Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/246

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��Popular Science Monthly

���MOVAbLt JAW

���Tails are more than mere adornments. This one, for instance, serves the pur- pose of setting the trap jaws of the imitation dog

��Dachshund CharHe. He Eats 'Em AHve

A WESTERN inventor, Edwin S. Cun- ningham, of Mansfield, 111., has devised a trap which, for originality of structure if nothing else, deserves mention. He has constructed a wooden figure of a dog (with the tail changed it would make a realistic-looking alligator) and has placed within the interior of the humble canine, a strong rat-trap mechanism.

Although the tail appears to serve only as an adornment it is really the most impor- tant part of the trap. By moving it down the trap is set. When the mouse steps on the bait-plate, which takes the place of the dog's tongue, the upper part of the jaw comes down with a thud and the tail goes up. A strong spring operates it.

Standardizing Our Automobile Shop Language

HEREAFTER people talking about their automobiles will be able to under- ^B^ stand each other. A nut ^[^ will be called a nut and a bolt a bolt. When repairs and replacements are or- dered, manufacturers will not need to spend the better part of the day figuring out just what part of the auto- mobile's intricate anatomy is wanted. In other words, the present chaotic condi- tion of automobile nomen- clature is about to be remedied. The Society of

��Automobile Engineers proposes that there be a list of uniform names for automobile parts and that these names be standardized. To this end the society has published a report on automobile termin- ology. The automobile is dissected into nineteen general divisions, and all the parts in each division are given their standard names — making a total of nearly seven hundred names of separate parts. But the work is not yet completed. There are several groups still under consideration.

The name "engine," notes the report, should be used rather than "motor,*' to avoid confusion with elec- tric motors and to secure a lower freight rate. Thus it will be "engine-car" in- stead of "motor-car."

��CLOSED POSmON

��Don't Throw a Horse. Make Him Lie Down if it's Necessary

VETERINARY surgeons frequently have to throw a horse to perform an operation. As there is danger of hurt- ing the animal, specially devised shackles are sometimes used, one form of which, shown in the illustration, seems to be especially humane and is very easy of operation.

The arrangement is such that a pull on the forward ropes will draw together a frQnt and rear foot and tend to raise both rear feet from the ground, causing the horse to lie down. The same thing can be accomplished by hitching the front ropes and making the horse step backward. One leg is left free to aid the animal in assuming a prostrate position without injury or undue strain.

���With this device only three of the animal's legs are shackled, one being left free to enable him to lie down rather than fall

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