4Q 
AMERICAN AGRICULTUmST, 
[FEBKUAliY, 
Contents for February, 1866. 
Igriciiltural E<lucati,on.55 
Cam Plans—Prizes Awarded. 50 
Bees—Apiary in February.44 
Bees—Superiority of Italian.54 
Birds and Squirrels. Illustrated. .GO 
Birds, Insects and Fruits.....58 
Books for Farmers aiid Others.44 
Borden’s Condensed Beef.06 
Boys and Girls’ Columns—Game of Tag with Varia 
tions—Lively Game in the Snow—Just Reward— 
Checkers or Draughts—Problems and Puzzles—The 
Truant’s Revenge—Difficulties of Lawyers—Phara¬ 
oh’s Serpents. 7 Illustrations. .G~-68 
Carving Roast Beef..2 Illustrations ..65 
Cut Feed—Chaffed Hay, etc.54 
Degeneration of Plants.62 
Dike for Reclaiming Marshes . i Illustrations..66 
Farm Work in February.42 
Flower Garden and Lawn in February.43 
Fodder Rack . Illustrated. .63 
Foliage Plant, (Achyranthes Vers chaff el tii) .65 
Fruit Garden in Febrtiary..... ....43 
Garden—Kitchen in February.43 
Gardening in a Back Yard.69 
Glanders and Farcy. Illustrated. .61 
Grapes—Notes on, and Culture...5 
Green and Hot-Houses in February.44 
Hop Culture, European Notes..54 
Hot-Beds and Cold Frames. Illustrated. .61 
Houses—Convenient and Cheap.3 Illustrations. .63 
Hurdle Fence—Good Kind. Illustrated. .63 
India Rubber—Description of... .. Illustrated.. 65 
Lemon Pies, Excellent .66 
Maple Sugar Making.3 Illustrations. .62 
.Market Reports.45 
.Mountain Laurel, (Kalmia Latifolia) . Illustrated. .6i 
Names of Plants and Fruits.59 
Nature’s Musicians. Illustrated .60 
Newspaper and Popular Science.59 
Oats—Wild .62 
Orchard and Nursery in February.43 
Orchards—Renovating Old .63 
Pears-Choice for Winter.58 
Peppermint Cultivation .55 
Pink—New Hybrid. . Illustrated.,61 
Plums—Selection of Good Sorts .63 
Potatoes—Newer Varieties..3 Illustrations. .55 
Premiums for 1865.45 
Rack for Horse Stables. 56 
Seeds for tlie Kitchen Garden.63 
Seeds—How, When, and Where to Sow.61 
Shell Flower, (Phaseolus Caracalla) . Illustrated..6i 
Soda-ash, Saleratus, etc.66 
Statuary—Cheap.62 
Stricken Mallard . Illustrated. .i\ 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 26..50 
Water-trough—Hollow Log. Illustrated..66 
INDEX TO “ BASKET,” OR SHORTER ARTICI.KS. 
Advertisements, Good_45 
Agricultural Departm’t. ..48 
Ag’l Editor. Death of.49 
Ag'l Journals, Southern. ..49 
Ag’l Societv, Conn. Stale..48 
Ag'l Soc’y, N. Y. Stale.48, 50 
Alder, European.47 
Apple na.ned.47 
Apples in Wisconsin.47 
Back Volumes.. 45 
Bee-Keeping Book.47 
Book, Arthur Merton.45 
Books, Excellent.49 
Books, S. S. Question....49 
Bricks, Sunburnt.47 
Butternut Trees.46 
Catalogues Received.49 
Cattle Plague .48 
Cauliflowers.1.46 
Cheese Makers’ Ass'n....4S 
Cider. Crab.47 
Clover. White...40 
Communications, Anon’s.49 
Corn Fodder.4s 
Cow, Prolific.46 
Eggs, Testing. 50 
Entomologist. 47 
Farming in Minnesota, ...46 
Foiesi Trees.47 
Forty Pages Again.45 
Fruit Drawings .47 
Garden Notes .46 
German Edition.45 
Grammar, Editorial.49 
Grape Book, Fuller’s.50 
Grape Cuttings.47 
Giape Mildew.47 
Grapes, Essay on.47 
Grapes in Iowa.47 
Grapes, Iona, etc.47 
Horn Knobs, Oak Knot. .49 
Humbu!.'. Horse Boidi....48 
Humbugs, Delecting.4S 
Humbugs. Plant.46 
Ice Houses, Filling.46 
Implement Trials.43 
Ivy Poison.47 
Ltimps, Kerosene .49 
Library, Selecting.50 
Lime in Orchard's.46 
Locust, Exterminating.. ..47 
Jliinure, Prevent Burning.50 
Manure, Woolen Waste..50 
Mower and Reaper Trial..48 
Mulching Trees .46 
Mule and Horse Teams...46 
Numbers Delayed.45 
Nut, Loosening.47 
Onion Culture.46 
Pens Morton’s. 45 
Plant for Eilging. 47 
Plants by Mail.49 
Plants Guesseil at.49 
Plants Named ....49 
Plows, etc.. Trial.48 
Posts, Preserving.50 
Potato Trade. 47 
Potatoes, Mixing. 49 
Potatoes, Single Eyes_49 
Poultry House for Maine.46 
Ri|iper, Fitch’s Patent....49 
Sausages, Fine. .49 
Saw, Drag, Questions ...48 
Seeds by Mail. 47 
Seeds, Washing. 47 
Seed Stores. 45 
Sheep Labels.. 43 
Sheeii, Laurel Poisoning.47 
Shrubs, Flowering. 47 
Strawberries, Late.47 
Slump Puller. Cheap ... 46. 
