1871 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
455 
plank in the floor of the rack and enables it to 
be turned around when desired. In the barn¬ 
yard this is a convenience, as the manure will 
not be then left in piles in the front of the feed- 
racks, but, as it is turned round, the manure 
There is nothing which a farmer uses that is 
more dependent for ease and convenience in 
use upon true scientific principles of construc¬ 
tion than an ox-yoke. We very seldom come 
across a yoke and bows to which some objec¬ 
tion may not be made. They either choke the 
oxen or gall their necks, or the yoke will break 
under a sudden jerk. These difficulties are 
all owing to faulty construction. In the first 
place more timber is generally used than neces¬ 
sary, and the consequence is that more cutting 
is needed to shape it. This makes the yoke 
weak where it ought to be strongest. Some¬ 
times the stick is sawed 7 x 10 inches; but really 
4 x 6 is amply sufficient. This is little more 
than one third the other size, and a saving is 
consequently made. The principle on which 
the yoke should be shaped is this: the point to 
which the draft-chain is fastened should be on a 
line with the center of the force applied, or 
that part of the yoke surrounding the neck of 
Fig. l.-OX-TOKE—INCORRECT FORM. 
the ox. Then there is no effort made to twist 
the yoke and crowd the lower part of the bows 
against the animal’s throat and so interfere with 
its breathing. This pressure is the reason why 
Fig. 2. —OX-YOKE—CORRECT FORM. 
oxen will sometimes go on their knees under a 
heavy pull, sagaciously discovering the trouble 
which their drivers could not see. A com¬ 
A REVOLVING FEED-RACK. 
will be more equally spread. If several posts 
are placed in different parts of the yard, the 
rack may be moved from one to another. 
Ox-Yokes. 
parison of the two yokes figured on this page 
will show this difference at a glance. 
The hollows of the yoke, where they rest on 
the oxen’s necks, should also be well and 
smoothly beveled or rounded off, so as to en¬ 
large the bearing surface. 
This prevents galled and 
swollen or bruised necks. 
With a badly made yoke 
an ox can not draw, if will¬ 
ing ; with a well-fitting and 
easy one, an ox will draw 
until his power is exhausted. 
If an ox ever refuses to pull, 
it is, as a rule, the yoke that 
is to blame. Oxen will not 
balk without good reason; 
in fact, we doubt if a really 
balky ox has ever existed. 
When the yoke is properly 
shaped it should be made 
smooth; after all irregularities are removed by 
rasping, it should be sandpapered until quite 
smooth. The best timber for yokes is bass¬ 
wood or soft maple, and for bows hickory or 
second-growth white-oak is to be preferred. 
A Folding Chicken-Coop. 
At the Ohio State Fair we saw a collection of 
poultry, consisting of fifty varieties, owned by 
Smoke-House and Oven. 
We are requested to give a plan for a bake- 
oven and smoke-house in one building. These 
COMBINED SMOKE-HOUSE AND OVEN. 
are common adjuncts to the farm-house in East¬ 
ern Pennsylvania, and are generally built of 
stone or brick. The oven occupies the front 
and that part of the interior which is repre¬ 
sented by the dotted lines. The smoke-house 
occupies the rear and extends over the oven. 
The advantage of this mode of building is the 
perfect dryness secured, which is of great im¬ 
portance in preserving the meat, as also the 
economy of expense gained in building the two 
together, and the smoke that escapes from the 
oven may be turned into the smoke-house. 
-— --__aO«=—-- 
FOLDING EXHIBITION-COOP. 
one exhibitor, all contained in handsome coops 
made to one pattern. These coops were the 
simplest and most easily constructed we have 
anywhere seen, and there is not a nail in them. 
They can be taken apart and piled up when not 
needed, takiflg up very small space. The front 
and back are alike, and 
consist of two strips (an 
upper and lower one)held 
together by wooden rods, 
placed a proper distance 
apart. At each end of 
these strips is a tenon 
which passes through a 
mortise in the sideboards 
and is secured by a key 
which holds the sides in 
their places. The floor 
and top are kept in their 
places by small, round 
pins, similar to dowel- 
pins, which pass through 
holes made to corre¬ 
spond in the side boards. 
The coops are held together by the keys in the 
tenons of the front and back pieces. When these 
keys are knocked out the coops fall apart and 
may be packed away. There is no patent on 
these coops, which is not the least of their merits. 
They are easily transported, and allow the 
fowls to be seen to the best advantage. 
Grease for Galls on Horses.—“ I. G, 
Irwin ” asks whether grease (<■'. e., meat flyings, 
bacon grease, and lard) is considered the wrong 
thing to apply to galled places and bruises. We 
do not know that there is any objection to the 
use of such refuse grease. We often use lard 
and gunpowder, as a mixture, to prevent white 
hair from growing on a saddle gall; and we use 
salt water for bathing scratches and bruises. 
As grease and salt used separately are not in¬ 
jurious, we see no reason why they should be 
when used in conjunction. At the same time 
we are fast gaining faith in the use of simple 
hot or cold water and dry and finely sifted 
earth for all minor treatment, and we are 
gradually dropping all our old remedies. 
ELEVATION OF MR. SARGENT’S BARN. 
Mr. Charles S. Sargent’s Barn. 
We have had occasion heretofore to refer to 
the barn recently built by Mr. Chas. S. Sargent, 
of Brookline, Mass. We give above an eleva¬ 
tion showing its general appearance, and plans 
of its arrangement on the next page. 
