©3 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Contents for March, 1875. 
Adornment of Rural Ilomes.2 Illustrations.. 99 
Apple, Basset.2 Illustrations. .100 
Atomizer in Horticulture.2 Illustrations. . 102 
Boys and Girls Columns—A Regatta on Ice—Aunt Sue’s 
Chats —Puzzle Pictures — March Flowers —Jamie 
Carrying a Barrel of Apples—Should Boys go to 
College ? — Blowing Soap Bubbles — Aunt Sue’s 
Puzzle Box—What is Service Berry ? —Strange 
Sqnashes—Zip Learning his First Trick.. 18 Illus¬ 
trations . 105-108 
Catalogues Received. 113 
Cattle, Breton. Illustrated. .93 
Celery, Rotting of.. .102 
Fenctfe, Cheap. 4 Illustrations. .95 
Fence, How to Make a Pole.3 Illustrations.. 98 
Field Rollers. .4 Illustrations.. 96 
Fruit Garden in March.. S3 
Gardening on Shares. 98 
Harrow Brush. Illustrated. 98 
Hot-Beds, Commercial. Illustrated. 99 
House Plan.6 Illustrations. 83 
Household Department—Home Topics — Adjustable 
Table—Cooking Celery—Use for Old. Cans—Some 
Questions in Etiquette.5 Illustrations. 103-104 
Kitchen Garden in March. 84 
Lathe, Home-Made. Illustrated. 97 
Report for March. 85 
Ogden Farm Papers, No. G1—Underdraining—Butter 
—Jersey Cattle. 90-91 
Orchard and Nursery in March. 83 
Pig Trough, Improved.2 Illustrations.. 97 
Plants, Standing Cypress. Illustrated.. 101 
Potato Beetle, Colorado. 100 
Poultry interest. 93 
Rats, Remedy for.83 
Remington Factories.6 Illustrations.. 83 
Road-Grader.2 Illustrations.. 97 
Science Applied to Farming. 91 
Science Made Easy.90 
Snipe Shooting. Illustrated. 81 
Trees, Blue Gum. Illustrated. .102 
Walks and Talks Correspondence—Feeding Wheat to 
Stock—Wheat vs. Bran—Feeding Judiciously— 
Feeding Pigs—Composition of Corn Cobs—Corn 
vs Clover for Pigs—Buckwheat for Manure—When 
do you Sow Plaster?—Mangels and Carrots—North¬ 
ern Spy Apples. 114 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 135—Clover for 
Hogs—Cost of Crops—Weight of Hogs—Corn-meal 
for Hogs. 94-93 
Water from a Spring, To Draw. Illustrated.. 97 
Willows—Osiers. 98 
Weoden Drains,Making.2 Illustrations.. 97 
Work, Hints About. .. . 82 
INDEX TO “ BASKET,” OR SIIORTER ARTICLES. 
Advertising for Advertis- 
86 
Astonished..113 
Barley. 87 
Bran or Oats for Cattle.. 87 
Blackberry, Hoosac Thorn¬ 
less. 86 
Bone and Blood Spavin.. 87 
Butter Pail, Metallic.113 
Carr & Hobson. 86 
Catalogues . 86 
Catarrh in a Cow. 87 
Convenience, Great. 86 
Dairymen’s Convention 
American.114 
Ducks, Mandarin.114 
Eggs, Artificial Hatching 87 
Eggs, Hatching.82 
Farmers and Sportsmen.. 82 
Fearful Mortality. 86 
Feed Cutter, Best. 87 
Flower Garden and no 
Manure.114 
Fumigation,. 86 
Help. 86 
Hogs, Diseases in. 87 
Humbugs, Sundry. 86 
Irritation of the Tail_ 87 
“Large and Respectable” 86 
Plow, Subsoil. 86 
Post-Office Statistics_ 86 
Railroad, Chespeake and 
Ohio. 86 
Rubber Shoes forllorses.114 
“ Several Preachers ”.... 86 
Shorthorn Statistics. 87 
Spaying Fluid. 87 
Warts, To Remove. 87 
What to Plant. 87 
Where to Buy Things.... 86 
Farmers nni«l Sjxotrtsmieni.—F. D. Cur¬ 
tis, of Charlton, Saratoga Co., N. Y , informs us that a 
valuable brood mare of his was found dead in his field, 
having been fatally shot by a so-called sportsman. The 
shooting of farm animals by trespassers, and the worry¬ 
ing of sheep by curs accompanying them, is far too com¬ 
mon, and farmers are obliged, in self defence, to com¬ 
bine to prevent such trespass and its consequences. 
