122 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Contents for April, 1871. 
Calendar for April. 
Abortion in Cows....136 
Another Portable Fence. Illustrated.. 1S7 
An Orchard Record.143 
Boys and Girls’ Columns.—Icicle Prizes—Noto from 
*' Carletou ”—Aunt Sue’s Puzzle Box—Let us have a 
Garden—An Icicle Prize Article—Tho April Show¬ 
er. 3 Illustrations . .147-148 
Printing in Clover. . .137 
Cheap Remedy for Peach-borer.141 
Coal ashes for Earth-closets. 137 
Curing Small Skins. .2 Illustrations.. 137 
Dwarf June-berry. Illustrated . .144 
Flower Garden and Lawn for April.124 
Fresh Water Bass.138 
Fruit Garden for April. 123 
Greenhouse and Ilet-hoHse Plants from Seed. 142 
Greenhouse and Window Plants for April.124 
Hints about Work.122 
Hitching a Horse. Illustrated. .136 
Home-made Horse-powers.3 Illustrations. .136 
Horticultural Memoranda from Tennessee.142 
Household Departmeat — Fashions in Boot-Jack — 
Hints to Carvers—Use of Soda and Saleratus—How 
to Choose Meat—Hints on Butter-making—IIow I 
wash Dishes— Ilead-Choeso—To boil Ham— Buck¬ 
wheat Cakes—Green Spinach.. .5 Illustrations. .145-146 
How to have Good Mutton. 138 
How to make a Simple Hive. 139 
Hybrids among Poultry.. .. Illustrated. . 133 
Imported South-down Sheep at Central Park, New 
York. Illustrated .. 121 
Kitchen Garden for April. 123 
Lady Banks' Rose. .. Illustrated. .144 
Market-gardening in Rural Districts...142 
Market Reports...124 
Milk-Rooms.129 
Multurn in Parvo Pocket Knife.2 Illustrations .. 128 
Myrsiphyllum, or Myrtle-leaf.2 Illustrations . .142 
Ogden Farm Papers—No. 16.130-131 
Orchard and Nursery for April.123 
©sage Orango Seed. 143 
Pickerel Shooting... Illustrated.. 133 
Premiums .125 
Progress of the Earth System. 139 
Reclaimed Salt Marsh... 135 
Riding on Horseback, No. 2.4 Illustrations. .131-132 
Saving Timber. 137 
Snowy, and other Owls. Illustrated. . 140 
Starting Sweet-Potato Plants. 144 
Steaming and Cutting Fodder. 139 
Swiss Stone, or Cembrian Pine. Illustrated. . 141 
That Grape-Vine. 143 
Tim Blinker on Selling Land... 130 
Traps for Muskrat and Bear.3 Illustrations. . 137 
Value of Clover. 129 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 88 —Clover, 
Potatoes—Bone-dust or Guano for Manure—Nitrate 
of Soda—N. Y. State Agricult. Society’s Prize for 
Pigs..134-135 
Work ia Horticultural Departments. 123 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
About Railroads and 
Fanners.128 
American Agricultural 
Annual for 1871.129 
American Agriculturist or 
Hearth and Home .126 
“ Answer through the Pa 
per”.126 
Black Walnuts.122 
Botanical Works, Gray’s. 127 
Guttle, Grubs in.129 
Cesspool, A Cottage with¬ 
out a.128 
Chickens, Gapes in... . 126 
Consulting Agriculturist. 126 
Food, Barley vs. Oats as..126 
Fowls, Canker of Hoad 
and Mouth in.120 
Grapes in Virginia.122 
Hand-Cultivator, Corn- 
stack’s .127 
non Manure, What to 
Iron-clad Can Co.126 
Kansas, Homes in. 127 
Kansas, Corn husking 
Machine in.ljg 
Lambs, Inflammation of 
Lungs in. 133 
Loan, New 17. S. 120 
Louisiana Fair.126 
Mangels. 12 V 
Meats, Smoked.126 
Money in the Garden.120 
New England Poultry 
Club’s Exhibition.126 
Pasturing Sheep onWheatl24 
Posts in Ground. 126 
Plants Named.126 
Raspberries.126 
Rhode Island Farm, Run 
Down.128 
Rose-slugs and Green Flyl26 
Roofing, Asbestos.126 
Sanford Howard, Death ofl 20 
Mix with.128 Seed, Samples of..126 
Hog Disease.129jSpecialPremiums .126 
Horse and Horscmanship.126 Swine, Great Mortality 
Humbugs, Sundry.127 
Instrument, Cheap level¬ 
ing .126, 
Iowa, Lands in..129 
among.129 
“ The Farmer,” a Word tol29 
Wheat, Price in Conn., 80 
years ago.. .129 
lSla.dc Walnuts.— G. M. Walrad, Wilkes 
Co., Qa.—Wo doubt if blaek walnuts which have dried 
for some months can bo made to grow. The seed is very 
oily and soon becomes rancid, unless special pains bo 
taken in the preservation. 
