Ingenious Devices 
LABOR-SAVING SCHEMES AND SHORT CUTS IN THE HOUSE AND IN THE GARDEN 
Flower-pots in Jardinieres 
T HE upper portion of a flower-pot 
stood up several inches above the 
jardiniere top, with the result that the 
ugly brick red of the pot killed the beauty 
of the jardiniere. I painted the upper 
portion of the pot with an enamel which 
harmonized with the decoration of the 
jardiniere, of which it seemed really a 
continuation. M. E. S. H. 
To Prevent Worms in Dried Fruit 
S UN-DRIED fruit is likely to be in¬ 
fested with worms which hatch out 
in the winter or spring, the eggs having 
been laid in the fruit while drying. These 
eggs may be destroyed by heating to a 
temperature of 140 degrees, or higher, 
but where heated in the oven one is apt 
to forget them and thus lose some of the 
fruit by burning or scorching. A better 
way is to dip the sack of fruit into a 
vessel of boiling water, letting it remain 
half a minute. The fruit will not be wet 
to any great extent, and as this should 
be done in the late fall or winter, it may 
be spread out and dried for a day with¬ 
out fear of flies, then put back into the 
sack. No worms will hatch in fruit so 
treated. H. F. G. 
Clogged Gas Pipes 
T HE blaze from an open gas jet in the 
kitchen had dwindled to a mere 
speck of light, the flame being no larger 
than a thumb nail, and manifestly inade¬ 
quate for lighting purposes. When the 
man came to read the meter I called his 
attention to it, asking what was wrong. 
“Nothing but the goose neck,” he replied; 
“it’s probably filled up.” With a small 
wrench he removed the tip, thumb-screw, 
burner and all, then hit the “goose neck" 
a few sharp raps at the back. To my 
surprise about a tablespoonful of rust or 
soot flakes fell out. When no more came 
he screwed the tip on again, lighted the 
jet and the flame was as large and bright 
as ever. 
Since then I have been able to repair 
any burner having a “goose neck” or hori¬ 
zontal lower tube. One has only to un¬ 
screw the tip, knock the dirt out and 
screw tip on again as quickly as may be. 
Some gas will escape, but not enough to 
do harm if one works swiftly. Or, if 
you know how, you can first turn off the 
gas back of the meter. M. E. S. H. 
Watering Single Plants and Shrubs 
ATERING as is usually undertaken 
with a hose is unsatisfactory and 
surprisingly ineffective. To be of any real 
service it must be continued daily while 
the dry weather lasts if it is to be any¬ 
thing more than a serious disadvantage 
to the plants. A thorough wetting down 
with a hose, even when the surface be¬ 
comes mud, does not go into the ground 
very deeply. Usually the water penetrates 
less than two inches. Its use appears to 
be largely in preventing evaporation from 
below. Even when continued regularly, 
the surface of the ground is baked as the 
sun gets warm and plants feel the full 
effect of the drought. Another disadvan¬ 
tage is that the surface moisture coaxes 
the roots to the surface, as it were, and 
so they are injured as the ground dries. 
To avoid some of the evils of surface 
watering, and not having time to water 
the garden daily, the author tried some 
experiments, first upon a big castor oil 
plant. With a crowbar a two-inch hole 
was made alongside the plant, about 18 
inches deep. Water was poured into the 
hole until it remained full for four or five 
minutes. Then the hole was covered with 
a stone and no further attention was paid 
to it for two or three days. Then the wa¬ 
ter treatment was renewed. So at inter¬ 
vals throughout the season the plant had 
its doses of water. It responded vigor¬ 
ously to the treatment and did not seem 
to mind the dry summer. 
The next spring when the tomatoes 
were set out. a more substantial method 
was employed. By the side of each plant 
a 7- or 8-inch flower-pot was sunk in the 
soil. This was covered with its saucer; 
the hole in the bottom of the pot was left 
open. When dry weather came the flower¬ 
pots were filled with water The watering 
was of course repeated several times until 
the flower-pots stood full for a few min¬ 
utes. Then the saucers were replaced and 
the watering for a day or two was finished. 
Instead of flower-pots old tin cans were 
afterward used, and a stone laid on top 
of them for a cover. Three or four holes, 
of course, have to be punched in the bot¬ 
tom. 
This method of underground watering 
has great advantages when single valuable 
plants are to be protected from dry 
weather. W. E. Partridge 
Fertilizer from the Druggist’s 
P EOPLE living in small towns some¬ 
times find it difficult to obtain proper 
fertilizers for house plants. Barnyard 
fertilizers are not always obtainable, while 
bone meal is seldom to be purchased in 
country stores. An excellent fertilizer 
and tonic may be procured at any drug 
store, the quality being vouched for by 
the government’s New York Experiment 
Station. The ingredients are Y\ pound of 
nitrate of soda, pf pound phosphate of 
soda and }/% pound of sulphate of potash. 
Pulverize and mix thoroughly, and when 
required for use dissolve one tablespoon¬ 
ful in one gallon of hot, soft water. Al¬ 
low one cupful (cold) to each six-inch 
pot; more in proportion to larger pots. 
Use once a week. M. E. S. H. 
Ants on House Plants 
If you would rid flower-pots from ants 
put some small pieces of camphor about 
on the soil, and the ants will soon scatter 
away not to return in a hurry. Of course 
when watering the camphor must be re¬ 
moved. 
Making Porous Jardinieres 
Watertight 
r I ' HE most artistic jardiniere may 
sometimes prove an undesirable 
possession, being so porous that moisture 
from the plant strikes through, ruining 
the finish of table or tabouret. To pre¬ 
vent this close the pores of the jardiniere 
by varnishing the entire inside, and the 
outside bottom as well. Give two or 
three coats, drying thoroughly before the 
next is applied. M. E. S. H. 
To Produce Variegated Roses 
Y EARS and years ago my grand¬ 
mother had a rose-bush in her yard 
that was the wonder of the whole city, 
because of its yellow, red and white roses. 
Sometimes a flower would be striped, 
sometimes spotted, sometimes one color 
would predominate, then another. 
This result was obtained by braiding 
together the roots of three varieties in 
these colors and planting them as one 
bush. This was done in the fall so that 
the roots could be well grown together be¬ 
fore blooming time. L. McC. 
Plumbing Faucet Washers 
T HE washers on our wash-tub faucets 
were held on by small nuts which, 
of course, allowed a new washer to be 
put on when necessary. But in time the 
threads wore down so that the nuts would 
no longer hold the washers. Our plumber 
said the only remedy was new faucets, 
but as it would have required a large ex¬ 
penditure, both for labor and the cost of 
the faucets themselves, I asked him to cut 
a new thread, and to use a slightly smaller 
die than the one by which the threads were 
originally cut, and new nuts to fit. He 
did so and the faucets are doing service 
and will continue to do so for many years 
to come, as the new thread is as good a 
one as they had when new. 
There seems to be no reason why, in 
case the washers are held on (as is some¬ 
times the case with certain makes) with 
a screw, if the thread wears down so 
much that the screw will no longer hold, a 
slightly larger hole cannot be drilled, a 
new thread cut and a slightly larger screw 
used instead. C. K. F. 
(240) 
