910 
‘V*  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
June  30,  19_ 
Health  Notes 
Cures  for  Cancer 
I  read  the  inquiry  on  page  775  for 
cancer  cure,  also  the  answer  that  there 
is  no  known  cure.  It  is  well  known  that 
there  is  no  medical  cure,  but  in  the 
Physical  Culture  Magazine  for  January, 
1923,  there  is  an  article  which  states  that 
there  are  cancer  cases  cured  by  diet,  and 
gives  instances  of  several  such  cures.  It 
seems  logical  that  it  is  possible.  Perhaps 
A.  W.  C..  would  do  well  by  looking  into 
the  dietary  method.  F.  B. 
There  is  no  known  cure  for  cancer, 
dietary  or  other,  unless  the  radium  treat¬ 
ment  spoken  of  proves  effectual.  Those 
who  have  given  the  subject  the  longest 
and  most  competent  investigation  are 
practically  unanimous  in  this  conclusion. 
Early  diagnosis  and  removal  is  the  most 
essential  thing,  with  our  present  knowl¬ 
edge. 
There  are  numberless  instances  of  so- 
called  cures  by  various  methods  and, 
very  possibly,  cases  of  spontaneous  re¬ 
coveries  from  actual  cancerous  growths. 
Not  all  apparently  cancerous  growths 
are  really  cancers,  and  no  “cancer’’ 
should  be  reported  as  cured  by  any 
method  unless  microscopical  examination 
of  the  diseased  tissues  shows  it  to  be 
cancerous.  Other  growths,  tumors  and 
ulcers  resembling  cancers,  may  recover 
under  any  one  of  several  forms  of  treat¬ 
ment.  but  this  proves  nothing  with  re¬ 
gard  to  actual  cancer. 
Such  articles  as  the  one  you  speak  of 
do  immeasurable  harm  by  leading  people 
actually  suffering  from  incurable  cancer 
to  delay  surgical  interference  until  too 
late.  Do  not  dally  with  any  recom¬ 
mended  “cure.”  if  you  have  anv  reason 
whatever  to  suspect  the  possible  begin¬ 
ning  of  a  cancerous  growth.  Seek  com¬ 
petent  medical  and  surgical  advice  and 
be  governed  by  it.  You  may  not  need 
surgical  interference,  and  you  need  not 
fear  that  any  competent  surgeon  will 
want  to  operate  “for  the  fun  of  it.” 
Surgeons,  as  a  class,  have  as  deep  a  sense 
of  responsibility  as  it  is  possible  for  any 
one  to  have.  They  are  not  infallible,  and 
they  may  make  mistakes,  but  their  knowl¬ 
edge  of  cancer  is  superior  to  that  of 
quacks  and  faddists,  and  he  who  is  gov¬ 
erned  by  the  latter  is  likely  to  die  to  rue 
it.  M.  B.  n. 
Kidney  Disease 
The  doctor  informs  me  I  have  kidney 
trouble.  It  is  not  of  long  standing.  Will 
you  advise  me  in  regard  to  diet,  exercise, 
etc.?  This  doctor  is  quite  a  young  man 
and  a  stranger  to  me.  Should  I  see  a 
specialist  ?  n.  b. 
to  infant  feeding  than  cow’s  milk, 
though  it  is  true  that  some  infants 
thrive  upon  goat’s  milk  when  unable  to 
take  that  from  cows.  No  hard  and  fast 
rules  with  regard  to  infant  feeding  can 
be  laid  down.  The  great  majority  of 
artificially  fed  infants  thrive  upon  cow’s 
milk,  when  properly  diluted  and  pre¬ 
pared.  If  anyone  does  not,  it  then  be¬ 
comes  necessary  to  find  a  substitute, 
and  goat’s  milk  may  prove  invaluable  as 
a  substitute.  Strange  as  it  may  seem, 
sour  milk  is  now  being  used  extensively 
in  infant  feeding,  it  having  been  found 
that  many  human  infants  do  as  well 
upon  it  as  do  the  young  of  some  of  the 
lower '  animals.  All  this,  however,  is  a 
matter  for  direction  from  a  competent 
physician,  not  for  experimentation  upon 
the  part  of  the  family.  If  you  wish  to 
use  goat’s  milk,  instead  of  that  from 
cows,  use  it  as  you  would  cow’s  milk,  in 
the  same  dilution  and  in  the  same  way. 
m.  b.  n. 
