''rural N E W-Y O R K E R 
Simple Science 
By Dr. F. D. Crane 
and 
in 
the 
pure 
Comparison of Fuel Value 
How does oak wood com pare with bi- 
tiuninons coal for heatiriK': C. c. T. 
New ('astle, Pa. 
If <h«’ wood is pretty well dried it is 
customary to liRiire that 2*^ pounds of 
wood are e<jnal to a. imiind of eoal, and 
the sort of woo<l do<*s not make much 
ditferenee. But the way the fuel is 
burned makes a large <lifference in th<? 
practical rt'sults, and, in many cases, iif) 
comparison is i)ossihle. Only a test will 
tell what in blazes it is worth. F. n. c. 
Thinning “Banana Liquid” 
We have some banana liipiid about 
four years old, and it is thick as jelly; 
what will thin itV C. A. ii. 
Roxbury, Conn. 
If by “banana liquid” you mean the 
varnish-like fluid used to apply lacquer, 
etc., you can i)robably thin it with amyl 
acetiite, which is the “oil of banana” of 
commerce. Hut various varnish gums 
are usuiilly added, and these niiiy bav(^ 
jellied so that getting them again in so¬ 
lution is a matter of patient stirring un¬ 
der gentle beat after the amyl acetate has 
been added. The acetate is worth about 
#1 per pound at present. F. n. c. 
Cleansing Goatskins, 
What can W(^ do with Angora goat 
.skins, locally tanned, which are not as 
clean iuid nice .as we Avant themV 
Hoone, N. C, I). i>. D. 
Without knowing exactly the nature of 
the soiled spots we can only advise you 
to wash well with gasoline containing 
about five per cent, denatured alcohol, 
doing the job in tln^ open aii‘ of ct>ujse, 
dry completely and wash again in a 
strong suds of any of the white,- rosin- 
free soaps to Avhich ha.s been added 
about (uie per cent.' potash carbonate. 
Rinsi' very well, dry, and soften by hand, 
Avorking in a little neat’.s-foot oil. Better 
try this on a samjde first; if it does not 
work, tell us more about tin; case. 
F. I). C. 
Corncobs as Fuel and Fertilizer 
What is the value of corncobs as fer¬ 
tilizer? How do they compare with 
coal as fuel? Are there more Inuit, units 
if they are dampened before use? 
.Mt. Sterling, Ky. ^ w. av. av. 
We find no figures for corncobs used 
directly as a fertilizer, and the fact that 
they are so slow to rot in the ground 
would make them a jioor proposition. 
But when their pithy nature is taken 
adA’antage of and tlu'y are u.sed as an 
absorbent for liquid manure, you get a 
good article*. B(*ing so slow to de<;om- 
pose, their real value is tlie mineral jiart, 
the ash has 7% potash, 2% pho.splioric 
acid and .11% linn*. When crushed they 
make a good litter or absorbent for sbi- 
bles and poultry houses. 
The value of any fu(*l is largely de¬ 
termined by the Avay it is useel rather I 
than by the mere heat uiiit.s. In gem'ral, j 
it takes 2i/4 iiounds of a cellulo.se fuel to 
eipial a pound of coal, but in the case 
of tin* lighter fuels, a larger proportion 
of the actual heat starves merely to heat 
th(! volume of the gases. If your heater 
is the sort Avbich can use* these* hot gases, 
you will got the heat y<m are entitled to; 
if they merely go uj) the flm* corncobs, 
or pine wood, or anything of that sort 
will give ju’ctty poor results. Dampen¬ 
ing Avill not incr(*ase tlie lic.-it unit.s, you 
are merely adding that much burned-up 
or oxidized hydrogen, just as if you 
siirinkled sand on coal, and you do ask 
what heat you have to tui-n that water 
into .steam, and Avatei* is the hardest 
thing to heat thei-e is. But if sIoAving 
down the burning enables your heater to 
get more heat out of the hot gase.s, in¬ 
stead of letting them rush up tin* chim¬ 
ney, you may iictually get nuu-e heat in 
the istom from the wet cobs Ilian from 
the dry. F. i). c. 
