i ^ ~ 
R. 'i 
0%?®. R 
7 . 
'/, i=. ^ /> ✓ 
! C «r" li 
$A ^ R R" | 
fc-%7 j? 'R *v ^ 
- ?////,(f f( , r . 
tin clasp, or hook, which has proved to be just 
the thing. Its shape aud the mode of attach¬ 
ing to the felt eases are shown in Fig. 73. The 
points are bent at right angles, forced through 
the felt and hammed down. The ease is bent 
around the tree and the hooks are slipped into 
the slits near the opposite]edge. The hooks 
may be made to clasp the felt tighter by press¬ 
ing them against the body of the tree after 
they are in the slits. Fig. 74 shows how the 
hooks are cut from sheet tin. with little waste. 
A person with this pattern and pair of tin 
shears can cut them out of scrap tin. If de¬ 
sired they may be made twice as large as those 
iu the sketch. The cross-marks indicate 
where they are to be bent, which can be done 
with a pair of common nippers. 
Fig. 73. 
GERMINATING BEDS. 
In making hot-beds the main point is to 
secure steady, enduring heat that shall keep 
the soil at from 00 to 80 degrees F., iu order 
to secure and maintain root-growth in the 
semi-tropical plants—lovers of such soil-heat, 
aud demanders of prolonged seasons or terms 
of growth, which hot-beds are provided to sup¬ 
ply. Such are tomatoes, peppers, melons, 
cucumbers, etc., amoug vegetables; aud ver¬ 
benas, balsams, zinnias, and many others 
among flowers. This main point is not se- 
Jtm al New-Yorker 
Fig. 70. 
"bushels per acre. Probably it will uot do so 
well on the prairie. But even if it would 
yield half as well,it would be a valuable grain.” 
Specimen heads may be seen at Fig. 70. 
Porno Logical. 
CASES FOR FRUIT TREES. 
In many sectious of the country rabbits 
destroy thousands of fruit trees every winter, 
by guawing the bark off as high as they can 
reach. In hilly aud timbered sections they 
are especially troublesome, sometimes des¬ 
troying whole orchards in a weeks time. 
Some years ago, a friend of mine went to 
considerable trouble aud expense in clearing 
off a brushy knoll, upon which he set a large 
orchard. The first two winters were open, 
with little snow, and the rabbits, which were 
very numerous in that locality, did little in¬ 
jury to the trees, The third winter, however, 
a heavy snow fell and remained on the ground 
nearly five weeks, and during that time they 
utterly destroyed the whole orchard, denud¬ 
ing the trees of bark from the snow line to 18 
inches aliova The next spring the ruined 
trees were grubbed out aud others were set in 
them stead. The uext two winters he encused 
the trees in jackets, made of sticks an inch 
thick and 18 inches long, woven together with 
strong cord. The rabbits gnawed through 
many of these and got at the bark. Then he 
tried wire screen, but tlie mesh afforded a 
good foothold for the little pests, and they 
actually climbed up it and gnawed the bark 
above. Finally, be hired a man to go through 
the orchard twice a week, wheu snow lay on 
the ground, and rub each tree with fresh hog 
liver, or rabbit split open, aud by this means 
saved them from further injury. He has 
siuee learned that common tarred building 
paper, or felt, wrapped about the trees, will 
effectually prevent rabbit? from injuring 
them, aud since adopting it has met with no 
further trouble from that source. 
Experience teaches that this tarred felt 
Fig. 74. 
This tarred felt is very offensive to many 
destructive insects, worms and small vermin, 
and if left about the tree the whole season 
the result eanuot be other than beneficial. 
Fastened by these clasps no injury can possi¬ 
bly accrue to the tree from pressure or chaf¬ 
ing. They may be removed in the spring, ii 
desired, by slipping the hooks out of the slits, 
aud be kept iu a dry place for use another 
winter. The clasps cost very little, any oue can 
beud the points and hook properly and attach 
them to the felt, aud the cases can be fast- 
tributed all the better and retained longer. 
1 he lamp may be placed under a corner of this 
tank as well as in the middle, if no unprotected 
wood is too near. Any one who tries this sort 
of hot-bed will be delighted with its efficacy, 
cheapness and convenience. Roasted and 
crushed cow-droppings may compose half of 
the soil with advantage, and tine siftings of it 
are excellent covering for the seeds. 
should not be bound closely to the body of the 
tree, but that there should be an air-space be¬ 
tween. To secure this end, 1 have devised a 
Fig. 75. 
ened about the trees in a jiffy. Fig. 75 shows 
how the rabbits act when they see it iu place. 
GRUNDY. 
Christian Co., Ills. 
Lit might be suggested that copper wire iu 
place of the proposed clamps would answer 
the purpose of holding the paper or felt se¬ 
curely together. It is very important that 
the tarred paper or felt should not touch the 
tree, but that au air space of two inches at 
least should be secured.—E ds,] 
cured l»y most persons who undertake, for the 
first time, to try the making of a hot-bed for 
growing their own early plauts; because, as 
they want but few. they make hut a small 
bed, which the cold air of April and May 
chills through, and then the plants cease grow¬ 
ing. 