Possibility  of  Contaminating  Well 
Is  my  well  in  danger  of  contamination? 
I  am  told  it  is,  but  I  doubt  it.  The  well 
is  at  the  edge  of  the  front  porch  of  the 
farmhouse;  the  toilet,  over  a  ll/2  to  2 
ft.  pit  is  at  the  edge  of  the  back  porch. 
There  is  at  least  36  ft.  distance  between 
farm  work.  The  girl  milks  10  cows  night 
and  morning,  and  I  give  them  the  pre¬ 
mium  on  the  Grade  A  milk.  In  two 
years’  time  have  got  first  all  but  twice 
they  got  second.  I  am  39  years  old ; 
would  like  to  get  a  farm  to  work  on 
shares  with  about  25  or  30  cows,  some¬ 
where  near  Albany  or  Troy.  I  have  al¬ 
ways  handled  large  dairies,  but  bought 
this  farm  when  my  boys  were  small.  I 
could  give  references ;  no  booze  nor 
smoke.  L.  E. 
A  School  Teacher  at  the  Spray  Pump 
Mother  and  I  are  left  with  as  fine  a 
farm  as  there  is  in  the  county,  but  we  are 
unable  to  find  suitable  help.  Everyone  a 
person  might  want  already  has  hired  for 
the  year.  I  am  still  in  school,  and  have 
a  fine  orchard  that  needs  spraying.  I 
sprayed  Saturday,  with  an  old  man  at 
the  pump,  until  I  no  longer  could  hold 
the  rod.  h.  v.  w. 
Many  of  our  women  folks  will  know 
how  to  sympathize  in  this.  This  teacher, 
who  is  forced  into  the  ranks  of  fruit 
growers  with  no  chance  of  obtaining  help, 
knows  more  about  farm  economics  than 
half  the  people  who  talk  so  learnedly 
about  what  the  farmer  should  do.  Is  it 
possible  to  make  some  of  the  city  butter¬ 
flies  realize  what  this  woman’s  life  must 
be? 
The  Woodchuck  Problem 
I  wish  you  would  tell  me  why  neither 
of  these  plans  worked  at  killing  wood¬ 
chucks.  Early  last  Spring,  after  the 
Grandma's  Birthday  Cake — 75  Candles.  It  took  Grandma  and  all  the  kiddies  to 
blow  them  out 
To  say  that  one  has  “kidney  trouble” 
is  like  saying  that  one  has  leg  trouble. 
There  are  a  number  of  kidney  troubles, 
each  differing  from  the  other  and  requir¬ 
ing  different  management.  Do  not  be 
satisfied  with  a  diagnosis  of  “kidney 
trouble” ;  ask  your  physician  just  what 
the  kidney  trouble  is  and  what  steps  you 
should  take  to  overcome  it.  or,  at  least,  to 
minimize  its  effects.  In  common  parlance, 
“kidney  trouble”  means  some  form  of 
Bright’s  disease,  but  bladder  troubles,  and 
even  backaches  from  some  cause,  are  fre¬ 
quently  termed  kidney  trouble  by  those 
ignorant  of  the  real  condition  present.  If 
your  physician  tells  you  that  you  have 
Bright’s  disease,  don’t  be  unduly  frigh¬ 
tened.  With  reasonable  care,  one  may 
live  for  years  with  “Bright’s  disease,” 
and  even  recover  entirely  from  some  of 
its  common  forms. 
