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MAKING AND SELLING THINGS
By THE EDITORS
W
INDOW and porch boxes are an attractive and interesting way by which the boys can make some extra money and at the same time provide a pretty and useful household decoration.* These boxes, made with care and of the proper wood, last for years.
The size of the box is determined by the windows or porch for which they are made; if the box is smaller than the window, however, it may be adjusted by being well braced. The best wood to be used in their manufacture is well-seasoned white pine. Two essential features of a properly constructed box, which must not be overlooked by the boy anxious to make a serviceable as well as a decorative flower box, are several coats of asphalt varnish and the "bottom drainage." The former seals up all leaks and prevents the decay of the woodwork through the moisture of the soil. The latter should be provided by scattering over the bottom of the box after its completion a layer of old bones, chopped up, which answer the double purpose of providing food for the plants as well as drainage for the box, and because of the first quality are preferable to anything else which may be used. Care must be taken to see that the boards are evenly cut and properly and securely nailed in place.
Green, either light or dark, always makes an attractive color for the boxes; but it is well to know the color scheme of the windows and shades, and paint the boxes accordingly. Many beautiful panels are made of spruce wood, pine cones, grapevine and other appropriate designs. The idea is often further elaborated by the application of slender twigs of
* This hint is used by permission from "Bright Ideas for Money Making," published by George W. Jacobs and Co., Philadelphia.
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