270 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[ J ULY, 
a bolt in a long mortise and serves to catch 
in the stake or rail and hold the stakes 
together, while the man adjusts the iron 
around the stakes. When the stakes are 
drawn tightly to the fence, this rod is drawn 
up until it strikes the stake or one of the 
rails, when the man can let go of the 
“ Drawer,” and it holds itself. The lever is 
4 feet and 3 inches long, and 2 inches square, 
with the corners taken off part of the way 
down, the lower end being rounded for a 
handle, as shown in the engraving. 
A “Lock” for a Small Boat. 
A very ingenious device is sent us by “ E. 
R. N.,” Wasco Co., Oregon. He writes: 
“ The ‘ Lock ’ for a boat, a sketch of which I 
send, is very useful, especially where un¬ 
ceremonious ‘borrowers’ frequent the lo¬ 
cality. The 1 lock ’ is made as fol¬ 
lows : a piece 5 inches in length 
by 1‘/a in width is removed from 
1—“ L0CK -” the bottom of the boat. The 
edges of this piece should be bevelled so as to 
fit closely into the bottom of the boat. A 
strap of iron, with a thumb screw, is placed 
over the whole, and the ‘ lock ’ is complete. 
All one has to do is to simply remove the 
piece held in by the thumb screw and take it 
with him, when there is little or no danger 
Fig. 2. —BOAT WITH LOCK IN PLACE. 
of the boat being used. In fact, it is rendered 
useless until the piece is again restored to its 
place, and held there by the thumb screw.” 
Land Plasters. 
The preferred varieties of Land Plaster or 
Gypsum in our market come either from 
Central New York, or from Nova Scotia. That 
from the former locality is grayish, or ash- 
color, while the Nova Scotia Gypsum is white. 
Buyers are sometimes led to think that on 
account of this variation in color, there is an 
important difference in the composition of 
the two. Such, however, is not the case, as 
repeated chemical analyses show. The com¬ 
position of pure Gypsum is Lime, 32 6 / I0 per 
cent; Sulphuric Acid, 46 5 /io per cent; Water, 
20 9 /io per cent. The following table gives 
the percentage of pure Gypsum in a number 
of samples that have been examined at the 
N. J. Experimental Station, under the direc¬ 
tion of Prof. Geo. H. Cook : 
Cayuga Land Plaster, 63 8-100 per cent pure plaster; 
costs $6 per ton. 
Nova Scotia Land Plaster, 9278-100 per cent pure plaster; 
costs $7.50 per ton. 
French's Selected Land Plaster, 98 75-100 per cent pure 
plaster ; costs $8 per ton. 
Onondaga Land Plaster, 73 8-100 per cent pure plaster ; 
costs $6.50 per ton. 
Most Land Plaster contains one or more 
per cent of “impurities.” In the plaster 
from New York State, it is seen that the 
per-cent of substances not Gypsum is quite 
large, but it consists mainly of Carbonate of 
Lime and Magnesia, and is, therefore, harm¬ 
less. The following notes are quoted from the 
N. J. Experimental Sheet for May 5th, 1881: 
“Gypsum or plaster was much used as a 
fertilizer on our best farms many years ago, 
but its use had fallen off to a great extent, 
and is now again increasing. The reasons 
for its use are derived entirely from experi¬ 
ence. No satisfactory explanation in regard 
to the theory of its action has been made. 
But farmers find it beneficial to sprinkle it 
on manure and compost heaps in order to fix 
gases and to rot compost manures, in pre¬ 
paring home-made fertilizers, and in sowing 
on young clover and potatoes. 
Some very suggestive experiments as to 
the proper season for applying plaster to 
crops have been made by Prof. Marker at the 
Experimental Station in Halle, Germany. 
He sowed the plaster in March and in Decem¬ 
ber, and while the increased crop was very 
satisfactoiy in both cases, that following the 
application in December was from fifteen to 
fifty per cent greater than that from the one 
in March.” We need such experiments here. 
A Plow for Corn. 
