•P* RURAL. NEW.YORKER 
1809 
Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
“Defecation” of Grape Juice 
We are using an unfermented grape 
juice without preservatives, according to 
the label, but on -the label are the words 
“Defecated with sulphur dioxide.” What 
is this and is it harmful to health? 
Martinsville, N. J. s. F. 
Defecation is a general term used in the 
sugar industry and other similar business 
to mean the removal of a sediment which 
is suspended in such a way that it would 
be very slow to settle Out by itself. For 
instance, some people defecate coffee by 
adding a dash of cold water just as it is 
taken from the fire, only, when it is done 
in the kitchen, they say they “settle” it. 
In the case of sugar, cane juice and fruit 
juices in general, there are some things 
present which are in that curious con¬ 
dition of semi-solution which is called 
"the colloidal state.’'’ No one knows ex¬ 
actly what this state is, and it does not 
always appear to be the same thing. If 
to such liquids traces of various sub¬ 
stances are added, the sediment “floccu¬ 
lates” ; that is, gathers in lumps or clots, 
and may be easily removed. 
A little lime is often used in the sugar 
business, sometimes a little clean clay is 
added, and these grape-juice people ap¬ 
pear to have found out that a trace of 
sulphur dioxide would help without affect¬ 
ing the juice. The amount used cannot 
possibly do you any harm; the chances 
are there is none at all left, as most of 
these chemical defecators act by uniting 
with the suspended matter and it all goes 
out together. Grape juice has been “sul¬ 
phured” from ancient times. “Defecation 
with sulphur dioxide” simply sounds a lit¬ 
tle larger. 
Malt Syrup; Dishwater for Feeding 
What is malt syrup and how is it made? 
Has dishwater any feeding value? 
New York. C. H. w. 
Malt syrup is a concentrated solution 
in water of maltose, which is the name 
given to the sugar which results when 
starch is acted on by a vegetable body 
named diastase. Thus latter body is 
formed in grains when they begin to 
grow. It is not known what it is, Ihe 
name means “stand over,” and is given 
because it changes the starch. It is na¬ 
ture’s device by which the carbon and 
hydrogen packed away for the Winter 
in the form we call starch is made water- 
soluble and so of use for the grain sprout 
till it can get on its own roots and begin 
to pick up carbon for itself by the green 
leaf. This diastase begins to act just as 
soon as the grain begins to swell, and 
is present in all the starchy grains, but 
it is so active in barley that this grain 
has become the main source of “malt.” 
This is merely the barley which has been 
sprouted by being wet and kept warm 
from four to eight days, according to the 
sort of malt wanted. The barley makes 
more diastase than its own starch needs, 
so it is usual to cook some other grain, as 
corn, to break down the starch grains, 
and mix this with'the sprouted barley 
which has been dried and ground. The 
whole “mash” is then kept warm for a 
few hours, till all the starch has been 
changed to malt sugar, and the unchanged 
part of the cereals filtered out. The re¬ 
sulting weak solution of maltose is evap¬ 
orated in vacuum pans, just as any other 
sugar syrup, and the result is the malt 
syrup of commerce. Maltose can be 
made dry and crystalline, but it costs 
too much to get out the last water. 
Dishwater will have a little soap and 
emulsified fat in it, but would vary so 
much in composition that it could hafidly 
be depended on. Some animals would 
dislike the soap, but it does not seem 
to injure pigs. 
Testing Soil for Lime 
Can you tell me what chemical to use 
in order to find out the lime contents in 
soil? A few years ago a man tested some 
of the soils of our farm as follows: He 
took a bottle, filled it partly with water 
and some chemical. He would drop 
some soil into the bottle and the water 
would foam according to the lime it 
contained. What was used? E. w. 
Hart, Mich. 
That chap was more or less of a 
faker, as there is no such chemical. The 
chances are that he had a little dilute 
hydrochloric (muriatic 1 acid, and, if 
there were some carbonates in the soil, 
there would be some foam. Most soils 
will foam a little when added to a weak 
acid water. Hut there is no such test 
for lime, ae such, and in fact you might 
have a very fair proportion of lime as 
sulphate and you would get no foam 
at all. Then too, most soils have quite 
a little air, which is forced out by wet¬ 
ting. 
