530 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
Prevent Posts from Splitting. 
BY B. D. SNOOK, YATES CO., N. Y. 
When driving posts, unless one is very 
careful, many of them will split at the top, 
and be rendered less durable or even worth¬ 
less. This damage and loss can be avoided 
in a great measure by proper preparation of 
the posts before they are driven. The tops 
of sawed posts should have the sides cut off 
as in fig 1; or simply cut off each corner, as 
in fig. 2, while a round post should be shaped 
as in fig. 3. The part of the post removed need 
not be more than half an inch in thickness, 
but when the corners only are cut away, 
the chip should be thicker. In driving it is 
Fig. 1. Fig. 3. Fig. 2. 
very important to strike the post squarely 
on the top, and not at one corner or side. 
Usually, after the posts are all driven, they 
are sawed off on top, and in most soils at the 
North the frosts heave them more or less 
each season, and they need to be driven 
down to the usual depth. To do this with 
but little injury to the post, the device shown 
in fig. 4 should be used. It is simply a piece 
of tough hard-wood scantling, e, 18 inches 
in length, with tapering ends. It should be 
provided with a handle, h, 3 feet in length, 
of quite small size, and, if possible, of green 
timber. In using it, let one person (a boy 
will do,) lay the bit of scantling on top of 
the post to be re-driven, when, with the bee- 
Fig. 4.— SCANTLING WITH HANDLE IN POSITION. 
tie or sledge, the scantling, instead of the 
post, is struck, thus preventing the splitting 
of the post. When the top of a fence is 
sui mounted by a stringer, as in the engrav¬ 
ing, the effect of the blow is distributed 
over a large space, and both stringer and 
post escape injury, which would not be the 
case if driven in the usual manner. The at¬ 
tendant should keep hold of the handle, 7i, 
while the posts are being driven, and move 
the scantling from post to post as required. 
Cauliflowers. —This most delicate and 
delicious vegetable has never been, within 
our recollection, so abundant or so fine as 
during this year. Enormous and beauti¬ 
fully-grown heads have sold at little above 
the price of cabbages. The growers have 
adopted a method which may be useful to 
market gardeners elsewhere. The pure white 
surface is readily soiled by dust, etc., and 
soon turns dark colored by exposure. This 
season the cauliflowers come to market, each 
having the “flower” or head covered with 
white paper, kept in place by tucking its 
edges under the remains of the leaves which 
have been trimmed off. The excellent con¬ 
dition in which they reach the consumer, 
quite warrants the slight extra trouble. 
Keeping Farm Accounts. 
BY EBEN E. KEXFORD. 
In order to know what crops are paying 
best, it is necessary that a farmer should 
keep an account with each field on his farm. 
If he were to have a general account, he 
could tell at the year’s end whether he had 
made or lost, but precisely where the gain or 
loss came from, he could not know with any 
degree of certainty. He might lose money 
on com, while the profit realized from wheat 
would be sufficient to over-balance this loss. 
If he keeps a record with the corn-field, 
and another with the wheat-field, he can tell 
just what the loss or gain from each field is. 
The keeping of field accounts necessitates 
the plotting of the farm, with a number for 
each field. This should be done in advance 
of the work of spring. The accounts, in¬ 
stead of being kept between the farmer and 
another person, will be between himself and 
field No. 1, or 2, or 3, etc. Two small blank- 
books are needed in which to preserve the 
record. One, the ordinary day-book of the 
merchant, in which is entered the transac¬ 
tions for the day. The other, a ledger, has 
each page ruled for debit and credit. On the 
left-hand side will be entered all expenses 
which the cultivation of the field and the 
harvesting and sale of the crop occasions. 
The right-hand side is for the receipts from 
the sale of the crops. At the head of each 
ledger page put the number of the field, 
the record of which is kept on that page. 
For example, begin with field No. 1. This, 
it may be supposed, is planted to corn. 1 If 
work was begun on this field by plowing, 
April 20th, the day-book entry will be : 
April 20th.Field No. 1, Dr. 
To one day's work, man and team...$2.50. 
Each day the work done on that field will be 
charged to it. This day-book account should 
be attended to every day; if neglected, these 
important items will be forgotten. Perhaps 
the first work done on this field will be ma¬ 
nuring it. If so, the entry in the day-book 
of the first day’s work would stand like this : 
April 20th. Field No. 1, Dr. 
To 10 loads of*manure, 50c. each.$5.00. 
To work of man and team. 2.50. 
After that would come plowing, harrowing, 
marking, planting, cost of seed, etc., and 
then the items of expense for cultivating and 
harvesting, as performed through the season. 
Bear in mind that every item of expense 
belonging to the field must be charged to it. 
If anything is sold from the field, or used 
by the farmer, it must be credited to the 
field. For instance, com may be used for 
eating. Make an entry in the day-book thus: 
August 3d....Field No. 1, Cr. 
By green corn. ..25c. 
The above will give an idea of what the 
day-book entries should be. It is a sort of 
diary of every day’s work, and all expenses 
connected therewith. Keep this diary in 
such a way that you know just what field 
the work went to, and what has been re¬ 
ceived from that field. Every thing going to- 
the field makes it a debtor. Every thing 
coming from the field makes the farmer the 
debtor. Thought of in this way, the keep¬ 
ing of the day-book is a very simple thing. 
A Wire Tightener. 
Mr. “ H. H.,” Bordentown, N. J., sends us 
a sketch and description of a cheap device 
for tightening the wires of grape trellises and 
fences. It is made by simply boring inch 
holes for each wire, in the side of the well- 
braced end posts, and placing in them pieces 
of wood 12 inches long, as shown in the en¬ 
graving. Wagon spokes are very good, if 
one has them. These pieces should have a 
small hole bored through them to receive the 
ends of the wires. By using a monkey- 
wrench, the wires may be stretched to any 
desired tightness. When they are drawn 
tight enough, the spoke is driven into the 
post to prevent its turning and letting the 
wire slip back. When the wires become loose, 
they may be readily tightened by again turn¬ 
ing the “ spokes,” as shown in the engraving. 
A Half Wire Gate. 
“P. J. S.,” of Caledonia, Minn, sends us a 
sketch of a “half wire” gate, and writes:. 
This makes a light gate, that a child can 
handle, which does not sag or get out of re¬ 
pair, and is cattle proof. The materials are 
two boards 12 or 14 feet long, three uprights, 
the end-pieces 3‘/ 2 feet and the center 4y a 
feet; two strands of barbed wire, one be¬ 
tween the boards, and the other at the top of 
the uprights. It is hung the same as the 
common “slide and swing” form of gate. 
One in my garden fence has for three years 
bid defiance to the village cows of the street,, 
usually so skilled in gate opening. 
Making Sorghum Sugar. 
Much progress has recently been made in 
the separation and crystalization of the 
sugar of the Sorghum plant. The following 
are the principal points to be observed : the 
juice from the mill is placed in copper vessels 
and heated to 175° F., when successive quan¬ 
tities of milk of lime are added, and stirred 
in until litmus paper is tinged purple. The 
juice is boiled and the thick scum removed 
until the liquid becomes clear. (It is an im¬ 
portant matter of experience to know the 
