WAUKEGAN, ILL

The Headwork Shop

It's Motto: To Lighten Labor is to Lengthen Life

Mice by the Sack

NEW idea in this line came to me a short time ago, aiMi it worked well. Take a common grain-sack into the bin or where the mice are nesting and living in the grain. Put the sack on tliC floor in a corner next to the wall. Prop its mouth open with an ear of com stood on end. Lay a trail of shelled corn up to and into the mouth of the sack. Take a scoop- shovel and shovel the grain over the sack, covering it except for the mouth. The mice think the opening to the sack a nice dark place to hide in, and they scuttle into it. When they are all in the sack, take out the ear of corn, gather up the mouth and put the sack with its contents in a barrel of water. I caught ?tnd drowned eighty-two mice in three trials. Ella R. Wiley.

Home-Made Wool-Press

jjERE is a sketch of a good wool- press which will come in handy on any farm where sheep are kept : Take a piece of board one inch thick, twelve inches wide and fourteen feet long. From this cut four pieces one foot long and two pieces five feet long. Piece E (see sketch) is hinged to pieces D D by two hinges on each side and to the two pieces B B by two hinges on the other two sides of piece E. Pieces C C are hinged to pieces B B by one hinge on each end of C. A is a space six by twelve inches through which to reach and catch hold of D. Lay strings across B E and D E as dotted lines repre- sent. Now lay the wool on the press with the side which wqs next to the sheep down. Raise B B and D D, and lay F F, which are sticks with notches, -in the corresponding notches in B B so as to hold them together. Now tie the strings and open up the press.

M. L. Thompson.

It Holds the Stick Firmly

lUTl^ T*-* ^"^^"^ y/ood in a ^^^^^^ regular sawhorse or

sawbuck the old way is to stand on one foot and hold the stick with the other, which is very diffi- cult and tiresome. Now, to avoid this, take a heavy log-chain, throw the hook end over the stick, and hook it into or over the hcVizontal bar of the saw- buck so that the chain lies over the stick you are to saw. Draw up all the slack you can, and drop the chain, letting it hang loose, and you will find that you can use both feet to stand on and be comfortable, and your stick will be held firmer than you can hold it with your foot. When you wish to move the stick, simply raise the free end of your chain, hang it over the forked end of your buck, slide the stick or log as you wish, simply drop chain onto the stick, and go on sawing.

One can saw very nicely with a heavy log-chain, say one-half inch links, without hooking it, simply letting both ends lie on the ground with the middle, or rather the middle part, lying across the stick like the illustration. The heavier the chain is. the better of course. Henry W. Hull.

Gate- Weight That Stays in Order

'THE sketch shows a gate-closing de- vice which I have found very useful, as it isn't in the way and doesn't get out of order. It can be attached to any kind of a gate, but a light one does not require as large or as con- spicuous a closing device or as heavy a weight.

For the average small gate take a one-by- foiir strip about three feet long. Cut this into three pieces, sixteen, twelve and eight inches respectively. Fasten these together ^s illustrated antl attach a weight to the projecting end of the sixteen-inch piece just sufficient to close the gate. ,G. R. Slater.

A Powerful Post-Puller

T'HIS post-pufler, the constrtiction o f which is shown in the accompanying illustra- tion, is very handy on the farm. When the lever is pulled down, the chain, which is j • hooked loosely around

' — ■' the post, tightens, and

the post is pulled out of the ground a little way. When the lever is raised, the chain loosens, and the chain drops down ready for a new hold. Harry E. Wells.

To Keep the Spade Bright

TF THE hired man carelessly puts the spade away without cleaning it, you may have a hard time cleaning it next time you go out to dig. But if you have been careful to put the cinders in a nice pile, not more than one minute will be required to clean the spade and make it as bright as a new dollar.

Simply dig in the cinders for a minute or so. shoveling them about as you do gravel and cement when mixing concrete, and the job is done. The cinders should be wet, as they are sure to be if exposed to the weather.

We learned this while shoveling cinders into a post-hole when building fence. It works like a charm. E. P. H. Gregory.

To Rewind Barbed Wire

"pHE sketch shows a very useful device for winding loose wire and taking up old wire fences. Procure an old huggy axle and wheels, and fasten two two-by- four sticks five feet long to the axle as illustrated.

Provide the front end with a rod. the end of which is bent to form a crank. Two bent nails hold the block which had to be cut out to allow the rod to be put in place. When the spool is on, the nails are twisted sfl as to keep the rod in place. If the rod does not hold the spool tightly, use wedges. One man pushes, and the man in front turns the crank. Wire can be wound as fast as a man can walk and just as evenly as when bought- new. Carl Achilles.

