o 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[Januart, 
Contents for January, 1873. 
Apple, the Peaked Sweeting . 2 Illustrations.. 21 
Boys and Girls’ Columns—Our Guessing-School—Doc¬ 
tor’s Talk about Candles—Aunt Sue’s Puzzle-Box— 
Old Nurse’s Visit—A Boy who Turned Out Well. 
5 Illustrations. 27, 28 
Butter, Poor. 
Cattle, Dutch or Holstein.11 
Chaff, Value of. 13 
Compost Heaps. 23 
Conservatory in Tasmania.23 
Convention, Shorthorn.10 
Convention, Swine-Breeders’. 9 
Cooking Food for Stock....4 Illustrations.. 16 
Coral-Berry. Illustrated. .24 
Cottage, Design for a Gothic.3 Illustrations. .13 
Coxcomb, New Japanese. Illustrated. .21 
Education of Farmers, Better.19 
Exhibiting Vegetables. Illustrated. .HA 
Farmers Hiring Help in Cities.19 
Fire-Engine and Hose-Carriage Combined. 111. .17 
Flower Garden and Lawn in January. 4 
Fruit Garden in January. 3 
Greenhouse and Window Plants in January. 4 
Harrow, a Chain. Illustrated.. 12 
Hints about Work. •.••••■■ .. ..• • • • — • • 2 
Household Department—Wall Decorations—Where to 
Set the Bread to Rise—Moths—Home Topics—Which 
Paper?—“ Splendid Cake ’’—“Brown Betty.” 
3 Illustrations.. 23, 26 
Hoven, Remedy for. Illustrated. .13 
Jerseys, Scale of Points for.. 18 
Keeping Vegetables and Fruits in Cellars.23 
Kitchen Garden in January. 3 
Lambs, Care of.... 19 
Manure, Care of in Winter.19 
Manure, Earth-Closet. .18 
Market Reports... 4 
New Roses at Lyons.... • .. •••••. . 23 
Notes from the Pines — Grape-Vines — Cuttings of 
Grapes, Currants, etc.—Gardeners’ Secrets—Orna¬ 
mental Shrubs—Catalogues for 1873—English Horti- 
0"den Farm Papers, No. 35 —Cows—Mr. Mr 
Dairy—Winter Feeding—Treatment of Young Stock 
Calendar for January. 
Rosebuds in Winter... . Illustrated. . 22 
Roughening the Shoes. Illustrated.. 1 
Shepherd of the Landes. Illustrated. 20 
Splice for Timber. Illustrated. AS 
Tree Seeds.21 
Turkey-Breeding, Facts in.13 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 109.14,15 
Water-Wheels..-3 Illustrations.. 17 
Wheelbarrow, New.. .Illustrated. .23 
Windmills, Use of. % Illustrations . .15 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
Apples for Ill. •} 
Beans. ” 
Beans and Sunflowers.... 5 
Bean-Soup. : . jj 
Bee-Keepers’ Magazine... 8 
Blunt’s Strainer.5 
Bone-Flour and Plaster... 8 
Butter, Purifying.7 
Butter, White... • 
Carrot Seed. 6 
Cattle, Molasses for.9 
Cellar, a Wet.. — 7 
Cement Pipes ..... ... 7 
Chestnuts, California. ... 9 
Chestnuts in Iowa... ... 9 
Cider, Boiling.. ••• 9 
Cistern Filter_ .... ... G 
Clover-Seed, Sowing. .... 7 
Co-operation. . • 9 
Corn and Clover on Peat.. 6 
Corn-Husking Machine... 8 
Corn-Stalks and Corn for 
Hogs. 7 
Cotton-Seed,Using. . ... 7 
Dairymen’s Assoc., Ohio.. 
Dairy, Prospects for a_ 
Ditching Machine.7 
Dogs.9 
Draining, Need for. 8 
Drains, What are the 
Cheapest?. 6 
Drive-Wells ..0, 9 
Ducks, How to Raise. 6 
Egg-Plants in England.... 9 
Emasculation. 
Errors. 6 Rule of Three. 
