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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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
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.
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.
Figure 164.—Wagon Seat Spring. The metal block fits over the top of the bolster stake.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.