Popular Science Monthly 1917-09: Vol 91 Iss 3

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—S a a ‘wu “nc a0 my “4 i ‘qu “wu “tl ee Ki lial wilt cM Ninh lanl nnn HAL “ahiitans “ng ee. A ii adil wld tll: se ; y Victrola XVIT, $250 ta Victrola XVII, electric, $300 Mahogany or oak Victrola-the highest attainment in the arts of sound The mission of the Victrola is purely one of transmission. The recorder and reproducer should tell the simple truth, no more, no less. The Victrola is not an instrument in which the interpreta- tion and expression depend on the player like the organ, piano, etc. No instrument can be made to improve.on Melba, Caruso and the other great artists. “The true function of the Victrola is to reproduce faithfully the work of these artists. The only modifications permissible are those obtained by changing the needles from loud tone to soft tone and by adjusting the sound doors to suit the size of the room or the mood of the listener. There are Victor dealers everywhere, and they will gladly play your favorite music for you and demonstrate the various styles of the Victor and Victrola—$10 to $400. Victor Talking Machine Co., Camden, N. J, U.S.A. Berliner Gramophone Co., Montreal, Canadian Distributors Victor — nom “Victrola” is the Registered Trade-mark of the Victor Talking Machine Company designating the products of this Company only. arning: The use of the word Victrola upon or in the pro- motion or sale of any other Talking Machine or Phonograph products is misleading and illegal, ae HMA To insure Victor quality, always look for the famous trademark, “His Mas- ter’s Voice.’’ It is on all genuine products of the Victor Talking Ma- chine Company, New Victor Records dem- onstrated at all dealers on the lst of each month Important Notice. victor Records and Victor Machines are scientifically coordinated and syn- chronized by our special processes of manufacture, and their use, one with the other, is absolutely essen- tial to a perfect Victor reproduction, — td wl ‘we sun ag Siti J lt inst uN =— wa “eH a Oe a inna Sita

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Let the Popular Science Monthly Send You a Check Do you know an interesting photograph when you see one? Then you should be receiving checks regularly from Popular Science Monthly. Go to the nearest newspaper office and ask the editor for the names of inventors in your town. Find out what each is doing. If one has invented a device to catch chicken- hawks with kites, another an apparatus to kill flies by elec- trocuting them, and a third a treadmill for his dog, and so on, let us have articles, with photographs or drawings— quick ! Do you know that photographers’ studios are mines for some authors? Go to the nearest studio. Ask the photog- rapher to let you look through his plates and prints. Pick out the novel, the curious pictures, and mail them to us. Is there a big manufacturing plant in your town? Did you ever go through it with your eyes open? How do you know but some mechanic in that very plant has invented a machine which is saving his boss a thousand dollars a week? Shouldn’t the whole manufacturing world hear of that man? How about the big engineering jobs in your neighbor- hood? Do you know that contractors never dig two cellars alike? Keep an eye on them. Look out for new labor and time-saving machines. Now get busy and receive some checks. ~ News to you is something which is new to you. Is the picture of Italian soldiers with blackened faces on Page 382 of this issue news to you! We put it there believing that it would be. On Page 333 is shown a roof bungalow. One of our readers happened to discover this unique mode of living, and recognizing something new, he immediately obtained photo- graphs, and sent them to us. They were news to us and we paid him for them.

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A small, but high-speed automobile is sent straight for the enemy. Caterpillar wheels. and wire cutters can be provided when necessary. On reaching the trenches, the half ton of explosive and shrapnel is ignited electrically, blowing the barbed-wire entanglements to pieces |

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|} —— Vol. 91 No. 3 Popular Science Monthly 239 Fourth Avenue, New York City September, 1917 $1.50 Annually Why Not the Land Torpedo? Mount it on an automobile; open the throttle wide; and let the machine rush to the enemy’s trenches destructive weapon of the sea. Then why not a land torpedo? A cheap vehicle could be made to carry a high- explosive mine, a huge shrapnel, or a mis- sile which would be a combination of both. Where necessary, provide the vehicle with caterpillar wheels and with a wire-cutter, and dispatch it toward the enemy, over shell craters and through entanglements into the opposing trenches. There the charge could be exploded, and the men and property within blasted into oblivion. The originator of this plan is Felix Sabah, of Philadelphia, whose idea as he has conceived it is illustrated in action. The ground of ‘‘No-Man’s Land” being flat, ordinary gasoline automobiles of small size are used. In them the charge is carried, consisting of about a thousand pounds of explosive, mounted on the crutch-like frames. The firing wires which lead back to the electric igniting coils are seen in our picture projecting from the rear. The outposts are telephoning the order to fire. The fatal button is pressed— then ghastly destruction. And the enemy? Has he no defense? No doubt he will erect concrete barriers, and blast huge craters. Caterpillar wheels, however, would be a single-means of over- coming the craters. The use of percussion caps, which would ignite the torpedo charge on striking the walls, would be one way of smashing through them. Let us not forget that once we can get the torpedoes there, the rest will be easy. If nothing else can be used, time-fuses will set off the charge at the proper instant. The other military considerations in- volved in the practical application of the project are much more simple. There will be no difficulty in constructing the light type of automobile that would be required. Ts submarine torpedo is the most 323 In fact, the plan would provide the means of giving many an antiquated automobile which is about ready for the junk heap, its opportunity for making its last sacrifice. From the shipping point in Europe, the men of the ‘‘Land Torpedo Corps’”’ could each ride an automobile directly up to the front, thus relieving the railroads of the burden. Here the torpedo charges could be mounted, tests could be made, and everything could be planned for a con- certed assault. To launch the torpedoes on this drive, competent officers would have to set and lock the steering gears. Throwing open a clutch from the rear of the machine, the automobile leaps ahead audaciously. The vital parts being armored, the enemy will be unable to damage it severely when the machine is seen to be rushing towards them at some sixty miles an hour. Closely resembling this land torpedo is the torpedo car described on page 526 of the April issue of the Popular Science Monthly. It too is designed to take the place of artillery in preparing the way for infantry attack. A torpedo carrying several hundred pounds of high explosive is mount- ed onachassis. The propelling power may be either gas, steam, compressed air or a storage battery or electric motor. Its most important feature concerns the method by which it is guided and fired. This is done by means of cables and wires in the hands of the attacking party, which is a noteworthy advantage over the land torpedo described in this article. Furthermore, the torpedo car, should it not reach the enemy because of rough ground, can be drawn back to the trench from which it was started by a simple pull on the control cable. The torpedo car would cost about one thousand dollars, whereas the modern naval torpedo costs seven thousand dollars.

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Popular Science Monthly

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Salvaging Motor Wrecks with a Special Equipment Car E have long been familiar with the wrecking train of the railroad with its special crew of trained mechanics and its hoists and derricks for clearing away debris or setting cars back on the track again in case of wreck or collision. But it is only recently that the wreckers for the motor world have come into view. One of the best equipped cars of this kind is operated by Mr. Meehl in Port- chester, N. Y. The wrecking carwithitscrew is ready for instant service and answers calls within a radius of one hundred miles at any hour of the day or night. The car itself is a simple chas- sis. On the rear end is a two-ton hoist and all sorts of rope pulleys and _ tackle, besides jacks and tools for emergency repairs. A two- wheeled truck is part of the equipment and is used when towing cars whose wheels are out of commission. Two powerful acetylene searchlights are used to light up any night work and two heavy jacks are carried on the running board which are used to jack up the rear

The slits in these opaque glasses admit only a small percentage of direct light rays to the eye

© Brown and Dawson The wrecking car answers calls within a radius of one hundred miles, night or day wheel when there is any hoisting to do and take the strain off the tires. With this car it is possible to tow in a wrecked car, no matter how badly it may be broken up and it is possible to pull the car out of any kind of a hole. It has frequently had occasion to hoist cars out of streams or up an em- bankment twenty-five or thirty feet high. How the Eskimos Taught Us to Take the Glare Out of Motion Pictures AVING suffered from the flickering and_ glare of motion pictures, Dr. F. C. A. Richardson, of New York City, developed a pair of opaque eye- glasses with narrow slits in them, through which he views the pictures without the slightest discomfort: The Eskimos have used similar glasses for years in prevent- ing snow blindness. Whena person looks at a motion picture with the naked eye, he receives the intense rays through a comparatively large area of the eye. Less than one-half of these rays are necessary. The other half simply tax the eye. They add nothing to the clearness of the picture and pro- duce the intense glare.

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Potash from California Sea Kelp Subterranean reapers harvest the product The harvester waiting for the tide to come in before it con- tinues its un- dersea kelp-cut- ting operations id Lis no nd ad on m- ; h The kelp is cut four feet below ti the surface and is carried on deck by belts. Here it is e crushed and stored in tanks } he of cc F ew . a ye- f Ow igh HE potash the | problem has 6 aS the been successfully ort. solved. Our supply of ave raw material for its manu- ses facture costs little and is practically inex- made a Government regulation for conserv- nt- , haustible. Near San Diego, California, un- ing the supply. Each of the three boats ess. | dersea reapers are harvesting kelp, from in the Hercules fleet takes about five hun- oks | which potash equal to about three timesour dred tons every working day, which means ure annual importation from Germany previous _ practically every day in California. The , he to the war, is made by one concern; a_ cut kelp is carried aboard the harvester ‘ays second plant of about equal capacity has on a continuous belt elevator to a mill, vely been established in the same vicinity,and a _ where it is crushed. The resultant sticky, ave. smaller plant installed by the Government gelatinous mass, deposited in the storage of is in operation. Just now, the manufacture hopper, contains about eighty per cent ary. ' of munitions requires all that can be pro- water. This is pumped through a six-inch ply duced, but we can obtain all that is re- pipe. As soon as a capacity load is ready add quired for ourselves and our allies. it is transferred by pumps to barges and ness The reaper cuts the weed four feet below thence into digestive tanks on the wharf, pro- ss . the water surface when empty and six each of 50,000 gallons capacity. Subsequent are. ff feet when loaded, the depth having been processes deal with evaporation, 325

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326 The seats are fast- ened to pivoted pipe uprights At right: The truck carry- ing thirty-eight soldiers Lift Three Floor-Planks and this Motor- Truck Carries Thirty-Eight Soldiers igdetiipeaa with a new type of body in which three of the floor planks may be raised to form seats, the novel motor-truck shown in the accompanying illustrations is capable of carrying thirty-eight soldiers sitting astride the three seats. By this method of seating, the soldiers are carried much more comfortably than would be the case were they obliged to stand on their feet on long overland journeys. It also permits every available inch of body floor area to be utilized and practically in- creases the seating capacity one hundred per cent over that of -—- the ordinary type of body. The three seats are car- ried on pivoted pipe up- rights which can be locked in a vertical position when the seats are to be used. When not em- ployed, they can be dropped in three min- utes in such a manner that the top boards of the seats are flush with the other boards of the floor and form a flat platform or stake body which can be used for the. transportation of freight, baggage or other supplies. As shown, the sides of The hook and bait carrier clamped to the rod near the reel Popular Science Monthly the body are slatted and are hinged along their lower edges so that they may be swung down to permit of easy access to the seats from both sides of the truck. The novel body was invented by P. Landes, of Chicago. Except for the body, the motor truck shown is of the conventional type, with no changes necessary for the body mounting. It is considered by experts who are giving their attention to the questionof transportation of troops to be a solution of one phase of the problem, The seats are so con- structed as to allow of equal distribution of the weight over the wheels, his gives necessary bal- ance and increases the carry- ing capacity. Carrying Your Hook and Bait Where They Won’t Drag NE of the fisherman’s troubles, the snagging of the hook when walking through grass or brush, is eliminated by means of a protector which is attached to the pole near the reel. The hook with its bait is placed in the wooden carrier until the fisherman again reaches a place where there is space enough to cast his line with- out getting it entangled in the brush. The minnow or other bait is perfectly protected from mutilation, and catching the hook in the clothing is also avoided. The protector is light, and helps to balance the reel on the pole, which may ‘be either of steel or wood. The pro- tector is attached se- curely to the pole by a clamp which can be tightened by hand. So far as casting goes, the fisherman may probably be in- convenienced a trifle at first by the additional weight of the carrier, but he will soon become ac- customed to it. The carrier is large enough to accommodate a plentiful supply of bait and hooks of all sizes, even those used for deep-sea and salt-water fishing.

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Taking Photographs with a Concealed Buttonhole Camera NE of the quaintest and most ingenious detective cameras ever devised has been invented by A. A. Ciani, of East Orange, New Jersey. It resem- bles other cameras in only one feature, the lens, but even that feature is distinctive, so that it might be said Mr. Ciani’s camera is without a counterpart. It is designed to be worn concealed under the coat, in the manner shown in the illustration. The protruding lens can be placed in the top button- hole of the coat and photo- graphs taken without any- one knowing it, by pulling a string hidden in the pocket. Look carefully at the illustration showing the interior of the camera and you will see the shutter, partly operated, in a sector shape. The shut- ter appears on either side of the lens, in the opening just below the stem. Over the brass centerpiece, but not visible in the photo- graph, are two rubber bands which come into contact with the sensitized plate. By operating a knob on the front side of the camera, the centerpiece is turned and with it the plate. Four photographs can be taken on a plate, as there are only four teeth on the centerpiece. Every time a picture is taken the plate is revolved one- quarter turn, The shutter is operated by pulling the ; Friction bands for J turning photo-~ La graphic plate The detective camera is worn concealed under the coat. It is operated by pulling a cord which is led from it into the pocket Popular Science Monthly 327 Inflating Huge ‘‘Pillows’’ as Targets for Airplane Practice N the days when balloons were more of a novelty than they are now, gas-bags were often made in the form of animals and human beings. The “pillows” which are shown in the photograph below may be regarded as a relic of that time; but they are used for a far more practical purpose _ than were the old man and animal- shaped balloons. Nowadays, the heaviest naval guns are the only weapons able to decide battles. If there were no airplanes, these guns, too, would be powerless; they could not direct their fire tellingly without aid from a watch- ful man in an airplane. Hence, the fortunes of modern battles rest not only with sixteen-inch guns but in the last analysis with airplanes. That explains the stern struggle which is being waged for supremacy of the air. The “pillows” shown herewith are really balloons roughly shaped like rectangular wings. Fighting in the air requires so much skill in an entirely new sort of marksmanship that the practical British have hit upon the scheme of systematically training their air fighters in shooting from speedy airplanes at these odd-shaped balloons. The balloons are not inflated with gas, as they rest on the floor, but string con- cealed in the pocket. The coat can be but- toned over the camera without in- convenien- . cing the wearer and without ‘ex- citing the suspicion of with air from a big electric blower in the center of the room. Such a blower is found in every balloon factory for use in var- nishing; for only a dis- tended bag can be var- the one to be snapped. The balloons are inflated and floated at the end of ropes. British aviators fire down upon them with machine guns nished or in- spected. | |

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328 This Airplane-Camera Takes 750 Exposures with One Loading HE greatest work of the airplane is to locate the enemy’s strongholds and batteries and then map them. The multiple airplane-camera which the Allies are using—an American invention, by the way—can map the German lines with truly marvelous pro- ficiency. Where, in the first part of the war, artist- observers were used to make pencil sketches as accu- rately and as quick- ly as they could, now cameras such as this one are em- ployed to take thousands of pho- tographs at the rate of one a second, if necessary. One multiple airplane- camera alone is capable of seven hundred and fifty ex- posures with a single loading. The secret of this great capacity lies in its use of ordinary motion picture film. It is con- structed much like the ordinary film camera, with the exception that the turning of the film for a new exposure is accom- plished automatically by the action of a set of gears. Shutter release ——wn —— Cam-operating} film-winding mechanism § Shutter timing control. The camera that takes 750 exposures with one loading Popular Science Monthly The Electric Stevedore. It Saved $18,000 in Labor Costs in a Year ELOW is pictured an electric floor- truck that does the work of ten man- propelled trucks. The pull- ing effort of the single front power-wheel is such that a railroad flat car weighing 33,900 pounds is hauled over sandy soil, carrying several interested ovservers. The truck is the in- Cam vention of J. E. Haschke, ever of Los Angeles, the man at the wheel. The truck weighs but 1500 pounds. The mo- tor is mounted on the yoke of a caster wheel, which permits the truck to revolve within its own wheel base; hence its peculiar usefulness upon congested floors. Pivot “The wheels are rubber- tired. A striking feature is em- braced in the two levels of the truck, one but twelve inches from the floor. Any level of platform desired or demanded by warehouse needs can be provided. The truck will carry a ton on its back and tow several tons more on trailers; or it will carry several tons of iron, for instance, at a time over good streets. The camera is placed on the airplane so that it will have an unobstructed view downward and slightly for- ward. One pull on the flexi- ble cable, connected with the operating lever of the gears, winds up the previously ex- posed film, sets the shutter, makes the new exposure, and registers its number. A spring instantly brings the lever back into normal posi- tion ready for the next pic- ture. This happens so swift- ly that it is possible to make a continuous record of a flight. In bomb-dropping 2 the camera is capable of tak- wee 5 9 ete im ” Bisng PE a Ts a Se eee « ing pictures of the bomb in ’ the air and at the very in- 1 stant of explosion.” It would take ten man-oper- ated hand trucks to do the work of this electric truck

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Sipe Popular Science Monthly Above: The two hundred sound-proof rooms were finished in five days by using a quickly- applied, ready-to-put-up composition board At right: Putting up the sound-proof board material. Standard Jengths were used arid practically unskilled workmen employed Two Hundred Sound-Proof Rooms and How They Were Built in Record Time ITH only five working days in which to erect two hundred sound-proof rooms in the large Coliseum in Chicago, the management of the National Music Show was confronted with an extraordinary problem. The difficulty was made all the greater by the impossibility of getting a sufficient force of workmen on account of the unusual war demands. The problem was solved by the use of a composition board material which proved highly efficient in deadening sound. In fact, although the walls were very thin, as is shown in the photographs, no sound of the numerous musical instru- : ments or of voices penetrated a from one room to the next. The rooms also made a very handsome appearance. The auditorium built for concerts By removing the thumb suddenly from the trigger the disk is shot up into the air or out, as desired had much the appearance of a real audi- torium built to stay. The rapid construction work was made possible by the lightness of the material, and the fact that comparatively unskilled workers could put it in place. A Paper-Disk Flipper for the Youthful ‘‘Cut-Up”’ IRLS and boys alike derive endless amusement from a new device which throws a paper disk larger than a silver dollar from a hundred to a hundred and fifty feet into the air. The device is very simple in its opera- tion, but flips the disks to a surprising height. You simply hold it in your right hand, with the thumb on the trigger member in the position shown in the illustration, then remove the thumb suddenly, and up or out the disk shoots.

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RRR RSS Wi LOT SOO SSEE SEG wae. mbar ol ’ psc WPT be Mperidte gl atk afar tes O Golaia (Kamba. Grade )-Acams { i i \ i } t 4

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The Trench Farms of the Philippines Notwithstanding the fact that rice grows best in valleys where the .soil is rich and where it is kept flooded almost continuously until the grain matures, the Filipinos, who are as dependent upon rice as are the Japanese and Chinese, have succeeded in growing it upon mountainsides. There is of course a variety called ‘‘upland rice,” which requires less water than that grown in the valleys, but even this is grown in marshy soil, kept wet by a trench system which holds back the rain and the irrigating streams preventing the water from flowing down the mountain and holding it in grooves in which the rice is planted. Huge water buffaloes are used to drag the plows and harrows through the mud. Sometimes these animals are blindfolded and made to turn wheels which elevate the water from the streams to the trench-fields. After the rice sprouts are set out, the water must be let off from time to time to permit weeding and cultivation, but it never destroys the ledges Luly Uy. YA NN \ N \ \ N \ VRS SS Ss aN SS SY \S \ N QQ GI ]}donnnw : © Brown and Dawson ”

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5 ae Pda ee ee Bissutz are bid PS » Remote from Man the Eagle Builds—But Alas! KhblihipiididddddddadiddddddduddbuliMidsudddduddddudddldeddgyyUdldddlldddlddldldddlddigy > es “mn, bad A pair of young eagles, two months old, in captivity, They have just been cap- tured from a nest on a distant mountain. Note the wild look in their eyes. This is never entirely lost - ia SSG GGG "5 yw" be oti SXXSSAAHAA SSS SUNNS - Sa : . * “a : The Weta VG 8 het Met Sa ee Nie “3 Cddddddddddddddddddddddcdddddddddddddddddddde Li ddddddddel ddddddddddddddddddddddddebsda L, Risking his life to reach a nest. In Santa Clara Valley, California, searching parties capture the birds and despoil their nests Bringing a young one to earth from its aerial roost. When two months old, eagles are ungainly creatures. They have not sufficient strength to use their wings and hence are helpless At right: A searching party and mo- tion picture operator returning to earth after a successful hunt. In addition to the danger of breaking their necks the hunters face the risk of being attacked by the mother bird 332 eee

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Bungalows on the Roof of a Post-Office E : - a upies the gro The post-office occ ees Se ee i und floor, and the bungalows take up the space tha would otherwise be the second floor. The nine bungalows rent for $25 a month each Above: The top of the post- office bungalow colony. The windows seen on the second floor as one looks at the building from the street are the windows of the bungalows The bungalow residents have the advantage of being down- town and at the same time of living in an at- mosphere far re- moved from that of an ordinary apartment house

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And the Inventors Never Cracked a Smile One of the fountain pens above was in- vented in 1847. The ink was contained in the bulb section and sent down to the point by pres- sure on the piston rod. Note the two- pointed pen and the pen with leather finger loops ——, { Even musical ments have not proved Here we have a violin-horn, a two-stringed affair, and inviolate. Patented ’way back in ’57, for floating horses across streams. Four bladders, inflated with air, are strap- ped to the horse to buoy him up instru- a gourd-like man- doline which resem- ples an Indian club Rockers more than ordinarily accommodating. The one at left above is a veritable rocking horse. The other has an additional rocker to prevent it from rocking The chair below isa life - saving device made of zinc. When the ship sinks you float off into the water still seated and enjoying your paper and cigar To get those highboots of ’61 off, bootjacks were used. The chair has a kind of oarlock for this purpose and the shoe has a brass projection which slips back into a groove in the leather heel when not in use

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Ul ‘France’s Tank Contribution to the War Photos © Underwood and Underwood The tank all France is talking about. It is fitted with heavier guns than the British tanks, but it has not made any par- ticular name for itself in the fighting so far. The usual type of caterpillar drive is used Major Bossut and Lieut. Boucheron and the new tank. The photograph was taken just be- fore the tank brolze down inside the German lines. Rather than see it fall in enemy hands Major Bossut blew up the tank killing himself

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They Earn Their Living Simply by Seeing, aGoG dota “gy taasec toca Sy tt were gj pa i “Bs aie dead au eae € - year se The perfume smeller tests the most deli- i cate aromas with his critical nose and places a value upon them. It is interesting work, provided the perfumes are good Contrary to expectation tobacco is sampled by the sense of touch. If the leaf does not feel right to the sensitive finger-tips of the expert it is rejected The coffee taster is a half brother in trade to the tea taster. He never drinks coffee; he tastes it. His beverage is made a sip at a time in a porcelain coffee pot on the French drip method ee ee eect

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Hearing, Smelling, Tasting and Feeling The motion-picture director holds his job on the strength of his eyes plus his imagina- tion. Every time he examines a film visually he imagines himself to be a hundred thou- sand picture fans all in one With ears trained to detect errors, some men are expert listeners, Singers as well known as Caruso are some- times obliged to abide by the verdict of a listening jury, such as the one shown abeve Tea tasters are employed by every first-class tea concern and by the customs officers of all the Governments. Some of the tea experts chew the leaf, some judge by smell and some sip the beverage Oo e= e208 ee sap copoeeeseeeoms - eng eeeseoeseore oeesre Ce vsoee eee 9g SOO SOO WSSSSSOS SeOeSSSSOS @ we 70 9 6S SOTSSS SC, BOY eset OO SOHO SOSCS ‘ SeeeeeeSeSesSSTes® OF — LG S2CROOSCSOOHSOTOS FHS, SCOCSe SCORSSSTSS FSGS enw s2 208 Cee SOCMSS GouEd * M668 00 20 * GeO eers oe 200 \ eeeece eee soon \e@ee © . S68 C9cce Bee 4h . © 6 © muempeed 2 | : , #O6@eoer o¢ 866 eee & eee S¢eac 2eee 2¢ ‘Pee & Re OE ah aiiee ee ees SL ae RE RAE Gey AON TT aes oe ER oe A ee isa ee een 2 ee lO seam win cin PRS cae en a ee =o

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ar a os ara Cats? Demons? CX Mi. AAA SAS The curio shop of Moses Ogden, of Angelica, New York, with some of the finished curios in view and a pile of promising ma- terial at the side of the house. In his tramps through the woods Mr. Ogden discovers all sorts of queer faces and figures peering out from brush and branches of trees Some of the curious images appear just as Mr. Ogden found them in the woods. Others suggestive No; Just Chunks of Wood AA Aa te Pid wees The combination figure at the left is suggestive of a poultry yard. In the center is a snake on the lookout for eggs. Where the ordinary person sees only a knot of wood Mr. Ogden sees a queer-look- ing dog with an owl’s head, or a gnome true to story-book description, or something else uncanny s eee “52 as fy is 7 of the hapless creatures that Dante saw in the Inferno have been shaped with the penknife, There are no particular names for these dignitaries and no special uses except as ‘‘ornaments 333 eek ated he ae

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There Is Pleasure as Well as Profit in Skunks. Your Next Year’s Fur Coat May Come from a Farm Like This Photos @ by Brown and Dawson Above: Skunks make admirable pets when they are young. They are as playful and as harmless as kittens. Only the older ones need to be handled with care The striped skunk is the only one that makes money for the breeder. In return for good care and feeding its fur becomes ex- ceptionally thick and _ glossy The skunks are given as much freedom as possible in wire pens. They are great diggers, consequently they have to be watched continually and the pen walls constantly renewed’ 339

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The New Eagles of the Western Front Factory mark-* appropriately 3 hunting horn foran “Avion de Chasse” Ma gazine of gun Round nose to pertect streamline Torr Dingle wide } struts set angularly , Housing for because lower 7 Gnome motor wing is staggered The latest Nieuport ‘“‘Avion de Chasse,” or fighter, mounts three machine guns. Two - ° on top of the plane fire over the propeller and one beneath the upper plane fires through the propeller. The perfect streamline body, the small wings and rudders and the big propeller with a hood in front enable the machine to travel at 120 miles an hour cd Machine violent slipstream of _pr Machine gun firing \ over propeller, e-- s wr st gun showing how it 15 al nooled Exhaust ‘manifold French Official Photos The new fast armored Farman fighting plane. Only one ma- chine-gun can be carried because of the armor’s weight. Another view of this machine appears at the top of the next page. The armor over the cylinder heads of the engine is perforated so that cooling drafts may enter, the strong slipstream from the propeller entering through the circular opening in front, passing through the radiator and finally Be Lacing for cfoth emerging through these holes a ~_—— covering The three machine guns of the “Avion de Chasse” are aimed by pointing the whole machine straight at the enemy. They are fired simultaneously by the single pilot. Ordinary machine guns are used, evidenced by the useless rear handles and pistol grips 84N 2 SRS RANI RE EE 2 EET PATER IRIE STS OE CPLR IVE IT LE

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CDE TREES TS SAREE ° Armor Appears on the Airplane On this and the preceding page we present pictures of the newest French airplanes— an unarmored fast fighting Nieuport ‘Avion de Chasse,” a fast armored Farman biplane, and a heavy weight-carrying Caudron, all of which are in active service * * may am 4. . Ay’ Armor perforated: \ Lo ventilate engine Med \asilela Exhaust baller Mado) seauta. gases away gfrom pilot. - Z. 3 Haigy French Ofliciai Photos In the new armored Farman biplane the exhaust is carried far behind the pilot through a perforated tube. A certain amount of muffling is also thus attained. The machine gun is obviously cooled by forced draft produced by the violent slipstream of the front propeller. The armor leaves much of the really vital portions of the machinery necessarily exposed, such as part of the radiator; still it increases safety Machine gun | W7 \ies Tubular framing supporting “ pivotof gun Cluster of steel tubes Mascive framing 4 running to wheel- to support tail ~ necessary in neavy machines Either one of the pilots of the two-motored Caud-on may stand up in turn and fire the machine-gun, the man in front rearwards, and the man behind eithcr ahead or abeam 341

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What’s Your Hurry? Below: . Sewing the sweat band on a finished hat. A machine does the sewing in one-half the time required by hand operators Photos © Brown and Dawson Here’s Your Army Hat—and the The inspection ta- ble. After the hats are shrunk and dyed they are ex- amined before be- ing sent on to the forming room Below: The cone of fur as it is re- moved from. the blowing machine. It is very soft and delicate requiring careful handling The first process in making an army hat is shown above. The metal shaping cone is placed over the fur and revolv- ed at great speed At right: Making the crown and brim smooth by putting the hat through a series of grinding rollers cov- ered with fine emery Above: The brim- ming machine which stretches the edge of the hat until it resembles a brim. Shellac gives the stiffening

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EIEN TIO Hi) Two stages in the molding of a hat are shown below. ‘In the man’s left hand is a hat which has just come from the pressing mold. The hat in his right hand is the ‘“‘before pressing”? model Photos © Brown and Dawso: Forming the hat in a steam-heated press. A steel die in the lower part of the mold gives the finished hat its size and desired shape Processes ‘Through Which It Passed in the Making At left: Five ounces of raw fur are used for each hat. The scales weigh to within one six hun- dredth of an ounce. Most of the weigh- ing is done by automatically operated machinery Above: Cutting the brim of the hat toa uniform width. As the work is done by machine there is no chance for error The hats are dipped in shellac, then passed upward through rollers which wring out the surplus liquid

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Wood Carving by Machinery—A Novice Can Do It © Brown and Dawson Formerly when an elaborate carving had to be duplicat- ed many times, each _ duplication had to be worked out separately. To-day the dupli- cations are made five at a time The original carv- ing shown here was made in plaster of Paris. The repro- ductions in wood were made by a machine which con- sists of a battery of four rotating drills and a= stationary rod which the ope- rator moves over the outline of the pattern. Every movement of the master rod is dupli- cated by the four repeating drills When a very large number of repro- ductions are to be made of a certain design, the original is generally made in wood. With this machine one novice can do the work of five skilled men

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The mask which is in use at the present time by the English and the French. To the sol- dier in the trenches the gas

mask is as important as his rifle New Fashions in Gas Masks Worn for gases which are poisonous but which do not affect the eyes. The mouth and nose are pneu- matically sealed by a rubber-faced cushion

Mask used by our submarine sailors when salt water reaches the electric siczage batteries and chlorine gas is generated in consequence Below: Afhelmet built especially for workers in tobacco plants. Heavy irritat- ing dust is thus __ prevent- ed from reach- ing the lungs

S << SS - S

Impervious to smoke and flame, the mask is made of asbestos and is worn by rescue squads in fires and explosions. An entire suit of asbestos accompanies it

YOU dill Mls !

Worn for protection against chlorine gas by workmen who are constantly exposed to the gas in chlorinating plants

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Like a dentist he removes all de- cayed matter from a_ cavity HE science of tree surgery is but twenty years old. Yet it has already become of inestimable value. It is saving thousands of shade trees and fruit trees each year. All trees, and sweet- sapped trees especially, are liable to fungus disease. The fungus is a parasite by nature and sends Operating Upon Trees When trees get sick or are dam- aged they need the tree surgeon Photos © Brown and Dawson the weakened trunk would not be unduly strained under the action of the wind. This was a comparatively easy task, but real tree surgery is not simple. It is a diffi- cult and exacting art. Some trees require a combination of bolts and lock-nuts, reir- forcing rods and cross-bolts with lock-nuts above the crotch. Others need a combine- tion of bolts and criss-cross bolts with lock nuts, tortion rods and chains, and still others call for iron straps, tortion rods, ° iron backbone and ribs in addition to chains and lag-hooks higher up. Another illustration shows large cemert fillings built up in separate block sections to allow swaying of the tree. In a very short time, the edges of the cut “‘heal’’ to the cement. That is, the soft living tissue solidifies upon the cement, making a tight joint which is waterproof. Often the bark at the sides of the patch gradually grows to- gether closing little, thread-like tentacles into the woody tissue. These travel from cell to cell, disintegrating the internal structure of the tree. The result is what we call “rot.” When fungus starts ina tree it never stops unless ar- rested by human skill. The tree surgeon alone can destroy the disease. The accom- panying illustra- tions show how useful tree sur- gery can be. In one of the illus- trations is shown steel cables strung between over the cement. Young trees are not so difficult to doctor. One of their chief ene- mies is the bore worm. The tree surgeon, upon discovering a worm hole in the tree drills into it with a stiff wire, kills the worm and fills up the hole with tar. But tree sur- gery isnot merely a matter of filling cavities. Unless the work is scien- tifically accurate and mechanical- ly perfect, it fails. Since decay de- stroys the struc- tural strength of the tree, this strength must be the upper branches so that A sick tree on the way to health. The cement filling reaches almost to the heart of the tree 346 restored by me- chanical means.

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Tree Surgeons at Work Above: In filling a cavity the cement is laid in sections. This prevents the cracking or breaking of the filler when the tree sways in the wind Above: Healing soon takes place and the cambium (new growth of bark) rolls gradually over the cement filler, sometimes com- pletely concealing the patch Left: A tree whose trunk split asunder. The doctor has inserted eyebolts and has drawn the branches together again by means of wire cables

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348 Popular Science Monthly Change Your Coal Stove Into a Gas Range HEREVER kerosene oif is to be had, it is possible to convert your coal stove quickly into the decidedly more convenient gas range. A new attachment put on the market for this purpose is sufficiently simple for the least initiated to operate. A kerosene tank js screwed to the wall and the clamps on the burners are at- tached in the stove’s fire box. From then on you will forever be free of the bother of both The food barrows of London serving meals ready prepared and hot or cold to patrons of the community kitchen A Kitchen on Wheels—the School Children Serve the Meals N St. John’s Wood, London, the com- munity service idea has been worked out to a nicety in relation to the kitchen and the serving of meals. Not only are housewives and others relieved of the duty of cooking the meals, but school children of the locality are pressed into service as cooks and waiters. Every day the food is sent out from the community kitchen in what are called food barrows. These are wheeled through the streets and are stopped upon demand at the doors of prospective customers or old pa-; trons. The food is carried in big alum- inum pots and ves- sels which fit into a metal container filled with water which may be boiling hot or ice-cold, ac- cording to whether the food is to be served hot or cold. Soup, coffee, and vege- tables of all kinds, meats and desserts are served in any desired amounts, in individual portions, or enough for an entire family repast. The kerosene passes drop by drop into the pipes over the flames the coal bucket and ‘its col- league, the ash pan! The attachment is in reality a miniature gas plant. After fill- ing the tank with kerosene oil, the valve is opened until the oil begins to trickle from the burners. The valve is then closed and the little oil previously placed in the iron pan under the burners is lighted. The heat from the burning of this oil causes that in the pipes above it to evaporate. As soon as this happens, the gas issues from the burners and it is ignited also. The intensely hot flames then given out can be directed on to whatever parts of the stove they are needed. Having once started the evaporation of the pipe oil, the tank valve can be again opened. What- ever oil thereafter flows from the tank will evap- orate in the red-hot (pipes over the burners and be converted into gas. One drop of oil will produce an immense amount of gas; obviously, then, the tank will be exhausted very slowly. The fact is that not more than two cents’ worth of oil need be used up in an hour, according to the inventor, who also emphatically de- clares that there is posi- tively no element of danger in the device. “A little child can man- ase it,” he says.

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oil le ve re ew cet tly is che at- Ox. ver oth ‘ol- ya nll. lve kle sed in ed. oil to the ted ven irts led. the vipe can lat- ows ap- -hot ners rted lrop luce yunt isly, will yery ‘t is 1 of up ding who de- )0sI- - of vice. NRO RTE ’ tinguished Did You Hit the Target? This Target Answers NE of the objections to rifle shooting. | from the standpoint of the spectator is that you can’t see what is going on—the results of the shot, as you can when you watch shotgun shooters smash clay Popular Science Monthly 349 does so, and again lighting the front lights. When the bullet passes through the card- board target in the holder, it continues on down the funnel, striking the steel plate and driving it and its arm into the air. The bullet then continues into a curved bullet- stopper of heavy steel Stop to break impact and comes to birds. To make the game more inter- — Dashpot or % bullet, ii rest. esting to the spectator and to mark the ail adntas aw sonal Instant- target for the shooter without "hg Gite Wal ly, by the the necessity for walking out Sith aie ' action of and retrieving the target or againt steel plate _.«e® lron detlector the arm hauling it in on its carrier, Back stopto driven vi- Frank C. Reed, of Springfield, — “**" bullet + olently Ohio, has designed and put on the market what he terms the “spot shot’’ target. He takes advantage of the fact that if you ex- tinguish all front lighting on a paper and putastrong light be- hind it, any perforation will show plainly in silhouette. In a strong iron box he puts front lights of suitable strength and arrangement to best light up the small cardboard indoor minia- ture rifle target, and protects these as usual by a steel plate. Behind the target, which slides into grooves formed in the box, is a funnel- shaped passage leading back from the target to a movable plate at the end of an arm that con- upward by the bullet, the front lights are put out ands strong light from the rear reveals the target hole. At left: Acircle of light shows the bullet hole. Above: The details of the lighting device Washing for Gold in the Clayey Soil of the Guianas > working for gold in the Guianas, where sluices are impossibie because the soil is clayey, the ground is worked with a “‘Long Tom,” a puddling-box about eight feet long. The tom is filled with the gold- containing mass by a spade-man and a hoe- man. The larger stones collect against the perforated iron plate at the end of the box fitted with trols a circuit breaker for “1. > light circuit and for ihe normally ex- light behind the target. This arm also Operates a dash-pot or air-jacket that slowly draws the arm and its plate down to place again, breaking the riffles through which the dirt- bearing water flows. The worker throws the stones high in the air, watching fora glitter of gold. To make sure, he catches them again and perhaps repeats the trick, which seems simple but really de- circuit for the backlight as it Before dropping it into the ‘“‘Long Tom” the washers toss the sand high in the air to catch the glitter of the gold mands the highest skill.

