j^XII.
INDIANAPOLIS, IND., SATURDAY, JAN. 1,1887.
NO.
jiator
it tbe Indiana Farmer.
The Farm Work-shop.
BY JOHN M. STAHL.
-e ia muoh nonsense written  about
am workshop.   The farmer  oannot
Arat class carpenter;   and the jack of
radee Is master of none.   The  farmer
jld to  provide  himself  with a com-
,te set of tools and to keep  them sharp
.1 bright; but for all  the work he oan
o with  those tools he Is not justified  in
buying many.   It  is not economy to buy
costly tools but rarely used.   The  man
who uses tools every day  will keep them
sharp and bright; but  for the farmer  to
keep  a complete set of  tools  sharp  and
bright  will require more time, in comparison with the benefit derived from the
tools,  than is  profitable.   Those tools often needed, snch as saw, drawing  knife,
half-lnoh,   inch   aod    two-inch  augure,
brace and  bits,  plane,   square, three or
tour chisels of  different sizes, eto.,  every
farmer should bave; but for him  to have
every tool used  by the  carpenter  would
be abont as unwise as for the carpenter to
have every farm implement used by  the
farmer.
Notwithstanding this, I am   of opinion
with tools in hand   the farmer  may
profitably   upend   tbo oold   winter
a ln   sitting *>y   the  stove and
grutxioung.   It appears  to me   that any
farmer  ought to  be able to  shave out an
ax-handle  and  such   a  handle Is better
than   the ones sold  in the  stores, which
are  turned.   I prefer to make ax handles
from  toueh hickory, selecting the trunk
of a  yonng tree.   The red  heart wood is
< avoided and the  less of  this in the
sHcjV the better haprile can fc* made from
lt.   First ue» off on both  sides till you
have a flat piece of the thickness that the
handle should  be, with the exception of
one end, whioh mnst be left thick enough
to form a knob on the end of  the handle.
Then  lay a  handle on   this  piece and
mark off the shape of the handle,   being
ful to keep your pencil  vertical. Cut
n to the  lines  and  round  the stick
h the  drii^l.:g  knife; then scrape  it
with a  piece of  glass and  sandpaper it,
and the handle is done.   A half dozen ax
handles should be  made,  oiled, and put
away to season until  needed. Then when
handle ts broken  you  need  not go  to
vn and get one, at an   expense of  both
and  money.   If  you  can make  an
e  you  can    make   a   fork   or
hoe    handle,    and    the   handmade are more  serviceable than
ought.   It  is well  when   cutting
for rails or  posts or  fire wood to
'lose pieces which ' will  make ex-
andles and put them'away to Beaton.
The farmer should not buy the whiitis-
•reeahe uses ln ploughing, harrowing,
ate. It is easy enough to make a whiffl*j-
tree and you oan make a better one than
you oan buy. The irons, of course, you
most have made and put on. I believe,
too, that it ia better to mak<- the frames of
the ha*Tow yourself the* ,0 have It made,
on are careful, yoi .an do the work as
well a* lt will be made for you, and the
*> are that you will use the better
uaaterlal. The farmer should make his
uVrn sleds, coops, etc., and all of these can
be made ln winter, when outdoor work
Is lacking and would be very disagreeable. By making these things ourselves
we save money; and what Is fully as
muoh, we have them. Ii we must buy
many of these things we do without them.
We carry the whiffle trees from one held
to another, or borrow, when having extra
ones would save us these steps. The ax
with a broken handle is allowed to lie
around until it is lost or ruined, and such
is the fate of the hoe, or the rake, the
handle of whioh has been broken. We
slop the hogs in a trough that wastes their
feed, or keep a leaky trough at the pump
to maintain a continual mndhole "there.
If we made these things we would
be more apt to have them. That last sen
tenoe shows my Irish descent, but doubtless the reader will "oatch on" to my
meaning.
