Part 15

Lovers of good coffee want it served hot, but boiling spoils coffee. The modern electric percolator, which can be operated on the dining table, has solved coffee-making problems. The particular style of percolator shown in Fig. 9 has no valves or floats or traps that continually get out of order and that make the cleaning of a percolator so disagreeable. This valveless percolator is very easily cleaned and requires no brush. The heating element of this type percolator is in the bottom of the pot in the center of the water space, and is of the immersion type, protruding up from the center of the bottom of the pot. The heating element is made of flat ribbon resistance wire wound on mica, then bent into the form of a cylinder to fit into the German silver shell. A screw-operated spreader in the center presses the heating element tightly against the entire surface of the shell and insures rapid conduction of the heat from the element to the water. A study of the illustration showing the inside of the percolator (Fig. 10) will make clear to you the method of operation. With this style of electric percolator, percolation begins within thirty seconds after the water has been placed in the pot and the current turned on, and delicious coffee, clear as amber, is ready to pour in ten minutes.

Percolators of this type are made by the manufacturer from sheet copper spun in perfect shape, and also aluminum spun. The latter makes an especially desirable percolator.

Machine Type Percolator.

Because some prefer to draw coffee from a faucet rather than pour it from a spout, manufacturers have made a percolator of this type called the machine style. These are sold in various patterns from the Colonial design, like the illustration shown (Fig. 11), to those patterned after the Grecian urn.

We have already mentioned how an electrical engineer, shortly after placing irons in the homes of his customers, followed them with a number of small stoves and ovens. These required special wiring, as the wattage was too heavy to allow of their operation from the light socket. Principally, they were used in the kitchen on one end of the table or on a small shelf. This method necessitated carrying considerable food to the dining room after it was cooked, and brought out the thought of a means of preparing breakfast or a luncheon at the dining table. For this purpose a small stove seemed desirable, and the result was a small disc stove made of cast iron, highly nickel plated and polished.

On this little stove, herewith illustrated (Fig. 12), minor cooking operations can be performed, such as frying, boiling, etc., and it is used by many for toasting bread by placing a piece of metal screen on top. It is also very serviceable for frying hot cakes. The heating element is of the same construction as that in the iron; the mica is clapped tightly against the metal top and below this is a plate of asbestos which prevents the downward radiation of the heat.

This disc stove was first made in single heat, but the later improved stoves of this same type are made in three-heat style.

Many improvements have been made on the disc stoves and they are sold not only as single, but as double or twin, and triple discs.

One often finds it inconvenient, when traveling, to obtain hot water whenever needed. The light four-inch disc stove has proved to be a very desirable possession in cases of this kind. Its size makes it very convenient to pack in trunk or grip, and since it operates from any light socket, it is very handy, not only for the traveler and in the kitchen, but is a boon to many a bachelor man or maid.

Perhaps, before going further, it is well to explain the meaning of single and three-heat. Let us suppose that you are operating one of the small disc stoves and that the stove will carry 600 watts of current. If that stove is equipped with a single heat, you will be using the full 600 watts whenever the switch is on. If it is equipped with a three-heat switch, it can be adjusted to 600 watts at full, 300 at medium and 150 at low, which means a great saving in current for most small cooking operations.

Two Distinct Types of Heating Elements.

There are two very distinct types of electric heating elements or burners, the disc or closed type, and the open-coil type. These two types operate on entirely different principles. The disc stove conveys the heat to the food by the principle of conduction, _i. e._, the heated metal top of the stove in turn conducts the heat to the metal of the dish and thereby heats the food within the dish.

The open-coil type of element operates on the principle of radiant heat. The heat rays from the element are focused on the dish in which the food is being prepared. In the former style burner, sufficient time is required to heat the metal top of the stove before the heat can be utilized, while in the latter, the heat is almost instantaneously effective. Below the coils of the radiant type of grills and heaters shown in this section is placed a highly polished, nickeled disc which serves to reflect all the heat units that are directed downward, back to the dish in which the food is being prepared, thereby utilizing a maximum of the heat units produced.

One very distinct advantage in the open-coil over the disc type is that in the former practically all the utensils found in the average home can be satisfactorily used, granite and enamel-ware being especially desirable, while in the disc-type stoves, it is necessary to have dishes with smooth, clean bottoms and that they fit very closely in order to make metallic contact over the entire surface.

