356 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
his flat boat. Counsellor Van Siclen made one of 
those magnificent casts, alike the admiration and 
the envy of the Beaverkill, and a speckled beauty— 
regulation size—lay quivering on the bottom of the 
boat. We had proved to our own satisfaction that 
there were trout in the lake, and cared to kill no 
more that day. They begin taking the worm well 
with the going out of the ice, and readily rise to 
both worm and fly until July. 
Shoddy clouds came floating over the clearing 
with occasional drops of rain. We hurried to 
the house, partook of a spread which required no 
apologies, and were soon wending our way down the 
mountain road, turning back every now and then, 
to catch through the rifts in the trees a view of 
the little paradise we had left. ’Twas rough rid¬ 
ing, you may be sure, but now, that Rev. James 
has been chosen road master, we may reasonably 
expect that he will at all events look after his 
own thoroughfare, or rather No Thoroughfare—and 
so anticipate smoother sailing on our next jaunt 
thither. Rev. Thomas accompanied us, and an in¬ 
tellectual mitrailleuse, as he is, every tree, and 
brook, and stone elicited his fire, until we were 
back at Quaker Clearing. 
A New Combined Plow, Pulverizer, etc. 
Our first plowing, some fifty years ago, was 
done with a wooden mould-board. Then came 
in the wrought iron mould-board, hammered 
out by the blacksmith. About forty years 
ago the introduction of the cast iron mould 
board, with replaceable points, caused no lit¬ 
tle excitement among farmers, as these could 
be produced so much more cheaply than 
wrought-iron, and being harder they wore 
longer. But on our stony farm the gain was 
partly counter-balanced by the breaking of 
the “points,” and often of the “land-side” 
and even mould-board itself.—A few years 
later the steel mould-board and points came 
into use, and subsequently the chilled iron 
plows. But during all these fifty years of 
improvement, and from time immemorial 
before that, the chief ends aimed at have 
been the perfecting of the old instrument, in 
form, in material, in the frame, in coulters, 
guiding wheels, etc. The principle has been 
the same, viz., the cutting off of a furrow 
slice and inverting it more or less perfectly. 
But there has all the while been the feel¬ 
ing that Jethro Tull was right in claiming 
that thorough pulverizing the soil was the 
great requisite of cultivation. And to secure 
this we have had a succession of implements 
devised, as cultivators, rotary diggers, rotary 
harrows, etc. Most of them have been valua¬ 
ble so far as they have helped towards divid¬ 
ing the soil, so as to provide a finer seed bed. 
But we are inclined to believe that Charles E. 
Sackett has now made such modifications and 
additions to the common plow, as to amount 
to a radical and most valuable change in its 
mode of operation and in the desirable results 
produced. Here is a general idea of it: First 
a surface plow which is readily and quickly 
adjusted to cut off two, three, or four inches in 
depth of the soil, and turn it well over into the 
bottom of the previous furrow. Following this, 
upon the same bearer or frame, is another 
plow, adjustable to take up a sub-furrow of 
any desired depth. But this second, or sub 
slice, is not merely turned over in a mass 
upon the top of the first one with only such 
breaking as the lifting and turning over will 
secure. Quite different. Upon the frame is 
an open-work wrought iron wheel or cylin¬ 
der, say 40 inches in diameter, which follows 
upon and smoothes down in part the first 
turned slice of land, with its grass, stubble, 
weeds, etc. The second furrow is thrown 
into this revolving wheel, and carried round 
and round on its inside, among its teeth, 
and against its open-work bars on the rim 
and outer side, and it is so broken and pul¬ 
verized that it drops out upon the buried sod 
or surface furrow. The result is, that the 
soil is pulverized quite as much as it could be 
done with roller and harrow, and without 
any trampling or packing by teams ; it is left 
light and fine and in excellent condition for 
receiving seed. There is also provision for 
attaching both seed drill and fertilizer dis¬ 
tributor. In brief, at one operation the soil 
is plowed, finely divided ; sod, stubble, etc., 
buried, and seed sown. There are several 
simple, ingenious devices for raising and 
lowering the plows and wheels, for various 
depths, for turning at the side of the field, 
for self-transporting, etc., etc., that would 
need engravings and lengthy descriptions to 
explain them fully. 
‘ ‘ The proof of the pudding is in the eating. ” 
We visited the New Jersey State Experi¬ 
mental farm last week, 
and personally tested Mr. 