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350 © Int. Film Serv. The latest fashion in helmets — the screen-like visor which protects the eyes. It can be raised and lowered A Screen Visor Is Added to the French Helmet of Steel REVERSION to primitive methods has been one of the remarkable fea- tures of this war. In our school days we learned that soldiers gave up the use of armor because they could fight better without it, and because it afforded no ade- quate protection after firearms became available. Now we must change our minds all over again, for trench helmets of steel are considered absolutely indispensable and even chain armor is uced. The French were perhaps the first of the warring nations to actually equip their men with bullet-proof headgear, and they are the first to attach a screen-like visor of steel to the helmet for the protection of the eyes, as -the photographs above show. The visor can be raised and lowered and when in the latter position it af- fords the eyes protection against shrap- nel and shell splinters. Judging by the size of the perforations, the visor would hinder rather than assist the soldier when he is required to take accurate aim in firing. 2 ener Popular Science Monthly Creating a Vacuum to Induce Artificial Respiration NEW type of resuscitating device which commands attention because of its novelty if for nothing else, has been jn- vented by H. E. Acklen, of Memphis, Tenn. A rubber cup which creates gq vacuum when operated after the fashion of a pump is the inventor’s method of methodically raising and lowering the patient’s diaphragm to induce breathing. Whether the rubber cup is strong enough to raise the chest and lower it, is the question upon which the practicability of the apparatus rests. At first thought it would seem as if the cup would have all it could do to raise the leather pad and the skin, to say nothing about the chest. But-if there is a question regarding the raising capabili- ties of the device, there is no question but what it is suff- ciently strong to depress the chest. The handle enables the operator to exert a considerable pressure on the in- strument. The vacuum device is secured against the chest by straps which are held to the floor under the operator’s feet, as the illustration shows. The up and down movement of the device may be regulated by the straps under the feet of the operator. They also hold the patient down. If the apparatus proves practicable it will doubtless be the quickest method yet devised for resuscitating the all-but-drowned. The pressure on the abdominal walls will force the water out of the stomacl. Raising and lowering the chest with the rubber cup

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; f . ‘ up Popular Science Mo Uawashed Sponges Are Fifty Per Cent Dirt ; ANUFACTURERS who use large quantities of sponges have found that in buying them at a fixed rate per pound, they were paying too much for plain earth. They now require every carload of sponges ‘to be analyzed. Samples are taken from each car and weighed. They are then put through a standard washing process and weighed again. Fifty per cent impurities have been found in many cases. Using Live Steam or Vapor to Save Gasoline HE device shown below is designed to reduce the consumption of gasoline by introducing live steam or vapor into the . intake manifold of an automobile engine, especially on those carburetors which are difficult to adjust properly. The apparatus consists of a small cylindrical chamber screwed into the exhaust manifold, which contains a rotary valve controlled by a cable from the driver’s seat. Hot exhaust gas is introduced into the chamber through a port in the rotary valve, where it meets asmall amount of water drawn through a pipe tapped into the water-circulating sys- tem. Meeting the hot gas, the water is turned into steam and thence fed to the in- take manifold through another pipe where it mixes with the fuel from the carburetor toform a more economical mixture. The amount of wa- ter entering the rotary valve is con- trolled by a small needle valve at the top. Besides pro- ducing a more economical mixture, the presence of a small amount of water vapor in the cylinders tends to soften the deposit of carbon and Control wire to steering column Cooling water circulation pipe agg The evaporation-cooled refrigerator is the Cali- fornian’s answer to the desert’s blistering heat TheImperial Valley Is Off the Ice-Man’s Route: Hence the Burlap Cooler OU can fry an egg on a rock in the Imperial Valley of California by letting the sun do the cooking, but a Rockefeller couldn’t afford the price of a tumbler of cracked ice. But this does not -mean that the Californians have to do without food refrigerators and various cooling devices. J. G. Hill, of Mecca, near the Salton Sea, has contrived an evaporae tion-cooled re- frigerator N which requires in) no ice. ie SS [Mixhaust manifold Moist air to /% intake = ff BB \manifold / a a 5) It has a wooden frame- work, and in- cludes numer- ous shelves. Several layers of burlap cover it. A perfo- rated tin can at the top is connected with hose which sprinkles water over the entire burlap surface. ] retard addi- tional forma- tion. The principle of the gas-saver involves moist air heated from exhaust gases. and introduced into the manifold The evapora- tion keeps the interior cool.

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352 Popular Science Monthly tions. mrt nd mountains. ak _ Surveyors climbing to the top of a precipi- tous cliff in Alaska to take observations Risking Lives for the Sake of Pre- cision in Government Surveys ie of the most difficult and exacting “tasks of an extensive land survey made. by the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, is the selection of points from which observations may be taken. In heavily wooded country it is necessary to climb the tallest trees or to raise poles taller than the trees, from which the distant horizon can be seen and such observations be practicable. In mountainous country such as Alaska, the surveyors have to face death for the sake of precision, climbing the highest peaks in made as may order to obtain an unob- structed view of the hori- zon. Why risk one’s neck to make a simple survey? Because when. great pre- cision is desired it is im- possible with ‘chain or tape to survey a region in which there are bays, rivers, mountains and other natural. obstruc- & The cardboard cover keeps the school desks always presentable To overcome these difficulties the method called ‘“‘triangulation”’ is employed, It rests upon the simple proposition taught in every school that if one side and the angles of a triangle are known the remain- .ing sides can be computed. the first side of a triangle, or base line; that the surveyors climb the highest trees and So painstaking is their work that in a survey of one hundred miles the error is often less than five feet. : The accompanying photograph shows a Government surveying engineer climbing a steep cliff in Alaska, prior to establishing a base line. -On his back he carries the necessary surveying instruments. ¢ ‘|. top of the cliff stands a companion engineer who undoubtedly scaled the’ cliff without assistance. The feat is made safer for the « second man because of the rope which has | ..been lowered to guide him in his ascent of the nearly perpendicular surface: If he is to measure a great distance from the top of the cliff the only instruments the engineer will use will be heliotropes (not helioscopes) by day and powerful lights by night. The heliotrope is a small mirror so arranged that it reflects the sunlight ina long line toward the observer. It is to obtain On the Keeping School Desks Presentable with Cardboard Covers JANITOR of a school in Pasadena, Cal., has found a way to keep the desks in his classrooms \\ bright and_ presentable looking without subjecting them to frequent planing and var- nishing. He slips over the desk tops a pressed-card- board cover, which he calls an envelope. The enve- lopes are made to conform with the general shape of the desk tops, and the outer edges are bent down and back and riveted, so that the cover will slip on over the desk top and will remain in position after it has been adjusted. There is a groove. in- dented at the top of the cover to receive pencils and pens, and a circular open- ing is provided through which the inkwell shows. ‘ %

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it 1. it 1- in it id 1€ Ig 1e ne er he as of m he ‘ot ia in ind in ing ble ito ‘ar- the rd- alls ve- orm > of the wn $0 » on will r it _in- the and pen- ugh OWS. The More Fruit You Eat the Less Water You Need Drink OST fruits contain from 75 to 95 per cent water, and a balance of woody fiber, or cellulose, fruit sugar and minerals. Thus the free use of fruit daily, insures a greater supply of water to the body. The cellulose of the fruit supplies bulk ad a mechanical stimulation which pro- motes waste elimination. Acid fruits, such as oranges, lemons, limes, and most ber- ries, contain a certain chemical compound called ‘‘vitamines,” in a very stable form. These vitamines are believed ‘to purify the blood and to prevent scurvy and various skin diseases. Do Your Telephoning While Riding On a Trolley-Car HAT an advantage to be able to telephone from a moving train! Sup- pose you want to warn your wife that you are bringing a friend home to dinner. How easy, if you could take down a receiver in the trolley-car and break the news to her while you are yet afar off. Or, maybe you are a detective and have spotted a long-sought crim- inal. A telephone would enable you to communicate with headquarters at once. At any rate, L. Zsitovs- zky of Philadelphia, has shown that this can be done by inventing an ap- paratus attachable to an ordinary trolley-car. In Popular Science Monthly The lock fits over the porcelain terminal that extends from the magneto case A Lock Which Makes the Ford Car Thief Proof POLICE statistics show that thieves are constantly steal- ing Fords. There are plenty to select from and they are easy to dispose of. The lock illustrated bids fair to reduce to a marked extent the get-aways. It shuts off the ignition at its source. The design and location of the Ford magneto lends itself readily to the posi- tioning of the device. The lower end of the cartridge fits over the porcelain ter- minal that extends from the magneto case, while the addition to the regular top of the lock extends feed wire above are two other parallel wires for the transmission of messages. Contact is effected by small trolleys similar to the large trolley. The two wheels are mounted on arms con- necting with a split collar, attached to the end of a metal pole on the top of the car. The wires pass down through the pole and enter the telephone instruments in the ordinary way. They through a hole in the floor of the car which places the device conveniently under the coil box on the dash. By pressing the small lever down with the foot, the engine is shut off and the ignition system locked. A special serial key is re- quired to unlock and place the system in operation. When locked it is impossi- ble to make a new connec- tion with the magneto, since forcing the lock from are arranged below the feed wire as a means of protection. The train-telephone. The telephone wire is arranged below the trolley feed wire its support will destroy the connections and render the magneto inactive.

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354 Popular Science Monthly The bottles contain inks of different colors. Each pen acts as a guard for its bottle Using a Dozen Different Inks With- out Making a Mistake ECHANICAL draftsmen, architects and map makers often use as many as ten inks of different colors in making a complicated drawing. Sometimes it hap- pens that the engrossed artist thrusts his pen into the wrong bottle of ink and draws a blue instead of a red line. Then follows an effort to erase the wrong line, with consequent loss of time. Frank B. Gilbreth, the well-known effi- ciency engineer, overcomes this difficulty very simply and ef- fectively. He has devised a special stand to hold both the ink bottles and their pens. As the accom- panying photograph shows, each pen is thrust vertically into a hole directly in front of its bottle. The pens thus con- stitute a barrier in front of the bottles. When a green line is to be drawn, the draftsman picks up the proper pen and thus clears the way for the green-ink bot- tle; only that bot- tle and no other can be reached. It is impossible to thrust the pen into the red-ink bottle, be- cause that is guarded by its pen. Recruits at the Newport Training Sta- tion in their life-preserver mattresses Don’t Drench a Plant: Water It . Drop by Drop UCIEN |DANIEL, a French botanist, has discovered that young hothouse plants and slips of vegetables, as well as flowers, thrive far better by a system of continuous watering than by drenching the soil at stated periods. The new method depends upon the law of capillary attrac- tion. Near each plant is placed a jar con- taining water, into which is dipped one end of a strip of linen or cotton, whose other end lies near the plant. With this uninterrupted supply of water, drop by drop, the plants thrived, greatly ‘outdintaal cing other plants, which were submitted to an intermittent drenching. The Sailors and Marines Sleep On Their Life-Preservers T MUST afford considerable consolation to the Navy recruit to realize that the mattress on which he sleeps so comfortably at night will stand him in good stead in case of an accident to the ship. In fact the very buoyancy which makes it such a comfortable bed is also the quality which makes it possible for it to be converted at a moment’s notice into a life- preserver. The mattresses are stuffed with kapok, a light- er-than-cork material which is imported from the West Indies in bales similar to bales of cot- ton. It is made from the seeds and silk of a tree not unlike the cotton-wood tree, but instead of being in puffy balls, the kapok is in slender threads, which when compressed make a mass that is six times more buoyant than cork. Thin layers of the kapok are enclosed in strong ticking for the mattresses. Each mat- tress is provided with tapes long enough to tie around the body and over the shoulders, as shown in the illustration. It requires only a minute to adjust them.

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les Hurling Barbed Wire at the Enemy A projectile is used from which barbed wire is uncoiled after it is shot at the onrushing troops han ‘= es ., N my TS When the projectile explodes, the caps containing the barbed wire shoot out like bullets in all directions distributing the wire in great tangled masses FTER a murderous ar- A tillery fire has swept away the ordinary barbed wire entanglements in front of a trench, there is nothing to impede the onrush of troops except machine-gun and infantry fire, accom- panied, at certain times, —_ by well-placed barrage fire ‘Explosive from the rear. Under most conditions this re- sistance is sufficient to deplete the ranks of an in- vading force but the fact that the first, second and third line of trenches may be captured in a single charge is proof that gun fire alone cannot dissipate a body of troops. There have been numerous occasions in this war where troops of both sides have deliberately plunged through a heavy barrage fire to carry a line of trenches. Accordingly, Enid S. Wales, of Detroit, Michigan, has invented a novel projectile which shoots barbed wire instead of bullets. _ Time tuse €a P — scone Four hollow caps con- tain the barbed wire coils 355 His idea is to first impede the progress of an onrushing body of troops by spreading coils of barbed wire in front of them and then to attack them with infantry and machine-gun fire. The in- ventor claims that his projectilewilldistribute Stem) masses of barbed wire over a large area, en- meshing a whole com- pany of troops. Briefly, the projec- tile consists of a stem which fits the barrel of a trench mortar; a central chamber con- taining the explosive charge, into which chamber the stem fits; and several hollow caps which carry the coils of barbed wire, the inner ends of which are secured to the body of the shell. When the projectile explodes, the caps containing the barbed wire shoot out like bullets, distributing the wire in tangled masses. A time fuse is pro- vided so that the distance can be gaged. Barbed wire inti li ae iE EAC

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+o Baht Pee i aaah ete base An mn cr tin tle nae Brae ein hei one Feats That The automobile as an acrobat. This ‘“‘stunt”’ was pulled off when the heavily loaded truck slid back but didn’t dump. Once the front of the chassis was started up- ward, it turned around on its ball-bearing pivot Metal bridges) —_ In replacing a piston-ring; bridges of tin will enable you to pass the groove an Automobile Can Perform and The pivoted headlight is a welcome innova- tion in shooting trouble at night. The intense, / direct rays will light up the rear, and the reflected rays the front i of your automobile ' Talk about the mud the war-tanks go through! This truck wades hub-deep across a swamp in filling it up No more crawling under the car to raise it! This type of jack makes that unnecessary ‘BAR pare

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New Additions to the List of Accessories Four-wheeled drive en- ables truck and trailer to get sufficient trac- tion even on plowed ground. Its use in carrying products di- rect from the farm is important in war A neat and convenient valise and wrap- case to carry on your next automobile trip Four differently colored pie-like sections make your speedometer-dial easy to read The little flashlight has nothing on this method of lighting your engine. When the pivoted- searchlight principle is applied to your spot- light, it is easy to locate trouble Wy This bumper will not only protect the car, but will cushion a blow as well. The two flat, Y-shaped springs per- mit a three-inch yield in case of a collision. Bent bumpers will be- come less common Releas chain ~~, Bumper plate Steel bar Your automobile will not be scratched if the garage door is locked by this simple holder 847

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pas Se ate oe a a — -_ — excatripheiesiannta beasties tae tetg amy There are numbers of patents that have made money and lost more in the automobile game, not counting all the accessories for ruining a man’s pocketbook, such as spotlights, roller cur- tains, mud scrapers, dust suckers, tack pullers and perfume bottles. The Tillinghast patents covered single-tube tires, and Theodore Dodge made money before that tire blew out; Dunlop made money; the Grant patent for solid tires reaped a fortune and Harry F. Baker is riding in ease on Kardo patents for ball bear-' ings. But it is William Barber of Brooklyn who smiles at us’ above, over his valve cages used by valve-in- head cars and motor- cycles. Great auto- mobile companies pay him royalties Since all great men are linked with their enemies, George B. Selden ought not to object to our mention of him in the same breath with Henry Ford. Back in 1879, Selden quietly took out a basic patent on the modern automobile. The document dealt with a gas engine, using a clutch and transmission to drive the wheels of a vehicle, and it caused more battles than the Indians ever fought. The first great cases were won by Selden. Ford with the aid of Briscoe won the second batch. The patents were eventually declared invalid. Over eighty manufacturers paid a total of $2,000,000 in royalties under the Selden patents. Look in any old magazine and see their names in advertisements VWI Vl You will look a long way through Who’s Who in America without finding these names, but it is an oversight that Leonard Huntress Dyer is not in there. Most of these lights of the automobile game were just crazy inventors —according to their neighbors— but Dyer is a well-known lawyer of Chicago and New York. The papers in his case—we ought to call them limousine papers be- cause they all led to closed car opulence—had to do with a series of gears which employed a direct drive in one line with the clutch engine and driving wheels. Fortunately Dyer knew some- thing about the courts. So he fought only a short distance down the ages and then sold the rights to an association of manufacturers of automobiles Oscar Hedstrom, who is older now than when he posed for the picture at left, showing him with his first motorcycle, was a bicycle rider in the old days before gasoline did the work. He risked his neck before Glen Curtiss made his famous speed record in Florida. He wanted a way to pace a rider without wearing out the legs of two or three men; so he put a gas engine on the bicycle and patented the idea. He has never recovered since, because the royalties have been coming in a golden stream and because he came to be regarded as such a valuable motorcycle engineer that he was given a contract with one of the biggest of the manufacturers in the business é |

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oo? 1€ is. 1€ ld of ea ee Seeing him sitting here at the right so peace- fully, you would not picture Ray Harroun in goggles on a Van- derbilt racer; but that was where he got his. start. There was nothing in .the world so natural to a racing driver as something to smooth bumps and to act as a cushion when you hit a competitor going only a hundred miles an hour when you are doing a hun- dred and twenty. The idea came to him when he was fiddling with two little steel springs and watching them in- teracting on each other. It’s a bumper that lifted him from the realms of the cir- cular track to an office desk at so many thou- sands per week that we blush to speak of it They Sing of the scnieimmaiaes and Motor-Truck The story of “a H. Perlman andl his demount- able rims (regular equipment—no extra charge) would be meat for a_ short-story writer. The picture shows him looking over the wheel that rolled him through the patent office and the courts; but the check for three million dollars which was the first payment made the Perlman Rim Corporation is framed in another room. Perlman was first a printer and then a tinkerer with automobiles and tires, and he did hate to put on new ones! He put together a wedge and a screw and secured patents on the combination At left: You see this man’s work (Edward Hartford) on the back of every high priced car and even on the front. His papers—the same ones which put him on this page—are his because he applied the shock- absorber to the automobile and made even delicate débutantes will- ing to ride in broughams. He pro- ceeded with caution by first buying the Truffault patents which had to do with bicycles and then applying them to the automobile, and then taking out more patents. But even then he had to fight his way through the courts to establish his claims. You see by the picture that he can afford a nice watch chain 359 Mosler (below) _ went into partnership with an inventor from Man- istee, Michigan, before he had much use for the initials A. R., which he now always uses. The patent (the Can- field patent) concerned a spark plug with an air-gap between the insulation and the in- sulating shell. The fortunate inventor died happy leaving his part- ner with a duty anda fortune looming before him as his particular Nirvana. And how Mosier did fight! The case dragged for years, as is our happy Ameri- can custom, but Mos- ler won. Have you wondered who all those limousine owners in New York city are— those men who go to work at three in the afternoon and quit at three-thirty? They are A. R. Mosler, his sons, uncles, nephews and other relatives

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tii ait ae Scrub Your Walls as Well as Your Floors by Machinery ITH the mechanical floor-scrubber already added to the long list of newly-contrived devices for insuring ab- solute cleanliness and saving the back and disposition of 360 Popular Science Monthly The Gasoline Automobile in the Role of Railroad Locomotive OR long trunk lines, the steam locomo- tive has proven itself to be the most economical type of tractor. For short lines, and for factory yards or railroad terminals, however, the modern house- keeper, it is only natural that the next addition should be the mechanical wall- rubber. Let it not be imagined, how- ever, that the wall- rubber is for use only in the home. Un- like the floor-scrub- ber, it can be used wherever there is need of polishing. Adapted for clean- ing sunken panels, bands, spots, slabs and walls of marble, granite and tile, it can be used in the home, in the office building, in the cem- etery and in the sub- way with equal facility and good results. The machine is portable. It is driven by an electric motor which receives its power from an electric-light socket. The jointed arm to which the polisher is attached has a vertical reach of six and one half feet from the floor and a horizontal reach of eight feet. Two spiral springs counteract the weight of the arm, so that the operator has only to guide the polisher over the surface to be cleaned. A compensating shaft attached to the polisher keeps it pressed against irregular surfaces. Water is forced through the polisher by a small pump operated by the motor. AQ reservoir in the cabinet part of the machine holds the water. It is sup- plied to the brush in a con- stant stream, which may be regulated so that only a small amount, enough to merely moisten the brush, or a copious flood for rinsing large areas at a time, may be ob- tained. No effort on the part steam propulsion is about the most ex- pensive. Whether the locomotive is standing idle or not, steam must be kept up, and coal must be used continuously, The gasoline loco- motive which has now entered the field is doing all that the steam locomotive does, without the ‘former’s waste when inactive. This gasoline loco- motive is virtually the ordinary auto- The wall-rubbing machine is portable and is operated from any electric-light socket mobile mounted ona locomotive frame. The six cylinders of the huge gasoline en- gine furnish one hundred and sixty horse- power. Connecting the engine shaft with the wheel driving-cranks on either side of the locomotive are a rigid gear transmission and an automobile friction clutch of ap- propriate dimensions. The side-bars con- necting the wheels with the cranks are exactly similar to those on the -regular steam locomotive. When the gasoline, which is stored on the top of the hood, is fed into the engine under full load conditions, the locomotive can haul seven modern freight cars filled to their fifty-ton capacity at a speed of six milesan hour. of the operator is required except to guide the rubber. This locomotive, hauling seven cars, is driven by a six-cyl- inder gasoline engine giving one hundred and sixty horsepower _

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\- it : OWADAYS dl N every one mee te knows what a ‘ shell looks like, and some of us can even differentiate between 4 a high-explosive shell of destruction. Its function is What a Match Is to Your Cigar So is a primer to its giant shell of the hub and_hold- ing the anvil in place is a tight-fitting plug with several flash holes. Completing the primer is the closing-in disk over nose to the cavity in which the soft brass bali is loosely confined, then through the flash holes in the t and ashrapnel. We which the edges of the a are quite familiar with primer body are rivet- 4 shells of small caliber ed. Within the +i and read constantly ‘conical cavity in the . of the destructiveness of the large 15- Above: Cra- anvil base is a small r \ inch and 16-inch shells. There is nothing beatings ao soft brass ball which d novel tousinthe general appearance of ” plays an important . a shell such as shown here. We and interesting part. 7 know that in the base of that shell is A highly explosive and ignitable a“ a little disk which corresponds with substance is contained in the * the cap in the cartridge-case of our primer cap and held in place by a ownshot-gun. This is the primer, tin-foil disk. This explosive sub- . and while its existence is taken for § ~~ stanceisreadily y granted, its mechanism and f PROJECTILE _ set off by shock . operation are less copper P i and is driven xs widely understood. PRMSS «against the anvil block by the . It is the primer 60h ohammer of the gun on firing. which ignites the charge in the The flash created passes through - cartridge case to drive the pro- | the anvil by way of small flash 4 jectile from the gun on its mission 4 «=©holes leading through the anvil & a similar to that of the cap in the base of a shot-gun cartridge, but 4 the duties devolving upon the ie primer of an artillery shell are ae more complex. The primer has not only to fire the powder charge . in the cartridge case, but also to prevent any of the propelling gases from escaping back into the - breech of the gun. The primer is composed of six - parts—not including the explo- of sives used—each one of which has re a distinct and definite duty to perform. First, there is the primer body, which houses the | operating mechanism and mediums | and which screws into the base of the cartridge case. In what may be termed the primer ‘‘hub,”’ there is the primer cap which corre- sponds with the cap of a shot-gun cartridge. Next comes the anvil against which the explosive cap has to be driven to ignite the charge. Capping the central hole The primer ignites the charge in the cartridge case to drive the projectile from the gun on its deadly mission 361 i plug, destroying the paper disk ss cemented to CARTRIRCE ~—s the: top of the plug to prevent the powder in the magazine of the primer from working down through the flash holes. On the under side of the closing-in disk is another disk of paper to prevent the escape of the magazine powder charge through its flash slits. The flash transmitted through the anvil and plug from the explosion of the primer cap ignites the powder in the magazine, which, in turn, ignites the pro- pelling charge in the cartridge case proper. The flame from the primer magazine breaks through this’second paper disk and escapes through the radiating flash-slits in the closing-in disk. The explosion of the charge in POWDER

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362 Popular Science Monthly MAGAZINE POWDER CHARGE FLASH SLIT PLUG FLASH HOLE ANVIL FLASH HOLE TIN FOIL PRIMER CAP DISK How the primer works. It is composed of six parts, each of which has a very distinct and definite duty to perform the magazine creates gases, some of which attempt to escape by passing back through the flash holes in the plug, and this is where the soft metal ball previously mentioned comes into action. The gases impinge against this ball, and drive it into the base of the cavity where it acts as a cork, stop- ping up the passage and effectually pre- venting the gases from escaping through the base of the primer. This little ball there- fore forms an invaluable safeguard both to the gun and the gunner, at the same time insuring the efficiency of the primer. Such is the operation of the primer. It is an ingenious little mechanism without which the shell would be comparatively harmless and might be thrown about, dropped or otherwise maltreated without danger of explosion. As for the primer itself, it would be no more dangerous, if it were not for the explosive cap in its base, than a shotgun cartridge with its cap removed. In fact, the primer of an artillery shell can be likened to an ordinary blank cartridge. Although primers are completely as- sembled in the arsenals or factories in which they are manufactured, they are usually not inserted into the cartridge case until the projectile is: being prepared for use— probably behind the lines on the battlefield. The transportation, therefore, of artillery ammunition can be undertaken with little liability of accident through explosion. The active agent controlling the destruc- tiveness of artillery shells, i. e., the primer, constitutes the one dangerous part of the shell, but separate from the cartridge case, the primer, even with its cap fitted, can do little damage. A blow on the charged primer cap is necessary to start things. EXPLOSIVE CAP PRIMER BODY CHARGE Making Highways on the Mud-Pie Principle OME enterprising folk in the Imperial Valley desert, near Coachella, California, have discover- ed an easy and exception- ally inexpensive method of securing public high- ways without employing other labor than that necessary to flood the highway area with water, In this simple way other- Wise impassable desert paths are converted into excellent hard adobe, which makes as fine an automobile road as asphalt. The highway in the accompanying illus- tration is invisible; it is two to three inches beneath the water. But when the water is drained off and the blistering hot sun bakes the wet ground into one long ribbon of a mud-pie, it does not loosen under the heaviest of traffic. Sluiceways are first constructed through the proposed highway and the irrigation waters from nearby ditches are then turned into them. After the water has soaked into the ground it is shut off; any remaining water is led into the fields and used again. The treatment costs nothing more than the labor necessary to dig the sluiceways. The success of this method of quick road-construction depends upon the clayey character of the soil. CLOSING DISK PLUG When the water has been drained off, a hard, sun-baked adobe highway will result raters nana SO On eee ee Sa i i ll ld ee ee, Oe A ek: ob tat oa, ob 88

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The Ben Lightning striking the steeple of the First Presbyterian church of Greensboro, North Carolina HE recent progress of knowledge concerning lightning has far out- stripped the ordinary reference books. Thanks to Benjamin Franklin and his famous kite, our great-grandfathers knew that lightning is an electrical discharge, and they were also familiar with the lightning-rod. These gentlemen, however, supposed that lightning commonly occurs in zigzags, with sharp angles, and not until photography was applied to the study of the phenomenon Franklins of Today They study lightning with the camera and at last they have told us what it is and by what it is caused the most important part—the earth termi- nal. The majority of the lightning con- ductors in America are consequently un- trustworthy. Unhappily these traveling impostors are by no means extinct, al- though increased knowledge is gradually driving them out of the field.’”’ Besides, the construction of the rod itself has undergone improvement. Scientific progress in the study of lightning is due, to a great extent, to photography. Early investigators, such as Arago, Dove and especially O. N. Rood, had reached the conclusion that many lightning flashes are multiple, con- sisting of several successive discharges along an identical path, and had also formed a rough idea of the time intervals involved. Various forms of rotating disk were used in their (about thirty-five years ago) was this erroneous no- tion dissipated. Our immediate ancestors—in this country, at least—had __like- wise learned to view the light- ning-rod with considerable sus- picion. Early in the nineteenth century thou- sands of defective rods were erected by ignorant or unscrupulous itinerant ‘‘light- experiments. Far more accurate in- formation on this subject is now obtained by the use of a camera mounted ona vertical axis and swung in a wide arc, at a fixed rate, by means of clockwork. This method has been gradually evolv- ed from the crude process of merely holding the cam- era in one’s hands and giving it a side-to-side mo-' ning-rod men,” whose names have become a by-word among us. These persons, to quote a _ recent authority, “‘used all kinds of fantastic and peculiar shaped terminal rods and con- ‘ductors, the main object apparently being to make as great a show with as little material as possible. Their work is almost entirely confined to the upper portion of the conductor, to the absolute neglect of The flash seen to the left of the steeple was virtually instantaneous. That at the left of the chimney is a multiple flash, lasting for a fraction of a second 363 tion—the method followed by Trouvelot since the year 1888 and by Weber and Hoffert in 1889. The perfection of the moving camera is due, in part, to Larsen, in America, but especially to Dr. B. Walter, of Hamburg, whose achievements in the photography of light- ning far surpass those of any other in- vestigator. Walter began by photographing, with

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364 _ Popular Science Monthly A novel effect in photographing lightning by holding the camera in the hand and giving it a side-to-side motion the moving camera, artificial electrical sparks in the laboratory, and showed that such sparks begin with a brush discharge from each The splendid photographs of Walter . with a camera rotating at a known rate enable us to make an accurate time analysis of the details of the flash. How Long Does a Flash of Lightning Last? Such photographs show that some flashes are practically instantaneous, while others may last as long as half a second or more. When flashes of the latter class are photo- graphed by Walter’s method, the resulting picture shows several parallel streams of light, proving that a number of successive discharges occurred along the same path. These give to lightning its flickering appearance. A photograph of this type taken by Larsen shows forty distinct discharges in a single flash, at average intervals of 0.0156 seconds, the total duration of the flash being 0.624 seconds. Photographs of this character also frequently show the pre- liminary partial discharges. of the electrodes, these partial dis- charges gradually ionizing the air (i. e., making it a conduc- tor of electricity by breaking up its mole- Walter improved the moving camera by the addition of a stationary camera with which exposures are made at the same time, in order to show the actual di- cules into positive and negative “ions” or electrified parti- cles), between the electrodes, until finally the whole inter- val is bridged over by the spark. Some- thing similar appears to occur in a lightning flash. It is obvious that if a discharge of lightning has a sensible duration, the rotary movement of the camera will rection of the flash Growth of electric spark discharge, H#lus- from the observer. trating the way in which the lightning flash builds up its path through the air The same investiga- tor has more recently developed a stereoscopic process of photo- graphing lightning. Two stationary came- ras are set up side by side, several feet apart, and pointed in the same direction. When a flash is photographed, its position on the two plates is different with respect spread out the flash, as impressed on the plate, into a more or less broad ribbon. Most photographs of rib- bonlike streaks of lightning are, in fact, due to the accidental movement of the camera during exposure. When the camera is held in the hands, the occurrence of a flash com- monly causes the photographer to give an involuntary start, and this explains not only cases of ribbon lightning, but also various other peculiarities of ordinary lightning photographs. A certain amount of spreading in the flash is, however, due in some cases to ‘“‘halation.”’ Photographed simultaneously by two cameras about six and one half feet apart. By this method the actual distance of the lightning can be determined m= acouodc —- & a i ote eet OCOD Lt a>» eee ae at aaah aah Of

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to objects in the foreground, such as trees, buildings, etc., and, the distance of these objects from the cameras being known, the distance of the flash can be determined. Lightning Sometimes Popular Science Monthly 365 struck and comparing these quantities with those similarly obtained in the laboratory. From the strength of the magnetic field produced in the rock by the lightning, he estimated the maxi- Shifts to One Side The ionized path of a multiple flash is not always station- ary, but is sometimes shifted a considerable distance by the wind. In the case of a photograph taken by Riimcker with a sta- tionary camera, when the place where the lightning struck— and hence the dis- tance of the flash from the observer— wasaccurately known, the flash shifted laterally a distance of thirty-six feet during visibility. This phe- nomenon appears to explain certain cases mum strength of cur- rent in the latter to amount, in some cases, to as much as 20,000 amperes. Humphreys, in this country, has recently examined a_ hollow copper lightning-rod, crushed by lightning (shown in the pho- tograph on page 368), and has esti- mated that the strength of current necessary to produce such an effect may have been as great as 90,000 amperes. Both estimates are very rough, since they depend upon as- sumptions that can- not be verified, but in which well-install- ed lightning-rods are ineffective. The in- itial discharge probably takes to the rod and is carried off harmlessly, but the dis- charges following keep to the ionized path as it is swept aside by the wind and strike a projecting corner of the building or a neighboring tree. Thus we have what ap- pear to be “divided strokes;’’ but these are really successive strokes in different places at very small intervals of time. Several at- A brick stack cut in two by a stroke of lightning during a thunder storm they prove beyond a doubt that the currents in lightning flashes must be reckoned in thousands of amperes. Steinmetz estimated from the intensity of illumination due to a lightning stroke that the amount of energy involved was of the order of 10,000 kilowatt seconds, or 13,400 horsepower seconds. If we assume the duration of the flash to have have been .o1 seconds, this would represent a delivery of energy at the rate of 1,340,000 horsepower. tempts have been made to estimate the strength of cur- rent in a stroke of lightning. Pockels, in Ger- many, adopted the ingenious method of measuring the residual mag-- netism in a mass of basalt rock near a But all this is little better than guess- work. What Causes Lightning? The origin of thunderstorm electricity, after having been the sub- ject of endless discussion for generations, place where lightning had A good example of what is commonly designated as forked lightning, photographed with a hand camera appears to have been satisfac-

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366 Popular Science Monthly torily explained about seven years ago by cloud and Dr. George Simpson, of the Indian Meteor- ological Service. The earth, until ultimately the tension is relieved by an electrical discharge, Lightning occurs in first stage in the pro- ‘duction of a thunder- storm is a violent and turbulent uprush of air, resulting in rapid condensation of mois- ture in the form of the immense clouds that characterize such a storm. The drops of water constituting these clouds are re- peatedly broken up many forms and pre- sents many curious features, not all of which are fully un- derstood. Besides the ordinary linear flashes, we have the familiar phenomenon of “sheet lightning,” which is, as a rule, merely the reflection on the clouds of dis- tant linear lightning, by. the air currents, and it has been proved by laboratory experi- ments that this process in- volves the separation of posi- tive from negative electricity. The drops become positively charged; i. e., they retain a greater number of positive than of negative ions. The latter are set free and carried 0 aloft to the upper part of the —hrll cloud, giving it a strong nega- i" tive charge; while the positive ad ions are carried down with PIPé | rain. If the process continues j,.. 2 eager: POO long enough, a strong potential When a bolt struck the tin gradient is set up between roofofanunprotected house A house equipped with properly grounded lightning rods is practically safe from lightning but may sometimes be an actual diffuse discharge. Dr, Walter Knoche, director of the meteorological service of Chile, has recently described a re- markable form of sheet light- ning that occurs on a vast scale along the crest of the Andes during the warm season. The mountains seem to act as gigantic lightning-rods, giving rise to more or less continuous diffuse discharges between themselves and the clouds, with occasional outbursts sim- ulating the beams of a vast searchlight. These displays STAPLES STRAP IRON SUPPORT EXPANSION SCR ORNAMENTAL .|RON BRACE GUYED TERMINAL ROO FASTENING with CONNECTION TO TIN ROOF ————— SCREW EVE FASTENER MADE FROM SCREW HOOK ————— PORCELAIN CLEAT JOINT CETWEEN Two CONDUCTORS The modern method of fastening lightning rods to buildings. longer considered necessary except in localities where prejud Insulators in clamps ave no ice in their favor still re-2ains — ia oe OF | ATH AM RR SAO ee OP Oe Sst OL DD UD Ot OOO Cet Oe — —

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Popular Science Monthly 367 are visible far out at sea. Dr. Knoche once that the reputation of these devices has saw them from a distance of three hundred been fully rehabilitated in this country. miles. Something akin to ‘Andes light- ning” has occasional- The Weather Bureau has always strongly advocated their use, ly been reported from other mountainous regions of the world. “Ball” lightning takes the form of a fiery mass (not al- ways globular), which generally moves quite deliberately through the air or along the ground, and in many cases disappears with a violent detonation. Many ingenious ex- planations of this strange phenomenon have been offered, but none of them is wholly satisfactory. An immense amount of statistical and de- scriptive information concerning ball light- ning has been gath- ered in recent years; notably by Dr. Ignazio Galli, in Italy. Do Lightning-Rods Help? Turning, now, to and Prof. J. Warren Smith, of that Bu- reau, has recently as- sembled some _ im- pressive statistics in their favor, compiled from the records of fire insurance com- panies. Damage by light- ning is comparative- ly rare in towns, where metal roofs, steel frames of build- ings, tall chimneys and other objects constitute an assem- blage of conductors capable of dissipat- ing the electrical charge of| passing clouds without dis- ruptive discharges between the clouds and the earth. On ~ the other hand, light- ning is a thing to be reckoned with in the rural districts. It is estimated. that the total property loss from this cause aver- ages $8,000,000 a the subject of light- A discharge of lightning of some duration, year in this country; ning-rods, it may be which is photographed as a broad ribbon of fire also that about I ,500 stated emphatically The correct location and distribution of lightning rods on various kinds of buildings persons are struck by lightning in the same period. Nine- tenths of these accidents occur in rural localities. At present, according to an estimate of the Bureau of Standards, not more than fifteen to twenty per cent of the buildings in the United States which are liable to damage by lightning are protected in any manner against it. Yet, to quote from the same authority, ‘‘such evidence as is available on the effectiveness of lightning-rods indicates that, taking rods as they come in the general run of installations, they reduce the fire hazard from lightning by eighty to ninety per cent in the case of houses, and by as much as ninety-nine per cent in the case of barns.” In Technologic Paper No 56 the whole question of protection against lightning is

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368 fully treated. *A few salient facts from this Popular Science Monthly bulletin can be quoted appropriately here: A defective rod is not, as commonly stated, necessarily a menace to a building. A poor rod is generally better than none. Copper, aluminum and iron are all suit- able material for light- ning-rods. Iron must be galvanized. Contact between different metals should, in general, be avoided, to prevent the. danger of electro- lytic corrosion. Con- tact between lead and copper is an exception. Insulators in clamps fastening lightning- rods to buildings are no longer used, except in localities where prej- udice in their favor still demands that their use be continued. Shooting Snapping Turtles with an Ordinary Rifle just before a_snapping- turtle makes up his berth preparatory to snooz- ing away a long win- ter, he makes a sort of itinerary of small lakes and ponds, apparently with the one purpose of stealing ducks and other water-fowl that live in game preserves, In this way, such ponds often become thickly tenanted with unwel- come inhabitants which are not easy to get rid of. The best plan is to keep the turtles out by means of a fence of _ coarse wire netting. If this precaution has not been observed and the - pond becomes infested, the quickest way to No system of pro- tection for oil tanks has been devised which is accepted by oil companies as giving a degree of protection at all commensurate with the cost. The loss of live stock in fields can be reduced by earthing wire fences by means of galvan- ized iron pipe or posts at intervals of one hundred yards or so, and breaking up the electrical continuity of the fence at intervals by in- serting sections of non-con- ducting wood. Several ranchmen in the West and Northwest have adopted this method. It might be well to add in this connection and just at this time when powder maga- zines and ammunition fac- tories are such an important factor in the world’s affairs, that the system of pro- tection from damage by light- ning for such places is at _ present far from satisfactory. fo. * “* Protection of Life and Property Against Lightning,’’ by S. Peters, Washington, 1915. For sale by the Superintendent \, of Documents, Washington, D.C. Price, 35 cents. A hollow copper lightning rod, crushed by a current estimated at twenty thousand amperes Turtles are hard of hearing. fire a rifle six times in their immediate exterminate the _in- truders is to shoot them with a good rifle. You can vicinity without scaring them away. But A half-inch groove gouged in a monument by a bolt of lightning their keen sense of sight more than makes up for any deficiency in hear- ing. They disappear in the water the moment they dis- cover anything unusual. Snapping turtles appear to be very inquisitive. This weakness can be used to ad- vantage. Choose a conven- ient spot where you can re- main motionless for some time and watch your chance to fire the fatal shot. The foolish turtle will be sure to see something of interest and set out to investigate. He may swim a long distance, coming to the surface every few yards to inspect the object of his curiosity. When he is sufficiently near, take careful aim and _ fire. If your patience is as great as the curiosity of the turtles you will event- ually rid the pond of them.

