HERE is a new kind of calendar that will last for years, so far as correct showing of dates is concerned, while to change it to the new date every day it is only necessary to pull down a small lever.

This shows the number on the dial A through a little square hole H in the back of the cigar-box case, in which the calendar is set, as shown at the right of Figure 1.

Every thirty-one pulls of the lever - that is, at the end of every thirty days - the next dial B is moved when the control is pulled, so as to show up a new month in the slot h.

If there are only thirty days in the month, then pull the lever twice on the "30th" and the dial will show number 1 and change the month reading.

If desired, the lever can be worked by a string running down to a wire ring 0, which can be pulled every day to change the date.

Make the works carefully and this calendar will last for years. The mechanism is not hard to understand, and the only thing that requires special care is the marking out of the parts.

One of these calendars has been in use for over a year with good success, and it was made from the crude material described in this article. The only repairs in all that time were replacing the rubber band, which got old and had to be renewed every few months.

The big dial A was made of half-inch wood, about four inches in diameter, and was cut as true as possible with a knife. Around its rim even spaces were marked off. There were thirty-one of them, and at each space a cut was sawed, just a quarter of an inch deep, to meet a circle drawn a quarter of an inch inside the rim of this wheel A. Then with a knife the parts next to these cuts were slanted off to resemble a lot of teeth, all facing one way as shown.

This wheel was fitted tightly to a quarter-inch shaft and was placed in the box temporarily between needle bearings n, n in the box bottom on one end and a cross stick D, Figures 2 and 3, at the other. The location of this wheel A is shown in the same figures.

On the shaft of this wheel was loosely pivoted a lever L. This lever was made of two pieces connected by a "bridge" piece a, leaving a gap through which a nail N on the rim of A could pass when A turned, without hitting the lever L. The gap is easily seen in Figure 3 with the nail (dotted) going through.

Back of the wheel on the box bottom was fastened a little "pawl," as it is called, as at r, Figure 5, with a rubber band s stretched between small nails, as shown at e and f, to serve as a spring to hold the pawl against the notches of A. This lets the wheel A turn in one direction, but will not allow it to turn back.

On the lever was another pawl R, Figure 4, with a rubber band spring somewhat similar. This also pressed against A. The lever I itself stuck out through the end of the box through a slot, as shown in Figure 2, the length of the slot determining how far the lever could be pulled each time. This length was so made that every pull would let the pawl R slide over one notch as the lever went up - a rubber band pulling it -while the upper pawl r kept the wheel A from moving back with it.

Pulling down, the first pawl R stuck to A and the second pawl r slipped, so that the wheel was turned the length of one notch, as you can plainly see.

On the other side of the box bottom a square hole H was cut through near the rim of the wheel A. On the back of A and on a paper glued to it the numbers i to 31 were written, showing through the box hole H as the wheel was turned a notch at a time by the lever L.

This done, the wheel was removed from the box, and the "month" dial made. This was a thin pasteboard dial B tacked to a piece of spool as shown in Figure 3. At the other end of the spool was a tin circle C with twelve star-points all spaced equally and equally deep. This was fastened to the spool end with small brads. Care was taken to get it centrally located.

The dial was slipped under the wheel A on one side, as shown, with the spool just clearing the. saw-edge of A. The wooden shaft running through the spool was pivoted between the box bottom and the cross stick F by needles n, n.

A paper piece b was glued to the box bottom and stretched over Bf where it came under A, so A in turning would not rub against B and move it before its time. The small nail N was next fitted into a hole made carefully in A at the rim, back of the number j, so that when N came by, it would turn B one star point at a time. The nail N was inserted carefully into a tight hole so as not to split a tooth off A.

After the parts were all fitted right, the whole thing was put together. B was mounted first and made to turn snugly - not-too easily. Then A was fixed in place, the lever I fas tened on with its, ratchet pawl R, and finally the cross stick outside at D.

Now, on pulling the string tied to the lever I and which ran down through a hole in the box, the wheel A turned as before, but at every revolution, when N came past the star C, this was turned one tooth by the nail N. The nail was put in at number 1 on A so that the shift of C came at the first of the month.

All that then remained was to mark the months on B through the hole h on the other side, as the twelve positions came into view by working the lever string.

A coat of varnish added to the box was the only thing needed to complete the job. A calendar of this kind is a real novelty.