7h* RURAL. NEW-YORKER 
971 
Homemade Flypaper 
Can you tell us of some sticky stuff to 
put on old newspapers to prepare a home¬ 
made flypaper? Flypaper would cost a 
fortune this .Summer to do the work well. 
Virginia. F. 
In times past we have printed the 
recipe for this mixture, as follows: You 
will need something stiffer than news¬ 
paper for a body: 
“The makers do not say exactly what 
they use. but a very similar substance can 
be made by melting equal parts of rosin 
and rape oil together, with good stirring, 
and adding about a third of the weight of 
a thick turpentine. So much depends on 
the quality of the oil and rosin that you 
will have to ‘cut and try’ till you hit a 
mixture that is just right when cold. It 
may be coated on the paper with a wide 
brush when warm. The manufacturers 
use a coating machine, of course.” 
“Every farmer can make his own.sticky 
flypaper at a very low cost by boiling to¬ 
gether 3y 2 ounces each of boiled linseed 
oil and molasses and 1 lb. of rosin, and 
after a proper thickness has been at¬ 
tained, spreading it with a brush on heavy 
manila paper. The paper should be in 
large sheets, and after spreading the mix¬ 
ture on one-half of the sheet it may be 
folded over. This should be stored in a 
cool place.” 
Lacing Leather 
How is “rawhide” lace leather pre¬ 
pared? Gan I make it at home? R. J. i>. 
Windsor, Vt. 
The best information at hand tells us 
that belt lacing leather is cleaned, de- 
baired, bated and plumped as usual, then 
given a very light tanning and then very 
thoroughly treated with oil. It is really 
an oil-tanned leather. The oil tanning 
process previously given in The R. N.-Y. 
by C. O. Ormsbee will work all right on 
a small scale, hut of course you must pick 
out a naturally strong hide to start with. 
the interior of the earth, but the lowest 
mines have shown a uniform rise of tem¬ 
perature the farther down they got. Fig¬ 
uring proves that the earth is more rigid 
than steel, and the rate of travel of earth¬ 
quake waves tends to prove that it is of 
uniform quality inside. But the deepest 
known wells tell us little about the real 
state of affairs. 
Tooth Powders and Pastes 
What are tooth powders and tooth 
pastes made of? c. w. H. 
New York. 
Practically the same things. A paste 
is merely a powder fixed up to be used 
from a tube. The basis of practically 
all of them is “precipitated chalk,” which 
is merely an artificial chalk or limestone 
made from a lime salt and a carbonate. 
To this is added an abrasive, which may 
be very finely powdered stone of some 
sort, but which is very frequently a form 
of quartz known as “diatomaceous earth.” 
This is the wrong name for it, but it 
was given in the early days of micro¬ 
scopy, and seems likely to stick. It is 
really composed of the quartz shells of 
little animals which lived ages ago in the 
seas where dry land now is, and flour¬ 
ished in countless numbers and probably 
for very many years. The same sort of 
animals live in the sea and fresh water 
today, and have the same quartz instead 
of lime skeletons. Where these old seas 
were we now find great beds of these hits 
of quartz, which are hard and rather 
angular. This is purified and used for 
various fine polishing work; a well-known 
brand of silver polish, for instance, is 
nothing but this earth From 10 to 25 
per cent of this earth is added to the 
chalk, and also usually a little powdered 
soap, which should be the best quality 
and very finely ground. Some harmless 
and refre'shing flavor is then added. If 
it is more or less of a germ-killing flavor 
it is all the better, and the whole mass 
well mixed and sifted. It is then packed 
for the retail trade. 
Tooth pastes are nothing but the pow¬ 
der with some gummy matter, packed in 
a thin tin tube. But when you come to 
pick out the proper gummy matter to 
use you find considerable trouble. People 
do not care for a non-soapy tooth paste, 
and the soap will slowly interchange with 
the precipitated chalk, and the paste will 
harden in the tube. Glycerine will slow 
this action, but not stop it. One con¬ 
cern uses quite a little specially denatured 
alcohol, and avoids the trouble that way. 
Others put in as little soap as they dare 
and, hope for the best. Another fluid 
portion is the result of cooking starch 
in glycerine, the so-called “glycerite of 
starch,” and this works very well indeed. 
Gum tragacanth is frequently used, and 
a little sugar is often present, since the 
essential oils used will prevent spoilage. 
A tooth powder can be easily made by 
any one who will mix well, say a pound 
of prepared chalk, two to four ounces 
diatomaceous earth (sold under various 
names), two ounces powdered orris root 
(to help hold the flavor) and a few drops 
of oil of cloves, or oil of eucalyptus, or 
oil of thyme, or oil of wintergreen. or a 
mixture of them, and sift the stuff eight 
or 10 times through a fine sieve. An 
ounce or so of powdered sugar may be 
added and two ounces of powdered soap 
if you can get a good article. But mak¬ 
ing a tooth paste calls for considerable 
skill and some powerful stirring machin¬ 
ery, and we do not advise the amateur 
to try it. 
Resting Razors 
It. is a positive fact that some razor 
blades laid aside for a time will become 
sharper just the same an they would by 
a good honing done without loss of time. 
I have had it happen in my experience 
under circumstances that leave no room 
for question as to the fact. Needless to 
say, I was puzzled until I saw the ex¬ 
planation, which I will give you, and 
I think you will agree with me is per¬ 
fectly satisfactory. If you use a thin- 
edged razor for some time, sharpening it 
only with the u«e of a strop, there is de¬ 
veloped a very fine wire edge, hardly visi ¬ 
ble to the naked eye, but plainly shown 
by a good magnifying glass. This curled- 
over edge becomes oxidized off if the razor 
is not used for some time, and' the instru¬ 
ment is then in good shape for the strop 
again. The above has reference cmly to 
a thin razor of fine steel. If you think C 
am incorrect kindly set me straight in the* 
matter. JOHN MARSHALL. 