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Target Practice with the Smaller Coast Defence Guns HEN practic- Popular Science Monthly 369 The Biggest Red Cross Flag Ever—A New York Creation NE of the big ing with the smaller land defence guns, the United States army often uses a self-propelling target which is im- provised by the handy men about the fort. The target is carried far out to | sea by a launch; there it is set going at a speed of from eight to ten miles an hour, and the guns begin their maltreat- ing of it in true American fashion! While these tar- gets are the simplest sort of craft, they afford about the best type of target known. Two pon- New York city department stores has set the pace in Red Cross flags. Across the Fifth Avenue side of the store is a flag seventy-five by one hundred feet; the hundreds of thou- sands who daily go up and down the street never fail to marvel at it. The flag was made in the store. It is ten feet larger than an American flag which formerly occupied the position it now holds. Note the con- gested traffic in the street. Fifth Avenue toons fourteen feet long and which stick only a few inches above the water, carry a marking flag. Usually, both pontoons are armored with quarter-inch boiler-plate, which is One of covered with gray target cloth. the pontoons carries the small motor-boat engine. By means of its rudders, the craft can be made to ma- neuver straight ahead or in a circle. A buoy and cable are attached to the motor so that it can be recovered from the bottom of the harbor should the pon- toon sink. The self-propelling target. Though the pontoons are almost invisible, the gunners riddle them This Red Cross flag that adorns a New York city department store measures 100x75 feet ‘is rapidly becoming the most congested thoroughfare in the world despite its width. Traffic moves five blocks at a time and there are traffic police- men nearly every block for more than a hundred blocks of its length. The Complexities Involved in Making Shrapnel ERE the average layman able to grasp the staggering complex- ities of chemical and mechanical de- tails involved in the. making of a shrapnel shell he would be amazed. For instance, one hundred and seventy gages are required to manufacture the combination time and percussion fuse for three quarter-inch shrapnel. The powder used must have the correct burning time or the explosion will occur too soon or too late. It is im- possible to obtain two powders with the same burning time, hence the burning time has to be determined on each lot of powder. This formerly required one and one-half hours; now it takes five minutes. Likewise, the time consumed in blending powders has been reduced from sixteen hours to fifteen minutes.

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+O you remember the old “Star” bicycle? If not, ask your father. He will tell you that it had a little wheel in front, and behind a very large wheel over which you sat. The little wheel in front was supposed to prevent you from taking “‘headers.”’ Show your father the accompanying il- lustrations of A. F. d’Harlingue’s air- propelled unicycle and he will say at once: “Why the man has simply put an air- propeller and an engine on a big old Star!”’ But the difference between the old “Star” and this curiously ingenious and yet most impractical invention is this: The old “Star’’ was a simple, operative invention; the air-propelled unicycle is much too complicated to operate success- fully. The PopcuLaAR SCIENCE MONTHLY has not pictured every one of the businesslike gears and elaborate controls which are supposed to adapt this machine for high- speed travel and racing. It’s unnecessary to do so. But it has emphasized the two fanciful and fundamental features, namely, the unicycle design intended to result in a vehicle running normally on one wheel only and, secondly, the use of an air-screw for propulsion. The fascination of com- bining these features may have arisen from the recognized difficulty in applying engine power in a unicycle by ordinary mechanical means, so that the use of an air-screw came to appear as the happy solution of a problem. Compare this construction with a motor- cycle and especially with a pace-making machine having the driver’s seat at the extreme rear. With the motorcycle, the practical speed is limited only by the driver’s ability to endure the jolts or his willingness to take chances. The wastage Here’s the Air-Propelled Unicycle Some mechanical misgivings about a fantastic invention in the transmission of the engine is small, The resistance in the wheel spindle-bearings is evidently insignificant compared with that to be looked for in the corresponding bearings of the unicycle, which are those of the three roller disks shown in the engine- carrying frame, subject to constant side pressure from a bevel-pinion drive. The loss of engine power in the transmission of the unicycle is enormous. There are con- stantly in mesh a large number of elements. At turns, there are, in addition, two hand- operated worm-gears for turning the T- shaft of the air-screw upon its vertical pivot-pin (against a considerable resistance when the screw is going), and this further operates a train of three spur-gears to make the front wheel participate in the turn and—when it is on the ground—help in directing or stopping the big wheel. The loss of efficiency due to the many transmission gears is small, however, com- pared with that of the air-screw, which cannot be more than three and one-half feet in diameter so each blade is less than twenty inches long. An air-screw of these dimensions, at the present stage of knowl- edge, has about one-fifth of the efficiency and one-tenth of the capacity of a screw with forty-inch blades and can scarcely absorb more than fifteen or utilize more than two-horsepowers at the utmost ve- locity that can be imparted to it through gears. On hills, the machine would be reduced to very low speed with high fuel consumption. An air-screw even so small as three and one-half feet in diameter would be dan- gerous to bystanders and wayfarers; a larger and more efficient one would be entirely out of the question on the road. Ordinarily the front wheel, which some- what spcils the unicycle idea, is supposed to hover in the air when the machine is running, the driver sitting on a sliding seat, balancing his weight against that of the front structure by pushing the seat to the balancing position. The claim is made that by shifting his seat he can make the air-screw inoperative, but nothing is shown to substantiate this assertion. To the front wheel a brake mechanism is secured, to be operated with a long rod, and the inventor believes that this brake 370,

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ee can be operated with safety even on a curve, because the little wheel is then turned into the curve by its geared con- nection with the air-screw. The safe and sane brake system of the motor-bicycle shines by comparison. The only worth-while advantage of a ‘unicycle over a bicycle is that it can be steered by simply leaning to one side, but this solitary advantage, exemplified in a boy’s play-hoop and largely utilized in the old ordinary and ‘“‘Star’’ bicycles, is de- liberately abandoned in d’Harlingue’s con- struction. By rods (one of which is shown) and the worm-gears before mentioned, the air-screw is supposed to be swung to the side in order to turn the big wheel. All the complications arising from this mis- understanding of the case are accepted. What are the supposed dimensions of this unicycle? They are indicated by the distance from the seat to foot-rest, which must be about three feet to fit an average man. That gives the diameter of the big wheel as nine to ten feet and that of the air-screw three and one-half feet, as men- Chassis Transmission housing AAI \\\ Y by Propeller \\ Wi p> | | ———— ~S i | * Steering and control Shock absorber wheel not used in high speeds Popular Science Monthly TAT NW ~~ ! MN 371 tioned before. The chain-drive is about six feet long. The aluminum shield in front of the driver is bent and hammered from a sheet at least six by four feet. Though in this class of vehicles relative proportions are vital, the engine and its dimensions, as shown, must not be taken seriously. By estimating bore and stroke on scale with the rest, they would indicate sixty to eighty horsepower at 1500 revolu- tions per minute, but then the engine is also shown as watercooled, yet with no provisions for disposing of a radiator or other bothersome detail. A jolly sport machine might be produced on the basis of d’Harlingue’s general idea by radical simplification of his design, including the omission of front wheel and all gears and placing a little high-speed one-cylinder engine directly behind the air- screw. The shaft could be tilted upward a little and the diameter of the big wheel reduced to five or six feet. Braking could be done by drags at the rear under foot or hand control. But an engine starter would be found indispensable. Pneumatic tire Inner rim AN Shield Steering wheel for, air scyew eS Foot rest itl NN Roller channel Roller If a unicycle could be driven with a smaller resistance and at greater speed than a bicycle, if it could be built more economically or compactly or could be operated more safely or enjoyably, and if small air-screws could be made to apply a thrust against the atmosphere without a vast loss of power as compared with the mechanical rotation of a driving wheel, the combination might lead to desirable results. Alas! Each of them is inferior, and their combination multiplies their degree of inferiority compared with the motor-bicycle with mechanical transmission

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A scientiyvic cooker for meats, poultry, vege- tables, fruits and cereals. Above is a_ sectional view of it. It has three bot- toms designed to prevent the utensil from coming into di- rect contact with the flames and to concen- trate and con- serve the heat The electric light stand for the li- brary also serves asa book rack A machine for sanding floors evenly does away with the back-breaking labor involved in sanding by hands Housekeeping Made Easy Le Ue TM A unique cover for the humidor which is a com- bination affair on the order ofa smoker’s kit. It holds pipes and matches and serves as an ash tray when de- sirable. It fits into the top of the humidor Coring apples and cutting them into quarters in one operation. You simply press on the handle and give it one quick turn The newest and od- dest design in racks for books,magazines and newspapers The kitchen table and dish-washer. The washer is oper- ated by electricity A skillet with a removable handle and an outlet for steam can be used either for baking, frying or boiling

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ee eed = A book table pro- vided with a lamp which may be ad- justed from forty- eight to sixty inches in height. The table itself is twenty-four inches high and twelve inches square. Both table and lamp standard are of mahogany. About six books can be accommo- dated between the two side braces on the top of the table, and as many more on the shelf SSNS SSSI Housekeeping Made Easy rg > 2 A modern laundry in a Long Island home. electric washer with ringer and the ironer have changed the usual wash day into wash hour WIT; Two photographs mounted on a pivot fit, back to back, in this frame. The view on each side is six by eight inches. The stand and frame are attract- ively finished in burnished gold ff COLEUS EOE Matt Ses. eR ea tae oe Closet Or | : Refrigeratoy } } % Sate ieee. - semanas Li Saceonis. a You can fold this gas range out of the way so as to use the space below it for a table. It is so made that it may be con- nected with flexible or fixed tubing. If flexible tubing is used the range may be disconnected and tucked away in a closet. Taking it out again and set- ting it up for use when needed is but the work of a mo- ment. All parts are light in weight A simple and inexpensive book rest which can be adjusted in three positions for use. Two of the positions are shown here. The ledge of the device holds the pages of the opened book fiat 373

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Food For The Taking The dogfish, the sable, the goosefish, the valuable sea foods that we throw away, huge whale, the giant kelp—all are Eat them and reduce the cost of living the food which we have. Millions of dollars’ worth of wholesome, fine- flavored fish are thrown away each year. And as for the marine vegetables which can be had for the taking all along our shores—the majority of our people do not know that they exist. Take the case of the goosefish, a food which pound for pound equals beef steak in protein (flesh- building material). Only seventy-five per cent of a pound of sirloin is edible; ninety per cent of the goosefish is edible. Hence, the goosefish equals the steak in available protein content. Yet we go on blithely throwing away ten million pounds a year of this valuable food fish. The absurd part of this startling extravagance is that we reject the By A.-M. NE of.the reasons why we suffer _ from the high cost of living is because we refuse toeat muchof .- "oores The Greedy Goosefish Is Good to Eat The goosefish averages about three feet in length. It is not unusual, however, to find larger fish. The broad body and large head surmounted by a tuft which acts as a lure for its prey, the enormous mouth with its double row of strong teeth all tend to make its appearance repulsive. It eats any living creature it can overcome. Fishes, lobsters, squids, crabs—even water- fowl, such as ducks and geese, are all on the goosefish’s _ bill-of-fare. To eat “like a horse’ is a common expression, but to eat like a goosefish would better express the idea of a huge appetite, because the weight of a single meal of a goosefish will be half as much as the weight of the fish itself Jungmann profitable. Figures gathered just be- fore the war show that they annually sold over five million seven hundred thousand pounds of this fish. The Mystery of the Tile Fish Another fish which has never attained the popu- larity it deserves is the tilefish. It is the center of one of the most baffling marine mysteries. Noth- ing about this fish had ever been recorded until 1879, when a_ schooner fishing off Nantucket caught several thousand pounds of this large and beautiful fish. The cap- tain of the schooner was sufficiently interested to send one of the fish to the United States Fish Com-.- mission where it was found to be new. Efforts were made at once to establish a fishery, but before anything defi- nite could be done goosefish simply be- cause we do not ad- mire its looks. It is so exten- sively used in Ger- many, where it ap- pears under the name of See-Teufel (sea-devil), that the catch on the North Sea does not supply the demand. Before the war large quan- tities of this fish the tilefish were all mysteriously killed in March, 1882. The first news of the tragedy was brought in by a skipper who said he had sailed for fifteen miles through a mass of dead and dying fish which were floating on the surface of the water. The disas- ter was investigated were imported into Germany from Great Britain. The Scotch and English fishermen found the goosefish very Kanten Is Made in Japan from Seaweeds It is a sort of isinglass. It is thoroughly white, semi- transparent and shiny. It is extensively used for food in the form of jellies, candies, pastries and for anything which is prepared with gelatine. It is much superior to the common animal isinglass. Late statistics of the production of ‘‘kanten’” are not available, but in 1902 three million pounds were made with a valu- ation of sevén hundred and fifty thousand dollars 374 by the United States Fish Commission and it was estimated that the dead fish covered an area one hundred and seventy Went

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eee ECP TS eee eer eee fem 1 OOH Ft oo t ’ le Il 1e it 10 2S of sh Ig 1e S- eS yn sh 1e | | ———————eeeeeEeEeEeee miles long and twenty-five miles wide. The number of fish to meet this untimely end was one billion, five hundred million. This phenomenon was so amazing that the Bureau of Fisheries decided to inquire into the matter and the result of the find- Popular Science Monthly 375 it is known as the grayfish it is beginning to be accepted. The grayfish is a fine looking fish, very trim and sporty with its clipper-build and smooth shining skin. It is wonderfully quick in its movements, which is necessary ings indicated that the fish probably had died of chill. The | tilefish, like the cod, dwells at .the bottom of the sea, but as it cemes of a tropical fam- ily it cannot withstand the cold as can for a creature with its pirat- ical propensi- ties. It weighs when grown from five to fifteen pounds, the average for adults being seven pounds, The hide looks scale- less, but is in the’ cod. ‘reality cov- There was ered with fine, evidence that sharp parti- the Gulf cles very Stream had rough to the receded; as touch. The it moved off — skin its used shore, the The Imitation Sturgeon of the South for polishing il fi h, lvi The paddlefish frequents the bayous of the Mississippi River. It is 1 : tilefis ying canned and sold for sturgeon. In its fresh state it is eaten by the metal, ivory at the bottom negroes, who are very fond of it and wooden were no longer protected by its warmth and found themselves in chilly water, which proved too much for them. A few years after the disappearance of the tilefish the Gulf Stream was found to be gradually approaching the coast. In 1892, the warm water of the Gulf Stream flowed over the bottom of the New Eng- land coast and in the summer of that year the Fisheries schooner, Grampus, caught a few tilefish. But for ten articles, as it is much like emery cloth. _ The liver produces an oil which finds a ready market in the arts. The utilization of these by-products makes it possible for the canner to supply the fish to the consumer at an unusually low price. The wholesome grayfish has been eaten and enjoyed by the people living on the shores of the Mediterranean since some years not a single fish had been found on the old grounds, although painstaking search had been made all during that time. “What’s in a Name?” The Dogfish Becomes the Grayfish long distant period lost in the shadows of an- tiquity. Doubtless many an American so- journing in Europe has smacked his lips over a dish of savory grayfish and has wondered why we have no native fishes quite so delectable. The Wastefulness of As an example of “What’s in a name?” take the dogfish. As long as this excellent food fish was called by that unattractive name the public would have none of it. Now that Our Newest Deep-Sea Food Fish The tilefish should prove to be very profitable to the fisheries, because if the fresh fish are caught in such quantities that their sale in -the fresh state would not pay they can be salted and smoked like finnan haddie, which, when smoked, they resemble in flavor. If these fish are ever smoked extensively a profitable by-product would be found in the sounds, or swimming bladders, as they are valuable for the production of gelatin or isinglass California On the Pacific coast the people are just as wasteful and extrava- gant as they are on the Atlantic, when it comes to refusing fine flavored

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Popular Science Monthly | The Japanese Eat Kelp; the Californians Make Potash from It Kelp is gathered in Japan from July to October. The seaweed is taken into open boats by hooks attached to long handles. It is dried and cured on the beach. When cured, the plants are trimmed and packed. Plants of the same size are packed together, making neat, uniform bundles fish. There they throw, away large quan- tities of sable fish, which until recently re- joiced in the name black cod mystery, since it is not even related to the cod family. The Department of Dietetics of the University of Washington states that the sable fish is ‘‘excellent from an economic as- pect, as there is little waste, being almost free from bone and requiring very little time for cooking. It is suit- able for the hum- blest home on ac- count of its price and for the millionaire’s table on account of its fineness of texture and delicious flavor.”’ The adult fish weighs about fifteen pounds, although much larger ones are frequently taken. They are found in abundance in the deep waters off the coast from San Fran- cisco to Alaska. why, is a The burbot lurks in holes at the bottom of the waters all during the day. At night it steals forth and preys upon other fishes, crawfish, insects and fish eggs. It has a stomach which is very elastic, enabling it to consume large quantities of food at a time. But it pays for this appetite when it begins to grow old, for then it loses its slim, graceful lines and becomes heavy, flabby of flesh and “potbellied” The Burbot Belongs to the Cod Family cause there has been no market for them. The peculiarly firm flesh of the sable fish enables it to stand shipping very well. It may be frozen and successfully shipped throughout the coun- try, even as far east as New York. The famous cod has a fresh water cousin known as the burbot. It is found in the lakes and larger streams of all the countries in the world. In this country it abounds from the Ohio and Missouri Rivers all the way to the Arctic regions. The meat is very like cod. As the fish is plentiful and its price low it should become a general favorite. However, none of our people may become as fond of it as a certain Italian countess of the sixteenth century w o spent all her income on burbot. Why Not Whale Steak with Currant Jelly? The sea produces meat which may be substituted for beef. That is to say, all the crea- tures which swim fish. Whales and porpoises are mammals just like cattle and sheep. Their flesh is really meat. Whale steak was served this summer in western hotels and met with a favorable reception. A juicy piece of sperm whale steak with currant jelly makes a fine meal. The whale steak is very like beef in texture al- though darker red in Halibut fishermen have been catching these fish for years, but they have always thrown them away be- Seaweed Is Also the Basis of Isinglass A bundle of “Slender Kanten,” or seaweed isinglass. It is only available from December to February “fishy” taste. ment tests show that it contains about four per cent more protein than does beef. color. The flavor is much the same as beef. It has no slightest trace of The United States Govern- in the sea’ are not *:

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>= ow ae OS © TF ie oer Ot oa oO al oO LA net AS 10 of at of, Popular Science Monthiy In Seattle, Washington, and Portland, Oregon, whale meat has been selling in the market places for ten cents a pound. It was first put on the market in May and it has been selling steadily ever since. Whale meat has been used in Denmark to feed the soldiers. Eating the Vegetables of the Sea With your whale steak you might have a dish of dulse or kelp if you only knew how pal- atable these marine vegetables are. And you might top off your dinner with a pudding made from seaweed isinglass. In Ireland, dulse is a much favored vegetable, as is laver, which is called ‘‘sloke.”’ Both these vegetables grow plentifully under the water along all our Atlantic coast. Our seaweed resources are equal, if not superior, to the Japanese or those of any other country. Yet, while Japan prepares seaweeds each year which exceed $2,000,000 in value, the total value of the marine vegetables pre- pared in this country is $35,000. A Pirate of the Deep Like the bluefish, cod and haddock, the grayfish subsists on a purely animal diet. It feeds on fish, crabs, shrimp and lobsters. The grayfish, like the goosefish, enjoys a healthy ap- petite. Indeed, it is so raven- ous that it does not hesitate to rob fishermen’s nets and trawl lines. It has splendid teeth of a knife-like sharpness and makes a general nuisance of itself by cutting to pieces fishermen’s gear in its piratical efforts to get the square meal it always craves. Neither the trawl fishermen nor their brothers of the nets are spared by these unscrupulous sea thieves. Most fishes produce innumerable eggs, but the grayfish is an exception, Six or eight grayfish are born of the mother fish, not helpless as young creatures usually are, but full of fight and: spoiling for a scrap. They are thoroughly well equipped to care for themselves from the moment of birth, and they enter into the battle which is the everyday program of marine life with the odds in their favor. Because of this early start and because it is not generally used for food the propor- tion of grayfish to attain maturity is much in excess of that of other fishes The horned pout, or catfish, dnother valuable article of food much despised because of its looks and its whiskers Japanese women sorting kelp. When prepared, this article is used extensively, throughout Japan and China, for food The industry in the United States is practically confined to Massachusetts, and but a single species is used—Irish moss. It is true that in Mon- terey and Santa Barbara Counties in California, Chi- nese fishermen dry certain marine algae for food, but the value of thisamounts only to about eight hun- dred dollars a year. Kelp is an enormous seaplant which abounds along the Pa- cific coast. A full grown plant will have a stem three hundred feet in length which bears at the top an air bulb. From this bulb grow fifty or more giant leaves, each one of which will attain a length of thirty or forty feet. This plentiful vege- table is entirely ignored by us, but the Japanese prize it highly. They make what is known as “kombu”’ from kelp. Because it fades in the curing process, much of it is dyed green, just as French peas are dyed to give them their pleasing color. This shredded, dyed ‘“‘kombu’”’ is used as a vegetable and is cooked with soups and meats. It is even made into a sort of con- fection by sugaring small strips of it. ‘“Kombu” appeals to the Occidental taste when crisp sticks of it are broken in small pieces and served as a cereal.

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378 Popular Science Monthly . The Broomstick Periscope—How De- figures it was decided to cut the skirts tectives in Kansas City Used It off at seven, eight and nine inches from the a ground, making up the deficiency in the HE combination of a pole, two width. The little matter of the cost hand mirrors, a monkey- wrench, a torn curtain and a bureau looking glass solved a mystery case in Kansas City, Missouri, which baffled the detectives for a long time. The detectives wanted to discover what: was go- ing on in a certain room. — By tying a hand mir- ror to each end of a short broomstick and by holding the device out- side the window with a monkey wrench, the detectives were able to see inside the room. Fortunatel they found Oopportu- nity first to Opening in curtain of the high shoes did not disturb the manufacturers. Music Hath Charms Even in the Desert HE British Tom- my must have his fun; otherwise he wouldn’t make a good fighter. When the Tom- mies on the western front are given a few days’ visit to ‘‘Blighty”’ (the soldier’s name for England), they are welcomed with open arms by committees who do nothing else but make the visit at home a continuous round of pleasure and diversion. They are taken to theaters, ath- letic events and pink teas until, as one Tommy said, recently: ‘“Trench life is a dull affair compared to what they put you through in Wen} =—s- Blighty.” Even the Tommies sta- tear a hole a ioned he blisteri d . The periscope device which rivals any of tioned on the blistering sands in the cur- the tools used by Sherlock Holmes. The of Sahara must have their tain. detectives arranged first to tear a hole entertainment. In the in the curtain and adjust the mirrors photograph below is shown Why Are Skirts So Short? To Help 2 Company of soldiers transporting a piano the Poor Shoe Dealers across the Sahara sand for use at an out- post. The piano is being moved on a sand ARLY in the season manufacturers of sledge, which is the same as a snow sled women’s dresses decided that the. except that the runners are wider. short, narrow skirt must be discarded. Not for puritan- ical reasons, but because the manufacturers of materials were losing money. ‘‘Make them long and full,’’ was the verdict. ‘‘No!’’ retorted the shoe manufacturers. ‘‘Do you want to put us ‘out of business? Make them as full as you like, but short— and shorter!” The argument waxed hot and revealed the fact that every inch added to the length of women’s dresses means a loss of $10,000,000 a year to the shoe business. In the face of such appalling Transporting a piano across the Sahara to a British outpost. A sand sledge with wide runners takes the place of a van aera er

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Desert Sand-Shoes for the British Troops in Palestine HE, British troops in the Sinai desert, in Palestine, have found a way to make their feet as sand-worthy as the camel’s. By weaving a stiff network of heavy wire and attaching it to their shoes, they are able to travel over the finest desert sand without sinking ankle - deep in it. They have adopted the principle of the snowshoe. It is said to be physically impossi- ble for a man to walk over desert sand for more than two days with or- dinary shoes. At the end of that time the toes and heels become pain- fully inflamed and the skin comes off. No doubt the troops suffered untold agony be- fore they devised the sand-shoes. Loading Coal-Baskets Automatically From a Motor-Truck ANY residences, particularly those in the suburbs of :cities, are built far back.from the sidewalk so as to leave a neat lawn. Coal cannot be shot into the cellars of such houses directly from a vehicle. It must be carried in in baskets. That necessity brought forth the new motor coal-truck illustrated below. The vehicle has a table at the rear eed The snow-shoe principle applied to sand- shoes for traveling over the blistering desert The inside of the truck body tapers down to an angle at the rear so that the coal will run out easily. When the baskets are filled the pulleys lift them up shoulder high Popular Science Monthly 379 on which are carried four large baskets, each holding two hundred pounds of coal. The table is lowered by gravity so that the baskets are level with four spouts in the rear of the truck body. Gates in these spouts are opened and the baskets filled in one operation. After this the table and baskets are lifted up to the height of a man’s shoulder by means of ropes and pulleys operated from the driver's seat by an -hy- draulic hoist driven from the truck en- gine. The men place the baskets on their backs with- out any lifting, carry them to the residence cellar and return with the empty baskets, after which the op- eration is repeated. The rear of the body is tapered to an angle of seventy-five degrees sothat the coal will run out without difficulty. The entire operation of filling the baskets and lifting them shoulder high takes seven seconds. Five tons of coal are disposed of over a sixty-foot carry, in less than twenty minutes. With this novel body the truck is able to deliver coal at the rate of thirty-two cents a ton for labor, whereas by the former horse methods it cost fifty-two cents. Five Billions to United States Is Like Three Cents to a Man With a Dollar HO shall say how many ten- figure loans a nation can make before she will be bankrupt? England, with an estimated wealth of eighty-five billions, hasmade three great loans, aggregating ten billions, the last one being the largest single loanever floated. Germany has made five loans since the beginning of the war, yet her wealth probably does not exceed eight billions. Con- sidering these figures, a five- billion-dollar loan in the United States, having an estimated national wealth of two hundred and twenty bil- lions seems small.

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+ comet The Mother of the Submarine As a complete floating naval base, the submarine mother-ship is indis- pensable in our submarine program because of our two long coast lines S everyone knows,—and as Germany x long ago learned to her sorrow,—the Strait of Dover has been planted and re-planted with British mines until it would be sheer suicide for a German submarine to attempt to pass through. In order to attack England’s shipping, German submarines have therefore been compelled to travel all around the British Isles. In making this tedious detour, a great tax is laid upon the submarine’s com- paratively delicate machinery. And since this journey must be made under the water most of the way, an even greater strain falls upon the crew. If the submarine and its crew ever get back, both will be in dire need of repairs. Here is where the mother-ship justifies her name. On returning to its assigned harbor and signaling by wireless to its parent-ship, the submarine is immediately taken in between the ship’s steel hulls and is finally sheltered in the tubular compart- ment amidships. The compartment is water-sealed and huge pumps on the mother-ship are started forcing the water out—thus converting the compartment, in effect, into a wonderful floating drydock. The submarine’s crew are received by the mother-ship and are accommodated in extra cabins especially laid aside for them. Here they can sleep on real beds and take their well-earned rest. Meanwhile, the lathes and forges are busy fashioning new parts and the duplicate submarine members carried by the mother- ship are mounted in place of those worn out or damaged. The duplicate mechan- isms are stored mostly on the decks. The heavy lathes, on the other hand, are mostly below; not exactly below deck, however, but more correctly, in between the two walls of steel which together make up each of the twin hulls. Occupying the re- maining space between these steel walls are ballast and fuel oil tanks, torpedo and other stores. In here also, and in the hull at the front of the tubular docking compartment—which at this section looks like the hull of any ordinary ship, are the marine oil engines for driving the ship. The cast-steel propellers with which these connect project backward, one from each of the twin hulls. In a few days’ time, the submarine is completely overhauled, and her food and fuel supplies are replenished. Those of her original crew who are unable to stand the strain of the next journey are relieved by trained men on the mother-ship. When the new submarine crew have taken their places, the docking compartment is flooded, the ballast tanks trim the ship further, and the submarine takes to the sea again with renewed strength. When we consider that one ship can mother a flotilla of six sub- _ marines, scheduling four on active duty, one in reserve and one in repair, the stra- tegic importance of this type of vessel in the present war is evident. Without put- ting back for new supplies, and without touching her own supplies, she can re- juvenate a complete flotilla four times! After a submarine has been on active duty a number of months, she is likely to develop a weakened hull, a fault which cannot be detected by ordinary methods. Here again the mother-ship is of prime importance. She is specially equipped to convert her tubular compartment into a testing dock. Her powerful pumps will force the water into the testing dock until the conditions are simulated that exist at the dizzy depth of two hundred feet below the water’s surface—a submarine rarely dives down more than fifty! The testing crew within the submarine are in constant communication by telephone with the men at the pumps. If any weakness has developed, leaks will soon be noticeable, and the water pressure can be relieved before further damage results. These feaks, and whatever other faults are found, are noted and subsequently repaired. The last, but not the least important function of the parent-ship, is that of a salvage boat. If a submarine sinks within reach of divers, a mother-ship will be able to save her, provided she can be suff- ciently protected from the enemy by friendly warships or by her own quick-firing guns. Mother-ships have a cruising radius of four thousand miles and they can speed towards the place of disaster at the rate of ten knots. Expert divers are ready to wrap a cable around the sunken submarine, and powerful cranes are made ready to haul it up. $80 ep 8 Lae A em ener

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What the “Mother” of a Submarine Flotilla Looks Like HINERY INCLUDES DYNAMOS FOR RE“ IG THE BATTERIES AND THREE COMPRESSORS ING THE AIR RESERVOIRS OF SUBMARINES. © a . 2 The mother-ship of a submarine flotilla must discharge manifold duties. She is responsible for the supplying and the repairing of six submarines, keeping them in prime condition for active service. In her central testing dock, she must periodically subject each submarine to tremendous ) : pressures so that disasters from weakened hulls are averted. In brief, she must act as a mobile naval base—a base which can furthermore salvage any sunken submarine within reach of her divers

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ii 382 Popular Science Monthly The Star Spangled Banner in Brick —A Feat of Chicago Masons meee out of the ordinary in the way of flags was constructed by a bers of an Italian scouting party about to partake of their midday meal. Their faces and hands are besmeared with blac! grease to protect them against the burning rays of the sun, which are doubly strong thirty-two Chicago when re.- company : aa aie 1110 flected from recently. | Ha the snow. : - a flag 2 ‘7 —) = sl siege pre- re) urnt- a on r rT yt Tht i er to use clay brick | a aay Li mags jase vaseline, that neith- cs neee eed hs but that is er time nor dea tnadel Ss too expen- elements cat ree sive. The _ can veins dl ota ae oe not’ or mar. So only burns far as we the faces! know, it is _ troops the only ut it in-! flag of its jures _ their; kind in the eyes so that world. It sun glasses, is fully have to be WwW OT BG inches high by forty- eight inches wide. The red stripes consist of red, vitrified brick, the white stripes of matt- glazed brick, and the blue stripes of dark blue-enameled brick. The stars are of brick, too. Forty-eight of them were cut from white enameled brick with chisels and were laid in the blue background with blue cement mortar. The masons who are responsible for the flag first thought of pasting stars cut out from oilcloth on the brick to represent the forty-eight States. Finally they decided not to fake the flag, and hit upon the idea of cutting the stars out of individual bricks. Needless to say, this was a big task, but the result was well worth the labor and means expended. Italian Soldiers Paint Their Faces —But Not for Beauty HE Italians holding down trenches in the Alps have two enemies to deal with, the Austrians and the snow. Of the two the Italians prefer to en- counter the Austrians. As it is, they have to face both and get along as best they can. In order to do this they supply themselves with gunpowder and rifles for the Austrians and black grease and glasses for the sun. The photograph shows four mem- “Old Glory”? reproduced in burnt-clay brick. Even the stars are of brick. They were chiseled out and finished in white enamel Say, « he Needless to biae«c grease and the sun glasses make the Ital-’ ians excellent targets against a background of white snow. However, the Alpine Italian troops do not always use grease and sun _ glasses, When there is hot fighting to be done in the Alps, they don snow-white suits and even paint their rifles white. In sucha uniform they are practically invisible. Black grease and sun glasses prevent the sun from burning the faces and injuring the eyes of the Italian troops fighting in the Alps su tic re af th su fo Ca

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=e FF oe welUhwmDhOUCUF —pw ° the Government whose Cleaning the Air Fed to Automobile Engine Cylinders F interest to every automobilist, and to army trucks run in con- yoys almost hidden in clouds of dust, is the car- bureter air-cleaner shown in the illustration below.’ | The device is distin- guished by its simplicity ; for it has no moving parts. By extracting the dirt and grit from the air sucked through the car- bureter into the engine cylinders, excessive wear on pistons and _ piston rings is avoided, as well as scoring of the cylinders, pitting of the valves and cutting out of bearings. The cleaner operates on the principle of The air is sucked in near the top and down through the two centrifugal action. curved square - sectioned tubes. The circular path of the air down through the tubes throws the heavier particles of dust to the out- F side so” that Airin 1 when air and dirt are sucked through the ends of the tubes, the dirt drops down on to a _ cone- shaped shield in the bottom while the air passes up and out through the center of the top to the engine cylinders. The dirt slides down off the cone into a pocket beneath, which is cleaned out as re- quired when the engine is stopped. Another point in favor of such a cleaner is that it reduces the carbon forma- tion. The dried out lubricant remaining in the cylinder after each explosion attracts the particles of dirt usually sucked in with the fuel air, forming points on which carbon readily collects. Popular Science Monthly N- In circle: Smoking the rifle sight for use when firing in the sunlight. Above: Using the rifle strap as a sling-grip Some Rifle-Firing ‘‘Kinks’’ That Are Taught the West Pointers HE average recruit who starts in at West Point knows as much about the fine points of rifle firing as a long- shoreman about flying. First he masters the elementary steps— the manual of arms and the cor- rect firing positions. Then he must learn a thousand facts not mentioned in the “Drill Regula- tions.””’ Among the rifle kinks, for instance, is the smoking of the glass rifle sights for work in the sun. By simply holding the sights over the flame of a match—or better, over an alcohol flame—a light layer of lampblack is spread over the sight which enables the soldier to fire even when he is directly facing the sun. And when his back is to- wards the sun, the reflected glare is eliminated so that he can work without danger to his eyes. Another kink is the doub- ling up of the ordinary rifle- strap in order to use it to ob- tain a sling-grip. By making the sling short enough, it is possible for the left hand to obtain a vise-like grip on the rifle. This helps consider- ably in steadying it. Airin Carbureter } To carbureter Air drawn to caybureter Dirt fallsto bottom Clean a The principle of centrifugal action explains the working of the carbureter air-cleaner

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RINT Se 384 Popular Science Monthly Turning a Page of This Biggest Bible Is Like Opening a Trap-Door ten times that of the ordinary pleasure car, At the present time-the spring occupies a position above the roof of the factory, MAN- Here it at- uscript 7 tracts about Bible meas- as much at- - uring five tention as it feet two did when a inches by score of three feet workmen ten inches were busy has been constructing prepared for it. When a Bible cru- asked for sade by the what _pur- Oxford Uni- pose the versity spring was Press. When being made, open, the a workman book meas- facetiously ures seven remarked, feet ten “For a car inches. It to carry the is so big man who and bulky wore the that a spe- A Bible big enough for a family of giants. Twelve seven-league cial steel thousand persons have been engaged in preparing it boots. framework is necessary to keep it in shape. Turning one page is like pulling up a trap door, only the page is much lighter than a door. On the other hand, the cover of the Bible, which appears very distinctly in the ac- companying photograph, is heavy. It weighs as much as twenty good-sized books. Twelve. thousand persons have been en- gaged in preparing the Bible. Perhapsa hundred thousand will have helped before it is completed. A Spring Big Enough for an Auto- mobile Two Blocks Long | AN automobile spring forty-five feet long is used by a’Seattle factory as an advertising sign. It is built of the same materials as an ordinary spring, and the workmanship is as accurate as in a spring of the usual size. If put to actual use the spring shown @ Leave the Gathering of Mushrooms to an Expert Who Knows Them ~ CCORDING to specialists in the United States Department of Agri- culture, there is no simple and _ infallible test for distinguishing between edible and poisonous mushrooms. The only safe mush- rooms to eat are those that have been gathered by a collector who knows his business. The most common edible mushroom is the Agaricus campestris. Its cap is fleshy and hemispherical at first but later becomes expanded and nearly flat. It is smooth and light brown or white in color. The gills are white at first, later pink, and finally a blackish-brown. The stem is stout, smooth and furnished with a ring. It is readily recognized; but before the gills turn color it a might be confused with the Ey Amanita, a poisonous variety. would fitanau- tomobile more than two hun- dred feet long The gills of the Amanita remain white. The safe rule is to gather and would sup- port a weight pleasure cars is used as an advertising sign by a Seattle factory A spring big enough to support the combined weight of ten only those with colored gills.

