58 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[February, 
to a lever, one on each side of the point, and the 
lever is bolted to the door. The other ends of the 
fastening-bars pass through blocks of wood, cut to 
fit and nailed to the door. The fastening is at the 
top and bottom, as in the other two methods, the 
bars being moved out of and into the mortises, 
by the long lever. The door is shown fastened, 
and the lever is downward; the dotted line gives 
the position, when the bars are withdrawn from 
the mortises and the door is ready to be opened. 
Hints and Helps For Farmers. 
How to put up a Wagon Box.—To get rid 
of the cumbersome wagon box, or bed, is an in- 
Fig. 1. —WAGON BOX ON A SHELF. 
teresting question for those who have not much 
shed room to spare. The most convenient way is 
to hoist it up over head in the manner described 
in the American Agriculturist, Sept., 1875 ; but the 
easiest and cheapest method of disposing of it is as 
follows : To the side of the wagon shed, fix two 
strong bars supported by braces, as shown in the 
engraving. The wagon is driven close to these, 
the hinder end of the box is lifted off from the 
wagon, and the forward part swinging around, per¬ 
mits the end to be placed on one of the bars. The 
forward part is then lifted upon the bar, and the 
job is done in about as short a time, as it can be de¬ 
scribed ; and furthermore, one man can do it alone. 
A Gate Without Hinges. —A subscriber in 
Pennsylvania, sends a description of a gate, which is 
without hinges. It turns upon a pin, of li-inch 
round iron, fixed in a block of wood or a stone, 
under the heel-post, and a pin bent to a proper 
shape, fitted in the top of the heel-post, as shown 
Fig. 2.— A GATE WITHOUT HINGES. 
at figure 2. This method of hanging a gate is cheap, 
pimple, and more secure, than to use hinges. 
Nox-Freezing Pumps. —A mute but very elo¬ 
quent expression of disappointment, is frequently 
,f.ivon on a cold morning by a number of thirsty 
cow s standing around a water trough, and a pump 
solidly frozen up, while their owner is vainly trying 
to thaw out tlio pump, by pouring hot water into it 
from a kettle. If those thirsty cows could speak, 
they might give some good advice to their thought¬ 
less owner, but it is their fate to suffer and bear 
such disappointments, without power of remon¬ 
strance. We will offer a little suggestion, as to 
how the v. r uble may be avoided. In the best pumps, 
such as the “ Universal ” and others which are con¬ 
tinually brought to notice iu our business columns, 
provision is made to avoid freezing up in cold 
weather. While the “ Submerged ” pump, being en¬ 
tirely under water, can 
not freeze, unless ice 
forms at the bottom of 
the well. Some farm¬ 
ers are not so fortunate 
as to possess anything 
better than a common 
wooden pump, yet even 
this may be arranged in 
a simple manner, so as 
to be always in work¬ 
ing order, in the cold¬ 
est weather. Remove 
the covering of the 
well, and hore a half¬ 
inch hole in the pump- 
tree, 2 feet below the 
surface of the earth. Iu „ 
this hole, insert a tube Fl - 
of elder wood, with the 
pith removed (fig. 3). Whon the pumping is done for 
the time, the water whichjs left in the pump, will es¬ 
cape from the tube, and freezing will be prevented. 
Poultry Fountains.— “ J. H. 8.," Quincy, Ill., 
recommends a simple water fountain for poultry. 
This, (fig. 4), consists of a common stoneware jug, 
which is filled with water, and inverted in a basin, 
or wooden trough. A peg may be fixed in the trough 
so as to enter the mouth of the jug, and prevent it 
from being pushed to one side. Four stakes 
driven in the ground, or otherwise arranged, so as 
to keep the jug always in its upright position. 
