2 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January. 
Contents for January, 1869. 
Akebia in Fruit. Illustrated. .19 
Apple Trees—An Edging of..2 Illustrations ..20 
Apples for Canada.21 
Barley—Can the United States Raise its Own ?.14 
Boys’ and Girls’ Columns—A Happy New Year—Pre¬ 
mium Boys at the Fair—The Lobster at Home- 
Agricultural Advice—A Powerful Whistle—Young 
Punster—A Treacherous Friend—Eight Acres of 
Music—Good Places for Boys—Spendthrift—New 
Puzzles—Answers to Problems and Puzzles.4 III... 25-20 
Bulls—Scrub and Grade—Public Nuisances.„.15 
Cactuses, Our Native—Prickly-Pears. Illustrated. .22 
Canada Thistle as a Subsoiler.10 
Clover and Lime—Theory in Practice.10 
Cochineal and its Uses. Illustrated. .HZ 
Cows—Card the.12 
Cows—Management of in Winter.15 
Crab Apples. .20 
Deep Plowing Should be Done Gradually.10 
Diseases of Animals.10 
Draining.17 
Farm Work in January. 2 
Figs—Fresh. 20 
Flower Garden and Lawn in January. 3 
Flower Stand—Rustic. Illustrated. .HZ 
Fowl—Points of a Good.17 
Fruit Garden in January. 3 
Grape—The Scuppernong Again.21 
Green-house and House Plants in January—. 3 
Household Department—Rustic Flower Stand—House¬ 
hold Talks, by Aunt Hattie—Economy in Soap— 
Christmas or Plum Pudding—Bread Making—About 
Tea—Dyeing Tan color—Cochineal and its Uses— 
The Table—Order and Ornament—Treatment of 
Hams—An Irish Stew—Household Economy—About 
Soups—Browning for Soups—Ox-tail Soup—Cold 
Cream, or Rosewater Ointment.. .4 Illustrations. .23-24 
Implements—Fix up the.16 
Kitchen Garden in January. 3 
Ladders for General Use. Illustrated. .14 
Lasso—Use of the. Illustrated.. IS 
Leaves—Browned.20 
Lumber. 16 
Lumber Regions—Scenes in.G Illustrations. .11 
Markets. 5 
Maternal Solicitude. Illustrated.. 1 
Orchard and Nursery in January. 3 
Osage Orange Seed and Plants.21 
Phloxes—The Moss Pink. Illustrated. .1 4 
Pokeweed, Hardy.21 
Progressive Horticulture. 21 
Property in Plants.20 
Question Worth Considering.17 
Rotation for the West. 14 
Seeds—Adulteration of. 19 
Soap—Economy in.24 
Soils—Compressing the..... 9 
Stakes—Growing. 20 
Stock—Don’t Keep Too Much.16 
Swiss Chard, or Leaf Beet. Illustrated ..22 
Table—Order and Ornament.24 
Wagons—Conversion of into Sleighs. ..3 Illustrations. .15 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 61—Raising Po¬ 
tatoes— Faith in Farming — Wild Turkeys—Ex¬ 
periments in Feeding Pigs—Freights on Fertilizers— 
Professor of Agriculture—Answers to Correspond¬ 
ents—Draining. 12-13 
Well-sweep—The Old.16 
Will You Ever Get your Money Back ?.16 
INDEX TO “BASKET” OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
N. Y. State Poultry Soc’y. .7 
Pears Do not Bear.S 
Pigs in Russia.7 
Pine Leaves. ,S 
P. O. Directory. 7 
Potato Balls.9 
Poultry for Market.9 
Poultry Items..9 
Price of Farming Lands.. .8 
Pumpkin Seeds.S 
Putnam on Illustrations., .8 
Rails, to Make Durable... .9 
Remarkable Little Gun... .7 
Report of Ag’l Conun’r... .7 
Sea-weeds, to Use.9 
Scrap Cake.9 
Scuppernong Grape.S 
Sheep and Plantain.S 
Show-bill, Our.6 
Small Farm in California. .9 
Hoop Poles—Cutting.9.Small vs. Large Farms.9 
Horticultural Annual.6 Some Too Late..6 
Horticultural Journals_8 Stark Apple.8 
Insect Extinguisher.7 Straw, Value of.9 
Knox’s Seed Store.7 Sundry Humbugs. 6 
Larch, European.8,1’he Cover..6 
Mangel Wurzels,Feeding..9 To Correspondents..6 
MaSs. Ag’l College.7 Tree Named.8 
Mass. B’rd of Agriculture..7 Tree Peddlers.....8 
Mixed Stock in Pastures. ,9'Utica Plow Trial.., . .7 
Moon Signs.8 White Labor at the South. .8 
A Few Dollars.7 
Agriculturist in German.. .7 
Amendment Accepted.6 
Am. Agricultural Annual..6 
Asphalt Flooring.9 
Buckwheat for Cows.9 
Cancer Nonsense.8 
Carrots for Horses.9 
Cornell University.7 
Cut Cions Early...8 
Death in the House.6 
Diseases of the Wine.8 
Early Rose Premium.7 
Earth Closets.7 
Editorial.6 
Experimental Farm.7 
Fariners’Club—To Start.. .9 
Field Peas.... 
