410 AGRICULTURE 



2. The Farmer as a Mechanic 



Every farmer should, at least to a degree, be a me- 

 chanic. This is not with a view to manufacturing imple- 

 ments, or even to the building of his own barns and houses, 

 but to enable him to keep the implements, barns and houses 

 constantly in good repair. 



The farm work-shop. A great many dollars can be 

 saved on the average farm if the farmer has equipped him- 

 self with a little work-shop and a number of the necessary 

 repair tools. A loose bolt, a broken rivet, a loosened board, 

 or a brace out of position can easily be repaired by a prac- 

 tical farmer, while if it is neglected it may result in greater 

 breakage, with the consequent loss of time and money. A 

 large number of minor pieces of farm equipment, such as 

 watering and feeding troughs, feed racks, seed trays, test 

 boxes, fireless cookers, bins, shelving, wagon boxes and 

 hog racks can profitably be made in the farm shop. 



There are always plenty of rainy days and occasionally 

 periods of time when the rush and heavy work of the fields 

 have been completed and an opportunity given for repair 

 work and the making of practical necessities belonging to 

 the farm. 



Manual training and the farm boy. A farmer boy's 

 education has no more important part than training in the 

 use of farm tools and the application of the ordinary me- 

 chanical work needed about barns, fences and machines. 

 This phase of training should be correlated with the man- 

 ual-training courses in the public school. The manual 

 training learned by the farmer boy should relate to farm 

 needs. Every farmer boy should master the practical prin- 

 ciples of painting, the mixing and use of paint, and the 

 relation of color schemes. For the use of paint not only 

 beautifies, but conserves buildings, fences and machinery. 



The use of cement. Cement has come to be one of 



