1873.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
83 
now or keep it for future use. Do not leave it 
spread out all over the yards and premises. 
• plowing should not he done while the land is wet. 
Much, however, depends on the kind of soil, and 
whether it was fall-plowed or whether it is sod. 
The latter always seems drier than the former. As 
a rule, it may be said that no land should be plowed 
when it sticks to a bright steel mold-board. 
Three-horse Teams should always be used wher¬ 
ever practicable. They are far more effective than 
two horses. One man can manage three horses as 
well as two, and will accomplish half as much again 
work. For plowing, harrowing, rolling, cultivat¬ 
ing, drawing off heavy stones on a stone-boat, and 
for drawing heavy loads on a wagon, there is great 
economy in using three horses. 
Good Implements .—Great loss is incurred on many 
farms by using poor implements and tools. The 
higher wages are, the more important it is to econo¬ 
mize labor. A good plow, as compared with a poor 
one, will more than pay for itself in a week’s work. 
Harrows should be made heavy enough for three 
horses and should take a wide sweep. The old 32- 
teeth drags are behind the age. Get a good Scotch 
harrow with 40 teeth and keep the teeth sharp. 
We seldom harrow our land enough. 
Pollers are best made of plank and in two sections. 
Keep the plank saturated with petroleum. They 
will last as long again. Do not neglect to oil the 
journals. 
A Cultivator for Three or Four Horses abreast is a 
very effective implement. The great trouble with 
them is that they are rarely strong enough, and 
the teeth are usually too wide and do not slant 
enough forward. At this season we want them to 
stir the land—not to cut off weeds. 
Grain-Drills Pay .—-Except that they lack a steer¬ 
ing apparatus, our drills are the best in the world. 
Stone-Boats are very handy for other purposes be¬ 
sides drawing off stones. Always take one with you 
to the field—and have on it a crowbar, an- axe, a 
spade, a hammer, a monkey-wrench, and a box of 
nails, bolts, etc. Keep the bottom of the boat satu¬ 
rated with petroleum. 
Petroleum we find almost indispensable. We 
keep a barrel of it always on hand, and use it freely 
on all tools, implements, wagons, etc. Try it. 
The Cellar .—Whatever you do or fail to do, do 
not neglect the cellar under the house. Remove 
everything that is decaying. Clean up. White¬ 
wash the walls. Ventilate thoroughly and often. 
The Principal Work of the Month in this latitude, 
is to get ready for sowing and planting in April and 
May. See that the seed is ready, the implements 
in order, the harness well oiled and repaired, and 
the horses in good condition for hard work. 
Cutting Fodder .—If you do this by horse-power, 
cut up enough now to last for several months and 
stow it away. 
Things You should Always have on Hand. Some 
of these cold mornings, a cow will calve. You tell 
your man to “give her a warm bran-mash.” 
“But,” he replies, “we are out of bran.” This 
should not be. Bran is one of the things that 
should always be on hand. Sale is another. And 
so is flaxseed. Unless you are within easy dis¬ 
tance of a drug-store, it is well to keep a few com¬ 
mon medicines on hand—such as salts, aloes, rhu¬ 
barb, gentian, ginger, and laudanum. Keep them 
under locft.and key. A syringe for giving injec¬ 
tions should always be kept—and kept in order. A 
slight attack of colic can often be cured by an in¬ 
jection of warm water and soap. 
Hot Water .—Blessed is the farmer who at this 
season can al ways be sure of getting a gallon or two 
of hot water whenever he wants it. This is a lux¬ 
ury few farmers appreciate until they have to depend 
on “ hired help ” in the kitchen. 
Hay-Tea is made by pouring boiling water on to 
chaffed hay. Clover is best. It is an excellent 
tonic for all animals. 
“ Corn Pudding ” is easily made by stirring corn- 
meal into boiling water. A quart or two of this 
hot “pudding” put into a pail of skimmed milk 
and well mixed, is grand food for young pigs that 
you wish to push forward rapidly. 
Horses .—If they have been fed on straw during 
the winter, it is now time to give them a little hay 
or more grain. Work very moderately at first and 
especially avoid fast driving. Get the horses into 
good condition. To do this, work regularly, feed 
liberally, and groom thoroughly. Give a table¬ 
spoonful of salt to each horse every day for a week, 
and then after that give the horses every day all the 
salt they will eat. The only reason that animals eat 
more salt than is good for them is because they 
have not access to it at all times. At this season 
horses are changing their coats and are quite liable 
to catch cold. Be careful to blanket them when 
they have to stand exposed to the wind. 
Cows.—See Hints for last month. At calving¬ 
time keep the cow quiet. Be on hand to render as¬ 
sistance if necessary, but do not be hasty. Pull 
only when the cow strains aud pull downwards. 
Draw out all the milk from the udder. Some far¬ 
mers give it to the cow. We think a bran-mash is 
better. Give the cow all the water she will drink, 
but take the chill off. Hay-tea is excellent. If the 
cow is much exhausted put a blanket over her and 
keep her as quiet and comfortable as possible. For 
a week or two before calving, keep the bowels open. 
This can usually be done by giving bran-mashes or 
linseed tea. And unless the cow is in very high 
condition this will be better than to give medicine, 
but the latter must be resorted to if necessary. The 
bowels must be kept open. Epsom or Glauber 
salts are the best—6ay from 4oz. to one lb., accord¬ 
ing to circumstances. Always give some ginger or 
other tonic with the salts. 
