Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 April 1916 — USEFUL MILK COOLER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

USEFUL MILK COOLER

ICELEBS REFRIGERATOR THAT has much merit. Perfectly Simple Device, but a Most Ueeful Convenience During the Hot Summer Months —Description Will Make It Easy to Copy. I ■■■ (Prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture.) The iceless refrigerator, or milk cooler, is one of several simple devices which farm women of the South are making and using in their home demonstration work. It has been foupd to be a useful convenience for the hot summer days of the South, and frequently more than 100 have been

made in a single county. The cooler, which was designed by Prof. M. T. Fullan of the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, consists of a wooden frame covered with canton flannel or some similar material. It is desirable that the frame be screened, although this is not absolutely necessary. Wicks made of the same material as the covering rest in a pan of water on top of the refrigerator, allowing the water to seep down the sides. When evaporation takes place the heat is taken from the inside, with a consequent lowering of the temperature. On dry.

hot days a temperature of 50 degrees can be oftained in this refrigerator. The following description will aid in the construction of this device: Make a screened case three and onehalf feet high with the other dimensions 12 by 15 Inches. If a solid top is used, simply place the water pan on this. Otherwise fit the pan closely into the opening of the top frame and support it by dhe-lnch cleats fastened to the inside of the frame. Place two movable shelves in the frame, 12 to 15 inches apart. Use a biscuit pan 12 inches square on the top to hold the water, and where the refrigerator is to be used indoors have the whole thing standing In a large pan to catch any drip. The pans and case may be painted white, allowed to dry, and then enameled. A covering of white canton flannel should be made to fit the frame. Have the smooth side out and button the covering on the frame with buggy or automobile curtain hooks and eyes, arranged so that the door may be opened without unfastening these hooks. This can easily be done by putting one row of hooks on the edge of the door near the latch and the other just opposite the opening with the hem on each side extended far enough to cover the crack at the edge of the door, so as to keep out the warm, outside air and retain the cooled air. This dress or covering will have to be hooked around the top edge also. Two double strips one-half the width of each side should be sewed on the top of each side and allowed to extend over about two and one-half or three inches in the pan of water. The bottom of the covering should extend to the lower edge of the case. Place the refrigerator in a shady place where air will circulate around it freely. If buttons and buttonholes are used on the canton flannel instead of buggy hooks, the cost should not exceed 85 cents. Another type of iceless refrigerator, similar in principle to the one described, is shown in the illustration. As will be seen, this consists of three shelves, attached to a substantial piece of lumber running through the center of each shelf. A heavy crosspiece at the bottom of the central support serves as a base. A bag of canton flannel, and opening on the side, covers the refrigerator and may be drawn tight at the bottom by means of a string around the edge. Buggy or automobile curtain hooks and eyes may be used for the opening, although buttons and buttonholes will probably do as well.