Prepared by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Office of Public Affairs Tommy Irvin, Commissioner. Call Consumer Q's hotline at 1-800282-5852.

Q: How can I make glass cleaner?

A: According to our home economist, the following is a recipe for home-made glass cleaner. Combining 1/2 cup vinegar to one gallon of water will make a simple glass cleaner. Or you may also want to try 1/2 cup sudsy ammonia to one gallon of water (or two tablespoons per quart). If you need a glass cleaner that is less likely to freeze in cold weather, you can combine 1/2 cup of sudsy ammonia, two cups of rubbing alcohol, one teaspoon liquid dishwashing detergent, and one gallon of water.

Q: Please tell what are the ingredients in making lye soap?

A: There are several things you need to know before you begin your soap making experience. Lye, which you can either make yourself from wood ash or purchase at a grocery store, is very irritating to the skin and can do severe damage to the eyes and throat. Lard is the main ingredient in soap. One can successfully substitute other oil to use in its place, such as sunflower, canola, or just vegetable oil. The utensil you use in soap making should be saved for soap making use only and should not be used thereafter for food purposes. For more information on making soap please contact our Office of Consumer Services at 1-800-282-5852.

Q: We have a beautiful gum tree but the spur covered fruit are a nuisance. We've heard that the tree can be sterilized to prevent the fruit. Is this so and how is it done?

A: There is no treatment short of cutting the tree down to keep it from bearing fruit. However, there is a sterile sweet gum tree that is available from some nurseries. It's botanical name is Liquidambar styraciflua 'Rotundiloba.'

Q: I've just bought a horse and I need to know exactly how to brand the animal. What do you suggest?

A: You need to contact our Equine Protection Office for assistance. In Georgia, most horse owners consider hot branding horses as cruel and disfiguring. Lip tattooing is the most common form of identification used by thoroughbred owners and the few horse owners that brand use the freeze method rather than the hot one. If you have not registered your brand, you need to contact our Animal Health Office for registration information.

Q: From what kind of beef is ground beef made?

A: Generally, ground beef is made from the less tender and less popular cuts of beef. Trimmings from higher priced cuts may also be used. These cuts contain varying amounts of fat and lean. Because ground beef is so popular, many supermarkets and butchers cannot get enough meat from a carcass of beef after they have removed the steaks, roasts, and other cuts, to fill the demand. Consequently, they may buy less tender meats or less popular wholesale cuts specifically for grinding into ground beef. While most steaks and roasts come from younger steers or heifers, much ground beef is prepared from the meat of older animals, which is tougher. Grinding tenderizes it and the fat reduces dryness and improves flavor.

Q: Are there grades of ground beef or hamburger?

A: No. Ground beef or hamburger may be made from graded or ungraded meat. There is no way of telling what quality of meat you may be purchasing because the trimmings used to make ground beef lose their identity during grinding.

If you have questions or problems with products or services regulated by the Georgia Department of Agriculture, you may write the Office of Public Affairs, Room 224, 19 Martin Luther King Drive, Atlanta 30334 or call 1-800-282-5852.