338 
AMERICAN AGKRIC ULTUTtlST. 
[Skptf:mber, 
poultry-houses effectually guarded. A suc¬ 
cessful method of trapping marauding animals 
is here shown. Against the usual entrance to 
Fig. 2.—LOWER PART OF THE TRAP. 
the house, which is left open for the purpose, 
there is placed and fixed inside a box, from 
which the end has been removed, and from the 
top of which a 
piece has been 
cut, as represent¬ 
ed in fig. 2. A 
steel-trap is set 
in this box with¬ 
out any attempt 
at concealment. 
Boldness in this 
case is the most 
successful plan. 
Above the hole in this box is placed a smaller box 
provided with a false bottom of laths, an inch 
apart, shown at fig. 3. A chicken is put into 
this box. The consequence of an attempt to 
take the chicken, by a nightly prowler, whether 
cat, dog, mink, rat, or skunk, is readily foreseen. 
Fig. 3. —BOX FOR THE BAIT. 
Kilns for Burning Tiles. 
After tiles have been molded by means of 
any of the machines, designed for that purpose, 
and partly dried, it is necessary to roll and 
straighten them. This should be done, because 
in drying many of them will become warped 
and crooked, and a secure drain cannot be 
made with ill-shaped tiles. A thick slab of 
stone or hard wood, should be procured, and a 
smooth hard wood stick, a little smaller than 
the inside diameter of the tiles. The stick is 
put through the tile, which is then gently 
rolled back and forth upon the slab, until it is 
straightened. If the edges of the tile need 
n'mming, tins should then be done, so that a 
eloc - joint may be made. After a little more 
drying, the tiles may be baked, or if the fire 
is carefully started in the kiln, they may now 
be baked at once. 
There are various styles of kilns or ovens 
for burning tile, but for the purposes of the 
small manufacturer, who needs to burn not 
more than 100,000 in a season, the forms of 
kiln and oven here shown, will be suitable and 
very cheap. That of which a section is shown 
jn fig. 1 , may be built for $40 or less. It 
consists of a circular wall of beaten clay, 7 feet 
high, 4 feet thick at the bottom, and sloping 
outside only, to 2 feet in thickness at the top. 
This wall forms a round structure 11 feet in 
diameter. Outside of it is dug a trench, from 
which the clay may be taken to make part of 
the wall, 4 feet wide at the top, narrowing to 
18 inches wide at the bottom, and 3 feet deep. 
This is seen at a. From this trench there are 
three fire holes dug, one of which is seen at b, 
communicating with another trench inside the 
walls, seen at c, c. This trench is bricked over, 
and has three flues passing from it into the 
floor of the kiln. These flues are shown at d, d. 
Brick-work fireplaces are built in the fire holes, 
with fire bars or grates in them for the fuel, and 
doors or dampers of burnt clay or cast iron, 
should be provided for them. Either coal or 
wood may be used to heat the kiln. A door¬ 
way is made through the wall, through which to 
carry the tiles. This door may be bricked up 
when the kiln is filled. A rough shed should 
be built over the kiln, high enough to be secure 
from the fire, for protection against the weather. 
The tiles are placed in the kiln upon their 
ends, lest the weight of the upper tiers should 
crush the lower ones. The small tiles are put 
inside of the larger ones, to save space as much 
as possible. In placing the tiles, narrow lanes 
are left between them, radiating from the flues 
from the fire places, and these are broken in 
each tier, so that the flame and heat from the 
fire, shall be made to strike every tile. With 
proper care in filling the kiln, a more even 
burning will be made, and there will be but 
few imperfect tiles. There are two dangers to 
avoid, one is under baking, and the other is 
over baking. It is well to have two or three 
test holes made in the walls, and to lay a tile 
opposite each hole, so that it can be lifted out 
on the end of an iron rod and examined, and 
the fire regulated accordingly. There should 
be one test hole for each fire hole, or for that 
part of the kiln subject to each fire hole. These 
holes are closed with a piece of soft clay. 
