1882.] 
AMERICAS" AGRICULTURIST. 
493 
with the butt ends of the sheaves all lying 
•outwards, and downwards. These stacks may 
•contain a few loads, and, when completed, 
have nearly the form of an egg standing upon 
its larger end. A moderate rain will not 
enter such a stack, especially if the addi¬ 
tional precaution be taken to cover it with 
•coarse hay or straw. For a safer and more 
permanent stack, a floor is made and sup¬ 
ported about three feet from the ground upon 
:stone-capped posts. Where stone is readily 
•obtainable, and of a character that is easily 
brought into convenient shape, stone posts 
-are preferable, as they do not decay. Upon 
the top of each post of the stack bottom, 
whether it be of wood or stone, is laid a pro¬ 
jecting stone cap, and on these are placed the 
limbers for sills, and sleepers, supporting the 
sticks or boards which make the floor. A 
floor so supported is above all dampness, and 
•out of the reach of vermin ; it may be made 
round, square, or oblong, the latter form 
being preferred where much room is re¬ 
quired. To make a good stack, two persons 
•are needed, an assistant with a fork, to pass 
.the sheaves, and a stacker, who places them 
•carefully by hand. About two-thirds of a 
, -stack are placed below the eaves, and about 
■one-third in the roof; the body 0 / a stack 
.should widen out a little with every course, 
so that water from the roof may fall to the 
.ground without running down the sides ; the 
joof is usually drawn in at an angle of about 
•45°. If a stack is to be speedily thrashed, it 
may be made temporarily secure by a cover¬ 
ing of coarse hay or straw; or it may be made 
more secure, and for any lengch of time, by a 
covering of thatch, which is rapidly put on by 
any one accustomed to that kind of work. 
For a temporary covering for grain stacks 
•or hay ricks, some farmers provide tliem- 
:selves with a stack cloth ; this may be an old 
main-sail, obtained at small cost, and served 
with a coat of linseed-oil and tar, or it may be 
made of new material adapted to the purpose. 
:Such a loose covering is a great convenience, 
.and upon hay or grain stacks it will some¬ 
times save twice its cost in a single year. 
Farmers in general are not deficient in in¬ 
dustry or enterprise ; in the use of new appli¬ 
ances and improved machinery they are 
prompt to keep up with the times. It may 
be true, however, that a careful economy, 
which aims to prevent all waste and loss upon 
the farm, is not as characteristic of the 
American farmer as his push and drive. 
Some may have forgotten the proverb, A 
qienny saved is as good as a penny earned. 
A N ever or spring, 
near the house and the barn, is a great desid¬ 
eratum, and it should be found in every pas¬ 
ture. In the drouth of the past summer, 
when so many wells have failed, some far¬ 
mers have learned to their cost the value of 
a good supply of pure water. They have had 
to draw it from a long distance for family 
supply, and daily to drive cattle, miles to the 
nearest river or spring. This has taken a 
great deal of time and labor, and the cattle 
have grown thin under the scourge of scant 
forage, and thirst. The lesson is, to dig the 
well a few feet deeper, at whatever cost. 
'Take up the curbing if there is soil at the 
bottom, and dig deeper. If there is rock at 
the bottom, drill with a two-inch bore, six or 
•eight feet deeper, and explode giant powder, 
<or dynamite and rend the rock in every di¬ 
rection. This will often reach some seam, 
and let water rush in. If the drive well 
has failed, get a new pipe, and drive it down 
several feet deeper. It is much cheaper to 
drive an iron pipe for a few feet more a day, 
than to drive cattle long distances for water. 
A Home-Made Fertilizer Drill. 
Mr. Wm, H. Ridge, Bucks Co., Pa., has 
made a fertilizer drill that does its work well. 
He writes us : In one year I think every 
Fig. 1. —HOME-MADE FERTILIZER DRILL. 
neighbor will have one, from the way they 
used mine this year. It is the first one I ever 
saw, and of course there can be improve¬ 
ments made, but it will put on fertilizer better 
than any one can do it by hand. I bought 
a section of a large fertilizer drill, which cost 
$2.50, and made a light barrow, and put it 
on. I procured a section of a seed drill, and 
put that on also; l'/o-inch belt will run the 
fertilizer section, and y 2 -inch belt is strong 
enough for the seed section. Broom-corn 
seed is liable to arch, so I put a stirrer in 
mine. This drill will sow 200, 400, 700, or 950 
lbs. to the acre, according to the size of pul¬ 
leys. Figure 1 shows the home-made fer¬ 
tilizer drill, and fig. 2, as seen from above. 
