Figure 144.—Revolving Hayrake. The center piece is 4″ x 6″ x 12′ long. The teeth are double enders 13⁄8″ square and 4′ 6″ long, which allows 24″ of rake tooth clear of the center timber. Every stick in the rake is carefully selected. It is drawn by one horse. If the center teeth stick into the ground either the horse must stop instantly, or the rake must flop over, or there will be a repair job. This invention has never been improved upon for pulling Canada peas.
Improved revolving horse rakes have a center timber of hardwood about 4 x 6 inches in diameter. The corners are rounded to facilitate sliding over the ground. A rake twelve feet long will have about eighteen double-end teeth. The teeth project about two and one-half feet each way from the center timber. Each tooth is rounded up, sled-runner fashion, at each end so it will point forward and slide along over and close to the ground without catching fast. There is an iron pull rod, or long hook, attached to each end of the center bar by means of a bolt that screws into the center of the end of the wooden center shaft, thus forming a gudgeon pin so the shaft can revolve. Two handles are fastened by band iron straps to rounded recesses or girdles cut around the center bar. These girdles are just far enough apart for a man to walk between and to operate the handles. Wooden, or iron lugs, reach down from the handles with pins projecting from their sides to engage the rake teeth. Two pins project from the left lug and three from the right. Sometimes notches are made in the lugs instead of pins. Notches are better; they may be rounded up to prevent catching when the rake revolves. As the rake slides along, the driver holds the rake teeth in the proper position by means of the handles. When sufficient load has been gathered he engages the upper notch in the right hand lug, releases the left and raises the other sufficient to point the teeth into the ground. The pull of the horse turns the rake over and the man grasps the teeth again with the handle lugs as before. Unless the driver is careful the teeth may stick in the ground and turn over before he is ready for it. It requires a little experience to use such a rake to advantage. No better or cheaper way has ever been invented for harvesting Canada peas. The only objections are that it shells some of the riper pods and it gathers up a certain amount of earth with the vines which makes dusty threshing.
Figure 145.—Buck Rake. When hay is stacked in the field a four-horse buck rake is the quickest way to bring the hay to the stack. The buck rake shown is 16 feet wide and the 2 x 4 teeth are 11 feet long. Two horses are hitched to each end and two drivers stand on the ends of the buck rake to operate it. The load is pushed under the horse fork, the horses are swung outward and the buck rake is dragged backward.
The hay-tedder is an English invention, which has been adopted by farmers in rainy sections of the United States. It is an energetic kicker that scatters the hay swaths and drops the hay loosely to dry between showers. Hay may be made quickly by starting the tedder an hour behind the mowing machine.
It is quite possible to cut timothy hay in the morning and put it in the mow in the afternoon, by shaking it up thoroughly once or twice with the hay-tedder. When clover is mixed with the timothy, it is necessary to leave it in the field until the next day, but the time between cutting and mowing is shortened materially by the use of the tedder.
Grass cut for hay may be kicked apart in the field early during the wilting process without shattering the leaves. If left too long, then the hay-tedder is a damage because it kicks the leaves loose from the stems and the most valuable feeding material is wasted. But it is a good implement if rightly used. In catchy weather it often means the difference between bright, valuable hay and black, musty stuff, that is hardly fit to feed.
Hay-tedders are expensive. Where two farmers neighbor together the expense may be shared, because the tedder does its work in two or three hours’ time. Careful farmers do not cut down much grass at one time. The tedder scatters two mowing swaths at once. In fact the mowing machine, hay-tedder and horserake should all fit together for team work so they will follow each other without skips or unnecessary laps. The dividing board of the mowing-machine marks a path for one of the horses to follow and it is difficult to keep him out of it. But two horses pulling a hay-tedder will straddle the open strip between the swaths when the tedder is twice the width of the cut.
Figure 146.—Hay Skid. This hay skid is 8 feet wide and 16 feet long. It is made of 7⁄8″ lumber put together with 2″ carriage bolts—plenty of them. The round boltheads are countersunk into the bottom of the skid and the nuts are drawn down tight on the cleats. It makes a low-down, easy-pitching, hay-hauling device.
