326 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[September, 
Contents for September, 1875. 
Boys and Girls’ Columns — September —What is 
Papyrus—Fice Question—How I Learned to Swim 
—Answers to Correspondents—Aunt Sue’s Chats— 
Aunt Sue’s Puzzle Box—Having a Good Time— 
Ponto, the Trapper’s Dog.4 Illustrations. .349-352 
Butter Packages, Small. 342 
Cheerfulness. 347 
Cheese Making, English.10 Illustrations ..339 
Conservatory Chapel at Utica. Illustrated.. 343 
Corn Crib, Improved. Illustrated. .341 
Cotton-Seed Cake, Value of..337 
Experiment Stations. 332 
Failure of Seeds to Germinate.346 
Fair List.358-359 
Flower-Garden and Lawn for September.327 
Frame for Grinding Tools.3 Illustrations .340 
Fruit Garden for September. 327 
Greenhouse and Window Plants for September.328 
nints About Work. 326 
Horse Feed Troughs.2 Illustrations.. 342 
Household Department—Washing Dishes — Some 
Household Conveniences—Home Topics_8 Illus¬ 
trations .347-348 
House Plan. 4 Illustrations. 333 
It will Pay.346 
Kitchen Garden for September.327 
Ladders for House and Barn.3 Illustrations. .341 
Machines, Labor-Saving. ( . . .337 
Market Report for September.328 
Ogden Farm Papers, No. 67—Draining a Swamp— 
Nothing Sure in Farming but Disappointment— 
Deep Setting of Milk—Liquid Manure.2 Illus¬ 
trations .335-336 
Orchard and Nursery for September.327 
Plants, Pine Barren. Illustrated. .344 
Plowing Flat. Illustrated.. 336 
Pork in New England. 342 
Potato Rot.347 
Poultry, Feed Box for. Illustrated.. 342 
Pure Air in Stables. .5 Illustrations. .341 
Ramanas Rose of Japan. Illustrated. .345 
Rivers’ New Early Peaches in Georgia.346 
Rye for Winter Pasture. 342 
Science Applied to Farming.334 
Seed, Selection of.343 
Sheep, Water Trough for. Illustrated.. 343 
Short-horn Cow and Calf..2 Illustrations. .337 
Train Blacksmith. Illustrated. .325 
Wagon Box, Place for. Illustrated. .343 
Wagons and Wagon Manufacture.335 
Walks and Talks Correspondence.353 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 141—Nitrogen 
—Clover—Lambs— Thrashing—“ Model Barn ”— 
Peas—Prizes for Grain—Prices of Grain.338-339 
Water Trough for Stables. Illustrated.. 340 
Western Dairies. 343 
What do Robins Eat ?. .346 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” 
Am. Pomological Soc.. ..332 
Astral Oil Removed.331 
Ayrshire Record_... 329 
Bermuda Grass.331 
Bommer’s Method of 
Making Manure.331 
Borers.330 
Catalogues. 329 
Chicken Cholera__331 
Circular-Saw Frame. 329 
Dairy at Centennial Ex. .329 
Fairs.329 
Floods at the West.329 
Good Short-horn Heifer.331 
Hedge in Virginia.332 
Importation of Clydes¬ 
dales.369 
Importation of Percheron 
and Norman Horses.. .330 
Lime, How to Apply_331 
Merino or Cotswolds ...331 
OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
More Books.330 
New Remedies.331 
Nursery Agent.332 
Peaches, Hydrophobic...330 
Potato Beetles.331 
Potato “Bug”. . .330 
Preserving Potatoes.331 
Progressive American 
Architecture. 330 
Rivers’ Early Peaches.. .332 
Salt for Hogs.331 
Skunk Cabbage.331 
Soiling Crop, Proposed..330 
Strawberries, Kinney’s. .330 
Suckers in Corn.331 
Sundry Humbugs .330 
Thrashing Machines.331 
Tile-Drain Ditcher.331 
When to Dig Muck ..331 
Wonderful Toys.332 
Wooden Shoes.332 
Stock lor ISultcr anti Beef. —“ J. S.,” 
Vevay, Ind. Where blue grass grows spontaneously and 
thrives, the grade Short-horn would doubtless be the 
most profitable cow to keep, as many of them are excel¬ 
lent and rich milkers, and there are no better beef cattle. 
