VOL. Lxn
INDIANAPOLIS, SEPTEMBER 28, 1-907.
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THE USES OF PAINT.
Prevents Decay and Rust.
1st Premium.—It is an easy matter to
show the value of paint, for when we
stop to consider that it is a perfect pore
filler and that one gallon or ordinary prepared paint, costing $1.50, will cover 300
square feet of surface two coats, it is
hardly necessary to say that the man who
neglects to paint is wasting his profits
through the decay and rust of his buildings and machinery. Any farmer can do
his own painting, at odd times and on
rainy days. The best makes of prepared
paint can be purchased at any hardware
or drug store, with full directions for using. The first thing to remember is that
the surface to be painted must be clean,
dry and free from grease or dirt. Always use a good brush. For walls 4%
inch black bristle brush is preferred. A
poor  brush  waists both  time and  paint.
For prime coating on old work add 1
gallon raw linseed oil to each gallon of
prepared paint, or tliis is the coat that
fills up the pores. The more oil the wood
takes up the longer it will last and the
longer the paint will stay <>n.
Let        this        ooat        stand several
daya. If  you  expect  to  put  on   three
coats the next one must be "flatted;" that
is, enough turpentine is added to kill the
gloss, or the third coat will not cover
properly. For second coat mix in this proportion: One gallon prepared paint, %
gallon raw oil, % gallon turpentine. This
is the most important coat, for upon it
depends, more or less, the appearance of
the building when finished. Therefore
see that the paint is evenly spread and
well nibbed out, as paint daubed on is
bound to scale or look rough and spotted.
For the third coat mix 1 gallon pint, %
gallon oil.
If you only want to put on two coats
of paint, mix 1 gallon paint, V_. gallon raw
oil and Ys pint turpentine for primers. For
finishing coat use prepared paint as received in can, after thoroughly mixing.
If the surface is new, and especially if it
is hard or yellow pine, use plenty of turpentine in the primer, as tliis gives greater penetration to the oil and a better binder for subsequent coats.
Now if you wish to mix up a stock of
paint to keep on hand, to paint plow
shares, machinery, tools exposed to the
weather, metal roofs, etc., here is a great
one and hard to beat for durability and
cheapness: Mix about 7 pounds iron
ore, one gallon linseed oil, y_ pint Japan
dryer. Iron  ore can  be  purchased  at
any hardware or paint store, but Venetian red may be substituted. All prepared paints are made either for inside
or outside work. Inside paint is mixed
mostly with turpentine, while outside
paint is ground in linseed oil which turns
yellow if used indoors. If a wagon or
other machinery, badly checked or weather beaten, is to be painted, thoroughly
clean it, then give it a heavy coat of red
lead, Venetian red and linseed oil. Daub
well in cracks. When dry, fill all cracks
and holes with putty. Sandpaper smooth,
and you are ready to put on finishing coat
of  whatever  color  you   wish. If  you
wish to make a nice, smooth job of it, rub
each coat of paint when dry with "00"
sand paper and then finish off with a coat
of No. 1 coach varnish, and you have as
nice a job as any carriage painter can
give you, and at about one-third the cost.
W. G. S.
Adds Value  to  the Farm.
2d Premium.—Paint not only adds to
the appearance, but is also very necessary
to preservation of buildings. They will
soon decay if allowed to go unpainted. If
the roof is of shingles or metal it is also
very necessary to paint. If we do not
we will soon have a roof that will not
prove satisfactory, more especially if it
is metal. In painting a building it is
necessary to give it at least two coats
The first coat, or primer, should be lead
and oil. This will penetrate the wood
and   will   be  far better  for  the  buildings
ting. If our wagons or implements are
obliged to stand out (which I do not ap-
pro\ e of) they will be much better off if
painted, as the paint will protect the
wood; also a shed will protect the paint.
It would be a difficult matter to fully
■how the value of paint. It is something
that we cannot get along without, and
should be used a great deal more than it
is. Subscriber.
Red Paint Conies Handy.
3d Premium.—Paint is very valuable on
buildings,   farm machinery,  wagons,  bug-
eo*l too much to let them rust and rot out
for waut of a few cents paid out for
lead and oil. Give the children free' usi-
of the paint bucket and brush ami we will
not have much painting to do, only tn go
around and touch up a few missed places.
Fur houses there is no paint that will
beat white lead and oil to last. We had
our house painted with the best white lead
and linseed oil seven years ago, and it is
yet in good condition. Any boy that is
big enough to plow can mix lead and oil.
The first coat needs to be a liule thinner
than the second coat. Let each coat
of paint get thoroughly dry before applying the next coat. Three coats should
be used on- a new building. Where there
is some old paint, two coats will be sufficient. Make a brush full of paint go
as far as it will, then it "ill iml be apt
to run in streaks when drying.
