Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 59, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 November 1909 — Farm and Garden [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Farm and Garden

IN PLACE OF WOOD. Easy Method For Casting Concrete For Wire Fencing. The manufacture of a re-enforced concrete fencepost five inches on the face and beveled to two and threequarter inches on the opposite face, with a thickness of six Inches and total length of eight feet, will make an average of eighteen posts to the cubic yard of concrete. Thus posts with wire re-enforcement would cost from 12 to 16 cents each for material, de-

pending upon the cost of portland cement and sand and gravel. With the simple apparatus shown in the illustration two men cOuld mold 150 good posts in a day of ten hours. At this rate the labor cost of posts should not be more than 2 cents each. The posts shown in the first illustration are solid. Now for the building of the machines. For the bottom board of machine use a two and three-quarter inch wide strip eight feet long. To this hinge the two sides In the manner shown In the illustration. The sides are six and one-quarter Inches- wide and eight feet two inches long, with one edge hinged to bottom board. For the two ends use a board 5 by 6» Inches along one end. On the five inch width make a mark In from each corner exactly one and one-eighth inches and draw a line from that to the opposite corner, cutting along this line, which makes a trapezoid with one end two and threequarter Inches and the other end five Inches wide. This Is hinged to the bottom board with strap hinges, as shown by illustration. 4L The sides are two inches longer than bottom board and lap over the width

of the ends. They are held in position when molding posts by a hook and eyelet to fasten same to end boards. Take some inside window stops, usually one-half inch thick by threequarters of an inch wide, plane down the edges so as to make one-half inch square and cut into pieces five and one-half inches for the sides and two and three-quarter inches for the bottom. Tack these to side and bottom boards at the points you wish the wire ties to come. This depends upon the JNmce you will erect and for ordinary use is six inches apart. This completes the machine, which is operated as follows: Mix portland cement, one part with six parts of clean sand and gravel, after placing your re-enforcing wire, fill into machine and tamp down sol-

Idly. After you nave the macnine ailed turn it bottom side up on to a board and unhook hooks at each end. This allows the sides and ends to be folded back from the post without danger of Injuring the same, and thus a man at each end can lift machine easily. The posts are left upon the boards to dry and should not be touched for four days or a week. If the weather is dry they should be sprinkled once or twice a day to retard the “setting,” which makes them stronger. As soon as they have permanently “set,” or hardened, pile them up as you would any post. The re-enforcing wires are placed by boring one-eighth inch holes in each end of machine. For average work three will be enough, but If a strong post is desired use five. Through these holes string No. 9 wire, which is ijnbedded in the concrete and thus strengthens the posts, preventing any vibration or strain from breaking them. End posts may be molded with holes at proper place to which you can attach braces with bolts.

Fragrance of Hay. The agreeable odor of freshly cut hay is Imparted to it by certain plants of the family of the labiates, such as the salad burnet, woodruff, sweet trefoil, etc., but in particular by the so called spring grass or vernal grass (Anthoxantum odoratum). This latter is a very precocious gramina that flourishes as early as the end of April or the be-, ginning of May. It grows in low and thick tufts and thrives chiefly in fresh and shaded ground. Now, should you ask us whence this odor of the spring grass which to hay Imparts its fragrance, it is due to the aromatic principle called coumarin by the chemists. This substance is also extracted from the above mentioned plants in which it appears in appre-; clable quantities and used in the manufacture of perfumes as well as in medicines in the form of sedative and earmlnatlve pastes and sirups against Wonchitis. whooping cough, etc.

SOLID CONCRETE POSTS.

MOLD FOB POSTS.