293 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
part to the fact that the flavor of the roots or 
bran, or whatever other line food may be mixed 
with the cut forage before steaming, is im¬ 
parted to the mass, and causes that to be eaten 
which otherwise would necessarily have been 
rejected. Mr. Thomas J. Edge, of Chester Co., 
Pennsylvania, gave some months ago 
in the Practical Farmer the result of 
an experiment in cooking corn for 
hogs. Mr. Edge found in feeding three 
lots, of five bushels of corn each, to 
pigs in the same condition, that when 
the corn was fed without grinding or 
cooking, the pork made barely repaid 
its value—$1.30 per bushel; that when 
the corn was ground and made into a 
thick slop with cold water, the result 
was slightly better; and that when the 
ground meal was thoroughly cooked, 
and then fed cold, lie was repaid the 
whole cost of the corn, and more than 
$1.00 per bushel besides. Mr. Stewart, 
of North Evans, New York, lias found, 
as the result of a long practice in steam¬ 
ing food, that fully one-third of the hay 
and larger forage fed to neat cattle and 
sheep is saved by steaming. Messrs. S. & D. 
Wells, who have a large farm at Wethersfield, 
Connecticut, and who have a very well con¬ 
structed steaming apparatus, find Mr. Stewart’s 
results;fully sustained in their own practice. 
Other advantages of steaming food are, cattle 
keep in much beter condition, butter made in 
winter has more nearly the yellow color of grass 
butter, and the liability to heave in horses is al¬ 
most entirely removed. Mr. Stewart states that 
ahorse which came in from pasture with a very 
severe cough was cured by the use of steamed 
food within two weeks after being put into the 
stable. The manure resulting from the use of 
steamed food decomposes very much more 
readily, and is in better condition for applica¬ 
tion to the land than that which is uncooked 
and contains more undigested fibrous matter. 
-- - -- --- 
Horse Carts for Farm Work. 
Like every thing else, a horse cart should be 
Fig. 2.—SAFETY REIN. 
adapted to its uses, and the kind of usage it is 
expected to have. So, the style of cart best 
adapted to a stony, rough farm, to be used for 
hauling stone and earth, is essentially different 
from one to be used on a level, smooth farm, 
for all kinds of light jobs, such as taking green 
fodder to the cow stalls or hog pens; vegeta¬ 
bles or fruit to tiie village; veal and lambs to 
market; gathering such crops as beaus or roots, 
on small farms, or doing light work, and errands 
“ for the farm, garden, and household.” For 
such employment the conventional horse cart, 
such as one can buy at many.agricultural ware¬ 
houses, or such as your wheelwright will be 
likely to make if you simply order a cart cost¬ 
ing $50 or thereabouts, is not the thing. A 
much lighter, handier vehicle would be of more 
general utility, and one may be easily made 
upon most farms, depending, of course, upon 
the blacksmith for the iron work. Such an one 
is shown in the accompanying engraving. The 
shafts are ash, and attached to the axle. The 
wheels may be a pair of low wagon wheels, or 
larger ones, with very broad tread, to prevent 
their cutting into sward or plowed ground. The 
body is made of a frame of hard wood (oak), 
the side pieces being mortised into the end 
pieces, which extend eight inches on each side. 
There is, besides, a cross-piece mortised into 
the side pieces, across the middle of the frame. 
The box is of seasoned oak boards, one inch 
thick, nailed to the outside of the frame, 
strengthened by triangular corner posts in front 
and iron braces at each corner attached to 
the outer ends of the end pieces of the frame. 
The box is then bound with hoop-iron on 
the upper edge all around, the hooping extend¬ 
ing down on each side at the corners. The 
tail-board is put in very strongly, and held 
by a rod. This makes a very stiff box, and it 
really need not be of quite so heavy stuff, un¬ 
less it is intended to put top boards upon it in 
the way we now describe. The capacity of the 
cart body is increased by 14-inch pine boards, 
fastened upon knee rungs, which go in staples 
inserted in the cart body. Instead of this ar¬ 
rangement an open rack, of similar construc¬ 
tion, may be made of strips, which would be 
very convenient for carting green fodder, hay, 
pea brush, and similar bulky articles. The 
frame may be of 2 x 2-inch stuff, and the bottom 
boards of the cart of 3 | t-incli oak, well nailed 
all around to side and cross-pieces. IVe recent¬ 
ly saw this cart at the farm of a friend, and 
liked it so much that we made a sketch of it for 
the readers of the Agriculturist, but find, in 
some particulars, we must depend upon our 
memory and impressions for details; our im¬ 
pression is that the size of the body is 3 it. 8 
in. by 5 ft., and that it is 1 foot high. 
Drain Conduits and Drain Diggers. —Mr. 
M. W. Gunn, of La Salle, Illinois, writes for in¬ 
formation concerning the use of continuous 
cement pipes, made in the bottoms of drains as 
a substitute for tiles, which, in his vicinity, are 
absurdly high,—-also, with reference to a ma¬ 
chine by which ditches may be dug by horse 
power, stones and other obstructions in the soil 
being almost unknown. Such a conduit as is 
often made by moulding in the bottom of a 
ditch a mixture of cement and gravel 
around a movable plug has the insuper¬ 
able objection, so far as underdraining 
is concerned, that it is impervious, and 
does not admit water from the soil. If 
this difficulty could be successfully 
overcome, as by puncturing the bottom 
at certain intervals, the plan might 
answer very well. In the report of the 
trial of plows at Utica, published by 
the New York State Agricultural So¬ 
ciety, there is an account of the opera¬ 
tion of a ditching machine, which 
produced a favorable impression on the 
minds of the judges. Some years ago 
another machine promised to be exactly 
what is wanted on prairie farms; but, 
for some reason to us unknown, it has 
not been generally introduced, and, in¬ 
deed, lias probably never been in the 
market at all. Certainly a field of profitable 
invention is open to those who will turn their 
attention to the construction of a machine by 
which two or four horses may be made to cheap¬ 
ly dig three or four-foot drains in prairie land. 
Safety Heins for Runaways and Kickers. 
There are several patented contrivances 
that render the arrangements which we de¬ 
scribe more efficacious and more easily applied, 
but the principle of controlling a horse by 
drawing the bit against and so as to stretch the 
corners of the mouth is nothing new, A very 
simple way is represented in figure 1. It con¬ 
sists in using strong, flexible straps for the ends 
of the reins, passing them through the bit-rings, 
and buckling them together over the head. 
They should be well greased, and tied first to 
the top of the headstall. The effect of pulling 
upon these will obviously draw the bit upward 
as well as against the jaw, even though the 
horse curve his neck so as to take the pressure 
as much on the jaw as possible. The pain may 
lie made severe, especially if the mouth bo 
sawed upon very slightly. Figure 2 represents 
an old contrivance, also, and one which is much 
more effective than the one shown in fig. 1, hut 
A CONVENIENT HORSE CART. 
