Book j_i-Li iw'Stf S^ll^^ ^^M&^ lllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllillllillllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllll Farm Craft Lessons Issued by the Educational Section of the U. S. Boys' Working Reserve, U. S. Employment Service, Department of Labor PSEPASED AKD EIdITED By EUGENE DAVENPORT Dean of the College of Agriculture University of Illinois for U. S. BOYS' WORKING RESERVE TRAINING THE BOY FOR NATIONAL SERVICE PUBLISHED BY THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR illlllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllMllllllllli United States Boys' Working Reserve^ ^ Farm Craft Series CONTENTS To the Teacher and the School Practice Work For Those Who Have Farm Experience Lesson ] . Making the Victory Good 2. When the City Boy Goes to the Farm 3, Craftsmanship 4. The Horse 5. Grooming and Care of the Farm Horse 6. Harnessing and Hitching Up Farm Horses 7. Working Farm Horses 8. The Cow 9. Handling Milk on the Farm 10. Separating and Handling Cream 11. Swine 12. Care of Farm Equipment 13. The W^agon and Its Parts 14. Care of the Wagon 15. The Plow 16. The Mower 17. The Gas Engine 18. The Gas Engine (Continued) 19. Miscellaneous Tools and Supplies 20. Rope and Its Care 21. Some Useful Knots 22. Splicing a Rope 23. Preparation of the Seed Bed 24. Cultivation 25. Insect and Fungous Enemies 26. Spray Mixtures and Their Application 27. Cultivating Corn 28. Shocking Wheat and Oats 29. ■Market Gardening Oo.^jr M>. "\)'ir 1919 ^. - / United States Boys* Working Reserve Farm Craft Series -yoTz^ Su^ >p TO THE TEACHER AND THE SCHOOL It was inevitable that the United States should be drawn into the Great World War, in which more than thirty nations have become involved in determining by force whether democracy shall remain upon the earth. Substantially all the available energy of the civilized world has been engaged in this titanic struggle. Not only has it taxed to the utmost the resources of every countrj'- involved, but not an interest, not a family, not an individual has remained unaffected, and even when actual hostilities have ceased there yet remains the gigantic labor of reconstructing ravaged coun- tries, of clothing destitute millions, of feeding starving races, and of estab- lishing law and order, for it must not be overlooked that as the power of the enemy crumbles, a full half of the world is without a stable government. The work of the war is not yet done, and it will be many months before "The Boys" come marching home again. Even the cessation of hostilities and the promise of peace will make no immediate change in the need for additional labor on the land. THE UNITED STATES BOYS' WORKING RESERVE So desperate is the need for labor now and for many months to come, and so easy is it for the high school boy to render valuable service in the field during the growing season with but little interruption to his educa- tional progress, that the Government of the United States is calling upon the high schools of the . country everywhere to do their utmost in three definite lines of special service: 1. To enlist in the Boys' Working Reserve for sumrner work upon the farm, all able-bodied boys from sixteen to eighteen years of age who are now in school (together with as many as may be reached of those who have left school). 2. To do everything humanly possible to give these boys the right point of view as to the importance and the nature of the service to be rendered and of the new associations involved. 3. To make them really useful to the farmer by teaciung them some of the things which they will need to know in order to be instrumental in increasing food production and in order not to do more harm than good. Enrollment : There has been great activity and much success in reach- ing and enrolling city boys for service on the land, but there has been a very general neglect of the country hoy who is already engaged upon his father's farm. This boy is and has been doing really expert service and I schools are earnestly entreated to enroll such boys as well as those who go for hire, else great injustice will be done the boy who has labored always on his father's farm, not only faithfully but skillfully and effectively. In no other way, either, can the city boy and the country boy come together in the country under conditions mutually agreeable and therefore most favor- able to success. While the Government does not admit to membership in this particular organization youth under sixteen years of age, it none the less earnestly invites all such able-bodied and right-minded young people to prepare for actual membership by rendering, so far as possible, the same kind of service. It invites the schools and all other public agencies to encourage them to that end, and to train them for that service by the same methods employed for the Boys' Working Reserve. The Point of View: The great object to be achieved is the production of more food than would othermise be possible. It is not to make more money for the boy, because that would take him to the shops where wages are higher than upon the farm, but from which he would likely not return to school. It is not the making of more money for the farmer, though unless the boy is both willing and able to be really useful he will do more damage than good. It is a challenge to service on the part of boys too young tQ fight. The next most useful thing is to help in the production of food for which millions are in dire distress. Can the boy make more money in other ways? So could the soldier. Is he impatient if a "job" is not ready at once on April i, or May i, as he may have hoped and expected? So is the soldier who imagined himself walking into Berlin soon after joining the army, but who finds instead that he must undergo long periods of training, waiting anxiously for his oppor- tunity to serve. One day it will come, but until then his business is to still better prepare himself. Will he have hardships to endure? Certainly he will. This is no picnic; this is business. Upon the whole he will have a good time with most excel- lent people, and he will see a new side of life, all of which is good for him. But, like the soldier, his "chow" will not always be good nor to be had on time, and he will sometimes be wet and hungry and tired. Is he therefore to be downhearted? No! If he has the stuff in him of which soldiers are made, he will "pack up his troubles (most of which are imaginary) in his old kit bag and smile, smile, smile." But upon the whole and at the most, he will have it better than the soldier, for he will sleep every night under shelter and free from bullets, shells,^ and bombs. Above all, this young crusader is not to assume that he is going out into the wilder- ness and among illiterates, nor that all which he sees that is different is therefore either better or worse than what he has known before. What he has undertaken is an Adven- ture in Contentment as well as an enlistment for service. Preparation: To assist the schools in preparing the Boys' Working Reserve for service on the farm, a series of Farm Craft Lessonsi have been prepared and furnished by the Federal Government, to be supplemented by Practical Exercises of the laboratory type. These lessons and exercises deal not with the theory of agriculture nor with the scien- tific principles involved in farming, but rather the processes and the equipment which the hoy will he expected to know when he presents himself as a helper m the business of food production. It is highly important that both the school and the pupil make no mistake at this point. The boy is going as a helper in farm work, not as a partner nor as a business adviser. ... . „ , . , . n,, The farm is an exceedmgly busy place, especially during the growing season. Ihat is the time he will be there; and while the farmer must tell his helper how the work is to be done, yet he must not be obliged to devote so much time to that as to lose more than he gains in actual and effective work upon the fields, else food production will be retarded, not promoted. Hence the importance of doing everything possible by way of getting ready before the boy goes where things are in "full blast" with "no time for lonf; stories." EDUCATION NOT TO BE SACRIFICED Germany has put her school boys in the army and cut the period of instruction to about half the usual. That must not happen in this country. Boys can, however, devote three or four months of the summer season to production and yet lose little from the class room, so little that if matters be well handled the_l«ss in schooling is fully com- pensated by the greater experience, the enlarged viewpoint, and the recognition of the need for specific preparation for something definite to be accomplished. CREDIT IN "SCHOOL COURSES There is no good reason why school credit should not be given for this_ work, but on the contrary there is every reason why it should be given. It has educational value as to content, and the performance of faithful service has a disciplinary value in excess of anything which goes with ordinary school work. Full credit however should be conditioned upon faithful service, and in order to see that such ser\'ice is actually rendered and that the li«y has a fair opportunity to render it, the school should send its own representative; that is, the school should ftlUw the boy to the field both as a friend and as an inspector. Here is a rare opportunity to combine good teaching with real service, thereby securing that adequate motive which is so often lacking in our educational effort. THE LESSON LEAFLETS The Lessons are limited to a few standard operations and deal solely with a-afts- manship rather than with the scientific principles underlying agricultural practice. Their whole aim is to prepare the boy to be immediately useful to the farmer in a few major capacities, to make him teachable, and to insure from the first that the farmer will not need to spend valuable time in teaching the boy while his own team stands idle, or other- wise suffer more loss than would be made good by the service of the pupil. Of necessity these lesson leaflets are confined to subjects either of universal or of large sectional application. It is manifestly impossible for such a series to cover every minor local agricultural, enterprise — such as pepperrnint growing in restricted districts of Michigan and Indiana, or citrus fruit production in California or Florida — and there is no alternative but to ask the schools themselves either to prepare or to have prepared euch additional lessons as shall make the instruction fit the local conditions. It is also impossible to cover adequately in any general series even such regional subjects as potato growing for example, first because of profound variation in local practices, and second because these lessons should be limited t* these phases of produc- tion in which school boys can assist. Manifestly, a series of monographs on the crops of the country and the breeds of farm animals would defeat their own purpose. Last of all, even in the subjects treated in the Lessons, modification and elaboration will be found necessary in order to make that fit with local conditions which is essential to success in acquiring skill. For example, in many sections mules are used instead of horses and in others left-hand machinery and driving with a single line are still in vogue. These Farm Craft Lessons therefore must be considered as outlines and suggestions rather than as iron-clad courses to be administered without alteration. Nevertheless, whatever courses are decided upon should be thoroughly carried out, because these Les- sons are designed to be learned, not casually read for entertainment. Besides that, if we are to succeed, the Practical exercises must be as faithfully administered as any lab- oratory fcourse which the school has ever conducted. It is at this point of fortifying the Lesson with the Exercise that Success will be assured, or Failure invited. A COURSE OF TRAINING This is not a "Course" to be finished, "passed," and forgotten, but rather a line of preparation to be pursued, and like the soldier the pupil should continue in his prepara- tion until called into service. Some dissatisfaction has been experienced if a "job" were Jiot ready and waiting on the very day when the last lesson was finished. That would be ideal, of course, but like war this is emergency work. The soldier that is called may and does desire to go at onoe to the front. But he is put into a long course of training and then more training and even after he is across the water he may not be needed at once; so he goes on with his training — always training. With the Boys' Working Reserve, as with the soldier, there may be some waits, but it is all a kind of insurance scheme in a national emergency and the well-trained and right-minded boy may be certain that his services will be needed. THE MINIMUM As has been indicated, this is not a course of specified length; a definite number of lessons of specified character. Obviously many of the suggested lessons will be found poorly adapted to certain localities. In the name of education, then, let them be dropped or let others be substituted. As there is no definite number of "lessons" that must be completed, so there is no iron-clad formula for computing the number or the exact nature of the Practical Exer- ciscs that should be required. From llic farmer's standpoint the more the l>cUcr only so the Lessons and the Exercises tit his conditions. Manifestly, a Nebraska farmer would not be much interested in proficiency with an axe and crosscut saw, while it would be a very valuable accomplishment in New England. But everybody would have horses to be liarnessed and driven. From the standpoint of the school there must be a minimum number of lessons and a minimum amount of practice to entitle to credit. As the school is free to fix the amount and conditions of credit, these amounts and conditions will of course vary greatly, but if the training is to be of much use to the farmer, a minimum of fifteen lessons and fifteen periods of two hours each, or their equivalent, devoted to practice would be as little as is worth considering. Much more, especially of practice work, is in every way desirable. THE HIGH SCHOOL TO GET THINGS DONE The Federal Government cannot supply teachers. There is no alternative but to expect the high schools either to provide this teaching from members of their own staffs who have the skill, or to secure the instruction from outside sources. Results only are important. In general, the schools, being accustomed to the business of instruction, are competent to manage the methods necessary to meet this ern«rgency. In the neighborhood of every school is plenty of material in the shape of teams, wagons, and implements; and in the person of retired farmers, teamsters, implement men, and through such special craftsmen as harness makers and sailors, a vast amount of skill in handicraft may be enlisted for teaching purposes. It is hoped that the schools of the United States will be earnest and untirinfe in the utilization of th« material and the men which may be enlisted for this purpose. This servici- must not he perfunctory or dispirited. It must be aggressive _ and enthusiastic. It is the teacher's great oppor- tunity and duty in lieu of active service at the front. A "REASONABLE SERVICE" The Government of the United States realizes that it is asking herein a very great service on the part of tlie teacher and the high schools. On the other hand, it is obliged to employ every organized agency to the best possible advantage, and it appeals with special confidence in this matter to the secondary schools supported by public money, believing that in this emergency neither time nor funds can be used to better advantage than in training this army of jiroduction. Business as usual cannot continue. Nothing is as it was. WHEN TO BEGIN Experience indicates that the time to begin this work is not later than three or four months from the opening of the growing season in the region where the school is located. After it is begun it should be intensively prosecuted, with no less than one lesson and one practice exercise a week, with more if feasible, and with all the speeding up pos- sible in the academic work. Experience shows also that when the boy is sufficiently inter- ested he can nearly double his effectiveness as a student. PLACING The business of the school is to do the educational work of enrolling, training for farm work, and seeing to it that the conditions agreed upon are met and fulfilled upon the farm in order to justify school credit. In most cases the school is not the best agency for actually placing the boys, at least while war conditions exist. The Council of Defense, if there is one, or some equiva- lent public body closely connected with farmers will be found the better agency for the purely labor side of the enterprise, although there must be the closest co-operation and the most cordial relations between the schools and whatever organization does the placing, and accurate records must be kept of location, terms, et cetera. SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS Whatever agency is concerned in administering the Boys' Working Reserve will need to guard carefully the following five points. It will need to: r. Establish a system of inspection to insure that the boy is faithful and efficient and lives up to his contract. 2. Insure against exploitation of the boy by the farmer in any way whatever, although the wage must largely He with the farmer. 3. Do everything possible to insure mutually desirable social relations between the city boy upon the one hand, and the family and the neighborhood upon the other. 4. Guard against the natural impulse of some farmers to hire a particularly good hand away from a neighbor at a sliglit advance, thus demoralizing the Boys' Working Kc^crve and doing an injustice to right-minded farmers. 5. Hold in check as fatal to the purposes of the Boys' Working Reserve the natural iinimlse of some boys to "jump" one job for another that promises more pay or "a better time." United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series PRACTICE WORK The test of good preparation for service on the farm is not the learning and reciting of lessons about the various phases of farm work ; the real test liesi in doing so far as possible the things that the farmer will exjpect to have done in actual work upon the farm. Accordingly, the Farm Craft Lessons are intended to be enforced and supplemented by practice work, in periods covering not less tlian two hours and if possible a half day on Saturday. A list of exercises is offered upon which the school may draw so far as it is able, and from which it should deviate so far as local conditions would seem to make it wise. If half the entire time to be devoted to preparation for farm service be given to well-conducted laboratory practice of this) kind, it would not be too large a proportion. Horse Work : No class of exercises stands in anything like the same relation to good farm service as does the horse work. When asked what are the things that boys ought to know before going to the farm, ,the farmer invariably says that he should know how to handle horses, and some add, "If he knows that, I will teach him the rest." Because so much of the labor on the farm is done with a team, and because good driving is a fine art, it is riot too much if half the entire laboratory time be devoted to horses and their handling. .Size of Classes: Experience shows that for this ki»:d of work classes should not be large, and while the size of sections may vary considerably, depending upon the particular subject, yet in general the number working together at any one time under a single in- structor should run from six to twelve. Local Assistance; Obviously the schools will be very de- pendent upon local materials and upon local help, and unless a man can be found who knows, for example, how an axe or a crosscut saw should -be handled, it would be better to omit the exercise. The same would be true of the pitchfork or the hoe, for pitching hay is not "tossing" it, as recorded in rural poetry or in literary skits about country life, and hoeing is something besides piling up soil with a hoe. Similarly, if sailors are to be found, a multitude of knots and splices not given in the lessons may be included ; otherwise, it would be well not to feature this line but to confine the work to what can be thoroughly done. Experience shows that farmers, both active and retired, are exceedingly willing to help, as are also teamsters and implement dealers. Materials : It is upon local sources, too, that schools will need to depend very largely for the material with which to work, and it is hardly necessary to emphasize the importance ^f exercising care in the use of such equipment or of compensating for damage done. The same man who would willingly give his time does not care to have his equipment injured, nor can he afford it from an operative point of view. Because of this fact the school should have a fund with which to provide the smaller pieces of equipment and to make good any damage to the material loaned. To do this work well will require the closest cooperation between the school and the com- munity. Caution : This list of exercises is not to be taken seriatim and pro forma and then left behind like a study that is "passed." Some of them, like greasing a wagon for example, may well be done once for all, but others like grooming, harnessing, and driving horses, should be done over and over again until the movements and the "feel" of things become "second nature" to the pupil. This is the ideal. It will seldom be attained but every effort should be made to approach it, so far at least as horse work is concerned. LIST OF EXERCISES T. Grooming horses — commonly spoken of as "currying." Grooming, however, is the technical term used by all real horsemen ; besides, the currycomb is never used below the knee or the hock. 2. Harnessing, hitching, and unhitching horses, using time con- tests to secure precision and speed. 