VOL. LXIII
NO. 7
Rural Architecture Part IV.
— Lighting. —
The coal oil lamp along with the tallow
slip and candle is fast passing out of common use, and other and better means of
lighting are being adopted, the simplest
nnd most economical of which is gasoline,
and then comes acetylene.
As gasoline gas is burned with the same
burners as natural and coal gas, and also
because it seems to be safer, and cheaper
to instal. I assume the responsibility
■ it' recommending it for lighting.
The best manner of installation is by the
hollow wire system. It is practically
-ate, can be put in the same as wiring
for electricity, is neat in appearance and
easily kept in repair.
The principal thing to observe is to always procure a pure high grade of gasoline, and not allow any water or foreign
substance to come in contact with it.
Before attempting the use of gasoline
you should notify the insurance company
and get a permit.
~   — Water Supply. —
Since wind mills are of such common
use, the simplest way to obtain a supply,
as well as a good pressure of hard water,
is to connect the pump by a 2 in. galvaniz-
eil imn pipe to a tank in the attic.
At some convenient point, just below
the level line of eave gutters and valley
outlets locate a good sized tank and allow rain water from the roof to run into
this, which when full will overflow into a
pipe leading to cistern or drain.
From these tanks it is a very simple
matter to pipe water to bath room, kitchen
<inks aud boiler, or any point about the
house requiring its use.
1 have superintended the installation of
quite a number of plants of this kind and
they are very satisfactory in every way.
Obtaining water for stoek purposes is a
comparatively simple matter, and valuable
space will not be taken up with its discussion.
— Painting. —
Paint properly applied not only adds
greatly to the life of the building but vastly improves its appearance, and should
never be neglected under any circumstances.
There is no article of commercial value
that is so generally adulterated and coun-
terlitted as painting materials.
For this reason it is most important to
employ a mechanic who is not only honest,
but who is capable of testing the different
materials entering into the composition of
paint.
In selecting colors, remember that aspect, site and general surroundings exercise quite an influence on the harmonious
effect prexfneed by the color scheme on the
grouping as a whsile.
Cotttages require more delicate tints than
large residem ss. Groves, shrubbery,
hedges, etc., tend to intensify color tone,
and where these things predominate the
general tone must be heightened, and vice-
Tsso much cannot be saisl in favor of
slipping shingles in a creosote preparation
before they are pnt on the roof, as pacta
treatment is known to prolong the life of
shingles one half, besides the addesl feature of beauty given to the house, as the
stains are of many soft and unfading
colors.
— Material. —
The timber snpply of this country is
Practically exhaustesl. and we must look
to other materials for building purposes.
, Stoue, brick, cement and metal are fast
taking the place of wooden construction.
As an all around building material cement is practical and economical for constructing foundations, walls, floors and
roofing. With metal beams for skeletons
of floors and roof, it is possible to build a
house with practically no timber in it, unless it be for frames, doors, and interior
finish. I have in mind an elegant church
and parsonage near Bluffton, Indiana, the
material of which is almost entirely concrete, even to the roofing tiles. In tliis
instance a very complicated design was
worked out, and the color effect is most
pleasing.
Walls made of most any style of hollow
and to regain that which has been lost, is
a problem that interests every Aniens an
farmer. The joint solution of the problem is better tillage, (for did not Jethro
Hull say several years ago that "Tillage is
.Manure"?) a more systematic rotation of
cropa, keening plenty of humus in the soil,
seeing to the soils proper drainage, saving
the barnyard manure, and using more intelligently the commercial plant foods.
Tillage helps to change unavailable food
in tss the available form. The great agent
in slssing this is air. Keep the air ir,.in
the tomato can or the fruit jar, and the
contents will keep pure nnd well preserved;
admit the air, and decay nnd decomposition at once result.       What is decomposi-
Eiipply of the mineral elements indefinitely
without resort to artificial fertilizers. Sooner or later the use of potash aud phosphoric add will be a necessity, .although, of
sssurse, the farmer who utilizes his barnyard manures, practices judicious rotations and keeps his soil in good physical
nnd humic condition through the use of
leguminous crops, will be able to maintain the supply of the mineral elements at
a smaller cost than the shiftless husbandman who is not thoroughly alive to his own
interests. D. I. Duncan.
Pleasant Veranda at the Home of   Taylor  Ruley,  Grant County.
cement   blocks,     with   furring   strips   for
plastering,    are sanitary in every way.
I have been studying results from the
use of cement ns a flooring material, and
find it highly satisfactory, when protected from dampness. It makes a rigid
sound-proof floor, which is so difficult to
obtnin in any other form of construction.
A ground floor of cement in a residence
should  be constructed  in  connection  with
beams, or arches,  so as  to  leave an  air
space between the floor and the ground.
— Estimating. —
This can not safely be done except by a
competent person, or by comparison with
I other buildings of similar size and quality.
