1876 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST, 
225 
long. In this, at one end, are bored two inch-ancl- 
a-haif holes, about eight inches apart, and in these 
two short posts are fitted. A saw-cut is made down 
the center of each post, about four inches deep, 
lengthwise of the plank, and a piece of broad hoop- 
iron, or a piece of old saw blade, is placed in these 
cuts for a scraper. A screw through each post, 
above the scraper, holds it firmly. Then, at the 
other end of the plank, two pieces of board are fit- 
fed, to each of which a common coarse scrubbing 
brush is fixed by a piece of spring steel, which may 
be procured from the blacksmith for a few cents. 
These brushes are fitted as shown in the engraving, 
and so that when the boot is drawn between them, 
they sweep the mud off from the sides. Before the 
brushes are used, the boots should be drawn over 
the scraper to clean the soles. If this cleaner is 
kept near the door, he must be a very careless per¬ 
son who would not think of using it, or a very un¬ 
grateful boy who would refuse to do so. The cost 
of this useful scraper need not be more than fifty 
cents and an hour’s work, and then what sweeping 
of floors and carpets it will save ! 
Extending a Bureau. 
It sometimes happens that one bureau affords 
too scanty accommodation, and the room will not 
admit of two bureaus. We give here illustrations 
of the manner in which a lady, who found herself 
Fig. 1. —BUREAU WITH EXTENSIONS. 
so situated, overcame the difficulty. Two triangu¬ 
lar stands were made, the same hight as the bureau; 
the top and the two shelves being of triangular 
pieces, the sides as long as the width of the bureau, 
and one of them rounded, as shown in figure 1. 
These are made of pine, the two sides being of 
thinner stuff' than the top and shelves, and all well 
nailed together. This job would not be beyond the 
ability of those ladies who have learned to use a 
saw and plane, and at any rate may be cheaply 
done by a car¬ 
penter. It would 
be better to have 
a bottom-piece, 
but these were 
made without. 
The stands are 
to be upholster¬ 
ed ; an alpaca or 
other skirt may 
come in play 
here, and it will 
be all the better 
if lined. The 
curtain should Fig. g_— ends as a table. 
be in two parts, 
opening in the middle, and the parts should lap 
sufficiently to keep out the dust; after the top 
coverings and curtains are put on, a ruffle with a 
narrow, box-plaited edgeing, will make a neat fin¬ 
ish. The shelves are very convenient to hold un¬ 
der-clothing, stockings, and various other matters, 
leaving the drawers of the bureau for nicer articles, 
and the lower shelf is a convenient place for shoes, 
or a work-basket. Those who go into the country 
for the summer, find the chamber fittings, whether 
in private houses or hotels, of the most meagre 
character, and they can in this manner readily in¬ 
crease their store room. The hint should not be 
lost upon those who take boarders, as their visitors 
are from cities, who have been accustomed to 
the abundant closet room of modern houses. It 
does not*take expensive furniture to make a cham¬ 
ber attractive, and this, and other cheap devices we 
have heretofore published, will go far towards en¬ 
suring the comfort of their guests. If the corner 
pieces are not wanted for a bureau, they may be 
put together as in figure 3, and thus form a neat 
toilet table, all the more useful than such tables 
ordinarily are, from its storage capacities. 
The “Kew Process” Flour. 
Of late both millers and kouseKeepers have been 
surprised by the advent of a new term as applied 
to flour. Brands called the “new process” flour 
are now offered, and as they are sold at the highest 
price, it will interest the housekeeper to know in 
what its claimed su- 
periority consists. In 
the ordinary grinding 
of wheat, the object 
of the miller has been 
to produce from his 
grain as much flour 
and as little “ mid¬ 
dlings ” as possible, 
as the middlings were 
considered as a waste 
product or “offal.” 
Hence the grinding 
has been done very 
“ close,” with sharp¬ 
ly dressed burrs, 
brought near to¬ 
gether, in order to 
sliave the grain into 
powder, and cut up 
the horny inner coat 
of the grain as fine as 
spring wheat, until the best grades even bring a few 
cents per bushel more than fall wheat, thus both 
the farmer who raises the wheat, and those who 
consume it iu the form of flour, are alike benefited. 
