Popular Science Monthly 



737 



At the left of the picture the five-passenger arrangement is shown. 

 At right two transverse hinged covers completely conceal the rear seat 



Closed or road 

 ster position 



Changing a Roadster Into a Five- 

 Passenger Car 



THE automobile body shown in the ac- 

 companying illustrations is a real 

 novelty. You can convert it from a five- 

 passenger touring model into a speedy- 

 looking two-seated roadster or vice versa in 

 a few minutes' time. It differs from the 

 ordinary type of con- 

 vertible bodies, in 

 that it looks equally 

 well in either form in- 

 stead of pleasing in 

 one position and poor 

 in the other. When 

 in the roadster form 

 the full-width rear 

 seat of the touring car 

 is completely hidden 

 by two transverse 

 hinged covers which 

 provide an unbroken 

 rear deck line. 



The two hinged 

 covers are attached to 

 patented sliding 

 hinges as shown. The forward cover is 

 upholstered on the bottom and is swung 

 backward and turned completely over to 

 form the cushion of the rear seat. Sim- 

 ilarly the rear cover, also upholstered on the 

 bottom, is swung around as shown to form 

 the back of the rear seat. 



How Plants Accommodate Them- 

 selves to the Climate 



THAT plants breathe and absorb mois- 

 ture is a well known fact. But that 

 some of them breathe faster at intervals in 

 order to generate heat is not so generally 

 known. The soldanellas, which may be 

 found in the lower Alps, are a good example. 

 These delicate bell- 



Upholstered panel 

 floor which close: 

 between seats. 



The forward cover when swung back 

 forms the cushion of the rear seat. 

 Similarly the rear cover forms the back 



Playing Patriotic Tunes on 

 the Air-Brake 



A CHICAGO motorman has discovered 

 that an air-brake is a musical instru- 

 ment. He makes his air-brake give forth 

 "sweet sounds" (he is responsible for the 

 "sweet," not we) by placing his finger over 

 the exhaust. The notes become more 

 shrill when he presses hard. He can play 

 simple melodies. In the interests of pa- 

 triotism he is now learning how to play the 

 Star-Spangled Banner in this way. 



shaped flowers grow 

 up through solid crusts 

 of ice, looking as if 

 they had been stuck 

 there by hand. When 

 the snow covering is 

 very deep and the 

 stalks are not able to 

 reach the surface, the 

 plant immediately sets 

 to work generating 

 enough heat to melt 

 the snow immediately 

 surrounding it, mak- 

 ing a little crater-like 

 bowl in which the 

 purple flowers look 

 like bouquets held in crystal vases. 



Going to the other extreme, we find the 

 Mexican cactus reducing its temperature 

 and that of the sand touching it, and keep- 

 ing comfortably cool even when the heat in 

 the rocks and sand is great enough to blister 

 the hands and feet of the natives. If the 

 cactus is cut and a thermometer is inserted 

 the temperature of the plant will be found 

 to be at least thirty degrees lower than the 

 surrounding atmosphere. Just how this is 

 accomplished is one of the secrets which 

 Nature still keeps. It is perhaps partly 

 because the thick leathery skin of the 

 cactus, which is usually covered with hairs 

 and spines, retains the moisture gathered 

 from the infrequent rains and heavy night- 

 dews, drawing it into the interior of the skin 

 and keeping it cool by protecting it from 

 the sun, thus furnishing its own refrigerat- 

 ing system. 