3. Driving* — utilizing so far as possible the business of local teamsters and to some extent the farms and livery stables. 4. Milking cows. If cows are not available, the strength and endurance required of the fingers and the muscles of the forearm in the process of milking may be acquired by the exercise of repeatedly opening and closing the fingers of both hands with considerable force. 5. Greasing wagons and locating the oiling places in farm machinery. To do the latter, trace the movements from the drive wheel through the gearing and the bearings. 6. Taking down and setting up farm machinery. 7. Repairing farm machinery, securing broken or discarded implements from actual farmers. 8. Running and cleaning the cream separator. 9. Operating gas engines, and in rare cases tractors. 10. Using the axe, the crosscut saw, the hand saw, and the hammer. 11. Sharpening tools, -especially scythes, mower knives, hoes, and spades. 12. Using the hoe, the spade, the shovel, and the pitchfork. 1^. Digging post holes and setting posts, being careful to work to a line and to tamp the earth firmly, especially at the bottom of the post and at the surface of the ground. 14. Rope work in tying and splicing. 15. Running the fanning mill, and cleaning seed, mixing and recleaning the same seed if necessary. 16. Recognizing and separating foul seed from seed store samples. 17. Treating oats and wheat for smut. 18. Treating potatoes for scab. 19. Making and applying spraying mixtures. COLLECTIONS Make as complete a collection of farm tools as possible, calling upon implement houses and farmers for gifts, loans, or sales of new or used machinery. 1. Horse-drawn Machinery : Walking plow, sulky plow, disk harrow, smoothing harrow, corn planter, grain drill, mower, self- binder or header, rear-deliveiy hay rake, side-delivery hay rake, hay loader, ensilage cutter. 2. Hand Tools: Fanning mill, cream separator, 4-, 3-, and 2-tined pitchforks, manure fork, spading fork, hay rake, garden rake, hoe, common spade, tile spade, post hole digger, wheelbarrow, scythe and snath, axe, 2- and i-man crosscut saws, beetles, and wedges. 3 Make as complete collections as possible of : 1. The grains and other crops grown in the locality, that every- body may know what they look like. 2. The tveeds and insects of the region, with examples of insect and fungous injury. 3. Weed seeds, both indigenous and as cleaned from farm seeds in local stores. United States Boys' Worldng Reserve Farm Craft Series FOR THOSE WHO HAVE FARM EXPERIENCE riiese Lesson Leaflets and these Practical Exercises are not in- tended for high school boys who are living upon the farm or for others who have had farm experience. For these pupils the schools should organize some definite course in agriculture, using for the text such a book as Hosier's "Soils and Crops," Rand McNally and Company, Water's "Essentials of Agriculture," Ginn and Company, or other text suitable for the region. Do not mix these tzvo classes of pupils. REFERENCE READINGS FOR BOYS WITH EXPERIENCE For students with some farm experience, the following books will be found useful for occasional reference or for collateral read- ing. In addition to providing ich a list it would be well also to subscribe for the principal agricultural papers of the section. It is not advised that reference readings be assigned to the incx- ])erienced pupils, but rather that these latter be confined to the field of craftsmanship. The school has upon its hands two distinct classes of pupils: those with more or less farm experience, and those with none — and the two should be handled by radically different methods. The public libraries of the country have the books included in the list following, and will gladly lend these books to boys who are interested in the study of agriculture. Af.UONOMY : Aljalfa in America: Wing. Sanders. $2.00. Written in popular vein. A reliable account of the writer's experience with alfalfa, with much valuable information concerning the growing and handling. 520 pp. 111. The Corn Crops: Montgomery. Macmillan. $1.60. Discusses produc- tion, distribution, botanical relations, physiologj-, environmental re- lations, cultural methods and breeding. Sorghums and broom corn are also considered. 340 pp. III. I Diseases of Economic Plants: Stevens and Hall. Macmillan. $2.00. Designed for those who wish to recognize and treat plant diseases without a long study of their causes. It deals with the prominent characters of the most destructive diseases of the United States, caused by bacteria and fungi. 510 pp. Ill, Weeds of the Farm and Garden: Pammel. Orange Judd. $1.00. A general discussion of weeds, their injurious effect, and their uses. Methods of propagation are described. Special attention is given to contamination of agricultural seeds by weed seeds, including laws for protection and general methods of eradication. Botanical descriptions and illustrations of important species are given, 300 pp. 111. The Story of the Soil: Hopkins. The Gorham Press. $1.00. The funda- * mental principles of soil conservation and improvement have been woven into fiction in an interesting manner. The narrative contains a store-house of valuable information, 5th ed, 360 pp. 111. The Farm that Won't Wear Out: Dr, C, G. Hopkins, Author and Pub- lisher, Champaign, 111, Paper 15 cents; cloth 30 cents. Full of informa- tion of vital importance to American farmers on the subject of soil improvement Soil Fertility and Permanent Agriculture: Hopkins, Ginn, $2.25. An authority on the subject of soil improvement. Of inestimable value to all who are actually engaged in farming, as w^U as to teachers of agriculture. It is especially satisfactory on account of the large amount of data upon which the deductions are based. The author carefully explains the processes by which the land may be brought to its greatest economic productivity. 660 pp. 111. The Soil: King. Macmillan. $1.50. A popular book on soils, their origin, physical properties and management, for the general reader. 13th reprint. 300 pp. Farm Mechanics: Farm Gas Engines: Hirshfeld and Ulbricht. Macmillan. $1.50. A pop- ular discussion, especially good for the farmer who is considering the purchase of a gasoline or kerosene engine, 230 pp. 111. Animal Husbandry: Types and Breeds of Farm Animals: Plumb. Ginn. $2.00. A compre- hensive book on the history of breeds. Discusses their characteristics and adaptabilities. 560 pp. 111, Beef Production: Herbert W, Mum ford. Author and Publisher, Urbana, Illinois. $1,50, The feeding and breeding of beef cattle for market is presented clearly and concisely from the feeder's standpoint. Author- itative and accurate. Its teachings will materially aid in making cattle feeding profitable. 200 pp. 111. The Horse: Roberts. Macmillan. $1.25. All breeds and grades are dis- cussed. It tells how to breed, train, feed, and care for them. 400 pp. 111. Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture: Robinson. Ginn. $2.00. Index and full poultry bibliography. Thoroughly reliable, up-to-date and adapted to farmers' use. 590 pp. 111. Productive Sheep Husbandry: Coflfey. Lippincott. $2.50. A compre- hensive text covering flock management, sheep and lamb feeding, and buildings and equipment required for sheep. The leading breeds are discussed and instructions given for the judging of sheep. 480 pp. 262 111. Forty Years' Experience of a Practical Hog Man: . Lovejoy. Frost. $1.25. Discusses all phases of the business, including shows and sales, adver- tising, shipping, meat curing, and buildings. 170 pp. 111. Domesticated Animals and Plants: Davenport. Ginn. $1.25. Discusses the origin and development of domestic animals and plants with special methods of improvement. Interesting to any family. 320 pp. 111. Feeds and Feeding: Henry and Morrison. Henry. $2.25. Contains elab- orate and up-to-date tables giving the average composition of Ameri- can feeding stuffs, their digestible nutrients and fertilizing constitu- ents, feeding standards for farm animals and a glossary of scientific terms. An excellent index and system of cross references greatly enhances its value and convenience. 1915. 15th ed. entirely rewritten. 700 pp. Dairy Cattle and Milk Production: Eckles. Macmillan. $1.60. Describes the breeds and their qualifications, milk production and care, from farmers' and city standpoint; milk houses and calf raising. 340 pp. 111. Clean Milk: Belcher, Orange Judd. $1.00. Location and construction of barns; manure; keeping cows clean; milking; bottling. 140 pp. 111. Milk and Its Products: Wing. Macmillan. $1.50. Discusses the secre- tion, composition, and testing of milk; separation of cream; butter, cheese, and ice cream making. I4lh ed. Entirely rewritten. 3T0 pp. Horticulture : The Principles of .Fruit Growing: Bailey. Macmillan. $1.50. Discusses principles underlying fruit growing practice, including protection from frost, disease, and other dangers. 510 pp. The Nursery Book: Bailey. Macmillan. $1.50. Complete guide to the cultivation and propagation of plants with methods employed in nur- sery practice. Design in Landscape Gardening: Root and Kelly. Century. $2.00. Invaluable for student or amateur. Gives simple basic principles for ornamenting home grounds. 1914. 270 pp. 111. Productive Vegetable Growing: Lloyd. Lippincott. $1.50. The cultural requirements are fully analyzed, and the underlying principles pre- sented clearly and concisely. 1914. 320 pp. 111. Insects and Birds: Insect Pests of Farm, Garden, and Orchard: Sanderson. Wiley and Sons. $3.00. The best comprehensive work on economic entomology. 690 pp. 111. Miscellaneous : A Year in Agriculture: Nolan. Row, Peterson and Company. A good text and reference book with home project.s. 386 pp. Illus. Adventures in Contentment : Grayson. Doubleday. $1.25. Excellent narrative essays showing liow Grayson found contentment in everj' turn of country life. 300 pp. 111. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 1 MAKING THE VICTORY GOOD A year ago our slogan was, Win the War or All the World Will Work for Gennany. Now our job is to Make the Victory Good. It is not enough to have defended ourselves against a blood- thirsty, treacherous, and powerful enemy. It is not enough to have defeated him and driven him off the territory he has made desolate. It is impossible to bring back to life and happiness the victims of his atrocities, but we can feed and clothe the millions he has made desti- tute, and we can work with our Allies in establishing law, order, and liberty upon the earth. This now is the great task of America in making the victory good. Recon.structign : This labor of reconstructing an exhausted and bleeding world is the inevitable burden of the Allies and it will tax their wisdom and their energies to the utmost. Mere cessation of hostilities means that the gigantic task is but well begun, for over half the world is to-day zvithoiit a Stable govermnent, and millions of men, women, and children from the occupied territory are without food, clothing, or shelter except as supplied by the Allies; and other millions zvill be added with the crimibling of the Central Poivers. Our burdens in this respect are increased rather than diminished by victory. Source of Food : Much of this food must come from America. Some of it can of course be brought from other countries, but the world ivas consuming all that zvas produced before the war. Since then, thousands have been drawn off the land and out Of production, and the best parts of Europe have been given over to desolation, producing nothing. (The Germans even cut down the fruit trees of France.) Many thousands of soldiers and of civilians, both men, women, and children, have been killed, and other millions have al- ready starved or have been deliberately starved to death. (Padc- rewski says there are no children left in Poland under seven years of age.) And yet the number that have clied or been killed is far less in proportion than the country that has been devastated or otherwise left uncultivated. There is no question that as a whole the world was never so near famine as it is to-day, with no prospects for relief un- til after another season and then only through the few countries that have a stable government. Much Labor Needed: The cessation of actual fighting means of course the stoppage of production in munitions of war, and our problems of transportation will be simplified, but there are many things that have been put aside "until after the war is over" that must be given attention at the earliest possible moment. Next to food, clothing, and shelter, labor will be the most precious and needful commodity for some years to come, partly because the limiting ele- ment in food production now is not land but labor. Farm Help Needed: The need of the farmer for help is even greater than a year ago if we are not going to let these millions starve. It will be many months yet before the soldiers that have been taken from the land can be back again, and the best substitute for this skilled labor is to be found in the high school boys of the United States. THE BOYS' WORKING RESERVE Realizing all the conditions that are upon us, together with the ability and the anxiety of the high school boy to help his country fight its battles, meet its duties, and discharge its obligations, the Government of the United States has organized the Boys' Working Reserve, a voluntary organization of young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one, pledged to do what they can in production as the soldiers do in battle. Farm Labor: Those boys who have definitely left school can best help in the shops, because the shop runs continually. On the other hand it so happens that the busy time on the farm is during the growing season and this is almost the same as the vacation time for the schools. For this reason a boy can work on the farm two, three, or even four months during the busiest season, with but little inter- ruption to his schooling and probably with no detriment to his edu- cation, for if while in school he will '"hump himself" as the soldier does, he will make up for the time lost and have his experience and a little money as "clear gain." The Object : The great need for this farm work is not to help the fanner (or the boy) make more money, but to help the land raise more food. In doing this, however, both the farmer and the boy 2 must use methods that will "pay," or the attempt to increase produc- tion will swamp the farmer. The best possible plans and workman- ship will therefore be needed. The farmer will provide the plans ; the business of the boy is to perform his share of the labor in a work- manlike manner. THE LESSONS Accordingly the Government has caused to be prepared, and the high schools will teach, a few lessons and a considerable number of exercises that deal with the things a farmer would like the boy to know and be able to do when he comes to the farm to help in food production. WILL IT "PAY?" But cannot the boy make more money by going into manufactur- ing plants or other enterprises which offer exceedingly high wages? Certainly he can, and so could the soldier, but when our country was fighting for its life. It was not a question of making money but of defeating the enemy and making him powerless to threaten us again. It is so now with the high school boy and with the business of pro- ducing the food which will help to avert famine from a stricken world. Of course people who are very poor must work where they can earn the most money. All others should work where they can do the most good. WHY THE FARMER PAYS LOW WAGES There are three reasons why you cannot get as much money on the farm as in a factory : 1. Most manufactured articles are more or less of the nature of luxuries ; that is, we can live without them. Being of such nature, they go mostly to the well-to-do people at good prices, and wages can be high. Food, on the other hand, is an absolute necessity for every person every day, and for this reason the price must be kept as low as possible. If the farmer should pay as high wages as do the fac- tories, the very poor would be unable to buy food. 2. It takes a "green hand" longer to learn farming than to learn to tend a machine in a factory. He is therefore longer in really becoming useful — yet he eats just the same. 3. Wages on the farm generally include board and lodging, and as about half the employe's earnings go for food and shelter, wages in the country cannot be compared directly with those in the city. 3 Your going to the farm may be a financial sacrifice, but it is the "reasonable service" of those fortunate enough to be in school at a time like this. Do not think of yourselves as "boys" any longer. You must do men's work now. The United States Government is calling upon every able-bodied boy in the high school to join the Boys' Working Reserve and to do his bit upon the farm just as the soldiers have done theirs at the front. How good a job will you do? The school and the Farm Craft Lessons will do what they can to help you. i United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 2 WHEN THE CITY BOY GOES TO THE FARM TO THE CITY BOY The farmers are short of labor and they must have help if they are to increase production. What they need is skilled labor, and yet the able-bodied, right-minded city boy, above fourteen or fifteen years of. age*, can make himself very useful, provided he trains himself for the purpose. Whether he fights or whether he works, the same clear-cut object must be kept constantly in view, and the same iron discipline must be maintained. The boy on the farm must be his own disciplinarian and keep himself in training, not only physically but in every way if he is to be an efficient aid in food production. Objects : When the city boy goes to the farm to help feed the world, he must keep three distinct purposes always before him: 1. To serve his country by doing his bit in production and in the prevention of waste, whether of food, animals, crops, or ma- chinery. 2. To serve the interests of his employer by caring for his property and working to the best advantage possible. 3. To gain experience, to the end that he may be worth more every year both to the country and to himself. These three objects should be always in mind and in the order named. This is duty and with the true soldier no task in the line of duty is too difficult. Methods : This boy must also have a Plan, and this Plan must include definite methods of going about the new undertaking. There IS both an art and a science in farming. The art means the "what" and the "how" of things and this comes first. The science means * Only boys sixteen years old and over can belong to the United States Boys' Working Reserve, but others can help to raise food. In some States, as in Illinois, there has been organized a Junior Boys' Working Reserve. the "why" and that comes later with observation, reading, and study. This is the way to go about the job: 1. Learn the materials and the equipment of the farm — its animals, its crops, its machinery. Learn their names and the names of their various parts. Learn the language of the farm. Learn to know timothy from clover; learn to know a swath from a hay cock. Learn to know the hock of a horse, the king bolt of a wagon, the breeching of a harness. 2. Learn how to care for the equipment of the farm. If not properly cared for and kept in repair, this equipment will not do the work well and, besides, it may break down just when it is most needed in a busy time. More horses are ruined by lack of care than are worn out in work. 3. Leani how properly to use the equipment of the farm. In no other way can it do its work efficiently or economically. Lhis equipment costs money, and with neglect and improper use it rapidly goes to pieces causing unnecessary loss to the farmer and an increase in the cost of food. • 4. Learn the common processes of the farm — the morning and evening chores; feeding and care of horses, cattle, and pigs; care of the harness; plowing, disking, making the seed bed, sowing, planting, cultivating — the thousand-and-one things that all need to be done and well done each time, not simply "turned off." Most farm work is skilled labor. In a shop the workman does but a few things, re- l>eating them day after day; on the farm he does many things — some of them every day, others but a few times a year, but all' should be done in the b^st possible way. 5. Gain skill first, and afterwards speed. The highly skilled workman makes all his movements with rapidity and precision. To become a good workman learn first to do a thing well, afterwards to do it rapidly. The one who begins with speed will never become a skilled workman. 6. Acquire a high degree of physical endurance. It is not the one who rushes into a job or the one who makes the largest number of motions for a few minutes that accomplishes the most. The day is long, and the work is severe. Moderate speed, precision of move- ment, and endurance that lasts to the end of the day and the next and the next — that is what gets tilings done. 7. Learn a new thing every day. Let no day on the farm go by without learning to do some new thing or a better way of doing an old one, or getting a new idea about farming. 2 8. Observe closely. Ask questions. Read books and papers about farming. So shall you perfect your art, and so shall you by and by begin to know the reasons for things, and that is the science of farming. Precautions. — Certain precautions need to be always in mind: 1. Don't get "cocky" when you have learned a few things. The road to becoming a good farmer is a long one, and there is nearly always a better way than the one you have learned. 2. Guard against abuse of, or damage to, the animals, machinery, or other equipment of the farm. Mistreatment of any kind will mean loss to your employer. It is an evidence of your own lack of knowledge or of care, possibly both; besides, it defeats by that much the objects you intend to achieve. 