1884.] 
AMEEIOA^ AGEIGCJLTUEIST. 
247 
tion. Steamboats,/ locomotives, and factories, 
that once used woOp, now use coal almost exclu¬ 
sively. Even farmers within one or two miles of 
a railroad depot, now use coal and find it cheaper 
than wood, especially in winter, though the wood 
grows upon their pwn farms. And this use of coal 
is increasing In tie rural districts every year, and 
nothing is likely i o prevent its increase in the fu¬ 
ture. Then the < rift of our population away from 
the rural districi! into cities and villages, has an 
Important bearin ^ upon the increase of woodland. 
The census show i that iu the last decade, the ex¬ 
clusively farmini: towns of Connecticut lost over 
twelve thousand inhabitants, while there was a 
steady increase n the cities and villages. This 
drift is not likel} to be arrested by any songs the 
poets can sing. It means abandoned farms, lone 
chimney-stacks ]?here farm houses once stood, 
rocky pastures s ad meadows turned into thrifty 
forests. These art a good investment to their pres¬ 
ent owners, as woodland, the annual growth paying 
interest and tax®, without outlay for labor. Self- 
interest is likelr to conserve our forests with or 
without floods. This drift of the population in 
due time will reach the newer States. 
Hanging Nest Boxes. 
It is cheaper to constraet continuous rows of 
nest boxes, nailing them securely to the sides of 
the poultry houses, but they afford a snug retreat 
for lice, mites, and other insect enemies of fowls, 
from which it is difficult to dislodge them. By 
having movable boxes the cleansing process is 
facilitated, and extreme neatness can be main¬ 
tained. A good box that is easily made should 
be from twelve to fourteen inches long, eight 
to ten inches wide and about eight inches deep, 
the part by which it hangs being about four 
or five inches higher. The ends may be made of 
Inch white pine and the front, back, and bottom of 
half-inch pine, all planed stuff to give a neat fin¬ 
ish. A good coat of paint will add to the appear¬ 
ance and go far towards preventing vermin from 
infesting it, otherwise apply whitewash, inside and 
out, before using. To prevent the back from being 
broken, securely fasten two inch and a half cleats 
on the outside. Make two holes, through which 
the stout screws pass when the box is in place. 
A very readily made hanging box is made as fol¬ 
lows: The back and bottom are constructed of good, 
planed inch pine, the bight of back being twelve 
to fourteen inches. The front of the box is made 
of the sides of a high cheese box, the width (ex¬ 
treme) from back to front being from eight to ten 
Inches. To prevent the front from coming loose 
where it is fastened to the sides, it should be nailed 
on with a strip of tin or heavy leather. D. Z. E. 
A Wire Splicer. 
Mr. A. F. Kemman, New Hampton, Iowa, sends 
us a description with sketches of his wire splicer. 
This is an age of wire, as is evident from the net 
work of wires in the cities, and the millions of 
miles of barbed wire in fences in the country. To 
make this splicer, take a bar of half inch, round 
iron, nine inches long. Heat about three inches of 
one end and hammer it flat until it is one inch 
wide. With a cold chisel cut a one-fourth inch slot 
a quarter of an inch from the right side and an 
inch deep. Figure 1 shows the slot. Bend the 
part marked d, so it will be a quarter inch from 
Fig*. 1 and 2.— the splicer. 
the flat part., as shown in figure 2 at c and d. The 
lower part of the slot c should be about a half inch 
from the bend at d. Smooth the parts with a file, 
thus completing the tool. To use it let e and /, 
figure 3, represent two wires to he joined. Bend 
the ends so they are nearly at right angles with 
each other. Hold them with pinchers at g; place 
the hook of the splicer on the wire J\ while the 
wire e falls in the slot. Twist the pieces around 
the wire / when one half of the splice is made. 
Repeat the operation for the other end. Figure 4 
represents the splice completed. Use about four 
or five inches of each wire to twist around the 
Fig. 4. —THE SPLICE COMPLETE. 
other. This makes a neat, easily made splice for 
either plain or barbed wire. The splicer is so 
simple that any blacksmith can quickly make it 
at very little cost. 
Convenient Portable Tool Box. 
