RURAL NEW-YORKER 
889 
Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
Beet Sugar for Canning 
I have been told that: beet sugar is use¬ 
less for canning. Is it? n. \v. H. 
Merrifield, N. Y. 
Beet sugar is exactly the same thing 
as cane sugar from a chemical stand¬ 
point, and thousands of people use noth¬ 
ing else the year round. It is true that a 
peculiar flavor lingers, in spite of all the 
refiners can do, and it is not the sugary 
sweet flavor of cane sugar, not by any 
means. But it is harmless. Just why that 
widespread idea that beet sugar cannot be 
used in canning persists it is hard to say. 
The beet men used to say that it was a 
scandal spread by rivals, which has been 
strongly denied. Perhaps, on account' of 
these traces of impurities, some spoilage 
germs find it easier to grow when beet 
sugar has been used. If any reader has 
failed for no other cause than beet sugar, 
we would be glad to have the story. There 
may be a reason which would be pointed 
to by several definite accounts of the 
trouble, telling us exactly what, happened. 
Cocoa and Cocoa "Shells 
Is cocoa made from the meat of cocoa 
shells? ii. f. 
South Windham, Me. 
The cocoa fruit is a pod about six or 
eight inches long and two or three inches 
through, rather ribbed, and brownish 
You will not lose much in money value 
by letting it go far underground at a 
good distance from wells or cisterng. The 
salts, of course, are all there, but much 
diluted, the nitrogenous compounds have 
been pretty well destroyed, and their final 
products are also so dilute that the fer¬ 
tilizing value is small. 
Dried Paint; Poor Dye 
1. I have some white lead ground in oil 
which has been stored, unopened, in an 
oak keg for some years, and a painter 
tells me the oil has hardened by now. 
How can I best soften it? 2. I recently 
bought some black socks which, on wash¬ 
ing, lost their color. Some are as yet 
untouched. Is there anything I can do 
to set the color before using? They are 
a wool and cotton mixture. p. t. c. 
North Middleboro, Mass. 
I. If the air has gone through the keg 
a little, which seems unlikely, it will 
only affect the outer layer, but if slow 
chemical changes have taken place you 1 
may find the paint pretty hard. In either 
case if you take a little at a time, in a 
large bowl, for instance, and work it up 
with a little fresh oil, you ought to come 
out all right. But it will take some 
elbow grease. Of course it is impossible 
to tell at a distance just what may have 
happened, but it is no doubt good paint 
Watching Pussy’s Table Manners 
when ripe. It grows here and there on a 
tree about the size of a peach, or larger, 
and the irregularity of the fruit gives the 
tree a curious appearance, but this is not 
unusual in tropical trees; several kinds 
have this trick of blooming directly from 
the wood. When ripe the fruits arc 
gathered and the seeds taken out and 
allowed to ferment in heaps for a day or 
so. They are then winnowed and bagged 
for the market. These green beans, about 
the shape and size of Lima beans, are 
then roasted, and after this treatment the 
cocoa shell comes olT from the main bean. 
With it come bits of (lie roasted beans, 
and it is from these that the shells get 
their main value. The beans are then 
ground and pressed, for they carry about 
half their weight of fat (used in various 
ways under the name of cocoa butter), 
and the press cake is again ground and 
is then sold as chocolate or cocoa accord¬ 
ing fo the amount of fat left in, and 
whether sugar has been added. Dried 
milk is sometftnes added, giving a “milk 
chocolate.” At present there is very 
little cocoa on the market which is not 
as labeled, and of course as long as the 
label is right, anything which will do no 
harm, and increase sales by making the 
product more palatable may be used. The 
solubility of the cocoa is sometimes in¬ 
creased by the addition of a little soda, 
which is harmless and helps with the fat. 
Cocoa is nearly always flavored with 
vanilla: the Spaniards found tin 1 Mexi¬ 
cans doing this and no better combination 
has been discovered. 
Liquid from Septic Tank 
What is the composition of the liquid 
that runs from a septic tank? Is it of 
value as a fertilizer? May it be dis¬ 
charged in a garden? Will the discharge 
contaminate a well? If it is not a fer¬ 
tilizer, what becomes of the fertilizing 
elements? I. d. k. 
Prather, Cal. 
No one can tell in advance what the 
composition of the liquid discharged from 
a septic tank will bo; in fact, it will not 
be constant in composition. It has some 
fertilizing value, but it will be rather 
dilute. It is not at all advisable to dis¬ 
charge it in a garden, partly because it 
is possible for the tank to work badly at 
times. For the same reason care should 
be taken that the discharge does not enter 
the water supply; if anything should go 
wrong you would have no warning till 
too late, and there is no need of taking 
chances. The fertilizing value of domes¬ 
tic 6ewage is usually much overestimated. 
yet if you have the patience to keep at 
it. 