3. Do all in your power by forethought and hard work to prevent losses to your employer, whether of equipment or of crops. Preventing loss and avoiding waste are even more, important than production itself. Why? , Keep things "picked up" ; know where things belong. After using a hoe or other tool, clean it and put it back in its place. Keep doors and gates shut, and do not expect others to pick up after you, to do your work, or to inquire whether you have fed the pigs. 4. Do what you can to win the confidence of your employer, not only as to your intention but also as to your ability to do things. Your faithfulness aiid efficiency, must not depend upon your wages. Whatever your pay, you owe it to everybody, yourself included, to do your best. No man can expect to be paid large wages until he has- first shown his ability and willingness to earn more than he was paid for doing. 5. Accept responsibility, and, having accepted it, do not break down. Certainly do not avoid responsibility; on the contrary, be quick to see obligations about to arise and get ready to meet them. The most common failing is unwillingness to accept and carry responsibility, and the next common failing is inability through previous thoughtlessness. 6. Be clean, physically, morally, and mentally. Only clean men can carry heavy responsibilities without breaking down. Leave your bad habits behind. Don't swear and you had better not smoke. 7. Be considerate of all the courtesies due your employer, not only in a business way upon the farm, but in a social way while in his house as a member of his family. Do not track in mud. Do not talk too much. You owe it to yourself as well as to the household and the community to be always a gentleman. So shall you not 3 only "get on" with your employer and his family, but you will be respected and all the objects you sought will be attained. 8. Be a real member of the community you enter. Don't look down upon nor up to others of your own age, but be a good fellow in the best sense of the term. So shall you avoid being either a prig or a dub. 9. Keep a diary of your experience and as opportunity offers report to your school on what you have learned while in the volun- tary service of your country on the farm. 10. When you return to the city ask your employer for a letter saying whether he has found you capable, faithful, and a gentle- man. With this report you will be the more certain to receive credit in your school work and, if you have fulfilled the requirements of the Reserve, the recognition of the Government in the form of the United States Boys' Reserve Bronze Medal. TO THE FARM BOY When the city boy comes to the farm, much will depend upon the way in which you receive him. He has come to help but he doesn't know exactly how. It is certain that he desires to be useful or he would not have come, for he could have made more money in the shops than he can make upon the farm. He doesn't know much about farm work because he has never had opportunity to learn. Be his big brother now and teach him all you can, remembering how you would feel if you were trying to learn some city job. "But he is different !" Just so, and that is one of the good things about it all. You are both "different" and therefore good for each other. Warm up to him : first, because he is on strange ground and therefo«re your guest ; second, because you need each other. He has had some practice in knowing boys and you will probably find him a good fellow even if he is different. You will both be different after you have been friends awhile and worked at the new job together. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 3 CRAFTSMANSHIP Farming Difficult : Farming is a complicated industry and M'lioever touches it at any point must know something about it or he will do more harm than good, either to himself, to others, or to both. • How Studied: Farming may be studied from any one of four different standpoints : 1. The scientific principles involved. 2. The economics of the business' — costs and income, or profit and loss. 3. The equipment — land, buildings, animals, and machinery. 4. Craftsmanship, or the processes involved, commonly called farm work. Where to Begin : The farmer must study his business from all four angles, but the helper must begin with craftsmanship and go on up the scale as he gains experience. Though the good workman will become interested at once in the equipment of the farm, though he will have his eye open always to the question of profit and loss, and though he will become fascinated in his desire to know and to understand the principles according to which he must work, yet, if his labor is to be effective, the only road to good farming is through skill in performing the ordinary operations of the farm. However much he may become interested in these other matters, the chief question in the helper's mind for a long time must be the "knack" of getting things done. Hoiv to develop skill in crafts- manship is his constant query. Not only is this true of the helper, but the experienced farmer all his life is looking for "a better way." Factory and Farm : When a new man goes into the factory he is shown how to do a single piece of work and he does the same thing day after day, soon becoming exceedingly skillful. On the farm he may do a half dozen different kinds of work in a single day and some of these he may not be called upon to do a dozen times in the entire summer. It is much more difficult, therefore, to become a good craftsman on the farm than in the factory. The problem is complicated in another way. In the factory many men are gathered together in the same room imder a foreman. On the farm the work is scattered and the helper must work inde- pendently, because if the farmer must follow him everywhere to show him how, he would better- do the work himself. To acquire real skill in craftsmanship, therefore, is the first gre^t duty of the helper who would really help. What Craftsmanship Is: Craft means skill or ingenuity in doing things with the hands. It means precision in movements. It means strength with dexterity. It means rapidity without hurry. It means accuracy without lost motion. It means resourcefulness in adapting methods and movements to the thousand-and-one new situations that constantly arise when dealing with machinery and with animals. Brain Work : It used to be assumed that the hand had so little connection with the brain that craftsmanship was independent of intelligence, but now we know that good workmanship never becomes automatic. Instead the highest craftsmanship requires constant supervision of the brain. The vision of what the man is to accom- plish must first exist in the mind, just as the sculptor "sees" Hhe finished statue even before he begins to chip away the marble. Educative Value of Craftsmanship: Work with the hand is now recognized as highly educative in three exceedingly important particulars : 1. For teaching precision and accuracy, in which nothing equals the work of the hands. 2. For teaching speed and what may be called general efficiency, or the adjusting of means to the end desired. 3. For gaining experience in bringing success out of failure, because in manual operations tlie principle of "try, try again" till success comes can be more quickly and more cheaply applied than in any other line. A boy would better experiment upon a box than upon himself. It takes but a few minutes to find a mistake in mak- ing a box ; it may take years to prove that a plan of life is wrong. 2 Advantages of Good Craftsmanship: Quite aside from the educative influence upon the individual, there are six advantages that result from good workmanship as compared with poor: 1. The work is more interesting than when the craftsmanship is careless. 2. The work is actually more easily performed. 3. A greater amount is accomplished in the same length of time and with the same expenditure of energy. 4. Mistakes' are fewer, and breakage, together with waste of every kind, is reduced. 5.' The worker gains in producing power every day, and there- fore hi the value of his labor to his employer and to the world. 6. In the end the man himself is improved and developed through good craftsmanship, just as he is injured and ultimately destroyed by careless workmanship. How TO Become a Good Craftsman : To become a good craftsman, six rules must be observed: 1. You must really desire to be a superior workman. 2. Construct in your mind an accurate picture of what is to be accomplished — the transfer of hay from the ground to the wagon, the welfare of the plant in cultivation, the work which the horse can j>erform, what the machine is designed to do. 3. Learn accuracy of performance, or the exact way to do the job. 4. Learn speed through unceasing precision of movement and cutting out all "false motions" that do not get ahead. Acquire the most direct and convenient methods of getting results, then practice, practice, practice. 5. Keep the eyes open always for "a better way" of doing a standard piece of work. You may learn it suddenly some day from an unexpected quarter. 6. Develop endurance as well as accuracy and speed. The workman who soon "gives out" will acoomplish but little. The good workman is "tireless" as well as skillful. Thjs does not mean that you should never get tired — you will be "dog tired" if you do your duty — but it does mean that you should not become exhausted with the day's work. Try to master your job, that is, to be a master workman. The Hand: Next to the brain, the hand is the most wonderful part of the body. Man is about the only animal that has a hand good 3 for much, and this, next to speech and brain power constitutes his chief advantage over the animals. What could the horse or the dog accomplish with good hands ! What could we do without them ? It was a great thing when man first learned to walk on his two feet, leaving his hands for work ! Yet how many men and women have left the hand untrained. It is our best servant; learn to use it, and in using it make it obey and do always a good job. Care of the Body : The body is not only the house in which you live, it is also the machine with which you think and work. As m the good workman always takes the best care of his tools, so should you take the very best possible care of the body. You will frequently get wet on the farm, and sometimes heated, but neither will injure the body that is well cared for. i United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 4 THE HORSE Value of the Horse: Oldest of all domesticated species ex- cept the dog, the horse is by far the most useful as he is the noblest of the animals. Under the saddle he carries the rider or the pack upon his back. In harness he draws the carriage for pleasure, or he hauls the wagon, the plow, the harrow, the cultivator, and the reaper as matters of business. Without the horse, modern American farm- ing \yould be impossible. To make the most of his services, the best of horsemanship must be employed. Prerequisites of a Good Horseman : Before one can be a good horseman, he must: 1. Understand the nature of the horse. 2. Know the methods employed by the best horsemen, both in the handling and in the care of horses. 3. Get practice, practice, and yet more practice. 4. Have always, as a driver, a clear comprehension of precisely what the horse is expected to do before attempting to set him to work. 5. Be able to convey to the horse exact information as to what is expected of him, and do it in ways that will encourage and stimu- late, not frighten or confuse him. 6. Like horses so well that if they were human beings they would be his intimate friends. Nature of the Horse: While horses, like people, vary greatly in their individual dispositions, yet in general it may be said that the following are outstanding characteristics of the horse: I. Timidity: Wild or domesticated horses are timid and there- fore inclined to run away from strange objects or frightful sounds, and even from things familiar if suddenly and unexpectedly encoun- tered. Hence, never punish a horse except for definite disobedience, and then he certain that he knows exactly ivhat it is that he has done wrong. He will accept this kind of punishment like a gentleman 'and profit by it, but a good horse will either resent abuse and fight, or he will be made so unreliable as to be dangerous. The horse is especially "skittish" about what comes up from behind. For this reason a good horseman always "keeps an eye to the rear" in driving aad speaks before touching a horse, espe- cially when he is in the stable. The horse may easily frighten himself. For example, a slight "start" when he is hitched to something which rattles when it moves, is likely to be converted into a first-class runaway. Therefore, if there is danger that a horse will become frightened, keep him mov- ing, but do not let him trot if it can be helped. Whatever happens, the driver must keep his head. It is the driver's business to discover any fearsome object before the horse discovers it. If he refuses to go' up to it or pass it, by no means should he be whipped. If given time to study it out, with an encouraging word from the driver, he will, in nine cases out of ten, proceed upon his way. 2. Curiosity: Curiosity is a highly developed faculty of the horse, and if left to himself he will ordinarily return to examine the object that has frightened him. Hence it is useless to follow a colt that is shying away from you — he will return presently to look you over. However, never strike a horse with a halter when you turn him into the pasture, even in a spirit of play, for you will have trouble in getting him again when you want him. J. Pride: Of all his characteristics, none is more prominent than pride. While some horses are indifferent, others are as proud as Lucifer, and most good horses work best in good harness well fitted. Some of them behave decidedly better when hitched to a good turnout than when asked to haul a dilapidated and rattling piece of machinery. 4. IVorkmanship : The good horse well trained is a good work- man. That is to say, he likes to do the things that he has learned. In most teams one or the other takes the lead. It is only the horse inferior in intellect or abused in treatment that takes no interest in his work. Furthermore, it is the horse which is most interested in his work that will last the longest and accomplish the most. The experienced farm horse knows how to do most kinds of work -and is an exceedingly good judge of his driver. It is good pohcy to stand well in his esteem. 5. Dependence: The horse is naturally dependent upon his driver, and this is the driver's chief advantage over him. No man, can master a horse except by winning his confidence. A good horse well trained depends upon man's superior intelligence, and such a horse will no more "run away" than will a dog leave his master. Good horsemen frequently take advantage of this trait in training green colts and purposely get them into predicaments from which they cannot extricate themselves, as, for example, allowing them to become entangled in the harness. Once having been relieved from such a difficulty, the horse quickly comes to depend at all times upon his driver. 6. Memory: The horse has an excellent memory and seldom forgets what he has learned, bad as well as good. Be careful, there- fore, what you teach him. /. Temper: A few horses are vicious and some are insane. The vicious horse is Hkely to kick, to bite, or to strike with the front feet. Of these three habits the last is the most dangerous. Ahiiost any horse is hkely to kick if something touches him from behind without warning. Therefore always speak to a horse before touch- ing him. Some horses have been ruined by ill treatment and a few are intolerably stupid, but these are extremes and most cases of the kind have been produced by bad management. Le.\rning the Methods of Good Horsemen : These can be learned only by wide observation and long experience, keeping the eyes always open to the customs of good horsemen — what they do and what they do not do. For example: If you have occasion to quiet a horse, pat him upon the shoulder or the neck, not upon the nose. He resents the latter just as you would. If he is afraid to pass an object, walk beside him, but never lead him by the bit. A good horseman never drops his lines until he is ready to unhitch. Practice: Wide observation and much study are required for good horsemanship, but even so practice is absolutely necessary in order to acquire the "feel" of the lines, the feeling of assurance that goes with good driving, and the ability to inspire confidence on the part of the horse, without which the best results are impossible. Knowing in Advance What Is to Be Done: Many unskilled horsemen strike the horse with the whip or the lines before telling him to start. Now the horse is entitled to know what he is expected to do. Before giving orders, therefore, be assured that you your- self know exactly what is to be done, how you are going to do it, and the part which the horse is expected to perform. Communicating with the Horse: Good horsemen do not yell at horses nor do they continually tap with the whip or the lines. The one will confuse and possibly frighten ; the other will breed laziness. A few words of command are necessary, but for the most part horses arc driven zmth the lines.' Continual talking will make them careless of what is said. They do not understand a general conversation, and they grow heedless of continuous and harmless clatter of any kind. Around horses, therefore, keep silent or speak to good purpose ; and when you speak, do it distinctly and in a tone of quiet assurance, as if obedience were to be taken for granted without being enforced. Attitude Toward Horses: No man can be a good horseman who dislikes horses, or who believes that "every horse should know his master." It is imperative for good horsemanship that the ani- mal should have confidence in and place absolute reliance upon his human companion as a very superior creature. Never deceive a horse except to encourage him in the belief that no harm can come his way while you are there. This laudable deception is the key to good horsemanship. Whoever is to handle horses should familiarize himself with the names and the location of the different parts of the body. This work can be done by study of the following chart, and it should be completed with the live animal at the first opportunity for practice work. I. Mouth II. Windpipe 21. Fetlock joint 31. Hip 2. Nostril 13. Crest 22. Pastern 32. Croup 3- Chin 13- Withers 23. Foot 33- Tail 4. Nose 14. Shoulder 24. Fore flank 34. Buttocks s. Face IS. Breast 25- Heart girth 35- Quarters 6. Forehead 16. Arm 26. Coupling 36. Thigh 7. Eye 17- Elbow 27. Back 37. Stifle 8. Ear t8. Forearm 28. Loin 38. Gaskin 9- Lower jaw 19. Knee 29. Rear flank 39- Hock 10. Throatlatch 20. Cannon 30- Belly The left side of the horse is the "near" side; the right side is the "off" side. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 5 GROOMING AND CARE OF THE FARM HORSE The first step in learning the handling of horses is grooming, commonly but erroneously called "currying." As it must be done every day, it is important to know how this work should be per- formed in the very best way and with the least consumption of time and labor. Object : While good grooming improves the coat of the horse and adds to his appearance, the main reason for doing it carefully and regularly is to assist in keeping the skin and coat healthy. Keeping clean those parts upon which the collar and other portions of the harness bear, aids in preventing them from becoming "galled," that is, irritated and sore. Tools: The ordinary grooming tools are: currycomb ("hu- mane," or "reform," type preferred), dandy brush, rub rag, and hoof pick. The card is sometimes used but it is a crude tool ; and the sweat scraper, while used with race horses, is but rarely found upon the farm. 1. The currycomb is used to loosen up dirt which has "caked" upon the coat. This should be the first step in grooming. The movement employed by the hand and arm in the use of this tool should be circular and the pressure only enough to get results and not enough to irritate the skin. Keep the currycomb off the head, and do not use it on the knees, hocks, or the parts below. 2. The dandy brush: When particular attention is given to grooming and an extra glossy coat is desired, a good body brush of bristles will be needed. With farm horses, however, the work can be well done, and much more speedily, with the dandy brush. This brush should be vigorously applied in the direction in which the hair lies. The groom should stand far enough away from the horse to enable the use of considerable pressure in his strokes. Starting in at the head, he should proceed over the whole body, remembering to brush thoroughly all parts of the legs, particularly under the fet- locks. Muddy legs should not be washed, but the mud should be allowed to dry and then be thoroughly removed with the brush. Manes and tails should be faithfully brushed out because, when neglected, the skin from which the long hair grows becomes itcliy, and this leads to rubbing. Neither the card nor the currycomb should be used on manes and tails because too nmch hair would be broken off. Brushes may be cleaned by occasionally passing them over the currycomb and knocking the dust out of the comb against the side of the partition. 3. 'The rub rag: A linen salt sack is the best — it should be uscrccching clear of the back, put it in place, buckle (he belly band, and fasten the breeching straps to the ring in the rear end of the martingale, or choke strap. 4. Put on the bridle as directed for the single horse. J hen, using the hitch rein, back the horse out of his stall, secure his mate, and after watering, the team is ready to be "hitched up"' or "put tr ," whatever kind of wagon or tool is to be used. Hitching Up: 1. If the team is to be hitched to a wagon, walk it to the point of the wagon tongue. Then, with a hitch rein up close in each hand, quietly step each horse into his place beside the tongue. Lead- ing or driving horses across tongues causes needless breaking, par- ticularly when the tongues are made of brash wood, as are those o\' many farm implements. 2. Take down the lines, throwing the ofT line over the horse's back to the near side; fasten them to the bit rings after seeing thai the checks are not twisted, double them twice, and hang them on the outside hame of the near hor.'