[December, 
442 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Contents for December, 1870 
Beautifying the Nooks and Comers. .461 
Bresee’s Peerless Potato.461 
Boys and Girls’ Columns.—A Real Steam-Engine— 
Running Against a Big Word—The Story-Teller 
—Finding the Chapter—New Puzzles..4 lllus. .464-466 
Butter Worker used at Ogden Farm.. .2 Illustrations. .455 
Cow—Head of “ Pettypet.”. Illustrated. A 41 
Farm Work for December.442 
Fattening Sheep in Winter.457 
Flower Garden and Lawn in December.....443 
Flowers—A Double-flowered Datura. lllus. .459 
Flowers—The Closed Gentian. lllus ..459 
Flowers—The Fire-cracker Plant.. lllus. .462 
Fruit Garden in December.443 
Green-house and Window Plants in December.443 
Hand Thrashing Machines.457 
Home-made Horse-powers.3 Illustrations. .454 
Horse Papers for Farmers—No. 11...449 
Household Department.—Christmas Presents. 
10 Illustrations. .463-104 
Hybrid Grapes.460 
Insects— 1 The Green-Corn Post.2 Illustrations. .462 
Kitchen Garden in December.443 
Madder and its Culture. Illustrated. .460 
Management of nogs in Illinois.456 
Market Reports.444 
New Fruits.461 
Notes from the Pines.—One Pine the Less—The 
French Mulberry — Rhododendrons — Akebia 
quinata.460 
Ogden Farm Papers—No. 12.450 
Orchard and Nursery in December.*143 
Peat—How far to haul it for Manure.455 
Pumpkins as a Stolen Crop.455 
Quadrupeds—The Wolverine. lllus. 451 
Rabbits and Mice in Young Orchards. 461 
Remedy for Drouth.457 
Smoke-house and Ash-IIouse.2 Illustrations. .455 
Soils for Gardening and Farming.459 
“ Speed the Plow.”.456 
Structures—Rustic Work.4 Illustrations. .458 
Swine from South Sea Islands. Illustrated.. 451 
Tim Bunker on Good Neighborhood.455 
Washing Roots.. Illustrated. .454 
Walks and Talks on the Farm—No. 84.—Judging at 
Fairs—Herding Cotswolds and Merinos—Fatten¬ 
ing Cattle—Pigs, Magee and others—Review of 
the Season—Pig Raising—Com Crop.452-453 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” OR SMALLER ARTICLES. 
Bee-keepers’ Convent’n. .445 
Bee Notes.4-17 
Best Time to Subsoil... .449 
Cabbages and Celery... .449 
Caunas and Caladiums.. .447 
Celery.447 
Chestnuts & Mulberries.446 
Coit’s Benrrd .447 
Eggs.446 
Essex vs. Berkshires_449 
German Edition.445 
Guano, Imported . 449 
Hand Thrashing Macli’e.446 
Hawthorn.447 
Head of Pettypet.4-16 
How Much Gypsum l... .4-16 
Improved Roofing.447 
Large Squash.446 
Late Strawberries. 446 
Lemon-Tree..446 
Lice on Hogs.446 
Lime and Ashes.449 
Manure from Cotton 
Seed.446 
Market Gardening.449 
Oats, Seven Kinds.447 
Onions... .446 
Osage Orange...447 
Osage Orange Seed.446 
Patching and Darning 
Exhibition.449 
Percheron Horses.419 
Pigs Eating Droppings. .445 
Pipe and Pump.445 
Plucky Young Farmer.. .449 
Poisono’s Cab’ge Worms446 
Potaloes from Seed. 446 
Poultry Bulletin.446 
Quoting the Agriculturisl443 
Red Ink and Pencil.445 
Red Katydid.446 
Rye vs. Corn for Hogs.. .446 
Special Premiums.444 
Sundry Humbugs.446 
Sun-flower Seed.447 
Swindling Nurserymen. .413 
Ten Years of Music.445 
To Clean Rusty Plows.. .418 
Tobacco Worms.446 
Trimming Pear-Trees.. .446 
Trophy Tomato.445 
Union is Strength.445 
Usefulness of Good En¬ 
gravings.447 
Vergalicn Pear.446 
Yellow Zinnia.446 
E*laia4s Earned.—T. II. B. Baker, Pekin, 
Ind. The common Verbena, or Vervain of Europe, Ver¬ 
bena officinalis. Sparingly naturalized as a weed....“ J. D. 