Ir. closing this article I would impress its
' readers with the fact that in this nge of
progress,     building  subjects  have  by  no
means been lost sight of,   and the individual who does not avail himself of modern
means and methods is fulling short of his
' opportunities. Benton Steele,
Pendleton, Ind.                       Arch.tect.
. ♦ .	
FusentiaN to Farm Pertility.
EilHors Insliana  Farmer:
Xo soil in itself will hold its fertility.
The maintenance of a high degree of soil
fertility is a fundamental principle in successful farming. Had this been recognized years ago, and methods practiced
lhat build rather than deplete, mnch of the
native fertility of our eastern and southern
soils woald have been conserved, ansl the
mistake of Eastern farmers is being re-
peated (in a lesssa- degree) by the farmers
of the West.
Nature cannot reclaim its lost fertility
in twice the time man can. If man works
in uniss.n w: h nature, the reclamation will
be rapid.        To maintain present fertility
I tion?      It is the change of unassimilable
I plant food into the assimilable form. This
is one of the great offices of air in the soil,
and admission of air to the soil results
trom tillage. Humus in the soil nisls the
circulation  of the air,     prevents  the  soil
; from becoming hard and compact, allows
the spring sun to warm the soil early, and
; admits of a free percolation of the surface
water through the soil to the drains below.
' A rotation of crops, bringing clovers, peas,
beans and other legumes into the regular
i routine of farming moans an increase s.f
humus. The leguminous crops also add
nitrogen to the soil, ansl that is the most
expensive element the farmer buys, when
! he buys commercial fertilizers. The other
essentinl elements of    plant    food,    phos-
I phoric acid and potash have to be purchased in a commercial form. Neither are expensive in comparison with nitrogen.      We
| can purchase phosphoric acid in the form
of high grade acid phosphates, and potash
in the form of muriate or sulphate of pot-
! ash, or kainit. Sulphate should always
be used under tobacco, potatoes, sugar
cane, oranges, etc. Kainit gives good results in the cotton fields, peach orchards
and opioa patch. Four times as nutch
kainit has to be usesl as either the muriate
ssr sulphate, since these are concentrated
salts anil contain 50 per cent actual potash. Potash in the above forms cnn be
purchased and mixed with the fertilizers
that do not contain enssugh of that element.
Animal husbandry, occupies a prominent
part in the maintenance of soil fertility,
since successful stock feeding necessarily
means a rotation of crops, and will increase the supply of barnyard manures,
but no system    can hope to maintain the
An Immense Waste.
Editors ludlana Farmer:
The secretary of a big brewing company is making an eloquent appeal to the
voters of the country to leave the saloon
business alone. He says the brewers
and distillers consume crops and supplies
of various kinds, pay taxes, etc., to make
a grand total of $354,850,000 a year, and
it would be an awful thing to put an end
to such a vast business. To this our
Aurora correspondent, XI. B. IC, makes
the following pertinent reply:
"Suppose this to be true, it only proves
that great amount of capital to be occupied in something worse than useless to
be retailed through the saloons, as luxury,
at five hundred per cent profit, taken off
the people that can be induced to indulge
in strong drink to the distress of themselves and their families; making millions
of paupers; creating insanity; causing
murder and suicide; estranging man aud
wife; starving innocent children and counteracting all the teachings of civilization
and religion. J'alk of them paying $(W.-
S75.4G5 Government tax and $70,000,000
license and local tax. Suppose they did,
that would not pay one quarter of the expense incurred by the states in maintaining paupers, and extra running of the
criminal courts, the direct result of that
nefarious business. The people can find
market for their produce, even if they continued growth of prohibition should dry-
up the brewing and distilling industries,"
ansl the decent industries of the country
need not be disturbed. When the people
are sober nnd not demoralized they
can easily tind profitable employment.
Under the influence of free school, prohibition will be allowed to go on."
Experiment in £ubso.I.ng.
Editors Indiana Farmer:
Our land has a compact red clay subsoil, and twss years ago I ran an ordinary
single-shovel, drawn by one horse, behind
the breaking plow. That year there was
! little difference in yield on subsoil over the
not subsoiled part, but of the last year
the subsoiled part was much the heaviest
corn. I believe we can improve our land
much   by   subsoiling. I   would   like   to
use a subsoiler this spring drawn by two
colts, as it would be too much for one,
hitched so that one may walk in the furrow. I would like to see this matter dis-
i-ussed in the Farmer; the kinds of plows
and the manner of hitching to them.
Washington Co. ,T.  II.  TI.
—Let us hear from those interested.
The merchant's association of the State
at its recent meeting in Terre Haute,
passed resolutions opposing the paresis
post bill before Congress. Now it is in
order for the farmers and others, interested on the other side of the question, tss
pass resolutions urging that the bill be
passed. Then we will see which has tbe
greater influence with Congressmen.