12 & 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Stone-Boats. 
A stone-boat is a useful thing, even upon a farm, 
where there is not a stone. It is handy to carry 
barrels or other heavy things about, but especially 
JO for taking plows, harrows, or bags of seed, to 
and from the fields. Fig. 1 shows one of these ve¬ 
hicles which is made of two curved runners con¬ 
nected by means of cross-bars, the ends of which 
Fig. 2.—PLANK STONE-BOAT. 
are fitted into inch and a half holes in the runners, 
and wedged firmly to keep them in their places. 
One of these boats will be found very useful upon 
a dairy farm, where green fodder is fed, as it may 
be taken to the field, loaded, and drawn into the 
barn and through the feed passage by one horse. 
Figs. 2 and 3 show other kinds of boats made of 
plank sides with bottoms of oak boards, in one case 
laid crosswise, and in the other ease lengthwise of 
the boat. These illustrations speak for themselves, 
rendering further description unnecessary, except 
the fact that they may be made of any desired 
size—six feet long and three feet wide being per¬ 
haps the most convenient shape for general uses. 
Extra Plowing in Market Gardens. 
BT PETEK HENDERSON. 
Like most farmers and gardeners, we have always 
found ourselves short of horses for spring work, 
and in consequence the land plowed up in the pre¬ 
vious fall, has been simply harrowed as soon as dry 
enough in spring, the teams started to haul out the 
manure, men and horses doing their best to get in 
the crops as quickly as possible. Last spring, 
(1874”), I happened to have an extra team on hand, 
and having nothing else for them to do, I plowed 
and harrowed all my ground that had already been 
so treated the previous fall, before hauling out the 
manure. The result showed that the extra labor 
was well repaid. I never before had such luxuri¬ 
ance of growth in every crop we put in. From the 
driving necessities of spring work, I never before 
availed myself of this extra or double plowing 
though convinced of its value. In summer, we 
have almost invariably plowed again in planting our 
second crop. The practice being that as soon as a 
spring crop of cabbages, beets, etc., was market¬ 
ed, to plow and harrow the ground, then if plants 
for second crop are not ready to set out, it is so left 
for a few days until they are ready, and the land 
plowed again in such quantity as can be planted 
that day, the great object being to set the plants on 
the freshly turned soil. I have seen some of our 
market gardeners wait weeks for rain before plant¬ 
ing out crops of cabbage or celery, and then when 
it came, set out their plants on land that had been 
plowed and harrowed weeks before, and which was 
now covered with weeds. The result was that the 
plants were placed on a rain-battered, weedy sur¬ 
face, which greatly retarded their growth, besides 
entailing great additional labor in keeping the land 
clean. If land in this condition had been plowed 
and harrowed in just such quantities as could be 
set out in the afternoon, no matter how dry, and 
the plants kept dripping wet while planting, or their 
roots “puddled” in mud, and if the plants were 
properly “firmed” at the roots, there need be no 
fear that one plant in a hundred will fail, even 
should continued dry weather ensue. I have put 
out acres of celery and cabbage in this manner in 
July, without having a drop of rain for a month af¬ 
ter planting, with excellent results. All experi¬ 
enced cultivators know the importance of having a 
loose surface for the retention of moisture, and 
this second or extra plowing of the soil in dry 
weather, gives just that condition. This addition¬ 
al plowing and harrowing also so pulverizes the 
soil that all such operations as cultivating, hoeing, 
or weeding, are performed with much less labor 
than if only one plowing had been given. Of 
course the results from extra plowing will be more 
observable on a stiff soil than on a loose one, but 
in either case planting on a freshly turned up soil is 
of importance, and especially so is the “firm¬ 
ing” or pressing the earth compactly around the 
roots of the plants, should never be neglected. 
-- 
does make one. The winter comes and finds him 
unprepared, and his sufferings may be intense. 