All old dry goods or shoe box will supply mate¬ 
rials, and a little rainy day or evening work will 
construct a good tool box, very convenient not only 
for keepingthe tools in, but also for carrying them 
out to the field, for repairing fences, etc. For 
lightness, use half inch boards for the sides and 
bottom, and those a little thicker for the ends and 
handle. The box may be of any size. The follow¬ 
ing dimensions will admit hand-saws, axes or 
adz : End pieces eight inches wide, sixteen inches 
high, tapering from six inches above the bottom to 
two inches at top. Side pieces six inches wide, 
thirty-four inches long. Bottom piece six by thirty- 
two inches. Top piece, or handle, straight-grained 
pine or spruce, or ash if available, corners rounded. 
The handle may be nailed in, or fitted to small 
auger holes and tenoned. Adapt the dimensions to 
the tools ; a common method is, a side compart¬ 
ment, one and a half by thirty-two inches for saw 
and square; nail-boxes at the ends, with a partition 
in one of them for an axe blade, the handle to lie 
along one side. Central portion for hammer, chis¬ 
els, augers, etc. For a neat job, plane all, and 
fasten with finishing nails. In such a box the load 
is balanced ; it is ea-sily carried by one man, or be¬ 
tween two, each taking hold of one end of the 
handle. A. F. K. 
Shoulder Pads. 
Mr. H. C. Blaekw'ood, Washougal, W. T., writes 
us as follows: I have found a collar-pad made of 
new, undressed sheep-skin, to be the best preven¬ 
tive of and remedy for sore shoulders in horses. 
Cut out two pieces about the shape of, and some¬ 
what larger than the faces of the collar. Fasten 
one edge in the groove opposite the hame groove, 
with the wool next'to the collar. The skin seems 
to have some, healing properties. This pad is 
quickly and easily made, and is much better than 
most of the pads sold by the harness makers. 
One set will last an entire season. I have used 
these pads a great deal in threshing, which work is 
very liable to gall the shoulders of horses, and 
have found them superior to all other kinds. 
Sweet Potatoes in Northern Gardens. 
Within a few years, the cultivation of the sweet 
potato has extended northward, and it is now raised 
successfully as far north as Central Michigan. 
Those who wish to undertake its culture on a small 
scale, will find it cheaper to buy the plants, or sets, 
than to raise them. In cities the seedsmen offer 
the plants, and there arc several who advertise 
them. They bear transportation well, and may be 
sent by mail or express. In Northern localities it 
is best to raise them on manured ridges. Upon 
the unbroken surface of the soil distribute well 
decomposed barn-yard manure iu lines, or strips, 
three feet apart, the manure strips being about a foot 
wide and three inches thick. With a plow, turn a 
furrow from both sides, to cover the manure and 
form a ridge over it. Dress up the ridges with hoe 
and rake, and plant the potato sets upon the top 
of it every fifteen inches. If the planting is done 
in a dry time, make the holes with a trowel, fill 
them with water, and when this soaks aw'ay, set in 
the plant. If the soil is fairly moist, watering 
will not be needed. The plants should be set deep 
in the soil, leaving but one or two leaves above the 
surface. Should a late frost or an accident destroy 
the portion above ground, some of the eyes below 
will start and replace it. The sides of the ridges 
and the spaces between them should be kept clear 
of weeds until the growth of the vines covers them. 
The variety most generally grown at the North is 
the Nansemond, though there are one or two others 
for which greater earliness is claimed. When the 
vines get large, they will throw out roots at each 
joint; this should be prevented by moving them, 
by running a rake-handle or some such stick under 
the vines and lifting them from the earth, 
A Convenient Tree-Lifter. 
A large percentage of trees transplanted from 
the forest, die on account of not having a sufBcien 
quantity of roots. The engraving shows a contri¬ 
vance to aid in lifting trees in good condition. 
Join at the lop two pieces of two by four scant¬ 
ling, four feet long, and nail a cros.s-piece about six 
inches from the bottom. Attach a piece of chain, 
e, to one end of a lever, c, which is notched at 6, so 
as to work on the pieces d. To use the lifter, take 
a crow-bar and punch a hole under the root of the 
tree to be dug, pull the chain through, and book it 
around to form a loop. Cloth or old rags may be 
A. DEVICE EOB LIFTING TREES. 
placed in the loop, to prevent injury to the tree. 
Cut a circle,/, around the tree with a sharp spade. 
Then let one person puU on the lever c, while the 
other digs. Trees may be very quickly lifted in 
this manner, and without straining a person as 
when pulling by hand. The contrivance may be 
carried by one person. When a large quantity is 
to be dug, a boy may he sent ahead to make the 
holes for the chain. Jno. Bartlett. 