Figure 147.—Hay Sling. It takes no longer to hoist 500 pounds of hay than 100 pounds if the rig is large and strong enough. Four feet wide by ten feet in length is about right for handling hay quickly. But the toggle must reach to the ends of the rack if used on a wagon.
Figure 148.—(1) Four-Tined Derrick Fork. (2) Pea Guard. An extension guard to lift pea-vines high enough for the sickle is the cleanest way to harvest Canada peas. The old-fashioned way of pulling peas with a dull scythe has gone into oblivion. But the heavy bearing varieties still persist in crawling on the ground. If the vines are lifted and cut clean they can be raked into windrows with a spring tooth hayrake. (3) Haystack Knife. This style of hay-cutting knife is used almost universally on stacks and in hay-mows. There is less use for hay-knives since farmers adopted power hayforks to lift hay out of a mow as well as to put it in.
Hay slips, or hay skids, are used on the old smooth fields in the eastern states. They are usually made of seven-eighths-inch boards dressed preferably on one side only. They are used smooth side to the ground to slip along easily. Rough side is up to better hold the hay from slipping. The long runner boards are held together by cross pieces made of inch boards twelve inches wide and well nailed at each intersection with nails well clinched. Small carriage bolts are better than nails but the heads should be countersunk into the bottom with the points up. They should be used without washers and the ends of the bolts cut close to the sunken nuts. The front end of the skid is rounded up slightly, sled runner fashion, as much as the boards will bear, to avoid digging into the sod to destroy either the grass roots or crowns of the plants. Hay usually is forked by hand from the windrows on to the skids. Sometimes hay slings are placed on the skids and the hay is forked on to the slings carefully in layers lapped over each other in such a way as to hoist on to the stack without spilling out at the sides. Four hundred to eight hundred pounds makes a good load for one of these skids, according to horse power and unevenness of the ground. They save labor, as compared to wagons, because there is no pitching up. All hoisting is supposed to be done by horse power with the aid of a hay derrick.
Figure 149.—Double Harpoon Hayfork. This is a large size fork with extra long legs. For handling long hay that hangs together well this fork is a great success. It may be handled as quickly as a smaller fork and it carries a heavy load.
Figure 150.—Six-Tined Grapple Hayfork. It is balanced to hang as shown in the drawing when empty. It sinks into the hay easily and dumps quickly when the clutch is released.
Two derricks for stacking hay, that are used extensively in the alfalfa districts of Idaho, are shown in the illustration, Figure 151. The derrick to the left is made with a square base of timbers which supports an upright mast and a horizontal boom. The timber base is sixteen feet square, made of five sticks of timber, each piece being 8 x 8 inches square by 16 feet in length. Two of the timbers rest flat on the ground and are rounded up at the ends to facilitate moving the derrick across the stubble ground or along the road to the next hayfield. These sleigh runner timbers are notched on the upper side near each end and at the middle to receive the three cross timbers. The cross timbers also are notched or recessed about a half inch deep to make a sort of double mortise. The timbers are bound together at the intersections by iron U-clamps that pass around both timbers and fasten through a flat iron plate on top of the upper timbers. These flat plates or bars have holes near the ends and the threaded ends of the U-irons pass through these holes and the nuts are screwed down tight. The sleigh runner timbers are recessed diagonally across the bottom to fit the round U-irons which are let into the bottoms of the timbers just enough to prevent scraping the earth when the derrick is being moved. These iron U-clamp fasteners are much stronger and better than bolts through the timbers.
Figure 151.—Idaho Hay Derricks. Two styles of hay derricks are used to stack alfalfa hay in Idaho. The drawing to the left shows the one most in use because it is easier made and easier to move. The derrick to the right usually is made larger and more powerful. Wire cable is generally used with both derricks because rope wears out quickly. They are similar in operation but different in construction. The base of each is 16 feet square and the high ends of the booms reach up nearly 40 feet. A single hayfork rope, or wire cable, is used; it is about 65 feet long. The reach is sufficient to drop the hay in the center of a stack 24 feet wide.
