552 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
April 15, 1922 
All Sorts 
What Ails This Well? 
Since we printed the little note on page 
279 entitled “What Ails This Well?” we 
have had many notes from our people. 
They give great variety of experience and 
much advice. Several of them suggest 
that probably a skunk or some other ani¬ 
mal has fallen into the well and died. 
Others think that there is a drainage into 
the well from some carrion which may be 
buried near by. and of course if that is 
the case cleaning the well does not re¬ 
move the trouble. It is suggested to dig a 
trench completely around the top of the 
well 3 or 4 ft. deep, and thoroughly ce¬ 
ment the outside of the well down to the 
bottom of this trench. Then pump out 
and dig out the bottom of the well for 
2 ft. or more. Thoroughly clean up the 
well and then cement the sides. One of 
the most practical suggestions comes from 
a man who has had experience with a sul¬ 
phur well. Many of such wells have 
tapped a sulphur spring, perhaps at some 
distance away, and thus the water con¬ 
tains a quantity of sulphurated hydrogen. 
Those who have ever smelled this foul 
gas will understand what such a situa- 
$25 to $30 per thousand in the wall, for 
about a 12x18 in. brick. 
I would advise the reader who asked 
about it not to try it in Indiana, bnt. if he 
will come out to the dry country we will 
assure him success if he employs a 'dobe 
maker who knows his business. 
New Mexico. A. S. white. 
Tree Planting and Skunks 
D. R. D., on page 370 of March 11 issue, 
speaks of planting a windbreak near a. 
schoolhouse. White pine is all right, if 
there is no pine blister in the neighbor¬ 
hood. If there is, or if currants or goose¬ 
berries grow near, they would better not 
use white pine. Plant red pine or Nor¬ 
way spruce; 2,000 trees are too many for 
an acre. They will be so crowded that 
the wind will blow them down. Plant 
6 ft. apart —some plant 7 ft..—and about 
1,200 will plant an acre. They will have 
to be thinned in a few years. This will 
be an object lesson for the farmers of 
Amsterdam, and if the school plot does 
well, they will make plantings in a few 
years. They might, plant half the plot to 
pine and half -to spruce. 1 believe iu ex¬ 
perimenting. 
On page 340, ,T. P. is much disturbed 
because some skunks inhabit his 00 acres 
of swamp laud. When I was a boy, there 
was a period of a- few years when the 
skunks were nearly exterminated about 
my home by trapping. As one result, the 
Their colors and size are the same. In 
the smaller varieties of parrots, which are 
usually called paroquets, there is usually 
a difference in color between the sexes.” 
Another authority adds: “Most all 
kinds of paroquets and lories will breed 
easily in captivity.” Of the Australian 
shell paroquet, we read, too: "Few of 
them are imported from Australia, because 
they are usually bred in Russia by per¬ 
sons who make the breeding of these 
birds their business. They are easily bred 
in captivity, but the nest must be secluded 
and not be disturbed during incubation.” 
A recent newspaper article on new en¬ 
terprises for women mentions that the 
only species it is profitable to breed in 
captivity for commercial purposes are 
canaries and paroquets. Here is a bit 
that seems apropos: “Another young 
woman has established a profitable busi¬ 
ness in raising (breeding) parrnkeets, 
small Cuban parrots. These birds are 
very hardy, and are easily raised, almost, 
as easily as barnyard fowls. This young 
woman, living in a Pacific Coast city of 
less than twenty thousand population, 
sends her birds to animal and bird shops 
in a neighboring city. These birds are 
not of the talking variety. Another 
young woman known to the writer breeds 
love-birds." 
You would need to get in touch with 
some reliable dealer who bought straight 
from the wharf. There are so many, 
many tricks in the trade that it is too 
easy to deceive the novice. Also, such a 
dealer would refer you to some book giv¬ 
ing advice about cure and feeding. A 
good public library would also have books 
that would help you. 
I am informed that the little Cuban 
tion means. A test for such water would 
be to take a bucket or pail of it and ob¬ 
serve the smell. Then let it stand for 12 
horn's or so and smell it again. If well 
stirred, the sulphur gas will have dis¬ 
appeared, and the water will not he foul. 
This gas is offensive to the nose, but is 
not particularly harmful to the drinker. 
