AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
19 
north latitude. Not having the reports before us, 
we can not judge as to the profit of such crops, the 
•cost of manure, cultivation, etc., nor are we con¬ 
cerned as to this in the present case. The import¬ 
ant result is the effect upon the boys themselves, 
and upon many other boys in the county and else¬ 
where. These boys were led to think , reason , ob¬ 
serve. They will each examine into how and why 
this and that one succeeded better or poorer than 
themselves. They will be better thinkers and 
workers hereafter. Mr. Allen’s thoughtful offer 
will be worth to his native county, in the far 
reaching future results, more than tens of thousands 
of dollars expended in some ways that might have 
been selected. We heartily wish there might be a 
Stillman Allen for every county in the whole 
country ; and where there is not, we suggest that a 
Fig. 1.— WINTER WATER TROUGH. 
like sum—if necessary one of the $300 prizes often 
•given to some fast “nag be appropriated by the 
Society to the benefit of some hundreds of youth. 
The boys of “ 17 and uuder ” of to-day, are to be 
the actors upon the stage a very few years hence. 
P.S.—Mr. Allen is so pleased with the result in 
York County that he now offers prizes of $200, $50, 
and five prizes of $10 to the boys of tbe entire 
State, who shall produce the most corn from one- 
eighth acre during 1880. Those not over 18 years, 
who desire to compete, will send their name and 
address to Hon. B. F. Hamilton, President Maine 
State Agricultural Society, at Biddeford, Me. 
Hints and Helps For Farmers. 
A Water Trough for Winter. —An ice-clad 
water trough for cows to drink from is neither 
pleasant to them nor profitable for their owner. To 
raise 20 or 30 quarts of water from freezing point to 
nearly 100 degrees, will use up the effect of a large 
quantity of food, which should be made to do more 
useful work. In such eases the waste of food and 
loss of vital force, and consequently of fat, flesh, or 
milk, is very large, and is one of the largest leaks 
-of the farm. Water coming from a well or spring at 
a temperature of 50° to 55°, and drank at this tem¬ 
perature will not chill an animal, but refresh and 
invigorate it. But if the water is not freshly drawn, 
and the trough is covered with ice, it chills the aui- 
mals thoroughly, and they will not drink as much 
as they need. A water trough that may be kept 
free from ice and snow is shown in the engraving. 
Fig. 3. Fig. 2. 
It h suspended on pins at the ends, fitted in posts 
as shown in figure 1. When not in use, it may be 
turned over and kept free from snow, and as the 
trough is empty, no ice can form in it. For the 
nurpose of turning it over easily a handle, a, is fixed 
to one end, and when not in use is fastened to the 
fence by a wire loop or a hook, thus easily pre¬ 
venting the trough from being inverted by accident. 
A Bag Holder that may be made and applied in 
a few minutes is shown at figures 2 and 3. Figure 
2 represents two pieces of wood joined, and sus¬ 
pended by a cord or light rope, as made plain by 
the engraving. At figure 3 is a bag held open by 
the holder and suspended by the cord. By the use 
of this simple contrivance, one person can, without 
help, fill a bag in the easiest manner. 
Wagon Jacks. —Clarence Hollins, Todd Co., Ky., 
sends a sketch and description of still another 
Jack, which is shown in figure 4. The piece, A, is 
made of oak or other strong wood, and should be 
five feet long, six inches wide, and two inches in 
thickness. The cross-bar, B, is to keep the jack 
upright. The portion C, is 26 in. high ; E s E, are 
pins to keep the lever, D, down. This Jack is easily 
understood. The engraving tells the whole story. 
Wagon Jack No. 2 comes from S. P. Harrington, 
Marion Co., Ind., who has used it for 12 years, and 
finds it in every way satisfactory. Its construction 
is simple: Take a piece of hard-wood 11 in. thick 
and 2i in. wide, 5 feet long ; another piece of the 
same size 2 ft. 8 in. long is fastened to the long one, 
near its middle, by a bolt. In using the Jack take 
hold of the long piece, and putting it under the 
axle at one of the notches, raise the wheel, when 
the short piece follows it up and holds it in place. 
When the wheel is to be lowered, the lever is raised 
a little, the short piece is pushed back with the 
foot, and the work is done. The jack appears to 
be handy, and is certainly easily made and cheap. 
Barn-door Fastenings. 