Washington. D. C. 
Soap from Peanut Oi9 
I have several gallons of peanut oil 
which have been permeated with tho 
fumes of gasoline. How can I make it 
into soap? w. j. m 
We have spent quite a little time ex 
perimenting in the hope that we could 
give you a method which would turn this 
otherwise useless oil into good soap, but 
we are forced to tell you that we do not 
think that you can make a very satisfac¬ 
tory soap from the oil by itself. Tho 
trouble is that there is relatively too much 
of the softer acids, and even a soda soap 
made with as little water as possible i.<« 
pretty soft. That does not mean that it 
Is “soft soap”; that term signifies a pot¬ 
ash soap, but that it is physically too 
pasty. You can go ahead and make it 
into soap by the method already given, 
and you will get something which will 'bo 
a true soap, but it will not be very satis¬ 
factory in use, because it will wash away 
so fast. Your better plan will be to add 
at least au equal weight of the very best 
beef suet—rendered, of course—and a 
pound or two of cocoanut oil, which you 
will get at a fancy price under the name 
“nut butter,” but that is your only source, 
in all probability. Then make the mixed 
fats into soap by any good method, either 
the one we have given or the one which is, 
we presume, printed on the label of the 
lye you use. Perfuming homemade soap 
is always a difficult matter, especially as 
it is usually a little alkaline, which tends 
to kill the better flavors. Oil of spike 
lavender, if you can get it, is usually as 
stable as anything, but, whatever you 
use, do not add it till the soap is so cool 
that you can just barely stir it in. 
Formula for Hektograph 
What is the formula for a hektograph? 
Sloansville, N. Y. N. M. 
The formulas differ a little; in general 
one part of gelatin or good glue is plump¬ 
ed in cold water and the excess water 
poured off. The mass is then dissolved by 
hent in from four to six parts of glycer¬ 
ine. Sometimes a little sugar is added. 
Much depends on the grade of glue used; 
it pays to get the best. Often barium 
sulphate, which you can get at a paint 
store under the name “permanent white,” 
is added. It is said that a little pure 
soap added gives a better and more easily 
cleaned surface. You may be clever 
enough to get this, shaved or scraped, to 
dissolve in the hot mixture. The Sum¬ 
mer formulas have a little more glue 
than the Winter ones, and. in any event, 
add a few drops of oil of cloves, or. bet¬ 
ter and more smelly, carbolic acid, to 
prevent decay. So much depends on the 
quality of the glue and glycerine that you 
have to use some judgment as to exact 
proportions. 
Fireproof Roof Paint 
Is there any preparation with which 
one can paint a shingle roof to make it 
fireproof to the extent of being safe from 
sparks from a neighboring fire? C. N. 
Brockport, N. Y. 
No. The best you can do is to make it 
slow-burning, and this is apt to lead to 
a sense of security which is quite unjus¬ 
tified by the facts. More than that, a 
roof is often exposed to the solvent ac¬ 
tion of what is, practically, distilled 
water, so any coating has to be removed. 
There are paints which can be used, usu¬ 
ally with a water-glass base, which is 
changed to a comparatively insoluble 
lime or magnesium silicate in use. There 
are also “asbestos” paints where the fire- 
resisting property of the asbestos is sup¬ 
posed to overcome the tendency of the 
oil medium to catch fire. Botli of these 
sorts of paint will have to be bought, as 
they need a power mill to mix them 
properly. We doubt if anything to be ap¬ 
plied as a paint will give real security. 
Central Heat and Cold Well Water 
“Talk of the Town” 
“Did you ever ride so comfortably?” 
“Could you tell when you crossed the 
tracks?” “I looked at the oil gauge at 200 
miles—apparently we didn’t use any.” 
“I averaged over 27 miles to the gallon 
that last trip—sand and mud most of the 
way.”—You hear it everywhere. All 
America is talking of this astonishing 
Overland—and America is proud of it too / 
America’s low cost car now $200 reduced! Add to 
its low cost its gasoline, oil and tire economy and 
its low upkeep—and you get a service per mile that 
never has been equalled or approached. Then add 
its amazing comfort on Triplex Springs , plus its 
quality. Its baked enamel finish! Its curtains that 
open with the doors! Its complete convenience! 
—Then rush your order in for Summer use. 
I understand that the interior of the 
earth is supposed to be hot. Why is the 
water in a deep well cold ? J. J. o. 
New York. 
Is it? Water in really deep wells is 
usually quite warm. What you refer to 
are merely surface wells, which are 
deeper than shallow ones. Such wells 
furnish water of the average temperature 
of the earth at that latitude; deep wells 
in the tropics furnish quite warm water. 
But there are exceptions, where the water 
is colder than you would expect. The 
reason is not known. But if you will 
figure ou it a little you will find that the 
earth kuown to man, say five miles up 
in the air and five miles down in the sea, 
10 vertical miles in all, is represented on 
au 8-inch globe by the layer of varnish 
and paper. We really know uothiug of 
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Roadster,f o. b. Toledo - 
Coupe , f o. b. Toledo - 
Sedan, f. o. b. Toledo - 
- twas, $ 895 — - - nonv, $ 695 
- asuas, 895 - - - - noaxs, 695 
- c was, 1425 - - — nonss, 1000 
- was, 1475 - - - - nw, 1275 
AU Present Models 
nvill Be Continued 
WILLYS-OVERLAND, INC. 
TOLEDO, OHIO 
Ask About Extremely 
Easy Payments 