Figure 152.—Hay Carrier Carriage. Powerful carriers are part of the new barn. The track is double and the wheels run on both tracks to stand a side pull and to start quickly and run steadily when the clutch is released.
Figure 153.—(1) Hayfork Hitch. A whiffletree pulley doubles the speed of the fork. The knot in the rope gives double power to start the load. (2) Rafter Grapple, for attaching an extra pulley to any part of the barn roof.
There are timber braces fitted across the corners which are bolted through the outside timbers to brace the frame against a diamond tendency when moving the derrick. There is considerable strain when passing over uneven ground. It is better to make the frame so solid that it cannot get out of square. The mast is a stick of timber 8 inches square and 20 or 24 feet long. This mast is securely fastened solid to the center of the frame by having the bottom end mortised into the center cross timber at the middle and it is braced solid and held perpendicular to the framework by 4″ x 4″ wooden braces at the corners. These braces are notched at the top ends to fit the corners of the mast and are beveled at the bottom ends to fit flat on top of the timbers. They are held in place by bolts and by strap iron or band iron bands. These bands are drilled with holes and are spiked through into the timbers with four-inch or five-inch wire nails. Holes are drilled through the band iron the right size and at the proper places for the nails. The mast is made round at the top and is fitted with a heavy welded iron ring or band to prevent splitting. The boom is usually about 30 feet long. Farmers prefer a round pole when they can get it. It is attached to the top of the mast by an iron stirrup made by a blacksmith. This stirrup is made to fit loosely half way around the boom one-third of the way up from the big end, which makes the small end of the boom project 20 feet out from the upper end of the mast. The iron stirrup is made heavy and strong. It has a round iron gudgeon 11⁄2″ in diameter that reaches down into the top of the mast about 18 inches. The shoulder of the stirrup is supported by a square, flat iron plate which rests on and covers the top of the mast and has the corners turned down. It is made large to shed water and protect the top of the mast. This plate has a hole one and a half inches in diameter in the center through which the stirrup gudgeon passes as it enters the top of the mast. A farm chain, or logging chain, is fastened to the large end of the boom by passing the chain around the boom and engaging the round hook. The grab hook end of the chain is passed around the timber below and is hooked back to give it the right length, which doubles the part of the chain within reach of the man in charge. This double end of the chain is lengthened or shortened to elevate the outer end of the boom to fit the stack. The small outer end of the boom is thus raised as the stack goes up.
Figure 154.—Hay Rope Pulleys. The housing of the pulley to the left prevents the rope from running off the sheaves.
An ordinary horse fork and tackle is used to hoist the hay. Three single pulleys are attached, one to the outer end of the boom, one near the top of the mast, and the other at the bottom of the mast so that the rope passes easily and freely through the three pulleys and at the same time permits the boom to swing around as the fork goes up from the wagon rack over the stack. This swinging movement is regulated by tilting the derrick towards the stack so that the boom swings over the stack by its own weight or by the weight of the hay on the horse fork. Usually a wire truss is rigged over the boom to stiffen it. The wire is attached to the boom at both ends and the middle of the wire is sprung up to rest on a bridge placed over the stirrup.
Figure 155.—Gambrel Whiffletree, for use in hoisting hay to prevent entanglements. It is also handy when cultivating around fruit-trees.
Farmers like this simple form of hay derrick because it is cheaply made and it may be easily moved because it is not heavy. It is automatic and it is about as cheap as any good derrick and it is the most satisfactory for ordinary use. The base is large enough to make it solid and steady when in use. Before moving the point of the boom is lowered to a level position so that the derrick is not top-heavy. There is little danger of upsetting upon ordinary farm lands. Also the width of 16 feet will pass along country roads without meeting serious obstacles. Hay slings usually are made too narrow and too short. The ordinary little hay sling is prone to tip sideways and spill the hay. It is responsible for a great deal of profanity. The hay derrick shown to the right is somewhat different in construction, but is quite similar in action. The base is the same but the mast turns on a gudgeon stepped into an iron socket mortised into the center timber.
