Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/943

 Popular Science Monthly

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��A Small Refrigerator Suitable for the Milk Bottle

��"\ yTAXY a baby has

��died of colic or summer complaint simply because the milk it received was not kept at a tem- perature low enough to prevent the development of bacteria in it. In an ordinary ice-box the thermometer usually reg- isters from 55 to 6p de- grees, Fahrenheit; but to be safe milk should be kept below 40 degrees.

In its effort to better conditions for babies the Department of Health of New York city has planned a milk refriger- ator which any mother may make for herself. If you want to try one of these model refrigera- tors, this is how to do it: Get a wooden box from your grocer — any box will do provided it is 15 deep. Buy a covered

����earthenware crock large enough to hold a quart bottle of milk. Next get a strip of lino- leum or oilcloth I ft. wide and 3 ft. long. Sew the ends of the strip together and you will have a cylin- der which will fit loosely around the crock. Put a layer of sawdust or excelsior in the bottom of the box; place the cylinder in the center of the box with the crock in it and then pack the excelsior or sawdust all around them. Nail a few old newspapers on the inside of the top of the box and your refrigerator is ready for use.

As soon as you receive the milk in the morning (do not wait until it gets warm) crack five cents' worth of ice and place it around the milk bottle which you have put into the crock. Cover the crock and close the lid down on the box. This will keep the milk near the freezing point no matter how hot the day. Take the crock from the box every morning to pour oflF the water. — A. M. Jungmax.

��The crock in the box with ice packed around the milk bottle

��Detecting Leaks in Inner Tubes by Means of Smoke

WHILE in India recently I entered a motorcycle contest, which was of the town-to-town type. It was from Calcutta to Gya, a distance of 300 miles, over roads which were covered with small, sharp-pointed stones, old shoes, nails and other things such as are to be found where there is bul- lock traffic of the eastern type, all of which are liable to make small punctures. Not being able to procure water to test my tubes and locate minute leaks, I took a pocketful of cigarettes along with me and found the following method a wonderful time and tem- per-saver as well as the only means of finding such punctures.

The defective tube is

taken out and the valve

removed. Then

��A wood grocery box and an earthen crock, some lino- lexun, paper and excelsior make a milk refrigerator

��two or three mouthfuls of smoke are puffed into the tube, after which it is inflated as much as possible. The smoke will be seen to ooze out of any punc- tured place. The spot can then be sandpapered and dressed while the smoke is oozing out and locating the place for the repair patch. After the patch is applied the valve is again taken out to let the remainder of the smoke escape and the tube is ready for use again. — George Thornton Norris.

Cementing Tire Reliners to Make Them Hold

BEFORE cementing reliners, the paint on the inside of a tire should be scrap- ed off. If possible turn the tire inside out, a part at a time, and buff with a power- driven brush. Neither gasoline nor other liquid preparations should be used. They gum up the surface and consequently make good work impossible.

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