1 
■Uhe RURAL N 
Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
Are Rhubarb Greens Unwholesome ? 
Some people say that rhubarb or pie 
plant leaves can be used for greens, and 
others that they are poison. Which is 
right? C. M. 
Both r they can be used for greens if 
they arc boiled with soda in two Avaters, 
which extracts the poison, oxalic acid. 
But when so treated they are rather 
tasteless and mushy, and, since there is 
always a chance that you will not get 
the oxalic acid all out, we advise leaving 
them alone. There are so many perfectly 
safe things for greens that it does, not 
seem worth while to run any risk with 
rhubarb leaves, though it looks as if they 
ought to be good. The stalks also have 
the acid to a small extent, and there are 
some people who cannot eat rhubarb for 
that reason. 
The Chemistry of Lime 
‘Tf burning limestone, calcium carbon¬ 
ate. changes the lime into calcium oxide, 
how is it that the lime in the ash of coal 
or wood is in the form of carbonate?” 
Partly because of the temperature and 
conditions of the fire, and partly because 
air. with its normal amount of carbonic 
acid gas, is present in excess. 
‘Ts the element calcium itself alkaline, 
or is it only alkaline when compounded 
with other elements?” 
Calcium is a hard white metal, neither 
acid nor alkaline, any more than silver is 
acid or alkaline. These words are used, 
rather loosely at times, to describe the 
general condition of compounds, that is. 
groups of elements. As the number of 
known chemical compounds increases, 
there is an enlarged collection of com¬ 
pounds wliich show that most of the ele¬ 
ments may act either way. Calcium, 
however, mostly forms alkaline groups. 
“Are the words ‘lime’ and ‘calcium’ syn¬ 
onymous?” 
No. “Calcium” is the name of the ele¬ 
ment : “lime” usually means the oxide of 
that element, but the word is used loosely, 
and is Tisually compounded to Show the 
exact meaning. 
“Do ‘alkaline’ and ‘camstic’ mean the 
same thing?” 
At times. C’nustic may refer to any 
burning or destructive action ; “alkalme” 
is a description of a chemical condition. 
Better look up an elementary chemistry, 
in the public library in your tOAvn. and 
see what that says about these things. 
Popular usage is rather indefinite. “Tame- 
stone” is calcium carbonate, but “stone 
lime” is calcium oxide in lumps, to give 
but one, instance. 
Trouble With Water Glass Eggs 
T had 80 dozen eggs down in Avater 
gla.ss during the past Winter, mixture 
made according to directions you sent me. 
After a time the Avater glass got milky 
and AA’hite, and then jellied. Do you know 
the reason for'that? Was the preserving 
quality lost? A great number of the eggs 
have been poor; smelt like old cold stor¬ 
age eggs. The eggs were bought from 
neighbors. They could not have been old. 
for Ave took all they could spare every 
week. The majority of the e^gs have been 
all right. With a great number the shell 
has been a little cracked, and there was 
not a single cracked one put down. T see 
in a recent issue that the eggs should be 
put in jar small end down. I did not 
know that, and I filled the jar Avith the 
entire quantity of water glass needed foi* 
the 30 dozen eggs, and then each Aveek as 
I got the eggs I put them in by using a 
tea strainer to get them to bottom of jar 
^arefully. I haA^e used both hand and tea 
strainer to remove eggs; Avas that Avroug? 
The directions are so careful aboiit ster¬ 
ilizing jar first, and then later to use 
unsterile things to put eggs in and to re¬ 
move Avith doesn’t seem consistent or 
right. The jar has been covered Avith 
newspaper; is a wooden or stone lid nec¬ 
essary? The jar has been in furnace 
room. Was that wrong? A neighbor said 
that having potatoes in same room Avould 
spoil the glass. Is that true? We are 
growers of seed potatoes, and our entire 
cellar Avas packed Avith them, so that I 
do not know where Ave could keep jar 
away from them. The eggs Avere fertile 
ones; cannot get infertile ones. But, as 
some Avere good and some bad. do you 
think that Avas cause? I had AA’hite-,shelled 
eggs and broAvn; good and bad of both 
kinds. MRS. AA\ M. 
It looks as if you had gone a little 
Avrong tAA’o or three ways, and the added 
result had been disastrous. In the fiist 
I)lace. the chances are that you did crack 
one or two in putting them in; if so. 
even a minute crack Avould result in a 
SDoiled effect Avhich would go all through 
the jar. It is poor policy to have all your 
eggs in either one jar or one ba.sket, and 
eggs are vex’y prompt in picking up odors. 