^e. Then tie up the hitch reins. 3. Pick up the neck yoke and adjust the martingale and breast straps. Slip the center ring of the neck yoke over the point of the tongue, and cpietly back the horses into position for fastening the traces, the length of which should be such as to prevent the neck yoke from slipping off the tongue and not so tight as to be uncom- fortable 4. Fasten the inside trace of the near horse, and the inside and outside traces of the off horse; then walk around the horses' heads, carry back the lines, and fasten the outside trace of the near horse. The team is now ready to be driven. This procedure is handiest for hitching to right-hand machinery. In hitching to carriages and wagons, it is frequently the practice to finish on the off side and mount the driver's seat from that side. With young or restive horses, it is advisable to carry the lines on the arm while hitching and unhitching. Unhitching: In unhitching, reverse the procedure as outlined above for "hitching up," and be careful to prevent lines and traces from being dragged about and cut or soiled by tramping. Going at these things unsystematically is often the cause of damaged har- ness and spoiled horses. The careless handler of horses' harness and machinery frequently costs more in delay and repairs than his services are worth, to say nothing about losing the pleasure which is derived from work well done. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 7 WORKING FARM HORSES A horse thai is well groomed, properly haniessecl, and hitched np is ready for work, and his usefuhiess depends entirely upon the skill w ith which he is driven and managed. DRIVING Do not hnrry at the start. Take up your lines, draw them taut, speak to the team, and start slowly. Start hoth horses of the team together; do not let one of them get ahead of the other. The most useful gait of the farm horse is a rapid walk, and the teamster has much to do in maintaining and perfecting this gait. Horses work best for firm, though quiet and kind teamsters; more work is usually done where there is the least fuss. Keep your eyes open, w^atch the team, and watch the road ahead. A gentle pressure, just feel- ing the horse's mouth, should be exerted on the lines, except for emergencies, when a firm line promptly applied may save trouble. The two extrem.es are bad, that is, driving with loose, flopping lines. or hanging on to the lines with a "hard hand," making the horse pull the weight of the driver with his month. The one gives no control of the team and may be dangerous. The other teaches tlie horse to pull with the mouth, making him a "hard driver," besides giving no slack of line for an emergency. It is the sudden taking up of the slight slack, which goes with all good driving, tliai may prevent a runaway. IIORSK TAIJC TTorses cannot understand conversation. All good horsemen therefore teach them the few words they need to know and are careful not to confuse them by a conglomeration of horse talk which they cannot comprehend. The words commonly used are : 'Whoa," pronounced "ivho" in a moderate voice but with a I short decided inflection which seems to command instant obedi- ence. The life of the driver or of his passengers may some time depend upon its being promptly obeyed. Do not, like poor horse- men, utter a succession of commands — "whoa," "whoa," "whoa," etc. The effect of this is to excite the horse and probably to send him off, at least to give him a very poor opinion of you, in which case you have lost his confidence. Say "whoa" once and expect it to be heeded, enforcing the injunction with the lines if necessary. This is the first command taught a green colt and it shoul4 never be used for any other meaning than to slop and stand still. Indif-^ ferent horsemen sometimes use the word wath a long drawn-out ^ pronunciation, "whoa-a-a," to steady the team when under condi- tions likely to irritate or frighten it. But a different word is better, so that "whoa" shall mean but one thing. The term "Steady" is commonly used to quiet the team. "Get Up." This command, or a clucking sound made by the tongue against the side of the mouth, means to go ahead. Many good • horsemen start the team by tightening the lines as a signal that everything is ready for a start. In general, good horsemeil use the lines as much as possible for conveying information and speak only when necessary. "Back" means, of course, to go backward in a straight line. It.-^ is the last Avord taught the green horse because, in general, horses do not like to back. Their legs are built for going ahead, and a horse never goes backward unless compelled to do so. The lines help, but no good horseman will pull a horse backward rapidly. It is not only cruel but sometimes dangerous. "Gee" and "Haw." As oxen are not driven with lines, the ox teamster has no means of turning to the right or the left except by words of command. With him "Gee" means "turn to. the right," and "Haw" means "turn to the left." Horses are generally guided by the lines, but in some kinds of work both hands are employed, and for this reason most work horses are taught to mind "Gee" and "Haw." ^ ^ The same terms are used with mules, but all horse talk varies^ somewdiat in different localities. The driver must adopt the terms of his own section, whatever they may be. No good teamster ever yells at his horses. Nothing will confuse or frighten them quicker. Nothing must be said or done to give them the slightest reason to suppose that the driver Is excited, confused, frightened, or other- wise than in full command of the situation. It is never to be for- gotten that safety around horses depends upon the confidence which , the horse has in his human companion, whom he regards as a very superior being, and nothing must be done to dispel that ilkision. SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS Watering: Never water a horse when he is warm; it may easily ruin him. Some horses drink very rapidly, especially wheii thirsty, and if allowed to go to the tank they will drink enough to injure themselves before it would be suspected. A horse is never too hot for a few swallows, say a gallon or even two gallons, and he ought to have as much as that. An hour later when fully cooled he may have all he wants. Feeding : Never feed grain when the horse is heated. Hay may be fed at any time, but to feed grain to a heated horse is to "founder" hi^m almost as certainly as to give him all the water he wants. The foundered horse is permanently "stiffened" and his usefulness, like his value, is easily reduced by one half ; besides, he works in constant misery. Feed hay at any time, but withhold grain and water until the horse is "cooled out" — anyway an hour after unhitching. This all applies with special force in the early spring when the horses are "soft." Later in the season or when at moderate work, the team may commonly be watered and fed at once upon unhitching. What constitutes a "warm" horse will have to be learned, but if sweating freely or if "lathering," he is too warm to feed or water. Sweating: A "soft" horse at any time, or any horse in hot weather, will sweat when at heavy work, but he should not show signs of weariness. // the sweat suddenly dries up on a hot day, get him into the shade and give him a rest. Resting: Rather frequent short stops for rest are preferable to occasional long ones. At these times raise the collar to air the .shoulders, and pull out any strands of mane which may have worked under it. Cruelty: Probably the most cruel and useless habit a team- ster can 'have is that of punishing his horses by savagely jerking them. No horse which is continually afraid of his mouth will pull well, neither will he thrive. How would you like to wear a bit in your own mouth? The only case in which punishing the mouth is necessary or justifiable is in stopping horses which have started to bolt or run away. This should be done by a sudden heavy jerk with one line, followed by attempted control with both lines, keeping the team in a straight-away course, if this is possible, until they have quieted down. In general the driver is the one to be blamed I 111 a riinawny, but it mtist be tmdersLOod tbal no man can by main strength hold a horse — it is always a question of management. Backing: Be careful in backing; back slowly because horses are frequently strained in backing heavy loads for careless drivers. Mares heavy in foal may lose their foals from strains brought on ill this way. Hitching: One must use discretion in leaving horses unit- tended; it is not safe to tie them to wire fences which they may paw into and in which they may get their feet fastened, to the in- jury of both horse and fence. Bad accidents have occurred because of carelessness regarding this point. When moving from one place to another either lead or drive the horse ; never leave him to wander about. Above all do not slip off his halter and let him go loose lo the water tank. Pr.vctice: Get as much practice as you can by riding with a good teamster. Helping him to do a few jobs will likely result in his allowing you to handle the team a bit under his direction. The local harness man can tell you much about harness and may be persuaded to permit you to become familiar with the different har- ness parts in his shop. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 8 THE cow Chores: Alilking is one of the "chores" which every farm boy seems to learn without being taught. While sometimes not so con- sidered, milking is really a delicate operation and one which reveals much as to the milker's common sense and poise. It is worth learn- ing carefully and is, of course, particularly important on farms \\here milk is extensively produced. Milking Machines: Milking machines are in successful use nn specialized dairy farms, but because of breakdowns, hand milk- ing is likely to become necessary at any time even there. Milking by hand is the rule on ordinary farms, and as it is also necessary in finishing after using the machine, it may be called one of the standard jobs upon the farm. NATURE OF 'rilE T^.WRY COW The dairy cow, sometimes referred to as a iiiilcJi cow, is naturally of a rather nervous disposition. It might be more accurate to speak of her as sensitive. Ai. any rate, she is a highly organized machine for converting feed into milk and must be so regarded. Milking Oualitv: The extent of the cow's ability to convert feed into milk rather than into fat to be laid on the body is known as milking quality. Because of this conversion of feed into milk, ihe dairy cow is a thin-skinned, lean-looking animal, sometimes loose jointed and even clumsy in appearance, carrying little or no fat. As she has a thinner covering of fat than has the beef cow. she is more easil}' chilled in cold and stormy weather. The Calf: The young dairy animal of either sex is called a calf, the male being known as a bull calf, and the female as a heifer calf. When the young animal approaches twehe months of age it is called a yearling heifer or yearling bull and retains that designa- tion until it reaches, twenty-four months of age. The heifer ordi- narily "freshens" — ^that is, bears young — at from twenty-four to thirty-six months of age. She is then "in milk" and is called a cow. After milking from ten to eleven months, the cow ceases to give milk. She is then called "dry," and if she fails to freshen the next season she is called "farrow."' The bull calf of dairy breeding is not usually of much account to fatten for beef, but in case he is used for this purpose he is castrated or emasculated when quite young, and from then on is known as a steer. MILK SECRETION The Glands: The mammary glands of the cow and all their external attachments are referred to as the udder, or quite com- monly in farm language, as the hag. This is divided internally into four compartments, each connecting ^with one of the four teats (pro- nounced tits). Emerging from either side of the cow's belly and running back to the udder, is a rather large and more or less tortu- ^ ous "vein." These two veins, although actually carrying blood, arc - commonly referred to as milk veins, and the openings through which they leave the body are called milk zvells. In expert cow judging the fulness of these veins and the size of the milk wells are con- sidered as a good index of milking quahty. Amount Secreted: The amount of milk which a cow will be able to yield will depend upon three factors : 1. Her breeding. 2. The kind and amount of feed. 3. Her general care. As the breeding is beyond the control of the helper, and as the ration is fixed by the farmer, the subject of interest here is the care of the cow, and too mncli attentinn cannot be given to this phase of the daily business. (^ CARE OE THE DAIRY COW Eeed: Whatever the ration, it should be fed regularly, and the cow permitted to enjoy herself while earning it. Treatment: Remember always that the secretion of milk is the function of a mother and that the cow requires, as well as de- serves, gentle treatment. She must always be free from, excite- ment or fright. It has been noted on specialized dairy farms that if a strange dog happens to run through the barn at milking time it may cause a striking decrease in the amount of milk yielded at that time. More than with any other farm animal, except the horse, the workman coming near should always let his presence be known by speaking, and, if he is working close to the cow, he makes his pres- >^ cnce grateful by stroking his hand across her back. Men accus-v tomed to working with cows do this instinctively. Cleaning: In cleaning the cow with currj^comb and brush, remember that she is a thin-skinned and nervous animal and be gentle accordingly. Take particular pains to brush the udder and adjacent region, because naturally this makes a difference in the cleanliness of the milk produced. Always exercise extreme care in cleaning or touching the cow's udder, as this is a delicate gland, very easily injured. Even a slight blow with some hard substance like a currycomb may cause inflammation. The Fresh Cow : At the time of calving, the cow's udder is full and distended and may sometimes be feverish. At this time the greatest care is required in milking and only someone thor- oughly familiar with cows should attempt it. Incorrect handling may cause serious inflammation and injury. The cow's milk for the first three or four days is especially adapted to the needs of the new-bom calf, but it is not considered fit for human food until the "ninth milking" — some say the "seventh." The time varies with differenf^ows, but when the milk looks normal it is fit for consump- tion. The farmer will determine that point. THE PROCESS OF MILKING This is something which cannot be taught without practice, but lliere are several hints well worth learning. The principle ones are the following: 1. Remember that the milker works on the right-hand side oF the cow. To approach her on the left is to betray ignorance. 2. The first movement is to put the hand upon the right hip of the cow with a gentle push, when, if well broken, she will "hoist," that is, set her right hind foot somewhat back of the left, giving ready access to the udder. 3. The milker should not work at arm's length, but, seated upon the stool with the pail between the knees, his head should be close against the flank. 4. Grasp one teat in each hand, working with diagonal quarters ; that is, when the right hand is working with the right fore teat, let the left hand work with the left hind teat, and correspondingly for the other two quarters. 5. In grasping the teats, remember that milking is a pumping process. Grasp first around the upper end close to the udder witli the thumb and forefinger. This prevents the milk from flowing back into the udder when the teat is squeezed. By practice you will learn to squeeze regularly from the top downward, so that the milk is forced otit in an even stream. The expert milker is not neces- sarily the most rapid. However, you should keep working steadilv in order that the milking may be completed promptly. If it is unduly delayed, the cow will gradually fail in her milk flow. 6. Do not milk out two quarters of the udder entirely before starting on the. other two. Instead, milk a little while on two quar- ters and then change off so that the entire udder is emptied at prac- tically the same time. 7. The final process of milking by which the last drops of milk are extracted is called stripping. It is important to milk out this last small quantity carefully because it is richer than any other part of the milk and because unless it is drawn out it has a tendency to encourage the cow to go dry. With a strange milker a cow will sometimes "hold up" her milk. This is not, as is often believed, due to perversity of the animal, but is involuntary and the result of rrervousness. The remedy is simply to continue lo 1)C c^entlc and go on milkincj until she s^ets over (he ner\ousness. Only a few cows are chronic kickers. That is to say, when a cow kicks, it is ordinarily because she has some good reason for it. If the cow kicks, examine her udder and teats and see if there is any evidence of soreness, and breaking out, or any lumpv condition which might indicate internal inflammation. In such cases report ' once to the owner, but do not attempt any treatment yourself. The expert milker is the cow's best friend and she is always glad to see him. No man is ever justified in assaulting a cow witli a milk stool or a club, and any man who does so betrays himself at once as not having the proper understanding of. or the ability to work with, live stock. *• United States Boys* Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 9 HANDLING MILK ON THE FARM Milk is a delicate and valuable food easily injured by careless handling. The dairyman, therefore, must be constantly trying to produce an article that is both clean and wholesome. This is not as easy as it might first appear, for those of us who drink milk are interested in tlie following requirements : 1. That it be free from disease. 2. That it be free from sediment. 3. That it possess good keeping quality. 4. That it have a satisfactory food value. ^ Freedom from Disease: Milk may become contaminated with if' disease directly from the cow, from some milker or barn helper who is not in good health, or from utensils that are not kept properly sterilized. Healthy cows, healthy workmen and clean vessels are therefore a combination neces.sary to produce good milk. Sediment: People who use milk, form their opinion of its cleanliness quite largely by the amount of sediment they can see in the bottom of the pail or bottle. Milk should be produced and handled in such a way that it will be practically free from any sedi- ment. I Sourhstg: The souring of milk is due to the growth of micro- scopic plants called bacteria. Milk always contains some of these organisms. They get in with the dust from the cow and from the vessels in which milk is handled. In order tO' grow and multiply, bacteria must have food, moisture, and heat. Milk is therefore an ideal medium for their growth. The problem of the dairyman in keeping milk sweet is accomplished through clean milking, scrupu- lously clean milk vessels, and covered pails, which keep the num- bers of bacteria as low as possible, and by thorough and rapid cool- ing, which creates unfavorable conditions for bacterial growth. Food Value: Milk is almost a perfect food, especially for the young, thougli its proportion of water unfits it for an exclusive diet for adults. The composition varies principally as to fat which may range from 2 to 7 percent, generally from 3^ to 4 percent. These dif- ferences in composition are due principally to the individual and not to the kind of feed ; that is, you cannot feed fat into milk. Milk is used largely for its fat in the form of cream or butter, but whole milk either "raw," condensed, or dried, is used in immense quantities in all parts of the world. As most of it is consumed in /t llie raw state, that is without sterilizing, it is exceedingly important lliat it be kept clean. Inasmuch as all kinds of organisms will grow i)i milk, dirty milk is always dangerous. Care of Milk Utensils: Pails, strainers, cans, dippers, stir- rers, and other milk utensils are the most common sources from which milk becomes contaminated and their condition has much to do with the quality of milk that reaches the consumer. The fol- lowing suggestions for washing and sterilizing these utensils may prove to be helpful: 1. Rinse the tinware in lukewarm water. 2. Wash thoroughly with hot water containing some good wash- A ing powder. Always use a brtish instead of a cloth in washing these utensils. 3. Rinse thoroughly with boiling water or sterilize by steam- ing. 4. Dry all utensils. This may be done by placing them in the oven or on the top of a warm stove or by setting them in the sun- shine. A di'y vessel is unfavorable for the development of "bacteria and sunshine is a good sterilizer. Rules for Producing Good Milk: Cleanline=s nnd rnpid cool- ing will result in good milk. .Therefore — 1. The owner should be sure that the cows are healthy and thatn- the workmen handling the milk are not suf^'ering from any disease. 2. Be sure that all vessels coming in contact with the milk are clean and sterilized. 3. Keep the cows clean. 4. Keep the barn clean. 5. Milk with dry hands. 6. It is preferable to use a covered or small-top pail. G 7- If possible cany the milk to a separate room as soon a, drawn and strain it. Cool it as quickly as possible. This may be done by running it over a mechanical cooler or by setting the can in a tank of cold water. f ( United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 10 SEPARATING AND HANDLING CREAM CARE OF CREAM On farms where dairying is not the principal business it is frequently the custom to sell sour cream to be made into butter, retaining the skim milk at home to feed young calves and pigs." Cream for this purpose is often neglected, which means that it arrives at the manufacturer's door in poor condition. To maintain our standards for creamery butter, the factory must be furnished with a good grade of cream. It is an economic proposition for a producer of cream to dispose of his product at the best possible price. Yet a good many do not stop to consider that their cream must be of the best quality in order to command" the highest V^ew of 3arreJ To W/nd M/fl A PROPERLY CONSTRUCTliD COOLING TANK I. Inlet, usually i^ inch pipe. 2. Wooden trough, conducting water to within 3 inclics of bottom. 