This workshop labor is not to be confined to wood by any means. The rips
about harness oan be mended by any boy
of ordinary sense, and the entire outfit
for this and similar work will not oost
more than a dollar. The stamp will be
made in the shop. The durability of harness is almost doubled by mending rips
promptly and keeping the leather pliable
by the application of oil. Breaks may be
as easily joined as rips mended. I know
of three farmer boys who oan mend boots
and shoes niooly; bnt thia la more than
oan be expected of many farmers or their
sons. The workshops should contain
chisels for outting and drills for boring
iron, and an assortment of rivets; for of
ten good use for these will be found.
Qainoy, 111.
r».iU
z
Written for tne Indiana Farmer.
An Enterprising Movement.
BY WALTER ELLIOTT.
The readers of the Farmer who live in
the counties of Bartholomew, Decatur,
Rush and Shelby, whether members ot a
local stock growers' association or not, no
doubt will be pleased to hear that the so
oietles ln the counties above named tf-e
about to establish a series of joint meetings, to beheld quarterly at the county
Beats of the respective counties herein
named. Local organizations of this character, no matter how great the membership, often find It a difficult task to amuse
or Instruct eaoh other. People who are
constantly thrown into intimate friendly
relationship are prone to local bickerings
and pitty jealousies sooner or later. They
weary of each others' faces and soon become indifferent to the speeches made by
their best and most eloquent friends. In
addition the excuses for non-attendance
are easily made to their familiars, and the
Moiety drags for lack of push, and want
of Interest. Here in "Old Shelby," as the
politicians call our county, the society
numbers abont 60, 50 of whom, I dare say,
could contribute matter of an interesting
and highly instructive nature,at least once
ln six months 1 f they would but exsrt themselves. But the trouble Is that each is
seemingly afraid of the opinions implied
or expressed of his neighbor, and prefers
to keep bis views to himself rather than
risk being thought too handy with hia
mouth. The result is damaging to the
growth and successful operation of suoh
an organization,   Few attend save the of
ficers, and those few are the successful
men in their vocation. In view of the
reasons given above, and a number ot
other causes not necessary to mention at
this writing, those gentlemen of this and
adjoining country who are interested,
will strongly endeavor to rouse tbe people
to a higher appreciation of their efforts to
instruct them by forming snch a combination of good oratorical timber and essayists as will force their attention.
No intelligent farmer will deny that
such societies are productive of great
good, not alone to the individual but to
the community which fosters it. The interchange of ideas on the subjects discussed on such occasions bring to light
many hidden truths Every member Is
benefited directly. The themes are in
reference to those things ln which all are
most directly engaged. The differences
ot opinion reveal the strong as well as the
weak points in the laborer's work. The
breeder of Shorthorn cattle has struck a
snag that was not suspected, but the light
revealed by discussion shows him he
could not proceed in that path without
meeting the disaster. The lover of the
horse learns that it takes a variety of
colors, gaits and sizes to meet the wants of
a trade he presumed to supply with a
draft animal. Sheep come in for iheir
share of abuse and of praise, whilst the
dealer in hogs finds out that his variety
has its enemies as well as friends, and all
learn that it requires time, patience and
an outlay of money to perfect a breed of
any kind or description. All these things
and more are talked over, written about
and questioned until the breeding of a
family ot horses, cattle, hogs or sheep Is
reduced to a science, and the men who
take an active part in the work of the society are those around whom we hourly
find the strongest evidences of success.
We want more light, and *ne way to get
it is not in self-coanpiaslon but in neighborly and friendly consultation, such as
is affonitxi us only in organizations created for that purpose.
Shelbyvllle.
 .   a   ,	
Written tor tbe Indiana Farmer.
How I Treat My Oorn.
BY JOHN BENNETT.
