4 : 54 , 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[November, 
Contents of this Number. AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) arc illustrated; the fig- NEW YORK, NOVEMBER, 1880 
are with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Among the Farmers, No. 58.—Springs—Wells—-Pure 
and Impure Air —Case of Well-poisoning—The 
Plague Spot — Hand-guage for Horses — Feeding 
Trough for Fowls..... ..7*..467-468 
Bee Notes, for November.456 
Blackberries: The Snyder* .474 
Boys and Girls’ Columns: —The Doctor's Talks: 
The Sun and Water-Power—Some kinds of Water¬ 
wheels—Seals and their Ways—Our Puzzle Box— 
! The Doctor's Correspondence: “ Canary Bird Changed 
to a Snake.”—Insects eating Insects. Alligators 
and their Ways. Strange Way to set out an Or¬ 
chard.- Illustrated Rebus—A Lantern to Light His 
Way...9*. .478-480 
Bull. The Jersey, “Mercury"*.432-465 
Cattle, Hereford.464 
Catalogues Received...487 
Commercial Matters : Market Prices..487 
Corn Fodder, Pitting...2*. .469 
Correspondence, Editorial...4*. .462^63^172 
Cottage, Plan of a, Costing $1,000.5*..463-464 
Economy, Some Items in Farm.471 
Fair List for November.489 
Fodder Corn, Amount per Acre.468 
Fountain, A Barrel for Pigs*. 468 
Garden, Flower and Lawn.455 
Garden, Kitchen and Market.455 
Garden, The Fruit. 455 
Grain-in-Bulk, How Handled...3*..470 
Hints and Helps for Farmers :—Tying a Pig- 
Handy Corn Sheller—Gate without Hinges—Cand¬ 
ling Eggs—Splitting Wood...5*. .471 
Hints for the Work of the Month....2*..454 
Household: —Home-made Picture Frames — Borne 
Topics :—A Fashion Note—A Fashion for Mothers 
to Keep—Children’s Brains—Keep the Little Folks 
Healthy—Staining the Book Case. A Neat and Ea¬ 
sily made Lamp Mat. A Handy, Hanging Match 
Holder. Decorations for Humble Homes. 10*.. 476-477 
Humbugs, Sundry...6*.. 458-459 
Items from the West, Editorial.....459 
Lands, Enriching Poor.... 461 
Leaf, The Fall of the...474 
JIarkets.... 487 
Muzzle for Biting Horses*...468 
Uotes from the Pines... .461 
Notes on Orchard and Garden Work*..455 
Orchard and Nursery....... 455 
Pastures, Rocky—What to do with Them.....466 
Perennials, A Few Showy ...2*.. 473 
Pig-Pen, Hen-House, and Corn-Crib Combined...5*..466 
Seeding to Grass in tbe Fall.....465 
Sheep-Husbandry vs. Dog Raising.466 
Shrub, A Rare—St. Dabeoc’s Heath*........474 
Smut, The Corn.... —..... .4*. .475 
Station, The N. Y. Agricultural Experiment... ..471 
Stock, Selection of Breeding. ......469 
Tim Bunker on Going to the Cities......460 
Tools, Handy Home-made*.. .......475 
Trough, A Salt, for Sheep*......468 
Turkey, How to Dress a...... .469 
Turkey, Taking the Thanksgiving*...... 453 
Vineyard, Farm, Importance of... .475 
Water, Impurities of Drinking*.. ......468 
Watering in Dry Weather..473 
Windmills or Wind Engines, Some Improved.. ..4*..460 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” AND OTHER SHORT ARTICLES. 
