354 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
t 
Contents of This Number. 
[Articles marked with a star (*) are illustrated; the fig¬ 
ure with the star indicates the number of illustrations.] 
Animals Injurious to Agriculture —The Raccoon.— 
Dr. R. A. Stockwell .*..371 
Apples for a Near Market. ..360 
JSee Notes for August.355 
Blackberry Wine Syrup.364 
Black Knot on Plum Trees.2*..365 
Black Walnut in the South.362 
Bladder Nut, The Japanese.362 
Boys and Girls Columns.— The Six-winged But¬ 
terfly; Learning to Swim; How One Insect Made 
Trouble; The Doctor's Talks ; The Bird that Takes 
the Cherries; A Gigantic Water-bug; A Paper 
House; Sun Printing on Apples.8*. .378-380 
Bridges, Wooden. 2*..367 
Cabbage Stems and Roots, Diseased.2*..361 
Cattle, Great Loss of Jersey, on the Ocean.371 
Cattle, Improvement of Jersey.— A. B. Allen .364 
Cemetery, Spring Grove.362 
Chess, Again.370 
Chickens, A Yard for Young.*..367 
Coltsfoot as a Weed.*..375 
Corn, Green, for Pigs.366 
Corn, Saving Seed.358 
Cottage, A Double, Costing $2,500.— S. B. Reed. .4*. .356 
Cotton as a Plant..6*..372 
Cow, Remedy for Kicking. 368 
B iiry and Ice-House, A Combined.— H. A. Ham¬ 
mond . .3*. .370 
Devices, Useful Farm .2*..368 
Door, The Back, Arrangements.366 
Drink for Hay and Harvest Field.362 
Exhibitions, Live Stock.361 
Eair, The Docorations of the.362 
Farm, A White.363 
Farm Work for August. *..354 
Farming, Tropical .—Alfred Trumbull .5*..359 
Fruit 'Evaporator.*. .366 
Fruit, Preparing, for Market.358 
Fruits.—Maturity and Ripening.365 
Crape Vine, The Plume.357 
Grape Vine, The, in August.360 
Greens for Next Spring.358 
Grub, The Sheep... 365 
Hay Rack, A Place for the— L. D. Snook .*..373 
Hemlock for Well Curbs.372 
Household:— Rack for Newspapers ; Summer Fancy 
Work ; A Carpet Rag Looper; The Care of Ice ; A 
Cabbage Cutter ; A Summer Substitute for a Cis¬ 
tern ; Panels for Home Decorations ; CampingOut; 
Make Your Own Hammock; A Gourd Scrap- 
Basket...8*.. 376-377 
Iris, Various Kinds of.*..367 
Ivy Poisoning.362 
Lawn Making in Autumn.358 
Leaves.—Variety in Size and Shape.*..374 
Legislation, Wise.362 
Lightning Rod, Can I Provide My Own?.357 
Liver Fluke.9*. .363 
manures, Green, in the Garden.359 
Mortgages, Avoid Farm.— H. A. Haigh .368 
Orchids, Our Native.*..374 
Peach Trees from the Seed. .356 
Pears, Second Year with the Old Virgalieu.360 
Plowing Early for Fall Wheat.— J. M. Stahl ..371 
Plum, The Cocoa.*..375 
Produce, Wasting the.373 
Propagation, Summer.374 
Prune.—Shall We Prune in Autumn?.364 
Quails, A Great Importation.362 
Etailroad Gardening. 372 
Rival Spans, The.*..353 
Root House or Cellar.— F. Grundy .8*. .373 
Rose-bugs on the GrapeVines.362 
Seeding of Crops.—Broadcast and Drilled.361 
Shelter for Stock. 362 
Sheep, Prevention of Rot in.9*..363 
Shrubs, Summer and Autumn Blooming.357 
Stoop, The Back.—Bootjacks.,...*..362 
Straw, Save Your.—IF. D. Boynton .*..368 
Subjugator, A Simple .370 
Summer Days in the Country.*..369 
Swine Husbandry, Twenty Years in .—Joseph Harris .360 
Toads, Spare the. 361 
Trotters, Fast American.*..353, 355 
Two Jacks.— F. D. Curtis.... .4*..368 
AVater, Pure, for Hogs.364 
Weevil, The New York. .. *..357 
Well, Use of a Dry. .306 
Woodlands, Temperature of. .362 
Worms in a Lawn.361 
Yoke, A Shoulder.*..355 
For Sundry Humbugs, etc., see last pages of the paper. 
The soil for winter wheat needs to be prepared 
at once. A clover sod may be treated to a dressing 
of well-rotted manure, before plowing it under. 
Much depends upon the variety of seed wheat, 
therefore sow only the best. If there is danger of 
the Hessian fly, it may be well to defer seeding un¬ 
til next month_For fall fodder white turnips 
may be sown now. Oat or barley stubble, when 
the soil is rich, can be turned under and produce 
six hundred bushels or more of late turnips per 
acre... .Now is an excellent time to reclaim, waste 
land. Brush cut this month will rarely sprout 
again, and drains may be opened, where it would be 
impossible to get teams on the land at any other 
season. It is best to clear thoroughly, and sow to 
grass, even if it be only a small portion of the waste 
land, and thus avoid the discouragement of half 
reclaiming a larger area_Lime is an old-time 
fertilizer, and rarely fails to give good returns on 
grass land abounding in vegetable matter. Forty 
bushels per acre may be spread from the wagon. 
