A Blotting Pad.—A very serviceable blotting-pad may be made upon the same principle as the case for shaving papers. The measurements only will be different, and a pad of writing paper may be made in the same way.
Shaving Papers. — Hygrometer.
A Hygrometer.—This is a Greek word made up of hygros meaning moist, and metron a measure. It indicates how much or how little moisture there is in the air. In the diagram is a small nail A, a thread B, or better still, a long hair begged from your mother, sister, or friend. C is a weight of some kind. The author had a penny that had a hole in it. Hang this on a wall in your bedroom or in an outhouse, or even in some sheltered place out of doors. When you hang it up rule a line at D, and put the date. In damp weather the weight will rise, in dry it will descend so you may rule other lines showing where it was at different times of the year. The hair should be as free from oil as possible. You may have noticed that the clothes line slackens in dry weather, and tightens on rainy days, and this applies also to the cords of the window blinds. There is a story that when some men were putting a London monument in position, by a miscalculation it needed to be raised just a few inches more, and this elevation the men were unable to bring about. At last, from the crowd that had gathered to watch the proceedings, a sailor bawled, “Wet the ropes.” They wetted the ropes, and up went the heavy monument into its right place.
CHAPTER XX.
FIRESIDE AMUSEMENTS
I
Chess in Twelve Easy Lessons.—There is nothing like beginning at the beginning, so I first give a diagram of the board and men as set out for play.