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ar. ies ry. at- ut at- it ur- pue to the gti- ible and ish- een his n is shy mes and are ya oth dily yr it ety. the nain safe ther vith Popular Science Monthly The first aerial fire-fighting company in the world. The equipment consists mainly of chemical extinguishers. Extinguishing bombs are suggested for forest fires Clang! The Fire-Chief Is Coming in His Airplane HE fire department chiefs of every city of this country have their eyes on Chief Louis Almgren, of the San Diego, California, fire department. Chief Almgren has discarded the horse and buggy and the automobile and now races through the air in an airplane when chasing fires. When a fire box is pulled in an outlying section, the chief jumps into his flying machine and is at the scene of the blaze before the horse-drawn equipment gets around the first corner or the fire boat is going full steam ahead. His is the first aerial fire-fighting company in the world. In test flights made with the new air- plane, which is a one-hundred horsepower machine of the hydro- plane type, trips that ordinarily took the fire boats from twenty to thirty minutes to make were made by airplane in from two to five minutes, counting the necessary Clang! The device for sup- : certs porting the arch and Cure is not an ov ernight one, but You Will Never Be Efficient While Your Feet Hurt You CCORDING to some of our best physi- cians many of our bodily ills are di- rectly attributable to improperly-cared-for feet. This does not refer particularly to fashionable footgear, but rather to fallen arches, which are more common than is realized, and to the painful callous spots which prevent comfort in shoes of almost any make. An adjustable device for sup- porting the arch of the foot and for removing such callouses on the sole is shown in the accompanying photograph. It consists of anum- ber of supports which can be placed in any desired position and adjusted as needed from time to time. To remove callouses, rubber inserts in a pocket are placed un- der and around the affected spot. There are no metal parts, the material used being soft flexible leather and rubber. The time in getting the engine started. removing callous spots the relief is said to be immediate. Those of us interested in science, engineering, invention, form a kind of guild. We should help one another. The editor of The POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY is willing to answer questions.

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The bomb is six feet six inches long. The diam- eter of the head is six inches The Ideal Aerial Bomb It explodes six feet above the ground regard- less of the height from which it is dropped N aerial bomb which explodes about six feet above the ground, re- gardless of the height from which it is dropped, has been tested out by the Ord- nance Department and probably will be manu- factured in large num- bers. It is the inven- tion of Lester P. Bar- low, a former coal passer in the United States Navy who later joined Villa’s forces in Mexico and was at the head of railroad shops where the rebel chief had his artillery ammu- nition made. While there he conceived the idea and partially perfected the device. The novel feature of the bomb is that it explodes before it hits the ground, whether it is dropped from a height of two thousand feet or twenty thousand feet. The difficulty with bombs used in the past is that they have been fired by contact with the ground, burying them- selves in the earth before exploding. Thus ninety per cent of the force of a bomb dropped on ordinary ground is ex- pended against earth, instead of scattering its fragments over a wide area above ground. Inventors have been aware of this deficiency of the tear- shaped bomb for a_ long The fin-like device at the izer which keeps it true time. The idea upper- most in their minds has been to develop a bomb that would explode head high and whose bursting fragments would cover a wide circle before reach- ing the ground. So far as is known no foreign coun- try has such a bomb in its possession. The bomb which comes closest to realizing the maximum of efficiency, as the Ordnance Department interprets that term, is this bomb devised by Mr. Barlow. The above-ground ex- plosion is made possible by a rod that protrudes from the point of the bomb after it has been The detonating rod sets off the detonator as soon as its point touchesthe earth dropped from the aircraft carrying it. This is about six and one-half feet long. As soon as its point touches the earth it sets into operation a detonator containing about two hundred grains of fulminate of mercury which immediately sets off the explosive. top of each bomb is a stabil- The bomb weighs about one hundred pounds. It contains about forty pounds of trinitrotoluol and the steel casing and other metal parts of the bomb, which are blown in- to fragments by the expio- sion, have a total weight of about sixty pounds. The bombs can be manufac- tured at a cost of about to its course during its flight 556

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fifty dollars each exclusive of labor cost. The bomb is about six feet six inches long and the diameter of the war head is about six inches. At its upper end there is a stabilizer which keeps it true to its course. The bomb is carried suspended in a horizon- tal position beneath the. aircraft. W hen released, the end containing the explosive, being the Popular Science Monthly 387 submarines. For this kind of work the nose of the bomb is made to operate if it strikes a hard substance and not to operate if it hits water. In the tail of the device is a timing mechanism that can be set to let it go to any depth below the surface of the water before it explodes. Should it hit any solid object on or below the top of heaviest, drops first, bringing the apparatus into a verti- cal position. Having assumed this position, the action of the air operates a valve which re- leases a tele- scoped tube to which the stabilizer is attached. This extends the device to a full length of about ten and one-half feet. At the the water it will explode instantly, but if it con- tinues going down through the water, when it reaches the depth for which it is set, it will explode automatical- ly at that depth just as if it were on land. In this way it be- comes the most threat- ening men- ace to the same time, the detonat- ing rod is re- leased from its position in the center of the bomb until it protrudes a distance of about six feet six inches below the war head, ready to set off the detonator as soon as its point touches the earth. The manner in which the detonator operates and. other features of the bomb are of great military value and are being kept a secret. It is known, however, that up until the time the bomb is dropped from the air- craft carrying it, the detonator is held in such a position that it is impossible to discharge it, so that no matter how much explosive is in the war head there is no danger. Only after the bomb starts on its way toward the earth does the detonator become operative. To demonstrate its safety features the bomb was riddled with rifle bullets during a test in England. It failed to explode. According to Representative Tilson of Connecticut, the Government is now de- veloping a bomb of this type to drop on Young girls.as dental hygienists examining the teeth of several boys and girls in the Vanderbilt Clinic, New York city submarine yet devised. The Dental Hygienist Takes Her Place Beside the Dentist OMEN have assisted dentists for many years, but not until recently did it become necessary for a girl to attend a three months’ course of training and then pass an examination before she could take her place beside the dentist and help him with his work. The accompanying illustra- tion shows the graduating class of the Vanderbilt Clinic, in New York city, ex- amining and cleaning the teeth of several youthful patients. These girls study and do practical work in the laboratory for three months. After that they take an examination; if they pass it they are given the title of ‘‘dental hygienist.’’ A great deal of minor work is entrusted to them, such as treating gums, cleaning the teeth and administering gas. None but high school or college graduates are accepted for training.

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388 Subduing the Cow’s Tail with a Simple Wire-Clip Device IGHT after night Popular Science Monthly Each pocket of the pool table is provided with a V-hinge baseplate at the top. Electric contacts are held on the ends of y0th of the halves of Arthur J. Thomp- son, of Argyle, Mich., was flogged by cows’ tails.- He milked two cows, which stood side by side. When milking the out- side cow he got but one tail in his face, but when he milked the inside cow he got the combined swishes of both tails. Needless to say, this an- gered him. So thoroughly tail-flogged was he that he decided then and there to subdue the cow’s tail. Taking a piece of wire and a pair of pliers he worked for two hours on his subduer. His first model completed he tried it on the cow ‘‘and got a these baseplates. The contacts lead to dry bat- teries and an electromag- net in the spinning de- vice. Thus, when you succeed in starting a ball towards any pocket, the weight of the ball as it passes over the baseplate forces the hinge arms to- gether and _ closes the circuit. Instantly, the armature of the electro- magnet is sharply pulled down. By means of the ratchet-and-pawl ar- rangement at the end of this armature, the hand on the spinning device is set whirling around in front of the score dial. The number at which the crack on the head,’ as he tells us in a letter. But he did not stop. He worked another two hours, improved his model, tried it on the cow for the second time and lo! it kept the tail where it The cow’s tail is fastened in the clip end of the U-shaped loop hand stops is the num- ber of points which your pocket scores. While the number thus scored will depend _ solely on your luck, skill is always required to start the hand going. belonged. Several months later the The device also aids Government issued him a patent. His device is a simple U-shaped wire loop loosely fastened round the right leg of the cow, with the exterior side bent and twisted so as to form a clip to hold the tail. When placed in the clip end of the loop, the cow’s tail can not be moved, nor can the in keeping the score without individual calculations. cow kick with that foot. & J Combining Luck with Skill in a New Game of Pocket Billiards O win in the game of pocket billiards devised by William Heffley, of Penn- sylvania, you will have to be lucky as well as skillful. His invention adds to the age- old game an electric spinning device which is operated by the ball entering into its pocket. The spinning device is likely to score you almost anything, so that a closely matched game can be made not only a matter of skill, but one which is in- tensely exciting. Heffley’s device can be attached to any pool table without altering its construction. —————— cue ball —T- O.. +. a eF_ Hinge | jo ~~ Electric L% contacts The weight of a ball traveling towards any one of the pockets closes an electric circuit

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Popular Science Monthly Seventy thousand tons of ice, valued at $100,000, which, owing to the difficulty of handling, had to be left to melt in the sun after fire had destroyed the buildings in which it was stored In an Encounter Between Fire and Ice, the Fire Won BOLT of lightning during a heavy rainstorm near Warnertown, Pa., re- cently, struck one of two huge icehouses. The resulting fire soon spread to the other icehouse, and in a short time even the inside partitions in the buildings were half burned out, surrounded with ice though they were. All that remained after the fire were two huge mountains of ice which, owing to insurance laws and other difficul- ties, were left to melt in the sun. Who Would Fear Bullets in an Armor Like This? HE United States is equipping every soldier with an exact du- plicate of the British type helmet made of shrapnel-proof but not rifle-proof steel. This helmet weighs only two pounds, two ounces, and is considered by the Government to be superior to ‘the French and German hel- mets. In the opinion of the United States Government, the various types of helmets rank in the order of British, German, and French. The German hel- met covers more of the head and is a better protection in that re- spect, but the German shape helmet cannot be made of the high grade material of the British helmet. The French type helmet is inferior to the other two both in shape and in resistance to shrapnel bul- lets. The German helmet weighs considerably more than the British, which is a The steel helmets, body armor and necklets with which soldiers will be equipped for special work disadvantage considering all the other weight the soldier is required to carry. The minimum thickness of high grade steel which would resist rifle bullets is .15 of an inch. This is four times as thick as the present helmet steel, which is considered too thick for practical purposes. In addition to helmet protection, when especially difficult and hazardous operations over No Man’s Land are contemplated, the soldiers will be equipped with body armor. This body armor consists of slightly curved steel plates sewed in a canvas sack, ex- tending down to the knees and protecting the soldier from bursting shrapnel, but not from rifle or machine-gun bullets. This body armor, which weighs only sixteen pounds, three ounces, is strapped over the shoulders and around the body. Gas masks will of course be furnished for special operations, and eventually a limited quan- tity of necklets will be provided which are made up of twenty- four layers of Japanese silk which surround an inner lining of Japanese silk waste, the whole being encased in a canvas cover. This necklet protects the upper chest, the back of the head, and the sides of the face. Neither the necklet nor the body armor will be furnished every soldier, but will be kept in store and supplied for espe- cially difficult work only. Heavier body armor, which would be proof against rifle bullets as well as shrapnel, has been tried by all the belligerent nations but so far has not been generally adopted because it weighs fifty-five pounds.

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ape 390 Popular Science Monthly Under an agricultural expert the prisoners of a Philadelphia penitentiary are planting vegetables on the prison roof A Penitentiary Roof Garden—An Example of Scientific Farming HE very flourishing roof garden shown above is not over the top floor of any gilded hotel, or millionaires’ club. It sur- mounts a very different kind of hostelry— the Eastern Penitentiary, in Philadelphia. There the convicts are cultivating what might be called, according to the times, a “war garden’’; but as far as the men them- selves are concerned, the open air occupation and the pride in their fine crops afford the prison- ers such real satisfac- tion, akin to pleasure, that the place seems in itself a peace garden. The men are not chosen and sent to this work.. Of his own volition any of these future scientific farmers may make application for en- rollment in the class of agriculture which is taught in the peni- tentiary. Having been enrolled, the member of the class attends three lec- tures a week given at the prison by a pro- fessor of the State Newspaper Making newspaper Cushee rolls the strips, ties each one securely and boils them in paraffin candles. Mrs. New York city College of Pennsylvania, who is a specialist in agri- culture. Between lectures the student has the benefit of an additional correspond- ence course on subject. But the most appreciated part of this undertaking in the neces- sarily monotonous lives of the prisoners is the practical demonstration of the course, as shown in the roof garden. Robust radishes, crisp lettuce, the bountiful bean and other vegetables in common usage are planted and flourish under the sci- entific cultivation and lend interest and variety to the prison bill-of-fare. the same Torches to Take the Place of Candles F you want to do your bit toward making the world safe for democracy and don’t know how to do it, you might take up the work started by Mrs. Edward Cushee, of . She is making torches for our troops who will soon hold a sec- tor of trenches in torches are to take the place of candles, and they are made of old newspapers and par- France. The affin. To make one torch she takes six strips of news- paper, two _ columns wide, and rolls them up, tying them _ securely with cord. After boil- ing each roll of paper in paraffin for twenty minutes it is ready to light. It will burn for forty-five minutes and give off a better light than the ordi- nary candle. In this “bit” of patriotic endeavor the boys and girls can also lend a hand —the hoys to collect the old papers, and the girls to cut the paper into strips and roll them.

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—y An Efficient Hen Is an Investment Paying 150 Per Cent NTENT upon an increase in the egg and ieee production in Texas, the de- partment of poultry husbandry in the State Agricultural and Mechan- ical College has prepared a photograph which visual- izes for the farmers, and the city man as well, the wonderful earning possi- bilities of the hen as an in- dustrial ma- chine. Considered industrially, says the department, the hen is a very efficient machine. From seventy pounds of feed costing about three cents per pound, a good hen will produce in the course of a year from 150 to 160 eggs, which are worth just now about three or four cents each. An Army Burrows Itself in the Ground by Machinery ECHANICAL trench-diggers are not new, either in this country or in Europe. About two years ago the first machines to reach Europe were put to work excavating trenches behind the From seventy pounds of poultry food a good hen will produce about one hundred and fifty eggs in the course of a year Popular Science Monthly 391 French lines. They were notably success- ful, and attracted world-wide attention. Since that time numbers of trench-diggers have been employed on the battlefield, until now they are to be seen everywhere. In an eight-hour day one digger can excavate trenches _ sufficient to hold an army of seven thousand men. It would take the seven thousand troops two days to dig the same length of be trenches. Of Cer course, the dig- faxcotcnem 5c makes bet- —emepee ter progress where the earth is free from large stonesand obstructions. The accom- panying photograph shows a digger of the kind generally used. Steel buckets at- tached to an endless chain dig the dirt and carry it up a side-chute where the dirt is dumped. The matting of leaves and bran- ches which covers the machine is put there to deceive enemy airmen. 4-— Checking Insect Ravages with Armies of Enemy Insects NE hundred million dollars are lost to the United States every year due to the ravages of insects in crops. Half these insects were imported. Though insecticides are useful, they are not effective under all con- ditions. The most satisfac- tory results have been ob- tained by introducing other insects which feed upon the undesirable foreign pests. The threatened destruc- tion of California’s orange groves was arrested by the importation from Australia of a certain species of lady- bird. The tiny workers were shipped in tin boxes, placed on ice. Once released in the atmosphere of southern Cali- fornia, they set about their appointed duty with such avidity and multiplied so rapidly that the pests were A modern trench-digging machine excavating a trench on French soil. The machine top is decorated with camouflage virtually wiped out in a very short time. aL ARR SA SETAE SRE

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392

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Testing the hearing of a soldier with the aid of a machine which regulates the length of sound waves Deafened by Shell Fire, but Cured by a New Sound Machine \ HEN the big guns fire, not only are gee several fishermen had been men before it killed, but hundreds of those behind it lose their hearing, due to the terrific noise of the explosion. The roar of a barrage fire is like a million boiler factories plus a hundred tho.sand pneu- matic riveters. Little wonder is it that the ears can not with- stand the noise. In Europe are thou- sands of shell-dea‘2n- ed soldiers. In ihe accompanying photo- graph a soldier is shown facing an ap- paratus for graduat- ing and applying the sound waves. With the aid of this ma- chine the nurse is able to know just how deaf her patient is and to what sounds he re- sponds most quickly. It is a slow and pains- taking method of treatment, but it has resulted in a number of cured cases. In fact, the deaf- ness resulting from the battle noises is, in the majority of cases, only temporary. Buy Good Meat and Chop lt Yourself WO series of investiga- tions of ten samples each of Hamburger steak, made by the Department of Agriculture, revealed the fact that six samples of the first and five of the second series yielded counts of more than ten million microbes per gram. <A great many differ- ent kinds of bacteria were found and the conclusion was reached that a_ large amount of Hamburger steak sold in the market is unfit for food. The Department ad- vises that the housewife buy good cuts and chop it herself, Anchoring the Fisherman to the Fishing Pier pulled off the Redondo Beach pier, near Los Angeles, California, by large fish, the city built a new pier with special pro- visions for keeping fishermen anchored to it so that “the biggest fish that ever was caught” will no longer

be able to get away with bait, hook and line as has so often happened in the past. The pier is con- structed of reinforced concrete. Around its outer edge is a seat for the fishermen, and a concrete rim on the foot rest enables the men to hook their boot heels over it while fishing. Fish weighing as much as two hundred and ninety pounds have been caught from this pier even before it was made safe for the fishermen. The big fish haven't called that way lately. But when they do they will find the

A fishing pier with a seat and a foot rest to prevent the men from being puiled overboard fishermen anchored to their posts, ready to pull them on land.

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_— we i SSeS ee oF we ww ieee a ee Paddle Your Own Canoe—But Do It Mechanically ENICE, in California, gets its name from its resemblance to Venice in Italy. Its streets are canals, and everybody travels about in boats. Ralph Johnson, a thirteen-year-old resident of the town, had a ‘“‘cranky”’ little canoe that he built at home in his base- ment workshop. The craft is but ten feet in length, but wielding a paddle is slow, back-breaking, laborious busi- ness. So Ralph secured an old bicycle rear hub and con- verted it into a neat four- bladed paddle-wheel. The wheel was then mounted on wooden forks, and securely bolted over the rear deck of the canoe. Three bicycle chains were stretched be- tween the sprocket of the paddle-wheel and a bicycle- crank hanger mounted in the cockpit athwart the gunwales. The pedal was removed from the crank-hanger and a handle substituted. The tiny craft was also fitted with a rudder, which, by wire controls, is operated from left to right by the forward or backward movement of a lever convenient to the lad’s left hand. Instead of bending over a paddle, Ralph now cruises about, turning the crank in the cockpit of his boat as easily as he would operate a hard organ. With his left hand he steers with the rudder. Instead of laboring along at four miles an_ hour, he now travels at the rate of eight miles an hour with less effort. Popular Science Monthly A bloody finish with the revolver machine- guns. At right: Detail of the attachment holder Loaded Close-up Fighting with the Revolver Machine-Gun N Englishman, Charles J. Cooke, has invented a new magazine attachment for the auto- matic revolver. The attachment is simply a holder which enables a number of stored maga- zines to be fed into the revolver as fast as they are needed. Stch an ‘‘auto- matic’’ as the Colt .45 is pushed into the saddle on the upper end of the holder. When the eight shots have been fired, the usual ejecting spring is pressed; the empty magea- zine drops from the gun down into the slot in the holder, and is ejected. In- stantly, one of the full magazines held in readiness in the bottom of the holder is pushed up into place. When this magazine is ex- hausted, the two others can be fed into the hollow end of the revolver. A bayonet is placed on the lower end for hand-to-hand fighting. Ralph propels his boat by turning a crank in the cockpit. With his left hand he keeps the boat on its course The length of such an at- tachment would be slightly over twelve inches.

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394 A Heel Which Will Wear Evenly All Around INE hundred and ninety-nine persons out of a thousand wear down the heels of their shoes at the sides. The result—weak ankles and a crooked and slothful step. It took a real genius to think of the clever method of correcting this which is illustrated in the accompanying photograph. The rotating heel! All you need do when your heel becomes side-worn is to turn it around and let the heel wear down on the side opposite! But don’t wait until it is very lopsided. A short but heavy bolt, screwing through thread- ed plates into the heel Popular Science Monthly No wonder, then, that a new type of car has been designed to meet the requirements of transportation and weather conditions, which promises to eliminate much of the loss now incurred. This new type of car is a combination refrigerator and ventilator.. In construction it is the same as any ordinary refrigerator car, except that in it a live-air | space is provided at the sides, | ends, floor and ceiling. By means of this live-air space a wall of refrigerated air completely surrounds the interior of the car. The ice box is located THREADED PLATES a == ClU!l in the center of the car directly under the roof, instead cf in the ends of the car, which makes it possible to carry twenty per cent more freight. It has three open- If your heel becomes too much worn on one side, just turn it around and wear it down on the other to keep an even surface and into the shoe, holds the heel firmly on.. ings into the car, one at each end and one in the At Last! A Refrigerator Car That Really Works ERE it not for refrigerator cars, we could not tickle our palates with out-of-season delicacies and would have to satisfy ourselves with the fruit and vege- tables that grow in our own particular sec- tions of the country, leaving California fruits for the Californians and Florida products for the southerners. And yet the producers and wholesalers claim that re- frigerator cars are not at all what they ought to be. center. Entering the cen- ter opening, the cold air falls to the floor and is spread out over the car towards each end. The warm air rises and enters the ice box through a netting at the end, where it is cooled and again passes through the opening in the center of the ice box into the car chamber. The cold air is also drawn into the live-air space through the opening in the sides and ends of the car by the rising warm air which passes through this space to the ice box, where it is again | cooled and discharged through the middle opening of the ice box. This has a drying effect and gives the proper refrigeration. The warm air enters the ice chamber through a netting at the end of the chamber. been cooled by passing over the ice it passes downward through the opening in the center of After it has the ice chamber into the car. As it gradually loses its cold it rises to the top again

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x How the U-Boats Get Through the Nets They are equipped with remarkable motor-driven circular knives and with steel flanges that spread out like doors us from Europe we learn that Germany has equipped some of her U- boats with ingenious devices to enable them to cut their way through submarine nets. One boat with a double flange of thin sheet steel pro- truding from both sides of the bow is said to have been destroyed by shell fire and the device itself, practically intact, is said to be in the hands of the British Ad- miralty. A second boat, equipped with heavy motor- driven circular knives at- tached to steel hawsers, tor- pedoed a merchantman, and RFs: reports that reach Rotary circular knives on flexible shaft the captain, while in a small boat, made a drawing of the device for the. Admiralty. The net-cutting device consists of heavy circular knives attached to steel haws:rs extending from bow to stern The accompanying illustration gives a_ thirty-six feet in all, whenever the nose of clear idea of these net-cutters. The double the vessel touches an obstruction. Their flange of thin sheet steel which protrudes action is said to be automatic, although an from both sides of the bow of the subma- operator within the boat can extend or rine is operated by electrically-controlled withdraw the device at any time, by moving gears. The flanges spread on either side two heavy metal arms. of the bow to a distance of eighteen feet, or End view of Perspect ive view of double flange Plan. view of bow showing flanges extended on both sides , double flange The double flanges of steel protruding from both sides of the bow are operated by electrically-controlled gears 395 The U-boat equipped with the circular knives is obviously far bet- ter able to cut its way through a net than the boat just described. It does not bother about a de- vice at the bow, figuring, no doubt, that the sharp nose of the vessel and its rounded hull are sufficient to get through a net or stop the boat before it becomes entangled. However, it does not permit its con- ning tower to go unpro- tected. Several strands of stout steel hawsers contain- ing motor-driven knives, a foot in diameter and placed about a foot apart, are stretched from the bow through the conning tower to the stern. Striking a net, the knives would re- volve on a flexible shaft.

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The Most Powerful Locomotive in the World It weighs 260 tons; it is 76 feet long, and it takes cur- rent from a trolley wire no bigger than a lead pencil By William H. Easton a Ee ered The power of this loco- motive is equal to that of one hundred trolley cars, or 14,000 horses, or 56,000 of the strong- est men. It consumes enough current to light over 200,000 25-watt electric lamps; and many a town of 25,000 inhabitants has an elec- tric plant of smaller capacity. This is be- cause high voltage is used in distributing the strong electric current A glance at the illustra- tion shows apparently eight driving wheels on each side, but there are actually only six. The wheels on each end are gears which are driven by the motors and which in turn drive the driving wheels through the connecting rods. By this arrangement, the motors can be lo- cated up in the cab and not down on the axles as in a trolley car HOUGH hardly more impressive in appearance than an ordinary bag- gage car, the electric locomotive illustrated has the distinction of being by far the most powerful thing on wheels. Exerting its maximum effort, it can develop 7,000 horsepower, which is fifty per cent more than its closest rival, also an electric, can do. It is not necessary for the entire main line of railroad to become congested _be- fore trouble is experienced, for, since a passage is no wider than its narrowest point, one congested section sets the limit to the capacity of the whole. Such a section exists between Altoona and Johnstown, Pa., where the freight traffic is unusually heavy, amounting to 300,000 tons a day. Trains over this di- vision must push up steep grades, pass around the famous Horseshoe Curve, and run through a long tunnel. Though the railroad is not particularly embarrassed at present, it is taking no chances, and some time in the future its new huge elec- tric locomotive, with many more like it, 896 It Rides Easier Than a Steam Locomotive Each gear wheel carries a set of coiled springs. The reason for these springs is as follows: When a steam engine starts, the piston does not move with a sud- den blow, because there is a cushion of steam behind it which is compressed and eases the shock. But a motor, in endeavoring to start a heavy train through a solid gear train, strikes its gears sharply and thus sets up heavy stresses. By the use of these springs, a cush- ion is introduced between motor and driving wheels will be handling the traffic through this ‘“‘neck of the bottle,” as such a section is graphically called. Trains so long that three of the largest steam locomotives can barely move them will be rushed up the grades by two electric locomotives at twenty miles an hour. In this way the capacity of the division will be more than doubled and all danger of congestion here will be removed for many years to come. One peculiarity of the electric locomo- tive is that its speed of twenty miles an hour cannot be exceeded whether running on electric power or coasting down hill. In the latter case the motors act as generators and return current to the line, and since power is required to generate current, a most effective braking action results which prevents runaways. At the same time the coasting speed can be regulated by the controllers, just as is the speed under power. Air brakes are therefore not need- ed while coasting and are simply held for emergency use and for bringing the train to a full stop. ele bt le de dl la oR — KS Ae eS Th —" —_ eh Ah FF. he! OA nis ae U7 )6Coe eee ee

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eo 5 le a Popular Science Monthly The Candle Still Flour- ishes Even in This Electric Age OWADAYS we think of light in terms of electricity or gas lamps, but it will surprise some to Jearn that the average daily expenditure for can- dies in this country alone this year will be about sixty-seven thousand dol- lars. On this scale the val- uation of the 1917 produc- tion of candlesin the United States will total a round twenty million dollars. A Patriotic Float Made of Raisins to Represent a ‘*Tank’”’ RESNO, which is the center of the California raisin industry, each year in May holds a “‘Raisin Day” celebration, an important feature of which is a parade. This year it was given over to a patriotic display and many remarkable floats moved in the procession. The float which won first prize as an industrial display was entered by one of the express companies. It was made up as a “tank,” twenty feet long, fourteen feet wide and thirteen feet high. The float was built up solid with raisins. Out of the float projected the muzzles of fifteen dummy cannon. On top was a miniature refrigera- tor car. The float was drawn by four bay horses and This crane, attached to an idle dirt wagon and operated by a crank, will pick up and empty the largest garbage cans Converting the Dirt Wagon Into an Efficient Garbage Collector ILLIAM M. WALSH, a highway commissioner at Grand Rapids, Michigan, holds the patents on a novel scheme which enables him to convert any of the city’s idle dirt wagons into a more- than-ordinarily efficient garbage collector. His idea involves the use of a small crane by means of which the driver can lift the largest garbage cans into his wagon with little effort. The movable crane is secured against the driver’s seat and carries two tongs for grappling the garbage can. By turning a crank while standing on the ground, the two tong cables are wound upon a drum, and the can is slowly lifted. On reaching the top of driven by ‘*Uncle | Sam.” Three hundred and fifty pounds ofraisins were re- quired for the body alone. The bottom of the float was covered the crane, the driver fastens his crank upon another shaft which operates the cable con- necting with the bottom of the garbage can. Turn- ing this shaft tilts with huckle- berry greens and poppies. The float was built up solid with raisins—just raisins. The bottom was covered with huckleberry greens and poppics the can up- ward and empties it. All the specialized knowledge and information of the, editorial staff of the Popular Science Monthly is at your disposal. Write to the editor if you think he can help you.

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Do It with Tools and Machinery AUE: A radius gage for measuring the concave and convex surfaces of tools and dies. Instead of having small leaves it has eight small blades A brick and concrete drill A lock washer which over- An attachment for re- made of a steel tube or comes the loosening of grinding thread - cutting segment of pipe. It is cut nuts by vibration. It is dies of button type or lap- off at an angle, as shown made in hexagon shape ping out holes in punches ————— GMM illo A new joist lifter. The handle is Daniel Boone up to date. When the fire raised until the dog engages the tooth will not start use the automobile pump - 398 ———

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A hammer with removable faces of any desired size or shape, of steel, copper or other soft metal to suit different work We: ¢ * Se Fst 2 Do It with Tools and Machinery . A tackle for unloading automobiles. The ropes are adjusted so as to lift vertically on each of the four wheels. The main member is a scantling suspended lengthwise of the automobile The same ham- mer at left with a steel face. for ordinary work requiring heavy pounding. Other faces may be substituted Panini -* (om tee A boiler ther- mostat for indi- cating heat in chemical vats. A rod _ extending the length of the outer shell supports the bimetallic strip LULOOLOOLOOLELO 4 TCM MUTT TOULLOLDDA LO ti cece, ] A quick-action chuck with which a rotative tool can be re- moved and an- other inserted while the ma- chine spindle is revolving Above: A nut lock ATURE Above: A new valve grinder designed for engines equip- ped with valve caps 5 WOT iL OME OOLTMOETTO AEE el In center: A new machine used in post- offices for tying envelopes into packages. which prevents a nut from backing off from a bolt Ms MLM OO POUND NOU lh lta "1 A tsaE el It ties from twenty-five to thirty bundles a minute with a non-slip knot cna

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400 Rock-a-Bye Baby—In Your Self- Operated Cradle HELDON D. Vanderburgh, of Hastings-on- Hudson, New York, has a baby. The baby wouldn’t go to sleep, and it was a thirty-eight-pound baby, too. The mother and father tried both crib and go-cart, but the baby wouldn’t stay in them. It was im- possible for the mother to rock it to sleep. She was too busy. What was to be done? Invent a new cradle, of course. Mr. Vanderburgh decided upon a cra- dle hammock. He fastened the netting to end pieces to keep the cradle in shape and then suspended it from a shaft by means of two side arms. With the shaft journaled _to vertical standards he hada safe and sane cradle which could be opened, basket- fashion, to receive bedding and baby and then closed down securely. satisfied with rocking the cradle back and forth. Then the idea struck him that a clock-spring motor could do the same thing. Accordingly, he mounted a motor on a It operates a rod which in turn rotates a crank arm attached to the shaft. This imparts a steady but very gentle rocking motion to The ticking of the clock also helps in lulling the child to sleep. standard. the cradle. wound up the mech- anism will rock for two hours without further attention; at ae wall ok aie a time the nap will probably be over and both baby and moth- er in good humor. Popular Science Monthly The automatic cradle, made of hammock net, is rocked by the aid of a clock-spring motor which imparts to it a gentle, steady swing At first he was motor power. When This rotating buffing wheel will press back the cuticle and polish your nails for you Even the Animals in the Zoo Fee] the Effects of the War HE war has laid a heavy hand upon the animals in the London Zoo, The. places of those that have died have not been filled and many not-so- rare specimens have been killed off to save the cost of feeding and caring for them Beef, fresh eggs, bananas, potatoes and wheat have been eliminated from the food list and the ani- mals have to sub- sist on substitutes, Chinese pickled eggs are used instead of fresh eggs, and bread for the monkeys is made from flour re- jected by the Board of Trade. Occasion- ally fish is doled out, but it is only such as has been pro- nounced unfit for hu- man consumption. And Now It’s the Electric Manicurist to Keep Your Nails in Order OHN W. RUGGABER, of Racine, Wis- consin, thinks the electrical manicuring machine he has just invented will soon be taking its place in every home. It is a small buffing wheel rotated by After softening up the cuticle in warm water, you simply push it back by pressing it against the edge of the rotating cushion. cious use of nail paste (please don’t use too much, we don't like nails too highly pol- ished), ‘the center of the Then, after a judi- buffing wheel will shine up your nails as well as any mani- curist could do it, and doubtless in much less time and at much less cost.

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Wis- ring n be | by the sh it zinst iting judi- lease lon’t the will nails nani- o it, s in and st. oes — ee Popular Science Monthly ae. - ae one The observatory on Monte Rosa, the second highest summit of the Alps, is the loftiest . scientific establishment in the world, being nearly 15,000 feet above sea level A Scientific Laboratory Two Miles in the Air INCE the closing of the little meteoro- logical station which Harvard Uni- versity once maintained at the top of El Misti, Peru, and the destruction by Alpine storms (perhaps aided by an earthquake) of Janssen’s famous solar observatory at the summit of Mont Blanc, the loftiest scientific establishment in the world is probably the observatory on Monte Rosa, the second highest summit of the Alps, 14,960 feet above sea-level. The Monte Rosa observatory is also known as the Regina Margherita Cabin. It is really an outpost of a much larger establishment, situated at a lower altitude on the same mountain (at the Col d’Olen), and both institutions are called officially the Angelo Mosso Scientific Laboratories. They are maintained by international co- operation, each cooperating country being entitled to keep one investigator at the laboratories for every 5,000 francs con- tributed to the joint fund. To reach the Col d’Olen entails a ride of several hours on horseback or muleback; while the ascent to the observatory is a mountaineering feat. The higher station is habitable for only about two months in the year—from July to September. Every summer a temporary telephone line—the highest in the world—is laid to the summit. Its construction and main- tenance require great skill and courage. Many of the poles are set up in the shifting ice and snow of the glaciers. Khaki Has Been Used for Uniforms Since 1848 HAT is the origin of khaki? To whom are we indebted for it? It was first adopted in British India, in 1848, by Sir Harry Burnett Lumsden, who had been asked to equip a corps of guides to collect intelligence and to conduct an English force on the northwestern frontier of India. The cloth used was a light cotton drill, as suited the climate of Hin- dustan, and took its name from a native term, “khaki,’’ which means in the Urdu language, ‘‘dusty,” being derived from “khak”’ or dust. Thus the term applied to the color of the cloth rather than to the material. Though the dictionary tells us it is pronounced kaykee by the natives, the English have given it to us as kharkee, and this is the correct pronunciation. Having been approved, the use of the cloth spread from the guides to others in the Indian army, and it was worn in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 by the English troops. In the Boer War, 1899—1902, khaki was adopted:in the British service for an active service uniform, and so worn by all English and colonial troops in Africa. But as cotton was not warm enough for the African highlanders, uniforms of the same kind were made of serge, and the term khaki thus included woolen as well as cotton fabrics. Because it was well fitted for the climate of Cuba and the Philippines, the United States chose khaki for the soldiers’ uniforms during the Spanish- American War.

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All Around A Battleship Corps. AN DLUB- L BER —Is this the largest ship in the Navy? Magjyor Evans— Yes, the Arizona and her sister ship, the Penn- sylvania, are the largest in commission. She is six hundred feet long, with a ninety- seven-foot beam, draws thirty feet, and displaces thirty-one thousand four hundred tons. Her speed is twenty-one knots, or twenty-four miles an hour, and her final cost thirteen million, six hundred and ninety-five thousand dollars. LANDLUBBER—And she has the biggest gufis? Major Evans—Yes, each of her twelve fourteen-inch or turret guns weighs sixty- four tons, and is fifty-two feet long. The shell weighs-fourteen hundred pounds and the powder charge three hundred and eighty pounds. It costs a little more than five hundred dollars to fire each gun, and to make it possible to fire that gun cost the government eight hundred and fifteen dollars for each pound of her broadside. The turrets are placed on the ship’s center- line, with the three guns of each after turret arranged on a line above those of each forward turret. Here we have the heaviest broadside and greatest radius of fire possible. When all three guns in a turret are fired together in a salvo the two outer guns are fired simultaneously and the fraction of a second before the center gun. If all three were fired simultaneously the terrific blast would derange the flight of the shells. LANDLUBBER — How are the _ turrets moved? Major Evans—Turning engines or mo- tors move them on rollers lying in a circular path. T. R. Timby invented the revolving Major Frank E, Evans, who takes you around the battleship A Landlubber’s Questions — Answered by Major Frank E. Evans, U.S. Marine Corps And so you would like to see a battleship? Let us in- troduce you to Major Frank E. Evans of the U. S. Marine He will take you all around the ship and, short of actually firing the big guns, will show you everything. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. The Major is used to landlubbers turret in 1841 and Ericsson paid him five thousand dollars royalty on each turret he built. LANDLUBBER—How thick is the armor on this ship? Major Evans—It varies from nine to eighteen inches on the triple turrets. The barbette armor is thirteen inches thick. An armor belt protecting the engines and magazines covers nearly three-quarters the length by a belt thirteen and one-half inches thick, seventeen inches from top to bottom and running half below load water line and half above. On the conning tower the sixteen-inch armored sides and the five to eight-inch armor protecting the broadside guns brings the weight of armor up to one- fourth the ship’s entire weight. LANDLUBBER—Why isn’t this deck made of steel too? Major Evans—It is. There is steel be- neath the teak covering of three and one- half inches on which you are standing. Without the wooden covering a steel deck would be unbearable in the tropics. We use teak now in place of yellow pine. It costs more but does not spread and that does away with constant calking of seams. One deck below is the protective deck of from two to five inches of nickel steel armor. . LANDLUBBER— And the decks below? Are they built in the same way? On Sunday the sailor lad finds time to do his own sewing and mending 402° po eT

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. fo PRR RDTIN ena se: Sim Above: A two- gun turret. The five-pointed star plugs in the guns are called tom- pions. They keep out the spray In circle: Bring- ing fourteen- inch shells on board the New York. Each shell weighs fourteen hundred pounds On Board a United States Super-Dreadnought Above: Signaling on the bridge of the North Dakota. The semaphore is making the letter “U.” Signalmen are wig-wagging and hauling down flags At left: The military or fire-control mast is made of steel tubing so thet one successful shot can not carry it away. Notice the searchlight platform

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404 Major Evans—They have heavy lino- leum coverings. When we go below you'll notice two curious things: rough paint on the bulkheads and magazines and gaily striped bands on piping wherever we go. LANDLUBBER—What’s the reason? Major Evans—The rough paint is broken cork mixed in a sticky paint. The cork prevents the steel from “‘sweat- ing” and helps keep Popular Science Monthly officers. A flagship would have ten or twelve more officers. Each ship has its captain, executive, gunnery, navigating, engineer, first lieutenant, medical, pay and marine officers. Most of these have one or more assistants. The size of the crew is based on the number needed to fight, navi- gate, keep the ship at full speed through a protracted battle, feed the crew, attend the wounded, fight fires, make repairs and keep the fire control

the magazines and ammunition pas- Sages at a more nor- mal temperature. The piping has the colored bands so that the leads of the piping can be fol- lowed to expedite repairs. Steam has a black and white band, salt-water green and black; fresh water is lead and black; and ven- tilation piping has yellow and black. LANDLUBBER— What are those plugs in the ends of the guns with the five-pointed stars in the center?

and communications going. LANDLUBBER— When a ship goes into battle does she carry her boats to take off the crew in case she is sunk? Major Evans— When a ship leaves port for impending battle she is stripped of most of her boats, The ones left on board are stowed on deck and lashed with canvas to keep down splinters. All wooden gear except the mess tables and benches are re- moved, and they go overboard before the

Major Evans— Tompions. They keep spray from dashing into the muzzles and rusting the bores. LaNDLUBBER—What other guns does she carry? Major Evans—Twenty five-inch guns on the broadsides for defense against tor- pedo attacks at night; four semi-automatic three-inch anti-aircraft or ‘sky’ guns mounted on special platforms; four six- pounder saluting guns amidships and three- inch field pieces for landing purposes. There are only three kinds of guns in the Navy: the turret guns running from eight to fourteen inches; the intermediates running from four to seven inches; and the smalier or secondary guns running from three inches down to automatics that fire rifle ammunition. é LANDLUBBER—How many officers and men would be on board in a battle? Major Evans—lIn round numbers, one thousand, of whom about forty would be The sailor’s private wardrobe is a canvas bag which is cleaned and inspected every few days fighting begins. All inflammable or splinter- producing equipment is either stored ashore or throwr overboard except the mattresses of the sick bay. Stanchions and davits are stowed, and the life lines on deck are removed. In battle practice all these articles are either marked ‘‘store’”’ or ‘‘overboard.”’ LANDLUBBER—But what becomes of the crew with so few boats available? Major Evans—If the ship sinks they trust to life preservers, wreckage and rescue by other ships. Otherwise it’s Davy Jones’ locker. LANDLUBBER—Where does the crew live? Major Evans—On the two decks below. The compartment in which a man slings his hammock is his home. Here he keeps his sea bag, ditty-box, and rifle. He eats there and is stationed at the compartment’s gun. When not at mess the tables and benches are slung up above. The Government sup- plies an excellent ration, and the officers pay for all their food and other supplies.

