Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-01-28


spends a large amount of needless
work by using heavy, rusty, dull i'm
plements, when he might as we'll have
light, sharp and efficient ones. Moth
ing pays better for the small cost than
soaking all wooden work liable to ex-
posture to the weather with a copious
supply of crude petroleum
In those regions of country where
wood is chiefly employed for fuel, the
advantages of using it only when well
seasoned should be fully understood.
Green wood contains at least one
fourth of its own weight of such water
as thorough seasoning drives out. Of
! the 12S cubic feet in cord Of green
wood, there is at least 90 cubic feet OF
water, weighing 1000 pound. The
teamster, therefore, draws over half
ton of needless weight with every
cord of wood, which he would avoid
if it were seasoned. For evaporating
these twenty feet of water, the
strength of the wood is wasted liz
changing it from liquid to vapor. The
latent heat thus required would heat
nearly a hundred cubic feet of water
from freezing to boiling. There is,
however, one advantage in using
green wood. For open fre-places,
largely mixed with other wood, it
regulates the flame and prevents the
heat from rapidly running up the
chimney, when very hot fire is not
needed. But for kindling a fire on a
cold morning, most people will prefer
the dry wood to the green. Farmers
should, therefore, cut and split their
wood in time for it to become well
seasoned, preferring windy and expos
ed places to shady and sheltered ones
be carried on rapidly.
In the orchard, some useful opera
tons may he performed on the milder
days of winter. Where limbs have
been sawed off in pruning and
the wounds left exposed, a coat of
common paint will be of great use in
preventing the water of rains from
entering the cracks in the exposd sur
face and causing decay. A light
brown or white paint is better than a
dark color which, absorbs heat in
summer and cracks the wood, For
this reason, coal tar which otherwise
would be useful, does not ans er well
for the purpose.
Orchards which were set,in autumn
should have all the sorts registered in
book before the labels are lost from
the trees. If each kind has been set
in rows. the registering will be COM
paratively simple and easy. II this
work is neglected and the names lost
before the trees bear, confusion and
mistakes will always be likely to fol
low.
In some winters mice are abundant
and when they can get at the bark of
apple and pear trees, they will do
great harm in a short time A neigh
Dor had over a thousand fine pear
trees just coming INTO bearing girdled
under temporary fall of snow in
March, IN two or three day. Ground
clear of weeds and grass is less liable
to such disasters; and small, compact
conteaI mounds of earth beaten
smooth, late in autumn, around the
base of each tree, will shut out the
mice. But if the trees have not re-
celved this care, special attention
should be given whenever there is a
fresh fall of snow, which should be
trodden hard around every tree. This
will keep the mice from them.
Improvement may be sometimes
given to lawns, even in the depth of
winter when there is but little snow
on the ground. Since hand lawn
mowers have come into common use,
it is important that ground over which
they are passed be smooth and even.
A rough surface may be rendered
smooth by spreading sand, and de-
pressions rendered level if not more
than an inch or two deep. The grass
will soon find it's way up through the
sand, and thus deep hollows may be
successfully filed. A sand hole is
easily kept from freezing in cold
weather with two or three bundles of
straw. In this way sand is easily OBJ
tanned for rendering heavy garden
soils lighter. If lawns require enrich
ing, it may be easily done in open
weather by spreading evenly and uni
formly any finely pulverized manure,
which will be washed among the roots
Of the grass by winter and spring
rains, and assist a fresh and green
growth. But the practice, sometimes
witnessed, of defacing lawns with
coarse manure in large Jumps. and
rendering them repulsive instead of
ornamental, should be avoided.