44,2 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[December, 
Contents for December, 1873. 
Bee Notes for December..... ..... .447 
Boys and Gftis’ Columns—The Doctor’s Talks- 
Paper Weaving —Aunt Sue’s Puzzle Box —The 
Morning Paper...3 lllustralioris. .465, 466 
Buffalo, End of the.. ...........4 Illustrations. .458 
Bulbs, Late Planting of.... .461 
Butter, Artificial . 457 
Cattle, Exportation of. 451 
Cattle—Remarkable Shorthorns.... ..Illustrated. .441, 447 
Coal Ashes for Garden Walks...461 
Cow, A Good Jersey. .457 
Cranberry Planting, Two Blunders in-.......... 460 
Dairy and Ice House........ .. Illustrated. .453 
Distilling Water.... . Illustrated. .456 
Faith in Specialties.__. .... 457 
Farm Work in December... 443 
Flower-Garden and Lawn in December....443 
Fruit-Garden for December. 443 
Grape Vines, Pruning........460 
Greenhouse and Window Plants...443 
Grounds and Greenhouses of Geo. Such.. .. 460 
Household Department—Handy Boot-Rack—Carriage- 
Step—Home Topics—Christmas Toys—Cake and 
Doughnuts.2 Illustrations. .464, 465 
Irrigation, Some Methods of....5 Illustrations. .455 
Key for an Ox-Bow.... Illustrated. 456 
Kitchen Garden in December. 443 
Markets for December. 444 
Mr. Arch and the English Laborers..... .456 
Oats and Peas. 457 
Ogden Farm Papers, No. 46—Typhoid Fever from 
Milk—Jersey Cattle in Jersey—Guernsey Cattle at 
Home — Milk in Jersey — Jersey Butter-making_ 
Guernsey Farming. Illustrated , .449, 450 
Orchard and Nursery in December... .443 
Pear, Souvenir du Congres.... Illustrated. .462 
Pig-Pen, A Comfortable.. Illustrated ..454 
Plant, New Basket. Illustrated. .459 
Plant, New Variegated Ice... Illustrated. .459 
Plant, Ornamental Golden-Rod... .Illustrated. .462 
Poultry Houses. .3 Illustrations. .454 
Premium List... 469 
Publishers’ Announcements.......448, 449, 471 
Sheep, Winter Care of......456 
Turkeys, Watching the. Illustrated. .451 
Walks and Talks on the Farm, No. 120—Summer Fal¬ 
lowing—Nitrogen—Financial Panic.452, 453 
Yoke, Turning the. Illustrated. .451 
INDEX TO “BASKET,” OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
Bed Bugs..446 
Beet Sugar...471 
Birds, Dr. Cones’ Key to 
North American..447 
Botanical Charts, Hens 
low’s. 447 
Butchers’ Offal.. 445 
Blitter Manufactory.445 
Cattle upon the Roads.. .446 
Chimney Building.471 
Colt, Feed for a Spring. .471 
Corn and Oil-Cake, Value 
of.446 
Corn-Crib, Rat-proof... 446 
Cows for Milk & Butter.445 
Drain Tile, Making.446 
Farms for Premiums... 445 
Feed, Cooking and Crush¬ 
ing. 446 
Fence Posts.445 
German Agriculturist... .444 
Grade Shorthorns for 
Dairy. 445 
Grapes for Missouri.445 
Grass fora Shelter Grove.471 
Grass, Orchard445 
Grass, Fertilizer for.445 
Hay-Mow, Contents of. .471 
Heifers, Duchess . 446 
Hens Laying while at 
Roost.....446 
Horses, Auti-ballingPads 
for.. .445 
Humbugs, Sundry. 445 
Immigrants, Openings for446 
Irrigation, Salt Water for.445 
Manure, Drawing in the 
Winter.471 
Manure, Piling.471 
Manure, Who Owns the..446 
Mare, A Kicking,....471 
Milk, Holding up.445 
Milking Machine.444 
New Things..444 
N. Y. Dairy Assoc’n.449 
Organ, Mason & Hamlin.446 
Peach, The Thurber.445 
Pickles, Sweet.445 
Pipe, Non-Poisonous_446 
Ponies, Importation of 
Shetland..445 
Potato Digger...471 
Potato Prizes, Bliss & 
Sons’..447 
Sales of Land .449 
Society N. American Bee- 
Keepers.445 
Society. W. Pennsylvania 
Poultry. .445 
Stifle Lameness. .471 
Tea, The Adulteration of.446 
Timothy Seed to an Acre, 
How Much.471 
Tumor on a Horse’s El¬ 
bow.445 
Vermont Dairy Assoc’n. 449 
Veterinary College... ..471 
I Wheat, Chinese...445 
Shall He Huy a Farm “ A. M. C.,” 
Springfield, Mass. At the present time it requires but 
very little observation to perceive that a farmer who 
is out of debt is in the most independent position pos¬ 
sible. Panics and financial disaster affect him least of 
all classes. The necessaries of life and many comforts 
are positively assured to him, while the artisan or the 
merchant may suddenly find himself, for no fault of his 
own, reduced to poverty if not distress. Generally 
those farmers who have been merchants at one time, are 
the most successful in their adopted business, bringing 
thereto system and economy. A merchant wearied 
with unprofitable competition, possessing $ 5,000 of cap¬ 
ital, with a certainty for his family in the shape of a 
paid-np life policy for an equal amount, might safely 
venture upon farm life if any man might. But the safe 
rule of “ pay as you go” should be adopted. 
