1877.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
57 
heavy rains, or by sudden thaws. "We have spread 
manure upon oar fields several winters, and always 
with advantage, not only in saving labor and time, 
hut also to the crops grown after it, more especial- 
ly to oats and potatoes. In spreading the manure, 
it is the best to drop it in heaps, leaving it to be 
spread by a man as soon as possible afterwards. 
This may be done most readily by using a manure 
hook, (figure l), with which the manure is drawn 
out of the sled or wagon-box. Sloping wagon-beds 
are used for hauling various heavy materials, and 
why should they not be used for this, the heaviest 
and most bulky load a farmer has to handle ? A 
MANUBE HOOK. 
wagon, having the box raised, (figure 2,) so that 
the forward wheels would pass beneath it, would 
be very convenient on a farm. It could be turned 
in its own length, and handled with vastly greater 
facility than the ordinary farm-wagon, which needs 
a large yard to be turned in. Such a wagon could 
be unloaded with great ease and very rapidly, by 
the use of the hook, and in case it was desired to 
spread the load broadcast from the wagon, that 
could be done perfectly well. But to do this keeps 
the horses idle the greater part of the time, and is 
an unprofitable practice. Two teams hauling wUl 
keep one man busy in the yard helping to load, and 
another in the field spreading; the work wUl then 
go on without loss of time. In dropping the heaps. 
others a half-starved crop. Another important 
point in spreading is, to break up the lumps, and 
scatter the fine manure. Unless this is done, the 
field can not be evenly fertilized. There is work 
about this, which would tempt some hired men to 
neglect it, but it should not only be insisted 
upon, but looked to, and its performance insured. 
A CoNYENiENT HiLTER. — " C. P. B„" Rockford, 
Til,, sends a sketch of a halter, which fastens by a 
snap-hook, so that when the buckle has once been 
properly adjusted to fit the horse's head, it needs no 
unfastening afterwards. The illustration, made from 
the sketch, shows the manner of making the halter. 
Fig. 2. — WAGON WITH BAISED BOX. 
they may be left in rows, one rod apart, and one 
rod apart in the row ; each load being divided into 
eight heaps. This will give twenty loads per acre. 
If ten loads only are to be spread, the rows should 
be one rod apart, and the heaps two rods apart in 
the rows. In spreading the manure, it should be 
done evenly, and the heaps should not be made to 
overlap. If there is one heap to the square rod, it 
should be thrown eight feet each way from the 
center of the heap, covering a square of 161 feet, as 
shown in figure 3. One heap then is made to join 
up to another, and the whole ground is equally ma- 
nured. There is more in this point than is gener- 
ally supposed by farmers, many of whom are care- 
less and wasteful in this respect, giving too much 
in some places, and too litUe In others. The con- 
Fig. 3. — MAinrER OF sPKEADrao. 
sequence is uneven growth over the field, rusted 
grain or perhaps laid straw ii( some places, and In 
Eaklt Chickens. — Probably nothing that can be 
raised on the farm can 
be made more profita- 
ble than early chickens. 
"Broilers," as they are 
called, or chickens of one 
pound weight, or there- 
abouts, retail in the city 
markets all along the 
spring and early summer 
at 75 cts. each. To sell a 
two or three months old 
chicken for the price of a 
first class mature fowl, 
cannot fail to be profita- 
ble. Those who are aware 
of this fact occupy them- 
selves in raising early 
chickens. But as winter halter. 
is unfavorable for the rearing of these tender crea- 
tures, artificial mothers must be employed. Natural 
methods fail at this sea- 
son. Eggs can be hatch- 
ed, it is true, but artificial 
warmth is needed for the 
chicks. An artificial moth- 
er must be employed. 
Recently we described and 
illustrated one of these 
contrivances. Many per- 
sons, experienced in poul- 
try matters, are using in- 
cubators, and many in- 
quiries come to us In re- 
gard to them. We are 
satisfied that any careful 
person can easily hatch 
and rear chickens during the winter season, by the 
use of an incubator, and an artificial mother, in a 
room heated by a stove. We saw young chickens 
raised in a warm room in January of last year, 
which were as healthy and thrifty as any. The 
cost of raising them at that season is certainly 
greater than in the summer, but there is actually 
less loss, the growth is more rapid, and when they 
are ready for market, their value is several times 
greater, and all these advantages compensate for 
the greater expense. 
Hints and Helps for Fanners. 
BY L. n. SNOOK, TATE3 CO., N. Y., 
Harttess Hooks. — A very neat and cheap harness 
hook may be made from the end of a ])lo\v handle, 
beveled as shown at A, 
figure 1. When working 
up the tops of oaks, or 
other trees, natural hooks 
can be procured that need 
only a little trimming, as 
shown at B, figure 1 — 
these hooks may be nailed 
on to a beam or girt. At 
c, fig. 2, is one made from 
a piece of an inch board, 
1 foot in length, 4 inches 
wide, and shaped as 
shown. It may be nailed 
on to a block, and that pj^ 
nailed to some part of the '' 
building, or fastened directly to the side of a post. 
The one at d is made of iron ; the lower hook pro- 
HARNESS HOOKS. 
jects 7 inches, and the upper one 1 foot, with the 
hook or holding part near the end— the lower one 
is for the harness, the 
upper one for the bridle 
and collar, which are 
used first in harnessing. 
Where there is room, 
the hooks shown in fig- 
ure 3 may be used. The 
heavy hook is for the 
harness, the small one 
for the bridle, and the 
other for the collar ; the 
two small ones may be 
placed lower than the 
large one. By this plan 
the bridle and harness ^'S- 2.— haekess hooks. 
is not pulled out of shape by one hanging over the 
other, and one can use the harness without remov- 
ing the collar and bridle. 
Fencing Straw Stacks.— Oat and barley straw 
has considerable value for 
stock feeding, and farm- 
ers should practice great 
economy in preserving 
and spending it. It is not 
often possible to put it all 
under cover, and it is ne- 
cessary to stack it. If 
there is not a properly 
arranged stack yard, the 
stacks may be protected 
by.building fences or pens 
around them. These 
should be safe as well „• o 
. . . . , . Fig. 3. — HARNESS hooks. 
as substantial, for some- 
times valuable animals have been injured or 
killed, by running against the ends of project- 
ing raUs. In Western New York, the log pen style 
Fig. 4. — A SAFE STACK FENCE. 
of fencing, as shown in fig. 5, is extensively used. 
The logs are from eight to twelve inches in diame- 
ter, and from twenty to forty feet in length. They 
Fig. 5.— LOO-PEN FOB STACK. 
rest upon blocks of wood twenty inches in dinme- 
ter, and the same in lengtli, set upon end. The 
straw stacked in this pen is fed out to sections by 
cutting down with a hay knife as needed. The 
same quantity of straw, thus used, will go twice as 
far in feeding, as if cattle were allowed to pull it 
out and trample it under fout ; besides the danger 
of losing an animal or two by the stacks upsetting 
when partly nnderniined, and during one of the 
heavy blows of winter, is avoided. For a portable 
fence, or in a section where rails are more con- 
venient than logs, the plan shown in fig. 4, will 
answer a good purpose. The pen may bo square 
or any desired number of rails in length, or in cir- 
cumference, and from five to seven rails in hlght. 
Stakes are driven firmly into the ground, at each 
comer, and wired as shown. The ends of the rails 
are sawed off, and strips of board are nailed over 
