1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
3 
8bme linseed-eake meal or bran in their feed will do 
no harm, but more exciting food should be avoided. 
A roomy stall or loose box should be provided iu 
which the cow may remain at night without being 
tied. Milking cows will be benefitted by a pailful 
of milk-warm water with two quarts of bran or 
middlings stirred in it twice a day. Cold water for 
drink will greatly reduce the quantity of milk. 
Young Stock will need close attention to keep 
them thriving.and free from vermin. A mixture of 
lard and kerosene oil rubbed along the backbone 
from head to tail will free them from lice. Young 
animals need better protection from cold than full 
grown ones, which have thicker hides, and are bet¬ 
ter furnished with fat as protection from the cold. 
Warbles .—The great majority of cattle are infest¬ 
ed with grubs of the ox-bot fly. They are known 
as “warbles,” and maybe found hidden beneath 
the skin in lumps or swellings along the back on 
each side of the backbone. If these lumps are ex¬ 
amined, a hole will be seen, and if the lump is 
squeezed from the bottom, a fat white grub may be 
forced out. These are the larva of the bot-fly 
which trouble cattle so much in the summer time. 
If the grubs were squeezed out of their nests at 
this season and destroyed, the pest would soon be¬ 
come extinct. 
Sheep should have plenty of exercise and fresh 
air. Above all things they should not be allowed 
to lie upon warm manure piles, which they will do 
if permitted. A pailful of boiling water should be 
put into the trough to take the chill off from the 
water. This is especially useful for in-lamb ewes 
to which a chill from drinking ice cold water may 
be hurtful. In the southern states, where sheep 
are running in the fields or woods, shelter from the 
rains should be provided. Where they are yarded, 
they should be kept dry. Dry feet are never 
troubled with the foot-rot. 
Swine .—Pork is high and hogs are scarce. This 
has been the case for two years. For want of care 
thousands of hogs have been lost in the -western 
states by various fatal diseases. Where they are 
well eared for, there is no cholera or other diseases. 
In general, disease is simply the result of the most 
inexcusable neglect or bad treatment. When well 
cared for, no stock pays better or increases faster 
than swine, and no other pays better for care in 
breeding, and well selecting breeding animals. At 
present prices pork pays. 
Fowls .—A few early laying hens that have been 
well fed will become broody about this time. It 
will not pay to allow them to “ sit.” The chicks 
cannot be raised with profit. Such hens should be 
given a few pills made of cSstilc soap and sulphur, 
have no warm food for a fevv days, and be put into 
a shed where there is no place for them to make a 
nest. They will soon get over their incubative fever. 
Ice.— If no ice-house has been made, some ice 
may be put up in a comer of a barn or a shed. But 
by all means some ice should be put up if it can be 
procured. A thick layer of sawdust should be 
placed beneath the ice, and plenty around it. Saw¬ 
dust is the best packing, and is cheaper than any 
other in the end, although its first cost may be 
more. The ice chosen for cutting should be kept 
free from snow for some time before it is cut, that 
it may freeze thick and solid. 
Seeds .—The stock of seeds for the coming season 
should be procured as soon as possible. If left un¬ 
til seed time is at hand, much delay may occur, as 
seedsmen are then crowded with orders. A good 
plan is to send to some respectable seedsman for a 
catalogue, and select some well known standard 
kinds for the main crops, both for the garden and 
the fields. If any new varieties are tried, a small 
quantity only should be used at first, until it is 
known that the soil and locality are favorable. 
Make a list of all seeds needed at once. 
Tools and Implements .—This is the best season to 
repair and paint wagons, carts, and implements. 
Everything of the kind should be put in the best 
order for future use. More tools rust out for want 
of care, than wear out. What is saved by care, is 
the same as earned twice over, the thing is not only 
saved for use, but the price of another is saved too. 
Drains. —Much may be done in cleaning out 
drains, and in some sections in making drains. 
When the spring rains arrive, or the ground is full 
of water, draining can not be done with advantage. 
Wash-outs. —These are by far too common in the 
south, and greatly injure the value of farms where 
they occur, besides giving an unfavorable appear¬ 
ance to the country. They may be prevented 
by plowing the hill-sides deeper, and using a 
side-hill plow, making the furrows diagonally up 
and down the hill, instead of level back and 
forth, or around them. To fill them, throw in 
brush or stones, and plow the edges into the hol¬ 
low, gradually widening the plowing, until there 
is a gradual hollow. Where they are feared, a num¬ 
ber of plow-furrows should be made sloping gently 
down the hill, to carry off the water. 
Fodder Crops. —Calculations for fodder crops 
should be made for the coming season. Where 
the winter is open, some plowing may be done for 
these crops. Fodder is never too plentiful, and in 
the southern states is the great need of the farmer. 
Oats and peas, or tares and barley, furnish heavy 
crops of green fodder, or dry hay if cut when in 
blossom. They may be sown as soon as the danger 
from frost is over. Four bushels of the mixed seed 
per acre is a proper quantity to sow. The richer 
the ground, the better for a fodder crop. 
Yards should be kept well littered and dry; the 
feed troughs should be always turned over at night, 
so that if snow should fall they would not be filled 
with it; and water troughs should have loose cov¬ 
ers for the same reason. 
In the Southern States the month should be devot¬ 
ed to gathering and making manure, breaking up 
for the cotton-planting, and making contracts for 
labor. By and by the best hands will be engaged, 
and time may be lost in looking for others, or 
second-rate ones have to be taken. It is well, as far 
as possible, to keep the good hands year after year. 
