216 AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. [June, 
quality and size, are either the Wachusett 48-inch 
sheeting, now worth 14 cents a yard by the piece ; 
the Waltham sheetings of different widths, as fol¬ 
lows, F, one yard wide, P, li yard wide, and A, 11 
yard wide, worth respectively 7ic., Hie., and 17ie. 
per yard. The prices here given are those current 
in New York at the end of April. Almost any 
brown cotton, that is of the proper width, will 
answer the purpose ; light cloth will turn the wa¬ 
ter sufficiently, although not so effectively during 
continued rains, as the heavier goods. When the 
cloth has been cut into squares, the torn edges 
should be hemmed, and the corners turned over a 
loop of cord, and stitched down, as shown in fig¬ 
ure 1. The hay should be gathered into large cocks, 
narrowed at the top, and well raked at the sides. 
These may be made to hold 300 pounds or more, if 
carefully built; we have made them of such a size 
that five would make a wagon load of nearly a ton 
of hay. When of this size, 100 caps would be suffi¬ 
cient for the ordinary crop of a ten acre field, or to 
cover about 20 tons of hay. The method of using 
them is shown in figure 2. A supply of wooden 
pegs is provided, and one of these is thrust into the 
hay, as shown, passing through each loop. The 
cap should be stretched tightly before it is pegged 
down, otherwise the wind may get underneath it 
and blow both it and the top of the hay cock off. 
Scare Crows, 
No doubt some damage is done to the newly 
planted corn by crows and crow-blackbirds, yet 
we have never interfered with them, believing that 
the mischief done by them is less than the good 
they do by destroying cut-worms, grubs, and other 
insects. There is a certain balance in nature, 
maintained through the constant strife between 
living creatures, which seem to exist only to de¬ 
stroy one another, and as we can scarcely determine 
which are really useful or otherwise, we may pos¬ 
sibly disturb this balance by interfering and de¬ 
stroying any of those which we suppose to be in¬ 
jurious to us. Thus, by our constant warfare 
against crows, owls, skunks, and other animals 
which we, perhaps wrongfully, assume to be nox¬ 
ious, we may have encouraged the increase of 
really injurious animals and insects which do us 
serious damage. Crows especially, merit our con¬ 
stant regard for their continued destruction of 
beetles and other insect vermin, and during the 
portion of the year, when our fields are bare of 
crops, they forage perseveringly over them in pur¬ 
suit of their food. In the spring only, are they 
considered as enemies, and then, the good they 
have done for eleven months of the year, is forgot¬ 
ten in the comparatively small amount of mischief 
they commit for a month in the corn-field. To 
poison them with baited corn, or to shoot them 
while engaged in their efforts to free our fields 
from cut-worms, is no doubt a great mistake. To 
scare them from the fields, by any method, is per¬ 
missible, although that too may he a mistake. 
Nevertheless it will be done, and we therefore here 
describe some effective “ scare-crows ” for those 
who wish to use them. Crows are remarkably sa¬ 
gacious birds, and soon learn to understand any¬ 
thing which they have time to study. A dead crow, 
hung by a swinging cord to an elastic pole, appeals 
directly and forcibly to their sense of caution, and 
if it is arranged with outspread wings held by wires 
so as to catch the wind (fig. 1), its motions are 
very similar to those of a live crow struggling; to 
get free. But the best scare is one in which there 
is a constant change of motion, which confuses the 
memory, and bewilders the intelligence of the crow. 
In figure 2 is shown such a scare, which consists of 
a frame mounted upon a post and attached to a 
small wind-mill, by which it is kept rotating. The 
frame has four bars, from one to another of which 
wires are strung, and to the wires are fastened 
many pieces of bright tin, glass, both plain and 
colored, broken crockery, and colored feathers or 
rags. The rotating frame is mounted in a station¬ 
ary one, and as it revolves, the bright pieces flutter 
and change positious at every moment, reflecting 
flashes of light when the sun shines, and jangling 
continually when the wind blows. The effective¬ 
ness of this scare-crow may he increased by hang¬ 
ing a few small bells upon the top bar of the outer 
frame, so that the clappers may be moved by the 
edges of the inner rotating frame as they revolve. 
