342 
7*e RURAL NEW-YORKER 
February 20, 1021 
Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
Cleaning Contaminated Spring 
We have a spring about 300 ft. from house 
which is piped to kitchen by %-in. pipe. 
Recently noticing a foul odor in the water 
I investigated and discovered a rabbit in 
a bad state of decomposition. The odor 
from the spring and water pipe is quite 
strong. We have discontinued the use of 
the water and are letting the faucet run 
continually. Could you advise me as to 
some way to cleanse and purify this 
water, as it is excellent for drinking pur¬ 
poses? c - T * 
Monroe, N. Y. 
You can lo nothing better than to let 
the water run all it will until there is no 
more chance of trouble, a matter of a 
couple of weeks, perhaps. Anything you 
could put into the spring‘would have to 
be cleared out by letting it run. anyway, 
so you might just as well let it run and 
clear itself. On the other hand, if there 
are those who will not believe that the 
water can be good until you have "done 
something.” your best plan will be to get 
a couple of ounces of permanganate of 
potash, put it in a cloth, ‘with a bit of 
stone to hold it steady, and bting it in 
the spring just in front of the intake to 
vour house pipe, which is being let run 
all the time. Then the water will run 
pink for an hour or two. or longer, per¬ 
haps, and the mind will be at rest. Give 
the spring a good cleaning, cover it with 
chicken \\;ire. since you likely have more 
than one rabbit there, and lot it run 10 
days. 
Dressing for Imitation Leather 
Can you toll me of any dressing for 
imitation leather? c.P. w. 
Easton, I'a. 
Artificial leather is nearly always a 
layer of what is practically a flexible 
celluloid applied to a canvas backing, and 
it is unlikely that there is anything you 
can do to restore it to health. You can 
try a little castor oil. well rubbed in. or 
you can varnish it with collodion, but we 
cannot hold out much hope of improve¬ 
ment. 
Removing Taste from Grease 
I have several pounds of grease skim¬ 
med from the soup in which homemade 
sausage was boiled. IIow can I make it 
tasteless in order to use it in cooking? 
Hackensack, N. J MRS. m. k. 
It is not probable that you can get 
wholly rid of the sausage taste, as greases 
are one of the best things-to hold flavors. 
Elk in the 
The picture shows a bull elk shot in 
the town of Lewis, N. Y.. this Winter, 
which weighed (!0<» lbs. Elk and deer 
have been naturalized on the John E. 
Milholland ranch, where the park for 
these animals includes 1,500 acres. It is 
necessary to kill at least one bull elk each 
year. The correspondent who sent the 
picture, F. E. Milholland, writes as fol¬ 
lows : 
‘‘It shows what can be done in propa¬ 
gation of the elk in the East. The pic¬ 
ture was taken in the rear of Mr. Mil- 
Making Wet Cells 
IIow can I canstruct a set of wet cells? 
What voltage will one cell give? Can they 
be recharged ? J. S. 
Greenfield, X. Y. 
It all depends on what you want to do 
with the cells, as there are several types. 
The best of the lot will give two volts for 
a short time, but for general use there is 
nothing better than the “crowfoot” type 
of sulphate of copper cells, which give 
about a volt each. They arc also known 
as “gravity” cells, and the “makings” can 
Adirondacks 
holland's farmhouse on his ranch of some 
5.000 acres about 10 miles from West- 
port-on-Lake Champlain. The elk and 
deer seem to thrive very satisfactorily in 
this locality. If the high cost of meat con¬ 
tinues somebody will no doubt before long 
begin raising wild game to take its place, 
and why not? Rut. mind you, you will 
pay 30c for one pork chop in a restaurant 
that does not weigh, perhaps over 2 ozs., 
and that same pork chop has been pur¬ 
chased by the butcher for 12c per lb., the 
consumer paying at the rate of about 
.$1.80 per lb. I don’t see how the city 
man can save any money even at a sal¬ 
ary of .$35 per week and supply nourish¬ 
ing food.” 
