1914. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
1495 
EASY FARM BLACKSMITHING. 
Part I. 
N ECESSARY KNOWLEDGE.—Because auto¬ 
mobiles have become so plentiful and driving 
horses have gone out of use, many a black- 
I’SES FOR OLI) WAGON TIRES. Fig. 657. 
two pounds in weight. If anything heavier is needed 
get a sledge. 2. Tongs for holding square iron from 
Vz to 34 -inch diameter: very handy for other work. 
2 . Tongs for holding round iron or octagon steel, V& 
to 34 -inch diameter. 4. Tongs for holding / A to 7-16- 
inch diameter, round or square iron. 5. A Hardee 
for cutting off hot iron or steel. 6 . A steel punch 
about 10 inches long, octagon steel, for punch¬ 
ing holes in hot iron. It is expected that any farm 
where a forge and anvil is worth while, has a good 
iron vise and a good grindstone. The more tools the 
better, but it should always be kept in mind that 
necessity will usually bring whatever equipment is 
needed. 
USES FOR WAGON TIRES.—Fig. 657 shows 
some of the uses to which old wagon tires may be 
put. 1. Braces for shafts or wagon bodies. 2. A 
stake holder for wood or hay wagon. 3. Brace to 
strengthen any corner. 4. Hinge for barn door or 
gate. 5. Butt of hinge, made from half a horseshoe 
to go with No. 4. 6 . Welded ring to be used when 
driving a post or on a beetle. 7. A strong S-hook 
that can be used for any purpose. S. A hook to hold 
harnesses or shovels. Used in pairs or singly. 9. A 
hook to hold a shovel by the handle. 10. A harness 
hook. 11. The parts of a latch for a gate. 
USES FOR OLD HORSESHOES.—Fig. 659 shows 
what a blacksmith can do with old horseshoes: 1 . 
Ordinary horseshoe. 2. Horseshoe made to hold the 
ends of a ladder. 3. Horseshoe ends pointed to drive 
into a post to hold bars. 4. Butt of gate hinge, made 
from half a horseshoe. 5. Hook for harnesses, lad¬ 
ders or shovels. 6 . Brace for farm wagon body. 7. 
smith shop lies idle, and the sounds from the village 
smithy under the spreading chestnut tree are heard 
no more. Thus many a farmer is forced to go a 
longer distance to have his blacksmith work done. 
Think of the time that might be saved if a part, at 
least, of this work were done at home! Any farmer 
who has some mechanical ability and who has a 
small building for a carpenter or repair shop, will 
do well to purchase a small iron forge and an anvil. 
He will be surprised at the great number of things 
that he can do for the farm by keeping the old 
horseshoes and old wagon tires that were formerly 
sold to the junkman. In making these easy and 
useful things for the farm, a knowledge of black- 
smithing is not necessary. If you know how to make 
yourself handy at carpenter work, or if you know 
something about machine-shop work, or if you have 
confidence that you can do some of your own farm 
repairs, then go ahead, for the way is open, and many 
a dollar may be saved when nothing can be done out¬ 
side during the stormy days of Winter. 
HEATING IRON.—Work iron only at a white 
heat; use a red heat only for smoothing. Draw out 
or upset only at a white heat. Keep the iron high in 
the fire. Keep the fire solid, and rake over a little 
coke on top. Do not cool off the iron when it is at 
a white heat. The iron when at a white heat, if sud¬ 
denly immersed in water, is crystallized, made brittle 
and unfit for further use. Do not pound the iron 
when black. It causes crystallization. Any such 
crystallization is broken by heating the iron red hot 
and allowing it to get black before cooling in water. 
HEATING STEEL.—Have a slow fire with plenty 
of coke. Keep the steel high in the fire and beat 
only to a cherry red. Do not allow a scale to form 
upon the steel when it is in the fire. A scale formed 
upon the steel in the air does no harm. Cool the steel 
in the water only after it is black (hardening and 
tempering are different.) Do not pound the steel 
when it is black because it breaks the grain or crys¬ 
tallizes it. 
FIRE BLACK.—Heat the iron to dark red and let 
it cool to a black; then dip in oil (fish or sperm) 
and wipe as dry as possible with cotton waste. Iron 
treated this way will stand a long time without rust¬ 
ing, even though exposed to the weather or water. 
CASE HARDENING.—This is making a steel sur¬ 
face or skin on the outside of the iron. It is done so 
that it can stand all the better, where the wear and 
tear comes the greatest. Case-hardening is usually 
done with a deadly poison. It is placed upon the 
iron red hot, immersing the whole in water. The 
poisons generally used are cyanide of potassium and 
yellow prussiate of potassium. Care must be takeu 
not to let any of the poison get into cuts or remain on 
the hands. The fumes are also very dangerous to 
inhale. 
MOTTLING.—The same process and same poisons 
are used, for this process, except dot the iron here 
and there and swish around quickly in the water. 
The iron should have been made bright with emery 
cloth or fine file before heating for mottling. 
