938 



Popular Science Monthly 



A Belt Joint for Use in a 

 Damp Place 



THERE seemed to be no end to the 

 trouble caused by a belt which had 

 to be run in a wet place, for the reason 

 that the joint could not be kept glued, and 

 a laced end jarred the oil out of the bearings. 



A V-shaped splice with the laces in a 

 straight line with the grain of the belt 



The method illustrated was adopted and 

 was found to give good service in many 

 other places of belt trouble. It involves a 

 pointed joint. The exact center of the 

 belt should be found for the pointed end; 

 then it is cut and laid over the other end 

 and marked for the V-notch. This will 

 make a perfect joint. The holes for the 

 belt-lace are marked with a square to 

 make them so that the lace will run in a 

 straight line with the belt. This will make 

 a smooth repair for places where the belt 

 must be taut and run at a high speed. 



A Dust Mulch Cultivator to Keep 

 Moisture in Soil 



THE farmer's supply of moisture for 

 maturing a crop of corn often depends 

 upon his skill in preserving the Spring 



This device is dragged over a crusted surface 

 to make a dust blanket above the damp soil 



season's rainfall. This may be done by 

 keeping a dust mulch or "dust-blanket" 



over his cultivated field. With this aim in 

 view, some farmers drag a mower wheel 

 between the corn-rows. While this is suc- 

 cessful in a large degree, it has been found 

 that the wheel often injures the brace roots 

 of the corn. 



The implement that will make the best 

 mulch with the least injury to the corn is 

 the one described. Procure two boards 

 5 ft. long, 10 in. wide, and 2 in. thick for the 

 frame. Beneath this frame run cross sec- 

 tions of 2 by 4-in. material about I2 in. 

 apart diagonally with frame of drag. Let 

 the back ones be longer than the front ones 

 and extend toward the inside of the frame. 

 The frame is fastened together at the front 

 end with an eye-bolt bent in a U-form so 

 it can be fastened through the frame. 

 This allows the drag to take an A-form if 

 the chain hitch is fastened on the outside 

 corners. Across the rear end is an adjust- 

 able chain for regulating the width of the 

 spread. This is used to allow the drag to 

 spread and close, so as to accommodate 

 itself to the width of the corn rows. It 

 works all the ground between them, and 

 does not injure the brace roots. The 

 instrument is especially needed after the 

 corn has become too large to cultivate with 

 a cultivator. — Ralph A. Page, 



Collecting Gas from Mud in a 

 Stream of Water 



WITH such simple apparatus as a 

 bottle, a funnel and a stick, one can 

 obtain gas from the mud at the bottom of a 

 pond or stream. If wading, select a place 

 where the water is waist deep or slightly 

 deeper; if in a boat find shallower water. 

 Punching the mud with the stick causes 

 bubbles of gas to rise. Insert the neck of 

 the funnel into the neck of the bottle, 

 submerge both, and after the bottle has 

 filled with water, hold the mouth of the 

 funnel over the rising bubbles, making 

 them enter the bottle and displace the 

 water. When a sufficient quantity of gas 

 has accumulated, remove the funnel, keep- 

 ing the bottle inverted and its mouth under 

 water until it has been corked. 



The gas so collected can be made to burn 

 with a faint blue flame by using a burner 

 composed of a cork with a quill or a small 

 glass tube thrust through it. Care must be 

 exercised in changing from the solid cork to 

 the burner, or vice versa, to prevent the gas 

 from escaping. Use a quill which can be closed 

 with a stopper. — Paul R. Rider, Ph.D. 



