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About Estacada progress. (Estacada, Or.) 1908-1916 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 9, 1915)
HOUSING AND CARE OF FARM MACHINERY Greater Deterioration Due to Exposure Than to Wear From Use ID L E SEASON 10 /2 M ONTHS g ra n ary . T his w ill g e t them well out of the w ay o f m oisture. The Efficient M achine Shed. The m achinery should be housed a t all h azard s, and th a house should answ er c ertain req u irem en ts to be m ost efficient. F ir s t of all, it should have an overhead covering th a t will keep out all rain and snow. The »ides should be inclosed also, to keep out rain and snow. W ith proper a tte n tio n given the overhead protection, the shed floor should be looked a fte r. It should be properly drained, so th a t no w a te r will stan d anyw here, under or around the m achinery. If th ere reach alm ost any im plem ent w ith very little sh iftin g about. By a little carefu l planning sa a s to have th e im plem ents a rra n g e d a s th ey come out fo r th e season's work, the trouble of g e ttin g a t them will be g re a tly less ened. C are of the T hresher. The d eterio ratio n in th re sh in g o u t fits th ro u g h lack of sh e lte r and care is appallin g . T here a re m ore th re s h ing outfits th a t go to rack and ruin from th is cause th an a re w orn out th ro u g h actu al usage. A tem p o rary and v ery efficient shed fo r a th resh in g m achine can be built a t a sm all cost Itcpairs, P ain tin g , and Oiling Should be A ttended to liefore S toring for the W inter. A lthough the av erag e fa rm im ple m ent is used fo r b u t four to six w eeks of the e n tire year, it is d u rin g the long period when not in use th a t the g re a te s t loss occurs through deteriori- iation, according to J. E. L arson, ex tension ag ro n o m ist a t the O regon A g ricu ltu ral College. This loss, due to negligence in housing and c arin g fo r the m achinery when not in use, is said to be so heavy th a t if known exactly it would be an eye-opener. P re p a ra tio n for Housing. Before any m achine or im plem ent is stored for the w in ter it should be com pletely overhauled and inspected. All badly worn o r broken p a rts need ing re p airin g o r m ending should be removed, th e necessary re p a irs made, and the p a rts read ju sted . A t this tim e, ju s t a fte r th e o p e rato r has fin ished using the m achine fo r th e sea son, all principal defects will be known to him and re p a irs m ay be m ade w ith less trouble and expense th an next year, when th e m achine is to be used again. If th is is im possible because of the busy tim e of y ear the owner shoul(l have a shipping ta g tied to th e p a rts needing re p airs, w ith a m em orandum o f ju s t w h a t is needed. Mr. Ijirse n u rg es fa rm e rs to tr y this plan, since it is much b e tte r than w aiting till n e x t season’s w ork is a t hand and all the details of re p airs needed forgoten. Before sto rin g the m achinery it should be th oroughly cleaned and ail the w orking and w earing p a rts well greased. O ther p a rts should be given a coat of p aint w herever neo. scry. The polished p a rts of plows, disks, c u ltiv ato r shovels and o th er tillage tools should be covered w ith a coat ing of axle g rease. T his is but a few m om ents work and besides saving the tool from w aste by ru stin g out it will save m any tim es the labor and trouble of applying the g re a se w hen the tool a re put to use next season. This cleaning and g re a sin g and paint.ng should be done w hether the m achine is to be housed o r not. 1 he coat of p aint if applied when tie bed will m ean a g re a t saving. Mai Inner; should never be allowed to check < crack for w ant of paint, t he cost of p aint and p a in tin g is but a trifle and m eans a g re a t saving in th e end. W hat Investig atio n Has Disclosed. N um erous investigations upon this fa rm m achinery question have b rought out th a t the life of fa rm m a chinery depends a g re a t deal on the owner. The sam e identical machine or im plem ent will la st twice a s long w ith one m an