Fanciers’Ass. and Bulletin (i Rural Sun, The 
Homesteading. 6 
Homesteads In North-west¬ 
ern Iowa. 7 
Horse Distemper ....... . 7 
House Plan. 5 
How to Make a Good Cow. 8 
Jersey Bulls—Correction.. 7 
Knuckler. 6 
Lard, Sweet... . 9 
Leaky Cistern and Wet Cel¬ 
lar. 7 
Lime and Manure, Mixing. 7 
Lime, Spent. 9 
Manure, Beef Scraps for... 9 
Manure Heap, Covered ... 6 
Market-Garden, Renting a 9 
Market-Gardening. 7 
Mo. State Hort. Society... 5 
Mules, Breeding. 6 
Non-Sitters” Sitting.... 9 
North Atlantic Ex. Co... 8 
Old and New. 5 
On the Wrong Side. 7 
Osage Orange. 8 
Pasture for Bermuda. 7 
Peach-boring Beetle. 8 
Pisciculture .. 6 
Potato, Tule. 9 
Poultry Soc. West’ll, Pa... 9 
Profit — a Question for_ 8 
Quince-Trees.7 
Reeves & Simonson. 6 
Remington & Sons.5 
Right Doctrine. 8 
Rooks County, Kansas_9 
~ 8 
6 
Farmers’ Club in Cat. fl'Sait for Poultry 
Farm Mills. S Scratches. 6 
Feed, Cutting. 7, Seed-Corn. 5 
Fence, Another. 7 Sheep-Netting, Cost ot_7 
Fence-Posts, Preparing... 6 Spavin. 6 
Fistula. 8 Stock, Value of.9 
Flock, a Wisconsin 
Stump-Pulling 
Force-Pumps, Best.. 6 Bun dry Humnugs. 5 
Fowls’Feathers Falling off !l 
Fowls,What Breed of. 
Fresco for Walls and Ceil¬ 
ings. 
FruU-Qtrowers’Assoc., Pa. 
Gang-Plows. 
Gas-Lime. . 
German Agriculturist. 
“ Give us Gravel, or we 
Die”. 
Grass Bouquet?. 
Grease for Cog-Wheels. 
Sundry Questions. 5 
Sweet-Potatoes,M’nure for 7 
Tar-Fever. 6 
The Outlook.5 
Thrashing-Machine for 
Cider-Still. 7 
Tobacco Crops. 8 
Underground Treasures... 9 
Veterinary Surgeons. 6 
Vick’s Catalogue.5 
Vinegar-Staking. 8 
WashingWool.8 
Grottoes... 7 Where shall lie go. 9 
Herd Law, No. 9 Where shall we Stop?_ 8 
Hogs and Sheep for a Moun- Windmills. 7 
tain Farm. 9|Wirc-Wonus. 7 
71 
£ 
£ i 
Si 
e 
3 ci 
Boston.If Eng¬ 
land, N. York 
State. Michi¬ 
gan. Wiscon¬ 
sin, Tnwa . and 
Oregon. 
tog 
n.ii 
7 30 
7 30 
7 30 
7 30 
7 30 
7 30 
7 30 
7 
7 
7 29 
7 29 
7 2* 
7 28 
7 28 
7 27 
7 27 
7 26 
7 26 
7 25 
7 24 
7 23 
7 22 
7 22 
7 21 
7 20 
7 20 
7 19 
7 18 
7 17 
7 16 
a .m 
4 3S 
4 39 
4 40 
4 41 
4 42 
43 
4 44 
4 45 
4 46 
4 47 
4 48 
4 49 
4 50 
4 51 
4 53 
4 54 
4 55 
4 50 
4 58 
4 59 
0 
5 1 
5 3 
5 4 
5 5 
5 6 
5 .7 
5 9 
5 10 
5 11 
7 1515 13 
n. M. 
7 38 
8 56 
10 12 
11 25 
morn 
0 34 
1 43 
2 49 
3 56 
4 58 
6 1 
rises 
4 46 
5 46 
6 47 
7 47 
8 47 
9 47 
10 48 
11 50 
morn 
0 56 
2 4 
3 17 
4 20 
5 41 
6 45 
sets 
6 29 
7 50 
9 7 
X. Y. City, Ct., 
Philadelphia , 
New Jersey, 
Penn., Ohio. 
