272 
TI-TTS RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 22, 
CEMENT HOGHOUSE. 
C. E. R. of Staatsburg, N. Y., who 
asks a question on page 154, may be 
pleased with the plan of my hoghouse. 
It is made of cement blocks with ce¬ 
ment floors, and is very, satisfactory ex¬ 
cept in size. It is rather too small. I 
see no reason why a hoghouse cannot be 
built of stone on the same plan. The 
joists for the upper floor are Jersey 
pine 2x8’s, 16 inches on centers. The 
CONCRETE HOGHOUSE. 
floor is of half-inch boards of the same 
wood laid so as to break joints. The 
roof is of 2v crimp galvanized steel 
laid on lx3’s nearly two feet apart. Raft¬ 
ers 2x4’s, two feet on centers. Plates 
are bolted to the wall near each end. 
The cost would depend very largely on 
local conditions 
Vineland, N. J. A. c. 
THE “EYE DOCTOR” FAKE. 
I have just been told a remarkable 
story of a “gold brick” incident. The 
buyer is an old gentleman who has spent 
his whole life on a farm. One day last 
Spring, just at the noon hour, a man 
drove up to the gate in a two-horse 
rig. They do not remember his name 
but they do remember that it sounded 
like French. He had large trunks on 
his vehicle and was well dressed and 
well mannered. He wanted dinner and 
feed for his horses. When told that 
house-cleaning was on he said, “Well 
it does not matter about me, but I 
must feed my horses.” The old gen¬ 
tleman said, “Well, if you stop at all 
I shall treat you like a gentleman,” and 
so the horses were put up and dinner 
prepared. In the course of conversa¬ 
tion the man noticed that the old gen¬ 
tleman’s hearing was bad, and this was 
duly and sympathetically discussed. 
Then he noticed that one of the old 
gentleman’s eyes was affected, somewhat 
inflamed and the information was duly 
vouchsafed that the stranger was a spe¬ 
cialist in the treatment of eye trouble. 
He made a brief examination of the 
eyes of the old man and discovered that 
it was the other eye that was wrong 
and, strange to say, although the old 
man had never noticed it, he was blind 
in it. Happily the man had an X-ray 
machine in his buggy and, getting it 
out, he told the old man that he “would 
be stone blind in a short time unless he 
went to an oculist for treatment right 
away. He said the operation would cost 
$150. The old man said he could not 
afford such expenditure, and after some 
further discussion the man said that he 
could perform the operation then and 
there, but it was irregular, etc., but 
he hated to see the old man go blind. 
Finally he said he would do it right 
there for $50. But the old man con¬ 
tinued to beat him down and was finally 
told that he would have to use $30 worth 
of radium, but that he would do it at 
cost as a matter of mercy. The trade 
was made and a “skum” removed from 
the old man’s eye, and the $30 paid, and 
the angel of mercy went on his way; not 
even his name is known by “The Old 
Folks at Home.” Strange to say the 
old folks are not in the least suspicious 
yet. They think they have been the 
beneficiary of a remarkable accidental 
or Providential visit. The old man can 
see as well as ever, that is, as well as 
he thought he could before the man told 
him he v/as one-eyed. Now, what do 
you think of it? The facts are abso¬ 
lutely as I say. Am I just mean that 
I am suspicious? c. E. s. 
Kentucky. 
R. N.-Y.—You are right in calling this 
a “gold brick.” It is an old game and 
a very slick one. About a month ago 
the same game was played on a Long 
Island farmer who paid $130 for the 
“operation.” If your friend had offered 
$10 the “professor” would have taken it 
and given just the same “treatment.” 
Food Value of Sour Milk and Buttermilk. 
G. D. M., Randolph, Mass .—Doctors rec¬ 
ommend the use of buttermilk to destroy 
bad bacilli, also to furnish culture for 
the breeding of beneficial bacilli in the large 
intestines. Is ordinary coagulated milk just 
as good? Are the bacilli of buttermilk the 
same as furnished by tablets obtained at 
druggists? Is the flushing of the large in¬ 
testines with the proper appliances injur¬ 
ious ? 
J. B. G. (No Address ).—Which of the 
two kinds of buttermilk has the greatest 
medicinal properties, sour milk such as we 
get from the milk-man, or that that is 
churned? 
