VOL. LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, MARCH 4, 1905.
NO. 9
Dynamite th Post Augar Well.
Editors Indian* Famer:
About a year or so ago an article,
written by a subscriber, appeared iu your
paper tellirr-j* how to make' a water well
with a post auger. The author oil the
article asked for some one to tell him
how the hole could be made larger at the
bottom  when  water  was  struck.
I would like to hear from him again,
and would suggest using dynamite at the
water line. Perhaps he lias learned a
better way. J. T. II.
Westfield.
Tne Farm School.
(Mltor* Indian* Ffcraer:
One of tlie best lessons, for farmers, as
well as for others, is what to do with
our time.
There is not always
economy in early ris-
ng and late retiring.
We make nothing by
going to the field before it is light enough
to seo the corn-rows.
The farmer needs as
many hours for sleep
and rest as any one
needs. So too his
labor should allow him
as much leisure for-
reading and writing as .
that of any other, citizen. The best farmers are not those who
force themselves into
a dog's life," as it is
called. Ilone weeds
are' killed by plowing
in tho sunny hours;
and I know of on-e
successful man who
did not go to tlie field
until the dew was off.
He said he could get
the weeds under control better by six    or
seven hours of   work	
than by the conventional ten.
Then he used to take magazines and
road farm papers, and declare he got his
work along better when he took his time
than when he toiled more without-reading.
To save time, follow a regular program,
julow so much time for each duty. Arrange the duty so it will occupy its own
time, and hold yoursolf to it. This is
so much easier than haphazard plans that
it is a real pleasure.
The house and barn ami cellar and
grain bins might all be planned with a
view  to  saving    time. For    instance,
have lamps or jets that will give light
when light is wanted. Have a cistern,
with rain 'water in it, ami a well with
well water in it, and a pump in each one,
that woYks without priming. If any of
theso commodities should get out of order,
take time, or money, or whatever else is
required   to  mend   it,   right  then.
If there is gas available, get it and use
it. With gas an outhouse fire may be
provided for a few cents, or a dollar or
two at most, ami all the soap and apple
butter may be made without the torture
butter and lard may Ik- made without the
torture of the wood smoke and with at
least half of the women's time saved.
See tlint the ground is ready whon the
season is right for planting; for if we
plow and harrow after planting time has
arrived, we lose every hour so occupied.
To this end, it pays to ditch off the
water. Ditches, even in high ground,
are time savers.
All the stove wood, if we bum wood,
may be cut in the winter, split to the
proper size, ricked up out doors to get
the sun and thu air and moved into the
wood house, after seasoning. If it lias
to stay out doors a year it will deteriorate by decay, unless covered. A few old
boards will save it. It is best cut in
the latter part of the winter and stacked
in the shelter the next fall, after seeding
and before corn gathering. Get enough
in to last a full year. The knots make
the best heat; so every one should be
saved. They do for the fire place or the
heating stove.
A great deal of time is wasted by
hunting for tilings; and every farmer and
every farmer's wife, son and daughter
should know where things are kept, which
tfi
-
.r.
In feeding shredded fodder if Undoes not leave two-thirds of it (wh
doubt) the shredded stalk makes or
Ihe best absorbents that can Ik- usr-<-£,'
the stables; tho liquids absorb aml-lp.
lhat way going tu the fields will alniost,5.n
not finite, pay for shredding. Shredders have certainly added hundreds of
tons of food each year to the farmers
<rf IihUana.
In the same issue there is an article on
building silos, from Kosciusko county, lt
leaves a great deal for a novice to guess
at. When   I   return   to   Indiana   I   ex
pect to build a silo and want all the point
ers  I  can- get.      The  writer  says  a  silo
11 feet in diameter will feed _0 eows, one
10 feet ISO cows, 2o feet CO cows,"    but
does not state  how many  months  it  will
Scene
on the (.rent  Northern  Hallway in the Cascade Mountains.
feed
they are at all likely to use. So, time
is saved by taking time to put things
away. And thoy ought to be put away
in   good   condition. Oil   the   steel   sur
faces, so that they will not be consumed
with rust; and place all wooden handles
of rakes and hoes and plows, etc., so that
no pressure will be upon them to warp
tbem out of shape.   •
All such things can be done by prompt
action, without sputter or worry, and
enough time be saved to do as much reading as any intelligent porson noeds to do.
Dull axes, hoes, scythes, sickles, plows
and  table knives are  all time consumers.
Hush Co. Walter S. Smith.