What Ails the Cider 
I.ast Summer we purchased a large size 
cider press, one of the type which has a 
hand crank on each side (for two men to 
operate) ; also equipped for use xvith 
power. The apples we used were such as 
farmers ordinarily usp for cider making, 
and clean. We used regular commercial 
cider cloths in the tubs, and the sweet 
cider fresh from the press had the usual 
good taste. However, we have been un¬ 
able to keep any lot of cider over a week 
before it spoiled. It does not seem to 
turn into hard cider as it did heretofore, 
when we obtained it from custom presses 
in the village, but it absolutely spoils— 
has a mold on top and is very offensive 
to taste and smell—you might say “rot¬ 
ten.” We have put different lots into 
clean agateware vessels, jugs, a small 
wooden keg and a regular cider barrel— 
all with the same effect. We have kept it 
upstairs and in the farmhouse cellar, both. 
Same result. We have even tried keep¬ 
ing different lots in different houses. Can 
the fault be with our new press, and iu 
what way? g. b. 
Lebanon Springs, N. Y. 
Xo one could tell exactly the trouble 
with this cider without having a fair sam¬ 
ple of it analyzed. The trouble is proba¬ 
bly due to some form of injurious bac¬ 
teria which are found either on the cloths 
through which the cider is strained or in 
the press itself. It is not likely that the 
trouble comes from the apples, nor is it 
likely that the manner of squeezing out 
the juice is responsible. We think it is 
either the cloths or the prests, provided 
these cloths have not been thoroughly 
sterilized by boiling and steaming. We 
think if these cloths are cleaned in that 
way and the press itself is thoroughly 
steamed all over there will bo no further 
trouble. A good many successful farmers 
do not use cloths for straining the cider. 
Cases are reported to us where clean, 
sharp sand, first thoroughly washed with 
boiling water and then baked, make a far 
better strainer than any cloth. 
Private Johnson was on lonely out¬ 
post duty in the danger zone. To him 
came Lieutenant Jones, officer of the day. 
The general and special orders were duly 
recited. “Suppose, now. Johnson, that 
a squad of Germans were to emerge sud¬ 
denly from that clump of bushes and ad¬ 
vance toward you. What would you do?” 
“Well, suh, Ah would snap to ’tenshun 
and fo’m a line.” “Form a line? One 
man form a line?” “Yas, suh. A bee¬ 
line for camp, suh.”—Everybody’s Maga¬ 
zine. 
but it is possible that if you can arrange 
to blow steam through the melted grease 
for a few hours it will take out some of 
the taste. But it will be somewhat flav¬ 
ored at best, and better for soap than for 
cooking. 
be had from any electrical supply house. 
But you will find any sort of wet cell 
unsatisfactory if you are looking for very 
much current. No wet cell can by any 
possibility be recharged, as you get “elec¬ 
tricity” by burning a metal in acid, and 
you cannot reverse this action. 
lacked by 5oYears of 
Successful Plow-Building 
F OR 50 years the Syracuse Chilled Plow Factory, 
an Eastern institution, has been building plows especially 
adapted to Eastern conditions. Syracuse plow-builders 
know the plow needs of Eastern farmers thoroughly, 
and they know how to build plows to meet these needs 
to best advantage. 
JOHN BEEM 
SYRACUSE ^PLOWS 0 
You will find the result of this 
special knowledge which you use a 
Syracuse Plow. You can tell by 
looking at a Syracuse that it is 
well made. You can see that the 
parts are strong and fit perfectly. 
But there is something built into 
it that you cannot see—something 
that is as much a part of the plow 
as its share, moldboard, or beam. 
That is, its ability to do good 
work—every day—for years. 
Good work is what you expect 
of a plow when you buy it. Noth¬ 
ing else will take its place. Unless 
a plow does good work, you use it 
at a loss instead of a profit. A 
Syracuse Plow insures good work 
in the soil conditions for which it 
was built. It will do your plowing 
the way you want it done. 
Tell your John Deere dealer to show you the type of Syracuse plow 
that suits your farm. Write us for folders describing the John 
Deere-Syracuse Walking Plows—general-purpose, hillside, or slat 
moldboard. Ask for Better Farm Implements, a 114-page book 
containing description and illustrations of the full line of John 
Deere tools. It’s free. Address John Deere, Moline, Illinois, 
and ask for Package SW-837. 
° 7 ' 
cJ I 
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ilizers 
^VerX'^’ 
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