Grapes In Va, —“Hollywood” writes that 
Grapes are successful in Fairfax Co. One of bis neigh¬ 
bors sold fruit the first year of bearing, for enough to pay 
three-fourths of the expense of establishing his vineyard. 
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PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON. 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
WASH’N. 
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D. 
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9 27 m. 
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9 3 ra. 
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3d Quart... 
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0 44 m. 
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0 2 m. 
New Moon 
19 
2 19 ev. 
2 7 cv. 
1 55 ev. 
1 43 cv. 
1 IS ev. 
1st Quart. 
27 
7 3 ev. 
5 51 ev. 
6 39 ev. 
6 27 ev. 
5 57 ev. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, APRIL, 1871. 
To the good farmer, whose land is drained and 
clean and in good condition, who did more or less 
plowing last fall and top-dressed his grass land, 
who has his seed or hand and his implements and 
harness and teams in good condition, and who can 
avail himself of the first opportunity to put in his 
crops, April is usually a joyous month. But to the 
farmer whose land is undrained, who has not a field 
on the farm where there are not wet spots, who lias 
part of his land dry enough to work, but where, in 
the low spots, the water follows the plow in the 
furrows, April, to such a farmer, is the most trying 
and disheartening mouth in the year. And the 
more intelligent he is the more gloomy is the pros¬ 
pect, for he knows that he is working to great dis¬ 
advantage, and cannot in any event get remuner¬ 
ative crops. His only consolation can be found in 
a firm resolution to drain his land before another 
rotation comes round. Such land should be kept 
in grass until it can be drained. In the meantime, 
if it must be cropped, make an earnest effort to let 
off all the water of surface drains. This is far bet¬ 
ter than nothing. A few furrows with a plow will 
frequently let off more water iu an hour than the 
6un can evaporate In a week. Not an hour should 
be lost iu doing this work. 
Giving Directions to Help—Tell the men, the night 
before what you want them to do the next day. 
And tell them, “if it is fine, do so and so; if it 
rams, da this or thatand enter into details. A 
good man likes to know beforehand what he has 
to do, and he will think the matter over and de¬ 
cide how best to do it, and what tools he will want, 
and where they are; and in the morning he can 
get to work half an hour earlier than if he did not 
know what he was going to do. 
Hiring Farm-men .—That farmer is fortunate who 
has two or three active and intelligent sons able 
and willing to take hold of farm work. Make much 
of them. Those who have to hire should be will¬ 
ing to pay good wages for good men. We do not 
sufficiently discriminate. Wages are too high, but 
good meu are not likely to take much less than 
they got last year. Farmers arc very remiss in one 
thing: they do not insist on having “a character” 
from the last employer. It should be a hard mat¬ 
ter for a bad man, or one who left his employer 
during the busy season, to get another place. 
