3 IS COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. 721 An excellent scraper, partaking of the na- ture of a mat, may be formed by letting a number of jjieces of iron liooping edge- wise into a wooden frame, say a foot or more wide, and eighteen inches long. Tlic pieces of liooping may be from an Inch to an inch and a half apart. Wooden hooping, or straight-edged laths, may be sub- stituted for iron ; but the latter is more effective, as well as more durable. Scrapers of this sort may be let into a stone, so Jis to 1)6 level with the adjoining path or pavement ; but in this case there should be a pit, three or four inches deep, beneath the scraper, and the latter should admit of being taken out, to remove the dirt from the pit. In Holland a very good cottage- garden scraper, particularly for sandy soils, is formed by fixing small iron bars, or pieces of hooping, in the circumference of two segments of ovals, fig. 723 ; the chord of the segment is about nine inches in length, and the width of the scraper a foot. When it is used, the sand, or other 723 dirt, drops from the soles of the shoes, between the bars; and, when the space is filled, the scraper is lifted up, and the dirt removed. 691. Hat and Umbrella Stands. Both these articles combined, as in fig. 724, may form a suitable piece of furniture for aGothic porch or passage, where the walls are covered with pictures ; or where there are other objections to having coat and cloak pins fixed against them. Besides, it is always better for hats to be hung on stands in the free air of the apartment, than to have them placed on a table, or against a wall, where they get the air only on one side. In the box at the bottom of this stand, there is a tray of tinned iron, painted black, which lifts out, in order that it may be emptied of the water which may run into it from wet umbrellas, &c., and be cleaned. Where there is sufficient space in the apartment, hat and cloak pins may be put on both sides of the tree ; in which case there should be a second box. We have shown on the two upper branches or rails of the trunk, or upright piece, five hat pins, or surplice pins, as they are cailed by upholsterers, which may be made either of brass, or of iron bronzed. On the lower rail there are four wooden pins, which may be either made of oak, or painted in imitation of it. These pins are formed in two pieces • the stem, or shank, and the head ; and the latter is screwed into the former, as indicated in fig. 725. Such 72i wn pins arc made of mahogany, in Birmingham, in laro'c quantities, and are sold to the trade all over the country. They are far superior to brass or iron knobs or pins ; because they never tarnish or rust, and because they give decided evidence of improved design, in their far removal ^O^
