smiths american Items For Viewing
The Green Man Bird Feeder

This whimsical birdfeeder depicts the legendary Green Man of English lore in a joyful mood as he provides food for his feathered friends. Created with stoneware by ceramic artisans in the USA, he is weatherproof and will never discolor. Ready to hang with an attached braided cable.

Price: 34.99

Orion' Sterling Silver Cuff Bracelet

Designed and created by Mary Carolyn and Ted Walker of Pennsylvania, each 'Orion' Cuff Bracelet is individually forged by hand from solid sterling silver. The bracelet features a flurry of bold silver swirls wrapped around the wrist. Designed to fit most wrists, but the cuff is naturally adjustable for slightly larger or smaller sizes.

Price: 79.99

Bronze Garden Bells - Double Bell Mobile

Handcrafted in the USA, each piece of this wind bell is cast in bronze using the ancient techniques of sand-casting. The metal is durable, withstands the harshest of weather conditions, is highly resistant to corrosion, and rrings with a strong, pure tone that is unique to bronze. Fully assembled with a mohagany clapper, this wind bell mobile catches the slightest of passing breezes to create a crisp, clear ring.

Price: 124.99

Lotus Pewter and Bloodwood Salt and Pepper Shakers

A set of brilliantly detailed lotus blooms add a distinctive touch to your table setting. The lotus is an original design sculpted in clay, cast in solid pewter, and given a coating of nickel silver for a lasting shine! Each lotus is set atop 5-inch tall bases created from bloodwood with a rich deep-red tint, providing perfect contrast to the shiny pewter. All pewter portions are designed and crafted in the USA.

Price: 74.99

Set of Two Gnome-Be-Gone Sculptures

Finally - a way to rid your yard of those pesky garden gnomes! Position these Gnome-Be-Gones prominently in your flowerbeds and be free of those disturbing little Euro garden invaders forever. Each sculpture is individually handcrafted in Utah and signed by the artist.

Price: 109.99

smiths american For Your Reading Pleasure
Choosing a Fountain for the Garden Pond

A fountain is a great addition to the garden pond. There are a wide variety to choose from, but the simplest is a single jet of water produced from a basic fountain spray attachment on a submersible pump. The spray jet is just at pond level or else water may be fed through a delivery pipe into a spouting ornament. These are very simple fountain features to install and perfectly adequate for many gardeners.

The more adventurous may wish to choose fancy spray patterns. These are simply achieved by changing the fountain spray attachment on the submersible pump. There are many different fountain spray configurations. Some have names like lily or tulip, which describe the kind of aerial patterns of water that are produced.

The introduction of a fountain unfortunately precludes the growing of waterlilies and similar floating leafed plants in close proximity. These dislike the turbulence of the water, and so in the small pond a fountain excludes the growing of all aquatic plants, except submerged oxygenating subjects and marginal aquatics such as irises, reeds and rushes.

However, a fountain does bring benefits to ornamental fish, especially on hot summer days. As it falls, the water picks up oxygen from the air, which is ultimately of benefit to the fish. On the other hand it should be realized that such water movement will also bring considerable evaporation and water loss, so the pond will require regular topping up.

With many conventional fountains it is possible to add illumination. Most are self-contained units that can provide a night-time spectacular, but during the day-time function as a normal fountain. It is also possible to add a simple underwater spotlight to up-light an ordinary fountain. Such lights are sealed in a waterproof body and are often available in different colors.

For the more sophisticated gardener there are color changers that can be attached to a pump just below water level in order to produce a changing pattern of colors. This is achieved with a specially manufactured revolving disc that incorporates a variety of colored segments that automatically change the color of the fountain.

It is also possible to automatically change spray patterns. As many as eighteen spray patterns are available in a set sequence, each lasting for up to twenty seconds. Such fittings are available for both submersible and surface pumps, the more powerful the pump, the higher and wider the spray pattern. Recent innovation has also brought to the home garden the fountain with music that is synchronized with the spray patterns; the latest in sophistication.

About the Author

Philip Swindells has over 40 years gardening experience. A former botanical garden curator and an international horticultural consultant, he has worked extensively overseas. The Author of more than 50 gardening books, he has been awarded a Quill and Trowel Award by the Garden Writers' Association of America. He is also a former UK Garden Writer of the Year. He is currently editor of internationalwatergardener

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Sunday Smith #34: Model 610-2, 1998.

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 16:31:00 -0800
Over the years, Smith & Wesson has made many changes to their Hand Ejector revolvers in the name of simplifying manufacture. After WWII their commercial revolvers took a cue from the spartan wartime Victory Model and dispensed with the separate 'mushroom' knob on the end of the ejector rod and just knurled the end of the rod itself. About a decade later, they realized that the top screw in the sideplate and the screw forward of the trigger guard were superfluous, and did away with those. A chang

Sunday Smith #37: Model 696-1, 2000.

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:31:00 -0800
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Sunday Smith #39: Model 646, 2003.

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 00:42:00 -0700
The sport of practical pistol (or "combat") shooting was formally organized under the International Practical Shooting Confederation in 1976 and grew rapidly in popularity; so much so that by the early 1990s it had become something of a victim of its own success. Some folks thought that it had lost its "tactical" roots and formed the International Defensive Pistol Association. Others felt that gamesmanship had triggered an equipment race that led to more complex and expensive pistols and tried t