Separate the following into compound sentences and punctuate:
1
Sawdust as a fire extinguisher sounds absurd but recent experiments in Boston have proved it to be successful in quenching fires in tanks of oil and other inflammable liquids the Boston experiments were conducted with tanks of burning varnish but the same principles seem to apply to tanks of burning oil the floating sawdust forms a blanket that shuts off the air from the flames and the lack of oxygen causes the fire to die out the experiments were tried with both wet and dry sawdust and the dry material seemed to extinguish the fire as quickly as the wet.
2
Select the kind of business that suits your natural inclination and temperament some men are naturally mechanics others have a strong aversion to machinery because they do not understand it some men are imaginative others are purely practical some prefer active work others like sedentary employment all should select those occupations that suit them best.
3
Certain Western railroads have long felt the need of a new material for sleepers and they have been experimenting for some time past with cocobolo or Japanese oak the wood is so hard that it is almost impossible to drive spikes into it and screwed spikes in bored holes are used these sleepers will cost a trifle more than those made from American oak but they are expected to last twenty-five or thirty years the reason for experimenting with foreign woods is that native oak is becoming scarce and it is deemed wise to search in time for a substitute.
4
Dear Sir:
We wrote you on the third but as yet no word has come of your decision in regard to the investment you were considering at 475 Second Avenue let us have your order and we shall at once prepare the contract of sale the building is an especially attractive offering at $9,500 and we feel sure that you will find the return from it unusually large.