42 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
Contents for February, 1877. 
Calendar for February. 
Alpacas, Flock of. Illustrated. . 41 
Among the Farmers—No. 13 .54 
Bee Notes for February.49 
Boys and Girls’ Columns—A Drawing Machine—How 
the Boy’s Eyes Sparkled—Fun for a Winter Evening 
—The Doctor’s Correspondence—Aunt Sue’s Chats 
—PuzzleBox—Dressing the Hair, 6 Illustrations.. 65-68 
Catalogues Received.75 
Cheap Greenhouses.2 Illustrations .. 63 
Chickens, Early. ..57 
Closet in an Ice House, Ventilation in a.. Illustrated. .58 
Connecticut Agriculture. .49 
Corn Crib, A Rustic . Illustrated .56 
Cow, Marks of a Good Milk.3 Illustrations . ,5S 
Dog Kennels. .3 Illustrations . .56 
Evener, A Three-Horse . Illustrated. . 56 
Flower Garden and Lawn for February... . 45 
Flowers, How they are Fertilized.62 
Forage Plant, A Useful. Illustrated. . 59 
Greenhouse and Window Plants for February 45 
Halter, A Convenient .57 
Hints and Helps for Farmers.9 Illustrations. .57 
Hops, American.51 
Household Department—Home Topics—Art with Scis¬ 
sors—Plant Shelves in Windows—Cover to a Pork 
Barrel—Painting Floors.6 Illustrations. . 63-65 
House Plan..4 Illustrations . .52 
Kitchen Garden for February.43 
Manure, Baling for Transportation. Illustrated. 53 
Manure, Spreading.3 Illustrations.. 57 
Market Report for February.45 
Mentzelias as Garden Plants. Illustrated. .61 
Ogden Farm Papers, No. 84 — Summer-Fallowing— 
Earth Closet System—Jersey Cattle.50-51 
Pine Umbrella of Japan. Illustrated.. 61 
Poultry House, Plan for a.3 Illustrations. .59 
Science Applied to Farming.49 
Stock for Butter.55 
Subscription Terms, Change in.46 
Wheat Crops, Hoeing . Illustrated.. 55 
Work, Hints About for February. 42 
INDEX TO “ BASKET,” OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
Akebia, Fruiting the.47 
Apples, Bitter Rot in... 
Artichoke, Jerusalem... 
Ashes and Salt,How to use73 
Barley, Fall and Spring.. .46 
Botanic Garden andArnold 
Arboretum.< 
Botany, Japanese. 75 
Brown Bread.47 
Cubic Feet in a Ton of Hay46 
Carrots for Stock.46 
Cheese Factories.46 
Clover on Snow, Sowing. .74 
Clover Seed, To Hull_75 
Corn Bran, Value of.47 
Corn in Drills.73 
Corn Stalks. Use of.74 
Cotswokls for RhodeIsland4' 
Cow, A Barren.74 
Cream, Foaming of.47 
Cream Cakes, Boston... 
Cribbing and Worms.73 
Croquettes.48 
Dairy Journal.74 
Death of E. G. Henderson49 
Early Laying andHat.ching74 
Eggs, To Pack Safely.74 
Fair, Florida State.74 
Farmer’s Clubs.47 
Fistula in the Jaw. 
” Florida Fever” _ 74 
Florida Paper and Map.. .46 
Forage Plants.47 
Fowls Eating Feathers.. .73 
Fowls, House for 1000. 74 
Fowls, Langshan.73 
Fragaricultiire. 
“ Game Grass ”. 
