[August, 
278 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
Contents for August, 1868. 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
Weeds are plants growing out of place, it is said 
—and if this is true, an oak tree may be as much a 
Animals—The American Marten. Illustrated. .233-294 
Barn Cellars for Manure Making.290 
Blackberries and Raspberries.297 
Boys’and Girls’ Columns—Our New Policemen—Ways 
of Getting a Living, No. 3—New Insect—Curiosities 
at tbe Museum—Pleasant Recollections—Anecdote 
of General Jackson—Don’t Wake the Baby—Filial 
Love Rewarded—Child’s Idea—New Puzzles. 
. .6 Illustrations. .301—302 
Cabbages—Club-root in. Illustrated. .297 
Canada Thistles in the West.293 
Caper Family of Plants.295 
Cleome spinosa. Illustrated. .295 
Cold Grapery in August. .281 
Compass Plant or Rosin Weed. ..Illustrated..Wo 
Farm Work in August.278 
Flower Garden and Lawn in August. .243 
Fruit Garden in August. 279 
Grape Vine—How it Grows and What to Do with 
It....3 Illustrations. .296 
Grass Doctor—Scuffle Hoes.291 
Green and Hot-houses in August.281 
Hand Microscope—A Stand for___ .2 Illustrations. .297 
Hay Stacking with Horse Forks.2 Illustrations. .290 
Hogs—How to Make Extra Fat. Illustrated. .291 
Horses of All Work—The Percheron.2 Ulustr .. 2S7 
Household Department—Sea-side Fare — The Crab- 
Household Talks by Aunt Hattie—Ginger Beer- 
Preserving Plums—Sponge Cake—Bottling Peaches 
—Indian Baked Pudding—Fly Time—Cooking Vege¬ 
tables—Recipes for Dyeing Carpet Warp. .2 111. .299-300 
Kitchen Garden in August.279 
Mal-formed Fruits. Illustrated. .297 
Market Reports.281 
Medicating Animals.292 
Odds and Ends in Gardening. 29G 
Old-fashioned Slirabs and Flowers.295 
Orchard and Nursery in August. 279 
Peat and Muck as Fertilizers.291 
Possibilities in Dairying.293 
Salt Mud as a Fertilizer.293 
Shrnbs with Showy Berries. Illustrated ..297 
Strawberries—Notes on. 297 
Strawberries—Starting in Pots.297 
NEW-YORK, AUGUST, 1868. 
The meteorological character of this month va- 
ries greatly in different years, and the farmer’s la¬ 
bors depend much upon the weather. In times of 
drouth, when pastures are low and when the brooks 
and watering places fail, the stock need constant 
attention and no little labor. Summer fodder crops 
will come in use, and are of great value, not only in 
maintaining a flow of milk, but in keeping dry 
stock in good condition. Summer fruits may be 
ready for marketing; spring grains will occupy the 
farmer’s attention. Nevertheless, on the whole, 
August brings relief to the farmer; his labor is not 
so hard and usually he can make a few leisure days, 
if lie will, to visit friends or take a trip with his 
wife to some mountain or sea-side resort, or one 
of inspection into some interesting agricultural 
section. It is very agreeable to blend business with 
pleasure when the business is the most important 
thing, and this is the only way some men can ever 
take any recreation,—that is, by making believe it 
is in the way of business. But it is a great deal 
better for health and true recreation to drop busi¬ 
ness, cast loose, and give one’s self up to having a 
real good time, hunting, fishing, sight seeing, visit¬ 
ing, etc., if not in this month, then in September, 
or during the Fairs, if attending Fairs be not too 
much like business for most farmers. 
Mints about Work. 
Harvesting Spring Grains takes place according to 
the character of the early part of the season, and 
time of sowing, earlier or later by two or three 
weeks. It is best to cut wheat, oats, and barley, and 
weed as a mullein in a clover field. If wc have 
hot, dry weather, make use of it to cut up weeds, 
to mow brush, to clear up fence rows, and to clear 
up bush pastures and such land. All herbaceous 
plants that have not matured their seed are pecu¬ 
liarly sensitive at this season, and shrubs and trees 
hardly less so though their roots go deeper. 
Should these sprout again from the stumps, sheep 
will browse the shoots, or they may be trodden upon; 
and rubbed off with ease if not too numerous. 
Pastures. — Harrow lightly, sow and bush in; 
White clover, Blue grass, and Red top seed, on up¬ 
land pastures at this season, accompanied by a 
dressing of plaster and ashes, and if the pasture be¬ 
an old one, put on two to twenty barrels of bone- 
dust. An old pasture treated thus will be rejuve¬ 
nated, if not fed off too close the rest of the season. 
