86 THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURE. 



secured without difficulty, to a degree which renders his mill more constantly available than 

 those hitherto employed. The mill built by him has five-feet wings; that is, the diameter 

 of the wind-wheel is ten feet, and it has been in operation for six months, without a hand 

 being touched to it to regulate the sails. It is so contrived that nothing but a squall of 

 great severity falling upon it without a moment's warning c*n produce damage. 



The mill mentioned has drawn water from a well twenty-eight feet deep, one hundred feet 

 distant, and forced it into a small reservoir in the upper part of the barn, sufficient for all 

 farm purposes, garden irrigation, and "lots to spare." The cost of such a mill will be $50, 

 and the pumps and pipes about $25. It is elevr. ted on a single oak post a foot square, the 

 turn-circle being supported by iron braces. The wings are made of one longitudinal iron 

 bar, through which run small rods ; upon these rods, narrow boards half an inch thick are 

 fitted, holes being bored through from edge to edge, and screwed together by nuts on the 

 ends of the rods. This makes strong, light sails, but, as will be seen, are fixtures not to be 

 furled or clewed up ; but they are thrown up edge to the wind by a very ingenious and 

 simple arrangement of the machinery, which obviates the great objection to windmills for 

 farm use the necessity of constant supervision of the sails to suit the strength of the wind. 



A third plan for self-regulating windmills has also been invented during the past year by 

 A. P. Brown, of Brattleborough, Vermont. It is somewhat on the plan of Halliday's, above 

 described, and is regulated by a weight attached to a lever in such a manner that when at 

 rest it keeps the sails flat, but as the breeze freshens, the wings open by the force of the 

 wind and lift the weight, which falls back to its place when the wind lulls. 



Wind is undoubtedly the cheapest power that a farmer can use ; and, notwithstanding its 

 inconstancy, if this improvement operates as well as it bids fair to in the mills already 

 erected, it will be applied to many valuable uses. 



Horse-Shoeing Apparatus. 



A PATENT was recently granted to Noah Warlick, of Lafayette, Alabama, for the employ- 

 ment of a peculiar adjustable rest for the support of the horse's foot during the operation 

 of shoeing. The arrangement consists in a standard, sustaining a support, hollowed out to 

 receive the horse's hoof. Attached to this support is an adjustable serrated slide, held by 

 a screw, by which the slide may be maintained in any desired position ; upon this, the horse's 

 hoof rests during the operation of fitting the shoe, paring the hoof, and fastening the shoe to 

 the hoof, the serrated edge of the slide preventing the slipping of the hoof from the head- 

 piece. The use of this support is of importance to the operator, as, instead of holding the 

 horse's hoof between his knees and supporting its entire weight, he is enabled to devote all 

 his attention to the adjustment of the shoe and the keeping of the horse quiet. 



Improvements in the Construction of Horse-Shoes. 



Horse-Shoes without Nails. Mr. Sewall Short, of New London, Conn., has recently intro- 

 duced, with success, a new style of horse-shoe, invented by him, the object of which is to 

 avoid the necessity of driving nails in the hoofs of the animal ; a practice always more or less 

 objectionable, and only submitted to from imperious necessity, and which frequently, from 

 misplacing a nail, or splitting a hoof, renders a horse useless, at least for a time. Mr. Short 

 is not the first who has attempted to clamp the shoe to the foot without nails, but is the first 

 to do it in this simple and effective manner. He makes the whole in two pieces, employing, 

 in addition, two small screws to aid in screwing the parts together. Both are made of mal- 

 leable iron ; the lower portion, or " sole," being very similar to the horse-shoe ordinarily 

 employed, but with a groove around its exterior, and without nail-holes. The upper portion, 

 or "vamp," is thin, and has a flange projecting inward from its lower edge to match the 

 groove in the sole. These parts are so arranged as to secure a tight and firm connection ; 

 and the whole is made additionally secure by the aid of the set-screws before mentioned at 

 the heel. A shoe of this kind once fitted, the vamp may be made to wear out a great num- 

 ber of soles. The exterior may be highly finished and plated with silver, which gives a very 



