762 
ert.” aii<] it pivos a very prood clopcription of various 
siiakos. lizards and insects. There are several ])oi- 
sonons snakes in the Southwest. Prof. (’has. T. 
Vorhies who writes tliis pamphlet, says that rattle¬ 
snakes are found only in the new world, and chiefly 
in the Southern States. Arizona seems to he in the 
C(‘nter of the chief rattlesnake industry, and t ) 
species of rattlers are known. There are two ]»rln- 
cipal jrroups. the ])i 5 :iny rattlesnake (Sistrums). and 
the larprer snake.s (Trotalus). Tlie pismy are of 
small size, seldom a yard in length. The hlack-tailed 
rattlesnake shown at Fig. .'17(1 often attains a length 
of four or live feet. smallei’ rattle.snake. knoAvn 
loi'ally as a “side winder.” is foxuid in the desert and 
has a reputation <tf being exceedingly dangerous. 
All rattlesnakes are venomous and deadly. There 
■must he no mistake about tliat. and in any locality 
wliere rattlesnakes abound reasonable precaution 
.should be taken. The rattlesnake does not bite, nor 
does it lea]) at an intended victim. It cannot strike 
accurately for much more than half its length. It.s 
action is that of stabbing, driving its fangs into the 
ties]), and by com])re.ssing the jaws i)ij(‘Oting its venom 
iii'to the wound. There is no chance about this, but a 
deliberate action on the part of the snake. In some 
cases, where the fangs are di’iven in through cloth¬ 
ing, or whei-e the snake does not strike straight, the 
injury fi’om the Avound is not so great, but there can 
be no <|uestion about the great danger whenever this 
venom enters ii wound. 
?d'ost of us who have read stories of old hunters or 
])ion(“ers that were attiicked by snakes, remember the 
, remedies suggested. A mouthful of partl.v chewed 
tobacco would be ])lastei‘ed on the wound, or a mix¬ 
ture of gun])Owder and Avater used as a ])oultiee. and 
then the victim AA-as expected to drink as much liquor 
as he could. I’rof. Vorhies says that the use of Avhi.s- 
key or other stimulants is not only useless but abso¬ 
lutely harmful. He says if you AA-ant to finish the 
job begun by the rattler, take plenty of AAhi.skey or 
other liquor, and that Avill .surely finish it up. i^mall 
doses of stimulants at the proiier time may help, but 
the Avhiskey treatment as usually recommended is 
])retty much flie same thing as .suicide. Prof. Vor- 
liies says that those avIio Ha'c in a smike country and 
Avish to go )ire]>ared for handling the snake bites 
should carry the folloAving equipment: 
1. A very sharp knife or razor. Pest, because it is 
least bulky and can b(‘ ke])t clean, is a good safety razor 
blade. This could easily be canned sterilized in a Avaxed 
])aper wrapping. 
2. A small A'ial of ci\vstals of ])otassiuiu i)enuanganate. 
o. A nihher band, nf sufficient size and strength to he 
used as a lig.ature without the delaj’ of tearing strips 
of cloth, tying knots, twisting, etc. 
As for treatment. Avhenever a ])erson has been ac¬ 
tually bitten, the folloAving advice is given in this bul¬ 
letin : 
1. KEEP <’OOL; life dei)ends on it. 
2. Place a ligatui'e abo\a‘ the Avound at once. If bitten 
on a finger, ligatui'e only the linger. If on hand or arm. 
or on foot or shank, place the ligature above the elboAV 
or knee. Avhere thei'e is but one bone in the limb. If the 
rubber band is on hand much time Avill be saved for the 
next ste]». If not. appl.v a ligature (torniipiet) of cloth 
and tAvist it sufficiently to cut. off circulation in the limb. 
Do not leave a ligature in place for more than 20 min¬ 
utes. or 20 at the very outside, lest mortification of the 
limb begin. 
2. As quickly as possible after being struck, but only 
after aiiplying the ligature, cut across the fang punctures 
for about one inch, both Avays. deeper than the fangs 
penetrated. If bitten on the finger, cut to the bone at 
least lengthwise. Look out for tendons in a cross-cut on 
the finger. 
4. Bleed the wound as thoroughly and rapidly as pos¬ 
sible. If sucking the wound aids bleeding, sack H. 
T). After some good bleeding, wash the Avound ihor- 
011 (/111 If Avith potassium permanganate—enough in Avater 
to produce a deep Avine color. If Avithout Avater. ns 
might Avell he the case in the desert country, rub some 
crystals into the Avound. aiding their solution Avith saliA'a. 
This chemical specifically destroys all the venom Avith 
Avhich it comes in contact. There ai'e other substances 
Avhich will do this, but their action on the flesh is more 
injurious. If you have Avater. use it. as the use of cr.vs- 
tals is rather more liable to injure the flesh than the use 
of solution. 
0. Remove ligmture. 
7. -\t this i)oint .sinaJl doses of Avhiskey as a stimulant 
may be useful. Ilyiiodei-mic doses of .strychnine act as a 
poAvei'ful stimulant and may be used by those properly 
equip))ed if fainting spells indicate a need of such. 