Swamps and Bogs. —If the season he favorable for 
ditching in low grounds, lay out the drains and! 
have the men at work every spare half day; get out 
as much muck and peat as possible as you progress-, 
throwing it out on oue side only of the ditch.- 
Even if the weather be wet the ditch will most likely 
dry the ground in the immediate vicinity, so that 
the muck can be hauled out as soon as dry. The- 
drying of peaty land may be sometimes facilitated! 
by thrusting smooth poles obliquely into the peaty 
mass ou cither side as far as possible, and at a level 
not much above the bottom of the ditch. Roots,, 
brush, and tussocks of grass or brakes, may be laiti 
up in piles to dry for burning by and by. The 
ashes will he an excellent dressing for the soil. 
Draining of uplands may proceed at tins season 
if there is opportunity, and it often enables farm¬ 
ers to provide profitable work for their hands dur¬ 
ing a lull in the pressure of regular farm work. 
Tillage During Growth.292 
Trace—How to Mend. Illustrated.. 291 
Trout Fishing. Illustrated.. 277 
Varieties Produced by Pruning. 297 
Walks and Talks on the Farm—No. 50. — Clover as 
Manure—Draining-—Raising Lambs—Michigan Ag'l 
College—Feeding Sheep—Straw and Manure—Ma¬ 
nure Cellars_1.2SS-290 
Wheat, Growing—A Buckeye Boy on.290 
Whiffletree—Perfectly Safe.2 Illustrations. .291 
Wistaria—The American.295 
INDEX TO “BASKET” OR SHORTER ARTICLES. 
Abortion in Cows.28fi 
Animals lost by Disease.282 
Asparagus and Roots...283 
Bees in"August.2S5 
Best Cross for Mutton...285 
Black Cayuga Ducks.... 232 
Brace of Failures.2S2 
Brahma Fowls, Pure.... 284 
Breeding Water-fowls. ..2S5 
Canada Thistles.235 
Canning Peaches .282 
Canning Peas and Corn.2S3 
Carbolic Acid, Parasites.2S2 
Catching Hogs, etc.280 
Check for Cri libers.2S3 
College Courant.232 
Corn "Cobs.232 
Crops in Young Orchard.282 
Curious Sheep Story.... 2S5 
Dairy-maids.23f> 
Diarrhoea in Chickens.. .2S3 
Drilling Wheat.23.; 
Early Tomato.2S2 
Farm-club Libraries.2S3 Striped Bug. 
Fruit in N. E.284 "' 
Fuller in German. 
Gas-tar for Paint.236 
Gas-tar Walks.234 
Glazed Tile for Outlets. .2SG 
Goats in California.233 
Going into Wells.288 
Grape Exhibitions.2S1 
Grazing Country.2S8 
Guard against Splitting. .2S3 
Harvesting Beans. 2S3 
Hedge Convention.231 
Hens Eating Glass.233 
Hill’s Lawn Mower....... 23 i 
How Much Pork a Day. .235 
Illinois State Fair.231 
Indiana State Fair. .233 
Insects, Book on.234 
Kentucky State Fair.231 
Late Chickens.232 
Locusts. 232 
Mangle, A Good.!.! .232 
Many-leaved Clover.2S2 
Mass. Hort. Society_284 
Mich. Board of Agric’e..286 
New England Fair.282 
N. J. Slate Ag’l Soc.284 
N. Y. State Fair.283 
N. H. State Fair.281 
Ohio Slate Fair.283 
Old Postage Stamps.282 
Outside Horse on Sweep.285 
Peat Analysis.2S1 
Penn. Ag’l College.281 
Photographers’ Waste... 2S3 
Plants" Named.282 
Potato Beetle.283 
Potatoes, Very Early... .2S3 
Propagat-’g Strawberries.284 
Reclaimed Swamps.2S3 
Refrigerator for Farmers.2S6 
Relief for Farmers’Wives2S2 
Salting Cattle.283 
Savings Banks& Farmers3S5 
Sheffield Scient. School..2S5 
Stacking Straw.285 
Strawberry Dr. Nicaiso.,285 
Strawberry Named.2S2 
.282 
Sugar Maples Dio.283 
234 Sundry Humbugs.281 
" ' Swarming, Artificial, etc.2S5 
Tanning Lice. 283 
The Workshop.283 
Thills for Horse-hoc.s_285 
Thinning Root Crops.. ..283 
Thrashing, Hints About.285 
Thrashing Machines.283 
Tomato Trellis..284 
Top-dressing, Mowing. .283 
Tumors in Fowls.283 
Turnips Among Corn_281 
Unanswered Letters.281 
Watering-Pot Sprinkler..284 
Weather and the Crops...281 
Weight of Sheep .2SG 
What is a Pullet ?.283 
Wheat Crop.281 
Wheat Prizes...281 
Wheat Screenings, Fowls282 
When to Cut Timber_28G 
When to Shut up Pigs...285 
White Hellebore forBugs284 
Whitlock’s Exhibitions..284 
282 
...•.**.*»- v, lul , 281 
Minn. State Fair. 2S31WiiloUPeeiereUT];.'.282 
Mo. State Entomologist..231 Women Farmers.2S6 
Name of a Tree. 282'Your Patent. . . . . . . .281 
Michigan Rose.284jWild Goose Plum. 
