AMERICAN' AGRICULTURIST 
FOR THE 
UCarm, Garden, and. ITonseiioId. 
“AGltlOULTUItK IS THE MOST HEALTHFUL, MOST USEFUL, ANII MOST NOBLE EMPLOYMENT OF MAN.” — W ASHINGTON. 
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PUBLISHERS AND PROPRIETORS. r v SX^G-XjE HUMBEKj 15 dDJNTTS. 
Office, 245 BROADWAY. ) Published also in German at $1.50 a Year. ( ACopiesfor $5 ; 10for$12; 20 or more, $ 1 each. 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in April, 18T3, by Grange Judd & Co., at the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
VOLUME XXXII.-No. 5. NEW YORK, MAY, 1873. NEW SERIES—No. 316. 
LOOP'S SIGHT SKCUKBD.] 
A MOVING-BEE .— FBOM A Sketch BY R. E. Robinson. —Drawn and Engraved for the American Agriculturist. 
Those who live in cities, where moving- is a 
frequent if not an annual occurrence, look 
upon moving time ” witli feelings of dismay. 
To them “ moving ” is no season of jollity, as it 
was not many years ago in the older parts of 
the country. If a farmer wished to place his 
barn or out-buildings in a better situation, and 
sometimes when he wished to change the loca¬ 
tion of his dwelling, he called together his 
neighbors on a given day for a “ moving-bee.” 
Like a “ raising” or logging in new countries, 
it was understood that the “ moving ” would 
be a judicious mixture of work and frolic. The 
building to be moved was prepared beforehand 
by a carpenter, who would put runners under 
each of the side-sills. These runners were 
sticks of timber from which the bark and pro¬ 
truding knots had been removed, and rounded 
up at the ends. These were firmly connected 
by cross-pieces at each end, and securely fas¬ 
tened to the sills by pins and chains. If neces¬ 
sary to keep the building- from racking, 
“stays” were placed inside. The assembling 
neighbors brought their oxen, which were 
hitched to the ends of the runners in two strings 
of from eight to twenty yoke each. All being 
ready, the procession started for its destination 
under the direction of the carpenter. While 
the moving was going on, the farmer’s family 
were busy in the kitchen, and a feast crowned 
the work of the day. At present we have 
methods of moving buildings which, if more 
rapid and less laborious, are also less jolly. 
