362 
AMEEIOA]^^ AGBIOULTUEIST, 
[Septejibee, 
noting to sheep-owners, as these burs become en¬ 
tangled in the wool. Those who have travelled in 
Texas and Mexico, soon make acquaintance with 
the Cocklebur. Horses and mules, while grazing 
for a single night, will have their tails clotted with 
these burs, and converted into a useless club. It 
can be understood, that should swine eat the 
burs in considerable quantity, the pieces of them 
can, by means of the prickles, form masses which 
may prove fatal. Both on account of its probable 
danger to swine and its injury to sheep, there 
should be an united effort to destroy the plant. 
Being an annual, its extermination would not be 
difficult. If the plants are cut down before the seed 
is ripe, new ones can not appear unless the ground 
is re-seeded. Cut them before the seeds mature. 
Instructions for Making Lawns. 
ELIAS A. LONG. 
There are two ways of making a lawn, the one 
by sodding or turfing, the other by sowing grass 
seeds. For small gardens the former is un¬ 
doubtedly the best, while for larger areas, seed¬ 
ing is necessarily done, as it generally makes a 
good lawn, and is much cheaper, although more 
time is needed to bring it to perfection. 
If it can be done, the ground to be put into grass 
ought to be allowed to settle during one or two 
good rains after the last grading, and then be sod¬ 
ded or seeded. Otherwise some slight unevenness 
AN EARTH-RAMMER AND SOD-BEETLE. 
may appear after thorough settling. If the rain 
cannot be waited for, the earth may be settled with 
the roller. An earth rammer may also be brought 
into use, and if it is found that any spots are softer 
than others, they should be firmed by this tool, 
afterwords even-up the surface as may be need¬ 
ed, by the use of the rake. The engraving shows 
an easily made earth-rammer and sod-beetle com¬ 
bined, that will be found useful in a garden. For 
firming earth, it is used mostly in a perpendicular 
position, striking the soil with the heaviest end ; 
but in settling sods evenly, these are struck mostly 
with one of the flat sides. It may be worked out 
of a solid piece of five by live-inch scantling, and 
is usually made about four and a half feet long. 
In laying sod, the surface of the ground should 
first be slightly loosened with the rake to make a 
bed for the grass roots, and if dry, sprinkled as 
fast as the turf is brought. The best turf is that 
taken from a pasture lot or roadside, that has been 
kept low by grazing. That where sheep have been 
pastured is preferred, as these animals, by their 
habit of biting close to the ground, destroy the 
coarse weeds. The better way of taking up the 
turf is to have the sods in long pieces, and to roll 
them up. In cutting the sod some gardeners use 
the line, and others a board with a straight edge, 
in order that the cutting may be accurate. The 
board has this advantage, that it may be a foot 
wide, and then it can serve as a guage for width 
without any further measuring, by cutting closely 
along the sides. First the cut should be made 
lengthwise with a shai-p spade or turfing iron. 
Then starting at one end, one man with a sharp 
spade should cut the roots, so that the sod will be 
about an inch and a half thick, the assistant grasp¬ 
ing the end and rolling it up, the grass side in¬ 
wards, keeping on as the cutting proceeds, until a 
roll as large as it is convenient to handle is gath¬ 
ered. Where ouc man works alone, he may sepa¬ 
rate the sod by thrusting the spade in from the side, 
afterwards rolling it up. These rolls are readily 
transported, and quickly unrolled and laid, leaving 
the lawn surface with few seams, as compared with 
cutting in square pieces. Sodding may also be as 
well none by using sods that are cut about a foot or 
fifteen inches square. Join all edges carefully, using 
a large knife in cutting. As the laying proceeds, 
if some portions of the turf happen to be a little 
thinner than others, soil should be worked under¬ 
neath such parts. The different pieces should all 
be snugly pushed together as the work goes on. 
After being properly laid, all parts should be beaten 
with a wooden beetle, and afterwards well rolled. 
All of these operations are to be followed by a 
heavy sprinkling of water to encourage new 
growth. Along the line of walks, drives, and bor¬ 
ders, the turfing should be carried a little beyond 
the line, as it will be, when finished, so that in 
dressing down the edges afterwards, th^ cutting 
will be through good, strong sod. 
Where lawns are made by seeding, the work is 
commenced by turfing. Where'S er there is a ter¬ 
mination in the grass plat, not otherwise bounded, 
a strip of turf about a foot wide should be laid down 
for making a firm edge. Do not remove the soil 
quite as deep as the sod is thick, as some allow¬ 
ance should be made for compression in beating. 
When ready to sosv the seed, the surface should be 
passed over with the rake and meliowed up a little 
on the top. It is a common error to use grass seed 
too sparingly. Use four or more bushels to the acre. 
Where it is known that any one sort does well, it is 
best to sow only that one kind. As a rule Ked Top, 
Bent grass, or Blue grass, are generally preferred. 
