806 
took  the  matter  up  with  the  Department  of  Agricul¬ 
ture  at  Washington,  as  he  had  large  quantities  of 
waste  material  at  his  disposal  in  the  canning  de¬ 
partment.  Mr.  Kittleherger  took  a  personal  interest 
in  the  matter,  and  had  an  extensive  correspondence 
with  the  Department,  calling  its  attention  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  annually  throwing  away  tons  of  by¬ 
products  from  apples,  pears,  cherries  and  other  ma¬ 
terial,  which  to  his  knowledge  were  used  very  ex¬ 
tensively  in  Europe  in  the  making  of  alcohol.  lie 
even  went  so  far  as  to  offer  to  cooperate  with  the 
Department  in  the  installing  of  the  necessary  ap¬ 
paratus  at  his  own  expense,  merely  asking  the  De¬ 
partment  for  the  services  of  a  competent  man  to  as¬ 
sist  in  accomplishing  such  things  as  the  Department 
claimed  could  lie  done,  Then  Mr,  Kittleherger  took 
the  matter  up  with  his  member  of  the  House  of  Rep¬ 
resentatives,  hut  the  only  satisfaction  he  got  was  a 
letter  from  the  Department  saying  that,  it  had  not 
vet  been  able  to  devise  a  system  whereby  alcohol 
could  be  made  commercially  cheap  enough  to  pro¬ 
mote  its  use  in  competition  with  gasoline.  This,  not¬ 
withstanding  the  fad  that  Europe  has  made  alco¬ 
hol  for  years  from  the  by-products  named,  and  it 
is  being  used  there  in  large  quantities. 
It  seems  odd  enough  that  in  this  country,  where 
the  consumption  of  liquid  fuel  is  greater  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world,  the  adaptation  of  this  cheap 
fuel  would  he  so  long  delayed.  We  credit  the  Ameri¬ 
can  people  with  initiative  amounting  to  rare  dar¬ 
ing,  but  at.  times  the  fore  rank  standing  of  our  coun¬ 
trymen  falls  down  completely.  For  years  the  coun¬ 
tries  of  Europe  have  been  familiar  with  alcohol  as 
a  fuel.  We  practically  know  nothing  about  it.  More 
and  more  will  there  be  the  urgent  need  of  additional 
supplies  of  fuel,  not  only  as  in  competition  with 
gasoline,  but  as  supplementary  with  it,  To  the 
farmer,  as  one  of  the  chief  beneficiaries  of  a  new 
vogue  of  things,  this  question  comes  squarely.  As 
he  secured  the  parcel  post  and  its  blessings,  so  also 
can  he  secure,  denatured  alcohol,  even  make  it  on 
his  farm,  but  he  must  first  want  to  make  it,  and 
want  it  hard  enough  to  go  after  it.  The  farmer  is 
not  unreasonable  in  his  asking  and  never  has  been. 
He  can  have  much  of  his  mechanical  work  done 
through  this  agency  if  he  will  only  demand  it.  and 
make  plain  his  rights  with  no  uncertain  sound. 
New  York.  a.  h.  pulver. 
It.  n.-Y. — The  farmers  did  more  than  any  other 
class  to  obtain  the  legislation  for  free  denatured 
alcohol.  They  were  plainly  deceived  and  used  by  the 
manufacturing  interests. 
Poison  Ivy:  The  Plant  and  Its  Poison 
Will  you  tell  me  what  I  can  use  to  destroy  poison 
ivy  roots  in  ground  that  is  to  be  used  for  garden  pur¬ 
poses?  MRS.  W.  W.  K. 
New  York. 
RFBBINO  out  is  the  only  method  to  destroy 
poison  ivy  roots,  and  if  your  garden  is  given 
clean  cultivation  it  should  not  be  difficult  to  control 
and  eradicate  the  pest,  as  the  tops  would  be  de¬ 
stroyed  by  the  frequent,  hoeing,  and  the  roots  dis¬ 
turbed  by  preliminary  working.  It  is  in  meadows, 
pastures  and  undisturbed  shrubbery,  woodlands  or 
roadsides,  that  the  poison  ivy  becomes  a  pest.  In 
addition  to  grubbing  out  and  frequent  cutting  while 
in  full  growth,  patches  of  poison  ivy  may  he  de¬ 
stroyed  by  covering  with  dry  brush  and  burning. 
