J^utal Sa-ketu loplci 



It Happens Every Spring So Watch Your Step 

 and the Step Ladder^ too 



By C. M. SEAGRAVES 



y/PRIL showers bring May 



^, U At flowers, some of which are 

 ^ ^ .^ I sure to end up in sick- 

 rooms where many an erstwhile tractor 

 operator is mulling over the sudden- 

 ness with which a disabling injury can 

 be received. 



Past experience in Illinois points to 

 April and May as two high tractor- 

 casualty months. The same experience 

 shows that the majority of these in- 

 juries result from falling off the trac- 

 tor, being kicked by it, having it over- 

 turn, or mounting or dismounting 

 while it's in motion. 



The housewife, of course, has her 



Spring tonic, too. She most enjoys a thor- 

 ough soapsuds jamboree, well garnished 

 with strains and stretchings and followed 

 by several days of groans and nights of 

 sitz baths. Tugging and hauling furni- 

 ture, mattresses, rugs, rearranging the 

 pantry; putting away winter clothing 

 and holding up Spring togs (last 

 year's) for a quizzical inspection (let's 

 see now should I cut it off or put in 

 a wider hem). 



It's a poorly advised question but 

 how many men we wonder think of a 

 conscientious biddy shuffling her eggs 

 around when they see the good wife 

 begin the annual Home Havoc Fiesta? 



Although we have reason to believe 

 the system is slowly disappearing (as 

 is, we fear, the hearty and "home- 

 happy" type of womanhood that begot 

 it), still the remaining number of ladies 

 is great enough to justify our usual 

 Spring warning: (1) Don't lift exces- 

 sive weights; (2) Don't climb on any- 

 thing but a substantial ladder; (3) 

 Don't "keep going" until your reserve 

 is gone. If it's a two day job . . . take 

 three. 



And speaking of Spring — Spring 

 highway hazards divide themselves 

 rather generally into two groups: the 

 gapers and the gig^lers. In group one 

 we find all those who are anxious to be- 

 hold the beauties of the season along 

 the road; to keep check on when the 

 neighbors are plowing . . and how deep 

 . . and how wet . . and with what 

 equipment (what, a new tractor?) : and 



who is painting and who is planting, 

 and who is home and who should be. 

 And about this time the gazers car is 

 ready to climb into the radiator grill 

 of a stock truck. 



As for the gigglers . . (they're usual- 

 ly young folks although occasionally 

 you'll find older ones who have a year- 

 ly, temporary throwback to the time 

 when Spring constituted a legitimate 

 excuse for calf-eyes) the symptoms are 

 various. This group may wander 

 around the road a little. They may 

 drive very slowly, or, depending on the 

 driver's emotional stability, may reach 

 very high speeds. In the case of a first 

 affection, it's not unusual to find mani- 

 fested a kind of galloping giddiness — 

 20 miles per hour one minute and 60 

 the next. While this tends to confuse 

 other traffic, it is doubtless a condition 

 which will outlast the auto and can only 

 be met by extra vigilance on the part 

 of other highway users. 



A scrutiny of typical "spring acci- 

 dents" indicates that the following pre- 

 cautions should be emphasized during 

 this season: 



1. Get the Car off the road and park 

 when interested in : 



a. The scenery. 



b. Plant or animal life. 



c. Matrimony (or any of the steps 

 leading thereto). 



d. Neighbors' affairs. 



2. Control the urge to speed. 



3. Be especially watchful of playing 

 children. 



4. Be especially careful to switch on 

 liphts before you need them . . . 

 you may be able to see the road 

 hut you can't see other cars and 

 they can't see you. Remember 

 twilight is the zero hour for high- 

 way accidents. 



5. Have car checked for tires, brakes, 

 and lights ... a winter's usage 

 means hard usage and no driver 

 is any safer than his car's safety 

 factors. 



Queries : 



1. Why are not all tractor seats 

 equipped with backs.' 



2. Why has Oregon, Wisconsin and 

 Connecticut found it necessary to 

 restrict the sale of electric fence 

 controllers to only those of cer- 



WHAT A NICHE FOR A NAP I 

 No back rest, wheels exposed. 



tain safety specifications? (Over 

 one hundred manufacturers anxi- 

 ous to sell and only three states 

 anxious to safeguard. 

 Suggestion: Any one contem- 

 plating the purchase of a 110 

 volt controller should demand 

 from the manufacturer proof in 

 writing that the controller being 

 purchased is approved for sale 

 in the above three states by the 

 authorities of those states. 



3. Would not reflector buttons in- 

 stalled along the sides of all 

 freight cars be a definite aid in 

 seeing these obstacles at night at 

 unlighted, unguarded crossings? 



4. Why shouldn't all tractors be 

 equipped with inside fenders over 

 wheels and spokes? 



5. Why do the big guns of US DA. 

 go "Boom!" on all other phases 

 of farm problems they attack, but 

 emit a weak "pfft" on farm safety? 



Chicago Junior Market Lamb Show, spon- 

 sored for Future Farmer and 4-H Club 

 members by the Union Stock Yard and 

 Transit Company, will be held in the In- 

 ternational Amphitheatre. June 20 and 21. 

 Purpose of the show: To encourage pro- 

 duction of quality market lambs by farm 

 boys and girls and to familiarize them 

 with market procedure. Junior lamb feed- 

 ers interested in the show are urged to 

 pet full information from their farm ad- 

 viser. 



Monroe Service Company distributed 517 

 dividend checks averaging $2''. "^3. a total of 

 $13,867, at a joint meeting of the company 

 and the Monroe County Farm Bureau. Feb. 

 25. The return to member patrons was 15 

 per cent of purchases. A seven per cent 

 capital stock dividend amounting to $827.75 

 on an investment of $11,825 was also dis- 

 tributed. All directors of the company were 

 re-elected. Talmadge DeFrees, vice-president 

 of the lAA, delivered the principal address. 

 W. B. Peterson represented Illinois Farm 

 Supply Company. 



APRIL, 1939 



SI 