We think it most reasonable to suppose 
that the trouble comes from this gas com¬ 
ing in from a sulphur spring. Some of 
our people claim they have purified the 
water in such a well by hanging a bag 
containing about a half bushel of heated 
charcoal down into the water. The the¬ 
ory of this is rhat the charcoal absorbs 
the gas and takes it out of the water. 
Homemade Shower Bath 
I read that in Massachusetts there is 
a bathroom for every 55 persons. The 
figures for the entire United States a few 
years ago were one for every 300. 
When I organized a co-operative farm 
in New York State with 50 other city 
workers, we were used to our shower 
bath. Here is my scheme for six men to 
have a shower bath every night after 
work : 
Take an old hot-water boiler that every 
plumber throws away ; solder the leaks; 
put it on the roof of the woodshed, just 
on edge of the eaves. Hitch a rubber pipe 
to the pump. Screw a faucet to the hole 
that is half way up the tank, solder a 
sprinkling nozzle to the faucet; fill it in 
the morning, turn the faucet at night over 
your head and rub the dirt of the corn¬ 
field off .V' v ody. 
We had neighborhood coming to our 
back wo d for their evening hath. 
The sun ts the water. The whole 
thing cot 5 $1.25, for we found the 
most of t we wanted on the farm 
dump. r, g. A. 
Bu. ing Houses of Adobe 
We live in the heart of the sun-dried 
brick country, and the adobe (pronounced 
dohy usually) is used for the majority of 
Mexican houses, as well as for many of 
the better classes of houses. As a build¬ 
ing materia] adobe is not to be despised, 
as it is warmer in Winter and cooler in 
Summer than any other material that I 
know. When plastered inside and peb¬ 
ble-dashed outside it can he made as beau¬ 
tiful as any briek Construction. 
As with all clay brick, whether burned 
or sun-dried, adobe is made from a rather 
definite proportion of clay and sand. Too 
much sand causes the material to wash 
away in the rain (for it does rain at 
times even in New Mexico), while too 
much clay allows the brick to crack in 
drying. The usual procedure is to try 
the dirt in the vicinity of the contem¬ 
plated building, and if not a proper mix¬ 
ture. as found, to haul in enough of the 
lacking ingredient. I have seen the ma¬ 
terial used in forms, as in concrete work, 
but I never saw a good job done in that, 
way. The contraction in drying seems to 
be too great, and causes cracks which 
part the walls. Then too, the outside 
dries while the core is still wet. 
The bricks are usually made from 8 to 
12 in. in width, from 10 to 18 in. in 
length, and about 4 in. in thickness. The 
best construction is made by using lime 
mortar when laying the walls, hut the 
ordinary method is to use the same adobe 
mud that the bricks are made of. Walls 
are laid from 8 in. to 30 in. in thickness. 
Some of the old Spanish buildings, with 
the very thick walls, dare back hundreds 
of years. 
Most, of the adobe work is done by 
Mexicans, who make and lay them by the 
thousand, the present price being about 
white grubs that live on grass roots be¬ 
came very thick. A meadow of about 
four acres, which was once the bottom of 
millpond, was infested by white grubs to 
such an extent, that the grass was killed 
and the meadow had to be plowed and re¬ 
seeded T.et. J, P. examine his meadow 
and see what the skunks are after. If he 
finds here and there little holes where 
dirt has been dug out about an inch or 
so deep, they are places where the skunks 
have dug out white grubs. The skunks 
also eat grasshoppers. Of course, they 
eat some birds' eggs, and thus do a little 
damage: but the good they do far out¬ 
weighs the bad. The white grubs also 
feed on potatoes, and spoil them for mao 
ket. TITOMAS E. BOYCE. 
Vermont. 
Sure Pipe Cleaner 
Water pipes rusted to any extent, that 
are half-closed or more, are best cleaned 
by digging them up and taking them apart. 
Have two drills made, similar to a black¬ 
smith’s drill, but much more pointed, 
about %-in. joint, same to bo welded t<> 
2-in. round iron, the first one about 3 
ft. long, the other one to a length that will 
cover half of any pipe: ends to lie fitted 
for ordinary brace. Place pipes on con¬ 
venient. (height) boxes, and fasten and 
turn drills through, then run water 
through, push drill hack and forth. It. 
makes a thorough job. Two men cleaned 
1,100 ft. of l),4-in. pipe in about nine 
hours. Use %-in. iron for 14-iu. pipes. 
