A lawn that shows patches of grass with bare spots, or only partly covered with grass can be sown with seed that will fill the uncovered places by using the tool illustrated. It is made of a block of wood, 1 in. thick, into which several large nails are driven so that their ends project about 1¹⁄₂ in. Another block is fastened on top of the nail heads to keep them from pushing out of their holes. A handle is attached to the latter block.
The tool is used by driving it into the earth where there is no grass, or in thin places, and the grass seed is sprinkled into the holes. In raking over the lawn the young grass is not so apt to be torn out and destroyed before it gets a good root.—Contributed by Edmund H. Trabold, Orange, N. J.
A Porch Swing
A Porch Swing Having a Rail That Incloses the Person Sitting in It
The seat of the swing consists of a board, 30 in. long, 14 in. wide, and 1 in. thick, with holes bored in each corner for the ropes. The rail at the top is made of four oak pieces, two of them 30 in. long, for the sides, and the other two 18 in. long, for the ends; all 3 in. wide and ⁷⁄₈ in. thick. The ends of these pieces are finished rounding, and holes are bored in them for the supporting ropes. The supports for the rails consist of four pieces of ³⁄₄-in. pipe, 15 in. long. The ropes are run through the holes in the ends of the rails, down through the pipes and through the holes in the seat board, where they are knotted.
A rope tied to a convenient post or screw hook makes a handy way to give motion by pulling. To get into the swing, raise one of the side rails on the rope.—Contributed by Ward M. Mills, Bakersfield, Cal.
¶Cover the top and side of ice in a refrigerator with a piece of Canton flannel, and the ice will last longer.
Sheepshank Knot Used to Recover Rope