The  first  thing  to  ascertain  is  just  what 
you  have;  that  is  up  to  your  physician, 
be  he  young  or  old.  Neither  age  nor 
youth,  in  themselves,  count  for  anything 
here.  Competency  in  diagnosis  and  treat¬ 
ment  are  fruits  of  study  and  training,  not 
of  age.  The  young  may  be  either  wise  or 
foolish,  and  so  may  the  old.  I  wish  that 
I  could  tell  you,  and  the  world,  how  to 
distinguish  between  the  competent  and 
the  incompetent  in  the  medical  profes¬ 
sion,  for  it  contains  both,  but  that  is  im¬ 
possible.  Physicians  are  usually  good 
judges  of  each  other;  members  of  any 
profession  are  able  to  size  up  their  fel¬ 
lows  pretty  accurately,  but  the  layman 
must  grope  in  the  dark.  m.  r'  d. 
Goat's  Milk  for  Infant 
Do  you  know  the  amount  of  goat's 
milk  to  use  for  a  baby?  The  receipt  I 
am  using  is  12  oz.  water,  4  oz.  milk 
(cow’s)  and  3  level  tablespoons  of  pre¬ 
pared  food.  We  have  a  frail  little  baby 
boy  six  weeks  old,  and  thought  perhaps 
if  we  used  goat’s  milk  instead  of  cow’s 
milk,  it  would  be  better  for  him,  but 
do  not  know  how  to  prepare  the  food 
for  him  with  goat’s  milk,  I  suppose  it 
is  so  much  richer  than  cow’s  milk. 
Union,  N.  Y.  mrs.  n.  g.  c. 
Goat’s  milk  is  not  necessarily  richer 
than  cow’s  milk,  varying  in  its  com¬ 
position.  as  it  does,  in  individual  an¬ 
imals  and  under  the  influence  of  such 
other  factors  as  influence  the  composi¬ 
tion  of  cow’s  milk.  Iu  general,  how¬ 
ever.  goat's  milk  may  be  compared  with 
that  of  the  Jerseys,  rather  than  that  of 
Ilolsteins  or  other  breeds  giving  milk 
les  rich  in  butter  fat.  Neither  is 
goat’s  milk  necessarily  better  adapted 
them.  The  ground  slopes  in  all  directions 
but  a  steeper  one  at  the  back  of  the  house. 
The  well  is  1G  ft.  deep.  m.  a.  s. 
There  is  a  possibility  of  a  contamina¬ 
tion  of  this  well  from  the  closet,  for 
there  is  only  a  space  of  36  ft.  between 
them  and  no  one  knows  just  what  the 
conformation  of  the  ground  beneath  the 
surface  is.  If  the  surface  is  underlaid 
by  rocks,  particularly  by  limestone  rocks, 
there  may  be  underground  channels  that 
carry  soil  water  in  directions  contrary 
to  what  would  be  expected  from  surface 
indications.  If  the  soil  is  a  uniform 
clay  or  gravel  there  is  probably  less 
danger,  particularly  if  the  kitchen  has  a 
cellar  beneath  it.  Still,  36  ft.  from  a 
well  is  too  short  a  distance  to  make  a 
pit  closet  safe.  While  there  can  be  no 
established  minimum  safety  distance,  100 
to  200  ft.  is  more  practical  as  a  guide. 
A  waterproof  pit  or  box,  arranged  to  be 
cleaned  at  needed  intervals,  will  render 
your  well  less  liable  to  contamination 
from  the  closet,  and  make  your  family 
less  likely  to  acquire  typhoid  from  some 
carrier  using  the  toilet.  m.  b.  d. 