There should be no shooting over farms without permis¬ 
sion from the owners, and protective legislation is very 
necessary to secure farmers from the annoyance and loss 
which occur every year. Although every citizen is per¬ 
mitted to “ bear arms,” he is not privileged to use them 
to his neighbor's injury or annoyance. 
Miitchiaig of Eggs.—“S. W. J.,” St. 
Louis, Mo. It is impossible to say why eggs of “fancy” 
fowls should not hatch. There ought to he no good 
r ason why they should not. The mere transportation 
should not affect them, as eggs have been shipped from 
the East Indies to England, and yet 25 per cent, of them 
produced chickens. The most probable cause is the 
close confinement of the fowls in yards. It is a well 
known fact in natural history, that many species of birds 
and quadrupeds will not breed in confinement. 
Calendar for March. 
Poston. NKng- 
N. ) 
".City. Cl.. 
Washington, 
land. A. 
York 
Philadelphia , 
Mary land. 
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Stale. Miehi- 
]\/ew Jersey. 
Virginia.Ken- 
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Wiscon- 
Penn.. 
Indiana 
Ohio. 
lucky. Missou- 
c 
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sin. 
[owa. and 
and 
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and 
Cali- 
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Oregon. 
Illinois. 
fornia. 
O’ 
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^ £ 
SI 
'< £ 
Mo’n 
rises. 
$ ^ 
Kt * 
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C % 
it.m 
H.M 
H. M. 
H.M 
H.M 
II. M. 
H.M 
H.M 
II. M. 
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M 
6 36 
5 50 
2 34 
6 34 
5 52 
2 27 
6 33 
5 53 
2 20 
2 
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6 84 
5 51 
3 33 
6 32 
5 53 
3 26 
6 31 
5 54 
3 18 
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0 33 
5 52 
4 25 
6 31 
5 54 
4 18 
6 30 
5 55 
4 10 
4 
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6 29 
5 55 
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6 28 
5 56 
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6 29 
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6 27,5 57 
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mom 
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- — 
-- 
— 
PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON. f 
o 
New M’n 
7| 
1st Quart 
14 
Full M’n 
1 
3d Quart. 
29 
3 36 ev. 
8 21 mo. 
7 8 ev. 
ir. m. 
3 24 ev, 
5 9 mo. 
6 56 ev. 
11 29 ev. 
H. M. 
3 12 ev. 
7 57 mo 
f> 44 ev 
cha’ston 
CHICAGO. 
II. 
M. 
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3 
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2 
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32 
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6 
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111 
5 
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10 
35 
ev, 
A BI ERIC A N A G III C U L T U R 1ST. 
NEW YORE, MARCH, 1875. 
Spring lias come !—At least the Almanac says so. 
Many wlio read this page have already had their 
plows afield for some time, and are well along with 
the work, while to others, the announcement that 
“ spring has come ” will seem altogether prema¬ 
ture ; as they look out upon their snow-covered 
and frost-bound fields, they are quite sure that 
whatever the calendar may say about the seasons, 
what is practically spring to them is still some 
weeks in the future. This wide difference in the 
seasons gives us some idea of the wonderful extent 
of our country—in one direction at least; from 
Florida, where winter and spring are separated by 
an inappreciable boundary, to Canada, where the 
winters are long and summers short, what an im¬ 
mense variety of climate and diversity of products ! 
