408. The Wood-Pulp Floor.—Floors have been accused of great sins. If the timber is not thoroughly seasoned they warp; if the boards are not properly laid they creak; and the cracks are all at times filled with injurious dust and dangerous germs. Why not invent a wood-pulp floor which shall have no warps, and no cracks, and no creaks? Dry the pulp to powder to facilitate transportation, mix with a small amount of cement, to increase the resistance of the floor, and then after making it a gelatinous mass pass it between rollers. When dry, paint it to imitate oak or other wood. Besides avoiding all the inconveniences and annoyances of the ordinary floor, it will be soft to the foot, and though somewhat more expensive than the entire boards, it will yet be the floor of the future in all comfortable homes.
Section 3. Money in the Kitchen.
409. The Cheap Washer.—For all the many washing machines, most of our women in middle-class and lowly life are still bending painfully over the old tubs. What is needed is a cheap washer that everyone will buy.
410. A Meat Chopper.—One which has a large number of small blades dividing the meat ten or twenty times with one stroke, where now the large blades divide it only one-fourth or fifth that number of times. The scroll bread-knife netted a princely revenue to its fortunate inventor.
411. Automatic Stove-Damper.—One to take the place of the heedless servant, and close when the state of the fire warrants it. Thousands of dollars’ worth of coal could annually be saved to housekeepers by this device.
412. Potato Extractor.—Apply the principle of the glass lemon-squeezer to the raw potato and you have not only a new invention but also a new preparation of the common vegetable. The potato in the form of the raw pulp can be cooked in various ways, and will have a decidedly new and agreeable flavor. As a salad or a dressing it would be invaluable.
413. Knife Sharpener.—One for the kitchen use, that could be sold for twenty-five cents; almost every housekeeper would want one.
414. Cold Handle.—A separate handle which could be instantly applied to utensils on the stove and remove them without burning the hands waits to enrich the inventor. The cold-handled smoothing-iron brought much money to its inventor.
415. The Electric Stove.—Cooking by electricity will be the domestic feature of the next century. There is a rich field here awaiting some inventive brain.
416. Fruit-Jar Holder.—A device for holding fruit jars during the preserving process so that the can will neither burn the hand nor spill the fruit.