44 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[February, 
manure that I buy from the village, and ■with 
fish, dead animals, guano, or with lime and ash¬ 
es, taking care not to use these latter articles 
with the animal manures. If any body doubts 
about my estimate of muck let him come to 
Hookertown and see my corn bin and porkers, 
my root cellar and cows, and my hay mows and 
horse stables. Jake Frink despises a dead horse 
and invokes crows. I think the carcass worth 
a “ V,” and save it. There is as much differ¬ 
ence in folks as in any thing. 
Uoolcertown, ) Yours to command 
Jan. llth, 1862. ( Timothy Bunkkh, Esq. 
Carting Manure in Winter. 
Farmers accomplish much more in the win¬ 
ter months than they formerly did. The cus¬ 
tom of going into Winter quarters after Christ¬ 
mas has passed away upon many farms, to the 
mutual advantage of the owner of the soil, and 
of his laborers. The working force of the farm 
is continued through the whole season, and the 
management is so skillful that there is always 
something to be done that will pay. In the 
older States, manure making occupies a promi¬ 
nent place. Indeed it may be said to be the 
foundation of the new order of things, for with¬ 
out this, it would be impossible to furnish profit¬ 
able employment in winter for the whole 
amount of labor needed in summer. 
With this as the chief business, there is always 
work in rainy weather, in the barn cellar, or 
under the sheds, making compost; and the frosty 
weather when muck can not be dug, is improved 
to cart manure where it will be needed for the 
next season’s operations. The idea that manure 
wastes when spread upon the surface of the 
meadow, or plowed field is exploded by these 
farmers. If the land lies level without danger 
of washing, tliey' spread freely from October to 
May, without any apprehension of loss. The 
ammonia generated from the green manures is 
pretty well locked up in the muck with which 
it is mixed before it is started from the barn 
cellar or yards. The already fine compost is 
made still finer by the frosts of winter and is 
evenly distributed over the surface of meadows. 
A very great advantage of using this season 
for carting, is the improved condition of the 
ground. The cart-way is as solid as a railroad, 
and almost as smooth, and a large part of the 
obstructions that impede the wheels is removed. 
The meadow is not cut up into ruts, or made 
rough by the hoof prints of cattle. It is much 
better to top dress meadows now, than to wait 
until Spring. It is also an advantage to cart 
out manure upon the fields which are to be 
plowed. The drawing is done more economi¬ 
cally, it forwards the spring’s work, and saves 
strength of team for plowing and other work 
that must be done in its season. Jonathan. 
How to Haul Stones and Manure. 
The stone boat, or “drag,” so generally used, is 
the most expensive method. The most that can 
be said in its favor is, that it is so simple in its 
structure that any body can make one after the 
planks are sawed, and that it is very convenient 
in loading and unloading the stones. But after 
the stones are loaded we want a team of ele¬ 
phants to draw them. It is severe on oxen by 
reason of the heavy strain it brings upon them. 
The friction upon the ground, unless covered 
with snow or ice, is immense. And if the ground 
is lubricated with frost it is a dangerous vehicle 
unless the surface is level, as it is very liable to 
run against the legs of the cattle. We have 
known of a fine yoke of oxen permanently dis¬ 
abled in this way. Stones should be moved 
upon wheels if we consult the welfare of our 
teams. A yoke of cattle will draw a ton upon 
broad tire wheels with about the same ease as 
they will draw one quarter of that weight upon 
a stone boat—a great saving of muscle. 
For moving very large stones of five or six 
tuns weight, and putting them in place in a wall, 
there is nothing we have yet seen or heard of, 
quite equal to Bolles’ Stone digger, (described 
and illustrated in the last December Agriculturist). 
But as this is somewhat expensive and not yet 
in general use, a very convenient carriage for 
stones is a platform suspended between the 
wheels of a wagon. The platform may be 10 to 
12 feet long, and of the width of a wagon body. 
