American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-01-10
The Care of Tools.

| Inc care OF lOOlS-
| The great tax imposed on the farmers
of the West is for implements to cultivate
| and harvest their crops. Much of this
tax is selfimposed and might be avoided
| if farmers took even reasonable care of
| their Implements No class of men give
so little attention, or take so poor care of
the Implements they use, as do farmers.
| If engineers gave as little care to the loco
| motive and stationary engines under their
charge, they would not last half as long
as they do now, while accidents would be
| more frequent. II the machinery of a fac
| tory received no better care than the ma
| chinery of a farm receives, the operatives
| would be out of employment a large pro-
| portion of the time, and the stockholders
| would receive less dividends than the
| original stockholders in most railroads.
Men best qualified to know, state that
farm implements receive more injury dur
ing the time they are not in use than
| during the period they are in operation.
| This loss is the result of carelessness,
pure and undefilcd. 1t deserves to be
| ranked as a sin rather than classed an
act of omission. 1t is one of the causes
of hard times that could easily be pre-
| vented.
| Perhaps one reason why farmers are so
careless about their implements Is that
| they were not accustomed in early life to
| anything very complicated. Most of the
| costly machinery now used on farms has
| been introduced within the past few
years. AT the period of its introduction,
prices of produce were high and farming
| was in a prosperous condition. This
state of things did not tend to make
farmers careful and painstaking. They
| began to be careless with their machines,
| and the custom became second nature.
Possibly, some farmers take little or no
| suitable care oftheir implements because
| they do not know what suitable care is.
Generally, however, the carelessness one
| sees manifest in plows, harrows, rcapers
and mowers, being left out of doors dur
ing long and changeable winter is the
| result of representation. 1t is not the
| intention at the time of leaving them TO
let them remain in the fields, where they
| will be handy to use next season, but they
are left temporarily, on account of the
hurry of farm work; and having become
rusty, and being frozen in the ground, it
is concluded that they will not be injured
much more by letting them remain.
| All tools require to be kept in dry,
| and, if practicable, a tolcraSly warm
place. Moisture causes the decay of
| wood and the rusting of metals. FreeZ-
| ing causes injury to wood by expanding
| the pores where the moisture is CONCEAL
| ed. In most respects the upper, rather
|
| best place to store tools. In the first
| place they are completely out of the way,
| do not require to be moved about and
are less liable to accidents. The barn
| floor is not the best place in the barn To
store implements. They are in the way
there. Men and boys are liable to stumble
over them, and if cattle and horses break
| loose in the night, double damage is
| liable to be done. Dirt of every kind col
/ az m IDr nd Ices of
it will find its way into the journals of Il
machine, or will adhere TO all kinds of
| surfaces. The friction occasioned by re-
moving hay and straw that has fallen on
painted surfaces will give them, at least,
an unsightly appearance.
In many respects scaffold ut the end
of barn is a better place for tools than
| Is the ground floor. All things consid-
cred, a place near the roof makes the best
depository. There they occupy no room
available for other purposes, and there
| the temperature will ordinarily be found
| to be the warmest. Farmers might take
| a hint from carriage makers, who so often
put their choice materials on supports in
the top OF their shops, partially for con
venience in getting them out of the way,
| and partly because of the favorable tenn
perature. A painted surface will come
! out in the spring in the best possible con
dition if the article is inverted when
putting it away All the dust and grit
fall on the side that is less conspicuous
| and the least exposed to wear when the
article is in use. This suggestion VIII
apply to plows. harrows and cultivators,
as well as to more costly implements.
All iron and steel surface should be
clean and free from rust when they are
put away, for rust seems to encourage
further rusting, as minute spot will
spread to much larger dimensions. Pctro
leum, hogs lard, or fat of almost any
kind will afford protection against rust
ing by keeping away the moisture and
air. A coating of these substances can
ne much easier removed in the spring
than a coating of rust. Moving and
reaping machines should be taken apart
and thoroughly cleaned before putting
away. All the gummy substances should
be removed from the journals by the use
of "A piece of hard wood, or other suitable
substance that will leave no scratch and
if the substance is uuyielding il should
be softened by petroleum, nap'ha, or
spirits of turpentinc. When this is done
the surface should be wiped dry with a
soft cloth or loose cotton, and then GOV
cred or rubbed with oil.-Pyairte Farmer
"A fireman has introduced into an en-
gine-house in bridgeport, Conn, an APP
paratus by which the lights are turned up,
The horses unfastened from their stalls,
and the doors thrown back, all by the
striking of the first blow of the alarm.
The apparatus has worked very success
fully for nearly year. The hammer of
the gong in lifting to strike the first blow,
moves "A lever which sets the whole ma
chinery in motion, and the horses, on
finding themselves unfastened make
their way to the truck and solemnly back
into their places.
"A phrenologist told man that he