1904. 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
661 
HOW TO USE A STEAM HEATER. 
Plans and Specifications. —When a com¬ 
pany engaged in steam heating receives an 
inquiry regarding (he cost of heating a dwell¬ 
ing, if convenient, a representative is sent 
to take the necessary measurements; or, if 
at a distance, a plan of the premises may be, 
sent by the applicant, giving the number of 
rooms, their length, width and height; the 
same measurements of the halls, location of 
chimneys and height of cellar. From these 
figures the firm submits specifications, giving 
the number and size of radiators, size and 
capacity of boiler, and cost of installing the 
plant. These specifications, if accepted, form 
the contract and should guarantee the main¬ 
tenance of a certain temperature when the mer 
cury outside is at a point agreed upon, usually 
zero. Unless otherwise specified the plans 
will call for two valves on each radiator, the 
inlet for steam and outlet for the condensa¬ 
tion to he returned to the boiler. If the 
radiators are to be located where there are 
carpets, marble bases are used, and the car¬ 
pets fitted about them. This is not expen¬ 
sive, but is a great convenience in house¬ 
cleaning season. The exposed piping is 
wrapped either with asbestos or hair felting 
to prevent waste of steam by cold air coming 
in contact with it. 
Unwise Economy. —Now in many cases 
when the applicant receives the specifications 
he regards the price as excessive and obtains 
figures from another concern. This, of course, 
he has an undoubted right to do, but before 
deciding he should make a careful compar¬ 
ison of the two estimates and ascertain if 
there is any difference in the radiating or 
boiler capacity ; above ail, he should not under 
any circumstances place his order with any 
but a strictly honorable and responsible house. 
A lower bid too often causes this important 
feature to he overlooked, to the deep regret 
of the customer afterwards. We lost at one 
time contracts for heating two public build¬ 
ings. I protested to the county officials that 
our competitor had no financial standing; 
that if he made any mistakes he was utterly 
unable to make them good. The lower bid 
was the only thing they could see. The man 
was indignant and claimed there wasn't any 
necessity of making a mistake, and was 
awarded the contract, and the whole thing 
had to be done over again at public expense, 
simply throwing away hundreds of dollars 
which might have been saved by dealing with 
a house which could live up to its agreements. 
When competition forces the price below a 
living profit, the size of the boiler and radia¬ 
tors is reduced all they will bear; cheaper 
valves, smaller piping, cheaper labor, and 
other ways are going to help the concern out 
on its lower price. A steam plant properly 
installed will add more to the daily enjoy¬ 
ment of life than almost any other thing 
(aside from hot and cold water and toilet ar¬ 
rangements) with which I am familiar, but if 
one attempts to save money beyond certain 
limits in its installment it will be a nuisance 
and source of discomfort and waste of money. 
While the smaller boiler with drafts wide 
open in severe weather is consuming coal and 
wasting it because it cannot make sufficient 
steam to heat the radiators, the larger boiler, 
with the surplus of steam, is ready to respond 
to any extra demands and the fuel bill actual¬ 
ly is smaller. Another important point is to 
figure your house at the lowest point to which 
the mercury drops. You may get a gale of 
wind with the thermometer registering 20 be¬ 
low, and want to be ready for such an emer¬ 
gency. 
One-Pipe and Indirect System. —There 
may be a saving by heating a house on the 
“one-pipe” system; that is, one valve to a 
radiator, the steam and condensation being 
cared for with one pipe. It is claimed that 
this system is less expensive for fuel, as the 
water is hot when it returns to the boiler. 
This is true to a certain extent, but it is not 
as satisfactory as the return pipe system. 
Manifestly the radiators cannot fill so quickly. 
The indirect radiators are placed under the 
tloor and are enclosed in a sheet iron casing. 
The heat passes to the rooms above through 
a furnace register. This is undoubtedly the 
best method of heating, as the air taken from 
out of doors through a pipe constantly sup¬ 
plies a current of pure air to the radiators, 
and it is this pure air circulating all through 
the dwelling which makes this system so desi¬ 
rable. This steady stream of cold air com¬ 
ing in contact with the radiators causes rapid 
condensation, returning a large volume of 
cold water to the boiler and costing more for 
maintaining the steam pressure than in the 
direct system. 
Care of Boiler. —All domestic boilers are 
fitted with automatic draft. When the fire 
is replenished the draft door in front and 
check damper in the funnel are closed by the 
steam pressure against a rubber diaphragm, 
so the care of the fire occupies but a short 
time, there being no necessity of returning 
to close the drafts. If steam is required to 
fill more radiators during the day the drafts 
may open, but soon close again as the steam 
forms in the boiler. The disagreeable odor 
which escapes from the radiators when the 
air valve is opened can be entirely avoided 
by frequent change of water in the boiler. 