You can get some idea, if you waut to 
experiment a little, of the acid-soluble 
lime, (which may or may not be the 
same as the plant available lime), by 
taking a given weight of the soil and 
stirring it for a while with five per cent 
hydrochloric acid. Then make up the 
entire amount of soil and water to a 
definite volume, which should be «evex - al 
times the volume of the soil taken to 
lessen the obvious error of the bulk of 
the soil, and filter off, through 'filter 
paper or a plug of absorbent cotton, just 
one half of the volume. If you try to 
filter it all you will wait some time for 
the last to come. Another, rather closer 
method, is to ignore the volume of ex¬ 
tract and note the volume of dilute acid 
used, and filter off just half of the volume 
you use.. To this filtrate, which may 
luive to be refiltered a few times, you 
will add a five per cent solution of am¬ 
monium chloride and a five per cent so¬ 
lution of ammonium carbonate, about 25 
drops of each will usually be enough, and 
then add ammonia water a few drops at 
a time with stirring. If the solutions are 
warm the action is somewhat better. 
Add the ammonia till a few drops do not 
cause clouding after the solution has been 
allowed to settle a little. 
With most soils there is enough sol¬ 
uble iron to color the precipitate of car¬ 
bonate of. lime, but the major part of 
your precipitate is the acid-soluble lime 
in the soil. If you do this with several 
samples, you can get a comparative idea 
ot the lime present. There are a num¬ 
ber of weak spots in the method, and 
if an agricultural chemist should even 
condescend to read this he will have an 
almost fatal fit, but it is the only scheme 
which is fairly accurate that can be 
worked without special anparatus and 
with chemicals which can be had in any 
drug store for a few cento. 
There is an outfit advertised for test¬ 
ing the soil acidity which should work 
fairly well if directions are accurately 
followed, and, with most soils the acidity 
is more important than the lime content, 
but the chances are that you can get bet- 
tor advice from the State Agricultural 
college than you can give yourself after 
making home tests. 
Dry-cleaning Fabrics and Furs 
Would you give me the process of drv- 
cleaning silk, wool and furs? I have‘a 
set of white Iceland fox furs and would 
lk IL t 0 T k ? 0W . how to clean them. 
St. Johnsville, N. Y. mbs. b. j. 
. Genuine dry cleaning consists of wash¬ 
ing in gasoline or similar solvent and 
proper drying. It is really an art, and 
the.process is modified according to the 
thing to be cleaned. Quite a volume of 
solvent is required and special arrange¬ 
ments to dry the goods must be provided 
It is unlikely that you could work the 
process at home. 
White furs are frequently cleaned by 
working well into the fur a quantity of 
precipitated chalk, or the best quality 
whiting, which has been dampened with 
gasoline and then allowing to dry. The 
whiting is then dusted and brushed out, 
and will take with it a large part of the 
dirt. Of course there must be the greatest 
care taken not to have any fire about. 
Ihe best of white furs often take on a 
yellowish tint with age, and this can 
usually be removed by the cautious use of 
peroxide of hydrogen, after a trial has 
shown that it is adapted to the fur. 
Lithographers’ Varnish and Rats 
There is a story floating around the 
papers that in London they are using lith¬ 
ographers’ varnish spread on boards to 
catch rats. The animals are said to walk 
on the varnish and die of fright. Is there 
anything in this? H..H. p. 
Lithographers’ varnish, according to 
the books, is a very thick-boiled linseed 
oil, but several preparations are put out 
under that name. Whether Yankee rats 
would walk into the middle of a sticky 
board and then die of fright is as yet un¬ 
determined, but it seems unlikely. If you 
try it, by all means let us know the re¬ 
sults; but. meanwhile you may better 
stick to th*> Department of Agriculture 
method, which is to feed a scanty supply 
of food at a given place for a day or so, 
then the same food mixed with barium 
carbonate. Then change the place and 
the sort of food, and take care that you 
feed only what is all eaten. After a day 
or so add the carbonate again, and next 
day put a little food of another sort in a 
new spot, and see if it is taken. The 
trick is to change the sort of food and the 
spot after each poisoning. But no method 
which does not include closing all holes 
will work long, as your neighbors are 
raising rats all the time. 
