106 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
Contents of This Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Adonis, The Spring. *..127 
Bag Holder on Platform Scales .*..122 
Barn, Plan of Sheep.2*..Ill 
Beans, Lima, as a Farm Crop..113 
Beans, Pole and Other Climbers. 113 
Bed Straw for Breeding Sows . 119 
Bee Notes for March.Ill 
Bees, Homing in the South ..*.. 121 
Boys and Girls Columns.— The Doctor's Talks;— 
Gardening in West Africa; Easter Eggs; What is a 
Geyser; Problems for Boys and Girls; What the 
March Winds Did; The Round Robin; Marble 
Time and Marbles; A Queer Darkey; Eating the 
Candle; Our Puzzle Box .11*. .132-135 
Buildings, Remodelling, Prizes for Plans.110 
Cattle, Breeding and Rearing .122 
Cattle, Fat Shorthorn.122 
Cattle, Tattooing.136 
Cauliflower, To Raise Large. 136 
Chemistry of the Farm and Garden.—Ill..124 
Clay in a New Role. 112 
Cotton Seed in the Garden. 117 
Coop, Combination. *..119 
Cucumbers without a Garden. 118 
Baturas, Ornamental, or Thorn Apples .*..125 
Dibbling Plants. 3 *.. 117 
Diseases to be Guarded Against.136 
Farm, Who Inherits the?.115 
Fence, A Cheap.*..124 
Fence Posts and Frost. 2*.. 118 
Fire-Escape, a Simple. *. .115 
Flower Garden and Lawn. 108 
Forestry Notes.Ill 
Fowls, Standard. 113 
Fruit Garden. 107 
Gardening and Ponltry Raising for Women.11S 
Gate, A Swing.; .*..117 
Greenhouse and Window Plants.*..108 
Hedge, A UseJ'or an Old.US 
Hopple for Jumping Horse .*..122 
Hot-Bed. A Cheap and Convenient. *.. 127 
Household : — Cupboard Under Chimney ; Good 
Lights; Health Hints; A Good Word for Oatmeal; 
A Convenient and Ornamental Wood-Box; Holder 
for Brooms; Small Economies ; Fan Cover for 
Flower Pot; Trellises for Vines; Good Recipes; 
The Furs We Wear; The Government of Children. 
11*..129-131 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 107 
Genten Season. HI 
Lime and Soot. 113 
Mignonette Seed in Court.126 
Onion Culture—Seeds and Sets.HO 
Orchard, How to Lay Out an.125 
Orchard, Work in the . 107 
Outlook for 1883.113 
Fear Culture—Selection of Soil and Site.128 
Pigeon, The Carrier... .2*. .123 
Poultry, Experiments in Keeping.123 
Poultry.Suggestions. 115 
Primrose, The Missouri Evening.*..125 
Prizes for Barns aud Out buildings.HO 
Quince Culture—The Varieties Most Desirable. ..*. .109 
Babbits and Mice, Injury from.128 
Rain, Substitutes for. 127 
Root Pruning . 127 
Seeds, Trade Mark.120 
Sheep, “ Rambouillet,” in Texas.*..124 
Spout and Stock Trough. *..120 
Spring Time, Early.*..105 
Stone-Boat, Make a. 118 
Tether for a Horse or Cow.*..118 
“Tobogganing,” Slides on the.*..114 
Tomato, Transplanting the.*..126 
Tools in their Places.119 
Trees, Preparing, for Planting.2*.. 126 
Trough, A Sheep. .*.. 118 
Walls, Utilizing Old Stone. 109 
Walks, How to Make Gravel.3*.. 128 
Walnut, the European.117 
What is Laud Worth ?. 136 
Wheat Pedigree.HO 
Winter Foot Notes. 136 
Work Women Can Do.109 
Premium Lists. 
Our beautifnul Illustrated forty-four page List of 
Premiums for subscribers to the American Agricul¬ 
turist will be mailed to any one desiring it. 
MARCH. 
No Time Like the Present. 
The March number of the American Agriculturist 
is the third issue for the present year. The Pub¬ 
lishers confidently claim that these three numbers 
of this Journal are superior to any ever before 
published. They are in the line of that March 
of Hiiiprovement upon which the American 
Agriculturist has entered, and are an expression of 
the ideal which has been set up as the new goal of 
our onward progress. 
Our subscribers and readers were promised that 
“ the American Agriculturist for 1883 should be su¬ 
perior, in every respect, to any previous year of its 
existence,” and they are witnesses to the fidelity 
with which this promise has been kept. No pains 
or expense have been spared, or will be spared, to 
maintain our standard “ iiill high ad¬ 
vanced.” 
It is a marvel in journalism that this paper can 
be furnished at the small subscription price charged 
for it. Its reading matter is all fresh and original. 
Its illustrations are new. Even the cover is every 
month a new example of the art of embellishment. 