Woven- Wire Cow Racks

CONSIDERABLE lumber and much work are required to build the ordinary wooden feed-rack. A better and cheaper one of wire can be built as follows: Take a sufficient length of woven wire the width and length required, and staple the bottom edge of the whole length of it along the wall of the barn about three feet from the ground.

Every eight feet under the wire nail poles two and a half inches in diameter, leaning out from the barn. Nail the upper ends to the rafters, or if the feeding is done out-of-doors brace the poles firmly. Pull the woven wire back from the building, since only the bottom of it is attached to it, and staple it to each of the poles.

Staple one end of the woven wire to the building, and cover it with a board so the ends of the wire cannot injure the stock. Stretch the whole length, and finish the other end like the first. If the rack does not hold enough, another width can be put above, observing the same precautions to make it tight and safe. If the meshes are about three or four inches in size, any kind of feed can be pulled through by the cattle. Be sure to use the woven wire, as the tied varieties have ends about the meshes which will hurt the animals' tongues.

F. H. South.

Farm and Fireside, April 12, 1913

STEELShirigl^s VVillS&ySiiJui a If iie

^VTien you think how cheap Edwards Steel Shingles are, how much long^er they last, how much easier they are to put on than common- place roofmg-. it's bard to tell just how much we do save each btayer. It's a hlg pile of money.

They Beat Wood Shingles

The best wood shingles to he had nowadavs seldom last 10 years, and it s a lou?, siow, tetlious job pnttinft them on. Besides, any buildine with wood shingles is a regular "fire trRp"'— apt to burn up any moment. E.iwanls Steel Shingles last o^-er twice a^Ione as wood, and as they come in big clnsters of 100 or more, anybody cnn put them on in almost no time. Forthermore.thpv are absolutely fire-proof and are eruaranteed bo by a SIO.UOO Cash Bond.

No Chance of Rust

Unlike ordinary iron ronfine. EtlwarHs Steel Siting^ never rust. With the Edwards Steel Siiin- (tle. the nails are completely covered by onr pat- ented interlockinK device, and the edg-ea ar*- m^He al»sf»lately rust-proof by the famooB £dwubJe Tii-'ht<role Process. No chance for mst.

Remember, too. that Edwards Steel Shin^lee are much easier to put on than any other rooting.

Write for Factory Prices, Freight Paid

Edwards Steel Shingles are not only the longest lastJQg^ and easiest laid roof in the world, hut their cost is amazingly \ow. That's becaupe we sell direct from factory to user. And with lOO.riOO good cus- tomers, we only want a Email 9% profit per Bale. And we pay the freipht. Just send a postal for oar Intest Roofing Book 458 and Special Factory Prices. Then see for yonr<«*'f what astonishing prices you Cftn now get on the World's Finest Koofing Mnterial. Give size of your roof, if V»o^3ib!e. Writo today end our proposition will come by return miiil. (99)

The Edwards Manufacturing: Co.

408-458 Lock Street Cincinnati, Ohio

Run On Coal Oil

Ellis Engines give more power on coal oil than other engines on gasoUne. You save 50c on the dollar in nieL Strongest, simplest engines made —only three workine parts. Kew two-cylinder 12 H. P. engine does work requiring up to l.s H. P. AU Ellis En^nes can be run on gasoline, distillate or any fuel oU without extra equipment.

hare patent throttle, riring three en- ^ gines In one. Automobile muffler, Bpeed -changing poveraor, ruos e'r.heiway, reversible while ma- ning, Go^rameed 10 yenrs. We pLiT freicht. 30 diys free trial. Buy direct aod snve money. Write for e^tsiogue showing 191^ models with special prices.

ELLIS ENGINE COHPANT 107 MnlleH St.. Detroit. Mich. Wo p»y Frolglit

MEN WANTED

(t^i^ Prepare as Flreman.Brakemen.Elec* trie Motormen, and colored Train Por- ters. Hundreds put to work — to 8l50 a month. No experience neeessarr. 900 more want«d. Fnclose stamp for AppUc*- tion Blank. Name position you want, L RAILWAY C L Dcpt 33. IKDIANAPOUS. IND.

LAWN FENCE

Many designs. Cheap as wood. 32 page Catalog* free. Sp«cia I Prices to Cbarcbes and Cemeteries Coiled Spring Fence Co, Box 403 Winchester Ind.

