1876.] 
259 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
ened by ail iron plate on the inside, through which 
the bolts pass. The shoulders of the corner rafters 
rest upon these braces and plates, as shown at fig¬ 
ure 3. These rafters are of 6 x 12 timber. Purlin 
plates of 8 x 10-inch timber are bolted under the 
rafters, and are fastened together at the corners in 
the same mariner as the plates. The intermediate 
rafters rest upon these purlins. Iron tie-rods may 
be used to strenghten the rafters and hold them 
together, if thought necessary. Figure 4 shows 
the section, and figure 5, on page 200, the eleva¬ 
tion, with a portion of the roof removed, to show 
the manner of layingtlie rafters and bridging them. 
The plate is seen at p, figure 5 ; the purlin-plate at 
s, and the bridging or tie-rods at r. A crown rim 
is bolted to the rafters at the point of the roof, or 
rather the rafters are bolted to the crown rim, 
which supports a cupola. The cupola is 50 feet 
from tne floor of the barn, the roof rising 22 feet, 
and the posts beiug 28 feet high. The floor of 
the barn is laid upon beams, supported by 
brick piers or timber posts in the basement. A 
line of beams may be laid above the floor on either 
side, above which floors may be laid ; the space 
thus made may be used for granaries, or storage of 
farm tools and machines, or other cumbrous proper¬ 
ty. A barn of this character offers an opportunity 
for division and arrangement, such as cannot fail 
to meet the circumstances of any farmer, whether 
it be used for stock or grain. In fact its simplicity 
and roominess are such, that few farmers would 
care to encumber it with much, if any, inside fit¬ 
ting, as nothing of the kind is really wanted, ex¬ 
cept the stalls for cows and other stock. If these 
were built low, or not more than four feet high, 
the general view of a lot of fine stock, thus 
arranged, would be one of the most attractive 
sights that could be met with amongst the many 
pleasant things about a well ordered homestead. 
Eit for Self-sucking Cows or Weaning 
Calves. 
There are many contrivances used or suggested 
for curing self-sucking cows, most of which are ob¬ 
jectionable, because in use they may possibly wound 
and injure the animal. This applies to all sorts of 
sharp pointed things worn by the cow, as well as 
to straps, sticks, and collars, many of which a cow 
with any ingenuity can overcome with ease. To go 
to the root of the matter, we should prevent the 
cow from sucking at all, and this can be done by 
preventing her from making a vacuum in her 
mouth, by leaving an 
opening for the admission 
of air. This is clone by the 
means of a hollow per¬ 
forated bit, shown in the 
illustration. If the cow 
is made to wear this, suction is made impossible, 
and a small one worn by a calf will be equally effec¬ 
tive. The bit is made of a piece of iron pipe, half- 
an-inch in diameter, in which several holes are drill¬ 
ed, and which is curved to a proper shape, and pro¬ 
vided with rings, so that it may be attached to a 
bridle. The bit does not prevent an animal from 
eating or drinking, and may be worn continuously. 
bit for cows. 
Hints for the Workshop.—Making a 
Hinge. 
A gate with a broken hinge is a very forlorn ob¬ 
ject, and one that declares to every passer by 
“ here lives a poor farmer.” If there is one thing 
more than another worthy of note and a cause of 
congratulation in this one hundredth year of the 
existence of the United States, it is the infinite 
number of small conveniences with which we are 
supplied, every one of which adds to the sum of 
our daily comfort. More than this, the majority 
of these little things, which are in use all over the 
world, are the inventions and productions of Amer¬ 
icans. So plentifully are we supplied with these 
small conveniences, that we can not turn our eyes 
in any direction, without coming across some of 
them. It is these small matters which enable us 
to have so many neat and pleasant things about 
our homes, at so little cost of money, time, or la¬ 
bor. Therefore, to see a front-gate, or a barn-gate, 
or door, hanging by one hinge, is now so unneces¬ 
sary a sight, that it becomes at once a conspicuous 
indication of the owner’s 
character. One of the 
greatest of the small con- 
Figure 1. veniences around the 
farm,or the mechanic’s rural home, is the small forge 
already described in the American Agriculturist for 
May, 1875, p. 180. To make a gate-hinge with the 
help of this portable forge, is a very easy thing. 
We take a piece of half-inch square bar-iron, as 
long as may be needed, and heating one end, round 
it for an inch or two ; then 
heating the other end, 
flatten it out gradually 
to a point for the same 
length, and bend it over 
a mandrel, or the nose of Figure 2. 
an anvil, into the shape shown at figure 1. We then 
cut off a piece of round half-inch bar, about two 
inches long, and drive it into the loop, tightening 
the loop around it as much as possible. The loop- 
end is then brought to a welding heat, and the 
joint closed around the pin, and neatly worked 
smooth with the hammer. 
