RAKE. 



RANUNCULUS. 



that this implement is a time-saving machine, 

 and therefore one of the greatest value. 



American Revolving Hay-rake. This rake is 

 dra\vn by one horse ; and it can be made to go 

 either along or across the ridges, as may be 

 required. It can carry between 100 and 200 

 Ibs. of hay; and when that quantity is upon it, 

 the hay can be deposited, by a simple revolu- 

 tion of the instrument, in rows, or at any par- 

 ticular place required, without stopping the 

 horse. 



The common horse-rake, much used in the 

 United States, especially in the North, is de- 

 scribed and figured in the Cultivator, vol. vii. 

 p. 89. It is made of a piece of strong scant- 

 ling, 3 inches square, and 10 feet long, into 

 which about 15 teeth are inserted horizontally, 

 and made of strong white ash or other tough 

 wood. The teeth should be about 22 inches 

 long, and I inch by 1| at the place of insertion, 

 and tapering on the under side, so as to give 

 them a slight turn upward at the point, to pre- 

 vent their running into the ground while using. 

 The draught-ropes are attached to the end of 



2 projecting pieces of wood parallel to the teeth 

 at each end of the rake. These projecting 

 pieces should be about one-third of the length 

 of the teeth. Those unskilled in the use of the 

 rake sometimes attach the ropes at once to 

 the ends of the head; in this way, it becomes 

 almost entirely unmanageable. The forward 

 ends of the draught-ropes are to be fastened to 

 the horse's collar, leaving space enough be- 

 tween the horse and rake for the collecting 

 hay. Handles are to be inserted in the head 

 near the middle, for guiding the teeth and lift- 

 ing the rake from the ground when necessary. 



In using this rake, instead of the teeth moving 

 onward upon their points, as in the common 

 hand-rake, they run along flat upon the ground, 

 passing under and collecting the hay; when 

 full, the handles are thrown forward, the rake 

 emptied, and lifted over the winrow for another 

 load. The rake thus passes backwards and 

 forwards across the field, always emptying op- 

 posite the last heap, and thus forming regular 

 winrow.s at right angles with the path of the 

 rake. A few hours' practice will enable any 

 one to use this rake without difficulty, the only 

 skill required consisting in keeping the points 

 of the teeth just so low as to pass under all the 

 hay, and yet not run into the ground. When 

 small obstructions occur, the handles are de- 

 pressed, thus causing the teeth to rise, and the 

 rake passes freely over. Large obstructions, 

 as stumps and stone-heaps, require the rake to 

 be lifted from the ground. 



The chief recommendation of this kind of 

 rake, is its cheapness and simplicity. A good 

 one need not cost more than $2. It may also 

 be used on rougher ground than the revolving 

 rake, as it is more easily lifted over obstruc- 

 tions. Where the ground is very uneven, the 

 teeth should be much shorter. When one be- 

 comes well accustomed to the use of it, work 

 may be done nearly as fast with this, as with a 

 revolving rake, though much more laborious. 

 Twelve acres of hay, part of it yielding nearly 



3 tons to the acre, on a meadow of the writer, | 

 were raked into winrows, by means of one of 

 these rakes, in about 6 hours' working time. ; 



It possesses another advantage over the revolv- 

 ing rake it may be used for scraping the win- 

 rows into heaps for drawing, and if the hay is 

 stacked in the field, for drawing the hay to the 

 stack. A man with a rake and horse not only 

 raked the hay, but drew it at the samettime to 

 the stack, a distance of from 10 to 20 rods, as 

 fast as an active man could pitch with a fork. 

 A hand-rake need scarcely ever be used on the 

 meadow, as all the scattered hay may be raL'ed 

 up in a short time after the rest of the hay has 

 been drawn off. 



The horse-rake is very useful in raking 

 stubble of wheat, and eminently so in pulling 

 and gathering peas. 



Shafts, instead of ropes, have been attached 

 to the head of the rake, and have been strongly 

 recommended ; but they diminish the simpli- 

 city of the rake, and appear to possess no ad- 

 vantage on the whole, and for gathering and 

 drawing hay, are positively detrimental. 



RAMPIONS, or RAMPION BELL-FLOW- 

 ER (Campanula rapunculus}. The esculent 

 roots of this vegetable are far more delicate 

 than turnips or radishes. They are long, white, 

 and in the shape of a spindle. Like the radish, 

 it is eaten raw, having a nut-like, pleasant 

 flavour. The plant rises to the height of 2 feet, 

 with blue flowers. 



It is propagated by seed, which maybe sown 

 during March, April, and May ; the plants from 

 sowings in the two first months, soon, however, 

 run up to seed. The insertions may be per- 

 formed either in drills 6 inches apart, or broad- 

 cast; in either mode the seed to be buried an, 

 inch deep, effecting it in the latter by sifting 

 mould over it ; for, if the seed is raked in, from 

 its minuteness, it is apt to be buried too deep. 

 The plants are to remain where sown; though, 

 in case of any deficiency, those which are taken 

 away in thinning the crops may be transplanted 

 successfully. The best time for performing the 

 removal is of an evening. They are fit for 

 thinning when about 2 inches in height ; they 

 must be set at a distance of 6 inches apart, 

 being hoed at the time, and the same operation 

 repeated two or three times, which, if perform- 

 ed in dry weather, will keep them free from 

 weeds until used. 



The plants of the sowings during the two 

 first mentioned months will be fit for use at the 

 close of August, or early in September, and 

 continue throughout the autumn. Those of 

 the last one will continue good throughout the 

 winter, and until the following April. The soil, 

 throughout their growth, must be kept moist, 

 effecting it in dry weather by giving frequent 

 but moderate waterings through the fine rose 

 of a watering-pot. 



The root, for which it is cultivated, either to 

 be sliced, together with its leaves, in salads, or 

 eaten as the radish, as well as to be boiled like 

 asparagus, is most palatable when drawn 

 young, and eaten fresh from the ground. 



For the production of seed, a few of the 

 winter standing plants are left unmoved. These 

 shoot up in the spring, flowering in July and 

 August, and ripening abundance of seed in 

 early autumn. (G. W. Johnson's Kitrh. Card.) 



RANUNCULUS (From runa, a frog; several 

 of the species being found in moist places fre- 

 4 K 2 911 