Farmers should combine to drive an unfaithful 
servant from the neighborhood. Pay good wages, 
and treat them with kindly consideration, but in¬ 
sist on having respectful behavior, and good work. 
Know what a good day’s work is, and get it; but 
do not ask for more. An unreasonable employer 
makes discontented servants. If they do well, 
tell them so; if not, reprove mildly but firmly. 
Hints about Work. 
Hainy Days .—These will be frequent this month. 
There is nothing more important than to clean out 
the cellar. It is madness to suffer any decaying 
vegetables to remain. It is the cause of much 
sickness, especially among the children. 
Whitewash the walls, ceilings, etc. Sec that the 
windows will open and shut easily, so that the 
cellar can be readily and frequently ventilated. 
Clean empty pork and cider barrels, inside and 
outside, and make the cellar neat and tidy. Water 
in the Cellar must be got rid of, no matter wliat the 
cost of draining may be. If it cannot be drained, 
better fill it up, and make an outside cellar. In¬ 
convenience can be endured better than ill-health. 
At any rate, those who are afflicted with a wet cel¬ 
lar should not delay a moment after the water has 
subsided to clean out the sediment and cover the 
bottom with lime, which should be removed iu a 
day or two, and some chloride of lime be sprinkled 
about the cellar as a disinfectant. In the Barn, 
there is abundant of work for rainy days. Make 
every thing clean, and havc-a place for every tiling, 
and see that every thing is iu its proper place. 
Brush out the eobwebs. Clean the windows, and 
see that they will open and shut. Grind ail the 
tools, rakes, hoes, and spades. Mark them, and 
rub the handles with petroleum or linseed oil. 
Scour off the rust, and rub on a little petroleum to 
keep them bright. Oil harness, and be sure to wash 
it clean with warm, soft water, soap and brush, be¬ 
fore applying the oil. An extra evener for two, and 
especially for three, horses, will come handy on a 
stony farm before you are through plowing, and 
now is the time to make it. See that the Flows are 
iu order; and if a new point or a new wheel is 
needed, get it now. Have the harrow teeth sharp¬ 
ened. Examine the drill, the roller, and the cul¬ 
tivators. If any of the wood-work is beginning to 
split, put in a carriage bolt. Faint every thing with 
petroleum, or with linseed oil paint. For old im¬ 
plements, machines, wagons, etc., the former is 
best, as it penetrates much deeper into the wood, 
and is far cheaper. 
Sheep .—Tag any that need it. For mild cases of 
scours, nothing is better than milk-porridge, made 
with wheat-flour—say a pint of milk and a table¬ 
spoonful of flour for each sheep. For severer 
cases, give prepared chalk, or ten drops of laud¬ 
anum, repeating the dose every four or five hours 
till the discharges are arrested. Give gruel and 
tonics to keep up the strength of the animal. Salt 
regularly, and mix a little sulphur with the salt- 
say three pints of salt and half a pint of sulphur, 
twice a week, for a hundred sheep. Ewes expected 
to lamb should be watched night and day. But be 
careful not to render assistance when it is not 
needed. Rub the lambs dry, and see that they get 
milk immediately ; and after that, with ordinary 
care, there is little danger. A chilled lamb may be 
restored when apparently nearly dead, by putting it 
in a bath of warm water—say at blood-heat; or in 
the absence of this, place the lamb in a heap of 
hot fermenting manure. After the bath rub and 
dry, and be careful that it does not take cold. 
Milch Cows tiiat have but recently calved should 
have a liberal diet of good bay, with a pailful of 
warm ,brau-slops twice a-day; and in our opinion 
a quart of corn-meal, added to the bran, would be 
an improvement. Let the cows be kept in the 
stable nights and stormy days. See that their 
mangers are cleaned out every day. Whitewash 
the stable, and let it be well ventilated. Cows ex¬ 
pected to calve should have exercise every fair day, 
and see that their bowels arc not constipated. Bran- 
