Sun Fuel

Dr. Charles G. Abbot, of the Smithsonian Institution (TIME, May 5) made a solar cooker at Mt. Vernon, Calif., which so concentrated the rays of the sun that the temperature of the oven was 175DEG Centigrade. Sad to say, the oil circulating system sprang a leak, soaked the insulation with oil, and the heat set fire to and destroyed the machine.

Dr. Abbot is now rebuilding the cooker and expects to succeed in demonstrating the possibility of a kitchen stove heated by sun rays. But it would be too expensive and intricate for the average household at present, though perhaps useful in regions where coal and wood were unobtainable.