The RURAL NEW-YORKfclK 
Tanning Hides for Sole Leather 
In the article* on page 1207 C. O. Onnsboo gives a 
very good description on how to tan beef hides for har¬ 
ness leather. 1 would like to know how to tan beef 
hides for sole leather, as hides are three cents a pound 
and sole leather a dollar a pound. I think it is time 
we started “doing it ourselves," so any information 
along this line will be greatly appreciated. r, s. F. 
Pennsylvania. 
IDES vary greatly in thickness, not only in the 
hides of different animals, but in different 
portions of the hide from the same animal. Select 
the thickest of the hides and the Ihiekest of the 
trimmings of the thinner hides and treat them pre¬ 
cisely as for harness leather, except do not shave 
them down to make them more pliable, Make the 
tanning liquor of hemlock hark, as for harness 
leather, but add % lb. of Glauber's salts and the 
same amount, of saltpeter for each gallon of liquor. 
Glauber’s salts will tend to shrink the hides; that 
is, to "full” them and to make them thicker and 
harder and to give them better wearing qualities. 
It is claimed also that if will impair the tensile 
strength of the leather, hut I do not know whether 
this claim has been practically verified. At any 
rate, this makes little difference with this class of 
leather. But it also tends to make it brittle and to 
break easily under repeated bendings. The saltpeter 
corrects this defect, and the two chemicals should 
always be used together. Since the leather is so 
much harder and thicker than regulation harness or 
upper leather, the tanning process should extend 
over a longer period of time. And, lastly, use fish 
oii instead of ncat's-l'oot oil to soften the leather 
and make it impervious to moisture. 
This process will give a leather differing somewhat 
in general appearance from the commercial product 
and not quite as attractive. The cobbler will need 
to soak each sole and to hammer it well upon the 
lapstone before using it. But for wearing qualities 
I do not think that it can be surpassed. However, 
it should he remembered that this recipe is for the 
making of a leather suitable for the soles of the 
heaviest of working shoes. If it is intended to make 
a leather for lighter shoes, less of the Glauber’s salts 
should be used. c. o. ormsbee. 
Painting Maple Sap Buckets 
Will some reader who lias had experience tell whether 
it will be well to paint the inside of wooden maple sap 
buckets, and if so, what kind of paint is best? 
New York. it. c. s. 
F wooden buckets are used for the collection of 
maple sap. this is precisely the treatment they 
should receive, both inside and outside: The buckets 
should he Closely watched and kept well painted, 
and fresh paint applied as often as it may he needed. 
Pure white lend and Unseed oil paint is the best 
material for this purpose that has yet been found. 
First, wash the buckets with a strong potash soap¬ 
suds. heated right up to the boiling point, to destroy 
any bacteria that may he concealed in the wood or 
its interstices. Then scald in boiling water to cleanse 
from the potash, and dry thoroughly. In later wash¬ 
ings it will be necessary to maintain the temperature 
of the water only at ISO degrees. Except for the 
greater difficulty of handling and keeping clean, 
wooden buckets are in no wise inferior to those 
made of tin or galvanized iron, c. o. ormsbee. 
Killing a Hunted Fox 
I AM a fox hunter. Thirty or 40 years ago a 
cousin of mine lived in the town of Schodaek. 
At about 0 o’clock in the morning he saw a fox 
coming down across the Held in the snow; ran for 
his gun and shot and skinned said fox. In about 
an hour a hunter with a dog came to 
know no law where the hunter could claim the fox, 
except the "unwritten law," so-called, but in a jury 
trial the pelt would go to the hunter starting and 
running the game. I have traveled from eight to 
1(« miles following my dogs, only to find some one 
had shot my fox. artiiur c. eekguson. 
New York. 
I am a hunter, and own a dog which I started after 
a fox that had been crippled, and was very certain 
There have been many reports of big sunflowers, 
but the one shown in the picture seems to be the 
master. This was grown by A. B Sillery of New 
Haven County, Conn. The big fellow was exhibited 
by Mr. Sillery’s little son, Augustine. Both boy and 
flower seem to us very hard to beat. 
that the dog would catch it. Another man heard the 
dog. so he went out and shot the fox and took it to 
the house. When I arrived there he admitted he 
shot it. but would not give me the fox; neither 
would he give me half, nor even let me see it. so I 
could see how badly it had been crippled when I 
started the dog after it. This is not the tirst time 
this same man has done this. It is one of his old 
tricks. He does not keep a dog of his own. but if 
he hears another dog after a fox he goes out with 
his gun and shoots if every time he can. I always 
thought a wounded fox shot ahead of a dog belonged 
to the person who owned the dog. so am writing you 
to see if I can do anything about it. 
Otsego Co., N. Y. hakold diamond. 
1J. N.-Y.—There is no legal penalty for shooting a 
fox running ahead of a hunter’s dog, but such an 
act is against all the rules of decent sportsmanship. 
