2 
January 7 , 
important; a farmer with ability in building puts 
himself in the place of expensive hired help. 
The following is the list of material used in build¬ 
ing feed barn: 
70 
35 
36 
36 
16 
16 
16 
16 
120 
30 
36 
16 
60 
290 
140 
290 
soo 
4.100 
.1000 
22 
36 
28 
6 
32 
3300 
50 
2000 
800 
Pea. 2x3 0, 14 feet long, loft joist. 
Pcs. 2x10, 16% feet long, loft joist 
Pcs. 6x6, 16 feet long, strut braces. 
Pcs. 6x6, 10 feet long, main truss supports. 
Pcs. 6x6, 1 foot long, short tie braces. 
Pcs. 6x6, 2% feet long, short tie braces. 
Pcs. 12x12, 8 feet long, main posts . 
Pcs. 6x8, 8 feet long, second story posts. 
Pcs. 2x4, 8 feet long, studding. 
Pcs. 2x4, 16 feet long, studding. 
Pcs. 6x6, 18 feet long, truss rafters. 
Pcs. 6x6, 6 feet long, truss braces. 
Pcs. 2x4, 10 feet long, studding. 
lin. feet 2x8 inch stuff for purlin plate. 
lin. feet 6x6 inch stuff for purlin plate. 
lin. feet 2x6 inch stuff for second row of plates. 
lin. feet 2x30 inch stuff for main truss beams. 
feet sheeting. 
feet siding. 
stall posts, support for loft, 6x6 inches, 8 feet long. 
braces 4x4, 5 feet long. 
braces 6x9, 6 feet long. 
windows, 12 lights, 10x3 2 inch glass. 
windows, 6 lights, 10x12 inch glass. 
feet of flooring for loft. 
barrels of Portland cement for fdn. and floors. 
feet of 1% inch beech and hickory, stalls. 
feet dressed pine for finish in lower story, drive¬ 
way, etc. 
44 squares of roofing. 
140 lin. feet 28 inch tin for gutters. 
8 sets of double hangers for roller doors. 
6 kegs of nails, 8d.. 10d., 20d. and 40. 
2 coats of lead and oil paint. 
7 comb ventilators. 
Kentucky. 
J. W. GRIFFIN. 
CONTRACTS AND PROMISES. 
A specific contract signed by the purchaser renders 
all verbal promises and specifications worthless, 
especially if trouble should arise and the courts be 
resorted to to settle the difficulty. In short, the 
promises are made to sell the goods and the con¬ 
tract is held in reserve to sue upon. A case in point: 
A local hardware dealer contracted with a manufac¬ 
turing company for several grain drills of a certain 
construction, the details being specified in the con¬ 
tract. Two more machines than were ordered were 
shipped, and the machines all differed from the speci¬ 
fications in the contract, but were kept by the dealer. 
The warranty clause in the contract is as follows: 
“Said machines are warranted only against breakage 
from manifest defect in material for the year in which 
they are sold.” None of the machines gave satis¬ 
faction; in fact, could not be used at all. The local 
dealer, having the agent’s verbal promise of a square 
deal, went to considerable expense to get these drills 
to going properly, but with no success, and all the 
drills were thrown back on the dealer’s hands. The 
drill company offered to rebuild these drills as they 
had done in other parts of Ohio, but refused to re¬ 
munerate the dealer for his expense for repairs, and 
the latter refused to settle for the machines. Suit 
was brought to collect the price of the drills, but 
defendant demurred that more machines were shipped 
than were ordered, that they were not according to 
specifications, and were worthless in the field. The 
court held that as the - shipment had been accepted 
by the defendant, the change in number and specifi¬ 
cations of the machines did not nullify the contract; 
all evidence that the drills failed to do the work they 
were intended for was ruled out, and the jury in¬ 
structed to decide the case upon the contract only; 
the judge being careful to construe the warranty 
clause quoted above to mean just what it says, charged 
the jury to find for the plaintiffs, which it did after 
being out a short time. Bound by precedent and fear 
of reversal by higher courts, as the common pleas 
courts are, and having a specific contract, no other 
verdict could be hoped for. The case has been ap¬ 
pealed. Here is the case of a dealer who has a lot 
of junk on his hands which a court says he must pay 
good money for, and all because he was not long¬ 
headed enough to see that the contract he signed 
warranted against defective material only, and did 
not embody the agent’s promises. Before signing 
the other man’s contract be sure that it specifies 
plainly just what you want done. 
