Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/161

 Popular Science Monthly

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��In case potatoes are dropped or upset by the runner he must replace them without assistance before proceeding with the run. He must not interfere with another runner in any way. The boxes may be fixed to stands, having their bases approximately the same size as the boxes. The stands are not fastened to the floor.

The various distances and number of potatoes are :

60 yards potato race requires 3 potatoes

160 " " " " 8

220 " " " " ir "

440 " " " " 17

There are two styles in running the potato races. Some runners keep a steady pace and run in large circles. Others run in a narrow oblong that necessitates slack- ing the speed on the turns. The latter is more generally used but is thought to be more exhausting than the former.

In making the turns, the runner should face the box and bend well over it, if the narrow oblong style is used. In this it is also well to give attention to the striding. If, as usual, the run is made from right to left, as in track running, the turn should be made with three steps as follows: the left foot should be at the side of the box, then the right should be placed at the end of the box and then the left started on the new stretch.

{To be continued)

��Saving Concrete in Setting Posts in Holes

��Sticky Fly Paper Used to Keep Insects Away from Poultry

TO keep insects away from fowl in a poultry house sticky fly paper may be used with good results. It is placed sticky side down on the upright parts holding the roosts, which rest on the paper. Do not allow the paper to touch the sides of the building in any place. It is also a help to keep the roosts and parts well greased with some thick grease well rubbed in to fill all the cracks. If there are any night prowling insects in the coop a fair sample of them will be found stuck to the paper in the morning.

Large poultry houses should have metal supports for roosts, with grooves for the ends of the roosts to rest in without fasten- ing. Raise the end of such a roost and put a small piece of fly paper under it, sticky side down. Be careful that the edge of the paper does not stick against the support. — Paul Greer.

��THE ordinary method of setting a post in concrete is to set the post into the hole and fill in around with concrete. This is wasteful and does not reach the highest effi- ciency.

A square hole should be dug so that the con- crete will have square corners. After placing the post in posi- tion the concrete s ho u 1 d b e poured in until the hole is about one-fifth filled. The concrete is marked A in the drawing. The hole is par- tially filled with wet earth, here marked B, leav-

The part of the hole be- in & r ° om for tween blocks filled in with dirt m <>re concrete. The upper con- crete block should be about 50 percent larger than the lower block to offset any difference in the hardness of the ground. There is practically no strain exerted against the ground between the two con- crete blocks. — Robert W. Phelps.

���Waterproofing Blue Prints and Drawings for Rough Handling

WHEN blue prints are handled to a great extent or when it is necessary to use them outdoors, as in construction work, they often become spotted by water or soiled; which makes the prints difficult to read. Waterproofing them protects them from the water, and makes it possible to wash them off when they become soiled. The waterproofing can be accomplished by dipping the prints in melted paraffin wax and hanging them by the corner to drain. Another method, not so clumsy, is to immerse heavy blotting paper in the wax and when cold lay the print between two of the sheets and pass a hot iron over them. These processes are applicable to all kinds of papers. — Thomas W. Benson. .

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