1861.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
9 
Portable Sheep Rack—A Hint to Ameri¬ 
can Manufacturers. 
In the advertising columns of an English Jour¬ 
nal (the Mark-Lane Express,) we find a cut from 
which we re-engrave the accompanying sketch. 
It appears to be made with an iron frame, cov¬ 
ered on the 
sides and un¬ 
derneath with 
heavy iron- 
wire net-work, 
and on the top 
with galvan¬ 
ized iron oi- 
zinc. A hoard 
or cauvas cov¬ 
ering would 
answer. Trap 
doors in the 
top serve to put 
in the hay, or 
the whole cov- 
or might be 
made to raise up. A single or double trough at 
the bottom catches all droppings. The feet are 
pointed to stand firmly in the ground. The 
whole is light and portable, and ornamental 
withal. They are not very costly, as we notice 
that they are advertised by Thos. Perry & Son, 
Staffordshire, (Eng.,) 6} feet long with double 
trough, complete, for £2.17s. 6d, or about $14 
each. Manufactured here they would probably 
cost a little more, if made with metallic roofs, etc. 
An y one might prepare something similar, say 
a 3-sided wooden frame, covered on top with 
boards, and on the sides with the netted wire. 
Wire net-work, the meshes oi; holes 3 inches in 
diameter, is sold here for 40 to 50 cents per run¬ 
ning yard 35 feet wide. Four yards would suf¬ 
fice for a rack six feet long, and 3! feet high on 
die sides. 
Wire Fences. 
breeds of sheep or cattle. If the ground devoted 
to pasturage has any handsome shrubs or low 
branched trees in it, (evergreens, for instance,) 
they may be surrounded by movable hurdles 
of the same material. Wo have seen the above 
finely carried out in the grounds of Mr. Sargent, 
at Fishkill, hr. Y.; and similar illustrations may 
be found in many parts of the country. It 
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In some localities too far north for success¬ 
ful growth of hedge plants, and where timber 
and stone are not available, wire fences may 
frequently be adopted. Manufacturers claim 
that they are durable, economical, and that 
they will answer all the purposes of a per¬ 
fect protection against cattle. This advantage 
at least they have 
over hedges, that 
they take up no ap¬ 
preciable room, ex¬ 
haust no soil, need 
no annual shear¬ 
ings, shade no veg¬ 
etation on either 
side, and permit the 
plow and scythe to 
be used close up to 
the sides of them. A 
For pleasure grounds, some of the styles of¬ 
fered in market are quite desirable. They may 
be used for partitions between the ornamental 
plots and the adjoining pasture or orchard. If 
painted a grass-green, they are invisible at a 
short distance. If one has a large area of lawn 
or park-like surface around his dwelling, and 
does not wish the trouble or expense of 
keeping the whole under the scythe, all he needs 
to do, is to surround fifty or a hundred feet of 
turf next his house with a light wire fence, keep 
the grass w-.iiin it nicely dressed, and let that 
beyond it be kept trim by flocks of the finer- 
should be added here, that if wire fences are 
kept painted, they are almost indestructible, 
and that being so light in their structure they 
offer little obstruction to the wind, and therefore, 
are less liable to be blown over than wood 
fences. The mode of building one of the com¬ 
mon styles may be learned from the annexed 
cut. (A.) Posts of cedar or locust, eighteen 
inches long and six inches in diameter, are set 
in the ground, six feet apart. The tops of the 
posts stand just even with the surface of the 
ground. (See a.) Iron supports for setting into 
these, are made by cutting common bar iron, 
an inch and a quarter wide, and J inch thick, 
into a wedge-shape. Five holes are then punch¬ 
ed in them to receive the wires. They are then 
driven firmly into the wooden posts, and made 
to stand as near as possible to the perpendicu¬ 
lar. (See &.) Next, the wires are drawn through 
the holes, and at eveiy hundred feet, or there¬ 
abouts, are fastened to stout -wooden posts, en¬ 
trees. (See c .) Experience shows that ordina¬ 
ry posts, however Tvell set, will not answer for 
permanent braces. Long and heavy tension of 
the wires will pull them out of plumb, and leave 
the wires hanging loose. It is therefore desira¬ 
ble to run the fence where it can have the sup¬ 
port of a stout tree, at about once in a hun¬ 
dred feet, and better if oftener. In the absence 
of trees, heavy posts, or bracing, is required. 
