The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-09-21
The Farmers shop.

tr~ The Farmers shop.
There is perhaps no department of indus
try In which general knowledge of mechan-
ical WORK *, Is more necessary than it is on a
farm. There Is a large amount of repairin0
and building which must be done, and vet
does not require the services of a very skiiful
workman. There is also much that is de-
sirable to do, but which viii not warrant the
expense of hiring regular mechanic to per-
form. The farmer, therefore, who has a
workshop furnished with the most useful
tools, and possesses skill sufficient to use
them, has decided advantage over one who
has not. small break in some implement
often causes serious delay, if it must be taken
70 mechanic for repairs, when, if we have
the means at hand, we can often make it last
tnrough the present emergency, if not per-
lpanently repair 1t. An insignificant break
IN a horse rake is liable to cause many tons
OF hay to be damaged, if the team must be
stopped to take it two or three miles for re-
pairs, when there is hardly a portion of it
That person OF ordinary ingenuity could
not repair with the proper tools. Il refer, OF
course to the wooden revolving rake.) The
trouble and expense that arise from the loos-
ening and breaking of mower knife sections
IS great, unless we have the convenences for
tightening or replacing them ourselves.
Many hours in winter may be proitaby
SPonS III tue snop III making gateS, nay rig.
gngs, corn markers, ladders, or whatever ar
ticles of the kind we may need, and in re-
pairing implements, furniture, harnesses, etc.
lhere Is great difference in tine efficacy of
dii1erent persons in mechanical work, but the
most bungling workman can do more with
Tools than he can without them. The num-
Der OF tools required in a farmers shop de
pends much upon the skill of the person who
Is to use them. Some will need hardly moro
| uhi
more, and some would even proftably en-
ploy forge and drilling machine.
IL is best for an inexperienced person to
peg.n with few, and enlarge his collection
as he finds it necessary. Besides these tools,
che shop should contain a workbench, wise,
shaving horse, pair of saw-benches, iron box
and nail box divided into several compart-
ments, for the various sizes of nails, screws,
bolts, etc. A tool chest it not necessary, as
it is qaite as convenient to hang the tools on
nails driven In the proper place to hold them
Bits, hles, screw-drvers, etc., may be easily
provided for by cutting holes through shelf
OF the proper size and shape to hold them
1t IS essential to have place for each tool,
and TO keep each tool in its place, so fan as
possible, as we frequently need them in q
hurry, when it is sacrifice of both time and
temper to hunt toe them. Boys should always
be encouraged in the use of tools. There is
no way of gaining efficiency except by prac-
tlce, and by beginning young they will be-
come skillful by the time their services are
really required. They will of course use
lumber and. nails for Improbable purposes,
and injure the tools and possibly themselves
occasionally; but the experience which they
acquire will more than repay the cost.
The farmer at the present time needs TO be
something more than novice in the me-
chanic arts. He should understand the prin-
ciples OF machinery as well as those of agri-
cultural science. He should be good Judge
Of every kind of mechanical work which his
calling employs, and be able to make the
slight repairs which his implements and ma
chlnery so constantly need, with neatness
and dispatch. Country Gentleman.
September.
In September the farmer begins to receive
returns for months of care and labor. He has
hitherto been casting bread upon the waters,
and now it returns after many days. His re-
ward is now in proportion to his faith. II he
has believed in what he has read in these
pages, in the fruits of his own and others ex-
periences, and In the teachings of intelligence
and common sense, he has not been chary OF
hard work, constant attention, and generous
treatment of his lands and crops; he has fed
his land, and now his fields will feed him in
return. Now the farmer learns that out of
nothing, nothing comes. If he has put moth
ing upon his fields, his crop is poor. II, OH
the other hand, he has well and intelligently
fertilized and worked, he finds in spite OF sea-
sons, that he has barns full. and the promise
of harvest is surely fulfilled to those who care
fully meet the requirements of seed time. The
better the farmer the better the crops, and tho
risks of season and unfavorable weather,
bring disaster only to the farmer who neglects
the precautions by which he may avoid Them
Generally the fall wheat crop has yielded well
and has been harvested cheapy and in good
condition. There is a good market for it
Crops in Europe are not over an average, and
there are vast deficiencies in stocks to bemade
up. Besides our spring crops will be deficient
Spring wheat is acomparative failure in many
places, and the surplus of the fall crop will be
partly needed to meet this deficiency. Oats
and corn will be below the average, and hay
is short in the West, although plentiful in the
East. Prices, therefore, will be satisfactory on
the whole, if grain is not sacrificed, and there
is no good reason why farmers should hasten
to put their grain into the hands Of specula-
tors, that they may hold it for rise. The
outlook is favorable to steady prices il not tn
some advance. The agricultural fairs ara
now in season. To attend the state and coun-
ty fairs should be made duty as it should bs
a pleasure. Every farmer should strive TO ba
a competitor at his local fair. We wisn
there could be premiums offered for the best
managed farms here, as there are in England,
and plowing matches for farmers boy. Com
petition induces stu1y as well as work, and It
is thought and study that we want. No farm
er in the world works harder or more steadily
than an American farmer, or has fewer ida
days. But with the increase of machinery,
and the need of better farming, more study
and knowledge are needed.-Amertcan Agri-
culturist.
How to Preserve Brick Work.