop. The soil must be made very fine, aud the 
surface as smooth as possible. Sow the seed 4 to 6 
pounds per acre at the North about the middle of 
May. Rows may be from 18 to 30 inches apart. 
The latter distance will admit of horse cultivation, 
but this is more expensive than closer planting, and 
the use of the wheel hoe and other hand implements, 
Level culture is cheaper than growing the crop on 
ridges, and will be generally found as satisfactory. 
If the ground is dry, soak the seed from thirty-six 
to forty-eight hours in warm water, keeping it up 
to blood heat. Afterwards roll the seeds in plaster 
if obtainable, and plant with a good drill. Cover 
the seed 1)4 to 2 inches deep, unless on wet-lands, 
when shallower planting is better. Transplanting 
may be resorted to for filling vacant places in the 
rows. Thin to 10 or 12 inches. This will not give 
the largest roots, but a crop of heavy weight aud 
good quality. Of the long varieties, the “ Silesian,” 
“Long Yellow,” aud “Carter’s Improved,” are 
among the best. The “Red Globe,” “Yellow 
Globe,” aud the “ Yellow Oval,” are easier to har¬ 
vest on account of their globular form. 
Care of Pastures. 
A good permanent pasture, handy to the barn¬ 
yard, is very convenient, almost a necessity, on 
every well regulated farm. Such a field needs to be 
well fertilized and cared for, that it may give the 
best returns in an abundant supply of green food, 
for farm stock. A top-dressing of fine well-rotted 
manure in winter is excellent, but if not done, a 
dressing of 50 to 100 pounds of nitrate of soda 
per acre may be applied. It is best to sow this just 
before a shower, that the rain may carry this very 
soluable food to the roots of the plants. After supt 
plying the necessary fertilizers, it is important not 
to overstock the pasture. Let the adjustment be¬ 
tween the number of animals and the capacity of 
the field be such, that there may be good feeding 
throughout the whole season. If such a pasture 
has a natural spring, its value is much increased 
The next to this is a well, provided with a wind¬ 
mill, for raising an abundant supply of water. 
IKaying Hacliinerr. 
The modern progressive farmer has many labor- 
saving machines within his reach to aid him in 
making hay. The scythe is serviceable in cutting 
the grass in fence corners and around trees, but 
further than this it does best when hanging out of 
harm’s way in the barn. A rough field is now sel¬ 
dom a good excuse for not using the horse mower. 
Ground too rough for this implement, should be 
put in proper condition, or be left as a pasture. 
A “tedder” is a valuable aid, as it facilitates dry¬ 
ing, and therefore the quicker housing of hay, thus 
escaping storms that ruin much hay made in the 
old, slow way. All of these machines, from the 
mower to the horse fork, should be in good trim 
for work before the time for using them. Every 
bolt, screw, hinge, and pulley, ought to be exam¬ 
ined now aud put in place. This is proper work 
for the rainy days, before the grass is ready to cut. 
See to these little things—making such purchases 
as may be necessary, thus keeping ahead of the work. 
Abuse of Barn Cellars. 
A great change has come over the farm during 
the last thirty years, in all our thrifty farmiug dis¬ 
tricts, in the general use of barn cellars. Formerly 
such an arrangement of the barn was a novelty, 
and farmers have slowly learned its great advan¬ 
tages. The greater comfort of cattle, the cheaper 
cleaning of stables, the more convenient watering 
of stock, the larger use of peat, muck, and head¬ 
lands in the compost heap, and the greater value 
of the manure made under cover. Now the cry is 
raised of damage to fodder and stock from the 
barn cellar. Almost any good thing can be per¬ 
verted and become a nuisance, and it were strange 
if men who do not read much, and think less, 
could not abuse the barn-cellar, which is the 
stomach of the farm. The same kind of men not 
infrequently abuse their own stomachs, and suffer 
greviously in consequence. “If you make your 
barn-cellar tight, carbonic acid gas and ammonia 
are thrown off and injure the quality of hay stored 
in the rooms above, and the health of the cattle in 
the stables. If you turn your pigs into the cellar to 
make compost, and keep them from the air and the 
light, they become diseased, and you put bad meat 
into your barrel to breed disease in your family.” 
These are not uncommon complaints, circulating 
in our agricultural journals. Well, suppose we ad- 
