Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/305

 Popular Science Monthly

��A Practical Ventilator for the Dairy Barn

THE essential points required for obtaining the best results with this system of ventilation are: The stable room must be as nearly weather-proof as possible. To keep out the cold air, insu- late the walls and ceilings with matched lumber and building paper. The foul air-vent shafts start near the floor, as shown, and run up in almost a straight line to at least 2 ft. above the peak of the roof. The air ducts should be smooth on the inside and lined with metal. They cai be circular in cross section, as the air goes in spirals, as in windstorms. Sharp bends in the shafts must be avoided as often as pos- sible. The top of the shaft should be rain-proof. These shafts may be covered with the or-

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Making Briquettes for an Alcohol Stove

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���Positions of ventilator shafts in a dairy bam to provide a means of admitting fresh air and of removing the foul air without drafts

��seen small stoves that use briquettes of solidified alcohol for fuel. These stoves are very useful for boiling coffee, cocoa or for other purposes where an intense heat is desired. They are also very convenient for campers use on a rainy day, as they can be used in a tent, when it is impossible on ac- count of rain to cook anything in the open air.

The alcohol briquette can be used like a \^ spirit lamp, and it is \\ more handy. The \ alcohol lamp has to be carried in an upright po- sition to keep the contents from spilling; while the briquette is fluid only while it is burning. When not in use, it solidi- fies and can be carried in any position.

��dinary stationary or revolving ventilator such as is used on smoke stacks.

Fresh air ducts open into the ceiling of the stable, directly over the cows' heads. Make the air intakes in the outside walls as far below the outlet at the ceiling, as is practical. It is well to do this, because if the intake is level with the outlet in the ceiling, the warm air near the ceiling will escape, reversing the flow of air and exhausting the heat instead of letting in fresh air. Fresh air ducts give satisfaction when evenly dis- tributed in front of the stock, while the foul air ducts can be made large and fewer in number.

The sketch shows how this practical and well-tried system works when the cattle in the stable face the center of the barn. It is inexpensive to install in new or old barns. — W. E. Frudden.

��The yellowish, doughlike substance is easily prepared. It is made as follows: In a vessel of suitable size and kind, 1,000 parts of denatured alcohol are heated by a water-bath. When the fluid reaches a temperature of 140 deg. F., 35 parts of dried and grated Venetian soap and 2 parts of gum lac are added. The fluid is then stirred until the substances are completely dissolved. Then the mix- ture is poured into empty baking powder boxes, or if a person has a briquette stove and has saved the cans, the mixture can be used to refill them. On cooling, the mixture solidifies in the cans. In these stoves, the flame is extinguished by replacing the lid. The contents can thus be preserved until the alcohol in the mixture is exhausted. Do not use wood alcohol in making the substance, as its fumes are dangerous.— W. S. Standiford.

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