4=26 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[ October, 
strains of both varieties are now to be found in 
this country, and they make remarkably good 
tempered and trusty household dogs, being par¬ 
ticularly gentle to women and children. The 
Smooth variety of St. Bernard, shown in figure 1, 
is red and white, with a broad white collar—many 
prefer the Rough or the long-haired variety, the 
color of which is often a deep brindle. 
The Cocker Spaniel, or “Cocker,” includes a 
number of sub-varieties, so that it is difficult to 
describe it very definitely. It may be said in gen¬ 
eral terms to be an active spaniel, averaging about 
14 pounds in weight, elegant in outlines and of a 
lively and spirited carriage. The head is round, 
the forehead being oval, the ears are of medium 
size and well clothed with soft, wavy hair. The 
tail (which is usually cropped), is naturally long, 
being somewhat like, but more bushy than that of 
the Setter—to which breed it has a general resem¬ 
blance. The “ Cocker” is the hunter’s dog, having- 
been bred and trained as an aid for the sportsman. 
While out for game he has his own peculiar char¬ 
acteristics. “ Stonehenge” says : “In hunting he 
keeps his tail down like the rest of his kind and 
-works it constantly in a most rapid and merry man¬ 
ner, from which alone he may be known from the 
Springer, who also works his, but solemnly and de¬ 
liberately, and apparently without the same pleas¬ 
urable sensations which are displayed by the 
Cocker.” The illustration, fig. 2, on previous page, 
is a portrait of Dr. Gillette’s dog “Brush,” an 
excellent representative of the Cocker Spaniel. 
Plan of a Poultry House. 
— -<>- 
“ W. R. S.,” Mbrris Co., N. J., sends sketches of 
a Poultry House, and says: “ Thinking, perhaps, 
that from the plan of my hen house a new idea 
might be gained by any who may be contemplating 
a plan by which to build a hennery, I will give mine 
as briefly as possible. My principal considerations 
in devising a plan were cheapness, warmth, ventila¬ 
tion, convenience, and with these in view, I have 
succeeded in building a house, at a cost of less than 
§45, being 6 by 10 ft. on the ground. I have kept 
75 fowls in it at one time, and for a period of 
several months; and as far as my experience ex¬ 
tends, I am thoroughly convinced that with a prop¬ 
erly arranged house, and proper care, fowls can be 
kept in large numbers, yielding as much profit as 
if with moic room and less care. The front of the 
house faces south-east. The side or back, and end, 
not seen in figure 1, is made water-proof by paint 
and putty, and has no opening of any description. 
The nest alley, figure 1, a, is 16 ft. long, 2 ft. wide, 
1 ft. high at the back, d ; 6, braces to support alley ; 
c, strip of iron bolted to alley and main building 
(inside); e, light of glass, one in each end of alley. 
The cover to alley is hinged to main building and 
used as a lid ; it can be locked if desired. The 
windows are fastened on by butt hinges, /, /; E, 
dotted lines, showing a position in which the win¬ 
dows may be braced by a stick, h, and give ventila¬ 
tion without draft; g , entrance doors ; i, hooks to 
fasten windows. The roosts, a , are made as shown 
in figure 2, and are simply laid on the joists, J, J, 
the frame (fig. 3) not being fastened to the joists. 
The roosts may be raised to b by placing the stick, 
c, under them, and the house cleaned, etc., with¬ 
out the roosts interfering in any way ; d, e, e, lad¬ 
ders. There is a platform,/, opposite the entrance 
to nest alley ; g, entrance to nest alley ; h, space in 
nest alley in front of nest boxes ; i, nest boxes; k, 
fowl entrance to house.” 
More About Tenant Farming. 
