1874.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
337 
out a cattle shed, we should always do It with 
this object in view, even in the "West, for 
although a Western farmer may scorn to think 
manure of any value, there will be no shed 
built this year which will be worn out before 
the time comes in which manure will be as 
highly thought of by the Western farmer, as it 
is now by the Eastern one. 
Figure 1 shows the ground plan of the 
PLAN OP CATTLE BARN. 
proposed stable. It is made in two wings, 
facing the Northeast and Northwest. At the 
North corner is a square room which may be 
used as a store room, feed room, or for any 
other purpose. From this room passages run 
right and left, from which the cattle are fed. 
These passages may be 6 feet wide. There 
should be as many windows in these passages, 
as shall give needful light and ventilation 
through the stable. The stalls with racks or 
feed troughs opening into the passages, are in 
the rear, and the doors from the stalls open into 
the yard. These doors should hang upon 
rollers, and when rolled back, at least one half 
of the front of the sheds should be open. The 
yard will face the South and East, and should 
have a manure vault in the center, into which 
drains (shown by the dotted lines) should carry 
off the liquids from the stable. The yard may 
be fenced in, and feeding racks may be placed 
around it, in which in fine weather fodder may 
be given to the stock. Fig. 2 shows the eleva- 
tion of the sheds, and the arrangement of the 
yard. The upper story is for storing hay, and 
at the center of the building, a windmill should 
be erected, to pump water for the stock from a 
cistern or well beneath it, or it could furnish 
power to cut feed if necessary. The extra cost 
of these conveniences, will pay for themselves 
Fig. 3. — ELEVATION OP BARN. 
in the course of one season, in saving of labor 
and in growth of the stock. A trough of water 
should run through every stall, so that the cat- 
tle may be watered when required, without 
being removed or unfastened. The cost of a 
shed, such as is here described, 200 feet long, 
20 feet wide, and 18 feet high, with all the 
conveniences mentioned, and substantially built 
and painted, should not be more than $1,500, 
anil it may be built for much less. 
Tightener for Wire Fence. 
As fences made of wire are more used, it be- 
comes all the more necessary to have a suitable 
method of tightening the wire. The usual man- 
ner of straining the wire in one direction only, 
tends to draw the straining post out of its posi- 
tion. But if the roller upon which the wire is 
wound, strains from both directions, the force is 
equalized so far as the straining post is concern- 
ed, and it is necessary only to have the end posts 
well stayed. In the method shown in the 
engraving, there are two posts fastened together 
with a cap piece, and set firmly in the same 
hole. Each post is well stayed with a brace, 
which supports it in the direction in which the 
wire is drawn. The posts are bored to receive 
rollers upon which the wires are wound. One 
end of each roller is made square, and some- 
what larger than the round part. The holes in 
one of the posts are made square to fit the square 
ends of the rollers. A winch is also made to fit 
the rollers, and the wires are tightened by turn- 
ing the rollers with the winch. One wire is 
wrapped from above, and the other from 
beneath the roller, so that both are tightened 
TIGHTENER FOR WIRE FENCE. 
at the same time. When the wires are drawn 
tight, the square end of the roller is driven into 
the square hole in the post, and the rollers are 
firmly held. 
A Cement Roller. 
Now that the sowing of fall grain is at hand, 
the attention of farmers is turned towards 
rollers. The use of the roller is too much 
neglected. A considerable portion of the fall 
wheat crop is sacrificed every season by broad- 
cast sowing, imperfect harrowing, and the 
want of a compact, firm seed-bed. The wheat 
plant needs a solid stratum of soil wherein to 
push its roots, and a somewhat rough surface 
is an advantage to it. There are cases in which 
the use of a drill is not possible, and where 
broadcast sowing is unavoidable. In such 
cases especially, and in all others, the use of a 
corrugated roller, such as is here illustrated, 
will be found profitable. It will be found 
more useful than the smooth roller, even when 
the drill has been used. A smooth surface 
favors heaving by frost, and winter-killing. If 
such, a roller, as is here described, is drawn 
across the field in an east and west direction, 
leaving small ridges, a great protection will be 
afforded to the wheat when the ground is bare 
of snow in the winter, and frosty nights are 
followed by sunny days. The ridges will be 
exposed only upon one side to the sun, and the 
low elevation of the sim will prevent all but 
the tops of the ridges from being thawed. The 
north side of the ridges will remain frozen, as 
also will every hollow, and in these the plants 
will be safe. When the usual north wind 
blows, these ridges will intercept the drifting 
snow, and each hollow will remain filled with 
a protecting covering. We have found this 
plan of drilling wheat in the direction of East 
and West to be a great advantage in this way, 
and if the ground had been rolled with such a 
roller as is shown in fig. 1, the advantage would 
J 
Fig. 1. — CEMENT ROLLEK CCMFLETE. 
have been greatly increased. The roller con- 
sists of segments eight inches thick, made of 
concrete, or a mixture of one part of cement 
and four parts of sand. The diameter of the 
segments is 30 inches. They are molded in the 
shape represented at figure 2. The center, in 
which the axle works, is made of four 
pieces of hard wood, cut so that the wear 
is upon the ends of the fibers, and which 
are channeled upon their outer edges. 
The centers are fastened in the mold 
and the cement is cast around them, 
where it sets and hardens, holding them 
firmly. Figure 3 shows the form of the 
centers. The segments are strung to- Fig. 2. 
gether upon an axle, consisting of an iron bar 
one inch in diameter, which is fitted into a 
frame. A tongue is fastened and braced to the 
frame in the usual manner, and two horses are 
required to draw it. Each segment will 
weigh over 300 pounds, and the eight, 
with the frame, will weigh nearly 3,000 
pounds, which will give a compressive **&•"' 
force of about 375 pounds for every square foot 
of bearing surface. This pressure, with the 
peculiar form of the segments, will render this 
roller a most effective clod-crusher 
/ 
A Mink or Rat-Trap. 
Although vermin may me kept out of a 
poultry-house by constant watchfulness, yet in 
an unguarded moment their greater persever- 
ance will frequently get the better of our care, 
and accidents will happen. It is therefore 
well to use traps occasionally, to kill off ver- 
min, notwithstanding we may believe our 
