April 1 1914
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Need Preparation
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During the leisure hours of winter a little extra time should be devoted to cleaning the seed grain. Two bushels of thoroughly cleaned seed will give better results that four bushels of uncleaned seed. Seed to be purchased should be ordered early. It may be found necessary to clean it again. Test the germinating power of all kinds of seed to be sown. Failures are often due to poor germination, not to the weather of soil.
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Harrows
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A spike-toothed harrow is one of the best implements for conserving moisture and fining the surface soil. One stroke with sharp teeth is a good, or better, than two strokes with dull teeth.
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Ploughs
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For spring work, use the short, wide, mould-board and plough shallow, except when smothering couch grass. See that the coulter and share are sharp. A two-furrow plough for spring work is better than the single plough.
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Roller
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Some bolts may require tightening or some woodwork may need replacing. If purchasing a new one, examine the flexible, two-section roller. When using the roller, attach a set of harrows behind. They do good work together.
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Machinery
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Simply for want of repairing many good machines are put on the scrap heap long before they should be discarded. A can of oil and a monkey-wrench applied in time will often save the price of a new machine.
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Barn Yard
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Clean out the manure before the snow is gone. If used for hoed crop, it may be spread direct form the sleigh or put inn small piles about eight yards apart and spread early in spring. If thee is danger of washing away, put in flat piles of about 20 loads each. If used for the corn crop, spread before ploughing. If used for the newly seeded meadows, spread immediately after harvest. When putting the manure in piles, use land plaster freely. It will absorb moisture and keep the pile from heating, which is very essential for the best results.
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Fences
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New fences or repairs should be looked after before the animals are turned out. Once the cattle get the habit of visiting fields that they are not intended to, it is very hard to restrain them.
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Firewood
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Cutting firewood in summer when it can be done much easier and cheaper in winter, is a waste of valuable time. First clean up old logs, rails, broken boards, etc., around the buildings. Perhaps somewhere on the farm there are two fields that could profitably be made into one, and the old rail fence between them converted into good posts or into fuel. In the wood lot there may be dead or fallen trees that should be removed and made into firewood before the live trees are touched.——J. F.
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