Choose a thoroughbred bull from a good milking and 
butter family of cows Many such bulls have sold at 
public sales recently for from $100 upwards. 
BSotlom for Swamp Braiits.-“H. 
M. W.,” Fort Wayne, Ind. To lay tiles safety in drains 
in soft swamp land, the tiles should be laid upon a nar¬ 
row board. The board should be bedded firmly in the 
soil, the tiles placed, and earth immediately thrown ut 
each side of them to keep them in place until they are 
ready to be covered. A short piece of board might be 
added beneath the joints of the boards to prevent the 
ends sinking so as to disturb the uniform level of the tile. 
Calendar for September. 
Boston.NEnq- 
A. Y.City, Cl., 
Philadelphia, 
Washington, 
land. N. 
York 
J [ary land. 
State, Michi- 
New Jersey, 
Virginia.Ken- 
aan 
Wiscon- 
Penn.. 
Ohio. 
lucku , Jfissou • 
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& tin. row a. and 
Indiana 
and 
ri. 
and 
Cali- 
n 
Oregon. 
Illinois. 
fornia. 
q 
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PHASES OF THE MOOK. 
MOON. 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
WASU’N. 
CHA’STON 
CHICAGO. 
T>. 
1st Quart ; 
Full M’n 15 
8d Quart. 22 
New M’n 129 
H..M. 
4 54 ev. 
7 58 mo. 
2 17 mo. 
8 11 mo. 
FT. M. 
4 42 ev. 
7 46 mo. 
2 5 mo. 
7 59 mo. 
n. m. 
4 30 ev. 
7 34 mo 
1 53 mo 
7 47 mo 
n. m. 
7 18 ev. 
4 22 mo. 
1 41 mo. 
7 36 mo. 
IT. M. 
3 48 ev. 
6 52 mo. 
1 11 mo. 
7 5 mo. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, SEPTEMBER, 1875. 
The small grains are all harvested, and com is not 
yet ready. To sow the fall crops is the chief press¬ 
ing work at present. October and November 
are, or ought to be, the busy months of the year, 
and to prepare for the work then to he done, 
will require much thought and study. On many 
farms these two months are idle ones. Nothing is 
doing in the fields but the ripening of weeds, and 
the scattering of their seeds over the farm. The 
fallow fields, which should then be plowed, lie 
beaten aud packed by rains, until the soil is sealed 
up against the beneficial effects of both air and 
water. It is then dormant, and in the spring will 
be in poor condition to bear a crop. It is only in 
labor that there is profit, and one great fault of our 
farming is that we do not expend sufficient labor 
on the land. Labor judiciously used, seldom fails 
to return its cost with abundant interest, and how 
to expend labor profitably, is a matter that should 
be thoughtfully considered during any leisure of 
this month. There will be plenty of work, however, 
to keep the hired help busy. No farmer should 
discharge his men now, simply because he has time 
to handle the plow himself. A good farmer can 
earn more than a dollar a day any time, by doing a 
score of those things which no one can do so well 
as himself, or by planning work for hoys or men to 
do. A hundred acre farm can well afford to keep two 
hired hands at work steadily, if the farmer is able to 
direct their work, as he ought to be. At the plow 
he is worth no more than a capable boy—possibly 
50 cents a day. He can not afford to work for so 
little money, nis whole farm stops paying interest 
while he has the plow in his hands, and gives no 
thought to other matters. The man who can direct 
the labor of other men, is worth more than his labor, 
and unless a farmer is capable of doing this, 
his profits will be simply a laborer’s days wages. 
Mints altioiit Work. 
Sowing Wheat and Bye. —Wheat requires a better 
soil than rye, and where the soil is not good enough 
to yield at least 15 bushels of wheat to the acre, it 
would be better to sow rye, which might bring 23 
or 30 bushels. It is useless to sow the more deli¬ 
cate white wheats, except in the very best soils. 
