234 AGRICULTURE FOR BEGINNERS 



of walking the plowman rides. The shredder and husker 

 turns the hitherto useless cornstalk into savory food, and 

 at the same time husks, or shucks, the corn. 



The farmer of the future must know three things well : 

 first, what machines he can profitably use ; second, how 

 to manage these machines ; third, how to care for these 

 machines. 



This machinery that makes farming so much more eco- 

 nomical, and that makes the farmer's life so much easier 

 and more comfortable, is too complicated to be put into 

 the hands of bunglers who will soon destroy it, and it is too 

 costly to be left in the fields or under trees to rust and rot. 



If it is not convenient for every farmer to have a separate 

 tool house, he should at least set apart a room in his barn 

 or a shed for storing his tools and machines. As soon as a 

 plow, harrow, cultivator indeed any tool or machine has 

 finished its share of work for the season, it should receive 

 whatever attention it needs to prevent rusting, and be 

 carefully housed. 



Such care, which is neither costly nor burdensome, will 

 add many years to the life of the machine. 



SECTION LII BIRDS 



What do birds do in the world ? is an important ques- 

 tion for us to think about. First, we must gain by obser- 

 vation and by personal acquaintance with the living birds a 

 knowledge of their work and their way of doing it. In 

 getting this knowledge, let us also consider what we can 

 do for our birds to render their work as complete and 

 effective as possible. 



