792 EXPERIMENT STATION EECORD. 



children's diseases, parasitical diseases, diseases controlled by antitoxins, and 

 hygiene and law. 



Sanitation in rural communities, C. E. North (Ann. Amer. Acad. Polit. and 

 Soc. Sci., 37 {1911), No. 2, pp. 127-1/tD). — This article calls attention to the 

 absence of ofticial supervision of rural sanitation, compares the rural and urban 

 death rates, and discusses household sanitation, ventilation, lighting and water 

 supply, food, sewage and garbage disposal, transmission of disease by flies and 

 mosquitoes and by diseased persons, and the need of education regarding sani- 

 tation in rural communities. 



It is shown that the death rate in the northeastern United States is less in 

 the country than in the city. The typhoid death rate is about the same in cities 

 and in rural communities, while malaria is the more prevalent in the country. 

 The need of giving greater attention to the rural water supply is especially em- 

 phasized, and the danger of using unprotected shallow wells is pointed out. It is 

 shown that the water from such wells may be a fruitful source of minor intes- 

 tinal diseases of various kinds, even if not the cause of spread of typhoid 

 fever. In conclusion, the author states that " it is to be hoped that public 

 sentiment on matters of sanitation and of general health will in the course of 

 time reach the same degree of interest that is displayed in the study of agri- 

 culture. It does not seem unfair to suggest to the public authorities that at 

 least as much money should be spent in instructing the dwellers in rural com- 

 munties how to raise their own children and to protect themselves against 

 infectious disease as is now expended in informing them how to raise pigs and 

 how to breed cattle and horses."' 



Hot water for domestic use, edited by J. K. Allen {Chicago, 1910, pp. 122, 

 figs. 24). — In this volume, designed to give information regarding supplying 

 and heating water for domestic purposes, different systems of water heating 

 are described and information is given on such topics as range boiler con- 

 nections, use of check and safety valves, incrustation of water backs, and 

 deix)Sits of mud in water backs and boilers. 



Electric lig'liting in the country {Breeder's Gas., 59 {1911), No. 2, p. 82). — 

 It is recommended that dynamos and storage batteries be used for electric 

 lighting purposes in connection with the gasoline engines which many farmers 

 now use for running farm machinery. 



" Electric-light plants have been so simplified that nearly any farmer of 

 intelligence can install and operate a plant himself, and many ingenious farm- 

 ers can wire their houses and barns. A complete plant requires only a small 

 space and can be set up either in a cellar or in some small outbuilding. The 

 operating cost of an electric lighting plant is practically covered by the cost 

 of the fuel required to run the engine, and a gasoline engine requires about 1 

 pint of gasoline per horsepower per hour. A 1-horsepower gasoline engine will 

 cost about 2J cts. per hour for gasoline, assuming the price to be 18 cts. per 

 gallon. This means that electric light can be supplied to the extent, for illus- 

 Iration, of 15 lights for about 4 to 8 cts. per hour, depending upon the amount 

 of light used. The cost of such plants runs from about $400 upward." 



Acetylene for lighting country homes, J. D. Bowles {Univ. Mo. Engin. 

 Expt. ma. Bui. 1, pp. 3J,, figs. &).— This bulletin, the first of a series to be de- 

 voted to private lighting systems, contains a brief discussion of the properties 

 of acetylene, its preparation from calcium carbid, and its use as an illuminant. 



The details of acetylene generation and of acetylene generators are coi sidered, 

 as well as the planning of a typical lighting arrangement, in which ara taken 

 up in detail the factors governing the size and number of burners, the capacity 

 of generator required, piping and fixtures, and the value of scientific shading 

 and diffusing of the light where satisfactory illumination is desired. Cook- 



