Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 141, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 June 1916 — HANDICRAFT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HANDICRAFT FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

By A. NEELY HALL and DOROTHY PERKINS

(Copyright, by A. Neely Hall.)

A TOY MOTOR BOAT. The toy motor-boat shown in the illustrations is propelled by a tin propeller run by a rubber-band motor. First cut out the hull from a piece of wood 1 inch thick, making it of the shape r.nd dimensions shown in Fig. 3. Be careful to curve the side edges the same. The stern end should be sawed oft on a bevel as shown in Fig. 4. The sides of the boat (B, Figs. 4 and 6) are thin strips 2% inches wide. Nail one to one edge of the hull, then

saw off the bow end on a line with the bow of the hull, and the stern end on the same slant as the bevel cut on the stern of the hull. With one side in place, nail on the second side and trim off its ends. The stern piece (C, Figs. 5 and 6) should be cut next to fit the slanted ends of the sides. The propeller (E, Fig. 6) is cut from the side of a tin can. Cut a piece 3 inches long and % inch wide, round its ends, and with the point of a nail pierce a hole through It each side of the center of the length of the piece (Fig. 7). To finish the propeller, it is only necessary to take hold of the two ends and twist the piece into the shape shown in Fig. 8. The propeller

| is mounted upon a short wire shaft, one end of which is bent into a hook (F, Fig. 8). Stick the long end of this shaft through one hole in the propeller, and the hooked end through the other hole, then twist the hooked end over on to the main part of the shaft, as shown in Fig. 9. The propeller is supported upon the bearing plate G (Figs. 6 and 10). Cut this out of a piece of tin 1% inches wide by 3 inches long, bend it in half crosswise to give it stiffness, and then bend it lengthwise to the angle shown so it will fit over the slanted stern cf the boat. Punch two holes through the upper end for nailing to the stern, and a hole at the lower end for' the propeller shaft to run through. A couple of beads must be slipped over the shaft between the propeller and plate G, to act as a bearing” (H, Figs. 9 and 11). Probably you can find a couple of glass beads in your mother’s button bag.

After slipping the beads on to the &haft, and sticking the shaft end through the hole in bearing plate G. bend the end of- the shaft into a hook; then screw a small screw-hook into the bottom of the hull of the boat, at the bow end (I, Fig. 6), and you will bq, ready for the rubber-band motor. Rubber bands about 1% inches in length are best for the purpose. Loop these together end to end (Fig. 12) to form a strand that will reach from hook I to the hook on the pro-peller-shaft; then form three more strands of this same length, and slip the end loops of all four strands over the hooks. .

MINIATURE GREENHOUSE FOR STARTING SEEDS INDOORS. Small boxes are better than large ones, because the earth makes the boxes heavy and the smaller they are the easier they are to handle. Starch boxes are of a good size. Fig. 1 shows the simpler form of miniature greenhouse Cut the tops of the starch box ends slanted so that the front edge is about 2Vi

inches high and the rear edge 5 Inches high, and cut down the front and back even with the edges of the ends, as Indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. Many of you girls will find it no trick at all to cut down the starch box in this way, but. if you think you cannot do it, ask father or brother to lend a hand. With the cutting done, get a piece of glass large enough to fit over the top and project a trifle over the front and ends. Possibly you can find an unused picture frame with a glass of the right size, or several camera plates that can be fastened together with passepartout paper to make a piece large enqgjgh to cover the box; if not, a painter will sell you a piece for a nickel. The model shown in Fig. 4 looks more like a florist’s nursery greenhouse. The starch box which forms

the foundation must be cut down as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 5, so the remaining depth will be about two ’and one-half Inches (Fig. 6). With the box thus prepared, cut two end pieces out of thick cardboard (A, Fig. 7), and tack these to the box ends. Make the peak of each 8 inches above the bottom edge. The box may 'be 'stood on end upon the cardboard for the purpose of marking out the lower portion of end pieces A. When the cardboard ends have been marked out, cut, and tacked to the box ends, procure two pieces of glass of the right size to project over the ends A and sides of the box, as shown in Fig. 4. Join these two pieces (B and C, Fig. 8) at the peak with a strip of tape lapped over them (D, Fig. 8). Unless the boxe- are lined with metal they are likely to leak after you water the planted seeds, so <t is a good idea to place a cake tin or something of the sort beneath to catch the drippings, and to attach spool feel to keep the bottoms high and dry.

Give the outside of the boxes a couple of coats of white enamel. Select the loamlest soil that you can find in last summer’s garden for filling your miniature greenhouses; also, get some pebbles or broken stone. Scatter a layer of the stone over th * box bottom, then spread the soil to a depth of 6 or 6 inches on top o* the stone. Plant your seeds not closer than 2 inches apart, and not deeper than four diameters of the seeds. Water frequently to keep the soil continuously moist, .-Jid allow plenty of sunlight to enter through the glass roofs.