Messrs. J. C. & A. C. Lorrick, Williams¬ 
burg, Blair Co., Pa., write: “We enjoy 
looking over the different labor-saving ma¬ 
chines, etc., illustrated and described in the 
American Agriculturist, and feel it our duty 
to offer a sketch of a com plow as used by 
us, for the first plowing, which we find 
renders very valuable service. It is made 15 
to 18 inches wide, with 3 prongs, or teeth, 
about 5 to 6 inches long. The two end teeth, 
or prongs, are secured with strong rivets, 
while the middle one is bolted to the bar, and 
also to the “leg” of the plow, it running 
up above the bar so as to enter the staple in 
the plow beam. Some of our neighbors 
have the bar, to which the teeth are fast¬ 
ened, made straight, but we prefer the crooked 
form, on account of its not dragging clods, 
stones, etc., so readily as the straight form.” 
The construction of this home-made corn 
plow is easily seen from the accompanying 
engraving, which is made from a sketch 
which was sent us with the description 
above given. “The cross-bar,” Messrs. L. 
write, “ can be made from an old wagon tire ; 
one of average breadth and thickness will 
answer very well. It can be put in shape and 
the points attached by any blacksmith.” 
Insect Powtkr. —Several have written 
us that the plants from which the “ Persian 
Insect Powder ” is made—a species of Pyre- 
tlirum, have been for some years in cultiva¬ 
tion in California. Of this we have been 
aware, but the present attempt of Prof. Ri¬ 
ley to distribute the seeds, now makes it pos¬ 
sible for all who wish to do so to cultivate 
the plant and raise their own insect powder. 
This, so far as we are aware, is the first at¬ 
tempt to popularize the plant and place it 
within the reach of all. So far as novelty 
goes, no claim is made for it; indeed we had 
the plant in our garden 30 years ago, or more. 
Hints and Helps for Farmers. 
A Cheap Bag Holder.—G. E. Brindle, 
Ingham Co., Mich., writes: “I enclose a 
sketch of a cheap and handy bag-holder, 
Fig. 1. —THE HOLDER. Fig. 2. —THE STANDARD. 
which can be quickly constructed. The por¬ 
tion which holds the mouth of the bag is 
made of a ^-inch iron rod, 1^ foot in length, 
bent into a half circle. On the back of the 
circle, weld a piece of iron four inches long, 
and pass it through the upright or standard. 
This piece of iron should have a thread cut 
on it, and be provided with a hand-nut, figure 
1. The standard should be 2 by 4-inch stuff, 
and have a slot so that the rod that holds the 
bag can be adjusted to different lengths. 
The standard, figure 2, should be fastened 
to a piece of plank large enough for a bag 
to stand upon, when the holder is complete. 
Handy Harness Clamps. —Mr. Joe D. 
Croan sends a sketch and description of a har¬ 
ness clamp, and writes: “take an ordinary 
trestle 3 by 4 inches, and firmly secure half 
of a barrel stave to the right side of it, and 
fasten the other stave or side of the clamp so 
that it will open and close, by means of a 
hinge, against the other stave. Dress the top 
of the staves so that they will join evenly to¬ 
gether. Attach a strap near the center of the 
movable clamp, pass it through a hole in the 
center of the other, and fasten it to the foot- 
lever.” One end of this foot-lever is screwed 
to a cross-piece between the forward legs of 
the trestle, as seen in figure 3. A seat can be 
provided, the bottom of an old chair, or even 
a board will answer, nailed upon the trestle. 
Mr. D. found the notch-piece of an old wag¬ 
on-brake, and at¬ 
tached it under¬ 
neath the trestle to 
hold the lever. A 
notched stick of 
hard-wood, or one 
of wooden pins 
would answer as . 
r1 m Fig. 4.— A SMALL CLAMP. 
well. — Mr. S. T. 
Nelson, Shelby Co., Ind., writes us of a 
small harness clamp with a device for hold¬ 
ing the clamp open. “The handle of the 
clamp must be made loose in the mortise, 
and work freely, but not so as to fall out when 
