Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 January 1892 — REAL RURAL READING [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

REAL RURAL READING

WILL BE FOUND IN THIS DEPARTMENT. Beys on the Farm—A Handy Farm Gate— Good|Teams—lA ve Stock. Dairy. PoultryYard. Household, and Kitchen. Boys on the Farm.

THE decadence of farming of late years is largelv due to the undc- . niable fact that \ city life has \ offered greater attractions as well L#]as greater profits Ito the young, k & While it is true that farming does not now require so severe and unremitting SjJ toil as formerly, can it be said s-Kthat young •** people on the

farm have been encouraged to find their pleasures and relaxation at home? This is the only way to make home life attractive to the average young man. If on each holiday he goes to the city, it will naturally soon seem to him that city life is all a holiday, while life on the farm is one of unceasing drudgery. It often happens that city boys kept at work in stores, and only allowed to go into the country for vacation, see only the holiday side of farm life, and acquire a love for it that those brought up on the farm too often do not share. Why do not farmers take a hint from these facts, and make as much holiday as possible for their sons at home? It is time that the old rule, which made the boy hoe his roe and run for water, while the men rested, was superseded by a practice which would give boys the easiest tasks, and the little investments that gave largest profits, as the best means to interest them in farming and make this the occupation of their lives.—American Cultivator. Self Opening: Gate. F. L. Donnell in the Practical Farmer in describing how to make a 6elf opening gate says, the gate is put

together by holts (give plenty of ‘‘play”) in the manner shown by Fig. 2. Bolt the two binding strips, and the rear strip, which is parallel to the front strips, together with the bars, to heel-post. Make lower bar 4 ft. and upper bar 7 ft. long. Nail a narrow, and then a wider strip to square latcbpost to make a slot at side (and top also, if used with pin, and allow top bar to project 6 in. additional) for the bars to fall into. Adjust weight so that gate will lift very

easily and stay in either position. For a pasture fate, use weight enough to carry gate up when pin is drawn by the wire, Fig. 1 to save running ahead of the cows and causing disorder. It can be used in deep snow, the winds will not bang it off its hinges or frighten stock, and it can be operated from any desired distance by a child. Good Teams and Good Farming. It is truer now than ever before that no good farming is possible without good working horses. Their original cost is much greater, but it is only by their help that the full advantage of efficient help can be realized. Good farmers are the first to realize this. If the farmer be himself lazy and inefficient he will naturally conclude that it does not matter much what kind of horses he works with. We are not wholly sure he is not half right in this conclusion. Hence when we see a farmer plowing or doing other farm work with an old, inefficient and perhaps half-starved team, it is proper enough to suppose that such farmer understands his business better than we can tell him, and knows best what kind of a team he wants to keep up with. Of course the best teams grow old in time, but a horse’s active life is not half nor a third that of an efficient man, and when the team gets past doing a full day’s work, it should be disposed of and another secured that is fully capable. But if the loss from working inefficient teams were better understood, it would be much harder to sell„old or poor horses than it is. Farm Notes. The next day it rains get the grain nags out. Mend those that need it, and mark your name on all of them. Worthless land is often made valuable by under-draining. Be sure that vour grain-bins are free from insects before filling. Some people are losing faith in the process of ensilage, but chiefly those who have never given it a fail trial. At all events silo gives a grateful change to corn fodder, and other substances, wastes no food principle, and makes it acceptable to stock which tire of a sameness. ' The method of shoeing horses ia Holland is a novel one. The animal is driven into a stout frame cage; the three feet on the ground are hobbled so that no kicking can be indulged in, then the foot that is to be shod is lifted to the desired position and lashed fast to a stout cross bar so that the smith can work at it from all sides, as though it was held in a vise on a work bench. These docile horses submit to being bound, but an American or English horse would in most cases resist until he was mined if so treated. 'The cost of an entire set of new shoes is three guilders, or

$1.20. American nails arr used, although the shoes are of local manufacture.

FIG. I.

FIG. II.