188-i.] 
AMEEIOAGEIO U LTE EIST, 
241 
■we should aid them with all the means at our com¬ 
mand; certainly we cannot afford to destroy our 
protectors. Every farmer should teach his chil¬ 
dren to cherish and protect their feathered friends. 
Encourage the birds, and children too, by build¬ 
ing bird-houses about the farm buildings. Teach 
the boys to build these houses, and thus serve 
two purposes at once—accustoming them to the 
use of tools, and imbuing their minds with hu¬ 
mane sentiments. Many a farm home knows 
naught of music, but that which floats on the air 
from nature’s own orchestra. Let us have all the 
sweet sounds we can, to soften and lighten our 
rural toils. W. D. Boynton. 
Farm Gates. 
Farmers lose enough time letting down and put¬ 
ting up bars to pay their taxes, if profitably ex¬ 
pended. I would have many gates upon the farm. 
They are inexpensive, convenient, and should be 
wherever there will be any use for them. When I 
see a farm well supplied with gates, I know that 
man is progressive and making money, for he val¬ 
ues time, and wisely seeks to save it. 
In these days of self-binders the gate-ways should 
be at least fourteen feet wide. I have found the 
best material for a gate to be pine boards, and sea¬ 
soned white oak for end pieces. All the wood used 
in the construction of the gate should be well sea¬ 
soned. It is best to plane all the wood-work, 
though this is not absolutely necessary. Cover 
each tenon with thick paint before it is placed in 
attempted. The only right way to brace a gate is 
shown in fig. 5. The gate may be further strength¬ 
ened as shown in fig. 6. Before the gate can sag, 
the brace must be shortened ; for as the gate set¬ 
tles, the points a and h must come closer together, 
and this the brace effectually prevents. 
The posts should be set in such a way that they 
will not be_ pulled to one side and allow the gate to 
sag. The post must be put below the line of frost, 
or else it will be heaved out of position ; I would 
say that three feet in the ground was none too 
deep. Have a large post and make a big hole for 
it. Be careful to set the post plumb, and stamp the 
needs no explanation. By sliding the gate back 
until it almost balances, it may be carried around 
■with ea.se. In fig. 12 the fastening, or latch, must 
be so arranged as to hold the lower part of the gate 
in position. The box of stones renders it easier 
to move the gate. A heavy block of wood serves 
the same purpose. John M. Stahl. 
Prolong the Milking Season of Cows. 
It is well known that there is much difference in 
the length of time cows continue in milk in the 
Fig. 7. 
earth firmly in the hole—it can not be stamped too 
hard. While stamping, keep walking around the 
post BO that the earth will be firmed on all sides. 
Blocks may be arranged as shown in fig. 7; but I 
do not consider this necessary when the post has 
been rightly set, although it may be advisable to 
take this further precaution. 
To remove the pulling weight of the gate when 
closed, the swinging end may rest upon a block ; 
its mortise. The gate itself should be painted. 
Have everything fit tightly. Fasten the brace to 
the cross-pieces with small bolts or wrought nails 
well clinched. Mortise the ends of the cross-pieces 
into the end posts, and secure them in place with 
wooden pins wedged at both ends, or iron bolts. 
The best cross-pieces are made of pine fencing- 
boards six inches wide ; the end pieces should be 
four by seven-inch scantling, although the one at 
the latch may be lighter. Five cross-pieces are 
enough. The lighter the gate in proportion to 
strength, the better it is. There is but one right 
way to brace a gate, and many wrong ones. The 
object of bracing is to strengthen the gate, and also 
to prevent its sagging. Gates sag in two ways ; by 
the moving to one side of the posts upon which the 
gates are hung, and the settling of the gates them¬ 
selves. Unless braced, the only thing to hold the 
gate square is the perfect rigidity of the tenons in 
the mortises; blit the weight of the gate will loosen 
these and allow the end of the gate opposite the 
hinges to sag. It is plain that a brace placed like 
that shown in fig. 1 will not prevent this settling 
down. The only opposition it can give is the re¬ 
sistance of the nails ; and these will draw loose in 
the holes as readily as the tenons in the mortises. 
A brace set as shown in fig. 2 is not much better. 
or a pin inserted in the end piece of the gate may 
rest in a slot sawed in the post, or on a shoulder of 
the post. Fig. 8 shows one end of a combination 
of two plans—the iron rod from near the top of 
the high post holds the gate, while the strain 
upon the post is lessened by the opposite end of 
the closed gate being supported on the other post. 
For hanging the gate I have found the best 
Fig. 9. 
same herd, and with the same treatment. Some 
cows give milk but seven mouths, while others 
continue nine or ten months. This difference is 
mainly a matter of breed and of training during 
the first season of the heifer’s milking. The Jer¬ 
seys and their grades are generally better fed and 
run easily from the start, into a long milking sea¬ 
son, not infrequently up to the time of calving, 
where this is desired. But in any breed the season 
may be prolonged by the care of the heifer with her 
first calf, and during the first milking season. She 
should be kept in good condition all through the 
mouths of pregnancy, and, if practicable, drop her 
calf in the fall, when the barns are full and there is 
an abundant store of milk-producing food. With 
good hay, and regular rations of roots and meal, 
and kind treatment, the habit of giving milk 
through the winter maybe thoroughly established. 
In a family cow this habit adds much to her value. 
Fuchsias— Training and Management. 
.TAMES SHEEHAN. GENEVA, N. Y. 
We confess to have a special liking for the 
Fuchsias, and think no assortment of house plants 
is complete without one or two varieties of these 
Fig. 10. 
hinges to be those shown in fig. 9. One part passes 
through the end-piece of the gate, and is secured 
by a nut on the end. The other piece is heated 
and driven into the post, following the path of a 
small auger-hole. Next to this I rank the strap 
hinge, which should be fastened with bolts or 
screws. Three easy, cheap ways of supporting the 
as the resistance must depend upon the rigidity of 
the upright piece in the middle, and the nails or 
bolts holding it will give way enough to allow the 
gate to sag. The method shown in fig. 3 is fully as 
faulty, while the form shown in fig. 4 is even worse. 
It seems strange that any one should brace a gate 
in these ways, but I have quite frequently seen it 
gate are shown in figs. 10, 11 and 12. In fig. 10 
a stout band of wood, or one of iron, may be used 
in place of the chain. And in place of the stool for 
the reception of the lower end of the end-piece, a 
block resting on the ground, or a shoulder on the 
post, may be substituted. The mode shown in 
fig. 11 is common in the West. Its construction 
beautiful flowers. They are easily propagated, 
either from cuttings or by layers, and the amount 
of bloom one strong, healthy plant is capable of 
producing under favorable circumstances, is truly 
wonderful. Upon one plant of Fuchsia sjjeciosa 
started from a cutting of a single eye in March, we 
counted at one time in the December following, 
one hundred and fifty perfect blossoms. The plant 
stood in an eight-inch pot, and measured four feet 
in hight. Some kinds do better as house plants 
than others. Among the best are F. speciosa, F. 
fulpens, and the Rose of Castile ; and I would par¬ 
ticularly recommend these sorts as superior to all 
others for the window garden. The right kind of 
soil has everything to do with success in growing 
fine Fuchsias ; it should be of a light, peaty quality, 
with one-third cow manure, all thoroughly mixed 
together until well decayed. They also relish an 
abundance of water while growing, and once or 
twice a week an application of liquid manure will 
be beneficial. 
W'hile growing, never allow the roots to become 
pot-bound, but when the roots begin to form a mat 
on the outside of the ball of earth, it is time to 
