1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
257 
' with a nut. The trace-chains should he covered 
with leather where they will rub against the corn, 
and a flap of leather should be left to cover the 
j front corners of the whipple-tree, as shown in the 
engraving. A ring or an open link is fastened at 
the part of the chain which is attached to the 
clevis, and one at each end by which it is hooked 
to the traces. With this arrangement one may cul¬ 
tivate his com without injury, and the same method 
may be applied to the whipple-trees for plowing or 
cultivating amongst trees in the orchard or garden. 
A Simple Hen’s Best. 
“ T. B. P.” sends a sketch of a hen’s nest, made 
comers, where hens love 
of a barrel, which is 
vastly better than one in 
which the head is 
knocked out, and the 
hen is obliged to jump 
down from the top into 
her nest, and thus break 
the eggs. He cuts two 
staves immediately 
above the hoops, and 
again six inches above 
the first cut, and then 
removes the pieces cut 
out, leaving a hole as 
shown in the engraving. 
The barrels thus arrang¬ 
ed, are placed in quiet 
to seclude themselves, 
and straw or other material is supplied for the nest. 
enough to cut down a small sapling, a roll of 
narrow hoop-iron, some cut and wrought nails, 
and such other things as experience proved to be 
convenient to have. The shape of the box is 
shown in figure 1. The middle of the top is fixed, 
and on each side of it is a lid hinged to it, and 
which is fastened by a hasp and staple, and a pad¬ 
lock or a spring key. The box is suspended to 
the wagon roach, beneath the box or load, by two 
strong leather straps with common buckles. Being 
only 6 inches deep, it is not in the way of anything, 
and is readily accessible when wanted. 
A tool-box that is handy to carry around at home, 
is shown at figure 2. It is an open tray of a con¬ 
venient size, with a division in the center, which 
rises a foot or more in the middle. A handle is 
cut at the top of the middle piece, and below it 
some of the tools are suspended in leather loops; 
the rest are kept in one side of the tray, and in the 
other side are boxes for nails, screws, and other 
small matters. To have these tools that are in con¬ 
stant use kept together in this way, a place for each, 
and each in its place, will be found very conveni¬ 
ent and to save much time when they are needed. 
Braces for a Gate Post. 
Newton Reed, of Dutchess Co., N. Y., sends the 
following description of his method of bracing 
gate posts, which is illustrated by the accompany¬ 
ing engraving: On the side of the post, and near 
the surface of the ground, spike an inverted brack¬ 
et, made of a two-inch plank of white oak, or other 
hard wood. The bracket should be not less than 
six inches wide, and a foot long. There should be 
WAGON BOX. 
Tool-Boxes for Wagons, etc. 
To go from home with a wagon without taking 
a few tools, is to risk a break-down from some unfor- 
seen accident, without the means of repairing it, and 
perhaps a consequent serious or costly delay. Those 
who do business regularly upon the roads, as those 
who haul lumber, wood, 
coal, or ores of differ¬ 
ent kinds, should espe¬ 
cially be provided with 
a set of tools, as a reg¬ 
ular appurtenance to 
the wagon, and the 
careful farmer in going 
to market or the mill, or even to and fro upon the 
farm, should be equally well provided. We have 
fouud by experience, that a break-down generally 
happens in the worst possible place, and where it is 
most difficult to help oneself. The loss of so sim¬ 
ple a thing as a nut or a bolt, may wreck a loaded 
wagon, or render it impossible to continue the 
journey, or some breakage by a sudden jerk upon a 
rough road, may.do the same. It is safe to be 
provided for any event, and the comfort of know¬ 
ing that he is thus provided greatly, lightens a man’s 
labor. At one time, when we had several wagons 
and teams at work upon the road, we provided the 
foreman’s wagon with a box such as is here de¬ 
scribed, and it was in frequent use, saving a con¬ 
siderable outlay that would otherwise have been 
necessary for repairs, besides much loss of valuable 
time. It was a box about 18 inches long, 16 inches 
wide, and 6 inches deep, divided into several com¬ 
partments. It was supplied with a spare king-bolt, 
a hammer-strap, wrench, some staples, bolts, nuts, 
screws, a screw-driver, a hammer, cold-chisel, wood- 
Fig. 2.— HANDY TOOL-BOX. 
chisel, punch, pincers, a hoof-pick, copper rivets, a 
copper wire, a knife heavy and strong 
roll of 
BRACING A GATE POST. 
two of these braces, one on the gate side of the 
post when the gate is shut, and one on the gate 
side when open. Under the bracket place a flat 
stone firmly settled in the ground, on which the 
bottom of the bracket is to rest; a piece of plank, 
as long as it lasts, will do instead of the stone. 
The hang of the gate can then be exactly adjust¬ 
ed by putting a thin stone or piece of wood be¬ 
tween the bottom of the bracket and the flat stone 
or plank. This is a simple and effective method of 
supporting a post, where there is no other conveni¬ 
ent way of bracing, and even in almost all cases, it 
gives additional firmness. If the lower end of the 
post is of good size, and is well put in, this method 
of bracing will hold a very heavy gate. 
The Culture of Rape for Seed. 
A greater diversity of crops would, without 
doubt, be very beneficial to our agriculture. We 
have confined ourselves too much to two or three 
great staples. Cotton in the South, and corn and 
wheat in the North, occupy the greater portion of 
the attention of planters and farmers, to the exclu¬ 
sion of almost all other crops. These great staples 
are the money crops ; “ as good as the wheat” be¬ 
ing in farmer’s parlance the same as “ as good as the 
gold.” But sometimes we find ourselves deluded 
somewhat wdien we wish to turn our wheat into 
money, and the price is far from satisfactory. The 
w’heat crop as it is nowgrowm, does not pay. The 
cotton and corn crop are open to the same objection. 
We perceive no remedy but to raise other crops, 
and lessen the production of these, if we cannot 
turn them into other 
uses than to sell them 
upon a gorged mar¬ 
ket. But what other 
crops ? There are but 
two kinds, feeding 
crops and those suit¬ 
ed for manufacturing 
purposes; the one 
class to be used in 
producing meat for 
the market, and the 
other for use in mills 
and manufactories, in 
which many artisans 
may be employed, 
who shall create a de¬ 
mand for a portion at 
least of our other 
crops, nearer home 
than the other side 
of the Atlantic Ocean. A most encouraging begin¬ 
ning has already been made. The culture of broom- 
corn, of sorghum, of castor beans, and of flax, has 
been increased very extensively of late. The latter 
crop especially has 
been found not only 
a great relief to many 
farmers, but a very 
profitable culture, al¬ 
though the fiber has 
gone to waste, and 
only the seed has 
been utilized. By and 
by other crops will 
be found that may be 
added to the list. We 
cannot refrain here 
from regretting that 
the popular organi¬ 
zation amongst farm¬ 
ers, from which so 
much was promised 
and expected, should 
not have been able 
by this time to have 
made itself felt in 
this way, to the en¬ 
couragement of a market at home, rather than 
have devoted so much time and labor in vain to 
seek one abroad, where so much close and active 
competition must necessarily be combated under 
unfavorable circumstances. These thoughts occur 
as we consider a crop largely grown in other coun¬ 
tries with profit, and now beginning to be grown 
here, that is Rape. This crop has the double ad¬ 
vantage that it is an excellent fodder crop, and an 
industrial one as well, as the seed may be profitably 
lilR / 
Fig. 2.— RAPE IN FLOWER. 
