[Illustration:  Made of Shotgun Shells]

shell (Fig. 3).  Coating the box with shellac will improve its appearance.  —­Contributed by Abner B. Shaw, N. Dartmouth, Mass.

** A Tin Drinking Cup for the Camp [379]

If in need of a drinking cup while camping, a temporary cup can be made of a tomato or baking-powder can.  Punch two holes near the top of the can; bend a piece of wire and place the ends through the holes as shown at A in the sketch.  Pull the ends to draw the loop close up on the inside of the tin and then twist the ends to form a handle as shown at B. When there is enough wire twisted to form a good handle, pass the ends around the can

[Illustration:  Handle on a Tin Can]

at the bottom and twist them together on the opposite side.  —­Contributed by W. A. Lane, El Paso, Tex.

** A Bookmark [379]

A very handy bookmark can be made by attaching a narrow ribbon to an ordinary paper clip and using it as shown in the sketch.  The clip is slipped over the binding in the back of the book as shown in the sketch.  —­Contributed by Chester E. Warner, Kalamazoo, Mich.

[Illustration:  Bookmark]

** Kitchen Knife Sharpener [379]

A good serviceable knife sharpener may be made from a piece of steel cut as shown with two screw holes drilled for fastening it to a piece of wood or to a table.  The knife is drawn through and sharpened on either side.  Both positions of the knife are shown.  The

[Illustration:  Sharpener on Table Edge]

steel is hardened before fastening it in place.  —­Contributed by George Madsen, Chicago.  Ill.

** Devices of Winter Sports-How to Make and Use Them [380]

In the north the red-cheeked boy digs a hole in the ice and while he amuses and invigorates himself at skating the fish underneath the icy sheet

[Illustration:  “Tip Up Pole”]

fasten themselves to the hook he has let down through a hole.  The boy used to sit over the hole in the ice and wait for the fish to bite, but that became too slow and detracted too much from his pleasure at skating.  So his inventive genius set itself to work and the “tip-up” and “signal” shown in the illustration was the result.  When the fish is not biting the flag lies flat on the ice, but as soon as a fish has swallowed the hook the flag pole stands straight up wafting its bright colored flag to the breezes and all the boys on the skating pond read the word “fish.”  The fish is drawn up, the hook rebaited and the youthful fisherman resumes his pleasures on the ice.  Often a score or more of these “tip-ups” are planted about the edges of the ice pond, each boy bringing his fishing tackle with his skates and thus finding a double source of amusement.  Maybe one boy will thus have a half dozen different lines in the water at once, it being easy to watch them all together.

The device by which the fish is made to give its own signal when caught is exceedingly simple and any boy can make it.  Procure a light rod about 2 ft. in length and to one end fasten a small flag, made of any bright colored cloth.