196 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
BOTTS’ STRAW CUTTER—(Fig. 104.) 
Messrs. Editors —Tn compliance with your request, 
we proceed to give you some account of the straw cut¬ 
ter which we exhibited at the Albany Fair, and to which 
the third premium was awarded by the committee on 
agricultural implements. For all the purposes of the 
farmer, we have no doubt of its being by far the best 
now in use, although we do not wonder that, under the 
circumstances, with every disposition and intention to 
do justice to all, the committee should have preferred 
others to it. In fact, the particular cutter exhibited at 
Albany was gotten up in great haste, and much knocked 
about from steamboat to railroad in getting it on in time 
for the Fair. The only wonder to us is, that, disjointed 
and out of order as it was, it should have attracted the 
notice of the committee at all. 
We have said we believe it to be the best implement 
of the kind now in use; and we are inclined so to es¬ 
teem it simply because, whilst it is equally efficient, it 
is more easily adjusted and kept in order than any other 
we have ever seen. Dozens of cutters had already been 
produced, operating with sufficient ease and rapidity for 
all practical purposes; but the misfortune has been that 
they were constructed by mechanics, and fitted only for 
the use of mechanics. After the first grinding, they 
have been found entirely useless in the hands of an or¬ 
dinary laborer. In proof of this assertion is the well 
known fact, that notwithstanding the apparent perfection 
to which this implement has been brought in the last 
few years, these various improvements having been tho¬ 
roughly tested by the farmer, have been found, almost 
without an exception, to require for their adjustment 
and management a degree of mechanical skill, of which 
he was not possessed. The consequence has been that 
they have been generally abandoned for the old fashion¬ 
ed cutter, in which the knife is forced by main strength 
through the straw—its superior simplicity more than 
counterbalancing its want of mechanical power. 
Having these facts in view, the inventor of this knife 
spent some years in attempting, and finally succeeded, 
as he thinks, in obtaining a knife which unites the sim¬ 
plicity of the plainest with the efficiency and mechanical 
power of the most complicated. The knives are plain 
and straight, not wider than a common plane iron; they 
may be made by any smith, and ground and set by any 
laborer. In point of finish, the cost of workmanship 
has been expended rather in procuring strength and 
durability than high polish, which is so much out of 
place in such an implement. In these two most desira¬ 
ble points, strength and durability, it will compare with 
any implement made in this country. These qualities, 
with the peculiar construction of the feed, adapt it 
equally to cutting the finest hay and the coarsest stalks. 
To this cutter has just been awarded the first premium 
by the agricultural society of Philadelphia, at their late 
exhibition; and the committee have been pleased, in ad¬ 
dition, to recommend it particularly for the qualities we 
herein claim for it. At the South, where it is univer¬ 
sally known and preferred, hundreds of certificates of 
its superiority can be obtained if necessary. It is re¬ 
tailed at $30 in Richmond, Va., where it is manufactur¬ 
ed- Botts & Burfoot. 
Richmond, Va., October, 1842. 
DRAFT OF PLOWS. 
Editors of Cultivator—I have of late ascertain¬ 
ed a mode of finding the relative draft of plows, which 
is of sufficient accuracy, if the land be level and free of 
stones; and the result will be readily understood being- 
very simple, and within the reach of almost every in¬ 
dividual. 
The draft is found by taking a large pair of patent 
beam scales which hang up, and ascertain what weight 
will balance one pound on the end of the beam, which 
mark; then hitch the weighing hook to the clevis of the 
plow and the other to the doubletree, to which attach 
your team; then affix a cord to each end of a common or 
small pair of patent spiral scales; one end of the cord hitch 
to the end of your large scales, where the pound weight 
was put, the other end hitch to a staple in your near 
plow handle, minding to have the cord tied so as to have 
the large pair of scales stand ever ready for weighing; 
then start your team and if the cord be tied too long- or too 
short, alter accordingly, until your beam works even; 
then note the indications of your spiral spring balance 
index, which also note on an average, as there will of 
course be some vibration, but none of consequence, if 
your land be proper. Then make your statement, if for 
example one pound at the end of your beam will balance 
32 on the weighing hook, and your index of the spiral 
balance when plowing shows 8 as the average figure, 
then 8 by 32=256 pounds, the weight required to draw 
your plow, but if your index indicates 14 as the fair 
•average figure, then 14 by 32=448. I have made this 
statement so that it should be perfectly plain, and it re¬ 
quired 32 pounds on the weighing hook of the scales. I 
used to balance the pounds at the end of the beam. 
