Popular Science Monthly
��485
��Fiber Containers Take the Place of Tin Cans for Preserved Foods
TIN is scarce. Imports have decreased, due to reduced production and poorer shipping facilities. "Ready-to-eat" foods are prepared in the containers; hence they require tin cans. Many foods, like ripe olives, jams, and spices, can be packed as well in glass jars. But the price of glass is steadily rising.
To conserve glass and tin, containers of fiber or. paper are being made in increas- ingly large quantities. They come in various sizes and shapes adapted to differ- ent uses. Most of them are coated with paraffin, which prevents leakage and helps to make the container airtight and to keep it board-stiff.
Fiber containers can be recommended for cream, oysters, syrups, dried fruits, jellies, mincemeat, horseradish, pickles, deviled ham, chicken, vinegar, mustard, sauer- kraut and olives.
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��With this combination knife and fork a wounded man can cut and eat his food without assistance
��The Umbrella Hat— It Was Invented Years Ago by an American
THE umbrella hat is not a recent inven- tion, but was familiar years ago to the residents of Seattle, as the particular head- gear of Robert W. Patten. He was a picturesque figure on the city streets, and he always wore the hat which he invented while mining Mexico.
The hat is mounted on a frame which fits closely around the head and branches out in ribs like those of an umbrella. Originally, netting was draped around it to keep off the mosquitoes. The umbrella portion could be tilted to any angle.
Although not as wide as an ordinary umbrella, when used with an all- enveloping rain-coat, the umbrella hat keeps off the rain as well as if it were larger. The idea has been adopted in a modified de- gree by farmers.
���The umbrella hat can be tilted at any angle to keep off the sun
��A Combination Knife and Fork for the Wounded
EVEN the ordinary tableware is under- going changes and improvements to. meet the needs of the soldiers who have been wounded. The accompanying illus- tration shows a combination knife and fork which will enable a man eat in comfort without hav- to call on some one else to cut up his food.
The knife blade is equip- ped with a bone handle at one end, and at the other it curves up and around and ends in four prongs like those of an ordinary fork. The usefulness of the knife for the purpose is evident. Below the prongs is a broad flat portion slightly dented in, to prevent the food from slipping off.
This also serves as a spoon, so that in reality the implement is a combina- tion of knife, fork and spoon. It may be used for everything but soup.
��The November issue of Popular Science Monthly will be on sale on all newsstands, Wednesday, October tenth (West of the Rocky Mountains, October twentieth).
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