An Unexpected Find

While at an auction the other day I saw a stack of old "magazines" which were more like books or booklets and I decided they looked just too unique to pass up. What I didn't realize was that the when I bid, it was for the entire stack of magazines. So I got the three copies of the Monocle, a political satire magazine that had originally caught my eye, but the biggest surprise from the stack was when I got home and went through the other three magazines that were in the pile. Two were from the Illinois Historical Society and the third, was probably the best surprise I could have ever found - an edition of Successful Farming's "How to Save Time, Save Money and Make Profits in Farming and Homemaking."

This booklet was a collection of tips submitted by Successful Farming readers from 1931-1933 and then was published in either late 1933 or early 1934. At the time SF paid folks $2 for each tip that they published and were proud to have given $1,000 to their readers for their submissions.

Tips from the booklet include:

How to Clean Buckets - When cleaning buckets that have had lard in them, warm the bucket and rub with cornmeal or bran. Then the bucket will be much more easily washed.

Relieves Gas - When one of our cows gets bloated, we tie a rope thru her mouth like a bridle. If the rope is first soaked in salt water, she will chew it and thus greatly relieve the gas pressure.


How to Keep Flies Away - To keep flies off the door screens, saturate a rag with coal oil and rub it over the screens. This will keep a lot of flies out of the house.

A Child's Surprise - Tiny gifts wrapped in waxed paper, and concealed in popcorn balls creates fun and surprise. Insert a loop of gilt or silver cord in the balls and slip over the branches of the Christmas tree.