136 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
work on the hand to mouth plan, and will still 
mark out their crops by a marker and drop the seed 
by hand. For these it will be convenient to have 
,at least a good marker, and such is here illustrated 
in due season for one to be made before it will be 
needed. It will mark uneven as well as level 
ground ; it can be set to any width between rows; 
Fig. 1.—SHELTER OF POLES AND BOARDS. 
any farmer or smart boy can make it, and the in¬ 
ventor, who is a farmer in Canada, does not pro¬ 
pose to patent it. The marker is made of 2 x 4 scant¬ 
ling, one piece being 8 feet long. In this five holes 
are bored, one for each of the runners, H inch in 
diameter. The runners are also of 2 x 4 timber, and 
18 inches long. Holes l'/s inch in diameter are 
bored through the runners, in which are placed 
hard wood pins 14 inches long. These are driven 
in from the bottom, the ends being left broad, so 
that they may not pass through the holes, and pro¬ 
jecting an inch and a 
half. This is shown in 
figure 1. The small pin 
which passes through 
the larger one serves to 
connect the runner with 
the principal timber, 
and by shifting the 
large pin from one hole 
to another, the runners 
may be brought from 4 
feet to 1 foot, or even 6 
inches apart, and made 
to mark rows of widths 
increasing by spaces of 
6 inches up to 4 feet. 
The marker given in 
figure 1 is very clear¬ 
ly shown, and needs 
no further description. 
When one of the markers meets with an obstruction 
it is lifted by it, as seen in figure 2, and passes over 
it. A guide marker is fixed by a hinge to one of 
the outside runners, and carries a scraper which is 
held in place by a pin, by moving which the dis¬ 
tance of the next row may be regulated. A pair of 
farmers who failed to save their seed last year. 
Saving one’s own clover seed is one of those small 
things which is worthy of more consideration than 
is generally given to it, and is one of the neglected 
economies of the farm. At present prices of hay 
and clover seed, the usual crop of the latter five 
bushels per acre, is worth $40, or two or three 
times the value of the ordinary crop of hay. This 
sum per acre is a handsome yield for a second crop, 
and is well worth working for. Clover cannot be 
substituted by anything else. Farmers cannot do 
without it and prosper. It will be a misfortune if 
the present high price of seed should prevent farm¬ 
ers from sowing it, and it will be a powerful re¬ 
minder of the advantage of always securing a home 
supply. Besides this, when the seed is raised at home, 
the absence of weed seeds can be depended upon, 
which is an impossibility if the seed is purchased. 
Cheap Temporary Shelters for Stock. 
BY L. D. SNOOK, YATES CO., N. Y., 
In all newly settled districts, and iu many old set¬ 
tlements, a cheap and temporary shelter for stock 
is often desirable. While there is hut little new to 
be said about the construction of these, yet the 
hints given, if heeded, will not only add to the com¬ 
fort of thousands of animals, but save money to 
the stock raiser and farmer. Whenever it is found 
practicable, the shelter should he located upon the 
east or south side of a forest, or a hill, in order that 
the force of the wintry winds may he broken as 
much as possible. The cheapest shelter is made 
from poles, as shown in figure 1, covered with straw 
or refuse hay. Two crotched posts, 8 ft. in length, 
are set two feet in the ground, and from 12 to 20 ft. 
apart; these are connected at the top by a strong 
Fig. 2.— SHELTEK COVERED WITH STRAW. 
light shafts may be attached to the marker, and a 
pair of handles by which it may be guided. 
Clover seed. —The present high price of clover 
seed will doubtless disagreeably surprise many 
Fig. 3.— CHEAP BOARD SHELTER. 
pole, upon which rest the upper ends of other poles, 
12 or 15 ft. in length. The ends of this shelter are 
boarded up as shown in fig. 1. A warm and comfort¬ 
able shelter is illustrated in fig. 2: six strong posts 
are set iu the ground, forming the corners and sides 
of an enclosure, about 12 by 15 ft., and 6 ft. high. 
These are hoarded up on three sides, and roofed 
with strong plank or poles, the whole overlaid with 
straw ; the covering is best and most economically 
done at thrashing time, by building the frame-work 
in the barn-yard. A cheap board shelter is shown 
in figure 3. In making one after this form, 14 feet 
wide, the highest part should be 8 feet, and the low¬ 
est about 5 feet, using 16 foot-boards for roofing, 
which will project upon each side. The roof can 
be of matched lumber, or rough boards battened. 
Almost any farmer is enough of a mechanic 
to construct such a shelter, and it will be found 
serviceable as well as neat in appearance. It 
often happens that those who have upon their 
premises the most improved barns and other out¬ 
buildings, desire to feed for a few months an extra 
number of sheep or cattle, but have not sufficient 
convenient shelter. This may be provided by a 
temporary addition to a large building, as in fig. 4, 
in which A is a post set in the ground. B, board 
roof, and D a post of main building. This struc¬ 
ture can occupy the end or side of a building, as 
may be most convenient, and can be so arranged 
that hay and grain may be fed direct from the large 
building without passing out of doors. The only 
trouble with structures of this kind is, that farmers 
find them so convenient, that they are tempted to 
let them remain for years, and they become perma¬ 
nent instead of temporary. Unless they are con¬ 
structed of a material, and in a manner not to 
detract from the appearance of larger structures, 
they should be removed as soon as they have served 
the immediate purpose for which they were erected. 
Movable Nests for Hens. 
Hens, as a general thing, are remarkably self- 
willed and obstinate. Perhaps an exception may 
be made as regards the Brahmas, which are very 
docile and easily managed. On account of this 
general peculiarity of fowls, many people who pos¬ 
sess a somewhat similar disposition, find no success 
in keeping them. Their hens will not lay in the 
nests provided for them, or after sitting a few days 
upon a nest of eggs, leave them and never return. 
The consequences are, either no eggs at all, or nests 
hidden where they can not be reached ; no chickens, 
and time and labor lost. This may all he avoided 
if the owners will only study the habits and instincts 
of their poultry reasonably. One of the most invet¬ 
erate habits of hens, is that of hiding their nests or 
seeking them in retired shaded places. Those who 
would have plenty of eggs, must make their ar¬ 
rangements accordiugly. A very cheap and con¬ 
venient nest is shown in the accompanying illus¬ 
tration. It is made of pieces of hoard eighteen 
inches long, nailed endwise to three-sided cleats at 
the top and bottom. The box need not be more 
than eighteen or twenty inches in length. Some 
corner pieces are nailed at the front to make it firm, 
and the back should be closed. These nests may 
be placed in secluded corners, behind sheds, or be¬ 
neath bushes in the back yard, or behind a barrel 
or a bundle of straw. The nest egg should he of 
glass or porcelain, and every evening the eggs that 
have been laid during the day should be removed. 
A little cut straw mixed with clean earth or sand, 
will make the best material for the nest. This 
A MOVABLE HEN’S NEST. 
should he renewed occasionally, for the sake of 
cleanliness. When a hen has taken possession of 
one of these nests, it may be removed at night to 
the hatching house, without disturbing her. Before 
the nests are used, they should he thoroughly well 
lime-washed around tne joints, to keep away lice. 
