Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 82, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 April 1911 — Winter Months on the farm [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Winter Months on the farm

How to Improve Them

Winter Care of Machinery How to Store Firm Implements to Prevent Rust sad Rot aad to Get Greatest Service

By PROF. C. A. OCOCK

fTfceemta Colltf of jtgrkultum

Copyrisht. ibis, to Western Newspaper Union

Over $100,000,000 is expended annually In the United States for farm machinery. The average American fanner exhibits progressiveness in his adoption to and ready purchase of improved machinery, hut woefully falls "by the wayside in his care of this same machinery. A short trip Into even the best fanning districts will show barnyards dotted with valuable machines which have absolutely no protection from storms and weathering. The fanner houses his stock, cribs his corn, fills his silo and granaries and protects these from the elements, but shortsightedly leaves his grain binder, cultivator, plow, drill and the rest of his machinery exposed to all kinds of weather. Exposure Worse Than Wear. If those same farmers will stop to consider that by their own shiftlessness, they are shortening the life of this machinery from 60 to 80 per cent., the need of better methods will be self-evident To a certain extent they are aiding in the ultimate wreckage of their machinery just as though they gradually smashed it to pieces with * sledge hammer. There is no need to ask for the solution of this question, it is so simple. Some S2OO or " ,S3OO expended in a. machine shed jwould pay for itself in two years due ito. the prevention of a depreciation in |value of the machines through exposjure. Practical experience has shown ' {that while machinery without shelter Oasts only live years, that the same machines well housed and protected re{main In good servicable condition for lover 12 years. A machine shed returns at least 80 per cent on the original Investment It Increases the life of the machinery from 60 to 100 per cent Furthermore, the Improved appearance of the barnyard argues in favor of the storage of machinery. The prospective buyer or real estate agent always notes unstored machinery scattered about the yard and accordingly values the farm at a lower price, due to its unfavorable external appe&ranoe. Farm Tool Bhod.' An excellent machine shed, with a farm shop in one end readily accessible for repairs, should be about 24 by 60 feet The shed should be provided with sufficient sliding doors so that the various Implements can be taken out and returned with greater saving of time and labor. 'The building should face the south so that the _ doors will not be exposed to beating, driving storms from the north or to the accumulation of snow and ice. Such a shed and shop provided with a concrete foundation would cost approximately $360. Considering the prolonged life and value of the machinery, due to storage the cost of the building would average about S2O a year. The farmer, well provided with a suitable shop and. machine shed, can employ his spare time very efficiently during the winter in repairing and caring for his machinery. One Ironclad rule should be rigidly

enforced on the farm, and that is that every implement or machine should be returned to Its place id the machine shed immediately after it has been used. Then one knows the location of the machine and its condition, when it is again required for use. It takes but little extra time to return tools to the shed when the team is hitched to them in the field. Cleaning and Oiling Machines. All the macnines should be overhauled and thoroughly cleaned before storing them for the winter. Broken parts should be ordered and repairs ordered so as to allow plenty of time for their shipment. All bolts should be tightened up, bearings saturated with lubricating oil, and wearing surfaces should be coated with a good quality of hard oil to prevent rusting. The binder attachment of the grain binder and the mower mechanism should be taken apart and thoroughly cleaned. All the old gummy Oil should be removed; some of the more delicate parts of the machine should be cleaned in kerosene. There are examples of grain binders well eared for and intelligently used which have been worked 80 years. * The cultivator plows, common plow Shares, and barrow teeth should be sharpened during the period of slack work in the winter. New hay rake teeth, sickle sections, and other broken or ready to break parts should ba replaced wherever necessary. The saanure spreader Is usually in use dor-

ing the winter months and should be carefully looked after. The spreader should be cleaned out after being used, or some Of the soft manure will freeze in the box drum and a breakdown may result. An occasional coat of paint Is another great preservative which considerably lengthens the serviceable use of the farm machines. A small stove can be installed in the workshop during cold weather and the various implements can be painted In the shopyvith good results. Special attention should be paid to the same and storage of farm steam engines during cold weather. No oil or grease Bhould be left in the cups to congeal or harden. Resting in the stuffing boxes should be prevented by cleaning out and replacing the old packing. On large engines the scale should be removed from the interior of the boiler while the exterior should receive a coat of asphalt paint. During the cold months never leave water overnight In boiler or water jacket of the engine, or It will freeze and probably burst these parts. Winter Care of Gasoline Engine. The Inexperienced operator meets with many difficulties in handling gasoline engines during severe winter weather. The first essential of the gasoline equipment, year in and year out, is a good, strong, concrete foundation. Where use of concrete is impossible, the engine should be securely bolted to heavy timbers fastened to the floor. They should be of sufficient'size to absorb all violent vibration. A secure foundation Increases the floor bearing of the engine and secures greater rigidity. The engine should never be run faster than its specified speed, as otherwise the operator Is merely wasting the power of the machine without obtaining the most efficient results. Care should also be exercised in belting the engine to a piece of machinery to use the correct size pulleys, so otherwise energy which the engine generates will be wasted. In starting a new engine the valves are sometimes gummed to such an extent that they will not entirely close. This reduces the amount of the compression of the engine. In other instances the valves stick so that the compression is wholly lost. The remedy Is to squirt a little gasoline or kerosene on the valve stems and clean off the sticky oil. Compression is also lost due to a lack of lubricating oil on the piston and cylinder walls. To correct this difficulty the operator should turn the flywheel over until the piston is drawn out of the cylinder and then cover the projecting portion with a liberal coating of lubricating oil. The oil will act as a seal. In general the operator should use judgment and common sense as regards the amount of work an engine should do. One cannot abuse a gas engine without disastrous results. Good lubricating oil should be used in the engine, and care should be observed to see that the oil cups are kept free and

that the oil Is not restricted In its passage from the cup to the cylinder. Another great difficulty Is the starting of engines during cold weather. Water-cooled engines can be more easily started by closing the drain In the bottom of the cooling Jacket and pouring in about two palls of warm water. The last pall of water should be very warm but not to the boiling point, as radically sudden expansion might result In cracking the cylinder. The increased warmth of the cylinder will result in a quick ignition of the charge. Another simple plan used In case of either air or water-cooled engines is to open the intake or exhaust valve and then inject a small amount of gasoline into the cylinder. Allow the engine to stand for a few minutes so that the gasoline may evaporate, then crank it and It will usually start on the first trial.

Practical farm machine shed.