476 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Contents of this Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Air, Keep Out the Cold.503 
Animals, Kind Treatment of .492 
Animals, Stock of Farm.481 
Ashes—Leached, and Unleached.485 
Asparagus, The Bed .479 
Bee Notes for November. 482 
Boys and Girls’ Columns '.— The Doctor's Talks.— 
Thanksgiving Games—Our Puzzle Box—A Family of 
Silk Worms—How Jamie Spoiled the Thanksgiving 
Dinner.9*- • .500-502 
Box and Holder, A Pig.489 
Breeding for Eggs..491 
Cabbages, Wintering the. 479 
Catalogues Received.512 
Celery, Wintering the...479 
Chives, A Clump of. 496 
Cider Making, Timely Suggestions.496 
Cold Frames, Making and Using.479 
Corn House, A Maryland.2*...488 
Cotton and Electricity.488 
Cow Switch at Milking, Confining.490 
Crops and Prices.511 
Cuttings, Striking in Water.485 
Decorations, Christmas.511 
Dog, Theand his Rabbit.*..487 
Drill, AHome-made Fertilizer.. .2*. .493 
Exhaustion, Nervous.503 
Fairs, Do they Pay ?. .. .481 
Farm, Selection of a.,..477 
Flea Bane, The Canada—A World-wide Weed_*..495 
Florida, Camp Life in.*..504 
Fork, A Leaf. *.,494 
Garden, Beginning a. 479 
Gardening, What is Farm .. .512 
Gate, A Substantial Farm.2*..484 
Gate, A Wire.*..494 
Grapevine in November.3*. .480 
Grasses, A Mixture of.439 
Greenery, A Bit of in Winter.503 
Guenon on Milch Cows.511 
High Farming Does Pay.493 
“Hog Products,” Prices.511 
Homesteads, Deserted .489 
Household Box for Spices. Foot Scrapers, or Boot 
Cleaners. Woman's Dress, The Corset. Travelling 
Case. Satchel for School Books. Fancy Knick-knacks, 
and Writing Paper. Canning Tomatoes.. .9*. .498-499 
Humbugs, Sundry. 483 
Husks, Saving the Corn. 504 
Ice Harvest Prepare for the.*..477 
“Jack,” The Chisel.*. 491 
Eevels and Leveling .3*..490 
Lifter. A Log.*..488 
Manure, Protect the.490 
Manure Heap, The Growth of.477 
Matches, Pick up the Ends.512 
Meadows, Permanent Seeding, etc.484 
Medicines, Giving to Animals.491 
Mulberry, The Russian in Nebraska.497 
Notes from the Pines.*..497 
Notes from a Southern Home.. ...503 
Notes, November Farm .478 
Parsley, A Supply of in Winter.494 
Parsnips and Salsify.479 
Pig, Is the, a Nuisance. 490 
Pigeon Berry, or Poke. The Common.*..495 
Planter, A Tree, and* Potato.5*..492 
Potatoes, Raising from Sprouts.488 
Potatoes, Experiments in Cutting and Planting.480 
Poultry, Marketing.477 
Poultry, Ordinance for Marketing. 491 
Products, Cost of Moving.5H 
Propagandism on the Farm.486 
Boot, Tbe Harvest.3*..478 
Root-Cuttings, Propagating by.478 
Roots, Preserving for Daily Use. ..488 
Rose Growing in the Window. 481 
Rose, The Literature of .511 
“ Safe,” A, to Keep Plants from Freezing.*..485 
Scoop-Board, A, for Wagon Box. *..488 
Screen, A uheap Potato.*.. 489 
Seeds, Keeping Forest Tree.504 
Seed, Saving, Pays. 484 
Shrubs, Half Hardy.479 
Squashes and Sweet Potatoes, Keeping.486 
Steps and Angles in Bins. *..477 
Stock, “Ennobling” of Grade.482 
Tile Draining. 490 
Trees, Young Fruit.479 
Trellis, A convenient Grape.*. .481 
IJnderdraining Dries Wet Land, and Dampens Dry 
Land...:.3*. .4s6 
Vernonias, Wild and Cultivated.*..495 
Vine, A Quick-Growing.497 
W;iste, the Unnecessary. 484 
Well. A Never Failing. 492 
Wheat, Ruined by Rain.492 
Work, In-door.477 
Worm, The Bag.*..482 
SOMETHING FOR EVERY SUBSCRI¬ 
BER FOR 1883. 
SEE THIRD COVER PAGE. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER, 1882. 
Thanksgiving is Coining. 
Of all the people in America, who on the thirtieth 
of November will keep the great national holiday 
—Thanksgiving, none have more reason to rejoice 
and return thanks, than the farmer who through¬ 
out the year has sown the seed in the fertile earth, 
watched its development, “ first the blade, then 
the ear, then the full corn in the ear,” and at length 
garnered in the bounteous gifts of the harvest. 
All over the land, mighty streams of golden 
grain have flowed into the granaries, and barns, 
filling them to repletion. The trees have bent be¬ 
neath their load of luscious fruit, until it was 
gathered into barrels, or crushed between the 
wheels of the mill, to distil its sparkling juice. 
And now—as the world is preparing for its winter’s 
sleep—the fires are lighted on our hospitable 
hearths, our homes and sanctuaries are decked 
with sheaves of wheat, and the purple clusters of 
the vine, and with thankful hearts we gather with¬ 
in them, to gladly celebrate our Harvest-Home. 
And mention must be made of the turkey—the 
truly American bird—who will at this season be 
slaughtered on both moorland and farm, and bring 
a welcome supply of pocket money to the farmer’s 
wife, who has carefully tended, and protected the 
young brood through sunshine and shower. 