Calendar for December. 
Boston,.NEng- 
JY. Y. at!/. Cl., 
Philadelphia, 
Yashina ton. 
land , M. 
York 
Maryland , 
State , 
Miclii - 
ftew Jersey, 
Virginia,Ken- 
I 
gan 
Wiscon- 
Penn.. 
Ohio. 
lucky. Missou- 
0 
Hin , loiva , and 
Indiana 
and 
ri. 
and 
Cali- 
Oregon. 
Illinois. 
formla. 
5 
Ss 
§ 
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IS 
<3 
I Sun 
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1 Sun 
d 
% 
Mo'i 
sets. 
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1 
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P 
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IS 
If 
H.M 
H.M 
H. M. 
H.M 
H.M 
H. M. 
H.M 
H.M 
H. M. 
1 
M 
710 
4 
28 
4 3 
7 
5 
4 34 
4 1 
7 
0 
4 39 
3 58 
2 
T 
711 
4 
28 
5 17 
7 
6 
4 34 
5 14 
7 
1 
4 .39 
5 10 
3 
W 
712 
4 
28 
rises 
7 
7 
4 34 
rises 
7 
2 
4 39 
rises 
4 
T 
7 13 
4 
28 
4 45 
7 
8 
4 33 
4 52 
7 
3 
4 39 
4 59 
5 
F 
7 14 
4 
28 
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9 
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5 46 
7 
4 
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5 53 
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8 54 
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4 33 
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morn 
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7 24 
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7 26 
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sets 
10 
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30 
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7 
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5 27 
21 
S 
7 27 
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6 25 
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4 36 
6 31 
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6 S3 
22 
M 
7 27 
4 
31 
7 41 
7 
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7 45 
7 
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7 51 
23 
T 
7 28 
4 
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7 
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9 2 
7 
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4 43 
9 6 
24 
W 
7 28 
4 
32 
10 14 
7 
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10 16 
7 
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10 18 
25 
T 
7 28 
4 
33 
11 27 
7 
22 
4 38 
11 28 
7 
17 
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11 29 
20 
F 
7 29 
4' 
33 
morn 
23 
4 38 
morn 
7 
17 
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morn 
27 
8 
7 29 
4 
34 
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7 
23 
4 89 
0 39 
7 
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e 89 
28 
S 
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147 
29 
M 
7 29 
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30 
T 
7 30 
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7 
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4 41 
412 
7 
1814 47 
4 7 
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7 30 
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7 
1914 48 
5 17 
PHASES OF THE MOON. 
MOON 1 . 
BOSTON. 
N. YORK. 
WASH’N. 
cha’ston 
CHICAGO. 
Full M’n 
3d Quart. 
New M’n 
1st Quart 
D. 
3 
11 
19 
26 
ir. jr. 
11 36 ev. 
3 10 ev. 
2 5 ev. 
11 21 in. 
H. M. 
11 24 P.V. 
4 58 ev. 
1 53 ev. 
11 9 m. 
H. M. 
11 13 ev. 
4 46 ev. 
1 41 ev. 
10 57 m. 
H. It. 
11 0 ev. 
4 34 ev. 
1 29 ev. 
10 45 ra. 
H. 51. 
10 SO ev. 
4 4 ev. 
0 59 ev. 
10 15 m. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
NEW YORK, DECEMBER, 1873. 
