16 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
it, and can only be held liable for what damage his 
dog may do, it does not seem just that any tax 
should be levied upon dogs. The only just claim 
that can be made by a sheep-owner is that he shall 
be protected in the enjoyment of his property, and 
TRAP FOR SHEEP-KILLING DOGS, 
that the person by or through whom he is injured, 
should recompense him. In the case of irrespon¬ 
sible owners of dogs, from whom no recovery can 
be made, the dogs should be destroyed by a proper 
officer. If the right of persons to keep dogs, when 
they wish to do so, without being taxed, is recog¬ 
nized in this manner, much of the opposition to the 
enactment of what are called “ dog-laws,” would be 
removed, and the protection of sheep made much 
less difficult, and productive of much greater profit. 
A Stone Picker. 
Picking up stones is an almost endless job upon 
some farms. Every year it may seem as if the work 
was finished, but another plowing turns up a new 
supply. Much of this work, however, may be done 
during the winter months, when there is little or 
no snow, upon days, when the sun is bright and 
warm. Then the sun’s heat is absorbed by the 
stones, which are warmed and loosened from the 
frozen earth around them, aud they may be readily 
picked up, and thrown into a wagon or sled. To 
prevent the disagreeable necessity of stooping for 
every stone, the stone-picker shown in the engrav¬ 
ing may be used. This is made very strongly with 
prongs a quarter of an inch thick, and an inch 
broad at the top, taper¬ 
ing to a quarter of an 
inch at the point. The 
shoulder is made broad 
and square, so as to 
serve as a foot-rest, by 
which it may be pushed 
into the ground at one 
side of the stone. The 
prongs are curved, aud 
the central one is de¬ 
pressed below the range 
of the others, so as to 
form a hollow, in which 
the stone may lie as it is 
STONE picker. lifted from the ground. 
A common long shovel- 
handle will serve for this tool, and it should be 
veiy dimly fixed in a strong socket, so as to resist 
the strain of prying a heavy stone out of its bed. 
This implement may also be used to dig potatoes, 
or lift roots. For the former purpose two addi¬ 
tional prongs should be fitted and fastened between 
the others, by means of a screw-nut and a hole 
drilled in the shoulder or foot-rest, as shown at a. 
A Feed Measuring Box. 
The most convenient feed box we have used, 
was one holding one-tentli of a bushel. This was 
once a miller’s “ toll 
box,” or the measure with 
which a miller takes out 
his tenth from each grist. 
The box was six inches 
square, and the same in 
depth, inside measure¬ 
ment ; which gives it a 
capacity of S16 cubic inch¬ 
es, or about half a cubic 
inch over an exact tenth 
of a bushel, or 3 and 2 /io 
quarts. This quantity of 
mixed feed of ground corn 
and rye ; or corn, oats, and 
rye or wheat bran ; will 
weigh about 4% lbs. This 
makes a very fair allow¬ 
ance for one feed for a 
horse or ox, or for the daily 
ration of a cow in milk, or 
for two dry cows, or for 
two yearlings, or four 
calves, or the same num¬ 
ber of sheep. This meas¬ 
ure is not only a con¬ 
venient size for daily use, 
but allows of very accu¬ 
rate calculation; the quan-. 
tity fed each day may be 
gauged by it, and an account of it very easily kept. 
The box should be made of some light wood a 
quarter of an inch thick; for ease in handling, a 
leather strap should be riveted near the top, as 
shown in the engraving, and another, but a shorter 
one, near the bottom upon the same side. If the 
thumb is placed in the upper strap, and the ends of 
the fingers in the lower 
one, the box is easily 
held. A small hole 
should be bored in the 
side opposite to the 
handles, by which to 
hang it upon a nail in 
the feed-chest or upon 
the wall of the feed- 
room. A piece of light 
clap-board or “siding,” which is usually 6 inches 
wide, is a handy material of which to make a box 
of this kind; the handles may be made of cast¬ 
off harness straps, and should be fastened on 
with copper rivets and burrs. 
Hints for the Work-shop. 
How to Use a File Properly, is a very important 
part of the education of a mechanic. Nevertheless, 
the file is very frequently used in such an imperfect 
manner, as to greatly reduce its value as a mechan¬ 
ical tool. The chief difficulty in using a file, is in 
keeping it in a perfectly horizontal position as it 
is moved over the work, and in maintaining an 
equable pressure upon the work meanwhile. Per¬ 
haps the most difficult work in filing, and that 
which is most frequently ill-done, is in sharpening 
saws. The bearing of the file upon the work, is 
very narrow, and unable to guide its direction, and 
unless the file is held very carefully, the direction 
varies continually, so that the saw 7 tooth is filed 
BOX. 
Fig. 1.—IMPROPER use of the file. 
rounding instead of flat, or sloping instead of hor¬ 
izontal, or at exact right angles with the line of the 
saw, as it should be in a mill-saw or a rip-saw. When 
the file' is held as shown in fig. 1, (a very common 
manner of holding it), it is almost impossible to 
do good work upon a saw. When the file is push¬ 
ed on to the tooth, the weight or pressure of the 
right hand is exerted upon the longer portion of 
Fig. 3.— ANOTHER WRONG WAY OF FILING. 
the tool, making it act as if it were the longer arm 
of a lever, and thus depresses that portion below 
the horizontal, as at a. When pushed forward, 
the pressure is then exerted upon the longer por- - 
tion of the file, which is carried from the horizon¬ 
tal in the contrary direction. The work is thus ( 
Fig. 3.— PROPER METHOD OF FILING. 
made round. Or if the pressure of the left hand is 
guarded against, that of the right hand is seldom , 
altogether controlled, and the work is left sloping, 
as at fig. 2; the position at the commencement 
being shown at a, and that at the finish of the 
stroke at &. This is a very common error with 
sawyers in mills, as well as with many carpenters 
in filing rip-saws. 
To avoid either form of this error, the file should 
not be held with the ball of the thumb pressing 
Fig. 4.— TO REST THE HAND IN FILING. 
upon the handle of the file, as at figs. 1 and 3; but 
the end of the file should be taken lightly between 
the thumb and fore-finger, as at fig. 3. There is no 
uneven pressure in this case, and the direction of 
the file may easily be kept perfectly level. In 
filing the base of the tooth, or the under portion 
of any work which cannot be turned over, the end 
of the file should be supported upon the ends of 
Fig. 5.— FILING UNDERNEATH. 
the fingers, as at fig. 5, or be held by the end of the 
thumb, in an easy gentle manner. If held lightly, 
and not grasped too firmly, the arm or wrist will 
not be tired so soon as when it is held rigidly; and 
the motion of the file will be more even and regular. 
When the arm is wearied by working in one 
direction, it may be rested by reversing the posi¬ 
tion of the file, taking the handle in the left hand, 
grasping the end between the fingers and thumb of 
the right hand, and drawing the file towards the 
body, instead of thrusting it away from it. The 
file is then held as in figure 4. This is an excellent 
possition in which to hold the file when finishing 
Off a saw tooth, or when touching it up at noon. 