Figure 156.—Cable Hay Stacker. The wire cable is supported by the two bipods and is secured at each end by snubbing stakes. Two single-cable collars are clamped to the cable to prevent the bipods from slipping in at the top. Two double-cable clamps hold the ends of the cables to form stake loops.
The wire hoisting cable is threaded differently, as shown in the drawing. This style of derrick is made larger, sometimes the peak reaches up 40′ above the base. The extra large ones are awkward to move but they build fine big stacks.
Figure 157.—California Hay Ricker, for putting either wild hay or alfalfa quickly in ricks. It is used in connection with home-made buck rakes. This ricker works against the end of the rick and is backed away each time to start a new bench. The upright is made of light poles or 2 x 4s braced as shown. It should be 28 or 30 feet high. Iron stakes hold the bottom, while guy wires steady the top.
In the West hay is often put up in long ricks instead of stacks. One of my jobs in California was to put up 2,700 acres of wild hay in the Sacramento Valley. I made four rickers and eight buck rakes similar to the ones shown in the illustrations. Each ricker was operated by a crew of eight men. Four men drove two buck rakes. There were two on the rick, one at the fork and one to drive the hoisting rig. Ten mowing machines did most of the cutting but I hired eight more machines towards the last, as the latest grass was getting too ripe. The crop measured more than 2,100 tons and it was all put in ricks, stacks and barns without a drop of rain on it. I should add that rain seldom falls in the lower Sacramento Valley during the haying season in the months of May and June. This refers to wild hay, which is made up of burr clover, wild oats and volunteer wheat and barley.
Alfalfa is cut from five to seven times in the hot interior valleys, so that if a farmer is rash enough to plant alfalfa under irrigation his haying thereafter will reach from one rainy season to the next.
One of the most useful and one of the least ornamental conveyances on a farm is the stone-boat. It is a low-down handy rig for moving heavy commodities in summer as well as in winter. No other sleigh or wagon will equal a stone-boat for carrying plows or harrows from one field to another. It is handy to tote bags of seed to supply the grain drill, to haul a barrel of water, feed for the hogs, and a great many other chores.
Figure 158.—Stone-Boat. Stump logs are selected for the planks. The bend of the planks is the natural curve of the large roots. The sawing is done by band saw cutting from two directions.
When the country was new, sawmills made a business of sawing stone-boat plank. Trees for stone-boat staves were cut close to the ground and the natural crooks of the roots were used for the noses of sleigh runners and for stone-boats. But cast-iron noses are now manufactured with recesses to receive the ends of straight ordinary hardwood planks. These cast-iron ends are rounded up in front to make the necessary nose crook. The front plank cross piece is bolted well towards the front ends of the runner planks. Usually there are two other hardwood plank cross pieces, one near the rear end and the other about one-third of the way back from the front. Placing the cross pieces in this way gives room between to stand a barrel.
Figure 159.—Wheelbarrow. This factory-made wheelbarrow is the only pattern worth bothering with. It is cheap and answers the purpose better than the heavier ones with removable side wings.
The cross pieces are bolted through from the bottom up. Round-headed bolts are used and they are countersunk, to come flush with the bottom of the sliding planks. The nuts are countersunk into the cross pieces by boring holes about one-quarter inch deep. The holes are a little larger than the cornerwise diameter of the nuts. No washers are used, and the nuts are screwed down tight into the plank. The ends of the bolts are cut off even and filed smooth. The nuts are placed sharp corner side down and are left nearly flush on top or even with the surface of the cross pieces. In using a stone-boat, nobody wants a projection to catch any part of the load.
Regular doubletree clevises are attached to the corners of the old-fashioned stone-boat and the side chains are brought together to a ring and are just about long enough to form an equilateral triangle with the front end of the stone-boat. Cast-iron fronts usually have a projection in the center for the clevis hitch.
