Popular Science Monthly 



oQo 



Making Clothing from a Fabric 

 Woven from Nettle Fiber 



WE agree that war is — all they say it is. 

 But the spur of necessity which it 

 has applied has brought forth a host of in- 

 ventions and new ideas. Today, because 

 cotton and wool have been requisitioned for 

 the armies and supplies for general purposes 

 have been curtailed or cut off, the Germans 

 are making a soft, lustrous material from 

 the fiber of nettles. It is thin and strong 

 and makes up beautifully into articles of 

 clothing. 



Several years ago experiments were made 

 with nettle fiber but difficulty was en- 

 countered in separating the fibrous from the 

 vegetable matter. Muriatic acid was used 

 for the purpose, and a dessicating process 

 was also tried, but results were unsatis- 

 factory. The method now used overcomes 

 all difficulties and leaves the fabric soft 

 and pliable enough for any use. 



Special crops of nettles are now being 

 cultivated. There are twelve thousand 

 trustees and public officials promoting the 

 collection of them. 



Was This Inspired by the Recent 

 Prohibition Movement ? 



WIXE bottles exposed on the sideboard 

 may be perfectly useful articles. But 

 when the prohibition advocate comes to call, 

 there is a grand rush to clear them away. 

 A New York woman comes 

 to the rescue with a hollow 

 doll into which said bot- 

 tles always disappear 

 when not in use. 



These considerate 

 dolls, as the illus- 

 trations show, are 

 made to fit over 

 the bottles, com- 

 pletely concealing 

 them. The main 

 portion of the bot- 

 tle is concealed by 

 the body of the 

 doll and the clothes 

 in which it is 

 dressed. 



The head of the 



The hollow doll, pushed 

 the bottle, completely 



'loll is hinged and is shaped inside to fit the 

 'P of the bottle. You have only to throw 

 uack the doll's head to pour out a drink. 

 The device might also be used to conceal 

 large-sized medicine bottles on the table 

 of the sick-room. 



The front handles are held in one hand and 

 are continually drawn in and out by pressure 



Strap It on Your Neck and Cut Your 

 Hair Yourself 



SHOULD ever>' barber in the United 

 States go on a strike the invention 

 pictured above would surely prove popular. 

 You strap to your neck a yoke somewhat 

 similar to that used on oxen. On one side 

 of this, a carr}ing-bar is pivoted; on the 

 rear end a hair-clipper is held, while on the 

 front end are operating handles. The 

 clipper consists of a number of shears some- 

 what like sheep- 

 shears operated by 

 two levers at- 

 tached to the clip- 

 per. A guard is 

 provided to keep 

 these a safe dis- 

 tance from the 

 head. There ic a 

 string -and-pulley 

 arrangement con- 

 necting the front 

 operating handles 

 with the two levers 

 so that the levers 

 may be worked by 

 the handles when 

 the "operation" is 

 progressing. To 

 use the apparatus 

 you simply adjust 

 the clipper the dis- 

 tance from the 

 guard at which you desire to cut your 

 hair (thus regulating the length), keep 

 the handles going and move the clippers 

 about by swinging the carr\'ing-bar upon 

 its pivot until the entire head has been 

 gone over. 



down over the neck of 

 conceals it from view 



