270 
The RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
February 25, 1022 
Soldering Aluminum 
Could you inform me what is the 
secret or formula for soldering alumi¬ 
num? I hear it can be done. o. r. M. 
Dorr, Mich. 
There is no particular secret, so far 
as we know, hut there are a hundred or 
so patents, of more or less value. There 
are a number of aluminum solders now 
on the market: any large hardware con¬ 
cern will get. them for you. They work 
pretty well, if you are willing to follow 
directions and practice a little. 
Oil in Cooling System of Automobile 
Bad roads and snow banks keep our 
car in low gear so much that we are hav¬ 
ing trouble with the alcohol boiling off. 
Would a light oil give satisfaction in the 
cooling system of an automobile? 
East Rochester, N. Y. a. t. 
It can he used, but whether it will give 
satisfaction is another matter. Many 
people take a chance on the lire risk and 
use kerosene, and the light oil you men¬ 
tion is not much Jess dangerous. The 
to do the business. Nor is it likely that 
another well will be any better. A cis¬ 
tern is your best hope. 
Electroplating 
Could you tell mo how electroplating 
is done? I tried it. using copper sulphate 
as the plating material, and it. was a 
failure. It chalked badly, I would like 
to know how to brass plate. .1. R. n. 
Clover Lick, W. Va. 
Electroplating is partly a science, 
partly an art and very largely a trade. 
That is, it is not likely that the best 
books printed could teach it to you one- 
tenth as quickly as getting a job with a 
practical electroplater. We cannot pos- 
sihl.v tell you in The R. N.-Y. bow to go 
about it. There are concerns which ad¬ 
vertise home electroplating outfits. We 
do not accept their advertisements, as we 
do not consider the things reliable, though 
they may work now and then. To do 
anything worth while you have to have 
a generator current: batteries are expen¬ 
sive ami soon worn out. The plating 
with copper which you mention is really 
Orchard crops and vegetables respond profitably to 
generous feeding of quick-acting lasting ammonia. 
Ammonia aids fruit bud formation and increases 
the amount of fruit set and carried to maturity. 
Ammonia increases the yields, quality and earliness 
of vegetables. 
ARCADIAN 
Sulphate of Ammonia 
Arcadian Sulphate of Ammonia (25 % c /o ammonia guaranteed) 
is the only fine and dry, quick-acting and lasting top-dressing 
ammoniate. It is low in price per pound of actual plant food. 
Order from your fertilizer dealer 
For information 
as to application 1 n6 
write 
Affe _ Medina, O. 
Company Atlanta, Ga. 
Baltimore, Md. 
AGRICULTURAL DEPT., NEW YORK 
“BROOKLYN Of T| OfJf TO 
BRAND” O U JLr^tT. U Iv 
COMMERCIAL SULPHUR, 99^% pure, for spraying—insecticide pur¬ 
poses, potato blight and scab. 
SUPERFINE COMMERCIAL SULPHUR, 99 ^ 2 % pure, for dusting purposes. 
FLOWERS OF SULPHUR, 100% pure, also Crude Nitrate Soda, Saltpetre 
Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
and Muriate Potash. 
BATTELLE & RENWICK 
80 Maiden Lane, New York 
Write for price list 
We have often tried to explain the method of giving partial culture to young fruit 
trees and still leaving the middles to grain or a cover crop. This picture shows how 
it can be done. Three or four furrows are plowed on each side of the row—plowing 
up to the trees and keeping the plowed space clear with the cultivator. Then the 
grain or cover crop in the middles may come on and ripen if desired, cut for a mulch 
when fully grown, or plowed under. The culture of the young trees forces them 
to full growth. 
At practically no cost to you — 
they really pay for themselves and many 
times over, given the due attention to til¬ 
lage and average climatic conditions. 
You cannot judge a fertilizer by the cost 
as it appears on the price list, the value is 
only determined by the quality of the goods, 
and the final costs are the ones that count! 