One  of  our  correspondents  tells  us  this  gives  him  ex¬ 
cellent  results,  the  roots  being  weakened  or  killed 
by  the  destruction  of  the  top  in  the  full  growing 
season,  (living  a  heavy  spraying  of  hot  brine  de¬ 
stroys  the  top  and  weakens  the  root,  but  like  the 
burning,  this  would  not  be  practicable  in  the  gar¬ 
den.  A  person  engaged  in  grubbing  out  or  other¬ 
wise  working  among  poison  ivy,  if  not  immune  to 
its  effects,  will  do  well  to  rub  olive  oil  over  the  face, 
neck  or  other  exposed  portions  of  the  skin:  this 
often  prevents  poisoning.  Pure  olive  oil,  in  most 
cases,  relieves  the  eruption  caused  by  poisoning. 
Overalls  or  other  garments  used  when  working 
among  the  plant  often  retain  enough  of  the  volatile 
oil  that  causes  the  poisoning  to  affect  sensitive  skin 
for  some  time  afterwards.  The  burning  of  the 
plants,  or  of  dry  wood  on  which  the  vines  have 
grown,  may  cause  inflamed  eyes  or  sore  throat, 
when  a  sensitive  person  is  exposed  to  the  fumes. 
We  have  printed,  from  time  to  time,  many  reme¬ 
dies  for  ivy  poisoning.  As  the  poisonous  property 
is  in  a  volatile  oil,  ordinary  washing  with  soap  and 
water  does  not  remove  it  all,  but  it  is  removed  by 
swabbing  with  ether  or  grain  alcohol.  One  physi¬ 
cian  tells  us  that  in  a  ease  of  poisoning  remedies 
are  much  more  efficacious  if  the  skin  is  first,  washed 
off  with  absorbent  cotton  dipped  in  ether.  The 
usual  prescription  for  ivy  poisoning  is  a  saturated 
solution  of  sugar  of  lead  (lead  acetate)  iu  GO  per 
cent,  alcohol;  other  standard  remedies  are  extract 
Z>ho  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
of  grin  deli  a  or  witch  hazel.  The  witch  hazel  seems 
more  active  if  heated  before  application.  Another 
remedy  from  which  readers  report  excellent  results 
is  one  teaspoonful  permanganate  of  potash  in  one 
quart  of  water.  Still  another  soothing  lotion  is  one 
teaspoonful  salt,  one  teaspoonful  bicarbonate  of 
soda,  and  three  teaspoonfuls  chloride  of  lime,  in  one 
pint  of  soft  water. 
If  one  has  reason  to  fear  ivy  poisoning  when  out 
in  the  woods  or  fields,  there  are  two  common  weeds 
that  are  said  to  possess  remedial  properties,  the  rib- 
grass  or  English  plantain  and  jewelweed  or  touch- 
me-not.  In  either  ease  the  leaves  and  stems  are 
bruised  and  applied  to  the  poisoned  skin.  The  jew¬ 
elweed  is  very  often  found  growing  in  the  neighbor¬ 
hood  of  the  poison  ivy  and  as  the  fresh  plant,  boiled 
in  lard,  has  been  used  in  medical  practice  as  an 
ointment  for  itching  sores  it  is  quite  possible  that 
its  juice  may  possess  the  value  ascribed  to  it  iu  ivy 
poisoning. 
Wasted  Potash — Can  It  Be  Saved? 
WHATEVER  else  may  be  said  of  tobacco  it  is 
the  most  uneconomic  crop  grown  in  this  coun¬ 
try.  The  total  year's  crop  runs  over  1,000,000,000 
pounds  and  takes  from  the  soil  at  least  35.000.000 
pounds  of  nitrogen,  7,000,000  pounds  of  phosphoric 
acid  and  nearly  50,000,000  pounds  of  potash.  There 
is  practically  no  return  for  this  great  drain  upon 
the  soil.  Tobacco  gives  no  food  value  whatever, 
and  when  used  for  smoking,  the  ashes  are  mostly 
wasted.  All  other  crops  which  take  from  the  land 
in  this  way  give  back  something  of  material  value 
in  food  or  fibre  or  fertilizer.  Tobacco  gives  neither, 
and  sections  where  it  is  grown  must  import  more 
and  more  plant  food.  Prof.  King  pointed  out  the 
An  Iron  Corncrib.  Fig.  304.  See  page  807 
fact  that  China  is  importing  tobacco  and  paying 
either  in  cash  or  in  needed  food  products.  As  the 
tobacco  adds  nothing  to  the  Chinese  soil  as  other 
food  imports  do  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  when 
the  Chinese  must  give  up  tobacco  or  give  up  their 
soil.  The  present,  shortage  of  commercial  potash  is 
leading  to  all  sorts  of  suggestions  for  saving  wastes. 