When a radiator is cold it is of course full 
of air. The admission of steam compresses 
this air, and only one end of the radiator will 
be hot. The opening of the air valve permits 
the escape of the air and the steam following 
warms as much of the radiator as the air 
permits, so that generally speaking you can 
control the amount of steam or heat. Some¬ 
times a radiator will be filled entirely, but. the 
above Is a pretty safe rule. Firing must be 
learned by experience. I have found the 
banking of the fire with good (steam) bitumi¬ 
nous coal to be of great advantage. 
Boiler Selection. —The selection of the 
boiler should be governed by its heating sur¬ 
face and ease of cleaning. Fredom from soot 
and ashes saves many dollars in the fuel bill. 
I visited one day a large greenhouse estab¬ 
lishment and the proprietor was praising his 
new boiler, which was the drop tube pattern. 
“It: makes steam very easily,” he said. “Where 
is the blow-offV He pointed to it. “Yes,” 
I replied, “but that is way above those drop 
tubes. Your rust and all sediment will settle 
there. How do you clean those?” He sud¬ 
denly lost his enthusiasm, and I added un- 
kinoly : “You might turn the boiler upside 
down. That would do it.” In a short time 
he changed the boiler. 
“Steam Heat Headache” is not caused by 
the steam at all, but by the persistent breath¬ 
ing of hot, impure air. Nature never intend¬ 
ed that air, after it had been once expelled 
from a person’s lungs, laden with carbonic’ 
acid and gas, should be breathed again. 1 
have repeatedly been in rooms which felt 
chilly with the thermometer registering 80. 
The oxygen had been consumed, and no 
amount of heat would make such a room com¬ 
fortable. Then with outside windows and 
doors and no escape for the odors of cooking, 
with frie’d bacon, steak, liver, pork, onions, 
doughnuts, boiled cabbage, etc., sending their 
smoky incense all through the house, the 
occupants tell you : “Why, doctor, steam 
makes my head ache." It is trying to one’s 
patience. You must have ventilation ; pure 
air and a warm house go hand in hand. Open 
your windows several times daily. Have 
strips two inches wide under some of the 
windows admitting pure air between the 
sashes. Then just the moment your pocket- 
book will afford it add hot and cold water 
and water closets, and do away with that 
woman-killing abomination, the outside vault. 
D. K. 
ADVICE OF A MARKET MAN. 
Vegetables and fruit for market should be 
put up in the best manner possible, in the 
most attractive packages, as often the appear¬ 
ance will tend to sell goods as well as their 
quality. If all shippers would reject about 
one-third of what comes here in barrels, the 
demand would be better, and the prices could 
be maintained. It is also advisable to ship 
the goods when they are ready for market, 
instead of holding them for the market to rise. 
Goods held sometimes in a small way bring 
better prices, but if everything is held back 
the market is liable to “drag.” Select good 
sized packages, and see that they are well 
filled. Large packages well filled with nicely 
selected fruit always net the farmer more 
than smaller packages half filled with poor 
fruit. There is never anything saved by try¬ 
ing to gain by giving small measure. 
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday are the 
best market days this season of the year. On 
Tuesdays the farmers ship two days’ pickings, 
and Friday is fish day, which takes dealers’ 
attention. Saturday is good, provided the 
goods arrive here very early in the morning, 
but if they are late, it is the worst day in the 
week. During the Winter months, say from 
October to May, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday 
and Thursday are the best days. Peaches 
should be carefully picked and selected, and 
the poor stock should be sold in the imme¬ 
diate neighborhood of the grower, sending the 
best to outside markets to be sold. All fruit 
should be hand picked to gain the best re¬ 
sults. Regarding the crate or basket as a 
style of package, the crate is becoming pop¬ 
ular, but both sell to equally good advantage. 
Apples should always, be double plated, and 
when pressing in the bottom head of the bar. 
rel a few coarse, rough apples will always 
help to make the bottom secure. These apples 
generally burst, and do not injure the good 
apples in the barrel. Pears should he packed 
in the same way. If each variety is put on 
the market in its season, all will sell well. 
Plums, grapes and other small fruit are the 
same. Many of these small fruits when out 
of season find a very poor market excepting 
in a small way. All fruits and vegetables al¬ 
ways sell better in their season than at any 
other time. archdeacon & co. 
New York. 
Colds. Their Proper Treatment and Cnre. 