Spring has opened long ago to our Southern friends, 
and as it advances northward, awakening vegeta¬ 
tion and calling the farmer to new labors, it occu¬ 
pies fully two months in the transit. The differ¬ 
ences between the extreme eastern and western 
portions of our territory, while they are marked in 
a different manner, are equally great. The Agricul¬ 
turist finds readers among the orange groves of 
Florida, and the lumber camps of Michigan and 
Maine ; it is taken in the manufacturing villages of 
New England, among the coal and iron mines of 
Pennsylvania, and on the rich prairie lands of what 
a little while ago was called “the west.” In the 
plateaus of Colorado and New Mexico, among the 
vineyards and wheat lands of California, up the 
coast to Vancouver’s Island, and down the coast to 
Mexico, are cultivators of the soil who turn to its 
pages for instruction and aid. Besides all these di¬ 
verse conditions under which its readers live with¬ 
in our own territory, it goes to all other countries 
—Asia, Africa, Australia, and Japan. That a jour¬ 
nal should be found acceptable and useful to culti¬ 
vators so far apart, and working under such unlike 
conditions, is due to the fact that the principles of 
agriculture are everywhere the same ; the require¬ 
ments of plant and animal life aro alike every¬ 
where ; and when it is known what are essential to 
the best development of plant or animal, any one 
intelligent enough to take a journal at all, will know 
how to secure these under the conditions of climate 
and other surroundings in which he is placed. So 
with the economies of farm life; it is as important 
to save a dollar in Texas as it is in Massachusetts, 
and whatever shows how the cost of production 
may be lessened, is of world-wide application. The 
statement “ Spring has come ” reminds us that we 
cater less and less for the wants of the few to whom 
the spring of the Almanac is the commencement of 
the season’s work, but more and more for that 
great brotherhood, whether their possessions be 
broad or narrow, or whether they may live north, 
south, east, or west, who are tillers of the soil. 
Hints alnont Work. 
Take care of the Health. —As the snow and ice 
disappear, much rubbish that has collected during 
the winters, will be uncovered. Those who live in 
the country are too careless about matters affecting 
the health. Foul surface water frequently flows 
into the well. Cesspools and barn-yards overflow 
and saturate the ground, which gives off dangerous 
vapors under the influence of the sun’s warmth. 
Fevers of various kinds and other diseases attack 
old and young. To clean until all danger is re¬ 
moved, should be the first work of spring. The 
cellar under the house must not be overlooked. 
Keep the Fed Fry. —A farmer should be provided 
with waterproof boots and overcoat, in which to 
work about drains, ditches, and wet barn-yards. 
There are several kinds of rubber clothing, but 
that which is not subject to crack is the best. 
That made by Z. B. Ileywood, 321 Broadway, New 
York, is of this character, and a farmer in any part 
of the country may procure these goods by express, 
by writing for them and remitting the cost. 
Hired Men. —Every farmer must decide for him¬ 
self if it is better for him to hire help and culti¬ 
vate more land, or cultivate less land and do with¬ 
out help. But it is cheaper to pay for help than to 
let work get behindhand, or to leave necessary 
work undone. The best help is the cheapest. A 
married laborer is as a rule the steadiest. Besides, 
he need not be hoarded in the house, to the serious 
inconvenience of the family, and the destruction of 
domestic privacy. Farmers who hire constant help, 
should provide a dwelling for the men, where they 
may be hoarded by one of themselves. Farm 
laborers should be paid every week or every month ;; 
these short settlements prevent mistakes and dis¬ 
putes. Cash purchases more than credit. 
Brains must be examined, lest they become 
choked and water remain upon the crops. Stag¬ 
nant water is injurious not only to all vegetation, 
but to stubble land, but much benefit may be 
gained by turning the spring wash from roads on 
to meadows or pastures, and causing it to spread 
as much as possible. 
Top-dressing meadows or fall grain, will be found 
useful. Spread the manure evenly upon the snow, 
if anyremains, and go overit with a Thomas Harrow, 
or the brush harrow described in another place, as 
soon as the ground is dry enough. 
Hoads and Paths. —Surface water should not be 
allowed to remain upon roads or paths, or in ruts.. 
Let it off, and fill up the holes or ruts with dry- 
earth or gravel fr in a bank. A dry road will stand 
many times as much wear as one that is wet and 
muddy. Paths should be made dry, or planks laid 
down for walks over soft ground. When wet 
ground gets puddled, it takes a long time to dry. 
Grass and Clover Seed may be sown upon the 
last snow with great ease and regularity. Each 
strip may be sown exactly, without missing or over¬ 
lapping, as the seed can be readily seen upon the 
surface. The seed will not be injured, as it will 
not vegetate until the ground becomes warm. 
Fodder Crops. —A good supply of green foddej 
never comes amiss. Cows at pasture will always 
eat a meal of fresh-cut green fodder, and it helps 
the milk pail. An acre or two of fall plowed 
ground should he liberally top-dressed with ma¬ 
nure, and sown early with oats and peas, or barley 
and vetches. The ground must be made rich, 2a 
bushels of oats or barley, and la of peas or vetches,, 
should be sown. 
Early Pasturing is a mistake. The stock is made- 
dissatisfied, and lose their appetite for dry food. 
Trampling is very injurious to the soft soil, which. 
