598 



Popular Science Moiithhj 



It's Raining, But the Glass Umbrella 

 Keeps the Record Book Dry 



THE numbers of the freight cars leav- 

 ing or entering a depot, have to be 

 recorded rain or shine. How to enter 

 figures in a book during wet weather 



without blurring the 



pages has been a 

 problem. 



Now comes the 

 "book umbrella," a 

 small, oblong glass 

 box, open at the un- 

 derside to allow the 

 number-taker to in- 

 sert his hand. Of 

 course, the book is 

 held inside the pro- 

 tecting glass. Clips 

 are provided at the 

 top and bottom to 

 keep the book open 

 at the desired page. 



The case, six inches 

 square, is fitted with 

 a strap which can be 

 suspended from the 

 clerk's shoulder. A 

 larger sized "um- 

 brella," made to hold 

 loose, flat sheets, is 

 also obtainable. For 

 night use, an electric light can be affixed 

 to the upper end of the box, and in addi- 

 tion to enabling the user to see to write, 

 it answers the purpose of a lantern 

 to see the necessary data written on the 

 car and to get about the yard. 



The case is light, strong and durable. 

 Clips hold the book open as required 



with 



These Home-Made Tools Save the 

 Cost and Keep of a Horse 



WITH the home-made garden tools 

 shown in the accompanying illus- 

 trations a man at San Jacinto, California, 

 cultivates five acres of ground without the 



aid of a horse. On 



his grounds ornamen- 

 tal shrubs grow. A 

 horse could not be 

 driven close without 

 injuring them. With 

 a similar set of tools 

 a small fruit orchard 

 is also kept in con- 

 dition. 



The cultivator con- 

 sists of a number of 

 spikes driven into a 

 three-foot piece of 

 pine, and having their 

 heads flattened to 

 make a cutting edge. 

 The top of the tool is 

 reinforced with an- 

 other piece of wood 

 and a five-foot handle 

 is fitted. A piece of 

 iron gives the neces- 

 sary weight. 



A rake similar to 



the one described, but 



I strip of thin steel cut from a saw 



blade and soldered to the flattened heads 

 of the spikes, is used as a weed cutter. 

 The cutting blade is inserted from two to 

 threeinchesbeiowthesurface of theground 

 and cuts off the weeds from their roots. 



The above set of honi< m . !< < ultivating tools enables one man to cultivate five acres of 

 land without the nccebsily ul keeping a horse, which would spoil his ornamental shrubs 



