FARM CONVEYANCES
STONE-BOAT
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: 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.
OXEN ON A NEW ENGLAND FARM
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 ringbolt. 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.
TRAVOY
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.
[Illustration: Figure 160.--Travoy. A log-hauling sled made from the
fork of a tree.]
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.
LINCHPIN FARM WAGONS
[Illustration: 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.]
[Illustration: 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.]
[Illustration: Figure 163.--Bolster Spring.]
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.
[Illustration: Figure 164.--Wagon Seat Spring. The metal block fits over
the top of the bolster stake.]
[Illustration: Figure 165.--Hollow Malleable Iron Bolster Stake to hold
a higher wooden stake when necessary.]
SAND-BANDS
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.
[Illustration: 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.]
BOBSLEIGHS
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.
[Illustration: 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.
MAKING A FARM CART
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.
[Illustration: 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 deg. for easy loading.]
COLT-BREAKING SULKY
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.
[Illustration: 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.]