It is poor policy, also, to handle or di.s- 
turb the pack till you begin to use from 
that particular jar. All this is with due 
modesty, as the chemist consulted in 
the case per.sonally uses a chemical pro¬ 
cess Avhich is not as yet adapted to the 
general public, and has no personal ex¬ 
perience Avith water glass. But if you 
Avill take smaller j.ars, pack in the eggs 
small end doAA’ii, fill the jar with eggs, 
pour over them the cooled, boiled water 
glass solution. Aveight down as needed, 
and tie over the tops of the jars heavy 
I)aper Avell coated Avith paraffin (the same 
sort you use to seal fruit cans), and then 
store the jars in the coolest and least 
odorous place you have, you will likely 
have as good luck as the great majority of 
our readers who use the water glass pro¬ 
cess every year with entire success. While 
sterile eggs are better, the fertile ones can 
as well be used if equal care is taken. 
Sterilizing Stored Eggs 
The following process preserved our 
eggs as Avell as Avater glass. Have a ket¬ 
tle of boiling Avater, put a few fre.sh eggs 
in n wire basket, submerge the contents 
while you count four sloAvly, remove, dry, 
put in a market basket or something sim- 
ilai’, hang in a dry place in the cellar. 
Use at intervals as you choose. AV. ir. T. 
This will work; a similai* process has 
been patented, but whether the patent is 
any good or not is another matter. The 
reason it works is that the boiling Avater 
sterilizes the shell and cooks a thin layer 
of egg directly beneath. Germs cannot 
penetrate the dry, sterile shell, or, if they 
do, can do little with the cooked layer. 
The whole trick is to do a very few at a 
time, so that the temperature of the 
Avater is not loAverod by the cold eggs, and 
Iteprodiiced from N. Y. lOvening Telegram 
to use judgment in “counting four.” The 
eggs should be very clean, and, if they are 
germless, by keeping the roosters penned, 
AA’ill be much more apt to keep well. 
Smoking Hides 
What is the Indian process of tanning 
(smoke tanning) hides? M. J. R. 
The printed recipes Ave have been able 
to find are rather indefinite and do not 
look feasible. 'I'hey call for soaking the 
skin in Avater in Avhich a deer or calf 
brain has been boiled and then hanging 
the skin in smoke, or else rubbing in the 
brains and then smoking. No doubt 
there are some among our readers Avho 
can tell u.s, “IIone.st Injun,” just what to 
do, and Ave would be glad to know. 
Sugar Syrup that Will Not Granulate 
In answer to L. M. W., page 1079, 
who Avisjies to make sugar syrup that 
will not granulate, to one quart of gran¬ 
ulated sugar add one pint of hot water. 
Have both measures exact as possible. 
Set on the back of the stove and keep 
hot, stirring occasionally till all sugar 
is dissolved. Do not let it boil. If it 
boils it will granulate. The only secret 
is to have the sugar and water about 
correct in measuring, and not to boil. 
Butler, Mo. j. b. m. 
Storing Eggs 
I saAv a feAV Aveeks ago that a reader 
had some trouble with keeping eggs in 
water glass. I suspect the trouble may 
have been same as we had once; Ave lay 
the blame to having been too careful to 
pack fresh-laid eggs and got in some too 
fresh. It doesn’t do with us to put in 
Avarm eggs. j. h. r. 
Cleaning Jars from Water Glass 
An imiuirer asks, on page 592, how to 
clean crocks that have been used to hold 
Avater glas.s. T advise trying the effect of 
kerosene for the outside at least. I used 
it on inside. I cannot guarantee it. but 
it cured a bad case for me, or, at least, 
rendered the crock quite presentable AA'heu 
all other cleaners at hand had failed. 
M. II. 
Glkam.n'u Monuments.' —On page 099 
U. II, R. asked about cleaning monuments. 
Get some lump pumieestone and straighten 
one side to make a fiat surface, then by 
using Avater and jxlenty of elboAv grease 
with it, you will have Avhat some tomb¬ 
stone men use for cleaning markers and 
the like in cemeteries. Pumieestone can 
probably be obtained at the liardAvare 
stores; if not, try paint stores and drug 
stores. E. A. W. 
E W- YORKER 
809 
Stop the Gamble in Haying! 
Y our mower lays the hay in even swaths 
down meadow and hayfield, exposed to 
whatever weather may come. Take no chances 
with that unprotected hay. International Harvester 
hay tools will put it under cover in prime condition, properly 
cured, four or five hours after cutting. 
Every hay grower should become familiar with the new 
International, Keystone and Osborne Combined Side Delivery 
Rake and Tedder. This popular, economical machine has 
two duties in one — it can be instantly adjusted for rake or 
for tedder. It rakes clean, teds thoroughly,_and handles hay 
f ently. It is a left-hand-delivery rake, which means it can 
ollow the mower closely and strike the heads first (not the 
stems). It does clean work, piling two swaths at once on the 
clean stubble (not on an unraked swath), which means proper 
curing. Quickly adjustable to any condition. 
