
Making the Camp Cot More 
Comfortable 
yOu can spend some of your spare 
time to advantage by a simple way 
of making that canvas cot you use for 
camping trips a bit more comfortable. 
If you have had occasion to make a 
bed upon the ground you have probably 
found that if you dug a hole to fit the 
hips before you put your bedding down 
on the ground that it was a great deal 
more comfortable. The same principle 
can be applied to a cot by allowing it to 
have some sag and more nearly ap- 
proach the navy hammock which is 
quite comfortable due to its sag when it 
is hung up for a bed. 
The usual camp cot has end rods 
which are detachable. The rod that 
holds the canvas across the head of the 
cot should have the canvas tacked firmly 
upon it with staples after first cutting 
the canvas strip and sewing in an extra 
length of canvas about a foot long. The 
extra length of material allows you to 
roll up or let out the canvas to get the 
desired sag in it lengthwise. This sag 
is the exact thing that makes a cot 
much more comfortable as you will find 
after the first night’s sleep upon it. 
The usual cot is too tight and this is 
the principal reason why most campers 
find that they have to get used to the 
hardness of it before they can really 
get a good full night’s rest upon it. 
After you have the canvas attached to 

the end rod the next step is to make an 
attachment for this rod to fit firmly 
upon the ends of the two lengthwise 
rods which hold the length of the can- 
vas in place. 
A strip of galvanized iron is screwed 
upon the ends of each lengthwise rod 
as shown in the drawing. A hole is 
bored through each strip so that you 
can fit a screw bolt with a turn buckle 
end through these holes and with the 
end rod in place and a hole bored 
through it to fit the bolt, you can place 
it between the strips. Run the bolt 
through the rod and hold it firmly in 
place. A galvanized bolt and strips of 
the same material are advised to pre- 
vent rust when exposed to air and mois- 
ture. W. K. 
Auto Spring Lubrication Covers 
EFORE you take that next tour 
with the auto it would be wise to 
make some spring covers for the car 
and forget lubrication of the springs 
for at least a season. 
Get some imitation leather and cut 
strips to fit each section of the springs 
on both sides of the front and rear 
axles. Take a tape measure and get 
the length of spring and also the mea- 
surement around the spring near the 
axle and also near the outer ends. 
Cut the strips with a tapering width. 
The widest part of the strip to fit 
around the spring near the axles. After 

Page 475 

the eight strips have been cut, fold over 
the edges and put in shoe hooks. Any 
shoe repairing establishment will put 
these in for you at a small cost with a 
machine which is made for this pur- 
pose. 
Shoe Lact Canoe 
Show Hooks Method of lacing 
With the hooks in place on two long 
edges of each strip you are now ready 
to cover the inside of the strips with a 
layer of hard grease about one-quarter 
inch thick. Then place the cover up 
under the spring and lace it over the 
top with a shoe lacing. 
This will take care of all spring lu- 
brication for at least a year. 
W. A. KIMBALL, 
Keene, N. H. 
Wading Net 
IN fishing a particularly treacherous 
trout stream last season, a New 
York dentist slipped and was carried 
down through the white water for some 
yards before he could regain the shore. 
Later while drying his clothes, he, 
en nude (in the manner of Rodin’s 
statue, “The Thinker’), had time for 
reflection. 
His conclusions were made on the 
spot and the following week he searched 
the sporting goods stores for a wading 
net, but to no avail. The obvious solu- 
tion then was to make one. 
He did this by using two pieces of 
stout cane (sawed from an old-fash- 
ioned fish pole) 3% feet each in length. 
These were joined in the center with 
a stout brass ferrule. To one end, the 
net was attached by removing the 
standard fastening from an old net 
and pinning it to the staff; to the other 
end was fitted. a rubber crutch grip, 
reinforced with friction tape. 
Trailing behind from a supporting 
cord as one wades, it is a simple and 
efficient contrivance. 
“WEST BRANCH.” 