Indiana , and 
Illinois. 
II .51 
7 24 
7 24 
7 24 
7 21 
7 24 
7 24 
7 24 
7 24 
7 24 
7 24 
7 23 
7 23 
7 23 
7 22 
7 22 
7 22 
7 21 
7 21 
7 20 
7 19 
7 18 
7 18 
7 17 
7 16 
7 15 
7 li 
7 14 
7 13 
7 12 
7 12 
7 11 
II .51 
4 44 
4 45 
4 46 
4 47 
4 48 
4 49 
4 50 
4 51 
4 52 
4 53 
4 54 
4 55 
4 56 
4 57 
4 58 
4 59 
5 0 
5 1 
5 3 
5 4 
5 5 
5 6 
5 8 
5 9 
5 10 
5 11 
3 12 
5 13 
5 15 
5 16 
5 17 
II. 31 
7 42 
8 59 
10 14 
11 25 
morn 
0 33 
1 41 
2 45 
3 51 
4 53 
5 55 
rises 
4 52 
5 51 
6 51 
7 51 
8 49 
9 48 
10 48 
11 49 
morn 
0 54 
2 0 
3 12 
4 14 
5 35 
6 39 
sets 
6 33 
7 52 
9 8 
Washington, 
Mar y land , 
Virginia , Ken. 
tucky, Missou¬ 
ri, and Cali¬ 
fornia. 
n.ji 
4 49 
4 50 
4 51 
4 52 
4 53 
4 54 
4 55 
4 56 
4 57 
4 58 
4 59 
0 
1 
2 
3 
4 
5 
6 
o 7 
5 8 
5 9 
5 10 
5 12 
5 13 
5 14 
5 15 
5 16 
5 17 
11.31 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 19 
7 18 
7 18 
7 18 
7 17 
7 17 
7 17 
7 16 
7 16 
7 15 
7 14 
7 14 
7 13 
7 12 
7 12 
7 11 
7 10 
7 10 
7 9 
7 8 5 19 
7 8!o 20 
7 715 21 
PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON. 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
WASn’N. 
CHA'STON 
CHICAGO. 
1(1 
n. 
II. M. 
U. M. 
IT. M. 
ir. m. 
H. M. 
s 
1st Quart 
5 
4 43 ev. 
4 31 ev. 
4 19 ev. 
4 7 ev. 
3 37 CV. 
i 
Full M’n 
13 
11 39 m. 
11 27 m. 
11 35 in. 
1 3 iu. 
0 33 m. 
.11 
3d Qnnrt. 
21 
3 47 ev. 
3 35 ev. 
3 23 ev. 
3 11 ev. 
2 41 ev. 
. 3 
New M’n 
28 
0 43 ev. 
0 31 cv. 
0 19 ev. 
0 7 ev. 
11 37 m. 
.10 
.19 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, JANUARY, 1873. 
Thankful for the Past; hopeful for the Future. 
This is our feeling in commencing the first number 
of the new volume of the American Agriculturist 
for the year 1873. 
There is at the present time a wide-spread dis¬ 
satisfaction among farmers in regard to the condi¬ 
tion and prospects of our agriculture. High 
wages, exorbitant freights, and low prices for our 
products have a depressing effect. Many farmers 
think we shall never see good times again. They 
are proposing all sorts of remedies—some good and 
some bad. What we propose to do, and to recom¬ 
mend the farmer readers of the American Agricul¬ 
turist to do, is to stick to the farm. The darkest 
hour of the night is often just before daybreak. 
Agriculture will be as profitable in the future as in 
the past—and, we believe, more so. Let us keep 
at work. Let those of us who arc poor cut down 
expenses as much as possible, buying nothing we 
can get along without. Let us take good care of 
the stock tliis winter, and get everything ready for 
a vigorous push at farm work in the spring. Now, 
at the commencement of a New Year, let us make 
up our minds to he better men and better farmers. 
We all ought to know our weak points. There is 
occasionally a farmer who is so excessively sys¬ 
tematic and orderly that he does little else than 
“putter.” He lias no disposition to undertake a 
big job and put it through. Others like nothing 
hut steady work. They would rather build a fence 
round a twenty-acre lot than stop to pick up a few 
rails that have blown off. A good farmer must 
have both dispositions. He must push forward the 
large jobs and attend to the little ones at the same 
time. He must be systematic and orderly. In 
short, be must think as well as work. 
