Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1891-09-17

the general average OF farmers arc
among the most practical men In the
world. On the contrary, We believe,
measured by good business standards,
that no calling furnishes more unprsc-
tical men than farming.
Practical means doing things In the
best manner and according to the best
profit. TO be practical" calls for the
putting in practice OF sound theories and
the use of the most intelligent methods.
Is the practice of our Western farmers
in wasting the fertility of the soil or In
the breeding of their farm animals
really and sQuarcly practical?
Take the dairy farmers OF any State In
the North. Can we believe that the
majority of them are governed by sound
practical ideas concerning cows when
the average yield OF milk per COW Is only
5000 pounds year? If man is really
practical will he not set to work in dead
earnest to milk and feed practical COW?
Can men be called practical who have
kept herd of twenty or forty cows for
years and yet have never takon pains to
know by simple test which cows were
not paying their keep? Would prac-
tical manufacturer allow himself TO re-
main in very expensive ignorance for
years concerning some machine, and
never show energy sufficient TO test IL to
see II it is not running him In debt?
Think Of dairy farmer who pretends to
do business for profit; who sneers at the
agricultural papers because they are not
practical, going along year after year
with half the cows In his heard abso-
lutely not paying for the food they eat
at market prices. Men who talk so
much about other men being practical
should first establish clear, well defined
standards of what is practical.
The fact is, what is practical with one
man may not be with another.
Every man gives to himself or to
others, according to the size OF his
measure. Intelligent men put into prac-
tice intelligent methods, and they make
money by them. Such methods would
not be practical for men who don't un-
derstand their business we'll enough to
execute them. But the fault is not in
the methods but in the men. The
method may be highly practical but the
farmer unable, either for lack of means
or comprehension, to put In practice A
good definition of the word practical is
that which conduces to profit II q
course of action proves Improbable
through any fault of ours, then it is not
practical. Except it may be once in a
great while, we learn from it our own
DEFICIENCIES. 1t is well to remember that
II is never practical" to measure modern
agriculture by obsolete ideas.
The farms of to-day carry more or less
machinery. As rule IL is rather poorly
cared for. A good farmer who has a
good idea about machinery carries with
him constantly a strong advantage over
his more careless neighbor. One of tho
most frequent difficulties in the working
OF dirt and gum in the bearings and
journals, caused by the use of fat oils
fer fabrication and infrequent cleaning
The american Engineer gives the follow
ing directions for cleaning which are
worth remembering:
''EOr each 1000 parts by weight Of
water, take about ten or fifteen parts by
weight OF caustic soda or 100 parts ordi-
nary soda. Let the solution boil and
enter the parts to be cleansed; either
boil them in this I've or let them steep in
it for some time All the dirt and resin
is completely dissolved thereby, and it
remains only to rinse and dry the parts.
The action Of the lye is such that IL
enters into combination with the oil and
forms soap, which Is readily soluble In
water. In order to prevent the hardeR-
ing Of the lubricant onAsthe machinery
parts, it is only necessary TO add about
one-third kerosene. An occasional lu-
brication with kerosene alone Is to be