Headwork Winner — March Twenty-Ninth

The first-prize contribution in the Head- work Shop, in the March 29th issue, was "Cat-Proof Bird-House," by Paul Schulze.

Information Concerning Patents

I\ ADDITION' to the services now rendered sub.scribcrs who wish information on animal diseases, reliable commission firms and advice on general farm prob- lems, Farm and Fire.side has secured for its readers a source of reliable information on patents. A search throuRh the records of the V. S. Patent Office at Washington will be made, when necessary, and free advice given concerning the patentability of designs submitted. All questions asked will be answered by a patent expert with- out charge or obligation. Correspondence may be made through the Editor of the Headwork Shop, Farm a.vd Fire.side. This service docs not. of course, include thi- procurement of a patent or commercial negotiations of legal nature.

■II )■■■■■;

>I4I I i>»»I<l 1 l>»I<l

ORNAMENTAL FENCE

25 Deu«iu— AH Steel

Hand^me. cof<t lest) than trood. more durable. Don't hay 5 fence until you get our Free Cataloguo and Speebl Vrle^u

^^e ran savr TOn ntin^y. Kokomo Fence Machine Co. .North SU. Kokomo, Ind.

KITSELMAN FENCE

We make you the same price we would make the Dealer or Jobber. That is why we can save you money. Look at these very low prices.

CENTS A ROD

for 26-in. hog fence. 23!^c. a rod for 49-in. farm fence. 25Hc a rod for M in. poultry fence. SI. 55 for 80 rod spool of Ideal Barbed Wire. Large free Catalog showing HO styles of Farm, Poultry and Lawn Feuce. KITSELMAN BROS. Box!27l. Muncie, Ind.

GUARANTEED

For 5 and 7 Years

I sell at factory prIcM. Yoo saw

dealer's profit. 1 mix fmh point for each order— it in ready to o»e. I pay th« fralght on 6 (rallons or over. You may try 2 (fallonii out of yoor order; if not satisfactory, return the b-olnncc, and (fct all yoor money back. Instructiomi how to paint with each ortler. Write today for Fra« paint book and color cards. Don't boy stale paint with no life in it. Boy FrMh Mad«-to-Ord*r G«ar»iit«*d paints from

0. L CtUSE. The Paintman. hte.

0«p«rtm«nt 1 9 IZXO-1224 LlggaH Building St. Louis, Mo. *g«n«» Wanlad— Writo Me.

Don't get caught with leaky roof

spring th 3me

Remember the roof on your house, barn or other buildings that leaked a few drops last fall— a little in- vestigation now may mean a big saving when you put on a new roof or replace an old one.

Certain-teed

(Quality Cert-ified— Darability GuBran-(e«</)

m Roils and Shingles

There is a Certain-teed

Roofing and a simple method of applying it for every building on the farm. Look for the Certain-teed label of quality and 1 5 -year guar- antee on every roll and crate of shingles. Get

Ge«rdRo.f«, P"f^ from your local The World's urg,rt dealer — he will save you

manuf actarer of .

Roofings and Bufld- monCy, ing Papers

Valuable Book Free JT" "^"^

paluable su£reestioas in our new book, "Modern Bmlding Meu and Plans"

— it tells you what to do and what not to do — it suf- eests economics and conveniences that will save you money. A book of this kind would ordinarily sell for SI — but as it shows the use of our Ccr- tairt'teeti Roofing on all kinds of model bomes and farm buildings, we offer it to you at 2 5 cents. We prefer to have you go to your lumber, hardware or building material dealer, who will gladly get you a copy FREE. If you write ud, enclose 25c to cover cost, postage and mailing.

1 D EA S PLANS

General Roofing Mfg. Co*

E. St Loait, HI. York, Pa. Marteillet, 10. MioneapoUs San Francisco Winnipeg, Can.

**Direct from Factory to Horse**

Biggest and beat Catalog of Vehicles Harness and Accessories published,

J^^^Saved OD this op-to-dafe bngg; M M shows how Murray saves

bM yoQ from 3^ to H

Shipped direct from fac< tory. 4 weeka' road trial. 2 re»rs' guarantee- Get the Murray Book before TOU buy. Postal will brinff , it- Investi^tg our claims.

Write for it today^ The Wllber H, Murray Mfg.Co. 835 5th Ave. Cincinnati* O.

