1306 
compelled them to use, but most of the lakes were 
so salt and thick that the pioneer could only curse 
them and pass on. 
THE CITANOING DESERT.—These wretched 
sand hills with their hateful brine deposits wei’e 
long regarded as woi*se than worthless. What would 
these old pioneers think today if they could again 
])ass through this country? They would find by the 
side of these brine holes great factories costing over 
a million dollai's—miles of pipe reaching out over 
the country and tapping hundreds of these ponds, 
and towns with all modeim improvements spning up 
around those old Avaste puddles. It is all built upon 
))otash! There are noAv 40.000 tons of potash taken 
from these lakes and stored in Nebraska Avaiting 
shipment. This potash alone is Avorth more than 
all the personal property in Nebraska Avhen the old 
liioneers crossed the State! War did it! These 
hikes AA’ould still be lonely brine holes among the 
‘sand hills if the Kaiser had not .said in his foolish 
heart that he Avould starve the Avorld by hoarding 
(lermau potash. That sort of talk does not sit aa’cII 
on the American mind, and these lakes AA^ere made to 
give up their treasure. 
THE SlYIRY OF WESTERN POTASH.—What 
are these lakes and Avhere does the potash come 
from? There are, of course, various theories, but in 
a report by G. E. Contra of the Nebraska Soil Sur¬ 
vey, Ave are given the most probable story of the 
dcjiosit. In the Rocky Mountains are to be found 
numerous potash-bearing rocks. Through long ages 
they have been slowly eaten up and decomposed by 
AA ater aiid the Aveather—such as frost and heat. The 
i-ock thus Avashed aAvay Avas caiTied on doAvn to the 
plains by streams and floods and most of it deposited 
to form “soil.” Large deposits, forming higli land, 
Avere evidently made Avhere these potash lakes are 
found. This high land Avas cut up and piled by 
streams and wind. The sand hills Avere formed, and 
as the valleys deepened the Avater line in the soil 
lifted and the soil Avater floAved into the holes be- 
tweoi the hills and formed lakes or ponds. The 
Avash of the surface Avater carried potash and soda 
out of the soil doAvn into the lakes. Shrubs and 
coar.se grass sprang up on the sand hills, taking 
potash out of the soil. Now and then fires SAvept 
oA'er the country, and this groAvth Avas turned to 
ash. The rains carried this down into the lakes, 
Avhere it accumulated in the Avater to form a brine, 
vlut of this brine has been deposited at the bottom 
of the lakes a layer or compound Avhich holds Avater 
like the bottom of a saucei*. Thus Avater charged 
Avith potash, soda and other elements floAvs into 
these lakes from underground streams and also from 
the surface. It cannot escape, but standing there in 
the hot sun part of it is eva]iorated, leaving the 
brine stronger and stronger Avith each year. Such 
in brief is the theory as to the Avay these potash 
lakes Avere formed. All of the potash came from the 
soil and bedrock, and Avas brought on by Avater. An 
imperA'ious bed formed at the bottom of these lakes 
so that the Avater could not pass aAvaj'. Thus, as the 
Avater evaporated, the potash, salt and other solids 
remained until there Avas enough to make a strong 
brine. So that through the long ages Nature with 
her Avonderful chemistry has been storing up this 
j'lotash supply against a time of need, and the Avar 
jiroduced this need. 
FORMATION OF DEPOSITS.—We may compare 
the theory of these potash deposits Avith that of the 
German potash mines. It is suppo.sed that this Ger¬ 
man potash was formed through the evaix)ration 
of sea AAgter. As is Avell knoAvn the ocean has for 
countless ages received the Avashings from the earth. 
As Avater falls upon the earth it runs doAvn the 
slopes through brooks or rivers or in the soil Avater 
until finally^ it reaches the ocean. On its Avay it 
Avashes soluble material out of the soil and carries 
it along, and in time of flood considerable solid mat- 
ter is also carried on as mud. As a result the ocean 
A\ater contains in solution every element knoAvn to 
the eai'th, from lime to gold. Vast quantities of the 
lime are taken out and formed by shell fish or by 
coral insects, and more is deposited Avhen sea AAmter 
is evaporated. About 3^4 per cent of the sea Avater 
is solid; common salt, potash, different forms of 
lime and magnesia, which will be left on evaporation. 