You may think that on hitching on your scales with 
the beam on the land side would bring it to the ground, 
but the moment you start your team it will remain where 
you place it as to position. I have for a long time 
thought of some such plan, but never until of late have 
I found a plan so definite in finding the horizontal draft. 
I am very respectfully yours, N. K. CONE. 
P. S. I presume that a good machinist might make a 
pair of scales, so that with the spiral scales, the num¬ 
ber of pounds required as draft might be graduated on the 
spiral scales, and so at once give the true indications. 
Batavia, Oct. 8th, 1842. N. K. C. 
CAPONS. 
Messrs. Gaylord & Tucker —I send you some re¬ 
marks and instructions on the subject and manner of 
making “capons;” an art of which little is known or 
practiced in this country, considering the great length 
of time it has been followed in foreign countries. From 
time immemorial, it has been practiced in China, and for 
ages in France and England. Shakspeare speaks of 
Fallstaff’s lining his sides with good fat ‘capond For 
its introduction among us, inquiry leads me to bestow 
the merit upon the Hon. Bela Badger, of Philadelphia, 
through whose exertions we are indebted, for a practi¬ 
cal knowledge of the operation. In order to follow up 
the subject, so as to make it plain and intelligible to 
those who have a disposition to undertake the operation, 
it will be necessary to describe the table, instruments, 
and modus operandi, in the order stated. Although the 
operation is one of nicety, and in surgical language, bold 
and dangerous, yet any one possessing tact and intelli¬ 
gence, who will conform to rules hereafter given, may, 
after a few efforts, become expert in the business. Should 
he in his first endeavors kill one or two, before a know¬ 
ledge of the parts are understood, or the use of the in¬ 
struments become familiar, he need not be discouraged, 
but should persevere, remembering that practice will 
shortly subdue all impediments. 
For simplicity, I will first describe the table and 
instruments, the modus operandi, and the advantages 
accruing therefrom. The table may be constructed of 
any kind of inch boards, 14 inches wide by 22 or 24 inches 
long; in height 4 feet. The height, however, may be 
at the caprice of the operator, yet it is well to have it of 
comfortable height, in order not to fatigue the muscles 
of the back by too great an inclination forward. The 
width is necessary for the purpose of holding the instru¬ 
ments. Proceed now to construct the appendages, ne¬ 
cessary to confine the subject firmly upon the table. This 
is done by a strap with a lever running through it, and 
with an extensor. Make two holes in a direct line diago¬ 
nally across the table; beginning 6 inches from the left 
hand corner, and about 4 or 5 inches from the margin_ 
the space between the holes to be 3 inches in the clear. 
Pass through the holes a leather strap | in. in width, by 
20 in. in length, the two ends fastened. Below the ta¬ 
ble, and through the strap, run the lever 2 ft. long, by 
H in. wide, one end fastened by a movable joint to the 
opposite leg of the table. This is the lever, on which 
weights are affixed, which gives the power of firmly 
holding the subject by the wings. An old ax makes 
a good weight; it can be moved backward or forward on 
the lever; increasing or decreasing the power, easily, 
as required for the various size or strength of the fowl. 
The strap is passed over the wings, close to the body. 
Next, nail on the right-hand end of the table, about 4 in. 
from the corner, an inch buckle; put on a piece of leather, 
elevated a half inch above the surface of the table. Pro¬ 
cure a piece of leather, to pass through the buckle, 6 in. 
long, punctured full of holes; at one end attach a small 
cord or thong, sufficiently long to form a slip noose, the 
use of which is to be thrown over the feet, around the 
legs, and down through the buckle. This forms the ex¬ 
tensor. With the strap around the wings, the lever in 
force, the strap around the legs and extended, the sub¬ 
ject is bound down, immovable by its own efforts. Thus 
you have the table and its appendages. 
