1882 .] 
AMERICAN AGrRI OTTLTURIST. 
233 
■verandas, or in rooms with windows all open, until 
a late hour, without any marked chilliness. Butin 
the country, the soil and vegetation quickly radiate 
into the air the day's accumulation of warmth, and 
before the sun touches the horizon the temperature 
of the atmosphere is rapidly falling. Hence those 
who carry city habits to the couutry, sitting out¬ 
doors or before open windows in the evening, neg¬ 
lecting to put on additional clothing at sundown, 
and more at a later hour if needed, are pretty sure 
to lay the foundation of catarrhs, colds, and lung 
complaints, or other diseases, that largely counter¬ 
act, if not entirely overbalance, the benefit derived. 
Attention to this one item will in most cases, in 
connection with the other advantages named 
above, make a few months, weeks, or days even, 
6pent in the country, of inestimable value to every 
dweller in any densely populated city. 
A Farm Tool-Boat.—Very Conven¬ 
ient; Cheaply and Quickly 
Made at Home. 
One of the greatest conveniences on every farm 
is a simple sled, resembling the ordinary stone-boat, 
for moving plows, harrows, and other implements, 
or barrels of seed, fertilizers, etc., to or from the 
fields, or anywhere about the premises. Such a 
low vehicle saves a deal of lifting heavy articles 
into wagons or carts. Any man can construct one 
in less than half a rainy day, and with but a trifling 
outlay. The two runners may be of liard-wood 
scantling, 4 inches square, and 7 to 9 feet long—the 
straighter the grain of the wood the better—or 
two poles of suitable size may be cut from the 
woods, and the top surface hewn flat with an axe. 
The front ends are tapered upward with a long 
scarf, to make them run easily. Frequently one 
can find in the woods suitable poles having a nat¬ 
ural bend just adapted for the fore end of the 
runners. Far enough from the front and rear 
ends to avoid splitting, two cross-pieces of scant¬ 
ling or poles, 3 to 31 feet long, are laid on, and be¬ 
tween these, inch boards of the same length are 
laid across, and spiked on to the runners with 
large nails. Over the runners are placed two raves 
or side-pieces, scantling or poles of smaller size 
than the runners, and of about the same length. 
If round poles are used for the runners, cross¬ 
pieces or raves, one or all of them, they are flat¬ 
tened where they come together at their crossings, 
to make good joints. But without flattening, they 
may be let partly Into each other, especially the 
cross-pieces and raves, by sawiDg a little ways in, 
and cutting out the wood smoothly with a broad 
chisel.—The three pieces may be fastened together 
at the four corners with a tough wooden pin, driven 
firmly in an inch auger hole. But strong, machine- 
made iron bolts, with a head, screw and nut, can 
be got cheaply at almost any hardware or country 
store, or the blacksmith will make them. Fut 
these through from the bottom upwards, and sink 
the head well into the runners, to be out of the 
way when they wear off somewhat. Put the nut 
on at the top with iron washers, or with two or 
three thicknesses of leather washers cut from old 
bootrlegs. If the bolts project upward, to be 
troublesome, nail over each a bit of wood with a 
hole in it to receive the bolt, and taper the 
wood off each way. The team can be attached to 
a device in the middle of the front cross-piece, or 
a chain may be put round and kept in the center 
by cutting a notch in, or by driving in iron spikes 
or strong wooden pins. This cross-piece needs to 
be strong enough to bear any pulling force likely 
to be applied. Unless the raves or side-pieces are 
well notched down upon the cross-pieces, the space 
between the raves and runners can be closed with 
a strip of board nailed on the inside, if the sled is 
to be used for hauling manure, earth, or gravel. If 
desired, wide boards can be set in along the sides 
aud across the ends, to form a box. 
Flatiug for Working. 
The importance of this matter is far too little 
appreciated or understood by the great majority of 
farmers. Many who carefully consider what kinds 
and quantities of food, of oats, corn, ground and 
cut feed, hay or grass, will enable them to get the 
most good work out of their horses and oxen, the 
richest milk, or largest amount of it, from then- 
cows—also the best times of feeding—sadly neg¬ 
lect to use similar thought aud care respecting 
themselves and their workmen. The foreigner 
working a New Jersey farm, in explaining how he 
got together money enough to buy it, said : “ We 
sells every ting that brings de cash ; what wont 
sell, we feeds to de hosses ; what de hosses don’t 
eat, we feeds to de cows ; what de cows don’t eat, 
we feeds to de sheeps ; what de sheeps don’t eat, 
we feeds to de pigs; and what dey don’t eat, we 
eats ourselves.” This is an exaggerated statement, 
of course, but it illustrates a principle too often 
followed—selling the good and eating the poor. 
Strength comes only from suitable nutritious 
food, well digested. A man, whether employer or 
employed, will have far more working power if he 
eats as much, and only as much, as he can digest 
well, of lean meat, properly cooked, good bread, 
oat-meal, ordinary and curd cheese, aud the like, 
than if consuming salt fat pork, cooked almost to 
a crisp, with potatoes, etc. A laborer paid a dollar 
or more a day, will do double real work if 5 to 10 
cents extra be spent in supplying him with food 
that will give him the fullest strength. Beans, if 
not charred or browned in cooking, peas, green 
or ripe, good bread, and cabbage thoroughly 
cooked, supply the elements for muscular force. 