We have often heard the remark made that farm¬ 
ing property in this Commonwealth does not, on the 
average, pay three per cent interest. The statement 
is generally accepted as substantially true, though 
we may not be able to establish it by statistics. We 
were not a little surprised, therefore, to find a 
landholder in our recent travels that claimed that 
his farm, which he had rented for sixteen years, 
paid him now an interest of six per cent, and in the 
flush times after the war that paid ten per cent an¬ 
nually. After drawing from him the strong points 
of his management, we concluded his estimate a 
reasonable one. The farm in question is an old 
homestead, upon which he was born and brought 
up, and which he managed in per¬ 
son for many years, until he made 
money enough to live easier in the 
neighboring village. In the letting 
of his farm, he had the advantage 
of knowing just what he wanted 
in a tenant, and the details of the 
management needed for successful 
results upon that particular piece 
of territory. He had also a strong 
personal interest in it as his own 
home, and the home of his an¬ 
cestors for several generations, which doubtless 
had something to do with the satisfactory re¬ 
turns which it gave. The man should smell of 
the soil he handles who would make money out of 
it. The first strong point in his success was a good 
soil to begin with, on the best streak of land in the 
township, indicated by the size and quality of its 
timber, when it was selected by its first proprietor, 
two hundred years ago. It has maintained its rep¬ 
utation for good crops from that day to this, and 
its owners have never been poor men. It w-as kept 
in good hea:t under his own management, and was 
handed over to the tenant with a large quantity of 
manure in the yard and sty, and a good system of 
husbandry laid out for him. Without a good soil, 
in good heart to begin with, the investment must 
have paid less interest. The farm consists of 280 
acres, and is valued at $10,000. The leading inter¬ 
est is the dairy, making butter for the summer 
market, with pork and poultry enough to use up 
the skim and buttermilk. Pienty of manure made 
by feeding out all the hay and most of the grain 
raised upon the farm is one of the maxims of farm 
management. The tenant must make as much 
manure, measured by the cart load, as he found 
upon the farm. Sell no hay, no matter how much 
is left over, is another of the maxims. Put if any 
is sold, its equivalent in manure must he brought 
back upon the farm to increase its fertility. The 
remedy for a surplus of hay, in barn or stack, is an 
increase of stock, which adds to the manure heap 
and adds to the animal products that may be sold 
the following season. There is always a surplus of 
hay to guard against such seasons of drouth as we 
had last spring, and short crops. Another item in 
this farmer’s policy is long leases. He gets the 
best possible tenant to start with, and then makes 
it for his interest to stay. As the farm is rented at 
the halves, it is not very difficult to do this. If the 
tenant knows that he is to continue for a term of 
years, he has a common interest with the owner, in 
making manure, in raising good stock, in thorough 
cultivation, and in keeping up the farm. Ten 
thousand dollars invested in a farm like this, and 
managed as this is, is as secure as Government 
bonds, and pays a better interest. Would that we 
had more farming of this sort. Connecticut. 
A Com Shock Tightener. 
Mr. “W. P. H.,” Douglas Co., Kansas, sends a 
description of a Tightener to be used for drawing 
the tops of corn shocks together at cutting time. 
Cut a sapling, or any stick, two inches in diameter 
at the butt, and several inches in length, shave it 
off smooth and sharpen the small end. A three- 
fourth-inch hole is bored an inch or two from the 
large end, and a seasoned hickory, or an iron, pin 
eighteen inches long is inserted for a handle, as 
shown near the bottom of the accompanying en¬ 
graving. Tie one end of the rope (which should 
be long enough to pass around the corn shock), to 
the larger end of the stick, putting it above the 
cross pin on one side and below on the other, so 
that it may not slip. A loop is tied in the other 
end of the rope and the Tightener is ready for use. 
In drawing the top of the corn shock together the 
SHOCK OP CORN WITH TIGHTENER. 
sharpened end of the Tightener is thrust into the 
skock, at the place where the band is to go, and 
the rope is thrown or carried around when the loop 
is put over one end of the cross-pin. “Now take 
hold of the handle and turn as with an auger; both 
ends of the rope being fast it coils around the stick 
and the shock can be made so small and tight at 
the top that it will stand up straight from Septem¬ 
ber until April, and turn rain almost perfectly. A 
boy can make the Tightener in half an hour. After 
tightening up the shock, we tie with small wire, 
such as is used for binding grass—then untwist the 
rope and take another shock. In twenty minutes 
two men can tie what they can cut in a day.” 
Marsli Hay is not held in high esteem unless 
it is cut when very green and well cured and housed. 
Even then it is light, and should be fed in com¬ 
bination with richer foods. When left standing 
until late in the season it is dry and tough, and 
though rich in ash elements, it is inferior food, and 
not the best of litter, as it decomposes so slowly. 
Eig. 1.— FRONT VIEW OF POULTRY HOUSE. 