Removing Lime from Teakettle 
iMy aluminum teakettle is coated thickly 
all over the insiile wilb a lime deposit. 
Is there anything 1 could put in it to re¬ 
move it, or any Avay to g(*t it olT that you 
know of? E. A. If, 
The lime deposit on the inside of the 
kettle is comjirised of calcium, magnesium 
carbonate and a trace of iron. This can 
be removed by a 10 per cent, .solution 
hydrochloric acid. 'J'his means one part 
of the acid and nine jiarts of Avater. Fill 
the kettle with the 10 per cent, solution, 
and let stand one-half hour. Pour the so¬ 
lution from the kettle and wash out the 
precipitate that has been dissolved. Pour 
the 10 per cent, solution back into the 
kettle and let stand another half hour. 
Remove the solution from the kettle and 
again Avash out the dissolved orecipltate. 
Repeat this operation each half-hour until 
the lime deposit i.s removed. If the de¬ 
posit is very thick, the 10 per cent, solu¬ 
tion can 1)0 left for longer periods than 
one-half hour. However, if the 10 per 
cent, .volution AA-ere left standing in the 
kettle lor a inuc-h longer time, Avhen the 
kettle is almost <-lean. there Avould be dan¬ 
ger of injury to the kettle. If care is 
taken to remoA'c the solution shortly after 
the dei)osit has been removed there Avill 
b(* no liJi nil fill effects to your kettle. Ten 
cents AA’orf h of hydrochloric acid dissolved 
AAith nine parts of Avater should be suffi¬ 
cient to clean an ordinary cooking kettle. 
M. AX.\A UAUSEK. 
Removing Lime from Water 
Is there anything Avhich Avill take the 
lime out of a stove Avater heater, or a 
lilter Avhich Avill take the lime out of Iho 
Avater before it goes into the stove? 
Ncav York. y. R. 
You liaA^e about as difficult a “boiler 
scale” proposition as there i.s, and the 
usual scale cures are not applicable. 
Hand cleaning of the detached part, 
which cannot aa'cII be done in inidAvinter, 
is the only safe Avay aa'c knoAV, perhaps 
some one in The R. N.-Y, family can 
suggest a bi'tter. There is no filter which 
will take lime out Avhen in solution, as in 
Hii.s case. If you want to run the Avater 
into a tank and add a little ammonia and 
ammonia carbonate, the lime Avill settle 
out, and the clear upper water can be 
used, but it is likely more trouble than it 
IS Avorth. F, p. c. 
.shingle nail in three years 
burning of a watclispring 
oxygen in three seconds. 
I’sually a lire must be lit and have a 
good draft, that is, there must be a 
preliminar.v ri.se in temiieiature to a 
definite “ignition jioint,” a considerable 
over-supply of oxygi'n and a chance for 
the used oxygen, the “products of com- 
binstion,” to get away and make room 
for more oxygen. 
AVater is hydrogen Avhicli has burned 
all it can un(i»*r <)rdinary circumstances, 
ft takes much energy, heat, to make it 
into gas, .steam, and then the steam 
cannot help a fire burn, but can keep 
away the oxygen Avhich Avoiild. So Avhen 
you Avater a fire you keep oxygen from 
the fuel by covering it Avifh luirned 
hydrogen, and at the same time the 
coldnes.s—lack of energy—of the water 
(for Avarm Avater is cold to a tirel, 
tends to take energy ft-om the burning 
fuel and drop it beloAV the kindling point 
faster than energy is set free by its 
union Avith oxygen. That is. you cool it 
faster than it can keep itself Avarm. If 
the fire is hot enough to turn a part or 
all of the Avater into .steam, that Avill 
blanket off the oxygen, just as the steam 
at the spout of a boiling teakettle Avill 
put out a burning match. So the action 
of Avater i.s mechanical in that it covers 
the fuel with burned stuff and physical 
in that it makes the fuel to) cold to 
burn, but whether hot Avater Avill AA'ork 
jierceptlbly better than cold depends on 
circuni.stances. In a closi'd place—as 
the hold of a ship—Avhere the steam 
Avill stay and crowd out the oxygen, the 
more steam the better; in the oju*!! the 
covering and cooling effects have great¬ 
er value. F. n. c. 
