Where Some Profits Go
Rushing rainwater sweeping over the fields of the United States carries away 20 times as much plant food material every year as is permanently removed by crops, says H.H. Bennett, soil scientist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Soil erosion takes $200 million away from farmers every year, he estimates.
While the annual loss of plant food material due to rushing waters is estimated by Mr. Bennett to approximate 126 billion pounds as compared to only 5,900 million pounds permanently removed by crops, the loss of plant food material is by no means the only damage caused by erosion. Millions of tons of rich topsoil are carried out to sea annually, leaving in many instances a soil very infertile, and one that is more difficult to till.
Probably not less than 10 million acres of land formerly cultivated have been permanently destroyed by rain-wash, says Mr. Bennett. A single county in the Piedmont region was found by actual survey to contain 90,000 acres of formerly cultivated land now permanently ruined by erosion.
Pencils and Bearings
Pencils, which are known to every school child and are invaluable to the editor and writer, have a distinction of aiding an invention that few outside of a select circle know about. They are directly responsible for the invention of the long, narrow roller bearings that are so valuable to the automobile, and now appear on the road toward general adoption by the railroads of the country after experiments lasting several years.
The true story is that while discussing business affairs with officials of the company bearing his name, a member of the Timken family was rolling two pencils on his desk under his hand. Noting the smoothness with which the pencils permitted the movement, he stopped and explained the theory to his listeners. The result was the first step toward the long bearings.
Seven Tips That Will Ease Work in the Kitchen
A cheerful kitchen is like a spring tonic to the busy housewife. To brighten up a dark kitchen, refinish it in yellow tints. The sunshine will seem to reach farther into the corners.
Put a newspaper on the floor or table where there is a messy job, then gather up the refuse in the paper, and burn the whole thing.
The continual ripping off of buttons by the clothes wringer may be avoided by folding the buttons inside the garment and holding it flat as you run it through the wringer.
If the holes in the percolator are clogged, pour coarse salt in the coffee holder, and scrub the perforations inside and out. Pour in boiling water to wash away salt and coffee deposits.
Home ice cream makers are following the lead of professionals and using gelatine to get a smoother texture with less cream.
Bright sunny days are just the ones to take the mustiness and closeness out of the bread box. Air it regularly, and your bread will keep much longer.
Why a Hog is a Hog
Someone once asked, “Why is a hog a hog? So far as I know, the question never has been answered, yet it is simple. It is because man made him one. Hogs are not by nature any filthier than other animals, but they usually take their quarters in places not considered fit for other animals.
When hogs are crowded into a space too small for their numbers, poorly ventilated, and the bedding damp, or when they are compelled to pile up around a straw stack for comfort, it is no wonder they get cholera, rheumatism, enteritis, and every other disease to which porcine flesh is heir.
Most breeders who keep hogs as a money-making proposition are aware that the hog pays as good a profit for decent and humane treatment as any other animal, and govern themselves accordingly in the way of proper and sanitary quarters. Most often it is the small herd kept as a sideline or to provide the family supply of meat that suffers most from improper care.