Florida Fruits 
Hen Guano.9 
AMEH IC A IV AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW-YORK, JANUARY, 1S69. 
We have hosts of new readers, who join the 
ranks of old and well-tried ones, for whom we have 
the most friendly regard. To old friends, and to 
all who may join us, we begin the season and this 
new volume with the heartiest wishes of a Hap¬ 
py New Year. 
One year of work is done and another begins. 
Merchants and mechanics get rich and retire; pro¬ 
fessional men generally, like old soldiers, repose 
on their laurels when the hardest part of their life’s 
warfare is over; but the farmers, as a class, work 
on, and die in the harness. We might learn many 
a lesson from commercial men, who, to be sure, 
labor too exclusively for wealth, and think too lit¬ 
tle of health, intellectual enjoyment, and the com¬ 
forts of life, and our lives would be much more 
comfortable if we were more thorough as business 
men. Not one farmer in five hundred knows liow 
he makes his profits, or what they are. We know 
that we gain a fair living, that we get money from 
the sale of beef, or sheep, or corn ; but what pays 
the best ? On what do we expend labor to the 
greatest advantage ? How is money invested in 
the farm or its appointments made to pay the best 
interest? We ought to have records of cash and 
labor expended, of materials and time consumed, 
that we can refer to for a satisfactory solution of 
such problems. How many of us can do so ? Few 
have even an accurate record of the days’ work 
hired, and the work done, and we believe that in a 
majority of cases where a good account is kept, 
the wife has a hand in it. All honor to such wives ! 
We stand at the beginning of a new year, and 
look forward and backward, like Janus with two 
faces, from whom this month is named. Our ac¬ 
count-books, journals, and memorandum-books 
should be for us the retrospective face, and our 
course for the future should, as far as possible, be 
guided by experience ; not that vague experience 
which is like a half-forgotten dream, and is well 
remembered only when a blunder twice made wakes 
us up to the knowledge that it is too familiar; but 
an experience aided by a well-quickened memory, 
made clear and definite by memorandums, jotted 
down upon the spot. Such is a safe guide, and we 
may all have it for next year if we have it not now. 
Mints Work. 
Building. —Build, or make such alterations as 
may be necessary in old buildings. Trees may be 
felled, saw-mill logs be carted, and the lumber be 
piled up to season, if one is not yet ready to build. 
Fuel. —If there is not a year’s stock on hand, pre¬ 
pare it now without delay. Labor is cheaper, and 
many swampy places in the woods are accessible 
now, that cannot be reached in summer. If the 
wood is to be marketed, it is much easier to cart 
when well seasoned. If to be used at home, it 
makes a much hotter tire, and makes the good wife 
“mistress of the situation ” when she has to pre¬ 
pare an early breakfast or an extra meal. Dry 
wood is an excellent means of grace in a household, 
promoting good temper and cheerfulness. Pack 
the wood-shed full, or if that institution has not 
yet been established, pile the wood in regular tiers, 
and put a few boards or slabs on top, to shed rain. 