429 
back on the .stoA’c and cook IT pounds 
to the gallon but 12 ta.stes better and 
keeps better. If for home use, add a 
little granulated sugar to make it light. 
Massachusetts. yi, f. 
How Water “Puts Out” Fire 
Is the effect chemical or mechanical 
wlien Avater puts out a fire? AVould 
there be any difference betAveeu hot and 
cold Avater? yy. u. 
Ncav York. 
A “fire” is the union of oxygen with 
another element, or elements, usually 
carbon and hydrogen, Avith such vigor 
and speed that the action is perceptible 
to the senses. Chemically there is lit¬ 
tle difference between the rusting of a 
Clearing Maple Syrup 
S. .1., on page 0, should put his maple 
syrup on the fire and bring ju.st to the 
boiling point, then add iicav milk, or skim 
if he does not have Avliole milk. Bor a 
sugaring-off pan half full of syrup use 
tAvo quarts of milk. Let it come to the 
boiling point and begin .skimming. After 
skimming all he can, strain through 
'Avhite Avoolen bag, the best Avool. Put 
Power From the Ocean Tide 
Most people Ihia’c read of the fierce 
tidal currents Avhich tlow up and down 
through the Bay of Fundy. The ocean 
ru.shes in Avith great power at rising 
tnle, and withdraAvs at Ioav tide. It is 
said that the tide Avater of the ocean 
rises to a greater height in the Bay of 
!• iiudy than anywhere el.se in the world. 
Plans ai’e iioav being made to utilize the 
great poAver of these tidal currents. In 
some places the tide Avater flows Avith the 
force of the SAviftest rivers. In one sit¬ 
uation the AA'ater ruslie.s with great poAA’- 
ei through a. narroAv slit betAveen an 
island and the mainland, and here it is 
)»roposed to erect a poAver |)lant Avhich 
ci.n generate electric force from the ebb 
and flow of these tidal currents. Almost 
unlimited poAver can be obtained in this 
Avay, and within TOO miles a large poi)- 
ulaticni can be reached. Uj) to the pre.s- 
ent time the use of this tidal power has 
been restricted to reservoirs. One .such 
re.servoir is kept at high tide level. With 
the incoming tide it is filled. As the tide 
l»asses out the Avater is relea.sed through 
jiOAA'er gates, and in this AA'ay poAA-er i.s 
ilcA-eloped. We have Ion-? believed that 
one of the next great developments for 
the benefit of humanity Avill be the u.se 
of the ocean wave and tide for develop- 
nient of electric foVee. It is surely com¬ 
ing and when it does come humanity and 
not a fcAv privileged monopolies should 
enjoy the benefits. 
Keept.vo IIoK.SERADisir AVhtte. —In re¬ 
ply to (’. P. as to iivep.iring horseradish, 
R. AV. I). says there is nothing that can 
be put into grated horseradish to keep 
from turning broAvn. If you Avill folloAV 
this simple recipe you Avill find it Avill 
not turn broAvn, and it is fine. I’repare 
grated horseradish by adding sweet milk, 
vinegar and a little Avhite sugar. 
Indiana. airs. j. KEIEG. 
Takes the Terror Out 
of Bad Weather 
You cannot escape the bad weather, but you 
can protect yourself against it. Whether it 
rains, snows or blows, you will be snug and 
comfortable in a Raynster. 
Look for this label on \our coat 
Ree. U. S. Pat. Off. 
Buying a Raynster means getting something 
dependable—a coat that will last and keep its shape. 
That’s the great big reason why you should call for 
the Raynster by name. 
Service Coats for 
Farmers, Drivers, Workers 
Raynsters come in a number of different styles, 
fabrics and colors, heavy and light weight—rubber 
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Our special process of vulcanizing literally bakes the 
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You can depend upon it, your rubber surface 
Raynster will be thoroughly waterproof. Other 
Raynsters in appropriate styles for 
men’s dressy wear and for boys, girls 
and women. Also auto coats. If your 
dealer does not handle Raynsters, write 
to address below and we will tell you 
where they can be obtained. 
United States Rubber Company 
(Clothing Division) 
New York 
