14:2 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Fence-Post Driver. 
A fence-post driver on the plan of a pile-driver is 
shown in figure 1. This is made to fit upon a wagon 
body, resting on the sill a, and being held down by 
6 - 
Fig. 1.—PLAN OF FENCE-POST DRIVER. 
is 15 feet long, and 12 feet above the sill, 3 
feet being below it. On the lower part a pair of 
guides are provided which clasp the post loosely, 
and cause it to be driven in the right direction. 
The driver (e) is of the usual kind, provided with 
flanges which run in grooves in the upright posts 
that serve as guides. The driver is lifted by a forked 
catch, through which the hoisting rope passes, and 
a round button fastened on the rope at proper inter¬ 
vals, engages in the catch and so raises the driver. 
When the driver is lifted to the top of the post, the 
button strikes a cam (/), which is made with a 
groove through it to admit a rope, and the button, 
not being able to pass through the groove, is drawn 
by the edge of the cam out of the forked catch, so 
as to liberate it and let the 
driver fall on to the head of 
the post. The rope is an end¬ 
less one, passes over rollers 
(g ); and having one turn 
around the winch ( h ). As the 
winch is turned the rope is 
drawn under and over the 
rollers, the button passing over 
these, and as the driver falls, 
a button is ready to take it up 
again. So that the action is 
continuously forward, and no 
rope has to be lowered to pick 
up the driver. This saves 
: much time and an extra hand, 
one man alone being able to 
do all the work if necessary. 
The posts are held by the 
guides as shown in figure 2. The head of the post 
is not driven any lower than a few inches above the 
guide. The driver should be of cast iron, and, 
to be most efficient, weigh not less than 50 pounds. 
Tape Worms £m Lambs.-Tape worms fre¬ 
quently infest sheep and lambs, but injure only the 
lambs, as these are not robust enough to resist the 
irritation caused in the bowels. When the lambs 
are troubled with diarrhoea, and scales, and flat rib¬ 
bon like fragments are found in the dung, tape 
worms are present. Then 2 ounces of Pumpkin- 
seed, mashed, or pounded to a paste; or the same 
quantity of powdered root of Male Fern ; or 2 
ounces of Kaw Linseed Oil, with half an ounce of 
Spirits of Turpentine, may be given, and repeated 
at the end of six days. Two ounces of the oil 
should be given six hours after the administration 
of the Pumpkin-seed, or Fern-root. Sometimes a 
large quantity cf oC$£ ments of the worm may stop 
the bowels, and cause constipation instead of di¬ 
arrhoea. In this case, the belly will be found tense, 
and filled as with wind or gas, and in each case 
l jj IS! 
Fig. 2. 
an injection of the oil may be given, followed 
immediately with another of blood-warm water. 
Hints and Hslps For Farmers. 
A Corn Marker.— An Indiana farmer sends 
sketches of a very useful corn marker, which is 
adapted for uneven, as well as for smooth ground. 
The implement is shown in figure 1. There are 4 
markers connected by cross-bars, and strengthened 
with braces. The cross-bars are 2 by 3 inches, 
fitted in notches in the runners, and are hinged so 
that the runners will adapt themselves to uneven 
ground, as shown in figure 2. The runner shown 
in figure 3, is 3 feet 
long, and 14 inches 
wide. The hinges 
are made of rods and 
eye-bolts, such as are 
used for harrows. 
When moving to or 
from a field,the outer 
runners may be turned up, as shown in figure 4. 
To Sling a Barrel. —It is often desirable to 
hoist a barrel to a loft or elsewhere. In this case 
one should know how to sling it. This may be done 
as shown in the illustration. A rope is passed 
around the barrel, and a half-twist is made in it. 
The end is then carried under the bottom, and 
brought up on the other side, where it is passed 
around and brought back, and a half hitch taken 
on the side opposite to the first one. The ends of 
the rope are then tied, figure 7, thus making a sling 
by means of which the barrel is easily hoisted. 
Safety Knot. —Mr. L. Osius, Washtenaw Co., 
Mich., sends sketches of a Safety Knot, of which 
Fig. ti.—-SINGLE BOWLINE KNOT. 
we give engravings. Figure 5 shows how the knot 
is made ; A, the end of the rope, and B, the continu¬ 
ing part. The knot is useful and handy for many 
purposes, as binding loads of hay, etc.; in fact, for 
all work when a rope with a safe knot is needed. 
Another Knot. —Our old friend, Jas. B. Olcott, 
in sending a holiday greeting, 
after his usual manner of com¬ 
bining the “useful with the 
agreeable,” sends a note about 
a knot, illustrating it by the 
knot itself. Though we illus¬ 
trated this knot some years 
ago, we give it again on a 
larger scale, as it allows us to 
show an important improve¬ 
ment in the use of wire for 
whipping the rope. He writes : 
“I have been thinking of 
sending you a Single Bowline 
this long time. It is one of 
the most useful knots on the 
farm. I think it indispensa¬ 
ble for tethering calves and 
cattle, because it will never untie when once 
properly drawn in place, and no matter how 
tight, or stiff, or wet it gets in use, it may be untied 
Fig. 7. 
with ease and in a moment. This is the knot we 
see sailors using when they throw a line to the 
wharf with a hawser, knotted at the end, to make a 
vessel fast by. It makes no odds how taut she 
hauls the 
cable, the 
big knot 
that holds 
her will 
loosen 
with a 
turn of the 
wrist. The wire-whipping at the ends of the bit 
of cord speaks for itself. 
That whipping will outwear 
any rope. I bend the wire 
around the end of a rope by 
successive bites or pinches in 
an iron vise, coaxing the 
ends of the wire into place, 
now and then, with a light 
hammer.” This is much better than using thread. 
Fig. 4. 
A Barn for Sheep. 
Several ask for a plan of a sheep bam, in which 
cut feed can be used. As a rule, sheep do better 
on long feed than on that which is cut, or prepared 
in any way. They masticate their food thoroughly, 
and in so doing, it is well mixed with saliva, 
which acts as a solvent of the food, and without 
which digestion is not perfect. Cut or cooked 
food is more easily swallowed than long hay, coarse 
straw, or unground grain, and sheep do not thrive 
so well upon it. There is some economy in 
using cut food, and this may in some cases perhaps 
make up for defects in other ways. But the ar¬ 
rangement of the barn does not depend entirely 
on the system of feeding; the interior arrangements 
may be so made, as to he applicable to any method of 
feeding, and a building of this kind is here described. 
The ratio of available space in a building, as com¬ 
pared with the length of the wall, depends upon 
the form ; a square budding, with 96 feet of wall, 
will be 24 feet in diameter, and contain 576 square 
feet in area. A circular building with 96 feet of 
wall, will be 301 feet in diameter, and have an area 
of 732 square feet; an octagonal building with 96 
Fig. 1.— PLAN OF OCTAGONAL SHEEP BARN. 
feet of wall, will have a diameter of 29 feet, and an 
area of 696 feet, and a building of this shape, will be 
built much more conveniently and cheaply, than a 
round building. For sheep, the octagonal form is 
especially well adapted, because the largest space 
is needed, and no fastenings or stalls are required. 
The inner arrangement for feeding, too, may be 