One of the most interesting experiences on a New England farm is to get acquainted with the manner in which oxen are pressed into farm service. One reason why oxen have never gone out of fashion in New England is the fact that they are patient enough to plow stony ground without smashing the plow.
A great deal of New England farm land has been reclaimed by removing a portion of the surface stone. In the processes of freezing and thawing and cultivation, stones from underneath keep working up to the surface so that it requires considerable skill to do the necessary plowing and cultivating. Oxen ease the plowpoint over or around a rock so it can immediately dip in again to the full depth of the furrow. A good yoke of cattle well trained are gentle as well as strong and powerful.
Oxen are cheaper than horses to begin with and they are valuable for beef when they are not needed any longer as work animals. The Holstein breed seems to have the preference for oxen with New England farmers. The necessary harness for a pair of cattle consists of an ox yoke with a ringbolt through the center of the yoke, midway between the two oxen. A heavy iron ring about five inches in diameter, made of round iron, hangs from the ring bolt. There are two oxbows to hold the yoke in place on the necks of the cattle. A logging chain with a round hook on one end and a grab hook on the other end completes the yoking outfit.
The round hook of the chain is hitched into the ring in the plow clevis. The chain is passed through the large iron ring in the oxbow and is doubled back to get the right length. The grab hook is so constructed that it fits over one link of the chain flatwise so that the next link standing crosswise prevents it from slipping.
The mechanism of a logging chain is extremely simple, positive in action and especially well adapted to the use for which it is intended. The best mechanical inventions often pass without notice because of their simplicity. Farmers have used logging chains for generations with hooks made on this plan without realizing that they were profiting by a high grade invention that embodies superior merit.
In yoking oxen to a wagon the hitch is equally simple. The end of the wagon tongue is placed in the ring in the ox yoke, the round hook engages with a drawbolt under the hammer strap bar. The small grab hook is passed through the large yoke ring and is brought back and engaged with a chain link at the proper distance to stretch the chain taut.
The process of yoking oxen and hitching them to a wagon is one of the most interesting performances on a farm. The off ox works on the off side, or far side from the driver. He usually is the larger of the two and the more intelligent. The near (pronounced n-i-g-h) ox is nearest to the driver who walks to the left. Old plows turned the furrow to the right so the driver could walk on hard ground. In this way the awkwardness and ignorance of the near ox is played against the docility and superior intelligence of the off ox. In yoking the two together the yoke is first placed on the neck of the off ox and the near ox is invited to come under. This expression is so apt that a great many years ago it became a classic in the hands of able writers to suggest submission or slavery termed “coming under the yoke.” Coming under the yoke, however, for the New England ox, in these days of abundant feeding, is no hardship. The oxen are large and powerful and the work they have to do is just about sufficient to give them the needed exercise to enjoy their alfalfa hay and feed of oats or corn.
One of the first implements used by farm settlers in the timbered sections of the United States and Canada, was a three-cornered sled made from the fork of a tree. This rough sled, in the French speaking settlements, was called a “travoy.” Whether it was of Indian or French invention is not known; probably both Indians and French settlers used travoys for moving logs in the woods before American history was much written. The legs or runners of a travoy are about five feet long. There is a bunk which extends crossways from one runner to the other, about half or two-thirds of the way back from the turned-up nose. This bunk is fastened to the runners by means of wooden pins and U-shaped bows fitted into grooves cut around the upper half of the bunk near the ends. Just back of the turned up nose is another cross piece in the shape of a stout wooden pin or iron bolt that is passed through an auger hole extending through both legs from side to side of the travoy. The underside of the crotch is hollowed out in front of the bolt to make room to pass the logging chain through so it comes out in front under the turned up nose.
