AGRICULTURAL MECHANICS AND RURAL ECONOMY. 91 



Mr. Robinson informs us that he has hoed small carrots with this machine, the points of 

 the cutters being 1^ inches apart, and he walked right along, hoeing them perfectly. As the 

 cutters are adjusted to cut a little more than half-way to the adjoining row, the work is done 

 thoroughly, no unhoed space being left between the rows. The cutters being set at an acute 

 angle, they cut the weeds easily. They can also be adjusted to take the earth away from or 

 carry it up to the rows. — Scientific American. 



Two-Horse Cultivator. 



A correspondent of the New York Country Gentleman recommends the use of a style of 

 cultivator called the "two-horse" cultivator, and constructed as follows: You want nine culti- 

 vator teeth ; or you may have less or more, as the strength of your team may be ; you can 

 have cast-iron or steel teeth, (the latter far preferable;) place one in front, the others oppo- 

 site to each other; have the teeth about eighteen inches apart in the timbers, and a drag 

 tooth in each hind end of the side pieces. This is to prevent a track being left by the two 

 hind cultivator teeth. This must be rather longer than the old-fashion crotch drag, and flare 

 at the ends, or else it will work rather bad. The side pieces should be three inches by five. 

 The teeth must point exactly ahead. Have a hook on top of the forward end to hitch your 

 team to, and not exactly at the end, as we usually do on harrows. This implement will do the 

 work of three common harrows on land that has been plowed in the fall. I use the harrow 

 once or twice in a place, then go on with the cultivator; and if your ground is dry enough to 

 work good, you get well paid for your labor, for getting in wheat, barley, oats, or any kind 

 of grain. This implement is far before the common harrow. We know how the corn culti- 

 vator works in our cornfields. In like manner does the two-horse cultivator work for 

 sowed grain. 



Peckham's Cultivator. — This does not differ materially from other cultivators, except in the 

 form of the teeth. These are made in two pieces, a plate of cast steel being firmly bolted 

 to a heavy cast-iron shoulder or support. This steel plate is reversible, so that when 

 one end is worn away, it may be turned, and the other end forms another tooth as complete 

 as new. 



Lapham , 8 Patent Cultivator. — This invention of Seneca Lapham, of Champaign county, Ohio, 

 is especially adapted for working among corn and other growing crops; also for preparing 

 land for wheat. 



By means of two long levers, one connected to the axle or shaft which supports the machine, 

 and to which the wheels are hung, and the other to the tongue, to which the team is attached, 

 the cultivating teeth can be raised or lowered, to suit the unevenness of the ground, and the 

 machine directed independently of the team, by the person driving and walking behind. 

 When a depression or elevation renders it necessary to change the depth of the teeth, by rais- 

 ing the lever which is attached to the axle, the teeth are lowered, or by lowering the lever, 

 the teeth are raised ; and when it is desirable to change quickly the direction of the machine 

 to avoid an obstruction or a hill of corn or potatoes, by moving the lever connected with the 

 tongue, the cultivator is readily turned, without the trouble and delay of guiding the team. 

 When it is desirable to use this machine for cultivating young corn, the front tooth is removed 

 and mould-boards affixed, which will prevent the earth from covering the corn, while the teeth 

 break the soil and destroy the weeds ; or, by placing the boards in a different position, earth 

 may be thrown around the corn. 



Suitable devices are provided for retaining the levers in place, and for rendering their 

 motion easy. 



Improved Rotary Cultivator. — An improved rotary cultivator, patented by G. B. Fields, of 

 St. Louis, is formed in a cylindrical shape, with cutting plates or spades, between which are 

 interposed clearing-boards for removing the earth adhering to the plates. Behind this cylin- 

 der is arranged a rotary harrow sustained above the ground and in the rear of the cultivating 

 cylinder, for the purpose of breaking and pulverizing the earth after it has been loosened by 

 the plow. 