TOYS & 
AkJ 
So 
Twelve Wliihi Dxen, 
A lady sends us a picture of a team of five yoke of 
oxen, which we have had engraved. In the picture a boy 
is seen standing with the team. There is nothing very 
remarkable about the five pairs of oxen in themselves, 
although they are all white, seem to he very good ones, 
and stand very quietly. But there is something in the 
story of these twelve oxen, for there are twelve altogether, 
although hut ten arc shown in the picture, which is 
worthy of the attention of every hoy who drives oxen or 
horses, or tends cows or sheep. The hoy who is seen 
standing by the leaders, is the owner of the twelve oxen, 
and he began breaking, or rather training, them when they 
were calves, and lie was but ten years old. Now he is 
sixteen years old, and he and the oxen work together 
every day, and make their living by hauling charcoal. The 
oxen are all pure white, and being well matched, make a 
handsome team. Five pairs go with the wagon and one 
rests in the stable, so that in case of any accident to 
one ox the work need not stop. Each wagon load is 300 
A boy’s team of white oxen. 
possible, so that it might pass through the bolt 
with the finest starchy flour of the Kernel. This, 
however, could not be done so thoroughly as to 
get the greatest yield with the best quality of flour, 
except by very few millers. Spring wheat, under 
tiffs old treatment, made a very inferior flour, be¬ 
cause the inner coat of the gram makes up a larger 
proportion of its bulk than it does iu winter wheat. 
But a few years ago it was discovered that by grind¬ 
ing “high,” that is, with stones more widely sepa¬ 
rated, and with a smooth dress upon them, the bran 
could be cleanly peeled off from the wheat, and the 
grain crushed or broken into angular fragments, 
from which the waste products, as the bran and 
the “fuzz,” which is found upon one end of the 
grain, could be separated, and the fragments when 
afterwards re-ground, produced both more and 
better flour. This is the “new process,” which 
has speedily become very popular, and the more so 
when it was discovered that spring wheat of a cer¬ 
tain grade, could be made to produce a larger yield 
and a better quality of flour than winter wheat, 
thus making a higher priced flour from a cheaper 
grain. This is the manner in which the new process 
flour is now made. The “ purifier,” which cleanses 
the first product, is a machine into which the mid¬ 
dlings are run, and exposed to a strong current of 
air, which carries off the light “fuzz” and small 
specks. The purified middlings are then re-ground 
and bolted, the larger particles, which do not pass 
through the cloth, escaping over the tail of the 
reel, and being returned to the purifier and stone, 
to he again ground. The flour is therefore free 
from impurities, contains more of the nutritious 
portions (the phosphates and nitrogen) of the grain, 
which are concentrated mostly in tile inner coating 
of the grain, and there is a less quantity of mid¬ 
dlings made. One consequence of the “new pro¬ 
cess,” has been to increase the market value of 
bushels, which is equal to about ten times as much as a 
common wagon box full, but as charcoal is not very 
heavy, this large load, which is carried in a very high 
spreading box, is easily drawn by this stout, team. But 
neither is all this very wonderful, for there are many 
ox-teams as large as this engaged in hauling charcoal. 
What is really worth notice is, that this youth is able to 
manage his large team without a blow or a loud word, 
and with nothing hut a light, rod with which he signals 
to them. And this perfect control lias been gained over 
these animals by constant kindness from their first, train¬ 
ing, when they were calves, up to the present time. There 
are persons who think that nothing can he done with 
oxen without loud shouting and blows over the nose and 
the horns, which are the most tender parts of their 
bodies, with hickory sticks. This sort of treatment 
spoils the animals, and makes them stupid and trouble¬ 
some. At. the New England Fair, last, year, we saw some 
trained heifers and steers, which performed many sur¬ 
prising tricks at the mere motion of a wand in their 
owner’s hand, and after they had done, would come and 
lay their head upon their owner’s shoulder in the most 
gentle manner. One could see that they had been train¬ 
ed with the greatest tenderness, and had been gently 
handled. How much more pleasantand less troublesome 
it, is to handle animals trained in this manner, than to 
have them full of fear and dread, and instead of approach¬ 
ing their keepers kindly, to try to keep as far away from 
them as possible. 
A Fi*esln-Wa£er “ Monster.” 
BY MRS. MARY TREAT. 
There are a great many curious and strange -looking 
animals ail around us—yes, wonderful creatures live hi the 
ponds and swamps, and even in the ditches by the road¬ 
side ; hut, while these animals are so strange in their 
forms and ways, They .are also so small that we must use 
the microscope to see them well. It is a great pity that 
a really good microscope costs so much that, very few 
persons can afford to have one, with which they can see 
these interesting things, and also learn that a great deal 
that lias been written about the wonders of the micro- 