D.,” North Stamford, Ct. Stuartia Virginica , for which 
we have no common name. It belongs to the Camellia 
Family, is a native of the Southern States, and one of 
the most beautiful shrubs in cultivation_I. Dick, Mar¬ 
shal], Ohio. Tlie norse-Nettie, Solanum Carolinense, than 
which there is no worse weed. Kill it if you can_ 
T. Poston, Jefferson Co., Ind. Green Foxtail, Setaria 
viridis. Grasses are not apt to hybridize... Notice.— 
Wo arc always glad to name plants for our friends, 
but they should take a little pains in sending them. 
It is difficult to name plants from the leaves only, unless 
there is something very marked about them. We cannot 
undertake to name varieties of Verbenas and other 
florist flowers, of which numbers of new ones appear 
every year. Dry the specimens, comprising leaf, flower 
and seed, under pressure before putting them in a letter. 
Fresh plants should be pnt, with a little damp moss or 
colton, in a box that will not he crushed in the mail. 
Calendar for December. 
1 Hoston,XJBn,g- 
X. 
r . City, Ct., 
Washington, 
land, N. 
] ork 
Philadelphia, 
Maryland, 
State, 
Michi- 
New Jersey, 
Virginia Ken. 
gall, 1 Viseon- 
Penn., 
Ohio. 
lucky, Missou- 
sin, Iowa, and 
Indiana 
and 
ri. 
and 
Cali- 
n 
Vv 
O' 
g> 
Cl 
Oregon. 
Illinois. 
fornia. 
^ 80 
S 
o ^ 
n 40 
II 
£ cc 
s £ 
oq.2 
Jit 
J lo'n 
sets. 
1T.M 
II .M 
h. m. 
II .M 
II. M 
H. M. 
II. M 
II. M 
II. M. 
1 
T 
7 10,1 2!) 
0 43 
7 5 
4 31 
0 45 
7 0 
4 39 
0 46 
2 
F 
7 11 
4 29 
1 43 
7 6 
4 33 
1 43 
7 1 
4 39 
1 44 
3 
8 
7 12 
1 28 
2 43 
7 7 
4 S3 
2 42 
7 2 
4 38 
2 42 
4 
7 13 4 28 
3 40 
7 8 
4 33 
3 39 
7 2 
4 38 
3 37 
5 
M 
7 14 4 28 
4 39 
7 9 
4 32 
4 36 
7 3 
4 38 
4 34 
0 
T 
7 15 
4 28 
5 33 
7 10 
4 32 
5 35 
7 4 
4 38 
5 31 
7 
w 
7 16 
4 28 
rises 
7 11 
4 32 
rises 
7 5 
4 38 
rises 
8 
T 
7 17 
4 28 
5 8 
7 12 
4 32 
5 13 
7 6 
4 38 
5 18 
9 
F 
7 17 
4 28 
5 53 
7 13 
4 32 
5 58 
7 7 
4 38 
6 4 
]() 
s 
7 18 
4 ’8 
C 45 
7 14 
4 32 
6 ro 
7 8 4 38 
6 56 
11 
S 
7 19 
4 28 
7 44 
7 15 
4 32 
7 49 
7 9 4 38 
7 54 
12 
M 
7 20 
4 28 
8 46 
7 15 4 32 
8 50 
7 9 4 39 
8 54 
13 
T 
7 21 
4 28 
9 50 
7 16 4 33 
9 53 
7 10 4 39 
9 57 
14 
AV 
7 22 
4 28 
10 56 
7 10 4 33 
10 58 
7 11 4 39 
11 0 
15 
T 
7 22 
4 29 
morn 
7 17 
4 33 
m orn 
7 12 4 39 morn 
16 
F 
7 23 
4 29 
0 3 
7 18 
4 33 
0 4 
7 12 4 40 
0 6 
1? 
