1861 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
41 
BEARDSLEY’S HAY ELEVATOR, OR HORSE POWER FORK. 
The advantages to be gained by the substitu¬ 
tion of mechanical and animal powers for hu¬ 
man muscles, in agricultural operations, have 
been so thoroughly proved, that he who refuses 
to avail himself of good labor-saving imple¬ 
ments, must be content to remain in the rear 
rank among cultivators, both in ease of accom¬ 
plishing his work, and in successful results from 
it. To aid those who are seeking such inven¬ 
tions, in making a selection, we publish, from 
time to time, illustrations and descriptions, that 
parties interested may examine them and form 
an opinion of their applicability. We prefer in 
all cases to study the 
actual working of ap¬ 
paratus before admit¬ 
ting illustrations; but 
this is often impractic¬ 
able. The engravings 
here introduced, repre¬ 
sent a recently patented 
horse-power pitchfork, 
invented by Levi A. 
Beardsley, Otsego Co., 
N. Y.— Fig. 2, shows the 
fork, and Fig. 1, the 
manner of arranging 
the pullies for working 
it. The directions for 
its use, as given by the 
patentee, are: 
Place the fork on the 
load, lengthwise with it, 
and by stepping upon the rods that brace the 
tines, they will readily enter the hay. Set the 
hook and fasten the lifting chain to it by its 
ring. The horses can then elevate the fork-full, 
and when it is in the right place to be dropped, 
the man on the load pulls the catch cord, which 
he keeps in his hand, when the fork will drop 
a little, and by means of the side ropes, the tines 
are drawn wide open, and the hay is discharged. 
The spring on the upper end keeps the fork 
open, so that it is ready to enter the hay on the 
load when lowered by the backing of the team. 
It is claimed that the two-horse fork can take 
up from one sixth to one fourth of a load to the 
Sark-full, at which rate there must be a great 
saving of time, in addition to the relief given 
from the severe labor of hand-pitching. As 
-stated above, not having seen this form of the 
implement in operation, we can not give a de¬ 
cided opinion upon its merits, but commend it 
to the examination of those interested. The 
price for the two-horse apparatus complete is $16. 
There is, we believe, a one-horse fork made by 
the same party; but there is economy in the 
use of the larger instrument. It takes but a few 
minutes to unhitch the horses from the wagon 
and attach them to the pulley rope, and they 
can,, of course, raise a much greater weight at 
one time than could be done by a single animal. 
-- -*#- * -**# »■*-- 
For the American Agriculturist . 
Self-Fastening 1 Door-Catch. 
The following was contrived on a rainy day, 
by one who was often annoyed by the flapping 
of the small barn-door against the sides of the 
barn. Push the door back against the sides of 
the barn, and with an inch auger, bore a hole 
through the weather-boarding and door-; the 
auger striking the door an inch or two from the 
edge, and about midway from top to bottom. 
Fasten a pin tightly into the hole in the door, 
thin it a little so as to pass easily through the 
hole in the weather-boarding, letting it extend 
through two inches or more. Cut a notch in the 
upper side of the pin, large enough to receive a 
wooden spring. Taper the pin from the lower 
edge to the notch, so that the spring will slide 
into it. Fasten the wooden spring, made for the 
purpose, at a suitable distance, and it is done. 
Ii a door be accidentally left open, the first gust 
of wind will drive it back against the side, and 
the spring in the inside, sliding into the notch in 
the pin, fastens the door. F. M. Baker. 
Centre Co., Pa. 
-- . - —m - 
(Editors please Copy.) 
To All Agricultural and Horticultural 
Societies-Special Notice. 
Not a week passes without a request from 
some Society in this country or abroad, for a 
partial or complete list of the various agricultur¬ 
al societies in a part or the whole of the United 
States. No such list is in existence, and yet one 
would be very desirable on many accounts. If 
the Officers of the various societies will aid in 
the matter, we will undertake to get up one at 
our own expense, as follows : 
Let the Secretary of every State, County, 
Town, or other Agricultural or Horticultural 
Society throughout the country, send to the 
office of the American Agriculturist (41 Park-Row, 
New-York), a full list of the present officers; 
and then whenever an election takes place, let a 
similar list of the new officers be sent in the 
same manner, in the form given herewith. 
We will prepare a book, allotting a page oi 
part of a page, as may be necessary, for each 
county and its town societies, where such ex¬ 
ist in the county. The States will be arranged 
alphabetically, and also the counties in the sev¬ 
eral States. 
In this book, in the proper place, will be past¬ 
ed the list of officers of each society. When a 
a new election takes place, the new list of names 
will be partially pasted over the previous one, 
leaving it so that the former lists can still be 
referred to when required. If this enterprise be 
seconded by the societies, there will thus be se¬ 
cured, at one point at least, a book for ready 
reference when ever required. We can not 
probably find room to publish more than a 
summary of the number of societies, but when¬ 
ever any association desires to address a circu¬ 
lar, or open correspondence ou any topic, with 
-other societies in its own or other States, there 
will be an accessible list. 
Please send forward the lists systematically 
arranged in the following form. 
Name of Society, (Stating whether State, County, or Town.) 
State . County.... .. Town . 
President...Post Office Address.... 
Vice President.... do.. 
Cor. Secretary... do. ___...... 
Recording Secretary. do. ..... 
Treasurer......... do. 
Managers..... do. ... 
... do. ... 
• • ...... do..... 
. ... do.. 
Time and Place of Exhibition for 1861 (if appointed). 
State... .Co.Town... .Day of begin’g... .Day of ending. 
Date of Annual Meeting for Election of Officers, etc. 
N. B.—For the sake of uniformity, please fol¬ 
low the above form precisely ; also spell and 
write the names very plainly. Let each name, 
and the Post Office address be written on a 
single line. Use foolscap paper, or paper of the 
width of foolscap, and let the names occupy as 
small a space as possible up and down, that 
they may not require a long space up and down 
on the page of the book. Let us have reports 
from Horticultural as well as Agricultural soci¬ 
eties. Anything special in regard to the aim of 
any society, not indicated in its name, may be 
stated briefly directly under the name, above 
the list of officers. 
Let these lists be closely written and on only 
one side of the slip of paper, that they may be 
pasted directly into the record book. Will the 
first officer or active member of any society who 
reads this notice, please see to it that some one 
forwards the list, that we may be able to finish 
up the work promptly while about it ? 
---- 
Our Neat Cattle—Are they Improving ? 
Eveiy observant man who has, for the last 
dozen years, kept the toy of the numerous im¬ 
portations into this country of the most populai 
English breeds of cattle, and who has seen them 
sold at high prices to eager buyers throughout 
the best stock-growing regions, will be ready to 
answer the above question in the affirmative. 
But let the same observant man witness the het¬ 
erogeneous assemblage of beef cattle that every 
week come into New-York market, and he will 
be quite as likely to give a negative answer. 
A hasty review of the introduction of improved 
breeds, may not be uninteresting. Early in the 
present century, Short Horns were imported into 
Virginia. They were taken to the fine grazing 
lands on the south branch of the Potomac river 
and bred with care, and their descendants, 
crosses of the imported upon the native cattle, 
early gained a high reputation, which continues 
in that valley to the present day. Some of the 
descendants of the thorough breds were taken 