Buy Farm Land

at $10 an acre up along South- i ern Ey., M. & O. R. R. and I Ga. S.->. and Fla. Ry. Values \ rapidly advancing. Plenty ot ra^n — no blizzard's. Growing cities demand move farm produce, :f. poultry and dairj ing pay handsomely. Ei^ i>r in apples, truck, alfalfa, corn, cottoQ. Great industrial openings in all parts of the South. *' SoL;t;iern Field" magazine, land lists, =ind state booklets — Free

M.V. RICHARDS, L.&l. Agt., Room 32 Washington. D.C.

FOR INFORMATION AS TO LANDS IN

The NaUon's Garden Spot-

THAT GREAT FRUIT AND TRUCK CROWKVG SECTION—

along the

Atlantic Coast Une

In Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Florida, write to WILBUR McCOY, I E.N. CLARK, A. & r. Agt. for Florida, A. & I. Agt.lorVirglnla Alabama. Cieorgria, | and the Carolinae, JacksonTille, Fla. | Wilmington, N. C. •

Dairying in California

is a very profitable business

The growing season is such that a mUch cow can be kept at her best for one year on one acre of ground, and she will earn you $10 a month.

Alfalfa, which here finds a congenial home, is the best possible food for dau-y stock.

Expensive shelter for the animals is not necessary.

. Local creameries take the cream at top prices. Last year the average price paid for bulterfat .was about 32)4 cents per pound.

No room here to tell thp whole story. Send for our new book, "Dairying in the San Joaquin Valley." It goes- into detail, and is interesting to read.

C. L. Seagraves, General Colonization Agent, • A. T <t S. F. Ry.. 2193 Railway Exehange, Chicago, 111.

I Farm Notes I

The Profits of Forestry

By J. Gordon Dorrance

DOWN in the soutliern Appalachians, in the mountains of western North Carolina, lies an immense estate em- bracing a wooded area of close to two hundred square miles. It is called Biltmore for its owner, George VV. Vanderbilt of New York, and here for the past twenty years, first under GifFord Pinchot, later under Dr. C. A. Schenck of Germany, has been carried on a forest policy unique in scope and variety.

Forests have been cut down and planted up again, abandoned farm-lands have been reclaimed and afforested, the whole has been managed skilfully and well, and every year there has taken place an immense harvest of four million board feet of lumber, five hundred cords of tantiic-acid wood and fuel, nearly a thousand cords of high-quality pulp- wood and a thousand cords of tan-bark.- Now at last the timber on only sixty-eight thousand acres has sold for $816,000.

The average cutting limit for the whole is fourteen inches, and it is estimated that the large sum paid for the timber alone will more than pay for the original purchase price, clearance of titles and all expenses incurred in the management of this big tract for the last score of years, leaving Mr. Vanderbilt in possession of all the land and young growing forest without the outlay of a cent. Here certainly forestry has paid.

The large corporations are never behind the times, and the Pennsylvania Railroad some little time ago had planted upward of four million trees, on lands owned by the company, to provide for some of their fu- ture requirements in timber and cross-ties.

Some Good Crops of Fence-Posts

During the past few years "fence-post famines," so called, have induced the farmers of Indiana and some other Middle Western

Final cut of Scots pine at Eberstadt, Germany

Roots and branches cut up and piled and nothing wasted

States to practise forestry on a small scale with certain tree varieties especially adapted for posts. Osage orange, hardy catalpa and black locust have been planted at an aver- age cost of only $8. St) an acre, and many of these plantations have, at as early an age as fifteen years, yielded two thousand first- class fence-posts per acre. The great con- venience, not to say economy, of a home supply of stakes and posts, combined with the resulting protection and shelter afforded by the young forests, enhance considerably the value of forest plantations for post pro- duction, plantations which are in themselves highly remunerative as investments.

Some By-Products of the Forests

Though probably we have not come to it yet, good woodland in Germany and many of the other European countries is often leased for the hunting privilege alone, for forty to fifty cents per acre per annum, an added means of revenue for the owner. And it may be remarked that in this coun- try the yearly value of our forest fish and

A well-managed woodlot

The weed trees have been taken out and a good stand of American white pine remains

game reaches the enormous figur« of $33,- 000.000. Deer killed in only six of the northeastern States furnish us every year

with food worth more than $1,000,000, while raw furs exported annually are valued at $8,000,000, and furs worth still more are kept for manufacture here. We know what most of the real forest products are worth, and these figures throw an interesting side- light on some of the by-products.

One more example illustrative of the financial returns of a forest investment : In the State of Vermont an old abandoned farm, worth at the very most $10 an acre, was planted to trees at a cost of $5, making in all an initial expense of $15 per acre. Allowing an« interest charge of six per cent.

