1863 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
105 
A Home-made Field Roller. 
The above engraving represents a cheap and 
efficient field roller, of which a sketch and de¬ 
scription were furnished for the Agriculturist by 
R. S. Cramer, Mercer Co., Ill. To make it, saw 
off two sections from a log 20 to 30 inches in 
diameter—the larger the better—two or three 
inches longer than wanted when the rollers are 
finished. Have ready four gudgeons, two of 
them 12 inches long, the other two 10 inches 
long, all made of one inch square iron. Round 
one end of two of them four inches, and one 
end of the others two inches. Bevel the square 
ends a little, so that they will drive readily, but 
do not draw them tapering. Find the centers 
on the'end of the logs and bore in with an inch 
auger if the wood is hard, if soft i inch, to re¬ 
ceive the gudgeons. Drive one long gudgeon, 
and one short one into each roller, leaving the 
rounded part to project. Take a thin strip of 
board, bore an inch hole in one end, and bore a 
gimlet hole as man-y inches from the center of 
that hole as is contained in half the diameter 
of the roller. Put the board on the gudgeon, 
insert a scratcli-awl in the gimlet hole, and 
scribe the circumference of the roller. With 
an ax and draw-shave, chamfer the ends down 
to the scribe; then stand behind the log, and 
with an ax hew the middle down, using a 
straight edge to show when it is level with the 
ends.—Finish off with draw-shave and jack- 
plane. To get the ends of the roller square, 
take the two pieces of scantling that are intend¬ 
ed for the end pieces of the frame, bore them 
where the gudgeons are to work, slip them on 
the gudgeons and prop them up so that the 
roller will revolve on the gudgeons freely. 
While another turns the roller, hold a scratch- 
awl to mark where the roller is to be sawed off. 
Cut it with a cross-cut saw, turning the roller 
occasionally, so as to follow the scribe. Leave a 
projection of half an inch around the long 
gudgeon, to keep the outer surface of the end 
of the roller from rubbing against the frame. 
To make the frame, use 3i or 4 inch square 
scantling, of hard wood. Make inch-and-a-half 
mortises in the short pieces, tenons on the long 
ones to fit, and fasten witli draw-bore pins, 
(keys work out). The tongue answers for the 
middle cross piece. It should be four inches 
square where the gudgeons enter—dress away 
a little on both sides of the hole (for the gud¬ 
geons) to prevent friction with the roller. The 
tongue must be hinged to the back piece of the 
frame in such a manner that the top of the I 
tongue will be nearly as low as the bottom of 
the piece to which it is hinged. To make the 
hinges, take a heavy piece of strap iron, bend 
the end of it around a i bolt-rod, the ends of 
which shall project an inch beyond the strap, 
and weld it. Bolt this to the tongue and secure 
it to the back piece with eye bolts that fit on 
the projecting ends of the bolt-rod. The tongue 
is then laid on top of the front piece of the 
frame, it being notched down two inches, and a 
long staple made of half-inch iron goes over 
the tongue through the piece the tongue lies on. 
This staple is not to hold the tongue to the 
frame, but should be long enough to allow the 
tongue to vibrate up and down six inches, but 
should fit neatly sideways. The object of the 
vibration is to allow the roller to adapt itself to 
the irregularities of the surface. 
The rollers should be four inches shorter than 
the width of corn rows, and then it will be 
just right for rolling two rows of corn at a time. 
This implement might be introduced with great 
advantage upon many farms. It is needed for 
pressing down clods left by the plow, pressing 
the soil into contact with the seed,, leveling 
mowing ground for the scythe, and compacting 
light land. It should not be used on moist land, 
at a time when the ground is so wet as to pack. 
A model of the implement represented above 
was forwarded to the Agriculturist by Mr. D. 0. 
Voorhees, Somerset Co., 1ST. J., who says it is very 
convenient for drawing the linch-pin from carts 
or heavy wagons, particularly when they are 
held fast by the dried tar or gum from oil used 
in greasing the axles. It consists of a lever, l, 
about four feet long. A narrow iron rod, h, turned 
to form a hook, is fastened by a pin in an open¬ 
ing about six inches from the end of the lever. 
To draw a linch-pin, place one end of the lever 
on the hub of the wheel, let the hook catch un¬ 
der the head of the pin, p, raise the other end of 
the lever, and the linch-pin is readily extracted. 
Ergot or Spurred Rye. 
Some cases of poisoning which occurred in 
Brooklyn, N. Y., having been attributed to the 
use of ergotized or diseased rye as a substitute 
for coffee, there has naturally been considerable 
uneasiness among those w’ho are accustomed to 
use “Rye Coffee.” We give the readers of the 
Agriculturist an engraving of the ergot, which 
will enable them to recognize the dangerous 
substance aud avoid it. On a head of rye will 
sometimes be seen some blackish spurs, about 
half an inch long, in 
place of the kernels. 
Only one or two grains 
in the head may be af¬ 
fected in this way, or it 
may be the case with 
every one. Though it 
bears no resemblance 
to the grain of rye, it 
is really one, much 
changed by the attack 
of a minute microscop¬ 
ic fungus or mold. 
This attacks the grain 
when very young, and 
causes it to finally 
present the appear¬ 
ance showm in the en¬ 
graving, which repre¬ 
sents the ergot as it 
appears on the head, 
and also two sepa¬ 
rate grains. The er¬ 
got is often nearly an 
inch long, and having 
somewhat the shape 
of a cock’s spur, the 
name spurred rye has 
been given to it. It 
has a blackish purple 
color, and although no 
odor is noticeable in a 
single grain, when a 
quantity is together, it 
has a very unpleasant 
smell. When the grain 
is thus diseased, it not 
only takes on an un¬ 
natural shape and ap¬ 
pearance,but its chem¬ 
ical character and its 
properties are also al¬ 
tered ; the grain no longer contains starch, but 
in its place is found a large quantity (over 30 
per cent.) of a peculiar oil, and instead of being 
a nutritious food, it is a powerful poison. In 
some parts of Europe, where rye is much more 
extensively used for food than with us, fearful 
epidemics have been caused by ergot being- 
mixed with the food. Serious convulsions, loss 
of sight, gangrene, or mortification of the limbs, 
and death, have resulted from its use. The 
presence of ergot is not traced to any peculiari¬ 
ty of soil or season; sometimes it is very abun¬ 
dant, and at others the grain is entirely free 
from it. Nor is it confined to rye, for we have 
seen several grasses similarly affected, and it is 
said to have been found in wheat, though we 
suspect that the latter rarely occurs. From the 
well known poisonous character of ergot, it will 
be seen that it is the duty of those w T ho prepare 
“ rye coffee ” for sale, to carefully inspect the 
grain they make use of; those w 7 ho prepare it 
in their own families will be in no danger of 
poisoning, if the ergot, which is so unlike rye, 
and so easily detected, be carefully picked out. 
