CHAPTER XXII. 



CARE OF IMPLEMENTS. 



With the excuse of time taken to put 

 away implements, carts, vans, and 

 baskets, they are often left out in the sun 

 and rain in summer, and some may even 

 be left out for the whole winter in all 

 weathers. On some farms there are not 

 enough buildings to house all implements, 

 but it is usually due to negligence that 

 they are exposed to the elements which 

 cause rust of iron work and decay of 

 wood. 



Spraying Machinery. 



All apparatus should be washed out with 

 clean water after use. For the knapsack 

 sprayers, Mr. H. Chapelow finds it a good 

 plan to fill the container with strong 

 washing soda solution, and leave it for a 

 week, this solution gets the oxides off the 

 sides of the pump and pressure chamber, 

 which material otherwise flakes off, and 

 is constantly troublesome in blocking the 

 nozzles when next used. In the Vermorel 

 knapsacks two new rubber valves should 

 be put in each year. Caustic soda or 

 potash sprays which are not now used as 

 much as formerly actually clean the 

 machines well. Empty the reservoir of 

 knapsack pumps, take pump to pieces, 

 clean parts and oil working parts, and 

 when finished with leave inverted. For 

 the wheel or manual pumps, these should 

 be washed out and parts cleaned and 

 lubricated; the piston should be taken out 

 of the pump and repacked with tow and 

 Russian tallow. If the tank is wood (which 

 is the best material as any solution can 

 be used in it without harm), water should 

 be kept in the tank to avoid the tank leak- 

 ing when required. During hard frost if 

 fear of freezing in the shed in which it is 

 kept, it may be advisable to let out the 

 water. 



Farm Implements and Carts 



now cost more to replace, so should be 

 given extra care and protection from 



weather. They are subject to all sorts 

 of hard wear, hot sunshine, wind and 

 rain, which exposure causes decay and 

 rust, decreasing their years of usefulness. 

 As one insures one's house against fire, 

 in like manner one should protect the farm 

 implements against weather and the cost 

 of replacing them. Mr. G. W. Jaap, in 

 an article in " Better Fruit," for Novem- 

 ber, 1919, on " Adding to the life of 

 Orchard Implements," gives some useful 

 hints. Money spent on good paint ap- 

 plied to the implements during the season 

 they are out of use is a good investment. 

 I have myself witnessed a farm sale in 

 which all the implements had been re- 

 painted, they sold at a far higher price 

 than they would otherwise have done, in 

 this case they were good implements but 

 made to look their best. Every farmer 

 knows that water will rot wood, and rust 

 metal; that when decay sets in it does 

 not take very long before the wood parts 

 of his machinery are thoroughly rotted 

 away, that when rust attacks the metal 

 parts it is practically impossible to stop 

 its action — it eats deeper and deeper into 

 the metal until the part is so weakened 

 as to be useless. 



Paint is the best protection you can give 

 farm implements. All decay begins at the 

 surface and generally eats its way deeper. 

 It follows, then, that by protecting the 

 surface with a coat of good paint it is im- 

 possible for decay to attack the surface, 

 and since it cannot reach the surface be- 

 cause of the protecting film of paint, it is 

 impossible for the inner pants to rot or 

 rust. The paint should be made with a 

 lead or zinc base, witfh pure linseed oil, 

 which when properly applied offers 

 genuine protection against wear and 

 weather. The surface to be painted must 

 be clean and free from grease or oil, and 

 perfectly dry, or the paint will not adhere, 

 and the best results cannot be obtained, 



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