138 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
is a direct proof of what we have frequently 
pointed out, but which does not seem to have satis¬ 
fied some of our critical readers, viz., that large 
roots are of inferior value to small but well grown 
ones, and that if the soil be stimulated to produce 
excessively large crops, there may be danger of loss 
instead of profit. As in many other things, so in 
growing farm crops, the course of wisdom general¬ 
ly lies between extremes on either side. 
A Fence of Timber and Wire. 
make the fence sufficiently conspicuous to the 
animals confined within it, to avoid danger. The 
Fig. 1.— RAIL AND WIRE. 
It may be that there are no fences which are per¬ 
fectly satisfactory as regards cost, durability and 
usefulness. The number of new designs for fences 
that are offered, and 
the number of in¬ 
quiries show an evi¬ 
dent want of a fence 
that will meet • the 
needs of the largest 
number of people. A 
fence free from all 
objections has not yet 
come into use. The 
use of wire for fences, 
in places were timber 
is scarce and costly, has become popular, and seems 
to be economical and effective, but there are ob¬ 
jections to it; the principal being, that the wire is 
not seen by animals, which are liable to come into 
violent contact with it to their often serious injury. 
Besides this, the contracting of the wires in cold 
weather draws the posts out of place, and soon 
makes the fence worthless. These are important 
faults in the 
wire fence, to 
overcomewhich 
many devices 
have been pro¬ 
posed, a num¬ 
ber of which 
have been from 
time to time 
published in the 
American Agri¬ 
culturist. A de¬ 
vice which sur¬ 
passes in value any that we have previously seen, is 
illustrated in the accompanying engravings. It con¬ 
sists of a combination of the ordinary wire fence 
with wooden rails. The rails are grooved, as shown 
in figure 1, and the wire passes through the groove. 
When the rails are fitted into the posts, the wires 
are out of sight, and to all appearances the fence 
WIRE TIGHTENER. 
KMAM 
Fig. o.— A EIYE-RAIL FENCE. 
seems to be one of plain posts and rails, as shown 
at figure 3, which represents a five-rail fence. 
When it is not necessary to use so many rails, a 
three-rail fence may be used, as that in figure 4, 
which is very appropriate for a road fence. Other 
forms of the fence are shown at figures 5 and 6, 
in which only enough of the wires are covered, to 
Fig. 5.— FENCE WITH TWO RAILS AND TWO WIRES. 
wires are tightened by means of the roller shown 
at figure 2, furnished with a sort of ratchet, by 
which it is held in its place when tightened. From 
the form of the fence it is readily seen that no 
braces or straining posts are needed. When the 
wires are drawn tight, the whole becomes rigid, and 
there is no strain whatever upon the posts. The 
whole strain is exerted upon the rails, which can¬ 
not spring, because they are held by the wires, 
which give abundant support and strength to the 
rails. The fence is made by the American Fence 
Company, of 100 E. 14th St., New York. South¬ 
ern cypress is used for the posts, and Georgia pine 
for the rails; these materials being selected for 
their durability. It is one of the cheapest forms 
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I 
' 
6 
1 
I 
4 
Fig. 6.— WIRE FENCE WITH TOP-RAIL. 
in use, and one that meets the wants of many cor¬ 
respondents who have inquired for such a fence. 
Some Useful Implements—Seed Planters— 
A lew Plow. 
Com planting by hand, in the old-fashioned 
method, should be entirely abandoned. The slow 
manner of marking out cross-furrows, dropping 
seed at the corners, and covering with the hoe, by 
which six or seven people can plant one acre a day, 
is not profitable in these times, when the greatest 
economy and skillfulness of labor is necessary. 
An engraving, (figure 1), is here given, of a corn or 
other seed planter, which is not nearly so well 
known, or so extensively used, as it deserves to be. 
We have used this implement for several years, and 
have planted 8 acres of com in a day, while a 
neighboring farmer and his whole family have been 
kept busy in planting less than one acre. It is 
known as the 
“Emery Corn and Seed Planter,” 
and is made by the Emery Manufacturing Company, 
of Albany, N. Y., whose agents in New York are R. 
