416 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
-Each of cotton-seed cake daily. The slieep then 
snake rich manure, and carry it on to the hilly por¬ 
tions of the land, where it is so much needed.” 
An Improved Road Scraper. 
If the operation of an ordinary road scraper is 
observed, it will be seen that it is faulty in one im¬ 
portant point, viz., that it leaves the hollows as it 
finds them, if indeed it does not scrape them out 
'deeper. It simply smooths the surface, but does 
aiot level it. By the simple addition of runners, by 
which it is kept from falling into the hollows, it 
will draw earth into them, instead of scooping 
Ahem out. The runners are raised an inch or t wo 
FOR LEVELING ROADS. 
above the bottom of the scraper. It will thus scrape 
sip the loose soft earth and deposit it where needed, 
that is, in the hollows, thus leveling as well as 
smoothing the surface. The form of the im¬ 
proved scraper is represented in the engraving. 
Chest for Steaming Timber. 
An apparatus for steaming timber for bent work, 
such as ox bows, bames, ribs for boats, etc., or for 
basket work, may be con¬ 
structed as follows : A box 
-of 2-inch plank, is made of 
sufficient length, and about 
12 inches wide and deep. 
Three cross bars are fitted at 
the points shown in the en¬ 
graving, and about an inch 
above the bottom. The 
timber rests upon these so 
as to expose every part 
to the steam. The mova¬ 
ble door is held in place 
by bars, passing through staples as indicated in 
the engraving. The box rests upon trestles about 
tour feet high. A common cauldron or boiler 
may be used to make the steam. This may be 
hung upon a tripod, or set in a rough arch of stone. 
A wooden cover is fitted to the top and held down 
by clamps or weights. A pipe made of wood or 
ametal, connects the boiler with the steam box. 
to receive 3-inch bars, placed three inches apart. 
The ends of these bars are also rabbeted to match 
the frame, and are securely nailed in position. 
Pieces of wood are fitted into the rabbets, between 
these bars, as a finish. The door should be hung 
with weights, as shown, so that it may be raised to 
open it, and when not in use will be out of the 
way. An extra door of this kind, which may be 
fastened, will be found very useful in the sum¬ 
mer time, when free ventilation is much needed. 
Prickly Comfrey—Failure and Success. 
Having been the first in this country to describe 
and figure Prickly Comfrey, we should have been 
glad to record its complete success. Our first 
knowledge of failure came from our own experi¬ 
ence. As already stated, the plant grew and pro¬ 
duced abundantly, but the cows would not eat it at 
all, and the horses, which accepted it at first, re¬ 
fused it after they had been once or twice at pas¬ 
ture. Similar complaints came from others, while 
some correspondents wrote of it in high terms. 
The case seems to stand at present, thus: The 
plant, so far as heard from, is hardy, produces 
abundantly, starts early in spring, and soon gives a 
cutting, withstands the drouths, and is not injured 
by moderate frosts, but gives fresh feed quite late 
in the season. On the other hand animals, in the 
case of cows probably the majority, will not eat it, 
but by taking a little pains to make them acquaint¬ 
ed with it, they soon acquire a taste for, and con¬ 
sume it readily, and it appears to be a nutritious 
food. The question seems to be: are its good 
qualities sufficiently marked to make it worth while 
to be at the trouble of teaching animals to eat it ? 
As an aid to a decision, we give the experience of 
two correspondents, both of whom at first met with 
failure. Mr. Frank Spencer, Oakland Co., Mich., 
some two months ago wrote complaining of the 
Comfrey as a humbug; he has since written that he 
had decided too hastily, “ having had better experi¬ 
ence since then.” At first, not having an abun¬ 
Ventilating Door for a Stable. 
