The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-04-11
Crop Improvement
Treat your soil the same as you
would a valuable animal soil
has life and limitations.
RATS DESTROY SEED CORN.
Twenty Million DoIlaru Annual Grain
Loss Caused by Rodents-Great
Loss Partially Prevented by Con-
crete Corn Cribs.

Washington, has frequently called at
tentlon to the tremendous annual loss
to the American farmers caused by
rats. This amounts to over $20,000-
600 each year. The corn belt farm
er has learned to his sorrow that rats
love grain. Anything that reduces
the number of rats is a great econom-
ic gain to the community
According to Uncle Sans experts,
rats kill poultry in broad daylight,
and have been known to kill lambs
and pigs. when they were only few
days old. The average house cat is
no protection, and is almost as de-
structive to poultry and to wild birds,
which are the farmers friends, as are
the rats. One family of rats in few
nights will eat. waste and pollute sew
eral bushels of grain when 1t is stored
in the ordinary wooden bin or crib.
They eat through the floor and sides
of the bin, which not only allows
waste Of the grain by leakage, but per
mits moisture to enter which adds to
the loss.
For number of years farmers have
tried out various devices. Poison and
traps have been used with some little
success. Though poisons. have been
somewhat successful, they are much
more successful in killing birds, poul-
try and domestic animals, the dog be-
ing especially likely to be poisoned.
Japs Show the Way.
The Japanese found shortly after
their late unpleasantness with Russia
that they were threatened with the
plague" and other highly contagious
diseases which are carried by rats.
the millions and, after reducing the
number, figured out scientific methods
to prevent the rats from obtaining
food. They started to build concrete
floors for all the buildings which con-
tanned rice and other food products un-
til, at the present time, according to
the Tokyo papers, there is practically
no warehouse, grain elevator or any
other structure intended for the stor-
age Of food products, which has not
the floor and at least the first three
or four feet above the ground built
Of concrete.
Apparently, however, the Japanese
have not yet awakened to one of our
most useful structures, the concrete
silo. In recent edition, however, of
the American Guernsey Breeders Jour-
nal it was stated that a Japanese
graduate from one of our agricul-
tural colleges is taking a number of
pure bred dairy cows, and is going to
build a number of reinforced concrete
silos in the northern part of Japan,
and run model dairy far.o according
to American methods.
Fireproof as Well as Rat Proof.
The prevention of waste by rats
has almost overshadowed the more i'm
portant fact that concrete structures
are absolutely fireproof
The fire protection in Japan is bet
ter In proportion to the area covered
than that Of the corn belt farmer,
who generally has house, barns, etc.,
in the center Of large area, the av-
erage farm in Illinois being 1913 acres.
If American farmers would follow
the example of the careful Japs in the
use of concrete and build their own
corn cribs, ETC., of this material, they
would quickly discover that they had
obtained ornament structure at a
moderate first cost. There is nothing
to rot or decay in concrete corn
crib. Rats cannot eat holes through
the floors and sides and it is abso-
in a clean and sanitary condition.
There are no heavy yearly expenses
for repairs or paint.
Advantages of Concrete.
A concrete corn crib like any other
concrete structure, rapidly pays for
its first cost This is especially true
when the farmer does the work
during the winter. Feeding floors,
fence posts, sidewalks and other con-
veniences of concrete, can also easily
be built during the winter at a small
cost. Plans can be obtained free from
practically al Agricultural colleges or
any Of the large cement companies,
showing how such structures should
be constructed.
The shape of concrete corn crib
is not material, but the farmers should
plan their crib for the greatest econ
omy of space and convenience in fill
ing, depending upon the method used
by each individual farmer. A con-
crete floor five inches thick for corn
crib can be built at an approximate
cost Of ten cents per square foot. This
gives a general idea of the cost of
the whole structure, which may also
be built of concrete blocks, provided
that the floor and at least two feet of
the walls are built of solid concrete.
The cost would vary somewhat in diff
ferent localities, depending upon the
nearness Of sand and gravel. Un