88 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[March - , 
Tlie Remington Factories. 
The modem town of Ilion—as famed for feats 
of arms in one sense as the ancient one—is situated 
in the lovely Mohawk Valley in Herkimer Co., N.Y., 
upon the N. Y. Central railroad. It owes its exist¬ 
ence, if not its origin, to the enterprise of E. Rem¬ 
ington and Sons, who 
have there erected sev¬ 
eral extensive facto¬ 
ries, in which they em¬ 
ploy 1500 mechanics, 
for the manufacture of 
their celebrated rifles, 
shot guns, pistols, sew¬ 
ing machines, plows, 
mowers, tedders, hoes 
and other agricultural 
implements. This 
strange mixture of im¬ 
plements of war and 
peace bring to mind 
the ancient prophecy 
which relates to turning swords into plow shares, 
etc., for in the Remington factories it is highly pro¬ 
bable that the same bar of steel may furnish ma¬ 
terial for an army rifle, a bayonet, a plow share, a 
hoe, or a sewing machine shuttle or needle. To enu¬ 
merate what a visitor may see in this four-acre field 
of workshop is impossible here, but one thing we 
cannot fail to remark is, that for perfection of ma¬ 
chinery, excellence of material, skill in workman¬ 
ship and ability in execution, this establishment is 
unsurpassed. It results that the same material and 
skill, which enabled this firm to produce the rifle 
which won the first prize at the late trial between 
the first marksmen and the best rifle makers in the 
world, is also brought to bear upon making a sewing 
machine, a hoe or a plow. To make a first class 
gun or rifle needs the very best material, the most 
accurate machinery, and the most consummate 
skill. It is the highest recommendation that we 
can give to the Remington sewing machine, or to 
Fig. 2. 
the various agricultural implements, that they are 
manufactured of the same quality of material, in 
the same shops, and by the same kind of artisans as 
their most accurate rifles and guns. Of their rifles 
and double barrelled guns, all breech loaders, we 
need only say that a sportsman cannot resist a de¬ 
sire to possess one of them as soon as he is per¬ 
mitted to handle it, and that it takes but a small 
sum of money to procure it. For $60 may be pur¬ 
chased double barrelled guns which shoot equally 
well with $300 imported guns. The Agriculturist 
frequently receives letters from western subscribers 
who use the Remington rifles for hunting buffalo 
and antelope, and who speak highly of it. One 
wrote recently of having shot 28 buffaloes with one 
of them in one day from one stand. 
But it is of the sewing machines and farm imple¬ 
ments we would speak more particularly. Of the 
sewing machines, it is enough to say that they are 
manufactured in the Armory, and the same skill 
and care is given to them to insure the highest ex¬ 
cellence as is given to the arms. The special agri¬ 
cultural implements made at Ilion are hoes, rakes, 
steel plows, mowers, tedders, excavators, cotton 
gins, cultivators, and also iron bridges. The manu- 
Fig. 6.— COTTON GIN. 
facture of hoes and rakes is something that few who 
use these tools know anything about. Few farmers 
would recognise in the illustrations here given a hoe 
and a garden rake in their infancy, but this is as 
they appear after they part company with the pa¬ 
rent bar of steel. Fig. 1 is the hoe. This shapeless 
piece of steel is heated and passed between a pair 
of rollers, when it appears as seen in fig. 3. Another 
passage between the rollers brings it nearer to its 
proper shape, when it is clipped, ground, 
polished, and then appears the bright 
attractive implement that is so well 
known. The onion hoe made at Ilion, 
fig. 4, is an excellent tool for the garden, 
weeding both sides of the row at one 
stroke. The infant rake is seen at fig. 
2, as it is clipped from a fear of steel. 