... Muck for use in the stables can be dug 
now. Draw the muck, with a scraper or other¬ 
wise, from the bed to some dry place near by, where 
it can dry out, after which it may be taken to the 
stable or store-room. Muck increases in value by 
“ weathering,” and it is well to have a year’s sup¬ 
ply constantly on hand... .Fall plowing for spring 
sowing has the benefit of fallow to some extent, 
and the earlier it is done, the better. It improves 
heavy clay laud more than a light sandy one.... 
In a time of drouth, look for and locate all springs 
or any indications that may lead to a supply of wa¬ 
ter. It is sometimes necessary to deepen wells 
which fail to furnish sufficient water... .Weeds 
should not be allowed to go to seed.. It is not 
enough to pull them up, as the seeds already form¬ 
ed will ripen and propagate the pests. The only 
safe method is to burn the weeds ; throwing them, 
on the manure heap only increases a good seeding. 
Live Slock in liid-siiininer.. 
This is a trying time for all kinds of farm ani¬ 
mals ; pastures are usually short, old grain is high, 
and the new not in the best condition for feeding. 
It is well to make the most of wooded pastures, 
where the animals can enjoy the shade during the 
hot days, and get a part of their living from the 
underbrush. A good supply of fodder corn helps 
to keep the cows up to their full flow of milk, and 
the other live stock in good health and flesh.... 
Horses are often extremely annoyed by flies, espe¬ 
cially when in a shadeless pasture. It is best to let 
them stand in a dark stable during mid-day, and 
turn them out near nightfall. Horses, when at 
work, need the protection of a fly-sheet. This is 
easily made, and prevents much fretting... .Lambs 
are now separated from the ewes, and should be 
pastured as far apart as possible. Place some 
wethers with the Iambs to lead the flock, and in a 
few weeks the lambs will be entirely weaned.... 
Pigs for early fall market need to be pushed vig¬ 
orously, with abundant feed at the trough. The 
apple orchard makes a fine pasture for swine. The 
falling fruit is usually wormy, and the pigs, in eat¬ 
ing it, destroy hosts of insects, to the mutual 
benefit of the swine and the orchard. 
Tlie Fruit Garden in August. 
As soon as the raspberries are olf, cut away the 
stems that bore them, and encourage the new stalks. 
-Blackberries often color long before they are 
ripe ; for home use or a near market, let them be 
ripe ; if to be shipped to a distance, they must be 
firm. Cut away all suckers not needed_Watch 
grape vines for the first signs of mildew, and apply 
sulphur; hand-pick the beetles and large caterpil¬ 
lars ; keep the laterals pinched back, leaving one 
leaf of the new growth; remove shoots which 
start where they are not needed ; keep bearing 
shoots well tied up_Strawberry plants layered 
in pots may be set out. Can or dry surplus fruits. 
August Work in the Orchard. 
The cultivator, whether of orchard or garden, 
has never a season of leisure ; but if there is any 
month, except in winter, in which work is the least 
pressing, it is the present. Recreation may well be 
taken now. One may recreate both body and mind 
In various ways,as with a fishing excursion,camping 
out, etc., without other object than rest and change. 
Excursions to the lakes or to the sea-shore will be 
preferred by many. A profitable kind of recrea¬ 
tion is to visit the orchards and gardens of others ; 
relief from home cares is obtained, and much may 
be learned. Cultivators, as a rule, gladly welcome 
others who are interested in the same pursuits.... 
Preparations for the fairs should not be lost sight 
of. Encourage the local fair by competing for 
prizes, and if any are awarded, be sure and take 
the money. Nothing destroys the common inter¬ 
est in the fair so quickly, as for those who do not 
think they need the money, to decline to take the 
awards. If only twenty-five cents, take it and be 
proud of it... .Newly planted trees will be helped 
by a mulch ; keep off late insects, and do not al¬ 
low weeds to grow... .Budding will begin this 
month. Keep a close watch on the pickers_Early 
apples and pears are often more profitable than late 
kinds. Assort and pack them in attractive man¬ 
ner.Dry surplus fruit, and' use the windfall 
apples to press for vinegar. 
Kitchen and Market Garden. 
When a crop of any kind is off, at once clear up 
the refuse; much good food, for cow, pigs or 
poultry may be saved. Spade or plow the ground, 
manure if need be, and put in some other crop, or 
sow to buckwheat, to be turned under later... .Sow 
this month; spinach, for fall use, next month is 
early enough for the crop for spring ; beets, of the 
early kinds for greens; turnips, of the Yellow 
Stone, Aberdeen, and Cow Horn varieties, and bush- 
beans, for pickling and late use. Some of the early" 
Peas may yield a crop, but if the season is unfavor¬ 
able, mildew will take them. The hoe is the great 
implement this month, whether in the form of the 
hand-hoe, or the various kinds of cultivators, and 
should be used freely, whether there are weeds or 
not, for the benefit of the crop. Cabbage, celery, 
etc., grow all the more rapidly, if the surface of the 
soil is kept light and mellow-Thinning is rarely 
overdone ; RutaBagas should be at least ten inches 
apart. If carrots, late beets, salsify, etc., still stand 
too thickly, draw out for use those that crowd one 
another... .Egg plants must be kept free of the 
Colorado-beetle; place hay or straw under the 
fruit, to keep it from the ground... .Sweet corn 
stalks, as soon as the ears are gathered, should be 