When not sufficiently burned the tiles are soft, 
of a pale color, and will not ring clearly when 
struck together. Such tiles should never be 
put into a drain, or if used should be put by 
themselves at the head of a drain, and never 
where their failure would stop a current of 
water. In a year or two, or perhaps less, they 
will crumble down, or flake off until they are 
destroyed. Perfectly burnt tiles are bright red 
in color, and ring clearly when struck. When 
over burned they are glassy, brown or black in 
color, deformed in shape, cracked, and run 
together in masses. For profitable results, 
therefore, the important business of burning 
should be cautiously and carefully done. The 
fire should be started gradually. If the tiles 
are damp, they should be warmed up slowljq 
and the fire should not be given headway for 
two days. It should then be kept steady until 
the bum is complete, when the fire holes should 
be luted up with clay, and the kiln allowed to 
cool gradually. Fifteen days are sufficient to 
fill a kiln, burn the tiles, cool off, and empty it. 
Figure 2 shows an oven which is more 
economical of fuel, than the one just described, 
and which may be kept more under control. 
It is also a more permanent structure. It is an 
arch of brick-work, 14 feet long, 8 feet high, 
and 11 feet wide in the clear. The wall may 
be built one brick-length, or 9 inches thick, and 
should be supported by buttresses, as shown in 
the illustration. It may be built half this thick¬ 
ness, if supported by 4 inch iron bands, 3 feet 
apart. The bands 3hould be secured to stone3 
in the foundation of the wall. Fig. 3 shows 
the ground plan of the 
oven. The chimney is 
placed at one end of the 
arch, at a; Sis the body 
of the oven, c, c, c, are 
three fire places, 18 inches 
wide, 12 inches high, 30 
inches long, and made 9 
inches below the surface 
of the floor of the oven. 
o c/ r/ From these fire places, 
Fig. 3. ground plan. fl ues 9 inches deep are 
made in the floor of the oven, converging 
toward the chimney. The chimney space 
is about 16 inches square, and vents are 
made in the wall, to communicate with the chim¬ 
ney space. A door, d, fig. 2, is made in the front 
of the oven, through which the tiles are put in, 
and when filled, an open wall of lose bricks is 
built up in front of them, and over the ends of 
the fire holes, to protect the first courses of tiles 
from the full force of the fire, and to spread 
the heat regularly through the whole mass. 
This wall is shown at the dotted line, e, e, fig. 3. 
A quantity of bricks set upon end are placed 
upon the floor of the oven, and the tiles are 
ranged upon their ends upon the bricks, the 
small ones inside of the large ones, as previous¬ 
ly described. It is necessary to place the tiles 
so that the fire may reach every one, and yet 
that space may be economized. The success of 
the burn greatly depends upon this. 
Tobacco in the Connecticut Valley- 
Special Crops. 
In a recent trip up the Valley of the Con¬ 
necticut, from its mouth to St. Johnsbury, we 
noticed the diminished size - of the tobacco 
fields in Connecticut and Massachusetts. This 
is attributed to the low price of the weed, the 
lateness of the season, and the difficulty of get¬ 
ting plants to set. It is estimated that less than 
half the usual area is planted with tobacco the 
present season. There has been an over-pro¬ 
duction in past years. Tobacco in former years 
paid so largely that the area devoted to it on 
each farm has gradually increased, and new 
competitors have each year crowded into the 
business. We saw the evidences of the extent 
of the business in the new and large tobacco 
sheds and drying barns, and in the boxes and 
bales at the depots. The tendency of this and 
other special crops, we think, is not favorable 
to good farming. The tobacco grower con¬ 
centrates all his energies upon this one crop. 
The few acres devoted to it of course are en¬ 
riched, but as a rule all the rest of the farm is 
robbed to sustain the tobacco field. No brute 
will eat tobacco, and no manure from the crop, 
but the stems, goes back to the field. The 