System, Curious. 49 
Timekeeper Humbug. 47 
Turkey Picture, invert ..49 
Turnips for Slock.46 
Victor’s Stories. 47 
Weevil. Destroying.. 50 
Wheat, Best Spring. 48 
Windmills. 46 
Wine Plant. 43 
W'ire Clolbes Line.47 
Wool Growers’ Ass’n_43 
AMERIC.l-\ AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW-TORK, FEBRUARY, 1866. 
A month goes by very quickly, ancl January 
seems to us always to speed its flight more quickly 
th.an other months. Only a few days ago we greet¬ 
ed the New Year with its hopes and promises, now 
it is already old. The lessons of the new year may 
beat any time properly laid to heart. Wc always 
plan for the future, for improvement, for higher 
success. Wc always have the past with its expe¬ 
riences, of prosperity and adversity, of success and 
failure to draw lessons from. We are now ap¬ 
proaching the season of hard work, and he that 
lays carefully his plans with reference to it, will 
save himself not only labor, but perplexity and 
anxiety enough to make all the difference between 
a life of comparative ease and satisfaction, and one 
of annoy’ance and worry. Good plans are the lu¬ 
bricators of a farmer’s life. Wheels with well 
greased axles contentedly “ purr” aloug the road. 
Work without plan drags, and like a squeaky wag¬ 
on distresses even the p.asser-by. Let us then lu¬ 
bricate,—and if our readers ivill use our hints as 
their wagon jack, they may put the running parts 
of their farm w.agons in good order, so that they 
will not require half the team when the ruts are 
deep, and before the roads are settled for the season. 
It is a poor time to stop and grease axles when 
the team is floundering in the mud. 
Hints about Work. 
Our eflfort in these “ hints ” thrown out from 
month to month is not to be repetitious. Still there 
must almost of necessity be a little sameness, and 
we fear some of our readers avoid these pages with 
the thought that they contain the same things over 
and over again. Tliis is a great mistake. Few 
pages are the result of more thought or contain 
more valuable ideas. While upon the subject of 
spring work we are led to consider the 
Working Animals. —On these the farmer depends 
for almost every thing of success. They are as 
necessary to most tillers of the land on a large 
scale, as is the soil itself. Their good conditioik 
for labor is just so much capital. The abominable 
farming which still in many parts of the country 
regards “ spring poor ” stock no disgrace to their 
owner, and looks upon the condition of leanness, 
which many oxen and steers present in the spring, 
as perfectly natural, cannot come under too strong 
reprobation. It is not only cruel in the extreme, 
but damaging to the farmer’s own interests to the 
last degree. Poor stock give out soon in plowing 
and heavy work. Four oxen will hardly do the 
work that two should. Pluck and endurance may 
be accurately measured by condition. 
Beef Stock kept stalled, will .gain very rapidly as 
the we.ather moderates. The meal or oil c.ake fed 
should, if any thing, be increased. 
