Jjhe RURAL NEW-YORKER 
997 
Write for Free Book 
“The Soil and Its 
Tillage” 
Tells important facts 
about deep cultivation 
Disks of 
Cutlery Steel 
Forged Sharp 
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Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
Rash Caused by Cornmeal 
Cornnioal is cheaper, but if you use it 
too freely it causes a rash, (’an you sug¬ 
gest anything to do? MUS. J. ii. P. 
Port .Tell'erson, N. Y. 
Fi’om a <-hemical standpoint there is 
nothing to do. Some say that a little 
ni<»re baking soda used -with the cornmeal 
will tend to heli>, but the real trouble 
seems to be that there are some people 
who cannot eat some foods which are en¬ 
tirely healthful to nearly everyone else. 
Strawberries and shellfish have the worst 
reputation along this line, buckwheat and 
cornmeal are good seconds. There seems 
to be no cure, and the trouble is "".rely 
outgrown, but those so afflicted are lUite 
.iustified in using more wheat r.nd less of 
the substitutes which cause the trouble. 
A few trials will give a safe proportion. 
Parley flour, if you can get it, will pro¬ 
bably give no trouble at all. 
Utilizing Old Cans 
T have « lot of empty cans, with push- 
in lids, which seal perfectly tight. Will 
it be safe to use them for fruit and vege¬ 
tables? II. ir. II. 
Merrifield, N. Y. 
If they were really tight it would be 
safe, but the e.xpericnce of the writer with 
that sort of seal is that it is not tight 
against changes of temperature. That is, 
the expansion and contraction of the ring 
and the plug is not exactly the same, .so 
that they will not hold a vacuum. Per- 
haps this could be remedied by running 
uegiA’R 
in-produced from N. Y. Mvening Telegram 
the crease around the plug full of bees¬ 
wax with a little turpentine in it. having 
the wax mixture smoking hot when ap¬ 
plied. It would pay to try a can or two. 
Put you are taking a chance; if that sort 
of seal would work, the manufacturers 
would have long since been using them. 
Pa«te Shoe Dressing 
What is a reliable recipe for paste shoe 
blacking? ^ C. S.». 
Clifton Springs, N. Y. 
'The older formulas depended on ex¬ 
actly neutralizing bone black, which car¬ 
ries more or less lime, with sulphuric 
acid, and, at best, cracked the leather 
sooner or later. Of late years several 
sorts of waxy emulsions have been used. 
One which seems to be as good as any 
calls for 12 parts by weight of soap, with¬ 
out specifying the kind, a good quality of 
brown soup would do, bO parts of bees¬ 
wax, six i)arts of carbonate of potash 
and 200 parts of water. 'J’hese ai*e boiled 
together under constant stirring till a 
smooth paste is formed, and then 100 
parts bone black, 15 parts powdered 
sugar and six parts powdered gum arabic 
added and well stirred in. The mixture 
is poured into tins while still hot. As 
given, this is sure to mould, probably one- 
lialf part sodium benzoate would prevent 
that. A very popular blacking is merely 
a face-cream colored black, but making 
that is beyond the amateur. If you want 
to go into the busine.ss, let us know and 
we will try to help you. 
Petrified Bodies 
After the battle of Spottsylvania 
Court House in May, 18G4, many dead 
soldiers were buried on my farm, and 
when, in ISGf), the bodies were placed in 
the National Cemetery at Fredericks¬ 
burg, there was one which had not 
changed in form, but which had increased 
in weight many times. The held was a 
low marl-silicate land, such iis we call 
crawfish soil. Evidently the material and 
conditions caused this preserving or petri¬ 
fying process. What did the body get 
from the soil to preserve and harden it 
in its natural form? Does anyone know 
the formula for making this practical, so 
that the bust of a body may be preserved? 
Virginia. T. ii. ii. 
The reasons for and method of natural 
petrification are not understood. We 
know that silica is deposited in exchange 
for carbon compounds, particle by par¬ 
ticle, probably in fact molecule for mole¬ 
cule, so that often the very ultimate cells 
of the once living plant or animal are 
duplicated in imperishable stone. But 
how this comes about is as yec far be¬ 
yond our understanding. For one thing, 
it is one of those happenings which it is 
almost impossible to control or duplicate, 
so that chance seems to be a large factor. 
For instance, you might try a smaller 
corpse, say a cat or dog, and get nothing 
at all but the usual bones after a year 
or .so. 
The subject of producing an artificial 
l)etrificatiou has interested several in¬ 
vestigators, and. acco.rding to the stories 
that float around, some of them have had 
consider.able success. But the results 
have nev'er been popular, the average per¬ 
son seems to weary even of preserved 
parents, and most callers would be shy of 
Little Arabella (aged three years, eight 
months, IM days) curled up in a corner 
under a glass case. 
For scientific purposes there are sev¬ 
eral methods which work so avcII that it 
is not likely that they would be changed. 
