American Agriculturist, August 23, 1924 
117 
Farmers Wrote These Articles 
About Saving Dollars and Lives, and Farm Organizations 
S OMEONE has said, “A dollar saved is a 
dollar earned,” and that someone was 
right. By saving I do not mean living in 
the kitchen all winter to save on coal bills, 
or making out your meals on cornbread and beans. 
For saving is not stinginess. They are as far 
apart as the east and west. But if you are on 
the lookout you will see ways of saving that the 
world’s greatest spendthrift would hesitate to 
pass by. 
Last spring a hardware store in a nearby town 
wanted to introduce a new type of corn grinder. 
AN EGG WRAPPED UP IN A SHELL 
On the 15th of April, 1924, a Rhode Island hen belonging 
to Frank Dixon, Walton, Nebraska, laid the remarkable egg 
shown in the photo. The egg was four and one-eighth inches 
long over all, and two and one-eighth ! nches in diameter 
the short way. It contained two very large yolks and (one 
very small one. .... . . 
But aside from this, one end of the shell is actually twisted 
three times and a portion of the shell extends beyond, 
giving the appearance of having been “wrapped up.” Un¬ 
fortunately, the shell at the interesting end was cracked 
when the egg was laid. 
In an advertisement they offered to grind, free 
of charge, all corn brought to them on a certain 
Saturday. Just the thing for that corn I was going 
to pay Bill Gundrum to grind for me. When 
Saturday came I started to town an hour earlier 
than usual, carrying the corn with me. While I 
attended to a few matters of business the corn 
was ground. It paid me to read that advertisement. 
I read in the Farm Bureau column of a local 
newspaper that the County Agent will be at the 
creamery next Tuesday. He will teach all who 
are interested how to dip Irish potatoes to pre¬ 
vent scab. Potatoes brought will be dipped free 
of charge. Tuesday I am scheduled to take in 
my cream. I shall put those sacks of seed potatoes 
in the back of my truck. It will be well worth 
the trouble. 
In a school near my home there is a class m 
Farm Mechanics. The teacher is a strong believer 
in practical work. I recently contemplated 
building a new corn crib. Hearing of my inten¬ 
tions, the teacher asked if the class of boys might 
lay the foundation, their labor to be presented 
without cost. Of course I consented. I was not 
only spared the cost of hiring workers, but, as 
there were ten boys working, the job was finished 
in short order. 
Perhaps these seem like little things, small 
points to be talking about. But remember “A 
dollar saved is a dollar earned and that it s 
the little things that count.—T. W. Duncan. 
* * * 
Mark the Danger Spots 
B Y placarding the roads which passed their 
homes, a group of Washington county, 
Ohio, farmers have reduced local automobile 
accidents from twenty per year to five. Aside 
from rendering their community a splendid 
service, these men have saved themselves the 
expense of many costly wrecks, ruilaways, and 
property loss in general. 
These roads, like many rural highways are 
narrow and winding, with steep grades and fre¬ 
quent curves. Despite ordinary precautions they 
continued to give trouble, especially through the 
marketing season when traffic was unusually 
heavy. 
In 1921, E. J. Lokewood began the poster 
method. He called upon the neighboring farmers, 
and eight agreed to co-operate in the project. 
By A. A. READERS 
Each member gave one dollar to defray his share 
of expenses. A meeting was held, wording was 
arranged for the posters, and Lokewood placed 
the order with a local show-card writer. When 
completed, the posters were distributed among 
the group, and each member was assigned three 
miles of highway to placard. 
The cards warned the motorist by giving him 
real information about the road. At a narrow 
grade, this one appeared: 
A $2000 Car Was Wrecked Here Recently 
because 
The Driver Forgot to Sound His Horn 
At an abrupt turn was another one: 
LOOK TO YOUR RIGHT 
There May Be A Car Coming 
Quite frequently, the motorist was given such 
warning as: 
Sharp Curve Ahead, Drive Slow; 
This Sand Is Tricky; Look Ahead, 
The Grade Is Narrow; etc. 
By these signs, any driver could make himself 
familiar with local conditions. They were not a 
bore to the eye, but were attractive and durable; 
and had been conspicuously placed with letter¬ 
ing large enough to be easily read from a moving 
vehicle. I noticed also, that automobile head¬ 
lights would snow them up even on a dark night. 
