American Agriculturist, October 11, 1924 
247 
Schemes for Saving Labor 
Another Page of Handy Devices to Lighten the Day’s Work 
H ere is another page of handy devices. 
The last one seemed to take pretty well. 
Several folks sent in pictures and draw¬ 
ings of devices they have put into 
practice and it was mighty easy to see how those 
simple little contrivances not only saved steps but 
a strained back or a strained temper. 
* * * 
Put the Gate on Wheels 
r\)R a real back breaker, and one that’s 
* especially hard on the children, is a gate 
that doesn’t swing right. Lots of times it is 
almost impossible to keep 
some gates swinging right 
for a day and the only 
solution seems to be to put 
a wheel on them. The accompanying illustrations 
show two possibilities. The larger wheel is more 
adapted to a place where the ground is rough, soft 
stony. A buggy 
or 
growers can save their backs loading potatoes 
by having the axles of an old wagon dropped, 
permitting the floor of the wagon to be con¬ 
structed only a foot or so above the ground. 
Potato-growers who have a large acreage will 
wheel is just the thing. 
It will roll through a 
rut or through soft soil, 
where a little wheel will 
mire. It is easy to 
attach a wheel of this 
type. A wooden axle 
may be made out of 
such good seasoned 
wood as hickory or oak. As long as it is thorough¬ 
ly greased it will function just as well as an iron 
axle. Sometimes an old broom handle is handy 
and will be found to answer the purpose perfectly. 
Where the ground is hard and level, a small 
wheel is just as practical and a great deal less 
cumbersome. A wheel from an old cultivator or 
plow will suffice. In this case the axle may be a 
large bolt, stapled to the lower corner. 
* * * 
The Old-Fashioned Swinging Gate 
'THIS is another barnyard gate that is familiar 
1 to us all. The cable is used to hold up the 
farther end so that a fellow doesn’t have to break 
his back to open and 
close it. The chances 
are that if this gate is 
properly hung, it will 
be less bothersome to 
open and close than a 
gate secured with 
w heels and for that rea¬ 
son easier on the wo- 
men and children who 
have to pass through it. 
* 
A Low-down Potato Truck 
T HIS picture w T as taken in the vicinity of 
Caribou, Me., in the great potato district 
of that State. It shows very well how potato 
appreciate a wagon of this kind. As a matter of 
fact a low-down wagon is a wonderful convenience 
in more ways than in hauling potatoes. It is 
possible to use an old set of wheels to build a labor 
saving rack for hauling silage corn from the field 
to the silo. Instead of putting the reaches on top 
of the axles, they are underslung using ordinary 
iron bars bent U or V shape to hold the beams 
firmly. Of course they are bolted in place, other¬ 
wise the wagon would fall apart. The main 
idea is to get the wagon down low enough to 
avoid high lifting, which will save many an aching 
back. 
* * * 
Two Handy Root Cutters 
TJERE are a couple of handy devices for the 
poultryman. As a matter of fact it applies to 
the dairyman just as well. We all know the 
value of cow-beets as 
a food during the win¬ 
ter months for both 
poultry and cow T s. It 
is not really necessary 
to cut the beets up 
because chickens will 
peck at whole beets 
and cows can bite 
into them. But it is a whole lot better to cut 
them up. 
One of these devices is a hand-operated affair, 
A/vs/cr 
the knife to play in to prevent sidelashing. The 
beets are pushed up to the knife with a board 
to avoid an accident. 
* * * 
A Good Home-Made Sheep Shelter 
TT IS pretty late in the season to talk about 
1 building sun shelters for the sheep, but here is 
something for the sheepmen to think about during 
the winter if they are going to use pastures next 
year that are not well equipped with shade. The 
four wheels are four old wagon wheels on their 
original axles. On these axles are placed two 2x6 
planks. These planks are used as a base for a 
framework on which the four-sided shed is built. 
To prevent the tires and rims rusting and rotting 
before their time, each wheel is stood on a small 
pile of stones. It is a cheap contrivance and a 
mighty handy one. It can be moved from field to 
field and with reasonable care will last for a good 
many years. It can be made to serve a double 
purpose by building a feed rack in the center of 
the shed between the wheels. 
* * * 
An Improvised Pruning Saw 
'THIS pruning saw was made from an old shovel 
1 handle and a broken cross-cut saw. In the 
three years since it was made it has proved as good 
as many on the market, yet it was made from two 
broken parts, each in themselves, worthless. 
The handle of the shovel was cut off where the 
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while the other works by power. The hand- 
operated affair is a cheaply gotten up contrivance. 
An old worn out cross-cut saw is used as a knife, 
working up and down through a brace made out 
of two pieces of inch- 
square material. The 
beets are fed from the 
small table under the 
knife and the pieces drop 
into a basket below. 
The machine-operated 
affair, which is illustrated 
also, is self-explanatory. 
A home made driving 
pulley is connected to the 
knife by a wooden Pitman. 
The knife operates on a 
small table on which the 
beets are fed. This de¬ 
vice could be improved 
by supplying a guard for 
head joins the round shaft. The portion left was 
cut with a saw for the end of the blade. Only the 
outer portion of the saw blade was used. Holes 
were drilled for three rivets as shown. 
This saw is about eighteen inches in length ex¬ 
clusive of the handle. Because of its shape, consid¬ 
erable leverage can be exerted without difficulty. 
H* 
A Mail Box on a Trolley 
'THIS device isn’t to encourage folks to be lazy 
but there is no question but what it would be 
mighty convenient in some instances during the 
more severe seasons of the year. Where the house 
stands back some distance from the highway a 
trolley can be erected, not only to save steps, but 
to save a lot of tramping through snow drifts or 
through water to get 
the mail. This means 
that it may save a lot 
of dirt and muck being 
dragged into the 
house. A strong post 
with a metal arm ex¬ 
tended, as in the illus¬ 
tration, is set near 
the highway. Sus¬ 
pended between it and 
the house is a trolley, 
A, on which the box runs. A pulley is fastened in 
or to the post and over it runs the cord, BC. which 
is attached to the box, being used to pull the box 
back and forth between the house and the road. 
The box is sent down to meet the carrier who 
places the mail in it and it is then pulled back to 
the house. 
