254 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[July, 
villagers keep one hired man during the sum¬ 
mer as man of all work, or a gardener whose 
time is not fully occupied, or have boys for 
whom such occupation would be a great bless¬ 
ing, as it would keep them out of mischief, give 
them an agricultural education, and help them 
to a reliable means of seif support. The best 
kind of cow for villagers is a matter of fancy 
somewhat. If butter and cream are leading 
objects, an Alderney, either pure blood or grade, 
according to the means of the purchaser, would 
be best.. If quantity of milk is the main tiling- 
desired, a Short-horn or Ayrshire grade would 
be better. A good grade or native cow can 
ordinarily be picked up, and a very superior one 
by offering $10 or $15 above the market price. 
But by all means, the cow for family use, what¬ 
ever her breed, should have a good reputation 
for both milk and butter. If you mean to be at 
extra expense for soiling, have an extra animal 
to feed—one whose market value is a hundred 
dollars and upwards. For quarters, the cow 
may be confined all of the time in a well-venti¬ 
lated and lighted stable. If she can have the 
sun occasionally, she will not suffer much for 
the want of exercise. Use the currycomb and 
brush freely, every day if possible. Keep the 
stable well furnished with litter, and the cow 
clean and comfortable. We are persuaded the 
difficulties of soiling are greatly overestimated 
by the people who have not tried it, especially 
the raising of roots. Once get a clear view of 
what is wanted, adopt your plan, and the diffi¬ 
culties will vanish. Many in our villages and 
in the suburbs of large towns can get their milk 
and butter cheaper and better by this method 
than by any other. One great advantage of soil¬ 
ing is the great quantity of manure it furnishes 
for the land, and in this its success wholly lies. 
A “ Lancaster County (Pa.) Farmer ” sends us 
the following description of his way of doing the 
thing; and from his description and a few pen 
marks our artist has made a very pretty pic- 
Fig. 1.— VIEW OP FENCE ACROSS A 
Swinging Fences Across Streams. 
We have heretofore been indebted to several 
of the Agriculturist's subscribers for plans for 
carrying fences across fordable streams, subject 
to great rise and fall. Cattle and hogs will not 
dive, and they will seldom voluntarily swim; so 
though cattle will sometimes swim to cross from 
one side of a stream to the other, they will not 
willingly venture to cross the line of a fence at 
high water, even though the fence be washed 
away. Such streams often bring down great 
masses of flood-wood and trees washed from the 
banks, but this usually occurs only at the very 
highest floods. The problem of fencing across 
fordable streams resolves itself to this, namely: 
To prevent hogs and cattle getting out at low 
water, and to contrive such a structure as shall 
allow logs and riffraff to pass without the fence 
itself suffering harm, or being carried away. 
Fig. 2.—DIAGRAM OF SWINGING FENCE. 
ture, of which “ L. C. F.” cannot have the 
credit. “ I have had my plan in use for twelve 
years over a stream of water from fifty to sixty 
feet wide, which at times rises from eight to 
twelve feet high, and it withstood all the floods 
unharmed with the exception of breaking the 
hook at one end, which ivas easily repaired; and 
it has not cost me a dollar since I put it up. I 
sunk heavy posts on each bank, from four to 
five feet in the ground, and fastened well with 
stones. I put a ring over each post three inches 
wide, and had a hole punched in the ring on op¬ 
posite sides for the bolt or hook to pass through. 
The shank of the hook is at least six inches 
longer than the post is thick, with a screw cut 
the whole six inches, and furnished with a nut 
to stretch the chain to its proper place. When 
I first put the chain across, I planted -willow 
trees, which are now large enough to use should 
the posts give out. I bought five-eighths double- 
refiued round iron rods, and had them cut three 
feet long, and had an eye 
turned and -welded on 
each end; then had a link 
made of the same iron, 
about eight inches long, 
welded into the eyes of 
tw r o rods, and so on ; then 
had three or four links at 
each end of the chain for 
the purpose of taking it 
up if it sagged too much. 
- The hooks -were made of 
the best three-quarter inch 
iron. Then I straightened 
- out old carriage tire, turn¬ 
ed a hook on one end, and 
punched four holes in 
each. I fastened these tires 
tream~~ ~ to boards with small bolts, 
as shown. The hooked 
ends of the irons went over the chain, and when 
on I closed the hooks to prevent them from 
coming off. The boards should be eight or ten 
inches wide; two boards deep is sufficient, and 
the lower one ought to be in the water, to pre¬ 
vent hogs getting under when the stream is low. 
I would, in all cases, swing the chain as low 
down to the water as possible, having it high 
enough to prevent cattle from getting over it. 
When the water rises, it will soon be over the 
chain, and all drift-wood will pass over harmless. 
The higher your chain is, the more danger there 
will be of rubbish lodging and breaking it. I 
contend that there is much more strength in a 
chain of this description than in a rod, for when 
a log strikes it the whole chain gives, and re¬ 
sists the-pressure with much more elasticity. 
The Harrow-toothed Cultivator. —“One 
who has tried it,” writes : “ I wish to record 
my experience in the use of the cultivator with 
harrow teeth, described in Henderson’s Garden¬ 
ing for Profit, and also in the Agriculturist for 
Feb. 1867. You advise its use as a garden im¬ 
plement. Do you know that it cannot be beaten 
for giving corn its first cultivation ? I would ad¬ 
vise every farmer to procure one; when corn 
makes its appearance you can run through al¬ 
most before you can see the rows, and a great 
deal closer to the hills than with a cultivator 
with shovel teeth. It does not throw up lumps 
and cover the corn; on the contrary, it leaves 
the soil fine, level, and in good condition. Plant 
the garden vegetables in rows, far enough apart 
to get between them with the horse, and as soon 
as the rows become visible, in with the cultiva¬ 
tor, and if this process is repeated every weelq 
it will save a great deal of hand-hoeing, and 
weeds will disappear. But don’t let the weeds 
get the start,or you will have to resort to the hoe.” 
Pure Water for Chickens. 
The season has been a very wet one, just the 
weather to give the gapes. Last year, with 
great care in feeding, we lost a number, bo far, 
this year, with great care to have pure water, 
we have not seen a chicken gape. We know 
care enough was not taken to have the water 
always pure. “Mother Wit” takes the place 
of a long purse to those who possess it, and our 
friend Mabbett, who is ready in expedients, sug¬ 
gested to us the use of a fruit-can filled with 
•water, covered with a flower-pot saucer, and 
then quickly inverted, as a better drinking foun¬ 
tain than the earthen ones, or indeed, than any 
others, and we so find it. Everybody has old 
fruit-cans, or everybody ought to have, for 
there are no cheap luxuries equal to these canned 
fruits and vegetables. Put a nail under the can. 
Scarifier for Root Crops, etc. 
We were obliged to tax our inventive facuh 
ties a few weeks since to get an implement 
which would mingle some concentrated manures 
in the drill before planting potatoes and corn, 
lest the strength of the fertilizer untempered 
with soil might hurt the seed. It proves so use* 
ful for this and for other purposes that we had 
an engraving made, and commend it to the 
readers of the Agriculturist for the purpose for 
which it was made, as well as for working be¬ 
tween all crops raised in drills 16 inches to 2 feet 
apart. It will work well late in the season be- 
