THE HOME PADDOCK

Franklin Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 119, 12 October 1936, Page 3

THE HOME PADDOCK

SOME USEFUL HINTS

Cheap scoops for meal: Get an empty fruit tin (or a bigger one if a lai’ger scoop is required); bore a hole in the end and fit a handle. Handy hay-kicker: I have found it useful when turning hay to remove the spade from the potato digger and use it in the same way as a haykicker.

For catching- fowls: When catching- fowls which are roosting- in trees, a T-shaped piece of wood is a great help. When nearly dark (or after dark, with a flash lamp to locate them) place the top of the T immediately behind the bird’s feet, press gently upwards and the bird will step back on to it and perch there. Then lower it steadily until the bird can be reached by hand. This is a great saving of energy (also temper) and a number of birds can be caught very quickly as they rarely get frightened and try to escape if treated in this manner. Prevent rusty bolts: When erecting portable pig and poultry houses, always dip the bolts into _ thick grease. This avoids the bugbear of nuts which will not turn when one desires to dismantle the houses. Properly greased nuts will turn easily years after application, but in the event of any being a little stiff a little kerosene poured around the nut will usually loosen it sufficiently to remove.

For round flower pots: If you intend making >a. round flower pot bed in your garden, and you require a support between bed and the lawn, an old cartwheel hoop answers this purpose very well. This method is far better than wood or tiles, and will last a lifetime.

Worn yard brooms: When the yard broom gets too worn for fui-ther yard work, wash it thoroughly -and clip the bristles level. It will then make a useful brush for grooming horses, and with a little practice will be found as easy to use as a smaller “dandy-brush.”

Ridging and drilling together: A labour saving device to enable two men 'and two horses to ridge and drill land suitable for swedes, etc., in one operation is as follows: First, make one ridge with ridge plough. When the second ridge is being made drill the first, fastening the drill to the outside hook of the small toitree nearest the ridger, and changing the drill to the opposite side on reaching the end each time.

Keeping bolts tight: When bolts on machines work loose, place a leather washer between' the casting and an iron washer (if the bolt is long enough) under the nut, and then screw the nut tight down.

A good dry-mash mixer: A butter churn and stand of the end-over-end type that has become too old for butter, makes a splendid dry-mash mixer and will selrve this purpose for years. Put the meals in the chux n together. Put on the lid 'and turn churn a few minutes, and you have your mash evenly mixed, ready foi use. It can bq left in the churn and used as required.

Handy scraper: To make a scraper, for getting well into the corners of mangers, etc., when scrubbing and cleaning out, take a blade of a mowing machine knife, bore a hole in centre and fix a handle of any length required. Tool trays from discs: A useful stand to accommodate tools or spare parts when one is busy repairing a machine, or to hold medicine and appliances safely when doctoring a sick beast, may be made from a length of piping and two discs from a wornout disc cultivator. Take a length of lin water pipe, 3ft long, and screwed at both ends for a distance of about 2ins, 'and run a large nut on to each end, drawing it down as tightly as possible. Place the holes in the discs in position over the ends of the pipe, open ends facing outwards and secure by a second nut, well turned down. Either end may be.used as the foot, or container, but if the second nut is well run in with solder, a handy basin will be formed to hold kerosene when washing machine parts, or to contain disinfectant solution when an injured animal requires attention. Cheap corn bins: A cheap and efficient form of corn or meal storage is provided by empty bitumen barrels, which can frequently be purchased from local authorities cheaply. By covering the top with a piece of tin they can be made both rat proof and bird proof. There is no necessity to clean out the remains of the bitumen entirely. Get rid. of the worst of the residue by burning some straw inside the barrel before filling with corn or meal. Some will stick to the bitumen traces remaining and form thick coating on the sides and bottom of the barrel. Watering celery etc. in trenches: Celery must have the soil in which it is growing kept moist in a dry summer; especially on light land. An excellent plan is to sink a few pipes upright in the trenches 'and fill with water as required.