176 
[May, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
The winter has been a very favorable one for them 
—indeed, it could scarcely have been better. The 
lowest temperature has been 4 degrees above zero, 
and there have been many warm growing days. Yet 
nine-tenths of the plants are now lifeless, and the 
rest, though they survive, are in a poor, weak con¬ 
dition. At present, wc do not think that southern 
winter oats are a promising crop north of Virginia. 
Preparing Corn-Stalks for Fuel, 
Where corn is burned as fuel, some saving may 
be made by using the stalks in place of the grain. 
Fig. 1.— FRAME FOR BUNCHING STALKS. 
The excellence of the ears as fuel consists in their 
solidity, and consequent slow combustion; while 
the great objection to the stalks is their lightness, 
and the rapidity with which they are consumed. If 
the stalks be pressed into small compact bundles, 
Fig. 2. — THE FRAME IN USE. 
and bound with wire, they will burn much more 
conveniently. This may be done very easily. 
Make a frame of two pieces of plauk, about 
six feet long, fastened together as shown at figure 
1, and hollowed out to receive the stalks. The 
bundle is kept in place by pins inserted 
in the holes shown in the planks. The 
planks may be about 18 inches apart, 
making the bundle about the same 
length. When the stalks, stripped of 
the leaves or not, are laid in the hol¬ 
lows, they are pressed tightly by means 
of a curved iron hook fixed in a handle, 
as shown at figure 8. The hook is in¬ 
serted in a staple, shown at A, in figure 
1, and the handle being pressed down 
brings the stalks tightly together, when 
they are bound with pieces of wire 
previously cut into proper lengths. 
The bundle is then moved on in the 
frame and bound again, and so on 
until the whole is made into a series of bun¬ 
dles, which are cut apart with an ax. At each 
place where the cut is made there should be two 
Fig. 4.—BUNDLE OF STALKS. 
bauds a few inches from each other, and the bundle 
is cut between these, (see fig. 4). The labor of pre¬ 
paring the stalks for fuel is less than that needed 
to cut and prepare fire-wood, and may be done 
under a shed during stormy weather. The bands, 
made of No. 12 or 13 annealed wire, may be raked 
from the ashes and used over again several times. 
A Filter for Rain-Water. 
A convenient filter for rain-water may be attach¬ 
ed to the conductor from a roof at a point just 
above the surface of the ground, so that it can be 
reached easily, and where the pipe begins to curve 
towards the cistern. A box about two feet square 
may be made of cement, or of brick-work cemented 
upon the inside. A shelf, or horizontal partition, 
of slate is built in the box, six inches above the 
bottom, and this is perforated with a number of 
small holes, to permit the water to 
pass through it freely. The slate 
may be easily perforated by means 
of a punch or sharp-pointed spike ; if 
this is struck a quick blow with a 
hammer, a hole is readily broken 
through the slate. First place upon 
the slate, an inch or two of coarse, 
well washed gravel; upon this put a 
layer of clean, washed sand, and then, 
if thought necessary, some finely 
broken charcoal. Upon the top of filter. 
these materials, some perforated slates are to be laid, 
to prevent washing by the falling water. The man¬ 
ner of making the filter is shown in the engraving. 
Fig. 1.— scare-crow of 
bottles. 
Scare-Crows for Cornfields. 
A ready method of protecting newly-planted corn¬ 
fields from crows, or blackbirds, is shown in figure 
1. It is made of a light hickory, or other elastic 
stick, one end of which 
is stuck into the ground; 
to the other end is sus¬ 
pended a glass bottle, 
from which the bottom 
has been broken off. 
The cord by which the 
bottle is suspended 
passes through the 
neck ; a nail is fastened 
to this cord to serve as 
a clapper, and so at¬ 
tached that it will strike 
the glass when the. cord 
swings. A piece of 
bpiglit tin, .sheet-iron, 
painted shingle,or slate, 
is suspended to the end 
of the cord. When the wind blows, the suspended 
tin, or other article, is' whirled in all directions, 
and causes the nail to rattle against the glass bottle. 
