RURAL ECONOMICS. 291 



wear due to sliort Icnjith of coiiiicctiii^' rod. They iirc, liowovor, chcaptM- in 

 first cost tlian other types. The author states that gasoline motors furnish 

 power at 0.141 frane per 100,000 Uilogranuneters (2.7 ets. per 72.3,240 ft. lbs.). 



Accidents by farm machinery, (i. X. Knapp (Wisconsin tSta. Rpt. 1005, pp. 

 567-J7.i). -^Statistics relating to the number of persons Injured or maimed in 

 the operation of farm machinery an- presented. 



From the figures given it is found that accidents resuUing fi'om (he use of 

 corn shredders " are in the majority of cases serious, 'rweuty-eight per cent are 

 fatal, 50 per cent result in cripples by the loss of arms or hands, and 23 per 

 cent of the accidents result in partial cripples by the loss of fingers. In 1004 

 10 persons lost arms in corn shredders to 10 persons who lost arms in all other 

 machinery combined." 



Attention is directed to the great car(> necessary in the operation of corn 

 shredders, and the law relating to the equipment of such machinery with 

 safety devices is given. 



Alcohol in gasoline engines, E. W. Longanecker (Funii Iiiiplciiioits, 20 

 il!)06), Xd. a. p. JiO). — In an article originally appearing in Qas Power the 

 writer giv(>s the results of some preliminary experiments on the use of alcohol 

 in gasoline engines. He thinks that the average compression pressure for alco- 

 hol should be somewhere between 90 and 120 lbs. per square inch, and advises 

 increasing the length of the connecting rod or making such changes in the com- 

 pression space as will bring about this pressure. It was found that while the 

 engine could be started by the use of alcohol alone by spraying tbe latter into 

 the inlet pipe, it was much more satisfactory to use gasoline for the first 12 or 

 more impulses. 



Denaturized alcohol in France (8ci. Amer. Sup., 62 (1906), No. 1599, pp. 

 256 1 ■^-256 1 5. liij^. -'/). — In this article the writer considers chiefly the denaturiz- 

 ing agents employed in France, comparing the kinds and jiroportions with those 

 used in other countries. 



The official denaturant in use in France at the i)resent time consists of 1.0 part 

 of methyl spirit (wood alcohol) and O.-j part standard benzine to be added to 

 every 100 parts of alcohol. The denaturants may vary under official license, with 

 the particular use to which the product is to be put. For use in internal combu^- 

 tion engines, about ."lO per ctMit of benzine is added, whi<-h increases the calorifi<' 

 power of the alcohol to about 7.850 calories — nearly the same value as for 

 gasoline. The denatiu'ants have been found unsatisfactorj% especially when 

 used in engines, and the French (lOvevnnient offers a prize of .f;4,()00 for a 

 denaturant which renders the alcohol unfit for drinking yet without objection- 

 able odor, which will not separate by fractional distillation or erode the metal 

 l>arts of lamps or motors, which will not be poisonous, but which m:iy easily be 

 detected. .V second prize of .$10,000 is offered for an apparatus which will allow 

 alcohol to be used for lighting in the same manner as is petroleimi. 



The api)aratus used in the deuaturizing process is illustrated and described. 

 It is said that the process is a most simple one, reiiuiring no heating or like 

 ai)|)aratus. 



RURAL ECONOMICS. 



Causes affecting farm values, G. K. IIor.^^ES (/, S. Drpt. Agr. Yearbook 

 11105. PI). 5ll-5.i2). — I'.ased on in(iuiries jiddressed to 45.000 correspondents 

 throughout the I'nited States, the causes which have influenced the increase in 

 value of farm lands and inqirovements since the census of 1000 are sunnnarized 

 and discussed. 



This increase since lOOO is estimated at 33.5 ])er cent on the value of all farm 

 property, or $6,131,000,000 for the 10 classes of farms as grouped by the Census. 