(Fig. 105.) 
The instruments are next in order. They consist of 4 
pieces as now made, but experience teaches me, they 
should be of six pieces, each separate, and not com¬ 
bined. They are the knife, tenaculum, canula, forceps, 
elevator and hooks. The shape and cutting edge of the 
knife is represented by a, fig. 105. A scalpel, however, 
of medium size, will answer all purposes. I prefer it. 
The tenaculum ( b ) is a valuable instrument. It should 
be six inches in length, gradually tapering toward the 
hook. The reflected edge of which should be made ex¬ 
tremely sharp, as well as the point itself. The object of 
this being to cut instead of rupture the membrane, when 
you lay hold of it. This is not the case with the instru¬ 
ments in use; they tear it, instead of cutting it. The 
forceps (c) are round, six inches long, the fingers 4 in. 
the points square and closing perfectly tight. The ca¬ 
nula is as its name imports, a hollow tube. Its length 
3| inches. The inner walls of the tube must be smooth, 
in order not to cut the hair, as it is moved backward and 
forward through it. Two sides externally of the upper 
end are flattened, to convenience the grasp of the thumb 
and fore finger; the opposite lower point is indented to 
hold the testicle from turning, and also in order not to 
compress at once so closely the spermatic cord. The 
figure d is an attempt to show it with the horse hair 
looped and run through it. The elevator is required to 
press out to view the lower testicle, assist in passing the 
hair over the cord, to scoop out the blood, to lift the 
lower testicle out after discovered. Its form is shown at 
e. In length 6 inches. The bowl truncated, elongated 
oval, perfectly smooth, the edge rounded. The hooks 
are about one inch long, half in. wide; the hooks or lips 
a fourth of an inch. They are fastened pendulous to a 
split reed or bamboo, 6 inches long; one hook, however, 
is fastened only to both split ends of the reed, a ring 
runs over the reed, with the view of increasing the elas¬ 
ticity or expanding power, drawing further apart the 
lips of the incision. The two figures will convey an 
idea of them, and their n%e—f, bent, g, straight. Their 
use is to draw apart the ribs, after the intercostal mus¬ 
cle is separated, so that the operator can have a fair view 
of the testicles, as they lie in the cavity of the abdomen. 
This description completes the instruments employed in 
performing the operation. The Chinese use brass, the 
French steel, silver and brass. Their instruments are 
combined, the elevator and tenaculum are one piece, 
made at each end. This is objectionable in the highest 
degree; the tenaculum is required while the elevator is 
in use. The knife and forceps are attached also, but 
they are decidedly more convenient when made sepa¬ 
rate. The cost may be slightly advanced, but this is but 
a small item in comparison to the advantage gained. 
German silver makes very neat and cheap ones, better 
than brass or steel. 
I come now to the second point, the mode of perform¬ 
ing the operation. Before proceeding I make a general 
remark: upon its adoption depends the success of the 
operation, as well as in a measure the life of the subject. 
It is this. In all cases, in every instance, it is absolute¬ 
ly necessary, that the fowls should be confined in some 
convenient place at least 36 or 48 hours, without either 
food or drink. The object of this treatment is to reduce 
the fulness of the intestines in order to proceed safely, to 
lessen the momentum of the circulation, and reduce the 
vascular action, so that healthy granulations will form 
without dangerous inflammation. Perhaps the principal 
object to be gained is in the reduction of the contents of 
the intestines. The parts necessary to cut through, in 
order to expose to view the testicles, are the true skin, 
intercostal muscle, internal-costal muscle, and perite- 
neum. Place the subject on its left side upon the table, 
its back being toward the operator, the strap thrown 
around the wdngs, and the slip noose over the legs, then 
pluck away the few feathers over the space of the first 
and second ribs; with the left hand, thumb and finger, 
draw the skin tense, ascertaining positively the situation 
of the space between the ribs—then with the scalpel in 