Cows which “come in” in the spring should have 
good hay or cut feed (stalks or straw) xvith bran 
upon it, and if possible some roots dail}’. They 
at least need warm sheds and sunny yards. Good 
stabling at night and in cold weather, and warm 
sheltered yards on ple.asant days, will make not 
only a cow’s paradise, but reward the farmer with 
fine calves, and a better flow of milk. It is es¬ 
pecially important tliat 
Sick or accidentally disabled animals be confined 
away from the herd, as soon as the injury or sick¬ 
ness is discovered. When cows are near tlicir time, 
an accident to one causing “ slinking ” will be very 
likely to cause the same disaster to several. Every 
stock yard should have one hospital, and many an 
animal may be preserved from severe sickness by 
taking it from the herd and changing its diet, 
blanketing, currying, etc., for a few days. Never 
“ doctor” animals by guesswork. In the anxiety to 
do something, many are just as apt todothe wrong 
thing as the right. Consult your family physician 
in severe cases; if he is a humane man he will think 
it no unwarrantable liberty ; or watch the symptoms 
c.arefiilly and consult the druggist. 
Jlor.ses. —It is quite common for large horses to 
have swollen legs in winter, especially if they are 
not kept in regular use. The same horses in sum¬ 
mer, especially if more or less in the pasture, are 
not troubled in this way. These enlarged legs in¬ 
dicate a weakly constitution. In a system perfect¬ 
ly vigorous, these secretions would work off and 
le.ave the limbs clean and smooth. The proper treat¬ 
ment in winter is to keep the horse in fair condi¬ 
tion, not fat, and allow him to stand a part of each 
day in a roomy box (or large stable) where he can 
walk about a little. Then he should have regular 
out-door exercise, not less than an hour daily. The 
legs should be rubbed dry and clean after each ex¬ 
posure to mud and snow. Indeed, the more “elbow- 
grease” expended in rubbing the legs, the better. 
Brood Mares that are kept tied in stalls, should 
have an opportunity to exercise every day, either 
in the yard, or by moderate driving. A liberal sup¬ 
ply of water is also essential, as we have known 
mares to “ slink ” when they did not get drink for a 
day or two. Work-horses not required to labor, 
should be driven moder.ately at least once a day, 
several miles. Teams that are worked hard all 
winter, endure the severe fatigue of plowing, har¬ 
rowing, etc., much better than if worked but little 
during the cold weather. 
Water for Stock. —^When water must be pumped 
for all kinds of stock, iu very cold weather, the 
weaker ones sometimes fail to get a suitable sup¬ 
ply, as the surface freezes over, or the master 
animals drink the limited quantity that boys and 
lazy men will draw for the entire herd. 
Sheep. —Every animal, whether old oryoung, that 
does not get its proper allowance of feed, or that 
requires a little extra care, should be separated 
from the flock, and provided with comfortable 
quarters and better feed than strong and healthy 
sheep receive. A few old ewes and the weakest 
lambs may occupy a small apartment together. 
Mutton sheep, as well as those to be kept over, 
should have a few roots daily, to prevent the 
stretches. Ewes that are near yeauiug should be 
confined inaspacious, but warm apartment, so that 
the lambs may not be chilled and lost by exposure 
to cold. Hemlock and pine boughs are excellent 
for all kinds of sheep, and are a substitute for roots. 
Swine. —Breeding sows require care this month. 
Do not feed them much meal. They require bulky 
and light feed. Skimmed milk with bran, or oat¬ 
meal and boiled potatoes are the best feed. The 
best feed for young hogs designed for heavy pork 
next autumn, is equal quantities of oats and peas, 
ground and mingled with milk and slops from the 
kitchen. Let all swine have warm and clean apart¬ 
ments, well supplied with dry straw. Swine will 
eat a small quantity of light clover hay, and if it be 
cut two inches long, all the better Occasional feeds 
of raw roots of any kind will be good for them. 
The Wood Lot receives at this season more at¬ 
tention than at any other. All agree to the desir¬ 
ableness of cutting firewood in the winter, but in 
regard to felling timber for other purposes, there is 
considerable dissent. Trees that have ceased to 
grow rapidly, only cumber the ground. Such are 
usually recognized with case, by the peculiar mos¬ 
siness of their trunks, and tlie scattered dead limbs, 
and with a little calculation they may be felled avith- 
out injuring growing timber. Sec an article on this 
subject on page 372, December, 1865. No trees 
should be cut now for timber, wliieli leaf out early 
and require only a few warm days to All them with 
s.ap, like the maple, birch, beech, etc. Oak, hickory 
and ash may perhaps be cut now as well as 
earlier. Sticks of hard wood for wagon tongues, 
sleighs, farm implements, etc., may be cut now, and 
he “ sticked up” that is piled with sticks between 
them, so that the air may circulate among them 
that they may season uniformly. It ig very import¬ 
ant that 
Fencing especially that for posts, sliould bo 
split out, peeled, and piled up to season before 
lieing set; and the same is true of bean and 
hop poles, wood for grape trellises, stakes, etc., to 
insure durability. Good sledding must bo improv- 