The lightness, convenience, and general utility of the small open-coil stove has been responsible for a number of designs being manufactured and sold in enormous quantities, these being made up not only as stoves, but as grills. The accompanying illustration (Fig. 13) is of a rectangular grill, made of pressed steel and highly polished, designed to operate from any electric light socket. The heating element is of the open-coil reflector type and is so placed in the frame that cooking can be done both above and below the glowing coils at the same time. This is a convenience and economy, as one is able to cook two dishes of food at the cost of one. This particular grill is furnished with three dishes, any one of which can be used either above or below the coils. When cooking above the coils only is desired, the small flat pan is placed in a groove below the coils to reflect to the cooking operation any heat that would be thrown downward from the heating element. The shallow pan also serves as a cover for either of the deeper dishes or for a hot-cake griddle.

This radiant grill is light in weight, occupies a small space and is a most desirable appliance in the home, to be used in either the living room or dining room for the preparation of a light luncheon or afternoon tea service.

Of the same manufacture is the radiant grill shown in Fig. 14. This grill, you will note, is round, which particularly adapts it to the use of utensils ordinarily found in the kitchen of the average home. You will note that there are two dishes to this grill, a top dish with a broiling grid, to be used underneath the coils for broiling chops, and a shallower dish to be used above the coils for frying operations. There is furnished also a reflector which is so designed that it serves equally well as a cover for either dish and makes a very choice griddle for baking hot cakes.

While this particular grill is furnished with a wattage providing for operation from a lamp-socket, it is of the three-heat style already spoken of as so desirable in appliances of this character. A companion grill to this is of the same design, excepting that it is furnished in single heat only and lists at a somewhat lower price.

You will remember that in explaining the many advantages of the open-coil type of burner, it was stated as one of these that the housewife could use cooking utensils ordinarily found in the home, and because of this peculiar adaptability the round grills here spoken of and illustrated are having an exceedingly large sale. These open-coil grills are also very efficient as toasters, the bread being placed on top of the grating, which protects the coils from injury. Where only chops, toast, and coffee are to be had for breakfast, chops can be prepared below the coils, the toast above, while the coffee gurgle-gurgles in the percolator.

Some people who have not felt any need of a grill have desired an open-coil stove, and of this same general type of manufacture there is the open-coil radiant stove herewith illustrated (Fig. 15). It is equipped with the same kind of a burner or element with a reflector underneath, and can be used very efficiently with ordinary cooking utensils and is also very serviceable as a toaster. Using this stove in combination with the ovenette, which will be illustrated further on, the owner is provided with a table range which meets most of the requirements in a small family.

A line of cooking utensils would not be complete without suitable designs of chafing dishes, and these are made in several styles, both with and without heating elements, the latter being used on the disc and open-coil stoves already illustrated, while the former contains a heating element very much along the lines of the percolator. These are furnished, as you will note from the illustration (Fig. 16), with suitable cooking pans for the preparation of chafing-dish dainties.

Baking and Roasting.

It is only natural to suppose that manufacturers of electric stoves of both light and heavy duty should next turn their attention to ovens, since oven cooking is even primary to cooking that is done on open burners and is now coming to be even of more importance. The first oven herewith shown (Fig. 17) is of the lamp-socket type, equipped with three heats, providing a very efficient oven for small operations. The second one illustrated (Fig. 18) is of standard size and accommodates a quantity of food equal to that of any large range oven. It is provided with a heavy wattage and therefore requires special wiring.

To meet the requirements of the many families in which such a small amount of baking is done, and to cater particularly to apartment-house dwellers, the manufacturers of the line of radiant stoves described and illustrated have brought forth a small cylindrical oven called the ovenette. This little oven fits either the radiant stove or the round radiant grill. It is made of pressed steel and finished in highly polished nickel. This ovenette, in combination with either the radiant stove or the round radiant grill, provides complete cooking equipment upon which an entire meal can be prepared, whether it be heating rolls and preparing crisp bacon or chops for breakfast, or baking a roast, a loaf cake or even bread for the dinner. It will bake pies, cake, biscuit, potatoes, roast meats, etc., up to its capacity, at a less current cost than is possible with the larger oven and in less time. This ovenette has what is called a middle ring, which makes it adjustable to two sizes when large or small quantities of food are to be prepared.

