NOTES AND NEWS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 January 1929, Page 12

NOTES AND NEWS.

- The interior of nn enclosed car can best be kept clean by the use of a vacuum cleaner in conjunction with a whisk broom. Tins broom will loosen the' dirt and facilitate its absorption by the cleaner. Always brush in the direction of the weave of the fabric and not across the nap.

It. is advisable occasionally to examine the overflow pipe of a radiator. Water when it becomes hot, expands, and should the overflow pipe be by any means blocked up, the excessive pressure generated by the expansion may cause the tank or honeycomb to burst or crack and set up leaks. See if water will run through the overflow pipe and if not, pass a stoutish piece of copper wire down it to remove any obstruction. Examine also the lower end; it may be clogged with toad dirt.

Although many ears are fitted with wind-screen wipers, there are still quite a number without this handy device. Those that 'have cars not so equipped will find this tip useful in securing

clear vision during wet weather: Cut a slice of apple or potato and rub it all over the outside of the windscreen, leaving the screen wet with juice. The rain will then run down-smoothly instead of adhering in drops. After the rain has worked on the glass for a few seconds the vision will become almost as clear as though a dry glass. Some furniture polishes and thin oils are also effective.

The Birmingham Corporation operates 219 buses and 16 trackless trolley buses, the largest municipal fleet in Great Britain. The report of the year ended last March shows that the 319 buses carried 62,353,000 passengers. The revenue was £4613,335 and operating costs totalled £335,604, or 11.6 d a mile exclusive of income tax, interest, and sinking fund charges. Receipts averaged 16.1 d a mile. The gross profit on the running of the petrol buses was £130,731, and the total net profit of the whole undertaking v r as £256,585.

Reference to the big mileage which can be achieved on British roads without a puncture, compared -with what obtain on Continental roads, often appears in the British motoring Press. In an article, “Stars and Their Cars,” in the “Motor,” a well-known film actor says that he almost certain of a puncture in from 300 to 400 miles on the ‘Continent, while in England he has driven over 10,000 miles without one. It . would be interesting to know how' this mileage compares with New Zealand conditions. Of course, a motorist who confines his driving largely to concrete roads would have an advantage over one who uses the country roads more extensively.

A cool-running engine acquires eaTbon deposit in the form of a soft, powdery, dull black material which consists, for the most part, of pure soot. The carbon deposited in hot-running engines, however, takes on itself a different form. In these cases the carbon deposit is hard, and, farther, it very often has to be removed in small hunks. Carbon deposit of the hard type is derived chiefly from the decomposition of the lubricating oil or of its vapour’ It is not a pure form of carbon, for it contains a certain proportion of hard, tarry matter derived from the partially burned oil.