Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1917-08-14
MUST TAKE CARE 0F
 FARM IMPLEMENTS
There Can Be Too Much Farm Ma. chinery Just as We'll as Too Little
 -Either Must Be Avoided.
By V. H. Kern, Specialist in Farm Im- plements, Extension Division,
 University of Arkansas.

 food and feed production, the buying, caring for and using farm machinery gre subjects to which the average farmer should pay more real atten- lion. He should realize that the pur- chase of farm machinery is as much of business proposition as xhe pur- chasing of pure bred tull or pure bred Duroc-Jersey hog. The farmer does not buy the pig merely for the sake of having the pig, but he makes m investment from which he intends 10 realize the greatest profit. The better the farmer cares for the pig, the more net gain he realizes from his in- vestment. Farm machinery is also an indispensable means of profit, and the more care taken in selecting, using md caring for farm implements, tN' more will be the net earnings, and the most economic agriculture is not pos sible until the right kind of efficient labor and time-saving implements as he farm warrants is used.
 Too Little Machinery to the Farm.
 There can be too much farm ma ,hinery just as well as too little. Either is to be avoided, and the sys- tenn of crop rotation and the labor problem will largely determine the mount of machinery necessary. As general rule we find too little machin- ery to the farm in Arkansas. If farm Ing conditions are such that two-horse implements cannot be used, those con- ditions should be changed.
 implements an Index to Advancement
 of Community.
 The kind of farm implements is an Index to the advancement of com- munity. From the pony blow, solid sweep, middle buster community with inadequate schools and churches we pass to more highly developed coun- Try with adequate schools, efficient teachers and churches of which the community is proud. The proper :ypes, use and care of farm imple- ments helped to accomplish this.
 Points to Observe in Purchasing
 Implements. t=
 To most farm implements the fol- owing purchasing points should be applied, bearing in mind that we are making an investment from which we expect dividend
 Efficiency of the machine is to be considered first of all What is the nudity of the work that it will do? How much can be accomplished? The machine should be selected with this In view, that the greatest possible amount of efficient work may be squeezed from the Implement.
 Construction of the machine should be noted. Will the implement stand ID under the strain for at least eight years, which should be the average life with reasonable care and housing? The implement manufacturer puts out new machine and finds some parts ire of weak construction. When this s called to his attention he reinforces .hese parts if his aim is to help the farmer. If, it is not. he allows the farmer to suffer the loss, and in the 1ong run both are the, losers.
 The farmer is justified in not grab ping the untried and newest machine put on the market. If it is an experi- nent he can afford to wait a short while until it is tried out If 1t proves a success as a time and labor ,aver he should not be the last to lay aside old methods and adopt new.
 Of two equally desirable imple. | 1ents, select the one for which re. pairs can most readily be obtained, Time worth hundreds of dolalrs can easily be lost because of inaccessibil- ty to repairs. Purchase implements made by reliable manufacturers.
 Keeping machine in proper repair will materially lessen its final expense md give the owner, greater satisfac- lion. Ealing wire may serve as a re- pair part to finish the days work in some instances, but do not try to make take the place of the part broken. You may run the cost of upkeep. of he machine into dollars instead of cents. Keeping in proper repair in- dudes tightening loose nuts, oiline fo essen wear and produce less draft. i, Proper Care Means Money Saved.
 Even with our inadequate supply of 'arm implements there are some s25.- 100000 invested in this state. Annu. lily the farmers lose s2,O00,O00. as nearly as it can be estimated with the present. data. Were the farmer com. ,elled to pay 15 to 20 per cent interest 'n borrowed money he would feel m. 'ustly treated, but farm implements rom the cheapest blow to the thresh. sr, are ill most Instances left in the weather the year around. Instead of asting eight years or more. very often wo or three years is the life of those implements. If shed room can moi be provided. the implements should he painted and oiled at the end of tbe season. Even though a shed is ac. :essible. all wearing surfaces should 'ecelve coating of grease to nreven,