FARM MANAGEMENT 111 



shrinkage will make entrances for wintry blasts. The work of 

 painting can sometimes be done quite as well by the farmer him- 

 self, but too often he reserves too much to be done by himself, and 

 months elapse before he succeeds in accomplishing this very nec- 

 essary work. 



Whether he performs the labor himself or hires it on contract, 

 it will almost invariably pay him to purchase his own materials. 

 By so doing he can be certain of their purity as well as of buying 

 at the lowest price compatible with good goods. There is on the 

 market a class of ready-mixed paints which can not be too seriously 

 condemned. They may be all right for the cow shed or chicken 

 house, but they are not fit to put on a good dwelling. Competition 

 has forced down the price until the manufacturers simply can not 

 afford to use even fairly good materials. There may be many ex- 

 cellent ready-mixed paints, but the very cheap grades are practically 

 worthless. It is the poorest kind of economy to slight this part of 

 house building or to use inferior materials. 



The colors may be bought dry or ground in oil, and absolutely 

 pure linseed oil should be used for mixing. The labor of applying 

 will be no greater; the paint will go farther and last infinitely 

 longer than where cheap adulterated paints are used. 



The first or priming coat should be mixed very thin. A cheap 

 ocher will answer every purpose for color and body. It should 

 be worked well in and brushed out, as the painters put it, and al- 

 lowed to dry thoroughly. The sooner it can be applied after the sid- 

 ing is in place the better. The second coat should be somewhat 

 thicker, of the proper color, and smoothly laid on. The third coat 

 should be still thicker, and should not be put on until the second 

 coat is thoroughly dry and hard. In fact, it is best to wait six 

 months before applying the final coat. If any cracks or checks 

 have occurred it will fill them, or they may be puttied, and if the 

 materials have been of the best it will almost enamel the wood and 

 leave it in a condition to withstand all kinds of weather for years. 



As to colors, light tints should always be chosen for country 

 dwellings. The smoke and dirt which render them impractical, 

 or at least expensive to maintain, in the city are not present in the 

 country, and they give a house surrounded by green (as the farm 

 home should be) a brighter, cheerier, and cleaner appearance. A 

 delicate pearl with lighter trimmings gives a durable covering and 

 a neat combination. At all events avoid many and brilliant colors. 

 Bright blues, pinks, yellows, etc., are indicative of bad taste, and 

 soon tire even those who first advocated them. The custom, also, of 

 combining a variety of colors the house mainly of one color with 

 a pink gable and a yellow foundation and similar abominations 

 are to be severely condemned. A light blue makes a pretty veranda 

 ceiling, and there its usefulness ends for house painting. 



The interior of a house should be almost free from paint. The 

 kitchen floor, walls, and ceiling and the bathroom walls are the 

 only places where it should be found. The woodwork should be 

 sand-papered, and one coat of filler and one of hard oil applied. 



