20 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[January, 
the grain that is sold off of the farm are lost, 
and so with the same substances that go by 
feeding into the animal structure and thus 
pass out of reach. 
The leading food elements lacking in a 
worn out soil are nitrogen, phosphoric acid, 
and potash, and therefore it is these that it 
is most important to preserve and return to 
the soil in the manure, or supply from some 
outside source in chemical fertilizers. Well 
preserved barn-yard manure is simply a re¬ 
duced form of tbe essential food elements in 
the crop from which it was made, with the 
aid of the farm animals, and is therefore 
able to supply a soil with all the necessary 
constituents of fertility. It is able to feed any 
farm or garden crop, and should be made and 
guarded with this important aim in view. 
Fences for Soil Liable to Heave. 
The main point in such a fence is either 
to set the posts and place a pin through them 
near thebottom, 
so that the frosts 
may not throw 
them out, or to 
so attach the 
boards that the 
posts may be 
re-driven, with¬ 
out splitting 
them or remov¬ 
ing the rails 
from the post. 
The latter is, 
perhaps, the 
best plan, and 
may be accom¬ 
plished in sev¬ 
eral ways, the 
most desirable 
of which is 
shown in figs. 1 
and 2. The post, 
h, is driven in the usual manner, when 
a strip of board, g, is fastened to it by 
three or four spikes, depending upon the 
hight of the fence. A space just sufficient to 
Fig. 2.—SIDE VIEW OF FENCE. 
insert the ends of boards, a, c, fig. 2, is left be¬ 
tween the post and outside strip, the ends of 
the boards resting upon the spikes. I have seen 
many miles of this fence. It looks neat; be- 
feldes any portion is easily removed, making 
a passage to and from the field. A new post 
is easily put in when required, and any may 
\ be re-driven when heaved by the frost. 
Where iron is cheap, a rod about three- 
eighths of an inch in diameter is cut in 
lengths of about seven and a half inches; 
one end is sharpened, while the opposite end, 
for three inches, is bent at right angles. 
After the boards are placed in position, the 
hooks should be driven in so that they will 
firmly grasp the boards and hold them in 
Fig. 3. —FENCE WITH IRON HOOKS. 
place. The general appearance of the fin¬ 
ished fence is shown in fig. 3, and is one 
adapted to almost any locality. 
Another plan is to attach the boards, or 
even rails, to the posts by wires, and notch¬ 
ing in the post so the wire will not slip down; 
or placing the wire through half-inch holes 
bored in the post at proper intervals. This 
method admits of the posts being re-driven 
without loosing the boards or rails. L. D. S. 
Gathering and Planting Bones. 
The value of bones as a fertilizer, in their 
various forms, is well known. The cost, 
some thirty to forty dollars a ton, is the chief 
objection to their use by the average farmer. 
It is not so generally understood that whole 
bones, as they are gathered from the refuse 
of families in the streets and yards of our 
villages, are quite as available, and within 
reach of many thrifty farmers who have 
business every week in the neighboring 
towns. They are especially valuable for 
planting around fruit trees and vines. They 
can be put in trenches within reach of the 
roots of trees already planted, with great ad¬ 
vantage to the wood and fruit of the trees. 
They are rich in ammonia, as well as phos¬ 
phoric acid, and will show their effects in 
the increased yield of fruit for twenty years or 
more. They have no standard value, and can 
generally be purchased of the boys, who are 
glad to get thirty-five or forty cents a barrel 
for them. Sometimes a bonanza can be struck 
at the slaughter house of the village butcher, 
where the refuse of slaughtered animals, 
mixed with absorbents, make a powerful 
fertilizer. This is much more valuable ma¬ 
nure than that of the barn-yard. The buried 
bones gradually soften under the influences 
of the soil, of heat and frost, until the fine 
plant rootlets penetrate the substance of the 
bone, and absorb the nourishment. If you 
take up a grape vine that has been planted 
over a bed of bones, after a few 'years, you 
will find the bones firmly grasped by the 
roots, and in a decaying condition. From one 
to three bushels may safely be planted under 
every pear and apple tree and grape vine. 
Use the ISrotsh Ureely on Animals. 
—Brushing and carding stimulate the vital 
action of the animal, and therefore bring an 
increased flow of milk. If the brushing is 
done daily, only a little time is required to 
keep the animals clean. An old broom is 
often the only implement needed, if abun¬ 
dant litter is used. Give the cattle, horses, 
and other farm animals a good supply of 
bedding, and use the brush as much as 
necessary to keep them neat and clean. 
Making Board Brains. 
On very many farms, wooden drains are 
used in place of tiles, but mostly in new 
districts where timber is cheap, and tiles 
cannot be purchased without much expense. 
They will answer the purpose well, without 
much expense. Wooden drains, if laid deep 
enough, so that the frost will not affect them, 
will last many years. I know of an old drain 
that has been built twelve years, where 
the timber is still sound in some spots. To 
make wooden drains, two men are generally 
required—one to hold the boards, and another 
to nail them. This mode of constructing 
board drains can be improved upon, by 
making a “ standard,” which consists of an 
upright board 3 feet high, having notches cut 
Fig. 1.— FRAME FOR HOLDING BOARDS. 
into it 6 inches apart, 1 inch wide, and sev¬ 
eral inches deep, to hold the boards firm. 
The boards, b, b, fig. 1, are laid into the 
notches, n, n, when the top board can be 
quickly and easily nailed on. Another 
method, shown in fig. 2, consists of two 
posts, driven into the ground about three 
feet from a fence, with a board nailed across 
from each post to the fence. Notches 
are then cut into each cross board several 
inches deep, at when it will be ready for 
use. C. W. Yost. 
Have a Plan in Usu-niin”'. —The 
great fault with American farmers is a con¬ 
stant desire for change. The farm is rarely 
thought of as the home which the children 
are to occupy during a life-time, and then 
leave to their heirs. There is too much 
changing with the crops—first one thing and 
then another, the result of which is a shift¬ 
ing that is profitless. For a few years it may 
be that sheep-raising is the leading feature 
of the farm, soon to be followed by rearing a 
breed of cattle, or cultivating hops, tobacco, 
or even rhubarb. The general management 
of a farm should be planned once for all, it 
only being subject to those changes that an 
improvement in agricultural methods sug¬ 
gest. The work of a farm should go on reg¬ 
ularly from year to year, so that even in mid¬ 
winter the farmer may make his arrange¬ 
ments, and complete his scheme of work for 
the whole season. The man who is trying 
to sell his farm, has his heart in some other 
locality or business, and he who is ready to 
devote his energies to some new crop or 
method, is seldom on the highway to success. 
It is well to try that which is new, but not 
by giving up the old and well-tried methods. 
