1884.] 
AMEKIOAIsr AGEIOULTUEIST. 
153 
growth of grass and briars wherever it lodges. It 
will pay big wages for all the labor needed to turn 
this wash off, through culverts or an open ditch, 
on to the adjoining pastures and mowing land. 
Good Nests for Sitting Hens. 
The hatching season is approaching, and it is 
well to be prepared in advance. The sketch here¬ 
with, is the most convenient and economical ar¬ 
rangement! have ever tried. A series of boards &, 6, 
6, b, about four feet long, and thirteen or four¬ 
teen inches wide, are set on edge, fourteen inches 
apart, as many as nests are wanted, and fastened 
to a, of the same width, with nails or screws. A 
IfBSTS FOK SITTING HENS. 
fourteen-inch wide board, c, laid over, serves as a 
cover to the nests n, n. The other end has a board, 
d, to close it. Laths over the top confine the hens 
to the yards thus formed, which are nearly three 
feet long and fourteen Inches wide. The partition 
boards, 6, &, seclude the hens from each other, and 
perpendicular pieces s, in front of each nest, darken 
them. Sitting hens usually prefer quiet seclusion, 
and at least partial darkness. The yards give room 
for air and a little exercise, and at the far end of 
these fresh water, always accessible, should be re¬ 
newed daily, with whole corn for feed. The cover, 
c, can be cut in short sections for convenience, if 
there are many nests. It may be inclined a little 
to shed rain. Removing the end screws and the 
.lath, which need to be only slightly tacked on, the 
the whole material can be quickly packed away in 
small space, and put together in a few minutes 
another season. They may be set in the poultry 
house, or outside, according to the weather and 
season. Hens disposed to sit can be wonted to the 
boxes, by confining them in the nests with the 
boards s, on porcelain nest eggs for a day or two 
before giving the supply of eggs which are to 
be hatched out. H. C. B. 
More About “ Kill-Calf.”—Honey. 
In January last we gave Mrs. L. Blackman’s de¬ 
scription of the poisonous effects of a shrub which, 
on account of these, is called in some localities 
“Kill-Calf.” As there stated, the shrub is Leneothoi 
racemosa of botanists, but does not appear to have 
had a common name until its bad character caused 
it to be known in parts of New Jersey as “ Kill- 
Calf.” The shrub is found from Massachusetts to 
the Gulf of Mexico, and as on account of its 
dangerous character it should be generally known, 
we gave with the article above referred to, an en¬ 
graving of the leaves and flowers that will allow 
it to be recognized. We received a note recently 
from Mr. A. M. Williams, of Queens Co., N. T., 
accusing the shrub of committing other- crimes 
than that of. killing calves. Mr. W. says; “Be¬ 
sides the fact that it is poisonous to calves, there is 
a stronger reason why the plant should be extermi¬ 
nated. The beautiful flowers of the shrub afford 
the bees a large amount of honey. This honey is 
very poisonous, and a little of it in a hive spoils all 
the honey it contains. There are many shrubs 
more beautiful than this, that are not objection¬ 
able, and instead of propagating and planting it 
for ornament, it should be regarded as a vile weed, 
and as a greater enemy than the Canada Thistle. 
In this section, the Kill-Calf is the worst enemy 
with which we have to contend, it being very diffi¬ 
cult to exterminate, and it is hoped that no one 
will be so unwise as to plant it for ornament.” 
Teacb the Boys to Use Tools. 
BEEN E. HBXPOBD. 
Last year a friend of mine, who has three boys, 
selected a Chest of Tools as a premium for collect¬ 
ing clubs for an agricultural paper, and surprised 
and delighted the iads with it. They went to work 
and fitted themselves up a workshop in the loft 
over the wagon-shed, and there they contrive to 
spend many an hour pleasantly and profitably. 
My friend said to me, “ I am surprised to see how 
proficient the boys are becoming in the use of their 
tools. Why, they have made us many little arti¬ 
cles for use about the house and barn, to more than 
pay for the cost of the tools, if I had bought them 
for cash, and if they keep on thus, a carpenter will 
be unneceessary here.” This experience can be 
repeated in any family where there are boys, to the 
satisfaction and benefit of all concerned. Give the 
boys a chance to show what they can do. A set of 
tools will keep them busy on rainy days and odd 
spells, and out of mischief. Every success will 
encourage them in larger undertakings, and quite 
unconsciously they will develop a knowledge of 
mechanics which will be practical and useful to 
themselves and others all their lives, and almost 
every day, the year round, on the farm, about the 
house, anywhere, and everywhere. The cost of a 
set of tools good enough for them to experiment 
with, is small, and cannot be invested to better ac¬ 
count. If you can not spare the money, encourage 
them to get up a club lor a paper giving premium 
chests of tools. If they do not quite succeed, help 
by contributing a little casli for the difference. 
