[August, 
286 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Contents for August, 1875. 
Asbestos, What is ?. .2 Illustrations. .296 
Barley Crop, Value of..303 
Birds, How to get Large.303 
Bobbiug for Eels.. . Illustrated.. 285 
Bovine Mind . 302 
Boys and Girls’ Columns—August—Rabbits—How 
Engravings are Made—Doctor’s Talks—Cat, Intelli¬ 
gent—Fortune Made by a Wooden Hat—Why is the 
Sea Salt—Aunt Sue’s Puzzle Box—More Frightened 
than Hurt.3 Illustrations.. 310, 312 
Bull, How to Work.3 Illustrations . .299 
Cabbage Bug, Harlequin. Illustrated.. 306 
Castor-Beans, Harvesting. . Illustrated .. 300 
Cheese and Butter, Oleo-Margarine.294 
Cheese, Skim. 303 
Chicken Coops.4 Illustrations . 300 
Chrysan themums.307 
Colorado Potato Bug. Illustrated.. 304 
Country the Place for Mechanics.303 
Currant Worm, Sure Cure for .306 
Cuttings in Summer. 307 
Dog, Esquimaux. Illustrated. . 297 
Evergreen, Retinispora plumosa aurea.307 
Farm Wagon, How to Build a Good.303 
Flower-Garden and Lawn for August.287 
Fruit Garden for August.287 
Greenhouse and Window Plants for August.288 
Hints About Work.286 
Hoist Wheel with Brake. Illustrated.. 302 
Household Department—Some Household Convenien¬ 
ces—Home Topics—Cork Puller—Household Que¬ 
ries—Oat Meal—Eating Fruit.. .5 Illustrations. 308-310 
House Plan.5 Illustrations . 292 
Kitchen Garden for August.287 
Ladders, Extension.3 Illustrations ..296 
Market Report for August.288 
Ogden Farm Papers, No. 66—House Drainage—Swamp 
Drainage—Rye and Cattle. 293-295 
Onions Sown in Fall. . 307 
Orchard and Nursery for August..287 
Plants, Injury to by Forcing.306 
Qnamash Bulb and Flower. Illustrated . .305 
Redstart, American. Illustrated.. 297 
Rocky Mountain Bramble. Illustrated . .306 
Roofs, Concrete. 299 
Rustic Work. Illustrated .. 304 
Science Applied to Farming.293 
Splitting Rails.2 Illustrations . 301 
Stacking Stage. Illustrated. . 301 
Strawberries.307 
Thrashing Machines, Traveling.297 
Tramps, Tim Bunker on. 299 
Walks and Talks Correspondence.. . .318 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 140—Weeds— 
Drouth — Sheep — Hogs — Good Farming — Steam 
Thrashing Machine .. . Illustrated.. 298-299 
Weigh, Measure, and Count Everything. 303 
Why they do not Stay on the Farm.302 
Workshops, Hints for.2 Illustrations.. 301 
Wrenches, Two Handy Bolt.3 Illustrations. . 301 
Plowing Match at Mineola. 294 
Potato Bug Notes.2 Illustrations . .294 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” OK SHORTER ARTICLES. 
