HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, 1912 
low level a burnt out heater will often re¬ 
sult. Keep a good amount in the boiler. 
It is also a bad practice to turn the city 
pressure on and then to do something else, 
thinking to return in time. I have known 
of two instances of this kind where too 
much water was allowed to enter. It 
must be remembered that if this is done 
the water will ascend to the rooms above 
and run out through the radiator air re¬ 
lease valves, damaging ceilings, floors, etc., 
to the owner's cost. 
To Clean Enameled Ware 
F or a long time we were bothered with 
the red water stain which formed on 
our white enamel bathtub by not knowing 
any means of removing it. At the sugges¬ 
tion of a chemist we tried a few drops of 
hydrochloric acid. It worked like a charm, 
and removed all traces of the stain. We 
now keep a little bottle of the acid on hand, 
and on cleaning days we rub off any stains 
that there may be. 
A Novel Waste Basket 
A t the side of my mission desk I have 
a trout-basket, stained of a corre¬ 
sponding color and fastened to its side. 
This I use as a waste basket. It has the ad¬ 
vantage of having the small opening in the 
centre of the cover, through which I put 
my waste paper, and there is never an un¬ 
tidy looking waste paper basket around. 
Bathroom Scales 
XE of the most ingenious devices 
among this year’s “Made in Ger¬ 
many” productions is a bathroom scale 
that is diminutive in size, but will register 
a weight up to two hundred and seventy 
pounds. It is made of iron, painted wliite 
and ornamented with gold paint, and is 
not as large as the ordinary kitchen scale. 
The base is only six by eight inches, and 
the whole thing is nine and one-half inches 
high with a top just large enough for a 
person to stand on. On the front of the 
scale, underneath the top, is the circular 
dial, the figures of which are reversed, 
just as they are when seen in a mirror. 
The numbers upon the dial of the bathroom 
scale are in reverse order so that they will 
be reflected naturally in the mirror 
A hinge piece, corresponding in size to 
the front of the scale, is held in place by a 
small brass chain, and contains a mirror 
in which the dial is reflected. As the dial 
figures are reversed the reflection is of 
course correct, and the mirror is held at 
such an angle that a person standing on 
the scale has only to look down and read 
his weight. When not in use the mirror 
can be folded in under the top and the 
scale unobtrusively tucked away in a cor¬ 
ner with no danger of breaking any deli¬ 
cate parts, as the construction is strong 
and simple and the mechanism well pro¬ 
tected. 
A Bird House 
N unusually picturesque little house 
that ought to prove alluring to nest¬ 
building birds is like a beehive in shape, 
with a covering of straw that gives it the 
appearance of a newly thatched and very 
tiny hut, of the kind usually associated with 
pictures of jungles and savages. It is 
This bird house is a picturesque addition to 
house and grounds, and, though of straw, 
is very substantial 
built on a substantial bottom of thick board, 
so that it may be securely fastened to the 
top of a post, a corner of the roof, or any 
other elevated place that may be selected. 
The only opening is a small square hole 
at the bottom, but the quarters are com¬ 
modious and weatherproof, and the house 
has at least the distinction of being at¬ 
tractive looking and quite out of the ordi- 
narv. 
will afford an air space between the funnel 
itself and the floor, while it is very impor¬ 
tant that the basement receptacle should 
be of a standard character, carefully in¬ 
stalled. 
A Water Purifier 
HEN we bought our country home 
we were delighted to find pump 
water as well as spring on the place. We 
had the springs piped to bathrooms and 
kitchen, but reserved the well water for 
drinking. We accordingly had the well 
pumped out and the water analyzed. When 
the report declared the water to be excep¬ 
tionally pure, we began using it on the 
table, only to find in a few weeks that there 
were tiny black, sooty particles floating 
around in it, and that a slightly unpleasant 
odor and taste were becoming more and 
more pronounced. So we again sent to 
the laboratory a sample which was re¬ 
turned with the report, “harmless, but 
filled with alg£E — non-poisonous.” To de¬ 
stroy this "fresh-water seaweed” we were 
advised to have the water again pumped 
out and a bag of blue vitriol suspended in 
the well. Knowing blue vitriol (sulphate 
of copper) to be such a deadly poison we 
were more afraid of the cure than the dis¬ 
ease until we learned that the city water 
was subjected to the same treatment, a bag 
of vitriol being tied to the end of a boat 
which was paddled around the reservoir 
and so distributed through the water. We 
therefore sus])ended a bag holding five 
cents’ worth of blue vitriol in the well, 
stirred it around frequently and found that 
it really did destroy the algae. 
Cleaning Suggestions 
AL-SODA is used a great deal in 
cleaning pipes, since the soda acts 
immediately upon the grease. It can be 
used in powdered form, though the best 
method is to put it into a kettle of boiling 
water and pour it into the pipes. It is 
cheap and should be purchased in large 
quantities for such purposes. It is excel¬ 
lent for scrubbing unvarnished woodwork, 
and is said not to hurt the hands. 
Fireplace Protection 
A new hazard has arisen in the device^ 
now being attached to kitchen ranges 
for the disposition of ashes. A funnel is 
provided underneath the grate extending 
through the floor into a receptacle in the 
basement, the idea being to avoid the 
trouble of taking out ashes in the ordinary 
way. This entails a serious hazard unless 
the pipe in passing through the floor is 
insulated by a protecting sleeve, which 
The scale takes up little room and performs 
its service just as well as a large one. The 
weight is read in the mirror 