Annealed wire of the size number 0, is most 
commonly used; but where there are few tree- 
braces, or where cattle run, No. 4, or 5, is better. 
Poor wire is often sold to those who can not 
judge of its quality: therefore let the purchaser 
look out for flaws and splinters, or what is called 
“ rotten iron.” Coal tar may be used in ordina¬ 
ry places for coating it; though in ornamental 
grounds it should be painted green. In fasten¬ 
ing the wires to trees, holes half an inch in diam¬ 
eter may be bored near one side of the trunk, 
and the wire passed through and looped. Where 
the wires pass through the iron uprights, they 
should be tightened by wooden wedges, thus 
saving severe tension at the wooden braces and 
trees. Of course, no one will fail to provide him¬ 
self with screws (one for every 15 rods) to pro¬ 
vide against the expansion and contraction of 
the wires in Winter and Summer. The agri¬ 
cultural warehouses furnish them at fifty cents 
each, or less. A fence of this kind can 
be put up for from seventy five cents to oue 
dollar a rod. If run through a wood or along 
its borders, the expense of posts can be mostly 
saved by using trees instead. 
We have lately seen a mixed, wire and wood 
fence which works very well. The posts are of 
red cedar; there is a bottom board of pine, six 
inches wide, and a top rail of pine three inches 
square. The intermediate three rails are of No. 
5 wire. The whole is painted white, and looks 
well. The wood-work serves to keep the whole 
upright and firm, and gives the fence an appear¬ 
ance of solidity and finish. * 
Barreling Apples, Potatoes, etc. 
Much loss is sustained upon apples sent to 
market for want of properly putting them up. 
The barrels are apparently filled and headed- 
but in handling, and especially in carting them' 
the fruit is shaken down together, and every 
motion jars the whole contents, until nearly 
every apple is bruised, and the market value is 
reduced one half. To prevent this, the fruit 
should be well shaken down in the barrel, and the 
top layer pressed down by the head, so that no 
amount of jolting will loosen them. This will 
bruise a few upon the top, but the remainder 
will come out safe. The accompanying engrav¬ 
ings show a very simple and convenient plan 
for pressing and holding the head in place until 
it can be fastened. It was communicated for 
the Agriculturist by D. Lyman, Middlefield 
Conn. The figures require but little explana¬ 
tion. By the plan shown in Fig. 1, a piece of 
scantling or plank is laid across the barrel head 
when ready for fastening down. A lever, with 
one end under a block nailed to a post or the 
side of the building, is brought down and held 
until the head is properly secured. In Fig-. 2, 
the end of the lever is passed through a ring 
which is attached to a rope fastened by a hook 
and staple to the board on which the barrel 
stands. The latter plan is rather more con-ve- 
nient, as the apparatus can be taken to -any de- 
shed place where the packing is to be done. 
To save space, the full length of the levers is 
not shown in the engravings. 
A Husking Peg— Simple and Old-fashioned. 
Mr. C. J. Thomas, of Wilcox Co., Ill., 
refers to the Corn Husker described on page 
318 of last volume (Sept. No.) and describes a 
very simple implement which can be made in a 
few minutes. As we used the same implement 
25 years ago, it occurred to us that it was too 
common and too generally known to need de¬ 
scription. But the first farmer we spoke to about 
it, said he had never seen nor heard of it. That 
being the case, we suppose there must be oth¬ 
ers in the same situation, and for the benefit of 
such we will describe it, remarking that it is 
very effectual and very useful in the absence of 
anything better. 
It is made of wood, tough hickory is the best. 
