naturaly occuring & useful chemicals / How to make

July 26, 1999

Haribol Fellow Self sufficiency buffs

I have a real treat for you pay attention there will be a quiz at the

end of the class.

Diatomaceous earth is mined at least in the USA in south central California

and the state of Nevada and other places. There are several different

methods of processing this stuff. Use Food grade! DO NOT USE SWIMMING POOL

FILTER MATERIAL, IT DOESN'T WORK VERY WELL AT ALL! Diatomaceous earth is a

great insecticide, can be used to clean place and tarter off teeth, is used

to make the highway stripe on the road reflective and is an excellent way to

keep bugs out of dried food like rice beans wheat corn et. Except for

inhaling the dust (use a mask over your nose) it is harmless to mammals but

will kill insects either by getting in to it's shell and cutting it to shreds

or by clogging its breathing holes and causing it to dry up and blow away.

The nice thing about it is that it is a mechanical killer sorta like dropping

a rock on them. They can't develop an immunity to it, it just kills them

each and every time. Hee hee gottcha.

It took three calls in my city to find a source of food grade diatomaceous

earth. So it isn't hard to find, at least in the USA it isn't. To preserve

dried food peas beans corn wheat and rice. I place my stuff to be stored in

five gallon buckets (L 20) pour in about a cup and a half of DE as I am

filling the buckets save a little for the top add it last then pop on the

lid. If you really want your grains to last throw in a small chunk of dry

Ice (Co2) or blast some Co2 gas into the bottom of the bucket with a small

hose. Wait several minutes and pop a tight fitting lid on top and store in a

cool dark place. Paint your buckets so not much or any light gets through, if

they are clear, or wrap tinfoil around it. The CO2 displaces the oxygen and

so the reduced oxygen content plus the DE kills the bugs and their babes when

they hatch, the grains last longer in a low oxygen atmosphere, the grain

sorta goes to sleep so it keeps its nutrition longer. Yes, boys and girls

seeds are alive and do "breath" this just keeps them alive and snoozing

longer. Yes, they are still eatable just don't turn starchy as soon. No,

seeds do not live forever. Those stories about wheat from the pyramids

sprouting are not true. Smaller the seeds the shorter the life span of them

being able to sprout and turn into a crop. So remember to rotate your stores

so you always have the freshest food stored eat the oldest food first.

Paraffin is a petroleum product, too complicated to make at home without

major lavatory equipment...! If however you want oil to burn Caster bean oil

is excellent according to Prabhupada. In the tropics use coconut oil or

candle nut. In the Deserts of the American southwest use Jojoba nuts.

Caster beans however are lethal to all mammals all of the plant is very toxic

roots, stems sap, leaves, and flowers. Only the oil from the seed cold

pressed is not lethal. Remember the caster oil your mother used to make you

take when you were a child? Yep that's the same stuff! The taste hasn't

improved over the years either. One devotee from Italy or Greece (Gunga das

from Mayapur) Told me that he used it for motor oil during the war.

More to follow soon Natural dyes and hand creams. Keep posted guys.

Carol

July 26, 1999