JUST  OUR  FOLKS 
Years  ago  when  I  was  a  little  girl  I 
can  remember  The  R,  N.-Y.  coming  to 
our  home  in  Pittsburgh,  for  though  a  city 
office  man,  my  father  was  raised  in  old 
Albemarle  County,  Virginia,  and  never 
got  over  his  love  for  the  country.  Seven 
years  ago.  when  I  was  married  to  a  real 
farmer,  I  found  coming  in  his  mail  that 
same  familiar  front  page.  It  looked  good 
to  me.  By  the  way,  I  believe  all  of  us 
lovers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  would  sense  a  real 
feeling  of  disappointment  if  that  quaint 
headpiece  were  altered  in  any  way.  Don’t 
ever  change  it.  please.  mrs.  w.  j.  m. 
AV  e  should  just  as  soon  think  of  taking 
mother’s  picture  from  its  place  on  the 
wall  as  to  discard  that  old  head-piece  of 
The  R.  N.-Y.  And  we  think  our  older 
readers  feel  the  same  way. 
From  Ownership  to  Share 
Now  and  then  we  have  a  letter  from 
some  reader  which  seems  different  from 
the  ordinary.  The  following  note  is  of 
that  class.  We  print  it  to  ‘show  that 
there  are  still  working  people  who  have 
some  of  the  old-fashioned  ideas.  One 
would  think  there  ought  to  be  a  place 
where  such  a  man  can  work  out  his  prob¬ 
lem  : 
I  have  a  small  farm,  and  have  two  boys 
and  one  girl  in  high  school,  ages  from  13 
to  IS,  but  my  farm  is  not  large  enough 
for  me  to  work  all  of  them,  as  they  like 
grass  had  started,  I  put  salt  mixed  with 
Paris  green  in  the  holes.  This  failing  to 
work,  I  next  tried  carbon  bisulphide,  first 
closing  up  all  holes  but  one,  then  putting 
about  a  tablespoonful  of  the  carbon  bi¬ 
sulphide  on  a  small  piece  of  cloth,  plac¬ 
ing  this  in  the  hole  as  far  as  possible, 
next  placing  a  stone  down  the  hole  so  the 
dirt  would  not  get  on  the  cloth,  and  then 
tilling  up  the  hole  with  dirt.  I  thought 
at  first  this  had  killed  them  all,  they 
stayed  in  so  long,  but  when  it  came  hav¬ 
ing  time  I  found  they  were  all  still  alive 
and  hard  at  work.  u,  D.  Ar. 
were  not  killed.  Some  of  our  readers  ri 
Port  good  success  with  salt  and  Pari 
green,  while  others  say  the  woodchuel 
seemed  to  get  fat  on  the  mixture.  Whil 
most  wild  animals  crave  salt,  there  ar 
some  that  apparently  do  not  care  for  ii 
while  others  seem  to  find  all  they  need  i 
certain  plants  or  in  certain  soil  location: 
Ihese  woodchucks  evidently  did  not  ea 
enough  of  the  poisoned  bait.  As  for  th 
bisulphide  of  carbon,  that  does  not  a 
ways  work.  The  gas  does  not  sprea 
very  rapidly,  and  the  woodchuck  usual] 
lms  several  holes  leading  to  his  dei 
W  hen  he  begins  to  smell  the  gas  he  get 
out  of  the  back  door.  Or  he  can  *di 
down  into  the  soil  and  cover  himself.  I 
is  said  that  he  can  live  for  some  iittl 
time  on  the  air  supply  which  filters  ii 
through  the  sand.  The  new  method  o 
using  hydrocyanic  acid  gas,  described  oi 
pave  o-l,  will  prove  more  destructivf 
since  this  gas  spreads  quickly  and  is  ven 
deadly.  \\  e  think  you  must  have  killei 
some  of  the  chucks.  Very  likelv  some  a 
least  of  those  that  appeared  later  wer 
young  ones. 
How  to  Make  a  Hectograph 
1  he  R.  N.-Y.  seems  to  be  a  paper  “for 
the  people  and  by  the  people,”  so  I  am 
going  to  ask  the  editors  to  print  this  so 
that  those  who  might  want  to  use  a  hec¬ 
tograph  would  know  how  to  make  one. 