Coloring Popcorn; Mosquitoes in Cellar 
1. What is a harmless color for pop¬ 
corn for Christmas decorations? 2. How 
can I rid the cellar of mosquitoes? 
Lindley, N. Y. mrs. e. s. o. 
1. Popcorn is dipped quickly (and then 
dried promptly) in a thin sugar syrup 
colored with the harmless colors prepared 
for cooking and on sale in many drug 
stores and some grocery stores. 2. Burn¬ 
ing sulphur will clean up insects in cel¬ 
lars. If for any reason this cannot be 
used, try Persian insect powder sprinkled 
on live coals, and use plenty of it. This 
merely paralyzes the game; you must 
promptly retrieve it with a broom, or it 
will come to life and crawl away. Better 
take a little more trouble and use sulphur, 
which is eure. 
Removing Vitriol Stain 
What will remove the stain of blue 
vitriol in water on white bedding? 
Leonard Bridge, Conn. mbs. e. it. M. 
Any acid, weak enough not to injure 
the fabric. Try strong vinegar first, 
which will probably remove the copper, 
but. may, in its turn, leave a stain. If 
a trial shows that the vinegar itself 
stains, get a five per cent solution of 
acetic acid in water and use that. Rinse 
well with water in any case, but use 
nothing alkaline until the stain is all gone. 
Thanksgiving Dinner on the Farm 
(Continued from page 1796) 
all together well. Cover with cider, add 
any flavoring liked, as cinnamon, cloves, 
pepper and allspice. Cook together one 
hour. If cider is not available, use good 
vinegar, diluted with the same quantity 
of water. When ready to make the pies 
melt up mincemeat slowly and add a 
tablespoonful of butter to each pie. 
To make the pumpkin pies, stew pump¬ 
kin until done and all water cooked out; 
press through colander, and to four cups 
of pumpkin add two cups of sugar and 
half a cup of molasses, two tablespoons 
of flour, four well-beaten eggs, a table¬ 
spoonful of salt, two pinto of milk and 
flavor to suit taste with nutmeg, spice or 
ginger. Bake in one crust, and when 
done cover with meringue or not, as pre¬ 
ferred. 
- For the walnut cake we will use our 
favorite recipe for making plain loaf cake, 
leaving out two-thirds of the butter or 
lard, as the case may be, -which is used 
for shortening, and just before putting 
in the pan will stir in one cup of chopped 
walnut meats which have been dusted well 
with flour to prevent their going to the 
bottom. 
You will note that we had three quarts 
of broth in which the chicken or turkey 
was cooked. This with the giblets, giz¬ 
zard, liver, etc., was allowed to simmer on 
back of stove until only two quarts re¬ 
main. One quart is put in stewpan for 
making gravy and the remaining seasoned 
well with pepper and butter and dump¬ 
lings made from a good biscuit dough, 
rolled' as thin as possible and pulled into 
three-inch lengths are dropped in. Broth 
is kept boiling and dumplings are cooked 
without cover, as this would make them 
“soggy.” The gravy is made by stirring 
two good tablespoons of flour smoothly 
into half a cup of milk, add slowly an¬ 
other half cup and stir into broth. In a 
bowl have one dozen hard-boiled eggs cut 
in halves and removed from shell, pour 
one-half of gravy over these and send 
other half to table in gravy boat to be 
eaten with the dressing. 
Mother’s Salt-Rising Bread.—Who does 
not recall with longing the excellent salt- 
rising bread of our childhood days? The 
fresh yeast breads are good, but some¬ 
times we like a change and use our old 
recipe, which makes a sweet, nutty-fla- 
vored loaf. Scald one cup of meal with 
a cup of new milk brought to scalding 
heat. Set over night in a warm place. 
