1878.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
59 
small plot iu a convenient place for tnc stock, and 
feed them there with green-fodder grown and cut 
especially for them, than to make a practice of in¬ 
discriminate pasturing, with the necessary main¬ 
tenance of interior fencing at a high cost. 
-*s—- 
A Hatching Coop for Winter Use. 
Early chickens are very desirable, but they are 
troublesome to raise in the winter. To overcome 
the difficulty, and keep the young chicks sufficient¬ 
ly warm during very cold weather, wc have provided 
a few coops of the style shown in the accompany¬ 
ing engraving. It is 4 feet long and 3 wide, and 4 
feet high, which is large enough to give ample ven¬ 
tilation when it is temporarily closed. The nest is 
A HATCHING COOP POE WINTEB. 
made in one corner of the coop, and when the 
chicks are hatched, they maybe confined in it when 
necessary. The front is a common hot-bed sash, 
3x4 feet, and can be raised or removed at pleasure. 
The coop is placed in a corner of the poultry-house 
near the glass front, and being thus thoroughly 
warmed during the day, will retain sufficient 
warmth during the night. In the coldest weather 
a blanket or mat may be thrown over the coop. 
A Village Improvement Association — 
What has been Done in Litchfield, Gt. 
In several villages of New England, there have 
been established of late, what are known as Village 
Improvement Associations or Companies. These 
consist of a number of public spirited, energetic, 
and liberal people—both ladies and geutlemen— 
who associate themselves under the operation of a 
State law, which regulates the formation of joint- 
stock companies without capital, for the purpose 
of improving the condition of the streets, side¬ 
walks, crossings, public squares, fences, shade- 
trees, and other conveniences and adornments of 
the villages. Every resident of a village knows 
how slowly reforms and improvements of this 
character are effected, and how difficult it is to in¬ 
duce some persons to see their interest in beauti¬ 
fying or improving, either their own or the public 
property. It is true, what is the business of no¬ 
body in particular, goes undone very easily, and 
that it is only by a great effort on the part of the 
more enterprising and enthusiastic citizens, that the 
indolence, or inertia rather, of the majority is over¬ 
come, and a course of improvement is set in action. 
The benefit accruing from the precept and examples 
of these enterprising people, are very great indeed; 
cleanliness, neatness, and order, are provocative of 
sobriety, industry, and thrift, and these again, tend 
towards a higher condition of morality. So that 
morality and comfort, as well as agreeable appear¬ 
ance, if not elegance, result from the operation of 
these village improvement associations. While 
they are desirable everywhere, they are still more 
useful and effective in those places where a large 
portion of the summer business is, to entertain 
strangers from the large towns and cities. These 
people are greatly attracted by clean streets, 
smooth walks, green lawns, bright gardens, neat 
houses, and the certainty of general order and re¬ 
spectability which these things indicate. Without 
distinguishing any one place in particular, there 
are many such villages as are referred to, which at 
first sight put the stranger upon good terms with 
them ; while there are many which sadly need the 
reforming influence of an improvement society, for 
tlieir own good and for the comfort of those who 
visit them. For the benefit of the latter we give 
some account of the operations of the Litchfield 
(Conn.) Village Improvement Company. What 
has been done will speak for itself, and may serve 
to form a model for other villages to copy. 
This Association was formed in April, 1875, and 
consisted at first of about 100 members. The first 
season there was expended $2,147.78 in the follow¬ 
ing manner : 10,478 feet of concrete side-walk was 
laid; street crossings were made of stone, where 
formerly there was deep mud in wet weather, and 
deep dust in dry weather; seats were put up in the 
public parks; wooden bridges, (culverts we sup¬ 
pose are meant), were made ; rubbish was removed, 
aud railings were repaired. To meet these expenses 
$1,412.29 was raised ; of this sum, $177 was from 
members fees; $714.08 from entertainments of 
various kinds ; $129.83 from donations, and $391.38 
from repayments for side-walks. A debt was thus 
left to be carried over to the next seasou. The 
entertainments consisted of lectures, readings, and 
strawberry festivals, and were certainly liberally 
patronized. These, in themselves, where undoubt¬ 
edly valuable aids to improvement, though not in¬ 
cluded in the original bill. In the winter of 1875— 
’76, walks were cleared of snow, aud such shade 
trees as were broken or endangered by a severe 
ice storm, were trimmed. $567.59 was expended 
that winter. During the second year $2,214.91 
was expended and the sum of $1,923.69 was raised 
by similar methods to those already mentioned. 
