616 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



What a pleasure in coming from the muddy feed lot to the house yard 

 and find a nice green lawn, good cement walks, nice and clean, and go 

 to the cement cave with the milk, not one of those you have to go down 

 a long line of steps hut just walk right straight into. That is the cement 

 cave. Now you can have one of that kind and it is a good investment. It 

 just takes a little time, not so much money. Pick a time of the year when 

 the rush of the farm work is not so pressing, and tell neighbor Jones 

 you want him to help you a few days. Go to the sand bank or gravel pit 

 and haul a few loads of gravel. Be careful to use gravel that is free from 

 dirt or clay. Most any hard substance will do. Old broken crocks or 

 brickbats, so they are broken fine enough to go inside the forms. And that 

 is a good way to get rid of some of that old rubbbish. 



There are many ways and places that cement can be used on the 

 farm to great advantage. It can be utilized in the construction of foun- 

 dations for buildings, barn floors, especially in the cow barns, feeding pens 

 for hogs. Even a hog is inclined to be clean if you give him a chance. A 

 feeding floor can be swept clean or flushed once a day or better after each 

 meal, and prevent disease in your herd. Sanitation means a great deal to 

 the farmer in feeding stock. 



Then your silo can be made entirely of cement by digging a hole in the 

 ground, and cement the bottom and the walls. This can be in one end of 

 the barn or a shed can be built over it, giving you a perfect silo. Among 

 other things is well curbs, root cellars, ice houses, windmill anchor posts — 

 even fence posts. Water tanks can be made of cement and you will have 

 one that will never leak. The sun and frost will not affect it if built 

 right. I saw on Mr. Kelley's farm one that was constructed like a huge 

 wash-bowl. He told me he commenced by hauling a few loads of sand in 

 a pile where he wanted the tank to stand, then hollowed out the sand to 

 the size he wanted the tank and commenced and plastered the sides to 

 the thickness of about 6 inches. By making it round and flaring there 

 is no danger of the frost doing any damage. This one has stood the 

 test for several years without showing any signs of cracks or leaks. 



A WOMAN'S REMARKABLE SUCCESS WITH POULTRY. 

 By Mrs. D. C. Johnson, Maxwell, Iowa. 

 "You asked me how and when I started in the poultry business. Well, 

 I will tell you. When I first learned there was merit in the "old hen" it 

 was way back in the latter part of the seventies. I was left a widow with 

 three small children to support. When I began to realize the responsi- 

 bility resting upon me, I cast about for something to do and found I could 

 get work part of the time sewing, house cleaning and all sorts of drudgery, 

 but not enough to pay my rent and insure me a living, so I took what 

 little money my husband had left me and bought a house and eight acres 

 of land, two cows, a few pigs and several dozen hens. This took all the 

 money I had. I had nothing left to live on until I could realize something 

 from my investment. Things had become desperate and many nights I 

 went to bed hungry. 