The Shredder and Silo
Esiiiors Indian* Farmer:
Having lived in Indiana over fifty yeara
(a native born Hoosier) and still claiming
Indiana as my home, though I am now
a farmer in the U. S. Indian- service, I
take a lively interest in all things pertaining to the farm, especially in my native state. In reading the Farmer I notice a few things that differ from my
experience; in Jan. 7th I see the statement that shredded fodder dors not pay;
that horses will not eat one-third of! it.
Xow, my experience has lieen that stock
of no kind will eat one-third of it when-
fed whole, nnd the stalks will not absorb
my thing, and what Kick .breaking work
it is to clean the stables, or haul the manure to fields in the spring; and did you
ever have your corn plow while plowing
catch a corn- stalk ami tear up a hill or
two of corn?
or how high     the silo    should  be.
*    Through the winter is meant.
Miles, Wash. W. II. Kunse.
Objects to  tbe Bank Bam.
Editors Indiana Parmer:
In reply to W. M.: I do not liko a
bank barn; my father had one -l;"ix70,costing $1,(')00, and I would as soon have one
of same size without the bank. The barn
should front sonlh; it costs considerable
money to make the wall for a bank barn.
There should be tile under the wall, or
solus- way to prevent water from coming
ninler  in  a  wet time. I  never saw  a
bank barn that water did not seep under.
Wo have had to carry water out in buckets, and the ground is rolling. I know
of six or seven costly bank barns, and tin-
owners do not like them. One of my
neighbors is talking of moving his barn
off from the wall, and set it on the
ground. You may take a team out of
a bank barn in real cold weather and
stop them, and you will think they have
a chill.
All grain may be put in the basement
by chutes liko flouring mills run tlieir
(.rain. Have a small bin in the basement
under the chute, with a small hopper on
the upper end; have this in crib or granary. ' Yo.i can load wheat in wagon by
same plan; bin over the chute of barn;
stand wagon under; hang sack on; when
full is in the wagon.
llank barns nre not the place for sheep.
They are too damp. Yon ean keep tliem
for a short time, say while lambing.
Greene Co. W. W.
Tbe Former a Welcome Visitor.
Kditors Indiana Parmer:
The  Indiana  Farmer is always  a  wel-
ome visitor to our home; sometimes, not
'ten, it is late; their we watch the mail
•in as a hawk would a chicken until it
gets  here.        The  stand   that  jou  make
upon  the  temperance   and   tobacco  questions, also for tho good of the pinner, is
quite  praiseworthy.        Tlie  Fanner  is  a
paper  beneficial  to nil  readers  regardless
of occupation,  although  of course  mainly
for the farmer. Harry Haydon.
CanipbeUsburg I*. C. C.
Tlie Apiary—The First Prtnclplea.
[".lltors Indlsna Fsrmer:
There are a few things which must be
kept in mind to insure success. I will
lirielly touch these points, ns I expect  to
 \ mure fully treat most
of them iu the future.
Tlie first rule, which
has very appropriately
Ix-en called "the golden rule of beekeeping," is that you must
keep your colonies
strong at all times, if
you wish to get a
honey   crop. Keep
this in view always
and work for it.
The second though
or rule, ami on-e very
closely related to tho
above is in relation
to   the     queen. A
good prolific young
queen is necessary at
all times. Y'ou should
see to it tliat your
queens do not outgrow
their usefulness, a
queen over two years
old, as a rule, becomes unprofitable, as
the queen is the life
of  the  colony,   it    is
 Tcry    essential     that
this matter be considered very carefully.
The hive is a very important matter. There have been many (liferent hives put on the market, but after
nil has been said the Isangstroth hive
nnd frame give Uie best satisfaction and
results of any in  this climate.
Here nre the points to consider in a
hive: First, success in wintering; second, amount of comb honey obtained;
third; case and speed of manipulation.
Is.Is. Isangstroth, the father of modern
bixkeoping c; mo very nearly solving all
those points, or at least tho first two,
successfully. His ideas on those two
points nre Ihe lxst known to-day. His
hive has Invir changed slightly to secure-
lire tli'nl, so that Iris hive, all things
considered gives Ihe Ik st results of any
hive in use to-day. Each manufacturer
has som-; pet hobby or theory to catch the
fancy; but for safety in wintering and
results givo me the Isangstroth hive
adapted for pound sections.
A common- mistake with beginners is
to think that they can improve the standard hives. Don't try it. If you want
t-> make your own hives, send to some
factory and get a sample hive all nailed
ami fitted up, and make your hives exact-
'y liko it. Each piece and space has
boon carefully thought out and tested ami
means ---omethiiig.
Itcdkcy. Geo. W. Williams.
Ilannna skins nre in demand in England,
particularly al hotels, for tlio cleaning
of boots.