In the morning pour a cup of boiling 
water into a cup of sweet milk, and when 
lukewarm stir in the sponge made the 
night before, also enough flour to make 
a rather stiff sponge. Set in a vessel 
containing water as warm as the back 
of hand will bear; keep in warm pDee; 
will rise in four hours. Have flour 
warmed by setting near stove; make hole 
in center, pour in sponge, add pint of 
warm water, two tablespoons of sugar, 
a pinch of soda, tablespoon of salt and 
lard size of egg. Mix well, work 10 
minutes and shiipe into loaves; place in 
well-greased baking nan and set in warm 
place to rise. When double in bulk bake 
in moderate oven until done, which will 
require 50 to 60 minutes. Forgot to say. 
add one teaspoon of salt, scant, to the 
sponge in the morning. 
As a kind of last course or dessert, to 
go along with this dinner, there are usu¬ 
ally no end of good things available; all 
of them just as desirable as many of 
those which most housewives order from 
the store. Canned peaches served with 
sugar and cream, apples either canned or 
the dried quarters served in small dishes 
with sugar sprinkled on top and plenty of 
cream ; canned strawberries, blackberries, 
any of them are good enough to serve with 
the delicious nut cake. The fact is that 
when we have eaten all we desire of the 
stuffed chicken, egg gravy, light, fluffy 
dumplings, vegetables and spareribs or 
sausage, very little dessert will be wanted. 
A slice of pumpkin or mince pie will be 
enough. The cake and fruit will very 
likely be left for supper, so that there 
will be no need of spreading the table for 
the evening meal. Just pass around the 
cake and pies, and, if desired, small 
dishes of fruit may be served. A quart 
of cranberries cooked the day before with 
half as much sugar, rubbed' through the 
colander and put in small molds may be 
served with fowl or meats. In the ab¬ 
sence of cranberries, canned gooseberries 
make an excellent substitute. 
LILY REED YORK. 
Mr. Datus Clark, Member Farm & Market 
Council, Albany, N. Y., writes; 
“Twelve years ago, my Hol¬ 
stein start cost $1,100. The think¬ 
ing farmer can decide as to the 
financial end. I now have eighty 
head and have sold as many dol¬ 
lars worth of cattle as I have 
bought and have made much 
more in milk than I would have 
made with scrub or grade cattle.” 
Send for Free Booklets 
The Holstein-Friesian Assn of America 
105 American Bldg., Brattleboro, Vermont 
Butter and Cheese 
MADE AT HOME 
ON THE FARM 
will relieve the Milk Situation 
CHR. HANSEN’S 
Rennet Tablets and 
Cheese Color Tablets 
&Butter Color and 
Buttermilk Tablets 
(Lactic Ferment Culture in tablet 
form for preparing a starter.) 
The above preparations can be obtained from 
your grocer or druggist or direct by mail 
from the manufacturer. 
CHR. HANSEN’S LABORATORY 
Little Falls, N. Y. 
Write us for information 
Our New Handy Binder 
Sides are heavy Book Board, Imita¬ 
tion Leather Back and Corners, 
Cloth Sides, Two Tongues Inside. 
Inside of Cover Neat Lining Paper, 
Stamped in Gold— “Rural New- 
Yorker”— on outside. 
Will hold 52 issues, or more. 
Sent prepaid upon receipt of 
price, 65c. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 West 30th St. New York City 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
. T 
TheBu5inessFarmersPaper 
' '1 NEW YORK CITY 
- *.-.•>-.vy.v.v “ vr- .*• •' •: v* . .• v» . 
■ v; , 
The Farmer His 
Own Builder 
By EL Armstrong Roberts 
A practical and 
handy book of all 
kinds of building 
information from 
concrete to carpen¬ 
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For sale by 
THE 
RURAL NEW-YORKER 
333 W. 30th St.. N. Y. 
THE GRIMM SUGAR MAKING UTENSILS 
1 he sugar season will soon be here. Let us have your 
inquiries and orders now, not wait until you are ready to 
make sugar. Our new booklet is ready. May we send you 
copy and make you price on such utensils as you will need ? 
G. H. GRIMM ESTATE, RUTLAND, VT. 
