RURAL ENGINEERING. 47 



tion. AVe do not know either the ett'ect of poor ventihition or the 

 most ollii'iont means of .sccurino- (rood ventilation. Anotlier is the 

 improvement in the water system of both farm houses and farm barns. 

 Heretofore, nearly all farm buildinj^s have been built of wood. A 

 ehanoe to other materials is inevitable in the near future. Timber is 

 l)ee()ming- scaree and costly and nuist be supplemented by brick, stone, 

 and cement. On the other hand, improvements in the manufacture of 

 cement and in the methods of utilizing it for different construction 

 purposes have been one of the most marked developments of recent 

 times. This Department can render the farmers of this country no 

 greater service than by showing just how far it is possible for farmers 

 to make use of these advances in our industri;d methods by determining 

 the relative cost and value of different materials to be used. in the con- 

 struction of houses, barns, fences, and other features of the equipment 

 of a modern farm. 



It is believed, however, that the greatest opportunity for the improve- 

 ment of the agricultural practice of the United States is to be found in 

 the right selection and care of farm machinery. In no other country 

 is its use so extensive, and the scarcit}^ and high price of farm labor 

 will tend to its increased use in the future, rather than otherwise. The 

 total value of implements and machinery on the farms of this country, 

 according to the recent census, was $761,201,550, an average of $133 

 per farm, taking the country over, and of 90 cents per acre of farm 

 land. Much of this machinerj^ is elaborate and complicated in con- 

 struction, and re({uires mechanical skill for its most efficient operation 

 and care, not to mention the making of small repairs. It represents 

 an important part of the farmer's invested capital upon which he must 

 pay or earn interest. That there is an enormous waste of money due 

 to ncgh^.ct and unskillful handling of this part of the farm e({uipment 

 must be obvious to anyone who has traveled through the regions where 

 it is most used. 



The record of two tenants on neighboring farms in Nebraska is a 

 case in point as showing how much of this waste may be avoided. 

 These two men have been living on the same farms for the past nine 

 years. One of them is still using the same harvester which he pur- 

 chased th(! rirst 3'ear he took the farm; the other has bought and " worn 

 out'' three self-binders. In eight and a half 3'ears there has been a 

 difference of $1,J>00 in the outlay- for farm machinery by these two 

 men. Both farn)s are about equally eijuippcd. The difference is that, 

 as a result of better care and more skillful use, one man's tools have 

 lasted about three times as long as the other's. Such examples of 

 extravagant management are by no tneans uncommon. The American 

 farmer, with all his mechanical aptitude and iincntive skill, has been 

 straiigelv nciilrctful in his management and care of agricultural 

 machinery, and until recently there has been little demand for studies 



