314 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August. 
Contents of this Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Angora Goat, The. 349 
Animals, Farm, in the United States.328 
Asparagus in the Market.317 
Barn-Yard, The.327 
Barrel Header, A. . *.. 348 
Bass, Black, Northern and Southern.2*..325 
Bee Notes for August . 319 
Blackberries and Raspberries . 317 
Bots’ and Gibls’ Columns : — The Doctor's Talks; 
Largest Cities in the World; A Marsh Wren's 
Nest; Arithmetic—Geometry—Euclid; Old Sights 
with New Eyes; The Voyage of the “Water- 
witch. 1 ’ .17*..338-340 
Buckwheat as Green Manure.348 
Budding Propagation.316 
Caterpillars, The Large Grape Vine.4*..322 
Cattle, Artificially Hornless.349 
Cattle Diseases, Laws for Suppression of.347 
Census Items, Interesting.346-348 
Churning with the Wind.*..332 
Dividends, Early. 314 
Karms, The, of the United States.328 
Fences, W'ire, and Bracing Them .*..332 
Fly Poison, Kentucky Coffee Tree as.348 
Forage Crops of the Southwest.323 
Foods, Notes on.347 
Fruit, Keeping the Poor at Home.317 
Gates, A Substitute for Wire Fence.2*. .324 
Geese, Breeding.325 
Grain, Half a Million Bushels a Day.349 
Grindstone-Box and Hangers.*..327 
Grape-Beetle, The Spotted. *..323 
Grape-vine, The, in August.317 
Holder, A Rail or “Grip,”.*..326 
House, Country, Costing $3,200. 5*..318 
Household : — Side Closet for the Kitchen; Some¬ 
thing to Wear; Another Home-Made Desk ; Toma- 
' to Catsup; Pickles and Pickling; Side Shelf for 
Draining Bottles; What Shall We Eat? Cisterns 
Cheaply Made ; Drying Fruit, etc..4*..336-337 
Humbugs, Sundry.320 
Insects, Currant Worms. 349 
Insects, New Book on.349 
Ladders, Fruit.... 315 
Law for Farmers.—Promissory Notes and Rogues_327 
Layering, The, of Shrubs.323 
Lilies, Small-Flowered. *..333 
Lime Applied to Soil.323 
Live Stock in Midsummer.315 
Losses, Preventable, on the Farm. 321 
manure, Farm-Yard.326 
Manure, The Harvest. 315 
Marianne North Gallery, A.348 
Marketing Fruit and Vegetables.324 
Monstrosities Among Plants.*. .334 
Painting Houses.330 
Paper, A, to Keep Ten Years.321 
Peach Harvest.317 
Peaches, Early, “ Waterloo ” and “Alexander,” _334 
Pears, Marketing.317 
Peat and Muck for Manure.*.. 315 
Pens, Brood Sow..2*..331 
Plants, Hardy Perennial.324 
Puller, A Straw.*. 323 
Pussley, A Use for.345 
Hoads, Attractive Country.332 
Root Crops, Care of the.314 
Rushes, not Grasses.348 
Seeding Down With and Upon Root Crops.331 
Sea Kale Forcing.349 
Seeds, Tomato.324 
Seeds, Saving Vegetable.327 
Shore Days.345 
Shows, Agricultural; Their Abuses.326 
Sorrel—Sheep’s Sorrel. *..333 
Sparrow, The European. . .349 
States, The Leading Grain.330 
Stool, Another Milling ..*..323 
Strawberry, The, Bed. .317 
Stump Puller, A.*..347 
Sulphur and Ants. 345 
Tomato, Pruning and Training the.*..335 
Trap, A Rabbit..... *..331 
Trouble Brewing? Is there.300 
Vetches, What are.348 
Vinegar Making. . 317 
Vines, Rooting and Not Rooting.317 
Weed, A Lawn-Star of Bethlehem.*..335 
Weeds, Hints about.314 
Weeds, Salt for.349 
Wheat Ground, Preparation of the.315 
Wool Grown, Imported and Used.329 
Worm, The, in the Grape.3*..334 
Worm, The Com.*. .331 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST, 1882. 
Suggestions for the Season 
Early IMvidcnds. 
Capitalists are fond of buying stock that yields 
dividends, and are quite content now to get bonds 
that will pay four or five per cent annually. A neigh¬ 
bor of ours spread a barrowful of manure taken 
from under the floor of a horse stable, about the 
middle of April. The manure or earth had received 
the urine of a horse for some months, and repre¬ 
sented the value of that commodity. It was spread 
on about a square rod of old meadow, that had re¬ 
ceived no manure for a dozen years or more. The 
grass took a fresh start soon after the application, 
aud clearly defined the dressed plat, by its dark 
green, and luxuriant growth. On the twentieth of 
June, the grass is so heavy, that it is partly lodged 
and is ready for the scythe. The yield of grass is 
certainly quadrupled by the top-dressing. Sixty 
days from the date of investment, he has a divi¬ 
dend worth at least one-half the value of the ma¬ 
nure. He will get a second crop this season, which 
makes auother dividend. The sod below is en¬ 
riched with a great growth of grass roots, which is 
an increase of capital, and will continue to give fair 
dividends for several years to come. He is so well 
pleased with this spring’s investment, that he has 
enlarged the area of top-dressing on the meadow, 
and applied fresh manure from the stable, made up 
of leaves, and horse, and cow dung, on the twentieth 
of June. The grass cut on this second plot was 
very thin, certainly less than a half ton to the acre. 
