Farm and Garden

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 282, 3 August 1910, Page 3

Farm and Garden

MAKING CEMENT POSTS. The item of fence posts has become an important consideration on many farms where the timber supply has been exhausted. In a great many places it is almost impossible to buy posts at anything that approaches reasonable figures. So we sec on farms here and there an attempt made to use substitutes for the wood pests, such as steel, stone and cement. Iron and steel posts do not seem to be practical, on account of their short life, as well as cost. The cement post comes nearer filling the bill and supplanting the wood post than anything else. We have seen quite a number of them used, and they seem to be very satisfactory. They are not expensive and are easily made. The first step is to make a mould, in which the post is to be cast. "This mould is nothing more than a wooden box without a lid, and made in the shape you want your post. A common form is that of the old-time sawn post, tapering from the bottom to the top. The sides of the mould should be on hinges, so that when the post is made they can be dropped down, in order to facilitate the removal of the post. The mould can be held together by means of clamps or hooks. To prepare the cement, have a good strong mixing box, and into this put cement and sharp sand in proportion of one part cement to five of sand. Some finely crushed stone may be used with the sand. Some use one part of cement to six of sand, but the less sand you use the stronger your post will be up to about half and half. Mix cement and sand thoroughly dry, and then add water until you have the mixture in the shape of soft mortar. Lay the mould down on a couple of blocks near the mortar box, and in it place three or cour strands of barb wire, bent and curved so that they will run all through the post. Then fill up the mould with "grout" (or sand and cement), smoothing off the top with a trowel. If you want eyes in the post, to which to fasten the fence, take a heavy wire or small rod and make some staples, which may be inserted in the post while the cement is still soft. If you do not care to wait for the cement to set, it is not a bad plan to have two moulds, so that one post will set or harden while the other is being made. Cement posts will break off sometimes, unless there is a rod or wire cast inside to give it strength. An ordinary sized cement post will cost from Is 3d to Is Bd, according to the price of the material used in its construction.—W. W. Stevens, in the "Rural New Yorker."

POULTRY NOTES. Growing fowls should not be too closely confined. A certain amount of exercise is necessary to ensure health and growth. While the weather is favourable all pens, houses, and runs should be fixed up, and brought into thorough repair. A little time and labour expended in this direction will save trouble and annoyance later on. Do not attempt to keep too many fowls in a run or yard. Small flocks do best, whether for table purposes or egg production. Divide the runs into sections sufficient to keep from fifteen to twenty hens. One will then be surprised to find the increase in egg production.

Profitable winter eggs cannot be secured from old hens. Such hens are apt to be profitable in the spring and summer. Rely upon pullets only for winter eggs.

In mating up at this time of the year, it is well to select hens well advanced in, or thoroughly through the moult. Otherwise their eggs will not be of much use.

It is wise to select as the male to head the pen the most forward, or if you have none forward enough, to buy one at once. Even a little delay makes a wonderful difi'erencc in the profits, and we can't afford to miss one penny that it is possible to gain.