[June, 
518 
AMERICAN AG-RIOULTUBIST. 
the ground. Holes are bored in Uio upper end 
to receive the lines, where they can always be 
reached iu a moment when wanted. Another 
rack for hay, which permits the wagon to be 
turned round in a very small space, is shown at 
fig. 2. This rack is made of four bars, instead 
of two, and with fewer rungs; and when put 
together a piece of the lowest bar is cut out so 
as to admit the wheel when turning. This im¬ 
proved rack is sent us by a correspondent, 
“W. A. F.,” of Cleveland, Minn., and is well 
Fig. 3.—HAY BADLY LOADED. 
worth using by those who need to turn sharp 
comers or.in a small space. But the rack is 
nothing unless one can put tire hay in properly. 
Few men load hay correctly. Most often the 
load is unevenly balanced, or not sufficiently 
spread out, and it either tips over, or only half 
a load is made. Fig. 3 shows this very com¬ 
mon mode of loading. The hay within the 
ladders should be well tramped down, and kept 
hollow in the center until filled to the top. 
Then the corners should be built first, and a 
good forkful placed so as to bind them. Then 
the sides built in regular order from front to 
back, each forkful lapping the previous one, 
like a scale on a fish or shingles on a roof. This 
will enable the hay to be easily unloaded. The 
load should be gradually widened and length¬ 
ened with each layer of hay or grain, and the 
center kept hollow, and the load bound by a 
row of forkfuls along the middle. Thus the 
size of load is restricted only by the quantity 
the horses can draw or the rack bear. If well 
built and balanced, it may be carried out eight 
feet wide and more than twice as long, and six¬ 
teen to twenty hundred of hay easily taken at 
a load. The shape of the load will be similar 
to figure 4, which is one that can not upset, 
nor can any part of the load fall off. The forks 
should be stuck in the hay with the handles 
sloping backwards, as in fig. 4, and never for¬ 
wards, as in fig. 3, which is a highly dangerous 
position when driving into a barn, as they might 
catch against the beams of an overway and 
cause serious mischief to the driver. 
-— --—- «■- 
Cultivation of Fodder-Corn. 
Notwithstanding the lateness of the season, 
the main crop of fodder-corn will generally 
have been planted before this number reaches 
its readers. It is, however, not yet too late to 
plant and secure a full crop to be cutup in Sep¬ 
tember. As the com will stand in the drills too 
thick for much good to be done by liand-hoeing, 
the cultivator should be made to do double duty. 
If the land is of such a character that Thomas’s 
Smoothing Harrow can with safety be run over 
the ground the moment the corn first begins to 
break through the surface, it will materially 
lessen the work of cultivation, and will con¬ 
siderably increase the crop, giving the corn a 
good start in advance of the weeds. If the corn 
has been planted two inches deep, there will be 
little danger of disturbing it by a harrowing that 
will completely eradicate all surface weeds. 
Generally, owing to the press of other work, 
the corn crop is apt to be put off with less culti¬ 
vation than it really needs. It ought to be thor¬ 
oughly cultivated at least four times (going twice 
through each row every time). This work 
should be commenced as soon as the rows can 
be distinctly seen, and the last cultivation should 
be given after the crop has grown to such a size 
as to leave barely room for a short whiffle-tree to 
pass between the rows. Indeed, it is impossible 
to produce a first-rate crop, unless, by frequent 
stirring, the soil is kept loose and open. If the 
foregoing directions are followed, the corn will 
soon completely shade the ground, so that late- 
germinating weeds will make but little growth, 
Immediately after 
the last cultivation 
it will be well to 
sow broadcast three 
quarters of a pound 
to the acre, of Pur¬ 
ple-top,Strap-leaved 
turnip. These will 
make a fair growth 
between the time 
of cutting up the corn and the setting in of 
winter. If the corn is to be used for soiling, 
it may be profitably cut when from three to 
four feet high, and much of this will produce a 
second growth of considerable value. This, and 
so much of the first growth as has not been cut, 
should be allowed to stand until the latter part 
of September, or until after it has fully tasseled. 
It should then be cut up andlbound in small stooks 
to cure. After so standing for ten days or 
two weeks, four stooks should be bound into 
one, the bases being broad, and the tops closely 
tied with two bands, so that they will not be 
disturbed by violent winds. According to the 
experience of many farmers, fodder so prepared 
may be safely stored in the barn, or in stacks, 
in the latter part of November. It is our own 
custom to leave it standing in the field until 
needed for use, hauling in only one load at a 
time. Our last crop kept perfectly in this con¬ 
dition until the middle of January, and its value 
for feeding was fully equal to hay, ton for ton. 
How to Ring a Bull. 
The only safe Avay to handle a bull that is at 
all inclined to be unruly—and most good bulls 
are so inclined—is by a ring in the nose. Clamp 
rings, having a couple of knobs which press 
into the nostrils, are by no means to be recom¬ 
mended, except for occasional use. It is best, 
always, before the animal is a year old, to put a 
good stout copper ring through the cartilage of 
the nose. This will last him his lifetime, and 
if he is fastened in his stall with a good, sound 
chain snapping info it, we may be sure of his 
making no serious attempt to break loose. When 
taken out for service he can be safely handled 
at pleasure. The old-fashioned plan of burning 
a hole in the nose with a hot iron is cruel and 
difficult. We long ago adopted for this 
work the use of the trocar, a surgical instru¬ 
ment similar to that used for “ tapping ” in 
dropsy and for “hoove” in cows. It is a 
sharp-pointed, round dagger (the point three- 
sided), carrying a silver-plated shield reaching 
from the upper part of the point to the handle; 
the two parts are shown separately in figure 2 . 
The sheath being on the dagger, the whole is 
easily pushed through the nose, its sharp point 
piercing it with so little pain, that one man can 
easily hold the head still. The dagger is then 
withdrawn, leaving the sheath in the hole. The 
ring (shown open in fig. 1), is then inserted into 
the end of the sheath, which is slowly with¬ 
drawn, leaving the ring in place. This is then 
closed and fastened with its screw. These rings 
are so well made, that both the hinge and the 
screw are perfectly smooth and almost imper¬ 
ceptible—turning freely through the hole, which, 
having been made with a three-cornered cut, will 
be more sensitive against a pull than the smooth 
burned hole. Indeed, it is sometimes necessary, 
with the latter, to take the ring out after a time 
and repeat the burning, to make the cartilage 
sufficiently sensitive for the ring to be effective 
in managing the animal. The engraving on 
page 220 shows the manner of inserting the ring. 
What We Know about Beans. 
We have had some experience in raising 
beans, and much observation. We are planting 
nearly twenty acres the present season. For 
some years past, taking one year with another, 
they have been one of the most profitable crops 
raised on the farm. They occupy the land only 
eight or ten weeks, and are harvested in time to 
sow winter wheat. No special skill or peculiar 
treatment is necessary in raising them, but some 
care and experience are required to harvest 
them. The real point is to have the land clean, 
mellow, and in good heart. The old saying, 
“too poor to raise beans,” has led many astray. 
They have planted beans only on such land as 
was not considered rich enough or clean enough 
or dry enough to raise corn or small grain crops. 
And the result in nine cases out of ten is just 
ivhat any one might expect—abundance of 
weeds, a light yield, and an inferior or mildewed 
sample of beans, fit only to feed to sheep. In 
fact, we have seen beans so mildewed that any 
sensible farmer would be afraid to feed them 
out to his animals without steaming them. 
Fig. 2.—TROCAR AND CANNULA. 
