AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
350 
Silt-Basins—A Secondary Use. 
A Silt-Basin is a small cistern made in the course 
of a drain for the purpose of arresting the flow of 
the water, in 
order that the 
fine particles 
of sand, etc., 
may be de¬ 
posited in the 
bottom of the 
basin,and thus 
prevent the 
clogging of 
the drain. This 
is the primary 
use of Silt- 
Basins,and for 
this purpose 
they are, or 
should be, 
plaeedat those 
points where 
a given fall 
changes to a 
less rapid one, 
and the flow is 
not sufficient¬ 
ly great to 
carry the fine 
particles of soil (silt) on to the end of the drain. The 
materials used for, and the modes of construction 
of, Silt-Basins are various. In cases where a number 
of drains enter the main at the same place, the Silt- 
Basin should be at that point, and may be made of 
brick, as 6hown in fig. 1. It will be seen that the 
inflowing pipes are placed some distance above the 
outflowing one, thus arresting the flow of the water 
in a pool of some depth, during which stoppage the 
silt is deposited at the bottom of the basin, as 
shown by the dark 
mass below the water 
in fig. 1. A large flat 
stone or heavy plank is 
used to cover the basin; 
by removing this, the 
working of the drains 
may be examined, and 
the silt removed. A 
small Sdt-Basin for a 
single drain may be 
constructed of a drain 
tile six inches or more 
in diameter, according 
to the capacity of the 
drain. Such a Silt- 
Basin is shown in fig. 
Fig. 2.— small silt-basin. 2 , the top running to 
the surface, and is covered with a flat stone, etc. 
A second use of the Silt-Basin is that of ventila¬ 
tion. as recently brought to notice by Mr. J. J. 
Mechi, who says:—“ When drains are recently 
made, we seldom have complaints of their not act¬ 
ing, and this because air has free access to follow the 
water ; for drains are like taps in a cask, they can¬ 
not discharge unless air is admitted at the vent¬ 
hole, for the water will not flow ; so it is in stiff or 
dense soils which, when consolidated by time and 
pressure, pass both air and water very slowly. - ’ 
Mr. Mechi gives an instance, where he changed the 
outlets of some of his drains, and the ventilation 
of them was much diminished by the operation. 
“ The drains became gradually less active, and we 
ascertained that it arose from the air not passing 
into the mouths of the drains so freely as it used to 
do.” For purposes of thorough ventilation of the 
drains, nothing could answer so well as properly 
constructed Silt-Basins, where the mouth of the 
inflowing pipe is placed above the outflowing one, 
thus giving a free access of air to the throat of the 
drain. With this double use of the Silt-Basins— 
namely, the keeping of the drain free from silt, 
and providing an abundance of air for the free 
flow of the water —they should be important 
features in a perfect system of farm drainage. 
A Clod Crusher.— A very cheap clod crusher 
can be made by fastening a number of poles to¬ 
gether as follows: The poles are all cut of the 
same length, and placed side by side—about a 
dozen of them. A chain is fastened the whole 
length of each end of the series of logs by means 
of staples, which are driven through the links and 
into the ends of the poles. The two side chains 
are then brought together beyond the poles and 
fastened to the whiflle-tree of the horse, or the 
double-tree of the team, that is to draw the crusher. 
Being flexible, the crasher conforms to the uneven¬ 
ness of the surface. This quickly-made imple¬ 
ment may be used for smoothing the surface, or for 
spreac <og fine manure evenly over the ground. 
A Spring Gate-Latch. 
“W. A ” Springfield, Mo., sends sketches of a 
handy, he Ae-made gate-latch. M r. A. had a lot of 
old springs from a worn out lounge, and, wishing 
to put them to some good use, hit upon the follow¬ 
ing device for a gate fastening. A sliding bar of 
hard-wood was made, as shown in figure 1, one end 
being shaved round, and of two sizes. A wire 
spring was then coiled closely around this cylinder 
portion, the ends of the wires being bent to fit 
within the coil. The latch-piece and the piece 
with a small round hole, to receive the opposite 
end of the sliding bar (two forms), are shown sep¬ 
arate in figure 1. The whole latch complete, and 
in position on a gate, is shown in figure 2. 
There are no definite measurements for a latch 
of this kind. The one described is made of 2i inch 
stuff, I. inch thick. Mr. A says : “ I have had 
some of these latches in use for over two years, and 
would not exchange them for any contrivance I 
ever saw for the purpose. I have them on all the 
gates on the place, and on one stable door. They 
are easy to open on horseback, and when the gate 
comes to, it is fastened when shut. Nearly every 
day, some one stops to examine the one on the front 
gate, to see how nicely the spring-latch works.” 
A Wheat Cultivator. 
“ W. A.,” Springfield, Mo., gives an account of 
his success in cultivating wheat, and sends a sketch 
of the cultivator which he made for the purpose. 
The accompanying engraving very clearly shows 
the construction of the implement. The head- 
piece through which the teeth (ordinary harrow 
[September, 
teeth) pass, is of hard-wood, 2 by 4-inch stuff, and 
5 feet in length. The shafts are fastened to the 
top of the head-piece by carriage bolts and extend 
forward with two cross-pieces, one to unite the 
ends and furnish an attachment for the clevis, and 
the other midway to give the necessary strength. 
A roller, made cheaply of boards, is placed just in 
front of the middle cross-piece, and is 18 inches in 
diameter. The handles are fastened to the sides of 
the shafts, and run upward and backward, as 
shown in the engraving. The practice of cultivat¬ 
ing wheat is growing rapidly in favor, the chief 
obstacle to its general adoption being the lack in 
the market of a proper cultivator. This needed 
implement will come as the demand increases. 
The cultivation of the wheat should begin so soon 
as the rows are visible, and the operation repeated 
at least twice before the ground is frozen. One 
cultivation in the spring will usually be sufficient 
The advantages of wheat cultivation are : the saving 
of at least one-half of the seed, as the rows must be 
A HOME-MADE WHEAT CULTIVATOR. 
further apart; keeping the ground clear of weeds; 
a greater yield; and last, but not the least, as ex¬ 
perience teaches, less liability to the attacks of the 
Hessian fly, and therefore a surer crop. Further, 
each plant has space to tiller and spread over the 
ground, so that there is much less danger from 
smothering by deep snows than when thickly sown. 
A Hand Cart for the Farm. 
There are many occasions on the farm when a 
wheelbarrow will not answer the purpose, and a 
hand cart is just the thing to save hitching up the 
team. A large cart with good sized wheels is a 
A HANDY HAND CART. 
handy implement. The one we have used for a 
long time was made from the hind wheels of an 
old road wagon. A new axle was made and the 
irons fitted as carefully to it as if it were a wagon. 
The tires were re-set and the “ running gear” was 
therefore about as good as new. A “body” was 
made out of sound two-inch oak stuff, thoroughly 
bolted together, and upon it the bottom boards 
were nailed as shown in the engraving. 
It was found convenient for many things to have 
a box, and one was made of pine boards, which 
fastened (by means of projecting corner and side 
cleats) into six holes bored in the frame. A rest- 
stake—an old broom handle cut down—was at¬ 
tached to the front bar by means of a leather loop, 
so that it could be thrown over on to the bottom of 
the cart when not needed to hold the handle from 
the ground, as shown in the engraving. 
We do not know how much, or rather how little, 
this handy hand cart cost, but It is certain that it 
would be missed from the farm if it should be 
taken away for a single week. It is just the thing 
for carting small quantities of green fodder, grain, 
etc., for a short distance. As it is a gentle grade 