Pipes must not be short bended. Rust 
does not bore hard when moist. Pipes 
could be pushed against drill if power is 
to be used, but it is dangerous. 
I. E. ARTZ. 
A Talk About Parrots 
I would like information regarding 
breeding and raising parrots. I would 
like to get in touch with some one that 
buys them at the dock as they are brought 
over. I ain informed that the little Cuban 
parrot does not talk How about the 
Amazon and other kinds? E. 8. T, 
On first thought the only advice to give 
this inquirer is Punch’s celebrated advice 
to those about to marry, “Don’t!” For 
instance, an authority Bays about the 
Mexican double yellow-head parrots and 
other large birds: “They are sometimes 
known to lay eggs in captivity, but they 
seldom sit on them sufficiently long to 
hatch them out, and it does not pay to try 
to breed parrots in captivity. There is 
also another difficulty in breeding parrots, 
and that is. there is no method of distin¬ 
guishing the male from the female in the 
talking varieties. Roth sexes are con¬ 
sidered fully equal in talking ability. 
parrots are very scarce just now. The 
African gray parrot Is usually put at the 
head for intelligence, but is very expen¬ 
sive, owing to the number that die ip 
transit. The Mexican double yellow-bead 
is the most popular, and ranks next, if 
not equal, to the African. The Amazon 
parrot is about the same size as the double 
yellow-head, and next iu talking ability. 
Cuban parrots are very popular, and 
usually arc taken from the nest and im¬ 
ported when about four months old- They 
usually arrive in this country about the 
last of .Tune, ntul New York is the prin¬ 
cipal port of entry. Carthngena parrots 
are popularly known as single yellow- 
heads. and come from South America. 
The Mexican red-head parot is about, 
equal to the Cuban parrot in talking abil¬ 
ity. hut lacks the loud, harsh noises the 
Cubans make if not well trained. Some 
Cubans make fairly good talkers, whistlers 
or singers, and are great mimics, as are 
these small parrots they resemble. E. s. K, 
Hop Duster for Orchard Use 
Could a hop sprayer which was used to 
spray powdered sulphur on hups be used 
as au orchard sprayer? Can the same 
kind of sulphur he used to spray trees as 
is used on hops? f. L. 
Middleburg, N. Y. 
A hop duster can he used for dusting 
orchard trees, providing it has enough 
power to blow the particles to all parts 
uf the tree in a fine dust form, so that all 
surfaces are covered. I have seen hop 
dusters that would work satisfactorily in 
such places, and others that did not. have 
enough power. There must be power 
enough to blow a cloud of dust to all parts 
of the tree, covering all foliage. Sulphur 
for dusting hops can he used by adding 
15 lbs. arsenate of lead to 100 lbs. pow¬ 
dered sulphur and infixing. thoroughly. 
For best results both materials must be 
ground extra fine, so the dust will float in 
the air. covering all parts of the tree. 
One commercial dust mixture now on the 
market is a 90-10 mixture, meaning 90 lbs. 
sulphur and 10 lbs. arsenate uf lead. An¬ 
other mixture is the 85-15. which contains 
5 lbs. mere arsenate of lead. Hither of 
these formulas prove effective. 
Crossing Italian with Common Bees 
Ts it possible that Italian bees would 
become hybrid without introducing other 
queens common to hive bees? Would ft 
2-lb. package of bees lie sufficient to start 
with? Would you advise stocking with 
common bees that I ean get out of the 
woods h.v introducing Italian queens in 
the hive? j. E. R. 
Rowie, Md. 
Pure Italian bees will not degenerate 
into hybrids unless there are blacks and 
hybrids in the vicinity. The crossing, if 
any, would he Italian queens mating iu 
the air with black or hybrid drones, thus 
bringing about a degenerate stock. In 
localities where Italians predominate, the 
purity of the blood Continues. 
In early Spring 3 lbs. of bees with a 
queen will give much better results than 
2 lbs. with a queen. Two pounds of bees, 
however, will make a very nice start, and 
will get some honey if the season is at 
all favorable. One pound early in the 
Spring would build up to a fairly good 
colony by Fall. With good management 
a single pound of bees in early Spring, 
divided in July, may increase to two colo¬ 
nies. 
