by which the growth of the hedge is much retarded. The shoot should be allowed to grow to its full extent the first and second year; the root will then have struck deep into the ground; and in the third or fourth year the quicks may be cut down to a few inches. They will then send out several fresh and strong shoots, which may be cut and pruned to the height and width of the intended hedge.

VI. FARM IMPLEMENTS.

WE shall not occupy space here or elsewhere with subjects already well and generally understood by those for whom this department of our work is intended. Hence all those implements-such as the plow, the harrow, the spade, the shovel, the hoe, the rake, the fork, the wagon, the cart, and the like-with which all farmers are as familiar as they are with the knife and fork which they know so well how to manage at the dinner-table, are here passed over, to allow us space for other things. Nevertheless, where there is an agricultural implement of great value, yet but little known and appreciated by the masses of the farming community, it is our legitimate design to bring it before them in a manner to promote its adoption. Such are the implements to which attention will now be directed.

An admirable plow, for turning under sward deeply, is the double Michigan. "It has two mould-boards. The forward, or small one, skims the surface, taking off a few inches of the top of the sod, and laying it in the bottom of the previous furrow; and the second, or large mouldboard, turns up what is left, and completely buries the former. Three strong horses will draw this plow when of the smaller size, and will run a furrow eight or nine inches deep; but the larger-sized plow requires nearly double this force, and will cut a furrow a foot deep.

"The Michigan plow prepares sod ground in the best manner for planting corn, the mellow soil which is thrown on the sod being deep enough to allow a coat of manure to be buried afterward a few inches by means of a gang-plow.

"When the subsoil is of such a nature as not to enrich the top soil when thrown up and mixed with it, or when it is desirable to loosen up a deep bed of mellow earth to serve as a reservoir for moisture, the subsoil plow serves a valuable purpose. It is also useful for loosening the soil to allow the trench, or Michigan plow, to enter more fully to a greater depth.

"The subsoil plow merely loosens the earth, but does not turn it up to the surface. It is made to follow in the furrow of a common plow. It runs much deeper than the trench plow, with the same force of team. Four horses attached to a strong plow, running in a furrow seven inches deep, will loosen the earth to a depth of fifteen to eighteen inches. The benefit of subsoiling depends essentially on keeping the ground well drained; for if the loosened earth is afterward allowed to become thoroughly soaked or flooded with water, it soon becomes compacted

together again, and the operation proves of no permanent advantage. This is one fruitful source of failure."

The ridging or double mould-board plow is a very useful implement. It is used for opening drills to plant potatoes, corn, etc.; in plowing between narrow rows, in digging potatoes, etc. No farmer should be without it. It is a light one-horse plow. The side-hill, or swivel plow, is so constructed, that the mould-board is easily and instantly changed from one side to the other, which enables the plowman to perform the work horizontally upon hill sides, going back and forth on the same side, and turning all the furrow slices downward. This prevents the washing of the soil by heavy rains, to which all hill sides are more or less liable when plowed up and down the slope. Such a plow should be considered indispensable on all hill-side farms. The Geddes harrow and the Hanford harrow, triangular in shape, are also excellent implements; and for light grounds, free from stones and other obstructions, the Scotch or square harrow serves its admirably.

purpose

The accompanying engraving represents a harrow recently patented by Samuel J. Orange, of Graysville, Ill. It involves the rotary principle, the rotation being produced by the pressure of the rollers g g upon the wheels A A. It has the important advantage, that while it secures the rotation of the wheels, it at the same time avoids side draught.

* J. J. Thomas.

The above is a representation of Knox's Horse-Hoe, adapted to the cultivation of cotton.

The Field-Roller.—Those who have become well acquainted with the use of the roller, would be unwilling to dispense with it; and some would say that a complete system of tillage, let the nature of the soil be what it may, cannot be carried on without it. It is now proposed to consider the several uses to which this instrument may be applied. On some soils, no doubt it may be more beneficial than on others; and of course some may be able to get along without its aid better than those differently situated.

The first object usually aimed at in the employment of this instrument, is to break those clods or indurated masses of earth which have resisted the action of the harrow; or, at all events, to bury them in the ground, so that at the next harrowing-which, when thus buried, they cannot well escape-they must, of necessity, be somewhat diminished in size. It is for this reason that in countries where the soil is very tena

cious, and tillage very carefully conducted, it is the custom, even after the preparatory plowings, first to harrow, then to pass the roller over the ground, and then to harrow again. In such places, land not treated in this manner would be looked upon as being very badly prepared.

The second object of rolling, is to give a some

what greater degree of compactness to a soil which is too light and friable, and to unite its component parts. The roller is not employed for this purpose to so great an extent as it might be with advantage. Its action in this case being highly beneficial, particularly in counteracting the bad effects produced on extremely light soils by the too frequent

use of the plow, and likewise in preventing the too rapid evaporation of the moisture contained in the soil. This application of the roller is particularly resorted to on the spongy soils of valleys. In such situations it cannot, indeed, be well dispensed with.

