A Spring for Pump Pipe
By Mrs. Alex Irvine
Riley County, Kansas
The inconvenience of having the water pipe leading to the stock tank drop to the ground when detached from the pump may be avoided by placing a strong spring from the pipe to the framework of the windmill at a point where the pipe passes under the tower. This allows the pipe to be pushed from the spout, and yet remain near at hand.
A Good Way to Clean Silver
By Mrs. J.C. Caldwell
Cedar County, Iowa
There’s an easy way to clean silver. Put a teaspoon of salt and a like amount of soda in a new aluminum pan, and pour boiling water over them. Place your tarnished silver in the solution. When the tarnish is removed, wash and dry with a soft cloth.
This method will not injure the silver, which is cleaned as thoroughly as it would be by hard rubbing and is not scratched as it may be when pastes or powders are used. This method leaves the silver with a soft dull finish, which can be heightened to a high polish by rubbing with a chamois or soft cloth and the use of silver paste.
She Makes Scrapbooks
By Mrs. Carmen D. Welch
Fayette County, Illinois
After each member of the family has read Capper’s Farmer, I go over it and clip the things I wish to keep for my scrapbooks.
My scrapbooks are divided into sections. There is a poultry section, a household section into which each of the household recipes and hints go, a candy section, and the part that interests me most — the pin money plans. I have 26 scrapbooks in all, and the number increases every year.
Less Shivers, More Eggs
By W.B. Stauffer
Douglas County, Kansas
Hens lay more eggs in cold weather if they are given warm water. We use a 10-gallon
milk can inverted over a granite milk pan and set over a 5-gallon oil can with an incubator lamp to warm the water. The lid has four spike holes to let out the water, and a hole 1 inch above the seal hole in the lid to raise the water level to 2 inches. We use it to water 200 hens.
Vet’s Carelessness was Costly
By F.R. Cozzens
Morgan County, Ohio
A careless veterinarian recently cost the farmers of my community hard-earned dollars. He was called to vaccinate hogs for cholera, and his usual practice was to inject in the ham or shoulder. In many cases, this caused abscesses to form, and at butchering time, the diseased meat had to be thrown away. The loss ranged from $1 to $5 on each hog. Most trouble occurred in mature hogs, and especially when the injection was made in the ham.
This experience taught the farmers a lesson, and in the future, when a veterinarian treats hogs, they will insist that the needle be inserted only in the space under the animal’s foreleg. Good results may be obtained there, and there is no danger of damaging the meat.