A secure stable door through which a current of 
air maybe admitted, is made in the following man¬ 
ner. The engraving shows a frame of inch and a 
half timber, with an inner cross-piece. The 
finner edges of the frame, and both edges of the in- 
:mer cross-piece, are rabbeted for one inch in width, 
CHEST FOR STEAMING TIMBER. 
dance, he would “ occasionally place a handful of 
leaves on the ground in the yard, the cows would 
drag it around, the pigs eating it all, (as I supposed); 
but since it got more plentiful, I one evening 
placed a good armful on a high platform, where the 
cows could reach it, but the pigs could not. The 
first night I could not see that any had been eaten, 
but it was dragged about the yard ; the next even¬ 
ing another fresh armful was given, and nearly all 
eaten. The third night another'lot was eaten en¬ 
tirely ; since then we have been feeding regularly, 
each evening, about 50 lbs. per cow, the cows being 
in pasture during the day.”—Mr. G. A. Wilcox, 
Gasport, N. Y., experimented with 1 acre, and 
while the plants were a fine sight, none of his ani¬ 
mals, save pigs, would eat it. Being determined to 
ascertain whether the plant was an-out-and-out 
humbug, or if it were not the strangeness of ap¬ 
pearance and smell that caused them to refuse it, 
Mr. W. went systematically to work, and met with 
most gratifying success. As there are no doubt 
others who have the plant and can not utilize it, 
we give Mr. W.’s method : “ To teach stock to eat 
it, they should be confined, and after they have 
fasted over night, give them the Comfrey prepared 
as follows : Run some leaves through a cutting ma¬ 
chine, or cut them up with a butcher-knife ; wet 
the cut leaves and mix bran or meal and a little salt 
with them; feed this, and when it is eaten, give 
hay, then again some of the Comfrey and so on, 
but gradually increase the Comfrey and decrease 
the ground feed and hay. In three or four days 
Comfrey may be fed exclusively, and stock will be¬ 
come more fond of it daily. Cows will take to it 
readily in the spring before going to grass ; when 
they once acquire a taste for it, they do not forget 
it. It will improve the yield and flavor of milk 
very much. Comfrey and water will grow pigs fast. 
Sheep will fill themselves so full that they look 
bloated, but not the first time it is offered to them. 
I have 2,000 plants in a ravine, fenced in ; they were 
making a rapid growth, and when they were three 
months old the cattle broke in, and before they 
were discovered, had eaten every leaf and spear; as 
they left good pasture for this, it does not look 
much like forcing.” Mr. Wilcox sends us testi¬ 
monials from the 
President of the 
Niagara County 
Farmer’s Club, and 
other citizens, to 
the effect that they 
selected three 
plants of Comfrey 
in his field, cut the 
tops, and weighed 
them; on the 1st 
of July following, 
they cut the same 
plants again ; total 
amount of the two 
cuttings 611 lbs. 
They also testify to 
the readiness with 
which it was eaten 
by his animals. At 
this rate the yield 
up to July 1st was 
more than 49 tons of green fodder to the acre. 
Mr. Ashburner, of Va., writes that the leaves 
should be treated in the same manner as clover; 
but that, if very succulent, they will take a few 
hours longer to cure. He suggests sprinkling a lit¬ 
tle salt over it when stacking the cured leaves. 
Halter for Swimming Horses. 
A frequent necessity of swimming horses across 
streams in new countries, renders desirable a prop¬ 
erly constructed halter for the purpose. That here 
described is not only useful for securing the horse, 
but also for supporting its head from a boat, when 
necessary because of weakness from long swim¬ 
ming, or an attack of cramp. The halter (see the en¬ 
graving above), is made of a rope 30 or 40 feet long 
looped at the middle. At the ujjper part of the 
loop is a throat latch, which is fastened by passing 
the short wooden bar through the small loop. Un¬ 
der the nose-band is a piece of netting, so fastened 
as to come under the horse’s lower jaw, and sup¬ 
port the head when needed. A halter of this kind 
is used for landing army horses in the East Indian 
ports, at which, having no harbor, ships are obliged 
to anchor two or three miles from shore. They are 
also used in crossing the large rivers of that coun¬ 
try where there are neither fords nor bridges. 
Cultivator for Wheat. 
Those who desire to test the question of cultivat¬ 
ing wheat, may provide themselves with a simple 
TEMPORARY WHEAT CULTIVATOR. 
implement for the purpose. Wagon shafts are 
fitted to a piece of 4x4 timber, which is provided 
with a pair of short smooth runners, as shown in 
the engraving. Wooden teeth sloping forwards 
are inserted into the timber ; and a pair of handles, 
