284 



Popular Science Monthly 



A Screen Cover for an Ordinary 

 Flower Holder 



PLACING flowers in the ordinary 

 vase bunches them so that they do 

 not fall gracefully. A few flowers may 

 be prettily displayed and made to look 



Any jar or bowl may be covered with this 

 screen made of rings soldered together 



like a large bunch if each stem is placed 

 in one of the openings in this screen-like 

 covering for a bowl or similar container. 

 Screens for this purpose may be pur- 

 chased, but they are very easily made 

 at home. I made the one illustrated from 

 small brass rings which cost me only 

 twenty cents. The manner of construction 

 is as follows: 



Select from the pantry, a small pot 

 cover that has seen considerable service 

 and that has no tin left on it. It should 

 have enough curve to give it the desired 

 shape. Turn the concave side of the 

 cover up, and place one ring in 

 the center, over the spot where the 

 knob is riveted. Such a cover must have 

 a metal knob as it will be subjected to 

 heat. Around the center ring lay the 

 other rings until the size desired for 

 your screen is reached. Then solder the 

 rings together. 



Procure some wire solder and acid; 

 place a small bit of solder on the rings 

 where they touch one another and put on 

 a bit of the acid. When all joints have 

 been gone over, take up the cover 

 with a pair of pliers and hold it over a 

 small flame so that it will be heated 

 evenly and just enough to run the solder. 

 Then take it where it will quickly cool. 

 After cooling, it is ready for use. If it 

 is desired to have a fancy screen, the cover 

 can be plated in nickel, in copper, natural 

 or oxidized, or in the more precious 

 metals. If gold or silver is used, the 

 home-made screen will be as expensive as 

 a purchased one. — J. E. Pbttibone. 



Removing the Stains of Silver Nitrate 

 From Cloth 



WHEN using silver nitrate bath solu- 

 tions in photography, the operator 

 frequently stains his hands and clothing 

 with the nitrate. It is not very 

 generally known that certain chemicals 

 will remove the stains, or will render 

 them invisible. The following is appli- 

 cable to clothing: Dissolve in water to a 

 moderate concentration, bichromate of 

 mercury, obtainable at drug stores, and 

 moisten the spot with it until the stain 

 becomes invisible. Or dip the fabric into 

 a copper chloride solution until the stain 

 has disappeared, and then wash it with 

 a fairly concentrated solution of hyposul- 

 phite of soda, followed by a thorough 

 rinsing in water. Or dissolve one part 

 of mercuric chloride, and one part of 

 ammonium chloride in eight parts of 

 water and dip the fabric in the solution. 

 To remove the stains from the hands, a 

 cloth immersed in one of the above 

 mixtures and rubbed on the stained 

 portion of the hand, will usually serve. 

 Some people use potassium cyanide, but 

 the poisonous property of the cyanide 

 makes its use dangerous. 



Soldering a Crack in an Old-Style 

 Copper Bathtub 



SOMETIMES a heavy coating of 

 solder is run over a crack in an 

 old-fashioned cop- 

 per bathtub, or 

 other tank, sheatn- 

 ed in wood. Event- 

 ually the edges of 

 a portion of the 

 metal become cor- 

 roded and through 

 expansion and con- 

 traction of the 

 metal, the crack 

 extends up into the 

 solder. To repair this properly, clean the 

 metal thoroughly, then take a piece of 

 clean tin or copper, wider and longer than 

 the crack, and insert it in the opening as 

 shown. Then work it around until it is in 

 the position of the dotted lines. Fasten 

 it with brass tacks or bright nails. Apply 

 the soldering flux and run the solder, 

 making it heaviest over the crack and 

 the nails. — James M. Kane. 



Placing metal strip 

 back of break 



