1878 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
'337 
touched with a few strokes at each filing, until the 
rest are worn down to them. If one has no clamp, 
a strip of hard wood may be laid upon each side of 
Fig. 6.—SAW CLAMP. 
the saw, and the whole held tightly in a vice. Iu fil¬ 
ing, the strokes should be made from the operator, 
and not towards him. The file should be grasped 
firmly in the right hand, while the tip is held lightly 
between the finger and thumb of the other. A safe 
rule is to work slowly, and to test the teeth as the 
work progresses with a try square. As long as the 
faces are kept at right angles with the blade of the 
saw, the backs must come out right. “ W. D.,” of 
Beaver Co., Pa., sends some of these suggestions. 
Raw-hide Horse Shoes. 
A method of shoeing horses with raw-hide, has 
long been in use on the plains, and found so ser¬ 
viceable and convenient that it might doubtless be 
found useful in many places where there are long 
periods of hot weather. There are also cases fre¬ 
quently occurring, in which disease of the feet 
might at least be alleviated by the 
temporary use of shoes cut from 
raw-hide or properly prepared sole 
leather. With these, that portion 
of the foot which needs the most 
precaution, viz., the crust or walls 
of the hoof where it meets the 
sole, will be preserved from con¬ 
tact with hard or rough surfaces ; 
while the frog, generally too much protected, will 
reach the ground and become subjected to health¬ 
ful action. For farm work, upon smooth soils free 
from stones or gravel, this kind of shoe will be use¬ 
ful during the summer season. A simple strip of 
raw-hide or sole leather, well filled with hot pine 
tar to make it hard and waterproof, will be suffi¬ 
cient for general use. A more durable shoe may 
be made of two or more thicknesses, fastened to¬ 
gether by copper rivets as shown in the illustration. 
Cattle Sheds. 
Shelter should always be provided for cattle or 
other live-stock, both from the summer heat and 
the winter’s cold. It is not necessary that the 
6 heds should be costly, many a farmer who knows 
their need may wait too long for them unless 
they can be cheaply constructed and of cheap 
materials. It is now time to think about sheds for 
use in the coming winter, else when winter comes 
they will not be ready. The material may be such 
as will suit the purse of the owner, and the style 
the same of whatever they may be made. At figure 
1 is a plan of a shed which can be built for about 
50 cents a running foot, or $50 per 100 feet, which 
will accommodate 35 to 30 head of cattle. The 
extra quality of the manure made in a shed of this 
character in one season would repay its whole cost. 
This is built against the side or end of a barn, or a 
high board fence. A scantling, a, is spiked to the 
wall at a convenient liight. Poles, 6, are set in the 
ground 21 feet from the wall, and sloping back¬ 
ward, as shown. Scantlings or battened poles are 
spiked to the pieces, a, the tops of the poles, 6, and 
to posts, c, to support the roof. The front can be 
enclosed wholly or in part with boards nailed 
horizontally. The feed trough, cl, is raised from 
the ground, and can be reached through openings 
in the barn wall. If abundant litter is thrown in 
this shed, the cattle may be kept in it for a whole 
winter, in perfect cleanliness ; and the manure be¬ 
ing trodden hard, will remain moist and inoffensive. 
In a similar shed, 40 feet long, 14 head of cattle 
have been wintered and kept dry and comfortable ; 
the manure wheu removed in the spring was two 
Fig. 2.— A CATTLE SHED OP BETTER BUILD. 
feet deep, and in the best condition for immediate 
use. The animals were not fastened, but if it is 
thought desirable to tie them, each post will make 
a stanchion for hitching to. Of course it will be 
19 , fl„EL 
understood that such sheds are not recommended 
for occupancy by milch cows in very cold localities. 
A better looking, but not more serviceable building 
may be made of timber and boards nailed and spiked 
together, without mortises or tenons, for about 
four times the cost of the shed above described. 