<coveprmmentes: cy era Pe UU ReERTORA ere ene eet

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-— - ++, —_— i ee ee BR eat el ha »i4 a Popular Science Monthly The turrets are rotated by turning engines or motors which move them on rollers lying in a circular path. The revolving turret was invented in 1841 Some ships have electrical galleys in which the cooking, dishwashing, paring of pota- toes and practically all work is done by electricity. The chief cook is an expert electrician. On the Arizona they find oil- burning galleys more economical. LANDLUBBER—What advantages has the oil-fuel ships over the coal-burning? Major Evans—The space formerly re- quired for coal bunkers is now available for greater crew space. The oil-burners are more flexible of control in increasing or reducing speed and are practically smoke- less. The crew is free from the bugbear of coaling ship. This ship carries twenty- three hundred tons of oil fuel. LANDLUBBER—You mentioned the ma- rines. What do they do? Major EvaAns—Originally marines were employed aboard men-of-war to put down mutinies. Today their duties are almost identical with those of the bluejacket’s. For all landing parties the marines, being trained soldiers as well, ‘‘hit the beach’ first. In battle they man the torpedo defense guns, help supply ammunition to the turret guns and do other duties. Those not with the fleet either guard our Navy yards or are held in battalions or regiments for expeditionary service. Each battleship has a captain and lieutenant of marines and accommodates about seventy-five marines. LANDLUBBER—I hope you don’t mind my asking why the trousers of a sailor flare out so at the bottom. Major EvANs—That’s a sensible query. With the “‘bell” or “‘spring’’ bottom he can easily roll his trousers above his knees when washing decks. The three narrow white stripes on his collar are inherited from the stripes worn by the British blue- jacket in commemoration of Nelson’s three great sea victories. The black kerchief is supposed to have been first worn as mourning at Nelson’s death. LANDLUBBER—Where is the captain stationed in battle? Major EvaNns—The conning tower is his battle station. A complete steering and communication system is contained in its 16-inch walls, and armored tubes also con- nect it with the protective deck to prevent these systems from being crippled in action. LANDLUBBER—What do you call this mast that looks like a waste basket upside down? Major Evans—The military or fire- control mast. It is made of steel tubing so that one successful shot cannot carry it away like the old solid mast. It carries the fire control communications and signals, and the wireless. Aileen ote

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406 © Brown and Dawson The tree cricket makes its music by rasping its wings Popular Science Monthly tures, everybody exclaims in sur- prise, ‘“Why, that is something | never saw before; I never knew there was such a thing in existence, Is it a new pest? Is it something to be dreaded ?”’ Instead of something to be dread- ed it is one of the nature lover’s de- lights. Such singing insects seem to fit harmoniously into a summer night, and when one’s temperament becomes attuned to the sounds there is no more charming, natural music in the world. The Japanese have the right point of view. They hold tea parties in the fields, and between their sips of tea and bits of conversa- tion they listen to the calls and songs of such insects. Every student of insects knows that the term ‘“‘singing’’ is used figuratively. It might be more truly described as fiddling because it is made by rasping one wing over the other in a rapid movement. This is well shown in the accom- panying illustration. one over the other about seventy times a minute The Incessant Night Song of the Snowy Tree Cricket ROM early sum- mer to the time of frost, we hear a cheery, insistent night song that everybody knows. But only persistent and careful students become familiar with the insect that trills the song. From the grasses, trees and shrubs comes this incessant music, represented by Vernon L. Kel- logg in the letters: **T-r-r—tr-e-e; t-r-r —tr-e-e.”’ This is re- peated about seven- ty times a minute without pause or variation. Whenever a per- sistent student of insects obtains one of these singing, or rather fiddling crea- The dress of the natives of New Guinea consists principally of broad stripes of white paint and necklaces of small bones The Soldiers of New Guinea Do Not Dress in Khaki HE natives of New Guinea are still classed as savages, although many of them have comfortable homes, clustered into vil- lages. The dress of the males consists main- ly of necklaces made of human and pigs’ bones. The _ war- riors make them- selves fierce with broad dashes of white paint on their bronze bodies and on their clubs. The bracelets below the knees of the warrior on the right of the accompanying pho- tograph are strung with pigs’ bones, probably used as am- ulets, since the pig is much beloved. — eT 7 aA AF A ~~» ey TA — 45 (Th F&F 3 AS betes «4 ~~ a5 = = 45 — bh ~—_ a a a a a or ee ee a ee ed ee en ee |

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ue ee a ENON L CANN TOE ERIE: Aer pe: Popular Science Monthly Some of Our Lake Waters Are Noted for Their Chemical Wealth HERE are several lakes in the United States which contain so- dium carbonate, borax, potash and common table salt. The longer the war continues the more valuable these chemical bodies become. Perhaps the best known of these is Great Salt Lake, Utah’s ocean of salt. Others are Searles Lake, Owens Lake and Mono Lake, all in California. The origin of these lakes is doubtful. In some cases they are probably due to an arm of the ocean becoming land- locked. The most remarkable feature about them is the fact that they seem to be continuously fed from subter- ranean sources, since they maintain a uniform amount of salt. California Has the Latest Thing in Tree-Trimming Ladders A WEIRD-LOOKING tree-trimming ladder has made its appearance in Pasadena, California. When fully ex- tended it is thirty feet high. From this height the tree- trimmer is able to cut off branches that are ten feet higher by means of his tree-trimming snips. In the illustration he is shown on the fifth rung from the top, cutting off the un- sightly twigs. He could climb to the top rung of the lad- der without over- turning it. The ap- paratus is collapsible and when folded up it can be wheeled from tree to tree or from job to job. For transportation from one town to another the push-cart end of the device is fastened to an automobile or wagon, and the ladder is towed along with ease. There are few ‘tree-tops, even in California, which it cannotreach. W.L.Geimer is the inventor. The tree-trimming ladder is col- lapsible. It is thirty feet high Two freak faces executed by the world’s most original and diverting artist—Mother Nature Lo, the Poor Furniture Man—He Sees Faces in Walnut OTHER NATURE has tried her hand at making faces. She chose the wal- nut veneer of Indiana and this is the result—two faces which may be likened to anything from saints todevils. The fact that they are part of the walnut markings of the wood, fresh from the outdoor workshop, is what makes them unique. Of course an experi- enced painter could have made better looking faces than these on any kind of wood. But he couldn’t make them so you couldn’t wash or rub them off. The faces which Mother Nature has put into this walnut wood are there to stay, safe against even sandpaper and plane. Walnut veneer is gener- ally used as an orna- mental facing for inferior grades of wood. There are some people who could point with pride to faces in their dining tables, calling them lost Rubens cherubs.

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Popular Science Monthly © Int. Film Serv. The force of the outrushing water turns the ten nozzles round A Fire-Hose with Ten Nozzles. It’s to Be Used in Ships’ Holds “TIRE in the hold!’’ Since the first freighter sailed the seas, there never has been a warning more to be dreaded. A fierce fire cannot be smothered. There is nothing to be done but to take down the hose and face the music. In an effort to improve on the old and dangerous method of groping-about in the dark and the smoke to locate the seat of the fire, Fire Chief Heffer- nen, of New York, has been testing out a novel system. He has been using a multiple nozzle which floods the hold in every direction. An entire cargo may thus be damaged, but after and platform afloat. all, that is better than sight: Detail of the device suffocating the firemen. Not one, but ten ordinary nozzles ter- minate at the end of a great hose. When they are lowered into the hatchway and the emergency engines pump away at full load, ten great water streams rush equally out of each nozzle. In doing so, the nozzle mount- ing is turned around, so that no part of the hold is left untouched over a circular area a hundred feet in diameter. About 16,000 gallons of water are pumped each minute. WR 5 na Cork floats keep the ring A Spring-Motor for the Human Jaw YOUNG girl was ad- mitted recently to a New York Hospital. She had a form of lockjaw. The surgeons removed the muscles of the lower jaw- bone and substituted a de- vice with a spring to be wound up just as one would wind up a clock. The de- vice was fastened to the jaw and extended over the head. The spring kept the jaw in constant motion. After about three weeks, the de- vice was removed. The. muscles of the lower jaw had developed wonderfully, The girl was then put to chewing gum. The Story of a Life-Saving Platform —And How It Will Not Work! INCE Germany began her submarine warfare, the number of applications for patents of life-saving apparatus has increased a dozenfold. Some of these have at least been reasonable, but most of them have been grotesque. Take, for instance, a device invented by a citizen of Illinois. A man stands upon a wooden platform and straps to his shoulder a buoyant ring from which . the platform is to be sus- ‘> pended when in the water. Unfortunately, however, no instructions are given in the patent copy which would tell the man how he could jump away from the sinking b>? ship. If a person is to stand upon the platform, how is he to use his feet to jump? Even if a man could land in just the proper posi- tion in the water, this device, it seems to us, would Harness At Hand grip Cork float Auxiliary float LY i } the ordinary cork Wood 'platf orm life-preservers. be no better than

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1 » Mk owe, ay eel SORIA SRA * A Waving Flag in Badge Form for Your Buttonhole NE of the novelties brought out by the war is a figure of Uncle Sam waving a small American flag above his top-hat. Owing to the construction of the badge, the flag actually moves, as in waving, at the slightest motion of the wearer. The badge consists of a metal figure of Uncle Sam, with sical the flag at the end of an up- A raised arm, which isn’t an arm Lim at all but a flexible spring “Pena fastened to the top of the " shoulder of the figure, as the accompanying illustration shows. Each time the wearer of the flag moves, the spring 4 \ 3 2 } % ae e ' Popular Science Monthly 0 means of a chain from a scaffolding on wheels. The chain is attached to the ram at a point which will enable the operator to pick up the other end without much effort. That the ram is effective as a de- structive agent is manifest in the photograph. The side of the peasant’s cottage which lies in ruins was evidently of brick or masonry before the Germans de- cided to ram it to pieces. All that now remains of it is a few tottering beams support- ing a twisted and warped roof. The two wheels in front of the apparatus and the wire handles on the bottom pieces make the appar- atus a portable one. It jumps up and down and side- The flag is was probably moved from ways, giving the flag a waving — cg place to place as the Ger- motion. By means of a stick pin on the back, the badge may be readily attached to the hat, coat, dress front, or even the neck-tie, wherever it is preferred. Demolishing French Cottages with a Battering Ram . "T°’HE Germans have left behind them another tool of destruction during their so-called victorious retreat to the Hindenburg and Wotan lines. It is a battering ram such as Helen of Troy might have looked down upon from her father’s watchtower. But the Germans did not use it for destroying walls round fortified cities, as did the warring ancients. They used it for spring arm, as shown at the right mans retreated through a devastated and shell-torn country to the more for- midable positions in the rear. What Six Gallons of Good Gasoline Can Do EW persons have any conception of the immense amount of energy that is stored in the natural oil products in everyday usage. Take, for instance, the gasoline that is used in automobiles day by day. The motorist will be interested to know that if the same amount of energy that is used up in “‘autoing” a hundred miles were employed to milk cows, some ten smashing in the an sides of peas- ants’ cottages and reducing those structures to piles of debris. In the accom- panying photo- grapha French- man is illus- trating for civilization just how the ram was operated. ea thousand gal- ®\| lons of the ’ milk could be obtained! Or, if the same energy were used in patri- otic gardening, fully four acres of ground could be plowed. That amount of energy could also mix up eighteen hun- heavy pole of sturdy wood is suspended by © Underwood and Underwood How the retreating Germans wrecked peasants’ cot- tages with an old-fashioned wooden battering ram dred cubic feet of the thickest cement. i i ] i if 1] nina SARS

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410 Popular Science Monthly pas 4 © ae L; ; ition ee =% f ig &- fF Why Young Pheasants Re- quire Foster-Mothers N pheasant-raising the great- est difficulty is to secure “setters.” Says L. S. Crandall in Pets, (Henry Holt & Co., New York),!\“If the female (pheasant) will incubate, she can not be excelled for rearing the young, but in most cases she refuses to perform this function. It is customary, therefore, to remove the eggs and place them under a domestic hen. For this purpose The kit preserves the shape of cigars, holds pipes up- right and provides a space for the storage of tobacco This Smoker’s Kit Is Approved by the Neat Housekeeper MOKING makes a contented man, it is said. On the other hand, smoking, if the pleasure be derived from pipes, is likely to make a very discon- tented housekeeper. For pipes have a careless way of spilling their ashy contents on tables if they are thoughtlessly placed on them. Joseph F. Jeckert, of Garfield, New Jersey, is therefore to be commended for his smoker’s kit. It not only keeps pipe ashes where they belong, but there are compartments for cigars, to- bacco and matches in the same kit. The kit may be hung on a wall or placed on a table as it ap- pears in the photograph. The pipes are held in an upright posi- tion and if there are loose ashes they will fall out into the tray. Furthermore, the nicotin and other juices will run down the stems and into the bowls. A cor- rugated panel furnishes the up- right channels a small bird should be chosen, preferably a Silkie, or a gentle little Bantam. A Novel Machine for Reclaiming Scrap Materials ERE is a machine which is interest- ing because of the many uses to which itcan be put. It can be applied to general manufacturing and repair shop work where bent sheets and structural members have to be straightened or where it is desired to form new material to particular shapes. It is a press par- ticularly adapted to the straightening of bént railway truck-frames, center and side sills, side sheets, channels and truss rods. It is also used for the forming of new hopper sheets, as shown in the il- lustration, and the bending of guard rails and other work re- quired by way de- partments of rail- roads. The base of the press is a heavy flat steel casting, to which two up- rights are at- tached, which sup- port a main cross- frame. Two channel sections placed back to back, constitute this cross- frame and -_ ~ ~ ee to hold the pipes. The pressure cylinder is suspended from a four- wheel carriage propelled by an endless chain serve as a track.

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ee Street-Cars Pull Each Other Up Hill in San Francisco N one of the residential sections of San Francisco is a hill so steep that an ordinary trolley car can not climb it, The chief engineer adopted a principle made familiar by many mountain rail- ways. A channel was cut between Popular Science Monthly 411 This Device Won’t Let Your Hat Blow Off NEY hats have a way of blowing off their owners’ heads largely because no two heads are shaped exactly alike, and until the hat has been worn long enough to conform to its owner’s head it will not fit properly. the rails of each track from the base of the hill to the summit. In each channel was placed a heavy steel cable, which travels over a huge pulley at a point where the two Down hill A. simple device has been invented to make any hat conform to the wearer’s head. It is an open-ended tube of cloth made of a single strip of material. The tube contains a strip of spring-steel, oneend of which is doubled back while the op- posite end extends beyond the cloth tube. When the device is in use this is inserted in the other end of the tube, thus closing the conformer in the hat. The metal strip has needle-like pro- tracks meet and become one at the summit. The car at the top of the hill and the car at the bottom each pick up the cable. The car at the top of the hill is per- mitted to run under its own power down the slope, thus furnishing the energy necessary to pull the other car up the hill on the opposite track. Compressed air is used to retard the cars when necessary and to pre- vent a runaway should a_ cable break, which is not probable. The solving of this problem has placed at the dis- posal of homeseek - ers a_ delightful section of the city for residences. Too steep for cars toclimb. The diagram shows how one car pulls the other up A simple device which may be attached ~ to any hat to make it conform closely to the shape of the wearer’s head jections which are stuck through the cloth tube. These serve to keep the cloth attached to the metal strip and may be pushed through the hat crown to keep the device in place. The finishing touch is an elastic cord which is used to tie the ends of the tube together. By means of this cord the hat is made adjustable to fit the head even when the wearer has just received an inordinate amount of unexpected praise. Its elasticity will take care of any ordinary expan- sion, but it may be untied and loosened up on special oc- casions. A hat so equipped will be as stationary on the motorist’s head as the approved peaked cap and equally as defiant of the wind.

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412 Making an Amusement Park Out of a Vacant Lot WO boys of South Andover, Mass., with some mechanical skill, recently found that a shaded lot can be converted into an amusement park at a cost of about fifty cents, the only purchases necessary being some Popular Science Monthly He Hitches His Fishing Line to q Five-Foot Kite ISHING for Corbina with kites to carry the fish lines into deep water is the innovation in angling recently in- augurated by Thomas McD. Potter, of the Los Angeles motorcycle club at Seal Beach. nails and a few packing boxes for the merry -go- round. With these and some oak saplings, which were cut down in nearby woods, they constructed a crude but highly satis- factory car- At Seal Beach there is a fine Cor. bina ‘‘hole” just far enough from the pier to be out of the reach of the best casters, Boats, of course, could be used, but they cost more. than kites, are ousel which conducive of soon covered seasickness, the cost of and don’t of- construction fer half the and brought sport. that in clear kite fishing profits for the does. entire sum- The proprietors of the homemade merry-go-round charged Potter does mer. one cent a ride for children and adults and made money his fishing as The oak illustrated in saplings formed the arms of the supporting framework. They were eight in number and eight feet long. Eight being the magic number, accommodations were pro- vided for eight persons, regardless of weight, and eight minutes was the duration of the ride. The motive power was furnished by the promoters of the idea, who took turns pushing on a bar attached to the central support. According to the juvenile patrons of the improvised amusement park, the only thing lacking was the music, without which a merry-go-round loses much of its thrill. When a whistling quartette and a harmonica failed to meet the demand of the patrons, the promo- tors found that their savings for this first season would have to be invested in a phonograph or hand- organ in order to double the proceeds next year. % the drawing below. Better sport cannot be imagined, while from the mechanical point of view the method is quite as satisfactory as it is original. The kite used is about five feet high, which is big enough to have sufficient ‘lift’? for almost any fish that chances to get on the hook. When the line is pulled in the fish > is hoisted to the Agate ring» a, kite, where it re- ~s mains.until the kite Pa is taken in. - Jo | —Agate ring | Kite string 6 g Fishline Agate ring a ; | ZB of ae we When a fish gets on the hook the kite bobs up and down. A quick pull on the line raises the fish to the kite a

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e Measuring the Wear of Roads ) 4 A means by which the right material } for the right place is determined : HERE are now approximately two concrete blocks shown in the photographs. | zi million, three hundred thousand miles One of these blocks is pivoted on the ver- | .° of public roads in the United States, _ tical rod which passes through it in front, not including the streets of our incor- the weight of the block being utilized to ' porated towns and cities. The materials keep the wire taut. By placing the vertical . which are used in them differ, varying rod of each block so as to stand on its from concrete and macadam to cob- “eee” _Tespective brass plug, and by then : ble stones ! adjusting the : and dirt. The (. =>) length of the . determining Drill for boring brass plug wire until the of the right holes on both sides of ~ . bubble- level e A the road . : “ape ae sa f the ri ; ees oO o be E lace isa Rack for adjusting =. ug “‘plumb,”’ the | problem the wee % oe Di evens Batteries fine wire will Va solution of 3 “i always which would stretch across ‘ save many 7 the road in a if millions of {| certain — line : dollars. ce “| which will The impor- ae pers 4) notvary,how- e — of _ Steel block— ; — m se consideration |- ; seh Dee e roa ; has led the |'i2 -s:'5) ogBleMe ahem may be worn Office of Pub- ae : ; 3 down. lic Roads and The equipment with which the wear on roads is measured. The Having es- eS : concrete blocks hold the fine wire which is stretched across the road = a8 Rural Engi- ni : tablished a ™ neering to attempt to secure definite in- measuring line, the rest is easy. A steel ot formation on the wearing qualities of dif- block is placed upon certain spots across al ferent materials under different conditions the road anda caliper measures the vertical 08 of traffic. For this purpose, the office has_ distance from it to the wire. This can be adopted a method which is very accurate. obtained very accurately because the cal- h, A brass plug is permanently buried in iper screws upward and when the top of it nt each side of the road, three-quarters of just touches the wire, an electric circuit is a an inch below the surface. Between these closed and a buzzer rings. Repeating this is plugs a wire is stretched by means of the measurement reveals the amount of wear. A fine wire is stretched across the road. By noting the differences in distance between it and the road at intervals of time the rate of wear of the road is readily determined 413 ceri BER SO nee nnn

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The Hottest Heat The highest temperature ever reached by man is 9400° Fahresheit By Raymond Francis Yates NTIL late years the greatest heat man | | possessed as an industrial agency was that of the ordinary fuel furnace in which temperatures approaching thirty-two hundred degrees Fahrenheit were possible. While these temper- chemistry. They resist most acids and rapid changes in temperature. The Wonderful Thermit Process The next step in realizing high tempera. tures by means of atures were indis- pensable and im- ‘portant utilities of industry at the time, they are insignifi- cant today in com- parison with the heat employed in the commercial pro- duction of rubies, calcium carbide, car- borundum, graphite, and steel. The two great allies of man today in the production of heat are, in order of rapid chemical ac. tion was discovered by Professor H, Goldschmidt, of Es. sen, Germany. This is called the ‘‘ther- mit’’ process, and it produces a tempera- tureashighas thirty- four hundred degrees Fahrenheit. A furi- ous heat is produced by thermit because of the great chemieal affinity existing be- tween oxygen and aluminum. If gran- their importance, chemistry and elec- tricity. A gas composed of mixed hydrogen and oxy- gen when ignited burns so furiously that it pro- duces a temperature of thirty-six hundred de- grees Fahrenheit. Util- izing the combustion of these two gases as a Hydrogen—” source of heat, a French- man, M. Verneuil, has commercially pro- duced rubies, by fusing alumina with a trace of chromium oxide as the coloring medium. So perfect is this imitation gem that it is chemically impossible to dis- tinguish it from the natural article. The oxy-hydrogen blow- Workman welding a broken steel frame with heat from an oxy-acetylene blowpipe Granulated Carbon. ulated iron oxide and aluminum are mixed together and prop- erly ignited, the iron rapidly loses its oxygen to the aluminum accord- ing to the following An oxy-hydro- simple equation: gen blowpipe used for weld- ing purposes Aluminum-+iron oxide= Aluminum oxide-+iron After the reaction has been completed, the iron will be found in a molten state just beyond its boiling point. The oxides of many other elements act in the same manner. This makes the thermit process a very valuable asset to the metallurgist and chemist. Not only has thermit proved itself an ally of the metallurgist, but pipe is also used for welding. The temperature of the flame is just beyond the melting point of quartz, and by its use, tubes, flasks and of the engineer and mechanic as well. It has been found that if a small amount of titanium is placed in thermit, it forms an alloy with the many different pieces of quartz chemical apparatus are constructed. Quartz vessels are invaluable in Iron Cylinder 7 Professor Moissan made wonderful imitation dia- monds with this apparatus ‘414 molten iron which makes it invaluable for welding pur- poses. A few years ago, a fractured casting, no matter blo is 1 pai rep

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—_t fm 6

now costly, had to be relegated to the junk heap. Today, it can be repaired easily and perfectly by the use of thermit with a trifling expenditure. In the photograph be- low will be seen the thermit process in opera- tion at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Greater even than the heat of thermit in the temperature scale is that attained with the flame formed by the combustion of the gases, oxygen and acetylene, in the pro- portion of 1.7 vol- umes of the former and 1 volume of the latter. In the apex of thecone of a flameso produced, a tempera- . tureofsixty-three hun- ° dred degrees Fahren- « heit is realized. The . hydrogen, which is freed ~ from the acetylene, sur- rounds the flame and pre- vents a loss of heat and confines it toasmallspace. By a suitably constructed blowpipe, this little flame is used to great advantage even by a com- paratively unskilled workman for the quick repair of small, broken castings where

as

Popular Science Monthly — Zi Ad Using the electric arc to weld together the parts of a large motor armature (415 the.use of thermit would be impractical. To go further in the explanation of methods for attaining high temperatures, we must introduce electricity— the greatest heat-creating power that science commands.

What the Electric Arc Has Done For those who are not familiar with the theory of the elec- tric arc, a brief ex- planation of its op- eration will be given. If two car- bon rods, maintained et a sufficiently high difference in voltage, are made to touch and then quickly withdrawn, an arc will be formed. When therodsare brought into contact, a spark is produced hot enough to vaporize a small portion of carbon, which fills the gap with carbon vapor. The carbon vapor thus liberated reduces the electrical resistance of the gap from many thousand ohms to a few hundred.

$$ { 1 LO OnE TLL Sf - ;

An electric furnace of the arc type pouring out part of its three-ton charge of molten steel, which has reached a temperature of 3600° Fahrenheit through the affinity between oxygen and aluminum <a sree UO aren

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416 The current then uses the path of vaporous ‘carbon as a conducting medium and heats it to a great temperature. The greater the _current intensity used, the greater will be the resulting heat produced.’ Making Diamonds at Home The furnace with which Moissan, pioneer user of the electric arc, conducted startling ex- periments and made many discoveries, is -most simple. _ It con- sists principally of an Maanesium Tape arc drawn between two ferric Oxide} _ large carbon electrodes- and Granul- | ‘and supplied with a aps very heavy current. The arc is enclosed in the cavity formed by two large limestone blocks. In this simple furnace Moissan produced a temperature of sixty-three hundred degrees Fahrenheit and, had: it not been for the fact that carbon boils at this temperature, we can not predict how much further the temperature could have been carried. With the aid of his electric furnace Moissan made as many as one hundred and fifty valuable contributions to science. Among his more notable discoveries was the production of the carbides of nearly every metallic element and the artificial creation of the diamond which is crystallized carbon. The science of electrothermics has de- veloped many new industries and sub- stances, not only through the efforts of Professor Moissan, but many other inves- tigators as well. Nor have all are used Graphite Crucible The essential elements which in preparing thermit for the laboratory Popular Science Monthly and offer such resistance that temperatures as high as sixty-three hundred degrees Fahrenheit have been produced. It was by means of the electric furnace that Hall made aluminum a commercial article. Before his time it was a laboratory curiosity. Taylor produced carbon-disyl- phide and Willson developed a means of producing calcium carbide on a commercial scale. The highest temper. ature ever reached by man was produced a few years ago by two English experimenters, Sir Andrew Noble and Sir F. Abel. was done by an explosive called cordite, which is a form of smokeless powder composed chiefly of guncotton, nitro. glycerine and mineral jelly, When this was exploded in a durable steel cylinder,a temperature of ninety-four hundred degrees Fahrenheit was produced. This was due to: the suddenness of the reaction, and, although of momentary duration, it was an interest- ing scientific achievement nevertheless, With the aid of cordite, Sir William Crookes was able to make small diamonds, Sodium Peroxide Doff Your Hat to the Goat—Its Milk Saves Babies’ Lives HEMICAL studies made recently at the Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva, N. Y., to ascertain the value of goats’ milk as a substitute for cows’ milk showed marked differences between the two kinds of milk but could the industries founded made use of the arc in their furnaces. Many, such as Acheson’s for the production of carborundum and graphite, are of a differ- ent type. In Acheson’s_ fur- nace the sub- stances to be converted form reveal no reason why ‘‘Goats’ milk agrees bet- ter with babies than does cows’ milk,” the fact that it does so being unques- tioned. The Station main- tains a herd of goats in order that the inves- tigations may be carried out a part of an electrical circuit Using the intense heat of the electric arc in welding street-car rails. Note the head gear worn by the man under the best conditions. This - SARS

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| — a Oe i ob or a & t- S. ls, PMiegs ois DA Uj ad ell 4 When folded up the cover is placed in- side the casing. At right: The rear seat full of luggage By means of a dozen fasteners the cover can be se- cured in position easily and quickly A Dust-Proof Cover to Keep the Automobile Luggage Clean HE luggage which you are carrying in the rear seat of your automobile need not be exposed to dust and rain if you use a cover recently designed by Arthur Paulson, of New York city. It is inexpen- sive and convenient. When stretched over the rear of the car, covering the entire rear seat and the floor space in front of it, as one in position on the floor ar.d on the seat, the cover is made fast by attaching it to fasteners placed on the cover top, the doors. of the automobile and the back of the front seat. In addition to keeping your luggage clean, the cover protects it from thieves. A Little ‘Safety First’’ Device for the Bill Folder NEW bill folder has been de- signed which will stick as of the accompanying illustrations shows, it will protect everything that you carry from the dust of the road. The cover consists of leather or rubberized canvas which has the shape of the rear portion of the car. Ordinarily, the cover is folded and is stored away in the cloth casing which surrounds the automobile top when it is folded away in the rear. One end of it is attached by fasteners to the edge of the casing. When it is to be used, one pull will suffice to bring it out from its posi- tion under the casing. After With the safety device the folder the luggage has been placed can not fall out or be stolen close to you as your coat itself. It has a snug-fitting clamping de- vice which holds it flat and fastens it to the inside of the pocket so that it will not fall out when the wearer is stooping and will not re- spond to the magnetic fingers of the pickpocket. When the owner himself wishes to remove the bill folder from the pocket hesimply presses.on the long outer bar of the clamp and releases the folder from the pressure. It then slips out easily and is as readily replaced. The device does not in- terfere with the comfort of the wearer when he is sit- ting down. ae nes ncaa aerN ak AE RL A ete om

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418 Popular Science Monthly . s * when pressed for time, and as a rule they take the time of five hundred laborers in five minutes. This means that instead of long lines waiting at the windows, the strings of men are short and quick moving. Before each clock is an open window and above it is the sign indicat- ing the numerals checked there, from I to 250; from 250 to 500, etc., for the four clocks will take care of 1,000 records. The stevedore shows his brass check or Professional time-clock punchers operate the clocks for five calls out his number as he reaches the window. hundred longshoremen at the Bush Terminal, Brooklyn, N. Y. Experts Punch the Time Clock for Slow Stevedores VEN in this age of specialization it is not considered necessary to hire an expert to punch your time clock, that detail being left to the worker in the average industrial or commercial plant. The operation seems simple enough. Merely swing the indicator about the dial with its circle of numbers, stop at the right number and register your time by a swift pressure of the hand. But if a plant employs a large number of men it may be found economical to employ not one but four expert time clock punchers, operating as many instruments, and the saving of working minutes runs up into a total of days and months in a short period. At the huge Bush Termi- nal in Brooklyn, N. Y., five hundred longshoremen are employed every day on the average, magnificently mus- cled giants well fitted for the work of juggling pig iron and sacks of coffee, but with finger tips far from delicate and perhaps a bit slow. Therefore it is about as well as they can do to punch their own time at the rate of six or seven stevedores a minute. With four clocks, that would be twenty-eight a minute at their maximum speed. A Sanitary Dining Car. No Hospital Can Be Cleaner NEW dining car on one of the western railroads has some unique sanitary features. The kitchen is ventilated so thoroughly that dust and cinders cannot enter the car. A continuous flushing ar- rangement keeps the receptacle for milk and cream clean, and the fish is kept in a separate refrigerator. A fan outside the car at the rear drives out the odors. cost $30,000. It seats thirty-six passengers, This Shrewd Little Marketwoman Is Made of Figs DOLL with which young- sters can be amused on rainy days, and which lends itself to a curious effect in decoration may be made from dried figs and bits of cloth from the scrap-bag. The little marketwoman shown in the accompanying illustration is a good ex- ample of the results to be obtained. The stem of the fig makes a characteristic nose. The eyes are those of an old discarded bisque doll. The mouth is a mere incision in the fig skin and the neck is an- other smaller fig pressed up into the head. The The car - The professional time- clock punchers can handle two hundred men a minute Dried figs are responsible for the keen expression of this very ancient Katrina of the markets basket is also a fig with a worsted handle. “C= —, Nn = — MO. 0 | w= st Fr TH |

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a eee, we, Oe Ve ee ee, Although it explodes a giant shell it is harm- GRAZE PELLET PERCUSSION PELLET PERCUSSION SPRING r sor great shell cra- ters which form such commodious quarters for the Tommies to stretch in after weeks of confinement in narrow trenches or which may be improvised into forts on occasion, are mostly formed by the explo- sion of high-explosive The body of the detonator head carries within 3 t 1 1 bl dite Gated wath es it a cylindrical block of material known as a The Detonator Head less until it leaves the muzzle of a gun PERCUSSION NEEDLE _ PERCUSSION -DETONATOR contact with a solid body, the graze pellet with its de- tonator is thrown violently against the needle in the cap and exploded. The re- sulting flash passes through a central hole in the graze pellet and ignites the powder in the gaine tube and is transmitted through graze pellet, while the cap of the head carries it to the explosive tonator heads, al-_ the percussion needle. An alternate detonating charge at the base of though similar craters device is also provided in the body—one which the shell. mav also be formec becomes effective only after the graze pellet y I has been released by contact. This second ey ees dof th detonating mechanism is provided simply to the lower end of the by detonated shrap- Protruding from nel. The shattering assure explosion and is probably seldom essential graze pellet is a teat of fortifications, the demolition of supply depots and most of the damage caused by explosive shells is made possible through the agency of the small detonator fuse or head fitted to the nose of each projectile. This little device is simple in construc- tion and is of interest in that two distinctly different forces are required before it will become effective—a centrifugal force for unlocking the mechanism and a detonating force for the explosion. On being fired from the gun, the projectile travels at a high rotary speed and the dedent spring is compressed, so that the dedents, acting as virtually one piece, drop down into the dedent spring cavity. The twirling of the shell throws the upper de- dent out of plumb as soon as it drops into the spring cavity. On the recoil of the spring the dedents lock into the larger hole. The twirling of the shell, due to the rifling of the gun, also causes the centrifugal bolt to fly away from the graze pellet once the upper dedent has dropped into the lower cavity, so that the graze pellet is held in position simply by the coiled spring between it and the cap. In the top of the graze pellet is fitted a detonator charged with a highly explosive material. On the arrest of the flight of the projectile, through 419 which fits into a hole in a kind of transverse carriage known as the percussion pellet. This pellet carries at one end a holder containing at its center the percussion needle around which are a number of flash holes giving direct com- munication through the percussion pellet to the top of the gaine tube. Opposite the percussion needles carried in the body of the head is a second charged detonator. Behind the percussion pellet, or, rather, within the hole bored in its opposite end, is a spring, held in compression by the teat of the graze pellet. When the graze pellet is thrown forward by the contact of the projectile, this teat is withdrawn from the hole in the percussion pellet, releasing the percussion spring. This throws the per- cussion pellet forward forcibly, resulting in the contact of the percussion needle with the second detonator. The flash created is transmitted through the flash holes surrounding the needle and passes to the top of the gaine tube, thus doubly assuring ig- nition of the explosive charge in the shell. This second detonating arrangement can not operate until the graze pellet has been thrown forward into contact with the graze needle, and the graze pellet cannot travel forward until the centrifugal bolt has been thrown out of place, which, in