H. Allen & Co. It is drawn by one horse, and by 
first running a row as straight as possible by the 
fence, and afterwards keeping the eye on the last 
row made, the rows may be made as regular as they 
could be marked out by a good plowman. If there 
are any crooks in the lines they are not sharp, and 
the cultivator can easily be ran between the rows. 
Our plan is to make the rows three feet apart; 
dropping three grains every two feet. This gives 
exactly one half more hills per acre than by drop¬ 
ping 3 feet apart each way, as there are in a square 
acre 70 rows one way, and 105 the other, instead of 
70 rows each way at 3 feet apart. This we find 
gives ample room for the common 8-rowed corn 
grown in the Eastern States, but for the larger 
corn of the West, 4 feet rows, and 3 feet apart in 
the rows, would be preferable. We do not recom¬ 
mend this implement for use at the West, as there 
are several kinds of com planters which drop two 
rows at once, which are better on the mellow prai¬ 
rie soils ; but for use on eastern farms, where corn, 
peas, beans, carrots, turnips, and beets are all to be 
sown, this will be found very useful. The seed is 
dropped by means of a revolving block, shown at 6. 
Several depressions, or cups, are made in this block, 
which,by screwing down broad screws,the cups may 
be made large enough to hold two, three, five, six or 
more seeds, as may be wanted. There are a num¬ 
ber of these cups in the block, and by using all of 
them the seed may be dropped 3 to 6 inches apart, 
or by using some, seed may be dropped 2 to 3 feet 
apart, and it may be regulated for any intermediate 
distances. When small seeds are to be sown, the 
block is removed, and perforated slides, of differ¬ 
ent sizes for different seeds, are inserted—while a 
revolving brash, seen at a, is put in place of the 
revolving block. The seed is then dropped in a 
Fig. 1.— EMERY CORN-PLANTER. 
continuous drill, which is covered and rolled at one 
operation. The machine will work very well in 
stony land, provided the stones are not too large to 
be pushed out of the way by the little plow which 
makes the furrow. In planting sod ground that 
has not been well plowed, care must be taken not 
to permit loose sods to be dragged beneath the 
seed spout, else the seed will not be properly plac¬ 
ed, being dragged along on the sod, and left in a 
bunch when the sod becomes loose. As the whole 
operation can be seen, there is no danger of any¬ 
thing going wrong, if ordinary care is used. To 
get the machine into proper working, it should be 
tried on the barn floor, or upon a smooth yard, 
when the dropping may be regulated to a nicety. 
One of the great benefits of using machinery 
upon the farm, is the necessity that at once 
arises for clean culture, for neatness and thor¬ 
oughness of every operation, and for keeping 
the land free from every obstruction and in a 
mellow condition. This alone is a sufficient 
advantage to compensate for the cost of the ma¬ 
chines, and will pay for them every season they are 
used if these advantages are made the most of. 
Then the saving of time, labor, and seed, and the 
increased yield of crops are a clear gain. 
For sowing field crops by hand the smaller ma¬ 
chine, shown at figure 2, may be used. This is 
Tile “ Planet Drill,” 
made by S. L. Allen & Co., of Philadelphia.. This 
requires no horse, being pushed by hand along the 
row. It is obvious that this, or any other hand 
machines, can only be used to advantage, in field 
culture, when the soil is kept well worked, fine and 
mellow, as they are chiefly intended for use in the 
market gardens, or the farm garden. But a ma¬ 
chine of this kind may be made to serve a very 
good purpose, in sowing seeds of root, corn or 
other crops where the area is too small to make it 
profitable to use a horse machine. This machine 
Fig. 2.— ALLEN’S “ PLANET ” SEED-DRILL, 
may be used for distributing concentrated fertil- 
zers in the drill, and it is so constructed that it can 
be readily converted into a hand cultivator or wheel 
hoe. The testimony of the editors and others who 
have used this implement, induced the publisher? 