International, Keystone and Osborne Windrow Loaders are 
built to last. Pulled easily by two horses, they load uni¬ 
formly, leave the field clean, lift hay over 10 feet, and do not 
thresh off blossoms and leaves. 
These tools return their price, and more, to your pocket. 
The dealer can furnish you with proper size and types and 
special equipment. Act early this year and be certain. See 
the dealer — write the address below for folders. 
International Harvester Company of America 
(Incorporated) 
CHICAGO •.• USA 
Champion Deering McCormick Milwaukee Osborns 
With this Simplex Ditoher-Terracer 
Works In an; soil, cla; or g umbo. Digs V -shaped 
dltcb down to 4ft. Practically all steel. Reversi¬ 
ble. Equal to 100 men. Pays for Itself In a day. 
Sent on 
10 Days’ 
Trial 
Ditches, Terraces, 
Builds Levees, 
Levels Bumps, Fills 
Gullies, Grades 
Roads, Back Fills, 
Cleans out old 
ditches at low cost. 
Simplex Farm-Ditcher 
Co., Inc., Box 66 
Owensboro, Ky. 
Write 
for 
Ditch¬ 
ing 
book 
and 
money 
back 
guar¬ 
anty 
INCREASED APPLE PROFITS 
^ 'fflu A Farquhar Hydraulic 
,5 ■ 1 gr Cider Press Avill turn 
V <a. oil inifc— your culls into good 
selling cider. You can 
also make money 
• pressing for your 
neighbors. 
Our high pressure con- 
' struction gets all the juice 
from the apples with mini¬ 
mum power. Presses In 
sizes from 15 to 400 barrels 
aday. New Catalogue 
giving full particulars free on request. 
A.B. Farquhar Co., Ltd-, Box 130,York. Pa. 
We also maXe Engines and Boilers, Saw Mills, Threshers, eto. 
Send for 
FARM WAGONS 
High or low wheels— 
steel or wood—wide 
or narrow tires. 
Wagon parts of all 
kinds, wheels to fit 
any running gear. 
Catftlog lllmtnted la colors fres. 
Wheel Co., 48£lm Si., Quincy, Ilk 
Farm, Garden and Orchard Tools 
Answer the farmer’s big questions. 
How can I can got my crops sprayed 
when help is scarce? How pro¬ 
tect my crops against bugs and 
blight ? 
IRON AGE 
yrayer 
meets the need for a fast-working, hlf^>i>ressare field 
sprayer, Coverador Grows—55 or lOOffal. tank, write to- 
Ask fer Cat¬ 
alog No. 274 
The Special 
shape teeth cut 
the weeds close 
to the hill an<! 
do not cover 
the crop with 
earth. 40 years 
actual service. 
Rear wheel furnished if desired. 
CUP YOUR WEEDS 
with a COLT 
Wood Beam 
Cultivator 
BATAVIA CLAMP COMPANY, 215 Center St, Batavia. N.Y. 
The Threshing Problem 
Threshes cowpeas and soy beans 
from the mown vines, wheat, oats, 
rye and barley. A perfect combina¬ 
tion machine. Nothing like it. “The machine I 
have been looking for for 20 years.” W. F. Massey. 
"It will meet every demand.” H. A. Morgan. Di¬ 
rector Tenn. Exp. Station. Booklet 29 free. 
KOGER PEA &. BEAN THRESHER CO.. 
Morristown. Tenn. 
eme^o^rous 
— that’s what thousands of fanners 
say, who have gone from the U. S. to 
settle on homesteads or buy land in West¬ 
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dustrious worker to settle in Manitoba, Saskatchewan or Alberta is es¬ 
pecially attractive. She wants farmers to make money and happy, prosperous 
homes for themselves by helping her raise immense wheat crops to feed the world. 
You Gan Get a Homestead of 160 Acres FREE 
or other lands at very low prices. Where you can buy good farm land at $15. 
to $30. par acre that will raise 20 to 45 bushels of $2. wheat to the 
acre — it’s easy to become prosperous. Canadian farmers also grow 
wonderful crops of Oats, Barley and Flax. Mixed Farming is 
fully as profitable an industry as grain raising. The excellent grasses, full of nu¬ 
trition, are the only food required either for beef or dairy purposes! Good schools 
and churches, markets convenient, climate excellent. Write for literature and 
particulars as to reduced railway rates to Supt. Immigration, Ottawa, Can., or to 
O. G. RUTLEDGE 
301 E. Genesee St. 
Syracuse, N. Y. 
Canadian Government Agent. 
