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.