“High Farming” Does Pay. 
A business man of our acquaintance, a few 
miles out from New York City, purchased 
some land near his homestead veiy rough and 
quite stony. The previous owner had planted 
it to potatoes some years, in others to corn, 
etc.,—applying more or less manure. The 
corn yield had varied from 24 to 40 bushels 
per acre, but averaged 30 bushels — all 
that could be expected from land in 
its condition. The new owner’s “ what I 
know about farming ” had been mainly 
gleaned from the American Agriculturist. 
Having a little money to invest on interest, 
he decided to deposit it in that field. 
Taking a month’s vacation from business, 
and assuming personal direction, he hired 30 
to 40 men who had just finished grading a rail¬ 
road. These he set to work with spades, picks, 
and crowbars, along one side of the field, and 
they dug over the whole soil two feet deep, 
picking out all stones as large as a hen’s egg. 
The larger boulders were broken up with 
sledge hammers or blasted, excepting a dozen 
or so that were six to ten feet through, which 
were tumbled into deep pits dug by their 
sides. Ditches were cut 20 feet apart, 472 feet 
deep, and 2 to 3 feet wide, which were half 
filled with the gathered stones, the larger, 
flattish ones being so placed in the bottom as 
to leave a continuous opening or drain. The 
top sods, weeds, and stubble, and 20 wagon 
loads per acre of coarse, cheap manure were 
dug into the lower 16 inches of the stirred 
soil, and 10 loads per acre of better manure 
were mixed with the upper 8 inches. Most 
of the better soil at the top was kept there 
by bastard trenching, that is, digging a ditch 
on one side, stirring the soil below, 
and moving the next top layer over 
on to it, repeating the process through 
the whole plot. When finished, this 
previously rough field was like a bed of 
fine garden soil. A walking cane could 
penetrate two feet deep with slight 
pushing. Every part is within 10 feet 
of a drain that carries off execss of 
water, and, as a consequence, may 
admit air into its open end to cir¬ 
culate through the soil. 
The cost was $175 per acre for the spad¬ 
ing, gathering stones, ditching, manure, 
etc. While at work, the owner was often 
asked by passers-by if he were digging a 
canal or building a railroad; and when to 
some neighboring farmers he replied that 
he was preparing that field to farm 
it for profit, they smiled at his 
“freshness,” as they called it, and 
said in substance, “It’s all very well 
for a man making money in city busi¬ 
ness to bury it in the soil, if he has a 
mind to, but it is nonsense for him 
to talk of doing this for profit.” 
As might reasonably be expected, 
that garden-like soil has for years 
yielded an average of 76 bushels per 
acre of sound corn, and corresponding crops 
of potatoes. It costs less per acre than 
formerly to plow, to plant, and hoe the 
crops, the only additional expense being the 
harvesting of the 46 extra bushels of corn. 
This is more than repaid by the increased 
value of the corn-stalk fodder. 
Does it pay? Let us see. The average 
price of corn here for a dozen years past has 
been over 70 cents per bushel; but call it 
only 60 cents, making $27.60 for the 46 extra 
bushels obtained. But $27.60 is about Id 
per cent interest on the $175 expended in 
improving the soil. If the corn sold for only 
38 cents per bushel, it would still pay over 
10 per cent on the improvement. And this 
will go on perpetually, if the soil be kept 
loose by deep plowing. Let it be noted also, 
that crops on a soil thus prepared are meas¬ 
urably independent of rains and drouths. 
The drains speedily carry off excess of water; 
while the plant-roots penetrate the deep- 
stirred, aerated soil so far, that they find and 
carry up moisture in the driest weather, 
when those growing only near the surface 
are parched and stunted in a drouth. 
An important lesson is taught by this and 
other similar examples. If all the own¬ 
ers of farms through the country, excepting 
those already in high tilth and fertility, 
would sell off enough of their land to supply 
funds to put the remainder in the best con¬ 
dition possible, their work would be lighter, 
and their profits from farming much greater. 
The folly of endeavoring to work too much 
land is constantly being illustrated by fail¬ 
ures, foreclosures, etc. Be contented with 
fewer acres, and work them thoroughly. 
