Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 December 1875 — Practical Hints. [ARTICLE]

Practical Hints.

The editor of the very truly says that there are often floating about on the great sea of agricultural literature many little hints which, if gathered together, would make an extremely usefill volume, and he proceeds to dish up the following among others: One person had a long pale fence, which it was necessary to remove. The posts had to be dug out; but to save them a couple of oxen were attached to a leyer, which drew them out easily. The lever in this case was simply a chain, and the prop a short, thick Jog of wood inclined at an angle toward the post to be lifted and away from the oxen. The chain or rope when attached to the bottom of the post pulls it out easily when the oxen draw the short block upright. There is a useful hint in this, although as a general thing a man with a good lumber log-lever will easily draw out any ordinary post. Another person has had trouble with the drawing out of staples from barn doors and Screws from hinges. He drove pegs into the holes and put the irons in again; but they would soon come out, wooden pegs and all. Then he used leather, which was better than wooden pegs, but in time the latter got used to the pressure and let the staples out. Then he filled the holes tightly with cork, and put in the screws and - irons, and they have’remained in perfect condition to this day. In connection with this matter of staples is another hint from one who wanted a ring set into a piece of stone. He ran lead into the hole about the ring, but in time it got Ipose and worked out. Then he was told to melt brimstone and run it in the place of lead, which he did, and it has been sound and solid ever since. Thqre is nothing new in this; stone-cut-ters generally use sulphur for cementing pieces together; but still the hint will be Valuable to those for whom the contributor intended it. And then here is one more before us, which completes a very good chapter of little hints from one day's reading. It is in relation to garden dibbles. The contributor has to use one often, and he had the upper part of the handle of an old spade, as so many do, for that purpose. He had it pointed with iron, which was an improvement; but it still required some force to press it into the ground, apd it was by no means easy work. At length the had the point of the dibble- made flat, like a wedge, and then pointed it with iron, as before, and found after that that dibbling was comparatively easy work to what it had been before. He has “no blisters on his hands now,” for which he may well be thankful. T -T *** —Cassimir Sauer, an insane man, arrested in Hoboken, N. «J-> a few days a go, had in his pocket a paper purporting to be his will, bequeathing his body to the Emperor of Germany, his soul to the President of the United States, his dog to the Governor of New Jersey and his clothes to his wife.