Oats may be sown in this month, the red rust-proof 
being preferable. To secure against a sudden frost 
the seed should be covered three inches deep and 
rolled. Fences should also be thoroughly repaired, 
and every “ hog-hole” closed solidly. 
— - « o -<--caO®*--- 
Work in the Horticultural Departments, 
©rctacii’t! aiB«l I^mrsery. 
The amount of out-door work that can be done 
in the orchard in the northern states is limited. 
Nurserymen, however, accomplish a great deal at 
this season. Preparations having been made, 
Root-Grafting may be pushed rapidly. We have 
before given directions for doing this, but half an 
hour’s watching of a set of expert grafters, will be 
better than a volume of description ; there are 
many ways in which the labor may be divided, and 
little manipulations by which time is saved, which 
can only be learned in practice. Have but one va¬ 
riety of fruit in hand at a time, and use the greatest 
care in labeling. The grafted roots should be set 
in boxes with sand just moist enough to prevent 
drying, and not damp enough to induce mold. 
Keep in a cool place. 
Cutting Back. —Nurserymen who send out well- 
shaped trees, head back the growth made the first 
year from the bud or graft, and induce limbs to 
start near the base ; this work is done during the 
winter, and at the end of the next season fine 
stocky trees are produced. 
Pruning may be done during mild spells, any time 
before the buds begin to swell. If large limbs are 
removed, cover the wounds with shellac varnish or 
common paint, after having first smoothed the cut 
carefully with a sharp knife or chisel. 
Scraping the dead bark from the trunk and larger 
limbs is best done during a damp thawing spell, 
first giving the trunks a wash of whale-oil or soft 
soap, applied with a brush ; this will give the bark 
a smooth, healthy appearance. 
Broken Limbs. —If any branches of trees break 
under the heavy weight of ice or snow, the wound 
must be cut smooth, and painted or varnished. If 
a branch is only partly broken off, but still hangs, 
cut it away at once, for, should there be a high 
wind, more damage will be done. 
Mice and Rabbits .—Tramp the snow firmly around 
the trunks of the trees, to keep away mice, and 
sprinkle blood or rub refuse meat upon them, to 
keep off rabbits. 
Cions —Cut during mild weather, and store in 
sawdust or sand in the cellar, after labeling. 
Preparing to Plant .—One who intends to set out 
an orchard should begin at once the preliminary 
work. The mere setting out of the trees is but a 
small part of the labor. The first things to settle 
are, how many trees to plant, of what varieties, and 
where they are to come from. We have often said 
—and shall probably say it many times more—no 
advice as to what to plant is so valuable as that of 
your neighbors. The fruit-list of the American 
Bornological Society, and that of your State Society 
are useful, but their information is too general. 
One looks at these lists, and finds that there are 
scores of apples and other fruits that are starred and 
double starred for his state, and he at most wants 
six or ten varieties, and perhaps fewer. In his de¬ 
spair he writes us to know what he shall plant. 
We can only give him the general information that 
these fruit-lists do. In such a ease hitch up your 
horse, and make a journey around the neighbor¬ 
hood—no matter if it takes two or three days ; the 
time will be well expended, for the information de¬ 
rived from those in a similar locality, will be vastly 
better thau can be obtained iu any other manner. 
Select only well known and tested varieties, and no 
matter how highly praised a new sort is—or how 
gaudy the picture of the fruit—let it severely alone, 
unless you care to take one tree only just to try. 
Where to Buy ? is the question very frequently 
asked, and which we generally decline to answer. 
Buy of a responsible man, wherever he may be; 
the nearer he is, the better, but be sure that the 
trees come from some established nursery. Other 
people think differently, but for ourselves, we 
would not take trees from an unknown party, if he 
would give them and set them oirt free of cost. 
Some people can afford to wait from 6 to 12 years 
to find out that, instead of the trees ordered, they 
have only a lot of rubbish ; and the man of whom 
they bought them is nowhere to be found. To 
avoid all this loss of time and bitter disappoint¬ 
ment, buy of established nurserymen only. 
Send your Orders as soon as the list is determined 
upon. It is better to buy in the fall, but do not 
lose a year’s growth. Order now, and order early, 
that you may be the better served. 
Labels may be prepared and painted during cold, 
stormy days, when nothing can be done. 
ffVoait CSai'dlesa. 
Fruits and vegetables are often planted together, 
the small fruits, such as blackberries, raspberries, 
etc., are put along the fence-rows, and it is no 
wonder that in such spots the fruit is poor in quali¬ 
ty and quantity. Where it is possible, the two gar¬ 
dens should be separate, as this allows better cul¬ 
ture for both fruits and vegetables. There is nearly 
always some wall or building against the sheltered 
side of which may be planted one or more grape 
vines. The border should be dug out, and proper¬ 
ly filled with good, fresh soil, and if any fertilizer 
is used, let it be broken bones. In two or three 
years a fine crop of fruit may be gathered. There 
is no excuse for a lack of fruit on any farm in the 
country; there are numerous places around every 
farm-house, where small fruits may be easily grown, 
if a little pains is taken. Villagers with small lots 
manage to have an abundance of fruit, but large 
farms are too often lackiug in this. 
BKitcBaesa ©arfieaa. 
The proper enjoyment of the fruits of last sea¬ 
son’s labors in the garden, will depend greatly up¬ 
on the care given to storing the vegetables. Boots 
should not be allowed to dry and wilt, and they 
must not be kept so warm that vegetation will 
start. If kept in moderately dry earth or sand, 
they will now be nearly as fresh as when dug, as 
the earth prevents all shrivelling. The roots not 
