136 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
from the soil the food required for the clover. I 
■would like to know If the pea-growers in the 
northern counties of this State, Canada, Wisconsin, 
and Minnesota, or elsewhere, have observed any 
facts bearing on this point. If it is true of peas, 
it would most likely be true ,of beans. 
A Shaving-Horse. 
In reply to several inquiries for a shaving-horse, 
or a machine for holding shingles, or other articles 
that require to be worked with the drawing-knife, 
A SHAVING-HORSE. 
we give the accompanying engraving of one in 
common use. It consists of a strong stool, made 
of hard wood plank, four feet long and a foot wide, 
with four legs, which are eighteen inches long. 
Upon one end of the stool is fixed a bench, nearly 
two feet long, sloping a little from the front back¬ 
wards, to make it more convenient in use. This 
bench may be supported upon four posts, or two 
walls of plank, being then open underneath at each 
end. A slot is cut in the bench, to admit the end 
of a lever, which is pivoted in a similar slot in the 
plank beneath. A stout peg, similar in shape to a 
rung of a ladder, is fixed in the bottom of the lever, 
and projects about six inches on each side. The lev¬ 
er is sawed out of apiece of tough white-oak plank, 
and a carriage bolt is passed through the jaw, at 
the upper part, in order to strengthen it. When 
in use, the workman bestrides the stool, using a 
cushion if desired, setting with the bench in front 
of him, and his feet upon the peg beneath it. By 
pushing with the feet, the jaw of the lever is pressed 
down very firmly upon whatever work may be 
placed upon the bench. The slope at which the 
bench is placed, should be such that the drawing 
motion will be as easy as possible to the workman. 
How to Sling a Horse. 
There are occasions when it is desirable, if not 
only be done by the use of slings. These may be 
made by procuring three widths of sail or tent 
cloth, from 41 to 51 feet long, to suit the size of the 
horse, and sewing them together by the edges with 
strong twine so as to form a sheet. The ends are 
turned over pieces of rope, one inch in diameter, and 
sewn very strongly. Each rope has a strong ring 
at one end, and the other is left long enough to tie 
as may be needed, and as will be described. Two 
hook-bolts are passed through the beams overhead, 
on one side of the stable, about six feet apart, and 
two ring-bolts upon the other side, over the horse, 
and are fastened into the floor above with washers 
and nuts. When in use the sheet is passed around 
the horse under the belly, the rings of the sling are 
put on to the hooks, and the ropes are drawn 
through the bolt rings, and adjusted so that the 
sheet is just free from the horse when he stands, 
but will hold firm if he attempts to lie down; the 
ropes are then securely fastened so that they will 
not stretch. It is well to use old ropes for this pur¬ 
pose, that will not give when a strain comes upon 
them. The sling is useful in case of injury to the 
feet or legs of a horse; a broken leg may be set 
and repaired, if properly bandaged, and the horse 
is thus supported ; the loss of a hoof may be re¬ 
paired, and it is useful when severe flesh wounds 
are to be treated. By raising the ends of the sling- 
ropes, with levers on the floor above, a horse may 
be lifted entirely oil of his legs, and suspended 
there. There are cases also in which the sling may 
be used to raise or suspend cows or oxen. In the 
latter case part of the sheet beneath the belly should 
be cut away for obvious reasons. 
Plowing Sod for Corn—Good and Bad 
Treatment. 
There is no better fertilizer for corn, nor any 
that is more congenial to its habits of feeding, than 
a clover sod that is freshly turned while in a vigor¬ 
ously growing condition. If this is lightly plowed, 
so that there is only sufficient mellow soil above 
the inverted sod to form a bed for the seed, the 
young rootlets find agreeable and nourishing food 
from their first pushing forth from the germ. Then 
the growth of the young plant is vigorous from the 
start, and rapidly advances beyond the reach of its 
living enemies, and also the dangers of unfavorable 
weather. But let us suppose that a sod, however 
good it may have been, has been plowed under 
deeply—as is frequently recommended by those 
who can not have had experience in growing corn. 
In this case we should have the natural food of the 
plant buried at a depth of perhaps four to six inches 
below the seed, and 
the seed enveloped in 
a bed of poor soil, con¬ 
taining no proper nu¬ 
triment for a young 
plant. Then the root¬ 
lets, finding a dearth 
of food, will grow but 
very slowly, the plant 
is stunted and weak, 
and needs a long time 
to reach a point when 
it will be safe against 
cut-worms, cold rains, 
or drying winds. In 
this poor condition the 
plant lingers along, 
with an abundance of 
food just out of its reach. 
The consequence will 
be apparent to every 
farmer. It may cer¬ 
tainly be avoided by 
using some good stim¬ 
ulating fertilizer, such 
as Peruvian guano, 
Manhattan blood gu¬ 
ano, or any of the well 
compounded chemical 
fertilizers that are 
specially prepared for this crop, but even then the 
proper effects of these fertilizers are in a measure 
MANNER OF SLINGING A HORSE. 
necessary, to prevent a horse from lying down and I 
yet to give him an opportunity to rest. This can | 
thrown away, because they are used to fill up a 
gap that has been made simply by mismanagement. 
Otherwise they would have greatly helped the crop, 
but now they merely save it. 
Just now farmers should be helping along their 
clover sods in preparation for turning under, and a 
moderate dressing of any of the above named fer¬ 
tilizers, or of well saved poultry-house manure, 
used as soon as the growth starts, will push for¬ 
ward the clover, so that when it is turned down 
there may be a luxuriant growth, and the soil may 
be well furnished with plant-food besides. For it 
must be remembered that the fertilizer will not 
have been used up .by the clover, but will be main¬ 
ly in solution in the soil, ready to start the corn. 
Ventilator for a Cess-Pool. 
A correspondent from Dodge Co., Neb., sends a 
sketch and description 
of a ventilator for a 
cess-pool. It consists 
of a square wooden 
pipe, sufficiently high 
to catch the wind and 
reaching down into the 
vault. To cause a draft 
upwards through the 
pipe, caps of tin, sheet 
iron,or wood, are placed 
as shown in the en¬ 
graving, beneath which 
there are several holes 
through which the draft 
. , ,, . VENTILATOR. 
passes into the pipe. 
The draft starts and keeps up a current of air, 
which carries off the noxious gases from the vault. 
Corn-Marker for Uneven Ground—A 
Home-Made Harrow. 
“A. H. B.” sends from Stark Co., Ohio, draw¬ 
ings of a corn-marker and a harrow, which he has 
made for his own use. The corn-marker, figure 1, 
Fig. 1.— FLEXIBLE CORN-MARKER. 
is so constructed that it will accommodate itself to 
uneven ground. It consists of two pieces of plank, 
2x8x31; these form the middle^set of runners. 
Upon these is pinned two pieces of 2x4 scantling, 
with each end projecting over the runner 6 inches ; 
through these ends are bored holes for a 1-inch 
rod. Two other pieces of plank, like the former, are 
procured, and one end of two other pieces of 
scantling are pinned to each runner; then these 
Fig. 2.— AN EXCELLENT HARROW. 
beams are connected to the middle pair by the 
bolts, as seen in the engraving, so that, while one 
runner is on high ground, the other may be in the 
land furrow. In turning around, the two outside 
runners may be turned up against the seat. 
The harrow (fig. 2) is a square one. The teeth 
are set twelve inches from center to center, each 
