hauled out from stables as it is dumped into it from wheelbarrows without having to reload or wheel up an incline. It is low on the ground and very convenient for loading. All light, bulky articles, as well as heavy stones, bags of fertilizers and seed, can easily be hauled on this contrivance. CAPACIOUS DRAG A HOMEMADE ROAD ROLLER If you need a road roller get a heavy sheet iron cylinder, stand it on end and place a length of 11⁄2 ROAD ROLLER or 2-inch pipe through the center. The end should be placed on planks which are well soaked or are well oiled, and the pipe braced to keep it exactly in the center. Fill the cylinder with good concrete, and when it has set tip it over and build a frame for it, so you can hitch a removable tongue at either side. The frame should be made of good strong hardwood well braced. The cuts show plainly just how the roller is made and put together. AN OLD-FASHIONED DROGUE Drogue is an old-fashioned word applied to a low drag or sled, something like the stone boat in general use now. The word is seldom heard today. HOMEMADE HANDY DROGUE So accustomed are we to the regulation stone boat that most of us do not know that there is still a more handy arrangement that is fully as easy to build and better to use, because it cannot slide sidewise on a hill. Select a small tree that has a bend in it the shape of a sled runner and split it with a sharp saw while it is green. It saws fastest and easiest while frozen. Saw or hew the bottom and top flat, so planks about 4 feet long may be pinned to it. Bore the front ends so a heavy stake with a shoulder may be inserted to prevent the runners from drawing together, and the drogue is done. It is handy for all work, but may need side rails spiked to it, if small stones are to be drawn. Regular boat planks are not easy to obtain now that the old up and down saws are not in use. A DITCHING SCRAPER There should be a ditching scraper on every farm. They can be purchased made of steel, but a homemade one costs little and is quite serviceable. Take two planks, each 10 inches wide and 3 feet long, of good 2-inch hardwood. Bolt to them securely a pair of old plow handles. To the bottom bolt an old crosscut saw blade which will make a sharp edge. Let this project about an inch at the bottom. Attach two singletree hooks near each end of the lower board and your scraper is ready to use. With this scraper and two men a ditch can be cut one-quarter mile long and as deep as it could be plowed with a turning plow in two days' time. It is also very useful in filling holes in the highway. BRIDGE FOR A SMALL STREAM For crossing a small creek or deep ditch a cheap bridge can be built as shown in the illustration. The lumber used is 6 inches wide and 2 inches thick, except for the floor and four side braces. |