1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
139 
•oi lime and swamp-muck,will make a substitute. 
To get a good stand, the ground should he well 
plowed as deeply as possible without injury, re¬ 
duced to a fine tilth, and sown to whatever grass 
is most suitable,directly,without the intervention 
of a grain crop. Bone-dust, guano, and plaster, 
alternately every two or three years, may he 
used as fertilizers, at the rate of two hundred 
pounds of the former and one hundred pounds 
■of the last per acre. Only one crop should be 
cut, and the aftermath should be encouraged to 
grow and allowed to fall down and rot. No 
pasturing should be permitted. 
Second, as to implements. The mowing 
machine, hay-tedder, and horse-rake in the 
field, and the horse-fork at the sheds, are all 
that can be profitably used at present. Of the 
mowers, there are a great variety. We have a 
preference for the Buckeye, and we have cut 
ten acres per day with it without trouble or 
weariness. At the same time, there are other 
machines which others prize as much as we do 
this. The tedder is not adapted to clover 
hay, but for timothy, blue grass, or red-top is a 
labor-saver. The spring-tooth hay-rake is an 
absolute necessity in the hay-field, and as there 
are several very much alike in construction, 
there is not much choice between well-made 
ones by different makers. Hay-loaders are not 
yet brought to that perfection which makes 
them desirable, as there are many contingencies 
which interfere with their successful operation. 
Third, as to pressing and baling. Hay- 
presses are made which, worked by two-horse 
power with two men, will bale ten tons per 
day. It is not at all difficult to construct one 
with which two men can bale four tons in a 
day, by means of a screw. With such a press, 
costing about twenty dollars, the writer at one 
time prepared 100 tons of hay for shipment. 
Our bales weighed about 200 pounds, were what 
is called loose pressed, and were tied with three 
bands of coarse hempen cord. There were no 
comer laths used, and consequently no tare was 
deducted when the bales were sold. 
Fourth, as to storage. It will be found more 
economical to erect cheap sheds or barracks than 
to stack the hay. The amount lost by stacking 
will in five years pay for a shed, which if 
built properly and taken care of, may last forty 
barrack for hat or grain. 
years. We give a sketch of a hay barrack we 
have used, which answered equally well for hay, 
grain, or corn-stalks. Built of hemlock timber, 
and boards tongued and grooved for the roof, 
the cost is about forty to fifty dollars for one 
sixteen feet square and sixteen feet high, holding 
five tons of loose hay. It is much more econo¬ 
mical to build them larger than this one. 
Twenty-four feet square and sixteen feet high 
may be built for one third more, and will con¬ 
tain over twice as much. On a large scale, one 
long shed would be found more economical in 
cost, but the smaller ones may be scattered 
about, and thus be found more convenient. 
When these barracks are to be used for grain or 
stalks, they should have caps over the founda¬ 
tion posts, to render them rat-proof, as shown 
in the engraving. Very cheap hay-sheds may 
be made by setting four posts in the ground 
and covering with a roof of straw thatch, but 
they are not durable. 
Jersey Cows for Butter. — “Thirteen 
cows and heifers made in January 282 lbs. 12 
oz. of butter—all sold at 75 cents per lb.” So 
writes Mr. J. Milton Mackie, of Great Barring¬ 
ton, Mass., of his herd of pure Jerseys. Per¬ 
haps somebody’s “ natives,” or somebody’s 
“grades” can beat this; if so, we would be 
very glad to know it. $16.30 per month as the 
average product of thirteen animals, not forced 
in any way—only kept in good breeding condi¬ 
tion — and in mid-winter, is a product with 
which any farmer might be satisfied. Of course, 
at this season some of the cows were nearly dry, 
and some were two-year-olds with their first 
calves, yet the average weekly yield of butter was 
nearly 5 lbs. per week all around. The “moral ” 
is that Jersey cows are good to have on a but¬ 
ter-maker’s farm, and the natural inference is 
that if you can not afford thorough-breds, you 
will do well to breed to pure Jersey bulls, and 
raise a herd in which there shall be a strong and 
a constantly increasing infusion of Jersey blood. 
The Uneven Pulling of Teams. 