Ohio. W. E. DUCKWALL. 
POSTAGE IN ENGLAND AND CANADA. 
In your articles on parcels post, while you have al¬ 
ways been complimentary to the English system, I do 
not think you have yet done it justice. One of your 
recent articles states that the British parcels rate be¬ 
gins at six cents. Technically this is correct, but 
practically it is incorrect. The British government 
has taken the rather extraordinary step of introducing 
common sense into their postal rules, and ordinary 
postage, beginning at two cents, will carry as much 
as four ounces whether letter or merchandise or 
mixture of either! At four ounces one pays four 
cents, which carries anything up to a pound and at 
one pound the nominal parcels rate begins and adds 
two cents nearly every time for an additional pound, 
occasionally favoring the sender so that when the 
limit of II pounds is reached the rate is 24 cents. 
THE RURAL NEW-VORKER 
The Canadian method, of prohibiting writing in par¬ 
cels and prohibiting parcels by letter rate is distinctly 
lacking in common sense. Why should our govern¬ 
ment refuse to receive such mixtures when people 
want to send them? It is certainly an agreeable ex¬ 
perience for one from this continent to mail, as I did 
last Summer, a small valise packed full and weighing 
over six pounds for a distance of some 300 miles for 
16 cents. Moreover, the express companies compete. 
For the sake of convenience I one day sent a similar 
parcel at the same rate by express, and when leaving 
METHOD OF FRAMING. Fig. 3. 
England I had a parcel to send to London and found 
that it was just over weight. This time I thought I 
would pay a high express rate, but no, the postal rate 
for 11 pounds is 24 cents, and I found that the express 
rate for llRj pounds was 26 cents for 200 miles. If 
the express companies of this continent would put 
such rates into force, I fancy there would be an im¬ 
mediate cessation in the agitation for parcels post. 
Ontario, Canada. w. e. saunders. 
PRICES FOR EASTERN FARMERS. 
I am very much interested in yocrr farm advertising. 
Will you state what makes farm land vv*bieh is very highly 
Improved sell so cheap? I enclose two of your advertise¬ 
ments. Either one, if situated in Franklin County, Mo., 
erv i—i c.crm e.en 
i. i _a_n_-a-a--□-□_c 
LOFT OF MAIN FLOOR. Fig. 4. 
would sell for more than double the advertised price. 
There must be something wrong in Now York; the land 
must be very poor and washed in gullies, as the improve¬ 
ments would cost more than the farm sells for. o. v. 
St. Clair, Mo. 
We have tried to answer these questions many 
times, but it is hard for a western man to understand 
the situation in these eastern hill towns. Some oi 
these farms are sold to settle an estate. The ok 
folks have died, and there are no children, or til- 
children have moved away and do not want to liv 
on the farm. In other cases the older people are too 
feeble to remain and work the land, while tenants 
simply skin the farm. Some of this trouble over 
deserted farms dates back to the Civil War, when 
thousands of soldiers went from these hill towns. 
Many were killed, while others, after serving in the 
army, went West after the richer government land 
was offered. Our western friends must also realize 
what it means to live within easy reach of large towns 
and cities. The “call” from those places is strong 
for young country people, and many farmers have 
not tried to meet it by improving their land or in¬ 
vesting their money at home. What we call the 
“farm spirit” is low in some localities, and this has 
had much to do with pulling down prices. Western 
land i? valued at what it actually produces in farm 
crops in a section where farming is the chief busi¬ 
ness, This eastern hill land is in a section where 
farming is regarded as of less importance than a 
business in town, and where few if any attempt to 
show what the land is capable of doing. Thus the 
low price for this land is not based on its inability 
to produce good crops, but upon sentimental or 
social causes. Such farms often present remarkable 
bargains, because the land may be naturally strong. 