That is merely for immediate treatment, and as 
soon as possible after the bite the inrtient should get 
to some good physician and ])lace himself under 
skillful treatment. Even though in-ompt action Avith 
the.se simple remedies may saA'e human life, the 
effect of the poi.son upon the flesh is such that .skillful 
treatment ought to be given. After the venom has he- 
eome thoroiu/hlii disseminated in the hlood. of eoiirse 
this treatment irith permaiu/anate irill he of little 
or no use. Do it at once. 
Another reiffile found in the de.serts, and AAdiich 
many of onr readers have heard about, is the (Jila 
monster. A ])ictnre of this creature, one-fifth its uat- 
Tiral size, is shoAvn at Fig. 275. Some frightful stoi'ies 
have been told about the deadly quality of this so- 
called monster, but this bulletin states that AA'hile its 
bite camdes a poison, no death of a human being has 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
been re])orted from this cause. .\t the same time, no 
one Avonld enjoy being bitten by this lizard. The 
bulletin is A’ery interesting, and, in additio)i to the 
snakes and liz.ai'ds. describes a number of insects 
which are thought to be more or less i)oisouoAi.s. 
. Manure on the Pasture 
O x the dairy farm the logical place for tlie ma¬ 
nure seems to be on tlie neAV seeding cloA’er. or 
on .sod ground for the next year's corn crop. The best 
results are giA’en Avhen it is sju-ead eA-enly as fast as 
it is made. Even in dry. hot Aveather. this is so. 
(’onld Ave have our oAvn Avay in the matter, it Avould 
be fine to spread it just before a shoAA'er. IIoAveA'er. 
the Aveather man does not ahvays fix it that Avay for 
ns. so AA'e (li'aAV it as soon as a load is ready. 
"We begin to si)read on the Alfalfa and young 
clover with the .siu'eader right after harvest, and be¬ 
fore snoAv comes Ave have those fields nicely covered. 
We then begin on the sod for coi'u Avith the si)reader 
and Avhen the suoav gets deep use the manure boat, 
going back to the s])reader in the Si)ring as soon as 
dila Monster. One-fifth, Actual Fig. 375 
the ground is firm enough. We continue this until 
the corn ground is all ploAved. Xoav comes a time 
Avhen in the past Ave Imi-dly kneAv Avhat to do Avith 
the manure. We keep our coavs in the bai'ii nights, 
and use lots of straAV and saAA'dnst for bedding, and 
to ab.sorb the liquids, .so have quite a bulk of stuff 
to haudUx We haA-^e piled it until after harvest, and 
then spread on the uoav seeding, and haA'e ai)plied 
to the Alfalfa as soon as cut. AVe like neither of 
these Avay.s. On the Alfalfa it rakes u]) Avith the 
next crop. and. unlike manure that has lain on the 
ground all AVinter, the pieces are not i)ll out and it 
makes i)oor hay. In the pile it seems to Ava.ste. At 
least Avhei'e Ave put it, if Ave spread a load of fresh 
manure, Ave can see a green streak cleai’ aci'oss the 
field. 
Tavo years ago I told the boys to draAv it doAvu to 
the pasture and .sj)read on some of the poor hills. 
Our pasture is along a large creek. It is dry. roll¬ 
ing land, cut by narroAV A’alleys, Avith flat land along 
Horned Rattlesnake. Fig. 370 
the creek. The high ground is poor hemlock knolls, 
covered Avith a thin coat of .Time grass. Red-top and 
AA’hite cloA’er. They did .so. and I forgot all about it 
until the next Sin-ing. Avhen I noticed the cattle 
seemed to stay in that part of the pa.sture most of 
the time. Speaking of this to iny .son Hubert, he 
said, “They're eating on the White clover Avhere Ave 
spread the manure, for it is fine.” I Avent doAvn to 
see for myself, and, sure enough, the .Tune grass and 
Avhite clover Avas thick and rank. The coavs seemed 
to like it as Avell as Avhere no manure liad been ap- 
})lied. 
I.ast year Ave again put the manure on the pa.s- 
ture, and because of a breakdoAvu of the s])reader, a 
part Avas draAvn on Avith the manure slip. Of course 
this Avas covei'ed much more thickly, but I do not like 
results as Avell. There are too many loo.'^e chunks of 
manure this Spring, and the coavs do not like the 
grass as Avell Avhere it Avas more thinkly covered by 
the spreader. I slionld say, get over as much ground 
as ]iossible for best results. 
I can see three reason for the good results of 
applying manure to the pasture: First, our pas¬ 
tures have been very closely eaten doAvn. AA> have 
more stock on them than they can support. AVe feed 
quite a lot at the barn. Putting on fresh manure 
kept the coavs off and gave the grass a much-needed 
.Tunc s, lots 
rest. Second, aa’c added plant food. esi)ecial1y nitro¬ 
gen and potash. To .some of the manure Ave a<lded 
acid filiosphate. but uj) to the present see no results. 
Third, the manure iicted as a mulch, shading the 
ground and helping to hold Avater. So good haA'e 
been the resiilts that aa'o shall exi)ei'iment fnrthei'. 
