1848. 



GENESEE FARMER. 



105 



Rochester. In the town of Sweden, that es- 

 carpment has become higher, and the shale is in 

 some places well exhibited. One of the best lo- 

 calities is at Marshall's saw-mill, in the town 

 before mentioned, where the small stream (a 

 branch of Salmon creek) has excavated its chan- 

 nel in this rock. The banks scarcely differ in 

 color and appearance from the soil around, and 

 it is only from fossils that the mass is distinguished 

 from ordinary clay. At one point where there 

 has been a fresh exposure, the rock appears in 

 all its character, and contains abundance of 

 fossils. — Natural History of New York. 



Spring Tooth Horse Rake. 



Messrs Editors : — As your paper is a medi- 

 um through which the farmer expects to receive 

 information in reference to such improvements 

 in agriculture, and agricultural implements as 

 are going on in our country, I have thought pro- 

 per to present to your readers some account of a 

 very valuable improvement in Horse Rakes, 

 which, though not altogether new, has not been 

 noticed to any considerable extent in our agri- 

 cultural journals, and will no doubt be entirely 

 new to a large portion of the readers of the 

 Genesee Farmer. 



The following are some of the advantages 

 which the Spring-tooth Rake possesses over all 

 others : They are light, and may be carried 

 with ease by one man all about the farm ; the 

 elasticity of the teeth prevents their breaking 

 or fastening to any obstruction with which they 

 may chance to come in contact; they operate 

 on very rough, uneven and stoney ground, doing 

 the work completely where no other horse rake 

 can be used at all ; they are exceedingly nice 

 for raking barley, or clover that is cut for seed; 

 they rake cleaner and faster, and shell out less 

 seed than any other, either hand or horse rake, 

 and are in all places, and for all purposes su- 

 perior to any other Horse Rake in use. 



In addition to the foregoing advantages the 

 Spring-Tooth Horse Rake is emphatically the 

 lahor-saving and money making machine when 

 taken into the wheat stubble. It is an ascer- 

 tained fact that when wheat is harvested in the 

 usual manner, from one to two bushels per acre 

 is left on the stubble, and about 20 or 25 acres 

 may be gleaned in a day with one horse. Thus 

 it appears that nearly enough wheat has hereto- 

 fore been left on the ground to seed it, or supply 

 the whole county with seed wheat ; while some, 

 who are well qualified to judge in reference to 

 it, think that enough has been left on the stub- 

 ble ground in past years to furnish bread for the 

 entire farming population of the wheat growing 

 districts. 



The Rake, as usually made, has a head about 

 9 feet long, and from 20 to 24 elastic wire teeth. 



It does not revolve, but is raised over the win- 

 row with ease and facility, without stopping the 

 horse ; the whole rake weighing only about 60 

 pounds, and the thills being upheld by the horse, 

 the holder has only to lift one end of the rake by 



Spring-Tooth Horse Rake. (Fig. 25.) 



the handles, and the advance motion of the 

 horse will have carried it over the winrow, while 

 the holder can lift it up and let it down properly. 

 The holder bears down on the handles more or 

 less according to the size of the winrow he 

 wishes to collect, and leaves the winrow when 

 and where he pleases, by quickly raising the 

 handles as before stated. 



The accompanying engraving will more clear- 

 ly convey a correct idea of the construction and 

 appearance of the rake. 



Yours, &c., John Lawrence. 



Wayne Co., N Y., 1848. 



The rake described by our correspondent is 

 manufactured by Messrs. E. &; T. G. Yeomans 

 of Walworth, Wayne county, N. Y. For fur- 

 ther information, and certificates, &c., concern- 

 ing the utility of the rake, the reader is referred 

 to an advertisement on the second (advertising) 

 page of this number of the Farmer. 



Caterpillars. — An English agricultural pa- 

 per gives the following method of destroying cat- 

 erpillars, which was accidentally discovered, and 

 is practiced by a gardener near Glasgow. A' 

 piece of woollen rag had been blown by the wind 

 into a currant bush, and when taken out was 

 found covered by the leaf devouring insects. 

 Taking the hint, he immediately placed pieces 

 of woollen cloth in every bush in his garden, and 

 found the next day that the caterpillars had uni- 

 versally taken to them for shelter. In this way 

 he destroys many thousands every mofning. 



Obtain good seed, prepare your ground well, 

 sow early, and pay very little attention to the 

 moon. 