The amber and red wheats are safer to sow on 
medium and light soils. The past has been a wet 
summer, and there will be few complaints of a soil 
too dry for sowing. Fields not yet plowed, should 
be turned over at once, and harrowed thoroughly 
until the soil is well settled. A firm mellow soil is 
needed for wheat or rye. Sowing by drill is the 
safest method. The saving of seed will nearly pay 
for the use of the drill. Drills may be hired for 50 
cents an acre or less. The next best manner of sow¬ 
ing, is to broadcast the seed, and cover with a cul¬ 
tivator. If the seed is sown broadcast, the ground 
should be rolled thoroughly after being harrowed. 
Drill sowing saves the labor of harrowing after¬ 
wards. Where the fly is not feared, early sowing 
is to be preferred. It is a choice of evils between, 
the dangers of the fly on the one hand, and of win¬ 
ter killing on the other. If the soil is in good con-. 
dition, the time of sowing is a matter to he decided 
according to circumstances, locality, and the judg¬ 
ment of the individual. 
Steeping the Seed. —The small cost and labor of 
steeping the seed, is well repaid by the security it 
affords against rust and smut, and the quickening 
of germination. A steep that is very effective 
against smut, is a solution of 4 ounces of sulphate 
of copper (blue vitriol), to a gallon of water. This 
is poured over the wheat, heaped on the barn floor, 
and the grain is rapidly shoveled over and mixed, 
until every seed is moistened with the solution. It 
is left in a heap for twenty-four hours, after which 
it may be sown. A solution of one pound of 
guano to a pail of rain water, or stale chamber lye, 
is an excellent steep, not only preventing tbe smut, 
but hastening the sprouting of the seed. Ground 
Gypsum (plaster), should be used to dry the grain 
previous to sowing, if anything is needed, but lime 
should not be used with guano water, or lye. 
Strong salt and water is frequently used as a steep, 
with good effect; after which the seed is mixed with 
finely slacked lime until dry, and sown immediately. 
Depth of Sowing. —It has been found by experi¬ 
ments, that at one inch below the surface every 
seed of wheat grew, if the ground is moist, while 
at two inches seven-eighths of the seed grew, and 
at three inches three quarters grew. Notwith¬ 
standing this we would rather sow two inches 
deep than one. 
Timothy Seed. —If sown with the wheat now, and 
clover is to be sown in the spring, from 4 to 5 
quarts per acre may be used. If no clover is to be 
sown, a peck of grass seed is not too much. We 
prefer to go over the ground as soon as the wheat 
is drilled, aud sow with a broadcast sower, or by 
hand, rather than drill in with the seed. It is easy to 
measure the proper distance for the laud by the 
foot marks in the soft soil. The seed will find its 
way into the mellow, soil, and be sufficiently cover¬ 
ed. A quarter of an inch is the proper depth for 
grass seed. The fine manure from the poultry 
house, will make a valuable top-dressing for timo¬ 
thy, and will help the wheat. In place of it 100 
pounds of guano to the acre may be used. 
Thrashing. —The straw and chaff are too valuable 
to be wasted in the yards, or for bedding, where 
leaves, swamp muck, or even dry earth or sand can 
be used. By using some oil-cake meal, bran, or 
other meal, straw or chaff may be made equal to 
the best hay. Read and study over the articles by 
Prof. Atwater on this subject, which have appeared 
in the Agriculturist for the past few mouths. The 
proper use of straw as fodder, is one of the most 
important economies of the farm. 
Clove)' Seed will be a good crop this year, where- 
ever there has been a good stand of clover. When 
well saved, it is the most profitable crop ou the 
farm. Both seed aud hay at the 6ame time, can 
hardly be saved, and the hay may as well be sacri¬ 
ficed for the sake of the seed. This crop may be 
cut with the mower, and raked with the horse-rake 
into windrows, where it may be exposed to rain 
and sun for many days without injury. On the 
contrary, the seed will thrash and hull the more 
easily. It should be drawn in when perfectly dry, 
and thrashed at once. The chaff may be stored in 
a bin or heap in the barn, to be hulled in dry frosty 
weather, when convenient. Scatter the chaff, 
which will contain some seed, over the meadows. 
