274 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
Contents of this Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Ants in the Lawn.307 
Apple Maggot.* • • 276 
Arrival, The New—A Farm Scene.*.. 273 
Artichokes.305 
Beans, A Larger Patch of. 277 
Bee Notes for July.284 
Blackberries and Raspberries.276 
Boys’ and Girls’ Columns : — The Doctor's Talks; 
About Botanical Names ; Our Puzzle Box ; The Owl 
Family at Home ; The Fourth of July.8*..298-300 
Bushel, A, More or Less—Immense Influence.279 
Bush Roller.*--288 
Camellia Cuttings in Water. • .305 
Cattle, Jersey. 290 
Caterpillar, The Red-Humped..* 276 
Cattle—Sale of Mr. Simpson's Jerseys.307 
Celery, Planting the.293 
Chrysanthemums, Why so Few.277 
Clover-Worm, The.*..275 
Corn, Late Fodder...307 
Cows, More Feed Wanted for.292 
Ducks, Aylesbury.*..285 
Ensilage, A Few Facts About.289 
Earming to the “ Front,”.279 
Flies and Mosquitoes. .306 
Flowers, Kansas. 307 
Flowers, Preparing for Winter.277 
Frame for a Horse-Fork.*. -286 
Fruit, Dried and ‘’Evaporated,”.277 
Furnace, Wood-Burning Heating.*..282 
Garden, Irrigation in the—.*..294 
Geese, Toulouse,.* • • 286 
Grape Vine, Layering the.*..292 
Hair Balls in Sheep.287 
Hair on the Upper Lip.—307 
Halter for a Pulling Horse.*. .289 
Harvesters, Hints to the.275 
Hay, Notes on Time of Cutting .284 
House, A Country, Costing $2,000.11*..280-281 
Household :—Folding Table for Porch: Drink for the 
Harvest Field; Preserving Ice; Canning Fruit and 
Vegetables; Sleeping Accommodations; A Neat and 
Handy Catch-All ; Juvenile Love Affairs...5*..296-297 
Humbugs, Sundry.278 
Hungarian Grass. 275 
Insect Enemies of the Currant and Gooseberry. .3*. .295 
Insects—Goldsmith Beetle.307 
Ivy, A Hint About.276 
Lawn, A Well-kept.277 
Lime with Muck.305 
Live Stock, Care of, for July.275 
Manure, Applying Fresh.275 
Manure, How to Save Liquid.284 
Narcissus, A Beautiful.*..294 
Paper File, or Binder .307 
Pasture, Permanent.288 
Pastures, Southern, and Pasturage.291 
Plant-Lice..277 
Plants for a Grave.3S7 
Plants, Sending for Name. 307 
Population, Ten Years Gain in.2S2 
Portulaca—Purslane—Pussley.306 
Post-Driver, A Farm.4*. 287 
Poultry; Food and Feeding. 286 
Prairie Chickens.*..283 
Pumpkins.288 
Saffron and other Drugs.2*. .293 
Seed Wheat, Buying.307 
Seeding on Sod. 282 
Silk Manufacture in the United States.290 
Stable Floor, Wooden.3*. .290 
Sticks and Strings.276 
Strawberries, More. *..275 
Swine, The, of Ten States.291 
Think of This a Moment.278 
Thinning the Fruit.276 
Tomato Vines, Take Care of the. 278 
Turnip Crop, The.306 
Vick, James, Death of .307 
Water, Pond. 305 
Watering Plants.277 
Weed, A Pernicious Bind.*292 
Well-Curb, A Barrel.*.. 289 
Wheat, Rust on .».307 
See Page 308 for some Special Pre¬ 
miums for July, which are worthy of 
attention.—A large number of valuable 
original articles, too many of them to be 
specified, will be found all through the 
reading columns, from page 274 to 300, 
and on pages 305, etc. Not a little useful 
information wil be obtained by consult¬ 
ing the announcements of an excellent 
class of Advertisers on the cover pages, 
and on sundry pages from 301 to 312. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, JULY, 1882. 
Suggestions for the Season. 
The Summer Fallow. 
The summer, or bare fallow, was formerly con¬ 
sidered the best method of preparing land for the 
wheat crop. The exposure of the soil to atmos¬ 
pheric and other influences for a whole season has 
an excellent effect, but it is not necessary. A crop 
may be grown, and if rightly attended to, the suc¬ 
ceeding grain crop may be as good as when pre¬ 
ceded by a season of fallow. The good results of 
a fallow are the most evident upon clay land. The 
mechanical texture of the soil is improved by the 
frequent plowing and stirring, thus opening the 
soil for the free entrance of the air, and the better 
circulation of the soil-water. These mechanical 
improvements facilitate the decomposition of some 
of the constituents of the soil, liberating Potash 
and other essential elements of plant-food from 
the locked-up and insoluble chemical compounds 
of the soil. The Ammonia of the atmosphere, 
which enters the soil with the rain, is more readily 
absorbed, and, last but not least, the vegetable 
matter in the soil is more quickly and thoroughly 
decomposed, and thereby made available for sus¬ 
taining the growing plants. All these points are 
gained by a summer fallow upon a heavy clay soil, 
but with a light soil there is no such demand for 
mechanical improvement, and no corresponding 
advantage gained in a chemical point of view. 
