1883 .] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
535 
Our Cat with Scarlet Fever. 
Below is a portrait of our “Becky,” a family 
pet—a mixture of tabby and tortoise shell,—with 
Xlie silkiest of coats and the sweetest of tempers. 
Her ways are always winning, and sometimes re¬ 
markable, but the feat which has made her famous 
is—catching scarlet fever. 
Many persons do not believe that a cat can take 
disease from a human being, but this cat did it 
most undoubtedly, and was very seriously ill for 
more than a week. It began by her insisting on 
visiting the patient, her young mistress, though 
the latter was too ill to notice the little animal 
lying on the bed, and when at last Becky was 
forcibly driven from her post, it was too late, for 
customary symptoms of the disease plainly showed 
themselves. She was taken violently sick, and her 
throat and tongue became so inflamed that she 
could not swallow; (no one thought to find out 
whether there was a rash under her fur), but at all 
events she grew thinner every day, as she could 
neither eat nor drink, and the physician in atten¬ 
dance prescribed for her an easy death by chloro¬ 
form. However, some one suggested putting hot 
poultices on her throat, as this treatment gave 
great relief to the human patient, and accordingly 
flax seed meal was applied, Becky submitting with¬ 
out a struggle. Sometimes it seemed as if the 
poultice was hot enough to scald her, but she bore 
the heat bravely, evidently knowing what it was for. 
One morning, the person who took charge of the 
poultices, was awakened before light, by puss, 
who, after “ clawing ” her vigorously, went to the 
table under the gas-burner where the linseed was 
heated, and sat looking up wistfully. It was very 
evident that she wanted a hot poultice, for the one 
last put on was quite cold, and after obtaining 
what she had come for, Becky went down stairs 
again contented. 
In a few days she was convalescent, and spent 
most of her time before the fire in the invalid’s 
room, making weak attempts to lick her coat, 
which through neglect had lost all its gloss. 
The first sign of returning appetite showed itself 
when she endeavored to eat the cork of the cod- 
liver-oil bottle. She probably thought it would 
give her strength, she being a reflective cat—and 
particularly fond of fish. 
This case of scarlet fever is an absolute fact, as 
can be certified by several witnesses. 
Bees for Boys. 
A farmer friend has sixty colonies of bees, a fine 
flock of light Brahma fowls, and a farm of one 
hundred and twenty acres. He has two sons, aged 
thirteen and sixteen years respectively, and the 
elder boy has entire charge of the bees, of which 
he is very fond. He runs his sections, extracts 
the honey, introduces queens, divides his bees, and 
Tears queens with a skill which many a veteran 
might envy. He is already well known in the city, 
three and a half miles distant, for his honey, and 
talks about bees, and quotes authorities in the 
most intelligent manner. All his honey is sold in 
■one grocery-store, and though he has had a good 
yield this season, and has reaped a fine profit, he 
•cannot fully supply the demand at he store. 
New Farm Implements and Appliances. 
The Wedge Press. 
The earliest form of a powerful press, for ex¬ 
tracting oils from seeds, juices from fruits, etc., 
was the Wedge Press. Although the screw and 
hydraulic presses have taken its place to a great ex¬ 
tent, this press is still in use in some parts of Eu¬ 
rope. It is very powerful, and at the same time in¬ 
expensive, though its capacity is limited, since a 
wedge cannot act through a considerable space. 
As farmers and others sometimes need a powerful 
press, we give an engraving of the usual form of 
the wedge press to suggest the manner in which 
they can construct a home-made affair. The mate¬ 
rial to be pressed is placed in bags of hair cloth, b, 
6, each of which is between two iron plates, which 
are perforated with holes and grooved, to allow the 
oil, juice, etc., to run out and pass below. The 
box which contains the whole must of course be 
very strong, and secured by iron rods running 
lengthwise. The spaces between the iron plates 
are filled in with blocks of various sizes and shapes, 
and the pressure applied by blows with a maul 
upon the wedge w. To relieve the press, an in¬ 
verted wedge, i, is provided ; a few blows upon the 
top of this will unlock the whole. The box is 
made tight, and the expressed liquid is drawn off 
from the bottom. A contrivance on this plan 
may, in the absence of a screw-press, be made 
useful to separate the last portions of lard from the 
scraps, and for other farm and household purposes. 
A Hand Protector. 
A cover for the thumb and forefinger is shown 
in the engraving. A belt of the same material 
passes around the 
hand, and thus se¬ 
cures the protector in 
its place. The mate¬ 
rial of the model sent 
us, from which the 
engraving was made, is a heavy cloth. Leather 
could be used in like manner and is more durable. 
Splicing Fence Posts. 
There are places, as crossing over gullies, etc., 
where unusually long posts are desirable, though 
not always easy to obtain. In such cases prop¬ 
erly spliced posts are almost as durable as entire 
ones. The engraving of the front and side views 
shows how the splice may be made to secure 
strength and durability. The splices should be 
made with a shoulder at the lower end, and well 
nailed together, after which one or two bands of 
hoop-iron may be passed around the splice and se¬ 
curely fastened. The hoop-iron band is one of the 
most important points in a splice of this kind. 
A Finger “Stall.” 
Mr. A. C. Swartz, Girard, Ky., sends us a sketch 
and description of a Finger “ Stall,” made in the 
usual way, but with a hole cut at a, as shown in 
the engraving. The finger is first passed through 
this hole, bringing the seam upon the back of it. 
Such a covering for a sore finger is much more 
secure and comfortable than the ordinary “ stall.” 
Device for Gate Post. 
Mr. “ S. C. C.,” St. Louis, Mo., sends us a descrip¬ 
tion of a post, or rather a device to keep it from 
sagging. It consists of a triangular lever. The 
sill piece rests upon the ground, and its iuner end 
abuts against the post. One end of the inclined 
piece is secured to the post at or near its top, and 
its opposite end is fastened to the sill piece at or 
near its outer end. A heavy stone may be placed 
upon the sill piece, between the joint of the two 
members and the post, to make the post, secure. 
To Keep Grass from Walks. 
Mr. John Barker, Calais, Me., adds an item to 
our article on “ Edgings for Gravel Walks,” in the 
SECTION OF GARDEN WALK. 
September issue. He writes: “ It is often said 
that I have the best walks and lawns in town. 
Where the edge of my walk comes to the grass, I 
cut out the earth, as shown in the engraving, and 
place in sifted hard coal ashes. This stops the 
grass roots at the edge. My main walk is over a 
hundred feet long, and for the last five years it has 
not taken three hours of labor to keep the edges, 
on both sides, neat and clean. I have a good deal 
of witch, or quack grass, and to stop it at the edge 
of a garden, or under a line fence, I dig a trench 
six inches wide and deep, and have no more trouble 
with the pest.” This is shown in the engraving. 
A Device for Milk Pans. 
All house-keepers know how very difficult and 
perplexing it is to judge of the age of milk set in 
pans at different milkings, without turning up the 
cream, with a knife, spoon, or finger, or blowing it 
to ascertain the thickness of the cream. Some 
years since my wife devised the following method. 
One of her boys cut her a set of cards, of suitable 
shapes; one set for morning, of white cards, and 
another for evening, of red cards,of the same shape. 