. As at the old Roman feasts, the royal peacock 
formed the choicest dish of all, so the stately tur¬ 
key, who for months has proudly lorded it over the 
barn-yard community, will now grace our Thanks¬ 
giving table, as a fitting head-piece to the board. 
This month the sportsman with game-bag and 
rifle, will make nightly raids upon field and wood¬ 
land, to shoot the wild turkeys from the roost, 
bringing down with unerring aim these denizens 
of the wild woods, in whose peculiar plieasant-like 
flavor—said to he produced by their feeding on the 
partridge-berry—the epicure particularly delights. 
Although in its wild state the turkey was exclu¬ 
sively an inhabitant of North America, some of the 
earlier naturalists supposed it to be a native of Af¬ 
rica, and the East Indies, and it derived its name 
from the probably mistaken belief, that it origi¬ 
nated in Turkey. However, it was discovered in 
this country, and carried to England, in the early 
part of the 16th Century, and has since become ac¬ 
climated in most parts of the world. 
We may imagine that these birds figured at the 
first Thanksgiving dinner of the Pilgrim Fathers, 
for we read, that “ after the first harvest of the 
Colonists at Plymouth, iu 1621, Gov. Bradford sent 
four men out fowling, that they “ might after a 
more special manner rejoice together.” And it is 
most appropriate that one of the largest platters of 
the elegant dinner set, recently decorated for the 
White House at Washington, and representing the 
Fauna and Flora of America, should bear upon it 
a wild turkey in all its native glory. 
But the domestic fowl is now our real Thanks¬ 
giving bird, a fine specimen of which is shown in 
our frontispiece. See how haughtily he seems to 
strut along, little dreaming that the farmer and his 
smilingcompanion—who have daily brought him his 
quota of meal—are now his secret enemips, endeavor¬ 
ing to take his life : and that soon, decked with 
paper rosettes, he will adorn some shop window, or 
hang limp across a market basket, in a city street. 
Thanksgiving is peculiarly the American farmer’s 
day, and a farm is the place to spend it; when the 
wood fires roar merrily up the wide chimneys ; the 
New England kitchen reveals wondrous works of 
art, in the form of “ savory mince and toothsome 
pumpkin pies and the genial host welcomes his 
guests with open-handed hospitality. Happy is the 
city man who has country friends to spread wide to 
him their farm-house door, and hid him come and 
join in their Thanksgiving. 
Prepare for the Holidays. 
The beautiful custom of giving gifts to parents,, 
children, relatives, friends, and neighbors, is com¬ 
ing more into vogue every year. It is a pleasant 
one, and serves to bind the ties of affection and 
friendship. Nearly everybody delays to procure 
their Holiday Gifts until the last hour, when they 
are pressed for time, and are often unable to satisfy 
themselves. Begin now to make your purchases,, 
and by looking over our Premium List, which ac¬ 
companied the October number, you cannot only 
find something to suit every taste, but you can 
procure the articles with no expense and a little- 
effort, in securing subscriptions for the American, 
Agriculturist. For example ; One new subscriber 
,will entitle you to aNew American Dictionary, with 
Fifty Thousand Words, or to an elegant Gold- 
mounted Pencil. For two new subscribers one 
can secure a very handsome Lady’s Portmanteau,, 
of the latest pattern, or a Fruit Knife and Nut- 
Pick. Three new subscribers will ensure you a 
beautiful Watch Charm and Locket, or a Canvas 
Portfolio. Four new subscribers will entitle you 
to receive, post-paid, a substantial Watch and 
Chain, or a Multum-in-parvo Pocket Knife ; and so 
on. But you mu6t look all over the Premium List 
to discover what a very great number of desira¬ 
ble things you can procure for your Holiday Pres¬ 
ents without money, and with very little trouble. 
Look especially at the List of our One Dollar 
Books, elegantly bound and printed, which are 
given for one new subscriber. Any one of our 
subserjbers who may have lost their Premium List 
can have another forwarded to them, if they will 
write us to that effect. We trust, however, that 
all of our subscribers have preserved their Pre¬ 
mium Lists, and are now securing many Premiums 
for themselves, and many new subscribers for the 
American Agriculturist. 
Suggestions for the Season. 
Fall Flowing. 
Anyone who has seen the best European farm¬ 
ing knows how important it is to thoroughly pre¬ 
pare the ground for the seed. The working of the 
soil adds nothing, but it helps in changing the 
form of the plant food compounds, and thus plow¬ 
ing and harrowing becomes indirectly a source of 
nourishment. The soil is a vast storehouse of 
plant food, which it holds by virtue of its- 
insolubility. Furthermore, it is only through the 
action of the air and ail those processes, chemical 
and otherwise, which are covered by such terms as 
weathering, nitrification, etc., that these essential 
elements are brought into a soluble form and made 
available for the use of the growing plant. The 
chemistry of the soil, as it becomes better under¬ 
stood, teaches in every line the importance of a 
frequent stirring of the surface of the cropped field. 
With this in mind it is to the purpose to urge the im¬ 
portance of fall plowing. For other than chemical 
reasons the stubble or sod may be turned under 
this fall. Not only will the air circulate more 
freely, and the processes of reducing the insoluble 
substances go on more rapidly, but the mechanical 
texture of the heavy soil especially will be im¬ 
proved. Should insects or their larvae or “ worms ” 
abound in the earth they will be turned out of their 
winter quarters and destroyed. Aside from these 
advantages there is a lull in the farm work at this 
season, and any plowing, or other labor with the 
soil, will help materially to lessen the rush and 
hurry that otherwise comes with the busy months 
of spring. The thoughtful and successful farmer 
so plans his farming operations that one season 
helps the next in more ways than one. 