Famous Black Forest of Germany

■ ! t derives its name from the dark-green foliage of its splendid spruces and Ers

on the cost price for thirty-two years, the Norway spruce when finallyf cut off paid a net profit of $201.70 an acre.

Wooded lands are held for the profits they yield, like other private property, and now the up-to-date farmer, and he is quite common, is just coming to the realization that it will almost always pay better to protect his woodlot while harvesting a tim- ber crop than to utterly destroy it.

With his forests well managed, and his lands which will not grow agricultural crops planted in trees, then indeed will a very big phase of the conservation problem have been solved. Such a solution, while benefiting the community and the state, will quite properly profit the farmer most of all, for without forestry we cannot have agriculture.

Stand Up!

By G. Henry 'T'HE stalk of corn which stands up means money for the farmer usually. The field of wheat which stands up is a good field of wheat.

The meadow that is "tall," that stands up ready for the mowing-machine — the meadow that "holds its head high" is the meadow which produces high-class hay.

The colt which holds his head high and looks you in the eye is the colt which brings a good price. The useful collie dog doesn't carry his tail and nose near the ground.

The beautiful rooster, well bred, valuable, proud father of fifty chicks and prouder husband of thirteen wives, holds his head in the air. He isn't afraid to proclaim his own greatness.

It is the sick field of wheat, the sick corn, the sick horse, the sick dog, the sick rooster, presenting drooping heads and low spirits, no matter how brilliantly the sun shines, which inflict sadness on your soul and sor- row in your pocketbook.

So consider the "Stand Up !" philosophy as it applies to yourself.

Don't be crushed by a little adversity. You are not a stalk of corn to be withered by an insidious insect. You are not a field of wheat to be laid low by a heavy hail or a strong wind. You are not a colt to become lazy and laggard because your internal ma- chinery has gone wrong.

You have what we like to call manhood ! You have a mysterious reserve force upon which you can draw — and on which, if you do draw, your head will automatically fly into the air and remain at an angle which wins respect from other men and forces success.

You can learn to respect yourself if you will only make yotirself believe that you are worthy of respect, that you have a right to carry your head high.

Manure and Phosphate for Potatoes

By A. J. Legg

YEAR or two ago I gave some figures

'to Farm and Fireside showing the value of hen-manure for potatoes, as compared with commercial fertilizers. The hen- manure gave the best results in every trial.

It occurred to me that a mixture of hen- manure and acid phosphate would make a better fertilizer for potatoes than either alone, as the hen-manure is deficient in phosphortis, and it is inclined, also, to en- courage the potato-scab. The acid phosphate supplies the phosphorus, and the acidity also discourages the scab growth.

I mixed the hen-mantire with a liberal quantity of acid phosphate during the winter as it was made, and stowed it in barrels. I used about twelve pounds of sixteen per cent, acid phosphate to each barrel of hen- manure, and when I planted my potatoes I put a single small scoopful of the mixture' in each potato-hill. The result was that I grew the nicest, largest potatoes that I have ever grown. There was very little sign of scab and they were large, smooth and solid.

Everybody From Kid To Grandad

Thin, crisp bits of white Indian Corn, cooked to perfection and toasted to a delicate brow^n without the touch of human hand.

You get them in the sealed package

Ready to Eat

A dish of Post Toasties for breakfast and lunch, with thick cream or rich f ruit j uice, is a dish that ep- icures- might chortle over.

Nourishing, economical, delicious, "more-ish."

is yours, no matter vrhat you are up against, if you own a

Fish Brand Reflex Slicker

The coat that keeps out ALL the rain

On every label we print plainly

Satisf action - Guaranteed

and we mean

Everywhere

If not at yoxir deal er's, sent prepaid on re- ceipt of price. Send for illustra- ted folder de- scribing this and other Fish Brand garments.

Tower Canadian Limited, Toronto 219

Gasoline Engines

Sold Direct to You at

FACTORY PRICES

60 Days Free Trial— You Run No Risk

The Witte Is conceded the best engrine In America. Made by E. H. Witte, mas- ter builder for 25 years. Ask any Witte user. Any size from VA to 40 horse-power all tested to ten per cent overload. 61 special advantagres.

And You Now Pay Only

FACTORY PRICE

We cut out all dealers — their profits go to you. You also get the full benefit of cur low factory cost. We have no power expense at our plant, as we own our gas •well: testing.heatingr.lighting: fuel, all free.

Take a 60 day trial, five year (ruarantee. Write for book, "How to Judge a Gasoline En-

?'ine,'* and complete catalog. Our wholesale aetory prices will interest you mightily. Writ© KOW, telling as size engine you need.