Ans. —Sour milk, prepared in various 
ways, and butermilk have long been 
recognized as easily digested and nutri¬ 
tious foods, often better borne by inva¬ 
lids and convalescents than whole sweet 
milk. Metchnikoff has recently ad¬ 
vanced the tehorv that the hardening of 
the tissues in old age is due to the ab¬ 
sorption of toxins, or poisons, generated 
in the large intestine by various putre¬ 
factive germs, and that the free use of 
sour milk or buttermilk would cause the 
displacement of some of these putrefac¬ 
tive bacteria by the harmless lactic acid 
germs of the milk, thus prolonging life. 
Whatever truth there may be in this 
theory, and it is probable that there is 
not a great deal, the fact remains that 
buttermilk is a wholesome drink and 
useful food that might well be much 
more generally used than it is. Where 
it cannot be obtained fresh from the 
dairy, a very good substitute may be 
made from whole sweet milk by the 
addition of lactic acid germs which are 
incorporated in tablets, and kept for sale 
by druggists. 
The mechanical flushing of the large 
intestine would be practically impossible, 
even if it were advisable, but the ac¬ 
tivity of that portion of the digestive 
tract should be maintained by proper 
foods and habits of life . m. b. d. 
The Cesspool. 
I have a cesspool which has been in use, 
I - judge, about 10 years, and by several 
large families occupying the place I bought 
some four years ago. The wood covering 
had to be replaced a short time ago, and 
to my surprise I found it practically clean, 
and in perfect working order. One of my 
neighbors has one, about five years in use, 
a larger one than mine, and it has ceased 
to operate satisfactorily. A cesspool, in 
such soil as we have, good sticky clay and 
stratas of sand, should work for years if 
it has a good clay bottom to hold water 
and dissolve solids, but fills up if dug to 
sand which allows solids to dry and ac¬ 
cumulate. The principal cause of trouble 
people experience \vith cesspools becoming 
non-operative is, not the material reaching 
it from the water closets, which is practi¬ 
cally all soluble or will rot and become 
soluble and seep off with practically no 
clogging action of the surrounding soil; but 
from the fact that most persons connect 
the water-closet, the kitchen sink, wash- 
stands and bathtubs to the drain emptying 
into the cesspool, and discharge quantities 
of soapy and greasy water into it. It is 
the soap and grease that causes the trouble, 
which is the trouble with the cesspool of 
my neighbor. This is a matter of common 
knowledge among the contractors who dig 
cesspools here. My cesspool has only closet 
connections, and the kitchen sink and bath¬ 
tub water is disposed of otherwise. 
Alabama. u. e. k. 
I have noticed articles recently regard¬ 
ing the best forms of filters for’ cisterns, 
and it occurs to me that a few words con¬ 
cerning cisterns which do not need filters 
may be of interest. I have two friends 
who have cisterns which are famous for 
the quality of the water and neither one 
has a filter. A cistern which is supplied 
from a slate roof does not need a filter, 
and I suppose the same is true of a good 
galvanized iron roof. It is true, however, 
that to secure pure drinking water without 
a filter, some care must be exercised in 
filling the cistern. The down spout lead¬ 
ing to the cistern must have a cut-off near 
the ground so that the water may be 
turned into a surface drain or into the 
cistern as you wish. After the beginning 
of a rain the water should not be allowed 
to run into the cistern until it is per¬ 
fectly free from soot, dust and other im¬ 
purities. This is easily determined by fill¬ 
ing a glass pitcher under the down spout. 
If it is perfectly free from specks it is 
safe to turn it into the cistern. To be 
absolutely in control of the situation it 
is well to enclose the cut off in a box 
with a lid which should be kept locked. 
The top of down spout should be trapped 
with a wire screen which can be secured 
at the plumber’s. It is also well to clean 
out the eaves troughs at frequent intervals. 
If the cistern is filled in the late Winter 
or early Spring, there will be a supply of 
cool pure, unexcelled drinking water for the 
Summer. wm. d. pouter. 
Ohio. 
Concrete Floors in Henhouse. —On 
page 1G7 W. G. R. asks why I object to 
concrete floors in my poultry house. The 
soil on my place is very sandy, and I can 
keen this soil stirred to a depth of a foot 
with very little trouble, and impurities 
will sink even below that point. With con¬ 
crete floors and “a few inches of earth” 
I would have to change the few inenes 
very often to keep it from getting foul. 
I think it would he unwise for me to go 
to the extra expense of concrete floors and 
at the same time to lose the fine natural 
drainage—if I can keep out rats in any 
other way. haynsworth baldhby. 
Maryland. 
O. 