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420 turn, cannot happen until after the dedent- spring has been compressed and the dedents dropped into the lower dedent cavity. Notwithstand- ing the fact that the detonating head is capable of causing the in- stant explosion of the projectile, it is in reality a harmless piece of mechanism until it leaves the muz- zle of the gun. In fact, a pretty heavy blow of a sledge hammer could be given this detonating head without any danger of explod- ing the projectile. In the illustration at the right is shown the various parts of the mechanism and their relation to each other. CENTRIFUGAL BOLT. UPPER DEDENT CENTRIFUGAL BOLT HOLE SCREW PLUG LOWER DEDENT DEDENT SPRING DEDENT HOLE SCREW PLUG GAINE TUBE VAY AA WAAAY: A New Vest Attachment to Hold the Trousers in Place NEW attachment for the vest holds the trousers in the proper position and prevents the vest from Four strong loops are sewed to the vest on the inside so as “riding up.” to be invisible; these then pass around the belt of the trousers and fasten with a clasp. When the vest is buttoned the trousers and vest are held in position so as to look neat; if desired the belt may be worn loose so as to allow ease of movement and prevent binding. The attachment is also useful to those whose work requires con- siderable bending and stooping and causes the shirt gradually to work up. The ‘principal argument against this attachment is that the vest would have to be worn summer and winter. Popular Science Monthly Growing Umbrella Handles to Sim- ulate Freaks of Nature SRAZ a” BODY The graze pellet fits loosely into the fuse body and is held in position by a small block of metal known as a centrifugal bolt which fits into a transverse hole in the body and pro- trudes over the shoulder of the graze pellet. centrifugal bolt and holding it in place is the upper dedent. This is a simple rod with a ball end fitted into a cup-shaped receptacle in the lower and larger dedent. dedent is a coil spring simply stiff enough to hold the lower dedent up against the shoulder formed between the lower and upper dedent holes, at the left of the illustration above LE PELLET SPRING GRAZE PELLET PERCUSSION PELLET SHELL CASING ADAPTER Behind this Under the lower T is a mistake to state that all the umbrella handles, with their kinks and twists and bends, are freaks of na- ture; they are, on the contrary, the result of care- ful training on the part of some um- brella farmer, A moment's thought and you will ad- mit that, in all your ram- bles through the woods, you never saw anything like the han- dles on dollar umbrellas ob- tainable in the city. In France there is a plantation of several hundred acres devoted entirely to the rais- ing of umbrella handles, canes, and Eyelets Thread This belt holds the vest down and the trousers up and keeps it belongs the shirt where riding whips. The artful handle grower cuts the trees a little above the ground level and a number of saplings sprout from the roots. these sprouts are nipped off. Then the buds of By cutting the bark and training the shoots, almost any variety of design may be produced. After two or three years the crop of umbrella han- dles and walking sticks is harvested and after the necessary treatment, the product is ready for the market. If you feel: that the raising of beans and po- tatoes is too prosaic, try the artistic cultiva- tion of original designs in um- brellas and canes. Thread Clasp

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— oT Oo Yo eS SS. | ' Than a Pencil F the same size as a pencil, this tire gage fits in the automobilist’s pocket. It measures the tire pressures in five-pound increments and works on the plunger pump principle with a small piston forced out by the air pressure against a coil spring. The piston rod is graduated in pounds and has notches on one edge which keep the rod ex- tended to the highest pressure until it is snapped back by a push of the finger. Three Roadmaking Machines in One NEW grader that does the work of several ma- chines heretofore required for finishing up a road has been invented by Charles M. Ander- son, of Denver, Colorado. The principal element of the invention is a vertical, ad- justable frame having coulters which loosen and distribute the earth. Following the coulters comes an adjustable scraper, which levels the earth pul- verized by the coulters. Following the scraper is a roller which packs the ground down, forming a level road surface of any Popular Science Monthly A Tire Pressure-Gage No Bigger 421 desired slope or arch, according to the adjustment of the coulters and scraper. The frame of the machine is provided This is 45]b. pressure with a universally movable wheeled axle at its forward end, to which the front wheels are mounted. This construction of the frame makes it possible to operate the ma- chine in any desired direction and over rough and broken surfaces with- out danger of breaking or unduly ses straining the working parts of the yaa machine. Either tractor or horse reading until power may be used to run the ma- snapped chine. — piace , ; Increasing England’s Crops —Spring by Electricity NE way England will help Metal to prevent German sub- psc’ piston marines from starving her out is eo ; by increasing her home crop by hav electricity. Experiments have ‘ a been under way for determining nipple open The pencil-like gage works on the plung- er pump principle Plugto keep growth. tive valve five per cent. upon cereals and other field crops which will be planted over no less than fifty acres. how high frequency electric cur- rents will best stimulate crop Prof. V. HL Blackman, of South Kensing- ton, the eminent agriculturist who is in charge of the work, has already shown on a small scale how oat crops can be in- creased from fifty to eighty- This work is to be extended A road-grader which does the work of several machines. a j $ 1 It loosens the earth, distributes it, pulverizes it, and packs it, forming a level road surface of any desired slope or arch

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Solving the Car Shortage Problem We have enough cars, if we use them properly The regular trading unit of the Notice the waste of car space. HE lack of sufficient cars is as detri- mental to a railroad as a shortage of guns is to an army. The scarcity of cars which confronts America is thus one of those present-day problems which we must set ourselves to solve immediately. For upon an efficient transportation or service at home depend favorable condi- tions abroad. Our shortage of cars reached its climax in May, when so much material was tied up that it would have taken an extra six per cent of the country’s total equipment to move it. To add this amount of cars when Russia and the rest of Europe will tax our builders to the limit, would be as difficult as it would be unnecessary. There is a better way. Only about one-half or less of the car capacity of the country is utilized. A buyer used to order half a carload of goods at a time. The shipper would order a sugar industry is four hundred bags, weighing 40,800 lbs. Such wastage is largely responsible for the recent car shortage car, and after perhaps several days’, or even a week’s delay, he would load tke car and send it on its way. But the effi- ciency of that car hovered dangerously near to twenty-five per cent with such tactics. And all industries were much alike. Oil dealers, for instance, would buy the regular sixty-five-barrel trading unit, when nearly two and a half times sixty-five barrels could have been packed in the same freight car. The employment of such wasted space in the trains of one railroad alone would release one hundred and twenty thousand cars for transporting the materials for building ships, for instance. The prompt loading and unloading of assignments would add a great deal more. This more efficient use of the railroad facilities in America has already resulted from the patriotic spirit. Figures show that the United States has enough cars to meet all needs properly. A thousand bags of sugar weighing 102,000 lbs. can be loaded in the same car. The haulage expenses are but slightly increased while the efficiency of the car is raised seventy-five per cent 422 paneer FE

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ee ee CD ower wZa Se cr = d it a Je AETV TAS ABI TO A Motion-Picture Projector Which Can Be Carried in a Suitcase O meet the present growing de- mand for educational and in- dustrial motion pictures, a Chicago manufacturer is marketing a portable motion-picture projector weighing dry. about twenty-one pounds and no larger than a small suitcase. The new projector has been developed to meet all the require- ments for the projection of mo- tion pictures on short notice and under conditions which are very often unfavorable for projection. A brilliant light for the pro- jector is produced by a triple set of condensers and a _ nitrogen- filled bulb. Hence, although the regulation celluloid film is em- ployed, there is no fire danger. The picture may be stop- ped and held stationary at any point without the slightest injury to the film. With this new con- denser arrangement, elec- tric current supplied from any convenient socket will throw an excellently il- The twenty-one-pound portable projector is no larger than a small suitcase luminated picture any- where from eight inches to eight feet wide, it being necessary only to lower the window shades in the classroom or office. The mechanism is driven by hand and may be reversed at any time during the display without adjustment, since the feed and take-up reels are arranged side by side and are both revolved by a single sliding belt. Their operation in either direction merely re- verses their order of winding. In threading the projector, the film is led under a sprocket on the right of the machine head. A semi-twist of the film brings it into proper position. Popular Science Monthly 423 From Beer to Clay! What’s Be- come of the Breweries? R. F. J. HASKIN told in the Chicago Daily News recently what has become of some of the breweries in states that have gone They are used for cold storage warehouses, canning clams, making vinegar, handling dairy products, making artificial ice, packing meat, making yeast, dry cells, soap, chemicals, moving picture films, paints, varnish and ‘everything from ice to loganberry juice.” One has become a hospital and another a church. The Coors brewery at Gold- en, Col., was famous for its size and its beer, but nothing could save it against the dry wave. So one of the Coors brothers took over the plant and is now doing a thriving business in malted milk. Another brother had pre- pared himself as a chemist to follow the brewing industry, and when that became impossi- ble he undertook to help out in an investment that seemed to be going wrong. There wasa clay deposit out there and a company had been formed to make tableware from it. The film enters the exposure gate at the left and is led to the take-up reel at right over. Coors Senior had put a great deal of the family money into the industry. going right; the man who started But things were not the business had wandered away and there were problems in re- search that had not been mas- tered. Now from ferments to clay is quite a jump fora chemist, but if his grounding is good the difficulty is half overcome before he begins. At all events, after the junior Coors was fairly started in the work the trouble began to fadeaway. They arenow turning out a grade of laboratory porcelain that finds a_ ready market and will make the German — ware hard to introduce again in this coun- try after the war is

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424 Popular Science Monthly Automobile fenders are hung like hams in a smoke house. Floor space is saved and the polished surfaces protected Storing Automobile Fenders Without Scratching Them ANGING automobile fenders from step-like pipe-racks suspended from the ceiling in much the same way as hams are hung from the old smoke house for curing, is the very latest idea carried out by one of the ‘largest automobile service stations in the coun- try. Each fender is swung from one of the racks by means of two small wire hooks; it also hangs free by gravity. The pipe racks supporting each row are so arranged that the fenders in that row swing clear of those in the next ‘row above or below, as shown in the accompanying illustration. By such a method a great number of fenders can be stored in a small floor area— and space is at a premium in . even the largest and the most up-to-date service stations in the country. At the same time the fenders are held in such a way that they can be taken off the racks without It Costs a Million Dollars a Year to Paint Our Navy (ue battleships literally eat paint. The initial color requirements for a new battleship cost about twenty-five thousand dol- lars, which is the price of about one hundred tons of the kind of paint the navy uses. In addition to this, it is customary to repaint the different parts of a ship two or three times a year, so the annual upkeep prob- ably exceeds this sum. This brings the annual outlay in paint for the entire fleet toa million dollars. The most important coating a vessel receives is the paint applied to the submerged parts of the hull to protect it from corrosion or barnacles. A Clothes Closet Which You Can Take Along on Your Vacation HAT to do with that trunk full of summer finery when you arrive in your three-by-six room at the summer resort boarding house has been solved in a simple, practicable manner. Commodious clothes closets and summer boarding houses never go very well together, despite what the enticing advertisements have to say. But with the portable, collapsible closet of khaki cloth shown in the illustrations, one need not worry about closet room. In folded form the khaki closet can be packed away in a spare corner of the trunk. When you arrive at the hotel you drive a nail in the door or wall, if one is not already there, and hang the cloth closet on it. A wire frame gives the top and bottom of the closet its box-like shape. When full the much difficulty and without danger of scratching them. The khaki clothes closet when hung up for use and when folded closet can be closed by buttoning it. 6 & © 0 mM RA eet et Pe eee ee) ee ee en ee | a_i 6U66ttlC a,lCUcrettlC ee lCUreKlCULlC CO i i ee

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ee Been ® =O aon n= ™™ A Time-Saver for the Repairman It locates the trouble for him and tells him how to make repairs HE ingenious device shown in the ac- companying illustration was developed to enable the automobile repair or garage man to locate the trouble on any kind of a starting, lighting or ignition system on any American-made car. It is a time pcm , saver for both repair fi . d man and owner. It enables the former to cor- rect the / trouble y with the i least possi- ble delay and permits the latter to get his car back into service without longperiods of idleness. It is hu- manly impossible for the average repair- man to know the electrical systems of all cars. Many an owner has found this out to his sorrow by having to wait a day or two for his car because his repairman did not happen to know the particular elec- trical system of his car. And it must be remembered that the electrical equipment of the modern motor car is the most com- plex of any part of the automobile. The device consists of a special ammeter and voltmeter, a switch and wires, a dozen small books called master charts and several hundred wiring diagrams which come in a small box, as shown. The main fact involved in the operation of the instrument is that every make of car has a definite lamp current and charging rate when it is operating properly. After setting the instrument according to a certain one of eleven key numbers which show through small openings at the top of the dial face, according to the make of the car, it is wired up to the battery. Two handles are moved to give the proper key adjustment according to whether the engine is running with the lights off or idle with the lights on, and the center handle is moved to bring the current needle Above: Testing the electrical sys- tem ofthecar. At right: The box containing the complete equipment 425 to the zero mark on the dial. If all is well, the letter ‘‘N’’ appears through a _ hole in the dial at the bottom; if not some other letter appears, according to what the trouble is. The me- a chanic then LIP» looks in the » S, hy SON chart book al © TGNITION 4 for that let- =. Q. ter and - : mers learns ex- 4 | actly what TRICAL | to test for SERVICE STATION| next and — how to do SS it. In this oom: \ way he con- da tinues to all test each = é unit of the = —s system until a he finally lo- cates the trouble . and finds out exactly how to re- medy it. Will the Dinners of the First Trans- Oceanic Flight Be Hot? ITH the trans-oceanic airplane flight waiting only for the termination of the war to prove its certainty, it is interest- ing to consider some of the unusual prob- lems that it will bring up. How, for in- stance, will meals be made hot? So far as an airplane is concerned, there can be no ordinary kitchen. No stove makers or coal dealers need apply. One way in which the passengers of a small airplane could get a hot “bite” is to carry their food in a vacuum or thermos bottle. The food could be made piping hot before the flight and it would keep hot for days if necessary. It would not be a bad idea if large pockets were built in the side of the airplanes. These could be made on the vacuum bottle principle. Into these, vessels containing large quantities of already prepared and piping hot food could be stored.

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Practical Motor-Boating III.—The proper housing, rigging and. the care of a motor boat when it is not in use By George M. Petersen confronts the motor-boat owner is that of taking proper care of his boat when not in use. Of course, in a river, harbor, or in any protected water it is a simple thing to arrange to moor the boat out in the open and provide some sort of a canvas or rubber cover for it. To cover a boat in this manner it is neces- sary to erect a piece of 34-in. galvanized pipe on both the forward and after deck and stretch a piece of galvanized chain between them, using a shackle at one end so that the chain can be readily removed when the boat is to be used. These are shown in Fig. 17. The slack in the chain may be taken up bya turnbuckle at the after stanchion. The chain forms a ridge about 6 in. higher than the cockpit amidships, so that any water striking the canvas cover will immediately run overboard. The cover itself may be made of 12-ounce duck and provided with grommets which engage turn buttons on the outside of the weatherboard when the cover is pulled into place. This rigging will pro- tect a boat not only in very rough weather, but also from the spray which splashes from the boat during a heavy blow. Of course, if one has the money, time, and inclination, he may build a boat-house, as shown in Fig. 18 and 19, or he may build a combina- tion house-boat and boat-house as shown in Fig. 20. When building the boat-house, it is advisable to paint the inside of the pontoons with heavy asphalting paint before decking them over. Oil barrels may also be used in place of the pontoons, but as SP csnscens the greatest obstacle which they are rather expensive and sometimes difficult to keep in position, the pontoons are generally considered to be more satis- factory. Of course, where logs are readily obtained, they are the most desirable, but even the logs should be stripped of their bark and given a coat of hot linseed oil and two or three coats of good lead and oil paint to keep them from becoming water soaked and to prevent them from sinking. A duplex block may be suspended from an overhead beam and attached to a sling passed around the hull and the boat lifted up asin Fig.20 A. Where a boat-house is not used, however, the boat must be re- moved from the water by means of a car, skids or rollers, as in Fig. 21, 22 and 23. If any one of these three methods is employed the boat may be secured either by blocking, as in Fig. 24 A, by scissor arms, B, board shoring, C, tackles, D, or hinged shores, E. Care should be taken to see that the shoring does not rest on any one plank in the hull but on several planks immediately over a rib, so that in case the hull should receive a sudden jar no serious damage will result. When putting a boat into commission the first thing to do is to remove all loose paint and go over her planking in search of dry rot, substituting new material wherever necessary. It is sometimes necessary to remove the old paint entirely before giving the usual one or two coats of fresh paint. If the boat has blistered, if the color is to be changed from dark to light, or if there is so much paint on the hull that another coat will not look good, the old paint should be 426 semen + asian Bip ME

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—~s — mvy~ YS we eo Vt

burned off, but care must be taken not to scorch the planking. To do this job properly, get a good gasoline blow torch and hold the flame on the paint to be removed until it blisters. It can then be readily removed with a wide putty knife. Take care to extinguish any shavings that might take fire and always bear in mind that the torch will burn the woodwork if held too long in one spot. Start at the deck of the boat and work toward the keel. After the paint has been removed, the woodwork should be well sandpapered and a thin coat of white shellac applied to hold it until the job is finished. This shellac should then be rubbed down with No. OO sandpaper before the paint is applied. If the burning is not necessary, the woodwork may be scraped with a regu- lar cabinet scraper, care being taken not to gouge into the wood. Before commencing to paint the hull be sure that all planks are smooth; that the joints are all flush, smooth and fair and that all the holes are

Popular Science Monthly 427 clog them. Do a good job and paint every fraction of an inch of the wood- work so that your boat will be a pleasure and credit to you all season. Scraping decks is hard work at best, but if a varnish remover is used to soften up the old varnish, it may be readily accomplished with a cabinet scraper or putty knife. The decks should then be gone over with sand- paper and well dusted before the varnish is applied. Three coats of varnish make a very satisfactory job if the woodwork is dry and warm and the varnish is applied with a soft, wide, flat brush. The operator should become accustomed to the different kinds of buoys which will be met with on his trip. The Government has seen fit to chart the buoys for different bodies of water. The most common types are known as the spar buoy, Fig. 25, can buoy, Fig. 26, bell buoy, Fig. 27, whistling buoy, Fig. 30, nun buoy, Fig. 28, and gas buoy, Fig. 29. All of these are what is nautically known as floating buoys. There

pueda: Thenaps sy guxgharmat-o-4- 6-4 areabovarousKnd ply one coa g sides and roof Runway p : lead color and two Platform beacons which are

(Width of',. ,

3 . ° ; . . | i 35 il : f : : comwokwhie, Zins QM ES Z aug | ins] of a station > re, =< built on some wreck 0O ar a isn. BB) ae ; White lead is of softer Logs Fig. I Plan Buoys have been

body and can be scraped down and re- newed without pro- ducing ridges. The copper bottom paint is the last put on and is generally left until the boat is ready to be launched, as this paint hardens better +—10' +1110 th of boat +1°

called ‘‘the sign posts of the waterways” and there is probably no definition which could define them more clearly. Red buoys should always

Plan Figia “Rpontoons% be passed on the op-

in the water thanin . : Bunk }L Bunk sun and air. Scrape, -2 | poom/Tolet\ room 4 wo varnish, and paint i ama am sg 5 erator’s starboard or L8'6—-he— 13-6- right hand side when Nein entering the harbor; Living and

Galley dining black buoys should room be passed on the op-

the interior of the Railing” erator’s port or left

boat before she goes , 7! _— \ hand side, while over. Do all the ‘~w_|Platform al buoys marked with work before the boat Fig.20 red and black hori- is put in the water; for the chances are Cross timbers it will never be done __|Canvas {Duplex if left until after |S!'"6e [Blocks the boat is launched.

oo

Turnbuckle al.chain ridge Turn- buttons stanchion zontal bands should Canvgs = Ci be given a wide berth under all conditions as they are generally pak used to locate a ; Timbers laid between Fig. 17 k h See that no paint platforms to carry boat wreck or some other gets on the screens during the winter submerged obstruc- covering the intake Fig. 20-A tion. Buoys marked to water cooling- Three ways to protect the motorboat from with black-and white pipes, or closets, to the weather when it is not in service perpendicular mark

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428 Popular Science Monthly Where a boat-house is not used the boat must be removed from the water by means of a car, skids or rolless and the boat secured in its stationary out-of-season position by blocking ings are known as channel buoys and are situated in mid-channel. Steer close to these on either side. These markings mean the same on any style of buoy. The harbor or channel buoys are num- bered from seaward, each harbor or channel having its own system of numbering, although the black or port buoys carry the odd numbers, as I, 3, 5, and 7, while the red or starboard buoys carry the even numbers as 2, 4, 6, and 8. Spar buoys are placed where the water is not greatly disturbed. They are the most frequently used as they are visible at long distances. Nun and can buoys are built of steel and are used in the more disturbed waters; the nuns mark the starboard side of the channel, obstruction, or mid-channels, and the cans mark the port side, the colors indicating upon which side they are to be passed. Gas buoys, bell buoys and whistling buoys serve the same purpose and carry the same message, according to color and num- bering, with the additional advantage that the bell buoy gives warning of its location in a fog, and the gas buoy flashes its location at night. On the chart, red buoys will be colored . red, with the number alongside, and black buoys will be shown in black and numbered. Danger buoys are colored with black and red horizontal stripes, while mid-channel buoys will be marked black and white with perpendicular stripes. The operator will occasionally find buoys carrying a half num- ber such as 444,-514, etc., which merely shows that a new buoy was placed after the main string had been set. When running into shoal water the op- erator will usually notice a heavy ground swell; the water will take on a light green color. Rocky bottoms with little patches of sand between the boulders take on a reddish color from the weeds or a deep Care should be taken to see that the shoring does not rest on any one plank in the hull, but on several planks immediately over a rib to prevent damage to the support from sudden jars gre wh

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green from the rocks although the small white blotches of sand are usually the first to attract the attention. Of course, the preceding remarks apply to clear water and will not hold good where the water is con- tinually agitated and clouded by mud or refuse. Swirling water usually indicates a shoal or some submerged obstruction or may be the result of a divergence of current. When ready to cast off from the mooring, haul in the slack on the dinghy’s painter to prevent the bight from dropping into the water and fouling the propeller. Test the engine to make sure that it is running and that the clutch Popular Science Monthly 429 These lights are rigged as shown in Fig. 31. The white light shows over an arc of 180 degrees while the starboard and port lights, called side lights, show over an arc of 90 degrees. As will be noted from the draw- ing, the starboard or right-hand light when facing forward is green, while the port or left-hand light is red. Before completing this series of articles the writer wishes to call the attention of every motor-boat operator to the necessity of being courteous on the water as well as on the land. When passing a boat load of timid women and children slow your boat down rather than cause the wave from your . wake to fright- is working properly, and let go. Allow the boat to drop back from the mooring enough to allow you to clear it and then start ahead, taking care that you do not veer off so sharply that the stern of the boat will foul in passing the buoy or dock. en them or maybe capsize them. When you see another boat in trouble run over to them and offer a tow, or at any rate ascer- tain whether they would like to have you send help out to them. Re- member that it does not cost a cent to be kindly and you oa x “The Rules of the Road” are published in booklet form by the Steam Boat Inspec- tion Service and give complete instructions as to the proper equipment for motor-boats of various sizes. Four units, however, should be included on every craft whether large or small; they are, a good heavy anchor and at least 150 feet of good heavy line to use with it; plenty of life preservers; a good substantial whistle or fog horn and the necessary lights to be used at night. Removing a motor-boat from the water preparatory to beaching it so that it may be housed for the winter can never tell when you may be glad to have the compliment returned. Take good care of your engine. A little extra care and attention when laying # up for the winter or even when it is to be out of commission only a few weeks or days will prevent a variety of troubles later on. Investigate pecular noises. They invariably mean that something is out of gear. Ascertain the cause and remove the trouble before the engine is laid away. Fig.25 — _ Whis ling Fig29} Fig 28 : _s ; =a ~ == \ SH . \=7 Gas Nun \ Buoys have been called the sign posts of the waterways and there is probably no definition which could state their purpose more clearly. The color designates the course of travel

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430 | Popular Science Monthly A Tin-Pan Orchestra to Scare the Birds Away from the Garden SCARECROW is often nothing more than a place where the birds may rest after enjoying a feast of delectable sprouts. ” Therefore, the farmers of Imperial Valley, California, have discarded it as a means of keeping the spears can be swung in any direction. A troop of horses dashing onward with the spears facing front would have a telling effect on the enemy—in theory. For, you see, to thrust these spears for- ward in the faces of the enemy would take the strength of a giant. By pulling down on the extension levers, the motion imparted to the operating racks are supposed to ro- tate the pin- pests out of sprouting vege- table gardens. They have found an ef- fective substi- tute which keeps not only birds, but dogs and cats away. The substitu- tion is an im- provised or- ioned arms, and thus open the tongs. But unfortunately, the pinioned arm construc- tion has been made just the inverse of the lever! This, together with the enormous friction which chestra com- posed of tin pans strung on wires, shown in the accompanying photo- graph. When the wind blows, the pans clatter together and the music set up causes the birds to move on to more har- monious quarters. Threads are attached from the wires to the branches of nearby trees, so that when there is no wind, the pans are rattled if the birds alight on the limbs. Dr. J. B. Keller, of Banning, California, is the originator of the garden orchestra. Thrusting Spears for Cavalry—Which Can- not Thrust ‘NSPIRED, per- haps, by the gallant use of spears by the knights of the Middle Ages, an in- ventorin Rock Island, Illinois, has taken out patents on cavalry spears which are to be thrust into an enemy me- chanically. His weapon consists of a short, sharp- pointed spear carried on an extension tong on either side of a horse. Each tong hinges on a saddle arm so that by moving a lever, Tin pans strung on wires make a clatter in the wind and scare the birds away from the garden or orchard By operating the levers, this device is supposed to thrust its spears in any direction upon the enemy would develop by the mem- bers guiding the arms connected with the pinioned ones, would make it necessary for a half ton pull to thrust out the spears! Even if it were possible to thrust them, this weapon affords no protection from the opponents’ cold steel! The device could hardly be ex- pected to get further than the patent spec- ification drawings. However, it is a patriotic effort on the part of the inventor and as such is deserving of consideration. The flights of imagination of the inventive genius of the day may result in many impractical devices, but ideas are being constantly advanced which only need rounding off and developing to make them useful. 7 * » Swinging lever Extension lever a2Aadacaemrennis Otro r= © - = —e i == > FO 0 — et -- @® =m 46 &@t FO DN KS Saal

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=f Detecting the Undertow Before It Catches the Swimmer ESPITE the precautions taken by D bathers and by beach resorts in pro- viding safety lines, life guards, rafts and boats, each summer season a number of swimmers are swept to their death by the treacherous undertow, which is a powerful ocean current which goes seaward from a shore on which heavy surf is breaking. Ofttimes an undertow is not detected until one or more swimmers disappear from view. It may shift from one part of a coast to another, suddenly car- rying away bathers from a resort that is supposed to be free from such danger. With an apparatus invented by Martin M. Voorhees, of Oak Park, Illinois, it is not only possible to detect the presence of an undertow but to send out a signal to the bathers so that they may be warned in time to return to shore. As the accompanying illustration shows, the inventor has designed a disk with a ball lever which indicates the strength of the undertow at all times. It is set in the water, preferably at a point where the water is dangerous for unskilled swimmers to venture into. With a strong undertow running, the disk, mounted on_ hinges, swings outward, pulling a cable which is attached to a signal post situated on the beach. A pull on the cable accomplishes three things: It causes the dial on the post to register the force of the undertow: it rings an electric Popular Science Monthly The garage as it looks when completed. Double swing doors admit the automobile At left: The frame- work of the cathedral- like garage. Sharp angles are eliminated A Little Garage Built with the) Contour of a Cathedral HE Gothic lines which characterize the garage here shown were not the result of any religious fervor on the part of the builder. They simply conform to a pop- ular style of architecture now utilized in barn construction in southern Canada. The absence of sharp angles and ugly cornices forms a pleasing contrast to the familiar style of garage which resembles nothing so much as a huge packing-box deposited in the rear of the house. Double swing doors are used, admitting any automobile with the top up. With the possible exception of the curved side pieces gong, and it causes the in- candescent bulbs to light. Persons hear- ing the gong ring or seeing the warning sign illumin- ated are thereby warned against re- maining long- er in‘ the wa- this style of garage is easier to build than the us- ual type. Be- cause of its sloping sides it does not of- fer as much resistance to high winds as the ordinary garage, and for this rea- son is con- sidered safer. ter in that locality. When an undertow is running the device rings a bell and lights a warning sign telling swimmers of the danger It has no windows.

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432 _ Popular Science Monthly The pilot’s wheel which controls the direction of the primitive ferry boat The force of the current against the side of the boat carries it across stream Making the Missouri River Drive a Ferry Boat LTHOUGH Bellevue was the first settlement in Nebraska, it never constructed a bridge across the Missouri River. In 1810, the American Fur Com- pany had established a post at that place and it seemed as if the village would become a thriv- ing city. But, by a turn of fate, the place re- mained a small town, and no bridge was ever built between Omaha and Platts- mouth, a distance of about twenty-five miles. For some time a gasoline ferry boat was main- it is propelled by the current of the river at no expense. Two poles, eighty feet high, made of iron pipe, were erected, one on each side of the river. Between them is stretched a steel cable to receive a pulley. Ends of a rope are attached to the bottom of the pulley. The rope is fastened to each end of the ferry boat, then brought along the side of the boat ‘and passed around the hub of a wheel, resembling the steering wheel of a steamboat. When the wheel is turned it winds up the rope, so that the length from one end of the boat to the pulley is shorter than the length from the otherend. This naturally turns one end of the boat upstream. The force of the current, act- ing against the boat, pro- pels it across the river. To recross, the rope is shortened. Alas! The Price of This Kiss Was Instant Death HE top of a pole carrying nearly four- teen thousand volts of electric current is a precarious trysting place. The accom- panying photograph of two squirrels en- gaging in what proved to be their kiss of death shows just how dangerous it is to spoon adjacent to elec- tric light feed wires. The two squirrels had evidently made an engagement to meet at the top of the pole _and look for the lady in the moon. Arrived there, as the latest fictionists say, they were in the act of giving the cus- tained at Bellevue, but it was not de- pendable and was abandoned years ago, leaving farmers with no means of crossing with their wagons and live stock. An old-fashioned mode of crossing the Missouri river by ferry was then revived. The old-new ferry is interesting because One squirrel was on the line and the other on the grounded brace when their noses touched tomary lover’s greet- ing, when the touch- ing of their noses caused a short circuit and the souls of both animals were wafted heavenward. It was indeed a kiss of death. From the nature of the burns it was established that one squir- rel was on the line, and the other was on the brace which is grounded. Maybe you have special needs. Write to the editor about anything within the scope of the magazine. He will be glad to help you. s, | rT st 3 EO 0 oO —_— oz Fr © © ee oo OD

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—m— ie Mw Te Se or poe le ts he 1S- t- h- eS th ‘as if on An Improvement in the Clock Scheme of the Daylight Saving Plan HE plan to gain thirty hours of play in the sunshine each summer month by daylight saving, ought to appeal to every pleasure and health-seeking Ameri- can. It is almost equivalent to getting more pleasure for nothing. And then think of the cartload of money that will be saved in this country by a hundred and ten million of inhabitants heating and lighting their homes for one hour less each evening. It is contemplated moving the hands of the clock one hour ahead in the spring, and turning the hands back again in the autumn. This would entail a minimum amount of confusion. People would start to work, eat their meals, and keep their engagements when the clock hands point to the customary hours. This scheme of moving the clock hands is a good one, but there is another plan which is slightly better. Why not move the clock dial backwards? The same ad- vantages would be obtained, and besides, at noon the hands would be at the top of the clock, at sunrise and sunset they would be at the bottom, as they always have been ever since the present style of clock has been used. This could be accomplished very simply by means of curved slots and screws, as shown in the illustrations. An- other way to accomplish the same purpose would be to use two separate, suitably marked dials. This way of working out the day- light saving scheme would be really scien- tific. Moreover, in the case of striking clocks, it would make unnecessary, when the hour is to be set back in the autumn, the turning of their minute hands eleven times around. For the striking mechanism of these clocks cannot be set back by simply moving the hands. Clock makers assert that the interference with the mechanism caused by alter- ing the position of the hands im- pairs the accuracy of the timepiece. The hour hand should never be tampered with and the minute hand veryseldom. Popular Science Monthly Instead of moving the hands ahead, the clock dial is moved back in the manner indicated AN That part of the pole above the platform will have to be removed and straightened How a Cyclone Bent a Two-Hundred- | Foot Flagpole HE zephyr which early this Spring developed into a cyclone of the first magnitude, took a hurried trip to Kansas City, Missouri, and left its card in the form of a bent flagpole in Swope Park. The pole is composed of two main sections which are divided into a number of smaller ones. In repairing it the upper main section which is fastened at the middle of the pole will be removed and lowered. It would have been less remarka- ble had the pole been blown down or actually snapped off. The bend simply indicates the freakishness of Foountersunk such storms and screw thequickness with whichthey change their direction. Countersunk Countersink / screw

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ein Ament wal ee A New Treatment for Distemper in Dogs By Dr. George W. Little Chief Surgeon of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ) *: other disease of dogs is more prevalent and, with the exception of rabies, more fatal, than ‘‘distemper,”’ a disease peculiar to dogs and young horses.” Its cause is a specific infection or poison finding its way into the system through the lungs and air passages. Young and growing animals medicines, vaccines and antitoxins, I have found only two medicines that have proved of exceptional value. These drugs are inula and echinacea. They are non-poison- ous and work together to raise the natural resisting power of the blood against invad- ing bacteria and disease. Administered in are generally at- tacked. It runs a course as a catarrhal fever, affecting all of the mucous mem- branes of the body and is in many cases accompanied with certain nervous symptoms and erup- tions of the skin. Distemper is highly contagious and is communicated only by infection. The Scotch term for it is “the snifters,”’ which conveys graphically to the mind one.important characteristic of the PRL, ORLA OOS i, EeLP sy Set hypodermic injec- tions into the mus- cles every twenty- four hours, inula and echinacea kill dis- temper, finally driv- ing it out of the system. Five or six hypodermic injec- tions are usually nec- essary, alternating first on one side and then on the other side of the body. These must be made by a veterinary who understands intra- muscular injections. The improvement: in the patient after two or three injec- disease, namely, the snifting noise—half sneeze, half cough which demonstrates the effort on the part of the animal to rid himself of the mucus which accumulates in the air passages. In the treatment of dog distemper many things must be impressed upon the nurse and the owner as of the utmost importance. Strict attention should be paid to the diet. No meat whatsoever should be given. Boiled rice, the broth of meat with fat re- moved, dog biscuit, milk and stale bread can be given. Vegetables such as peas, beans and asparagus may be mixed with the rice or other food. Food not eaten should be taken away immediately after- ward. Regarding the medicinal treatment of distemper, more specifics have been used ard recommended than in any other disease in the category of dog ills. After numer- ous experiments and the use of all available distemper out of Injecting inula and echinacea to drive tions is remarkable. The dog, seemingly in the last stages of distemper, revives and recovers his appetite and there is a corresponding decrease in the severity of all the symptoms of the disease. The recovery is so rapid that the dog does not become debilitated to any great extent. I have treated eighty cases of distemper, using inula and echinacea. The percentage of mortality in these cases is the only tangi- ble proof, aside from the rapid recovery of the animals, upon which the efficiency of the compound can be based. Of the eighty cases treated, sixty-eight have recovered. The mortality, therefore, is fifteen per cent of the total number. The usual death rate according to the best authorities is from sixty to seventy per cent. The dogs treated were in all stages of the disease. the dog’s system Some had very high temperatures with: pneumonia, bronchitis, bronchial coughs and typhoid symptoms. 434 ———————

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ea, ane © ‘eo, =v. = Le A Safety Device Which Takes the “Kick”? Out of a Ford WO Wisconsin inventors have recently ob- tained a patent on a device that effectually prevents back firing and kick- ing when cranking a Ford with the spark left ad- vanced. It consists of an arrangement fast- ened to the commuta- tor which automati- cally retards the spark to the point of easiest starting when the crank is turned. As seen in the smaller photograph at the right, the spark is left advanced, lowering the de- vice so that it comes between the ratchets on the crank and those on the crank shaft. Before the crank can en- gage the shaft, the arm of the device must be pushed out of the ratchets on the crank, as shown in ~ the large photograph. Pushing this arm out automatically retards the spark to what has been found to be the point where the motor starts easiest. After this the crank is free to start the motor. However, it is impossible to start the motor until the device has been pushed out as far as it will go and the spark re- tarded. Of course this is not necessary where the spark has been retarded before cranking. But in the majority of cases where injuries have been sustained while cranking a car, the spark has been advanced a considerable distance. ‘It is impossible to advance the spark from the seat while anyone is cranking the car. The arrange- ment can be put on the car without remov- ing the timer or chang- ing or altering any parts. More than fifty dif- ferent models were ex- perimented with be- fore one was found that met all require- ments. With this de- vice in operation, practically all danger is Popular Science Montily At left: The safety device between the ratchets. At right above: The shaft pushed out of the ratchets to automatically retard the spark The Clam-Shell Makes Its Début as an Interior Decoration O make a picture like the farmer boy in the accompanying illustration, you need not be a gifted artist or even a good photographer. All that is needed to secure a perfectly artistic effect is a square of colored cardboard for mounting, a figure cut out of a magazine, fashion sheet or advertisement, and a bit of white cotton -or black or brown wool such as is used for crocheting or knitting, and a clam shell. The lines of the face are made with pen and ink. The cut-out figure is first pasted on the mounting board; then the clam-shell head is adjusted and stuck on with mucilage. The placing of the hair affords scope for in- dividuality. The grass and sprigs of flowers are painted in. If you happen to be somewhat of an art- ist, you can paint in the whole figure, but very good effects are obtained with the paper cut-outs. If the trousers are cut from sandpaper, they will afford a con- venient place on which to scratch matthes. The placard can then eliminated from. the cranking up. The clam-shell farmer boy with paper cut-out body and hair of cotton be hung on the wall near the matchbox.