We have received many communications on 
the subject of the uneven pulling of horses, and 
it seems not to be well understood. It appears 
to be a general idea that when one horse of a 
team is pulling ahead of the other, either one 
or the other (some say one and some the other) 
is pulling a greater share of the load. Now, it 
is a matter of fact that however uneven the 
double-tree may be, if the whipple-trees are free 
from entanglement with any part of the wagon, 
the draft is not in any way changed; each horse 
is exerting exactly the same power on the load— 
if the bolt is exactly in the middle of the double- 
tree, as it should be—as it would if the double- 
tree were exactly level. This is to be proved by 
a simple problem in mechanics. The double- 
tree is a lever, the fulcrum of which is the bolt 
by which it is attached to the wagon tongue. 
If the arms of the lever are of the same length, 
the power expended on each of them in draw¬ 
ing the wagon is necessarily the same. Now, 
however far from level the double-tree may get, 
the lengths of the arms or the distances from 
each hook to the center bolt remains the same, 
and straight lines drawn from the bolt to other 
straight lines parallel to the tongue drawn from 
each hook will be equal. The dotted lines in 
the engraving are intended to show this more 
plainly. The distance between the points a a 
is exactly divided by the line A which passes 
through the draw-bolt, and the draft from these 
points is equal on either side. These distances, 
which alone can change the amount of force 
exerted, remaining the same, the force exerted 
is the same. 
There i3 no relation between a double-tree 
and a balance or the beam of a scale, which is 
supposed by one correspondent. If a greater 
weight is placed in one scale than in the other, 
the beam oscillates, and it will not stop until 
one weight is completely suspended by the 
other, or the beam rests against something 
which stops the motion. So if one horse pulls 
more than the other he will draw him back un¬ 
til the whippfe-tree comes against the wagon 
and presses against it, when the amount of 
pressure will be 
exactly equal to 
the excess of force 
exerted by one 
horse. But while 
there is no pressure 
against the wagon 
and the whipple- 
tree is free each 
horse draws equal¬ 
ly. But it must 
not be understood 
that we do not de¬ 
precate the prac¬ 
tice. It is un¬ 
pleasant to see, unworkmanlike, and slovenly, 
and a farmer that permits it can not be looked 
upon as a neat farmer. To prevent it, take a 
strap with a buckle at one end and a snap-hook 
at the other; buckle one end to the check-rein 
of the quick horse, and hook the other to the 
inside trace-chain of the other horse so far 
back as to prevent his mate from getting 
ahead of him. They can then be kept even. 
Gate Hinge. —David Ruble, Eula, Oregon, 
sends us a drawing of a new gate-hinge, which 
is calculated to obviate the inconvenience of 
splitting of the post when the timber is bored 
for the insertion of the bolt of the ordinary 
heavy gate-hinge. It is made of strap iron, 
l‘/ 4 x y 4 in., and requires 
a bar about 15 inches in 
length. The extremities 
of the bar are fashioned 
into screws, which pass 
through holes in the back 
strap, and are fastened with nuts, which en¬ 
able the gate-post to be firmly clasped. An 
eye is formed to receive the other part of the 
hinge, which is of ordinary construction, or 
may be made on the same principle as this. 
The illustration here given will explain the 
peculiar construction of this improved hinge. 
Rack for Shoeing Unruly Animals. 
The rack of which we give an engraving is 
one suited to use for shoeing vicious animals. 
It is often found necessary in shoeing a vicious 
mule to have the aid of several men with ropes. 
With this rack the operation can be done with 
much greater ease. The animal is led into the 
frame, and secured by hooking the harness to 
the hooks. A forefoot is taken up and secured 
by the strap to the post seen at the front. 
Bars, with bands passing beneath the horse, are 
placed on each side, which may be elevated 
until the beast is lifted off its feet and rendered 
perfectly helpless, if needed. The hind-feet 
may be fastened to the liind-posts by straps, in 
case of a very vicious animal, and the shoes 
nailed on while the blacksmith' is protected 
against any attempts at kicking, and the beast 
can not throw himself, being supported by the 
frame and belly-bands. The rack should be 
made with stout sills and posts, about 4 inches 
square, or sufficiently strong to resist the strug¬ 
gling of any animal that may be put into it, 
and mortised into them. The size of the frame 
should be adapted to the animals for which it is 
provided—about 8 ft. in length and 2 ft. in width. 
hinge. 
