133 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
THE ROLLER. 
Though, as a general thing, 
we recommend keeping land 
as loose and permeable to air 
as may be, yet there are many 
cases in which the use of a 
roller is highly advantageous, 
if not absolutely necessary. 
Light sandy soils are improved ^ 
by compacting the surface with 
a heavy roller. All lumps on 
clay or heavy loam lands, 
should be crushed with a rol¬ 
ler. Where there is not dan- — 
ger of packing the ground too 
much, wheat and clover fields 
should be rolled in the Spring, 
as soon as the team can walk over them without 
sinking in. This will press in the roots 
heaved up by frost. All surfaces are improved 
by smoothing them with a roller alter sowing 
grain. 
But the most important use of this implement 
is upon land being prepared for mowing. There 
is a double advantage here. Grass seeds require 
but a very light covering of soil. If the surface 
be at all lumpy, the seed sown will drop between 
these, and the roller passing over will crush them 
down and cover the seed sufficiently without any 
harrowing or bushing. Then, again, a heavy 
roller will level and smooth the surface, flatten¬ 
ing the miniature hillocks, and burying all small 
stones out of the reach of the scythe or mowing 
machine, and leaving the field like a floor. Any 
loose stones not leveled down by this implement 
should be picked up and thrown upon the box, to 
be carried off to the fence, for the time being. 
There are several modes of constructing rollers. 
The most primitive is to saw off a smooth log, six 
to eight feet in length, and put an iron pin into 
each end, to which a frame is attached. An im¬ 
provement upon this is, to cut out discs and nail 
strips of narrow plank around them to form a 
drum. This gives a larger diameter for a given 
weight, and by attaching a box to the frame, 
stones can be thrown in to increase the weight 
whenever desired. The larger the diameter of 
the roller the easier will be the draught, and the 
ground will be left smoother. 
One great objection to the old-fashioned rollers 
is the difficulty of turning them round. This is 
in part obviated by dividing them in the middle, 
making two roliers instead of one, so that the two 
may revolve in opposite directions in turning; 
but even then there will be more or less 
dragging. The better plan, by far, is to make ! 
half a dozen or more short sections, as shown in ; 
the cut, each piece turning independantly of the j 
others. A log might be sawn into short pie¬ 
ces, and all put upon a single iron shaft. But 1 
with these the diameter is too small for the 
weight; and unless metal boxes are inserted in 
each piece, the wood will soon wear away. The 
cheapest roller, in the long run, is one made of 
hollow cast-iron cylinders, as above represented. 
These are 20 to 30 inches in diameter, the larger 
the better, and 12 inches in length. The usual 
size for field rollers is six of these sections, each 
28 inches in diameter, and weighing 160 pounds. 
A larger diameter would, we think, be still better. 
A box for holding stones,weeds,&c., and for adding 
weights, is very desirable. One of this descrip¬ 
tion costs, all complete, about $75. Where a 
farm is not so large as to require the exclusive use 
of one, two or three or more persons could unite 
in purchasing. They are sometimes made of a 
lighter weight and sold a trifle less. Seven or 
eight dollars is also deducted for each roller less 
than six. 
It will be observed that in a roller of this con¬ 
struction, should a section chance to be broken, 
the others can be moved together without delay¬ 
ing the work, and the broken parts can be sold 
for old iron, or be exchanged in part for new. 
There is no “ patent” for this mode of construc¬ 
tion. It is generally cheaper to buy such imple¬ 
ments of those who make a businet' of manufac¬ 
turing them, but in this case those living at a dis¬ 
tance from any factory, will perhaps find it better 
to buy the sections, and get the frame construct¬ 
ed at home, as the latter would be unwieldly to 
transport. The rollers will go at the lowest price 
of freight, and can be bought ready-made for 
six to eight dollars each, according.to size and 
weight. Any blacksmith can cut and fit a round 
iron rod for the shaft or axle. 
A hand-roller of two sections, like the one here 
shown, can be bought for $12 to $18. 
HOUSING TOOLS ANI) CARTS. 
There is great temptation, at this busy 
season of the year, to leave plows, harrows* 
carts, &c., in the field where they are likely 
to be wanted to-morrow. But to-morrow, 
when it comes, is perhaps a rainy day, and 
the result is, that a good tool stands out in 
the weather for a week. The injury done to 
tools by this exposure is much greater than 
is generally supposed. It is slight, at, first, 
and perhaps imperceptible, and that is one 
reason why so many farmers are careless 
of their tools. The rain will find its way 
into the joints, and then decay will com¬ 
mence, and in some time of need, when the 
strength of the tool is tested, it will give out. 
Every farmer should have sheds for all 
his vehicles, and a house where every tool 
is stored, when not in use. They are not 
only kept dry in such a place, but they are 
always on hand when wanted, or if not, 
they can be more easily traced to the delin¬ 
quent who left them out of place. 
This is quite as important for iron and 
steel implements as for those of wood. 
They are immediately covered with a coat¬ 
ing of rust when exposed to the wet, and 
this is a serious hindrance to their comfort¬ 
able use. Plows, hoes, spades and shovels 
should be cleaned as often as used, and put 
up in a dry tool-house. 
“ THE WEATHER! THE WEATHER!!’’ 
These words are in everybody’s mouth, 
hereabouts. The rain is now (May 20, 3 
o’clock P. M.) pouring down and drizzling, 
by turns, and so it has been doing for three 
days, and for two months past, with occa¬ 
sional intervals. Some time since, we pre¬ 
dicted a “ dry time,” because all the rain in 
the store-house of the clouds must have 
“come down,” but here it comes again. We 
have nearly a hundred kinds of seed in the 
ground, where we begin to fear many of 
them will stay. Our neighbors say their 
potatoes, corn, &c., will surely rot, if they 
were not frozen by the snow that fell last 
night, and the cold of the last few days. A 
friend just in from Western New-York says, 
the farmers there having failed so often of 
late years in attempting to get a \\ heat crop, 
have nearly all determined to try barley this 
Spring; but part of them cannot get a chance 
to sow, and what has been sown is rotting. 
Nearly a hundred letters received from the 
West, South-west, and from Canada, this 
week, bring bad reports of the wheat pros¬ 
pects, and speak of cold weather, and a wet, 
late Spring. The prospect for Spring crops 
is worse, even, than in 1854. But still we 
hope for the best. The “ Bow of Promise” 
is still in the clouds, and we are sure seed¬ 
time and harvest will not fail. Let us, how¬ 
ever, make the most of the season that yet 
remains. There will be plenty of time to 
plant corn: and with a good crop of this, 
famine need not be feared. (See remarks on 
this topic, at pages 105 and 140.) A good 
supply of manure will hasten forward the 
crop. Those who can get it readily, will 
find good Peruvian guano a stimulant to 
rapid growth. If used, mix it thoroughly 
wfith the soil around, but not in contact with 
the roots. Put in a quantity of corn, or 
millet, or oats, or sugar-cane, to be cut as 
j green food for the cattle, since one extreme 
usuai’y follows another, and a dry Summer 
j may be looked for after this wet Spring. 
; Those who have our numbers for May, 1854, 
I will do well to refer to page 145, and read 
the advice we then gave under circum¬ 
stances like the present, in an article 
headed, “ W’ill there be a Great Drouth the 
Coming Summer'?” We then predicted a 
dry season, and urged putting in plenty of 
corn for soiling, against July and August 
drouths. Hundreds afterwards wrote to 