There is a law or habit among hunters that such a 
fox or other game belongs to the owner of the dog. 
It is his game, and no man who believes in fair play 
G9. 
and reasonable agreement would kill the fox. If 
brought to trial in any country neighborhood the 
jury would without doubt decide in favor of the 
hunter or dog owner. There are many recognized 
habits of this sort which are stronger than laws. 
Waterproofing Cider Trough 
IIow can the trough of a cider press be waterproofed 
so as to be impervious to liquids? Ordinary paints 
contain white lead and other injurious ingredients, and 
I fear to use them. Would shellac do to use? Can 
you name anything better that you would recommend 
me to use ? E. 0. T. 
Ohio. 
HE inquirer can have a trough lined with glass, 
or made entirely of glass, if lie wishes to go to 
the necessary expense. Assuming that the trough 
that he now has is of wood, and that it is not im¬ 
pervious to the action of cider, and that he wishes 
to make it so, his best plan is to throw it away and 
build a trough of a variety and quality of wood, like 
No. 1 oak, that will naturally be impervious without 
any coating. While there might he objections to the 
use of a cheap paint, there can be no possible objec¬ 
tion to the use of a high-grade lead and oil paint 
properly applied. The action of the cider will have 
no effect upon it. And even should the material he 
entirely dissolved by the cider, it would he dissemi¬ 
nated through the liquid in such infinitesimally 
small quantities that no harm could result from its 
use, even though it might be as virulent as prussic 
acid. I cannot say as to shellac, for I have never 
known of any other material than pure white lead 
and pure linseed oil being used for the purpose. I 
have in mind a battery of storage tanks that were 
in use in a cider mill for more than 2.1 years with 
no harmful results following and none of the paint 
being taken into solution. Undue caution in this 
respect is like straining at a gnat and swallowing 
an elephant. c. o. ormsbee. 
Garden Notes from New England 
T HE different branches of agriculture are so in¬ 
terwoven that what affects one is certain in the 
long run to affect the others. That fact is being 
demonstrated rather curiously here in New Eng¬ 
land. where the market gardeners are beginning to 
go in for dairying in order to obtain a supply of 
manure for their garden operations. The growing 
scarcity of manure, year by car. has already proved 
a serious handicap. In former years, when every 
department store had a big stable, it could be ob¬ 
tained in almost any quantity, and was hauled out 
of all the large cities by the ton every day. In Bos¬ 
ton several men have made fortunes by acting as 
manure brokers, and could be depended upon when¬ 
ever an extra supply was required by any market 
gardener. Now that motors have supplanted horses, 
all this has changed. Manure is scarce, and the cost 
has become a serious item of expense. 
It has been thought by many people that the situ¬ 
ation could be remedied by the generous use of green 
manures, although the fact was realized that a new 
t>pe of market garden would have to he developed 
in localities at some distance from the centers of 
population. As a matter „f fact, not a few market 
gardeners, especially those having an abundance of 
land, are using green manures with success to a 
considerable extent. The fact seems to have been 
demonstrated, though, that this plan offers only a 
partial solution of the problem. Meanwhile a num¬ 
ber of growers have been quietly getting together 
herds of dairy cattle, and are obtaining the neces¬ 
sary fertilizers in this way. 
Of course the ideal manure for a market grower, 
as for any garden maker, is that which 
comes from horses, and this is the kind 
that used to be obtained in the cities. 
Yet manure from the cow stables offers 
a fairly efficient Substitute. It is a cold 
manure, of course, and consequently 
unavailable for hotbeds. Moreover, it 
is very heavy and cannot be piled for 
decomposition so readily as horse ma¬ 
nure. On the other hand, it doesn’t 
burn like the latter. It is the common 
practice with growers who are keeping 
dairy herds to haul the manure into 
the field as fast as possible, although, 
of course, it has to he piled during the 
Summer months, when the ground is 
occupied with crops. 
As a rule the milk is wholesaled, 
and if this branch of the business pays 
its way the grower is pretty well satis¬ 
fied, as he then gets his manure in 
the house and asked him if he had shot 
a fox. lie said he had. The hunter 
said: “I would like to trouble you for 
that fox." My cousin told him where 
he could go to. in a very loud voice. 
The hunter proceeded on his way. 
Next day a constable served a sum¬ 
mons on my cousin to appear before a 
justice on a future date. He did. and 
when the case was tried before a jury, 
after two or three adjournments, the 
jury awarded the licit to the hunter 
and the costs of $35 to my cousin. You 
would better believe lie now leaves a 
fox alone when he knows the fox is 
pursued by some other man's dog. 
Personally, I do not know of anything 
smaller than shooting game before 
some other person’s dog. T have been 
a justice of the peace 28 years, and House Built with Connecting Garage 
