58 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
A Horse Snow-Scraper. 
It is sometimes necessary to remove the 
snow from a large area, and the ordinary 
method, with a hand shovel, is too slow and 
laborious. For such purposes a horse scraper 
like the one shown in the engraving can be 
easily and quickly constructed. It consists 
of a l-inch plank of light wood 18 inches 
wide, 8 feet long, and is provided with a 
tongue and handles. Such a scraper may 
serve a good turn in moving loose earth in 
road making, or for scraping up the fine 
manure of a barn-yard, in which case it 
should be provided with an iron edge, made 
of an old mill saw, fastened on with a num¬ 
ber of bolts, as shown in the engraving. 
Parasites upon Poultry. 
It is very common to speak of “ Hen-lice ” 
as if there were but one kind of insect para¬ 
site upon our fowls. The fact is that there 
are at least five species of lice which, with 
several mites, ticks, and kindred creatures, 
bring up the number of poultry pests to a 
dozen or more. From the day the chick 
leaves the egg, to that on which it is prepar¬ 
ed for market, it is subject to the attacks of 
one or more of these parasites. That they in¬ 
terfere with the comfort, and consequently 
the thrift of the birds, is evident, and to be 
a successful poultry-raiser one should know 
thoroughly the habits of these poultry ene¬ 
mies and the methods of getting rid of them. 
That some are wonderfully prolific is shown 
by feathers sent by a subscriber in New 
Hampshire, who writes: “They are with 
something on the base, and about eveiy 
feather in the ‘ fluff ’ is like these.” The en¬ 
graving, of the natural size, gives the ap¬ 
pearance of the feathers. A magnifier showed 
the “ something on the base,” to be a dense 
mass of the eggs of a parasite, and it is safe to 
say that there were 
several hundreds in 
each cluster. A por¬ 
tion of the eggs had 
hatched, and we do 
not wonder that our 
friend wrote that 
“the cockerel is very 
lousy.” We do not 
know to which spe¬ 
cies these eggs be¬ 
long, the works de¬ 
scribing the parasites 
seldom giving such 
particulars. Some of 
the creatures five on¬ 
ly upon the feathers 
of the bird, while others are provided with 
suckers by which to draw the blood. Where 
the fowls are in good health, and have free use 
of a dust bath, they keep the parasites from 
excessive increase. In winter there should 
always be a box of fine earth or coal ashes 
for dusting, kept where no water can reach 
it. When found to be badly infested, lard, 
in which a little kerosene has been mixed— 
one or two tablespoonfuls to a pound—may 
be applied under the wings and between the 
thighs and body of the fowls. Cleanliness in 
the house; an occasional fumigation with 
sulphur (of course shutting out the fowls); 
free use of whitewash, to which crude car¬ 
bolic acid is added, are all helps to keeping 
these parasites upon poultry in subjection. 
An Earth Closet Box and Barrow. 
Mr. E. A. Long, of the Long Brothers, the 
enterprising florists of Buf¬ 
falo, N. Y., send a sketch 
of a detached closet which 
Mr. L. has had in use for 
five years. A common rail¬ 
road barrow is furnished 
with a square box with 
flaring sides, to serve as 
a receptacle. The box is 
strengthened by corner 
pieces running up and 
down. The sketch shows 
the manner of running it 
in place from the rear of the building. The 
box for holding the dry earth is placed in 
one comer of the building, and is provided 
with a fire-shovel or scoop for applying it. 
These simple arrangements are quite as ef¬ 
fective, and avoid all odor as completely as 
do the patented closets; but those operating 
automatically, insure the deposition of earth 
each time, while these require a little thought 
and attention on the part of the members of 
the family. The quantity of earth daily re¬ 
quired is small, and those who omitted to 
provide a supply in summer, can dry enough 
in a pan under the kitchen stove. For the 
proper working of 
the earth closet, the 
earth should be loam 
(not sand or very 
sandy soil), and thor¬ 
oughly dry—dust dry 
—and sifted fine. 
When coal is burned, 
the ashes from this 
answer very well as 
a substitute for dry 
earth. We have long 
used the ashes of anthracite coal in the earth 
closets, but having had no experience with 
the ashes from bituminous, or soft coal, have 
hesitated to advise their use, and we are glad 
to learn from Mr. Long that they answer 
equally well. Not the least of the advan¬ 
tages of the earth closet is the comfort it af¬ 
fords to delicate females in stormy weather, 
and to invalids, a matter of great import¬ 
ance in country houses, which are rarely 
provided with water closets. Very neat com¬ 
modes are to be purchased, but a home-made 
one can be easily constructed. A box to hold 
a small coal-scuttle or sheet-iron pail, is pro¬ 
vided with a proper seat, and over this is a 
close-fitting cover; this may be upholstered 
and finished with a cushion if desired. The 
earth may be kept in another smaller box. 
ISones.— “ C. H.,” Golden, Colo., writes : 
“ I have a large quantity of bones which I 
wish to use so as to get the best possible re¬ 
sults from them during the coming season on 
the crop of 1881. Will diluted Sulphuric 
Acid dissolve them, or will Sulphuric Acid 
only act on bones that have been calcined-”' 
Bones contain a good deal of Nitrogen, which 
is entirely lost if calcined. Sulphuric Acid, 
not too dilute, will act on all sorts of. bones, 
most quickly on burned ones, easily on light, 
porous bones, like pates, least on hard, solid, 
fresh bones, like shin bones. Even these, if 
ground or pounded 
fine, will be acted 
on. If you, in your 
“golden” region, 
could get the use 
of a stamp-mill, 
and crush up a lot 
of bones, you 
would find no spe¬ 
cial difficulty in 
dissolving them. 
You will find 
weathered bones 
break up much 
more easily than fresh ones, and the more 
easily acted on by acid. Have a quantity of 
these or some burnt bones pounded fine, to 
use as a drier after the mass, has been acted 
on for some time by the sulphuric acid, and 
been thoroughly stirred and shovelled over. 
Barn Tubs from a Barrel. 
Figure 1 shows how an old pork or cider 
barrel may be converted into two tubs that 
can be used for feed¬ 
ing stock, or handling 
grain, etc., in place of 
a basket. The dark 
lines show where the 
staves are to be cut 
with a saw. Two staves, 
one on each side, are 
„ left longer than the 
Fig. 2.-THE TUB MADE. regt ^ ^ 
dies, by means of holes made through the 
projecting ends, as seen in fig. 2. The bar¬ 
rel may be sawed straight through in its 
middle and straps put on the sides of the 
Fig. 3.— THE TUB WITH STRAP EARS. 
half barrels for handles, as shown in fig. 3. 
In either case, an old barrel may be made to 
serve a good purpose in the barn and stable 
after it has become useless as a barrel. 
A Primitive Barrow. 
One sees in some parts of Switzerland, 
where liquid manure is much in use, a very 
simple barrow, made for carrying it to the 
garden. The engraving shows with sufficient 
distinctness the manner of constructing the 
affair, and may give a useful suggestion to 
some of our readers who need a water-tight 
barrow for manure or similar purpose. In 
this case the wheel is made broad and barrel¬ 
like to prevent the cutting up of the paths, 
and also for greater ease in moving the load. 
A HOME-MADE HORSE SNOW-SCRAPER. 
EGGS OP PARASITE. 