During winter I haul manure on the intended corn ground, sod or wheat stubble,
and plow any time in spring when the
ground turns up crumbly, and get it ready
to plant by the 10th or 15th of May. lf
not planted by the 15th I don't feel satisfied. I learned my trade (farming) from
a successful farmer. He said from the
10th to 12th was the bant time, if weather
permitted. I adhere to the dates as near
as practicable. Plant in hills 3.H' feet apart
eaoh way, marked oil' with a three runner
marker, marking two rows at a time. The
third runner follows the last mark to keep
the rows straight, and of same width.
The hills are not down ln a deep furrow to
be drowned out, or covered up with clods.
The first working is done much easier, I
drop four kernels, nearly all coming up,
leaving three in a hill. It stocks the
ground rather thick, but I want it that
way, so the stalks will not grow too thick,
as I eut the stalks up before feeding, about
four Inches long.
The ears do j.ot grow as  large as if only
two ln a hill, but the  weight is about tl
same  and the  fodder is  easier handl
Our soil  Is rather  paoky,  hence pre
planting In  hills; also oan manage  .
weeds with less labor, and   It is moo
handier cutting up\
I begin cultivating with a hook harrow
after that  I use a  four ehc1'!,—• the old
style   three shovel,   with asma.* "*odi «'
taohed  behind,  to  split   the   rid
leaves   the   ground   In   fine   oond...
I sometimes  use a two  shovel, or sn
plow, hut never ridge it up when  la;
by.   I want  the  field to   be nearly 1-■
when  done  working,   opening  the c
furrows to lead the water off.
I oultlvate about a doz911 times;genei
ly after every rain,   when.the greurd 1
just right, not giving it a chance to bak
The last  stirring is about the  time who
the ears begin to shoot.   I give it one thi 1
ough hoeing, any time when ground is i
a proper state.   Sjmetimes after it is lait
by 1 go through  with a hoe  to cut straggling weeds.   Later I  go through with r
sharp chopper,  and whack off the anr
bunches, taking  four rows  atN» -time.   J
any are missed they are cut off wh$i" '
corn is cut up.   I hate it as poison, wt
truly it is.   About a week   before cutti*.
up the corn, I go through the  tenth row
to make the props, by tying four hills tc
gether,  at the  same time  cutting up 1
hills, placing three in eaoh quarter, thei
tie firmly   above the   stays.   I do this foi
three reasons:   Not to be bothered carry
ing straw when cutting the main orop; u.
bave  the Inside partly cared   before the
general cutting; and to have  a firm pror
to keep the shook erect.—You can judge **
shiftless farmer by his corn shocks.—11<
the coru get thoroughly  ripe,  otherwh
the grain will shrink and fodder is not &
valuable.   When the day is  calm I leave
the shocks unbound until evening, then
take a rope and pull the tops together, two
of us pulling with all our might, then *
holding   both ends of,the rope, th
places a band of  rye 'Saw around
the rope, drawing firmly.   Now will
twist or lean?   Not 111 leh.
When  cutting up   1 Rrade  the stul
from  six to 18  inches high  aceordii.
hight of stalks, aiming  to have  all at
same hight on shock, 1 raking easier v..
all rouud.   Now, ilg*ht away, or soon a"
I  cut the  stubbles.   If too   busy ln _.
time I cut them by in*on shine, not rest
ing until   they are  *-. tin.   They are th.
no eye  sore and   not in   the way who
dragging the shocks to the barn on a low
drag; besides  they cut easy when greet,
and  when spring  oemes and  I want  to
plow I don't have to' "holler" at John to
hurry up and cut the stnbble.   When the
oorn is drilled it would be out of the question   to cut  with a hoe.   They  must be
broken when frozen.
When the Btalks are cured and blades
not too dry, I haul to the barn, and stand
it on the floor, until full, then husk, and
fill again. By the 1st of Dacember all
must be out of sight, and no worry about
the corn being under the snow, rain and
sleet. The corn is put into a rat proof
crib, on poets, and tin protectors.
It farmers would work more systeir
ically they would a&t get behind 1
often, and have better times gen*?
Sunman.