It is gratifying to the Publishers of the American 
Agriculturist , that from its readers scattered over all 
parts of the civilized world, there are received thou¬ 
sands of citmpEinieutary tcssimoiiiuls 
to the ability and skill with which the journal is 
conducted; to the ever broadening scope of its 
discussions and to the extent and variety of the 
knowledge that fills its columns. 
Under these circumstances, we submit to our 
Subscribers and readers that they can help along 
the cause of agricultural improvement, and do a 
positively hcnelicial service to their 
friends and neighbors, by introducing this Journal 
to them, and by inducing them to send in their 
names as subscribers. It is no more than neigh¬ 
borly kindness to give your friends the opportuni¬ 
ty for profit aud advantage that yourselves enjoy. 
The list of Premiums offered in October by the 
American Agriculturist will remain open until the 
30th of June. That list includes only valuable and 
useful articles, and books of rare merit. Premi¬ 
ums will be given for any number of subscriptions 
from one upwards, the value of the premium in¬ 
creasing with the number of names sent in. The 
Descriptive List contains 287 Premiums, fully il¬ 
lustrated and described. If you have no copy of 
this Descriptive List, send a postal to this office, 
and one will be promptly returned, prepaid. 
BEGIN NOW. 
Subscriptions to tlie American Agriculturist can 
begin at any time, inasmuch as every number is 
complete in itself. Those who begin with the 
March issue will receive all the valuable hints and 
suggestions regarding spring work, which forms 
so valuable a feature of the paper. 
NEW PREMIUMS. 
On another page, we offersome new and valuable 
premiums, as an inducement and aid for securing 
new subscribers for the Ammcan Agriculturist. 
Farm Work for March. 
Spring begins on the 20th of tlie month, but the- 
pressing work of the season opens earlier or later 
than this date, according to locality, etc. The 
plans for the year should all be laid before the 
spring work begins, that no time need be lost. 
Surface Water should be let off from grain fields 
before the ground has thawed out, that the wash¬ 
ing of deep gulleys may be prevented. Drains 
may be clogged by ice and snow at their outlets, 
aud will need to be looked to. 
Clover Seed may be sown this month. A more 
even ca6t can be obtained by sowing upon a light 
fall of snow. As the snow melts, the seed is 
carried down to the ground, and finds good condi¬ 
tions for germination and growth. 
Hiring Men.—' The problem of hand labor is not 
an easy one for the farmer. On any farm where 
two or more hired men are needed during the 
growing season, it is usually best to have one man 
work by the year. In this way good help may be 
secured for a long term of years, and will also lead 
to a profitable planning of the labor for the whole 
year. The amount of work done during the winter 
can be largely increased, greatly to the relief of the 
workmen in the busy months of spring. The neces¬ 
sary wood for the household should be provided in 
winter, with a sufficient stock on hand, so that 
only well-seasoned fuel need bo used. It is a slip¬ 
shod and unprofitable method that provides the 
wood fresh from the log on the day it is burned, 
besides being a fruitful source of bad breakfasts 
and worse tempers. There are scores of other jobs- 
that may be done in winter, turning both man and 
team to good accouut. 
Fences that have been laid by the winter storms 
should be rebuilt so soon as the ground will per¬ 
mit. Manure may be drawn out before the frost 
is out of the ground, and either put in small heaps 
or spread from the wagon. This work can be done 
with greater speed if there is snow upon the 
ground, and a sled can be used. It is especially 
convenient to use a sled in an orchard under the 
spreading branches of the trees. All surface stones 
may be taken from the fields so soon as the frost is 
out enough to set them loose. 
Tools. —Every implement needed on the farm 
should be overhauled before the time for using 
them arrives. Sharpen all edged tools, aud oil the 
various parts of the farm machinery. Look well 
to the bolts, that none may be missing when the 
day for using the implements is at hand. The lit¬ 
tle things of the farm are very important, and uo 
one can hope to succeed without paying strict at¬ 
tention to them. 
Live Stoclc Notes. 
Horses should come through the winter in good 
flesh, and be in fine trim for the hard work of 
spring. Horses’ feet need special care at this time 
of slush and mud. When the horses are brought 
in from work, they should be rubbed down, and 
the feet and legs thoroughly dried. If left covered 
with mud, the skin may soon become diseased, aud 
cracked heels or foot fever may result. Look well 
to the horses’ feet. 
Cows. —Any cow that is out of condition will 
need the best of care now Warm bran slop, with 
a little ginger, is excellent. If the animal is poor 
and weak, there is danger of feeding largely of 
rich food. Calves.infested with vermin are known 
by tbeir rough coats. A mixture of lard and sul¬ 
phur rubbed along the back, with a dose of a tea- 
spoonful of sulphur and molasses once or twice a 
week, is effective. 
Sheep. —Ewes should have dry and clean pens 
and yards, with a plenty of good, wholesome food. 
If the wool is falling, a few ounce doses of equal 
parts of sulphur and cream of tartar will relieve 
the irritation of the skin. Early lambs may be 
pushed forward with fresh cow’s milk, given warm, 
a quarter of a pint to a meal. Do not run any risks 
in over-feeding. 
Swine. —Breeding sows should be separated from 
