Popular Science Monthly 



5^5 



the current is sent through one or the 

 other of them the shafts and the gears are 

 moved in or out of mesh by magnetic 

 attraction. 



Each solenoid is wired to a numbered 

 bottom in a small case attached to the 

 steering column directly under the 

 wheel, within easy reach of the 

 driver. There are four buttons, 

 one for each speed-change gear, 

 and as these are pushed, the 

 current is sent through the 

 solenoids as desired, thus 

 moving the gear into mesh. 

 Two gears cannot be thrown 

 into mesh at the same 

 time, as the circuit be- 

 tween each solenoid and 

 its corresponding button is 

 not closed until the clutch 

 pedal is depressed. For this 

 reason the gear into which 

 the driver wishes to go may be 

 selected some time in advance 

 and the change made in an in- 

 stant by simply depressing the 

 clutch pedal and then letting it 

 spring back again. The current 

 necessary to operate the shifter is 

 taken from the battery of the 

 regular starting and lighting sys- 

 tem .now used on most cars. 



temporary structure built around a home 

 erected at Eastern Point, near New London, 

 Conn., by Julius Fleischman. For a while 

 the weather bothered the contractor and it 

 looked as if the home wouldn't be finished 

 at all, whereupon the owner, tak- 

 ing the situation in his own 

 hands, decided to elimi- 

 nate the weather alto- 

 gether by building a 

 house to protect the 

 house. 

 Then the 

 men were 

 able to 

 proceed. 



A simple stair-guard 

 which prevents care- 

 less people from fall- 

 ing down stairs and 

 into open shafts 



Building a House to Protect a House 



— How One Wealthy Man Fooled 



the Weather 



YOU can even make the weather behave, 

 if you are willing to spend the money. 

 If your contractor is facing serious delays in 

 the way of bad weather all you need do is to 

 build an extra house to keep the weather 

 out. 



The accompanying illustration shows a 



The weather interfered with the workmen. So, a 

 protecting structure was erected around the house 



A Simple Elevator Guard Which 

 Makes You Watch Your Step 



A GUARD invented by Harr>- Howe, of 

 Rockford, Illinois, and illustrated 

 above, acts both as a warning and as an 

 obstruction to a person approaching an 

 open elevator shaft or stairway. 



The device, which may be readily 

 attached to one side of the stairway in the 

 home, consists of a bracket and a guard 

 member. The bracket is equipped 

 with guides which automatically keep 

 the guard member in normal position 

 when it is not being operated. 



In going down the stairway or into 

 the passageway, it is necessary only to 

 raise the guard member above the 

 stop portion on the guide, after which, 

 by slight pressure, it follows the guide, 

 swings to a raised position and returns 

 to the normal position as soon as the 

 person has passed. In coming out of 

 a stairway, a slight pressure of the 

 arm or body swings the guard to a 

 raised position, out of the way. 