3. Sticks, holding cans in place as shown by cut. 4. Show9 position of half fiUed can; run stick through handle in cover to prevent it from sliding out from under the stick. 5. Shows position of can when filled. 6. Shows position of wiic which prevents the cans from tipping. 7. Outlet, usually 2-inch threaded nipple. price. In order to pay the highest price for cream the buttermaker must make a very good marketable grade of butter, and to do this he must have a good grade of raw material from which to make his product. His finished product will be no better than the cream from which it is made. Therefore, if a farmer expects to receive the best market price for his cream, he must produce a quality of cream which will warrant such a price. The following rules offer suggestions for caring for cream on the farm: I. Keep the cows clean. ' 2. Use covered milk pails. 3. Milk with dry hands. 4. Remove all milk from tlic barn innncdiateiy and separate it al once. 5. Set the separator so that it will skim cream tihat will test from 35 to 40 percent in the winter and from 40 to 45 percent in the summer. 6. Wash, scald, and dry the separator and all utensils immediately after using. The separator bowl inay be dried in a warm oven, though the oven should not be so warm that' it will melt the tin on the bowl parts. Setting utensils in the sun is a good practice, as the sunshine acts as a germicide. 7. Keep all utensils and separator parts dry when not in use. 8. Cool the cream immediately, after skimming by setting the can in cold running water. Construct a cooling tank so that the cream will be cooled with the water that is used to fill the stock tank. 9. Never mix warm cream with cold cream. Cool the cream before mi King it with previous skimmings. 10. Do not allow the cream to freeze in cold weather. II. Stir the cream at least twice a day; this will keep it smooth and free from lumps. Do not use a wooden paddle for a stirrer, as it is insani- tary. _ _ . 12. The cream should be delivered frequently, at least twice a week in winter and three times a week in warm weather. , CARE OF THE CREAM SEPARATOR Tliere are a great many different makes of separators on the market, and most of them will do efficient skimming if they are run ->.nd cared for l)roperly. If a separator fails to do good work, it is more often the fault of the operator tlian of the construction of the machine. No matter how well a separator may l)c constructed, if it is abused by improper usage it will soon fail to do properly the work for which it was designed. The following suggestions may be of help to separator operators : 1. Set the separator level on a solid foundation and bolt it down firmly. It is well to have a piece of rubber packing under each leg of. the sep- arator to serve as a cushion for absorbing vibration. 2. See that all bearings are clean and well lubricated at all times. Clean the bearings occasionally with gasoline or kerosene to remove all grease that may have become gummy, and thus prevent proper lubrication. 3. Use only the best hand-separator oil. Never use common machine oil. 4. Be sure to turn the separator at the speed designated by the manu- facturer. Time it with a watch or speed iiidicator. 5. In cold weather run about a gallon of warm water through the bowl to warm it before turning on the milk. ■ 6. Separate the milk as soon after milking as possible, for the milk is then warm and in good condition to secure a clean separation. No separator will skim cold milk as well as warm milk. The temperature of the milk sliould be at least 75° Fahrenheit. 7. When through skimming, flush the bowl with about two quarts of the skim milk. In cold weather, warm water may flush the machine more ciTectively. 8. Wash the separator each time it is used. Wash all separator parts with moderately warm water containing' washing soda. When all parts are clean, scald' with boiling water and place parts in a warm oven to dry. 2 10 Be sure that the oven is not too hot, as it is likely to melt the tin plating- from the bowl parts. Allowing the separator to go unwashfed rot only causes the bowl parts to deteriorate but also injures the quality of the cream. It is a filthy practice. g. When a separator is running, the bowl should spin like a top, with no vibration. If the bowl does vibrate, examine the bearings to see if they are loose or worn. The important bearings are always replaceable. Follow the book of in- structions sent with the separator you are using. WHY CREAM TESTS VARY The question is often asked why the richness, or test, of cream from the same separator varies from day to day. The answer to this question is found in the way the separator responds to the methods employed by different operators, first, the richness of cream is partly determined by a device called a cream screw, which may be regulated by a screw driver. Turning the screw toward the center of the separator bowl will result in richer cream ; turning it away from the center of the bowl will result in thinner cream. (Some separators have a skim-milk screw instead of a cream screw.) Second, the speed at which the separator is operated also has a marked influence on the richness of the cream. Turning too fast will make a richer cream; turning too slow will make a thinner cream. Third, skimming milk too warm or too cold may also cause a considerable deviation from the normal richness of cream. 10 Too much emphasis is. often placed on the variations of the test of successive cream deliveries. The real comparisons from one delivery to the next should be based either on the total pounds of butter fat paid for, or on the amount of money received for the cream collected in a given number of days. A creamery statement, such as that illustrated, gives infor- mation which will make such comparisons possible. STATEMENT PINE GROVE CREAMERY No. JOOOO Test No Lbs. Cream 1 to DOVERS; ILL. November 6, 1918 Test 38 To FIRST NATIONAL BANK Lbs. Fttt .... 15,« Price Amount GOV .$9.1» Pay ^"^^ ^^/^^^ Dollars $'''' Clieck No.. . . ...10000 Tr. fViQ ,^y-r?Q^ nf J okn Smith, l)overs,Ill. Pine Grove Creamery Povers, 111. For correction return ttiis statement Manager The first item, "Test No.," is simply a factory record and has no signifi- cance to the cream shipper. "Lbs. Fat" refers to the net weight of cream delivered. "Test" refers to the percentage of butter fat in the cream delivered, as determined by the Babcock test CALCULATING THE PRICE Multiplying the pounds of cream delivered by the test, or percentage of fat, gives the pounds of butter fat. In the illustration above, 40 pounds of cream testing 38 percent gives 15.2 pounds of butter fat. If the price paid for butter fat is 60 cents per pound, the total amount due for the can of cream is found by multiplying the pounds of fat by the price; for example, i5.2x$o.6o equals $9.12. It is always well for a farmer selling cream to weigh his cream and to test it if possible before shipping. United States Boys* Worldng Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 11 SWINE * Importance: From swine flesh we get the much-demanded lard, bacon, hams, spare-ribs, pork chops, sausage, and salt pork. The meat contains a large amount of fat which is "tried out" and is then known as lard. The average consumption of pork per person per year in the United States averages about seventy-five pounds. We export large quantities of pork to foreign countries each year, and at present are producing about one half of the total amount in the entire world. Hogs are found on nearly every farm in the United States. They have been selected and developed for one specific purpose — that of furnishing human food, although in packing houses we find that some of the inedible portions of the hog have very definite uses and distinct values in the industries; for example, bristles. Terms to Denote Sex and Age: The female of any age is culled a sow, but if she is under a year old or has not produced off- spring, she is called a gilt. A hoar is a male of any age which has not been castrated or emasculated — an operation frequently spoken of as "altering," "changing," or "doctoring." The castrated male is regularly called a harrow, but if the male is castrated after it has been used for breeding, or if it has developed the striking masculine characteristics, such as a heavy head, shoulder, or sheath, or large testicles and general roughness, it is called a stag. Young hogs of cither sex are ordinarily called pigs up to the time they weigh one hundred and twenty-five pounds. Shote, or shoat, is a term appHed to gilts or barrows weighing from seventy-five to two hundred pounds, there being no definite line where one term ceases to apply and the other begins. The term hog is correctly applied uo mature animals, when referring" to swine of any age or either sex. * Swine is the correct name to apply to all ages and both sexes of hugs or pigs individually or collectively. I II Farrowing: When the sow gives birth to young it is called farrowing, and the pigs which are farrowed at that time — there may be from one to twenty, but normally from six to ten — are spoken of collectively as her litter. Thus we may say that the sow farrowed a litter of eight pigs. Feeds: On account of the single purpose for which the hog has been developed, it is particularly etficient in converting grains into edible meat. It has limitations, however. The hOg cannot han- dle bulky feeds, such as hay or silage, in very large quantities, al- though he is especially fond of clover and alfalfa in small amounts either as hay or pasture. The digestive tract is of small capacity and it is consequently adapted to the use of the more concentrated feeds like corn, oats, and the other grains and seeds, or any feed which has a small amount of crude fiber. Garbage, house-slop, and \arious other by-products are readily consumed by swine and through them converted into valuable food for the human diet.''' 1"he pig is a good scavenger. He will select food, out of the manure of other farm animals, especially cattle, and secures from that source much food which is converted into pork rather than being wasted or returned to the soil. Supplementing Corn : Corn is the principal feed for swine especially in the corn-belt States, but to it we must add some other feed to furnish a balanced ration, since corn is noticeably deficient in protein and minerals. Young pigs just weaned will starve on a corn and witer diet if allowed no other feed. Skim milk or butter- milk — dairy by-products — are the best supplements to use with corn. Tankage — digester tankage or meat meal, but not fertilizer tankage— :anks second as a supplement to corn and is used in the l)roportion of about one part to nine or ten parts of com for pigs under one hundred pounds in weight, and one part to thirteen or fifteen parts with shotes heavier than one hundred pounds. Other feeds, such as linseed oil meal, middlings, soy beans, oats, barley, wheat, rye and legume hay, or any kind of pasture, may be used with corn in varying proportions with good results. Since hogs have a limited capacity for handling roughage, they cannot con- sume enough of even the best of pasture, like alfalfa, rape, or clover, to balance the corn ration if they are given a full feed of com. Thus for best results with corn and pasture some other supplement rich in protein should be used. * A small amount of salt is good for hogs, but large amounts are fatal- f;iot to bo remembered in feeding tabic or dairy refuse. I ( Minerals: \'ery few combinations of feeds give the pig- enough mineral matter for proper growth and development. Some mixture, such as slack coal three parts, air-slacked lime or ground limestone two parts, and common salt one part, should be kept in troughs be^re the hogs at all times. They will grow more rapidly and be less subject to disease if such ingredients are supplied along with the grain ration. Water : Hogs will drink large quantities of water in both sum- mer and winter — more than they commonly get — and an abundance of clean water goes a long way towards keeping the hogs in a healthy condition. The hog cannot sweat; therefore in hot weather he needs to "wallow," not for the mud but for the cooling effect of the water! Feeding: The most common practice is to feed ear corn on the ground or "feeding floor, and to mix the other ingredients with water, pouring this slop mixture into the troughs. This is done twice daily. The tendency now is to use methods which save labor, and with that in view many are doing away with slop feeding and use the tankage, mill-feeds, and other supplements dry. Hogs eat dry feed almost, if not quite, as well as when it is mixed with water. Many feeders are using self-feeders that hold a supply of grain sufficient for several days, thus obviating the necessity of feeding two or three times each day. When hogs are self-fed they gain rapidly and are fattened for market at a rather early age, requiring a minimum of labor but using about the same quantity of grain as with hand-feeding. Shelter: Hogs are commonly housed in small, low buildings, spoken of as "cots" or sheds. The prime requisites for a good shelter are dryness and freedom from drafts. During the summer some sort of protection from the sun's rays is needed. Shade trees furnish the best means, but any other shelter, under which there is a free circulation of air, will answer the purpose. General Hints: Pigs should never be driven about the pens faster than a slow walk. Keep the dog away from the pigs, for he may chase and overheat them. If they start to run, get around them as best you can, but don't run them, for they easily become overheated and may suddenly die from heat or from shock, and excitement. Pigs are stubborn, but two stubborn things together will ne\er make much progress. Therefore keep your temper when handling hogs. I I Ilogs will do better In small bunches than in large droves. Ihcy appreciate kindness and will pay well for good care, good feed, and a good place in which to sleep and rest. They are naturally the cleanest of all farm animals, being the only ones that will not will- ingly foul their own quarters. • "Take note of any animal appearing dull or "dumpish" and re- port it immediately to the owner. Timely action may save an entire herd from contagious disease. C 13 1. Snout 2. Face 3- Ear 4. Neck >;. Shoulder 6. Back 7- Loin PARTS OF THE HOG (MALE) S. Rump 9. Ham TO. Tail. 1 1. Testicle 1 2. Hock 13. Dew claws 14. .Shcatli 15. Belly 16. Sidt" 17. Jowl . 18. tyc 19. Tusk it United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSOrJ 12 CARE OF FARM EQUIPMENT A good many hundred dollars are invested in Ihe buildings, fences, and machinery of the farm. These necessary adjuncts of llie business are exceedingly perishable, and the careless workman will destroy more by his carelessness than he can produce by his labor. The proper use and care of this equipment, therefore, is one of the first obligations resting upon the helper. Buildings.: Special care ?hould be exercised not to drive against the corners of buildings or the sides of doorways. Manure should not be allowed to pile up against the side, of the barn. If necessary make a guard of old boards. Windows should be protected against breakage. Doors should either be shut or fastened open, not left to be torn off the hinges by swinging in the wind. We say of the man who leaves doors open behind him that he must have been brought up in a saw mill. There is no surer way to injure a horse than to drive or lead him through partially opened doors or gates. It is only a question of time till one will close up with him, and when it happens he will not back out, but will probably injure him- self in trying to go ah"-"(l. FiiNCKS AND Gatls : Gatcs like doors should not be left to swing. Prestmiably a gate is always to be closed. Do not drive against gate posts nor into fences in turning at the ends of rows. Never hitch to a wire fence or a gate, for horses like to paw; and do not hitch to a shade tree, for they like to gnaw bark and to brouse twigs. Do not climb over wire fences. If compelled to do so choose a place next to a good post, and step close to the supports. Never pile anything against a fence, for it will surely push it over. Pumps: Do not jerk a band pump, but pump witb a long, steady stroke. Do not leave the windwill running needlessly in a high wind. Machinery: The proper' use and care of farm machinery falls under a considerable number of definite heads that may be enumerated as follows: 1. Know before starting to use a machine exactly what it is designed to do, and how it is intended to work. 2. Never put a machine to a use for which it was not intended : For example, never use a monkey wrench for a hammer ; never use the head of an axe to pound anything mad^e of iron; and never use a good mowing machine or the best scythe to cut weeds unless posi- tively directed to do so. In that case, look out for snags, old iron, and fence or baling wire that may injure or destroy the knives, 3. Know when the tool is working properly, and if it is a piece of geared machinery learn the peculiar sound it ought to make. When it l)egins to make a different sound stop and hunt for troubk\ 4. I-earn to know all the places for oil or for grease on every machine you undertake to use. Be sure to find all the places, and be sure that the oil holes are open. Do not oil or grease a place not intended for lubrication ; for example, an unprotected part working in the dust. 5. From time to time clean all running parts that collect gum or worn-out grease. If they cannot be readily reached, a little kero- sene will cut the old gum and clean the part fairly well. 6. Never drive a geared tool fasten than intended. Therefore do not trot the team with a mower, binder, drill, or even the disk harrow. 7. Keep all stationary parts tight, and all working parts snug but not tight. If a piece of wood is bolted between two pieces of iron, keep it well soaked with oil or the iron will eventually cut it in two by repeated swelling and shrinking. 8. If a nut works loose, ta'.e it entirely off, clean and oil the thread upon the bolt, and clean the bearing against which the nut is to be screwed doivn, for sand or dirt left there will act as roller bearings to loosen the nut again. 9. Do not let nuts become so tightly rusted that they cannot be removed. To prevent this, api)ly a little oil or kerosene occasionally. 10. Remember always that niost bolts and nuts are right- handed; that IS, to turn a nut with the hands of a watch is to tighten it, and vice versa. 11. When adjusting the wrench to tighten or loosen a nut, make the wrench fit snugly, else the corners of the nut are likely to be worn away. 12. To take off a stubborn nut it may be necessary to start it with a cold chisel. A glass stopper can be removed from a ground glass neck by heating, and a plug or cap can be twisted loose by doubling a stout string, beginning at the free ends and wrapping it around to the left until only the loop remains. A stick run through this loop as a lever will loosen almost anything. Sharpening Tools: Every cutting tool should be sharp, and each must be sharpened in a different way, the general principle being not to cut away any more metal than is necessary to get a good edge. In general the grindstone or the emery wheel is made to turn against the edge of the tool, else the edge will be "feathered" and rough. Touching special cases: 1. Mower knives are generally sharpened by a special emery wheel but the work may be done on the grindstone. In either case be careful to get a true bevel, and do not sharpen the point of the sections -more than is absolutely necessary. 2. Tht axe and the scythe are sharpened on the grindstone, turning against the edge. The manner of holding must be learned by observation. 3. The spade and the hoe are sharpened with a flat file, doing the sharpening oh the front or hollowing side in the case of the spade, and on the side next to the handle in the case of the hoe. 