Vol. LIV. No. 2386. 
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 19, 1895. 
$1.00 PER YEAR. 
A YANKEE WORKS THE WIND. 
WHAT A WINDMILL DOES IN CONNECTICUT. 
An Ice House Built of Rubbish. 
Fig. 216 shows my windmill and the pile of wood 
sawed with it. This shows that there is sufficient 
available power in a 12-foot geared mill to run all 
machines necessary on a farm. Notice the size of 
those blocks. Some of them are 20 inches across, 
old, dry apple and knotty ash, which are very hard ; 
yet they were all sawed without stopping the saw. 
This mill runs a thrasher that cleans the grain from 
the straw and chaff at one operation. A boy 15 years 
old and myself, got from the mow and thrashed 20 
shocks of oats in one hour. My mill grinds all kinds 
of feed, fine or coarse, and corn meal and Graham 
flour for table use. We cut our corn stalks with a 
big fodder cutter. All of these machines are run on 
the west barn floor, which necessitated putting up 44 
feet of horizontal shafting. 
Under the old timbers and boards at the right we 
stored our ice 
this year. It 
was stacked, in 
the first place, 
12 by 13 feet 
square, and 10 
feet high, leav¬ 
ing the spaces 
between the 
cakes of ice 
open, so that 
they would 
come out easier; 
it keeps just as 
well this way, 
and saves time 
and labor. We 
put one load of 
sawdust on the 
top, and cov¬ 
ered the rest 
at our leisure ; 
it was four of 
five weeks be- 
fore this ice 
was entirely 
covered, 
space of 10 or 
12 inches was 
left between 
the boards and 
ice in which* 
sawdust was 
put and packed 
down hard. 
We have used ice twice a day since April 20, sufficient 
to run a four-can Cooley creamer, and the ice is from 
four to five feet deep at the present time. We shall 
probably have some left over. p. k. h. 
North Guilford, Conn. 
Putting a Windmill on the Barn. 
There are, of course, many ways to put a windmill 
on a barn, and each barn-frame will suggest a differ¬ 
ent plan. Fig. 217, page 694, shows how we did at 
Woodside Farm. The mast, B, is 31 feet long. It 
rests on the “ tie,” A, into which it is mortised. This 
tie is just a little below the level of the “square,” as 
in most old-fashioned barns. From the tie to the 
comb of the roof at C, is 15 feet. F F F are rafters. 
E is a piece of 6 by 6 let in between the ends of the 
rafters. To put it in, we first nailed strips of board 
acioss from one rafter to the other, as shown at G ; 
then the ends of the rafters were sawed off, three 
inches from each, so that the 6 by 6 stick would just 
drop into the notch. It was put in place, and the 
rafters nailed firmly-.to it-when -the temporary sup¬ 
ports were knocked-off. The-brace, D, is also"6’by 6, 
and firmly bolted at each end with two half-inch bolts. 
This bolting is necessary because the brace must hold 
from going out as well as coming in. At C, a strap of 
iron passes around the mast and bolts firmly to the 
horizontal piece, E. 
Fig. 217 shows an end elevation of the frame. The 
purlin plates, P, are arranged as in most barns. On 
one of them rests the foot of the brace, S. This 
brace, too, is firmly bolted at bottom and top. It 
would have been as well to have used two of these 
braces, one on each side ; but I did not do it, partly 
because I did not care to have so many places to make 
watertight in the roof. Do not fail to make this mast 
solid and safe. It will be a satisfaction to have it so 
when you go up to oil and the wind is blowing a gale. 
Speaking of oil, do not forget that the life and much 
of the efficiency of the mill and machinery will de¬ 
pend on keeping it oiled. What would you think of 
an engineer who would oil only once a week ? An 
Aermotor runs very rapidly, being geared high, and 
should be oiled before each full day's work, oftener 
it you are an enthusiast on the subject of taking care 
of machinery. For moderate work and light winds 
and common pumping, I find once a week often enough. 
For a 12-foot Aermotor, let these braces reach to 
within 4% feet of the top of the mast. The center of 
tlwe wheel will be above the top. Let the mast be 
full 8 by 8 in size Another plan is applicable to 
barns where the mill is wanted near the center. 
It has been tried by some of my neighbors. It 
works well. The mast, is set on the purlin plate, 
and extends as far-through the roof as is desired, 20 
feet being a good height, and is stayed by four wire 
cables, one reaching to each corner-post of the barn. 
These cables are made right on the spot of common 
galvanized fence wire, No. 9, six strands being used. 
These wires are first put up and stretched tolerably 
tight when they are twisted by putting in a stick and 
twisting. Care is used to tighten each cable alike, so 
that the mast will stand perpendicularly. This is 
even a safer way than mine, as the cables run quite 
obliquely, and are of immense strength. It would 
take about four tons’ pull to break one of them. 
Then the manufacturers have steel towers that are 
put on the barn frame ; these have their good points, 
cheapness in first cost not being one of them. 
I find a good way to get manufacturers to make 
favorable terms on new kinds of machinery, is to show 
them that, as it is a new thing in my neighborhood, it 
will be well for them to give me a discount or “intro¬ 
ductory price,” and they will nearly always be glad 
to do so in a new territory. As a matter of fact, the 
windmill on my barn has been the means of putting 
several outfits in the country. Some of my neighbors 
have been hauling their corn to my sheller,and it is only 
a question of time when they, too, will put up outfits. 
Ohio. _ J. K. WING. 
R ECU PER A T/VE FORCES IN THE SOIL. I. 
It is my belief, after more than 50 years of practical 
experience, that no good soil is ever “exhausted,” in 
the true sense of that word. If once good, it is always 
good ; though by bad usage, it may be made to seem 
worn out. Yet 
there are myri¬ 
ads of Ameri¬ 
ca n farmers, 
East and West, 
North and 
South, over the 
entire conti¬ 
nent, who have 
abandoned 
their farms, 
selling them 
for very low 
prices, to go 
thro u'g h the 
same routine 
of devasta¬ 
tion in the 
West, where 
they are now 
making the 
same outcry 
with which 
they left New 
England. 
Since I came 
to live in north¬ 
ern Vermont, I 
have purchased 
two such “ run 
out” farms, and 
“ brought them 
to,” until they 
are now as good 
as a newly 
cleared farm which I previously owned in the West. 
While I have been doing this work, there has not 
been a single year in which I have not made a clear 
profit from my land. I have neighbors who have done 
as well, or better. I am far from being the best 
farmer in my vicinity. I began with poor health and 
small means, and my first purchase was of but 17 
acres, of which but 10 were arable. My work has 
been truck farming, small fruits, and orcharding. In 
the latter, it took me 12 years to find varieties which 
would endure the savage winters of northeastern 
Vermont; and about the same time to bring them to 
a profitable fruitage. But between the trees I grew 
(and still grow) currants and gooseberries; and on 
my moister land, strawberries. I have also grown 
seeds for the city seedsmen, and for my neighbors. I 
once sold a garden pea to B. K. Bliss for $600, and an¬ 
other to James Vick for $500 ; both of them are still 
standard varieties. 
I have never had any variety of plant or crop that 
I did not labor to improve, both by selection and 
culture ; and I have found that such labor, intelli- 
IIO W T«H E WIND MAKES A WOOD PILE IN CONNECTICUT. Fig. 216. 