The investment will come back before you know 
it. Most farmers having more expensive tools, do 
not like to have boys use them for fear of possible 
damages, and they grow up almost entirely ignor¬ 
ant of saw, and plane, and chisel. Let them have 
tools of their own, and show them how to take 
proper care of them. Teach them all you know 
about them, and set them at little easy jobs. When 
they do these well, let them know their work is ap¬ 
preciated, and they will become ambitious to do 
still better work, and take pride in it; so will you, 
when you come to see that that they are able to do 
what you have heretofore depended on outside la¬ 
bor for. One of the most eouveuieiit things about 
the house or farm, is a man who can use tools. 
Novel Way of Getting Winter Eggs. 
A. H. Kepley, Effingham, Ill., writes us : A re¬ 
tired country merchant, in telling us of his exper¬ 
iences thirty and forty years ago, gave this incident 
worth repeating : One of his customers brought in 
a full basket of eggs every week all through win¬ 
ter, when few came from any others. On inquir¬ 
ing, it was found that he had warm quarters for his 
poultry right ovej the pig pen, which was only 
high enough for the tallest hog to stand in. The 
warm air rising from the swine through the crev¬ 
ices, kept the hens so comfortable that they con¬ 
tinued lajdng right on in the coldest weather. 
Perhaps also the near presence of the pigs may 
have scared away the night prowling marauders. 
Moving Heavy Stones—Lifting Posts. 
As the best farm wagons are intended to be, and 
should be, abundantly strong to support four or 
MOVING HEAVY STONES. 
five tons, the hind axle can carry half of this when 
distributed along its length ; and a ton’s weight may 
be suspended from its middle point. The wheels 
will of course bear this if the tires be broad 
enough for the ground. If narrow tired they 
would sink into moderately soft soil, like prairie 
land for example. If the reach is fairly strong, 
it may be used as a lever for lifting heavy stonea 
as shown in the engraving, and the detached hind 
axle and wheels used to transport the stone to any 
point desired. It needs lifting only far enough ta 
just clear the ground.—Mr. Jno. Wagner, of Grant 
Co., Wis., suggests using the wagon reach in a 
similar way for lifting fence posts out of the ground 
when wishing to move them. Another correspond¬ 
ent proposes the same arrangement as a “stump- 
puller,” but with the exception of some of the 
immense wagons sometimes provided for trans¬ 
porting ship timber and the like, the vehicle would 
not be strong enough, or the leverage great enough 
to lift out any stumps that could not be pried out 
with a long crowbar or a large pole used as a lever. 
Connecting an Old and New Cistern- 
Mr. B. C. Guerin, of Morristown, N. J., sends us a 
sketch and description of a method that will occa¬ 
sionally be found convenient, when it is desired to- 
connect a new cistern with an old one without loss. 
Pump 
CONNECTING TWO CISTERNS. 
of water. Wliatever the distance apart, provide a- 
two-inch iron pipe, a, long enough to extend from 
the inside of the new well to the outside of the old 
one, and fit upon the right end of it by screw 
thread the pipe, h, long enough to extend well 
through the old wall. Build a into the new well 
and close its left end with a wooden plug, p. When 
ready, pump or syphon the water from the old to 
the new cistern. Then open the old wall, screw b- 
on to a and cement around b. When ready, with a. 
rod or bar, knock out the plug which will float to- 
the top, and the water will stand at a level in both 
cisterns. A connecting five or six-inch glazed 
ware or iron pipe, e, should be put in on a level 
with the overflow pipe, o. One pump and one 
over-flow pipe answer for both cisterns. 
Volunteer Distribution of Seeds and Cions. 
Much may be done for the improvement of hor¬ 
ticulture by the volunteer distribution of seeds 
and cions, either with or without the aid of asso¬ 
ciations. Horticultural societies succeed, as a rule, 
only in the cities and large towns, and farmer’s 
clubs are the exception even in thrifty agricultural 
towns. But almost any enterprising farmer can do> 
a great work for improvement in his own town or 
parish, by the distribution of seeds and cions he 
has procured and tested. He starts with the idea 
of providing for himself and family the best fruits 
and vegetables his soil and climate wili produce, 
and disposing of the balance at the best market 
town within reach. From the papers he learns at 
small cost what are the best varieties of sweet 
corn, squashes, melons, and cucumbers; he pro¬ 
cures and raises them, and exhibits them at the 
county fair. He is satisfied that he has a good 
thing, for instance in the Early Marblehead sweet 
corn, which gives him this vegetable several days 
earlier than anything else in the market, and two- 
or three weeks earlier than the common kind 
grown in his vicinity. It would be no great tax 
upon his purse or his time, to leave one or two 
hundred well-ripened selected ears at the post- 
