Show w amp man F FARM R M AND GARDEN G AIR D E N REPEATING TRAP KILLS RATS one winding of new device will de etroy stray fifteen or more of disease spreading rodents did you ever hear of a repeating rat trap one has been invented by an 11 II lanois man who declares that with one winding it will kill 15 or more of the disease breeding pests and kick each one out of the way the gen eral design of the trap is shown in the cut when a rat steps on the plat form in front his weight releases the trigger and striking arm operated by D powerful spring hits him a deadly uppercut and throws him several feet I 1 repeating rat trap away with the same motion it vir dually kicks him to death another feature of this trap is the fact that no scent la is left on it to warn any wise old rodent that it Is an apparatus to be avoided A bait of course Is set inside the opening under the striking arm ton and where rats are particularly numerous they will not be scared off by the sight of dead comrades in the vicinity PREPARING FOR SPRING WORK farmers dHave all farm ample ments in n good order to be gin work at once have the plows harrows tors drills and rollers in order for spring work lay in a few extra plow points and bolts have the harrow teeth sharp extra whiffletrees and some good hame strings should be provi provided aed the seed oats corn ca clover over and grass seeds should be bought this month so no time need be lost when the season opens says a writer in the baltimore american buy and haul the fertilizer aou ou need now if the plow or harrow is worn out it will pay to buy a good steel plow and a spring tooth barrow harrow and a two horse tor tar A corn planter and a grain drill nay be hired for 25 cents an acre it if you only plant ten acres in corn and seed a few acres to oats it will bs be cheaper to hire than to buy these im ts only buy those implements you really need farm sales take place this month and good implements may often aften be had at less than halt half the inal price it will pay tu to buy it if you need the implement but do not buy it because it is cheap nor because you can buy it on time the note soon alls falls due and it often comes due when you are short of funds do not ask your neighbor to go security it if the bank will not accept the note with your wife as in dorser do not buy this is sound advice and it followed will save you lota lots of trouble and con eld sid erable money do not go security tor for anyone it Is wrong as you may ruin yourself and oftentimes your family as well A good natured easy going farmer had better remain away from farm sales FIT vegetables FOR MARKET washing tank and drying table Is very useful in preparing beets carrots potatoes etc A washing tank and drying table 13 1 very useful in preparing vegetables for or market beets carrots potatoes etc should be freed from soil before placing them on sale and I 1 know noth ing so handy as this arrangement washing tank ard and ar d drying table writes mrs H 0 mcpherson in the farm and home the table b la is hinged to the tank a the legs are also hinged and when hen not in use are folded over on the table and the table folded over so as to form a lid for the tank the legs folding inside cult cut of the way the bottom of the tank should be lower at one corner with a hole to let out the water after asing b a plug or stopper VALUE OF THE LITTLE BIRDS they labor incessantly in fields de straying ying many injurious and destructive insects the birds are the best friends thai that the farmer has because they labor daily in the farmers fields dei straying ying the insects that destroy or feed upon the tender plants of the fields have you a friend that will labor in your fields daily destroying these insects just tor for his board and 7 no indeed you cannot place your eye upon but one friend that will do this for you that is the little birds which are being by you in large numbers why do you not try to protect these friends who are so faithful to you when they ask you for no pay for services ren dered you in your fields destroying insects that injure your plants simply because you have not stopped to think over the matter as you ought to do you not realize that they are worth hundreds of times more to you as in sect destroyers than thin their flesh la is worth north to you in a bird pie or in some other way waya farmers it Is time to wake up to the fact that these little bird friends must have better protection chyl because they are needed more and more every year As people increase and the clearing of more lands in creases the insects are bound to in crease very rapidly because they feed mostly from the farmers fields As insects increase why should not the birds increase alsoc simply because they haven t had the protection that they ought tb have had some of the species of birds that used to be found in large numbers are now very seldom found at all simply because they have not received any mercy from the hunter and because the laws are not strict enough on this one special thing every farmer should feel it bis lis dut to urge his lawmaker to do all in hip power to pass a law that would give his little friends in feathers better protection A law should be passed in states having no such law prohibit ing the killing of these birds under a heavy penalty and imprisonment for violation thereof it if this were done you would see a great improvement in crops and fewer insects good enforcement depends largely on farm ers MACHINE TO KILL SPROUTS apparatus invented by missouri man to destroy second growth in very effective manner the scientific american in describing a vehicle adapted for use on land cleared of timber says this invention pertains to agrical tural machines and the aim Is to pro sprouts or growth destroyer vide a growth destroyer more especial ly designed tor for use on land that has been cleared of timber to destroy the sprouts or returning second growth in a very simple and effective manner for this purpose use is made of a wheeled vehicle adapted to be moved over the ground and provided with mith a beater having flexible arms adapted to forcibly strike and cut off oil the growth at or near the ground sur face the illustration shows a section al side elevation of the apparatus anwa cf farm rush the plowing prepare tor for the tall fall rains the onion Is a bad pest slack fence wire Is slack farming rhubarb Is an easy crop to grow the crop of potato bugs was light this year potatoes infested with rot are a poor holding proposition joint grass may be killed out in the beet fields by clean cultivation As a rule we do not make as good use of our pasture lands as we might it Is important that an alfalfa field W where nere seed Is grown be free of weeds it will pay to batten the cracks in the barn before coming of cold weather the state and county agricultural fairs are of 0 value to every farmer in the country it if the pasture la Is not available silage or a good soiling crop will be abao cutely indispensable before you fill your stave silo it should be painted on the inside with coal tar thinned with gasoline improvement in the quality and con of wheat Is not the only benefit derived from stacking the crop farmers who do not have should not let a large percentage a of I 1 the corn crops value go to waste the potato digger works best in a loose mellow soil and the ground should be tree free of stone and stumps the cutting of an alfalfa seed crol Is usually done with an ordinary mower which may or may not have a bunching attachment one of the first things the farmei needs to look after Is water tight stalls and gutters and the use ol 01 enough bedding to absorb all ell th liquids |