The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1878-08-22
FARM TOPICS.

of the Carriage Monthly, more injury Is
done to carriages and wagons by greas-
ing too much than the reverse. TallOw
is the best lubricatOr for wood axles, and
castor oil for iron. Lard and common
grease are apt to penetrate the hub, and
work their way out around the lemons Of
the spOkes and spoil the wheel. For
common wood axles, just enough grease
should be applied to the spindle to give
it light coating. To oil an iron axle,
first wipe clean with d cloth wet with
turpentine, and then apply few drops
of castor oil near the shoulder and end.
One teaspoonful is enough for the four
wheels. Carriages are sometimes oiled
so much that their appearance is spoil
ed by having the grease spattered upon
their vanished surfaces. When they
are washed in that condition, the grease
is sure to be transferred to the channels
/ from the wheel, and from thence to the
panels.
BUYING AND CARING FOR Tools
There can be no greater mistake than to
buy at auction old tools or farm imple
ments of any kind. Although one may
think they are comparatively cheap, in
the end he will always find that a sec
ond-hand tool is high-priced, when the
cost of keeping it in repair is counted.
He will almost invariably pay more than
second hand tools are worth. The fact
is, that few farmers know what repairs
cost. A few days since | saw farmer
take his two-horse wagon from the shop
where he had it repaired to the amount
IS nd 10
it will need more repairs, and he will
have an old wagon after all. This is
poor economy, when q new wagon can
now be purchased for sos. The farmer
who tries to get along with WORKOUT
tools will find himself yearly becoming
poorer, beside the muscle and good
temper that could be saved by keeping
his tools in the best of repair. In these
times of retrenchment and reform, when
people can not have the Injuries of
former days, they should remember that
much can be saved by taking proper care
of the tools, and that this country loses
more from tools that rust out than from
those that are worn out A farm where
there are no tools left out of doors all
winter, is the exception to the general
rule. In a ride of few miles in good
farming country, the other day, [ count
ed over hundred farm tools of different
kinds that had been left where they were
last used, or else stored in the fence cor
ners until wanted again. This shiftless
and ruinous practice has become COM
mon with the American landowner of
the present day. | venture to make the
assertion that if one-half of our farmers
would to-day throw away their old tools,
and get new ones in their places, and
then take care of them, they would in
five years be much better off than if
they used their old, poorly constructed
tools, Experience has proved that when
tools break it will be at time when the
loss can not be estimated by what it
costs to have them repaired. The
farmer may have a large number of
men around him whose idleness will
cost him from one 10 two dollars per
hour.-COr. Country Gentleman.
How TO UTILIZE THE STRAW ON
THE FARM.-If we should undertake to
carry our stock through the winter on
straw alone we wonld surely find that
straw used in that way had no value,
for the stock would be worth no more
in the spring than in the preceding fall.
and the material in the barnyard would
be worth no more than the straw in the
stack. am of the opinion that the way
now most common in our section, of
running the straw direct to the yard
from the machine as thrashed, is good
practice; putting the oat and barley
- a. ho 70 -
within reach of the stock, and the wheat
straw on the top of that in such shape
as will best protect it from the weather,
then allow the cattle free access TO the
stack, and they will feed upon it as their
appetites demand. As fast as they work
into the bottom cut down from the
top enough of the wheat straw sufficient
to keep the stack trim and the yard well
Uttered. l have adopted the plan, for
the last four years, of leaving a portion
of the old stack-say three or four wag-
on loads, about eight feet high, in such
position as to come under the center of
the new one, stacking around and over
it, and l find that it keeps the center of
the new stack always full, as the sides
and ends settle more than the part d.
rectly over the old straw. Another ad-
vantage is to prevent the cattle from
eating through, and it also acts as
brace for keeping it from topping over,
if the stack should become too heavy.
We should put our yards in such shape
that no loss of the liquids or droppings
should occur from leakage; then we
should put stock enough In our yards
and around our straw stacks to con-
sumo all the hay, corn-stalks, corn,
small potatoes, and screenings from
the different grains, and feed
literally with them, enough to keep the
stock growing and fattening, without
depending upon the straw as help in
feeding at all. lam of the opinion that