At  a  recent,  scientific  meeting  in  England  the  fol¬ 
lowing  novel  suggestion  was  made  by  one  speaker-. 
By  the  systematic  collection  of  tobacco  ash  from  pipe 
tobacco,  cigars,  and  cigarettes,  hotel  and  restaurant 
keepers  would  be  doing  a  national  service,  and  at  the 
same  time  adding  to  their  incomes.  He  suggested  that 
every  hotel,  restaurant,  and  public  house  should  have 
its  tobacco  ash  tub  into  which  tobacco  ash  trays  from 
the  smoke-room,  etc.,  should  be  emptied,  and  that,  a 
combination  should  be  formed  fi>r  its  collection  and  sale 
to  the  artificial  manure  maker  or  the  manufacturing 
chemist.  The  quantity  of  tobacco  and  cigars  consumed 
in  the  United  Kingdom  from  March  31.  1913.  to  March 
31.  1914,  was  in  round  numbers  44,529  tons.  'l'liis, 
when  burnt,  would  give  13,359  tons  of  ash.  If  the  ash 
contained  one-fifth  of  its  weight  of  potash  (which  was  a 
low  estimate)  we  had  2.072  tons  of  potash,  and  as 
kainit  only  contained  12.5  per  cent,  of  potash,  we  were 
throwing  away  annually  potash  equivalent  to  21,370 
tons  of  kainit. 
It  is  not  likely  that  any  such  suggestion  will  be 
carried  out  in  our  age.  but  it  shows  what  could  he 
clone  if  science  were  free  to  work  through  our  or¬ 
dinary,  everyday  life  with  a  fine-tooth  comb.  A  corn 
cob  does  not  seem  a  very  large  proposition,  yet  last 
year  the  four  States  of  Illinois,  Iowa,  Nebraska  and 
Missouri  produced  1,081,014,000  bushels  of  corn. 
This  meai..  not  far  from  120.000  tons  of  potash  in 
The  corn  cobs  alone.  Ii‘  this  war  should  continue 
much  longer  it  will  become  a  profitable  business  for 
some  one  to  collect  corncobs  in  these  Western  States 
and  burn  them  for  the  potash  which  they  contain. 
The  War  and  the  Weather 
Today  we  had  another  hard  shower,  and  the  ground 
had  just  begun  to  dry  off  nicely.  There  is  very  little 
grain  sown  yet  in  this  part  of  the  State.  Some  have 
to  do  a  lot  of  plowing  yet,  as  last  Fall  it  was  so  wet 
many  fields  could  not  be  plowed.  There  is  a  question 
about  all  this  rainfall,  and  last  Winter  the  heavy  fall 
of  snow.  Prof.  Myers  of  Frankfort,  N.  Y„  a  balloon 
expert  and  a  man  who  probably  understands  the  at¬ 
mosphere.  said  last  Summer  that  the  war  in  Europe  was 
the  cause  of  tlie  heavy  rains.  He  based  bis  statement 
on  the  fact  that  When  we  have  forest  tires  the  large 
rains  come  outside  of  the  burning  district,  "as  the  air  is 
so  filled  with  smoke  and  gas.  rain  will  not  fall  there, 
but  must  seek  an  outlet  elsewhere,  therefore  goes  where 
the  air  is  clear.  No  doubt  some  rain  falls  in  Europe, 
but  we  are  getting  more  than  our  share  I  believe,  and 
then  some.  Also  these  thunder  showers;  it  seems  as 
though  it  would  be  about  the  same  as  last  year.  Per¬ 
haps  all  the  nitrogen  that  is  being  shot  up  over  there 
lxi s  something  to  do  with  them.  Let  us  hear  about  this. 
If. we  are  going  to  have  a  wet  season  let  us  prepare; 
we  can  mount  the  tools  to  be  used  this  Summer  on 
boats  and  go  to  it.  .toon  n.  Schuyler. 
New  York. 
S  to  the  supposed  effect  of  this  war,  my  first 
point  is  that  conditions  have  not  been  more 
abnormal  since  its  beginning  than  in  many,  many 
other  years.  The  same  causes,  therefore,  that  would 
account  for  such  a  season  as  that  of  1907,  which 
was  more  backward,  cold  and  rainy  than  this  year 
in  this  part  of  the  country,  should  also  he  sufficient 
to  account  for  the  conditions  in  1915  and  1910. 
Our  records  showed  March  and  April  of  last  year 
to  he  exceptionally  dry;  March  was  the  driest  month 
in  this  State  in  20  years  or  as  long  as  comparative 
data  are  available,  the  next  driest  being  May,  1903: 
April  was  the  driest  April  in  15  years.  These  two 
months  were  within  the  period  of  intense  warfare. 
