359 
AGRICULTURIST. 
1861. j AMERICAN 
Just the Thing* for Big Stones. 
Our readers who have always lived on the 
smooth, clean prairies, and those who occupy 
alluvial lands where it is difficult to find a stone 
large enougli to throw at the blackbirds in the 
corn field, may as well pass over this article 
without reading; they can not appreciate it as 
can thousands of others who like ourselves were 
brought up and still live on the drift soils. One 
of the hired plowmen, for whom we drove 
team when a boy on the paternal farm “ out 
west,” used to tell us that, once on a time, a cer¬ 
tain powerful evil genius was flying over the 
country with a leathern apron full of stones 
(huge holders) to hurl at wicked boys and men, 
and that when he got just over that particular 
farm, the “ apron strings broke.” In the inno¬ 
cence of childhood we of course halfibelieved the 
statement, and well we might, for every rod or 
two, the plow would “ bring up” against a big 
round stone weighing any where from five hun¬ 
dred pounds to five or more tuns. We have 
traveled ‘considerable,’ and judging from what 
we have seen, and from what we have found in 
our present location, many hundreds of miles 
from the old farm, we have come to the conclu¬ 
sion that the “ apron string” must have broken a 
good many times, and over a good many places. 
But seriously, there are ten3 of thousands of 
farms in our country that are disfigured with 
rocks and holders, which are not only an eyesore, 
but they sadly interfere with easy culture. We 
know by experience the cost of sinking these 
“round heads” in deep pits, and of “blowing” 
them with powder. Those that we disposed of 
last year, cost not less than a dollar and a half 
apiece; and a neighbor of ours must have paid 
a hundred dollars this year to remove fifty or 
sixty of them. Others tell us of expending a 
hundred dollars an acre, or more. 
But, happily, these troubles are in a fair way 
to be greatly lessened, if not done away with. 
At the Westchester County Fair we stumbled 
upon a machine which we frankly confess “far 
exceeded our expectations,” though we had read 
large stories of the Briarean monster. Around 
the Fair grounds were sundry holders, weigh¬ 
ing from one to five tuns or more, many of them 
nearly buried in the soil. With the machine 
represented above, two men and two pairs of 
teen were lifting these huge rocks out of their 
resting places, and moving them off from the 
ground, apparently with as much case as a man 
would gather up and carry off so many two 
bushel bags of wheat. In company with Mr. 
Olcott of the Tribune, we asked the privilege 
of “ trying our hand at it.” The machine was 
driven with its great broad-rim wheels astride 
what appeared to be a small rock of a few hun¬ 
dred pounds weight. The two hooks were 
thrown on two sides of the small jutting head of 
the rock, and we two only, commenced turning 
the windlass. In three minutes we had lifted 
out what proved to be a sunken blue stone bol¬ 
der, weighing by measure and estimate not less 
than 7000 lbs. or 31 tuns. In less than four min¬ 
utes from the time we went to the windlass, the 
oxen were carting us, with the “ big stone ” 
around the fair grounds, to the no little amuse¬ 
ment of the small and large boys, and to the 
gratification of owners of stony farms. It is per¬ 
haps enough to say of the effectiveness of the 
machine, that the exhibitor was offering to 
contract to lift and cart off stones from any 
man’s fields, at $17 per hundred (17 cents apiece!) 
—the stones to be visible, or sunken to a level 
with the surface, and to be of any size from 10,000 
or 12,000 pounds each, down to such as could 
be got out more cheaply otherwise by the 
owner of the land. And at this price the exliib- 
tor claimed that he could earn from $20 to $25 
per day, with two men, a boy, two yokes of oxen, 
and the use of the machine costing $200. 
We were so much pleased with the w orking 
of the implement that we sent an artist to 
make the above sketch from one being built in 
this City. It is called, we believe, “ Bolle's Rock 
Lifter." The machine at the Westchester Fair 
was exhibited by Mi*. Knapp. Any information 
may be obtained of Nathaniel E. Adams, Stam¬ 
ford, Ct., who is one of several owners of the 
patent for different parts of the country. We 
have not even a hand bill, to indicate any thing 
further in regard to the manufacturers. It will 
probably be advertised by some of the interest¬ 
ed parties. 
