308 
PREMIUM FARM-TRUCK. 
better than any I had before seen, but further east¬ 
ward seemed much injured by the worm and fly. 
Other crops promised well considering the lateness 
of the season. The State of Michigan seems to be 
in a healthy, flourishing condition, and bids fair 
soon to rival her elder sisters in wealth and im¬ 
provements. 
The crops through Ohio, so far as I could learn 
from personal observation and reports from intelli¬ 
gent farmers, give promise of a medium yield. This 
is also true of that portion of western and middle 
New York, and that portion of New England 
through which I passed in my circuitous route to 
this city. R. L. Allen. 
New York, July 14th, 1847. 
PREMIUM FARM-TRUCK. 
Having long been of the opinion that a vehicle 
was much needed by the farmers of our country, to 
use in the place of the stone-boat or drag, and the 
common ox-cart, for many uses, I was at last in¬ 
duced to try my skill in getting up something that 
would meet their demand, combining strength, 
utility, convenience, economy, durability, and easy 
draft, knowing that these all are, or ought to be, 
matters of moment to the farmer. When I had 
completed and thoroughly tested my new truck, 1 
congratulated myself on my more than anticipated 
success ; and after repeated trials for all the various 
purposes for which it was designed, suchascarting 
small stone for underdraining, large ones for wall- 
fence, manure, hay from the meadow to the stack, 
or hay-barn, stumps, saw-logs, &c., &c., all to my 
perfect satisfaction, I was so much pleased with 
it, that I determined to take the rude thing to our 
County Fair, where I was awarded a libera] pre¬ 
mium for the plan. Having since used it more 
than any other vehicle on the farm, and finding it in¬ 
dispensable, and just the article needed, and know¬ 
ing no better means of making the farmers gene¬ 
rally acquainted with it than through the medium 
of your paper, I have taken the liberty of sending 
the following description and drawings, from which 
you may, if you please, favor us with engravings 
the more clearly to illustrate it. 
Fig. 72. 
Fig. 74. 
Explanation of the above cuts. 
a , Plank for wheel in two pieces with dowels. 
b, Wheel perfectly put together. 
c, Cast-iron pipe-box to receive the arm of the 
axle. 
* d, Perch or reach. 
e, Bolsters. 
/, Platform. 
For axles I used joists sawed for axles to the 
common lumber-wagon, sawe SJ by 5§ inches, 
and 6 feet long, with wide steel-skane on the bot¬ 
tom of the arm, and an iron one on the top. The 
wheels, I built of 6 pieces of \\ inch plank, the 
width being the semi-diameter of the wheel, which 
is sixteen inches high. The bolsters are sufficiently 
high for the forward wheel to cramp entirely under 
until it strikes the reach, or perch, the front end of 
which is let in the full size into the bottom of the 
front bolsters, being made of a 2 by 4 inch joist. 
The back end of the bolster, aa well as the braces, 
which are of the same sized joists as the reach, 
are halved into the bolster and axle equally, 
and fastened by two bolts passing entirely through 
the bolster, each brace, and the axle, which is all 
the iron-work there is about the hind axle, except 
1 the skanes on the arm. The iron-work about the' 
