Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-07-16

practice house plan and it 10 believed
that schools in all communities will
soon be provided with such facilities. j..
One Of the important indications OF
increasing practically in the home eco
Monies teaching il tho passing from
hard and fast rules as to the grades in
which the work is introduced, and the
ton on social considerations peculiar
to each school. Thus in schools in
which the attendance is largely from
immigrant families, the bureau hnds.
the work is introduced especially early.
the aims being to give the girls a
practical knowledge of how to perform
the necessary home duties by the end
of the sixth grade.
Federal experts in agriculture. as
well as specialists in state agricultural
departments and
Graduate School experiment sta
tions. are going to
schools of agriculture to be found in
any country Of the world. 1t is the
biennial school Of the Association Of
American Agricultural Colleges and
Experiment Stations and Is in session
at the Massachusetts, Agricultural Col
lege. This organization. in which the
federal government itself. through the
Office Of experiment stations. takes a
leading part. maintains its unique
biennial classes for the specialists who
are largely authorities in their par
ticular fields. in order to furnish them
with inspiration and to place before
them the very latest and most adj
vanced information in regard to all
phases of scientific agriculture.
Much time is being given to the latest
discoveries in regard to the growth
Of plants and animals. Great interest
has already been taken by federal
scientists in work recently carried on
in various parts Of the world. including
the United States, toward isolating the
growth substances from foods-the
substances on the consumption Of
which the increase in size and weight
foods lacking the growth substances"
have attained less than a quarter the
size Of other fowls of the same age
fed normally after the passage of time
sufncfent for the attainment of ma
turity.
At the school. which is the seventh
held by the association. special empha-
sis is being placed on the phases of
been largely NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
and economic problems of production
and distribution, rural Organization
and social factors
Thrashing machines have an uncom-
Portable way of exploding now and
then while
Investigating Explosions in use be-
Of Thrashing Machines. 'se ..
Of dust and air inside them, Just as
coal mines often explode. When the
expensive outfits began to DOB and 20
up in smoke one after the other in
the northwest some months ago on
account Of particularly smutty wheat
crop. often taking valuable heaps OF
grain and stacks Of straw with them.
Uncle Sam set himself the task of re-
moving this new obstacle that had in
truded itself between the farmer and
his profits. The problem was turned
over for solution to the specialists of
the office of rural engineering of the
Department of Agriculture, and the
result Of this work is one of the
latest of the long list of government
inventions-an automatic IRE extin-
guisher, which has worked with in
faiiibie efficiency in all tests made
The potential value of the device T.,
saving costly property looked so great
from shop tests that thrashine ma
chlne manufacturers recently shipped
three old thrashers of different types
70 the government experimental farm
at Arlington: Va. Just across the Po-
tomac from Washington, in order that
the rural engineering experts could
try to circumvent their mocha nical
watchman and burn the machines up.
Though the machines were old and
some Of them tinder-dry. and though
they were subjected to explosions, and
even lighted torches under various con-
ditions, the automatic extinguisher
worked so quickly and SO satisfactorily
that the thrashers were not even
scorched.
The new device is exceedingly sim
pie and may easily be installed on a
thrashing OUTFIT. It's central feature is
machine and filled with water con-
tanning common soda and a bottle OF
sulphuric acid. Inside the tank is also
q hammer provided with a spring
strong enough to break the acid bottle.
The other important element Of the
device IL a long wire stretched inside
the thrasher and containing fusible
links at points where fire or explosions
are likely to occur. When heat reaches
the danger point one OF the links melts,
springs are released. the bottle of acid
breaks and the resulting gas pressure
in the tank sprays water into every
nook and corner Of the thrasher. So
rapid is the action Of the device that
some of the governments inspectors
who welded torches during the expert
ments were well sprinkled before they
could retreat.
Great interest in the Arlington ex-
periments was taken by representa-
tives Of manufacturers Of agricultural
machinery. who made special trips In
order to be present. 1t 10 believed that
some firms will ask to be licensed to
At their thrashing machines in the fac
tory with the governments protecting
device. For the protection of individual
owners of machines, the Office of rural
engineering is distributing blue prints
explaining fully how to make and in
stall the device.
MEPcHANTMAN