A device patented by a Virginia man can be used to hold a fishing pole on land or in a boat, to signal with a bell when a fish has been hooked, to dig bait, and to cut and clean fish.
A Kansas farmer has just invented a tool that takes the place of four. It is a combination saw, sickle, corn knife, and pruning knife. The tool is made to serve the various purposes by simply turning a ratchet.[Pg 61]
A new arrangement for mosquito bars has been devised by a Texas woman. There is an elastic band at the bottom, which keeps the netting firmly secured to the bed or cradle, making it impossible for mosquitoes or other insects to annoy sleepers. There is an opening on the side of the bar, through which the person enters the bed.
A Minneapolis woman is the patentee of a strip of flexible material to be inserted in a buttonhole to facilitate the work of sewing over its edges.
So that baggage cannot fall out on passengers’ heads, a new rack for railroad cars is almost completely inclosed, access being provided by sliding doors.
To save a housewife bending over while sweeping, a dustpan has been invented that is heavy enough to stay where it is moved with the foot and with a guard to retain accumulated sweepings.
A novel sketching table for artists is supported by a single leg to which an umbrella also can be clamped to provide shade.
Bibles Behind Their Bars.
Saloon keepers in Bellaire, Ohio, are so careful in their efforts to obey the law that all have Bibles behind their bars to be used when any question arises as to the age of the person buying a drink. When the bartender is in doubt, he compels the seeker for liquor to swear on the Bible that he is over twenty-one years of age.