The front of the travoy is turned up, sled runner fashion, by hewing the wood with an axe to give it the proper shape. Travoys are used to haul logs from a thick woods to the skidways. The manner of using a travoy is interesting. It is hauled by a yoke of cattle or a team of horses to the place where the log lies in the woods. The round hook end of the logging chain is thrown over the butt end of the log and pulled back under the log then around the bunk just inside of the runner and hooked fast upon itself. The travoy is then leaned over against the log, the grab hook end of the chain is brought over the log and over the travoy and straightened out at right angles to the log. The cattle are hitched to the end of the logging chain and started. This kind of a hitch rolls the log over on top of the bunk on the travoy. The cattle are then unhitched. The grab hook end of the chain thus released is passed down and around under the other end of the bunk from behind. The chain is then passed over the bolt near the nose of the travoy and pulled down through the opening and out in front from under the nose. The small grab hook of the logging chain is then passed through the clevis, in the doubletree, if horses are used, or the ring in the yoke if cattle are used, and hitched back to the proper length. A little experience is necessary to regulate the length of the chain to give the proper pull. The chain should be short enough so the pull lifts a little. It is generally conceded by woodsmen that a short hitch moves a log easier than a long hitch. However, there is a medium. There are limitations which experience only can determine. A travoy is useful in dense woods where there is a good deal of undergrowth or where there are places so rough that bobsleighs cannot be used to advantage.
Figure 161.—Cross Reach Wagon. This wagon is coupled for a trailer, but it works just as well when used with a tongue and horses as a handy farm wagon. The bunks are made rigid and parallel by means of a double reach. There are two king bolts to permit both axles to turn. Either end is front.
Figure 162.—Wagon Brake. The hounds are tilted up to show the brake beam and the manner of attaching it. The brake lever is fastened to the forward side of the rear bolster and turns up alongside of the bolster stake. The brake rod reaches from the upper end of the lever elbow to the foot ratchet at the front end of the wagon box.
In some parts of the country the wheels of handy wagons about the farm are held on axle journals by means of linchpins in the old-fashioned manner. There are iron hub-bands on both ends of the hubs which project several inches beyond the wood. This is the best protection against sand to prevent it from working into the wheel boxing that has ever been invented. Sand from the felloes scatters down onto these iron bands and rolls off to the ground. There is a hole through each band on the outer ends of the hubs to pass the linchpin through so that before taking off a wheel to oil the journal it must first be turned so the hole comes directly over the linchpin. To pry out the linchpin the drawbolt is used. Old-fashioned drawbolts were made with a chisel shaped end tapered from both sides to a thickness of about an eighth of an inch. This thin wedge end of the drawbolt is placed under the end of the linchpin. The lower side of the hub-band forms a fulcrum to pry the pin up through the hole in the upper side of the sand-band projection. The linchpin has a hook on the outer side of the upper end so the lever is transferred to the top of the sand-band when another pry lifts the pin clear out of the hole in the end of the axle so the wheel may be removed and grease applied to the axle. The drawbolt on a linchpin wagon usually has a head made in the form of the jaws of a wrench. The wrench is the right size to fit the nuts on the wagon brace irons so that the drawbolt answers three purposes.
Figure 165.—Hollow Malleable Iron Bolster Stake to hold a higher wooden stake when necessary.
Many parts of farm machinery require projecting sand-bands to protect the journals from sand and dust. Most farms have some sandy fields or ridges. Some farms are all sand or sandy loam. Even dust from clay is injurious to machinery. There is more or less grit in the finest clay. The most important parts of farm machinery are supposed to be protected by oil-cups containing cotton waste to strain the oil, together with covers in the shape of metal caps. These are necessary protections and they help, but they are not adequate for all conditions. It is not easy to keep sand out of bearings on machinery that shakes a good deal. Wooden plugs gather sand and dust. When a plug is pulled the sand drops into the oil hole. Farm machinery that is properly designed protects itself from sand and dust. In buying a machine this particular feature should appeal to the farmers more than it does. Leather caps are a nuisance. They are a sort of patchwork to finish the job that the manufacturer commences. A man who is provident enough to supply himself with good working tools and is sufficiently careful to take care of them, usually is particular about the appearance as well as the usefulness of his tools, machinery and implements.