The blood is the active helper in digesting food, 
by supplying the gastric solvents, and.it carries 
nourishment to the muscles and to the brain. 
While a heavy meal Is being worked up, the blood 
is drawn away from the muscles and brain to the 
stomach. When at hard work or exercise with 
mind or body, the blood is drawn from the stom¬ 
ach, and less nutriment is obtained from the food. It 
is a good rule to work slowly at first, after full meals, 
aud increase the amount of exercise gradually, as 
the blood can be spared from the digestive organs. 
More will be accomplished by this course in work¬ 
ing and thinking. The French people, who make 
a study of the subject, take a very little food on 
rising, a roll and coffee, and perhaps a baked apple, 
and begin work at dajliglit. Towards noon they 
take another similar simple repast, and do a full 
day’s work by 4 o’clock in the afternoon ; then rest 
a little, take a full hearty meal, and make a busi¬ 
ness of digesting it. During the rest of the even¬ 
ing aud night, this meal is digested, diffused all 
through the system, and quietly builds up and 
strengthens the muscles, so that they are ready for 
vigorous work the next day. Experienced horse¬ 
men understand that with a heavy feed of oats, 
etc., at night, and a light breakfast, a horse gets a 
reserved stock of muscular strength laid in in ad¬ 
vance, and will travel faster aud further than 
one having a hearty morning feed to start on. 
Are Luuclies Bad? 
Alternate activity aud rest is a law of nature, for 
every part of the body except the heart and blood 
vessels, and for the mind also. This law can not be 
violated without more or less harmful results, 
whether they are noticed or not. The human 
stomach must have periods of rest, or it will weak¬ 
en and finally fail. It is in one sense the gristmill 
that supplies the whole body with nutriment. The 
mill keeps to work as long as there is anything in 
it to grind. An ordinary heavy meal requires 4 to 
5 hours for being dissolved, and sent out to the sys¬ 
tem ; in weak stomachs more time is needed. Then 
the stomach wants quiet and rest of at least an hour 
or two to recuperate itself, during which the other 
parts of the body and the mind may be active. As 
a rule, not less than six hours should intervene be¬ 
tween meals. A lunch of any kind, even milk it¬ 
self. if put into the stomach before it has disposed 
of the previous meal, and rested, is harmful. 
Lunches between meals, nibbling at cake, candy, 
fruit, at anything that must be digested, keeps the 
stomach at work, and robs it of rest absolutely 
needed. Even beer and sugared drinks have to be 
digested. The feeling of faintness, of “gone-ness’’ 
experienced in the hay or harvest field, usually 
comes from the disturbance of a hearty breakfast or 
dinner that, by reason of hard work and depressing 
heat, is still undigested. The lunch quiets it, but 
partially unfits the stomach for attacking the next 
meal; the best way is to do without the lunch ; 
stop work when tco weary to go further, aud 
rest at least 15 or 20 minutes before taking food ; 
theu rest a little more, and gradually push on to 
one’s full measure of strength. Attention to these 
matters will wonderfully increase the amount of 
work, mental and physical, which one can accom¬ 
plish during a year, or series of years. 
Self-Acting t liieken Trougli, 
When water can be brought in a pipe from a 
spring or other source having a little higher level, 
it is convenient to have a simple apparatus to regu¬ 
late the flow of water without giving it personal at¬ 
tention. Among the various methods of accom¬ 
plishing this we present the one above. A plank 
or board lies upon or near the ground. Above this 
another board is held on a wooden or iron bolt be¬ 
tween two stakes. On one end is placed a stone 
of suitable weight; on the other end a -water- 
pan of any convenient size and form. A small 
lead or iron pipe, which need not be over a quarter- 
inch internal diameter, comes up from the ground, 
runs between the boards or planks, and enters the 
water-pan. This pipe is separated at a, and a short 
piece of moderately thin India-rubber pipe is put 
on. Over this a piece of wood w-ith a pointed lower 
end is fastened to the upper board. The stone 
weight can be so adjusted that when the water-pan 
is filled or partly filled it will press this point down 
upon the rubber and close it. When the water 
diminishes that end will rise and let in more water. 
What «i l*int of .llauiire I>i«|. 
A Wisconsin farmer sends this experience to the 
Ayrierican Agriculturist: “ Last year, in hauling 
yard manure across a field afterwards planted to 
corn, some of it scattered off in driblets, from a 
handful to a pint or so in a place. When planting 
the corn, I found portions of these droppings, and 
where noticed, drew them into the hills, and with 
the hoe mixed them a little with the soil as the 
seed was dropped. In three instances, where a 
large handful or about a pint of the manure was 
thus put in, a stick was driven down to mark the 
hills. When hoeing, we noticed that in these hills 
the corn plants had started off more vigorously, 
were greener, and at the third hoeing they were 0 
to 12 inches Higher than the other hills adjoining. 
Our curiosity being awakened we followed up the 
observations, and when gathering the crop, each of 
the three stalks in all the three hills, had on it 
two large plump ears, while the surrounding corn 
did not average one good ear to the stalk.” 
Thinking au<l Figurine, 
“This set us to thinking and figuring. That bit 
of manure had given the young corn roots a vig¬ 
orous start, just as good feed starts off a young 
calf, or pig, or lamb, and the roots penetrated fur¬ 
ther in every direction and gathered more food 
and moisture. These stalks being better nour- 