It 
yrfcfct 
•fTT“i~i: 
feT’ 
'!/$/. A 
Trinida 
Have a roof that needs no care 
Lay Genasco, and end your leaks and “mends”. 
It is made of Trinidad Lake asphalt—the per¬ 
fect everlasting waterproofer of Nature. 
THE TRINIDAD-LAKE-ASPHALT 
iMvRfloAs 0 
is armored with the natural life-preserving oils 
that give lasting resistance to all kinds of 
weather. 
Ask your dealer for Genasco. Guaranteed. Every roll of smooth surface 
Genasco contains Kant-Ieak Kieets which make seams watertight without cement. 
Write us for the Good Roof Guide Book and samples. 
The Barber Asphalt Paving Company 
Trinidad 
Asphalt 
Lake 
New York 
Largest producers of asphalt, and largest 
manufacturers of ready roofing in the world, 
Philadelphia 
San Francisco 
Chicago 
■ prevent damage to eggs, garden truck, truits, live stock! 
Ion road to market. Make any wagon r. spring wagon. Soon] 
I save cost—produce brings bigger prices—wagon lasts| 
|longer—horses benefited—thousands in use—“my wagon] 
rides like auto” says one. Get a pair at dealers. 
If not at dealer’s write us. Insist on Harvey’s, 
j 40 sizes—fit any wagon—sustain any load to 
| 10,000 lbs. Catalog and fistful of proofs free. 
HARVEY SPRING C0. f 71617th St.. Racine, Wis. 
GUARANTEED 
PLOWING A BOY’S JOB 
,K 5 Lit your walking plow—no I 
matter what kind — with the | 
WINNER 
PLOWTRUCK 
let the boy ride. Works 
any ground. Turns even 
furrows. Easier on horses 
than dragging the plow', 
weight on the wheels. If 
1 O DAYS’ FREE TRIAL 
doesn’t convince yon of its merit return the Winner. We'll 
return your money and pay freight both ways. If the Win¬ 
ner isn’t known in your vicinity we’ll give you Special 
Introductory Offer. Write for it today. Be first. 
LEWIS MFG. CO., Box C, CORTLAND, N. Y. 
T YOUR IDEAS 
$9,000 offered for e'ertain inven¬ 
tions. Book “How to Obtain a Patent” 
and “What to Invent” sent free. Send 
rough sketch for free report as to patent¬ 
ability. Patents advertised for sale at 
our expense in Manufacturers’ Journals. 
CHANDLEE & CHANDLEE, Patent Att’ys 
Established 16 Years 
986 F. Street, Washington, D. C< 
sporigioe(:«£")smut 
SPOltlCIDE CHEMICAL CO., Atlanta, N. Y. 
Get Factory Prices 
on Quaker City Mills 
Shipping direct to you 
from our factory, saving 
middlemen’s profits, let 
us make you very 
lowest prices on Quaker 
City feed grinding mills 
— the acknowledged 
standard of highest 
quality for 41 years. 
On 10 Days Trial— 
We Pay the Freight 
Every Quaker City Mill must be its own 
salesman. We let you grind your feed 
free —see it grind any grain, separate or 
mixed, ear corn (with or without husk) or 
shelled corn, coarsest to finest table meal. 
Try it—we assume all risk and expense. 
23 Styles, Hand and Power, up to 20 H. P. 
All Guaranteed. 
CpCF If you are interested in a Quaker 
■ City Mill, write us for complete 
catalog: with information on feed grinding. 
Get our bargain prices on farm machinery— 
also ask for Farm Supply catalog. 
THE A. W. STRAUB COMPANY 
Dept. E 37 40 Filbert St., Philadelphia, Pa. 
Dept. T 3709 So. Ashland Avo., Chicago, III. 
Only Implement Necessary To 
FollOW lllC PBnw— Any Kind of Ground 
Cuts, Turns. 
Crushes— 
Smoothes 
In One 
Operation 
HIS one machine cuts, crushes, lifts, turns, smoothes 
and levels in o?ie operation. It is also best for 
covering the seed. Does the best work in least time with 
least strain on the horses. 
Pulverizing Harrow 
Clod Crusher and Leveler 
cuts through the sod or stubble turned under 
by the plow. Leaves trash buried where its fertilizing 
qualities are valuable. Lightest draft, lowest priced riding 
harrow. Made in all sizes. Write for catalog. 
DUANE H. NASH, Inc. 379 Division Avenue Millington, N. I, 
N. Y., Indianapolis, Ind., Baltimore, Md. 
28334 
Write 
For 
Catalog 
