Show TOOLS AND THE FARMER one day I 1 stood watching a farmer fanner ind his hired hand band repair a barn 1 adoor ioor and the performance struck me 1 i I 1 ZIS us lafirst a birst rate illustration of the way V a job of work should not be done tho the 1 inan had acres of 0 good land in the raising of crops and stock he was fairly successful out but the repairing ot of that door was a true indication ot of a rather slipshod habit ot of mind which had grown upon him all the tools they were using were it a hatchet and a buck saw sau that w was as rather the worse for wear the hatchet was dull and I 1 itta illy huns hung on oil its handle if ono one wanted to cut with it lie he could only haggle and as for driving a nail with it ono one could only guess which way 4 the hie nail mail would go the saw was a poor specimen of its kind and should have been in the junk pile but if it had been the best in ili the market it was utterly out of place in that kind of bof work of course the job was badly done A trained mechanic could not have done it well with st sab ch tools no two boards were exactly of the same length or sawed off at the same angle it t might answer the purpose of a door but as a mark of order and sound it certainly was a distinct failure to this day that barn door may be hanging there its crookedness a common upon the necessity of every farmer having good tools and knowing how to use them and one of these necessities having tools and knon knowing ing how to use them is as urgent as the other I 1 am doubtful whether the farmer anil and his hand could have done a neat job of repairing on oil that barn door even if they had had a whole kit of carpenters tools they were ere not as we say in common parlance handy with tools my observation of farm life has shown me that most farmers are not the rougher sort of jobs they may do after a f fashion a hiu but when lie it comes to little pieces of repairing repair ng about the house and in the construction of new buildings awl and especially in fit the mending of machinery most of them I 1 think are rather ineffective amateurs if an arm of the reel of the reaper is I 1 broken a mere makeshift is apt to be I 1 put in its place split out of a board perhaps and roughly hacked into shape with a hatchet and acry likely held in ili place with wire the skillful handling of tools is as much a part of the equipment of the successful farmer today as w a knowl edge ot of agronomy and of animal husbandry the man mail who goes at farming cow with a fair chance to win roust must know how to prevent loss in any direction some are failing even when they raise fc Pac ellent chops because they do not know liow how to care for their animals ind and to dispose ot of them at a good profit some work liard hard and early ard late and take good care of their crops and stock but let their buildings and gates and fences fall luto decay and thus become a source of serious loss to the capital invested in tho the enterprise A farm with dilapidated buildings and fences is burdened with a heavy handicap in the market hen it is put up lip for sale one can reasonably look for a deduc in the price from one third to one fourth according to the repairs to be made A farni farm in fit excellent excene nt condition buildings well roofed and attractively palmed painted gates and fences sound and neatly ai ranged arranged the bhole place having an appearance of order and of a refined taste is always in a ready market people looking for farms have their eyes on such places and are glad to buy them at a premium above the market price so go the man ho allows his place to get ragged and unkempt Is making a leak through which much of the th profit of his labor is wasting wareing it is not always easy to employ a mechanic to do tho the repairing and even if it itis is many mally times it is not pro to pay high vases in that dir action the labor problem on oil the ali farm is acute enough at the best and anc how to solve it these days so as to tc be ahead of the game at the end of the year Is trying the wit of land owners as never before the young man who knows how to use tools and has the skillful eye and hand to do his own repairing neatly and quickly has an immense advantage over the man who must hire everything ery thing done or else botch the work with his own unskillful efforts I 1 know a young man who has a bachelors and a masters degree from f 1 leading college who is able not only to do his own building and repairing as competently as a carpenter but go into his shop in the winter time and make elegant pieces of furniture and finish them in a stylo style to g grace any parlor lie he has never served an apprenticeship under tinder any mechanic but it has as been a close observer has always had an abundance of the best beat or of tools to work with and has made it a point to do well whatever lie he undertakes he does his own plumbing and as neatly and sanitarily as any plumber I 1 know a fanner in ohio who has a 13 blacksmith shop as well as a carpenter shop and lie ho not only repairs his wagons and and machinery but in a pinch he can do his own horse shoeing that shop saves him many hours that would be wasted in running to the village and waiting for tle the repair of a plow or mower or reaper it may not be advisable tor for every farmer to have a blacksmith shop but a bloomy comor table workshop well stocked with tools for all sorts of 0 work is not merely a luxury or an extra convenience but a necessity but someone may say rather father had no tools to speak of and he got along and made money yes and father got along without knowing much about botany or chemistry plant breeding or parasitic life but you grandchildren will have to know much 1 t bout these and many other things or else be crowded out in the rush of competition that must come to farm life the merchant who should attempt to do business as his father did would go to the wall quickly in the competition of today A convenient workshop fitted out with a variety of suitable tools means a number of things that contribute to the success of farm management it means for one thing bringing the boys up to know the use of tools most boys like to handle good tools and they like to make things A dull saw and a broken chisel are not inviting to a boy who wants to do a nice lice job in fixing a sled or repairing a broken place in a wagon give the boy tools to work with nith and teach him how to keep keel them in first class order so that he will come to have a con science against tolerating a dull hatchet or a rusty saw or a plane that Is seldom in condition to be used this alone will constitute a kind of culture to the boy in sound taste and accuracy in va workmanship ork manship it will serve as a defense against that demon that possesses so many boys jutt just merging into manhood the demon 0 of slovenliness in thought and manners and work such a shop will mean this i too when any repairing is to be done a handle put to a shovel or a now new singletree made to take the place ot of orid ond just broken or a now new gate made it can be dono done quickly enough toos that are always ready for business means a decided saving in time as aa weil as a better quality ot of work not to hive a quarter inch bit or a halt half inch when no other size will do is to bo be compelled to quit or else mar the job one thing more and hat flat is concerning the care of tools thil Is ia quite as essential as having them to have a place for them and to keep them there to protect them from rust and from careless users to sea gee that they are in condition to give turf hest best service all that is essential to the AC 4 focient ownership of a fine kit of tools one should have a case with a door to it and it a could be so arranged that the saws saw have their place in it and every bit and chisel and file and plane its place such a case it if the door is kept shut will keep the tools dry and clean and will prevent them from damage by being thrown together carelessly on the work bench it can tie be made at a small expense out of thin matched boards that one can call get in store boxes less than a dollar ought to cover the cost of the ma aerial and the palli painting ting II if it Is ie fitly constructed and the tools are always put away in it with a businesslike punctuality the convenience of this sort of 0 a tool case and the downright satisfaction are very great the tools are protected they are where they can always be found and the habit ot of taking care of thern them in this way Is immensely preferable to the one ot of throwing them down anywhere they happen to be used or piling them up on the floor or work bench geo ceo D black in freeders eders gazette |