The flashing of the 
bright object, and the 
bottle, as well as the 
continued rattle, will 
keep the birds at a 
respectable distance,for 
a time at least. As a 
variation, which may be 
used in place of the 
thin disc, an effective 
scare-crow may be made 
thus: — Take a large 
cork, such as is used 
in pickle-jars, procure 
some wing feathers of 
a goose, chicken, or 
hawk, and stick these 
firmly into the cork 
at three sides, so as to roughly imitate a dilap¬ 
idated bird. Carve a rough head from a crooked 
branch, and arrange the tail feathers in an expanded 
position to catch the wind, by which it is caused to 
dart hither and thither in a most unexpected man¬ 
ner. This arrangement is shown in figure 2. 
Fig. 2.— BIRD SCARE¬ 
CROW. 
Green Crops for Cows. 
The use of green crops for soiling cows is becom¬ 
ing absolutely necessary. Every dairy and milk 
farmer with whom we converse, admits that with¬ 
out growing green crops for fodder, his profits 
grow smaller every year, or his cows fail entirely to 
pay their expenses. One cow upon pasture and 
hay alone, requires about seven acres of ordinary 
ground. 12 to 15 cows are about all that can' be 
maintained upon a hundred acre farm with pasture, 
hay, corn, and oats. The cost of average farm land 
in dairy districts is say 8100 per acre. The in¬ 
terest on the cost of seven acres, at 5 per cent, is 
$35 per year, and the average profits of such farm 
land should be at least 5 per cent. Few farmers 
can see arty such profit as this from their cows, 
after charging expen es and labor, although some 
may realize as much. But if, by the better man¬ 
agement of their business, farmers can keep one 
cow upon two acres of land, and can make a profit 
of $35 to $35 per cow per year, then the land will 
return a yield of $12 to $17 per acre, or 5 per cent 
upon a valuation of $340 to $340 per acre. Land, 
like other property, is valued in proportion to what 
it produces. In England, farm land is worth, on 
an average, $500 per acre, and as it is held to be the 
most secure of all investments, a low interest re¬ 
turn is satisfactory. But at this valuation, the rent 
of land produces from 3 to 5 per cent per annum. It 
is valued thus highly because it is made to produce 
large crops. If our land should be made as pro¬ 
ductive as that, it would easily bear as high a value. 
Thus the profits from our land, as well as its value, 
depend altogether upon the amount of the produce 
grown. The value of green fodder crops consists 
not only in the heavy products raised, but in the 
possibility of growing two or three successive 
crops in one year. The land is always busy, and is 
constantly producing something that can be turned 
into money, or its equivalent. 
Cementing a Cellar. 
Damp cellars are by far too frequent for comfort 
or health, yet they are easily kept dry. The most 
effective method is to cut a drain 10 to 20 feet dis¬ 
tant on the side from which the water comes, 
and two feet deeper than the cellar bottom. This 
will cut off the flow of water from the sub-soil, and 
lead it away. But some cellars are so situated that 
no convenient outlet for a drain can be found, and 
some other method must be provided. In this case 
cover the floor of the cellar, and the sides, if neces¬ 
sary, with cement. The materials used are Rosen- 
dale cement, gravel, and sand. The tools required 
are a mixing-board and shovel, a rammer (fig. 2), 
and a smoothing-plank (fig. 3). The cellar-floor is 
first to be leveled, all hollows being filled up. 
Two barrels of coarse, sharp sand are thrown upon 
Fig. 2.—RAMMER. 
in. iiiihiiimiiiiiinm iiif 
Fig. 3.— SMOOTHING PLANK. 
material has been spread and leveled with the 
shovel, it should be well pounded with the rammer 
Fig. 1.—BOARD FOR MIXING CEMENT. 
the mixing-board and mixed thoroughly with half 
a barrel of the cement, the whole being spread in a 
heap, hollowed in the center, 
as shown at figure 1. Water is 
thrown into the cavity in the 
center, and the mixed sand and 
cement is shoveled towards the 
water and mixed with it, more 
water being added until a semi¬ 
liquid mass is produced. To 
this is added, gradually, twice 
the bulk of coarse-gravel, small 
stone, or broken fragments, 
previously wetted with water, 
and the whole is thoroughly 
mingled together. Every par¬ 
ticle of stone should be 
brought into contact with 
the cement. The mixed concrete is then shovel¬ 
ed on to the floor, beginning at one corner, in a 
layer three inches thick; and as soon as the 
