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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. 



