1880.] 
AMEBIC AN AGRICULTURIST 
189 
considered, the kind made from two-inch plank, 
sawed with an upturned end, is as good as any. 
When the boat is not in use, it should be placed on 
two timbers, or tipped on edge, so that the bottom 
may not rest on the earth, and thus be kept from 
the wet, and preserved from otherwise rapid decay. 
The Line of Draught in Plowing. 
One of the first essentials in good plowing is the 
adjustment of the clevis in the Line of Draught. 
No matter how perfect the implement may be 
in its construction and adaptation to the work re¬ 
quired of it, if this adjustment is not properly made, 
it will not run on the sole and the furrow-slice will 
be irregular in form and imperfectly turned. Ex¬ 
perienced plowmen, after repeated trials, will ad¬ 
just the clevis to make the plow run level almost 
intuitively, without knowing anything of the prin¬ 
ciple involved in the changes iu its position he 
finds it necessary t* make. A knowledge of the 
various conditions that change the line of draught, 
and of the adjustments required in each case to 
make the plow run free, without a tendency to go 
too deep or too shallow, will, however, be of great 
assistance to those who wish to do the best work. 
The reasons for the adjustments required to make 
the plow run the proper depth will be readily seen 
from a close study of the accompanying engraving. 
The Center of Resistance in drawing the plow is a 
point (a) just above the sole. This point will, of 
course, vary slightly in position, being lower when 
the plow cuts a shallow furrow, and higher when 
the furrow is deeper. The line of draught is a Hue 
from the center of resistance, d, to the point, b, in 
the diagram, where the traces are attached to the 
collar. Now, to secure the free movement of the 
plow at a uniform depth, the clevis must be attached 
to the whiffletrees somewhere in this line, a-b. If 
the plow-beam is long, the end will be raised 
higher to cut this line—if the plow-beam is short, 
it must be lower for the same reason. If the 
traces are so lengthened that the team is farther 
from the plow, the weight of the collar remains the 
-same, and the line of draught will then be repre¬ 
sented by a-d, which cuts the clevis at a lower, 
point, and a corresponding adjustment must be 
made to make the plow run as before. If the traces 
are shortened, the line of draught becomes a-c, the 
whiffletrees must be raised to the upper part of the 
elevis to keep the plow running at the same depth 
a6 in the other cases. When a smaller team is used, 
the point where the traces are fastened to the col¬ 
lar will be lower, and the effect upon the line of 
draught will be the same as that observed where the 
traces were made longer with- the larger team. 
Every plowman knows that to hitch the whiffle¬ 
trees to the upper notch of the clevis will make the 
plow run deeper, and to hitch in the lower notch 
will make the plow run shallow—and that to 
lengthen or shorten the traces will have the same 
effect. In each case, however, the adjustment 
consists in bringing the point of attachment in the 
elevis into the line of draught, which changes as 
the depth of the furrow varies, the attachment 
of the traces at the collar remaining the same. 
Ootton-Seed Meal is a very concentrated food, 
and in using it this fact must be kept in mind. A 
ton of it contains about 371 pounds of Potash, 50 
lbs. Phosphoric Acid, and 75 lbs. of Nitrogen. It 
is highly nitrogenous, as the analyses show, and 
therefore should be used with substances rich in 
starch, or like materials, which contain little or no 
nitrogen. Two pounds of cotton-seed meal, is 
enough to feed daily to a cow or a horse ; smaller 
animals, should have proportionally less. Fed in 
the quantities given, there is no danger of its doing 
any injury, but only good to the animal system. 
Hints and Helps for Farmers. 
A Self Fastening Bolt. —A simple and handy 
bolt is shown in figure 1, the important feature of 
which is the curved end. This end is so looped, 
that it w T ill pass over the clasp a, when the loop is 
held upright. After the 
curved end of the bolt has 
been shoved past the clasp 
a, thus bolting the door, 
the bolt turns down of its 
own weight, to the posi¬ 
tion shown in figure 2, in 
which position it cannot 
be pushed back, because 
the lower part of the clasp 
a is longer than the upper. 
If it is desired to lock the 
door, this can be done by 
having a hole in the lower part of the clasp, 
through which the stem of a common padlock can 
pass above the curved end of the closed bolt. 
