The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-07-24
THINGS ABOUT
 AUTOMOBILES WORTH KNOWING

There is no longer a toll gate III NeW
 Jersey, nor a toll road.
 Automobile thieves have been partic-
 ularly active in Chicago of late. Since June 1st, forty-nine cars have been stolen, and it is believed that an or
 ganized gang is at work.
 Throughout the year, and particular ly in the summer when the chances Of over-heating the engine are increased, nothing should be taken for granted in fabrication
 A simple test for free, fatty acids in oils is to pour small quantity of the suspected sample into a test tube with some fresh brass shavings; if the oil
 turns green, it is a sign of free acids in the sample of oil.
 The cleaning down of 2 car is a duty
 which no one having the instincts of mechanic will shirk, as the dust which the excess of oil on the outside sur faces of the wearing parts is constant
 ly collecting may prove very injurious to the mechanism.
 There are indications that the com
 ing year will witness numerous inn provements in design and minor de- tails in motor cars and commercial trucks. Only a few years ago the cost of car was regarded as prohibi- tive, except to the rich; then the $1,- 900 car arrived, succeeded by the $500, and now the $350 vehicle is announced.
 The speed record for circular tracks now stands at 4s.72, but it is over shadowed by the worlds one mile straight track record of 25.40, which cuts 1t in half. A new worlds hour record has been established on race course at Saltburn-by-the-Se in England, by P. Bordino, an Italian, who drove 11613 miles in sixty min utes, displacing S. F. Edges record of 90 miles.
 4x, driving their own automobiles this sea- son to an unprecedented extent, the names of the young women who have gone in for this thing are numbered by the score and include many of the well-known leaders at that resort. This, however, is not peculiar to New port It has been noticeable this year in many other cities, and general opin- ion is that the women are not only as careful drivers as the men, but are even more so. --.
 The month of May last was a busy one with the American automobile manufacturers who export cars, latest figures showing that there were sent out from this country $1,S57, ,426 worth of automobiles and parts, an increase of s7O562 over the amount exported in April, and tops the s1, 100000 mark for May, 1910, by $157, 1926. The May, 1911, figures do not represent as great gain over the corresponding month of 1910, as some of the previous months of this year did. April, 1911, for in- stance, showing an increase of $573,- the exports during the eleven months ending May, 1911, show an increase of s. 31S6,0 056 over the same period of 1910. The total this year was $13, 4s1, All.
 The shortage in tires throughout the country is explained by dealers as due to the unprecedented demand, which the factory managers could not fore see, as it was induced in large part by the excellent touring weather this spring. The factories prepared for normal increase in business, taking in to account the new cars put on the market for which they had contracts to make tires, and also normal fn- crease in the demand for tires for old cars There is no particular scarcity of raw material, the factories having stocked up well with rubber and the other materials that go into the mak- ing of a tire But from normal day the working hours of the plants have been increased to steady running day and night, which means that they have attained their utmost capacity and still they have been unable to turn out tires fast enough to supply the trade.
 Storage batteries may be temporarily revived by sleeping them for several in hot water.
 When the car is run into the garage after a days use, the battery switch should be shut off, all oil cups and should be closed, the gaso- line feed should be cut off, the motor cleaned and all bolts and nuts adjust ed.
 In Chicago there is park regulation against smoking automobiles, which is not by arrest or summons, but by shooipg the machine out of the park. When a caH smokes man rides up, gives directions to the near | est exit and sees that they are fol- | lowed
 Police Commissioner Waldo, of New York, is much perturbed over com- | plaints Of children driving automobiles and is seeking a remedy at law. Ex- | animation has shown that there IS nothing in the statutes at present to prevent the practice. and he is having | a bill drafted to cover the case.
 In the fabrication of a gasoline en- | zine cylinder, not only must film of | oil be maintained between the piston | and cylinder walls, but the oil must | form seal around the piston rings 1 in order that there may be no escape | of pressure during the compression and | power strokes. The pressure of the | piston rings tends to squeeze the oil | from between them and the cylinder | walls, and the oil must resist this as | well as the pressure produced by com | bustion, which tends to drive it into | the crankcase.
 When the supply of Juice" in the | primary cells of a battery has been | exhausted they are generally consid- ] cred useless, but they can sometimes | be temporarily revived to some ex- tent by merely allowing them to stand | and more positively by making so- lution consisting of. one part of sul- phuric acid and four parts of water, and introducing the same through the venthok of each cell; about a dessert | spoonful may be squirted in by means | of a small clean oil can. If the cell | will not take the whole charge at | once, the operation must be perform sd in stages.
 One of the things most dreaded by a | novice driver who is required to pilot | 1is car through city streets on rainy lays, Or when the highway is wet, is 'kidding. Once the car starts to move put of the angle he intends it to go, in most cases he 'goes up in the air. One of the most important things a lriver has to learn is to keep his wits lbout him. If the car skids, begin Q steer in the direction of the slip. This may be exactly contrary to your inclination, but it will tend to restore he grip of the wheels on the road,