Sackett’s implements on 
stubble and sod. The soil 
was a heavy one, and owing 
to the long drouth was in 
bad condition. The trial 
was very satisfactory on that 
soil and under those circum¬ 
stances. A single pair of 
strong mules worked it with 
apparent ease on a very hot 
afternoon. Probably three 
horses will ordinarily be re¬ 
quired, except for light 
soils, or for shallow work. 
We found it quite as easy 
to handle and guide, as the ordinary plow. 
A riding seat is provided for lazy people, 
cripples, or invalids. From this trial of 
it, and a careful study of its mechanism, and 
the principles of its construction and work¬ 
ing, we have strong faith that it will prove a 
most valuable implement for soil preparation 
—probably the largest advance in this direc¬ 
tion made during a half century. Before 
giving it an unqualified commendation for 
general and immediate introduction, we shall, 
of course, desire to test it upon a greater 
variety of soils, in different conditions, as to 
moisture, tilth, toughness, sod, stubble, etc. 
Early Prosls in tlae <liar«lcn.— 
Our gardens are often at their best in early 
autumn. We have a few days of early frost, 
in which the very tenderest things are killed 
off, and then follow days, often weeks, of the 
most delightful weather, in which the plants 
A COMBINED PLOW, PULVERIZER, ETC. 
that have escaped the first frost, are at their 
best. It is very disheartening to the amateur, 
to see his beds of Coleus, and his Cannas, all 
limp and useless, while the hardier Gerani¬ 
ums seem to laugh at the disaster. So far as 
we have noticed, this is the usual experience, 
and it occurs so regularly each year, that it 
seems worth while to prepare for these early 
frosts, in order to prolong the enjoyment of 
the garden. These early visitations, though 
sufficient to kill the tenderest plants, are so 
slight that they may be easily warded off. 
Whatever may be placed over the plants to 
prevent radiation of heat, will answer. The 
taller the plants, of course the more difficult 
it is to protect them. We have preserved a 
bed of tall Cannas, by setting a ■ still taller 
pole in the center, tying a sheet by its middle 
to the pole, and letting the sheet hang over 
the plants, its edges being supported by them. 
Beds of Coleus and other tender plants may 
be readily protected by newspapers, held up 
by sticks placed here and there in the bed. 
Indeed, in early autumn, the newspaper is a 
most useful horticultural appliance, not only 
in the flower garden, but in the vegetable 
garden. By a proper use of newspapers for 
a few nights—the early frosts rarely con¬ 
tinue for more than three nights—the crop of 
tomatoes may be prolonged for several weeks; 
especially where the plants are trained, as we 
have so often advised, to a trellis or a support 
of some kind, the application of a shelter 
of newspapers becomes an easy matter. 
a 
A Convenient Fruit Ladder. 
Mr. L. J. C. Young, Steuben Co,, Ind., finds 
the ladder here described vastly better and 
safer to use in picking fruit, than the cum¬ 
brous step-ladders. To make the 
ladder, take a pole 16 feet long, j, 
and 3 or 4 inches thick at the butt; 
remove the bark and slip a ring 
down to about 8 inches from the 
top, [a carriage bolt may be put 
through at the same place, Ed.], 
to prevent splitting. The pole is 
then to be sawed or split in halves 
from the butt to the ring. The 
lowest rung should be 15 inches 
from the bottom, and spread the 
sides three feet apart. The other 
rounds, every 15 inches, will be 
gradually shorter; use an inch 
auger to bore the holes. The 
ladder is always carried erect; 
put the right arm over one 
round and grasp the next one below, and with 
the left hand grasp the one just above the 
head. Ladders of 12,16, and 20 feet long, will 
be found convenient for trees of different 
sizes. In picking, Mr. Y. prefers a round split 
or rattan basket, with a stiff handle. A hook 
is made of a piece of heavy wire, about 10 
inches long ; this is attached to the handle by 
a loose loop, the other end being bent into a 
hook ; the basket being hung to a branch or 
to the ladder, both hands may be used in 
picking. If not packed at once, the fruit is 
carefully emptied upon a layer of straw. 
In the “Notes for Orchard and Garden 
Work ” we have mentioned the method of 
using a gram bag as a receptacle for picking 
fruit. When properly arranged, with a cross¬ 
stick to hold its mouth open, etc., it is so 
handy that many who have used it, will not 
pick with a basket. The bag is carried upon 
one shoulder and both hands are free for work. 