Our customers find in that reckoning WIL¬ 
COX BRANDS ARE ACTUALLY THE 
CHEAPEST. 
Why not get into the habit of buying the 
“fertilizers that fertilize” — that means 
Wilcox brands. 
SEND FOR CATALOGUE 
The Wilcox Fertilizer Company 
Mystic, Connecticut 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you'll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
real trouble is that there is no other 
liquid which has anywhere near the heat 
capacity • >f water, and all the radiators 
are calculated for water. So you are 
pretty sure to have an oil get u good deal 
hotter than water ever can get, and then 
you are in for trouble. Take it alto¬ 
gether. we are unwilling to advocate any¬ 
thing but water and denatured alcohol, 
replacing the alcohol as need be. The 
glycerine, if you must use it, will not 
evaporate to signify. 
Sticky Chair Seats 
We have leather-covered chair seats 
which have acquired marked adhesive 
properties. What can be done? 
Kalamazoo, Mich. w. u. T. 
A varnish expert tells us to advise you 
to wash with denatured alcohol, and then 
varnish several times with very thin 
coats of pure shellac varnish. But it 
rather looks as if they were “artificial” 
leather, in which case their days are 
probably numbered, anyway. 
Lime or Iron in Drinking Water 
Several readers have, lately, asked 
about their water supply. The water is 
very hard. In one ease, in boiling, the 
water presents a brown scum. In an¬ 
other case the water from a driven well 
is very hard, and the housewife has been 
told that quicklime will soften it. The 
quicklime will nut soften the water. It 
will only make it harder. The. rusty 
color comes from iron. Lime and iron in 
the water will not hurt the digestion, so 
there is nothing to worry about on that 
score, but they are most annoying else¬ 
where. The reason the iron shows up on 
boiling is that the carbonic acid which 
held it in solution is driven off by the 
heat, and the iron is left in an insoluble 
form. As we have so often said, a few 
drops to the gallon of an ammonia car¬ 
bonate. ammonia water solution, will send 
out all the lime and iron, but you then 
have to wait for it to settle and pour off 
the top. A little excess of the stuff is 
harmless, and. in fact, will help with 
the wash, but it is a bother to have to 
treat the water every time. But there is 
nothing you can put iu the wells or pipes 
a chemical reaction, and is not reliable, as 
you have found. Brass can be plated on 
—with difficulty. We do not wish to 
discourage you, but you must understand 
clearly that if you are going into that 
business you must learn it, and the best 
and quickest way is to get a job with a 
practical man or concern, and study books 
as you work. 
Removing Varnish Checks From 
Furniture 
What will remove varnish checks from 
highly polished furniture so it can be re¬ 
polished to look like new? E. H. 
No one ran tell without knowing what 
sort of varnish was used in the first 
place. Usually all the varnish has to be 
taken off, as a starter. This can be done 
with denatured alcohol and benzine, 
equal parts. A little ammonia helps, but 
may affect the color of the wood. Then 
the last traces are taken off by sand¬ 
paper, and new varnish is used. 
Making Vinegar; Removing Rock Candy 
1. I have some lf>21 eider which has 
stayed sweet. What can I do to make 
it into vinegar? 2. How can I remove 
rook candy from maple sugar cans? 
Riehvillc, N. Y. c. p. 
1. If your eider hasn’t rotted, put in 
some good cider of this season and then 
some “mother of vinegar,” or old vine¬ 
gar. If the sugar has been oaten up by 
some stray germ there is no hope. Try 
a little with some yeast. 
2. Boiling water will clean the cans; 
use plenty of it. 
Vinegar Eels 
I notice some minute bodies in vinegar, 
iu motion. What are they? D. o. c. 
You have seen the well-known "vinegar 
eid.” which is a nematode worm some¬ 
thing like the earthworm. They ma.v do 
little harm, hut they do no good, and are 
disgusting. They are not natural to 
vinegar, and may he easily removed by 
healing the vinegar to scalding, cooling 
and straining through a fine cloth. Bet¬ 
ter get them out. 