Another piece of square 
iron is then taken, and 
igure. . worked at each end the 
same as the first one, the loop, however, is worked 
open upon a piece of cold 5 /e-inch round bar, so 
that it will be large enough to work easily upon 
the pin of the first piece. A thread may now be cut 
upon the round ends, or they may be riveted over 
a piece of iron plate, or a large washer, when they 
are driven through the gate-post and the heel-post 
of the gate. It is best, however, to have a screw- 
thread and a nut, using a washer under each nut, 
to prevent the wood from being crushed. The 
whole then appears as at figure 2, and is a hinge 
that can not easily be broken or worn out. In bor¬ 
ing the holes for a hinge of this kind, a bit or an 
auger of only half-an-inch diameter should be used, 
so that the edges of the iron should cut their own 
way into the wood, and when the hinges are driven, 
a piece of hard wood should be laid upon the ends 
that are struck, so that they will not be battered by 
the hammer. Care must be exercised to have them 
driven in squarely, so that the gate may swing with¬ 
out binding on the hinges. For lighter hinges the 
same sized iron may be used, but the ends should 
be hammered out to a point, and the edges should 
be notched or bearded with a cold-chisel, as shown 
at figure 3. These may be driven into a post very 
readily, if a hole smaller than the iron be bored to 
lead the way, and when driven in, will not be 
easily drawn out. When it is necessary to draw a 
hinge that has become rusted in out of a post or 
gate, or that lias been very tightly driven, it may 
easily be done by boring a hole above it, or on one 
side of it, or beneath it, a little larger than the iron, 
and then forcing it into the hole by means of a 
wooden wedge driven close to it. It will then be 
loose, and may easily be taken out without difficulty. 
Arable or Grass Laud.— There is no reason 
why we should not have grass enough, and perma¬ 
nent pasture too, if we will. Even in the Southern 
States, the planters are discovering that their na¬ 
tive or naturalized grasses make good permanent 
pastures, and grasses formerly regarded as pests, 
are now welcomed as valuable acquisitions. In 
the north and west, excepting the Blue-grass 
pastures in many localities, which are becoming 
more valuable year by year, and some which are 
now from 30 to 70 years old, we have no permanent 
meadows worthy the name of a pasture. Meat, 
butter, and cheese are now not only the most 
needed products, but the most profitable, and it is 
a question to be carefully considered and decided, 
if it is not possible and profitable to keep some 
lands in grass that arc now yielding but a poor 
profit beneath the plow, and producing grain crops. 
An Engine for the Farm or Workshop. 
Recently we examined a small steam engine, 
which possesses more than usual advantages for the 
use of farmers, mechanics, or other persons who 
need a power that is both cheap and effective, per¬ 
fectly safe and easy to manage, and which will oc¬ 
cupy but a small space. The steam engine re¬ 
ferred to is the “Little Giant,” made by W. B. 
Snyder, of 84 Fulton st., New York, an engraving 
of which is given on page 260. We were especi¬ 
ally pleased with this engine, regarding its struc¬ 
ture as more than usually excellent for all the pur¬ 
poses to which a machine of light power can be 
adapted. The construction of the boiler, as shown 
in figure 2, is remarkably strong, and gives a very 
rapid and economical heating power, no more coal 
being required than would heat an ordinary parlor 
stove. The interior view of the boiler, as shown, 
is as follows : -Z? represents the main boiler, which 
is of lap-welded boiler tube. A represents the top 
of the boiler—-a heavy iron casting, which is thread¬ 
ed and screwed on to the boiler. D represents the 
bottom cap, which sets into the furnace, and is also 
a heavy iron casting, threaded and screwed to 
the boiler. C, 6', show the smaller boiler tubes, 
which start from near the bottom, and enter the 
boiler about one-half way up. In the one-horse 
boiler there are 25 14-foot tubes. In the two-horse 
boiler there are 37 two-foot tubes. In the three- 
horse boiler there are 41 three-foot tubes. Each 
tube is well secured from the inside by a new and 
thoroughly durable process. These tubes project 
into the fire space, and give an abundance of heat¬ 
ing surface ; also, opening into the water space, 
they insure a free circulation of water, that must 
generate steam rapidly. The furnace is lined with 
fire-brick, and is well constructed for economy and 
durability. A jacket of heavy sheet-iron surrounds 
the whole, retaining the heat of the fire in con¬ 
tact with the boiler and external tubes. 
Each boiler is tested up to 250 lb. pressure to the 
square inch, and is calculated to resist a strain equal 
to 1,000 lbs. to the inch. A two-horse engine has a 
cylinder 34 inches in diameter, with a 5-inch stroke, 
and will make 250 revolutions per minute. It oc¬ 
cupies a floor space, including the boiler, of 54x24 
feet. An engine of this size may easily and safely 
be worked up to a higher than the rated power. 
Its cost is much less than that of a team of equal 
power, and the economy of fuel is an important 
consideration. A one-liorse engine, costing §150 
complete, would furnish steam enough to cook 
food for 100 head of cattle, besides power to cut 
the fodder, grind the grain, pulp the roots, elevate 
all the crops by means of the horse-fork, and pump 
water for all the purposes of the farm. The parts 
are all interchangeable, so that a damaged or worn 
out piece can be easily replaced with little cost. 
To set it in operation, it is only necessary to turn a 
cock, and any person who could run a thrashing-ma¬ 
chine could learn to operate one of these simple 
engines. The cost of freight is estimated at 50 
ets. per 100 lbs. per 100 miles, the w r eight of a 
complete one-horse engine and boiler is 345 lbs. 