2. The socks are probably a hopeless 
case, but you might try a bath of weak 
alum water. The chances are that if 
there was any chance to fix that dye the 
maker would have done it, as everyone 
wants the repeat orders. The funda¬ 
mental trouble is that cotton and wool 
take different dyes, on account of their 
own chemical differences. Of course if 
the yarns are dyed and then woven you 
can get a permanent black, for you will 
pick the proper dyes to start for each, 
but if a mixture is to be dyed there is 
always trouble. Y’ou would better wash 
out all the dye you can before you begin 
to wear the socks and not take any 
chances with your skin. Some queer 
things have been used for dyes of late. 
Construction of Cesspool 
When cesspool is to take the roof water, 
also the wastes of a one-family house sink 
and from the bathroom, how deep, how 
wide, and how to be laid up? What ma¬ 
terial to be used, how far away from the 
house? l. L. 
Paterson, Md. 
A cesspool is simply a dry well and 
depends for its efficiency upon the char¬ 
acter of the soil in which it is dug. If 
the soil is of an open nature, the liquid 
contents of a cesspool will drain away 
and it will care for the house sewage for 
an indefinite time. If, however, the cess¬ 
pool is dug into clay or heavy loam, its 
usefulness will be of short duration. The 
wider and deeper a cesspool the longer 
it can be used. If in gravelly or sandy 
soil, a cesspool six or eight feet across 
and eight or 10 feet deep would prob¬ 
ably care for the sewage of your house 
indefinitely, but it. would always be a 
menace to the wells in the neighborhood, 
if dug or driven wells are used, and it 
should not be dug within less than 100 
feet of the nearest well; 200 feet would be 
safer. A cesspool should be laid up with 
stone without mortar, so that its liquid 
contents can lead away through the sides 
as well as from the bottom. It would 
probably be better to dispose of the rain 
water from the roof in some other man¬ 
ner than to discharge it into the cesspool, 
leaving the latter to care only for the 
liquids reaching it from the house fix¬ 
tures. jr. it. n. 
“How did the accident happen?” “He 
got run over when he stopped in the mid¬ 
dle of the road to read a ‘safety first’ no¬ 
tice on a ’bus.” 
Not So Bad this Month 
"Now, that’s better! It’s the first time the expense figures haven’t 
given me a horrid feeling. 
"Why didn’t I know sooner about Jell-0 and some of the other 
money-savers ?” 
It doesn’t matter whether you live in the city or country, whether 
you keep an account book or not, 
will help you out, for it is cheap as to cost and it can be made up into 
more different kinds of good things to eat than anything else. 
Every woman who wants to know how Jell-0 can help her out will 
find the information she desires in the Jell-0 Book, which will be sent 
free to all who send name and address. 
Jell-0 is made in six pure fruit flavors: Strawberry, Raspberry, 
Lemon, Orange, Chocolate, Cherry, and is sold two packages for 25 cents 
by all grocers and-dealers. 
THE GENESEE PURE FOOD COMPANY, 
Le Roy, N. Y., and Bridgeburg, Ont. 
What Every Home 
Canner Should Have 
One of onr II & A HAND POWER DOUBLE 
SEAMKR.S. The only adjustable Hand Power 
Double Seamer built that will seal all sizes of 
sanitary fruit and vegetable cans. Write for prices 
and descriptive matter to Dept. K. 
HENNINGER & AYES MFG.’CO., Portland/Ore. 
Builders of Steam Pressure Canning Outfits and Double Seamers 
Kodakers—Get Acquainted! 
Developing and Printing by our NU-TONE 
Process. Largest laboratory in New York 
Sizes: VestPkt. 2)4x3)4 234x4)4 3)4x434 334x5)4 
Devl’g 6 exp. .05 .05 .05 .10 .10 
Printing ea. .03 .03 .03 .04 .04 
8x10 mounted enlargement 35c. All work prepaid 
“SCHULTZ” KODAK SHOP, 122 Nassau St., New York 
NEW PERFECTION 
OIL COGlk\ STOVES _ 
Delicious Cooking 
The New Perfection Oil Cookstove gives all the 
comfort of gas—keeps your kitchen cool, even in 
the hottest weather, and clean the year round. 
No kindling, no ashes. 
It broils, bakes, roasts, toasts—literally to per¬ 
fection. 
Its Long Blue Chimney makes the clean intense 
heat—prevents smoke, odor or soot. You regu¬ 
late the flame like gas—on when you want it, 
off when you've finished. 
The New Perfection Hot Water Heater gives 
plenty of hot water for kitchen, laundry and bath. 
See your dealer. Today. 
STANDARD OIL CO. OF NEW YORK 
[ 
When you write advertisers mention The R. N.-Y. and you’ll get a 
quick reply and a “square deal.” See guarantee editorial page. 
