1852 . 
THE CULTIVATOR 
111 
The Mangle. 
We promised last month to furnish a figure and de¬ 
scription of the mangle, or machine for smoothing clothes. 
We regret that we have been able to fulfil this promise 
so far only as relates to the old fashioned or cheaply con¬ 
structed mangle, having been unable to exhibit the 
modern improvement, which is at present but little in¬ 
troduced and known. The machine here described may 
be easily made by any carpenter, and the whole cost 
would not probably exceed ten dollars. The new kind, 
which makes more perfect and expeditious work, costs, 
we are informed, from twenty-five to fifty dollars. Its 
use appears at present to be chiefly confined to England. 
It is remarkable that ingenious Yankees should have 
given so little attention to the improvement and manu¬ 
facture of a machine, as important and useful as a churn 
or a stove, while the latter are patented by hundreds and 
made by myriads. 
The figure represents a table or bench of frame-work, 
seven or eight feet long, and about two and a half feet 
wide; it has a railing at the sides, but is open at the ends 
to admit the motion backwards and forwards of the large 
box A, which runs on movable rollers, and which is filled 
with stones so as to have great weight. A rope attached 
to each end of the box passes round the roller B, so that 
by turning in alternate directions the winch C, the box is 
thrown backwards and forwards upon the rollers. Table¬ 
cloths, sheets, pillow cases, and all smooth articles, or 
those which have not many gathers, are best adapted to 
the action of this machine. They are first folded so as not 
to equal in breadth, the length of the rollers, and are 
then wrapped snugly round the latter, and again outside 
of these a coarse linen cloth is bound, when the whole is 
ready for work. The rollers are placed on the vacant 
end of the bench, and the box then trundled upon them ; 
its great weight presses them nearly as smooth as 
by any ironining. Those which need ultimately the 
smoothing-iron, are finely fitted for it, and the work much 
lessened, by first passing them through the mangle. A 
boy to work the winch, and a woman attending at each 
end, will finish a dozen garments in two minutes. The 
improved machine, which is turned continually in one 
direction, will perform more rapidly. The rollers in the 
common mangle are of hard wood, and are three or four 
inches in diameter, and a little longer than the width of 
the bench, so that their projecting ends prevent them from 
falling off, when by their progressive motion they reach 
the end of the machine. 
Queries for Correspondents. 
Plans of Barns. —Wishing to erect barns and sheds 
to accommodate a large farm, principally in grass, I would 
inquire, through the Cultivator, for the best plan, say 
for the storage of 150 tons of hay, a small quantity of 
grain, and stabling for 100 head of cattle of the different 
ages. 
I want a plan that will combine in the greatest degree 
economy in construction, and convenience and saving of 
labor in storing of hay and feeding the same. Can all 
this be best secured in one large, barn or a number o 
smaller ones? Will you or some of your correspondents 
reply to this. I would say that the ground is nearly 
level on which it is proposed to build. Y. A. St. Al¬ 
bans, Jan. 16, 1852-. 
Cattle. —Some of us think the Durham cattle fail as 
to toughness—that is, are rather tender, and the milk 
not very rich. If so, would not a cross from the Ayr¬ 
shire do well? I have seen a good cross of the Durham 
and Devon. Would not the Durham and Ayrshire be 
better, and be more like the descendants of the stock 
introduced by Gen. Barnum, a good many years ago, 
which, all things considered, were equal at least to the 
improved breeds as we have them here. A. D. H. Ad¬ 
dison, Vt., Jan.. 1852. 
Mice and Bees. —Will mice kill honey bees? G. M. 
Lowell, Mass. 
Importance of Farming Well. 
• Skilful farmers are aware that the business cannot be 
profitably conducted without capital enough to do every¬ 
thing in the best manner. The farmer who has not enough 
funds on hand to enable him to do this, must therefore 
submit to the alternative of either being in debt, which 
ought always to be unpleasant, or else reducing the quan¬ 
tity of his land that he may obtain the means. For we 
have plenty of instances where two hundred acres badly 
farmed have not yielded so much clear profit as fifty 
acres under the best culture. 
We have received a statement from Seymour Smith, 
of Clermont, of his success in farming, illustrating these 
marks, from which we copy the following: 
“ I have taken agricultural papers for more than forty 
years, beginning with Mr. Skinner’s at Baltimore—they 
have been of great and beneficial use to me. I purchased 
a farm on the river in Columbia county, then considered 
almost a barren heath. I examined the premises and 
arranged the lots—and then commenced business by 
making permanent fences of stone, posts, and boards. 
All necessary buildings were erected—and particular at¬ 
tention given to the cultivation of fruit—not forgetting 
Flora. Hollow draining was adopted on every part of 
the farm needing it; and now, where bogs existed and 
flags used to grow, corn, wheat and barley are produced 
in abundance. Hollow draining, as well as sowing plaster, 
was a new thing in those days—and my neighbors, who 
sowed grass seed (as well as plaster) with thumb and 
finger from a quart measure, predicted my failure. I 
gave very particular attention in the selection of stock, 
and have improved my animals by crossing certain kinds. 
And what has been the result of this improved system, 
which I have derived mainly from agricultural reading? 
Of the farm that I thus improved, I have sold 103 acres 
for 90 dollars an acre, and can sell 40 acres on the river 
for 200 dollars per acre. In the commencement of my 
farming I had but little means, scarcely sufficient to stock 
the farm, which I run in debt for; and the question 
arose, u Shall I go on as the farm now is, and endeavor 
first to pay for it; or shall I improve it according to my 
means, and then pay for it? The latter course was con- 
eluded on. In ten years, by fencing, draining, building, 
and the cultivation of the choicest kinds of fruit, the farm 
had at least doubled its value; therefore in one way of 
reckoning it must be said that it had paid for itself, but 
not a dollar had yet been paid except the annual interest . 
Thus situated, I commenced the liquidation of the debt, 
and the farm was so productive that in a few years all 
incumbrances were paid—which verifies the assertion 
that an improved system of management, according to 
the best practical and scientific rules, as set forth in agri¬ 
cultural works, is the surest guide to success.” 
