252 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[JUBff, 
around the ouisi .e of tae pigeon-house above 
the roof of the loft, and a ventilating cupola 
Fig. 1.— CARRIAGE AND PIGEON HOUSE. 
is placed upon the top. The arrangement of 
the interior of the stable is shown in fig. 2, and 
that of the pigeon-house in fig. 3. The nest- 
boxes are placed upon shelves around the walls, 
and a trap-door in he hoor near the wall gives 
access from the hay loft. 
Natural Pastures. 
We recently had the pleasure of visiting a 
farm in Litchfield County, Ct., where a large 
portion of the pasture land had never been 
plowed. There was at least one hundred acres, 
containing a good variety of soil and exposure, 
that had received no care from the hand of 
man since the forest was cleared off a hundred 
or more years ago. Some of it was hilly and 
strewn with boulders, some quite smooth and 
available for the plow, and other portions 
moist and covered with coarse grasses and 
rushes. The present owner and manager is 
eighty-five years of age, and has been in pos¬ 
session for sixty years, and one of his hobbies 
is natural pasture He has followed the rais¬ 
ing of Devon cattle and Merino sheep nearly 
' ” i hole life, and these have been the impor¬ 
tant crops sold from the farm. The pasture 
retain, all the natural grasses that originally 
grew up. • i the soil. The surface mold formed 
by the dev ay of the leaves and stumps of the 
forest has never been disturbed or exhausted 
by tillage. The annual crops of grass have 
been consumed by sheep and cattle, and the 
most of the manure has been left upon the soil. 
The raising of cattle to sell for stock has this 
advantage over dairying. The cattle are left 
in the pasture through the summer, while the 
cows are brought up to the milking yard at 
night, and at least o-ne half of the manure is 
left in the yard. Sheep are in the pastures 
ih.ou 9 n the season, and their manure is quite 
evenly distributed. If there is any excess in 
any part it is upon the high ground and hill¬ 
tops, to which they generally resort at night, 
or when they are lying down. The portions of 
the pasture that are most exposed to washing 
and most likely to be poor receive the largest 
share of manure. The result of this treat¬ 
ment, in this case at least, is a complete vin¬ 
dication of the policy of keeping the plow 
out of land devoted to pasture. Everywhere 
there is a thick, heavy sod, and a good bite 
of grass, even upon the driest hill-top. 
There has been an increase in the capacity of 
the pasture to carry stock, and the feed is 
better now than it was sixty years ago. This 
man has attained a result by simple grazing 
with sheep and cattle, which others attain by 
expensive plowing, cultivating, and heavy 
manuring. May not the multitude of emi¬ 
grants who are clearing away the forests in 
the new states and territories leam something 
from the experience of this old farmer ? 
After the forest is cut away, and the trees 
and brush are burned, there is no need of 
raising wheat and corn several years to pre¬ 
pare the way for the grasses. If the grasses 
are not already there,, the seed would catch 
readily upon the soft mold and ashes after 
the burning. The stumps would remain for 
a time, but they would not be in the -way of 
sheep and cattle as they are in the way of 
the plow and the reaper. They would go to 
decay in a few years, and this decay might 
be hastened by burning after they were 
thoroughly dry. The ashes and mold would 
add to the riches of the soil and the luxuri¬ 
ance of the grasses. The thick, heavy sod, 
thus formed at little cost, would be a better 
investment than any bank or railroad stock. 
The cashier would not default. It could not 
be stolen. It could not be burned up. It 
would declare dividends while there were 
sheep and cattle to graze it, and a man to 
watch the herds and flocks. From what we 
have seen here and in other grazing districts 
of these natural pastures, we are convinced 
that a great deal of labor is -worse than 
wasted in putting cleared forest lands into 
grass. Connecticut. 
Lolling of the Tongue. 
We have had many inquiries as to a form of 
bit, best calculated to prevent lolling of the 
tongue in horses, and 
we now illustrate two 
kinds of bits, that are 
well designed to pre¬ 
vent this disagreeable 
Fig. 1. bit. habit. The principle 
upon which they are made, is to prevent the horse 
from getting his tongue over the bit. If this is 
prevented, the tongue is seldom thrust out at 
the side of the mouth. Figure 1 shows a bit, 
^ 2 — having an attachment 
/^\ II at u pp er s * < i e > an< i 
] an extra rin S- by 
which it is kept in‘its 
^ proper position. The 
tongue can not pos¬ 
sibly be got over this 
bit. But we have oc¬ 
casionally seen a horse 
which would thrust the tongue out beneath 
the bit. For such a rare case, the bit shown 
at figure 2 is provided. The plate upon this 
bit swings readily, and whether the horse at- 
Fig. 2.— bit. 
tempts to carry the tongue out over or under 
it, it is turned, and prevents the movement. 
There can not possibly be any lolling of the 
tongue in this case- Both of these bits are 
made by Joseph Baldwin & Co., 254 Market 
street, Newark, N. J. 
Binders for Sheaves. 
The ordinary bands for binding sheaves are 
both wasteful of grain and time. A band that 
is ready-made, and which can be fastened in- 
Flg. 1.—SHEAF-HOOK. 
stantly and tightly, would be a great conve¬ 
nience. For binding corn it would be a great 
boon. We here illustrate two methods of mak¬ 
ing bands which are used by French farmers, 
and which would be found useful to us, inas¬ 
much as they are easily made, quickly fastened, 
and hold the sheaves securely. Figure 1 shows 
the hook, which is best made of malleable cast 
Fig. 2.— SHEAF BOUND. 
iron. A cord is passed through the hole, and 
is knotted at each end. To bind a sheaf, the 
cord is passed around it and over the hook at 
the back, drawn tight, and then passed once 
around the tongue of the hook, and finally 
along the groove, and tucked in firmly between 
the straw and the hook, leaving the knotted 
end hanging loose. To unbind the sheaf, the 
Fig. 3.—-SHEAF-BINDER. 
knotted end is pulled and the tie is loosened 
instantly. Figure 2 shows the sheaf bound 
with this tie. Figure 3 shows another and 
more simple tie, which is a long, narrow hook 
of stout wire, made with an eye at the end of 
the shank. This is attached to a cord knotted 
at both ends and at various places near that 
end which is distant from the hook. When 
Fig. 4.— WIRE SHEAF-HOOK. 
used, the cord is drawn tight round the sheaf 
and slipped into the hook, which holds the 
knot fast. Figure 4 shows another form of 
this tie, the catch for which may be made of 
strong wire, such as is used for fences. 
