284r 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
Stacking Hay or Grain. 
Tlie use of the horse fork in unloading hay 
and grain is all but universal nowadays, but 
there has always been a difficulty in using it 
for stacking, so much apparatus u'as required. 
The use of a simiile pair of shears has been 
recommended, and we have suggested it to our 
readers. A correspondent sends us a sketch, 
from which we make the accompanying engrav¬ 
ing, tc illustrate his way of accomplishing the 
end cheaply and easily. He selects two strong 
pc.es, so long that when bolted together at the 
tops, the pulley suspended between them will be 
about 24 feet from the earth. This jiulley 
block is hooked on to an eye bent in an iron rod, 
which is shaped as in the enlarged part of the 
figure, and sprung over the bolt. Another block 
is attached to the foot of one of the legs of the 
shears, a pin being run through it. The engrav¬ 
ing shows how the rope is rove through these 
blocks, and how the horse is attached. If the 
ground is hard, the end of the pole against which 
the horse draws is secured from slipiung, by 
driving stakes into the ground. The shears are 
held in place aud given any desirable amount of 
play back and foi’th, at the top, by two guy ropes. 
The load is driven quite close to the shears at 
one side, and when a forkful is raised and swung 
over the stack, the shears incline that way, be¬ 
ing allowed to do so by the slackness of the 
guy-rope that passes over the load. This plan 
seems feasible, and has the merit of simplicity. 
About Farm and Orchard Ladders. 
Our correspondent, Gilbert J. Greene, of 
Hudson, who has given us so many practical 
hints, offers some upon ladders, which, in the 
main, strike us as excellent. There are numer¬ 
ous patent ladders made very light and’ strong, 
of white pine or white-wood, some of which 
we have used with great satisfaction ; but these 
are not within the convenient reach ..f all, and 
besides, it is always better to use one’s spare 
hours in making such things, rather ihan one’s 
spare change in buying them. Mr. G. says:— 
“Tlie ladders in use about the farm are often 
heavy, clumsy' affairs, often requiring the strength 
of two men to carry or put them in position. 
Soft wood will make a stiffer ladder than hard¬ 
wood, one more easily made and handled, and 
less liable to be broken if thrown down. A lad¬ 
der with the sides of l’|i inch pine, 2^|4 inches 
at the bottom, and 2 inches at the top, and 18 
feet long, with oak rounds about 21 inches long 
qt the bottom and 15 at the top, will weigh only 
about 28 pounds. It can be readily handled by 
a boy, and will sustain a weight of 200 lbs., 
placed at any angle. Second-growth basswood 
is the best timber to make ladders of, because it 
is the stiffest light timber grown in this country. 
A ladder, 26 feet long, 3 inches at the bottom 
and 2 at the top, and 1 inch thick, will w'eigh 
about 32 pounds, and will sustain a weight of 
150 pounds placed in the centre, the ladder lying 
in a horizontal position, and sustained only at 
the ends; (of course, it will sustain a heavier 
weight if set in any other position.) The rounds 
of a ladder (to tise a contradiction of terms) 
should be flat, 1®|4 inches wide, and ^|e inch 
thick, and the mortise ^Is inch wide. About 
every fourth I'ound should have a dovetail, made 
upon the upper side of the tenon, the mortise cut 
to fit it, and a wedge driven in beside the tenon 
to fasten it. In this way the ladder is securely 
fastened together, and the outside is smooth. 
A ladder should not be left exposed to the 
weather, but sliould be well painted, and placed 
muler shelter when not in use. Fig. 1 represents 
a light ladder, from 10 to 13 feet in length, to be 
Fig. 1. Fig. 3. 
used about the fruit garden or orchard, tvhere a 
longer ladder is not necessaiy, or might injure 
the trees. A brace, B, is hinged to the upper 
part, and can be so placed as to give the ladder 
any desired angle; a single brace is much better 
than a double one, because it is more easily con¬ 
structed and handled, and tlie ladder will stand 
square on any uneven surface. Such a ladder, 
12 feet long, of pine or basswood, weighs about 
23 pounds. [We very much prefer two inde¬ 
pendent braces, instead of one. They must each 
swing free, and be firmly hinged upon the upper 
round or near the top of the ladder, as shown in 
fig. 1. Two independent braces will hold a lad¬ 
der very firmly, but if they are united by a stiff 
cross-brace, they are much less secure. Ed.] 
Fig. 2 is an extension ladder, which possesses 
some merit. It is composed of two ladders, so 
arranged that one can be drawn above the oth¬ 
er to any desired height. The ladders can be 
of any length; they should be of i/ie same 
width at each end. They are held together by a 
strap of flat iron, as A, fastened upon the top 
of the first ladder and on the bottom of the sec¬ 
ond ; they should be loose-enough to admit of 
their sliding freely upon each other. The sec¬ 
ond round in the lower ladder is turned with 
shoulders, this passes through the sides of the 
ladder, with a small crank upon one end. A 
rope, twice the length of the ladder, is attached 
to this round, which passes u|) on the back side 
of the ladder. A small iron pulley is attached to 
the top round, and thence the rope passes down 
the front to the bottom round of the second or 
upper ladder; turning the crank to wind up 
this rope draws the second ladder above the 
first to any height. The ends, however, 
should alwa 3 's be allowed to lap upon each 
other, at least twelve to twenty inches. The top 
ladder is kept at any desired height, by fastening 
a hook, as B, fig. 2, to the bottom round of the 
second ladder, and hooked on any round it 
will reach in the first ladder. The iron straps, 
holding them together, should be fastened with 
screws, so that the ladders can be taken apart 
and used separately if desired. With this de¬ 
sign in view, it would be a good ide.a, perhaps, 
to have the ladders of different lengths.” The 
construction of figures 3 and 4 is readily seen. 
Hints About Hen Roosts. 
In the treatment of our domestic animals, 
there is no guide so reliable as nature. If we 
keep our eyes open and observe the habits and 
inclinations of our dumb dependents, we Avill 
gain insights into their natures so that we may 
be able to do much for their health and comfort. 
The following hints about hen roosts illustrate 
and suggest this idea. “ X,” of Greeu Bay, 
Wisconsin, sends the following communication 
to the American Agriculturist :—“ In some of 
the more northern latitudes, where the mercury 
fiills to zero, and below, it is difficult to pre¬ 
serve poullry from freezing their feet, and I 
shall be glad if my experience in preventing it 
will be of any value to others. If jmu will ob¬ 
serve the habits of poultry during the j'ear, 
it will be noticed that in warm weather they 
prefer to roost on poles, the edges of fences, 
boards, etc.; while in cold weather the}’ seek 
out flat places, where their toes may be kept up 
among the feathers. The favorite place which 
my fowls found in the winter, was the top of an 
unfinished harness room, where they found the 
flat surface of a 2x4 scantling, Avith its broad¬ 
est side up. In the summer, they go back to 
the roosting poles, Avhich are probably cooler, 