Geese, Toulouse.74 
Grasshoppers in Kansas.. 46 
Grist Mills, Small Farm..75 
Guano, Fish.75 
Guernseys or Jerseys. ...74 
Health Almanac for 1877..47 
Heaves. Cause of_ 
Horse, Difficulty of Breath¬ 
ing in a.75 
Household Management 
and Cookery, Book on .48 
How to be a “Professor ”.74 
Humbugs, Sundry.47 
Jersey Cows in Califoruia.46 
Ladders, Extension. ..74 
Land in Florida, Govern¬ 
ment.75 
Lime, Use of.74 
Orange Tree, A Famous 73 
Persimmon, The Japanes 75 
Petroleum in Tobacco Cul¬ 
ture .74 
Pigs, How to Feed Young.74 
Plant, The Tanning. 74 
Plants. Giving Credit for. .74 
Plow, Draining.47 
Plow, Swivel.".47 
Potato Puff.47 
Poultry, Diseases of Do¬ 
mestic.46 
Primroses.Donble Chinese47 
Sausage Meat . 48 
Seed Firm, Change in a...48 
Seeds and Sea Water.74 
Sheep, How to Feed Old. 74 
Sheep Keeping. Profit o(..74 
Smoke House. Veutilation.74 
Soap Manufacturers.48 
Sorento and Inlaid Work.46 
Spavin Cure.75 
“Sport” in England, Cost74 
Stable Floor.73 
Subscription Terms, Change 
in. 46 
Sweeny in the Shoulders..73 
The Ulus. Adelaide News.75 
The Lord’s Land.. .47 
Tomato, 100 Days.47 
Tree Labels .46 
Tnrnips andBeets.Drill for46 
Weight, Estimating by 
Measure. .46 
“Walks and Talks.” 
The writer of “Walks and Talks on the Farm,” 
published in the American Agriculturist for ten years or 
more, has during the past 14 months been quietly attend¬ 
ing to his farm-work, gathering experience and ob¬ 
servation, and in writing a Book on Manures, now about 
completed. We take pleasure in announcing that he will 
resume his pen in the next number of the American 
Agriculturist, in a new series of articles “Talks on 
Farm Crops,” to continue through the year. This will 
be a pleasant announcement to many of our readers, 
who have “ walked and talked ” with him in past years. 
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PHASES OF THE MOON. 
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10 26 ev. 
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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, FEBRUARY, 1877. 
It is generally accepted as a truth that the more 
intelligent a man may be, the more valuable will be 
his labor. While this is true of all industries, it is 
especially so in regard to the cultivation of the 
soil. There are so many circumstances which af¬ 
fect or control the result .of a farmer’s labor, that 
he, more than all other men, should be well inform¬ 
ed as to the principles and practice of his industry. 
A very certain measure of a person’s intelligence is 
the extent to which he reads or studies. It is inter¬ 
esting to consider how much or how little farmers 
are in the habit of reading. A recently published list 
of Farmer’s Clubs in the several States and Terri¬ 
tories, which shows that there are 1,897 of these 
institutions, may throw some light on this question. 
This is very favorable as far as it goes. But every 
Farmer’s Club ought to have a library, at least for 
reference, if not for circulation amongst the mem¬ 
bers. This should be the first requisite for the suc¬ 
cessful conduct of a club. Now of these 1,897 clubs, 
only 548 have libraries, and of these libraries only 
165 have over 100 volumes. Of the rest, a large 
majority have from 10 to 30 volumes only ; while 
1,349 Farmer’s Clubs are without a single book. 
What do the members of these clubs talk about ? 
Without books or papers to inform them, the con¬ 
versations and discussions can have very little 
good result. Perhaps this fact accounts for the 
many wide differences of opinion that exist about 
very simple matters or questions that are as cer¬ 
tainly settled as that the sun rises and sets. Things 
are constantly talked about and discussed, and ex¬ 
periments proposed and made, over and over again, 
that have been decided years ago, and the results 
given in standard and perfectly trustworthy books. 
A library of at least 100 volumes should belong to 
every Farmer’s Club. This could be purchased for 
$250 or thereabouts: If there were 25 members 
only, the cost would be $10 each, and every mem¬ 
ber would practically own the whole $250 worth for 
his share of the cost. It is not too much to say 
that every member would realize the value of his 
share every year, for there is no place where useful 
knowledge can be put to more profitable practice 
than the farm, garden, or orchard. 
Hints »l>ont Work. 
