Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/84

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��Popular Science Montlily

��How One Builder Keeps His Men Em- ployed During the Winter Months

NEARLY all of the con- crete founda- tions for a new lumber shed and a new ce- ment and lime storage shed in Cumberland, Wisconsin, were laid during zero weathe:. The water and aggregates fDr mixing were heated, and shavings were packed in a .compartment outside the forms to prevent the freshly placed cement from freezing. The cement was left in the forms until spring. When examined it was found to be perfectly good and solid.

���The materials used during zero weather

��it is light in weight and convenient to handle, as well as strong enough to resist the interior 200-pound steam pressure

upon which the cooking de- pends. Safety devices are pro- vided on the cover to take care of the sur- plus steam. The safety valve is made separable, so that it m.ay be easily cleaned and kept in condition. The steam gage is calibrated to thirty pounds on a dial that can easily be read. When the food has been in the cooker long enough, a thumb-screw of the petcock is turned to release the steam so that cooking will stop.

��in making the cement had first to be heated

��The Newest Type of Cooker Was In vented Two Hundred Years Ago

OUT in Denver, Co\., a new type of fireless cooker has been put on the mar- ket, by J. E. Crook, which is frankly an improvement on an idea two hundred years old. It is called a pressure cooker and is so small that it may be packed away in >our trunk when you go away to the coun- try, or in the automo- bile when you con- template a long trijj. It is simi)ly a fit earn-tight cooker, com|)lete in itself, without the usual box- container. It is made of aluminum, so that

���The cooker in operation. Note the steam gage and the petcock

��A Novel Operation to Cure Hysteri- cal Deafness in Soldiers

SURGEONS have recently identifi- ed hysterical deafness in soldiers as deafness not accompanied by muteness. They are curing it by an opera- tion. The patient is given enough ether to excite him, then two small cuts are made behind his ear. A hammer is then banged on a sheet of iron, and, if the opera- tion is successful, the patient jumps off the table with his hearing completely restored. Before the operation is made, the patient is encouraged to feel that he will be cured.

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