1881.] 
AMERICAS' AGRICULTURIST. 
525 
in developing its scientific and practical 
aspects. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert can not 
complain that their labors are unappreciated, 
for besides such distinguished honors as this, 
they have the high esteem not only of their 
immediate neighbors, but agriculturists all 
over the world acknowledge the value of 
their labors. We hope to see the day when 
America can point to men who have won 
a like recognition for a similar work. 
Hints for Work in the Woods. 
BY J. E. LEE, CHIPPEWA CO., WI8. 
I send some drawings illustrating work in 
the pineries. Figure 1 shows a method of 
felling timber with a cross-cut saw. A notch 
three or four inches deep is cut in the tree 
on the side towards which it is to fall. The 
saw is then started on the opposite side, about 
two inches higher than the notch. A thin 
iron wedge is used to start trees that are 
nearly straight. Occasionally a hollow tree 
will be found, containing rotten wood that 
will clog the saw. To prevent this it is best 
to saw off the corners each side of the saw, 
and then straight across, as shown in figure 
2. To avoid splitting trees that lean heavily, 
they should be felled a little to one side of 
Fig. 1.— method of felling trees with a saw. 
the direction in which they lean. For in¬ 
stance, if a tree leans heavily to the west, it 
should be made to fall toward the northwest 
or southwest. After the trees have been 
sawed into logs, the next operation is to place 
them on the skidway. For this purpose a 
space three or four rods long, and a little over 
a rod wide, with the front towards the lum¬ 
ber road, is cleared of stumps and logs. A 
couple of small pine trees forty or fifty feet 
long, and nine or ten inches through at the 
stump, are cut and hauled into the cleared 
space, where they are placed four or five feet 
apart, as represented in figure 8, with the 
Fig. 2. —METHOD OF SAWING A HOLLOW TREE. 
butts resting on a head-block large enough to 
raise them two feet from the ground. A 
second block is placed further back to brace 
the center of the skid way. Logs that are 
large, or several rods from the skidway, are 
usually hauled on a “shoe,” or “boat,” of 
the kind shown in figure 4. 
Fruit in the House-Cellar. 
Many who would not keep vegetables in 
the cellar of the house, make that a store¬ 
room for fruit without being aware that fruit 
is really the most unhealthful of the two. 
Winter varieties of apples, when gathered, 
are very hard ; if stored in the cellar they 
sooner or later, during the winter, according 
to the variety, become mellow and ready to 
be eaten. This change is really the beginning 
of decay, and the atmosphere is concerned 
in producing it. Not only does the air affect 
the fruit, but the fruit in turn acts upon the 
air. Oxygen is taken from the air by 
the fruit, and Carbonic Acid is given 
off. When fruit is stored in a room that is 
perfectly air-tight, so much of the Carbonic 
Acid (a gas) given off accumulates that a 
candle is at once extinguished, and a man 
can not breathe in the room. The presence 
of Carbonic Acid, as it indicates the absence 
of Oxygen, aids greatly in the preservation 
of the fruit. The poisonous properties of 
this gas are well known ; when it is mixed 
with the air in the porportion of one part to 
four, such air is poisonous and will cause 
death; and a much smaller quantity will 
cause head-ache and a sense of weariness. 
While a lighted candle will serve as a test 
Fig. 4.—A LOG BOAT OR “SHOE.” 
for its presence in dangerous quantities, a 
smaller and still unhealthful proportion can 
not be so readily detected. When the cellar 
is used to store fruit, it is not practicable to 
prevent the Carbonic Acid from diffusing it¬ 
self through the rooms above. It is better 
to store the fruit elsewhere. A cellar under a 
grain-barn or other out-building, or a de¬ 
tached cellar, should be provided for storing 
fruit where practicable, as it is better both 
for the family and the fruit. But there are 
many cases where the cellar of the house is 
the only available place, and the fruit must 
be kept there, or not at all. Those who are 
obliged to do this should keep in mind the 
danger, and provide against it. Fruit, as al¬ 
ready stated, will keep longer, if the Car¬ 
bonic Acid is allowed to remain in the store¬ 
room, but the welfare of the inmates of 
the house demands its removal. The cellar, 
if it contains any considerable quantity of 
fruit, must be ventilated. If the chimney is 
so built that an opening can be made from 
the cellar into it, then the task is easy. If 
this is not practicable, a pipe should be put 
through the floor, and connect with the 
chimney in the room above the cellar. The 
chimney should be one that, has a fire in 
some part of it, or is connected with a stove, 
to insure an upward current. Usually cellars 
are not so tight but sufficient air will find its 
way in, to replace that taken out by the 
ventilator, but if there be any doubt upon this 
point, then provision must be made for let¬ 
ting in fresh air from without. A shutter 
that may be readily opened and closed, will 
allow of a frequent change of the air in the 
cellar. The deleterious gas is without odor, 
and its presence is only made known by its 
unpleasant effects. Much unexplained ill¬ 
ness in country homes is due to the fruit in 
the cellar. It is not decaying matters only 
that are injurious, but fruit of the choicest 
varieties may cause illness, and be unsus¬ 
pected. The house-cellar is sometimes used 
for storing cabbages ; this is wrong ; the odor 
is unpleasant, and they give off much carbonic 
acid. Cabbages keep well enough outside. 
A Fowl Holder for Farmers. 
John G. Henderson, of Scott Co., Ill., sends 
a drawing of a little instrument for holding 
fowls while cutting off their heads, and for 
holding them afterwards while bleeding. It 
consists of a post, about 5 inches in diam¬ 
eter, and S'/i feet long, put into the ground 
for about 15 inches. The ‘ ‘ hoppers ” are about 
8 inches square at the top, 2 inches square at 
the bottom, and 10 inches deep, open at the 
bottom. They are nailed upon the side of 
the post about 3 inches from the top. At 
the back of the post are nailed two strips an 
inch wide, half an inch thick, and extending 
above the post for about 3 inches. They 
are an inch and a half apart at top, and 
three-fourths of an inch at the bottom. Place 
the chicken’s head in the slot, hold the body 
over the hopper ; this brings the neck over the 
solid end of the post; strike with an axe or 
large hatchet, and drop the body in the hop¬ 
per, with the neck downwards. The blood 
runs out on the 
ground. The 
chicken cannot 
bruise its wings 
by flapping, and 
the more it 
kicks the deep¬ 
er it goes into 
the hopper. Mr. 
H. writes: “I 
have had one of 
these ‘ ‘ chicken 
killers” in use 
for years, and 
have found it 
very conveni¬ 
ent. A person is sure to cut the head square 
off the first time, need not get any blood on 
his clothing, and is sure to find the chicken 
just where it was left; besides these advan¬ 
tages, the blood is sure to have well drained 
out of the body. Any one can make this 
holder in 30 minutes, and it will last many 
years. I keep an old hatchet sticking in 
the top of the post always ready.” 
A HOLDER FOR FOWLS. 