Besides all this work, much was done by private 
individuals, iu emulation of the Improvement Com¬ 
pany. Thus the example given by tlie Association, 
has ied to a general disposition to improve the con¬ 
dition of private property, and as nothing is more 
infectious than a taste for flowers, green lawns, 
neatiy kept foot-paths, and fences, the desire to 
improve spreads beyond the village, aud the farm¬ 
ers outside begin very soon to adopt the general 
custom. It is easy to conceive how far this may 
go when it is once started, and what an immense 
influence for good is exerted far and wide. In be¬ 
ginning this improvement, it is the first step which 
is the most difficult, and this must be taken by one 
energetic and experienced person. This was the 
case in the instance here referred to, but it was for¬ 
tunate that his efforts were readily supported by 
others. It is to be hoped that this example may 
be copied in many villages, and although it may not 
always be possible, to enlist so large a company of 
helpers, yet a small beginning should not lead to 
discouragement, as proportionate success may be 
achieved. The profits resulting from these im¬ 
provements, are far greater than the original cost. 
Not only is there a direct value received for the 
money expended, in the increased worth of the 
property benefited, but there is, besides, not esti¬ 
mating the. resulting comfort and satisfaction, a 
large extra value added. A well kept garden, 
neat fences and gates, and shade trees, add to a 
village lot or a farm, many times their cost, so that 
no more profitable outlay than this can be made. 
-- ---. —- 
A Bolster Spring for ,Earm Wagons. 
A new Bolster Spring is shown in the accompany¬ 
ing engravings, which possesses several good quali¬ 
ties, not the least of which is, that a set may be 
bought at a moderate price, and attached to the 
Fig. 1.— SPRING FOR WAGON BOLSTER. 
wagon by the farmer himself. The desirability of 
having springs to wagons for heavy work need not 
be urged; the saving in wear and tear of both 
wagon and wheels is large on even good roads, and 
as our roads are generally the reverse of good, 
there are but few localities, in which these springs 
would not pay for their cost in the increased dura¬ 
bility of the vehicle. The springs, figure 1, are 
attached to the wagon-box, as shown in figure 2, 
and rest upon the bolster; such is their shape, 
that the box is raised only three inches above the 
bolster. The springs can not break, as before their 
whole tension is exercised, the weight of the load 
rests upon the bolster, and thus the spriugs are 
relieved from sudden jerks caused by stones or 
Fig. 2.— THE BOLSTER SPRING ATTACHED. 
ruts in the road. The use of these obviates the 
necessity for having springs to the wagon seat; 
they are made to carry from 2,000 to 5,000 lbs. the 
set. This very recent invention, which will meet a 
general want, is just brought out by the makers, 
Semple, Birge & Co., of St. Louis, Mo., widely 
known as builders of wagons and farm machinery. 
----- 
The Hereford Breed of Cattle. 
BT T. L. MILLER, BEECHER, ILL. 
In an article in the American Agriculturist for 
November last, accompanying an engraving of the 
Hereford bull “Little Bill,” it is stated that the 
Hereford is “ second only to the Shorthorn as a 
beef animal, when kept under equally favorable 
circumstances.” I have now been a breeder of 
Hereford’s for several years, and there is no place 
where the Shorthorn can excel the Hereford. The 
Shorthorn shows at his best when on the richest 
food, and ail he will take of it, from the time he is 
dropped until he goes to the butcher. Even here 
the Hereford will make as large gains as the Short¬ 
horn, and do it on twenty-five per cent less feed. 
And the larger portion of the writers on cattle, 
when they touch this point at all, admit a difference 
in favor of the Hereford. The only' place where 
the Hereford and Shorthorn have an opportunity 
to test this, has been at the celebrated cattle fairs 
at Smithfield, Eng. For nearly the whole time, 
from 1799 up to 1851, the two breeds were shown 
in the same classes—in fact, all breeds were shown 
together—and the Hereford oxen, or steers, as 
fat cattle, took 185 premiums, as against the 82 by 
the Shorthorns. The Herefords were formed in 
the hands of Mr. B. Tompkins, commencing in 
1766, and fairly established 1776—about the same 
time Charles & Robert Colling were improving the 
Shorthorns. As a rule, the feeders and breeders 
that show at Smithfield, have fed high, and it is 
fair to presume that the two breeds have made the 
best weights and quality that could be made, 
while the Herefords took nearly twice as many 
premiums as the Shorthorns, and nearly twice as 
much money. If the test could have been made as 
to the cost of producing these weights, then the 
Herefords would have shown at least twenty-five 
per cent better than the Shorthorns, and many of 
the feeders of Herefords would claim a greater dif¬ 
ference than this. A late Shorthorn paper admits 
these facts in favor of Herefords at three years and 
over, and claim an advantage for the Shorthorn at 
two. The same article admits that Hereford beef 
in the London market, at three and over, is worth 
more than Shorthorn beef, and that every where 
good butchers will pay more for Hereford than for 
Shorthorn beef. Now, what are the facts, we 
will take Smithfield again. The beef steers are 
