Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Carol Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net THE PRAIRIE FARMER A Weekly Journal for THE FARM, ORCHARD AND FIRESIDE. ESTABLISHED IN 1841. ENTIRE SERIES VOL 56--No 12. CHICAGO, SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 1884. PRICE $2.00 PER YEAR IN ADVANCE. [Transcriber's Note: The Table of Contents was originally located on page 184 of the periodical. It has been moved here for ease of use.] THE CONTENTS OF THIS NUMBER. AGRICULTURE--Drainage and Good Husbandry Page 177; Plan for a Flood Gate, 178; Great Corn Crops, 178; A Charming Letter, 178; Prairie Roads, 178; Experiments with Indian Corn, 178; Specialty Farming, 178. HORTICULTURE--Sand Mulching of Orchard Trees, Page 182; Pear Blight, 182; The Black Walnut, 182. Notes on Current Topics, 182; Prunings, 182-183. FLORICULTURE--Some New Plants, Page 183. OUR BOOK TABLE--Page 183. ENTOMOLOGICAL--Insects in Illinois, Page 179. SILK CULTURE--Osage for Silk-Worms, Page 187. SCIENTIFIC AND USEFUL--Items, Page 187. LITERATURE--The Gentleman Farmer (Poetry), Page 190; Frank Dobb's Wives, 190-191. FIELD AND FURROW--Items, 179. HUMOROUS--Items, Page 191. POULTRY NOTES--Chicken Chat, Page 186. THE APIARY--Spring Care of Bees, Page 186; Extracted Honey, 186; Southern Wisconsin Bee-Keepers' Association, 186. EDITORIAL--Items, Page 184; Lumber and Shingles, 184; Foot-and-Mouth Disease, 184; Premiums on Corn, 184-185; The First Unfortunate Result, 185; Questions Answered, 185; Wayside Notes, 185. YOUNG FOLKS--Little Dilly Dolly (Poetry) Page 189; Uncle Jim's Yarn, 189; Puddin Tame's Fun, 189; The Alphabet, 189; What a Child Can Do, 189. LIVE STOCK--Items, Page 180; Polled Aberdeen Cattle, 180; Grass for Hogs, 180; A Stock Farm and Ranch, 180; Western Wool-Growers, 180; The Cattle Diseases near Effingham, 180-181. THE DAIRY--Camembert Cheese, Page 181; Few Words and More Butter, 181. COMPILED CORRESPONDENCE--Page 181. VETERINARY--Symptoms of Foot-and-Mouth Disease, Page 181; Shyness and Timidity, 181; Glanders, 181. HOUSEHOLD--How He Ventilated the Cellar, Page 188; An Old Roman Wedding, 188; Mr. Smith's Stovepipe, 188; Progress, 188; A Family Jar, 188; Mouce Trap and other Sweetemetes, 188; A Sonnet on a Ronnet, 188; Pleasantries, 188. NEWS OF THE WEEK--Page 192. MARKETS--Page 192. [Illustration: ABERDEEN-ANGUS BULLOCK, "BLACK PRINCE." Owned by Geary Bros., London, Ont.] Drainage and Good Husbandry. BY C. G. ELLIOTT, DRAINAGE ENGINEER. I.