412 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[September, 
cattle have done to B’s corn, or as to what was the 
value of A’s sheep which were killed by B’s bad 
dog. Such questions can generally be quickly, 
cheaply, and justly settled by one or more fair- 
minded neighbors, and the expense, delay, and 
aggravation of a suit in Court may thus be avoided. 
A Cheap Ensilage Cart. 
The adoption by many farmers of the silo meth¬ 
od of preserving fodder, has made it necessary 
to change the manner of feeding live stock. When 
the ensilage is removed twenty feet or more from 
the silo to the feeding rack, it is best to have some 
means of conveying it in quantities of from one to 
two hundred pounds at a time. This can be done 
cheaply and quickly by a small hand-cart, one of 
which any farmer having the tools can make in 
half a day. A good form of ensilage cart is shown 
in the engraving, and is simply a box eighteen 
inches wide, three feet long, and two and a half 
AN ENSILAGE CART. 
feet in hight. A wooden axle, of some tough 
fibre, is nailed to the bottom, ten inches from the 
end, and wheels from one to two feet in diameter 
are placed upon the axle. Suitable wheels can be 
made from planks, with cleats nailed on to keep 
them from splitting. Handles and legs are at¬ 
tached as shown in the engraving. The axle being 
near the center, throws nearly the whole weight of 
the load upon it while being moved. It will be 
found easier to handle than a barrow, and not so 
liable to upset when unequally loaded. It is a 
cheap arrangement, and may be used for various 
other purposes as well as for moving ensilage. 
How I Secured Chickens. 
Some years ago I paid a visit to the country on 
the 23d of August, and was surprised to find that, 
up to that time, there were no little chickens on 
the farm, which was a large one. I was told that 
some animals had destroyed all the eggs and young- 
chickens, and that it was 
useless to try to raise any. 
I proposed to make a 
secure nest, and see what 
might yet be done, but was 
met by several objections : 
first, it was too late ; then 
there were no eggs ; and 
finally, there was no hen 
wanting to sit. I sent to 
a neighbor for eggs, and 
found a hen sitting in a 
dark entry upon nothing. 
I planted a post in the 
back-yard, nailed an invert¬ 
ed wash-basin on the top of 
it, and then a sitting-box 
(see engraving) over that. 
I made a nest of fine hay, 
put in the eggs, placed corn 
and water on the shelf at c, 
opposite the vertical open¬ 
ing at d, put in the hen, 
raised the back door at a, and fastened it by a nail 
through a gimlet hole at b. I soon found the head 
of the hen at d, and she appeared contented with 
the arrangements for her comfort. As this was an 
experiment, I did not open the back door for three 
days. The hen came out when it suited her, and 
A SAFE HEN’S NEST. 
in time hatched twelve chickens, all of which grew 
to maturity, and were shown to me the following 
spring. The box became a favorite retreat for lay¬ 
ing and sitting hens, and was in use until it fell to 
pieces from age and decay, some years afterward. 
Where there are rats, minks, or skunks, this form 
of box is very easily made; it should stand about 
three feet from the ground. I found in later trials 
that a sitting hen did not require locking in for 
more than one. day, to reconcile her to the new 
nest. The roof is made long at e , as I found this 
necessary to secure the food against thieving chick¬ 
ens, which mounted the roof to steal. N. P. H. 
Shall We Plant Orchards in Autumn? 
Each year, at this season, the question comes up 
as to the desirability of planting trees in fall, in 
preference to spring. As with many other ques¬ 
tions, no invariable rule, that will serve for all 
portions of our wide and diversified country, can 
be given. In some instances, spring planting is 
essential to success, and in others fall planting is 
greatly preferable. To decide between the two 
seasons, we must take into consideration the cli¬ 
mate, the character of the soil, and the kind of 
trees. Eruit growers are agreed that trees should 
be taken up from the nursery in autumn, as the 
condition of the soil allows them to be dug with 
less injury to their roots, and the stock at the nur¬ 
series not being reduced, a full assortment of 
varieties can be supplied, and there is less chance 
of getting the “culls” after the best trees have 
been sold. When a tree in the nursery makes its 
full growth, the new wood becomes firm and thor¬ 
oughly ripened; each stem and twig is terminated 
by a bud, and in the base of each leaf is a smaller 
bud, more or less fully developed. When these 
buds, as well as the stems upon which they are 
placed, have made their full growth and are ripe, 
the leaves have done their work ; their appearance, 
and the manner in which they hang upon the tree, 
show that they are no longer active. The leaves 
may remain for weeks, often until frost comes, un¬ 
less a severe storm causes them to fall. If the 
leaves be tried, it will be found that they as readily 
part from the stem as does a ripe fruit. Their 
work being finished, they have made preparations 
to fall, a line of separation between the leaf and 
the stem has been provided, and when given a 
slight pull, the leaf separates at this line, leaving a 
clean scar. Much has been said about stripping 
the leaves from nursery trees, as if it were a fraud 
upon the buyer. If intelligently done, when the 
leaves are ripe, no harm can result, and it ought 
always to be done when trees are taken up in au¬ 
tumn, if only for their safety in the packages. 
