1862 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
173 
trees from them, it may he well to occasionally 
shake or jar the trees to frighten off these in¬ 
sects—for I think few of them will remain on 
trees where they find they are liable to he thus 
disturbed, but will fly away from them to some 
of the forest trees, which appear to accommo¬ 
date them as perfectly as do the fruit trees. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Experience in Hoeing Wheat. 
A few years past I have been trying some ex¬ 
periments in tilling fall wheat and other winter 
crops—in the Spring as soon as the ground is in 
condition to stir, say about the last of April and 
first of May—with decided beneficial results. 
When the wheat has been sown in drills, it can 
be hoed with a pick, or broad hoe, if desired; and 
if sown broad-cast, the ground may be mellowed 
up with the pick hoe or a sharp stick. It will 
not injure the wheat if covered a little with 
earth when small, nor if some of the roots are 
broken, any more than it will corn. Wherever 
I have tried the experiment, the difference in 
yield was very great, the straw being longer, 
the grain longer kerneled, and heavier per 
bushel. Heavy soils want mellowing more than 
open lively soils, and they will bake in the sun 
unless loosened up by some hoeing process. 
Those stools that were injured by the winter 
are strengthened by the hoeing, and branch out, 
or “tiller,” vigorously, while feeble plants be¬ 
come large and healthy. At the same time, all 
foul stuff that comes up promiscuously among 
the grain may be removed, letting in light and 
heat, and the influence of the atmosphere. 
I believe thorough tillage on heavy soils will 
add 25 to 50 per cent to the crop. The hoeing 
of wheat by hand in this country is rather slow, 
and it will not pay very well. I have rigged a 
cultivator with small teeth, on wheels, to follow 
between the rows, and by the use of handles 
can guide the teeth between the rows of wheat, 
to fit any curve that the drill may have made. 
I am not making any of these cultivators, but 
if any person wishes to try the experiment this 
season, he is welcome to get one up, and I will 
give all necessary information. A. B. Travis. 
Brandon, Oakland Co., Mich. 
Oxford, Mich., Sept. 91, 1801. 
This certifies that in May last Mr. A. B. Travis, of 
Brandon, cultivated a few rows of wheat in a field of 
mine [with his wheel cultivator] as an experiment; the 
rows of wheat were easily traced with accuracy, leaving 
the ground mellow and clean, and without the least in¬ 
jury to the wheat. At harvest I found [estimated] the 
cultivated wheat 25 to 30 per cent better than that on 
either side that had not been cultivated, but otherwise had 
an equal chance. Another year I shall try the cultivator 
more extensively, and I confidently recommend it to all 
wheat growers. DAVID G. DUNLOP. 
We were present when Mr. Travis cultivated the wheat 
for Mr. Dunlop, and assisted in harvesting the same, and 
cheerfully testify to the correctness of his certificate. 
(Signed by) Henry Vinton, M. J. Dunlop, S. Vinton. 
Connecting Links. 
Links of the form which we represent are ex¬ 
ceedingly convenient if at hand when a chain 
happens to break, and by their use broken chains 
may be made serviceable until it is convenient 
to take them to a blacksmith. 
The cut represents an iron J 
wire or rod of any desired! 
size, bent to form a link, with 1 
flattened ends, which are 1 
spread apart so as to admit 
the other links which it is intended to join. 
When the chain is linked, the ends are ham¬ 
mered together, and then it will require a great 
force to draw them out. Blacksmiths often 
uu u, is convenient, 
!Cl IP* a 
■ h 1lb 
:;mas0? 
keep on hand similar links of various sizes, but 
with ends not lapping so much, for the purpose 
of mending chains, as they require only welding 
to make them thoroughly secure. The flatten¬ 
ing of the ends is important, as it stiffens them. 
Labelling Sheep. 
It is very customary, in many parts of the world, 
to mark flocks of sheep upon the ears, as a ba< 
of ownership. However necessary this practice 
n large flocks, when sheep are liable to mix— 
and it is desirable to detect stray ones with the 
greatest ease—it is not necessary in small 
flocks of choice 
sheep,kept sev- 
for breeding; 
and besides, f 
mark on the 
wool answers 
all purposes of 
marking these 
flocks. Mr. H. 