So  also  were  July  and  August  of  last  year,  which 
represent  the  opposite  extreme.  The  average  rain¬ 
fall  in  the  State  of  New  York  for  July  and  August 
together  amounted  to  12.01  inches,  surpassing  all 
records  for  these  two  months  in  any  of  the  last  20 
years.  All  of  which  merely  goes  to  show  that  ex¬ 
tremes  of  rainfall  and  the  drought  may  and  do  oc¬ 
cur.  war  or  no  war;  these  phenomena  of  the  weath¬ 
er  are  altogether  independent  of  the  war. 
The  amount  of  nitrogen  liberated  by  cannonading, 
etc.,  is  of  course  large.  But  the  amount  when  com¬ 
pared  with  the  amount  of  nitrogen  present  in  or¬ 
dinary  air,  is  entirely  negligible  so  far  as  effects  on 
storm  formation  are  concerned.  A  knowledge  of 
elementary  meteorology  will  show  that  the  quantity 
of  nitrogen  present  in  ordinary  air  over  a  single 
square  mile  cannot  be  less  than  fourteen  millions 
of  tons,  reckoning  only  the  air  to  a  height  of  about 
five  miles  or  that  part  of  the  air  immediately  con¬ 
cerned  in  storm  formation.  One  hundredth  of  one 
per  cent,  of  fourteen  million  tons  is  1.400  tons  or  an 
amount  which  for  each  square  mile  of  the  civilized 
part  of  the  world,  the  sum  total  of  Ihe  energy  of 
the  human  race  could  not  liberate  in  the  form  of 
nitrogen.  Then,  furthermore  the  nitrogen  man  lib¬ 
erates,  it  must  he  remembered  he  does  not  create, 
and  in  the  manufacture  of  explosives  man  must 
draw  from  the  stores  of  nitrogen  in  the  air  and  else¬ 
where.  Hence,  we  have  a  process  of  merely  chang¬ 
ing  the  form  or  position  of  nitrogen,  rather  than  one 
of  materially  adding  to  the  quantity  of  nitrogen  in 
the  atmosphere.  wilford  m.  wilbon, 
Ithaca,  N.  Y.  Prof,  of  Meteorology. 
An  Old  Cure  for  “  Sweeny” 
THE  following  note  recently  appeared  in  the 
daily  papers.  We  referred  it  to  Dr.  Alexan¬ 
der  whose  comments  follow : 
Raven xa.  Neb..  April  12.  -One  of  the  old-time  cures 
for  ‘’sweeny”  sin  adders  on  horses  was  brought  to  mind 
here  by  the  death  of  Ernest  Bkoebdopole’s  faithful  old 
driving  horse.  Twenty-three  years  ago  the  shoulder  of 
this  horse  was  lancerl  and  a  new  (lime  placed  in  the 
wound  to  cause  the  flesh  to  grow  back  in  natural  form. 
A  small  lump  on  the  shoulder  always  remained  and 
after  the  horse  hud  died  this  lump  was  cut  open.  Aside 
from  being  black  in  color  the  coin  was  not  disfigured. 
The  date.  1892,  is  as  plain  as  on  a  new  coiu. 
Years  ago  it  was  a  common  practice  to  slit  the 
skin  at  the  top  of  the  wasted  part  of  the  shoulder  in 
a  case  of  "sweeny.”  and  insert  a  silver  coin,  hut 
it  was  usual  to  invest  a  quarter  or  50-eent  piece  in 
this  "skin  game.”  The  writer  once  removed  a  black¬ 
ened  quarter  from  the  lower  part  of  a  Shetland 
pony’s  shoulder.  It  no  doubt  had  been  used  for 
sweeny  and  had  worked  its  way  downward  under 
the  skin.  Another  common  treatment,  still  prac¬ 
ticed,  was  to  blow  air  under  the  skin  by  means  of 
quill  and  then  work  the  air  downward  to  separate 
the  skin  from  the  flesh.  A  modern  method  of  treat¬ 
ment  consists  in  injecting  a  small  quantity  of 
tincture  of  iodine  under  the  skin  at  the  top  of 
1  lie  wasted  shoulder  muscles  and  working  it  down¬ 
ward  by  massage.  In  all  of  these  methods  of  treat¬ 
ment  the  intense  irritation  produced  stimulates  a 
flow  of  blood  which  builds  up  the  “perished”  mus¬ 
cle.  a.  s.  A. 