A Western Hay Gatherer.— It must not be 
supposed, that in the great 
wheat growing regions of 
the northwest, grain only is 
produced. The fact is, that 
those vast prairies are mag¬ 
nificent grassy meadows, 
which in places yield as 
much as four or five tons of 
hay per acre. It is here 
where the “ Blue-joint ” 
( Calamagrostis Canadensis,) 
so well known in the broad 
“ beaver meadows,” and 
river-flats of the Northern, and Western States and 
Territories, flourishes so luxuriantly; and this grass, 
when cut in good season, is found to be equal to 
the best of our cultivated grasses for hay. A large 
quantity of this hay is cut every year, and put up 
for the purpose of supplying the numerous teams 
employed on the enormous wheat farms which are 
now worked in the localities referred to. Cheap¬ 
ness of operation is a marked necessity in doing 
business in a large way, and the hay cut upon those 
broad prairies, is put up for about one dollar per 
ton. The method of working, is as follows: The 
grass is cut by mowing machines, and as it rarely 
rains, the cutting goes on steadily until sufficient 
has been laid down. A rake is then employed to 
gather, and carry it to the stacks. The implement 
used, is a long frame, which is drawn upon runners, 
as shown at figure 5, and is made of a principal bed- 
piece or sill to which the runners are fastened. 
Side posts are fixed to the runners, and these are 
connected by cross-bars which confine the hay. 
Long rake-teeth are inserted in the bed-piece, and 
these gather up the loose hay, which is piled up in 
the frame. When this is filled, it is drawn to the 
stack. It is readily seen that this contrivance may 
be made of varying capacity, either small enough 
for use in getting in hay on a small farm, or largo 
enough to gather a ton at once if needed. 
A Hay Weighing Rack.— “ L. A. W.,” gives 
us a description of a rack for weighing hay. It is 
made to rest upon a platform scale, and is five feet 
long, two and a half feet wide, and higher at the 
back than at the front, as shown in figure 6. It is 
made of light boards, and will hold 350 lbs. or more 
of hay, which may be weighed at one time. In using 
the rack, 6mall blocks are put under the sides, a, a, 
and when it is filled, these are knocked out so that 
the rack drops upon the platform of the 6cale. By 
attaching cords to the four corners of the rack, 
the hay may be weighed by means cf a common 
steel-yard of sufficient size for the puipose. 
What is Atavism? 
The term Atavism, from atavus, an ancestor, is 
applied to the recurrence of any peculiarity of an 
ancestor in a succeeding individual, after an inter¬ 
mission of a number of generations. An illustra¬ 
tion will make the above definition clear. A herd 
of polled hornless cattle had existed for a long 
time in the Kennebec Valley, but finally became ex¬ 
tinct. Thirty years after the last hornless cow was 
killed, a polled animal made its appearance on the 
same farm as an out-crop of the old herd. Under 
the head of Reversion, Mr. Darwin gives many ex¬ 
amples of atavic descent. Striking instances of 
atavism are found among pure-blood pigeons, 
where there is an occasional bird with the character¬ 
istics of the wild pigeon strongly developed. Dur¬ 
ing the last century, certain breeds of 6heep have 
been bred with scrupulous care, yet now and then 
a spotted or “ black sheep ” makes its appearance. 
The same tendency to revert to an old ancestral 
form is possessed by plants, and especially is this 
the case if there is provision made by nature for 
inter-crossing, and the formation of hybrids. Dr. 
Miles, in his “Stock Breeding.” mentions a case 
where a woman had a sixth finger on one hand ; 
Fig. 5.—A HAY GATHERER. 
out of eight children, only one possessed an extra 
finger, but both hands were affected. One of the 
sons had two sons, and seven daughters, all with 
hands as usual. One of these daughters had a sou 
with six fingers on each hand. In this case the defect 
was absent for two generations, and then retnrned to 
the family, appearing in both hands instead of one. 
The medical journals give cases where insanity, 
and other striking disorders have been traced back 
to some remote ancestor; the trouble, as it were, 
retaining its hold for a number of generations un¬ 
observed, and then came out because the subject 
was especially adapted for its development. Such 
Fig. 6.—A hay weighing rack. 
peculiarities are dormant, or as they are usually 
called, latent characters. With this view, a living 
being is a wonderfully complex bundle of tenden¬ 
cies and counter-tendencies ; swaying and balanc¬ 
ing between the contending forces of heredity, or 
the inclination to be like the immediate parent, and 
atavism, or reversion, the clinging to old traits, which, 
if left to act alone, would sooner or later take 
all forms of life back to the original ancient, types. 
