n the
usual manner. The latch is lifted with a stick of wood B, which is
about 1 ft. long and 1 in. wide, and pivoted about two-thirds of
the way from the top as shown. The latch A is connected to the
stick B with a strong cord run through a staple to secure a
right-angle pull between the pieces. A nail, C, keeps the stick B
from falling over to the left. The piece of wood, D, is 6 or 8 in.
long and attached to a bolt that runs through the door, the
opposite end being fastened to the combination dial. Two kinds of
dials are shown in Fig. 2. The piece D is fastened on the bolt an
inch or two from the surface of the door to permit placing a
spiral spring of medium strength in between as shown in Fig. 3.
The opposite end of the bolt may be screwed into the dial, which
can be made of wood, or an old safe dial will do. A nail is driven
through the outer end of the piece D and the end cut off so that
it will pass over the piece B when the dial is turned. When the
dial is pulled out slightly and then turned toward the right, the
nail will catch on the piece B and open the latch. --Contributed
by Geo. Goodbrod, Union, Ore.

** A Convenient Hot-Dish Holder [7]

When taking hot dishes from the stove, it is very convenient to
have holders handy for use. For this purpose I screwed two screw
eyes into the ceiling, one in front of the stove directly above
the place where the holder should hang, and the other back of the
stove and out of the way. I next ran a strong cord through the two
eyes. To one end of the cord I attached a weight made of a clean
lump of coal. The cord is just long enough to let the weight hang
a few inches above the floor and pass through both screw eyes. I
fastened a small ring to the other end to keep the cord from
slipping back by the pull of the weight. I then fastened two
pieces of string to the ring at the end of the cord and attached
an iron holder to the end of each string. The strings should be
just long enough to keep the holders just over the stove where
they are always

[Illustration: Holders in a Convenient Place]

ready for use, as the weight always draws them back to place.
--Contributed by R. S. Merrill, Syracuse, New York.

** Magic-Box Escape [7]

The things required to make this trick are a heavy packing box
with cover, one pair of special hinges, one or two hasps for as
many padlocks and a small buttonhook, says the Sphinx.

The hinges must be the kind for attaching inside o