1874] 
377 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
a half finished stack. It will serve to cover up 
a carriage and preserve it from dust. Many 
other uses will suggest themselves to the care¬ 
ful farmer who has provided himself with one. 
It may be made of four widths of yard wide 
stout sheeting, four yards long, strongly sown 
together with linen thread, and wdth a strong 
cord bound into the outside hem. It would be 
better to have a coat of linseed oil, which 
would make it nearly water-proof, but without 
this,’ if placed over a stack, the top of which is 
well rounded up, it will turn a steady rain of 
24 hours’ duration. The cost of a sheet like 
this being so insignificant, and its uses so ob¬ 
vious, it should find a place in every barn. 
Fig. 1.— STATIONARY BAG HOLDER. 
Bag Holders. 
Two of these useful contrivances called bag 
holders are shown in the accompanying en¬ 
gravings. That shown in figure 1 consists of a 
box with flaring sides, which is made to operate 
as a spout to receive the grain or whatever is to 
be poured into the bag. At the bottom of the 
box a few small hooks are fastened, by which 
the bag is held. The box is supported by four 
light iron or wooden rods upon a bottom board. 
This board maybe mounted upon wheels if de¬ 
sirable. Figure 2 shows another style, which 
may be folded in a small space when not in use. 
It consists of a bottom board with an upright 
at one side; a pair of arms are pivoted to the 
top of the upright. These arms are fastened 
together by a cross piece, to which a brace is 
hung by a hinge. This brace is made to sup- 
Fig. 2. —ADJUSTABLE BAG HOLDER. 
port the arms in a horizontal position, by means 
of the notches upon the upright post, into which 
the end is made to fit. A button is also fitted 
upon the upper side of the cross piece by which 
the bag is held. To place the bag in the holder 
the edge is passed over the button and turned 
down; it is then turned over the projecting 
points of the arms, by which it is held securely 
while being filled. The dotted lines in the en¬ 
graving show the manner of turning the edge 
of the bag over these parts of the holder. 
Pasturing Cows in Apple Orchards. 
In riding through Normandy last autumn— 
a country filled wdth orchards—from the apples 
of which, cider, the 
universal beverage of 
the district, is made, 
the writer saw a great 
number of cows 
pasturing on the rich 
grass under the trees, 
and eating the fallen 
apples. Every cow 
was rigged wdth a sort 
of rope harness, to the 
girth of which was 
attached a short halter 
that prevented her 
raising her head to 
take apples from the 
trees. The contriv¬ 
ance was exceedingly 
simple and cheap, and 
there is no reason why it might not be adopted 
by the farmers in this country who would glad¬ 
ly pasture their orchards except for the damage 
done to fruit and branches by cows whose heads 
are free. The halter should be as short as will 
allow the head to be raised to its natural level; 
there wdll then be no danger of its being 
caught by the foot. This is not only more ef¬ 
fective, but much less objectionable than the 
Water Trough for Barn Yard. 
In the barn yard at Mount Fordham, we re¬ 
cently saw a water trough for cattle, w T hich 
we here illustrate. It is calculated to prevent 
cows from indulging their favorite pastime of 
hooking or punching their companions, or 
keeping the weaker members of the herd from 
the water. The trough which contains the 
water is enclosed in a circular box, and there 
HARNESS FOR A COW". 
method sometimes practiced with us of tying 
the halter to one of the forelegs. The cow 
wdien harnessed in this manner, walks about, 
lies down, and rises up, with perfect freedom. 
Remedies for Hen Lice. 
As the summer heats increase hen lice 
multiply and the broods need constant looking 
after. It is a safeguard to put tobacco in the 
nests of sitting hens. Refuse tobacco or old 
stems will answer the purpose. If lice are al¬ 
ready in the hennery make a strong decoction 
of tobacco and apply it with a syringe all over 
the inner surface. Sulphur sprinkled in the 
nests and about the roosts is also a good remedy. 
Insects do not like the smell of brimstone. 
Another remedy much used recently and very 
easily applied is kerosene oil. Strips of list¬ 
ing from the tailor’s shop are tacked upon the 
roosting poles, and these are saturated wdth the 
oil. The hens upon the poles get some of this oil 
upon their feathers, and wherever it touches it 
drives off the insects or kills them. Carbolic 
acid is another cheap destroyer of insect life. 
It is largely diluted with water and applied to 
all parts of the house. If, in very old.houses, 
one application is not sufficient, repeat it. 
WATER TROUGH FOR BARN YARD. 
are several partitions which separate the drink¬ 
ing places from each other. Holes are cut in the 
upper part of the box through which the cows 
can drink, and by this contrivance the water is 
kept clean. Something similar to this has long 
been in use in our own yard for watering sheep; 
the great advantage is that the sheep can not 
crow T d each other from the water, or wet their 
wool, which in winter tune is injurious to them. 
-o—< Qam - 
Fastenings for Barns and Out-Buildings. 
“ Safe bind, safe find ” has reference to barns 
and stables, as well as houses. It 
is frequently the case too, that 
suspicions unjustly aroused would 
be prevented, if barn, stable, and 
granary doors w r ere kept securely 
fastened. A simple, cheap fasten¬ 
ing, that is more secure than pad¬ 
locks, and harder to be picked than 
locks, is here illustrated. It is one Fig. 4 
that we have ourselves used upon farm build¬ 
ings, including pig pens, chicken houses, and 
corn cribs, and it has 
the advantage, which 
is not inconsiderable, 
that one key opens 
every door. The 
key, too, is of such a 
character, that it is 
not easily lost, and if 
it should be lost, it 
can 'be readily re¬ 
placed. The key-hole 
is a plain round hole, half an ^ 
inch in diameter, in the door. 
The key is a bar of round 
iron, hinged in the middle, 
and furnished with a handle, 
as shown in figure 1. The 
lock is a simple sliding-bolt, 
upon which a projecting piece 
is fastened, as shown in fig. 2. 
The bolt is shot back and 
forth by the jointed key, the 
end of which, when it is in¬ 
serted into the key-hole, drops 
down, and catches against the projecting part 
Fig. 3. 