Description. —-The engraving shows the 
principal parts of the Rock Lifter. A large, 
very strong frame is supported upon broad tired 
w'heels, and so balanced that the tongue can be 
readily lifted even when a 5-tun stone is sus¬ 
pended. Strong hooks grapple two sides of the 
stone. If only the top of the stone is visible, 
holes or indentations are made with a stone 
chisel for the points of the hooks. A heavy 
chain is linked to the hooks and this plays 
through a hook on the end of the lifting chain 
coming down from the windlass. The axle or 
windlass is a solid iron rod. The small diame¬ 
ter of this windlass, together with the multiply¬ 
ing wheels, give enormous lifting power. As 
above stated, tw r o of us readily raised out of its 
ground bed, a rock weighing 3 h tuns. It will 
be seen that a rope runs from the drum down 
along under the tongue. Two yokes of oxen are 
used, and generally the chain of the forward pair 
is changed from the end of the tongue to the 
end of this rope, and then on starting the for¬ 
ward pair they wind up the drum and raise the 
stone. When raised above the ground, the chain 
is replaced in the end of the tongue, and the 
two yokes of cattle cart the stone off to any place 
desired. We doubt not the machine will prove 
a great boon to the owners of rocky land. 
•---- - — 
Whitewash, for Roofs. 
The New-Hampsliire Journal says: “ Farmers 
who are about to new shingle their houses, 
sheds, or barns, will do well to have the s hin , 
gles dipped in whitewash with a little salt put 
in. Let the mixture be hot, that is to say, make 
your wash with boiling water, dip immediately 
and lay the shingles the next day, or after dry¬ 
ing a little. The Hon. Frederick Smyth, of 
Manchester, N. H., bought hemlock shingles 
fourteen years ago , at a cost of $1.50 per M., and 
treated them in this way, and the roof is tight 
now, no moss having accumulated on them, 
while neighbors in the same time have re-sliin- 
gled where the first quality of pine was used 
without any preparation. Probably a better 
quality of materials so treated, would last much 
longer than hemlock, but whether long enough 
to cover the extra cost is doubtful. This wash 
is also a preventive against fire. To do aiiy 
great good it should be used in the manner de¬ 
scribed, rather than put on after the roof is cov¬ 
ered.”—[The whitewash can do no harm, cer¬ 
tainly, and will be likely to have some good ef¬ 
fect. The boards under the shingles may well 
be whitewashed also.—E d. Am. Agriculturist.'] 
• -*> 4--■«*> -» ^ - 
Cattle Chewing Bones. 
It is a matter of frequent observation, that cat¬ 
tle love to gnaw and suck bones. They will 
sometimes turn away from their salt, and from 
the finest grass, to enjoy a turn at a good bone 
fresh from the kitchen. Some persons have in¬ 
ferred from this that the land where such cattle 
feed is deficient in phosphate of lime. And 
hence, certain “ professors ” have urged the ap¬ 
plication to such lands of a fertilizer which 
they have benevolently prepared for the market. 
But suppose that other professors, equally 
scientific and honest, fail to discover, by 
the most delicate tests, any such deficiency ? And 
what if.it should be found that cattle do not try 
to gnaw the substance of the bone, but only 
chew and suck it so as to get out the small por¬ 
tions of savory muscle and soluble gelatine that 
may adhere to the bone ? Horses and colts love 
to chew leather—witness many a halter. They 
delight to gnaw a post or fence board. Do not 
boys love to chew “gum,” and men, equally wise, 
to chew tobacco ? Perhaps it would help to set¬ 
tle the bone question, if it should be found that 
these cattle continue to indulge their propensi¬ 
ties long after bone-dust has been regularly 
mixed with their food. Ossiculum. 