For  a  person  who  needs  to  send  out  sev¬ 
eral  letters  or  notices  all  alike  and  has 
no  typewriter,  it  cannot  be  beaten  The 
mixture  is  made  of  gelatin,  4  oz..  glycer¬ 
ine,  15  fluid  oz..  carbolic  acid.  x/.2  fluid  oz., 
water,  lo  fluid  oz.  First  add  the  water 
to  the  gelatin  and  let  it  stand  until  the 
gelatin  is  quite  soft.  Now  place  all  this 
in  the  glycerine  and  heat  it  over  the  fire 
until  the  gelatin  has  been  dissolved,  and 
then  until  the  water  has  passed  away  in 
steam.  The  carbolic  acid  is  to  keep  the 
mixture  from  turning  sour,  and  it  must  be 
added  gradually  now,  before  cooling  be¬ 
gins.  Tour  the  whole  into  some  shallow 
tray,  as  large  as  the  letter  paper  you  use. 
Get  a  bottle  of  aniline  ink  and  write  or 
sketch  whatever  you  desire  to  multiply. 
When  the  ink  is  dry  place  your  paper 
upon  the  pad  you  have  made  of  the  gel¬ 
atin.  Rub  the  back  of  the  paper  with 
your  hand  to  force  the  ink  upon  the  gel¬ 
atin.  When  the  paper  has  been  upon  the 
hectograph  for  some  time  strip  it  off  and 
you  will  find  that  your  writing  has  been 
transferred  to  the  gelatin.  If  you  now 
press  clean  paper  upon  this  writing  it 
will  be  printed  upon  the  paper,  and  so 
you  may  have  copy  after  copy. 
When  you  have  as  many  as  you  need, 
clean  the  surface  of  the  hectograph  with 
a  soft  sponge  and  tepid  water,  but  this  is 
rather  tedious.  If  you  do  not  care  for  a 
clean  appearance,  put  it  in  the  oven  and 
let  it  melt;  when  it  is  cold  again  it  will 
be  ready  for  the  next  letter. 
I  have  seen  small  children  make  cow 
after  cow  off  a  hectograph  where  it  had 
been  made  by  an  older  person  from  a 
drawing.  If  a  large  tray  is  made,  a  large 
assortment  of  things  may  be  made  for  tiie 
little  tots  to  put  on  paper,  and  many  a 
day  of  amusement  supplied  if  it  is  put 
ayvay  and  only  given  to  them  when  they 
“just  don’t  know  what  to  do.” 
If  this  does  not  help  a  busy  person  T 
hope  it  will  appeal  to  some  mother  and 
be  the  blessing  it  has  been  to  me. 
MRS.  CLAUDE  HUGHES. 
Better  Thap  a  Scrap-book 
For  amusing  children  or  for  the  enter¬ 
tainment  of  invalids,  pictures  mounted 
on  cardboard  are  much  easier  to  handle 
than  a  scrap-book.  Quantities  of  pic¬ 
tures  of  all  kinds  can  be  collected  from 
old  newspapers  and  magazines,  and  are 
very  interesting  to  look  over.  There  are 
a  good  many  very  interesting  ones  found 
in  the  back  numbers  of  The  R.  N.-Y.  If 
those  of  about  the  same  size  are  mounted 
on  cards  of  uniform  size,  the  pictures  will 
look  better.  Clipping  the  least  bit  off  the 
corners  of  the  cardboard  will  give  them 
a  finished  appearance,  and  make  them 
look  like  camera  pictures  mounted. 
Collections  of  different  kinds  of  pic¬ 
tures  can  be  made,  like  pictures  of  chil¬ 
dren.  animals,  pretty  bits  of  scenery, 
views  of  interesting  places  and  many 
others.  I  once  saw  a  collection  of  cat 
pictures  which  would  be  entertaining  to 
a  person  who  liked  cats. 