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© Underwood and Underwood The engineer misunder- stood or forgot the sig- nal. This was the result faithfully eyeing each signal as it flies past, figuring on how the next signal is likely to be, watching the gages on the locomotive, and looking after all the other contrivances? Did you ever walk along a picket fence, trying to count the separate staves as they went by? In spite of your best efforts at concentrating, didn’t your mind presently wander? Didn’t the whole thing finally become a big muddle? Do you wonder, then, that the engineer, work- ing under the strain that he works under, sometimes misses his count of the signals as they go by, forgetting whether the last one read ‘“‘Danger”’ or not? How to eliminate the human element in train operation is one of the really big propositions before the railroads today. Some years ago the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railway offered a prize of $10,000 for an automatic stop which would meet all the rigorous conditions imposed—something which would not be affected by sleet, snow and cold, which would not require expensive changes in standard equipment, and which would not fail oftener than once in a million times, which is about the record made by the electro- pneumatic signals in the New York subway. It was also pointed out that special regard should be paid to traffic conditions on steam railways and to the fact that any automatic control system must be capable of application to high and low speed passenger trains as well as to freight trains. A host of inventors have applied D: you ever ride in a locomotive cab, Engineer Forget 1 ~ DISTANT SIGNAL The general design . C : of block signals To stimulate inventors to devise 436 A new automatic train stop which promises to prevent disaster should signals be disregarded themselves to the problem. No lesg than fifteen hundred and seventy. four plans for automatic train stops were offered to the railway company as the result of this prize offer. The inventors all aim to establish an arrangement such that if the engj. neer does forget or overlook a signal, his train will be brought to a stop automatically. _ The trouble occurs when an engi. neer runs by a home signal and into the next block in which a train may already be standing, or a bridge washed out, or other trouble manifesting itself, He runs into the train, or off the embank- ment into the river. The whole system was designed to prevent this wreck, yet it was powerless to do so because the engineer overlooked or didn’t mind the signal set at danger. If the signal’s mandates could be enforced, whether the engineer paid atten- tion to them or not, the much-to-be desired system would be attained. This brings us to the reason why inventors are endeavoring to produce automatic train stops. Present-day railroading is like the country would be were there plenty of laws but no police and courts to enforce them. There are many rules and regulations in train operation, and signals to point the way, but there is no means of enforcing them. Nor will there be, unless the new train stops prove to be all that present-day inventors hope for them. All train stops operate on much the same principle. They all seek to set the brakes of an advancing train, should the signal read “‘Danger.”’” To set the brakes on any train it is only necessary to open a certain valve connected with the air system on the engine or underneath a car. The auto- matic stops, as a rule, all aim to get at this valve when the train is in danger and open it. The practical method of doing this is hard to work out, and constitutes the barrier which has prevented practi- cal train stops from being invented and put into operation long ago. : a bah A i all eal @ i mae el

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. = ey = ae. © sd aS a 8 1e al to ne et in cal to ti- 50. SS NRCS = Home Signal | kTrack Distant —) Train Showing a train seeking to enter the block be- yond the “home sig- nal. Engineer knows by the fact that dis- tant” signal is up that the home signal is also up, even though he may not be able to see the latter, due to smoke, fog, or an obstruction ) Engineer sees that the distant signal is down and knows that the home signal is also clear. He therefore goes ahead at the regular or full speed. A ‘“‘home”’ sig- nal is so called because it is nearest “home”; or in the block the train seeks to enter C ——) Something is wrong. The distant signal is down without the home signal being correspond- ingly clear. This shows how a block system sometimes fails. Auto- matic train control is designed to stop the engineer safely at home _ Signal in such a case : being worth while. Popular Science Moniti.ly these much-needed contrivances, the Govern- ment has for several years maintained a corps of trained investigators who will go to almost any part of the country and test out free of charge any invention of the kind that gives promise of Moreover they will make an authoritative report on its merits, if it proves worthy of attention. This corps has given much practical aid to inventors, and done much through suggestions to standardize and improve the inventions being put out. At present we are on the road to a practical train-stop. To illustrate the general train-stop situation specifically, we will show how one of the best train-stops operates. Let us take the type recently perfected by Jean F. Webb, Jr., of New York city. As the pictures on page 438 show, the apparatus is affixed to the buffer-beam at the front of the engine. Other inventors attach their stop to the tender, or even beneath the cab. Some have attempted to locate most of the apparatus along the roadway and have it struck by a projection on the engine as the latter goes by. This, however, seems to be a wrong plan in most cases, since the great force of such a broad- side impact may result in breaking the appa- ratus to pieces. The ramp principle Mr. Webb uses is begin- ning to be recognized as the most satisfactory out of the number of alternatives. As the engine and train approach a block signal, the shoe part of the apparatus runs up a short piece of inclined rail, or T-iron, say thirty feet long. This piece of inclined rail is called a ‘‘ramp.’’ As the shoe rides up Over the ramp it opens the air valve on 4 oi VW 4 eo Ff Railroad No.4 The complication of signals an engineer = encounters in an ordinary railroad if yard which covers an area about two miles long and about one and ene- quarter mile wide. All tracks are single tracks; the parallel lines represent rails Railfoad No.3 YU, Showing more compli- cated signals than the preceding. Engineer has whistled for side- track. Towerman ac- cordingly gave it to him, at the same time lowering the lower of the two arms at the home signal—which in- dicates that everything is ready for the train to proceed to side track A Still more complicated signals, showing what mixed up propositions an engineer encounters, He must read the sig- nals almost instantly and correctly or cause trouble for himself and train. Here » signals mean main line is closed but sidetrack is open

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438 the train in the manner explained in the Should the block ahead be clear, electric current comes off of the ramp illustration. at the same time that the latter is causing the air valve to open. This current works the electro- magnet shown, and sets a catch or bolt so that the shoe in descending auto- matically closes the valve again, thus letting the train proceed unhindered. If the block ahead is not clear, there is no electric current at the ramp, the electromagnet __ therefore can not set the bolt, and the result is that the shoe and its plunger descend off the ramp _ without closing the valve in the process. The latter therefore remains open where it has been pushed, the brakes become set, and the train comes to a halt. How the electric cur- rent gets into the ramp to perform this setting of the bolt feat is too long a story to tell here. The current comes from a roadside battery which is a part of, or at least under the control of, the regular block-signaling system anditssignalarms. This establishes the needed co- operation between the signals and the auto- matic stop, and causes the stop to enforce the signal’s mandates, which is the end desired. Be- sides opening the air valve at least momen- tarily at every ramp, whether it is needed or not, Mr. Webb’s appa- ratus sounds a whistle in the cab at the same time, confirming the other indi- cations. A governor also comes into action, pre- venting the engineer from going ‘beyond a certain speed in a danger zone. Popular Science Monthly eae inoperative ma position Air Drake shaft eo The Webb device. When the engine should stop, the shoe rides up an inclined rail and actuates the brake mechanism 1 Operating position The shoe is here shown sliding downward and off the ramp, closing the air valve so the train can proceed in_ safety New Answers to the Query, ‘‘Why Does a Cat Have a Tail?’’ See question having arisen, ‘‘Why does the cat have a tail ?”’ the scientists seem willing to answer it with another question, ‘How would the cat look without a tail?” No one can gain- say the fact that the tail is a valuable ornament, The cat without one is q sorry sight. But there are those who maintain - that the tail serves the cat as a sort of gyroscope, balancing the body in leaping. This cannot be wholly true, for Manx cats get along very well without tails, and rabbits have no use for them at all. Yet both the Manx cats and rabbits do a lot of leaping. After all it looks as if the tail is only an ornament, unless it is a kind of safety valve for expression in exciting times. Of course there are in- stances where the tail serves some purpose other than that of art. The monkey finds his useful as a sort of fifth leg; the horse uses his as a fly-swatter, as does the lion; the crocodile uses his for swimming, as do the seal and the turtle and other aquatic creatures; and the rattle- snake uses his for warn- ing enemies. According to W. D. Matthews, of the American Museum of Natural History, the tail was a necessary organ for the aquatic and am- phibious ancestors from which the higher animals are descended. When they took to terrestrial life and to walking on all fours, the tail became more or less superfluous. - Oe ie gett an? 2] — > ot F 45 = — AD | 34, ae a i le a. ah. a

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ee ae we ee! ee SS ’ = c Il 1e LSE Pivot Sliding head The instant the aviatoristhrown out of his nor- mal position, the spring is released and the para- chute stick is straightened out automatically VERY ship car- E ries its cork- jackets for pas- sengers. Is there no life-preserver which the crew of an aircraft can don in an emergency? The parachute at once suggests itself. | Pre- arranged parachute leaps have often been made from airplanes. Conditions are different if the airplane is beyond control, owing to the quickness with # which disaster overtakes one in the air. There is no time to think. Then there is the difficulty of getting clear of an over- turned machine which itself drops like a stone. The critical point is the automatic unfolding of the parachute in the air through the initial drop itself, which demands that it must be just slightly unfolded below so as to be ready to catch the air. Kaja P. Togstad, in inventing a para- chute that would remain efficient in an accident, has evidently realized these difficulties and taken a step in the right direction. He would throw a parachute automatically into the correct opening position by mechanical means. As _ the picture shows, he supplies his parachute with a central stick like an umbrella’s. A Parachute Life-Preserver for Aeronauts 439 It is ready for any emergency and acts automatically—says the inventor The stick doubles on itself in the middle, so that the whole contrivance can be carried on the aviator’s back. A coiled spring automatically unfolds and straightens the stick the moment the aviator leaves his normal position in the machine. The device would, however, seem feasi- ble only if the parachute was no larger than an umbrella. Although so small a parachute would somewhat retard the fall, there would be scant comfort for the bereaved family in knowing that the avia- tor was picked up after a fall of nine thousand feet with only a broken neck and not with every bone shattered as usual. The. place of this umbrella-like con- trivance might conceiv- ably be taken by a really efficient para- chute (of twenty-two feet minimum diame- ter) made of cloth and ropes so thin, yet strong, that it might be folded into a small enough bundle at the end of the stick which by the same mechanism, might be thrown instantly and automati- cally into the proper position to catch the air and open promptly. In use, the parachute device is fastened to a corset-like belt which the aviator dons when preparing to make his ascent. The swinging staff section is held down by means of lashings, which allow the wearer to walk about in the machine so long as the parachute is collapsed. - After the aviator takes his place in the seat of the airplane he releases the lashings so that the staff will be free to operate but will be held back against the seat and prevented from action unless the aviator is thrown out or moves suddenly from his seat. In mest acci- dents, the avia- tcr has little time to act. Just here lies the value of this de- vice, when coup- led with an effi- cient parachute

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Standardizing the Die-Sinker An automatic machine which can produce fifteen dies in the time formerly required to make one By Herbert HEN you have four hundred drop y \ forgers to keep busy and wish to turn out from 200,000 to 250,000 forgings in the course of every twenty-four hours, you begin to take thought as to how you can save in the necessary opera- tions. Do any pieces require three different manipulations when two will answer? Are there any machines, or can any be invented to reduce hand work? One of the necessary details of making drop forgings, of course, is that of producing the dies. The pattern’s the thing. It must be exactly right, cut to the one- thousandth part of an inch of the desired dimensions. In making rifles the dies must fit so closely together when the hammer comes down that the ‘‘flash”— in other words, the excess metal which spreads out around the forging between the two dies, will be like paper for thin- ness. The thinner the flash, within reason, the greater the production from the trimming presses which later cut off the halo of metal. In a Bridgeport, Conn., plant a way has been worked out not only of standard- izing the process of making dies to serve as models, but of adapting the principle used in copying statues and making jewelers’ dies by ma- chinery, to the sinking of larger dies. In the making of a standardized article, such as a bayonet, however, and where consider- able numbers of large dies are required, it has been demonstrated that it is practicable and economical to plan out in advance the different operations required in the making of a given die and specify them on a card of directions accompanying the block of metal from which the die is to be made. The outline of the desired die is drawn upon the coppered surface of the block By means of this machine one die can be made in eight hours. One man can supervise three machines 440 F. Sherwood and the directions specify what cuts shall be made, and the exact depths which shall be given to them. The cutting tools that shall be used are also named. One work- man may not necessarily perform all of the work. Some of it may not require an expert’s attention. The model completed, it is put into a machine which carries also an uncut block. This machine is equipped with two arms connected so that they will work like a pantograph. At the end of one of these arms is a pencil-like stylus of metal whose point, pressed against the model, follows every indentation in and out. To the other arm is attached another stylus, also about the diameter and shape of a carefully sharpened pencil. This one, made of very hard steel, revolves so rap- idly and smoothly that its cutting edges can- not be seen. As the upper stylus moves up and down across the face of the model in parallel vertical lines 7 five one-thousandths Epon BENG, of an inch apart, the COMPLETED MODEL" fast flying pencil-like , stylus below follows suit across the uncut surface of the lower block. With the same undeviating evenness of speed that characterizes the movement of the earth around the sun, it engraves a reproduction of the model. Ordinarily, by the old methods it would require one man’s time for from thirty-six to forty hours to produce the die. By means of this machine, the same work can be done in eight hours, and one man can supervise three machines. In_ this way fifteen dies can be produced by him in the same length of time which was formerly required for one. Owing to the more automatic character of the work, a less experienced man can be employed for this part of the operation at less cost. SPRING PENCIL-LIKE : STY}US COMPLETED : MODEL —_ es -. LC O =ha]tn®DM @# oo

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Detector-Stand DETECTOR-STAND capable of es- pecially easy adjustment, on account of the ball-and-socket arrangement of the movable arm, is illustrated herewith. The ball was taken from a butt-hinge; a bind- The ball-and-socket joint makes an easily adjusted detector for wireless apparatus ing-post was re-threaded to fit the stud attached to the ball, as shown. The socket is made from spring brass, and holes slightly smaller than the ball are drilled very near the ends. A tension-screw is fitted to the socket, which is three-quarters of an inch long with a knurled nut for easy turning. The mineral holder is a U-shaped piece of quarter-inch brass rod flattened at the bottom. Near the end of one leg a hole is tapped with an 8/32 tap and an 8/32 thread is also tapped in the bottom of the clamp so that it may be fastened to the base. The base may be taken from an old spark- gap or cut out of fiber or hard rubber and drilled to suit. It should be about 2 in. by 4in. The arm is made of %-in. brass rod 3 in. long; threaded 8/32 at each end. A binding-post may be mounted on it to carry the “cat-whisker’” wire or mandolin- string, or nuts may be used on the arm end for clamping the same as a binding post.—FRrANcIS W. NUNENMACHER. Electrician y And Wireless Operator An Easily Adjusted Ball-and-Socket 441 Amateur A High Tension Audion Battery Made of Medicine Vials HEN using audion or similar tubes, a battery giving from 30 to 40 volts is necessary. Such a battery made up of small flashlight dry-cells is most convenient but costs as much or more than the tube itself. Dry-cells also have what is known as ‘‘shelf life.’”’ This means that they de- teriorate even when standing idle (on the shelf evidently). In a year’s time, more or less, they will have lost their strength and their voltage and current will be near zero. As the high tension current consumed by the audion tube is extremely small, a bat- tery may be made up of very small storage cells, when a direct or alternating lighting current is available for charging them. With alternating’ current, however, a suit- able rectifier must be used. The battery cells may consist of small medicine vials with strips of roughened lead for plates. Such a battery is shown in the illustration, mounted directly back of the panel holding the tube and voltage-regulating switch. The vials are conveniently mounted in a row between two wooden cleats so that they will not topple over. Small wires are led from the switchpoints and soldered to the tops of the lead strips. The lead strips Cells of battery made up of small medicine bottles with strips of lead for the plates should not reach to the bottom of the vials. A drop or two of light oil on top of the electrolyte will tend to prevent acid fumes from arising and tarnishing parts of the apparatus. When charging with 110-volt

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442 alternating current, an aluminum plate rectifier must be used in series with the battery, together with a small lamp or other suitable resistance. The aluminum plate of the rectifier may consist of a small alumi- A type of rectifier used with the battery for charging it from an alternating current num wire with its point just dipping into the rectifier electrolyte. As the battery is small, the charging current must also be small. A gentle bubbling at the plates is sufficient. This battery does not hold its charge very long but-it is a simple matter to charge it each time before use, as a double throw switch will change the current to the charging circuit or to the apparatus quickly.—R. V. WILSON. Wireless Signals Transmitted by Telephone HE diagram shows how I enabled my friend who had no wireless outfit to listen in on my set. I installed a one-wire telephone line between our homes, which are about 400 ft. apart. Much to my surprise this in- creased the strength of the signals. x ; - 6% vy 4 I Wiring diagram of the telephone line show- ing its connection with the wireless set As an additional pleasure we were able to talk over the telephone while wireless mes- sages were coming in.—C. WILTSEE TUFTS. Popular Science Monthly An Effective Method for Recharging Dry Cells HAT I have found to be the most effective method for recharging dry cells consists in making over the construc- tion, of the cell and placing it into some container. Such a container may easily be made from a hollow tile.such as is used in building construction. These tiles are cut to the height of a dry cell by a hammer and chisel. The tile is then stood upright on a flat board and enough concrete is poured in to fill the bottom of the tile an inch deep. After DRY CELL \ HOLLOW TILE \ —- SS eee ree re ree the concrete has set, 732! i it is coated with a Ue | thin layer of melted / CONCRETE PARAFFIN paraffin which is then allowed to cool. The bottom of the dry cell is then knocked off and the inside compounds, with the exception of the sealing compound, are then taken out. A number of holes are then punched in the cell, and it with its carbon is then immersed in an ‘“‘active’’ solution poured into the tile. This solution is made of sal ammoniac and soft or rain water in the proportion of 4 oz. of sal ammoniac to I qt. of water. —Tuomas W. BENsoN. Dry cells in a container Running Bell-Wires Through Walls with an Umbrella-Rib Bodkin N umbrella rib may be made to do excellent service in running electric bell-wires. Such a rib is not a great deal larger than the diameter of the bell-wire, consequently it can be run a a Umbrella rib through a small wan | fi “ hole. The wire ST ire is stripped of its rit covering for a f a _ short distance oe (i it Loop — and threaded through the 7 little loop near er Electric bell-wire inserted the end of the J ith umbrella-rib bodkin rib. The wire is then pressed snugly into the trough of the rib, which can be moved around while searching for the opening without disturb- ing the wire. The ball on the end of the rib facilitates its easy passage through the opening.—JAMEs M. KAneE. RE TE —_— 62.6 +k ee pee ie oe Coe [fe es ae ae lUlUlU CO eC CO OU lotte

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1e le b- ib he Fighting the Big Guns with Wireless Thrilling adventures of the airmen while signaling the range to the artillery gunners By Captain A. P. Corcoran, Late of the British Army The airman signals to the gunners the range necessary to make a hit, after seeing where a shell has dropped and exploded at or near the enemy’s lines. F you are interested in wireless, you have probably at one time or another tried to operate an instrument of your own. And to do so, you have probably repaired to the seclusion of your own room, well removed from outer disturbances. Even then you have probably found difficulty in getting signals. Perhaps a cat howled, or your sister put her inconsiderate head in at the door, and diverted your attention for a moment. You know how little it takes to upset the accuracy of an operator. And now, if you are to get an adequate idea of the task of the wireless man in this war you will have to try to put yourself for the moment in his place. You will have to imagine yourself not safely housed, but up six thousand feet in the air, with only a few pounds of wood and a few yards of canvas between you and a very certain death. You will have to imagine that all round you dozens of shrapnel shells are bursting, and that to right and left of you are enemy airplanes, hot on the trail of yourcar. Through the midst of this sea of 443 When a hit has been made he glides away peril you are piloting your ship, with one eye on the dangers immediately threatening you; another on the ground for the information you are seeking; and still a little attention centered on the tiny wireless set, without which all your work would be in vain. You have heard the airplane pictur- esquely described as the “eyes of the army.” That is a very accurate descrip- tion of the part it plays. It is through the airplane that the artillery gets an effective range on the enemy batteries, or locates the enemy ammunition dumps, or a light field battery, or convoys, etc. It is through the wireless set attached to the airplane that the firing is directed. Without the wireless, the airplane would be of little use. There are various types of machines used in the war, but the two principal ones are the Hugh battleplane and the small Bristol biplane, the latter being used for scouting ° work alone. But no matter what the car, the wireless set is the same. It is the Wil- son set.

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444 As you might imagine, the set is small and extremely light. It comprises just a 4-in. spark coil, a manipulating key, a small fixed oil condenser, contained in a steel box, and an aerial coil. This helix or aerial coil is not made of the usual copper tubing, bound on a wooden frame. It is made of several turns of soft flexible insulated wire wound round a piece of wood and kept se- curely in place by two cross-pieces of wood. The lay-out of the appa- ratus is not necessarily uniform. Usually the airman shifts it to suit his own con- venience, but as a rule its positionis Popular Science Monthly make, it is hard enough to breathe without wasting effort in trying to hear. Besides, even if the rush of air would permit you to collect your senses, there is still the propeller to be reckoned with. The noise of this close to the ear can be compared only with that of a forty-coach express train tearing at top speed through a tunnel. But suppose it were possible to perfect an instrument that could make itself heard against these handicaps, of what use would it be, when com- pleted? Under the circum- stances in which the airman fights, in- structions Oil condenser this: The condenser and coil are placed under the seat; the aerial coil is made fast to the framework near the operator. The key is on a small wooden shelf fixed to the side of the seat, and sometimes it is placed on a partition in front of it. In the case of the small scouting ma- chines, the aerial is fixed on the top of the wings and runs round the edge, while the lead-in wire is brought in from the center. Then the earth or ground wire hangs over the side of the plane to the same length and capacity as the aerial. In these cars, of course, the pilot and operator are identical. Only one man goes up. In the big battleplanes, the aerial is in much the same position. It is fixed to the top of the top plane. But the ground wire is arranged differently from that on the scout machines. Here it is attached to the bottom of the bottom plane. In other words, there is an upper and lower capacity, just as in the Lodge-Muirhead system. Now in these planes the operator is the - observer. He sits in front of the pilot. But, in case he should be shot or in any way incapacitated, there is a manipulating key in the pilot’s pit joined in parallel to that in the observer’s chair, so that either man is in a position to operate. There is, of course, no receiving ap- _paratus. So far it has not been found necessary. For if you are traveling at the rate of 120 or 130 miles an hour, which is the speed many of these planes are able to The operator’s set comprises a four-inch spark coil, a manipu- lating key, and a small fixed oil condenser, all in a steel box from the earth are of nousetohim. He is the one man in the war who fights as an individual. Once he has left the earth with general orders as to the object of his flight, he takes advice and instruction from noone. The thoroughness of his work, the chances of his safety are matters left entirely to himself. They depend solely on individual initiative. Let me take you with him on a trip, typical of one he might make any morning that is clear enough to let him see what is happening on earth. Aerial COily a enntsil...,Oil condenser The condenser and coil are placed under the seat and the key on a shelf near by The artillery has got the range roughly and set their sights accordingly. The air- man ascends, and is soon soaring over the enemy lines. Now he is in sight of the target. He signals ‘“‘G’’ back to the artillery. That means ‘‘Go! Commence firing.” They fire. In a couple of seconds there ascends a streak of smoke. To his eye it is no bigger than the puff of a cigarette, but it

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wor & ™ lig is it tells him that the shots from his artillery are not reaching the target. “D 300, L 100,” he signals. That means, ‘‘Lower the range 300 yards and come 100 yards to the left.”’ A few more seconds, and there is another puff of white smoke. Again it is short of JOM Aerial cou the target. | “U 100, R 50,” ab he signals; mean- a) a ing, ‘‘Raise the range a hundred yards and shift it fifty to the right.” Again he waits, and this time he has his reward. Now the puff comes from exactly the right spot. “H,”’ he signals back, repeating the letter several times. It means, ‘Hit.’ The artillery have got the range. Sometimes they get it more cisily than this. But often they take much longer. And the longer they take, of course, the more perilous for him. For meantime, naturally, he himself has become a target. Shells from the anti-aircraft guns have been exploding to right and left of him, but he manages to soar away from these. Then something worse looms up. The enemy airforce is preparing to meet him. They are leaving the ground. He knows they will soon be on him. Unless he hastily disappears from the scene there is soon in progress one of those great duels in the air—but that is another story. The aerial is made of copper tubing Down with the Old-Time School Bell! Supplant It With Wireless NE of the technical high schools in a large city has worked a new variation on that old-time institution—the public school bell. Time was when_ brassy- sounding bells used to adorn every school- house steeple in the land. In the larger cities these have retired in favor of a system of electric gongs, one in every room. This system is useful for calling classes during a day as well as for gathering the whole flock of pupils together at nine in the morning—this last being about the sole function the -earlier steeple bells could perform. But this school in question goes a step farther than even the electric gongs, connected as the gongs are with networks of wires, annunciators, time-clocks and the like. It is done here by wireless. Popular Science Monthly 445 The change came about through the fact that the school long ago became too big for the original building, even though it was large and well equipped. Since then surplus classes have been held in such buildings in the neighborhood as could be secured. How to call and adjourn simul- taneously the successive classes throughout the day in all these buildings therefore became a problem. The principal sug- gested that it be done by wireless, and the school’s class in radio-telegraphy com- pleted the system, the essentials of which are shown in the diagram. The sending end of the system is unusual only in that a small rotary converter is used to convert direct current—the only supply available—to alternating, for the trans- former. Had alternating current been available this could have, of course, been hooked on at the same place as that of the converter, and the system would. have worked as well. The receiving circuit uses a coherer made of metal filings in a small glass tube in the usual way. Interposed between the coherer and the bells, which do the calling of classes, is a pony relay of the kind often used on ordinary railroad telegraph circuits. The object in using a relay is that its high resistance takes less current than the bells would if connected directly to the coherer. When heavy currents go through a coherer they cause the filings to stick together permanently, or nearly so, rendering them hard or prac- Instruments in use by a technical high school for calling the classes by wireless tically impossible to decohere. The co- herer, as is evident from the diagram, is placed in close proximity to theclapper on one of the bells. Thus the clapper automatically decoheres the coherer, doing away with any special apparatus for that purpose. A one-kilowatt transformer sends out a wave sufficiently powerful to operate co-

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446 Popular Science Monthly How to Make a Variable Condenser for Five Cents herers and call bells of this type over a distance of several blocks, and of course over much longer ranges if the receiving apparatus be made carefully and adjusted with delicacy. Circuits of the simple type here used are likely to be very sensitive to Sending station HIS condenser can be made at a cost of about five cents. First cut the plates out of cardboard, the thinner the better, Receiving station erial Support ot A s Transtormer > ae a te a Aerial wires rine’ (A ral Variable condenser Secondary Spark gap Simple Marconi Clapper on bel | : coherer decoheres coherer as well Ground as rings the bell Santina Two cells of ——=* ee battery hy Alternating current emitted here ay rt Bell for calling class jl = Two cell battery (0, Rotary converter net NWOvolt direct current supply static during summer months, passing thunder showers causing the bells to ring more or less continually, the frequency of the rings of course depending on the number, distance, and strength of the lightning discharges causing the static. But in such an event the system auto- matically becomes a storm detector, and that pleases youthful investigators all the more. Or, it affords an opportunity for experimenting with contrivances of one kind or another for doing away with the trouble caused by the static, and that in turn offers an alluring field for the exercise of ingenuity.—L. E. DARLING. A Binder for Water Colors and a Wood Filler ASEIN is a good binder for water colors, but as it contains alkali it is not safe to use with certain chemical pigments. In this case glue, or any adhesive that is neutral, may be used. Casein is easily dissolved in ammonia, caustic soda, potash or carbonate of soda, but a more economical alkali is quicklime, which does very well when the material is to be used in making a wood filler. Roughly speaking, one quart of quicklime is sufficient for four parts of casein. Ground connection The set-up of the apparatus and the connections as they were installed for calling the classes by wireless Then paste onto each sheet of cardboard a piece of tinfoil about 1/16 in. smaller all the way round, except at A on the rotary and B on the stationary plates, where the tin- foil should be continued out to the edge for a connection with lines. The tinfoil should be put on one side of the cardboard only, as the cardboard acts as the dielectric, as in Fig. 2. Washers can be used as _ separators. FIG.\ STATIONARY F es \ ROTARY ——3 -CARDBOARD FIG2 The condenser plates are made of cardboard and tinfoil stuck together ‘with shellac Five stationary and four rotary plates, six inches in diameter, using the so-called “shirt cardboard” as the dielectric, will have a capacity of approximately .0005 microfarads.—RAYMOND RooF.

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ws eS a ~” Wireless Work in Wartime.—Il. Learning the operating thoroughly and setting up a buzzer telegraph line By John L. Hogan, Jr. operators which has been created by the conditions arising from the declaration of war, the idea seems to prevail that a competent and useful telegrapher can be trained in a course extending over a few weeks of time. Nothing can be further from the truth. The beginners, who are now taking up radio telegraphy for the first time, will have many months of study to carry through before they will be really competent. Until [‘ the increased demand for wireless they have become prepared it is unwise to place them in responsible positions. It is also unwise for the students to attempt to speed up their courses of training by extreme abridgment, in an attempt to learn ‘‘only the funda- mentals.’’ Thoroughness should be the watchword of every beginner; a little time spent in study of the important details will ° be more than repaid by the greater progress which will result as soon as the practical work is begun. This series of articles, which was begun in the August issue thoroughly familiar cine ware of the POPULAR i he code and SCIENCE MONTHL with t ° 4 4 ] TELEPHONE TELEPHONE b ba “ibe the basic principles Figs is designed to point of radio telegraphy they will not be de- BUZZER pendable; without dependability the radio operator is not only valueless but dangerous. — It cannot be too strongly urged that the training of a radio telegraph must be complete and thorough and that it is utter folly to attempt to cover so exten- sive a subject so rapidly as to make its complete absorption an impossibility. The Study of Radio Operating Although the several branches of radio telegraphy involve a good deal of study, the work of learning it is probably one of the most interesting occupations that a person of scientific inclinations can find. There is a good future for well trained radio operators, both in wartime and in the days of peace. The number needed because of the present crisis is larger than normal, and more will be required from month to month. The trained operators who are now available will take care of the immediate needs, and those who are at present studying in the various telegraph and radio schools through- out the country will be utilized in the near future. The newest students will have their opportunities as soon as they secure their training, but until they are thoroughly GROUND KEY A buzzer-set with its connections for sending messages from one room or place to another in learning to operate a key in wireless telegraphy 447 out methods of study of radio- telegraphy which will result in thor- ough training in the shortest desir- able time. Only the most elemen- tary knowledge of electricity has been assumed, but even the skilled radio experimenter is likely to find some points discussed which are unfamiliar to him. The first article took up the commencement of the study of the Morse code, as a preliminary to telegraphy itself. The simplest subdivi- sions of the Morse alphabet, for aiding in memorizing the dot-and-dash symbols, were explained, and a description of key and buzzer practice was given. As soon as the student has learned to form the first three groups of letters correctly, as set forth last month, he should commence signaling practice with a companion who has progressed to about the same point in the study of telegraphy. Setting Up a Buzzer Telegraph Line The first step in communication is to set up a buzzer telegraph line between two points which are so far apart that the telegraph itself is the only means of com- munication. If you put one end of the linc in one room, and the other close by in

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448 Popular Science Monthly another part of tne nouse, there will always be the temptation to call from one ‘‘sta- tion” to the other and to make corrections in that way instead of depending strictly upon the Morse signals. Only by relying upon the line and Morse signals exclusively can the best practice be had. An excellent system of connections for a practice line is shown in Fig. 5. For each station there are needed a buzzer, dry cells, telegraph key, and telephones. Almost any sort of buzzer or telephones will do, though it is better to get a buzzer which gives a high musical tone and to use tele- phones of the usual wireless type. The . small buzzers which can be purchased from any electrical sup- ply store have fairly high tones and are very good. There are special ‘‘wire- less” test buzzers made, which have three connection points and which are designed to give a very high and clear tone of about the same sound as that produced by a modern radio-telegraph station. This is the best type to buy. The preferred tele- phones are of high resistance (about 2000 ohms total) and consist of two ‘“watch- case’”’ earpieces mounted upon a headband which automatically holds them in place and so leaves both hands of the operator free for sending, writing out the message being received, or adjusting his apparatus. An advantage of buying both the buzzer and the telephone of the sorts used in regular wireless telegraph work is that both may be used later on when radio-telegraphy itself is taken up. Wiring the Two Stations The diagram, Fig. 5, shows how the two buzzer telegraph stations are to be con- nected. First the dry cells and the key are connected in series across the two ordinary terminals of the buzzer, marked 1 and 2 in the figure. Then the binding post 1 is con- nected to earth, and a wire is attached to the contact post near the buzzer armature, marked 3 in the figure. This wire is con- nected with one terminal of the telephones. To make sure that everything is in good shape at either station, the remaining terminal of the telephone may be con- nected with the ground, so placing the In answering a call at the other station ac- knowledgment of the call is sent in return receivers in series between terminals 1 and 3 of the buzzer. If the adjustments and wiring are correct the buzzer will operate whenever the key is pressed, and the tone of the buzzer will be reproduced loudly in the telephone receivers. If the tone is so loud that it becomes annoying, a resistance of several hundred ohms may be connected across the telephones as shown in the left hand station of Fig. 5. If this resistance is variable, as it is in a potentiometer used with radio receivers, the loudness of the sound in the telephone may be made any- thing desired by adjusting the resistance so that any chosen portion of the line current will be shunted around the winding in the “by-pass” circuit. Assuming that both stations have been set up and adjusted to operate properly, it is only necessary to con- nect the outer ter- minals of the two telephones by means of a line wire. This line wire may be of almost any kind since it carries very little current. Any copper wire may be strung from one station to the other; it need not be larger than No. 30, and does not require careful insulation unless the distance is large. When the two stations are set up completely, as in Fig. 5, pressure of either key should result in a corresponding clear signal tone in both telephones. If it does not work out in this way, go over the circuits in detail and be sure that they are correctly connected and sufficiently well insulated. The earth or ground connection may be made by wrap- ping a bare wire around a scraped water or gas pipe, or a steam radiator. For con- venience the ground lines may be discarded and a second line run between posts 3 of the two buzzers. The diagram shows the variable shunting resistance at only the left-hand station; obviously the same plan may be used at both ends if the signals are too loud. The incoming signals are likely to be somewhat weaker than those made by the buzzer at the home station when sending, but if the line wire is of sufficient size and well enough insulated this difference in intensity should cause no trouble. Under some particularly poor conditions it may be found necessary to shunt the telephones while sending and

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ld ry nd to use them directly in the circuit (or shunted by an extremely high resistance) while receiving. How the Call Signals Are Made In taking up code practice over such a telegraph line, the usual wireless methods of calling and signing should be followed. Since every radio telegraph station has certain identifying call-letters assigned to it by the Government, the two practice stations should select call letters. Let us suppose that the left-hand station chooses the call signal KSW and the right-hand station KUR; these groups of letters will designate the corresponding station and that one only. Having arranged the line and apparatus so that every pressure of the sending key at either station may be heard as a correspond- ing short or long buzz or tone in the tele- phones at the other, the sending of messages may be begun. The time for the first trial having been set, both students should be at their instruments, and listening to the telephones. Let us assume that it has been arranged that KUR, the right-hand station of Fig. 5, shall signal first. The operator there will follow the International calling method and first send the “‘atten- tion” signal, dash-dot-dash-dot-dash, two or three times as shown in Fig.6. Thisisa general signal which precedes transmission of radio messages, and is merely to catch the attention of the receiving operator. Hav- ing signaled attention, the call letters of the station desired are now formed three times in succession: KSW KSW KSW, as is also shown in Fig. 6. This part of the call serves to notify the operator at KSW that he is wanted by some other station. The next part of the call is the French word “de,” meaning from, which is immediately followed by the thrice repeated call letters of the sending station: KUR KUR KUR. At the close of this signature, which indicates the name of the station from which the call is sent out, the operator makes the finish signal, dot-dash-dot-dash- dot and then signals the letter ‘“K.” These two characters used in this way mean: ‘I have finished sending and will listen immediately. Please reply.” Answering the Call Signal The operator at the other station, upon hearing this call, realizes that KUR desires to open communication with him. There- fore he sends an acknowledgment of the call Popular Science Monthly . 449 signal and an invitation to transmit, in accordance with Fig. 7. This consists of the attention signal sent twice or three times, the signal letters of the calling station (KUR) sent three times, the word “de” (from), his own signal letters (KSW) three times, ‘“‘K”’ several times (meaning “go ahead’’), and the finish signal. The first operator, at KUR, then knows that the second station KSW is ready to receive the messages to be sent, and proceeds to transmit them. In the course of a message the sending operator occasionally makes a mistake; noting this, he at once stops 7 The usual wireless method of calling and signaling should be taken up in code practice sending and signals a question mark dot- dot-dash-dash-dot-dot, then repeats the previous word correctly and continues with his message. If a receiving operator fails to receive the entire message correctly, in his following period of sending he requests a repetition of the words missed. This is usually done by sending the last word received correctly and following it by several question marks (dot-dot-dash-dash- dot-dot) and the next word correctly received. If the receiving operator gets correctly everything sent to him, he signals “R”’ (meaning “Received Correctly”) sev- eral times at the beginning of his next period of transmission. Thus complete conversations are carried on and acknowl- edged or corrected. The detailed form of sending commercial messages is somewhat more complicated, but the simpler method just outlined will prove ample for practice work. The practice messages should at first be made up of words including only the letters of the first three groups of Fig. 2, in last month’s article. As soon as all of these letters are perfectly familiar and_ easily recognized when their Morse sounds are heard, the remainder of the alphabet may be memorized and worked into the code

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450 Popular Science Monthly and message practice, sending the words most used in army practice first, then others later as the operator becomes more pro- ficient. Careful Sending Is Essential In sending, strive always to make care- fully and accurately timed dots, dashes and spaces. Give particular attention to the length of spaces between letters and between words, as explained last month. The receiving operator will not be able to write down your letters correctly unless you form them correctly, and without careful sending many serious errors may result. In calling, for example, be sure not to run the call-signal letters together. Each time the call is sent, pause for a word-space before repeating it; otherwise instead of hearing three well separated groups of letters (KSW KSW KSW) the receiving operator will get a jumble of nine letters (KSW KSWKSW) and will not be able to tell whether your call is KWS, WSK or SKW. Similarly, keep the ‘‘de’’ well separated from the call letters themselves, and the “Attention” and ‘‘Finish”’ signals sharp and distinct. Beware especially of making the “Attention” signal sound like KA, or the “Finish” signal like AR, by introducing an extra dot space that should not be there at all. When copying messages sent from an- other station, even in the very beginning of practice, wait till a single letter is com- pleted and then write down that letter in script. Never write out the dots and dashes themselves; the letters should be transmitted to you sufficiently slowly, and with enough space between each pair of them, for you to write out the letters them- selves. As you become more and more skilled you will find it possible to carry an entire word or several words in your mind before writing them down. To do this, however, requires much practice and an excellent familiarity with the Morse code. The two-station practice method de- scribed in this article, according to which two students progress together, is far better than studying for Morse reading by the use of an automatic sending machine alone. The ideal method, however, combines the two. In the next article some further points to be considered in operating will be explained, together with an arrangement for combining several stations and an automatic sender on a practice buzzer telegraph line. of an old dry-cell.—E. F. JASPERS. Relieving the Strains on an Aerial Fastened to a Tree 6 | ‘HE amateur who has his aerials sys- pended between a house and a tree PULLEY Gu ee og ZG COSI A A tension spring in the holding rope of S an aerial to relieve strains on the wires HEAVY SPRING /, + \) SUM “~~ CHECK ROPE is often bothered by the breaking of the wires. This is usually caused by the tree swaying and pulling on the aerial. The sudden strain so exerted may be lessened by attach- ing a spring to the aerial rope as shown in the sketch. The spring stretches when the strain becomes greater than the wires will stand with safety. A check rope should be attached to the spring so that if the spring should accidently break the aerial will not fall—Pavut L. KEATING. An Inexpensive and Quickly Made Detector ERE is a detector that can be built in half an hour. It is simple to make and easily adjusted. Upon a base 3) in. square, mount two spring connectors on top of small blocks at the sides of the base, as shown. The spring connectors may be taken from an old dry-cell. A piece of cat-whisker wire—mandolin E string—is soldered to a small rod which is inserted in the loop of one of the spring connectors. The end of the rod is threaded and provided A detector made of scrap material mounted on a wood base with wire connections beneath with a small insulating handle. The other spring connector holds a piece of No. 14 copper wire, to which is soldered the cup oe Sp TS DET TNT ——- . 9 ie. t. 90 oe 20 he a ee ct

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i Sustained Wave Telegraphy Between the United States and Germany EFORE 1913 there was no direct means B of communication between Germany and the United States, except by submarine cables. The Allies cut these cables im- mediately war was declared. Between that time and our own break with Germany, communication was established by two of ‘ the most important pairs of wireless sta- tions ever known. And now that all active amateur and ¢ FIG.1 . Curve representing progressive values of the current generated by a radio alternator semi-professional work has been discon- tinued, this ought to be just the time for our friends to study the ‘“‘workings” of these great stations. The quenched singing spark systems, which were used for almost all radio work at the time these stations were erected, were first tried at Sayville, but proved entirely too feeble for the distance that had now to be covered, about 4000 miles. The sustained-wave system was therefore installed at Sayville, and it was found to be reasonably successful. Exceedingly high frequency sustained alternating cur- rents were used in all four stations. For generating these, the stations at Eilvese (Germany) and Tuckerton (New Jersey) used the Goldschmidt ‘‘reflection’’ system, while those at Nauen (Germany) and Sayville (Long Island) used the Arco-Joly “multiplication’”’ system. The secret of the success of sustained- wave telegraphy lies in the fact that high frequency alternating currents—that is, the currents which go through many changes in direction in a second—are better radi- ators of energy from the sending sta- tion, while they also enable the receiving instruments to respond more strongly. As an alternating current generator re- volves, the strength of the electromotive force it produces varies as shown in Fig. 1. The strength of the electromotive force first increases until it reaches its maximum » Popular Science Monthly 451 as shown by AB. It then decreases and finally becomes negative, reaching a maxi- mum negative value CD._ It then reduces to zero again and becomes positive in value once more. By greatly increasing the speed of the generator or by increasing its number of poles it is possible to increase greatly the number of times the electro- motive changes in direction per second, and in this way, to increase greatly the radiation efficiency of a station. However, due to the fact that a machine cannot easily be made sufficiently strong in the one case and that the electrical efficiency may be too greatly reduced in the other case, this simple machine method was not used for these high power stations. The transformer methods of Goldschmidt or of Joly were therefore adopted, rather than the radio frequency dynamo of Fessenden and Alexanderson, used so extensively be- fore the war. The Goldschmidt system depends on the phenomenon called “‘reflection.’’ That is, the currents set up in the rotating part of the alternator (the rotor) can be ‘‘reflected”’ back into the stationary part of an alterna- tor (the stator) so that the frequency of the original rotor current is increased to double the original. This can be made to take place by a suitable electrical connec- tion on the stator. Again, the induced current set up in this manner in the stator can be “reflected’”’ back into the rotor. The frequency of this new current last set up will be increased to three times the original frequency. Finally, on reflecting Goldschmidt “reflection” alternator for quad- rupling the frequency of the original current FIG.2 this once more into the stator, the resulting current frequency will be once more in- creased, and to four times the fundamental. This is the current that was used in the antenna.

