13S 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
[April, 
may be made of any size and length, by means of a 
partition or tying followers, and the bales are tied 
either with or without laths, by wire bands, while 
the pressing is going on. The bales are discharged 
by the pressure of 
the hay behind them, 
without any help. 
The manner of their 
delivery is seen at 
figure 1, in which the 
side of the hopper is 
removed, to show the 
screen by which dust 
is discharged from 
the hay. The bale appears as shown at fig. 5, 
and being made up of a number of layers, is espec¬ 
ially adapted to the needs of retailers of hay, and 
those of consumers, as waste is prevented in the 
using. The most desirable size of bale, is 18 x 24 x 
36 inches ; one hundred and forty-four of these 
may be put into a box freight car, and if made of 
112 lbs. weight, 8 tons would make the load ; if the 
bales weigh 140 lbs., the load would be 10 tons. 
With this press, cut hay may be packed int(» bales 
as well as long hay, and even sawdust has been 
packed by its use into solid bales. The value of 
Sail-Boats and their Rig. 
In the Agriculturist of October, 1872, there was 
illustrated the manner of making a boat for rowing. 
A great number of our younger readers have asked 
for similar directions to make a sail-boat, which are 
here given. The sail-boat is only different from the 
row-boat previously described, in having a deeper 
keel. To sail well, a boat should have a keel about 
six inches deep. This may be fitted to a smooth- 
bottomed boat, by bolting to it a strip of U-incli 
plank of the proper width. The mast is “ stepped ” 
or placed into a hole through the first seat or 
“thwart,” and into a socket or block beneath it, 
upon the bottom of the boat. No stays are needed, 
as the strain upon it is very little for a light boat. 
The sail is the chief thing. This may be made of 
any strong cloth. For a boat of 12 feet keel and 3 
feet beam, the stoutest sheeting may be used, for 
larger boats “duck” will be needed. The sail 
should have a. strong cord bound iu the edge all 
around it, and at the corners, where eyes or loops 
are needed, a double patch should be stitched to 
strengthen it. The saS in common use is what 
is called a “ sprit-sail,” and is seen in the 
DIFFERENT RIGS OF SAIL-BOATS. 
such a press can hardly be estimated by those 
western farmers, who raise hay for shipment to 
southern markets, or to the mining regions of 
Colorado, Utah, and Nevada. It is also equally 
well adapted to the use of the cotton planter, for 
baling cotton. A two-horse-power is able to bale 
3,000 lbs. of hay, pressed so as to make 8 tons to 
Fig. 1.— DEDERICK & CO.’S HAY-PRESS, 
ibe car load, in an hour; a one-horse-power will 
press bales to make 6 tons to the car load, requiring 
only one man to pitch. These presses arc made by 
Messrs. Dederick & Co., of Albany, New York. 
boat on the left hand in the engraving. It is 
generally lacett to the mast, and when not in 
use, is wrapped around it. It is spread by means 
of a sprit, which fits above in an eye, at the up¬ 
per corner or “peak” of the sail, and at the 
lower end into a loop of rope, fastened to the 
mast, and which in large boats is tightened by 
a rope passing through a pulley on the mast, 
and wound around a cleat near the pulley. The 
lower end of the sail is held by a rope, called a 
“ sheet,” which is fastened to an eye or loop at the 
corner of the sail. This sheet is held in its place 
on either side of the boat by winding or “ belay¬ 
ing” it around a cleat, or by making it to run on a 
ring, which slides upon an iron rod across the up¬ 
per part of the stern of the boat, called a “ horse.” 
The mast is a light spruce pole, 9 feet long. The 
sprit is a still lighter pole, also 9 feet long, tapering 
at each end. The sail may be made 6 feet wide at 
the lower edge, and 4 feet at the upper ; the outer 
side should be a foot or more longer than that next 
the mast. The “ sheet ” is a strong rope, an inch 
and a half in circumference, and should be at least 
12 feet long, so as to have plenty of end to spare. 
A different form of sail is shown in the right-hand 
boat; this is laced to a “yard,” or light pole, 
which is hoisted to the peak of the mast by a 
Jjalyard, working in a pulley, and fastened to a 
cleat at the side of the boat. The tuck or forward 
lower part of the sail is hooked to the stem of the 
boat by a loop, which allows the yard to swing 
from one side to another, as the “ sheet” is moved 
at the stern. When this sail is furled, the yard is 
lowered, and stowed in the boat, being only two 
feet shorter than the boat. This makes a very 
good rig, but having only a very short tack, should 
be used only by experienced persons. The sail 
first shown is the best one for beginners to use, as 
with it the boat can go directly with the wind, 
which is the safest way for learners to begin to sail 
a boat. But as there are many things to learn by 
practice, before one can safely navigate, and as it 
is very dangerous pastime to attempt to do it, be¬ 
fore one has learned, no one should do this, or even 
enter a sail-boat, unless accompanied by a person 
who is able to manage it, and is able to teach others 
all about it. If one is a good swimmer, he may be 
less careful about it, but even then he will be cer¬ 
tain to get many a wet jacket, before he learns how 
to sail about without help from an expert. 
How to Lace a Belt. 
The belts in country mills and in thrashing ma¬ 
chines are often very badly laced, it being a matter 
to which few mechanics, and still fewer farmers, 
give sufficient care. If a belt is not properly laced, 
it will not run true or evenly, and there is loss of 
power. When tread-powers are used, a badly laced 
belt may cause an ac¬ 
cident to the horses by 
flying off or by break¬ 
ing ; this can hardly 
happen if the belts are 
properly laced. Acci¬ 
dents do occur so fre¬ 
quently as to cause an 
unfounded prejudice 
against tread-powers, and the cause is almost al¬ 
ways the slipping, flying off, or parting, of the belt 
through bad lacing. To lace a belt properly, its 
ends should be cut exactly true ; a square should 
be used to do this to make sure work. A row of 
holes should be made with a proper punch, smooth¬ 
ly and evenly, and not cut with a knife and made 
unevenly and with broken ragged edges. Then a 
second row of holes, smaller than the first, is 
punched directly behind the first, and in the same 
manner. This is shown in fig. 1. The lace should 
be cut eight times as long as the belt is wide, and 
before it is used should be well stretched. The 
lacing should be begun 
from the inside of the 
belt. The lace is put 
through the holes near¬ 
est the end in opposite 
ends of the belt, com¬ 
mencing at one edge, 
and drawn up until the 
ends of the belt are F1 &- 2 '- TjrpER SIDE - 
brought together, and the ends of the lace are of 
equal length on the outside of the belt. The ends 
of the lace are then passed across and put through 
the same holes from the outside to the inside, and 
then brought up again as at first outside of the belt. 
The ends are then put through the holes immedi¬ 
ately behind them, and then through the first holes, 
and are drawn tight. One set of holes is now laced, 
and the lace is outside 
the belt. The ends are 
then crossed and pass¬ 
ed down the next holes 
of the first row, and 
the lacing repeated as 
before until the whole 
is complete. The whele 
Fig. 3. UNDER SIDE. lacing win be ^ ex . 
cept that there will be three thicknesses of lace 
at the edges of the belt, and but two in the inner 
holes. This, however, is an advantage, as the edges 
of the belt should always be laced firmly. Fig. 2 
shows the inside of the belt when laced, and fig. 3 
the outside. Care should be taken to fasten the 
lace well by a firm knot upon the outside. Laced 
jn this manner, a belt will run true and smoothly. 
Fig. 1. —ENDS OF BELT. 