'Precautions: Never strike an axe into the ground or drop it carelessly, as it is almost certain to be dulled. Protect the cutting edge of every tool, even the spade and the hoe, against unnecessary abuse. Never lay a scythe upon the ground but always hang it up, lest people or animals run against it and get an ugly cut. Care of Bright Surfaces: Cutting tools should have their surfaces as well as their edges protected. If at all exposed to weather they should be kept well oiled. Plowshares, moldboards, and cultivator sliovels, as well as spades, hoes, and shovels, should be well cleaned whenever used in sticky soil, and immediately oiled. A flat brush with a dish of heavy oil is generally to be found prepared for this purpose. It not found, it might be well to ask for it. Care of Harness : Lines should never be allowed to drag upon the ground or get under the horses' feet. Harness should be occa- siunuily taken apail, ciLaued vviLii soap and waiiii waLer, oiled, and carefully repaired where needed, Next only to the proper handling of horses, the helper will endear himself to his employer more by showing intelligent and workmanlike care of equipment than by any other means, and this easy road to the farmer's good graces is heartily recommended. * United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 13 THE WAGON AND ITS PARTS The wagons used on Illinois farms can be divided into two general types, namely, farm wagons and farm trucks. The Wagon: The farm wagon may have front wheels as large as forty-four inches in diameter and rear wheels fifty inches. I'itted with box and with rack, it is used for general farm work, but it is best adapted to the highway and for hauling to market grain, hay, live stock, and other finished products. The Truck: The truck has smaller wheels — not over thirty- six inches in diameter in front and forty inches behind — and hence requires more horse power, especially on uneven ground. To offset this disadvantage the wheels have wider tires, often from four to five inches. This prevents settling into the soft ground of the fields, for the truck is used mainly on the farm, where its low platform, in- stead of a box, and its smaller wheels especially adapt it to hauling hay, potatoes in boxes, grain in the bundle, fencing, and all sorts of materials that are moved about upon the farm. DETAILS OF A WAGON Track : The "track" of a wagon, as marked in Fig. i, is the lateral distance between the centers of the wheels measured on the ground. There are two standard widths for track; the wide track, which is five feet in width; and the narrow track, most generally used, which measures four feet, six inches. Running Gear: The entire part of the wagon shown in Fig. I, including the wheels, axles, bolsters, and reach, is called the run- ning gear. This is what in an automobile would be called the chassis. With this running gear can be used a tight box for hauling grain or other loose material, a hay rack, a hog rack, and various other types of special bodies. Springs may be used to support the box on a wagon, but this is not common practice. I 13 In putting a hay rack on a wagon the reach is lengthened and extra bolsters are put in to hold the rack up above the wheels. In hilly countries brakes are necessary on the wheels, but in a flat prairie country these are not used. Parts of the Wagon : It is well for the student to faniiharize himself with the names of the parts of a wagon. This knowledge is of importance because it will sometimes be necessary for the boy Track I'iguic I working on the farm to describe a certain part, as when something is broken or lost, and he will find this difhcult if he does not know the names. ' F\g. 2 shows the tongue and its attachments. It is often referred to as the pole. Note that the wagon Jianuner which attaches the doubletree to the wagon and through which all of the pulling force is transmitted is also a wrench which fits the imts on the axles. Wammtr SiraJD Wd^OC l1aT72f?2€r- ^c Pol £>rac£ or Itoond I'i.crlue Fig. 3 shows the parts which are used with the tongue. The neck yoke fits on the front end of the tongue and is also fastened to the hames of each horse. The neck yoke, therefore, supports the front end of the tongue from the- horses' necks and also guides the wagon as the horses turn one way or the other. In hitching the horses to the wagon always put on the neck yoke and slip its ring over the end of the tongue first of all. It may readily he seen that if, with the end of the tongue still lying on the ground, the harness were attached to the singletrees and the horses should suddenly Stay Chain J'JscL Yok,c Ceorcr Clijj Figure 3 -boUkr Plal Sand board Plait Figure 4 hecome frightened, the situation would he dangerous. Always at- tach the lines first, then the neck yoke, and last of all the tugs or traces. I 3 Fig. 4 shows. the details of the front part of the running gear. I ig. 5 shows the corresponding details of the rear part. Fig. 6 shows details of the wheel. fFelloe is pronounced felly.) ^'^^^ Axl rigurc 5 4 I 3 United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 14 CARE OF THE WAGON The wagon like anv other implenienl needs care if it is to do its work and last well. (lKEASiN(i: The bearings between the skeins and skein boxes, thai is, the bearings upon which the wheels revolve, are the only- parts of a wagon which require frequent lubrication. This should lie attended to as often as necessary to keep the surfaces from wear- ing bright. It is hard on the wagon and also much heavier pulling for the horses if attention is not given to this point. .\ good grade (if axle grease is ordinarily used for tlie purpose, and usually ap- plied with a wooden paddle. Fig. I shows the common method of greasing the wagon. The axle nut is taken off and the wheel slipped cautiously outward until llie .skein is partly exposed, when grease, to the amount of two or three tablespoonfuls, can be applied and the wheels slipped back into place. This operation requires caution because of the danger that the wheel will slip entirely off and let the axle fall to the ground. Most farms, however, are equipped with wagon jacks with which the weight of the wagon is lifted so that the wheel may be taken entirely oif, giving a better opportunity for proper cleaning and oiling. Turning or Backing: In turning or backing a wagon, great care should be exercised that the angle of turn is not so sharp as to throw undue strain upon the tongue, the reach, and the wheel. This is one of the most common abuses to which a wagon is sub- jected. When a wagon with a box is turned, one of the front wheels strikes the rub iron on the side of the box. If an attempt is made to turn still shorter, a strain is not only thrown upon the wheel and tongue, but the corner of the tire cuts into the lower corner of the liox. ultimately wearing the rub iron in two. With trucks in wh'.ch I the front wheel can turn under the rack or box, the condition will be somewhat eased, but there is an equal likelihood of breakage when too short a turn is made. Care of the Felloes : The paint quickly wears off the felloes and they should be frequently oiled. Most farmers neglect this precaution, and the result is that when the dry season comes the J'ig. I. — Greasing the Wagon tires become loose. Perhaps the boy can persuade the farmer to supply a little linseed or crude oil for the purpose if he has not al- ready provided it. Loose Tires : Never use a wagon with a loose tire, and as soon as you observe such a tire report it. The wheel is one of the most expensive parts of the wagon and is easily ruined when the tires a (4 ;ire loose. A loose tire not only means that sand will work beneath the tire and rapidly grind out the felloe so that the tire will not lit well even after setting, but also that the spokes will soon be loos- ened from the hub, ruining the wheels. Temporary relief can be obtained by soaking the wheel in water or in hot oil, or by wiring the tire on the felloe. These measures, however, should be resorted to only in cases of extreme necessity. If a tire should come off when the wagon is in use, stop immediately, as a wheel in this condition will be quickly ruined. Setting: The only remedy for a loose tire is "setting," a job that is usually done by the blacksmith. To "set" the tire, it is re- moved from the wheel by tapping the outside of the felloe with a hammer until the tire gradually works off and comes away. It is then heated and "upset," that is, made smaller by a machine for the purpose. Being swelled by the heat it can be easily put over the wheel while hot and afterward "shrunk on" by cooling with water, which also prevents burning the wheel. Care of the Box : Fence posts, stone, manure, and such rough or dirty material should never be put into the wagon box. Special dump boards are kept on all farms for this rougher use of the wagon, and the box itself should be kept clean and whole for haul- ing grain. When the box is removed from the running gear, it should, if possible, be stored. under shelter to protect it from the effects of the sun and the rain. If the wagon box must be left out of doors, every possible precaution should be taken to preserve it. If it is turned bottom up and with one end higher than the other, water will drain off much better than if it is left flat. As a wagon box is too heavy to be removed In one piece, the tip-top and the top boxes are generally taken off separately. If these parts are removed while assembled, they are likely to be twisted out of shape or broken. It is much better to remove the end gates, replacing the rod so that it will not be lost, and store the parts flat. Rivets, Bolts, and Rods : As with other farm implements, any rivet or bolt on the wagon which comes loose should be tightened immediately. There are no minor abuses that will cause more rapid deterioration of a machine than carelessness in attending to these small details. "Do it now" is the motto to follow in the re- pair of wagons as of other machinery'. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 15 THE PLOW The plow is universally recognized as the fundamental implement for tillage of the soil. The hoe and the plow in very crude forms were undoubtedly the first tools used by man for agricultural pur- poses, and very probably the plow will be the first implement that the city boy employed on a farm will be called upon to operate. Good Plowing : Good plowing is an art. The real plowman who takes pride in his work is an artist, producing that which is not only necessary but also beautiful to look upon — a perfectly plowed field. He turns a straight iwcroYJ of uniform midth and depth, covering the trash, pulverizing the soil, and leaving the ends regular. . The Walking Plow : The walking plow, turning a single nar- row furrow and drawn by a two-horse team, was used almost entirely until a few years ago, but in many sections it has now been replaced by the larger riding plow, turning two or more furrows. It is an advantage to have learned plowing with the walking plow because in that way a man is more likely to understand and appre- ciate the importance of proper plow adjustments. The more mod- ern riding plows can be operated with fair success, even though not properly adjusted, while this is impossible with the walking plow. Laying Off: In starting to plow a field the area is frequently "laid ofif" in spaces or strips called "lands," each of which is to be completed separately. The city boy going to the farm will not be called upon to lay out a field for plowing, as this is a matter requir- ing considerable experience and will be done by the owner or man- ager. After the land is laid out, however, the boy should be able to follow the furrow and to plow the field without troubling the farmer with anything beyond a little initial instruction. To become a really good plowman will require not only extreme care but much practice, for good plowing is not easy. Adjustment of the Plow : Dififerent types of plows have varying sorts of adjustments which the boy must learn on the imple- ment itself. As the owner decides upon the depth, so will he proba- bly adjust the plow for the new helper, and it is the boy's job to keep the adjustment as made; indeed, it is a good rule when a plow is once properly adjusted to "let it alone." Depth : The depth at which the walking plow will run is regu- lated by raising or lowering the hitch at the front end of the beam. The depth at which the plowing should be done will vary from four to eight or nine inches, depending upon the kind of soil, the crop to be planted, and the previous treatment of the field. In general, sod ground is plowed considerably deeper than stubble. A Good Piece of Plowing Width : To increase the width of the furrow move the hitch at the end of the beam away from the plowed land, and to decrease it move the hitch toward the furrow. The maximum width of fur- row which a plow will turn will depend upon the width of the plow bottom, and the plowman should never attempt a wider furrow, for the result will be only to "cut and cover." leaving a bad job to be followed by a poor spot in the crop. Balks : When plowing, if for any reason the plow should jump out of the furrow, do not continue, for that would leave an unplowed spot or "balk." It might be covered up by the soil from the next 2 16 furrow and might not show when the job. was finished. That spot, however, Avould not be properly prepared to receive the seed and would not produce its proportion of the coming crop. In such a case, stop the team, pull the plow back, and start again. Turning a Corner: To turn a corner when plowing a field with a walking plow, stop the implement so that the point is just at the end of the furrow slice. Then bring the horses around through an angle of forty-five degrees, at the same time pulling the plow back and over into the position to cut the desired width of furrow. This method will turn all the soil with a minimum of labor required in handHng the plow. Scouring: One of the most important things in proper plow- ing is that the plow bottom should scour ; that is, that the soil should not stick, but should roll clean from the surface, leaving a bright, smooth land polish. If the soil is of a type which does not scour well, then before going to the field clean all grease or rust from the surface of the bottom of the plow and polish it as bright as pos- sible. If the trouble is encountered in the field, clean the surface frequently until the trouble is remedied, that is, until the plow begins to scour. A wooden paddle will be found very useful for this clean- ing process. When through using a plow, the surface of the moldboard should be coated with axle grease or with some other rust preventive. This will preserve it in proper condition for use the next time. The Larger Plows: In using a sulky, gang, or tractor plow, it is of particular importance that attention be given to the various lever adjustments. These could be explained at great length, but for practical purposes the city boy going to the farm should give close attention to the instructions given him by the farm manager and when in doubt he should ask for further information rather than go ahead with the possibility of being in error. StejVdy Plowing: Sometimes an ambitious team on the plow may walk faster than is desirable for good work and in that case it should be held in to a steady pace. Plowing is a long and tedious job which is accomplished not by sudden spurts nor by hurrying, but by steady, careful work so accomplished that every square foot of the field is well tilled and in condition to produce its part of the crop. Rapid plowing is undesirable because it throws the soil out of its normal position and tends to leave the field undulating instead of in continuous, uniform furrows. SpI'Xial Precaution.s: Careless teamsters often leave the breast straps hanging while working a team on the plow, harrow, or other tongueless tool. When that is done the heavy iron snap strikes the knee every time the horse stops, often making an ugly sore. This is cruel heedlessness, and in all cases the breast stra]) should be snapped into the hame ring as if in actual use. Kiding Pluvv IS United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 16 THE MOWER Mowing is a job that is almost certain to fall to the lot of the boy who volunteers for farm work. This is not a difficult task, but one that requires a good deal of care. Points Needing Especial Attention: i. Drive carefully, so that the sickle bar cuts a full swath, but do not let the inside shoe run onto the uncut grass, thus leaving a strip that will not be cut. Do not let the horses step on the uncut grass. 2. In approaching a corner drive straight ahead until the sickle bar is entirely out of the uncut grass. Then turn the team carefully so as to start in sc[uarely. Many men who operate a mower are careless in turning at the corners, leaving bunches of uncut grass which give the field a ragged appearance. Show interest in your work by doing a neat job. 3. Throzv the mower out of gear every time you stop to clear or adjust the sickle. Failure to observe this precaution is responsible for many fingers cut ofT and some ankles wounded, for when the machine is '"in gear" a slight movement of one of the horses will move the sickle enough to make an ugly cut. Never shift the gear lever while the machine is in motion. 4. When working with the sickle always stand behind the sickle l)ar ; nez'er in front. This is a case of safety first. 5. When you stop for any purpose during the trip across the field, back the team a few inches before starting again. This will enable the sickle to get up motion before reaching the uncut grass. 6. The mower has many rapidly moving parts, and must be oiled frequently. Be sure that the oil ducts are open so that the oil can get down to the working parts where it is needed. Follow your emplover's instructions carefullv on this point. Feel of the I 16 pitman bearings occasionally, and if they seem to be getting hot, oil more frequently. 7. Keep the sickle sharp. MOWER ADJUSTMENTS The following suggestions will help to keep the mower in proper adjustment for best work. Never attempt, however, to make radical adjustments of the parts of a mower or other implement without your employer's consent. Alignment: When the mower is in operation the knife and pitman should work in line ; the machine is then said to be aligned. Due to strains, or to wear in the hinge between the cutter bar and yoke and in the joint between the yoke and main frame, the outer end of the cutter bar on old machines often drops back of alignment ''nsideShoe ]'"ig. I. — Nonaligiiment Causes Increased Draft as shown by the string in Fig. i. The power from the pitman must then be transferred to the knife through an angle, and this, causes friction on the inside shoe parts, with increased draft and greater wear. A good iuethod of testing for alignment is the string method il- lustrated in Fig. T. The resistance on a cutter bar will cause the outer end to drop back an inch or so when the mower moves for- ward at normal speed. Thus, when the machine is standing idle the outer end of the bar should have a slight lead when tested with the cord. The usual practice is to give the outer end of a five-foot cutter bar about an inch lead, and a six-foot bar, about one and one-half inches lead. Many mowers are now equipped with special aligning devices. The operator should inspect his machine carefully to locate the aligning adjustment and then use it to secure lighter draft. a 16 ^n/fe -If the Knife Is Off Center, Side-Draft and Inci'eased Draft Will Result Centering : In order that the knife sections may have the greatest speed when they have the most work to do, they should "center"; that is, at the end of the instroke and outstroke the cen- ter of each knife section should come to rest at the center of its guard. If the knife does not center, as illustrated in Fig. 2, in- creased draft, side-draft, and poorer work will re- sult, because one edge of the section fails to play past the ^^gt of the guard sufifi- clently to make a clean cut, but pulls the grass off in- stead. Non-centering is caused by carelessness in fitting a new pitman stick, by get- ting the knife rib too long when it is welded, or by the operator attempting to align the ma- chine by shortening the drag-bar. Proper centering can be re- established on most machines by moving the entire cutter bar to the left or to the right, as the case may demand. In the case illustrated in Fig. 2, the cutter bar should be forced to the right, or the knives to the left. On most machines this can be done by lengthening the drag-bar at the socket connection described above. Some mowers carry other forms of centering devices, and operators should locate such features. Side-Draft: Sharp scissors, properly adjusted, cut easily, but if one loosens the screw that holds the blades together, no matter how sharp the blades, they will spread sufficiently to wedge ma- terial between them instead of cutting it. This wedging, crushing action causes the scissors to work very much harder than when the l)lades are held close together. The cutter bar of a mower is nothing more or less than a series of shears. The ledger plate in each guard and the corresponding knife section are the blades in each pair of scissors, while the clip, shown in Fig. 3, takes the place of the screw to hold these two shearing plates in the proper relation to produce a cutting rather than a wedging and crushing action. But, due to wear, the knife sections begin to leave the ledger plates after the mower has been some time in use. Thus the proper shearing action of the cutting mechanism is destroyed ; the grass is drawn in and wedged between the cutting blades and, instead of being cut off easily, the stems Fiij. 3. — The Cutter Bar Is Simply Shears. Its Parts Can Be Easily Do Good Work with Light Draft a Series of Adjusted to are criislied and pulled off as the cutter bar moves to the front. Each of these uncut stems helps to pull back on' the cutter bar, causing increased draft. Side-draft may be caused, too, by one or more guards being bent up or down. When the mower leaves the factory, the guards and the ledger plates are exactly in line, and the operator who cares for light draft must keep them in that relation. Perhaps the best method of aligning is as follows. After the knife has been removed, place a straight piece of strap iron about ^ X 13^ X 15 inches on the ledger plates and, using this piece as a straight edge, move it back and forth over the plates, noting whicli are high and which are low. Then drive a misplaced guard back into alignment by hitting it a sharp hammer blow where its stock is thick. The guards are malleable. If a new guard with new ledger plate has been supplied recently, it may set a little too high, Tn such case it is well to ]^lace a piece of tin between the guard and cutter bar where the two are bolted together. Another common cau.se of side-draft is excessive wear on the underside of the lips of the clips. The faces of the clips wear away rapidly because there is considerable pressure upon them by the knife sections, as the latter tend to spread from the ledger plates. As the wear on these parts increases, the knife sections tend to raise farther from the ledger plates, until finally the same conditions will exist at even* guard as exists in scissors when the screw is loosened. United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 17 THE GAS ENGINE Internal combustion engines produce power by burning an explosive inixture of fuel and air in a closed cj'linder behind a piston. Gasoline and kerosene are the fuels usually used in farm engines. The force of the explo- sion pushes the piston toward the open end of the cylinder and, by means of a connecting rod between the piston and