i$7 



sionally and renew the handles when some big stone hap- 

 pens to roll on to them and break them. 



A good drag or stone boat is also very necessary in the 

 work of reclaiming stony ground, and, after wearing out, 

 and pulling to pieces a number of the common wooden 

 ones, I made up my mind to have something better, and 

 here are directions for making it : Take two pieces of oak 

 8x4, and thirty inches long for end pieces, and two pieces 

 of 2 x 3, five feet long for sides ; these are to be bolted to 

 the bottom with fiat-headed, one-half inch bolts, and the 

 heads counter-sunk. For the bottom, go to the-boiler shop, 

 in the city, and get a piece of second-hand, 1-4 inch boiler 

 plate, 2| x 7 feet ; have a foot at each end turned up in the 

 rollers ; cut out a half round notch in the middle of each 

 end, to allow an easy chance to hitch ; punch all the needed 

 bolt holes for the side and end pieces, and four more about 

 an inch from the edge of the ends, to fasten on some small 

 strips of wood, to prevent the sharp edge of the iron cutting 

 the heels of the team ; bolt a ring to the end piece at both 

 ends to draw by, and you have a double ender that is but 

 little heavier than wood, will run as easy, better in most 

 places, and will last for years. I made such a drag two 

 years ago, and have pulled, perhaps, 500 perch of stone on 

 it, some of them weighing nearly or quite four tons each, 

 and, instead of wearing it out, as it would a wooden one, it 

 rather seemed to do it good ; it got the bottom well 

 polished. 



If I were to use this drag on snow, or down hill work, I 

 should put a pole to it, for no matter how heavily it is 

 loaded it will slide round like a hen on ice, and there seems 

 to be hardly any limit to what a team can pull on it ; mine 

 cost about $8, and is one of the best investments I have 

 ever made. Four to six good steel bars of varied sizes, 

 will be required if doing a big job of clearing, and if many 

 of the stone are larger than the teams can easily handle, 

 an assortment of steel drills will be necessary, and blasting 

 must be done ; striking hammers will be needed, and a 