Milk Farming.283,Wild Morning Glory... 
Iwinn Ctntn OOO TUtll_Tt i " 
especially the last two, while the grain is doughy 
and soft; the straw iu the case of oats is much more 
valuable to feed, and the grain loses nothing. Bar¬ 
ley needs especially rapid curing and protection 
against rain, for its price depends upon its bright-, 
clean look, and its adhering chaff is very sensitive 
to moisture and will quickly take a mildewy or 
rusty look. Cut oats when the field appears pretty 
well yellowed, but before it whitens too much. Al¬ 
ways bind oats, if possible, for they take much less 
room in the barn or stack, and the straw cures and 
keeps brighter, and is probably better feed. 
Buckwheat may be sown south of the latitude of 
New York up to the 10th of August, with a reason¬ 
able hope that the frosts will hold off long enough 
to enable seed to form. Still, the longer sowing 
is deferred, the more hazardous it is. 
Turnips may also be sown early in the month. 
It is too late to get a crop from any but the com¬ 
mon white, although ou good soil Rutabagas, or 
French turnips will produce a crop of nice, lit¬ 
tle table roots as large as a man’s fist or larger, 
which are excellent for winter use, and when select¬ 
ed of uniform size, sell well. Fill spaces existing 
in rows of all root crops, and all spots not other¬ 
wise occupied, with turnips, either by sowing the 
seed or transplanting. Tuck in the seed freely. 
Boot crops generally will need hoeing and thin¬ 
ning. As a rule, don’t spare thrifty plants if crowd¬ 
ed, but thin them thoroughly, so that when mature 
the leaves will barely touch. Where spaces are 
very wide from any cause, two roots may be left 
nearer than would otherwise be admissible, but it 
is a poor plan to let them crowd one another. Car¬ 
rots make their principal growth after the first of 
August, and need thorough weeding and thinning 
at this time. If the ground be Stirred frequently, 
they will be much benefited, and it is long before 
the tops interfere with cultivation or make so dense 
a shade as not lo suffer weeds to grow. 
Hoed crops, other than roots, which include corn, 
potatoes, sorghum, broom-corn, etc., are or should 
be beyond tillage with plows, hoes or cultivators. 
Weeds, however, should be thoroughly pulled, and 
the ground kept clean, or one great advantage of 
these crops, namely, ridding the land of weeds, 
will be in a great measure, if not entirely, lost. 
Grass seed may often be saved in sufficient quan¬ 
tity for one’s own use, by observing where any va¬ 
riety grows unmixed and allowing such to become 
ripe, cutting with a sickle, binding in bundles to 
be thrashed or rubbed out at leisure. Seeds of 
many of our best pasture aud meadow grasses can 
only be bought at very high prices, while a little; 
care taken in gathering them would afford an 
abundant supply for homo use, if not. for sale. 
Manure. — Compost heaps rapidly ferment and 
become homogeneous in character in hot weather. 
All sorts of vegetation in its green state is adapted 
to be used in this way. Swamp grass and brakes, 
sods, potato tops, and similar substances, are valu¬ 
able ingredients. Lay them in alternate layers with, 
animal manure, or putting them in thin layers,, 
sprinkle each thoroughly with lime, or ashes.. 
If liquid manure can he pumped over the heaps; 
tlie advantage will be marked. Muck and peat- 
should be got out and laid up to dry before carting:. 
Manuring Grass lands at this season or as soon as 
sown is productive of more good, both to the suc¬ 
ceeding crop and to the land, than at any other 
season. The clover and grass roots are vigorous 
and strike deep at the time the liay is cut off. A 
little encouragement at this time keeps them ac¬ 
tive, the sod will be close, the aftermath strong, 
and the grass crop next year much improved. 
Even a dressing of common loam from an adjoin¬ 
ing field will often make the difference of half a 
ton of hay to the acre on grass land beginning to 
fail, if it be applied in July or August. 
Working Stock. —If the working cattle have been 
properly handled during the early summer, they- 
will he capable of doing much hard labor iu Au¬ 
gust, without sensibly feeling it. It is best, how¬ 
ever, to do the severest work in the early morning, 
—heavy plowing or hauling stones, for instance. 
Cows should have occasional change of pasture, 
not only for the good of the grass, but on their own 
account. If the pastures are short, give a liberal 
feed of green corn fodder regularly, ouce, twice, or 
three times during the day. It is best if wilted. 
Calves and Colts. — It is usually best to weau. 
calves and colts' in August, that is, at four or five 
months old, if they have been suffered to run with;. 
