256 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
is not adapted to our present needs. That re¬ 
quired a slow process, and one which must be 
performed at a season when work must be hur- 
Fig. 2. 
Fig. 1.—MAKING THE MAT. 
ried, and was only possible where help was 
cheap and plentiful. That time has passed, not 
only here but in Europe; and we notice that the 
old system of thatching in use abroad has 
been greatly improved upon. 
Instead of taking the straw by 
handfuls and pegging it down 
upon the stack, or sewing it 
upon the roof, it is now placed 
in a machine and sewn into rolls 
of matting, which may bespread 
out on the top of a stack and 
made to cover it in a very short 
time. The mats may be pre¬ 
pared when work is not press¬ 
ing, as during winter or in 
stormy weather when out-door 
work is not possible. But we 
can, if necessary, dispense with 
the machine—which is a sort of 
sewing-machine, working with 
tw 7 o needles and shuttles, and 
turned by a crank by one man, 
another feeding the straw. The 
same work can be done, in a 
slower manner certainly, but 
equally as well, by hand. Let 
the straw be gathered into bundles and 
laid as regularly as possible. It should then 
be wetted, to prevent it from breaking in 
the handling. Handfuls are taken from the 
bundles and laid on a table, where two persons 
are engaged in the sewing. The stitch needed 
is what is called a back-stitch ; that is, the 
stitches are made two inches long or more, 
which must depend on the condition of the 
straw, and each 
® stitch is taken back 
and the needle pass¬ 
ed through the 
straw' a little behind where the thread of the 
previous stitch is seen. This stitch binds the 
straw firmly together, and it is rendered more 
durable if at each six or eight stitches a knot 
is made and drawn tight. The straw 
used should be rye if possible; barley 
or wheat will answer a good purpose, 
but the thatch will be narrower. As 
it is sew'ed together it is rolled up, 
and the rolls may be made of any 
desired length. At figure 1 is shown 
the mat. Figure 2 gives the needle 
used, which any blacksmith can make; 
and in figure 3 is shown the mode of 
making the stitch. Any sort of table or bench 
will answer the purpose, and the twine should 
be of tarred hemp. When the mats or rolls are 
prepared, they are used in the same manner as 
the rolls of prepared roofing of paper or other 
material. One is laid 
dowm on the stack pro¬ 
jecting over sufficiently 
to throw the drip of 
water clear of the edge, 
and it is pinned dowm 
by w'ooden pins shaped 
like the one shown in 
figure 4. In covering a 
round stack, the man 
who wmrks on the stack 
should have one end of 
a rope passed around 
his bod)', and a noose at 
the other end hitched 
on to the pole which 
passes up through the 
center of a stack, as in 
figure 5. He is perfectly 
secure then from falling 
or slipping, and can work much more rapidly 
than when in constant danger. The one who 
assists him follows him around, and hands up the 
pins and mats as they are wanted. When the 
Fig. 3. —THE STITCn. 
Fig. 4. 
Fig. 5.— PUTTING ON THE THATCH. 
thatch is all laid on, a cap is placed on the top, 
and secured against the entrance of waiter by be¬ 
ing firmly tied to the center-pole. Generally, a 
stack is built upon the ground, and a consider¬ 
able quantity of hay is spoiled at the bottom of 
it, by moisture absorbed from the damp earth. 
A more economical method would be to build 
a foundation for each stack of a permanent char¬ 
acter, made of timbers framed together, and rest¬ 
ing on rat-proof supports at least tw r o feet above 
the ground. There is in this case no loss from 
moisture, and no hiding-places beneath the stack 
for rats, skunks, or other vermin to gather in. 
- «>———-—*■- 
Foxes. —These scourges of the farm-yard are 
best circumvented with poison. The steel-trap 
is sure, but the trouble is to get the fox’s foot 
into it. They are always suspecting mischief, and 
it costs too much to circumvent their cunning 
where they smell iron. The most effectual 
remedy v r c have ever tried is arsenic or mix 
vomica applied to the carcass of a dead bird or 
lamb. If it is a bird they have partly devoured 
it is all the better. They will be pretty sure to 
come back to the spot to fiuisli their feast. One 
dose of the poisoned meat fixes them. Then 
if you w'ill saturate old rags in melted sulphur 
and scatter them about the sheep-pasture or 
poultry-yard, you will not have any more visits 
from the foxes the present season. They are 
easily frightened by the smell of sulphur. * 
Fig. 1.—BUTTER-TABLE. 
An Efficient Butter-Worker. 
“L. W. L.,” Orange Co., N. Y., and others, 
will find the butter-table herewith figured 
(figure 1) very convenient, and well adapted for 
economizing labor. It is made of white-oak or 
maple, soft-maple being probably the best tim¬ 
ber that can be used. The top is a slab three 
or four inches in thickness, so as to liavew'eight 
and solidity; four feet long and two or three 
feet wide, according to the quantity of butter to 
be worked on it. It is mounted on four stout 
legs 27 inches long. A rounded channel or 
groove passes around the edge to collect the 
buttermilk, which runs off into a pail placed to 
receive it, as shown in the engraving. The but¬ 
ter-worker is a triangular slaff (fig. 2) three feet 
long, and four inches wide on each face, with a 
handle on one end and a swivel attachment 
whereby it hooks on to a staple fixed to one 
side of the table at the other end. The slab 
having been w'aslied with salt water and w'ell 
rinsed with ice water, is ready for the butter as 
it is taken from the churn. As soon as it is laid 
upon the table it is cut or gashed and pressed 
with the staff, and freed very quickly from the 
buttermilk. If desired, ice-water may be 
tlirowm over the butter, and it immediately runs 
off by the channel. 
We have used a similar table and worker for 
some years, and have seen it frequently in use 
in the Pennsylvania dairies, where the choice 
Fig. 2. — BUTTER-WORKEII. 
Philadelphia butter is made. Mr. William 
Crozier, of Beacon Stock Farm, whose butter 
sells at the dairy for 75 cents a pound, uses a 
worker which if not exactly like this is on the 
same principle. With our own experience 
added to these indorsements of it, we can rec¬ 
ommend this to our Orange County and other 
correspondents as being far ahead of the old- 
fashioned bowl and ladle. 
Removing Vermin from Sheep.— “J. S. L.” 
Dipping the lambs after the sheep have been 
sheared is the easiest way of killing off ticks. 
If not done effectually the pests increase very 
