96 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March, 
have high prices, and low prices, in the future as in 
the past—and the men who will make money by 
potatoes will be those who take the most pains to 
keep up and increase the fertility of their farms. 
Movable Calks or Studs for Horseshoes. 
An improved point, or calk, for horseshoes is 
shown in the accompanying engraving. This is an 
invention of a distinguished English army veteri¬ 
nary surgeon, and is not patented. It has many ad¬ 
vantages over the calk in ordinary use. It is mov¬ 
able, and can be driven 
into the shoe and re¬ 
moved when needed. It 
is of hardened steel, 
and being used only 
when the roads are icy, 
and not upon bare 
ground, and never in 
the stable or yards, it 
does not wear fast, and 
can not injure the 
horses, or wear the 
stable-floor. It is made 
to fit a hole, half an inch 
long, and a quarter of 
an inch wide, punched 
in the toe of the shoe. The stud tapers slightly, 
60 that, while it holds its place firmly when driven 
in, it may be removed by a few taps from a light 
hammer or a bolt. These studs may be used at the 
toes and heels, and a few spare ones, carried in the 
pocket when on a journey, will replace any that 
may be lost. The size should, of course, be 
made to suit the purpose for which they are used. 
Hints and Helps for Earners. 
BY L. D. SNOOK, YATES CO., N. Y., 
Loading Bags of Grain.—A very convenient 
plan for loading bags of grain into a wagon is shown 
in figure 1. This is applicable to barns or grana¬ 
ries, having basements. A hole 21 feet in length, 
and lv foot wide, is cut in the floor, and is fitted 
with a hinged or loose door. A well-seasoned 
board, 17 inches wide, and 11 or 12 feet in length, 
having strips 9 feet in length, 1 inch thick, and 3 
wide, nailed to the edge on the upper side, is hung 
at one end by a strap or piece of rope as shown. 
The lower end of the board should be even with 
the top of the wagon box; the upper end projects 
above the floor 21 feet, at an angle of about 45 de¬ 
grees. A wedge-shaped piece of wood is nailed un¬ 
der each side of the board, to prevent its slipping 
downward, and to hold it firmly. Bags of grain 
placed upon the board slide down into the wagon, 
Fig. 1.— SLIDE FOB LOADING GRAIN. 
and loose grain may also be scooped into this in¬ 
clined trough, and find its way into the wagon box 
by its own gravity. To prevent loose grain spilling 
out, or being scattered about the basement by care¬ 
less shoveling, a hopper like that at figure 2, should 
be used. A small wooden tube, or 2 or 3 grain 
bags, with the bottom out, and sewed end to end,' 
will make a good conductor, and may be readily 
changed to any part of the wagon to fill up evenly. 
An Artificial Duck Pond. —Ducks and geese 
may be raised successfully without any pond or 
stream; yet some prefer to give them an abun¬ 
dance of water, and such can make an artificial 
pond on the plan shown at figure 3. This is a 
wooden box, 10 inches deep and 4 feet square, or it 
may be 2 feet wide and 6 or 8 feet long. This is 
set in the ground, except the downhill side, which 
is partly exposed, and provided with a short spout 
placed within half-an-inch of the top, to carry off 
superfluous water. A peg is inserted at the bottom 
for drawing off the water when desired. Water 
may be conducted to the box by a pipe from a 
spring, underdrain, small brook, or from the well, 
by sinking a half barrel between the pump and 
pond, and filling it with water every day or two, 
and so graduating the flow that.it will merely drop 
from the barrel through the pipe into the wooden 
box. In summer, ducks and geese should have 
a yard fenced off 'for their pasture lot, and not be 
allowed about the house nor the out-buildings, 
for when out of place they are very disagreeable. 
Driving Fence Posts.—A t figure 4 is shown an 
improved platform for use when driving fence 
Fig. 3.— ARTIFICIAL DUCK POND. 
posts. It is a large stool, with a top 2 or 3 feet 
square, nailed upon two 3 by 4 inch strips 2i feet 
in length. Two inch holes are bored into the strips, 
and the legs are driven into them. The legs are 2i 
inches square, and 21 feet long. The forward ones 
are provided with wheels 6 inches in diameter. A 
step is nailed upon the top of the handles. With 
a sledge and crowbar on the top of the platform, 
the workman can grasp the handles and wheel it to 
any part of the farm, or quickly move it from post 
to post. When driving a post, if the top is cham¬ 
fered or rounded off a little, it will not split in 
driving. A rammer like that in figure 5 is useful 
for packing the earth firmly about the post; this 
is a point that should in no case be overlooked. 
Supports for Thills.— Herewith are shown two 
good thill supporters. That at figure 6 is the 
cheapest, and is portable. It consists of a pine 
stick, one by two inches square, and 3 feet in length, 
as shown in figure 7 on an enlarged scale. A cross¬ 
piece of the same size is bolted through the center 
and through the top of the upright. A sharp- 
pointed nail projects at the bottom one half inch. 
When this is not in use, it may be folded up, as in¬ 
dicated by dotted lines, and set in a corner out of 
the way. An excellent stationary holder is shown 
in use in figure 8. This is a round stick one inch 
in diameter and 3 feet in length. A cord is tied to 
the center and passes over a small pulley in the 
beam above ; thence over another pulley at the side 
of the building ; the end is attached to a weight. 
When not in use, the weight falls, raising the 
Fig. 1— PLATFORM FOR DRIVING POSTS, 
cross-bar to the point indicated by the dotted lines. 
Fig.5. RAMMER FOR POSTS. 
Standards or Pure Breeds.— The prevailing 
weakness for imported 
stock is doing a serious 
injury. Every fresh im¬ 
portation from Eng¬ 
land, of both sheep and 
pigs, shows year by year 
some variation from a 
former standard. This 
is especially noticeable 
in the late arrivals of 
Berkshire pigs, in which 
is implanted the short 
turned up nose of the 
Yorkshire, (excepting 
of course in color,) in¬ 
stead of the former handsome, straight, dished face 
and graceful head proper 
to the Berkshire. What 
is to become of the breed, 
if these innovations are 
encouraged ? It is time 
that we stopped import¬ 
ing; we have excellent 
blood, and as good stock 
born in the country as can 
be imported ; it is only 
because these novelties 
are brought over, that 
people desire them. In¬ 
stead of breeders, we have 
dealers, who, to gain 
popularity, keep import¬ 
ing something new, as 
the foreign fashions change. It is to be noticed 
that a newly imported animal costs five times 
SUPPORT. 
6.—SUPPORTING WAGON THILLS, 
as an equally good native one, and this 
n injury to, and an imputation against, 
>i l r.ni mu urn 
—STATIONARY HOLDER FOR THILLS, 
our skillful native breeders. Here we insist on 