Adulteration of Butter. .488 Muck or Peat......458 
Alfalfa in California.485 l N°tes on Pork.488 
Amphibians, Native.....488'Oyster Shells for Pouitry486 
Ants. Red, to Catch .. ,486IPaints, Asbestos___488 
Aphides or Plant Lice,. .486 Pansies.457 
Barrels for Roots _488 Peach. A, Trouble..488 
Barrels, Cleaning Oil_457 Plants for Name.456 
Beam Removed*.459 Potato. The Sweet.486 
Beef, Am. in England . .486 Removal.4S7 
Binders for Harvesters. .488 Riding Horseback.486 
Bot. History of.489 Rust in Celery.485 
Carriage Gate.. .486 Seeds, Pedigree of___486 
Collars for Horses.488 Show, The Sheep.488 
Colt with Chronic Cough.457 Show. Queens Co.486 
Concrete Buildings — ..488 Show of N. Y. Ag. Soc..456 
Convention of Chemists.457 Stables, Cold Air in.488 
Cow, Barren.485;“ Snobbishness ”.456 
Creamery, Will a, Pay 488.Society, Miss.'Hort.457 
Dam for Ice Pond*. __458 Society, N. Y. Hurt.457 
Dead Trees......457 Swindle, A Western.457 
Did It Hurt Him. 456 “The Best” .486 
Editors Abroad.45s Thistles, Canada..488 
Exhibition at Waverly. ..459iTimber. Beech.486 
Fire Fanning.486,“ Tumble Bugs”. 486 
Garden, Hillside.486,Turkeys, Fattening.457 
Grass Seed.488 Walnuts. Seeding.486 
•rass-Seed, Sowing.485 We Don’t Like It.456 
Grass, Smnt.488 Weeds.488 
Horses, Fair Tests.486 Wheat Growing. 488 
Ice Houses.457 Windmills. 485 
Implements,Eng.andAjn.486 “Worms” on “Pnssley”459 
Insects bv Mail.488 Yards. Stock, Chicago.. .487 
Manure, "Liquid.459 Tellcwe, Peach.459 
Hints for the Work of the Month. 
[The Hints and Suggestions in these columns are 
never copied from previous years, but are freshly pre¬ 
pared for every mouth , from the latest experience and 
obsenations, by practical men in each department .] 
The Season throughout the Northern States is 
likely to he variable. We may have Indian Sum¬ 
mer, and we are quite sure to have hard frosts, 
storms, and snows. All these vicissitudes are to be 
provided against, and taken advantage of. 
The Harvesting of Hoot Crops is to a great extent 
accomplished this month. Potatoes, by the first week 
of November, are, or should be, all out of the 
ground, except possibly south of Pennsylvania and 
along the coast. If the ground freezes, some are 
inevitably injured by the severe cold. 
Beets and Mangels are protected by their broad 
leaves (from frosts) which would otherwise injure 
them so as to cause decay; but as soon as the 
leaves are wilted the 
growth of the root 
is cheeked, and they 
should be harvested 
and pitted at once. 
The same is true of 
Carrots. They hear 
very little freezing, 
and the frosting of 
the leaves is the 
signal for rapid 
gathering. One of 
the most convenient 
methods is to plow 
a furrow close to the 
row—and run a sub- 
soil-plowclose on the 
other side, as shown 
in the accompanying 
then be pulled unbroken, and with perfect ease. 
Turnips may be left longest before digging, but re¬ 
peated freezing makes them pithy and innutritious. 
Pitting Roots. —Trenches four feet wide and two 
feet deep are of a size well suited to either a mod¬ 
erate or severe winter. If put in too large heaps, 
or too deep pits, roots heat, and of course do not 
keep well. Cover with straw, and lightly with 
earth patted down to shed rain, and ventilate well. 
Root Tops and small roots may be fed to cows and 
young stock quite freely, before they heat, which 
they will do quickly if in heaps. It is well to lay 
them on the north side of some building, where 
they w01 not become sun-dried, for thus they will 
be kept much longer than in any other way. 
Soft Roots and hollow ones, which cannot be pit¬ 
ted, are profitably fed to either pigs, sheep, or 
young cattle, and also to cows that are dry. 
Neglected Work. —Should any of the proper work 
of last month have been neglected, such as sowing 
winter grain, husking corn, etc., it may perhaps 
still be done. Corn-husking may be done at any 
time. Rye may be sown as long as there is a pros¬ 
pect of a fortnight of open weather. Wheat sown 
in November often does well, so if the ground is 
prepared your plans need not be changed, for the 
probabilities are in favor of good crops, though 
late sowing has nothing to recommend it. 
