45- 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
and he gave us a bushel of splendid quinces into 
the bargain. The Deacon is one of those thrifty 
farmers who have a long row of quince bushes, 
and takes care of them. Snug buildings, with 
every thiug in its place, a good crop of corn, free 
from weeds, cut up, hufsked and cribbed in good 
season, with a row of quince bushes loaded with 
yellow fruit, are always associated in my mind 
with intelligence, thrift, and comfort. And 
I am sorry to confess that I have not a quince 
bush on my farm ! Still, I beat the Deacon on 
corn, and mean to do it again. He thinks that 
the past summer was so hot that corn in drills 
had a much better chance of ripening than 
would be the case in ordinary seasons. And 
there is some truth in this. But I think if you 
can make the land rich e-nough, and keep it clean, 
we can grow corn in drills, even in ordinary 
summers. And so of potatoes. If the land is 
poor and weedy, plant in hills 3 1 1 2 feet apart, 
and cultivate both ways. But if the land is rich 
enough to grow 800 bushels per acre, plant in 
rows, 3'la feet one way, and drop the seed 12 or 
15 inches apart in the rows. You can certainly 
get a much bigger crop this way than by plant- 
ing in hills ; but the land must be made rich and 
dry, and the potatoes planted in good season. 
■ ■«-■ ««►•— _«. . 
Home-made Horse-powers. 
One of our readers at the far South, who lives 
off the lines of railway and water-carriage, wish- 
es to avoid the purchase and costly transporta- 
tion of a horse-power, and asks for a plan by 
which one may be made. Horse-powers for 
moving agricultural machines, such as thrash- 
ers, saws, feed-cutters, etc., require speed rather 
than great power, hence the gearing is accom- 
modated to that object, and is very different 
from the slower and more powerful motion re- 
quired upon a capstan or in the brick-yard. 
The application of the power of the horse is, 
however, the same, and it is not improbable 
that our readers who wish to set up a horse- 
power for thrashing, sawing wood, or grinding 
apples may find pieces of machines in their 
neighborhoods, now of little value, which they 
can turn to account. 
"We give engravings of two sweep horse- 
powers, from one of which the power is taken 
from. above, leaving the ground clear, while 
from the other the power is taken from the 
ground level as nearly as possible. Both are 
intended for use under a building or shed. In 
posts are about one foot square at one end and 
rounded at the other. The sweep to which the 
i'ig. :i. — SWEEP HOItSE-l'OWEB WITH PIN-GEARING. 
horse is attached, shown in the engraving, fig. 1, 
should be made of a crooked stick of any hard 
wood, ash or oak would probably be best, and 
eilher would stand the strain if it were to be 
worked down to about 4'| 2 to 5 inches square 
at the upper end, and 3 inches square at the 
other. It is much more convenient to use such 
a sweep, than one attached to the post so low 
down that a man cannot stand erect under it. 
The sweep should be let half its thickness into 
the post and secured in place by two strong 
bolts with nuts. The periphery of the bevelled 
wheels should either be of iron, cast in segments 
and bolted to the wooden wheel, or cast-iron 
segments with sockets into which teeth of oak 
are set. This makes not only a very durable 
Fi^. 1. — SWEEP HORSE-POWER WITH BEVEL 
both, also, the posts are of a hight to accommo- 
date, the room— say 7 or 8 feet. They are held 
in position oy strong pins of iron, with cross- 
arms let into the posts at each end, and revolv- 
ing in osl: bearings above and below. These 
Fig. 3. — POLE AND BRACE FOR SWEEP. 
gearing, but one which may be easily repaired, 
should a tooth become much worn or broken. 
It is very much to be preferred to the pin-gear- 
ing shown in figure 2. The castings may be 
obtained atomy good foundry. The rod which 
conveys the power may be either of wood or of 
iron, the latter is preferable, and it should be set 
low, in o/der that the horses may easily step 
over. The track may properly be raised at the 
point where the rod crosses. 
The pin-gearing shown in figure 2, works 
well, provided the strain upon it is even and 
not very great. The holes for 
the pins must be bored with 
great accuracy or the motion 
of the machinery will be un- 
steady. It is much better to 
have the gearing above than 
on the ground, if the power is 
to be employed upon the floor 
above. The form of sweep 
used in this, with the manner 
of bracing and bolting to the 
shaft, is shown ill figure 3. 
The sweep may be of ash, 
hickory, cedar, or any moder- 
ately tough and somewhat 
elastic wood. The brace stif- 
fens it greatty, and one of the 
bolts should pass through both 
the pole and the brace. The 
length of the sweeps is generally about 10 feet, 
though larger ones would in some cases be bet- 
ter, and much shorter ones are often used. 
When sweep horse-powers are set up in the 
open air, a strong frame is made of four posts, 
connecting an upper frame with a lower and 
larger one, made of timbers embedded in the 
earth or in stone-work. The 
frame encloses a gearing like 
the one shown in figure 1. 
Washing Roots. 
The habit of half washing 
roots, which we feed to cattle, 
pigs and sheep, is too preva- 
lent ; we confess to many infrac- 
tions of the rule of cleanliness 
and economy ourselves in feed- 
ing, but are entirely satisfied that 
it is a losing practice. Earth, 
soil, dirt, is very well in its place, 
and no doubt all of our domestic 
animals enjoy and are benefited 
when they " bite the dust," as 
they do now and then when they 
have an opportunity. It is, how- 
ever, a very different thing to boil the dirt, or to 
season turnips with gravel. The discomfort 
which every one feels when he finds a particle of 
grit in his food ought to suggest the humanity of 
washing thoroughly all the roots fed to stock. 
We have in the agricultural stores a root- 
washing apparatus, made of a cylinder of 
coarse, woven wire, which revolves by means 
of a crank in a trough of water. This is rather 
expensive, and we have found a very simple 
contrivance equally effective. A common coal 
or saud screen is laid flat upon two wooden 
horses, a bushel of roots at a time is thrown 
upon it, and spread out. Then, with a short 
hose and pipe attached to our submerged pump, 
(the same offered upon our premium list,) we 
direct a stream of water upon 
them, which thoroughly cleans 
off all adhering soil. If one end 
be lifted and jarred down a few 
times the roots will change 
places and expose new surfaces to the water. 
We shall have occasion soon to wash a cart- 
load at a time, and shall proceed thus: 
The cart will be brought to the pump, and 
the roots thoroughly wetted and allowed to 
soak for an hour. The screen will be placed 
conveniently, and slung by a rope and chain to 
a limb over head. Then a sledge with a box 
upon it will be drawn to the spot. • The roots 
will be shoveled from the cart into the screen, 
and as soon as washed, the screen will be swung 
around and they will be dumped into the sledge. 
8^M 
ROOT WASHER. 
In drawing them over bare ground to the barn 
or cattle sheds, the horses will hardly draw as 
much as they will upon a cart; but it will be 
twice easier than the roots can be handled and 
moved in any other way. 