He confidently expects a dividend from this invest¬ 
ment in about sixty days, and permanent increase 
of capital. Now is it not much better for a culti¬ 
vator to put his capital upon his own land, under 
his own supervision, and get good dividends, early 
and often, than to invest in railroads, steamboats, 
factories, or Wall Street? Investing at home, he 
knows just what he is about, and with an average 
expenditure of brain and muscle, he can command 
early dividends, and keep them coming. The farm 
is a machine to make money. Let us keep it in 
good repair, well oiled, and turn out the dollars. 
I.site Cultivation of Corn. 
There is a great difference in the management of 
the corn crop. Weeding, half-hilling, and hilling, 
were the old names in New England, for the three 
dressings the corn crop usually received. Fre¬ 
quently it was cultivated only twice, and the weeds 
made a thick mat between the corn rows, and very 
much reduced the yield. It was as much detriment 
to the land, a£to the corn, for it stocked the ground 
with foul seed, which increased the labor of tillage 
for years afterwards. We have found it profitable 
to continue cultivation until the ears throw out 
their silk, and even later. Once in two weeks is 
none too often to stir the soil in the early part of 
the season. The later cultivation in August, should 
be the mere scratching of the surface, to break the 
crust and destroy weeds. It is poor economy to 
let the weeds get ahold, and still worse to go to 
seed. In our corn patch, we have already de¬ 
stroyed five crops of weeds, and July is not here. 
A Hint »l*out Weeds. 
In harvesting Indian Corn and Wheat, we cut 
them long before the grain—the seed, is ripe. When 
the grain in either is fuliy formed, the stalks are 
cut; experience has shown that the ripening pro¬ 
cess goes on; the stalk contains sufficient nutri¬ 
ment to perfect the grains, and it does this after 
the plant is cut away from the root. Indeed, the 
grain thus treated, often comes to greater perfec¬ 
tion, than if the plant were left until the seed is 
fully ripe. What takes place with these crop 
plants, also occurs with weeds. Many weeds, if cut 
up while in flower, still have nutriment enough in 
their stems and leaves, to perfect and ripen a crop 
of seeds. It therefore happens, that the mere cut¬ 
ting up of many weeds, and leaving them to dry 
upon the ground, does little towards their exter¬ 
mination. The common Purslane—or “Pussley,” 
for example, has remarkable vitality, its very suc¬ 
culent stems will remain alive for weeks, and even 
continue to grow after they have been deprived of 
the root. It is one thing to cut up weeds with the 
hoe ; it is equally important, and it should always 
be done in gardens, to gather up the weeds by the 
use of a rake, and carry them to a brush heap,, 
where they will ultimately be burned. 
Tl»e Water Supply. 
If we have a drouth, it is wise to examine and 
“ locate ” all moist spots, springs which do not fail, 
and indications which may lead to water. The time 
is favorable for deepening wells and opening hidden 
springs in pastures, so that cattle may always have 
water. The failure of water in a pasture is often a 
serious thing; cattle suffer greatly, aud it is much 
trouble to drive them to water or bring water to 
them. Artificial basins may be constructed to hold 
the water that falls in summer showers. A clayey 
spot—if possible a natural basin—is selected,, 
the basin formed, and pigs fed upon the ground, 
when somewhat moist to pack it down. 
Csire offtlie ICoot Crops. 
Sugar Beets and Mangels if early sowed, will need- 
little care. They ought not to stand too thick, 
however, and it would eert .inly pay to go through 
the rows, thinning out all superfluous plants, 
whether beets or weeds, leaving the plants 6 to 8 
inches apart. If the leaves are not so large as to 
forbid horse-hoeing, this should be done and the 
crop “laid-by.” No root crop should ever be left 
after horse-hoeing, without a man going through 
it immediately after, to lift and straighten up any 
plants which may have been trodden upon, covered 
with earth, or injured in any way. Ruta-bagas, 
and any turnips in drills, need the same general 
culture. One of the great advantages of the intro¬ 
duction of roots into the rotation is, that when 
properly treated, no weeds ripen seeds. Eveu Red 
Sorrel and Snapdragon succumb to two or three 
years cropping with Mangels or Swedes. This ad¬ 
vantage is often lost by careless cultivators, and 
nothing offers surer evidence of heedless farming. 
The crop itself may be very fine, but if kept- 
clear of weeds, it would be enough better to 
pay for the trouble, and the weeds would then be- 
where they will make no more trouble forever. 
Turnips may be sown as late as the middle of 
August, but the land should be in good heart, and 
good tilth. Swedish Turnips (Rutabagas) sowed 
as late as the first of August, will usually make a 
crop delicious for the table, and, though small, 
bring a good price. Thus they are often used to 
follow early potatoes by market gardeners, though 
by them usually regarded as a farm crop. 
Reclaiming Swamp Land. 
Swamp lands, which are often accessible to men 
and teams only at this season, when reclaimed, or¬ 
dinarily make the best hay land of the farm. This 
reclamation is accomplished first by getting rid of 
the water ; second, by plowing and grubbing out the 
bogs, and the roots of alders, and other woody 
growths; third, by a succession of crops which re¬ 
quire tillage to kill weeds, and to ameliorate the 
surface, before seeding down to grass. Ditches 
must be made deep enough to lower the water 
level at least two feet, and if possible, three feet 
below the surface. They should be located so as 
not only to drain, but to cut off springs around the 
outside of the swamp. It will often be found that 
much of the water comes from a level some two or 
three feet higher than the general surface of the 
swamp. This should be kept by itself, and led off 
around the outside of the swamp, because after the 
swamp is drained, and cleared, and laid down to . 
grass, it may be found very desirable to irrigate it, 
and then the water will be just at hand. We do 
not know much about irrigated meadows in this 
