Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 90.djvu/581

 Popular Science Monthly

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��Making Clothing from a Fabric Woven from Nettle Fiber

WE agree that war is — all they say it is. But the spur of necessity which it has applied has brought forth a host of in- ventions and new ideas. Today, because cotton and wool have been requisitioned for the armies and supplies for general purposes have been curtailed or cut off, the Germans are making a soft, lustrous material from the fiber of nettles. It is thin and strong and makes up beautifully into articles of clothing.

Several years ago experiments were made with nettle fiber but difficulty was en- countered in separating the fibrous from the vegetable matter. Muriatic acid was used for the purpose, and a dessicating process was also tried, but results were unsatis- factory. The method now used overcomes all difficulties and leaves the fabric soft and pliable enough for any use.

Special crops of nettles are now being cultivated. There are twelve thousand trustees and public officials promoting the collection of them.

���Was This Inspired by the Recent Prohibition Movement ?

WIXE bottles exposed on the sideboard may be perfectly useful articles. But when the prohibition advocate comes to call, there is a grand rush to clear them away. A New York woman comes to the rescue with a hollow doll into which said bot- tles always disappear when not in use.

These considerate dolls, as the illus- trations show, are made to fit over the bottles, com- pletely concealing them. The main portion of the bot- tle is concealed by the body of the doll and the clothes in which it is dressed.

The head of the

��The hollow doll, pushed the bottle, completely

��'loll is hinged and is shaped inside to fit the 'P of the bottle. You have only to throw uack the doll's head to pour out a drink. The device might also be used to conceal large-sized medicine bottles on the table of the sick-room.

��The front handles are held in one hand and are continually drawn in and out by pressure

Strap It on Your Neck and Cut Your Hair Yourself

SHOULD ever>' barber in the United States go on a strike the invention pictured above would surely prove popular. You strap to your neck a yoke somewhat similar to that used on oxen. On one side of this, a carr}ing-bar is pivoted; on the rear end a hair-clipper is held, while on the front end are operating handles. The clipper consists of a number of shears some- what like sheep- shears operated by two levers at- tached to the clip- per. A guard is provided to keep these a safe dis- tance from the head. There ic a string -and-pulley arrangement con- necting the front operating handles with the two levers so that the levers may be worked by the handles when the "operation" is progressing. To use the apparatus you simply adjust the clipper the dis- tance from the guard at which you desire to cut your hair (thus regulating the length), keep the handles going and move the clippers about by swinging the carr\'ing-bar upon its pivot until the entire head has been gone over.

���down over the neck of conceals it from view

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