Fig- !• G. White, of 
Middlesex County, Massachusetts, practises a 
very simple and commendable way of label¬ 
ling and registering each of his breeding sheep, 
which we illustrate, (fig. 1.) Upon a copper 
tablet of the size of a dime, which is attached 
by a split, steel ring to the ear of the animal, 
(fig. 2,) two numbers are stamp¬ 
ed, one that of the individual 
bearing the label, and the oth- 
ir that of its dam. A record 
s made at the same time 
in the flock register. The ring 
attached to either ear, a 
hole being made with a shoe 
punch. It does not rust ma¬ 
terially, causes no soreness, 
being on the under edge of 
the ear, and close to the head, 
it does not catch in bushes, is 
conspicuous enough, and lasts during the life 
of the sheep. If it be desirable to use these 
labels as flock marks, they may be made trian¬ 
gular, oval, square, diamond shaped, oblong, 
and of many other forms; and even two flocks 
with the same label might be distinguished by 
wearing them on the right and left ears respec¬ 
tively. The cost (about 2 cents per head) is very 
slight, considering that the mark lasts a sheep 
its life time, gives it a name, preserves a record 
of the dam, and if you will, of the year of birth. 
Fig. 2. 
Hay and Grain Caps—Valuable. 
We have yet to hear of any one who has tried 
home-made cloth covers for hay and grain, that 
would willingly give them up, among all the 
large number who have adopted them on our 
recommendation. The high price of cotton, this 
year, will operate against their general use, yet 
even with the present cost of muslin, we feel 
quite sure it will pay to make them. Coarse 
unbleached cotton cloth will answer, and the 
present price of H yards wide is only 15 to 18 
cents, according to the quality and thickness. 
These caps, to throw over hay-cocks, and shocks 
of grain, often save the hay, grain and straw 
from rain and dew, and cure them in enoifgli 
better condition to pay for the cost in a single 
year; while with a little care in housing, they 
will last many years. No farmer who values 
peace of mind, or good sweet hay, should be 
without a full supply. A cheap and easy way 
of making them is as follows: Take strong, un¬ 
bleached cotton cloth, about forty-five to fifty- 
four inches wide, and cut it into squares. A 
larger size would hinder good ventilation of the 
cocks. Some persons sew into each corner a 
round stone weighing about eight or ten ounces, 
to keep the caps in place; others prefer to attach 
loops of stout linen cord at the corners, for peg¬ 
ging them down. This last method is by far the 
best in case of high winds. Many farmers use 
pegs or wires permanently attached to the caps 
by a cord 6 or 8 inches long. The wires are 
about a foot long, bent to form an eye at one 
end, and somewhat pointed at the other. 
Where wooden pins are used, they are of good 
stout twigs, or pine, (may be cut from shingles), 
i to I inch in diameter, and 10 to 14 inches 
long. They may be permanently tied to the 
caps, or preferably, perhaps, kept separate. 
When the caps are spread over the cocks, a 
good careful man takes the pegs in a basket, 
goes from cock to cock, and puts in the pegs, 
drawing the cap down tight, and giving the peg 
quite an upward slant. It is much better to tie 
the cords to the caps than to sew them on, for 
the corners are puckered by the tying, and the 
sides shortened, so that there is less danger of 
their flapping up and taking the wind. When 
stones are used, it is claimed that the caps are 
much easier put on and taken off, and that the 
danger of their blowing off is slight. We pre¬ 
fer the attached loops, with the pins of wood by 
themselves. It is a job for a rainy day to make 
a few thousand if you wish—and if they are 
made of good white-pine shaved shingles, they 
will be easily picked out of the hay if they get 
in; and will even run through a hay cutter, in 
careless hands, without doing it any harm. The 
caps must never be pegged to the ground, for 
the hay will settle and leave the caps loose and 
flapping, and almost sure to blow off. When a 
heavy rain comes on, always visit the field and 
see if all the cocks maintain their conical form; 
if not, raise one corner of the cap and stuff a 
handful of hay into the crown. Of course, if a 
hollow exists any where, the rain will settle into 
it and run through. It is neither necessary nor 
desirable to have the caps made water tight, by 
any means. They need no hemming. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Irrigation Naturally Favors Soil. 
While much has been written and well writ¬ 
ten on draining the soil, but little has appeared 
in favor of irrigation. I think our great country 
is loosing much for want of attention to this 
subject. Having been experimenting some 
with irrigating, I offer my opinions about it. 
We have a large quantity of land in this coun¬ 
try lying along streams, much of which, espe¬ 
cially along large streams, is coarse, gravelly, 
sandy soil; on this land vegetation starts very 
early in the Spring and so long as rains fall once 
or twice a week, continues to grow; but a few 
days of hot sunshine dries it up. Manure helps 
the crop surprisingly for the first year, and then 
it is nearly exhausted. I once thought this was 
on account of the openness and looseness of the, 
soil, but I have long since changed my opinion, 
I now believe the strength of the manure evapo¬ 
rates instead of going downwards—(am I right ?) 
This kind of land needs no underdraining, and 
in short, is very poor land, seldom giving a good 
crop. But it is the best kind of land to improve 
by irrigation, that I know of. It becomes warm¬ 
er when exposed to the sun than any other, and 