Pictures  of  the  interior  of  furnished 
rooms  found  in  advertisements  of  paints, 
floor  coverings  and  house  furnishings  are 
interesting  and  quite  pretty,  as  thev  are 
generally  printed  in  colors. 
When  mounting  the  pictures  the  paste 
should  be  spread  only  about  one-fourth 
of  an  inch  around  the  outer  edge  of  the 
pictures,  and  they  will  lay  smoothlv  on 
the  cardboard  and  not  have  a  blistered 
appearance.  If  the  pictures  are  large 
ones,  a  wider  space  may  need  to  be  pasted 
to  hold  the  pictures  firmly  on  the  card¬ 
board. 
I’asteboard  boxes  in  which  breakfast 
foods  are  put  up  make  cardboard  of  the 
right  thickness  for  mounting  the  small 
pictures.  The  titles  of  the  pictures  may 
be  pasted  at  the  bottom  of  the  card  or  oil 
the  back. 
1  he  following  is  a  good  rule  for  paste 
that  will  keep  for  some  time:  Dissolve 
one  ounce  of  powdered  alum  and  one 
ounce  of  powdered  glue  in  a  pint  of  warm 
water,  and  let  it  boil  until  all  dissolved 
Thicken  this  paste  with  a  little  wheat  or 
rice  flour  wet  with  a  little  water.  The 
past  when  cooked  should  be  of  tile  con¬ 
sistency  of  thin  cream  while  it  is  warm, 
and  it  will  be  considerably  thicker  when 
cold.  I  or  the  keeping  quality  and  an 
agreeable  odor,  add  two  teaspoons  of  oil 
of  wintergreen  or  oil  of  lavender,  just  as 
one  prefers,  stirring  it  in  after  the  paste 
has  cooled.  Turn  the  paste  into  small 
glass  jars ;  ‘  T  aseline”  jars  are  nice  for 
this  purpose.  Set  the  jars  in  a  cool  place 
and  it  will  be  all  right  to  use  for  a  long 
time.  TV  hen  opened,  stir  the  paste  thor¬ 
oughly,  as  it  will  sometimes  seem  thin 
on  top.  the  thick  part  having  settled  in 
the  bottom  of  the  jar. 
ROSETTA  M. FLINT. 
Tank  for  Sanitary  Toilet 
Would  you  advise  me  how  to  build  a 
homemade  toilet,  where  everything  goes 
into  a  tank  outside,  where  it  is  destroyed 
by  acid.  I  have  no  running  water.  I 
now  have  a  handy  toilet,  but  the  pail  is 
too  small.  tt 
Lake  View,  N.  Y.  „ 
Tou  probably  have  in  mind  a  chemical 
closet  of  large  size  iu  which  an  under- 
giound  tank  outside  the  building  replaces 
the  small  pail  of  the  style  that  you  use. 
ihese  tanks  are  of  iron,  and  could  not 
of  course  be  built  outside  a  factor v.  Thev 
can  be  purchased  in  various  styles  and 
sizes  directly  from  the  manufacturers  or 
through  hardware  dealers.  In  all  prob¬ 
ability  the  firm  that  made  the  pail  toilet 
which  you  have  also  make  the  large  size 
for  outside  installation. 
While  I  do  not  know  of  its  having  been 
tried.  I  think  it  quite  possible  that  a 
small  concrete  tank  of  home  construction 
might  bo  made  to  replace  the  iron  one 
and  a  solution  of  caustic  soda  used  to 
destroy  the  solid  matter  in  the  contents 
of  the  tank.  The  principle  of  construc¬ 
tion  would  be  the  same,  of  course,  and  a 
catalogue  of  any  of  the  makers  of  these 
chemical  closets  will  show  the  manner  of 
installation.  Such  a  closet  would  have 
to  be  built  experimentally,  and  if  a  chem¬ 
ical  toilet  is  wanted  it  might  prove  more 
satisfactory  to  purchase  one  of  the  fac¬ 
tory-built  sort.  M  B  D 