A number of years ago, the writer had a colt that 
was uncommonly crafty, and soon became an ex¬ 
pert in opening barn and stable doors. The door 
to the horse-stable, was fastened by a sliding wooden 
bar (fig. 1), moved by an out-standing pin; this 
door was easily opened by the colt, until a hickory 
spring was put on the bolt, which kept it firmly in 
place. A contrivance like this, makes the fastening 
a self-acting one, when the door is swung closed. 
The door to the adjoining barn, opened by a latch 
string, (fig. 2), and this the rogue found, and could 
grasp with his teeth, and pull down, when the door 
would open. For a time we pushed the strap 
through the hole, but this, though it kept the colt 
out, made it difficult for us to open it. We soon 
thought of putting a strip 
of board—a sort of awn¬ 
ing—over the strap, as 
shown in figure 3, and this 
proved effectual in pre¬ 
venting the colt’s pro¬ 
ceedings. Any further 
efforts of his were un¬ 
availing. The old hand¬ 
hole and hook fastening, 
is one that is very safe, 
and quite convenient. As 
shown in figure 4, it consists of an iron hook, 
attached near the inner edge of the door, and is 
hooked to the casing by the hand, which passes 
through the hole, when hooked from the out-side. 
There may bean objection to this method of fasten¬ 
ing, because it leaves an opening for wind to pass in. 
This may be remedied by tacking a piece of leather 
over the hand-hole, leaving the bottom unfastened. 
Fodder Plants—*Teosinte.” 
At no former period has there been so much In¬ 
terest felt by our farmers in plants producing green 
fodder, as during the past two or three years. This 
interest is wide spread, and extends not only north 
and south, but, as our correspondence shows, from 
Nova Scotia to Washing¬ 
ton Territory. This is a 
gratifying feature in the 
present condition of our 
agriculture, as it shows a 
disposition to get out of 
old ruts, and to ascertain 
if there is really anything 
better than we now have, 
and also indicates that 
soiling, regarded by the 
best dairymen as the best 
practice, is receiving a more extended trial than 
heretofore. Among the present green-fodder plants, 
Indian Corn stands at the head- But fodder-corn 
covers only a part of the season, and yields but one 
cutting, while there is a desire for earlier plants, and 
those which will bear repeated cuttings, and give a 
succession of succulent food, thus getting a much 
larger return from the same area of ground. Be¬ 
sides, there are some who do not think that fodder- 
corn is the best food for furnishing the best butter; 
not so much that it imparts an unpleasant flavor to 
the butter, as that it fails to give the butter that 
peculiar aroma that comes from the best pasturage. 
But those who have tried Indian Com as a green 
fodder, find it to possess so many advantages, that 
they are not likely to abandon it, until something 
decidedly better is brought to their knowledge, and 
they have tested its value. Is there anything that 
is, on the whole, better?—We are not prepared to 
answer this question; but with a view of reaching 
an answer, we have, in the past two or three years, 
brought to notice, figured and described, the vari - 
ous new plants—or new to use—as they have come 
to our knowledge, giving such statements in regard 
to them as were to be procured. We have had the 
various kinds of Durra, Guinea-grass, Prickly Com- 
frey, Pearl Millet, and others, each one of which 
has shown its value in some localities. That we 
shall find another plant that will be so generally 
and widely valuable as Indian Corn is not to be ex¬ 
pected. Nor is it to be expected that a plant that 
will give five or six cuttings in the season in the 
Cotton States, will be equally productive in Maine. 
Still, take the trials that have been made, the coun¬ 
try through, they have been on the whole useful, 
and the more so, perhaps, the farther south they 
have been made. Among the various new plants is 
one we have not yet noticed, “ Teosinte” ; though 
the seeds of it were offered last spring by Mr. 
Carson, there was but little to be learned about it. 
The seeds have been sent from the Royal Gardens, 
at Kew, England, to various British Colonies, in¬ 
cluding the Bahamas and the West Indies general¬ 
ly, Cyprus, South and Tropical Africa, and Austra¬ 
lia. The reports from most of these localities, and 
others, have been favorable, almost to extravagance. 
Sir Joseph Hooker, the Curator of Kew, kindly 
sent us a packet of the seeds, and a trial showed 
us that while the plant can hardly be of great value 
in northern localities, it is evidently of wonderful 
promise for the Southern States. The recently re- 