Where every man is a laborer, there is no demand 
for his labor, and he is utterly without resource, if 
his first crop from any cause should fail. Now that 
the season for emigration westward has begun, we 
would caution those who are not well prepared 
against venturing on to the frontier. Homesteads 
are now only to be had far out from railroads and 
villages, and those who can afford to buy a tract of 
land near a railroad, and in the midst of settlements 
two or three years old, can more profitably do so 
on the easy terms offered by the railrsad companies 
than take land ten miles away for nothing. They 
have a market for their grain, wool, or stock, at the 
railroad, and they live within the sound of the 
church and school bells. Where a locality has been 
settled a few years, there are corn-cribs, granaries, 
houses, barns, and fences to build, and a demand 
for labor soon arises which helps the new comer. 
A man may go into the woods with nothing but his 
ax, better than out upon the prairie with nothing 
but his plow, because with his ax he has unlimited 
fuel in the woods, while on the prairie he must buy 
coal or go without fuel. This difference is fre¬ 
quently forgotten in thinking of the advantage of 
the prairie all ready for cultivation, as compared 
with an uncleared forest. Had there been less 
reckless settlement of the frontier by persons un¬ 
provided with means of support, much of the suf¬ 
fering of the past winter would have been avoided. 
-— , t , < r~ - 
A House Costing $900 [or $800 to $1,000.] 
BT S. B. REED, ARCHITECT, CORONA, LONG I8LAND, N.Y. 
The Homesteader. 
As spring opens and verdure again covers the 
vast prairies only as yet here and there dotted with 
settlers’ cabins, the homesteader is seen, as we saw 
him a score of years ago, on the march towards the 
west, with all his worldly goods and his family 
about him. The scene pictured upon 
our first page is an illustration of what 
has occurred in the history of our 
country for a century or more in the 
past, and may occur for a century or 
more to come before our broad terri¬ 
tory may be called settled, and our 
people become content to stay in the 
homes where they were born. When 
this happens this picture will become 
of interest as showing what a restless 
people we were. Now, it will be in¬ 
teresting to those who are content to 
stay at home, as well as to those who 
are not, as showing the best way in 
which a man who seeks a home in 
the far west may go there. To go on 
to the wide prairie improperly pro¬ 
vided for the journey, is a mistake 
that may result disastrously. The 
settlers who suffered so much during 
the past winter have been those who 
had nothing to fall back upon when 
their corn was consumed by the lo¬ 
custs. Those who had a flock and 
some stock, and were careful to put 
up some hay, have been able to get 
through the winter without distress, 
although they may have been more 
or less inconvenienced. Land is use¬ 
less to those who arc without means 
to cultivate it, and the past year has 
been a warning to those who would 
recklessly go upon a prairie home¬ 
stead with little or nothing besides 
their bare lands. Such a settler as 
The plans here given, are of simple design, in¬ 
tended to meet the large and increasing demand for 
low priced country or village houses, having at the 
same time some architectural beauty. Without this 
latter feature, a comfortable house of this size can, 
in many places, be erected for much less than $900 
even.... The house here described provides for as 
Fig. 1.— elevation of house.—S cale, 8 feet to 1 inch. 
that seen in this picture is well prepared for any 
emergency. In twenty-four hours after his arrival 
he can begin to make something out of his land. 
His cows and sheep will be working for him, and 
his tent and wagon make a sufficient shelter for his 
family while he breaks ground for his sod-corn, and 
by and by he may build his house. But the settler 
who has no means cannot fail of suffering greatly 
before he can make himself a home, even if he ever 
mueh room as a small family would require, while 
at the same time it admits of future enlargement, 
as one’s necessity or means may indicate, by ad¬ 
ditions, ells, or wings, at either side, or rear. In all 
cases, when planning small houses, it is best to pro¬ 
vide for such enlargements. The triplet window 
in front is so arranged that it can be readily changed 
to a Bay Window when that improvement can be 
afforded, without marring the rest of the wood- 
