902 



Popular Science Monthly 



Ball Throwing with 

 a Sling 



An old State of Washington pioneer hollowed out this huge tree 

 stump to make a dwelling. Now it serves as a bandstand 



A Tree That Served as a Home Is 

 Now a Bandstand 



A PIONEER homesteader in the State of 

 Washington utihzed a partly hollowed 

 tree for a dwelling. He cut off the top, 

 thus leaving the huge cedar stump. This 

 he completely hollowed to the roomy di- 

 mensions of ten feet square, a palatial abode 

 for the locality and the times. The tree 

 itself is fifteen feet in diameter. 



When the old man no longer needed this 

 shelter it was removed to the Seattle Ex- 

 position in 1909, as a curiosity, and at the 

 close of the exposition it was purchased 

 and presented to the city of Tacoma and 

 placed in the city park, A railing was 

 built around the top of the stump to make 

 a platform for band concerts or public 

 speaking. A band of no less than 

 thirty instruments has been accom- 

 modated on it. The interior is 

 fitted with table and chairs for 

 picnickers. 



THE age-old sling has been 

 put on a modern basis 

 by Warren W, Wooster, of 

 New Jersey. A wire clutch 

 in a cup at the end of a pole 

 holds a ball while the pole is 

 swung about the head. A 

 trigger on the handle of the 

 pole is connected with the 

 clutch to release the ball 

 at the proper instant. The 

 ball flies off from the pole 

 toward the target at an 

 enormous speed. 



The pole is hollow and 

 contains a sliding rod inside to connect 

 the trigger with the clutch. The ball is 

 placed in the clutch when the rod is 

 moved out furthest from the handle. 

 Then the elastic wire arms which make up 

 the clutch will be above the top of the cup 

 and will spring open to receive the ball. 

 When the ball is pressed down into the 

 cup, the rod is pushed into the handle, and 

 the trigger engages a collar and holds the 

 rod in place. The handle is grasped with 

 the trigger in the rear. It is whirled about 

 the head and the trigger is pressed at the 

 proper moment. A strong spring at the 

 bottom of the clutch causes the clutch 

 to spring out, and the ball flies off towards 

 the target. 



When using this device the boy stands 

 twice as far away from the target as he 

 would if throwing from the hand 

 alone. 



Plants Like Animals Need Lime 

 for Subsistence 



MOST gardens would grow better 

 if they were given a moderate 

 quantity of slaked lime. Without 

 the proper quantity of lime in the 

 soil, a garden cannot grow hardy 

 vegetables of maximum size. The 

 spreading of very thin layers of the 

 slaked lime during the fall would 

 help considerably. The winter snows 

 and rains would wash it down into 

 the soil so that it would be fully in- 

 corporated with it. A half pound 

 of lime should be used for every fifty 

 square feet of lawn or garden. 



The wire 



arms hold 



the ball while 



the handle is whirled 



about the 



head 