The third use to which the roller is applied, is to press down and make firm the ground about newly-sown seeds, and to cause the latter to adhere better to the soil. Sometimes, when very small seed is to be sown, it is found advantageous to pass the roller over the ground before the seed is sown, so as to level it thoroughly, and to facilitate more equal distribution of the seed than could otherwise take place. Where the ground has been thus leveled, those seeds which happen to fall together, separate from each other; and it is seldom that two are lying in one spot. The harrow is then passed over the ground; and this operation is followed by repeated rollings, which obliterate the lines drawn by the harrow. The roller may also be employed with advantage on soils which are neither particularly moist nor tenacious, after the harrow has been used to cover the seed. This operation serves to press the earth more closely into contact with the seed, which then germinates and springs up with much greater rapidity. The truth of this will be plainly seen by observing those parts which have escaped the action of the roller; for there the seed does not spring up so quickly as it does where the ground has been well pressed by this instrument. Probably, too, the pressure may, by the greater compactness which it gives to the soil, prevent any rays of light from penetrating, and thus interfering with the process of germination. Another advantage derived from this leveling of the soil by the roller is, that the harvest is greatly facilitated; for it enables the laborers to reap or mow closer to the ground-a point of great importance, especially as regards the pea and bean crops.

The fourth great use of the roller is to cover with mould, or press against or into the ground, the roots of those plants sown in the preceding autumn which have been detached by the frost. Soils rich in humus, such as those found in valleys, sometimes swell up in the spring to such a degree, that the roots of the plants contained in them are forced up. In such cases, if a fall of rain does not speedily occur, the roller is the only means of restoring them to their proper position. Accordingly, says a sensible writer, in no branch of husbandry is the roller more an implement of utility than in the cultivation of grass. It renders the soil compact and solid; it encourages the growth of the plants, by bringing the earth close to every part of the root; it assists in filling up and leveling any inequalities in the surface of the field, thereby preventing surface water from remaining stagnant, and eradicating the grass from particular spots; and it tends to hinder the drought from penetrating, which is an effect of the greatest importance. In fact, a grass field cannot too often be rolled; and it is not going too far to assert that the application of the roller in autumn to prepare the roots for resisting the winter frosts, and in spring to render them firm after the frosts, every year while the field remains in grass, will amply repay the expense.

The best plan for a roller is, that it be in two parts, each about three

feet in length, and thirty inches in diameter; by this means, in turning, one will roll back while the other moves forward. The frame in which they are suspended may be made of good oak joist, four by six inches, holes being bored in the side-pieces to receive the gudgeons. If there are two cross-bars forward, perhaps twelve inches apart, good accommodations are furnished for the driver to ride; and if there are two behind the roller in the same manner, stones may be laid on to increase its weight. This, too, makes the frame strong, and not easily racked. For convenience in being sheltered, it may be put together by dovetail tenons and keys, so as to be easily taken apart. Then the rollers only

require much space for protec-
tion against the weather dur-
ing the season of winter. The
author's is constructed in this
manner. His roller consists
of two-inch chestnut plank,
three inches in width, the end
pieces or heads being three-
inch oak plank, and put to-
gether like a barrel, first nailed
on, and then secured by hoops

made of old wheel-tire. Complete, it cost about twenty dollars.
They can, however, be made at a less expense. Instead of such
framework cylinders, they can be made of smooth, round oak logs, the
ends being sawed perpendicularly so as to revolve without obstruction.
Iron gudgeons put into their centers make good axles. They ought to
be not less than twenty or twenty-four inches in diameter. The cost
of them might be less than half the cost of the others. Rollers are also
made of solid stone, but for most purposes these would be too heavy.
Others are made of cast-iron, hollow or solid, so as to give suitable
weight.

It is necessary that a favorable period and weather, when the ground is sufficiently dry, should be chosen for rolling, as for harrowing. It is absolutely necessary that the humidity of the soil should not be so great as to cause it to stick to the instrument; for when that is the case, the operation is likely to prove more injurious than beneficial, not only to tenacious and clayey soils, but also to those which are lighter, inasmuch as it hardens the ground, and forms a crust, which is impervious to air and atmospheric action. On the other hand, however, it is not right to wait until the clods of tenacious land have, by the evaporation of all their moisture, become so hard as to render the action of the roller on them totally inefficacious.*

Subsoil-Plow. Subsoil plowing has, when properly done, been attended with the most gratifying and sometimes astonishing results. Few persons have any idea of the depth to which roots descend in favorable situations. The fibrils of a wheat kernel have been found more than thirty inches below the surface; those of red clover, Indian corn, and Swedish turnip, five feet; and of sanfoin and lucern, from