So you see, the woman of today who utilizes current furnished through the light socket, can bring to her command genii as wonderful as those at the command of Aladdin when he stroked the wonderful lamp. Her household duties are made easier. There is far less preparatory work and she is able to place her home on a much more efficient basis than with ordinary methods.

The home electrical is not complete without containing at least some of the electrical appliances which have been designed for the purpose of alleviating pain. One of these is an electric heating pad made of steel units, so hinged as to make the appliance sufficiently flexible to be wrapped around an arm or limb and to conform to the curves of the body. The other is a pad made of aluminum which is concave on one side and convex on the other and may be used in a wet pack. Each of these heating pads is covered with a high-grade cover of eiderdown which provides a soft contact for the skin.

Perhaps next in importance along this line of electrical appliances is the small immersion heater shown in Fig. 19, and which requires so little space that it can be easily carried even in a woman’s handbag. This style of heater will quickly heat a glass of water by simply immersing the heater in the water. This device is very extensively used by mothers in heating milk for the baby, by men in heating water for shaving, and by doctors and dentists who require small quantities of hot water for sterilizing and other uses.

One thing most desirable in connection with practically all of the lamp-socket appliances described and illustrated in this section is the very small cost of operation. Lighting companies have so reduced the cost of current within the last two or three years that a breakfast may now be prepared electrically for not more than a couple of cents, while one of the pads may be used an entire night at a cost of less than one cent in soothing rheumatic pains or in driving away the chill for outdoor sleepers.

But one of the hardest domestic tasks is that of keeping the house clean. To obviate the difficulties encountered in this connection and to make the home sanitary, electric vacuum cleaners are provided by several manufacturers, a very recent acceptable type being illustrated in Fig. 20. This type of vacuum cleaner, which is reasonable in price, is made of steel and finished in very highly polished nickel. It operates from any light socket and consumes but a very small amount of current, much less than is consumed by a toaster. It can also be purchased with different attachments with which curtains, radiators, clothes and walls may be cleaned. The possession in the home of one of these vacuum cleaners makes it unnecessary to take up rugs, carpets, tear down curtains and go through the semi-annual worry, wear and tear of house cleaning. The vacuum cleaner will do it better and many times quicker without removing a single article of furniture or disturbing a rug or curtain; and instead of scattering the dust-laden germs in the air, to be drawn into the nostrils and lungs of the family, the cleaner sucks them up into a dust-tight bag from which they can be deposited on a paper and burned.

The evolution in cooking and heating appliances for the home in the last ten years has indeed been rapid, but it is very recently indeed that the housewife has been able to satisfy the longing and the desire that has kept getting stronger from day to day, since first she began to use electric cooking appliances. She has been dreaming of that which would make her kitchen a domestic-science laboratory, and her dream can come true because now she can purchase an electric range patterned in general style after the more acceptable gas or other fuel ranges, but infinitely more efficient.

The particular type of range herewith illustrated (Fig. 21) uses a burner of the open-coil type, both for the surface burners and for the oven. The ovens are highly insulated with a thick packing of best grade mineral wool, which reduces air leakage to a minimum and retains the heat generated for a long period. Many cooking operations which are performed in ordinary ovens with the burners on, can be prepared in this particular style of oven by using stored heat for the last half of the operation. The range is simplicity itself in operation. Each burner is operated by an indicating snap switch which has three separate heats, full, medium and low; medium being one-half of full and low one-half of medium. There are no matches; there is no danger from fire. There is no vitiated, foul air because of noxious gases from ordinary cooking stoves. There is no soot or grime, no ashes, no wood or coal to carry; there are fewer steps; there is less watching of the range; practically none at all, because when a burner is turned to medium, for instance, you know that you have a certain degree of heat for just as long as the switch is in that position. Results are eminently satisfactory and there is a sufficient saving in the weights and the nutritive value of foods cooked, especially in the oven, to make the electric range indeed a most desirable and economical addition to any home.

Today, the housewife, whether the provider of the home be a laborer or a merchant prince, can, with a simple touch of the button or a snap of the switch, bring to her immediate command, and subservient to her wishes, that subtle something which came in the snowflake, and which, while invisible, yet provides the greatest boon to mankind--electricity.

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Why is there Always a Soft Spot in a Cocoanut Shell?

A cocoanut shell always has a soft spot at one end because this is the provision nature has made to allow the embryo of the future tree to push its way out of the hard shell.

