Desk-Light Arm Folds into Pigeonhole
This Desk Lamp and Holder Folds Up into a Pigeonhole When Not in Use
The extension arm for an electric lamp shown in the illustration was made of strips from steel building toys. I installed it in my writing desk, and fastened it with one screw to the back of the desk inside the pigeonhole. When collapsed the arm measures 7¹⁄₂ in. from the fastened end to the front end of the socket, leaving only the globe protruding. Extended, it measures 16¹⁄₂ in. The lamp cord is taken through a hole in the back of the desk. If a very rigid arm is wanted, the strips can be doubled. I used screws with two nuts, but rivets can be used also, leaving the joints to move freely. The sliding feature at the inner end adds about 2 in. to the length of the arm when extended.—A. J. Viken, Waterloo, Ia.
A Soldier’s or Traveler’s Kit for Sundries and Toilet Articles
The Soldier Appreciates a Handy Folding Kit, Especially If the Girl He Left Behind Made It
A soldier’s kit approved by a colonel of the national guard because of its compactness, can be made easily of a band of khaki cloth. The kit, including the “housewife,” requires cloth, 27 in. wide. Cut 12 in. from one end for the housewife, which is 12 by 5 in. wide. To make the housewife, fold under the edges ¹⁄₄ in., and fold one end over 2¹⁄₂ in. and the other 1¹⁄₂ in. for pockets. In the larger center pocket can be placed court plaster, adhesive tape, photographs, letters, etc. Bind the edges ¹⁄₄ in., and form other pockets, as shown. The entire kit weighs 1¹⁄₄ lb. and can be carried by the soldier in his army blanket. The housewife, if necessary, can be removed and taken to the firing line. Handy articles to be fitted in the kit are mirror that can be hung up, comb, box of talcum powder, cold cream, tooth paste, pencil, wash cloth, soaps, shaving brush, toothbrush, and scissors. Three safety pins at the top of the bag enable it to be hung up in the tent. Strong binding tapes are sewed to the bag, and it can be folded handily in three sections.—Kate Thomen, Topeka, Kans.
Cooling Foodstuffs with a Moist Rag and a Draft
It is not always necessary to keep milk and butter, or other foodstuffs, in refrigerator temperature to preserve hem, for 50 or 60° will often serve quite as well where the articles are to be consumed within a short time. To accomplish this slight degree of cooling, wrap a moist linen cloth, single thickness, snugly about the dish or package, and place it in a shallow pan of water, in an open window, out of the sun. The brick of butter should be placed on a support to hold it out of the water. The cooling is due to evaporation from the moist cloth. Not infrequently on a warm summer day, a thermometer with a bulb, wetted as suggested, will be 20° cooler in a breeze, than a dry-bulb thermometer.