An old friend of large and long experience 
says that he finds great advantage iu making 
his beds double—like two hot-beds back to 
back, but without any hacks or middle par¬ 
titions. For six sashes—three on each side— 
the frame is made seven to eight feet square, 
and rests on short corner posts. The man¬ 
ure, and the mold that is to cover it, fill the 
frame almost dose up to the glass. It will 
settle enough to give the plants room. Before 
the outside chills or dries, another temporary 
frame is made a foot further out(two feet longer 
each way), and the space between is filled 
with fresh manure. This form of bed is very 
convenient for covering with a roll of rooliug 
paper, the mounting bars or rods of which 
hang a little over the eaves. La’d on the 
ridge, it unrolls of itself, and is almost as 
easily rolled up, and it is much more conven¬ 
ient aud durable than mats. W hen a sash is 
to be opened it is easily slid over its fellow on 
the other side. Such a bed does not suffer 
from want of watering so soon us a uarrow 
one does. Hot oeds should be placed on dry 
ground, sheltered from western winds and 
open to the morning sun, aud should have a 
dry, clean walk all around. After the crop 
of plants is thinned or taken, melons, toma¬ 
toes, cucumbers or other plants can be set in 
them, far enough apart for full growth, and 
with sufficient watering they will make hand¬ 
some returns. The well-rotted manure is then 
an excellent compost for next year’s seed beds, 
if no weeds have been allowed to go to seed on 
it. All previous seeds contained in it will 
have germinated. 
As few but market gardeners want large 
hot-beds, the best resource for those wanting 
small ones is to use u lamp under a box 15 oi¬ 
ls inches wide and in length to suit a window. 
This box, six or eight inches deep, should have 
a bottom of sheet zinc, tin or iron and, should 
rest on a box of the same size, of suitable 
hight to bring the top of.the whole level with 
the window sill. A door and shelf iu this 
stand admit the lamp. A disc of tin hung 
over the mouth of the chimney will serve to 
distribute the heat. These boxes can be 
adapted from a rough store box, aud muy be 
papered or draped if used iu the living-room, 
the warm air of which will rondel* the lamp 
almost unnecessary, while the vajMjr from the 
mold uud plants will make the uir of the room 
more healthful and less trying to eyes and 
throat. If the bottom is wholly or mostly a 
water-tight tin box, two inches deep, with a 
tube soldered in at oue corner to rise through 
the soil aud admit water, the heat will be dis- 
A CHEAP, ROOMY, WARM HOUSE. 
A. N. Moore, of Montana, asks for u plan 
of a concrete house to be 32 feet front, 30 feet 
deep and one story high, but. with an attic 
giving two rooms. He wishes the front floor 
to have a large combined kitchen and dining¬ 
room, a convenient-sized sitting-room aud a 
large bed-room below,aud wants the best ar¬ 
rangement that, eun be given within these di¬ 
mensions. In building a dwelling-house as iu 
building any other structure, the greatest 
comparative cost is for the roof and floors. 
If this house be only one story, say eight and 
one-half feet in the clear, which will do very 
well for a cheap house, the walls would need 
to be 10 feet high. Now, if they be raised only 
one foot higher, at au expense uot exceeding 
one-tenth of what the walls alone would cost, 
or not more than $8 or $10, the same roof 
and floors and ceiling will answer, and there 
will he four good rooms above instead of two, 
so economy would say make the walls 11 feet 
high. 
If made of concrete aud only of this hight, 
a thickness of 10 inches is enough for the 
walls, into which strips should he laid, to 
which furring one inch thick should lie nailed 
and the inside be lathed aud plastered. This 
will make a very warm aud substantial wall 
only one foot thick. The roof should be 
one-third pitch, which will give more hight to 
the upjier rooms and shed water and snow 
better than a quarter pitch, uud look better, 
also, while costing but a trifle more. 
Fig. 71 shows the plan of the ground floor, 
FRONT - GROUND PLAN. 
Fig. jn. 
with the frontdoor very nearly in the middle 
of the house. Tho dining-room and kitchen 
Ls 12 feet eight inches wide by 23 feet long; 
back of this is the pantry and store-room four 
feet eight inches by 12 feet eight inches, which 
is none too large, and will he found a very 
convenient room. The sitting-room is 13 by 
15 feet eight inches, opening both into the 
hall leading to the chambers and through the 
hall into the dining-room and into the largo 
bed-room, and through this also into the 
dining-room. The bed room is 12. by 17 feet. 
The front hall is three feet eight inches by six 
feet, from which the stairs, three feet eight 
2 floor, front. 
: \ts 
inches wide, ascend to the rooms above. This 
is not a very largo hall, but large enough to 
afford a great protection against cold anil 
storm iu winter. Under the upper lauding of 
the stairs is a small closet opening from the 
