The top of the cabinet containing the utensils or an ordinary kitchen table closed in as a cupboard underneath, may be made to serve. Long boards, about eighteen inches wide, placed across the tops of six or eight desks, provide good accommodation. These should be blocked up level and should be provided with cleats at each end, in order to prevent movement. When not in use they may stand flat against the wall and occupy very little space. Separate boards, resting on a desk at each end, may also be placed across the aisles. Each of these will provide working space for one pupil. Tables which drop down flat when not in use may be fixed to the walls of the school-room. As schools vary in many respects, it is not possible to outline a plan which will suit all; but that plan should be chosen which will best meet the requirements of the particular school.
Fig. 23—Folding Table
Fig. 24—Household Science Cabinet for Rural Schools
2. The cupboards and cabinets to contain the utensils may take various forms. A kitchen cabinet costing from twenty-five to thirty-five dollars may be obtained from a furniture store, or one may be made by a local carpenter. A large packing-case painted brown outside and white inside (for cleanliness) is satisfactorily used in some schools. If covered with oil-cloth, the top of this may be used as an additional table. A few shelves placed across a corner of the room and covered with a door or curtain may be used, or it may be possible to devote one shelf of the school cupboard to the storing of the utensils. It is desirable to have a combination cupboard and table, which will contain most of the equipment, including the stove. Figure 24 is a working drawing of such a cabinet, which may be made by a local carpenter or by the older boys of the school.
The directions for making this cabinet are as follows:
Obtain two boxes and cut or re-make them so that each is 30 inches high when standing on end, 12¼ inches across the front inside, and 18 inches from front to back. These will form the two end Sections, A and B. Inside the sides of these boxes nail 1 inch × ⅞ inch strips, to form the slides for the drawer. The slides come within ⅞ of an inch of the front edge. Rails may be nailed across the front. Guide pieces should be nailed to the slides, in order to keep the drawers straight. Divide Section A for one drawer and cupboard. The drawers may be made out of raisin boxes cut down to the required size. To the front of each drawer, nail a piece of beaver board or pine a little larger than the drawer front.