Sacramento daily record-union., 1889-10-05
FARM AND ORCHARD.
VALUABLE INFORMATION ABOUT TOOLS
AND WAGONS.
The Best Varieties of Pears-Farm Notes
Covering Many Things of Great
Importance.

A Butler county (0.) correspondent of
the Country Gentlemen is of the opinion
that one need not push his investigations
far to conclude that on many farms there
is large loss from neglect of vehicles and
farm implements He says: This neglect
takes different forms sometimes it is leay-
ing them exposed to sun and rain, or to
keep taps tightened up, or woodwork
painted, and often unnecessary expense is
incurred and much time lost in going to
the blacksmith for repair when, if material
was kept on hand, and the work done in
time, the farmer could himself do the work
and save both time and money. There are
farmers who expect to have their tires cut
and set every summer, and, before |
learned better, | had to have this done
twice in single summer to save the We
hicle. believe that the farmer who will
adopt the plan of oiling feiloes can dis
pense entirely or very nearly so with tire
setting.
During the extremely dry weather of
the past spring found the tires loose on
my buggy, carriage and spring wagon, and
determined, on the recommendation of a
friend, to try the boiling oil application.
l went to my timer and had him make a
pan of heavy galvanized iron, inches,
wide, deep in the middle and % feet
long. The bottom was curved SO that the
oil would be deepest in the center, and less
oil be required to cover the felloes than if
1t was straight. The pan cost so cents,
and gallon of oil at 65 cents was ample
for three carriages and road cart, four
teen wheels in all. 1t using it, dug a
trench Is inches long, inches wide and
deep enough so that when the pan was
set over it there was inches space under
1t for fire. The pan was placed close to
one side of the trench, so that no blaze
could come up on the side where l stood
to hold the wheel / put half gallon of
oil in the pan, started fire with some fine
chips and rotten wood, and when the oil
began to boil | ret wheel in and let it
stand ten seconds; then turned it foot or
more, so as to bring the next section under
the oil, and thus kept slowly turning, un-
til | had turned the wheel twic9 around.
1t took about five minutes to a Wheel On
examining these wheels the next day I
found that tires which | could see under
before the application were perfectly tight,
and | am told by farmers who have prac-
ticed this, that one need not have tires set
at all if the felloes are kept saturated with
boiling soil. My blacksmith charges me
so cents for cutting and setting tires, and
wheels are often nearly ruined by being
run with them loose before being taken to
the shop, and if this oiling process will
keep them always tight it will make the
wheels last many years longer than if
they are loose and shaky part of every
summer.
| think not every farmer has learned
the value of kerosene local oiD, both as
preseryatiye of wood and to prevent and
remove rust. | think it pays to saturate
with kerosene all the woodwork of plows.
harrows, rollers and such implements as
are necessarily exposed to the weather
good deal. Pour it into all Joints and
cracks before painting, so as to get the
wood full of it. 1t Is wonderfully pene-
trating, and if taps are so tight that they
cannot be started, it will soon loosen them.
Last summer spring wagon seldom used
was found with the wheels so gummed on
that it was impossible to either turn them
or get them off the axle. All the stl ength
of two men could not start them, and we
could not take it to the blacksmith with
out loading it on sled or wagon, for the
wheels would not turn. | tipped the
wagon up on one side so as to make the
hubs stand perpendicular, and poured the
cup at the end of the hub full of kerosene
and let it stand. passed it twice during
the forenoon and still found the wheels
tight, but when | came to the barn at
noon every wheel was loose and came off
with perfect ease. When the axIes and
taps on the end of them get gummed,
they can be cleaned perfectly by washing
in kerosene, and half pint will be enough
for the taps and axles to a wagon. If YOU
get your hands daubed with wheel grease,
half teacup full of it will cleanse them
perfectly, and leave them feeling soft and
yelvety.
DO farmers generally keep a supply of
carriage bolts of all sizes on hand /
have m my workshop a small cupboard
with twenty-four pigeon holes six inches
square, like postoffice boxes, and in it /
keep full supply Of carriage bolts of all
sizes. | buy fifty or one hundred at once
and my hardware merchant charges cent
each, and often in an emergency one bolt
is worth the price of one hundred In
other pigeon-holes we keep screws spikes,
harness rivets, open rings and links, wash
ers, etc. 1t Is great comfort when some
thing breaks about a machine when the
work is pushing to know where to Law your
hands on what you need to repair it with.
Care in the use of lubricating oil and paint,
and attention to see that machinery is
kept in order, will double the time of
service of many an expensive piece of ma
chinery, besides saving time and expense.
On large farm believe it would pay to
have portable forge, and let one of the
boys learn something of blacksmithing.
Excellent portable forges are for sale at
moderate prices, and in many cases would
prove valuable. The fact is that in my
town our mechanics charge exorbitantIy
for repairing, and at the present prices of
produce We cannot afford to pay man
so cents an hour for jobs which we can do
ourselves.
| have done employing a carriage
painter, for with the hard finish gloss paint
which we can buy any careful man can
paint buggy so that 1t looks we'll enough.
and the farm buggy or carriage that runs
IN all weather will look about as well after
one or two trips as if painted by pro-
fesSional. | have lately mad my carriage
and buggy both painted at home at a cost
of little over 81 for material for both,
and Just one days work for each to clean,
sand-paper and paint. 1t would have cost
me S25 to have had them painted at the
shop, and ] should have been kept from
using them for two weeks, but this rubber
paint requires but one coat to cover per-
fectly and dries hard in twenty -four hours.
L used both buggy and carriage on dasty
road in just twenty-four hours after |
painting.
BEST VARIETIES OF PEARS.
In examining the nursery catalogues one
will see many different varieties Of pears
reaching up into the hundreds but of the |
really good ones there are bnt few Of