are not
equally as good. I am simply anticipating the numerous letters I
otherwise would receive and am answering them in a lump bunch. If you
have no occasion to procure any of these articles, the naming of them
will do no harm, but should you want one or more you will make no
mistake in any one of them.

OIL

As I have stated, more engineers asked for a good brand of oil than for
any other one article and I will answer this with less satisfaction to
myself than any other for this reason: You may know what you want, but
you do not always get what you call for. Oil is one of those things that
cannot be branded, the barrel can, but then it can be filled with the
cheapest stuff on the market. If you can get Capital Cylinder Oil your
valve will give you no trouble. If you call for this particular brand
and it does not give you satisfaction don't blame me or the oil, go
after the dealer; he did not give you what you called for. The same can
be said of Renown Engine Oil. If you can always have this oil you will
have no fault to find with its wearing qualities, and it will not gum on
your engine, but as I have said, you may call for it and get something
else. If your valve or cylinder is giving you any trouble and you have
not perfect confidence in the dealer from whom you usually get your
cylinder oil send direct to The Standard Oil Company for some Capital
Cylinder Oil and you will get an oil that will go through your cylinder
and come out the exhaust and still have some staying qualities to it.
The trouble with so much of the so called cylinder oil is that it is so
light that the moment it strikes the extreme heat in the steam chest it
vaporizes and goes through the cylinder in the form of vapor and the
valve and cylinder are getting no oil, although you are going through
all the necessary means to oil them.

It is somewhat difficult to get a young engineer to understand why the
cylinder requires one grade of oil and the engine another. This is only
necessary as a matter of economy, cylinder or valve oil will do very
well on the engine, but engine oil will not do for the cylinder. And as
a less expensive oil will do for the engine we therefore use two grades
of oil.

Engine oil however should be but little lower in quality than the
cylinder oil, owing to the proximity of the bearings to the boiler, they
are at all times more or less heated, and require a much heavier oil
than a journal subject only to the heat