Intramural Cemeteries. dwelling-house can, without special authority, be erected within a like distance of a cemetery. The location of a cemetery should receive the most thoughtful consideration. The dead should be so buried that the living may not suffer. The nature of the soil, and the topography of the adjacent country should be thoroughly examined in reference to drainage and water supply. A burial place should never be selected because it is a gift, or cheap. It should be elevated above the surrounding region sufficient to receive free ventilation by the wind, which should have unobstructed access from all points. Sandy soil, or sandy loam, with a mixture of vegetable mould, is best adapted to rapid decomposition of bodies. It also affords greater rapidity of percolation of fluids. Clay retards putrefaction, and retains in concentrated form the products of decomposition, and the specific germs of Typhoid Fever, Diphtheria, and malignant fevers are liable to find their way into wells. A soil with stony substratum should be avoided. Fissured rock underneath sand or gravel should also be avoided, as it receives surface water rapidly, and conducts it frequently long distances, contributing largely to the pollution of wells. It is also a dangerous condition when graves and wells are sunk in a porous soil overlying impervious clay, a condition to be found widely extended over the State of Iowa. No drainage from a cemetery should be permitted to enter a stream of water liable to be used for domestic purposes, or drank by domestic animals. It is a healthful omen that during the biennial period frequent inquiries have been made of the State Board regarding the location of cemeteries. Every principle of sanitary science suggests the location of cemeteries away from the habitations of the living. There is, also, a moral fitness in thus fixing the "city of the dead." It affords opportunity for reverent, silent devotion at the shrine of the beloved dead. Beautiful, and adorned by taste and refinement, it becomes a lovely, holy, sacred place. It is instinctive in every human heart to mourn in solitude and retiracy. Far down in the vista of Kerosene Oil. time we see Abraham seeking a burial place for his people, and he "paid to Ephron four hundred shekels of silver, and the field of Ephron, which was in Machpelah, and all the trees that were in the field, that were in the borders round about were made sure, and there Abraham was buried, and Sarah, his wife." KEROSENE OIL. The frequency of complaints made to this office, by retail dealers and consumers, of the inferior quality of kerosene being sold and used throughout the State, suggested an investigation as to the probable cause. A large number and variety of burners, lamps and wicks, and oil of the best and poorest kinds and quality, were procured and thoroughly tested. The result indicates that the complaints were founded principally in an improper use of, and not in the quality of the oil. What oil to buy. -Kerosene may be said to be the middle product of petroleum, the upper being several volatile hydro-carbons, known under the general term of naptha, a highly inflammable substance; and the lower, of paraffine, heavier and less combustible than kerosene. Naptha is a very dangerous explosive. An excess of naptha in kerosene renders the kerosene dangerous. An excess of paraffine makes the kerosene heavy and less combustible. As naptha and paraffine have less commercial value than kerosene, the inducement of refiners is to retain so much of them in the kerosene as possible. The statutes of Iowa demand that so much of the naptha shall be removed that oil when heated to a temperature of one hundred and five degrees Fahrenheit, will not throw off a vapor which will ignite when in contact with a flame or lighted match. That is what is termed the Kerosene Oil. flashing point. Extensive observation and experiment have demonstrated that this standard will give satisfactory results for illuminating purposes, and be safe for use in ordinary lamps. It would not, however, be safe for kindling fires in the kitchen stove. No oil having a flashing point below one hundred and five degrees can be lawfully sold, nor used for illuminating purposes in this State. The flashing point should not be confounded with the burning point, or fire-test, which signifies that degree of temperature or heat at which oil placed in an open vessel will ignite and burn without a wick. The fire-test is not recognized by the Iowa statute, and has little or no value as determining the actual quality of the oil. Retail dealers should especially bear this in mind. Refiners and tank line companies frequently brand oil "one hundred and fifty degrees fire-test," "Head Light one hundred and seventy-five degrees," or trade-marks which have no relation whatever, under the law, to the actual quality of the oil. The brand of an Iowa inspector, indicating the flashing point, is to be deemed the actual quality and standard of the oil. The average difference between the flashing and burning point of kerosene is twenty to twentyseven degrees, so that oil branded one