336 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
tlic archway is then built up so as to regulate shows a draw-kiln, or one that is always burn- 
_i :_ a A __ A „ i. •_ a i:_ ~ A _ 7*- : . _ i 
the draft, and fire is set. A regular, steady heat 
is kept up uutil the stone is well ignited, when 
Fig. 1.— a farmer’s lime-kiln. 
the drafts may be closed and the fire moderated. 
Ten days will suffice to calcine the lime, and it 
may then be drawn off for use. Many farmers, 
however, who find it difficult to build a kiln, 
avoid the expense by put¬ 
ting up pits. These are 
piles of stone and fuel, 
properly arranged, around 
which are loose blocks of 
stone laid up with earth 
or clay to close the inter¬ 
stices ; a few rough boards 
are then put up around, 
and held by stakes, and 
clay rammed down be¬ 
tween them and the pit, to 
confine the heat. As the 
fuel and stone burn down 
and the upper part falls 
in, fresh wood and stone 
are put in, and the heap 
kept covered. The top^ 
needs a covering of sods, 
damp grass, and clay, to 
retain the heat. This 
needs constant attention, but where lime and 
wood can be procured, no money outlay is 
necessary. Where labor and material are plen¬ 
tiful, these are all that is required. Three cords 
of wood will burn a pit of five to seven hull¬ 
ing and yields lime twice a day. It is charged 
regularly with limestone and coal at the top, 
and every twelve hours 
the lime is drawn out at 
the bottom. These are 
used where lime is burnt 
to supply a large de¬ 
mand, and in some locali¬ 
ties in Pennsylvania the 
demand is so great as to 
keep large numbers of 
these kilns continually 
working. Borne companies 
employ a capital of two 
to three hundred thousand 
dollars, and ship their 
lime by schooners to Dela¬ 
ware, Maryland, and Vir¬ 
ginia. These establish¬ 
ments are on the Schuyl¬ 
kill river, and hundreds 
of vessels load there each 
year to supply the farms 
of those States, a great 
many of which can be reached by the waters 
of the bays and large rivers. Lime is now pro¬ 
duced at these kilns for eight cents per bushel. 
3.— LIME KILNS ON THE SCHUYLKILL. 
dred bushels of lime, if used economically, and 
the fire not allowed to blaze out. Figure 2 
Mutton Sheep. —Rhode Island is famous for 
its fine mutton, the South-Down of the islands 
of Narragansett Bay rivaling that of England. 
On Conanicut, Mr. Tucker makes it pay reason¬ 
ably well, and has the satisfaction of serving the 
public with a prime article 
of meat and wool. He had 
160 sheep last fall, raised 
from them 192 lambs, which 
he sold for $5 each, and 
sheared from the sheep B’/a 
pounds of wool each, worth 
fifty cents a pound. The 
sales from his flock, then, 
are 192 lambs, $5=$9G0; 480 
lbs. of wool, at 50 els. = $280; 
whole amount, $1,240, or 
$7.75 for each sheep. A 
Pennsylvania farmer bought 
last fall eleven sheep for 
$20.90, and sold wool this 
spring for $12.90, and lambs 
for $36=$48.90, or $4.44 for 
each sheep. They do these 
things a little belter in Con¬ 
necticut. A fanner there 
bought ten sheep in Feb¬ 
ruary, for $40. Sold from them ten lambs at 
$7 each=$70, and wool $15=$85 for the whole, 
or $8 .50 for each sheep, realized in six months 
from purchase. The capital is still unimpaired, 
and good for another year. Connecticut. 
Gate-Posts. 
Notwithstanding all the improvements in 
gates, the old-fashioned swing-gate still remains 
master of the situation. If only the chief de¬ 
fect inherent in it—that of sagging—could be 
prevented, we prefer it to any of the new¬ 
fangled ones. We have, for several years past, 
arranged our gate-posts in such a manner 
that sagging and heaving by the frost are 
both impossible. The posts are framed in a 
stout sill; about two feet above this a girt is 
framed in; this acts as a brace in such a man¬ 
ner that the posts are rigidly kept in place. 
A trench three feet deep is dug, the frame and 
posts are set up therein, and the earth is well 
tamped and compacted around the sill. The 
upper girt need not be sunk more than a few 
inches beneath the surface, but the earth should 
be well tamped and forced under it, that it may 
not suffer from loaded wagons being driven 
over it. These posts may be guaranteed to stay 
where they are placed until inevitable decay 
overtakes them. This may be put off by using 
seasoned timber well soaked in crude petroleum. 
Harvesting Corn. 
Corn should not be left until the frost has in¬ 
jured the fodder, before it is cut. The value of 
corn fodder is becoming 
better appreciated every 
year, and more care is, 
taken in curing and 
preserving it. The first 
care, then, should be in 
cutting it before it is 
damaged by frost or 
over-ripening. As soon 
as the corn is glazed, it 
may be cut. This is a 
tedious operation, but a 
division of labor will 
lighten it. The usual 
plan is to cut a few 
hills and set the stalks 
around a hill not cut off, 
which helps hold them 
up; then twist the top 
of one of the stalks 
round the bundle to hold 
it together, and make 
this the foundation for 
a shock, which is built 
up by bringing several 
armfuls and placing 
them around the foun¬ 
dation, already set up, until the shock is 
sufficiently large, or a certain number of hills 
arc cut up. Then the workman lays down 
CORN BINDER. 