R 
7 24 
4 29 
1 14 
7 18 
4 33 
1 14 
7 13i4 40 
1 14 
18 
S 
7 24 
4 29 
2 27 
7 19 4 34 
2 25 
7 14 4 40 
2 24 
19 
M 
7 25 
4 30 
3 41 
7 20 4 34 
3 38 
7 14 4 44 
3 36 
20 
T 
7 29 
4 30 
4 58 
7 20 4 35 
4 54 
7 15 
4 41 
4 50 
21 
w 
7 26.4 31 
6 14 
7 21 
4 35 
6 10 
7 1514 42 
6 5 
22 
T 
7 26 
4 31 
sets 
7 21 
4 36 
sets 
7 16 4 42 sets 
23 
F 
7 27 
4 32 
5 57 
7 22 
4 37 
6 3 
7 16 4 43 
6 8 
24 
s 
7 27 4 32 
7 6 
7 22 4 37 
7 11 
7 17 4 43 
7 16 
25 
s 
7 28 
l 33 
8 16 
7 23 4 38 
8 20 
7 17 4 44 
8 25 
2G 
M 
7 23 
4 33 
9 24 
7 23 4 39 
9 27 
7 17 4 44 
9 30 
27 
T 
7 28 
4 34 
10 30 
7 23 4 30 
10 32 
7 18 4 45 
10 34 
28 
W 
7 29 
4 35 1 
11 32 
7 23 4 -10 
11 33 
7 18 4 46 
11 34 
29 
T 
7 29 
4 36. 
morn 
7 21 4 40 
morn 
7 18 4 47 
morn 
30 
F 
7 2914 37 
0 S3 
7 24 4 41 
0 33 
7 19 4 47 
0 S3 
31 
S 
7 3014 371 
1 31 
7 24 4 42 
1 30 
7 19 4 4S 
1 28 
PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON. 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
wash’n. 
cha’ston 
CHICAGO. 
D. 
H. M. 
H. M. 
n. m. 
H. M. 
H. M. 
Full. 
7 
9 55 ev. 
9 43 ev. 
9 31 ev. 
9 19 ev. 
8 49 ev. 
3d Quart... 
5 
4 27 ev. 
4 15 ev. 
4 3 ev 
3 51 ev. 
3 21 ev. 
New Moon 
12 
7 35 m. 
7 23 m. 
7 14 m. 
6 59 m. 
6 29 m. 
1st Quart. 
29 
11 54 m. 
11 42 in. 
11 30 in. 
11 18 m. 
10 48 m. 
AM ERIC A IV AG It IC PL TV RI ST. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER, 1870. 
The short days are growing shorter, the cold 
nights colder. We draw our chairs nearer the fire 
by day, and an extra blanket over us by night. We 
must not forget that the furnaces that keep our 
animals warm are fed by fodder, and that warm 
quarters are as great a comfort to them as blankets 
are to us. The poor beasts, that shiver the long 
nights through behind the stacks of corn fodder, 
really cost the farmer far more to keep, than if hous¬ 
ed and fed on the best of hay. This practice in¬ 
volves a loss in everyway—fodder is wasted, vastly 
more is consumed, the manure is lost, the cattle are 
pinched, some perish, others come through lousy 
and “spring poor,” and are not in good order again 
before June. We know there are few such forms, 
and they arc happily growing fewer; but there are 
thousands of formers who fodder oil the ground ; 
tens of thousands whose cattle never saw a stall; 
and hundreds of thousands who make but a mere 
fraction of the manure they might. When the com¬ 
fort of the animals and the profit of the owner are 
so obviously coincident, it is a wonder that men 
do not care more for both. The season has been a 
peculiar one; the hay crop is short, and in many 
parts of the country hay is likely to be high. The 
mowing lands have not only been parched by the 
drouth, but formers have been forced to feed them 
off close, and this involves, almost surely, a short 
crop next year. To remedy this, we have sowed 
corn for fall fodder, and rye for fall and spring pas¬ 
turage, and more turnips than common. To reme¬ 
dy it siill further, we must make twice the usual 
quantity of manure this winter and apply it upon 
land intended for corn, potatoes, and roots. 