as it does w ith another. The difference in d uration is in favor o f the m achinery th a t is housed. A binder th a t is properly sheltered and rep aired will go out and do the sea son’s c u ttin g w ith little cost for re p a irs and scarcely any signs of de terio ratio n from w ear and te a r. The sam e m achine will still be running long a fte r the poorly-cared-for m a chine has gone to the junk heap. To economize on space fo r the bind er, a num ber of its p a rte can be eas ily removed. By tak in g off the tongue and reel, it will go into a place where it would be im possible to g e t the b inder in intact. The sam e is tru e of o th e r im plem ents, tongues, and ac cessory p a rts m ay be stored on cross pieces overhead o r taken into o ther buildings. Shovels, plow -shares, knives and o th e r c u ttin g p a rts may be p roperly greased and oiled and placed in a g unny sack and hung to the ra fte rs of th e m achine shed or E f fic ie n t F a r m M a c h in e r y S h e d . is any w a te r or dam pness under the m achinery they will collect m oisture and ru st very badly. The wooden p a rts will g rad u ally g a th e r m oisture and ro t out. The doors should alw ays be closed to keep th e stock and pou ltry from g e ttin g to th e m achinery. How often have you seen m achinery pulled up under a larg e tre e or leaky shed? This is even w orse th an le ttin g it stan d entirely in th e open. The m a chine th a t has been properly fitted for housing and stored in a dry shed will come out season a f te r season to do good w ork and give little trouble. The saving th a t is m ade in the life of the m achine by housing is obvious. Then, too, w hat it adds to th e general a p pearance of the fa rm can h a rd ly be estim ated in do llars and cents. The m achine shed to be efficient need not be very expensive. The requisites of a good m achine shed, and th e saving will be obvious. W here the th re s h in g m achine has to stan d out, it is very im p o rta n t th a t is be th oroughly cleaned a fte r the season’s w ork. W herever th ere is a chance fo r chaff o r d irt to lodge, th e w a te r will soak in and the wood and fram ew o rk will soon ro t out. All lea th e r belts and canvas p a rts should be tak en from th e m achine and stored in a dry lace, and in a place fre e from r a ts and mice. A few of these rodents can do a g re a t am ount of dam age in a very sh o rt tim e. F ig u re the csot of your m achine and the p e r cent it e arn s on the investm ent and see if you can n o t afford to sh e lte r it well. The y e ars th a t will be added to the life of it will offset th e first cost m any tim es over. Tim e to House M achinery. The pro p er tim e to house m achinery is the m inute th a t one is th ro u g h u s Wide Latitude in Feeding Silage ( C o n tin u e d f ro m firs t p a g e ) fo rag e into ensilage, and the bacterial action th a t causes ensilage to spoil when exposed to th e air, m ay be con trolled to a considerable e x te n t by the feeder who u n d e rstan d s the principles upon which th ey w ork. These chem i cal changes a re explained by P ro fe ss o r G raves a s follow s: Chem ical C hanges in Silage. Soon a f te r g re en corn is stored in the silo, fe rm e n ta tio n s ta r ts and the te m p e ra tu re of th e m uss rises to a tem p e ra tu re of from 05 degrees F. to as high as 125 degrees F. The h igher te m p e ra tu re is found only n e ar the surface. W here the silage is p ro p e r ly packed and all a ir is excluded, the te m p e ra tu re ra re ly goes above 85 de g rees F. T his is th e m ost favorable te m p e ra tu re fo r ra p id ferm en tatio n , which stops the gro w th of undesirable b acteria. As a re su lt of th is fe rm e n tatio n , the su g a r in the corn is changed into acids and some alcohol. The acids form ed a re chiefly lactic and acetic. L actic acid is found in so u r m ilk and acetic acid in vinegar. The acetic acid is of a volatile n a tu re , and it is th e evaporation of th is acid th a t gives the silage its p ungent odor. The production of these acids la sts from two to fo u r weeks. The chief function of these acids is th