1876.] AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 417 
A Plan of a Stock lot. 
Another “subscriber” describes his harrow, 
(figure 2), as follows. It is made of two wings, 
each of 4 pieces 5 feet long, of 3 x 4 oak timber. 
Each bar has five teeth of half-inch square steel, 
placed a foot apart. The wings are held together 
by iron straps, bolted with inch bolts to each tim¬ 
ber, and gained into the timbers. The ends of the 
straps are turned up, so as to make hinges, and in 
these strong bolts are placed to hold the wings to¬ 
gether. A chain is fastened by clevises to the har¬ 
row, for the draft, and the closeness of the scoring 
may be regulated by changing the link of the chain 
to which the draft-tree is hooked. Still another 
Fig. 3.— WEED AND SOD HARROW. 
harrow, which serves to work weedy ground, and 
gather the weeds for removal and destruction, is 
described by a farmer in Ohio. The form is shown 
at figure 3. The cross-pieces, which hold the frame 
together, are bolted on; the teeth (fig. 4) are 
sharp and curved, so as to tear up roots of weeds, 
and collect them into bunches, or by turning it to 
harrow a plowed sod. There is no work on the farm 
of more importance than harrowing, and the ideas 
Fig. 4.— HARROW TEETH. 
above given will be of great service to many of 
our readers, who may find time to turn them to 
account during the coming winter season. 
---- 
How Can we Keep the Boys cr, the Farm ? 
A BOY’S VIEW OP THE HATTER. 
The importance of the question given above is 
shown by the frequency with which it is discussed 
in this and other journals. We do not know that 
we have seen anything on the subject from one of 
the parties most interested, the boys, and we are 
pleased to give place to the followingfrom “E.W.,” 
a young man in Ulster Co., N. Y., as it shows that 
boys are thinking of the matter, and that at least 
one of them has very sensible views on the subject. 
He says : “ It was with more than common interest 
that I read ‘How can we keep the Boys on the 
Farm ? ’ by Mr. Waring. It seems to me that this 
question can be answered very readily, but in the 
first place let me say a few words as to the cause 
of the dislike, that farmers’ sons have for their 
fathers’ occupation, and which seems to drive 
them into some other business. We boys, (for I 
am one), want recreation sometimes, but the farm¬ 
er as a general thing, expects his boy to plod on 
from day to day and to take an interest in the work, 
■whether he (the farmer), is at home or not. He 
expects him to do first class work with the poorest 
tools, expects the.boy to 
understand what work 
he wants done, and just 
how he requires it per¬ 
formed, whether the 
boy has ever done that 
kind of work before or 
not, and then to cap the 
climax, does not ex¬ 
plain to the boy how he 
must do it. In case the 
boy asks for informa¬ 
tion, he is sometimes 
answered in this way: 
‘ I should think a boy 
as old as you are, would 
know how to do that. 
Why, when I was of 
your age, there wasn't 
J.-ny work on the farm 
I couldn’t do, and a 
piaguey sight more of 
it too, than you do.’ 
“We boys sometimes 
like to spend a few 
hours in fishing, hunt¬ 
ing, or something of 
the sort, but we are 
often told when we 
ask permission for a 
holiday, ‘ Yes, you can go a fishing on the wood- 
pile, or you can hunt among the potatoes down 
cellar, and mind you pick every sprout ofE.’ The 
above is not my own experience, but it is the ex¬ 
perience of too many of the farmers’ sons in this 
County. Now how can the boys be persuaded to 
stay on the farm ? As a boy, I say by making farm 
life a pleasure instead of a drudge from day to day, 
give the boy an interest in the farm, ask his opin¬ 
ion as to the best mode of doing a piece of work, 
and if his way is a good one, follow it or adopt a 
part of it, and let him see that you think something 
of his opinion, even if he is a boy ; this will stimu¬ 
late him to study agricultural works, and to gain 
all the information of farming he can. 
“ Let the boy have a calf or a yoke of steers to 
call his own, and let them he his, and when the calf 
becomes a cow, or the steers oxen, if the boy wishes 
to sell, let him, and use your influence to persuade 
him to invest the money received in something that 
will be remunerative ; do not, as some farmers do, 
put that money into your own pocket, and tell the 
boy that it is all the same as though he had it to 
spend, as the farm will be his by and by. Very 
few boys understand such talk, and if they do, 
would rather have one dollar now than the prospect 
of having ten dollars in ten or fifteen years time. 
If the boy wishes to purchase young stock with the 
money received for his cow, let him, and if need 
be, set apart an acre or two for him on which he 
can raise some of the feed required to keep his cat¬ 
tle through the winter. If thought best, let the 
boy pay a little in the way of rent for the land ; 
give him a day now and then to properly work it; 
encourage him to raise what you know to be the 
most profitable ; furnish the manure, give a cheer¬ 
ing word, an improving nod (such things go a great 
way), do not act as though you begrudged him the 
land and the time ; do not give him ‘that corner 
over there,’ that you know will not grow white 
beans, but let the land be good. You will never 
lose anything by it, on the contrary, you will be the 
gainer by so doing, for the boys will see that you 
wish them to succeed in their undertakings.” 
A subscriber at Ottawa, Kansas, wishes for a 
plan of a stock lot, for the winter feeding of horses, 
cattle, sheep, and hogs, in which each may be kept 
separate, and yet all may be fed and watered from 
one barn and well. The plan given in the accom¬ 
panying engraving, would serve the purpose. The 
barn is in front, and there is a shed in the rear. If 
the shed is not already long enough for the purpose, 
it may be extended. A door from the shed opens 
into each lot, and the shed may be divided to corre¬ 
spond with the yards, or not, as may be desired. A 
feed rack may be in each yard, and the water 
PLAN FOR A STOCK LOT. 
troughs, which are placed against the shed, maybe 
connected together by inverted siphons of lead 
pipe ; these are buried in the ground, so that when 
one is filled all are filled, or by a spout at the eave 
of the shed into which the water may be pumped 
from the well, and from which it would flow into 
each one. If the yards are needed of larger size, 
they may be extended on each side, leaving en¬ 
trances at the ends of the shed. If any of our read¬ 
ers can furnish any more convenient plan, we shall 
be happy to hear from them. 
--—-• 
Hints and Helps for Farmers. 
BY L. D. SNOOK, YATES CO., N. Y. 
Hay-Rack and Manger.—A cheap and couveni- 
Fig. 1.— RACK AND MANGER. 
ent hay-rack and manger is shown at figure 1. The 
front of the manger should be of oak or other hard- 