Ayrshire Register.290 
Berkshire Boar,Profit of a290 
Books on Farming.289 
Broadcast Sower, Ca- 
lioon’s.317 
Butter, Cheese, and Egg- 
Trade.290 
Calculating Machines... .290 
Cats Poisoned.291 
Cat tle at the International317 
Cement or Plank Floor..317 
Cheese, Cream.290 
Chickens, Gapes in.319 
Chickens, Late..290 
Colt, Breacliy.319 
Corn, “Wyandotte,”.291 
Crops to Plow Under... .289 
Crow, Another Use for 
the.290 
Cutting Timber, Time for291 
Dead Horse, How to Use.291 
Death of Lexington.319 
Depraved Appetite.289 
Downing’s Landscape 
Gardening.288 
Drilling Grass Seed.291 
Effect of Guano.291 
Eggs, Guaranty of. 319 
Failing to Breed. .. .290 
Feeding, Injudicious....319 
Fence Posts, Preserva¬ 
tives for.290 
Fertilizers for Fall Sow¬ 
ing. 290 
Fish Seine.290, 
Fodder Crops. 319 
Fountain for Clay Floor.289 
Fowls, Plymouth Rock..317 
Fowls, Protrusion of Rec¬ 
tum in.319 
Garget. 319 
Goat Manure, Value of. .291 
Government Land.319 
Hay, Baling.289 
H n Manure, Composting319 
Horse - Power, Home- 
Made. 317 
Leaf-Mold as Manure... .291 
Mildew, to Remove.317 
Millet. 290 
Musk-Rats, to Destroy.. .319 
N. Y. Dairymen’s Associ¬ 
ation .289 
Painting a Kitchen Floor289 
Plants Named.291 
Plow, Ditching.289 
Potato Beetle.289 
Poultry, Megrims in.317 
Poultry Yards.289 
Pump, Fountain.289 
Rose, Erratic.291 
Self-Opening Gate.317 
Sheep for Kansas.319 
Sliort-IIorns, Sale of.290 
Sowing Clover in July...290 
Stable Floor, a Tight....289 
Stable Floor, Durable... .290 
Stock for Dairy.319 
Strawberries at Mass. 
Horticultural.289 
Stumps, Extracting.289 
Sundry Humbugs.290 
Swine Asso., Berkshire..319 
Value of a Cord of Muck.319 
Water Power and Steam. 
Cost of.290 
Where Can I Get? . 288 
Wild Garlic.319 
Wire and Picket Fence. .289 
Calendar for August. 
Boston.Ntina- 
A’. Y.Citg. Cl., 
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PHASES OF THE MOON. 
3IOON. 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
WASH’N. 
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CHICAGO. 
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9 
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I‘ nil M’n 
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26 ev. 
8 
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8 
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31 ev. 
8 
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AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, AUGUST, 1875. 
The gloomy forebodings which were called forth 
by an unpropitious -spring, have been fulfilled 
only in part. In many places where the destruc¬ 
tion of the crops was feared, an abundant harvest 
has been gathered. The locust and the chinch bug 
have happily failed to do any serious damage, and 
where last year there was poverty and suffering, 
this season there is abundance and comfort. So 
the wheat-fields which were all but destroyed by 
the winter’s frosts revived under the influence of 
favorable summer weather, and while the crop is 
short, yet it w r ill doubtless produce as much in 
money as if it were larger. The prospects of the 
markets are not easy to prognosticate. At any rate, 
there is but little probability of any material 
advance, while on the other hand, farmers will not 
submit to any reduction of prices, and need not 
force their grain on an unfavorable market. 
However, business everywhere is gradually re¬ 
suming a healthy character. In this there is 
a good promise for returning prosperity to the 
farmer who, now that his year’s labors are nearly 
finished, may cheerfully and gratefully take rest 
and recreation, knowing that things are not so bad' 
as were expected. 
Hints about Work. 
Weeds .—It is proper to commence this chapter of 
hints with weeds. In our walks over farms in 
different localities, we see weeds are everywhere, 
in the corn-fields, amongst the potatoes, in the stub¬ 
bles and the young clover, and with ripe, or rapidly 
ripening seeds. Some good farmers keep them out 
of their crops, but around the fences and in odd 
corners there are thrifty patches full of seed. At a 
gathering of fanners last month, some of them 
complained to us that the weeds were ruining their 
farms. In the very field where we stood, a summer- 
fallow too !—the weeds were in full bloom, and if 
mowed, would have made a ton to the acre. Ox- 
eye daisy, snap-dragon, wild radish, thistles, rag 
weed, pig weed, amaranths, and a score of such 
common, but pestiferous plants, covered the field 
so that the plow could not wholly bury them. When 
this 6ummer-fallow was plowed, the field was seeded 
for a whole lifetime. Twenty years’ labor cannot 
wholly clear it, and yet the man who owned the 
farm complained that the \yeeds were ruining him. 
