MOTHER'S DOWN-HOME COUNTRY LORE
(Page 3 of 4)
January/February 1977
By Nancy Bubel
Lee Lewin?who homesteads through seven months of winter every year away up (10,000-foot elevation) in Placerville, Colorado?has some tips for improving cold weather egg production: [1] Pour boiling water over your layers' feed every day, to make it into a hot mash. [2] Give the birds hot water to drink twice a day. [3] Let the chickenhouse bedding build up all winter, so that the flock can take maximum advantage of the heat generated by the decomposing manure.
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"You can buy several 5/8" wooden dowels for the price of just one conventional metal curtain rod," says Fort Kent, Maine's Gale Flagg, "and, if you know how, they'll support curtains just as well.
"To hang a set of window curtains, [1] drive a finishing nail into each side of the sash's frame. Then [2] cut a dowel to length, [3] hold it up to the nails, [4] mark the spots where they hit the wooden rod, and [5] drill slightly oversized holes through the dowel at these two points. Finally, [6] bend the head of each nail up to form an "L", [7] slide the wooden rod into the curtain casing, and [8] settle the dowel down onto the nails.
"You can curtain shelves the same easy, inexpensive way. Drive supporting finishing nails spaced two feet or so apart into the edge of each board and continue as above. If you prefer to hang one long panel of fabric on each shelf—instead of several short ones between the nails—make a small hand-finished 'buttonhole' in the cloth to admit each supporting hook."
Got a calf with the scours? Try this remedy sent in by Michael Gray of Dillsburg, Pennsylvania: Mix one whole egg and one teaspoon of grated nutmeg together (fork the spice into the egg gently, as though you were making a custard, without beating in a lot of air). Give the ailing calf a dose of this "nog" as soon as you notice its intestinal problem, and repeat the treatment in 12 hours if the symptoms persist.
And here's how Barbara Saltenreich (Essex Junction, Vermont) treats a colicky horse: "Hold the animal's head up and pour about a quart of mineral oil into the side of its mouth while you stroke its throat gently. Then walk the horse slowly for an hour or so or until it quits lying down each time you stop. And never let it roll!"
"You can make the job easier on yourself," writes Mrs. Robert Hill of Atlanta, Texas, "the next time you're driving cattle or hogs, if you twirl a strip of rubber or a short rope above your head. The animals naturally tend to move away from the whirring noise."
Ever try to set up a big extension ladder all by yourself? It ain't easy, is it? Unless you know the trick of tying a stout rope to the bottom rung of the ungainly beast and then stretching the length of cord out on the ground under the ladder. Which makes it easy for you to step on the rope and then "walk the line" as you gradually push the "slipless" ladder upright. Think of Gary and Gayle Hajek of Snohomish, Washington when you try this one!