One such scare-crow in a ten-acre field, will keep the 
crows at a respectful distance for the whole season, 
and the ingenious builder will never be humiliated 
by finding a sentinel crow, perching contemptuously 
upon the top of it, as is sometimes seen upon the 
outstretched arm, orthe simulated gun, of the usual 
dummy in the corn-field, while the rest of the flock 
are busily engaged at their mischief in its vicinity. 
Ringing and Handling Bulls. 
Now that more attention is given to improving 
farm stock, a bull is kept upon nearly every large 
farm. The high-bred bulls are spirited animals, 
and are exceedingly dangerous if the utmost cau¬ 
tion is not exercised in managing them. Expe¬ 
rienced breeders are not unfrequently caught un¬ 
awares, and unceremoniously lifted over the fence, 
or forced to escape ingloriouslv from one of their 
playful animals, or even seriously injured by the 
vicious ones. It should be made a rule, wherever 
a bull is kept., to have him ringed before he is a year 
old, and brought under subjection and discipline 
at an early age, while he can be safely and easily 
handled. Some time ago we assisted at the ringing 
of a yearling bull, which severely taxed the utmost 
exertions of six persons with ropes and stanchions 
to hold him. A slip of the foot might have caused 
the loss of a life, or some serious injuries. To 
avoid such dangerous struggles, a strong frame, 
similar to that in figure 1, in which to confine the 
bull, may be used. The frame consists of four 
or six stout posts set deeply in the ground, with 
side bars bolted to it, forming a stall in which the 
bull can be confined so that he cannot turn round. 
The frame may be placed in the ham-yard or a 
stable, and may be made to serve as a stall. At the 
front, a breast bar should be bolted, and the upper 
side bars should project beyond this for 18 or 20 
inches. The forward posts project above the side 
bars some inches. The ends of these posts, and the 
side bars, are bored with one-inch holes, and at the 
rear of the frame there should be tenons or iron 
straps to receive a strong cross bar, to prevent the 
animal from escaping should the fastenings be¬ 
come broken or loosened. The bull, led into the 
frame, is placed 
with his head over 
the breast bar, and 
the horns are tied 
with ropes, an inch 
in diameter, to the 
holes in the bars 
and posts. He is 
then secured, and 
his head is elevated 
so that the trochar 
and cannula can 
be readily used to 
pierce the car¬ 
tilage of the nose, 
and the ring in- Fig. 2 —strap. 
serted and screw¬ 
ed together. Before the ring is used, it should be 
tested to ascertain that it is sound and safe. 
When the ring is inserted, the straps shown at 
figure 2 should be used, for the purpose of holding 
it up and out of the way, so as not to interfere with 
the feeding of the animal until the nose has healed 
and become calloused. The straps may be left 
upon the head permanently, if desired, when the 
front strap will offer a convenient means of catch¬ 
ing him by the 
staff, when neces¬ 
sary to do so in the 
field. The staff is 
a matter of the 
greatest impor¬ 
tance. This should 
be made of the 
toughest asli or 
hickory, and not 
less than five feet 
long. With a staff 
of this length, 
the herdsman can 
check the wildest 
bull, and by rest¬ 
ing the butt-end of 
it upon the ground, 
can throw the ani¬ 
mal’s head up, and 
prevent him from 
approaching too 
near. The hook of 
the staff is shown 
of two kinds at 
figures 3 and 4. One is furnished with a spring by 
which it is closed. A metal bar attached to the 
spring and passing through a hole in the staff, pre¬ 
vents the ring from slipping along the spring. The 
other is provided with a screw by which it is closed. 