The material which is used for dissec¬ 
tion is usually preserved by cold, which 
gives the tissues to the observer almost 
unaltered. That which is needed for 
class demonstration is sometimes kept in 
alcohol, but usually, of late years, the 
actual preservation is by formaldehyde, 
while sufficient pliability is given by a 
li(piid designed for the particular purpo.se, 
often a glycerine-alcohol-water mixture 
of just the required density to preserve 
the natural texture. Knowing what we 
do of the reasons for decay and the action 
of v.arious preservatives, there could be 
methods devised which would j)roduce 
complete petrifaction, or something very 
similar to it, within a moderate time, but 
it does not seem probable that the ex¬ 
perimenter would ever get paid for his 
trouble; indeed there might be objections 
even to trying his ])rocess on himself 
when the occasion presented itself. 
Composition of Paris Green 
Is Paris green more effective for use 
on i)otatoes when it contains a high per¬ 
centage of copper? Is it easy to make? 
Ohio. j. T. c. 
1‘roperly made Paris green is a defi¬ 
nite compound, a basic acetoarsenite of 
copper, and should always have 25 per 
cent of copper, and 58.4 per cent of ar- 
senious acid. It is made by treating 
verdigris with white arsenic, and, while 
the process presents no remarkable diffi¬ 
culties, it is not a job for an amateur. 
The commercial article may easily vary 
a little from the above composition, but 
any .serious variation is an indication of 
an inferior article. 
Acid Foods in Tin 
Does standing in tin vessels exposed to 
the air make acid foods such as fuiits, 
vegetables or buticu-inilk unfit for food? 
Does the acid eat the metal, and if so, is 
it harmful? Does it injure acid foods 
to come in contact with iron ware or 
granite ware? w. s w. 
Pennsylvania. 
Acid foods sometimes appear to have a 
.slight action on the tin coat of iron ves¬ 
sels, bnt the amount of tin salt so taken 
up is usually considered harmles.s. In the 
case of iron the action is more evident, 
the resulting .salts are harmless but un- 
l)leasant to taste and usually i-ather dark, 
since many foods have acids closely re¬ 
lated to tannic acid, or even that acid, 
and a sort of ink results. Granite ware is 
not attacked, but if it is chipped or 
cracked there will be .some action on the 
iron bases* While the products are harm- 
le.ss in one sense, it is poor policy to put 
acid foods in anything but perfect granite 
ware, as the flavor is always hurt. 
Hair Removers 
What is “Zip,” which I see advertised 
to remove hair and prevent further 
growth? II. w. 
New York. 
I do not know, and, since the parties 
who are pushing it require that the buyer 
go to their own office for treatment, it is 
unlikely that I shall ever find out. But 
there are several things that it might be 
and, since the majority of the female of 
the species have no faith in the old- 
fashioned razor, they may as well know 
what the mixtures are that they timidly 
buy in half-ounce lots for anywhere from 
a half dollar up. according to the color of 
the label. For the contents of the bottles 
are nearly i-ertain to be all the same 
thing, sulphide and barium. This, as is 
also the ca.se with the sulphides of cal¬ 
cium and strontium, produces with water 
a paste in which hair substance is .sol¬ 
uble. Barium sulphide works the best 
of the three, and is nearly always the one 
used. In bulk it is worth only a few 
cents a pound, so there is a large profit 
in it as ordinarily sold. And it does 
work, there is no doubt of that. It is 
rather caustic when used straight, so it 
is usually diluted with from one to three 
parts of talc or starch. This powder is 
moistened with water and spread on the 
.skin, left a few moments, moistened again 
with water and, after a few more mo¬ 
ments, gently washed off’. The skin 
(Continued on page !)!)!») 
Disk Harrows 
'will do more in getting the most from your acreage 
than any other tillage implements. They thoroughly 
pulverize the soil—do it deeply—stir up its energy 
to action. 
There’s a model for every purpose—smallest to 
largest—and for every type of tractor, too. CLARK 
“Cutaway” Double Action Harrows do not ridge 
in center—rear disks always split furrows of front 
disks—light draft. 
The world calls for more food. You can help pro¬ 
duce it. Clark “Cutaway” Disk Harrows will 
help yon because they save time—power—labor— 
and do more efficient work. Disks of cutlery steel 
forged sharp cut better and wear longer! 
Whatever crop you raise; or whatever part of the 
country you are in, there is a Clark “CUTAWAY” 
Disk Harrow that will pay you big to own. They 
are used with greatest success in.every section under 
all kjnds of conditions. 
Write us for cornplete catalog. See these tools at 
your dealer’s. Be sure they are the genuine 
Clark “Cutaway” make. 
THE CUTAWAY HARROW CO.. 
676 Main Street. Higganum, Conn. 
Maker of the original CLARK Disk Harrows and Plows. 
Strength and 
Quality with 
Lighter Weight 
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