Thrashing must be done generally when you can 
get the thrasher—so it is well to speak for it in sea¬ 
son. The sooner grain is thrashed the more there 
will he of it. It should, however, be thoroughly 
dry. Small farmers will improve rainy days as they 
come by thrashing by hand. Besides this suitable 
Rainy-day Work is painting and cleaning of tools, 
oiling and mending of harness, cutting kindling 
wood and such like jobs common upon every farm. 
Manure and Compost. —The season is still favora¬ 
ble for the growth of the compost heap. Weeds 
and all sorts of hedge-row rubbish ought to be 
burnt, for the seeds are ripe, and we can not de¬ 
pend .on their germinating in the compost heap. 
Grassy sods, the tops of the roots which cannot be 
LOOSENING CARROTS WITH 
A SUBSOIL-PLOW. 
engraving. The carrots may 
fed out, leaves, and wood or swamp mould, and alii 
such things add both bulk and value to the heap. 
Draining upon upland may now be prosecuted 
more conveniently than at any other season of the 
year. Labor can be hired cheaply, and the work 
can be rushed if desirable. Never lay these drains- 
less than three and a half feet deep, if it can be 
helped. See article on levelling and laying the tile 
in the March No., American Agriculturist, page 97. 
Ditching. —Should the season continue dry, ditch¬ 
ing in the swamps is in order. In muck swamps 
dig the main ditches deeper and broader than nec¬ 
essary, say two or three feet wide at the bottom, 
and eight or ten at the top, and throw out the muck 
on one side to lie and freeze until spring, while the- 
tussocks and sods are thrown by themselves, to be 
burned next summer when thoroughly dry. 
Poultry. —The Poultry year culminates this month. 
With plenty of corn, and something to pick up in 
the fields, poultry Increase rapidly in weight, and 
should be forced so long as the weather remains 
moderate. When the thermometer goes lower and 
lower, they will stop gaming suddenly, and hardly 
hold their own, though consuming more feed. Of 
course that would he the time to kill if every body 
would not kill at once. Those who have warm, 
airy houses for their poultry can profitably hold on 
to them until the reaction comes and prices rise 
but those who watch the market may take advan¬ 
tage of fluctuations as they come at any time. 
Buildings may be repaired and painted, if that 
has not been already done. The season is favorable 
for painting, as very little dust and no insects are 
likely to adhere to the paint. 
Horses , though they may still be kept at pasture, 
if desirable, should have a shed at least to retreat 
to during hard storms. Do not work them at all 
on the road if they have colds or the prevalent, 
influenza, absurdly called “epizooty,” the best 
cure for which is a warm, airy stable, and perfect 
rest, although they ought to hare a good run in 
the pasture during the warmest part of every day. 
Cows which are giving milk must have an increase 
of feed. Mangels, or sugar beets, are best. Cut- 
them in slices, and sprinkle them with bran, and 
feed half a bushel more or less at a time, after the 
cows have filled themselves with hay or corn, fod¬ 
der or grass. Soft turnips may be fed to some 
cows at milking-time, and not flavor the milk. 
Keep up the flow of milk, if possible, especially- 
with young cows, by feeding meal, bran, and roots. 
Burning Brush and Rubbish.— Where this has bee* 
cut along the fences on the road, or between fields, 
late in the.summer and is now dry, bum it, and’ 
spread the ashes on grass land. It only harbor# 
vermin, mice, rabbits, and insects. 
Fence Rows.—There is no better season than this 
for cleaning up fence rows. Take the fence up 
altogether. If you need a fence, set it up again a 
rod away with the tops of the posts on the ground 
and the butts in the air (supposing it to be a post 
and rail fence), supporting it by forked stake#, 
against the posts, as shown in the accompanying- 
A TEMPORARY PENCE. 
engraving. This leaves all clear, and the old ivy- 
grown, briary, weedy, stony strip can be grubbed 
and plowed and cleaned up, sowed to grass, and 
the fence replaced. It is no great job, and if forty 
rods a year could be treated in this way every year, 
it would soon make a difference in the looks of 
most farms that would he much for the better. 