If Ave take a <iuantity of sea Avater and eAaiporate it 
we find that the different minerals will be precip¬ 
itated or fall out of solution as more and more 
Avater is driven off. First appears a deposit of lime 
carbonate and limestone. As more Avater is evapo¬ 
rated so that the brine becomes denser gypsum or 
sulphate of lime is deposited. Then comes a layer 
of salt, and the remaining liquid is a thick, heavy 
biine AAdiich on full drying leaves a deposit of potash 
salts. That is about the arrangement of these min¬ 
erals in the German m'ine.s. and the theory is that 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
ages ago, probably through .somo upheaA’al of the 
earth, a great lake of sea water Avas fomed so that 
it could not run off. It slowly evaporated, and as it 
did so layers of its .solids were formed in about the 
same order as Avhen a smaller quantity of sea water 
is evaporated in the laboratory. These depo.sits have 
November 23, 1918 
have been made to be used closer to front line 
trenches to sterilize the clothes of those Avho could 
not reach the delou-sing plants. Temperature, such 
as 140 degiee Fahrenheit, kills the lice and preA’ents 
the egp from hatching. A sufficient steam pressure 
al.so kills the bacteria causing the di.seases. So it is 
been slowly covered by soil until we find them today to heat that the army has looked for the most 
in a “mine.” Thus these potash lakes in Nebraska 
lepre.sent something of the same formation—not so 
far advanced. As we .shall see. the method of obtain¬ 
ing solid potash from these lakes is vei*y .simple. 
H. w. c. 
im- 
The “Cootie” and Its Control 
The Scourge of the Soldier 
Part II. 
THE PLAGUE OF TYPHUS.—The army has done 
a great deal to reduce the number of these lice, for 
not only do they torment the men, but they may 
carry trench fever, relapsing feA-er and typhus. The 
la.st-named disease has fortunately never .seriously 
menaced our soldier.s, oAving to the fact that care 
has been taken to keep typhus cases under close ob¬ 
servation and control. Tnihus is one of the ])lagues 
of Europe, and has already claimed a million vic¬ 
tims early in the war in the Balkans, where about 
half the number of cases resulted in death. It 
should not be confused Avith typhoid, as it is distinct, 
and in no Avay related to it. The trench fevei-. hoAV- 
ever, has been shoAvn to be transmitted by bodj^ lice, 
not so directly by the bite as by lice sucking the 
blood from trench fever cases and carrj'ing the di.s- 
ease in their excreta, Avhich may be left in the 
clothes or on the soldier, AA’heic it is readily .scratched 
into the skin, and the.se infections cause a'disease 
that weakens and incapacitates the soldier for service 
for a period of from a month to' six mouths, accord¬ 
ing to the seA^erity^of the a_ttack.' Body, lice, and the 
attending di.seases'spread by them,'^ocGur in the 
coldei’^ months of the^year, for the*body lic^'are mo.st 
numerous during those seasons ^Ajen the skin secre- 
*tions are reducp in quantity,* and AA'hen the changes 
of clothes are le.ss frequent.' ' ’ . 
ARi\IY CONTROL.—The degree of in^station 
varies greatly among different troops,Jaud has varied 
from time to time during the process of the Avar. 
Some have Avritten that certain French soldiers near 
Verdun Avere so badly infested at one period of the 
Avar that they removed their clothes and rolled in the 
sand to free themselves from cooties. This is prob¬ 
ably an exaggeration. Today, letters from the front 
say that a pair of cooties is worth five francs, because 
the infested soldiers get a trip to the reai*, a good 
bath, and at least a feAv days’ rest Avhile their clothes 
are being cleaned. In certain localities soldiers who 
in their clothes. About in every 100 become iu- 
so that they have from 20 to 30 of the.se tormenters 
in their clothes. About five in every 100 become in¬ 
fested to the extent of having about 300 body lice on 
them. Men in the camps in this country have been 
kept very free from these insects. 
REMEDIES.—Many ask “What will the soldier 
going overseas take Avith him to fight cooties?” As 
in other respects, he must chiefly depend upon Uncle 
Sam. The remedies used for the control of body lice 
varj' from putting a gas mask on and going into a 
trench filled with gas, a method used in certain sec¬ 
tors, to placing one’s shirt on the ground and hunt¬ 
ing doAvn each one separately. So many things haA-e 
been tried and either found unsatisfactory or in some 
way deficient that a great deal of study has been 
given to linding a proper method. The Bureau of 
Entomology, in Washington, has had several men 
.spending a great deal of their time testing the effi¬ 
ciency of the many remedies that have been recom¬ 
mended for the control of the cootie. Many letters 
have been sent telling the experiences of people, and 
offering to give their suggested cures. Most of these 
suggested remedies have been from patriotic souls 
Avho Avere Avilling to give all that they knew for the 
help of the boys. 