There is one remedy for weeds, which is thorough¬ 
ly effective, and that is cutting them wherever- 
found in odd places, before they blossom, and 
clean cultivation in the fields. 
Insects .—It is the same with insects as with weeds, 
beetles, bugs, catterpillars, and insects of all sorts 
in all their forms. There must be constant warfare 
against them, and they must be killed by every 
means in our power. But a fanner must keep his 
eyes open, or he will fail to 6ee the enemy until 
too late. The tent catterpillars sometimes clear 
every leaf from an orchard before the owner notices 
their unsightly nests upon the trees. Study the 
habits of these pests, and look out for them. Search 
the former volumes of the Agriculturist for infor¬ 
mation about them, and follow directions. Insects 
and weeds rob farmers of hull their profits, half 
their rest, and double their work. United and 
constant efforts are needed to get rid of them, but 
after every year of effort, the work will be lighter. 
Thrashing .—Grain in the granary is safe if the- 
granary is a secure one. With such a building as was 
described in the Agriculturist for June last, the 
grain will keep safely and without loss, until sold. 
Thrash as soon as possible, whether the grain be 
sold or not. Some think it will pay to hold grain 
another year. That may be well for those who can' 
afford it, but if one is in debt and borrowing money 
to hold grain, it is well to think twice and count 
up the cost in interest. To pay interest on a debt 
and lose interest on money in bank, or idle, (and 
grain is money), is simply paying double interest.. 
The oat stubble should be plowed as soon as the- 
crop is harvested, so as to start the shelled grain 
into growth. No more plowing is needed. Keep 
the surface cultivated or harrowed. This will kill 
thousands of weeds from newly dropped seeds. 
The pulverizing cultivator made by Gifford John¬ 
son & Co., Hudson, N. Y., is a good implement for 
this purpose, and may be set to cut one, two, or 
three inches in depth, as may be desired. It will 
also cover the seed handsomely and better than a 
harrow. By keeping the surface mellow, the bot¬ 
tom is kept from becoming too dry and hard. 
Lime .—If lime is to be spread upon an oat stub¬ 
ble which is to he sown to wheat next month, and 
clover in the spring, it should not be drawn from 
the kiln until the ground is plowed, when it can be 
dropped at once on the field in heaps of one bushel 
two rods apart each way. This will give exactly 40- 
bushels per acre, which is a very fair dressing. The 
first shower will slake the lime and cause it to fall 
into a fine powder, when it may be spread evenly 
in a square, one rod each way from the heap, with 
a long-handled shovel. This is by far the easiest 
way of handling lime. 
Old Pastures may be renewed this month by cut¬ 
ting off the brush, hushes, etc., a little below the 
surface, burning them and spreading the ashes. 
Then go over the groand with a heavy sharp-toothed 
harrow, and tear up the surface, spread some lime 
and top-dress with the scrapings of the stables and 
yards, sow some fresh seed and roll. A mixture of 
six pounds of timothy, four pounds of Kentucky 
blue grass, and four pounds each of red and white 
clover, may he used. 
Stacks of grain or hay should be well topped off 
or thatched, the fodder saved will pay the cost. 
Root Crops will need thinning severely. Every 
supernumerary plant is really a weed, and should be 
pulled out with other weeds. Twelve inches apart 
is near enough for ruta bagas and turuips. 
Fall Plowing .—Clover sod for wheat should be 
turned perfectly flat and rolled to compact the sod. 
Six inches is deep enough for the plowing. Either- 
a Shares’ or a Nishwitz harrow is a good implement 
to work the surface before the seed is drilled in. 
The sod should not be cross-plowed, but the soil 
worked fine with the cultivator or harrow. 
White Turnips will make a good crop on an oat- 
stubble if sown early this month ; 200 lbs. of guano- 
per acre will make a good and active fertilizer for 
these roots. To get an even crop, halve both the 
seed and manure, and sow broadcast both ways; 
cover with a bush-harrow or roller. 
Working Cattle .—Horses and oxen should have 
