270 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[June, 
Contents of This Number, 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Apples, Sweet.275 | 
Australian Meat. 276 | 
Boys, Give Your, Land . 275 | 
Boys and Gikls Columns.—How Carl Got the Best 
of the Gypsies; The Doctor's Talks: The Monkey 
and the Money; Something about Paper; Boys, 
Can You Swim? Making a Flag.6*..294-296 
Bos, A Dipping and Scalding.*..281 
Broom Corn Seeder ” .*..2S8 
Cattle, Prepotency of Galloway.284 
Cemeteries, Village and Neighborhood.. .. 2*..279 
Chufa, The, or Earth Almond.290 
Corn Rows, Quincunx. 280 
Curculios, Protecting Peaches from.291 
Dam, How to Build a.2*. .286 
Ditch Cleaner and Deepener..*. .280 
Diseases, Practical Treatment of.287 
Evergreens, Japanese Ornamental. 274 
Fallows, The Function of. 281 
Farm Work for the Month.270 
Fencing Wire. .274 
Ferns for Bedding. '.277 
Fertilizers, The Essentials in . 286 
Food, Give More and Better. 288 
“ Foot and Mouth ” Disease.286 
Friends, Our Faithful and Most Serviceable. .*. .269 
■Garden, Kitchen and Market.271 
Garden, Flower and Lawn.271 
Garden, Fruit . 271 
Gourds and their Uses ....2*. .239 
Guards for Tile Drains . .2*..283 
Grape Vine, Layering the.278 
Holder for Grain Bags.*..288 
Hooker, Death of H. E. 277 
Hop-Vine Borer.4*. .275 
Horse Farming Profitable . 280 
Horseradish, Imported—A Lesson.278 
Horses, American, for England.277 
House, Plans of, Costing $4,000.5*. .272 
Household Awnings for Doors and Windows; 
Hints for House Furnishing; How to Make a 
Plaque; Willie's Summer Clothes; A Duck Pen- 
AViper; A Case for Dust Cloths; Removing Fruit 
Stains; Canning Tomatoes; A Strawberry Short- 
Cake ; An Open Wood-Box.5*..292-293 
Incubators, Home-Made.2* .280 
Irrigation iu the Far West..*. .287 
Jersey Cattle at the South.281 
Iiilies, Our Wild. . . *. .291 
Litigation, How to Avoid.284 
Millet.277 
North-west, The.—Is it Too Cold ?. 276 
-Onions, The Care of Seed.]291 
Onion, The Potato. .281 
Orchard and Nursery. 271 
Osage Orange Seed.271 
Fear Culture, Points in.289 
Peas. Mulching. .289 
Peppers or Capsicum.2*..290 
Pillow, Strange Work with a. 274 
Plants, Greenhouse and Window.271 
Plaster, Nature and Value of.2S1 
Poultry, Egg Laying Breeds of.272 
Poultry House, Plan of .3*..282 
Poultry, Pasturing.*..279 
Pruning in June .277 
Quince Trees, Transplanting.2*.. 278 
Hoots as a Rotation Crop.2S2 
Sha le for the Sheep.*..284 
Sheep, Grubs in the Head. 277 
Snail Hatchery, A. 272 
Society, The American Pomological.277 
Soils. Relation of Texture to Fertility.283 
Squashes and Pumpkins .283 
State, A Great. 277 
Stoves, Concerning. .274 
Strawberries in a Drouth .290 
Sweet-Potato, The. 286 
'.Timothy, Why Always?.2S3 
Vegetable Development. 273 
Ventilating and Cooling Off A’egetables..279 
Well-Bucket, Sinking a. 277 
West and Europe, Between.276 
For Sundry Humbugs and short items, see last pages 
of the paper. 
"Wonderful Horsc-Jiimpin^. — An 
English race-horse, “ Peter Simple,” is recorded to have 
jumped from thirty to thirty-seven feet The usual leap 
of race-horses at full speed is from twenty-three to 
twenty-seven feet. 
Wf 
Corn .—Weeds grow rapidly in the cornfield and 
should be kept down by frequent working. Do as 
much of this labor as possible with the horse-hoe 
or cultivator. 
Potatoes .—The Colorado beetle is the leading 
enemy to the potato. It can be successfully fought 
with Paris green or London purple, if the poison is 
used so soon as the young “ worms ” make their 
appearance. The ground must be well stirred and 
kept free from weeds, and the crop dug early to 
avoid the wet rot. 
Roots are a leading crop in English farming, and 
ought to be more extensively grown with us. All 
roots : mangels, turnips, carrots, etc., do best on a 
deep, rich, loose soil. They require the soil plowed 
to the depth of ten inches, and if the subsoil plow 
loosens up the bottom of each furrow for several 
inches, it is all the^better. Nothing is superior to 
well-rotted barn-yard manure spread evenly over 
the surface before plowing. In the absence of this, 
300 to 500 pounds of guano or superphosphate may 
be spread on the plowed ground, and thoroughly 
harrowed in. Before sowing, smooth the surface 
with the hack of the harrow, or otherwise. In 
light soil the rows may be two feet apart, with the 
plants thinned to ten inches in the rows. In strong, 
rich soil, these distances should be somewhat in¬ 
creased. This is known as the “ flat system.” The 
system of “ ridging ” requires more labor, but econ¬ 
omizes manures. After the soil is thoroughly 
plowed and pulverized, furrows are struck out with 
a small plow about 21 feet apart and six inches 
deep. Well-rotted manure is stamped down evenly 
in the furrows and covered by a plow run 
along each side. The tops of the ridges are broad¬ 
ened by a roller, thus allowing the seed sower to 
work easily. It is claimed that the gradual removal 
of the soil from the plants by cultivation in the 
ridge system is beneficial. The Swedish orruta-baga 
turnips may be sown from the middle of May to 
the middle of July. The strap-leaved sorts can be 
sown from July first to the middle of September. 