It is heated in a small furnace, rolled, 
pressed, hammered, bent, twisted and 
tortured into all manner of contortions, 
until it is brought to a shape which 
pleases the critical eye of the smoky 
artisan, when it is ground and polished 
as bright as its brother, the hoe. It is 
then a steel garden rake needing only 
its handle to be ready for use. To com¬ 
plete a hoe or rake the services of 40 
different workmen are required. The 
Mohawk Valley plows are all made with 
“cast cast-steel” shares, and even in 
the sticky soil of that fertile bottom 
land scour perfectly. This plow is 
shown at fig. 5. A one horse steel-plow, 
No. C101, is one of the best and handiest 
plows we have seen, and is especially 
adapted for use in market gardens, vine¬ 
yards, hop gardens, and light work upon 
farms. The Ilion iron beam clipper is 
a splendid plow. The American Needle 
cotton gin, fig. 6, is also made by the 
Remington Company. This has some 
improvements upon the ordinary gins, 
which make it very desirable for plant¬ 
ers’ use. An earth excavator which digs, 
lifts and removes earth at less than 
half the usual cost, is also one of the Remington 
Company’s specialties as are arch and trapezoidal 
truss iron bridges. With so large an establishment 
there are abundant facilities for doing all this work, 
and much more that we have not space to mention, 
in the very best manner. After a most interesting 
inspection of the works at Ilion, we can readily 
understand why the Remington Company’s pro¬ 
ductions have gained so great a popularity; indeed 
it would be strange were it otherwise, with the 
ample facilities they possess, and the skill in exe¬ 
cution apparent every where about their factories. 
A House Costing $1,500 to $2,000. 
BY S. B. REED, ARCHITECT, CORONA, LONG ISLAND, N.Y. 
Twenty years’ experience in planning and build¬ 
ing has taught me that it is not difficult t» design 
either as to Style, Room, or Cost, when the owners 
have means sufficient to gratify their individual 
tastes, and no special care is required to save ex¬ 
pense. But it is quite another matter to provide 
plans for the great mass of people, who, through, 
habit or necessity, put everything to the test of 
economy, and to whom every inch of room, or foot, 
of material, is an important consideration. In de¬ 
signing and projecting such work, theories avail 
little ; practical experience must then be the chief 
guide.Conventional modes of living have estab¬ 
lished a system of household arrangement and 
economy requiring for every home of even moder¬ 
ate refinement, a house with a Front Hall, a Parlor, 
a Dining-Room, and a Kitchen on the first floor, and 
a liberal suite of chambers in a second story. Our 
plan herewith, though only 20 by 30 feet, provides 
for all the above. If built on an ordinary 25-feet 
village lot, it will allow a needed passage-way on 
one side. In rapidly filling up, crowded localities, 
four persons owning single lots, making a frontage 
of 100 feet, can arrange together and build five- 
houses on this plan for about the cost of erecting 
four detached houses. The fifth house may be 
rented or sold for the benefit of the four owners. 
Remedy for Rats. —The rat is a cleanly animal, 
and loves a sleek coat. If coal tar is applied about 
the entrance to a rat’s burrow, so that the animal’s 
coat will be smeared with it, he will leave in dis¬ 
gust. At least the rats of Burlington, Vt., thus ex¬ 
press their dislike to a tarry coat, and tarry no longer. 
Fig. 1.— FRONT ELEVATION OF HOUSE. 
In such cases, a hall should be finished in the base¬ 
ment with an entrance in front similar to the one- 
shown in the rear in fig. 2. 
The Front JElevatiom is made up of sim¬ 
ple parts, in a neat arrangement. The Bay Window 
indicates refinement, and adds largely to the area 
or room of the Parlor... .The Cellar walls are of 
hard brick, are 8 inches thick, 7 feet high, and 
show at least 3 feet above ground. For health’s 
sake alone, as well as for a better appearance, and 
for convenience if the basement should ever be 
desired finished off in rooms, which can be done at 
any time with little expense, it is best to always 
place the first floor well up from the ground T - 
very cold localities frost can be kept o - 
basement by banking up in winter, or o..... uy 
laying the brick walls with an opening up through 
the center, extending bricks across the opening at 
frequent intervals to secure firmness. This central 
air chamber promotes health, warmth, and dryness 