TOOLS REQUIRED.—Fig. 658 shows the tools 
which a farmer should have to do plain blacksmith- 
ing: 1. A good carriage ironer’s hammer, not over 
TOOLS FOR FARM BLACKSMITHING. Fig. 658. 
Square-head bolt made from half a horseshoe. 8 . 
Pin for pole or a longer pin, to help hold in tail¬ 
board to tip-cart. 9. S-hook for mending chain. 10. 
Welded ring, used with chain and crowbar for hitch¬ 
ing out cow. 11 . Chain hook for stone chain. 12. 
Parts of a whitfietree; ends made from half a horse¬ 
shoe, centre from whole shoe; the wooden part of 
whitlletree sawed from two-inch plank. 
GARDNER B. WILLIS. 
BRINGING BACK NEW HAMPSHIRE LAND. 
A S much has been written in regard to the 
abandonment of New Hampshire farms, giving 
as a reason the sterility of the soil, and the 
inability on this account to compete with western 
production, I take pleasure in sending you a photo¬ 
graph showing what result can be accomplished by 
proper fertilization and care in growing grain, even 
on what would be called the most unpromising and 
sterile soil. I will give a detailed account of how 
this result was brought about and what other crops 
by proper rotation added to the four acres devoted 
to this test. The first crop harvested before any at¬ 
tempt at improvement was made was less than one 
ton of wild hay and witch grass. Immediately after 
harvesting the ground was plowed, and well ma¬ 
nured with barnyard manure, which was well har¬ 
rowed in, and seeded with millet about the middle of 
yielding a crop of five tons about the middle of 
September. After which the ground was again 
plowed, harrowed and given another light dressing 
again with barnyard manure. That Fall it was sown 
with rye. and seeded down the following Spring 
with Red clover and Timothy. The rye came up 
finely and reached an average height of six feet, 
with a maximum of length seven feet nine inches, 
as shown in Fig. 656. The yield was 12- tons of rye 
for the four acres, which was harvested about June 
25, and as the field had been seeded down it yielded 
a second crop of five tons of rye, clover and Timothy, 
which made fine feed. This is conclusive evidence 
that the soil of New Hampshire under proper con¬ 
ditions can be made to pay a good profit in itself, as 
also other industries can be added which will ma¬ 
terially add to the income of the farm and dairy 
product, chiefly the taking of Summer boarder. 
Merrimack Co., N. H. ELMER tbombly. 
R. N.-Y.—No doubt almost any soil can be made 
productive by using a liberal dressing of manure. 
The usual back-to-the-lander has no stock or dairy 
and it would be difficult to buy manure. lie will 
want to know what to do with that soil in order to 
grow the fodder from which the manure is made. 
We have found a good coat of lime on plowed sod 
well worked in oats and peas with fertilizer a good 
way to start. Then may come buckwheat and rye 
to be plowed under with corn to follow them. We 
know of cases where such land was started with 
lime, green crops and chemicals and finally worked 
into rich clover and dairy farm land. 
A SHORT COURSE IN AGRICULTURE. 
I DESIRE your advice on a question of policy for a 
young man. This young man is an orphan, 18 years 
of age. of good stock, has abounding health and 
strength, is intelligent, clean and steady as a clock. 
To the age of 15 he lived with his grandmother and 
aunt in the country; since then has worked for two 
farmers, this year getting $25 per month and board for 
the year, always giving satisfaction. He is saving his 
money and as “the call of the land" is in his veins, he 
is determined to make farming his life work. I had 
previously advised him to make the best farm hand he 
could and work by the year for the best practical farm¬ 
ers (or dairymen, as his tastes run that way) he could 
find—this as a means of getting his education. But I 
realize that just at this period of his life, a little special 
training might be better than all practice in shaping his 
career, and might make of him a broader man and far 
better farmer. He has been asking me about a short 
six-weeks course at Cornell this Winter, and I am at a 
loss what to advise him. It would mean the loss of 
nearly $50 in wages in addition to the necessary ex¬ 
penses of the course. lie has only a good common 
school education, but is quick to learn. Now, in view of 
all the above, what would you advise this young man 
to do? c. w. v. 
New York. 
It all depends on the young man. Taking your 
statement of the case, and knowing nothing more 
about it, we feel inclined to advise this young man 
to take the short course at Cornell this Winter. He 
has adopted the ideal plan of working out as a 
hired man first—learning the practical side of farm¬ 
ing and then building his education upon that. Too 
many young men work in the other direction—study¬ 
ing at college first and then trying to learn the 
practical. This plan is much harder than the other. 
One can graft agriculture upon farming much easier 
than he can work the reverse practice and use 
agriculture for the stock. This young man will 
get a good taste of scientific education in the six 
weeks and he will be able to decide whether it will 
pay him to go back and get more. What he gets at 
ARTICLES MADE FROM HORSESHOES. Fig. 659. 
Cornell will be worth more than the money he will 
lose in wages. At the end of it all, however, it is 
•*up to him.” Our advice would be to try the short 
course. 