A section of the frame is shown at fig. 2. The sills, 
6 x6 (a), are halved together at the ends and pinned 
or spiked. The joints should be thoroughly 
painted with pine tar before putting them together. 
The boards are then nailed to the sills, fastening 
and bracing the comers until the plates, 2x6, (b, 6), 
are nailed to the boards. A girt, 2x4, (e), is then 
fastened at such a hight as to be made to support a 
floor if necessary, or about 7 feet. The beams of 
the floor should be of 2x6. The building may be 
10 or 12 feet high if 20 feet wide. The rafters are 
then fitted to the plates and strengthened with 
collar pieces of board ( d ). Posts, 4x4, may be put 
in at the corners, and a few studs of 2x4 be added 
at every 4 or 6 feet around the walls. A building 
so constructed will be found quite stiff; and with 
a shingle roof, and painted with Johns’ Asbestos 
paint, it may be neat and shapely. If room is need¬ 
ed for storing hay or grain, the upper floor may 
be removed and the building be filled to the peak. 
Or pens of rails, poles, slabs from saw-mills, or 
other rough timber, may be made as shown at figs. 
3 and 4. These are built up after the manner of log 
houses, the ends of the poles at the entrances be¬ 
ing secured by stakes driven down upon each side 
into the ground, and fastened by wires or withes, 
twisted around them. The pens may be covered 
with cornstalks, coarse hay, or straw, and a. 
Fig. 1.— BUTTER STAMP. 
quantity of the same used for protection on the 
exposed sides. As a protection in the field for 
sheep and pigs when about to produce their young, 
such pens will be found very useful; and in the 
West, where com stalks and straw are a burden, such 
cheap sheds will be found an economical shelter. 
Butter Stamps and Packages. 
There is rivalry amongst fancy butter makers to 
excel, not only in quality, but also to offer their 
product in the most acceptable form, and in attrac¬ 
tive as well as convenient packages. The favorite, 
method of putting up 
butter for immediate 
sale, is that of pound 
cakes,ornamented with 
a stamp and marked in 
the center, so that each 
can be divided into 
half pounds for use on 
the table. For this, 
moulds and stamps 
are used. A con¬ 
venient and shapely 
butter stamp is shown 
at fig. 1, bearing the 
maker’s initials. Being square, the prints may be 
packed upon the shelves in any butter-carrier with¬ 
out loss of space, which is an advantage. A pack¬ 
age for round prints, known as the Lancaster But¬ 
ter-Carrier, is shown at fig. 3. This holds 48 round 
prints, each contained in a separate cup of tin. In 
warm weather the central cups may be left out and 
the space filled with ice. This method preserves 
the butter in good shape, and enables it to be 
handled by the retailer in the best manner. A 
useful pack¬ 
age for dis¬ 
tant ship¬ 
ment, is the 
white - oak 
pail, shown 
at fig. 2. It 
is made of 
several sizes,, 
to hold 5,1§, 
20 , or more 
pounds. The 
smaller ones 
are conveni¬ 
ent for the, 
consumer 
and for the 
retailer; and 
the oak being free from objectionable scent or 
flavor, will preserve the fine qualities of the best 
butter from deterioration. They can be packed 
in barrels or boxes when put up for shipment. 
Seed Wheats.—Now at planting time, it is im¬ 
portant to choose a good variety of seed wheat. 
With every care in preparing the ground, all may 
be thrown away and lost by sowing a variety that is 
either not hardy or not prolific. Of two varieties 
sown side by side, and grown under the same treat¬ 
ment, on the writer’s farm, one was hardly worth 
thrashing, while the other will yield at least 25 to 
30 bushels per acre. The better of the two is the 
Clawson wheat. Of the fall wheats, we have also 
grown the Treadwell, Fultz, Lancaster Ked, with 
the Clawson, which have proved hardy, almost 
LEATHER SHOE. 
Fig. 3.— BUTTER PACKAGE. 