S. T.
No. 604, Oct. 5.—Does it pay to raise
root crops for winter feed for live stock?
Give experience.
No. 605. Oct. 12.—Give directions for
making butter that will sell at the highest
price, and tell how to market it.
Indiana Farmer Bxperim t-nt Plats, State Fair Grounds.
than a cheap prepared paint. The second coat can be any color that is desired
und the paint can be somewhat thicker.
If the siding is pine nnd somewhat pitchy,
it is a good idea not to paint immediately,
but let the pitch get out of the siding, as
the paint will not hold well on fresh siding that has pitch in it.
As to the value of painting buildings I
have in mind a certain farm that had unpainted buildings. It sold a few years
ago for $6,000. The party that bought
this farm put some new fence on it, painted buildings, sold the timber and then
sold the farm for $9,000. The timber
sold from the farm amounted to more than
tho outlay for fence and paint.
We are having our church remodeletl.
The seats were old styled and did not look
as though they could be made to look
all right, but being the best of poplar
lumber they were remodeled and painted,
grained and varnished, until they are
splendid and do not look at all like the
old seats.
Wagons, buggies and carriages should
be repainted every two or three years.
They should first be thoroughly cleaued,
then sand-papered to remove all the old
rough paint scales. They should have
at least two coats, then a coat of varnish;
the varnish wiil give it the finishing luster
and will also protect the paint. It is
best to use fine emery paper to smooth the
woodwork. There is no better priming
coat for a wagon than red lead and oil.
All machinery, such as plows, harrows,
etc., should be painted quite often. If
wagons and buggies are left painted, the
tires will stay tight and will not need set-
gies, chicken brooders, gates, gate
posts, etc. If a gate post be hewed or
sawed out of oak, seasoned and placed in
the ground, tarred the last foot, filling
hole with lime, sand and gravel, or cement and gravel, to keep out the water
aud the air, and then painted with three
coats of white lead and paiut every five
years, the owner will likely never need to
replace the post in his lifetime. If my
farm machinery 1ms any taps that bother
me by working loose, I generally have a
can with some red lead mixed up with
linseed oil. I give the tap a good painting and fill the threads above the tap
with paiut aud it will not come loose soon
again. Sometimes the loss of a tap is
very expensive.
A large portion of the farm machinery
rusts out instead of wearing out. I
have a mowing machine that I purchased
over 19 years ago. I keep it well painted
aud it does good work yet. It cut about
30 acres last year. It has the same
tongue and neck yoke to it yet. I paint
the hammer handles, hoe handles,
wrenches, and wire plyers all red. The
small childres have a great deal of use for
these articles. They get so busy they
forget to take them back to where they
belong, and forget where they used them
last. The red paint preserves them
when out, and they are much easier found
by being painted red. I paint my tools
with red lead and linseed oil. I think it
is better than paint that is put up already
mixed. For gates I use about one-
fourth Venetian red and three-fourths red
lead. I think it makes a much better
color.      Wagons,    buggies and machinery
LODtUN*.'   AT  STATE  FAIR.
Editors Imlianu  Farmer:
Mrs. Smith and I wish to thank you
for securing lodgiug for us during the
State fair, and especially for securing it at
such a nice place, and with such good people as Mrs. Morgan of 622 Alabama St.,
and family. X. L. Smith.
Jay Co.
—We are pleased to know that our
friends were plased with our efforts to
accommodate them. It is but a small
matter to put a notice in the daily papers
"Lodging wanted for visiitors to the State .
Fair." This brings a number of replies,
and we make our selection of places for
our friends, and generally secure good accommodation at reasonable rates. This
we have done of our own accord for several years past, but it occurs to us to suggest that the State Board might do a
good thing for itself and for many of its
patrons by adopting this plan in an extended way, aud advertising on its programs and in circulars, hundreds and
even thousands of homes, where two or
more persons attending the fair might secure lodging and breakfast for a specified
sum. It Would tempt a great many visitors to stay over, and spend a second day
at the fair. The fairs are growing ' increasingly more interesting and valuable
to the fanners; the displays are larger
and better, and it is impossible to inspect
them satisfactorily in a part of one day,
and a larger number of visitors will desire to remain over night, especially if
comfortable accommodations can be had
at moderate charge.
We trust that the Board will take this
matter into consideration at their meeting
in January, and arrange for providing
lodging anil breakfast for all who desire to
spend more than a day at their great
shows.
The subject of lightning rod protection
is being discussed in other farm papers,
and much the same opinions, as to the security of rods, are expressed as have been
given in the Farmer. For several years
past we have collected all the information
possible on the subject, and have become
fully persuaded that rodding buildings
carefully and with proper materials is a
sure protection against damage by the
electric fluid.