the crank, turns the crank- shaft of the engine. Since practically all farm engines run according to the four-stroke cycle, and have poppet valves, only this type of engine will be described. ESSENTIAL PARTS OF AN ENGINE Inside of a straight, round cylinder is snugly fitted the piston. (See Fig. I.) The piston is shaped like a straight-sided, flat-bottomed cup. To make the piston a leak-proof fit in the cylinder, piston rings are provided in grooves extending around the piston. These rings serve the same purpose as the leather on the plunger of a tire pump. The piston pin is fastened cross- wise in the piston and to it one end of the connecting rod is pivoted. The other end of the connecting rod has a bearing by which it is attached to the crank or crank pin. As the crank shaft is turned the piston moves to and fro in the cylinder. The end of the cylinder further from the crank shaft is a confined space called the combustion chamber, because in this space the fuel mixture is burned. Opening into the combustion chamber is an inlet passage through which the fuel mixture is drawn into the cylinder. The exhaust passage is another opening for the release of the burned gases. Each of these passages is closed by a poppet valve, a round disk fitting tightly against a circular valve seat. Each valve has a stem by which it is opened and closed, and which guides it to its seat. Extending into the combustion chamber is a spark plug (or an igniter) by which the fuel mixture is set on fire or ignited at the proper instant. On the crankshaft is a gear which drives the half-time gear. The half-time gear makes one turn while the crankshaft makes two turns. The half-time gear turns a cam which, through a rod or lever, opens the exhaust valve at the proper time. The valve is closed by a coiled spring around the stem. The inlet valve may be operated in the same way, but on farm engines the inlet valve spring is often made very weak, so that the valve can be opened by the suction of the piston. The ignition device is also timed from the half-time gear. CYCLE OF OPER/vTION Starting at the inner dead center (the position of the engine in which the piston is pushed furthest into the cylinder), a half turn of the flywheel and crankshaft moves the piston to the open end of the cylinder and greatly increases the space in the cylinder back of or above the piston. During this piston movement the inlet, valve is open and the cylinder is sucked full of fuel mixture. The movement of the piston from one end of its [ravel to the other is called a stroke. This is the first or suction stroke. (See A, Fig. 2.) At the end of the suction stroke the inlet valve closes and the piston moves into the cylinder, crowding the fuel mixture into the combustion rhamber. This crowding of the mixture into a small space, called compression. raises its pressure and increases the power it gives when burned. Near the inner dead center the compressed gas is set on fire by" an electric spark at the ignition device, and burns so quickly as to be called an pxpln- sion. The explosion produces a very high pressure against the piston. When the spark occurs late, or past the dead center, it is said to be retarded. When an engine is running at its regqlar speed the spark should occur slightly before the dead center so that the burning of the gas will be com- plete before the next stroke begins. The spark when set to ignite before the dead center is said to be advanced. The amount of advance varies with different engines, but usually is between io° and 20°. (See B, Fig. 2.) EXHAUST PISTON PISTON PIN I { Fig. I. — Construction of Single-Cylinder Vertical Engine A& soon as the piston has reached the inner dead center on the second or compression stroke it starts outward on the working stroke. Because of the high pressure of the burned gases a strong force is exerted against the piston and this increases the speed of the crankshaft and flywheels. Just before the end of the working stroke the exhaust valve is opened and the burned gases escape from the cylinder, making the report which is called the "exhaust" of the engine. This is the third stroke of the cycle. (See C, Fig. 2.) 17 During the fourth stroke the exhaust valve remains open and the piston moves inward, pushing out the burned gas remaining in the cylinder. (See D, Fig. 2.) At the end of this stroke the exhaust valve closes and the engine is ready to begin another suction stroke. This series of operations, which is repeated over and over as long as the engine runs, is called a cycle, and as it occupies four strokes of the piston it is a four-stroke cycle. This name is often shortened to four-cycle. It is because the four strokes of the cycle occupy two revolutions of the crankshaft that the valves and ignition are operated by the half-time gear. Because power is produced during only one of the four strokes heavy flywheels are provided to steady the motion. CARBURETORS AND MIXING VALVES The fuel mixture of which we have spoken is made by spraying gasoline or kerosene into the stream of air as it is drawn into the cylinder by the motion of the piston. In the suction feed fuel mixer the air inlet is made rather small so that the suction in the passage will be strong enough to INLET EXHAUST SUCTION STROKE COMPRESSION STROKE WORKINQ STROKE EXHAUST STROKE Fig. 2. — Diagram of Four-Stroke Cycle lift the fuel from the tank to the spray nozzle. A check valve keeps the fuel from running back to the tank between suction strokes. The amount of fuel mixed with air is adjusted by a needle valve. (See a. Fig. 3.) The needle valve of a simple mixer or carburetor should be set so that the engine gets enough fuel to run without missing explosions or back- firing (a popping in the inlet pipe), but not enough to produce smoke from the exhaust. Accurate adjustment of the needle valve cannot be made until an engine is warmed up to its normal temperature. Tiny amounts of dirt or water in the fuel are the usual cause of mixer or carburetor trouble. In the float feed carburetor a float in a cup is used to maintain the fuel level just below the outlet of the nozzle. The nozzle and the cup are con- nected so that the fuel level is the same in both. As fuel flows into the cup the float rises, and when the level is high enough the float closes the valve which admits fuel from the tank to the cup. Carburetors of this type may be of complicated construction embodying a number of adjustments. When so made they are usually arranged so that the adjustments need not be dis- turbed in the ordinary running of the engine. The simpler ones have a needle valve for the regulation of the fuel flow only. (See Fig. 3, b.) 17 3. IGNITION OF THE COMPRESSED MIXTURE Each cylinder charge of fuel mixture must be lighted at the end of the compression stroke in order that it may explode and produce power. This lighting or ignition is done by electric sparks, which may be produced by either a lozu tension system or a high tension system. A low tension system has only one circuit, while a high tension system has two circuits. Low tension battery ignition is used on many farm engines. A battery MIXTURE TO CYLINDER BALL CHECK FUEL TANK AIR ,i^^NEEDLE Jr~ VALVE \=^ Aia I'Si- 3- — A: Simple Mixer with Suction I'ecd. I!: I'lo.nl Feed Carburetor (usually five or six dry cells), a low tension spark coil (a coil of coarse, insulated copper wire wound around a bundle of iron wire), a inake-and- break igniter, and connecting wires make up this system. A switch is usually added for turning the ignition on and off. The igniter consists of a plate which is bolted over an opening into the combustion chamber, and of two electrodes which extend through the plate. The stationary electrode is in- sulated with mica washers so that current cannot pass from it to the sur- rounding metal, and is clamped firmly in place. The movable electrode is free MICA INSULATORS COMTACT POINTS MOVABLE ELECTRODE DRY BATTERY SWITCH Fig. 4. — Diag^"am of Low Tension Ignition System with Battery to turn and on its inner end has an arm which may be turned into contact with the stationary electrode. When the contact points o'f the electrodes come together and "make" the circuit, a current flows from the battery through the coil to the stationary electrode, then through the movable electrode to the metal of the engine, which is called grounding the current. The current flows through the metal of the engine to another wire which carries it back lo the other end of the battery, the switch often being connected into this wire. When the contact points separate, the circuit is "broken" and a spark occurs between the contact points as they move apart. The movable electrode is moved bv suitable mechanism connecting it to the half-time gear. (.See Fig. 4-) " United States Boys' Working Reserve Feirm Craft Series LESSON 18 THE GAS ENGINE— Continued In place of the battery and coil an oscillating magneto is often used. It is driven from the half-time gear and is located ver>' close to the igniter, so that the movable electrode may be operated by the magneto shafL By elim- inating the batter)- and most of the connecting wires the use of an oscillating magneto avoids most ignition troubles and provides a verj- reliable source of current (See Fig. 5.) In high tension ignition, current of very high pressure or voltage jumps from a well-insulated electrode to a grounded electrode, both of which are rig. 5. — Oscillating Magneto Combined with Make-and-Break Igniter Stationary. Ttiese electrodes are made into a device called a spark plug. The porcelain or mica insulation of a spark plug should be kept reasonably clean from oil or soot. The spark points should be separated by the thick- ness of a worn dime at the place they are closest together. (See Fig. 6.) The high tension current may be delivered to the spark plug by a vibrating coil in connection with a battery and timer. (See Fig. 6.) The battery cur- rent flows from the battery through the primary Tiinding and vibrator con- tacts of the coil, thence by wire to the timer, which is simply a device for making or closing the circuit at the proper instant and which is driven by the half-time gear. Usually the current is grounded at the timer and flows from the metal of the engine through a wire and switch back to the other T 18 (.'lid ol the balti; ry. The current flowing through the coil is stopped very frequently by the breaking of the circuit at the contact points of the vibrator, which buzzes when the coil is working. The coil is so made that instead of making a spark at the vibrator points, where the circuit is broken, a high DRY CELLS SWITCH VIBRATOR BLADE ADJUSTING SCREW I'l:-:. 6. — Lefl: High Tension I PI^ = PorceIain Insulator SB = Steel Body GROUNDED CONNECTION SPARK PLUG nition with Battery and \ ibrating Coil. Riglit : Section of Spark Plug G= Gasket SP=Spark Points SG^rSpark Gap tension current is produced in the secondary winding of the coil, and this high tension current is led by a well-insulated ■ wire or cable to the spark plug where it makes a spark. A very reliable source of high tension current is a high tension inagneti>. Between the ends or poles of a set of steel permanent magnets the space is called a magnetic field hccause in this space magnetic forces arc strong. ]_ l ®b-- I'ig. -Diagram of High Tension Magneto 111 the magnetic field is a rotor which, when turned, causes the magnetic forces to flow first in one direction and then in the opposite direction through a coil or zvinding. If a winding is part of the rotor and turns with it, the whole is called an armature. The variation in strength and reversal of direction of the magnetic forces through the winding generates a current by electro-magnetic induction. In a true high-tension magneto the winding is in two parts, one of coarse wire called the primary zvinding, the other of line wire and much longer called the secondary zvinding, the secondary being connected to the primary so as to form a continuation of it. A pair of contact points operated by a cam provide means for short circuiting the lirimary winding. A condenser is connected between the contact points. As the rotor or armature revolves, the primary winding is short circuited until llie current in it reaches its maximum. The cam then separates the contact points, opening tiie primary circuit. As the primary current is suddenly stopped a high tension current is generated in the secondary winding and conducted to a spark plug. The distributor is a device by which the high tension current is directed in turn to the several spark plugs of multi-cylinder engines. Magneto bearings need very little lubrication, and most magneto troubles are due to excessive oiling. Fig. 7 shows in diagram form the con- struction of a high tension magneto. LUBRICATION OF THE ENGINE All working i)arts of the engine, where one piece of metal turns or slides in contact with another, should be lubricated with suitable oil or grease. The oil or grease forms a film which separates tlie parts enough to keep them from wearing rapidly. The oil which lubricates the cylinder and piston also seals the joints between the piston rings and cylinder walls and prevents leakage of gases past the piston. For the cylinder, only a gas engine cylinder oil of suitable grade should be used. Common machine oil or steam cylinder oil must not be used in a gas engine cylinder as either will cause damage or trouble. Cylinder lubrication is very important and the feeding of oil to the cylinder must be maintained all the time the engine is running. Grease cups should be filled with clean cup grease or hard oil, never with any other kind of grease. It •;; just as important to keep dirt out of the bearings as to get oil into them. MULTI-CYLINDER ENGINES Engines often have two or more cylinders. So far as tlie cycle of opera- tion is concerned each cylinder is a separate engine, but in construction some parts serve all cylinders. In tim.ing the valves and spark each cylinder should be considered as an engine by itself. If the wiring of an engine having more than one cylinder is disconnected or removed, care must be taken to put it back just as it was or some of the cylinders, perhaps all of ihem, will not get their sparks at the right time. The firing order of a four-cylinder engine is either 1-3-4-2 or 1-2-4-3. Fig- >^ shows a four-cylinder vertical engine. STARTING AN ENGINE Attend to lubrication, putting a drop in every oil hole, turning down grease cups, and setting the cylinder oiler to dripping. Be sure that there is fuel in the tank and sufficient water in the cooling system. Retard the spark, to avoid danger of the engine starting in the wrong direction, or "kicking back." Turn on the svv^itch. If the gasoline needle was closed when the engine was stojtped, open it about two complete turns. If means are provided for the purpose, reduce the size of the air inlet. The engine should now start when the crank or wheel is turned in the direction in which the engine is made to run. If the engine is of such size as to make it difficult to turn it past the compression stroke, look for means of releasing part or all of the compression. A priming cock or valve is usually provided, but sometimes an extra cam or roller is used by which the exhaust valve is held open to relieve the compression. If any such device is used it should be closed as soon as the engine starts. Some engines may be started by holding open the inlet or exhau'^f val\-e while slartiii;; in turn the wheels. 3 18 The momentum of the turning wheels is then sufficient to overcome the compression when the valve is released. As soon as the engine starts, open the air inlet to normal size; shut the priming cock or other compression release, and advance the spark to run- ning position. Then if the needle valve has just been opened, adjust it as directed under "CARBURETORS." The operation of the cylinder oiler and the cooling system should be watched from time to time while the engine runs. In freezing weather the filling of the cooling system with water may be delayed until the engine is running smoothly, but it should not be allowed to get hot. Fig. 8. — Four-Cylinder Tractor Engine. Arrows show direction of oil movement in lubri- cating system STOPPING AN ENGINE If the engine has a simple mixer, close the needle valve. If a float feed carburetor is used, do not disturb the needle valve or other adjustment. Turn off the ignition switch if one is provided. Stop the dripping of the cylinder oiler. In cold weather drain the cooling system, being sure that no water remains anywhere. IMPORTANT POINTS. To avoid serious damage to the engine it is necessary to make sure that cylinder lubrication does not fail ; that the cylinder and piston do not become overheated through failure of the cooling system ; And that no bearing gets hot enough to smoke. Constant watch should be kept for loose bolts, nuts, etc. If unusual sounds, such as knocking or pounding, should develop, the engine should be stopped and its condition called to the attention of the owner or manager. 18 United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 19 MISCELLANEOUS TOOLS AND SUPPLIES * Hand Tools: Hand tools are common to every farm, and a little practice will make an operator proficient in their use. The spade (56) has a steel blade 12 inches long and a wooden handle. The spade is sharpened with the bastard file. The size of the spade is determined by the size of the blade. It should be kept polished, as it will then turn the earth with less labor. This tool may be used in digging a hole for a fence post. * Illustrations from unpublished material supplied by G. H. Radebaugh, University of Illinois. 19 The grass hook (59) is used for trimming the grass and weeds around edges of the lawn. Ihe blade may be sharpened with a scythe stone or grindstone. The garden trozvel (60) is useful in transplanting flowers, cabbage, tomato plants, etc. The hedge knife (61) is made of a tempered steel blade and may be sharpened on the grindstone and oilstone. It is used, as the name implies, for trimming hedges. It is also used for cutting corn fodder, etc. The scythe (62) will be found on every farm. Its principal use is for cutting weeds and for trimming close to fences. The blade is sharpened on a grindstone and whetted from time to time with a scythe stone. This puts what is called a wire edge on the blade. The hoe (63) is used in the cultivation of cane, corn, sugar beets, and vegetables. The steel blade is about 55^ inches across. The other hoes (64, 65, and 66) are used for cutting weeds and for miscellaneous hoeing operations. The hand cultivator (67) is very useful in the garden. Its principal use is to break the soil so that it will hold more moisture. It is used with the same action as the hoe. The three-tine hay fork (70) is used in the hay field; also for handling feed in the stable. In many sections the four-tined fork is the more common. The spading fork (71) is a garden tool used for turning over the ground. After using this tool, all the earth should be removed, and a light application of grease made to prevent rust. The wagon jack (73) is made from wood or steel. It is used to raise the wagon so that the wheel may be removed for greasing the axle. Supplies: Bolts are used where great strength is desired. If a bolt is used on woodwork, washers (90 and 91) should be placed vmder the head and nut of the bolt. The machine holts (88) have square, hectagon, or button heads. Carriage bolts (93) h'ave a part of the bolt body square near the head. This is to keep the bolt from turning when the nut is being tightened. The stove bolts (96) have cither flat or round heads, with a slot for the screw driver. As to sizes, stove bolts run by sixteenths from one-eighth to five-sixteenths. They are of special stove-bolt thread. Preventing Rtist: Rust is caused on iron or steel by oxidation due to the action of air and moisture. To prevent rust, the most common practice is to grease all polished parts with machine oil or axle grease. Sometimes salty fats are used. This is bad practice, as salt corrodes. the metal. Another rust preventative, especially for- 19 mulated for larger tools that are kept out in the weather is an appli- cation, while warm, of a mixture of white lead and tallow. Equal parts of turpentine and linseed oil may also be used. These appli- cations may be readily removed by scraping and wiping. To remove rust from steel, cover the metal with sweet oil, well rubbed in. Forty-eight hours afterward rub with finely pulverized, unslaked lime. Then polish the surface with carborundum or emery cloth. Sharpening Tools: The method of sharpening a tool is de- termined by its hardness. Tools may be sharpened by forging, filing, PUTE-5 100 '0^ T02 grinding, and whetting. Most hand tools are tempered so hard that a file will not cut them. The group of tools (63, 64, 65, 66) are of fairly good steel and can be sharpened with the file. Axes, hatchets, knives, etc., are all hard, and mnst be ground on the grindstone and brought to an edge with the oilstone. To properly sharpen tools requires experience. The beginner will encounter some difficulty in bringing a tool to a desired edge. This is accomplished: first, by grinding, then by whetting on the oilstone. In whetting, the motion may be back and forth or spiral. The tool must be held steadily on the stone. The position of hold- 3 19 ing the tool is controlled by the angle at which the edge has been ground on the grindstone. A FEW PRACTICAL DONTS FOR USING TOOLS Don't say, "That's good enough." Don't use a file for a pinch bar. Don't use a monkeywrench for a hammer. Don't try to cover up your mistakes. Don't use a screw driver for a cold chisel. Don't use a file without a handle. Don't waste time by doing unnecessary work. Don't use a pipe wrench on nuts ; it burrs up the corners. Don't forget there is a right and wrong way to use the monkey- wrench. Don't use an open wrench that is too large for the nut. Don't use the axe for a sledge hammer. Don't use the axe for a lifting bar. Don't use the pocket knife for a pry ; it will snap the blade. Don't use a spade for a crowbar ; you may break the handle. Don't forget that you turn the brace to the right when drilling holes. Don't forget that pliers will not cut hardened steel wire. Don't forget that when you go on the farm and are asked to get a tool you should at least know what it looks like. United States Boys* Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 20 ROPE AND ITS CARE There are many uses on the farm for rope in sizes running from a quarter inch to an inch, rarely larger, and the helper should know a few things about its care and use. Knots and splices are treated in the two following lessons, but a few fundamental facts should be noted in advance. Fig. I. — Beginning Taking Out the Kinks : A new rope is "full of kinks," that is, it easily becomes partly knotted, will not run readily through pulleys, and is harsh and unpleasant to handle. If it is laid for a few minutes in boiling water it will be greatly softened and the kinks will very soon work out. If this plan is followed, a new rope will at once behave about as well as an old one. 20 Protkcting the Ends : If the end of a rope is left unprotected, it will of course rapidly unwind and go to pieces. 