Clearing Land. —In open winters, forests and 
brush pastures can be cleared. But in attempting 
to clear wood-land, a man should consider if wood 
is not the best crop the land is capable of produc¬ 
ing. Rocky land is sometimes cleared of trees to the 
great detriment of the farm. Pastures should always 
be kept clear of brush. It is directly in the way of 
grass—the great source of profit on all grazing farms. 
Frost and Snow.— Keep a sharp look-out for dam¬ 
age from these sources. If the frost penetrate 
the cellar, pipes may he burst and vegetables be 
injured. Bank the cellar walls well with earth or 
with snow, which is a good defence against extreme 
cold. Clear all snow from low, flat roofs, which a 
great weight might crush, or where water banked 
up by drifts might come through. Break out the 
roads immediately after every snow fall with ox 
teams and inverted sleds. They are much more 
easily broken while the snow is fresh. 
Icy Paths.—Severe falls may be prevented by 
sprinkling the slippery places about the house and 
yard with coal ashes, sand, or sawdust. The last is 
the most cleanly, and is easily obtained at saw-mills 
in the country, as well as in large towns. 
Ice-houses.— We wonder that ice-houses are so 
rarely found upon the farmer’s premises. They 
can be built of materials found upon the farm in a 
very cheap, substantial way, and would save many 
times the interest of the money invested every year. 
Buy a few nails, get boards and joists from your 
wood lot, and try your hand at an ice-house, 
filling the sides with sawdust or planing-mill 
shavings. See plans in back numbers of the Agri¬ 
culturist. If the ice-house is ready, fill it as soon 
as you have ice six inches thick. The first ice 
formed is quite sure t,o be clear and solid, and is 
often the best of the season. 
Fencing Materials.— Split!ing rails and making 
posts is legitimate business for winter, and on most 
farms a few more are always wanted. Chestnut 
splits readily and endures exposure to the weather 
remarkably well. White cedar is still more durable, 
and the swamps are often accessible only in winter. 
Draining can sometimes be attended to, if the 
winter is open. Springy land seldom freezes so 
deep that drains may not easily be dug. No work 
is more satisfactory in its results. 
The Digging of Muck and Peat can sometimes 
he best done when the surface is frozen—making 
a solid bridge for carting it off. One can never 
have too large a stock of this on hand. Make 
piles of it near the barns, stables, and sties. 
Manures. —Keep all the sources of supply, the 
yards, sties, and privies, well supplied with ab¬ 
sorbents. The great error in all our farming is the 
neglect of the manure heap. Study constantly to 
increase this as the grand secret of success in form¬ 
ing. Keep your animals all stabled, or in close sheds, 
that all the manure may be daily thrown into 
heaps, and mingled with muck and other absorb¬ 
ents. Keep the manure under cover, if possible, 
and if not, compost it in heaps. From the manure 
of fowls, and night soil, an excellent fertilizer may 
be prepared for hills and drills. Almost all crops 
are benefited by these applications. 
Fowls should have special attention. They can 
shift for themselves in summer if they have range 
enough, but now they are dependent upon man for 
the supply of all their wants. They should be reg¬ 
ularly fed with a variety of food, and their roosts 
be kept scrupulously clean. If they have warm 
quarters or the run of a cold grapery, a few may 
be set the last ofthe month to bring early chickens. 
Animal food should be provided, if you wish fresh 
eggs. The breeding birds should now he selected 
for all kinds of poultry. Old geese should be 
chosen, and turkeys of two years old are much 
better than young ones. Old liens, as a rule, make 
better mothers than pullets. 
Swine should have dry, warm sties, with well- 
littered yards. Breeding sows should be kept in 
good flesh, and as they approach the time of far- 
rowing, each sow should have a pen by herself, 
with a plenty of clean straw. Store swine and pigs 
should be fed generously, and be kept growing. 
There is no profit in half feeding animals. 
Sheep want good-sized yards, with deep sheds, 
opening to the south, to which they can have access 
during the day, and in which they can he confined 
at night. The ewes should not be suffered to lose 
flesh at all. Some formers do a good business in 
fattening sheep for the spring markets. The pens 
should be kept constantly dry with absorbents. In 
feeding fatting sheep, see that each one gets a due 
allowance. The strong may be as much injured by 
over-feeding as the weaker ones by too little. 
Morses. —Examine the shoes frequently and see 
that they arc kept sharp. The best smooth-shod 