Cocoanuts, as most of us know, have a thick, hard shell, with three black scars at one end. The soft scar may easily be pierced with a pin; the others are as hard as the rest of the shell. Outside of this hard shell we are accustomed to seeing another covering of considerable thickness, of an extremely fibrous substance. When cocoanuts are picked, however, they have still another covering-an outer rind which has a smooth surface.

The tree which produces the cocoanut is a palm, from sixty to a hundred feet high. The trunk is straight and naked, and surmounted by a crown of feather-like leaves. The nuts hang from the summit of the tree in clusters of a dozen or more together.

Food, clothing and the means of shelter and protection are all afforded by the cocoanut tree. The kernels are used as food in a number of different forms, and when pressed, they yield an oil which is largely used in candle making and in the manufacture of soaps. When they are dried before the oil is pressed out they are known as “copra.”

We have given the name “milk” to the sweet and watery liquid, of a whitish color, which is inclosed in considerable quantity in the kernel.

By boring the tree itself, a white, sweetish liquid called “toddy” exudes from the wound. This yields one of the varieties of the spirit called “arack” when distilled. A kind of a sugar called “jaggery” is also obtained from the cocoanut juice.

The fibrous coat of the nut is made into a preparation called “cellulose,” which is described in another story in this book, and also into the well-known cocoanut matting. The coarse yarn obtained from it is called “coir,” and it is also used for cordage. The hard shell of the nut is polished and made into cups and other domestic utensils. The fronds are wrought into baskets, brooms, mats, sacks and many other useful articles; and the trunks are made into boats, and furnish timber for the construction of houses. Altogether the cocoanut palm will be seen to be a very useful member of the plant kingdom.

How does a Gasoline Motor Run an Electric Street Car?

A gasoline-electric railroad train was introduced in Germany in 1913. It comprises a power car and ten other cars, each of a five-ton capacity, which trail along behind. The power car carries two gasoline engines of a hundred and twenty-five horse-power each which drive a dynamo installed in the center. The current is transmitted to the electric motors, actuating each of the wheels of the power car and the trailers. The General Electric Company has perfected a similar car for use on the suburban branches of street railroads in this country. Most of them are equipped with a two hundred horse-power gasoline engine directly connected to a dynamo from which power is generated and transmitted to the motors, which are located on the car axles. Cars of this type can be made of a larger seating capacity than is customary and can easily attain a speed of a mile a minute.

Gasoline engines offer great advantages over steam because of the absence of boilers, coal and ashes, and a much higher efficiency is obtainable, a consumption of one pint of gasoline per horse-power hour being good practice for well-designed motor engines and a total efficiency of from ten to thirty-five per cent of the energy in the fuel being available, as against one to twenty per cent for steam averages. The utilization of the gasoline engine to generate electric power for surface cars, in instances where it is not practical to transmit energy from power stations, presents wonderful possibilities.

How do “Carrier Pigeons” Carry Messages?

The real carrier pigeon is a large bird with long wings, a large tuberculated mass of naked skin at the base of the beak, and a circle of naked skin round the eyes, but the variety generally employed to carry messages more resembles an ordinary pigeon.

The practice of sending letters by pigeons belongs originally to Eastern countries, though in other countries it has often been adopted, more especially before the invention of the electric telegraph. An actual post-system in which pigeons were the messengers was established at Bagdad by the Sultan Nureddin Mahmud, who died in 1174, and lasted till 1258, when Bagdad fell into the hands of the Mongols and was destroyed by them.

These birds can be utilized in this way only in virtue of what is called their “homing” faculty or instinct, which enables them to find their way back home from surprising distances. But if they are taken to the place from which the message is to be sent and kept there too long, say over a fortnight, they will forget their home and not return to it. They are tried first with short distances, which are then gradually increased. The missive may be fastened to the wing or the tail, and must be quite small and attached so as not to interfere with the bird’s flight.

By the use of microphotography a long message may be conveyed in this way, and such were received by the besieged residents in Paris during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 the birds being conveyed out of the city in balloons.

Seventy-two miles in two and one-half hours, a hundred and eighty in four and one-half, have been accomplished by carrier pigeons. Large numbers of these birds are now kept in England, Belgium, France, etc., there being numerous pigeon clubs which hold pigeon races to test the speed of the birds. These pigeons are also kept in several European countries for military purposes.

What Family has Over 9,000,000 Members?

Each female cod has more than 9,000,000 eggs, but the numbers are kept down by a host of enemies.