This was due to white letters upon a black back¬ 
ground. 
In explanation, Mr. Lokewood said: “The 
method cost us only $8.40 in cash. The signs 
were all erected on idle days, and no time was 
taken from regular farm work. Each farmer 
keeps watch over his assignment, and as changes 
are made in the road, he arranges his posters 
accordingly. This is important, especially after 
a severe storm or freshet. Since many rural 
accidents occur by bridges being damaged in 
floods, we had a special sign made for the purpose. 
A lantern is placed above the warning signal at 
night, until the damage is repaired. 
“We believe it to be our duty to mark the danger 
spots, and the results have amply repaid us for 
the time and labor involved.”—F. R. Cozzens. 
$ $ $ 
A Plea for a Better Understanding 
I T was somewhere in the sixties that my father 
bought a Buckeye mowing machine. It cost 
$128 and was a horsekiller. Only a few farmers 
had mowers then and those of us boys who could 
tell about the wonders of the mower felt that we 
were somewhat superior to those who had to 
spread hay from the mown swath of the scythe. 
Nor was that all. Ours was as stated, a Buckeye, 
and another boy in our rural school boasted of a 
wood machine on his father’s farm. It was some¬ 
thing worth attention when w r e got into heated 
arguments as to the merits of our respective 
favorites in the line of mowing machines. Some¬ 
times we simply presented the strong points as 
we had heard them at home, and at other times 
there was what is now called bluff, used to the 
best advantage that we knew. It was one of the 
most interesting and exciting things that came 
into our somewhat restricted horizon, and it 
seems to me ranks well with the first trip to 
Barnum’s show. I think that we were as nearly 
happy, unless the other boy got the best in brag¬ 
ging, as at almost any time in our rather unevent¬ 
ful lives. It was a great occasion when the 
machine was brought home in the edge of the 
evening and we delayed a little in starting for 
school the next morning to see the agent who 
would set it up and start it going. I remember him 
too—a pleasant man who had a farm near town. 
Now I am inclined to speak pardonably of that 
bit of selfish enthusiasm on the part of the boys. 
It is a good spirit, not to brag to be sure—but to 
feel that we have something that is ours and that 
is worth while. We needed a little restraint of 
course and as we may not have properly re¬ 
strained ourselves we got some of it from the 
other fellow. To appreciate the things that are 
ours if we do it in a sensible way, as we may when 
older, is proper. 
Now this is something of a tale to adorn a 
moral. I wish that now as older folks we had a 
better appreciation of our cooperative associa¬ 
tions in general. I am not speaking particularly 
of the League but especially of an experience 
through which I have just passed or trying to 
pass. Some farm supplies were bought coopera¬ 
tively. I really think that some of them were 
not quite up to our standard of excellence but 
the manager of the association wishes to make 
that right and will. For the next part we got 
good service and any not good will be corrected. 
Some of the farmers stood up for the goods and 
the association just as well as did the boys in 
It is not very often we hear of twin colts. Here 
is a picture sent in by W. H. Crottinger, of Ohio, 
with a pair of colts at 5 months of age. Twin 
calves are quite common, but such is not the case 
with colts. 
;1M| 
'• u 
. * " ^ vu lY 
That’s noway to do! The man shoulda never 
started to build him a house if he didn’t know 
how to finish it.— Life. 
discussing the superior points of the mowing 
machines, but there were others. Some really 
complained a good deal harder than they would 
have complained had they got the same quality 
from a dealer, and that is frequently the case. 
In another instance last spring something did 
not go smoothly in the sale of produce and several 
members denounced the association and with¬ 
drew from it. It was evident that the associa¬ 
tion had rendered a real service but there was 
something not up to expectations and the whole 
association was denounced without much con¬ 
sideration. Many will do that for their cooper¬ 
ative when they will not in other cases. In that 
particular they seem to lack the loyalty that 
they displayed when boys over the possession of 
some trifle or that they now display in relation 
to some speculator who may pay a good price 
for the moment and, acting under the impulses 
of human nature, cut the price to. the lowest 
cent the moment he sees the opportunity. Really 
I believe that we are slowly coming out to a 
better understanding and appreciation and pos¬ 
sibly a return to some of our boyhood enthusiasm 
and that there will be less of this suspicion of our 
own associations. Let us hope so. H. H. L’ion. 