A farmer who has worked hard in the spring, 
summer, and autumn is entitled to some rest and 
recreation in winter. A healthy man can often 
obtain rest by a change of -work. Idleness is not 
rest. To spend several hours each day sitting with 
muddy boots and dirty clothes aromnd a hot stove 
in a close room at a corner grocery is neither rest 
nor recreation to an intelligent man. Country 
gossip is seldom of an elevating and refining char¬ 
acter. Do not listen to it. The receiver of stolen 
goods is as bad as the thief. A quiet but decided 
“ I do not wish to hear it ” will stop the mouth of 
the retailer of scandal. An American farmer is, or 
should be, a gentleman. He should recognize the 
inherent dignity of his position. He should be a 
man who knows his rights and dares maintain 
them. His life should not be spent in the mere 
routine of daily toil. Work he must; but he 
should not be slow about it. He should do it with 
his might. We should aim to do more work in 
fewer hours. It is said that a farmer’s work is 
never done. Whatever truth there may be in the 
remark is due not to the nature of the work but to 
the character of the man. The writer is himself a 
farmer, and speaks from experience. The ordin¬ 
ary labors of a farm in winter can as a rule be done 
in half the time they now occupy. If you doubt it 
test the matter to-morrow. Write down every¬ 
thing you have done to-day and how long it took 
to do it. Then write down what you will have to 
do to-morrow, and make up your mind to do it in 
the best manner and in the shortest possible time. 
Do this day after day until it becomes a habit. 
Before night prepare for the next morning’s work. 
Good managers always do this, and it is one secret 
of their success. 
Mints about Work. 
Hard Work , eucli as chopping wood or thrashing 
with a flail, is not favorable to mental activity. A 
farmer should economize his energies both of mind 
and body. 
The more Work a Man does the more he can do is a 
truth which we should all do well to remember. 
The Busiest Man is the man of most leisure. 
The indolent man has never time to do anything 
he does not wish to do. 
Early Bising is good; getting at your work early 
is better. There are men who pride themselves 
on getting up early iu the morning who do nothing 
after they are up—or do it listlessly. 
Energy is the one quality which a farmer of the 
present age most needs. It is not the number of 
hours that a man works, but the skill, intelligence, 
and activity that he brings to it are the test of his 
ability and industry. 
Machinery must take the place of hand labor; 
but machinery, however perfect, needs a man of 
intelligence to keep it in order and to manage it to 
the best advantage. Machinery does not do away 
with the necessity for labor ; it merely changes its 
character. It demands brains rather than muscle. 
Thinking is harder work than chopping, and 
much more remunerative. 
Better Hire an Extra Man than devote your whole 
time to mere routine work. 
A Good Boy can frequently be obtained in the 
winter for little more than his board. 
It is Boor Economy for a farmer to spend several 
hours every day in doing work which such a boy 
can do nearly or quite as well as he can. 
Make the House Comfortable. —See that the win¬ 
dows and doors do not admit a stream of cold air. 
Every hole stopped will save a stick of wood. A 
window rattling in the casement is a reflection on 
the owner’s intelligence. 
Many an Old House that is as “cold as a barn” 
may be made very comfortable by the aid of a few 
laths, shingle-nails, and putty. Try it. 
Animals require daily care. Make them com¬ 
fortable. Feed regularly and liberally, and see that 
they have a constant supply of fresh water. 
Shelter Saves hood. It sometimes docs more than 
this. It saves the life of the animal. 
Butter and Tallow are not economical foods for 
cows and sheep. When we let an animal grow 
thin in winter we are feeding fat and flesh. It is 
injurious to the animal and a great loss to us. 
Chafing Hay and Straw add nothing to their 
nutritive value. But with proper arrangements it 
is more convenient to feed cut fodder; and when 
mixed with meal or bran horses, cows, and sheep 
will eat cut straw and stalks as greedily as hay. 
When there is an abundance of straw and stalks 
this is a very economical method of wintering 
stock. A bushel of chaffed straw (say 8 lbs.) and a 
quart of corn meal, three times a day, is a good 
allowance for a cow not giving milk. Cows giving 
milk should be allowed more meal or bran. Say 
three pints of com meal to a bushel of cut straw, 
three times a day ; or a quart each of meal and bran. 
Horses should be fed according to their work. A 
bushel of cut straw and two quarts of corn meal 
may be regarded as equivalent to hay. If the 
horses are doing but little they will do well on this 
mixture—being allowed all they will eat up clean. 
If at steady work, give two or three quarts of oats 
or other grain three times a day in addition. 
When Feeding Hay it is a bad practice to let the 
horse stand with a rackful of hay before him all 
the time. 
Sheep. —We think it is a good plan to give all 
sheep a little grain every day in winter. 
Fattening Sheep , of course, should have grain 
enough to push them forward as rapidly as possible. 
One pound of com per head per day for Merinos is 
an average allowance. The large breeds may be 
fed H lb. each per day. The better plan is to com¬ 
mence with half a pound of grain per day, and as 
the sheep become accustomed to it gradually in¬ 
crease the amount. For the last month of fatten¬ 
ing, Merino sheep can be fed lb. of corn per 
day to advantage. With good, bright straw and 
the above allowance of grain, well-selected sheep 
should gain from 11 to 3 lbs. each per week. 
Breeding Ewes and Store Sheep will winter well on 
good straw and half a pound of corn daily. 