Commonly, the first symptom of a "cold ” 
is a chilly feeling, accompanied by sneez¬ 
ing, or a tickling in the throat. The most 
frequent of external causes are draughts, 
wet or cold feet, or going from hot rooms 
suddenly into cold ones. More frequently 
there is an inner cause—namely the stagna¬ 
tion of the blood caused by constipation or 
biliousness. Almost the first symptom is 
the feeling of cold in the feet and increased 
discharge from the nose. 
No one ever takes cold unless consti¬ 
pated, or exhausted, and having what we 
call mal-nutrition, which is attended with 
impoverished blood and exhaustion of nerve 
force. Tonics consisting of large portions 
of alcohol, iron or cod liver oil do not bring 
the desired changes in the blood, because 
they do not enter the system and are not 
absorbed into the blood, with the exception 
of the alcohol, which shrivels up the red 
blood corpuscles \vj*en it does come in 
contact with them. We recommend the 
botanical extract of Dr. Pierce because it 
contains no alcohol, and offers a reasonable 
and scientific method of treating the blood, 
by improving the nutritive functions of the 
patient. The "Golden Medical Discovery ” 
accomplishes this, by first restoring the 
enfeebled digestive organs, so that food, 
the natural tissue builder, will be digested 
and assimilated. 
Accept no substitute for Dr. Pierce’s 
Golden Medical Discovery. There is noth¬ 
ing "just as good” for diseases of the 
stomach. 
BE GOOD TOYOUR FEET 
Keep them dry and warm by wearing 
the genuine 
Buckskin Brand 
(Not Made by a Trust) 
Rubber Boots and Shoes 
They’ll outwear any pair you ever bought—because 
they’re honestly made of pure, new rubber, guar¬ 
anteed free from cheap adulterations. Don’t be 
imposed upon by shoddy goods. Get the Genuine 
Buckskin Rubber—the boots and shoes witli honest 
wear in them. They cost but little more than the 
“cheap” kind, because we sell direct from our fac¬ 
tory to retailers by catalog—no traveling men. 
If your dealer does not handle the genuine Buck¬ 
skin, send to us direct. We have a special proposi¬ 
tion for first inquiry from each neighborhood. 
Send to-day for Froe Booklet. 
Banner Rubber Co. 
280 Bittner St. 
St. Louis, Missouri. 
THE 
IMPROVED 
374 
U.S. SEPARATORS 
HAVE LOW SUPPLY CAN 
AND MAKE MORE MONEY 
by getting more cream— 
Hold World’s Record 
for clean skimming 
SAVE MORE MONEY 
by wearing longer and costing less for 
repairs than others, therefore are the 
MOST PROFITABLE TO BUY 
Handsome illustrated catalogue free for the asking 
We have transfer houses at many different points thus 
• insuring prompt delivery to any section 
Vermont Farm Machine Co., Bellows Falls, Yt 
FILL YOUR* 
SILO 
WITH THE 
“PAPEC 
ENSILAGE CUTTER. 
WHY? Because it makes the best ensilage* 
has the largest capacity and requires the least 
pc wer. We have proven this against all kinds 
of couipetition. The proof of the pudding is in 
trying our cutter. If you have a silo, or are 
going to get one, buy a “ PAPEC ” of the t 
PAPEC MACHINE GO. 
Lima, Livingston Co., N. Y. 
Send for our Catalogue. Our prices are right. 
New York State Fair 
SYRACUSE, SEPTEMBER 5-10, 1904. 
$65,000 in Premiums and Purses. 
The agricultural display will exceed all former exhibitions In quality and variety. 
Live Stock Exhibit 
will be one of the most Interesting features of the fair. A third prize has been added in tbe Sheep 
and Swine Departments. 
Poultry, Pigeons and Pet Stock. 
New coops have been putln and more prizes than last year are offered. 
The Implement Display 
will exoeed the unusual line exhibit of last year. This department Is receiving more attention each 
year from the farmers and manufacturers of agricultural implements. 
The Domestic Department 
will Interest the ladles as new classes have been added bringing the department up to date. 
Farm Produce. 
This display promises to be larger than ever and will be one Of the most attractive features of the fair. 
Dairy Exhibit 
will be up to Its usual high standard and promises to be larger than ever. 
Fruit and Flowers 
will Interest all who attend the fair. The fruit designs will be an attractive feature in ltseif. The 
Flower display will equal any exhibit everglven at the fair. Entries in the Live Stock Department 
close August 8th: iu all other departments August 29tb except machinery, which closes on Sept. 5th 
Send For Frias© Xiiat. 
C. SHAVER , SECRETARY f 
ALBANY 