Where it is thought best not to depend on one 
alone, then several kinds should be mixed. Some 
always sow a little White Clover with the grass 
seed, for the greenness it maintains in drouths, 
but wherever lawns are kept watered this should 
not be added. In sowing, the seed should be di¬ 
vided into two portions, half to be sown by passing 
over the land in one direction, and then, after light¬ 
ly raking over the surface, sowing the remaining half 
cross-wise. Rake in the seed, or use a brush har¬ 
row, and after this let a thorough rolling be given. 
As the grass starts up, and the weeds with it, the 
mower must be kept at work on the new lawn. 
The weed seed lying in the ground usually comes 
up quickly, and will prove annoying for a while, 
but if the grass was sowni thickly enough, and the 
mowing and cutting out co.arse growing weeds 
ai'e attended to for the first season or two, the 
lawn will come out all right in the end. 
The Farmer’s Grindstone. 
R. G. NEWTON, DAKOTA. 
Obtain a good stone weighing about one hundred 
pounds, medium grit, and a set of friction rollers. 
For the frame a two by eight pine joist, is as good 
as hard-wood. With a stone thirty inches across, 
cut two pieces thirty-eight inches long; dress 
them square, and cut tw'o “.gains,” as in figure 1, 
a quarter of an inch deep and a trifle narrower than 
the thickness of the end pieces. The distance be¬ 
tween the gains is about thirty-one inches. Set 
these pieces on edge, and fit the rollers in place. 
Cut the end pieces so they wUl drive snugly in the 
gains ; if painted before driving together, the frame 
will last longer. Bore three or four holes through 
the side pieces at each end, and nail the parts firmly 
together. The four leas are made from a piece of 
scantling, two feet long and divided lengthwise. 
Fig. 1.— SIDE PIECES. 
as shown in figure 2. The stone and frame com¬ 
plete are seen in figures 3 and 4. The upper ends 
of the legs are fitted on the frame, as shown in 
figure 4, and bolted and nailed as in figure 3. The 
treadle is hung on a half inch iron rod, passing 
through the two legs on 
right side of figure 4. A 
piece screwed on that end 
of the treadle and a hole 
Fig. 2. —THE LEGS. 
bored through as in figure 5, will hold all the parts 
solid. The treadle can be connected to the small 
crank by a four-sixteenths inch ircu rod bent as 
shown, the lower end being hooked into an eye in 
the treadle. To supply the stone with water, hang 
a pail or bueket over it with a faucet or plug in the 
side near the bottom. Use only sufficient water to 
keep the stone moist. A trough placed under the 
stone, as is sometimes seen, is a detriment to the 
stone, as the part standing in the water will soften 
and wear away much faster than the rest; it also 
washes the stone of loose grit, which, if retained, 
will cut as fast or faster than the solid stone, and 
greatly lengthen the time the stone will wear. On 
the left of figure 3, is shown a shelf, which may be 
firmly nailed to the frame with a brace underneath. 
To gi'ind a plane iron 
with a true bevel, rest 
the lower end on this 
shelf as shown, and 
place a scratch awl firm¬ 
ly in the shelf where 
the end of the iron may 
rest against it. A chisel 
or similar tool can be 
held on the shelf by 
tacking or screwing on 
a block of wood In 
place of the scratch awl. 
To hang the stone on 
the shaft snugly, fit a 
piece of soft wood into 
the square hole in the 
stone ; saw the ends off 
so it will be a trifle 
shorter than the thick¬ 
ness of the stone ; draw lines with a pencil or awl 
from corner to corner, as shown in figure 6, and 
where the lines cross, place the point of the auger. 
Bore from both ends. Insert the shaft, and place on 
-END OF GRIND¬ 
STONE. 
Fig. 5. 
Fig. 6. 
the washers and nut. If the stone does not run true, 
place pieces of card or paste-board between the stone 
and washer, on opposite sides, until it is adjusted. 
To “true up” the face of a grinds-tone, use a 
piece of soft iron rod or gas pipe, about half an 
inch in diameter, and hold the lower end lightly, 
but firmly, against the stone, 
as shown in figure 7. Roll the 
iron on the rest, so as to re¬ 
move a small cut at every rev¬ 
olution. Do this when the 
stone is dry. It will require 
some one to turn tlie stone 
Fig. 7. 
steadily, as a person cannot work the treadle to ad¬ 
vantage while “ truing” the stone. Always keep the 
grindstone housed and in the best possible order. 
The Dust Bath. —Every poultry house should 
have its dust box, in wliich the fowls can take a 
daily dust bath. This is essential to the well-being 
of the fowls. They will otherwise almost surely 
become Infested with vermin. Fowls running at 
large provide themsehms with the necessary dust 
in their covering of feathers, especially if they 
have access to a much travelled roadway. Laj" iu a 
supply of fine dust now, to be used when the fowls 
are confined to the house with only a restricted yard. 
