774 



Popular Science Monthly 



The Color of Gasoline Does Not 

 Denote Its Quality 



AT one time the refineries turned out 

 . yellow kerosene and gasoline and 

 the methods used made the liquid some- 

 what dangerous. For this reason, the 

 public demanded a pure white gasoline. 

 But the new cracking process produces a 

 perfectly safe gasoline which has a slight 

 yellowish tinge. 



Converting a Porch Swing Into a 

 Baby's Bed 



A PORCH swing can be easily con- 

 verted into a cool, as well as a safe 

 bed for the baby by attaching a swinging 

 apron to the edge of the seat. The apron 



're ^- - 



A frame covered with wire screen to raise over 

 the seat opening for making a baby's bed 



consists of a frame made the same size as 

 the opening between the two arms of the 

 swing and covered with wire screen. 

 The frame is hinged to the front edge of 

 the seat so that it can be swung up and 

 fastened with hooks and eyes to the out- 

 side of the arm. Another hook can be 

 attached to the under side of the seat and 

 an eye fastened into the frame so that it 



may be used to keep the frame from 

 striking the legs of the occupant when the 

 bed is re-converted into a swing. — J. A. 

 FiTZPATRICK. 



Making a Lawn Leveling Tamper 

 of Wood 



TO make a handy tamper for leveling 

 lawns, paths, etc., first procure a 

 12-ft. piece of 2 by 4-in. scantling, and a 

 section of planking 

 about 10 by 12 in. in 

 size. From the 

 scantling cut four 

 pieces each about 10 

 in. long, four pieces 

 about 12 in. long and 

 one piece about 4 ft. 

 long. This last piece 

 should have one end 

 whittled down into a 

 rounded handle. 



The method of con- 

 structing the tamper 

 can be best under- 

 stood by referring to 

 the drawing, which 

 shows the eight short 

 pieces of scantling 

 nailed together in the 

 form of a "crib" with 

 the 4-ft. piece in the center as a handle 

 and the section of planking nailed to the 

 bottom to make a smooth surface. Ob- 

 viously scraps and odd pieces of scantling 

 of the proper size can be used in place of 

 the 12-ft. piece. Also the number of 

 short pieces can be varied to obtain the 

 weight that is desired. — Frank L. Mattes. 



Removing Yellow Stains from 

 Piano Keys 



PIANO keys, by use, will turn yellow. 

 To restore the original whiteness, put 

 1 oz. of nitric acid in 12 oz. of soft water 

 (pour the acid slowly into the Mater — do 

 not reverse this or the acid will fly up 

 into your eyes) and apply the liquid to the 

 ivory with a brush, taking care that no 

 acid gets on the woodwork. Wash off the 

 acid with a piece of flannel dipped in clean 

 water and wipe with a dry cloth. Besides 

 restoring piano keys, this same mixture is 

 equally efficacious for cleaning the handles 

 of cutlery and other similar articles. 



Tamper made 

 of wood pieces 