hundred and fifty degrees fire-test should have a flashing point of one hundred and twentythree degrees. Hence, no person should be misled or deceived by the dealer who says an oil is one hundred and fifty degrees or one hundred and seventy-five fire-test. The law interposes no inhibition against trade-marks. The refiner or dealer may give his oil any name or grade he pleases. The tendency of retail dealers is to purchase oil having a high flashing point, presumably on the theory that if oil having a flashing point of one hundred and five degrees is safe, that of one hundred and twenty-six degrees is so much safer. Theoretically that is true; but the higher the flashing point, the denser and heavier the oil. Heavy oil congeals more or less in cold weather, will not rise freely, hence there is imperfect combustion. There is a limit to capillary attraction. Heavy oil is also more liable to clog the wick tube. Oil having a flashing point of one hundred and five degrees to one hundred and ten degrees will give better illumination, burn Kerosene Oil. freer, and with greater satisfaction in ordinary lamps, than an oil with a flashing point of one hundred and twenty degrees or one hundred and twenty-five degrees. The freedom with which kerosene will burn depends very much upon the amount of paraffine retained therein, and upon the wick. Heavy, or high grade kerosene has more or less paraffine, which tends to harden and clog the wick, and overheat the wick-tube. Lamps.-Lamps are becoming fashionable. They are going into the most aristocratic homes, as wedding or holiday presents, even where gas is used. Thousands of them are purchased more for ornament than use, and with no regard to utility. Many of them are worthless for illuminating purposes. They should be of metal, and have no feeding place except the opening for the wick-tube. The bowl should be large in diameter and shallow, not exceeding two and one half inches in depth, so as to bring the flames as near the oil as possible, to secure an even combustion of all the contents. With deep lamps the wick will fail to raise the oil when half consumed, and deficient illumination is the result. The base should be large and heavy, to prevent overturning. They should be cleaned and filled every day, and once each week entirely emptied of their contents, to remove the dregs and sediment. When oil has been kept forty-eight hours in an half-filled lamp, a dangerous. vapor forms, which will be released by the process of filling the lamp. Never remove the top nor refill a lamp when burning. Before lighting, turn the wick down even with the tube, and raise it gradually. Never blow down a chimney to extinguish a lamp. Turn the wick down until the flame flickers, then give a quick puff of breath horizontally across the top of the chimney. During the day keep the lamp where the oil will not become Never set it on a mantel over a fire-place, grate, or stove where there is a fire. warm. Kerosene Oil. Never leave a lamp burning with the wick turned down. Aircurrents are liable to cause the chimney to break. The wick-tube then will become greatly heated, and the lamp filled with a dangerous vapor. A burning lamp with a broken chimney becomes liable to violent explosion in about fifteen minutes. A lamp should not be left burning at all in a vacant room or house. Burners.-The successful combustion of kerosene depends largely on the burner. Two kinds are made, one for heavy oil, the other for light oil. Of these there are numerous devices and patents. Competition and universal demand for cheapness has filled the markets with worthless burners. The successful and commendable Hinge Sun burner for ordinary house lamps has been largely displaced by cheap imitations, some of which are simply brasswashed tin. The burner should be adapted to the oil to be used, whether heavy or light. It should be well made, of brass, and as short as possible. It should be properly constructed for draft and ventilation for the escape of vapor from the vapor chamber of the lamp. For light oil, it should burn without heating-the cooler the better. The Hinge Sun, Grand, and Irex gave most satisfactory results with light oil, especially the Irex, which requires a thick, even wick, giving a fine light. For heavy oil, a more liberal wick is required to raise the oil fréely enough to supply the flame and give the required heat, hence two or more wicks are provided. The Dual, Duplex, Oxford, and Moehring will burn successfully oil having a flashing point of two hundred and seventy to two hundred and eighty degrees, yet the flame will not be so white as that from one hundred and five or one hundred and ten degrees oil with a good burner, nor give so good satisfaction. The so-called Hitchcock lamp, designed to burn without a chimney, gives a steady, strong, clear pleasing light of full sixteencandle power, and being of metal, is commended for safety, economy and illumination. Burners should be kept perfectly clean, and free from crustation on the wick-tube, and accumulation of charred wick on the perforated disk. The disk is for the purpose of supplying draft and |