Sheep .—Clean out the sheds or pens. Nothing is 
so bad for sheep as to compel them to stand or lie 
upon fermenting manure. They will do better in 
the mud even than on fermenting manure. Both, 
however, are bad. Give a little fresh straw for bed¬ 
ding every day—just enough to keep the sheep dry 
and comfortable. At this season the flock-master 
needs to exercise all his vigilance, energy, and best 
judgment. In our changeable climate it is no easy 
matter to carry a large flock of sheep through this 
month and the next. A great point is to have seve¬ 
ral apartments and to grade and feed the sheep ac¬ 
cording to their condition. But avoid sudden 
changes in feeding. For breeding stock, clover 
hay, bran, and roots are better than grain. See 
Hints for last month. 
Ewes Heavy in Lamb should be allowed plenty of 
exercise, but they must not be driven through 
drifts of snow, or allowed to slip on ice, or jump 
fences or ditches; and especially avoid crowding 
at doors or gates. Treat them gently. If for any 
reason you have to catch a ewe do not frighten her, 
and if possible do not turn her up on her back. 
At Lambing Time have plenty of separate pens for 
the ewes and lambs. Let them be warm and well- 
ventilated, aud above all let them be dry. If all 
goes right, if the ewes are healthy and the lambs 
strong, there is no trouble; but there is no greater 
test of skill, patience, good judgment, and ingenui¬ 
ty, than to have a number of weak lambs come dur¬ 
ing wet cold weather in the early spring. A few 
little lamb-blankets made of flannel and tied on 
with tape will be found very convenient. See that 
the lambs suckle frequently. This must be attend¬ 
ed to. There is no chance for the lamb if it does 
not get plenty of milk. 
Early Lambs Fattening for the Butcher should be 
allowed anything and everything they will eat in 
little troughs, placed where the lambs can, but the 
ewes can not, get at them. Bran, oatmeal, oats, 
oil-cake, corn-meal, and sliced Swede turnips or 
mangels, are all good—those are best of which the 
lambs will eat the most. At two weeks old a lamb 
will generally commence to eat a little bran with 
its mother, and after that it should be encouraged 
to eat as much as possible. Feed tlieewes well, and 
see that they have plenty of water. A few roots 
for the ewes arc of great value. Feed plenty of 
bran and clover hay. 
Swine .—Keep the pens clean and dry. See that 
they are well ventilated. 
Young Pigs should be fed all they will eat and di¬ 
gest. Nothing is better for them than corn-pudding 
aud milk. As the pigs get older and the weather 
warmer, corn-meal, soaked for 12 or 24 hours in 
cold water, may take the place of the “ pudding.” 
Breeding Sows should have as much exercise as 
possible. Do not keep more than three or four in 
a pen. And a week or so before farrowing put the 
sow by herself in a warm pen. Feed plenty of bran. 
If the bowels are not loose, give some Glauber’s-salt 
in the food, say a teaspoonful at each meal until it 
effects the object. If the sow is poor and weak, 
boiled linseed or oil-cake will be better than the 
salts. If the sow is quiet and you can be with her 
at farrowing, throw a blanket over her and keep the 
little pigs under it while they are sucking. The 
heat from the sow will keep them warm, and they 
will soon be strong- enough to take care of them¬ 
selves. Give the sow bran-mashes, and put in a 
little salt, say half a teaspoonful once a day. The 
more warm water aud bran she will take, the better. 
In three or four days give a little meal with the 
bran, and gradually increase the quantity as the 
sow gives more milk. At two weeks old the little 
pigs will begin to eat, and should have a trough 
separate from the sow. 
--- —»•— --- 
Work in the Horticultural Department*. 
The snow, which at the North has covered the 
ground during the greater part of the winter, has 
proved an excellent mulch, aud when spring opens 
the ground will be in fine condition for working. 
This in the latitude of New York sometimes hap¬ 
pens as early as the middle of this month. We 
may say to our many new readers that these hints 
about work are not offered as a “ Calendar of Ope¬ 
rations” to be blindly followed, as it would be im¬ 
possible to give directions to meet the wants of 
cultivators in all parts of a country where the cli¬ 
mate varies from almost tropical to where the 
winters are nearly six months long. If farmers 
were only aware of the benefit arising, from a good 
vegetable and fruit garden, very few would be will¬ 
ing to do without them. We have known wealthy 
farmers who preferred to buy their vegetables and 
fruit rather than to take the trouble of raising 
them. If farmers could enjoy a fresh and varied 
supply of vegetables for one season, they would 
not, we believe, forego this luxury, especially 
when the expense necessary to keep a garden well 
cultivated and stocked with the best varieties of 
vegetables is comparatively small. The varieties of 
vegetables which are best approved are mentioned 
from time to time in this Department, and there is 
a list given on page 62 of the February Agriculturist 
in which select sorts are named. Novelties should 
not be relied upon for a main crop, as where one 
proves valuable ten at least are worthless, or at 
most no better than well-known and older varieties. 
Orchard and Nursery. 
Grafting may be done the last of this month in 
many places, but in this latitude it is best to wait 
until April. 
Cions .—Cut when the trees are not frozen. Order 
any nev r varieties which can not be had in the 
neighborhood early, so that they may be ou hand 
before the buds have commenced to swell. Mirny 
nurserymen now offer cions at reasonable rates, 
and if one has a lot of trees which bear only poor 
fruit, grafting is a very quick and easy way of get¬ 
ting standard sorts. The process has often been 
explained in the Agriculturist , and any one with a 
little skill and practice will be able to perform the 
operation successfully. Cherry and Plum stocks 
should be grafted very early, as they commence 
growing soon after the frost is out of the ground. 
Girdled Trees.— The quantity of snow lias been 
so great this winter that young trees have been in 
many localities badly girdled by rabbits and mice. 
The best way of treating trees injured in this way 