a t of a p re serv a tiv e . The acids p revent th e g ro w th of p u trefa ctiv e bacteria, which would cause the silage to decay. The acid d estro y in g and p u trefa ctiv e b a cteria req u ire th e p re s ence of a ir. H ence, it is necessary to keep a ir from the silage. Silage th a t is k e p t a ir tig h t will keep in definitely. C ases a re known w here silag e has k e p t in good condition fo r five and six y e ars. The exclusion of a ir can be obtained only by packing the silage very tig h tly in a silo w ith a ir tig h t w alls. Legum e Silage. W hen legum es, such a s a lfa lfa , clover, vetch, and peas, a re p u t into the silo, they should be ensiled w ith some such crop as corn, rye, or oats. The legum es alone do n o t contain S t o r in g E n s ila g e o n t h e F a r m . however, a re : T here should be p ro per dra in a g e to insure dry sto rag e. T here m ust be am ple protection a g a in st sun, wind and m oisture o v e r head. The location m u st be con venient, so a s to be reached w ith all kinds of fa rm m achinery. T here m u st not be much w aste space, and it m ust be so a rra n g e d th a t the different im plem ents can be reached w ithout any g re a t inconvenience. Too m any m a chine sheds a re built long and n a r row w ith end doors, and the im ple m ents you a re a f te r a re alw ays en tirely hemmed in by o th er m achines. A very convenient shed consists o f a building of m edium w idth, say 20 or 24 feet, the len g th being governed by th e num ber of m achines and im plem ents to be stored. F'or sto rin g all the im plem ents, 20x32 fe et is con sidered am ple room on 160 acre s of land. This would not include w agon, buggy or auto room . The shed need not be built very high, unless one de sires sto ra g e room on the second floor. E ight feet to the eaves is enough. By m aking several doors along the sides instead o f a t th e end, it is possible to ing it. It pays even du rin g the se a son to ru n the im plem ents in du rin g sto rm y w eather. If, however, th is h a sn 't been done, in the fall a fte r fall plow ing is done, se t aside a day and round up all the m achinery and house it properly. A self-binder in the b arn lot, a h a y rak e in the m eadow and cul tiv a to rs and plows in every fence cor ner a t once give the place a black eye. I t is evident to th e v isito r or s tin n g e r th a t sh iftle ss m ethods of fa rm in g a re practiced. The expense of m achinery has steadily increased fo r a num ber of y ears p a st. The av erag e life of the ord in ary fa rm m achine is not w hat it should be. The a d ju stm e n ts on the m achine and the care of it should be ju s t a s th orough and p ain sta k in g as the a d ju s tm e n t of the h a rn ess and care o f th e horse. E ach has a life to give, one an im ate and the o th er in a nim ate. Both will lose money fo r the m an who does not give them pro per care. The loss in fa rm m achinery is ju s t one of the big leaks on the farm . To stop it, house and care fo r the fa rm m achinery. enough su g a r to afford the production of sufficient acid to prev en t the high protein content of th e legum e from decaying. The corn, rye^ or oats, m ixed w ith th e legum es, would p ro vide su g a r fo r the production of su f ficient acid to preserv e both plants. Value of Acids. These silage acids not only p re serve the silage, b u t probably p a rtly d ig est the cellulose or fiber of the cell w alls, c ausing th e te x tu re of the silage to become so fte r and re n d e r ing it m ore easily digested by the anim al. The acids of th e silage a ct a s an ap p etize r and a tonic, th u s helping to keep the digestive tr a c t healthy. This, to g e th e r w ith the succulent n a tu re of the silage, keeps the an im al’s bowels open and tends to give the anim al a glossy coat and a p lia n t skin, such as the anim al has when on good p astu re, indicating th a t it is in the pro p er con dition to m ake the m axim um re tu rn s from its feed. In fa c t, silage lends to our w in ter ra tio n th a t indefinanble p ro p e rty which causes c attle to be a t th e ir best when on good p astu re.