Rensselaer Journal, Volume 12, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 June 1902 — A HANDY WAGON. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A HANDY WAGON.

Made From Old Material la the Farm Workshop, The cheap and convenient homemade wagon illustrated is made from the castoff drive wheels of two combined reapers and toowers. The man who built it has described it as follows In the Ohio Farmer: In hauling manure to the fields, stone off of work land and for various other purposes where a low down wagon is needed, it is worth many times its cost and has many advantages over a common farm wagon. Being low it is easily loaded and unloaded, while the broad faced wheels will permit hauling over meadows or soft ground without damage, when narrow tired wheels could not be used at all. The cash outlay for it was a mere trifle. We got one pair of wheels and spindles from an old machine that we had worn out on the farm, the others were bought for 50 cents at a nearby sale. We bought also less than 50 cents worth of bolts, all told, at our village hardware store. The rest of the material was furnished from our lumber pile and shop. The work was done by the writer at our farm workshop—where we have a forge. Three or four days’ work at odd times were required for the purpose. The woodwork is all in the rough, no plane or paint being used, as utility, not beauty, was our alm In constructing it. By making the bolster In front three inches higher than the wheels and iron braces and supports (in one) of old wagon tire the same height on rear axle, we were able to. make the platform—or bottom of bed—project out over the wheels. This feature of the wagon we find of great advantage In many kinds of work. By removing the side boards—one of ’which is removed and lies diagonally in the cut—and erecting a suitable standard in front and extending the platform a few feet in the rear with

light scantlings supported by iron stirrups attached to the platform, we can have a first class hay rack that would often come in good service In hauling hay, sheaf grain or corn fodder from the field. The mower wheels are especially adapted to the construction of such wagons, as the hubs are long, face 4% inches wide, while they are 30 inches high. There may be other wheels just as good, however. The long hub is quite an item, though, in the wheel, as it gives strength and durability to the wheel. We used the original spindles. By cutting the shaft in two in the middle and punching holes near the ends for bolts, we fastened them to wooden axles of the desired length. We made the reach seven feet from axle to axle, which is none too long if intended for hay and fodder hauling. The platform is ten feet long by six feet wide, the front wheels passing under the same in turning. A stationary board eight inches high is bolted to upright irons at front end of platform. Cleats are nailed to this to receive front end' of side boards. These are only six inches wide, but can be made wider if desired. Some persons might object to the projecting spurs on these wheels. In practice these do no harm, as their worn condition from long use and the packing of the earth between them leaves so little of them protruding that they do no damage even on young meadows. The Clover Crop. There are few states in which the production of clover does not present a more or less marked contrast to the almost uniformly large production of last year. In the New England states there is a falling off of one-third to one-half; New York reports 71 per cent of a full crop, as compared with 109 per cent last year; Pennsylvania reports 7G per cent, as compared with 93; Kentucky, Michigan and Indiana show a reduction from last year of 7, 6 and 8 points respectively, while Illinois has but 64, Wisconsin 81 and lowa 17 per cent of a full crop. Excluding the states in which the cultivation of clover is merely sporadic,. Ohio alone has as large a crop as it had last year, and this is doubtless accounted for In part by the fact that last year’s crop in that state was considerably below the average for the country as a whole. Such is the report of the August crop circular. Notes From the Crop Circular. The average condition of corn on Aug. 1 was 89.9. This was 2.9 points higher than at the corresponding date last year, 5.7 points higher than on Aug. 1, 1897, and 3.2 points above the mean of the August averages for the last ten years. Preliminary returns indicate a reduction of 3.4 per cent In the hay acreage. Of 14 states mowing 1,000,000 acres or upward last year, only Missouri, Kansas, South Dakota and California show increased acreage. From all but a few states reports as to the condition of the apple crop Aug. 1 are even more unfavorable than they were the preceding month. The exceptions are an Improvement of two points In Ohio and three points In Michigan and Virginia. The average condition of potatoes on Aug. 1 was 93. This was 0.8 point lower than one month ago, but 9.1 points higher than on Aug. 1, 1898, 15.1 points higher than at the corresponding date in 1897 and 6.9 points ftbove the mean of August averages for the last ten years. The whole of the 13 states, having 100,000 acres or upward in spring wheat, show a decline tn condition as compared with July 1.

HOMEMADE HANDY WAGON.