OsAvego Co., X. Y. okorge av. rogers. 
American Supplies of Potash 
S IXCE the Avar started, and supplies of potash 
from Germany Avere cut off. this country has 
made tremendous efforts to deA’elop home supjjlies. 
The r. S. Ceological Survey uoav says that during 
1017 there Avei-e produced in this country 12<).577 
tons of potash material. This is about 17 of the 
normal comsumption before the Avar, and is almost 
an entire gain in ])roduction. These pota.'<h ma¬ 
terials have been selling on the average at .$4.25 a 
unit. In this ca.se a unit is 1 per cent of 2(1 i)ounds 
of the aA'erage ton. Thus at this basis inui'iate of 
potash containing 50 i)er cent AA'Ould be Avorth .$21.2, 
while tAA’o years ago .$.250 or more AA'as the lu'ice 
offered by the chemical brokers. 'Ihe total value of 
the potash produced in this country for 1017 Avas 
$12,701.02.2. The folloAving table shoAvs the amount 
of i)otash produced, its 
value and where it came 
from: 
Total AA’ailable 
Value at 
J4onrce.s. I 
b'oduc- 
I’otash 
Point of 
tion. 
(K,0). 
Shipment. 
Short 
Short 
Mineral Sources: 
Ton.s. 
Ton.s. 
X"atural brines. 
7n..27(I 
20,0.52 
$8,210,012 
.Vlunite . 
7.152 
2.402 
802,70.2 
Dust from cement mills. 
12.5.S2 
1.021 
700.52.2 
Dust from bla.st furnaces 
2.122 
185 
0.8,841 
Organic Sources: 
Kelp. 
11.200 
2,572 
2,114.815 
iVIolasses residue from 
di.stilleries. 
S.5.C!<) 
2,840 
1,120.007 
M ood a.'slie.') . 
700 
424 
400,.S50 
Evaporated Avater from 
sugar refineries. 
2,502 
2.50 
14.2,4.20 
Wool Avashings and mi.s- 
cellancous Avastes. . .. 
045 
.205 
11.2,.87.5 
120,577 
.22,200 .$1.2,701,022 
As Ave .see. the largest proi)ortiou of this potash 
came from the brines Avhich are found in lakes, 
chiefly in Western Xebraska. Another large lake in 
California giA'es considerable of thi.s material. These 
W estei'ii lakes are I'eally depressions in the sui'face 
of the ground into Avhich the Avater has dniined. 
In AA'orking through the soil this AA'ater has Avashed 
the alkali and other chemicals out of the soil, and 
cari'ied it (Ioaa’u into these de])ressions or holes to 
form the lake.s. When the Avater is i)umped out and 
cA’aporated i)otash in considerable (piantities is taken 
from the bryie. 
The next important source of potash is the dust 
from cement mills. AAT^ have fre(iuently told the 
story of this cement dust. Iioaa' it AA’as formerly 
throAvn aAV.'iy as a AA’;iste and a nuisance. It is uoav 
filtered out and .'<aved. the i)ota.sh being taken from 
it. This ]K)tash comes from the clay u.sed in making 
the cement. AVhen this clay inixed Avith lime is 
.subjected to a high lieat. the potash is made avail- 
al)le. 2’he jirocess Avould not pay simply to obtain 
the j)otash. but as a by-product in ceineut-making it 
becomes ])rofitable. The (Geological Suiwey says that 
the dust from the cement factorie.s, and the blast 
furnaces, is likely to become a very gi’eat industi’y, 
and in ajiother year it Avill rank next to the natural 
brine as a .source of potash. In England the dust 
from these furnaces is being largely u.sed. 
The potash from kelj) has not developed as r.ap- 
idly as Avas thought likely. 'This .seaAveed gave 
promise of giving an unlimited .sni)ply. but there 
Avas a shortage in the cro]) last year for some reason. 
Alunite is a mineral found in pai’ts of the West 
Avhich promises to give an increa.se<l supply. The 
AA’aste from sugar-making and AA’ool-Avashings are also 
contributing, and Avhen avo consider that practically 
this entire supply. Avith the. exception of the Avood 
ashes, has been develoi)ed in the past three years, 
AA’e may Avell belieA’c that in the future this coAiutx’y 
Avill be independent of (Germany in its pota.sh supply. 
-\s is UOAV Avell knoAvu, it Avas a ])ai’t of the (German 
plan AA’hen the Avar broke out to u.se the threat of 
holding u]) the potash suppl.v over this country to 
keep it fi'om entei'ing the Avai*, as the fGermau leaders 
actually thought that Ave could not feed ourselves 
Avithout the (German potash. That is only one illus¬ 
tration of the Avay the (German (Government has 
fooled itself in this Avar. Excei)t on the lighter soils, 
our farmei's are still raising full-sized crops Avithout 
large supplies of potash, and they Avill continue to 
do so. and Avithin ii feAV years at the present rate 
of progress. Ave shall be able to supply practically 
our oAvn needs in this line. Aside from the indus¬ 
trial side of it, this business of developing the ])otash 
industry has made great changes iu the social life of 