1 f this is pre- vented by tifing a knot, then the end is always clumsy and impossible to thread through pulleys. The only proper way to protect the end of the rope is by wrapping or whipping. Fig, -'. — Sli-'iJ z i'jg. i- — iJteiJ i \ i 1 Fig. 4. — Step 4 Fig. 5. — Completed 20 Whipping the End of a Rope: In this method for whipping the end of a rope, the cord (Fig. i) is placed so that end A points down and end B up. B is taken at C and wrapped tightly around the rope and both ends of the cord, leaving no space between adjacent windings and allowing no overlapping (Fig. 2). When a dozen or more wraps have been completed (Fig. 3), without putting an end through the loop, pull end A until the remainder of the loo]) is entirely pulled through (Fig. 4). Then pull tightly in opposite directiftns on A and B, and cut both ends off close to the wrapping ( \ and 2), the result being a completed whip (Fig. 5). The last wrap should be made at least a half inch from the end of the rope. pROTKCTioN Against Pulley Weak: A bad pulley will soon cut out a rope which 's worth more than many pulleys, and care should always be exercised to insure that ropes run free over pulleys and are not allowed to rub against comers or other sharp surfaces. General Care: Tn general, ropes should be kept as clean as possible and allowed to dry out promptly after having been wet. The observance of these precautions will not only add to the length of the service which the rope will give, but it will also add greatly I0 the comfort of handling, which after all is a considerable item, for there are few pieces of equipment more unpleasant and unsatis- factory to handle than badly frayed ropes full of knots. 20 United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 21 SOME USEFUL KNOTS Every boy or man should know how to tie a knot that will hold. A few of the simple knots that will be used almost every day on the farm arc shown herewith. The Square Knot: This is the most common knot for tying two pieces of rope together end to end. Fig. i shows clearly the way to make this knot. w- .,;,-,..., '•■ \ c ^^J^mjf^ ^^^^£^^ A wBSmm 4 1* , m ^ n D ^^^^Hl 3 Fig. I. — Square Knot Weaver's Knot: The weaver's knot, shown in Figs. 2 and 3, somewhat similar to the square knot, is tied by throwing a bight AC in one end, bringing end B through this bight at i, and throwing a loop at D. As both Fig. 2. — Weaver's Knot I viidb A and B (Fig. 3), cdii be made to point backward when passing llirougli an opening, the weaver's knot is the best method of fastening the ends of binder twine together. - -- A — --^^3^^^ c^^^_^ (ij^t^F^ •/ ii^i2 is no method of capping to shed rain. In a rainy region the grain should always be put into the round shock and capped, except only in those rare cases where the winds are too severe. The Round Shock: The advantage of the round shock is that it can be capped and protected against rain. On the other hand, by most methods employed for this process (he time consumed for a good job is more than double that required for the long shock. The method herein illustrated, however, is almost as rapid as the long-shock method and vastly better for all kinds of small grains, unless it may be barley. Even oats are better capped, because they shatter less in hauling and the quality of the grain is better. Procedure: In the round shock ten bundles are "set up" and two are used for caps. There are many ways of assembling these ten bundles, most of them bad, either because the bundles will not stand firmly, because they are set so closely together as to exclude all air, Tig. -2 — Two Bundles Placed at Right .\ngles to the First Pair. Bundles Set Up They Support the hirst or because the process requires too much time. The particular method hero shown, though not commonly employed, is recommended for four reasons. 1. It makes the strongest sliock known, because the bundles are bracotl in all directions. 2. It is the most rapid nitthod known. 3. A few bad bundles do not destroy the shock. 4. Whereas in most methods of shocking only the best workman can be used at all, by this method men may work either singly or in pairs, and one of the pair may be an indifferent workman without injury to the quality of the work. When working in pairs, the leading man should choose for the first two bundles those which seem to be among the largest of the dozen, i^acing either east or west and taking one bundle in each hand, holding the heads close together with the butts of the bundles far apart, he should drive them firmly into the stubble, being sure that they lean squarely against each other so that they will not shut by each other lil:c a f|i(vlv set. llu- luinill.s will have an an^lc of aliuut 4.c; dcKrties with the ground. The common failure is in getting them too straight. (These arc hundl.s 1 and I in Fig. S) • Next he should place a pair of bundles at right angles to the first pair, with licaMs well together, and bearing on one of the bundles of pair number i at about the place of the band. (See Fig. 2 and bundles 2 and 2 in Fig. S-) If two men are working together bundles 3 and 3 will be placed by the second nian. These si.\ bundles fur^nish the strengtli of the shock because they brace in all directions. Four other bundles kre next added — two on either side. (See 4 and 4- and 5 and s >« Fig. S-) If thee are any bad bundles in this particular set, thev should be reserved for this place in the shock, as they have nothing to do with its esse'ntial structure. By bad bundles is meant those which are unusu- ally short, fuzzy, or filled with weeds. Capping: This shock is not quite round. If properly made it will be somewhat longei north and south than it is east and west thus securing the best exposure to the sun. The purpose in making it slightly oblong is to be sure of a good circulation of air. (Sec the arrow in Fig. 5.) There ought always to be room here, as the farmer says, for the dog to run through. Fig. I'lcparing the First Cap Bundle. This Bundle Should Protect the To|i of the Shock from the Weather Two of the best bundles have been sav'ed for caps. By the best bundles \\c mean tliose that have long straight straw and are well bound. These illustrations are faulty because they were made in the winter with fuzzy bundles which had been stored for class use. In actual practice the straw will be limber and tough, therefore easily "broken over" to make a cap. If two men are at work the less skilled of the two should put on the first cap, which according to the prevailing winds in most sections of the country should be on the south side of the shock. To prepare the first cap, take the bundle as shown in Fi(?. 3; one arm holds the butt of the bundle against the body and the other hand and arm are used to break the straw down above the band, dividing it equally right and left. When the top of tlu- ))undle has been so divided, catch the butt with both hands, opening it well in equal halvis. Do not simply lay this cap on top of the shock, for unless well settled it is certain to blow ofT. Drive it down into the heads of the bundles and do not be afraid to put a 28 Iii'lc weight uiwii the i.lioik. If i)ropci)y set the poitioii of this buiiJlc nt«ii ihc lianc \m11 have an angle oi not far from 45 degrees. The second bundle is prepared exactly the same as the first ex- ept that a few straws at the top are left without breaking in order to lap over on top of the first bundle, making 3 kind of ridge for the roof. r tm Fig. 4- -Tbc i-iuished Shock. Both Cap Bundles in Place. This Shock Will Not Blow Down. Observe the Air Passage in the Side of the Shock Finishing the Shock: The only additional point to bear in mind is that in placinp; each cap the body of the workman should crowd the shock closely enough to bring in the straggling heads and tuck them well under the caps. If care is taken in choosing ;ind placing the first two pairs of bundles, the shock will stand, and if long straw is chosen i_A«S l"ig. 5 — Arrangement of Bundles in the Shock for the caps, and if placed as directed, this shock will shed water and dry out rapidly by tlie action of both sun and wind. There is no need of spending an inordinate amount tif time in doing this work. It requires precision in carrying out a well-defined system of procedure; nothing more. 28 United States Boys' Working Reserve Farm Craft Series LESSON 29 MARKET GARDENING The food shortage in Europe will demand for some years to come exports of meats and cereals from the United States. In order that we may make generous contributions of those products, \egetables should be more largely grown and used as substitutes for meat and cereals. Market gardening requires the maximum amount of labor for the area cultivated and this has been the limiting factor in all the important gardening centers. Here is a great oppor- tunity for the Boys' Working Reserve. Methods : It is seldom t'^at two market gardeners even in the same community do things in exactly the same way. This makes it necessary for student laborers to adapt themselves quickly and willingly to the several methods that may be followed in a given community. It is not a matter of executing plans in accordance w ith your own ideas, but rather of conforming to the wishes of the employer wdio is financing the proposition, and to this end certain general points must be observed. Thoroughness is absolutely essential in the performance of all garden work and many garden failures are due to lack of this one clement alone. Order and System are at a premium in the vegetable garden. They count for efficiency and invite favorable comments from em- l)loyers. Speed in an enterprise involving so much hand work as does market gardening is of the utmost importance. The hands should be trained to move with dexterity. Care of Tools and Implements: Tools are costly and difficult to obtain. Leaving them in the field at the end of the day's work means that they may disappear. Besides, tools exposed to the weather rust out faster than they wear out, and it takes only a few moments to clean and scour the metal parts with a piece of burlap and put the tool where it belongs. With small tools it is an advan- tage for the workmen to retain the same ones day after day, a prac- tice which operates as an incentive for keeping them in the best possible condition. Applying Manure: When coarse stable manure is used it is generally applied before the land is plowed. Fine, partly decayed manure gives better results when spread after the land is plowed and then thoroughly mixed with the soil by frequent harrowing. When applying either coarse or fine stable manure, it should be dis- tributed evenly and uniformly over the ground and not in lumps or patches. Tillage : Most soils should never be plowed, harrowed, rolled or cultivated when wet, for this is certain to injure their physical I 29 properties. A simple test is to squeeze in the hand as much soil as can be conveniently held. If, after opening the hand, the soil crumbles and falls apart, tillage may proceed without danger of injury; if the soil particles remain intact and the ball of earth does not break apart readily, no tillage of any kind should be undertaken until the ground is drier. The tillage of wet soil, unless it be sand or muck, invariably results in the formation of lumps, and these make the land hard to work for several years and decrease crop yields. Plowing: The most important of all the tillage operations is plowing. It should be as deep as the character of the soil will per- mit. The furrow slices should be of medium width and left on edge as much as possible rather than in a perfectly flat position. Heavy applications of manure, or a large amount of any kind of coarse Aegetable matter plowed under instead of between the furrows, are hkely to interfere with the upward movement of water in the soil. Harrowing: Whether seeds are to be sown or plants set, the soil should be thoroughly pulveriaed. This is accomplished by har- rowing repeatedly until the surface of the land is smooth and the .'^oil reduced to a fine state of division. Most market gardeners have special disk harrows which are exceedingly valuable in the work of leveling and pulverizing. Drags or floats made of heavy plank arc also used to a large extent for this purpose. Seed Sowing : The requirements for germination are heat, moisture, and oxygen. If the student gardener will keep these points in mind, he will be careful to sow seeds under the very best condi-. tions. It is folly to sow seeds in lumpy, poorly prepared ground, because the soil particles will not settle closely around the seed ; under such conditions an adequate supply of moisture cannot enter the seed., unless there are frequent and profuse rains. Poorly prepared soils, too, dry out very rapidly and thus prevent rapid growth of the young plants. It is important to avoid sowing more seed than the employer considers necessary in order to obtain a good stand of plants. The extravagant use of seed is not only wasteful, but it may necessitate a large amount of work in thinning. At the same time we should be careful to use enough seed. The depth of covering is a matter which should have the most careful consideration. Ordinarily the larger the seeds the greater should be the depth of covering. Again, the character of the soil and the .season of the year also have a bearing on this question. Seed- lings are able to force their way through a much greater covering of sandy soil than of stiff, tenacious clay. Mechanical seed drills are employed almost entirely by com- mercial growers. Whether these are used or the seed is sown by hand, the rows should be as straight as they can be made. Straight rows not only facilitate cultivation and reduce injury by the culti- vator, but they enhance the appearance of the market garden, and all of us would much rather work in an attractive garden than in one showing crooked rows and haphazard methods. As stated before, the soil particles should come into close contact with the seed, and for this reason it is generally an advantage to firm the soil over the seeds immediately after they have been sown. This may be done by the use of the feet, or perhaps with the hoe blade or other device. Transplanting : Again, a fine, moist soil is essential to success- ful transplanting, and the all important thing is to see that the soil is brought into the closest contact with the roots. Some of the most extensive growers use transplanting machines. They do the work well and save labor. When machines are not used, furrows of the proper depth are often made with srriall shovels attached to wheel garden hoes or perhaps to horse-drawn implements. Trowels and (libbers of various descriptions are in p"eneral use among gardeners. As a rule, the opening in the soil is made with a dibber or trowel in the right hand. The left hand sets the plant in the hole, generally a little deeper than it stood in the seed bed, and holds it in place while the right hand draws enough soil over the roots to hold the plant erect. After both hands have been used to firm the soil about I he roots, the hole is filled, and, as you move along the row to set the next plant, additional pressure is brought to bear on the soil over the roots. If the soil is well supplied with moisture, watering after transplanting will be unnecessary. As in the case of seed sowing, we should also be careful to have the rows straight. Cultivation : All the crops grown by market gardeners require mure or less cultivation. The stirring of the soil by any suitable tool or implement conserves soil moisture, aerates the soil, modifies soil temperature and destroys weeds. Cultivation should be frequent enough to maintain a surface mulch of very fine soil. Cultivators with many small teeth are more effective for this purpose than are those with a few large shovels. The ideal plan is to cultivate the land after every rain, as soon as the ground becomes dry enough, but gardeners are often so busy that this cannot be done. We should bear in mind that the cultivation of wet soils is just as harmful to their physical properties as plowing when they are wet. The student workman should be cautious to cultivate with proper care. It is an easy matter to run the wheel-hoe down the middle of the space between the rows without stirring the ground near the I'lants. This kind of cultivation will not have the approval of the up-to-date grower. He will expect the cultivator to be run just as close to the plants as is possible without damaging them. He will likely be willing to sacrifice a few leaves or even an occasional plant in order to have the ground practically all covered. Nor will he be ])leased if you barely scratch the surface of the soil. Here is an opportunity to use some muscle and to develop more muscle by forc- ing the cultivator teeth into the soil to the proper depth. Your em- ])loyer will tell you how he wants the ground cultivated for each crop and at different stages of growth. Hoeing: A certain amount of hoeing is required in all market gardens and on all truck farms. It is work that requires thorough- ness and patience. Wr will not attempt to describe the great variety of hoes used by comnierciai growers. All of them have their special 29 uses. The most important thing to keep in mind in using any kind of a hoe is to see that you stir the ground not touched by the wheel- hoe or horse cultivator. If we are not thorough and faithful in this respect, weeds may spring up in great numbers on the missed area, and the lack of thorough tillage will prevent the fullest development of the crop under cultivation. Special skill may be developed in the use of the hoe. In the first place we should select the right hoe for the particular piece of work to be done. Then we should see that the blade is set at the proper angle with the handle to suit the person who is to use the hoe. The cutting edge should also be kept sharp by the frequent use of a coarse file. Then study the effect of different movements of the hoe. Note that it is wholly unnecessary to raise the blade to any great height from the ground, as you would in the use of an axe or a mattock. Also observe that a drawing motion of the blade is more effective than a chopping motion. Weedinc : There are various kinds of small weeding tools com- monly called weeders. They are employed between small plants ni the rows, with such crops as onions, beets, carrots, etc. An immense, amount of time may be wasted in weeding. Unless the work is done well it is hardly worth doing at all. Moreover, the hands must move rapidly if much work is to be accomplished in a day. Thtnninc: It is necessary when we get too thick a stand of plants like beets, onions, carrots, radish, lettuce, etc., to thin them out. The surplus plants may be pulled out or removed with the hand weeder at the same time that young weeds are destroyed. We should endeavor to get rid of the weakest plants, and at the same lime strive for a uniform spacing of the plants. Spraying: One of the essential operations of all well-managed market gardens is spraying. Thoroughness of application is the most important point for employees to keep in mind. Many a crop has been lost from disease because all parts of the plant susceptible to attack from disease germs have not been well covered with the spray material. In most instances we should be careful to see that the under surfaces of the leaves as well as the upper are fully cov- ered with the spray. Harvesting: A few don'ts are in order in this connection. Don't harvest a tomato or an ear of corn or anything else until it is fully ready for market. Be alert and don't miss specimens that have reached the proper state of development and should be marketed. Be careful and don't bruise or damage the specimens that are being harvested. Be speedy and don't lag in gathering the crops, for the season's profits and the sustenance of our teeming city population depend largely upon prompt harvesting. Preparation for Market: Attractiveness is the keynote to the successful marketing of garden crops. If the vegetables look well when they reach the market, they generally sell well. This means that they must be clean, they must be carefully graded, and they must be tastefully arranged in the packages. Student workmen should vie with each other in their effort to prepare the best appear- ing packages, and in the shortest possible time. 29 SSic-^'i '..v?---- A-,- .-■ -- • -^^ <■-■..■ ^ -;• ■■'■. '■ .,•■-. fiL:--^ ■ ^^ -■.■■_. _.' ■. ,: • > ; ■ .- . U. S. Department of Labor WiLUAM B. WiLSON', Secretary- Louis F. Post, Assistant Secretary Fkux FRAWKFuaxER, Chairman War Labor Policies Board U. S. Employment Service John B. Densmore, Director General Nathan A. Smtth, Assistant Director General U. S. Boys' Working Reserve William E. Hall, National Director Hubert W. Wells, Associate Director, Educational Section Charles A. Parcells, Associate Director, Field Organization Section J. A. VanDis, Associate Director, Welfare and Supervision Section Jesse B. Davis, Associate Director, Industrial Placement Section Richard Hatton, Director of Publicity