The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-04-08

Brighten Up Things AbOut the Home
and Make Your Place One q
Which TO he Proud.


Mi NE OF the things you must
lH not neglect this spring is the
NA cleaning up" about the home
and yard and around the barn and
other buildings. or course. there is
cleaning up to be done all the year
round, and 1t should be the policy
Of every farmer to keep things just
as neat and orderly at ali times as
he possibly can: but even when this
is done-and how much more when
OF odd jobs to be done in the
spring-jobs that are all too likely
in the press Of work to be neglected,
and which yet add much to the COM
fort and the charm of farm life
Some Things to DO for the House
and Yard.
To begin at the house. there ia
likely to be some painting that needs
to be done-there is, we are sorry
to say, about most Southern farm
homes. If your house needs any
thing along this line, right now is
the best time to do it. II it doesn't,
let us congratulate you, and then fix
up the surroundings SO that they
will be in harmony with the house
On many buildings which cannot for
various reasons be painted, a good
coat of whitewash will answer the
purpose. Stables, smoke-houses,
chicken houses, pig pens, and fences
can all be treated to new white
suit much oftener than they usually
are with great profit all around.
The yard and the garden fences
and the one about the barnyard
should be carefully looked after, too,
all broken places fixed securely
right now, and all the gates put in
good working order. There Is no use
in waiting until the chickens get
into the garden and scratch it up or
till the pigs root up the front yard
to do these things.
You will want, of course, to look
after the grass in the yard, and the
shrubbery and the flower beds, and
the shade trees, to clean up all lit
| ter of any kind, to set out some new
shrubs and perennials, perhaps, to
put out some late Towering bulbs,
to cut out any dead branches or do
any other pruning that may be need
| ed in the shade trees. Let us beg
you right here not to whitewash the
trunks of your shade trees. That
is all right in your orchard If you
wish to kill the oyster shell bark
louise; but on shade tree in the yard
it is an abomination.
The Water Supply.
Then about your we'll or spring OF
| cistern-don't deliberately court
| sickness and death by neglecting
these. Clean off the soil about your
we'll or spring, and fix it 80 that
| there can by no possibility be any
surface drainage into it. Insist that
no kitchen waste or other refuse be
| thrown out near, or where by any
| possibility it can drain into, the vel
or cistern, and do not allow the pigs
or chickens to run about the source
| of your water supply. Do not per.
NIT any decaying woodwork to re.
main about or over the we'll or els.
tern, and do not allow any water te
run into the cistern until the ROOF
has been we'll washed off.
| All this may seem a great deal OF
trouble, but ordinarily it will not be
so much as it seems; and, in any
case, it is cheaper than to run the
risk of typhoid and other diseases.
In the Garden.
| There should have been no dead
weeds, dry corn stalks Or other litter
left on the garden last fall; but il
there was, gather it all up and burr
1t before you do any more garden
making. We do not approve of the
burning of vegetable matter as g
rule, but this is an extreme case
You will have insects enough with
out providing special harbors fol
them. Besides you want the garden
free from all distractions of every
kind so that you can cultivate it with
the least trouble and in the bes
manner.
! Clean Up the Stables, too.
Around the Darn, Al IN. s stain. u,z
pens. chicken houses, and from the
Darnya ard, you want to get all the
azure and other refuse and get II
on the land. You can well afford to
delay planting day or two to dc
this; for you do not need this accu.
mutation about the premises, and
unless you are very much of an ex.
ception to the general run of farm.
ers-you do need it on your crops
Any old cornstalks or other such lit
| ter should be taken to the fields, too
unless needed for bedding. A clean
barn with well-kept yard about it
is always attractive, speaking, as it
does, of thrift and energy. A clean
barn Is not an empty one, but one
that is filed only with good feed for
| the stock, and not messed I'D with
waste. dirt of all kinds, and a hete-
rogenous mass of old broken and
WORKOUT tools and miscellaneous
rubbish. A barn may be kept so that
one can go into it without looking
like he had been dragged through
dust heap; and can also be kept
free from unpleasant and unwhole-
some odors.
SO clean up this spring and get
things in shape. Make the splace