EIGHTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X. 721 



he is compelled to do so for a living but because he enjoys the work 

 and seeks thereby to make himself a successful and self-respecting mem- 

 ber of community. The broader phase of the topic might and would 

 naturally include every subject for discussion on this program. The 

 more limited view is the one undoubtedly intended, however, and the 

 one I shall attempt to discuss. 



Some of the every day wastes occurring on the average farm make 

 a constant drain on its revenue which so often means the margin 

 between success and failure. A few of these items of waste, then, I shall 

 mention, often leaving the remedies to be inferred, sometimes hinting 

 at possible remedies. 



The first I wish to make is care of farm machinery. These ma- 

 chines which it becomes necessary for a farmer to purchase in order to 

 carry on modern farming successfully are expensive and should be 

 kept in working order for as long a time as possible. There are two 

 ways in which this may be done. In the first place by careful housing 

 when not in use, and again and more important by careful and thought- 

 ful handling while in use. In the housing of machinery care should 

 be taken that all the parts be put away together and in such a manner 

 that they may be easily accessible at any time. If this is not possible 

 then they should be put away in the fall with the idea of the order 

 of removal for the spring work ever in mind. It often happens that 

 enough time is wasted in getting ill arranged machinery out of a ma- 

 chine house to pay for their loss due to their laying out over winter. 

 One often hears the remark about a machine, "Any one can run that; 

 all you have to do is drive," and similiar statements. This is far from 

 the truth. The very simplest machine must be used with an accompani- 

 ment of brains or the work will be poor and the machine will suffer. 

 "Lost a burr, lost a bolt, broke this or that," is a common expression as 

 the man returns from the field, a waste of half an hour, often due to a 

 lack of proper attention before starting out. I have seen windmills go 

 through the winter without oil and the owners wonder why there was 

 so little wind. Much waste may be avoided through this one item of 

 machinery alone with frequent applications of oil and constant appli- 

 cation of brains. 



There are two ways of wasting the grain used as feed (and I believe 

 that all grain raised on the farm should be fed on that farm). One is 

 by feeding it and the other is by not feeding it. There is now and then 

 a farmer who wastes his feed given to horses, cattle or hogs by giving 

 more than the animal requires for its best development. I know a 

 man who started to feed his calves a certain amount of feed each day 

 without any regard to the amount they required, with the result that 

 what was left soon spoiled each successive feed until the calves would 

 have none of it, and he was brought forcibly to the realization of the 

 fact that he must study the needs of his stock more closely. So rarely 

 does this occur, however, that it is like a green oasis in a sandy 

 desert when compared with the great multitude of farmers who let their 

 stock shift for themselves during the winter, losing the gains made while 

 on summer pasture and that they should make in the winter. This, 

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