It maybe made of strong plank, or joists,-bolted 
or spiked upon cross-pieces. This is suspended 
by short stout chains from the fore and hind 
axles, down to within a foot of the ground, or 
less for a level surface. To facilitate turning, the 
forward end may have but one chain in the mid¬ 
dle, which will allow the forward wheels to 
turn readily to the right or left. The plat¬ 
form may hang mainly upon the hind axle, in 
which case the rear may be nearly as wide as 
between the wheels, and the forward end run 
out nearly to a point. The wagon can then be 
turned round in a short space.' The two chains 
on either end of the hind axle will prevent its tip¬ 
ping. The hind end can be tipped down to the 
ground for rolling on a very large stone, which 
can then be balanced by smaller stones thrown 
on in front. Such an apparatus is quickly con¬ 
structed, without the aid of a mechanic, except 
getting the bolts from a blacksmith. Any strong 
wagon may be used, and much larger loads can 
be drawn, saving not only wear of team, but not 
unfrequently expense for blasting stones that 
could not be moved on a drag or stone-boat. 
ANOTHER SIMPLE ARRANGEMENT. 
We have seen in Belgium, and in the north 
of France, a very simple arrangement for haul¬ 
ing stones, manure, etc. Two chains are sus¬ 
pended, one fastened to each end of the front 
axle and the other to each end of the rear axle, 
and narrow planks, joists,.or poles, laid on as 
shown in the annexed cut which we draw from 
memory. To unload small stones, or manure, 
it is only necessary to seize the rear end of the 
planks, which are pointed for this purpose, and 
lift them one by one, letting the load drop 
through. This plan saves lifting the whole 
mass of stones or manure up over the sides of a 
wagon. The hint is worth acting upon, and it 
is a wonder that we have not thought of de¬ 
scribing it in the Agriculturist before now, or that 
some one else has not done so. 
A Cheap Home-made Bag Holder. 
Mr. Thomas Sheldon, of Hazardville, sends to 
the Agriculturist a description of a bag-holder of 
his own contrivance, which has been in use at 
the Hazard Powder Mills several years, for fill¬ 
ing bags with saltpeter. It has at least the merit 
of being, simple, easily and quickly made, and 
is unpatented. The accompanying sketch, made 
partly from the description, and partly from a | 
penciling made by Mr. S„ will show its form 
and operation. A board, say 14 by 24 inches, 
is fitted with legs of any desired length. These 
may be fastened like an ordinary table, or be 
merely rough sticks, fitted into auger holes, to 
be taken out at pleasure for packing away. In 
the center of the board a round hole is cut, 
say 10 inches in diameter. A tin or sheet-iron 
funnel fits into this closely. To use it, the mouth 
of the bag is slipped over the funnel spout, and 
the bag let through the hole. The funnel, on 
being pressed down, holds the bag so firmly that 
. it will not slip out, even when filled, without the 
bottom coming down to the floor. The funnel 
neck should be much less flaring than shown in 
the engraving, or it will not wedge in the bag so 
strongly. This would seem to be a good appa¬ 
ratus, costing but very little, and requiring no 
cash outlay, exeept for the funnel. 
Is it the Glanders? 
A young farmer writes us about a fine young 
horse of his, which has some symptoms of glan¬ 
ders, and wants to know what the real trouble 
is, and how to deal with it. His horse runs at 
the nose, has some soreness about the jaws; is 
feverish, loses gradually in flesh, and is disin¬ 
clined to work. 
These, indeed, are among the symptoms of 
glanders, but a horse may have them all with¬ 
out having the glanders. The decisive marks of 
this disease are as follows: At first, there is an 
increased discharge of watery matter from the 
nostrils, which has a little mucus mixed with it. 
It generally flows first from the left nostril. It 
is not thick and sticky, as some say, but it be¬ 
comes so after passing the first stage. Now, it 
becomes contagous, and the infected animal 
should be removed to a separate barn or pas¬ 
ture. If the disease is not now checked, the 
discharge begins to contain pus , and the glands 
of the nostrils and under jaw become enlarged. 
The membrane of the nose becomes of a dark 
purplish or leaden color, and small ulcers break 
out upon it. At this stage, the general health 
of the horse begins to fail. He loses flesh, his 
hair becomes dry and sheds off, he has a poor 
appetite, an occasional cough, the discharge 
from the nose becomes bloody and offensive to 
the smell, and the breathing labored. Tumors 
soon appear on the face and neck, and inside, of' 
the thighs, the hind legs swell and become hot 
and tender, and the whole animal becoming 
overcharged with disease, succumbs and dies. 
A simple hard cold, or catarrh, or strangles, 
may sometimes show itself in the form of nasal • 
discharge, fever and loss of appetite, and swol- 