Nearly all that can be gained by a year of clean 
culture is obtained by a hoed or root crop. With 
it the weeds can be killed as effectually as in the 
fallow; the soil will receive enough culture to 
make it sufficiently open for the circulation of air. 
There will be a large gain in the amount of the 
nitrates and other valuable nitrogen compounds. 
In the fallow these are formed during the hot 
months of the year, and, being very soluble, are 
washed out of the soil by heavy rains, while, if 
there is a crop, the nitrates, etc., are taken up as 
food, and stored away, to be used for some suc¬ 
ceeding crop. Besides, the root crop will furnish 
a large amount of excellent food for the farm 
stock, and finally yield a quantity of valuable 
manure, to be returned to the soil. With a root 
crop introduced into the rotation, there is seldom 
a demand for a summer fallow. 
Loading' Ilay and Grain. 
It is not every farm laborer who can properly 
arrange hay or grain upon a wagon. This is per¬ 
haps the most skillful work of the hay or harvest 
Fig. 1.— A BADLY MADE LOAD. 
field. It must he done with despatch, and in a 
manner that will economize space and insure safety 
of carriage. For this purpose a good hay-rack or 
“ rigging” is essential—one with broad wings and 
of sufficient length, that the load need not be like 
a stack when complete. A straight and stout rein¬ 
holder or “ ladder ” at the front end of the rack is 
a great aid in making a well-balanced load. Figure 
1 shows a too common form of a load of hay; it is 
not sufficiently spread out at the bottom, and the 
upper portion is very apt to slide off. The corners 
should be built first, and bound by the hay after¬ 
wards placed in the center of the load. The load 
may gradually lengthen and widen with each layer 
put on, the center being kept somewhat hollow 
until bound at last by a row of forkfuls along the 
middle. The form of a well built load is shown in 
figure 2. Such a load does not easily upset or 
slide from the rack. The well-formed load is the 
easier to make after a little thought is given to 
the work. 
W 7 hen forks are left on the top of the load, they 
should he placed with the handles sloping back¬ 
wards (figure 2), and not as shown in figure 1 ; 
Fig. 2.— A WELL MADE LOAD. 
when driving into a barn, they might otherwise 
catch in the door-way or against a beam, and do 
serious damage to man or beast. 
Take a Holiday. 
The Fourth of July is the great summer holiday,, 
and if possible every farmer should so arrange his 
labor that “ all hands ” may stop work and enjoy 
it. It seems to us that a picnic party made up of a 
few families in the neighborhood is not far from 
the best way to make the day a pleasant one. Some 
quiet, shady spot, not too far away, may be selected 
where the table may he spread with the best pro¬ 
ducts of the farm and garden. The older members 
of the party will have'a good time in social talk, 
thus getting better acquainted with each other, 
while the children can run in the woods, gather 
flowers, fire off their crackers and torpedoes, etc. A 
day thus spent is far from being a day lost, as, 
properly used, it breaks the monotony of daily 
farm labor and serves to sweeten farm life. 
The Huckwlieat Crop. 
Buckwheat is the latest grain crop of the season,, 
and in the latitude of New York is usually sown 
from the last of June to the middle of July. It is- 
frequently sown as a filling crop, that is, on ground 
where some other crop has failed. It makes an ex¬ 
cellent cleansing crop on foul or rough land, espec¬ 
ially upon rich soil where it makes a rank growth 
and smothers out all other plants. Buckwheat is 
used to some extent as a green manure to be turned 
under for wheat or rye. The buckwheat plant is a 
deep feeder, and has the power of obtaining the 
food elements when present only in small quantities 
in the soil. Light sandy soils, deficient in vegeta¬ 
ble matter, can be brought up to a good state of 
cultivation by first growing buckwheat as a green 
manure crop, followed by clover which is after¬ 
wards turned under. Though buckwheat will grow 
on comparatively poor soil, it makes good use of 
a light dressing of barn-yard manure or some quick¬ 
acting fertilizer. A hundred pounds of Peruvian 
guano or an equal weight of fish scrap will greatly 
raise the yield of a buckwheat crop on a poor soil, 
and prove a profitable investment for outlay. 
The harvesting of buckwheat is quite different 
from that of other grains. The grain “ shells ” or 
drops from the straw very readily, and therefore 
must he gathered with special care. It is best to 
cut it with a cradle and leave it in the swarth until 
the next morning, when it should he rolled and set 
on end while it is moist with the dew. After stand¬ 
ing for a few days it is ready to be threshed. The 
straw has no special value as fodder, but should be 
used as a litter and absorbent of liquid manure. 
The gram makes an excellent food for poultry, aud 
when its flour is in the form of buckwheat cakes, 
it is highly prized, especially in cold weather. 
