1876.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
A57 
method of adjustment to the body gives the easy 
motion of the “ side bar ” to the carriage, and dis¬ 
penses with the reach, so that one can drive over 
obstacles that would be impassible with any others. 
This form of spring is especially adapted to 
rough roads, where there is much strain upon the 
springs, and upon smooth roads is so easy and 
comfortable to the driver, that it is equally applicable 
there. We understand that, although the Dexter 
Spring Co. of Hulton, Pa., have sent out many hun¬ 
dreds on trial for 90 days, tolae returned if not satis¬ 
factory, not one has yet been sent back to them. 
- - ,9, «—- 
Hints and Helps for Farmers. 
About Gate Hinges. —In figure 1 is shown a 
plan of firmly securing the upper hinge of a gate 
in the position desired. The hook or post-hinge 
should always be pro¬ 
vided with a nut for 
tightening up when the 
outer end of the gate 
sags ; it is also more 
easily removed when 
necessary. The eye por¬ 
tion of a hinge for a 
large gate should be i of 
an inch square where it 
passes through the heel- 
post of the gate, and 14 to 16 inches in length, the 
outer end being i inch wide and i an inch thick. 
Three small bolts of the proper length secure it to 
the arm of the gate. In figure 2 is an improved 
method of preventing hinges working or pushing 
in the gate or post, and causing the gate to sag. 
For general purposes a 1-inch hole is made through 
the hinge, 2 inches from the hook, into which is 
firmly driven a small iron pin, 3 inches in length ; 
an iron washer is placed between the gate heel or 
post and the pin, and prevents the hinge from 
working its way into the gate or post, or from 
Fig. 1.— SECURING HINGE. 
Fig. 2.— IMPROVED HINGE. 
splitting them. This improvement can be attached 
to a gate now in use, and work satisfactorily, or the 
hinge-bolt may be made square near the hinge, and 
round elsewhere, leaving a sharp shoulder against 
which a washer or iron plate is placed. When the 
bolt is put into the gate-post, the washer prevents 
it from being forced further in. 
A Neat Post, Board, and Earth Fence.—A 
style of farm fence extensively used in Western 
New York, which, while it is a good stock barrier, 
Fig. O.—POST, BOARD, AND EARTH FENCE. 
is neat and cheap, is shown at figure 3. The posts, 
31 feet in length above ground, are sawed off square 
at the top, upon which is placed a 2 x 3 or 2 x 4 
stringer. The lower board is placed within 14 
inches of the ground, and this space is filled up 
with earth by plowing two furrows upon each side, 
throwing the first close up to and somewhat under 
the fence, the other being thrown in position with 
a shovel; unless it be firmly packed, it should ex¬ 
tend an inch or two above the bottom board, to 
make allowance for settling. This 14 inches of 
earth embankment, placed where it is, .presents a 
more formidable obstacle to jumpers than 24 inch¬ 
es of board fence would. 
Double or Combination Bars. —Gates are far 
more convenient,and afford a more desirable method 
of passage to and from fields than bars; but these 
are at least two-thirds cheaper than gates, and a 
slight modification or addition adds much to their 
convenience and utility. The two greatest objec¬ 
tions to the common bars are the time required to 
open and shut them, and the liability of the bars to 
split and break by letting one end fall carelessly to 
the ground when opening. At any point where a 
person frequently passes through the bars, the ar¬ 
rangement similar to that in figure 4 will be useful. 
Posts are placed 2i to 31 feet from the fence post, 
upon which the end of the bars rest when closed. 
For the passage of loads of hay and grain, the bars 
should be 14 feet in length. For a person or an animal 
to pass, the rails are shoved back. For the passage 
of a wagon the bars are opened in the usual manner. 
-- I <1-^-0—< SRgTn n 
December Ice. 
' Ice has become so important in the manufacture 
of the best butter, and in 
the preservation of fruits, 
vegetables, and meats, 
in the summer, that no 
farmer can afford to be 
without it. With a good 
ice-house, well filled, he 
can put his perishable 
products into the home 
market in first rate con¬ 
dition, and sell on the top 
of the market. Much 
of the material for family 
consumption inevitably 
spoils for want of ice. 
Fruits become stale, milk 
sours, meats are tainted, 
butter grows rancid, and 
these losses united cost 
much more than the labor 
of gathering and storing 
the ice. It not infrequent¬ 
ly happens that the first of the season is not only the 
best, but the only opportunity for securing a sup¬ 
ply. December ice is generally more transparent 
and solid than that which 
forms laterwith partially 
melted snow upon the 
surface. The short crop 
of last season was owing 
mainly to the neglect of 
the December harvest. 
Good ice might have been 
gathered then, but every 
body was waiting for 
thicker ice, which in many 
places did not come at 
all. This was a good thing 
for the ice men of Maine, 
but rather expensive for 
the multitudes further 
south,that usually depend 
upon the home supply. 
Farmers, we are glad to 
know, are getting more in 
the habit of using ice, and 
find it a profitable crop 
to gather. In the single item of manufacturing I 
and preserving butter, it would save many millions | 
of dollars to the country. More than half the but¬ 
ter sent to the large markets is of the lower grades, 
and has to be sold at a discount of twenty-five to 
fifty per cent. With a better preservation of the 
milk and cream, such as ice would furnish, and 
nicer methods of making and storing, and sending 
to market, this immense loss might be saved to the 
farmers of the country. 
A Dump-Cart and a Mink-Trap. 
One of our correspondents, W. E. Robinson, 
sends us drawings and the following descriptions 
of a cart and a trap used in his locality. The 
“ Dump-Cart ” is a handy contrivance, a good deal 
used in some parts of this State, and is simply an 
ordinary ox-cart, the tongue shortened and fasten¬ 
ed by a king bolt to the forward axle of a wagon, 
as shown in the sketch. It can be turned very 
short, as the wheels have a clear swing up to the 
cart tongue, and is very convenient for hauling 
anything that is to be dumped : such as stones, 
earth, wood, manure, etc. The seat of an old mow¬ 
ing machine is fastened to the cart tongue, on 
which the driver sits. Horses or oxen may be used. 
A Mine-Trap is made by boring a 2 inch or 2i 
inch hole in a log, 4 or 5 inches deep, and into the 
edges of this hole drive 3 sharpened nails, so that 
they will project i inch or so inside, as shown. The 
bait being at the bottom, the miuk pushes his head 
in to get it, but on attempting to withdraw, it is 
caught by the nails. Musk-rat is good bait for 
them, and a highly praised bait is made by cutting 
an eel into small bits, which are placed in a bottle 
and hung in the sun, and after a time become an 
oily and very odorous mass. A few drops of this 
are used.—The above simple mink-trap may be 
I made by using any block of wood, or a stump of a 
Fig. 1.—IMPROVED DUMP-CART. 
tree, large or small, and the same plan may be made 
use of to trap skunks, or, by using a small hole and 
some straightened fish-hooks, it will serve to catch 
rats or weasels, enemies of the rural poultry yard, 
which may be thinned off by the use of this trap. 
