CURRENT GARDEN LORE. 



a machine is wanted that will deliver the spray uiidcr 

 cover, so that the wind will not disturb it, and also one 

 that will raise up the vines, and thus permit the spray to 

 reach all sides. The results are thought to be reached in 

 the machine here illustrated. A is a hood or roof which 

 passes oi'cr the row. The spray is driven out through 

 B B B, hisidc this roof, so that it must fall upon the 

 vines. C C C are nozzles. D is an air-chamber for 

 1 regulating the stream, making a force-pump. E is the 

 pump, with F a chain for driving it. G is the tank for 

 carrying the mixture. H H are curved rods of iron or 

 wood for elevating and holding up all "down" vines 

 under the roof until the spray has reached them. These 

 rods reach under and lift up the vines, which otherwise 

 would have only their upper sides wet with the mixture. 

 — Rural Neiv-Yorke)-. 



Machine for Laying Drainage-Pipe. — The laying 

 of drainage-pipe is generally effected in three operations, 

 viz., digging the trench, putting the pipes in place by 

 hand, and covering them with earth. The machine rep- 



MAc;Hi.Nh FOR Laving URAi.N-HiFh. 



resented here is designed to perform these various oper- 

 ations at the same time, and with the aid of two men 

 only. It consists of a frame. A, mounted upon wheels, 

 which rest directly upon the ground ; or, by preference, 

 upon rails, that are taken up and laid again in front in 

 measure as the work progresses. This frame supports 

 another one, B, which carries the tool designed to exca- 

 vate the trench, and which is nothing else than an end- 

 less screw with cutting edges, arranged vertically. This 

 screw is protected laterally by two plates that support 

 the earth and prevent it from falling into the trench be- 

 fore the pipes have been laid. In the part of the screw 

 that projects above the level of the earth, a third plate, 

 placed in front, prevents the earth accumulated upon the 

 spirals from falling upon the ground. This plate is not 

 fixed, but is held against the screw by a lever, E, and a 



693 



counterpoise, so that if the screw brings up a large stone, 

 the latter can enter the passage-way thus formed. The 

 motion forward, as well as the motion of the screw, is 

 produced by a cable winding over a wheel, U, and end- 

 ing at a stationary engine placed at one end of the field. 

 The starting or stopping is affected through a lever, P, 

 placed within reach of the hand of the two operators. In 

 measure as the machine moves forward, the operator at 

 the lower part puts pipes into the curved cylinder which 

 extends to the bottom of the machine, and the pipes are 

 thus laid upon the ground, one after the other. The 

 earth, on reaching the upper extremity of the screw, is 

 emptied upon an endless cloth in the box, G, whence it 

 falls into the passage, H, which may be inclined to the 

 right or left, so that the earth may be made to drop upon 

 the pipes, or be deposited to the right or left of the 

 trench. In order to prevent the earth from entering the 

 joints of the pipes, the joints are covered with a band of 

 paper, led to them by a guide seen at the back of the 

 machine. It may happen that the screw in its operation 

 will meet with excavations deeper than the trench that it 

 is desired to form, and that consequently the pipes may 

 be insufficiently supported at such points. In order to 

 remedy such a difficulty, there is arranged immediately 

 behind the screw a drum, S, which bears constantly 

 upon the ground, and against which abuts the extremity 

 of the rod of a valve closing a box of sand. When the 

 drum enters an excavation the valve-rod, actuated by a 

 spring, lowers, and the valve leaves its seat and allows 

 of the passage of a certain quantity of sand, which falls 

 into a vertical chute situated behind the drum, and fills 

 the excavation. A second roller, /, equalizes this layer 

 of sand, and the bottom of the trench is thus made per- 

 fectly level. — Les Inventions iVoiiTc/les. 



Steam Heating. — All our experience emphasizes the 

 greater value of steam, but we do not condemn hot water. 

 Steam is certainly better for our conditions, and superior 

 for very large houses where the fall is slight, for most 

 forcing-houses, and for all establishments which are 

 likely to be often modified and extended. For conser- 

 vatory purposes, for straight runs and small houses, it is 

 perhaps equalled — possibly surpassed in some instances 

 — by hot water. Steam overcomes obstacles, as elbows 

 and angles and obstructions, better than hot water. It 

 travels faster and farther. Crooked runs with little fall 

 are great difficulties in hot-water heating. Steam can 

 be varied more quickly than hot water. On the other 

 hand, steam is as steady as hot water, under proper 

 management, and it requires no more attention. Plants 

 thrive as well under steam-heat as under hot-water heat. 

 —Prof. L. H. Bailey, in Cornell Bulletin 41. 



Forcing Lettuce. — Lettuce-forcing is one of the most 

 satisfactory and profitable enterprises for the winter 

 months. There is nothing difficult or complex about the 

 operation. The illustration shows a bench of Black- 

 seeded Simpson lettuce. The seed was sown in the green- 

 house December 11, in boxes 17x21 inches and 2V2 

 inches deep. The soil used for this purpose was thor- 

 oughly pulverized and put through a fine sieve. After 



