62 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
[February, 
Cattle Shelters on the Prairies 
In the far western grazing regions, where natural 
protection of ravines, groves of timber, etc., is not 
Fig. 2.— CATTLE SHELTER FOR THE PRAIRIE. 
available, shelters of the kind shown in the annex¬ 
ed illustrations are provided. Poles are set in the 
ground in rows about 16 feet apart, and 12 feet 
in the rows. Cross-beams or poles are spiked to 
these to hold a frame of lighter poles, and others, 
placed sloping, are laid upon the north side as 
shown at figure 2. Piles of hay are heaped over 
these frames, as seen at figure 1, and these furnish 
at the same time, shelter from storms, and feed for 
the protected animals. A large number of these 
shelters are often made on the range, and some of 
them are hundreds of feet in length, and so curved 
as to protect from north-west and east winds. Af- 
The smoke house may be of any shape, but it 
should be provided with cleats fixed to the sides, 
upon which the hanging-bars rest. A pulley is 
fitted inside to the top of the building, and a hoist¬ 
ing rope is passed 
over it. The hang¬ 
ing-bar is hooked to 
the rope and two 
spreading ties, as 
shown, so that it will 
not tip easily when 
it is loaded. The 
hams or bacon are 
hung upon hooks 
fixed in the hanging- 
bar, and the whole 
is hoisted up to the 
cleats, when the bar 
is swung around so 
that the ends rest 
upon the cleats ; the 
rope is then released 
from the bar by 
moans of a small 
rod, and another bar 
may be loaded and raised in the same way, and 
so on until the meat is all. suspended. 
Top-Dressing in Winter. 
Fig. 1.— CATTLE SHED COVERED WITH HAT, 
ter a severe storm, the shelters are fixed up by 
packing more hay on the sloping poles, to furnish 
feed for the cattle when the next storm renders the 
shelters acceptable both for food and protection. 
A Smoke-House Convenience. 
A method of hanging the meat in a smoke house 
without the necessity for reaching up, or using a 
ladder, is shown in the accompanying engraving. 
The practice of top-dressing grass land during the 
fall and winter months, is slowly increasing. The 
common apprehension, that much of the manure is 
wasted by running off while the ground is frozen, 
is giving place to better views. There never was 
much basis for this opinion. The same soft 
weather or rain that makes surface water, opens 
the soil to receive all that leaches away from the 
manure. The surface 
soil of dark mould, 
six inches or more in 
depth, has an easy 
task to take care of 
a heavy dressing of 
stable manure. If 
fifty loads were to be 
spread evenly over an 
acre, it would make 
less than a half inch 
in depth. The grass 
stubble, even upon 
a gentle slope, would hold the manure in place, 
in all ordinary rains and snows. Experiments 
show conclusively, that the fertilizing properties 
of the manure remain where it is spread. The 
change which our railroads and steamers have 
made in Eastern agriculture, is turning the attention 
of farmers more and more to top-dressing, as a 
means of keeping up the fertility of their meadows 
without plowing, and re-stocking the land. There 
is so much competition from the new states in 
grain and meats, that the eastern farmers can only 
raise them at a very small profit, or even loss. 
Grass pays better than almost any other crop. This 
he can turn into butter and milk for the village 
market, or into hay, which is too bulky to admit of * 
transportation from the prairie states. The old ro¬ 
tation of corn two years, oats one year, and grass 
three years, hardly pays in the Eastern 8tates. 
Labor is expensive, and it costs to plow, cultivate, 
aud re-stock land. Grass and hay are paying crops, 
and if the meadows can he kept up to the produc¬ 
tion of two or three tons to the acre, by top-dress¬ 
ing with bam-yard manure, it is improved hus¬ 
bandly to adopt the change. It is demonstrated in 
a multitude of cases, that this can be done. We 
visited, recently, a farm on which were meadows, 
that had not been plowed since they were first 
cleared from the forest, some two hundred years 
ago. They were not far from the barn-yard, and 
produced the best hay upon the farm. Any falling 
off in the production, indicated the need of more 
top-dressing, which was faithfully applied. The 
season favors this mode of fertilizing, and there is 
economy in handling the manure hut once. The 
teams are in their best condition duringthe fall and 
winter, the weather is cool, and much power is 
saved by drawing the loaded carts over the solid 
earth, or the sleds on the snow. Much labor ts 
saved by spreading the manure from the cart tail, 
while drawing it upon the meadows. The great 
pressure which comes upon the farm hands and 
the teams in April and May, is forestalled by this 
winter work. About the best place for manure, as 
it comes from the stable or the compost heap, is 
the surface of the meadow. Connecticut. 
A Dumping Sled. 
A sled for drawing manure, stone, or other coarso 
materials, from which the contents can be inetau ttw 
dumped, such as is shown in the engravings, will 
often be found a very convenient farm vehicle. It 
consists of stout runners, upon which the plank 
deck is fastened, and a pair of inverted runners are 
fastened to the upper side (fig. 1.) These operate 
as side planks aud runners at the same time. The 
sled is drawn by a stout chain and ring fixed to the 
front. A longer chain is fastened to the back of the 
sled, as shown in the engraving. The draft-chain 
is fastened to a snap-hook, which may be released 
by pulling the cord, as shown at figure 2. Then the 
dumping-chain comes into U6e, and tips the 6led 
over, releasing the load. The ring is then attached 
Fig. 2.— THE DUMPER LOADED. 
to the draft-hook ; the dumping chain, fixed as be¬ 
fore, and the sled is ready for re-loading; this time 
upon the reversed side. It is in fact two sleds in 
one, and by rounding the runners, front and rear, 
it may be drawn equally well from either end. 
How to Make a Snow ShoveL 
Every house should be provided with a snow 
shovel, ready for use at times that always come un¬ 
expectedly. A broad wooden shovel will be of more 
Fig. 3.—THE CHAIN FASTENING. 
use in moving snow from paths and roads than a 
steel one, and it may be made very easily, as shown 
in the illustration. A broad piece of thin board is 
chosen, and a cross-cleat and braces are nailed to it. 
The handle is fitted, and the edge of the shovel is 
protected by a 
piece of sheet- 
iron or tin 
nailed over it. 
If the board is 
likely to split, 
a light cleat 
may be fasten¬ 
ed across it on 
the underside 
with wrought 
nail6, clinched 
to mke them 
hold firmly. 
The engrav¬ 
ing hardly re¬ 
quires expla¬ 
nation. There 
are but few farms upon which a snow plow will not 
pay for the trouble of making it at the first heavy fall 
of snow—to say nothing of the fun it affords the 
youngsters. After all the work of the plow is done, 
the “finishing touches” require the snow shovel. 
A HANDY SNOW SHOVEL. 