In the Southern States, farmers are busy preparing 
their ground or planting spring crops, while in the 
North we are only beginning to think about them. 
Both there and here, everywhere in fact, early pre¬ 
parations lead to the best results. To have every¬ 
thing ready when the need comes, is the business 
of the prompt farmer, and the southern farmers 
should now have all their contracts made for help, 
their fertilizers secured, and their seed on hand. 
It has been clearly shown that it is wise to provide 
for a large increase in the fodder and grain crops, 
and the number of stock kept in the Southern 
States. Aside from the difference is climate and 
seasons, what is good for the northern farmer is 
advantageous for the southern farmer. Oats sown 
this month will not tiller like the fall sown; 2 to 
2i bushels of seed will be needed. 
Clover Seed may now be sown on the wheat. 
This plant will thrive nearly all over the Southern 
States if care be taken with it. A liberal dressing 
of superphosphate with the seed will help both 
the wheat and the clover. If sown alone, a peck 
of seed to the acre will not be too much. 
Grass and Hay. —There is no necessity for south¬ 
ern farmers to buy a bale of hay. Although, in 
many localities, timothy and other grasses common 
at the north will not thrive, yet blue grass and 
some of the hitherto despised native grasses, will 
grow almost everywhere, yielding both hay and 
pasture. Instead of fighting out the grass as here¬ 
tofore, many southern farmers are encouraging it— 
or rather letting it alone—which is encouragement 
enough for the Bermuda and Crab grasses—with 
profit. The experience of the past year, in Georgia 
especially, proves that grass may be made more 
profitable than cotton acre for acre. 
Stock. —Humanity, as well as interest, demands 
the best attention to live stock. To keep every 
animal well fed, clean and comfortable, is a profit¬ 
able and a kindly act. A humane man should suf¬ 
fer to see cows standing in filth, and with their 
flanks covered with it. A cow or any other animal 
continually kept in such a condition is a disgrace to 
any man, and a direct injury to his pocket as well. 
Winter Wheat. —Last season the bare ground, 
deeply frozen, was an injury to the wheat, while 
this season the deep snow gives occasion for fears. 
The farmer rarely escapes one or the other ex¬ 
treme, except by constant watchfulness. Now he 
must look to the outlets for water from his field, so 
that the ground may not be flooded when a thaw 
comes. If it is intended to top dress the wheat or 
rye, this should be postponed until it is probable 
that the manure would not be washed away with 
the melting snow. Such contingencies as this prove 
how much better it is to have the wheat crop 
manured before winter sets in, or before it is sown. 
Spring Wheat .—In districts where spring wheat 
can be grown, it would he well to remember that 
this grain, at present, brings a comparatively high 
price. Where everything is favorable, as much 
land as possible should be prepared for it. A dress¬ 
ing of 150 pounds of nitrate of soda, upon a clean 
com stubble, either fall plowed or plowed early in 
spring, would make a good preparation for this crop. 
Manure. —The manure from the stables and sheds 
should be piled as it is hauled out. A square, com¬ 
pact heap, kept well built at the sides, and flat on 
the top, will retain sufficient heat to resist frost, 
and the manure will rot rapidly in the coldest 
weather. Fresh additions on the top will soon 
heat, and by and by the whole may be turned over 
and rebuilt, the outside portions being placed in 
the centre of the new heap. Managed in this way 
the manure will be in excellent condition for use 
in the spring. If free from long stalks or straw, 
the manure will be fine and well rotted. 
Milk Cows. —Cows that are to come in early 
should be dried off in good time. It is not economy* 
to milk cows as long as a few pints may be drained 
from them. The drain on the system in nourish¬ 
ing the calf is enough for the cow to bear. If the 
cow is a copious milker, care must be exercised in 
feeding, lest in the new flush of milk garget may 
occur. To avoid this, feed low; give no corn meal 
whatever, and it is safest to give nothing but hay 
and some roots. There need he no apprehension 
if a large heavy udder is not shown before calving. 
It will be the safer, and the flow of milk may easily 