Hints about Work. 
Keep a Diary , or let some member of the family 
keep it for you. Write down every night the work 
that lias been done during the day, the state of the 
weather, and any facts in regard to the stock, etc., 
that ought to be recorded. It is very little trouble^ 
and is exceedingly useful—and the longer it is kept 
the more interesting it becomes. 
Keep Accounts. —It is astonishing how many far¬ 
mers there are who keep no regular account of 
their receipts and expenses. If you have hitherto 
neglected this matter, neglect it no longer. 
Make an Inventory of everything you have on the 
farm, its condition, and value. 
Pay Old Debts, and make as few new ones as pos¬ 
sible. Collect what is owing you. Keep all your 
pecuniary matters straight, and know exactly what 
you owe and what property you have. 
Look to your Insurance, and see that your policy 
covers all your property. It sometimes happens 
that grain is insured in one bam and not in another, 
and so with implements, harness, carriages, ma¬ 
chines, wool, etc. Look into the matter. 
Make the House Comfortable. —See that the win¬ 
dows are tight and the doors tit close, and that the 
cold air does not rush iu between the floor and the 
base-board. If you do not know how to remedy 
these matters, ask a carpenter. Make all the rooms 
comfortable, and occupy them. It is a foolish 
thing to spend a goo,d deal of money in building a 
fine house and then live only in the kitchen. 
Wood. —See that the wood-house is liberally fur¬ 
nished with wood, and that the wood-boxes in 
the house are never empty, and kindling is handy. 
Coal —Do not put this in a scattered heap on the 
cellar-floor, but provide a large box or bin, with a 
door on one side that slides up and down, hut 
which does not reach the bottom within eight or 
ten inches. From this hole the coal can be easily 
shoveled into the scuttle. The sliding door should 
be large enough for a person to pass into the bin 
when the coal is so nearly exhausted that it can not 
be reached from the hole. 
Ashes. —If you do not wish to hum up, provide 
in some convenient place a brielc or stone ash-pit, 
or an old potash-kettle may be used temporarily. 
Wood-ashes are much more dangerous than coal- 
aslu’ 4 , When apparently quite cold, there may he 
a few charred pieces of wood on fire that only need 
air and contact with wood to bum up the premises. 
Icy Walks around the house and out-buildings 
should he sprinkled with coal-ashes. Sprinkle a 
little salt on the slippery door-steps, etc. 
Clear the Paths of Snow.— Menincliued to procras¬ 
tinate wait until the storm is over, for fear that if 
they sweep off the snow it will blow in again! 
They like to walk about in the snow. By and by, 
some days or weeks after the storm is over, they 
will spend hours in doing what a little promptness 
would have enabled them to do in minutes. Clear 
off the snow at once, while it is still falling if need 
he. It will save labor in the end, and you cau get 
about with ease aud comfort. 
In the Bairns, keep everything in its place. Sweep 
out frequently. Sort over old iron, and sell all 
pieces of broken castings, worn-out plow-points, 
etc. Horseshoes, old bolts, or any pieces of 
wrought-irou that may sometimes be useful, 
should be sorted and placed where you can find 
them when wanted. 
Brand all the Tools, aud mend and mark the bags. 
Provide a place for them, and keep them there. 
Much of the Profit and Pleasure of farming depends 
on attention to these little matters. But we must 
stop here. This is merely preparatory. It is get¬ 
ting ready for work ; but we may and should have 
regular, steady work at the same time. The trouble- 
with many is that when actively engaged with reg¬ 
ular work they fail to keep things in order. 
Write Down all you want to Do, and you will not 
say that there is a lack of profitable work for the 
winter. We do not say that it is advisable to hire 
much help in winter. That depends on circum¬ 
stances. You and such men and boys as you have 
should be kept fully and usefully employed. 
The “January Thaw," if we have one, should be 
improved iu getting ready for another long spell of 
frost. Winter came on so suddenly, that many tilings 
had to be left undone that we had intended to do 
