42 THE SMALL COUNTRY PLACE 



illustration (Fig. 7). Chains, whiffletrees, eveners, etc., 

 may be disposed of in the same manner, when they may 

 be quickly taken down for use or an inventory taken at 

 a glance to tell whether any have been left out or been 

 borrowed by neighbors. Spades, shovels, forks, rakes, 

 hoes, etc., may be hung in a still more compact manner 

 upon racks, either home-made or the neat cast-iron ones 

 offered by dealers. 



Mark all Tools. 



Nothing gives one more trouble than lending tools in 

 the busy season, and while we all like to be neighborly, 

 many borrowers are so forgetful that we often reach 

 the state of declining to lend to any one. However, 

 as we at times find it necessary to ask favors of neigh- 

 bors, and we should all " give and take, " we may get over 

 the difficulty somewhat by having every tool distinctly 

 marked or branded with our name. As it is very desir- 

 able to have the wood-work of all tools covered with 

 oil or paint, if we adopt some distinctive color and in 

 addition to branding paint all wood-work every two or 

 three years with our special color, we can recognize our 

 tools at a long distance and easily keep them at home. 



Have a Warm Tool-Room. 



A room that can be warmed is almost a necessity where 

 repairs of tools, harness, market boxes, berry crates, etc., 

 can be comfortably made in stormy weather and during 

 the winter. The room should be dry, and when the 

 weather is very moist and warm outside and cold inside, 

 the doors and windows must be kept closed or the 

 moisture will be condensed upon the tools, causing 

 them to rust badly. In the fall, while the tools are 

 bright, if covered with a thin coating of linseed oil they 

 will be protected from rusting. 