The argument against procuring trees from the 
nursery at this time, because the leaves must be 
stripped, is not worth considering. 
In those northern localities where the season of 
autumn is brief, planting at that time is not advisa¬ 
ble ; but in a large part of the country, after the 
first few frosts, there is a long succession of the 
most delightful days, and winter approaches slow¬ 
ly. In such localities, fruit trees may be planted 
in the fall with decided benefit. A tree is not like 
a stake stuck in the ground, to remain unchanged. 
The tree, though at rest, is still alive. Its buds 
and bark keep up a certain activity. It is well 
known that if apparently dormant cuttings of the 
grape or currant be set out in the fall, they will 
form a callus at the lower end, and the currant, 
especially, will even produce roots ; all this takes 
place without the presence of a leaf or any appar¬ 
ent life in the cutting. When a tree is planted in 
the warm soil in autumn, its roots begin to heal 
where they have been wounded, and new fibres 
push out and help fix the roots in the soil. A cer¬ 
tain work of preparation which the roots must do 
hurriedly in the spring, if planted at that time, is 
much better done in autumn, and when the grow¬ 
ing season begins, the tree is prepared for it. Wet 
soils are not favorable for autumn planting, nor 
indeed for any other. If the earth will be satur¬ 
ated with water in winter, it is no place for the 
roots of trees. Heel-in the trees, and by laying 
drains, prepare the land for setting them next 
spring. In planting trees at this season, they 
should have the preparation we have advised for 
spring, i. e., to smoothly cut all broken roots, and 
to diminish the tops one-third to one-half ; more¬ 
over, a sharp mound of earth should be made 
around the base of each tree, a foot or eighteen 
inches high, both to steady it against heavy winds, 
and to keep off the mice. The stone fruits, peach¬ 
es, cherries, etc., are regarded as less suited to fall 
planting than apples, pears, etc. ; but in the peach 
districts of Delaware and Maryland, extensive 
plantings are made in autumn. The planting of 
deciduous ornamental trees is subject to the same 
conditions as that of fruit trees, and the same may 
be said of currants and other fruit-bearing shrubs. 
A Fruit Picker. 
Large apples, finely colored, and without spot, 
bruise, or blemish, always command a high price 
in market. As these apples are frequently found 
on the extreme ends of the highest branches of 
the trees, it is a difficult matter to secure them 
without bruising. They are beyond the reach of a 
person on the tree or on a step-ladder, and to shake 
them down is to rain them. Most fruit pickers 
are arranged to pull the fruit off the tree. Pull 
one apple off, and down come five or six more of 
the best on the limb. To obviate this, wc invented 
the picker shown in the engravings. Figure 1 is 
the picker. The pieces, a and b, are iron, shaped 
as seen in the cut. They work on a rivet, and are fas¬ 
tened securely to the end of the pole, c. Holes are 
punched through a and b, and stiff wires inserted, 
forming a cage for the fruit. The toothed end of 
piece b is sharp, and slides over the end of a, which 
may be sharp or not. A small hole is bored through 
the pole, and a notch cut in the front edge for a 
small pulley, d. A strong cord is attached to the 
lower end of b, and passes through the hole over 
the pulley, and down the pole through screw-eyes 
placed a short distance apart. Figure 2 is a section 
of the lower end of the pole. Eighteen inches 
from the end, the pole is squared for about fifteen 
inches. Over this squared portion is fitted a slid¬ 
ing-box handle. A thumb-stop is fastened to the 
upper end, as shown in fig. 3. The thumb end 
is held up by a small spring, which presses the up¬ 
per end into notches in an iron rachet bar fitted 
into the pole. A screw-eye is inserted in the upper 
end, and a cord attached. The pole may be of any 
desired length. 
To pick apples, grasp the pole at the lower end 
with one hand, and by the sliding-box handle with 
the other. Press the thumb-piece and slide it up, 
and the weight of piece b opens the jaws of the 