A Mending Clamp. —One of the handy things on 
a farm, is a clasp to hold firmly together the broken 
□ 
_ Clr\ 
IP~ ' ( 
11 
Fig. 1.— BOLT OPEN. 
pieces of harness, halter, etc., while being mended, 
like that shown in figure 3. The clamp consists of 
two curved* hickory strips, which are nailed to a 
Fig. 2.— BOLT FASTENED AND LOCKED. 
small square block by one end, the opposite ends 
pressing upon each other with some force. The 
ends where they come in con¬ 
tact, should be so shaped 
that they will meet squarely, 
with as large a flat surface, as 
the thickness of the material 
wiU allow. When in use, the 
clamp is held between the 
knees, so that any additional 
pressure may be easily given. 
The implement is often made 
from portions of two barrel 
staves, which is much easier 
than to work out the hickory 
pieces, and for most purposes 
for which the farmer needs a 
clamp, made in this way wiU 
answer about as well. 
A Litter Basket.— There 
are many occasions upon 
the farm where an ordinary basket is far too 
small for the best service. The one shown in the 
engraving below (fig. 4), is designed to meet such 
cases, but the writer has specially in mind the use 
of it in carrying green fodder from the field to the 
stable, where it is to be fed, provided the distance 
is not very great. The Basket consists of a large 
open, hoop-pole box resembling a crockery crate— 
but not so heavy, with two bars, fastened upon 
the sides to serve as handles by which it may be 
carried by two persons. Such a basket can be used 
for gathering various kinds of roots, cabbages, 
etc., and, in fact, very many things upon the farm. 
A Cow Curry Comb.— “R. E.,” Snyder Co., 
Pa., sends a sketch of a curry comb and brush for 
use in the cow stables. 
It is made of broom- 
corn, for the brush part, 
and two pieces of wood 
6 or 7 inches long for 
the “ head ” fastened 
together by two bolts, 5 _ A cow CUBBT COMB . 
with the broom corn be¬ 
tween them, as is shown in figure 5. A handle 
of any desired length is fastened to the middle of 
the brush. Mr. E. likes it better than any other 
curry comb that he ever used with his cattle. 
Another Wagon Jack.—N o doubt that so long 
as wagons run, they will need to be oiled or 
greased, and to do this, jacks will be used. A sub¬ 
scriber adds still another to our collection, in send¬ 
ing a sketch of one he has used for a long time, and 
which he thinks superior to many he has seen. 
The engraving, figure 6, gives the method of con¬ 
struction of this jack, and it needs but little expla¬ 
nation. The base is large, which is an important 
point in an implement of this kind. A single up¬ 
right piece, a lever with a few notches, and an iron 
key, with a couple of bolts to secure them to the 
standard, are the materials required to make the 
jack. The method of operation is simple, the dotted 
lines showing the different positions of the lever. 
Sheep Washing. 
It is a question in the minds of many wool-grow¬ 
ers as to the practical utility of washing the fleece 
while it is still upon the sheep’s back. A deduc¬ 
tion—usually one-third—is made by the wool-buyers 
from the weight of all unwashed wool, and in most 
cases this is not far from the loss which the fleece 
would sustain in the process of washing, if it is 
done with the average amount of thoroughness. 
Nevertheless, the practice of washing the sheep is 
very general, and if there is no return in money for 
the labor of washing, there is the satisfaction of 
having cleaner wool to work with when shearing. 
The common method of washing is to select some 
favorable place in a brook where the water is about 
3 feet deep, the bottom hard and gravelly, and the 
current moderate, and then build a pen of rails 
sufficient to hold a large flock, and provided with a 
narrow opening towards the stream. Into this pen 
the sheep are driven through an opening, tempo¬ 
rarily made for the purpose, at the rear. One man, 
perhaps aided by a boy, tends the flock and passes 
the sheep to the washers who are standing in the 
stream. The sheep should have been previously 
tagged aud freed from all large soiled clots. The 
washing should not be done until the water had 
become so warm that the sheep may not be chilled 
and injured. Special care must be taken with 
old or sickly sheep, and ewes that are still with 
lamb. An exposure of the sheep to a warm rain 
Fig. 3.— MENDING 
CLAMP. 
