Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/462

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��Pop}(lar Science Monthly

��A Rustic Seat Made from an Old Tree Stump

IT was merely as a matter of convenience that the largest limb of a tree which was felled, was sawed off nearer the

���The shape of this tree made a very simple task to construct a seat from its stump

ground than were the two smaller branches. However, this at once sug- gested a seat, which was very easily made. A piece of board was placed on the large stump and a simple back made of two cross poles with vertical slats nailed to them was fastened between the two smaller limbs. With the bark removed and the surface coated with a dull green paint the seat harmonizes with the sur- roundings.

��Admitting Air to a Pullman Car Without Creating a Draft

WHEN one is traveling in a stuffy, crowded train, especially in cold weather, when all the windows are closed, the jouncing of the cars over the rails, coupled with the close atmosphere, often produced a feeling similar to sea-sickness.

Fresh air relieves this nausea, but the windows of a railway coach are so situated that when the train is moving fast, the pressure of air is so great that it rushes past the person for whom it is intended, and in cold weather causes the passengers directly behind much discomfort. To remedy this is a simple mutter.

Take a newspaper, fold it once and roll it into the shape of a cone. Place the

��large end of the cone outside the window which is opened about 4 in. The small end is held very close to the nostrils, not at right angles to the window but at an angle, somewhat forward, at which the air can be taken in. The speed of the train causes the air that enters the large end of the cone to be carried directly to the nostrils, and as the window is only open from 3 to 4 in., very little draft is created. If one finds that cinders are coming in through the cone, move the cone about 2 in. forward and place the hand at right angles to the face, close to the nose, on the side away from the window. In this way the air strikes the hand first and travels along the palm to the nostrils, while the cinders strike the hand and fall harmlessly to the floor.

��A Test Which Tells You When Butter Is Not Butter

DO you know how to make a test to determine if you are buying real butter or a worked-up article such as a butter mixture or margarine ? The test is an interesting one. Place a small lump of the material in an old spoon and hold this over a spirit stove or a gas burner. Watch how it boils. Real but- ter will boil quietly, making a large amount of froth. Margarine makes a great deal of noise, spluttering like a green

���Genuine butter will always boil quietly while margarine will sputter and crackle

stick placed in the fire. This is a sure test by means of which you can find out whether or not you are really getting pure butter.

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