Figure 166.—Sand Caps. Not one manufacturer in a hundred knows how to keep sand out of an axle bearing. Still it is one of the simplest tricks in mechanics. The only protection an axle needs is long ferrules that reach out three or four inches beyond the hub at both ends. Old-fashioned Linchpin farm wagons were built on this principle. The hubs held narrow rings instead of skeins, but they wore for years.
On Northern farms bobsleighs are as important in the winter time as a farm wagon in summer. There are different ways of putting bobsleighs together according to the use required of them. When using heavy bobsleighs for road work, farmers favor the bolster reach to connect the front and rear sleighs. With this attachment the horses may be turned around against the rear sled. The front bolster fits into a recessed plate bolted to the bench plank of the front sleigh. This plate is a combination of wearing plate and circle and must be kept oiled to turn easily under a heavy load. It not only facilitates turning, but it prevents the bolster from catching on the raves or on the upturned nose of the front bob when turning short.
The heavy hardwood plank reach that connects the two bolsters is put through a mortise through the front bolster and is fastened rigidly by an extra large king-bolt. The reach plays back and forth rather loosely through a similar mortise in the other bolster on the rear sleigh. The rear hounds connect with the reach by means of a link and pin. This link pushes up through mortise holes in the reach and is fastened with a wooden pin or key on top of the reach. Sometimes the hounds are taken away and the reach is fastened with pins before and behind the rear bolster. This reach hitch is not recommended except for light road work. These two ways of attaching the rear sled necessitate different ways of fastening the rear bolster to the sled. When the rear bolster is required to do the pulling, it is attached to the sled by double eyebolts which permit the necessary rocking motion and allows the nose of the rear sled to bob up and down freely. This is an advantage when a long box bed is used, because the bolster is made to fit the box closely and is not continually oscillating and wearing. Eye-bolts provide for this natural movement of the sled. Light pleasure bobs are attached to the box with eyebolts without bolster stakes. The light passenger riding seat box is bound together with iron braces and side irons so it does not need bolsters to hold the sides together.
Figure 167.—Bobsleighs, Showing Three Kinds of Coupling. The upper sleighs are coupled on the old-fashioned short reach plan except that the reach is not mortised into the roller. It is gained in a quarter of an inch and fastened by an iron strap with a plate and nuts on the under side. The bobs in the center show the bolster reach, principally used for road work. The bottom pair are coupled by cross chains for short turning around trees and stumps in the woods.
Bobsleighs for use in the woods are hitched together quite differently. The old-fashioned reach with a staple in the rear bench of the first sled and a clevis in the end of the reach is the old-fashioned rig for rough roads in the woods. Such sleighs are fitted with bunks instead of bolsters. Bunks are usually cut from good hardwood trees, hewed out with an axe and bored for round stakes. Log bunks for easy loading do not project beyond the raves. With this kind of a rig, a farmer can fasten two logging chains to the reach, carry the grab hook ends out and under and around the log and back again over the sleighs, and then hitch the horses to the two chains and roll the log up over a couple of skids and on to the bunks without doing any damage to the bobsleighs. Bobsleighs hitched together with an old-fashioned reach and provided with wide heavy raves will climb over logs, pitch down into root holes, and weave their way in and out among trees better than any other sled contrivance, and they turn short enough for such roads. The shortest turning rig, however, is the cross chain reach shown in Figure 167.
A two-wheeled cart large enough to carry a barrel of cider is a great convenience on a farm. The front wheels of a buggy are about the right size and usually are strong enough for cart purposes. A one-inch iron axle will be stiff enough if it is reinforced at the square bends. The axle is bent down near the hubs at right angles and carried across to support the floor of the cart box about one foot from the ground. The distance from the ground should be just sufficient so that when the cart is tipped back the hind end will rest on the ground with the bottom boards at an easy slant to roll a barrel or milk can into the bottom of the box. Under the back end of the cart platform is a good stout bar of hardwood framed into the sidepieces. All of the woodwork about the cart is well braced with iron. The floor of the cart is better when made of narrow matched hardwood flooring about seven-eighths of an inch thick fastened with bolts. It should be well supported by cross pieces underneath. In fact the principal part of the box is the underneath part of the frame.
