1879.] 
223 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
bagas, in June or July, and turnips, in July or Au¬ 
gust, and no other crop which can he grown, gives 
better returns for the labor and trouble than roots. 
Making Split and Shaved Shingles. 
It is difficult to point out a roofing material bet¬ 
ter, on the whole, than well made shingles. If well 
made, well laid, and properly pre¬ 
pared for use, they may last a life¬ 
time, which is as much as can rea¬ 
sonably be expected of any roofing. 
Shingles may be made of any tim¬ 
ber that splits well and will not 
curl up after repeated wetting and 
drying. Pine, cypress, and cedar, 
are the best materials for shingles ; 
chestnut, oak, ash, hemlock, and 
Fig. 1. BLOCK. 
other woods, may be used when the former can not 
be procured. The first step in making shingles is, to 
saw the timber into blocks of the proper length— 
14, 16, 18, or 24 inches, as the case may be. The 
block is then split into segments, as shown in fig. 1, 
by means of a tool known as a frow (fig. 2), and a 
Fig. 2.— frow. 
Fig. 3.—MALLET. 
SPLIT SEGMENT. 
mallet (fig. 3). The blocks are freed from the sap 
wood and the heart, and are then split down the 
sides in the manner marked at fig. 4, into shakes 
(fig. 5). The shakes are then held in a shaving- 
horse (fig. 6), and by means of a drawing-knife, 
figure 7, shaved down to a sharp 
edge at one end, and smoothed 
at the sides, when they are 
finished shingles (fig. 8). It is 
important to have the original 
blocks sawed true and square at 
each end, else the shingles will 
be imperfect, and the butts, 
which are exposed on the roof, 
lie irregularly. When finished, 
the shingles are put up in 
bunches of 250, or 400, each—that is, of so many 
nominal, not actual, shingles; a shingle being held 
to be only 4 inches wide. So that one 8 inches 
wide, counts as two, and one 6 inches wide, counts 
as one and a half. Thus, a bunch of 25 courses (on 
each side) with a 20-inch band, will have 1,000 
running inches of shingle, equal to 250 
shingles; or a 32-incli band with 25 
courses will contain 400 shingles. The 
manner of packing shingles, and the 
press used making the bunches, is 
shown in figure 9. There are several 
kinds of shingle-machines which saw 
them out of the blocks, and by using 
5. shake, these, the shingles may be made of tim¬ 
ber which will not split, even cross-grained timber, 
or that with knots, if these are tight, may be used. 
A sawed shingle roof lies closer than one of split 
shingles, but as there is a fuzzy surface left by the 
saw, they soak more water, dry more slowly, and 
are less durable than the other. 
The Care of Young Turkeys. 
It is a joyful morning to the farmer when he dis- 
7.— DRAWING KNIFE. 
er, as she leaves her nest. The critical season of 
turkey raising is now before him. Upon his con¬ 
stant care and watchfulness for the next three or 
four weeks depends his success and his profits. It 
is a matter of the first importance that the care of 
the young broods should be committed to some one 
individual. There is no sub¬ 
stitute for personal responsi¬ 
bility in carrying the young 
chicks through their first 
month. They are very 
tender, and they have many 
enemies from the start. The mother bird has wise 
instincts, to guard her brood against 
harm in a state of nature, but in 
domestication, she needs close watching 
to guard them against birds and beasts 
of prey, against roaming for food too 
early in the morning, and especially 
against storms. If the farmer can not 
attend to this himself, he should put 
•Fig- 8. the care upon some one else, who 
will look after the broods at short intervals 
during the day, and see them properly sheltered 
for the night. Women who have a fondness for 
the work, make the best guardiaus of the young 
broods. Each little flock should be counted every 
night, as they come to their roost, and if any are 
missing, they should be looked after. They can be 
controlled in their wanderings, at first, by frequent 
feeding. Like all other birds, they follow the feed 
very strictly, and will not wander very far from 
food that is regularly and bountifully supplied. On 
most farms where turkeys have been raised for 
many years, the insects are kept down by these 
ravenous birds, and there is a dearth of animal 
physics, that two things canuot occupy the same 
space, at the same time, and it is equally true, that 
two plants cannot subsist upon the same food. 
Fig. 1.— FEED-BOX. 
Weeds rob the crop, and to destroy the robbers, is 
a work that lasts through the entire season. The 
earlier it is done, the less it costs. 
Hints and Helps for Farmers. 
Feed-Boxes, made as shown in figure 1, are 
convenient either for the cattle to feed from, 
Fig. 6.— SHAVING HORSE. 
covers his first brood of young turkeys following 
the cautious tread, and the low cluck of the moth¬ 
Fig. 9.— PRESSING AND PACKING SHINGLES 
food, especially in the early part of the season. 
This must be supplied in some form very soon af¬ 
ter the young turkeys begin to eat. On dairy 
farms, the most convenient supply is buttermilk, 
or sour milk and curds, which generally go to the 
pig-stye. Coarse ground Indian meal, mixed with 
milk, makes an excellent food for the young birds, 
of which they never seem to tire. One of the most 
successful turkey raisers in the circle of our ac¬ 
quaintance, keeps a supply of Indian meal and 
milk always within reach of the young turkeys. 
His success is almost uniform, and the two hun¬ 
dred or more heavy Naragansetts that roost upon 
his poles at Thanksgiving, are good evidence of the 
wisdom of his feeding. After the first month is 
passed, and the broods are trained to come home at 
night, they may be driven farther from the house, 
and have some liberty. Yet they should be looked 
after toward nightfall, and the flock be regularly 
counted, until the season closes. The price of 
large flocks-of large and well fattened turkeys is 
constant vigilance from May to November. 
Clean Cultivation.—If any one doubts that 
the mellowing or loosening of the surface of the 
ground is of use to moisten it in warm, dry weather, 
he will hardly doubt that this operation will effect 
the destruction of weeds. And this work is the 
most important of the year. It is a principle in 
Fig. 2.— PORTABLE BARREL AND FEED TRUCK. 
or for carrying the feed to them. These are made 
of f pine lumber, with flaring sides, 24 inches long, 
14 inches wide, and about 8 or 9 inches deep, 
and holes are made in 
the ends, to serve as han¬ 
dles, as shown in the en¬ 
graving. These boxes are 
more durable than baskets, 
and cost much less. 
A Portable Barrel and 
Feed Truck. —A subscriber 
at Albion, Iowa, kindly 
sends a sketch of a portable 
barrel for slops, feed, etc., 
and a truck upon which it 
may be transported. The 
truck, shown at fig. 2, has 
side bars extending beyond 
the axle to the rear, which 
are notched so as to receive 
the arms which are attach¬ 
ed to the barrel. The bars 
of the truck are depressed 
to catch the arms of the 
barrel; when the load may 
be raised and moved off, 
(see fig. 3). To this, we add a portable box for 
moving feed in a stable. This box is shown at fig. 
4. It has flaring ends, and the sides are brought 
down 3 inches below the bottom, in such a manner 
that when it is placed upon the bed of the truck, it 
Fig. 3.— BARS OF TRUCK. 
rests upon the axle and side bars ; the former fit¬ 
ting into the slots in the sides, and the latter fitting 
inside of the side pieces, by which it is held secure¬ 
ly. This will be 
found useful in feed¬ 
ing cows in a stable, 
to carry the food 
from the feed room 
along the front of the 
stalls. It will also be 
found useful in the gardeu, and about the place for 
many purposes. The box can be removed, when 
the truck will be serviceable in many other ways. 
A Cheap Yard-Gate. —The writer recently made 
Fig. 4.— box. 