Carrots may be grown with profit for farm stock., 
especially horses. The importance of the root crop 
in a system of rotation is pointed out on page 282. 
Buckwheat— Rough places, old sod land, poor 
stubble, etc., may produce a fair crop of buckwheat 
with good effect on the soil. If plowed under 
when nearly grown, it makes a good green manure 
that will fit the land for some more valuable crop. 
Hay .—The best quality of hay is obtained by 
cutting the grass while in bloom. For this, mowing 
machines are indispensable. The 'scythe may 
do for the fence corners, but not for general 
use. In choosing a mower, look to lightness of 
draft, strength, and simplicity of construction. As 
between equally good machines, it is best to buy 
the one made nearest home, for convenience in 
making repairs. It is safer to have the cutting tar 
ahead, and to one side of the driver. The tedder 
is a valuable adjunct of the hay field, greatly facili¬ 
tating the drying of the grass. The best hay is 
made by curing in the cock. Sweating improves 
the quality of hay, and prevents its heating in the 
mow. Cut grass that has had the sun for one day 
may be put up in large cocks, where it will keep 
well for a week if necessary, if protected from 
rain and dew by caps. These caps are easily made 
from common sheeting, and frequently pay for 
themselves the first season. The horse-fork is a 
great labor-saving implement, and should be more 
geneially used. Haying is soon over, and everv- 
thingshould be employed that aids in the hurry of 
this work. 
Fodder Crops .—Hungarian grass may follow the 
rye, and be off in time for fall seeding. A plot 
highly manured and sowed to corn will give in a 
few weeks a large supply of fine green fodder for 
the milch cows. Any of this crop that is not needed 
for the daily piecing out for the pasture, makes 
good winter fodder when cut and cured. 
IN'otes on Live Stock. 
Horses .—A good bed of fresh straw is a great 
inducement for a tired horse to lie down. Clean 
grooming, with an occasional washing, will also 
give restfulness and improve the appetite and gen¬ 
eral health. Over-feeding is not the cure for loss 
of flesh by hard work and lack of rest. Wash all 
galling parts of the harness, and keep them soft 
with castor-oil. A little powdered aloes, rubbed 
in with the oil, will keep vermin from attacking 
the harness. The amount of work to be obtained 
from a team depends largely upon the driver. 
Some will worry and sweat a team when drawing 
only an empty wagon, while others can drive the 
same team with a heavy load, and not wet a hair. 
Kindness goes far towards making a load draw 
easily, while an inhuman jerking upon the bits, or 
an injudicious use of the whip, may be the leading 
causes of poorness in flesh of horses. Provide 
protection from flies. 
Cattle.- Good butter can be made at any time of 
the year, but “ June butter ” is the standard. Pas¬ 
tures should now be at their best, and the cows 
with a large flow of rich milk. The quality of 
butter depends upon many things. The food 
should be wholesome, and the water abundant and 
pure. The milking needs to be neatly done, 
also every process through which the milk-fat 
passes until it is marketed, as neatly packed gilt- 
edge butter. Use only the best salt, and as little 
as necessary to keep the butter sweet. 
Sheep .—Ewes with lambs will thrive better if 
given extra feed. The lambs should be fed by 
themselves, in an enclosure known as a “lamb- 
creep.” The fence has an opening only large 
enough for the passage of the lambs. Both sheep 
and lambs should have free access to a plenty of 
pure water. A helpful contrivance in shearing is 
shown in the engraving. The table is made with a 
hollow top, upon which the sheep is laid, and may 
be secured by cords fastened at the ends of the 
side-board. These cords, with snap-hooks, are 
especially desirable in holding the legs of strong 
kicking sheep. This table is also useful in tagging 
sheep, an operation that should be performed just 
before the flock is turned out to pasture. After 
shearing, the ticks will gather on the lambs, and 
may be destroyed by dipping in a tub filled with 
a decoction of tobacco water. There are a number 
of effective “ dips ” sold for this purpose. 
Pigs .—Swine do best when they have a pasture. 
A small orchard, seeded to clover, with an open 
shed for shelter during storms, is especially suited 
to the summer keeping of young pigs. With 
plenty of grass, pure water, and a liberal feed at 
the trough, pigs should make a rapid and health¬ 
ful growth, and produce cheap, wholesome pork. 
The orchard is benefited by the destruction of in¬ 
jurious insects eaten by the pigs iu the fruit. 
Poultry. —Hawks, rats, and other vermin will de¬ 
stroy many chickens unless guarded against. Pro¬ 
vide safe coops that can be closed at night, and 
do not open them until the dew is off the grass. 
Guinea fowls are useful in giving alarm upon the 
approach of danger. Young chicks may run in the 
garden, where they will destroy many insects. 