We are near the close of a year which will be 
long known as the one of the great drouth. In 
many parts of the country no such severe nor long 
continued period of dry weather lias been known 
since meteorological records have been kept; and 
“the oldest inhabitant” has neither rccolleciion 
nor tradition of a parallel summer to adduce. 
There was an anticipation of a short fruit crop on 
account of the severity of the winter in some sec¬ 
tions, and of late frosts; but never were gloomy 
forebodings more thoroughly dispelled, for the crop 
of almost all of our more important fruits lias been 
very large. The drouth arrested the growth of 
late potatoes, and reduced the yield of corn a little. 
Hay is decidedly a short crop, but a large supply of 
sound corn and roots has on the whole done much 
in New England and New York to supplement it. 
The usual abundance for man and beast is essential¬ 
ly curtailed on some eastern farms, which neces¬ 
sitates economy, and a reduction of stock. Still, 
tliere is no prospect of suffering; and if cows are 
cheap now, they will be dear again in the spring, 
which indeed is poor comfort for those who have 
to sell and expect to buy. 
December, according to the pleasant usage of our 
ancestors, to the natural promptings of kindly na¬ 
tures, as well as according to the universal practice 
of Christendom, is the period of the year when 
men give most freely from basket and store to 
those not so bountifully supplied, or to those bound 
by ties of association, friendship, and consanguini¬ 
ty. It is a beautiful custom, giving great happiness 
if unselfishly carried out, and fast becoming char¬ 
acteristic of American life as it always has been of 
that of the rest of the Christian world. The strict¬ 
est Puritan now no longer fears the keeping of 
Christmas as a papal encroachment, and the most 
fervent Catholic enjoys it none the less because 
Protestants keep it too. If ail the readers of the 
Agriculturist greet the new year, having the experi¬ 
mental knowledge of the fact that “ it is more 
blessed to give than to receive,” how many happy 
people there will be in the world! 
BHiiats ;j1»oss£ Worlc. 
Manure making , as hinted above, is one of the 
most important labors of the season. For material 
to mingle with the dung of cattle large and small, 
we have straw, swamp grass, muck, forest leaves, 
dry earth, sawdust, aud sand. 
Leaves may be gathered so long ns -the snow does 
not cover the ground, and it will pay to keep men 
and teams at work hauling them. We value ashes, 
and think chip manure chiefly valuable on account 
of the ash constituents which it contains. Leaves 
of forest trees contain a very much larger percent¬ 
age of ash than does the wood or even the bark ; 
and of course they are proportionally superior to 
sawdust, except that they are not so easily handled, 
nor are they quite so good as absorbents. 
Buildings. —Barns, and especially stables, should 
be made snugand tight, so that snow will not blow 
in. Old barns, hen houses, etc., may easily be made 
warm by stuffing the sides between the inner and 
outer boarding with straw or litter. 
Stables should not only be warm, but tight. When 
old houses are torn down or renewed, the little old 
sashes are ofteu cast aside or sold. Hold on to 
them, or buy some for stables, chicken houses, and 
such like uses. There is no less economy than 
comfort in light stables, in which, however, 
Ventilation should never be neglected. It is 
equally important in the stable as in the bedroom ; 
and in closing cracks and shutting up sheds there 
is often danger that stables, especially those under 
the barn, be made so close that the animals will 
suffer. Some will be found ailing and off their 
feed from no obvious cause, and probably the fact 
that the air is bad will occur to no one. Chickens 
in too close houses often drop, asphyxiated, from 
their roosts, and revive when coming into the purer 
air ou the fioor, but sometimes die. 
Live-Stock of all kinds need the eye of the master 
daily, to see that they are kept clean, that the stalls 
and pens are cleaned out and dry, that tliej - have 
regular feed and water in proper quantity. 
Horses are better for not being blanketed, but 
may have linen dusters thrown over them to keep 
dust out of their coats. Colts and all should be 
groomed daily ; and they ought to have some grain 
daily, even though they are doing no work. When 
horses come from work or sharp driving, rub them 
down with straw, and according to the labor they 
have had, spend 2 to 10 minutes in hard rubbing, 
i wanning up and drying the coats. Then cover with 
! large woollen blankets for an hour. Keep the shoes 
j caulked all the time, and have them well sharpen- 
[ ed up if an icy time occurs. 
