18G8. 



XEVv' ENGLAND FARJMER. 



237 



COMBnSTATION STANCHIONS. 



The above cut was engraved for the Fak- 

 MEK some years since as an illustration of an 

 improvement in tying up cattle, devised by 

 Wm. D. Brown, of Concord, Mass. A is a 

 strip of iron one inch and a half wide, at- 

 tached to the movable' stanchions B B B B, 

 by half-inch bolts of round iron with spring 

 keyes ; C a i-ope passing over a fixed pulley 

 and attached to a shaft with crank and follower 

 or catch. Mr. Brown said that if any one or 

 more of his thirty cattle fail to have their heads 

 in the proper place at the time of fastening 

 the others he could slip out a key and bolt and 

 put in the stragglers at pleasure, or any one 

 may be loosened in the same way at any time. 



We have recently received from Mr. O. H. 

 Phillips, West Glover, Vt., a description with 

 drawings of a similar, but perhaps more simple 

 plan which he had adopted. Instead of the 

 iron strip, he uses a bar of wood to which the 

 movable stanchions are fastened by wooden 

 pins. Instead of the rope, pulley and crank, 

 he attaches a stick or lever to one end of the 

 long bar, with one end of the lever fast in a 

 staple or socket in front of the stanchions at 

 such distance that by moving the long end of 

 the lever, which projects into the stable, the 

 stanchions are all opened and shut at one mo- 

 tion. When closed, the long end of the lever 

 is held firmly in place by a hasp, slot, staple 

 or other fastening, which also, of course, fas- 

 tens and holds in place all the stanchions. 



two of ashes ; the lime should be newly slaked 

 and mixed with the ashes, both dry, then put 

 in a layer of bones, then two or three inches 

 of the lime and ashes again ; fill up in this 

 way to about eight inches of the top, then fill 

 out with clear ashes, or the compound, and 

 then wet it gradually until it is thoroughly sat- 

 urated, but not so as to drain ; let it stand at 

 least six months, the longer the better ; when 

 wanted for use take it out, fork it over and 

 pick out all the bones that are not soft and 

 save them for the next batch, and then pulver- 

 ize and mix the ingredients well together, and 

 you will find it one of the strongest and best 

 fertilizers in use. — Cor. Am. Institute Fa7'- 

 mer''s Club. 



Dissolving Bones. — The cheapest and 

 easiest way I found was to take a deep box, 

 barrel, or hogshead, the latter I like the best, 

 cover the bottom about two inches deep v/ith 

 ashes and lime mixed, about one part lime to 



FEEDING- STEERS IN KENTUCKY. 



At a rec(^nt meeting of the Lexington, Ky., 

 Farmers' Club, one of the members made the 

 following interesting statement of his manner 

 of feeding stock for the market. He esti- 

 mated the cost of his steers at $95 per head 

 when three years of age, and at 1550 pounds 

 each live weight, and that at present prices, 

 7^c per pound, they are worth $116.25 per 

 head. To this may be added the profit on 

 hogs which follow cattle when fed on corn. 

 Among the advantages of his system of farm- 

 ing, he mentioned the improvement of the 

 farm over the ordinary mode of culture, and 

 the small amount of labor required. He safd 

 he employed only one man and a boy, with 

 one pair good horses, and one yoke of oxen, 

 and found himself more troubled to find work 

 for the man and boy than to keep up his work. 



I have eight hundred and twenty acres ot 

 land on which I operate. I always keep on 

 hand one hundred and eighty cattle at a time, 

 winter and summer, in tliree different lots and 



