searching it out. A cover of wall board with
a small opening for ventilation is easily fitted to it and will avert
later trouble.

It is far from amusing to awake some zero morning and find the house
without water because the well pipe has frozen. It can be thawed with
a blow pipe but that means calling a plumber or a handy man who
happens to have a tool of this sort. One such experience will keep you
from forgetting or neglecting to provide a well cover. Similarly, if
you are in doubt whether the pipes from water source to house are
below the frost line, a carpet of leaves about two inches thick on top
of the ground along the course of the water pipe, will obviate any
such unhappy event. Thawing a frozen pipe plainly visible in the well
is child's play compared to the task of arguing with any underground.
Once, such pipes had to wait for nature. Today, they can be thawed
very skillfully with special electrical equipment, but not cheaply.
The standard charge ranges from $20 up, mostly the latter.

The family living in the country will also find that cold weather puts
a great strain on the automobile. A car that has worked perfectly all
summer simply refuses to start, and the storage battery that operates
the self-starter is exhausted and powerless. The sensible course is to
have the car put in condition for winter before the first cold snap
congeals the crank-case oil. Replace the latter with one of lighter
grade; have the radiator filled with a good anti-freeze in sufficient
quantity so that you will be safe on the coldest days against the
hazard of a frozen radiator; have the ignition system thoroughly
overhauled and new spark points put in the distributor. Most important
of all, get a new storage battery if the one you have is more than a
few months old.

This course of action saves annoyance, is better for the automobile,
and less expensive than calling for garage help some abnormally cold
morning when many others are also in trouble and you must wait your
turn. Don't take just anybody's advice when changing to lighter and
more freely flowing motor oil. Go to the service station handling the
make of car you drive and have it done there. They will know which is
the right grade. We once almost ruined a car by following a layman's
advice. With our own hands we refilled the crank case with oil that
was rated as S.A.E. 10 and was perfect for the light car of our
well-intentioned adviser. Unhappily the lightest suitabl