More About Warts 
I have a sfannle remedy that has proved 
very successful. I removed a large seed 
wart from my head that had been there 
for a number of years; also have removed 
warts from the bauds. Once a day or 
oftener, if convenient, place a small quan¬ 
tity of baking soda on the wart, enough 
to cover it. Then pour on a mall quan¬ 
tity of vinegar over it, and it will boil up 
(not enough to wash the soda off) ; then 
let it dry on. Sometimes it is more con¬ 
venient to put on before retiring, j. n. 
Mt. Kisco, N. Y. 
From a druggist procure a small stick 
of lunar caustic (fused nitrate of silver). 
Moisten the wart with water and rub it 
with the lunar caustic. The wart will in 
a short time turn black from the deposit 
of oxide silver, and the same is true of 
any part of the skin the caustic touches. 
In a few days the black will come off and 
the wartwith it. and a new skin form. If 
one application of the caustic does not 
remove the wart, apply it a second or 
third time. We have used this remedy 
constantly, and always with success. 
East Setauket, N. Y. n. h. jr. 
M. M„ on page 287. wants a sure cure 
for his warts. Here is one that I have 
made and sold for years, and know of no 
failure m many cases, while it is safe; 
will give no pain nor leave a scar. Take 
a lump of common washing soda as large 
as a walnut, dissolve in half a cup of 
hot water; then saturate warts several 
times a day. Re persistent, and your warts 
will soon leave; 127 warts removed from 
one person is my high record, m. w. b. 
Erie, Pa. 
In regard to killing seed warts, in years 
gone by I had numerous warts on my 
bands and wrists; had 45 on my right 
hand and wrist, tried 02 different reme- 
dies, and nearly crippled my hand for 
Me. By chance T met a man in a large 
crowd, and a stranger to me, who stepped 
up to me and asked me why I did not 
remove them. I told him my experience, 
and fie said - “Try one more, and von will 
lose them without pain or scars.” He 
told me to get 10c worth of oil of cedar 
and wind a little cotton on a match as a 
swab, and wet the warts two or three 
times a day. I did so, and in a week or 
Jy days they nil tumbled out. and since 
then I have used it on others with the 
same good results. I have also used the 
remedy to remove warts from cow’s teats, 
and milked the eow during the time, using 
the oil after milking. I have also used 
this remedy on a valuable three-vear-old 
colt removed them from the colt’s nose, 
neck, and ears, so the colt took first pre¬ 
mium at the local fair four weeks after 
Fort Edward, N. Y. h e b ’ 
Loss of Voice in Canary 
I bought a canary in September, and 
for a while it sang well. Now it has 
stopped singing altogether, and I cannot 
imagine what is the matter with it, as it 
eats well, bathes every day and seems to 
be healthy. The people I purchased the 
bird from said that it was a young bird. 
Will you tell me what is the matter with 
? MRS. C. E. I. 
The most common cause of loss of 
voice in cage birds is being in a draft, or 
having been in a draft, or a strong odor 
may cause this. You know, canaries are 
abnormally sensitive to bad air: witness 
their use by miners in ponce times and 
sappers in war. I know one bird, a good 
singer, that was left in a room with 
freshly painted woodwork. Hi* never 
sang again. Coal gas escaping might 
cause the trouble. 
Does your bird hang near a window 
where you lower the sash at the top? Or 
is his cage in a room that is very warm 
during the day and much cooler at night? 
In the latter case, is his cage covered at 
night? Tf he is really well he should 
look sleek and smooth, with the feathers 
close to his bod\. and his eyes should he 
bright. He might have the egg paste 
every day now. Is there another male 
bird near that lie would hear? Tf so, he 
may have strained his delicate throat. 
You might hang a small piece of fat, 
raw bacon, in the cage, or put a double 
quantity of pepper in his egg food. Of 
course he has fresh seed. etc., and some 
green food. Tf the bird were mine, I 
should get a jar of song restorer (any 
bird dealer has it. or you can get it by 
mail), and feed the bird half—one tea¬ 
spoon daily, as much as lie will eat tip 
clean, and watch results. Of course if 
he is in a draft or has been “gassed,” it 
may he a matter of time to get him to 
singing again. Re sure to keep him out 
of drafts, cover him at night if neeessnry 
with a thin cloth cover, give him egg paste 
or song restorer. E. s. k. 