Sidepieces of the box are wide and are bolted to the vertical parts of the axle and braced in different directions to keep the frame solid, square and firm. The sides of the box are permanently fastened but both tailboard and front board are held in place by cleats and rods and are removable so that long scantling or lumber may be carried on the cart bottom. The ends of the box may be quickly put in place again when it is necessary to use them.
To hold a cart box together, four rods are necessary, two across the front and two behind. They are made like tailboard rods in wagon boxes. There is always some kind of tongue or handle bar in front of the farm cart conveniently arranged for either pulling or pushing. If a breast bar is used it handles better when supported by two curved projecting shafts or pieces of bent wood, preferably the bent up extended ends of the bedpieces. The handle bar should be about three feet from the ground.
Figure 168.—Farm Cart. The axle need not be heavier than 7⁄8″. The hind axle of a light buggy works the best. It is bent down and spliced and welded under the box. The cart should be made narrow to prevent overloading. The box should be low enough to rest the back end on the ground at an angle of about 35° for easy loading.
A pair of shafts that look a good deal too long, an axle, two wheels and a whiffletree are the principal parts of a colt-breaking sulky. The shafts are so long that a colt can kick his best without reaching anything behind. The principal danger is that he may come down with one hind leg over the shaft. It is a question with horsemen whether it is better to first start a colt alongside of an old, steady horse. But it is generally conceded that in no case should a colt be made fast in such a way that he could kick himself loose. Different farmers have different ideas in regard to training colts, but these breaking carts with extra long shafts are very much used in some parts of the country. The shafts are heavy enough so that the colts may be tied down to make kicking impossible. A rope or heavy strap reaching from one shaft to the other over the colt’s hips will keep its hind feet pretty close to the ground. Any rig used in connection with a colt should be strong enough to withstand any strain that the colt may decide to put upon it. If the colt breaks something or breaks loose, it takes him a long time to forget the scare. Farm boys make these breaking carts by using wheels and hind axles of a worn-out buggy. This is well enough if the wheels are strong and shafts thoroughly bolted and braced. It is easy to make a mistake with a colt. To prevent accidents it is much better to have the harness and wagon amply strong.
Figure 169.—Colt-Breaking Sulky. The axle and hind wheels of a light wagon, two strong straight-grained shafts about 4 feet too long, a whiffletree and a spring seat are the principal parts of a colt-breaking sulky. The shafts and seat are thoroughly well bolted and clipped to the axle and braced against all possible maneuvers of the colt. The traces are made so long that the colt cannot reach anything to kick, and he is prevented from kicking by a strap reaching from one shaft up over his hips and down to the other shaft. In this rig the colt is compelled to go ahead because he cannot turn around. The axle should be longer than standard to prevent upsetting when the colt turns a corner at high speed.
Figure 170.—Perspective View of Two-Story Corn Crib. The side of the building is cut away to show the elevating machinery.
Business farming requires an office. Business callers feel sensitive about talking farm or live-stock affairs before several members of the family. But they are quite at ease when alone with the farmer in his office. A farm office may be small but it should contain a desk or table, two or three chairs, book shelves for books, drawers for government bulletins and a cabinet to hold glassware and chemicals for making soil tests and a good magnifying glass for examining seeds before planting. A good glass is also valuable in tracing the destructive work of many kinds of insect pests.
Figure 171.—Floor Plans of Two-Story Corn Crib. The first floor shows the driveway with corn cribs at the sides and the second floor plan shows the grain bins over the center driveway, with location of the downspouts, stairway, etc.
Large scale image (1383 x 1500, 66 kB)
The office is the proper place for making germination tests of various farm seeds. Seventy degrees of heat is necessary for the best results in seed testing. For this reason, as well as for comfort while working, the heating problem should receive its share of attention. Many times it so happens that a farmer has a few minutes just before mealtime that he could devote to office work if the room be warm enough.