376 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[October, 
an increased solubility will have been gained. 
But one other benefit must not be forgotten 
here, which is, that deeper plowing is permissi- 
able in the fall, and six months’ exposure to the 
sudden changes from frost to thaw will bring 
the hitherto unused soil into condition for as¬ 
sisting to bear crops. We do not advise the 
plowing of sod at this season, at least not for a 
corn crop. This should be postponed until the 
last possible day in the spring consistent with 
having the ground prepared in time. But for 
roots or oats, or other spring crops than corn, 
we would plow now and manure through the 
winter, when a mellow and rich soil some inches 
in depth will be ready to be stirred again early 
in the spring; and this we would do irrespective 
of the quality of the soil, whether it be clay or 
a light loam. Potatoes planted in a gravelly 
loam thus prepared, have with us given double 
the yield of those in ground not so treated. Oats, 
too, have been benefited greatly, but the result 
with corn was unfavorable, mainljq we believe, 
on account of the greater development of weeds, 
which prevented the crop from being kept clean. 
We have not adverted to the economy of time 
resulting from having the ground plowed before 
winter, and ready for a second plowing early 
in spring; but this is a point worthy of attain¬ 
ment under anj r circumstances. Farm opera¬ 
tions depend very much for their success on 
“taking time by the forelock,” and keeping 
work well pushed forward; and to have all the 
stubbles plowed before frost sets in, must be a 
comfort to any farmer. 
An Easily-made Pile-Driver. 
It has occurred in our experience that the use 
of a pile-driver, if one could have been had, 
would have resulted in great economy and ad¬ 
vantage in such work as building bridges and 
dams, driving fence-posts, etc. Many a country 
bridge has been insecurely built, and has in con¬ 
sequence been washed away with the first freshet, 
because the piers were not made of piles. Had 
a simple pile-driyer been built, at a cost of less 
a 
Fig. 1.—A SIMPLE PILE-DRIVER. 
than forty dollars, and used on these construc¬ 
tions, much money might have been saved. 
In building dams, a few piles along the bank of 
the river, and a row to connect the cribs togeth¬ 
er, will make the work much more solid, and 
render it able to resist a freshet that otherwise 
would carry it away. Country roads and bridges 
might often be greatly improved by the use of 
a little engineering talent, but farmers generally, 
who are the men on whom the duties of mak¬ 
ing these roads mostly fall, although they may 
thoroughly understand their own business, have 
seldom had opportu¬ 
nities of studying en¬ 
gineering. We illus¬ 
trate in figure 1 a 
simple pile-driver. It 
is intended to be 
worked by a pair of 
horses, and such a one 
as is here figured can 
be put together for 
less than fifty dollars, 
“ monkey ” included. 
The frame does not 
need to be very heavy 
—4 x G scantling is 
quite sufficient. The 
sills may be heavier, 
and six or eight feet 
long, and framed three 
feet apart, outside 
measure. This will 
leave two feet in 
the clear inside be- 
Fig. 3.—MONKEY AND 
GRAPPLE. 
tween the posts. The frame for hoisting need 
not be more than two feet clear inside, and 
should be sixteen feet high. A pair of braces 
should be framed in behind to stiffen it, and 
here and there side braces might be put in for 
the same purpose. Cleats are to be nailed up 
one side to make a ladder, which will be neces¬ 
sary when the pulleys at 
the top require fixing. 
The pulley for hoisting is 
fixed at the top (a), the 
rope is brought down, and 
passes under another pul¬ 
ley at the bottom ( b ). Near 
the top of the frame, at the 
front, are two triangular 
catches (c), between which 
the hoisting rope passes, 
and which engage with 
the arms of the hoisting 
grapple (<l), forcing them 
together, and releasing the 
monkey, which falls on the 
pile (/). The sides of the 
monkey are grooved; rails 
fixed on the sides of the 
posts fit into these grooves, and guide the 
monkey in its fall. These should be greased 
when in use. Fig. 2 shows the monkey and 
the grapple on a larger scale. No detailed 
description of this is necessary, as the figure 
speaks for itself. Small wheels may be placed 
under the sills, which will assist in moving it 
from place to place, but when in 
use it should be firmly fixed, and 
ballasted with a few large stones, 
to keep it stead 3 r . A light driver 
of wood might be made, bound at 
the bottom with a stout iron ring, 
to prevent splitting, which w T ould 
be useful to drive fence-posts where 
the soil is not too rocky. On 
prairie farms, posts might thus be 
driven very rapidly. Care should 
be taken to point the posts cor¬ 
rectly. The bevel from heel to point should 
be equal on all sides, or the post will not drive 
perpendicularly. The monkey ordinarily used 
is of cast iron, and weighs about 200 pounds. 
If a pair of guides are fixed on the grapple 
in such a manner as to slide up and down on 
the rails on which the monkey slides, and retain 
the position necessary to enable the grapple to 
connect with the catch, it may be made self¬ 
acting, and will not need any attention to fasten 
it on to the hook or catch of the monkey by 
which it is drawn up. For use on prairie farms, 
where posts will enter the soft, yielding soil very 
easily, a lighter machine may be built. If 
mounted on larger wheels, it could "be readily 
moved from place to place by two men or a 
man and a boy. A driver weighing sixty 
pounds could be hoisted very easily by one 
man, and falling sixteen feet would drive a post 
with a few blows. Posts driven in such soil 
are much more solidly placed than if set by 
digging holes. It is necessary, in driving posts, 
to remove the bark from that portion which 
enters the ground; much less resistance is en¬ 
countered, and the posts last longer. 
- - —! > —- - - 
A Dumping Wagon. 
Several have asked for plans for a dumping 
wagon. The simplest dumping wagon that we 
have met with is one that is in use in New York 
City, and shown in fig. 1. This works very well; 
in fact, the load is dumped from it just as easily 
as from a cart. The frame on which the box 
rests (fig. 2) is furnished with three rows of small 
wheels (a a a), about the size and shape of those 
used on a railway liorse-power, say four inches 
in diameter. On the bottom of the box is an 
iron-flanged track of cast iron, which runs over 
the wheels. The frame is elevated sufficiently 
at the front to enable the box with the load to 
Fig. 1.—A DUMPING WAGON. 
run back gently (as soon as started) on the 
wheels, until the box projects behind enough tc 
make it tip and dump the load. At the proper 
point, the movement of the box (fig. 3) is stop¬ 
ped by a catch (5) on each side of it, which en¬ 
gages with a hook on the frame (c), and prevents 
the box going further than is required to over¬ 
Fig-. 3.—FRAME TO SUPPORT BOX. 
balance it and dump the contents. This eatci* 
also prevents lateral movement of the box, and 
keeps it in its place. When the load is dumped, 
the driver lifts the box and pushes it back into 
its place, where it is held by a hook (d) on each 
side, fitting into eyes ( e ) fastened into the frame. 
The frame is fixed on the bolsters of the wagon, 
and no stakes are used to sustain the sides of 
