1867.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
215 
tions no longer remains, when the plow is ex- 
changed for a cultivator that will run astride 
the row, and disturb the soil so near to the corn, 
that there is no use for the hoe after the first 
weeding. On the contrary, it is a waste of labor. 
Planting in drills, secures a more even distribu- 
tion of the crop upon the ground, so that each 
plant has its fair share of the soil and sunlight. 
The growth is more symmetrical, more ears set, 
and they are more perfectly filled. Carefully 
conducted experiments claim a difference of 
more than twenty-five per cent, in favor of drill 
planting. If there is this difference, we can 
hardly afford to continue the usual practice. 
FLEECE FOLDIXG TABLE. 
Folding 1 Fleeces. 
"Wool is a bulky article, and ft is essential to 
fold and compress it into small compass to get 
it to market. The usual practice of rolling and 
tying is strongly objected to by the manufac- 
turer, but it is difficult to find another conveni- 
ent way. Fleeces may be rolled, and not tied, 
and thus packed in bags, but this method inter- 
feres with inspection by buyers and their agents. 
Farmers are now hardly prepared to follow the 
advice of one of our largest wool buyers — 
though we doubt not it is sound — viz.: to re- 
move the flank wool and all the coarser parts, 
and then, to roll carefully the fleeces and pack 
in bags, placing all the tags and flanks in 
the mouths, to mark the bags with their own 
names, and sell either to traveling buyers, or, as 
many do now, put the wool in the hands 
of good commission houses. In this wa}', 
the annoyance of strings would be avoid- 
ed, and the name and reputation of the flock 
would go with the wool to the manufacturer, 
who would be very likely to order the clips of 
such-and-such farmers, year after year. 
An Ohio subscriber sends us a plan of a neat 
folding table used in Erie Co., which we publish 
with his drawing, which makes it clear. 
Fleece-folding Table, by " Western Be- 
serre." — A good machine for folding and tying up 
fleeces of wool is a capital thing; it saves much 
time, and the work is done so much easier and 
better than it can be without one, that it will 
pay for itself in a very short time. 
The Table I describe is much used in this vi- 
cinity, and is considered the very best of all like 
contrivances. Any person, hand}' with tools, 
can make one in a short time. Take three 
boards, plump one inch thick, anil four feet long, 
one eight, the other two fourteen inches wide ; 
fasten them together with tablc-buts, put on 
the same as on a common table — the 8-inch 
one being in the middle, as seen in the drawing. 
Then take a block eight inches long, six wide, 
and five thick, bevel off one edge until two sides 
are nearly obliterated, and hollow this bevel so 
that the block will be of the form shown, one 
and one-quarter inches at one edge, but some- 
what triangular. Then cut three small notches 
in one edge, two inches apart, and half an inch 
deep. Fasten this block on one end of the 
eight-inch board, the hollow side in, with heavy 
screws. Now, get a heavy piece of harness 
leather eight inches wide, and three feet long. 
Sew, in one end, with a waxed-end, a half-inch 
iron rod, with an eye bent in the middle and three 
links attached ; cut three long slits in the leather, 
corresponding to the notches in the block, two 
inches apart, to within six inches of each end ; 
and now fasten the other end to the 8-inch 
board, close up to the block, and bore three holes 
through the board one foot from the block, and 
directly under the slits in the leather. Fasten 
the table to a frame made of 5 x 3 scantling, 
just high enough so that one can stand up 
to it and work conveniently and comfortably. 
To use it, draw the ends of the twine up 
through the holes in the bed piece, through the 
slits in the strap, and up over the block, letting 
the ends hang down about six inches ; lay the 
fleece inside down, shoulders towards the block; 
crowd the wool close together; fold in the sides 
until it is about the width of the strap. Then 
raise the leaves, hook them together, and taking 
hold of the end of the strap, bring it over the 
wool to the front end. Fasten the chain to the 
hook on the lever, and with your foot upon it, 
fetch it down snug, and fasten it. Tie the twine 
over the fleece ; unhook the leaves and let them 
down ; then loosen the lever, unhook the strap, 
and throw it back on the table, take hold of the 
fleece, draw it over to the front, so that the 
twine will lie in the notches of the block, cut 
loose, and you are ready to fold another fleece 
in one half of the time it takes to tell how. If 
pains is taken to roll in the ends and sides well, 
the fleece, after it is tied, will be as round and 
white as a snowball. 
Fig. 1. 
Basket Making. 
"A Subscriber," of Peoria Co., 111., writes 
us a letter in German, describing his method of 
making a Half-Bushel Basket. It is, in most 
points, clear, and as our former article on basket 
making set so many people thinking, and weav- 
ing willows, we publish this to give them some 
new ideas on the same subject. The willow 
rods are worked either peeled, or with the 
bark on, and soaked so as to bo thoroughly 
flexible. Our correspondent writes : 
" We begin by taking seven pieces of willow, 
"Is to l \i inch thick, and 14 iuches long. Four 
of these are split in the center, and the three are 
passed thrnugh the middle, as shown in figure 
1. Then we put in by their lips, two willows 
i.l above, and B below,) as shown. A is drawn 
down at the angle F, turned under />, brought 
up at 0. B is bent up at F; down at C ' ; passed 
under the four rods ; bent up at D, and so car- 
ried around twice. Then we spread the seven 
rods apart, as in fig. 2, and weave the willows 
between them. When B, in fig. 1, becomes too 
short to weave further, we bend the but down 
and put in another willow beside it, and con- 
tinue with this until A becomes too short, then 
supply it by another in the same way, and con- 
tinue. The willows are held by the left hand, 
while the right does the weaving. The willows 
used for the center of the bottom need not be 
so thick as those towards the outside, and in 
weaving, all are laid in by the tips, and thebuts 
Fig. 2. 
are left sticking down (outside). "When we 
have woven a few inches, we place the bottom 
on the knee and press the center upward, to 
take the form shown in fig. 3. We then weave 
on, using four willows instead of two. At the 
last round on the bottom, the willow is cut off, 
bent, and stuck in horizontally, as shown at G, 
fig. 2, and all the ends cut off. This finishes 
the bottom of the basket. 
We now take 2S willows, (S, fig. 2), sharpen 
the buts, and stick them in, one on each side of 
the frame rods of the bottom, as shown. They 
are bent up and tied together at the tops. We 
now take 28 weaving willows, (T, fig. 3), not so 
stout as the upright ones, (H), and insert them 
in the bottom, in the same manner, (see fig. 3); 
with these we weave around the basket, with 
each one passing two uprights, both in weaving 
out, and in, until all the 28 are inserted ; then 
we weave, passing on the outside two, and inside 
one upright, twice around. When this is done, 
it is best to take a piece of wood, and, holding it 
upon the weaving, strike it with a hammer, to 
settle all firmly together. After this, we weavo 
on until the willows I are exhausted, but out 
and in over one upright. Then we take off the 
strings, and 28 willows are again taken. They 
are laid so that the buts will stand out 3 or 4 
inches from the inside, which enables one to 
cut them off easily. Wo weave these simply 
Fig. 3. 
out and in, using other sets, if necessary, until 
the basket reaches the bight of 8 iuches. (Three 