DELOUSING PLANTS.—But control measures for 
the body lice are by no means easy, for they must be 
active agents to kill both lice and eggs, and yet not 
so actiA^e as to injure the .skin of the soldier. They 
must be of such a chemical nature as to be made 
cheaply and in large quantities, and this last in war 
times is not ahvays easy. To make the infested sol¬ 
dier free from the fevers carried by the lice, the 
clothes must be sterilized and the disease-causing 
organisms killed. For this reason steam steriliza¬ 
tion and efficient laundry processes have gone far 
toAvard succes.sful control of this pest. Delousing 
plants have been built into which soldiers can go, 
and while they are taking shoAver baths their clothes 
can be sterilized and ironed. Portable sterilizers 
portant mean of controlling the different phases of 
the cootie problem. 
COOTIE POI.SON.S.—Certain ointments contain¬ 
ing mercury, kerosene, gasoline, naphthalene and sul¬ 
phur are all good, but they may be lacking in some 
of the all-important characteristics, or may in some 
way injure the skin or affect the eyes, and cannot be 
recommended. There have been many remedies rec¬ 
ommended, the use of Avhich‘\Vpuld have done more 
harm to the soldiers than the lice.' One or two men 
in every hundred are particularly sen.sitiA’e to the 
poisoning from mercury, and for this reason one of 
the mo.st efficient control measures could not be used 
.generally. During this Summer Avhen the open war¬ 
fare gave a freer movement of troops, lice Avere feAv 
in number, but AAdien soldiers dig in and the colder 
weather comes, it is then that the cootie will be 
pre.sent in sufficient numbers to give .some of the 
measures that this country has adopted a thorough 
GEORGE ir. EAMSOX, JR. 
trial. 
The Pulp Wood Industry 
information about pulp 
A\oo(l. h.at IS the price paid and Avhat wood is mostly 
used for that purpose? I have considerable of the stuff 
31a?ylaml.* experience in getting rid of it. 
T^RESENT CONDITION.S.—No industry in the 
A country utilizes the products of the forest so 
completely as does the pulp and paper industry. 
Until recent years this has opened but small oppor¬ 
tunity to the farm Avoodlot owner, owing to the fact 
that most of the pulp and paper manufacturers 
OAAued large holdings of timber. Even noAv it is diffi¬ 
cult to .sell to them in less than carload lots, but 
there is an increa.sing tendency on the part of manu¬ 
facturers to buy from outside sources, thus enabling 
them to conserve their OAvn holdings. The Great 
War has limited their purcha.sing field to this coun- 
tiy and Canada. Canada is reluctant to part Avith 
her pulp material. All this tends to increa.se the 
opportunity of the small operator Avho has pulp- 
wood for sale. 
EXI.'^TING I’RICES.—Pulp mills in Northern 
New York and Vermont are offering $14 per stand¬ 
ard cord of 128 cubic feet for pulpAvood. This is for 
material cut into four-foot lengths, peeled, and de¬ 
livered at the mill. .Spruce logs intended for pulp 
are usually peeled in the forest, because there is less 
Avood Avasted than AAffien the Avork is done by ma- 
chineij at the mill. I’ulpAA’ood is occasionally cut 
into shorter lengths to facilitate in tran.sportation. 
This is especially true of material to be carried by 
flume. The four-foot length,s are considered mo.st 
desiiable for carriage by rail. The stumpage value 
of the pulpwood is the amount it is Avorth to the 
OAAUier as it stands in his wood lot. The determina¬ 
tion of this presents a problem into which a great 
many factors enter. Chief among the,se are the cost 
of labor and team hire; the distance of the timber 
from the market, either by team haul or by railroad, 
to say nothing of the ease Avith which the woik may 
be done in the woods. 
STUMPAGE YAI.UE.—A simple rule for deter¬ 
mining stumpage value is to divide the .selling price 
by one, plus a fair percentage of profit, and from this 
subtract the cost of operation.s. The “fair percentage 
of profit is usually con.sidered as at lea.st 20 per cent 
in order to^cover not only the actual co.sts of opera¬ 
tion, but to insure against losses ari.sing from unex¬ 
pected source.s. This also allows the operator some 
margin of profit to AAffiich he is justly entitled, be¬ 
cause he assumes considerable risks. The folloAving 
figures may be con.sidered as being typical for an 
operation in Southern New York. The distance from 
the woods to the railroad is not over five miles, and 
from the local station not over 100 miles to the mill. 
Per Cord 
Felling trees . $0.00 
Trimming and cutting into bolt lengths.90 
Peeling and piling.90 
Hauling to railroad. 3 . 7.5 
Hauling by railroad in carload lots, at $1.75 
per ton . .3.,50 
.$9.65 
Using these figures Avith the rule as .stated, Ave 
haA'e the following formula: 
$14.00 
-$9.65 = $2.02 
1.20 
The stumpage value of the material in the Avoodlot 
being $ 2.02 per cord. 
The ordinary freight car, Avith a capacity of 60,000 