It usually needs drainage and lime and the careful 
use of fertilizers, but it can be made productive if a 
man will work and spend some money. These farms 
vary considerably in soil and location, and it is not 
safe to buy them without a personal inspection. Go 
and visit them alone, without any agent or interested 
party. Take a spade and dig into various fields. 
Notice how deep the top soil is, the character of the 
subsoil, the sort of grass which comes in, and the 
kind of trees and the quality of the water. These 
farms are now being taken up rapidly, and the price 
is rising. 
THE MARKETMAN’S SIDE. 
I have noticed several articles asking “What Per 
Cent Does the Farmer Get?” Being near a large city, 
and running a retail route, I buy considerable besides 
what I raise, and sell my surplus at wholesale. I 
am, as you may perceive, on both sides of the market. 
If some of those who seem to think that every pro¬ 
duce man is a swindler could see what a lot of poor 
stuff is in nearly every wholesale place, they would 
know that the returns for such merchandise would 
be little or nothing. I am in dose touch, as 1 said 
before, with the wholesale market, and yet quite a 
little of my stuff goes to the dump. There are days 
when the market is bare, when even poor stuff will 
bring good prices, and there are also days when 
strictly No. 1 goods are in such abundance that a 
considerable per cent spoils. Some things sell well 
on certain days and are thrown away if sent in on 
other days. A very little of some high-priced stuff 
will glut the market and fail of finding a sale. Very 
slight defects, which do not in any wise damage an 
article, will “queer” it, so that it will not sell. The 
margin on most perishable stuff must be large, or 
dealers will not touch it, so great is the loss. Last 
of all, most produce dealers are under heavy ex¬ 
penses for rent, men, teams, etc., and they have to do 
a hustling business to pay expenses and make a living 
profit. There doubtless are some shysters, and there 
are also a host that deal on the square. A constant 
source of wonder to me is how the farmers far 
away, and especially in the South, can have any¬ 
thing coming to them when their goods are sold so 
cheaply in our northern markets. Of course the 
best brings good prices, but very much that is sent 
to our markets would better have been left to rot; 
the raiser would have been better off if he had never 
shipped it. I write this because some of the articles 
which I have read seemed to be written by those too 
far away to know real conditions, and seemed to 
call for an explanation. f. t. jenks. 
Rhode Island. 
Great things are to be done with chemical fertilizers 
in the future. We have scarcely begun to know how 
to use them to best advantage. Some farmers already 
are saving money by knowing what to buy. In one 
case a crematory was established near a small city— 
where the wastes were to be burned. These wastes 
included dead animals, bones, garbage, paper and some 
wood. The amount was not large, so that there was 
not enough of the ashes to put on the regular market. 
A farmer who had studied the fertilizer question had 
a sample of these ashes analyzed. He found a trace 
of nitrogen and fair amounts of potash and phosphoric 
acid. By knowing the commercial values of plant 
food he was able to buy these ashes at a good bar¬ 
gain. By using them judiciously with nitrate and 
some organic nitrogen he has a complete fertilizer 
for growing clover and Alfalfa, and when a man can 
grow and save these his plant food question is settled. 
The great fertilizing problem of the future is how to 
save wastes. They will be utilized more and more 
and the man who knows what his soil needs and the 
commercial value of plant food will win. lie will be 
juit like the manufacturer who can buy his raw mate¬ 
rial cheapest. _ ■ 
It is known that the sea contains everything that the 
soil ever had. All the minerals are dissolved in sea water. 
The sea is also a factory. Now there has been found a 
form of seaw-eed which is woven into a coarse and strong 
cloth. 
This is the way some of them use manure when ferti¬ 
lizer to go on the crop. A load of manure is put id the 
spreader and thirty to forty pounds of the chemicals scat¬ 
tered over it. The result is that the whole thing is evenly 
scattered. 
