February, 1923 
87 
the bottom or side of the vessel. 
The following paragraphs will enable 
one to read and care for a thermometer in¬ 
telligently. 
“Naturally it is essential in the first place 
that the thermometer being used is of known 
accuracy and will remain so. A little extra 
cost in the original purchase of a ther¬ 
mometer will never be regretted. 
“All thermometers are affected by the 
surrounding air. When observing the read¬ 
ings be careful not to stand so near the 
bulb that it will be affected by the warmth 
of your body or breath. 
“Take care in noting the proper division 
on the scale. Some thermometers have their 
divisions in 2° lines, some in 1° lines, 
some in 1-2° lines and some in 1-5°, 1-10°, 
etc. Errors are often made in reading 2° 
lines as 1° lines. 
“In reading be sure to get the eye level 
with the mercury. If you 
read it from below the read¬ 
ing will appear too high and 
if from above too low. 
“In moving a thermometer 
into a fresh place remember 
it takes some-time for it - to 
adjust itself to the new tem¬ 
perature. This, of course, 
depends on the sensitiveness 
of the instrument. Fanning it, or passing 
it carefully through the air for some time 
will greatly help it. 
“Do not condemn a thermometer because 
it does not agree with one hung near it. 
Remember these instruments indicate the 
temperature of the air which surrounds them 
and not the temperature of the air one inch 
or twelve inches away.” 
The hydrometer is an instrument to take 
the guess work out of candy, syrup, jelly 
making, etc. It looks like a long bulbed 
thermometer—with lead shot in the lowest 
part of the bulb to weigh it down. It gives 
you a definite knowledge of when to stop 
“boiling down.” It will also tell you if 
your milk has enough butter fat in it. 
The hydrometer tells you the density or 
specific gravity by sinking to a certain 
level in the liquid (which you can see by 
reading just at liquid line). If the syrup, 
For an oven unequipped with 
a thermometer this one, on a 
stand, has been made. It is 
marked to read from 100 0 to 
600 ° and is insurance against 
under-baking and burning 
Always to have your bath drawn 
at your favorite temperature is 
a luxury this bath thermometer 
will afford. In the case of a 
baby’s bath it is invaluable 
This thermometer, with its 
wooden handle, has been es¬ 
pecially devised to test the 
temperature in deep fat frying 
for example, is thick, the 
hydrometer will not sink as 
low as if the syrup were thin. 
Hydrometers, out in the ga¬ 
rage, may be used to test 
motor oils and battery fluids. 
To read the hydrometer the 
eye should be on a line with 
the main surface of liquid, 
for where the liquid cuts the 
stem the reading is recorded. 
If the liquid is opaque read 
as near as possible above the 
surface. See that your 
hydrometers are marked ac¬ 
cording to the temperatures at which they 
should be used, for specific gravity varies 
with the temperature. 
The effect of too little or too much mois¬ 
ture in the air of a home can have very 
grave consequences. The state of one’s 
health, as well as the life of furniture, 
woodwork and pianos, is most dependent 
on air and normal humidity. When air is 
dry (humidity low) high and low tempera¬ 
tures are more bearable. In summer the 
humidity often makes life miserable. In¬ 
doors in winter, especially when there is 
illness, the moisture as well as temperature 
should be regulatable. 
To test the air for moisture, hygrometers 
are used. A mason hygrometer usually 
consists of two thermometers of known ac¬ 
curacy, set about four inches apart and 
mounted on a board of wood, or a frame of 
metal, in such a way that the thermometers 
(Continued on page 96) 