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452 Alternating current is supplied by the generator G to the stator S of the Gold- schmidt alternator through the choke-coils A and the interrupting key K, as shown in Fig. 2. As the alternator is revolved by an auxiliary motor, the current set up in the rotor R is made very large by connecting the circuit DEF to the rotor so that the impedance, that is, the apparent resistance, to the current is made very small and the current made correspondingly “we FIG.3 One of the two frequency-doubling trans- formers of the Arco-Joly sending system large. The current is then reflected back into the stator as explained before, and the new current of double the original fre- quency is also provided with the tuned electrical path CL so that the impedance for it is also very small. Reflecting the current again into the rotor gives an- other current of three times the original frequency. This too is provided with a circuit of very small impedance, which allows the current to become comparatively large. The last reflection takes place from the rotor to the stator and it is this current that was used in the antenna. To accom- plish this, the antenna was connected to I and the ground was connected to J, as shown in the diagram; the loading coil B and the condenser C having been adjusted until the antenna was tuned to agree with the last reflected frequency. In this manner, currents which have the high frequency of 60,000—or 60,000 cycles of changes in direction per second—were readily obtained. The alternator was driven at a speed of nearly 10,000 revolu- tions per minute. The best results were found to be obtained on reflecting the cur- rents four successive times. Theoretically, there is no limit to the number of times they may be reflected, but practically on reflect- ing them more than four times, the electrical and magnetic losses become excessive. Popular Science Monthly The Arco-Joly system uses a number of separate transformers so constructed that the frequency of the initial current js doubled every time it goes through a transformer. The construction of the separate transformers is as shown in Fig. 3. The transformer has two independent cores and an auxiliary circuit K, K’ supplying a direct current, which is sufficiently large nearly to saturate both of them magnetical- ly. The initial current is supplied to the primaries P and P’ of the transformers by the alternator G and the curve represent- ing its strength is an ordinary sine curve as shown by ABCD in Fig. 4. The capacity C and the inductance L are made of such values that the impedance of the circuit CLP’P is very small. This causes the current in that circuit to become correspondingly large. On account of the manner in which the auxiliary winding K is connected, as the initial current passes through the stage shown by AB in Fig. 4, the increased magnetization of core N amounts to practically nothing. This is because the core is already saturated by the auxiliary direct current and also because the winding of P is such as to make it tend to add to the already saturated flux. In N’, however, due to the fact that winding K’ is in the reversed direction to that of K the current in P’ tends to decrease the total flux in the core N’. This can readily be done, and as the flux diminishes in strength, the change in flux induces an electromotive force in E F\/cG H ———— + ee FIG.4 Curve showing how the first transformer - makes the original current uni-directional the secondary winding S’. The result is the secondary current roughly represented by EF in Fig. 4. As the initial current reverses in direction, as shown by CD in the same illustration, it is evident that the phenomena in the core N and WN’ are

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——— eS. ll CF oe ae aw CO ee O™ SE nt he are enn reversed also, that is A the flux in core N is diminished and an electromotive force is induced in the secondary windings S, while the flux in core N’ remains practically the same and no E. M. F. is induced in the winding S’. Due now to the manner in which the secondaries are connected to- gether, the last induced E. M. F’. produces a current through the secondary circuit in the same direction as that produced by the first E. M. F., giving the current represented by GH. As this is repeated over and over again, many times in a second, the second- ary current obtained goes through twice as many cycles as the initial current and it is therefore of twice the frequency of the initial current. The new current is now led into an exactly similar transformer and its fre- quency is again doubled, giving a current which is now of a frequency four times that of the initial current. In the Arco- Joly system as used at Sayville, Long Island, the generator supplied a frequency of about 8,000 cycles per second, so that the frequency of the current supplied to the antenna was 32,000, which corresponded toa9,400 meter wavelength. The electrical and magnetic losses were kept down by making the cores of very thin iron sheets, which were insulated from each other, and by making the windings and connecting wires of separate strands, some 2,000 in number, two-hundredths of a millimeter in diameter, and each one insulated from the other. The power sent through the coils amounted to over a hundred horsepower, so that to keep them from burning up they were immersed in tanks of circulating oil. The generator itself was water cooled. Loading Coil in Series with the Secondary HEN a low resistance detector is used, it is a good plan to tune the secondary circuit by using a comparatively small inductance coil and a large condenser, for then the current flow is at maximum and the voltage is quite low. For high resist- ance detectors the reverse is true. In- creased efficiency with such detectors as the audion can frequently be secured by inserting a loading coil in series with the secondary, and correspondingly reducing the capacity of the tuning condenser. This applies the highest possible voltage to the grid. Popular Science Monthly 453 Double Set of Receivers to Amuse Visitors . | ‘HE amateur who is continually having visitors will find two sets of binding posts for the telephones very handy. These can be best placed one pair at each TWO POINT SWITCH TO RECEIVER Two pairs of binding posts on each side of the receiving set for an extra telephone side of the receiving set. A two-point wood base switch, connected as shown in the illustration, will short-circuit either pair of telephones or leave both in cir- cuit—Harry N. BLIss. A High Voltage Lead-In Insulator Tube HE leading-in insulator described is cheap and effective, and will withstand the voltage of an ordinary 2 kw. trans- mitter. It is made from a hard rubber or composition telephone-receiver shell and two water-gage tubes. A 2 by \%-in. brass bolt is run through the cord-hole in the receiver-shell, after having soldered to its head some twenty strands of No. 20 or 22 copper wire, long enough to reach through the gage-glasses. The tubes are placed one over the other and % water gage glass Ye water gage glass = Should clear e'tos”, Le i Two water glass gages carrying a high voltage lead-in wire run through a wall the wires run through; then the glasses are cast into the receiver-shell with sealing wax. A hole is drilled through the wall and the tubes slipped through and fastened with friction-tape. The water glass tubes are long enough to receive the rubber part of a telephone receiver on the inside for ap- pearance.—D. R. SIMMONS.

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454 Making Your Window Tappers Tap Intermittently S a contrivance for attracting atten- tion to window displays, the electric window tapper has lost some of its former value, simply because people have become so Popular Science Monthly sing the attention of the passing crowds. In the drawing below the two contact wires B are shown mounted on the corner screws of the clock frame. To do this it is first necessary to envelop the heads of the screws and a small part of their length with short bits of rubber tub- ing. The contact wires used to its buzzing sound =| Qaat_ sont Putt oF on the glass that they will F cae not stop to look. The de- j vice can be restored to its former usefulness, hOw- _ | pus eno of contact WIRE FASTENS TO = ever, by a very simple ex- pedient. Secure an or- dinary clock and around a spoke on one of its gear- wheels twist a piece of wire in such a way that LEAD FROM BELL «= SN \ BATTERY CONTACT 'B~ | GROUNDED 10, 4 CLOCK FRAME |, x are twisted tight to this rubber tubing, the latter thus insulating them from the screws. If the con- w tact wires were not insu- lated in this way they would make direct con- nection through the clock frame to the wire at- tached to its bottom post and thus keep the tappers the loose ends project out- ward from the face of the wheel and form a pin A. This pin can be made to engage two or more contact wires at every revolution of the wheel. Thus an automatic circuit breaker is formed. This circuit-breaker, when introduced into the wiring of the window tapper in the manner shown in the illustration, will cause the tapper to buzz at intermittent, and to an observer going past the window, unexpected intervals. Two or more tappers, as the illustration shows, can be attached to the same circuit breaker, simply by mounting the corre- sponding number of contact wires in such position that the pin on the gearwheel can touch them in its revolving. The tappers, when placed in unexpected parts of the window, rarely fail to make a marked im- pression on a passer-by. As can be ob- served by studying the wiring, the pin on the gearwheel in revolving connects with first one of the contact wires, then the other. This causes. the two tappers to buzz alternately, and for a short time only, in- stead of steadily, as is ordinarily the case. To a passer-by, the resulting sounds are as if a Hallowe’en “‘tick-tack”” had suddenly gone off, and he stops to see what caused the commotion. By that time, however, the sound has ceased. But just as he is about to move on, the other tapper comes into action in some other quarter of the window with its own “tick-tack’’—this due to the fact that the pin on the clock wheel has in the interval proceeded far enough to engage the other contact wire. Again the passer-by halts. In such manner making an Wiring diagram to an old clock for intermittent current the contrivance works all day long, focus- buzzing steadily—which is not desired. The only precaution necessary in erecting this apparatus is to see that the contact wires are insulated from the frame of the clock.—Lioyp E. DARLING. A Vibrating Ticker Interrupter Made Out of a Buzzer BUZZER, modified as shown in the illustration, may be used as a ‘‘ticker” or ‘“‘chopper”’ for receiving undamped wire- less waves, or as an independent interrupter TO BE CONNECTED IN SERIES WITH PRIMARY OF COM OR IN SECONDARY CIRCUIT OF RECEIVING SET =, | SILVER CONTACTS cai § att! | SUB BASE © © ‘ant Two vibrators or buzzers may be combined to give a multiplied vibration frequency for small spark-coils. The instrument can be constructed from one or two ordinary buzzers (depending on the frequency re- quired). When it is to be used as an inter- rupter it should be fitted with large contacts and a suitable condenser.—WERNER STAAF.

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Dust Proofing the Priming Cup on Automobile Engines S motorists well know, the presence of small particles of grit and dust in the cylinders of an automobile motor causes much trouble. Unfortunately most prim- ing cups are the source of this trouble. They collect dust which is washed into the cylinder when priming the motor. Here- with is shown a cup designed to prevent such trouble. It consists of a brass body A threaded on the end so that it can be screwed into the cylin- der. Just below the small tapped hole in the body is a conical seat for the needle- valve C, which is made of steel. The upper end of the needle-valve is riveted into the cap B, which is knurled on the outside so as to present a good gripping surface. The needle-valve is seated by screwing down on the knurled cap.—W. Burr BENNETT. Cap for the cup with needle-valve Proper Care of Inner Tubes to Prevent Chafing F tire users better understood the con- struction of inner tubes, and factors which contribute to their wearing out, it would be easy to secure more and better service. Spare tubes should not be carried in the cardboard boxes furnished from the dealers’ shelves. There is much danger of their being chafed. Tube bags can be secured for this purpose. If the car is equipped with smaller tires on the front wheels than on the rear wheels, an extra tube should be secured for each size. The cross-sections of inner tubes are made a little smaller than the normal air E> _—_—SSSSSSSSSSSEEE SS EEE i FOR PRACTICAL -ber, with bad results. 455 space inside of the cases. It is not advis- able to use a 414-in. tube in a 4-in. case. This usually wrinkles and creases the rub- Do not use a 4-in. tube in a 4)4-in. case for any length of time. When this is done the rubber is stretched too much and the effect of heat and displacement of air in the tire quickly uses up the life of the tube. If put into usage for which it was not designed, the tube will not, as a usual thing, render efficient service. If it were practical to use one size of tube in another size of case, tire manufacturers could effect a big saving in equipment and furnish only a few sizes of tubes. Lubrication is most important to con- servation of the tube, but it is a matter that is given the least attention. Practically all tire manufacturers treat the inside of cases with a white solution to prevent tubes from sticking to the adhesive ‘“‘fric- tion” of the fabric. A good lubricant, however, should also be used. Some tire users neglect dusting soap- stone inside of the case when changing a tube. Others use the soapstone so sparingly that it does but little, if any good, or they may use so much that it does more harm than good. If a quantity of it be dumped into the case it will collect at one point, and during the hot weather will heat up to such extent as to burn the rubber of the tube, making it thin, brittle and lifeless. This results in a honeycombed appearance. Soapstone is the lubricant most used for tires and is satisfactory, but not lasting. Therefore, a fresh supply should be put in the tires at least two or three times during the season. Powdered mica has proven a more durable lubricant than soapstone, and quite as effective as graphite, and is much more pleasant to handle. It should be dusted on the fabric all around the case and on the inner tube to cover every par- ticle of the surface.

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TT Ta ee ee eee ee HEN the cold days of early winter set in the army boys on the Border began devising ways and means of heating water for the bath. In many camps differ- ent devices were to be seen, but gion the one that ap- pealed to me most was a bar- rel used as a tank, with a coil of pipe connected with it for a water heater. The barrel was placed on a table to make its lower end considerably above the fur- nace top. A pipe was led from the bottom of the barrel down to a tee joint, then horizon- tally to the end of the furnace, where another tee was used to make connections for the coil in the furnace fireplace. The opposite end of the pipe-coil was connected with the pipe system from the top end of a range boiler set on another small table to bring its lower end above the fireplace coil. The barrel supplied the water to the tank as it was drawn out through the faucet. The furnace in this case was the incinerator, which was kept burning at all times. Con- sequently there was hot water ready for shaving and washing, as long as the barrel was kept filled. This is a simple way of solving a hard problem and can be readily adapted for use in small camps.—GEORGE M. PETERSEN. wetting The Right Meaning of the Term Reaming VERY machinist knows what it is to be asked to ‘‘ream” out a hole a little larger,—‘“‘little’’ varying from a_ few thousandths of an inch to % in. As a matter of fact the lay public knows very little about reaming. The truth is this: Holes for reaming are drilled from .003 to 1/64 in. smaller than the final size. Thena reamer is used to bring the hole up to the exact size, round and true, which cannot be obtained with a drill alone. More than this amount cannot be taken out with any . FROM COIL TO BOILER = ete ae A range boiler and a barrel with pipe connections for heating water from an incinerator fire to supply hot water for baths 456 Popular Science Monthly Bath Water Supply System for an Army Camp ordinary reamer for metal. Not only is this true, but the construction of a reamer prohibits it from even starting in a hole any smaller, as the end is only 1/64 in. smaller than the final size. Reamers do not cut oversize. Thus, if a hole is reamed to 34 in. and a shaft is _— tight in it, the : opening cannot be enlarged a tri- fle, or ‘reamed out a little so that the shaft is ==. _._ loose.” Stock reamersare made — in sizes varying “* by sixteenths, 7 Any size between aa must be made to order. Expansion reamers are not made in sizes un- der 3% in. The reason for this construction is to allow the teeth to be sharpened and “‘set out” again to the original size. They are seldom found in small shops and do not enter into the case in the every day re- quest to ‘‘ream it out a little.” Remember a hole can be enlarged not more than 1/64 in. by a reamer and not even that much unless the hole happens to be that 1/64-in. under a standard size in sixteenths. A Handy Method of Sending Small Coin by Mail SAFE and handy method of inclosing small coins in letters, if you do not happen to have the regular coin holder at hand, is to use a piece of corrugated cardboard, such as may be found in discarded wrappings, egg-boxes, etc. Simply cut a slit in one side of thecorrugated board, push the coin in and press it down flat. Be sure to write on the outside of the cardboard, “Coin in here”’ or ‘Money in- side the card,” so that the re- ceiver can readily find the coin between the sides.—ALBERT B. WEGENER. Corrugated board Slitting a corrugated board to hold coin UNIT iI er ‘ ‘

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HE enjoyment of that “‘did it myself” feeling, quite as much as economic reasons, impels the automobile owner to paint or refinish his own car. The time- saving, ready-mixed preparations—full di- rections on each package—now in the market, will aid him greatly. By purchas- ing advertised materials, put up by reliable manufacturers, he can, if he follows the directions carefully, look forward to a satisfactory termination of the work. A few coats of material carefully put on and allowed to dry out thoroughly will look better and give better wear than a dozen coatings carelessly applied. If the car is in such bad shape that all the old coatings must be removed down to the wood or metal, procure a can of paint remover, and use as directed. After all the old coatings are removed, wash the car with gasoline to remove all traces of the paint remover, then smooth the surface with No. 0 sandpaper, and clean out all rust spots, cracks and depressions with emery or sandpaper. Dust off and apply the priming-coat and proceed as in re- finishing. Presuming that the car is to be finished in black, which is the safest, and at the present time the most popular, purchase the following materials: 1—1 Ib. can of coach black-ground in Japan I—1 lb. can of white lead 1 can of (black) color and varnish, mixed 1 tube of oil color for lettering and striping I quart of turpentine ¥ pint linseed oil ¥ pint Japan drier I quart rubbing varnish I quart finishing varnish ¥ |b. ground pumice stone I putty knife I felt rubbing pad, made from old felt hat I can patent crack filler Y% |b. whiting W% doz. sheets No. 0 sandpaper for rough work ¥% doz. sheets No. 00 sandpaper for fine work 1—2\-in. flat brush for color Painting the Automobile 457 fr. By James M.Kane 1—%4 or 14-in. flat brush for color I—214-in. flat, chisel shape, varnish brush 1—%4 or 14-in., chisel shape, varnish brush I or 2 camel’s hair stripers—fine I camel’s hair, or sable lettering brush, small The large brushes are for the board surfaces, and the small brushes for the edges, moldings, etc. The whiting and Japan drier will be necessary to make hard putty, but unless the depressions are deep, use the patent crack-filler exclusively. Add enough black color to the putty so that it will match the gray color of the priming coat. Putty is made of whiting, raw linseed oil and Japan. A good putty can be made of dry white lead mixed in equal quantities of coach Japan and rubbing varnish, which is reduced with turpentine if necessary. Whiting is designated in the list of materials, but if the last mentioned recipe is used a small quantity of dry white lead can be used instead of whiting. Tell your dealer what you want the materials for. He may be able to give you some valuable information regarding new preparations. Painting Room Select a clean, well lighted place in which to paint the car. A room that can be heated, if necessary, is best. Jack the car up on 4 strong boxes or trestles. Arrange them far enough away from the wheels to give you room to work on the inner sices of wheels. Do not remove the wheels as the bearings may drop out, and they are hard to replace. Wash off all the mud you can with a lkeose. Scrape off all greasy mud and grease, with a scraper or putty knife. Take a stiff brush, dip it in gasoline, and loosen up what remains in the crevices and on the surface. Clean out the brush and give a final scrubbing with clean gasoline to re- move all traces of grease and greasy mud.

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7 A H ’ SPAS gin iy ON 458 Popular Science Monthly A sponge saturated with clean gasoline will be handy in the work. For your priming coat, mix the white lead with turpentine, adding a little oil and Japan drier. Add enough of the coach black to color it a dark gray. Apply this evenly to the surface, dusting it off first, just before painting. When this coat is thoroughly dry, fill up the cracks and depressions with the crack filler, or putty, allowing the filler to project a trifle above the surface, as this permits the filling to be cut down level with the painted surface. Now smooth the surface all over carefully with No. 00 sandpaper. Some painters use the crack-filler mentioned as another coat painted all over the surface. Then it is smoothed with sandpaper. This is easily accomplished because of its hard drying qualities. Black Color Coat Mix up some of the flat-black with turpen- tine, adding a little oil to act as a binder. Do not add any Japan drier. Apply a smooth, even coat of HORIZONTAL STROKE ie During the progress of the work you may notice that the surface is slightly unlevel here and there, but as coat after coat is applied and rubbed down, these places will gradually come up to the level, and when the finishing varnish is applied the surface will be smooth and glistening; that is, if the work has been done carefully and plenty of time given each coat to dry before resuming the work on it. Sandpapering Sandpapering must not be attempted if the surface is not thoroughly dry. The loosened material should fly off like dust during the operation. If it clings to the sandpaper in spots and cakes, the surface has not dried out. Give it a day or more to dry out before going at it again. The same advice holds good for the rubbing down with the pumice. No dust will fly, as the pad must be kept wet, but the surface should be just as hard as for sand- papering. Dur- this, and let it _— dry. After this, lay on a coat of black color and rubbing varnish mixed. Use the ready mixed article, rather than your own mixture of black coach color, rubbing varnish and a little turpentine. When the color and varnish coat is dry, rub it down even with pumice stone and felt pad. Do not use sand- paper, as the succeeding rubbings are to be done with the pumice stone. Wet the felt pad, dip it in the for pumice and shake off the surplus powder; then go over the work with an even circular motion on the large spaces. Rub in straight lines along the edges of the doors, panels and on the mold- ing. When the surface is cut down evenly, wash off the pumice, dry, and apply a coat of clear rubbing varnish. Let this dry and then rub down with pumice stone as befores Wash the surface thoroughly and when dry, put on the striping and letters. A carmine, or dark red stripe looks well on a black sur- face. The object of all this rubbing down is to secure a perfectly even surface before applying coat of finishing varnish. holdingbrush : : . striping | This stripe should follow the lines dain ing the pumic- ing, wash off the surface with a wet sponge to remove the abraded ma- terial, as well as to see how the work is proceeding. Striping adds a distinctive ap- pearance to any car, but its applica- tion requires the skill, the accurate eye and steady hand of the expert. Poor striping is an irritant to the eye. The proper and only stripe on a pleasure car is a thin, hair-line 4 or % in. away from the edges or moldings of doors and panels. of the doors and panels. Some- times the curves of the mudguards, and those of the hood are also striped in the same way. All automobile wheels are not striped alike. Examine the striping on various wheels and follow the style that pleases you best. Actually, the stripe is a contour line—sectional or continuous. To stripe, take a clean, flat piece of glass or tin, place a small quantity of the tube color upon it and thin to working consis- tency with a little turpentine. Then take the striper and draw it through the color to load it. Draw it toward you several times an the clean surface of the glass or tin,

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so as to wipe off the excess color. In doing this you will notice just when there is enough color in the brush to make a stripe of even density. If the brush is too full, the stripe will thicken and spread at the edges. Take the brush between the thumb and forefinger, with the thumb uppermost. Now place the point of the brush on the exact spot where your stripe starts, and with the fingers resting lightly against some convenient parallel surface, draw the hand backward with a quick easy move- ment, to produce the stripe. The fingers act as a gage and a movable rest. Don’t make the stripe in short, jerky sections, or it will look patchy. Make it in one, quick, uniform stroke. If there were no curves to be turned, the amateur striper might do a passable job with a fine sable, or camel’s hair brush and a straight edge, having a padded projection at each end of the straight edge to raise it off the surface of the car. But since the curves on an auto are numerous the striping had best be omitted, since faulty work will surely take all the shine off an otherwise well finished piece of painting. Lettering Put on the initial letters about 1 in. high, with the same tube color you have used in striping; or you can vary the color if you wish the letters to contrast more or less. The sinall-sized letters, like the )4-in. size, seem to be much preferred to those of greater height. Outlines of letters, or monograms may be transferred to the surface as follows: After having drawn or traced the letters, or monogram, on a clean sheet of paper, in the precise shape you wish them to appear on the door or panel, rub the reverse side of the sheet with a piece of chalk, dusting off the excess chalk. Place the paper on the Popular Science Monthly 459 proper spot and holding it firmly, go over the lines of the letters, or monogram with a pencil point, or a pointed piece of wood. Upon removing the paper, the letters will be seen in white chalk lines wherever your pencil point has pressed upon the paper. Before transferring the letters, cut the paper to a convenient size so that it can be handled easily. Also draw two lines at right angles upon it for the purpose of centering on a chalk dot you have placed on the door, or panel. Be sure you have gone carefully over all the lines of the letters before removing the paper. By holding the paper firmly in position, you can turn up the edges and see whether you have missed a line or a letter. Do not bother about cleaning off any chalk-marks until the letters are dry. These marks can be easily sponged off before varnishing. If you cannot turn neat curves in letter- ing, do not attempt letters of the curved type. Rule the letters up as though you were forming them with a pen and ruler. If you happen to draw an incorrect line either in striping or lettering, wipe it out quickly with a lump of absorbent cotton slightly damped with turpentine. Dry with a clean piece of cotton, and be more painstaking in replacing the line or letter correctly. If the line be difficult to erase because of its being close to other lines, do not use the lump of cotton, for fear of blurring or smudging the correct lines. Take a piece of soft pine the length and thickness of a lead pencil. Whittle both its ends into pencil-like points, nicking them on their sides so as to raise a little of the wood. These nicks will prevent the cotton from slipping off. Wrap a clean piece of cotton around each end, forming each piece into a blunt, pencil-like point. Use one end of this eraser, dampened with turpentine for removing faulty lines or spots. Use the REST FOR T¥PE LESS. OF CURVE- CENTR CErteR ERING LETT E LINES ON TRANSEER PAPER a [_) C a PD i Ge See A straight edge with padded ends is used curveless letter for initials and erasers are made of nicked sticks and cotton covered ends for guiding the striping brush. Forms of a

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Se ern ans > Leeann aes toe I Fee eet ee = A EK DMT GL TO EY IE LE REIN LO LN TN GT EE 460 Popular Science M onthly other end dry for finishing the erasure. Use a clean piece of cotton each time you —_ occasion to remove any paint. Varnish is not applied merely for the purpose of securing a highly polished surface, but also as a protection to the underlying coats of color. Have your paint shop clean before you start varnishing. Allow no open doors, or cracks to conduct a dust laden current of air against the that has run or shows a tendency to gather thickly at the edges of the panels, etc. Never miss any spot, however small. If you do, you will just naturally try to patch it, (after the rest of the surface has set) and botch the whole job. In varnishing the wheels, be careful to keep the varnish from running down the spokes and settling thickly between them where they enter the hub. After varnishing the rim, spin the freshly varnished surface. Let the heat of the shop and that of the varnish be the same, say about 70 degrees. Never have it cold. After having dusted off the car take the large var- nish brush (2% in.) and put the varnish on, but not too thick. Do not fill your brush so heavily that the var- nish will run down the handle while you are working. Just put enough paint on the brush to go over the space easily, and never work. all the varnish out of the brush before taking up a fresh brushful. Do not tickle the surface with short strokes; but brush easily from one side to the other, and then up and down. This is called cross-brushing, and gives uniform depth to the coat, which is just what you want to secure. For all surfaces that can- not be conveniently coated with the big brush, use the 34-in. brush. Varnish the moldings or raised portions around the panels the same way in which they run; that is, follow their lines along or around the surfaces they enclose. You can run across them with the big brush, but always finish with the small brush in the way described. Always finish one section first, if possible. Take a door or a panel and complete it before going on to the next one. Pick out the small areas first and by the time you tackle a big stretch you will have more confidence to handle it. As you go along, take up any varnish Putting on the initials of the owner’s name in the center of the front automobile door wheel easily, holding the brush lightly against it to smal out and join the laps on the rim. Finish the hub in the same manner. When the job looks right, surfaces evenly covered, no thick places at the edges, and all places coated, put your brush away and leave the car alone. Stand the hood cover on its edge so that the dropping dust will not fall on it. Lay a board sup- ported on two tres- tles over the mud-: guards for the same purpose, or use an adjustable shield. Allow plenty of time for the last coat of varnish to dry. Let it stand for two or three days at least. When thoroughly dry, wash it with clean, cold water, dry with a soft chamois and the car is ready for use. You may possibly have some trouble in mixing your priming coat. Better mix it a day or two before you begin work. This will give you a chance to try it on the sur- face, for drying and hardening qualities. Don’t get it thick. It may need a little more Japan to harden it or turpentine to thin it out, but it will not require any additional oil. Keep it in a tightly topped can, and it will be all right when needed. Good coach putty should dry hard, and stand sandpapering without scaling or softening. One authority suggests a putty composed of 3 parts whiting and raw lin- seed oil mixed with 1 part white lead. A little Japan should be added to harden it. This putty must be stiff and well worked up. Another prescription calls for a mix-

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ture of dry white-lead mixed with varnish, Japan being added as a hardener. The safest plan is to buy all the materials ready mixed—if possible. Clean the paint brushes in gasoline and the varnish brushes in clean turpentine. Wash out with warm water and soap, and they will be in good shape no matter how long they are laid away. Fastening Nails So They May Be Quickly Withdrawn HEN nailing a box, such as a form for cement where it is necessary that the contents should not be marred or injured, ut under each nail-head a small piece of lath or other bit of wood. When removing the nails split away the small piece of wood and enough of the nail head will be exposed for easy drawing.—LINDALL WILLIAMS. An Emergency Wire Stretcher for Repairing a Fence FTER turning the cows into a field I happened to find a broken place in the fence and I did not have the time to go for a stretcher at the other end of the farm. Finding a hickory stick in the wood pile I sawed off a piece about 3 ft. long for the handle. I could not take the time to prepare a fire for heating an iron so I flattened the end of a 4-in. bolt and drove it in one end of the stick, then beat the head to make it rough like teeth. Several inches from the end I fastened a short length of chain and a hook taken from a singletree. The hook was bent The bolt end of the homemade lever is placed on the post for stretching a fence wire so that the barbs on the wire could not slip through. When barbed wire becomes slack it can be tightened by catching it between the claws of a hammer and making a series of kinks. These kinks should not be too short to weaken the wire.—J. L. PinKsTON. Popular Science Monthly | 461 A Bubbling Drinking Fountain with Icing Reservoir HE bubbling fountain shown in the illustration was made by a workman in a large institution at a cost of $8.75 for the material, to replace an expensive one that had become use- less. The body is made square of heavy gal- vanized iron. There are two boxes of the size shown, the space be- tween them being filled with pow- ) dered asbes- R! tos. An or- = ih ina dinary bub- LD I | bling cup A . with its valve is con- nected with the upper part of the water reservoir B. The pipes, C and D, are the ordinary 1 in. galvanized kind. The supply comes through the pipe D where it enters a 2-in. galvanized pipe B used for the reservoir. A key tap is placed in the line D for regulating the flow. A waste pipe F is attached, as shown, to keep the cup C free from water. The cover G can be lifted and enough ice put in to last from 5 to 7 days, according to the quantity of water used. A small drip between the boxes is shown at H, while the waste to the sewer is shown at J. The tank is elevated on four blocks for air to pass below it.— JaMEs E. NoBLe. 42" E Ice-water tank with bub- bling fountain attached A Hat Hook or Holder Made of a Lead Pencil F you can’t find ahook to hang your hat on and wish to furnish some amusement quickly take an ordinary pencil, find a smooth board surface, and place the pencil flatly against the surface, holding it length- wise. Briskly rub it up and down for a few times and it will immediately adhere without any danger of falling off. -A hat can be hung on it providing the headgear is not too heavy. The “impromptu hook”’ will remain in this position until removed. —CLARENCE T. HUBBARD.

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462 Popular Scrence Monthly A Tie for a Shoe Lace That Will Stay Tied T is not always the large things that annoy us most as a persistent vexation. By this is meant that when some important thing annoys us, we immediately set about correcting the trouble, but a small thing— too trifling to bother with— will worry us repeatedly and we give it no at- tention. A very good example of this petty an- noyance is shoe laces. Many times a day do we see people stop by the way- side and tie their shoe laces. Es- pecially is this true with new laces. One extra turn of the lace about the first loop made will produce a secure fastening even if not drawn absolutely tight. The ordinary bow-knot used to fasten shoe laces is shown in Fig. 1. The string A is given one turn about the string B at C, before the loop of string A is passed through. By making two wraps as shown in Fig. 2, at D, before passing the loop in string A through, a fastening is made that will not slip or shake loose. It is so simple that it is strange that you have never found it out before, but it does the trick and holds tightly —GEo. S. Brown.

Two turns in shoe lace tie will hold it tightly

Keeping the Strands of a Rope End from Unraveling HE three strands of the rope are separated as shown at 4, then the strand marked I is turned over between 2 and 3, then 2 is turned over on I and between the base of 1 and 3, as in B. The end of the strand 3 is then run through the loop of I as in C and drawn up tightly asin D. The strands are then cut off close to the knot.—TupDoR JENKS.

ends are tied into a knot apparatus for moving picture films, which Saving Chemicals by Machine Development of Film HE amateur who undertakes to de- velop his own moving picture films finds many difficulties, which, to say the least, are discouraging. The films are long and unwieldy unless wound on drums or racks, nor can they be handled after being wet. If the drum system is used the space required for operation is prohibitively large for most amateurs. If the tank process is used there must be at least three tanks, one each for the developing, fixing and washing

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The upright and its attachments for driving moving picture film through the chemicals solutions; and the space necessary for their installations, as well as the cost of the tanks themselves, puts it beyond the reach of the amateur at home. In addition to the space required for the tank system, about 35 gal. of developer will be necessary to fill a tank that will handle 200 ft. of film. At the present price of chemicals this would cost about $20, and as it deteriorates rapidly whether it is used or not the development is rather expensive for a single film. The experimental engineer for a moving picture concern in the west was forced by the limited size of his laboratory to install a developing, fixing, washing and drying

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is simple, efficient, inexpensive and small. A small commercial house could, in some cases, use the plan to advantage. The - outfit can be placed on the wall of the dark room in an unused corner. Made in — re Ist This method of development economizes in chemicals, as a very small quantity is required approximately the dimensions shown, which may be varied to suit the conditions, it will accommodate from 10 to 100 ft. of film and it will use less than 1 quart of developer per 100 ft. of film. The film to be developed is wound around the rollers as if it were a belt, with the emulsion side out. The upper bracket carrying one of the multiple rollers is adjustable for different lengths of film, so that the single idler will serve to compensate for the slight variation in the film length during developing and drying. When ad- justed properly the ends of the film are spliced together, thus making a continuous belt. The upper set of rollers consists of a flanged stick on a shaft equipped with a grooved pulley so arranged that it can be belted to a motor or, in the absence of a motor, to another wheel placed con- veniently and fixed in a way to enable the operator to run the apparatus by hand. The developing pan or tray is preferably an enameled baking pan which can be partially filled with either developer, water or hypo solution and raised underneath the bottom set of rollers so as to immerse the running film into the several liquids as desired. The film can be stopped and examined at any time and the solutions changed in a few moments, especially if the Popular Science Monthly 463 operator has a pan for each solution. After development, fixing and washing, the film may be quickly dried by running it over the rollers while the air from a fan is turned on it, provided the room is free from dust, which is essential for all the work. In setting the apparatus for any length of film it can be marked on a scale for future use, or by the use of a tape line the device can be calibrated and marked so the rollers may be set at once and properly for any length of film. The entire apparatus should be painted with paraffin dissolved in gasoline to prevent the wood from wetting and swelling, and to prevent the absorption of fluids by the unprotected parts of the frame.—T. B. LAMBERT. A Driver to Turn Studs in Aluminum Castings ETAL workers who attempt to put studs into aluminum castings usually do the job with tools not intended for the work. A very handy tool may be made for this work, as shown in the illustration. It will be necessary to have a set of these tools, one for each size stud used. The stud is screwed into the tool as far as it is necessary; then the center piece is screwed down tight upon it to hold the stud in place. The stud may be driven tight intothe casting and the center piece loosened; then the tool may be turned off from the stud with perfect ease, leaving the stud set. The shank of the tool is made of hexagon stock and the center piece of 34-in. round ma- chine steel—THERON L. WINCHIP. A driver to turn studs in aluminum A Lasting Paint for Covering a Heated Surface GOOD black, heat-resisting paint for the front of a locomotive, or other place subject to heat, can be made in the following manner: Shave 6 pounds of brown soap and melt it in water, then add more water to make it up to12 gal. Mixin 18 gal. of Japan oil, then stir in 80 lb. of the best graphite. This will make about 35 gal. of paint. Stir the mass well and apply while the object is not too hot.

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464 Popular Science Monthly Keeping Vise Jaws Open with a Coil Spring VERY mechanic knows what it is to work with an old vise where the screw and nut are so badly worn that it becomes necessary to back the movable jaw farther than necessary when inserting the work. The trouble caused by this back lash can be eliminated by thespringshown in the illustra- tion. The spring A is in- serted between the two jaws and kept in place by two plugs B, which are driven into holes drilled in the jaws. It is evident that, as the handle is turned back- ward, the movable jaw will follow because of the spring pressure, thus eliminating all loss of motion. There is only one objection to this; that is, it fills up the space between the jaws. When necessary the spring may be easily removed.—W. BurR BENNETT. Spring in vise jaws to hold them apart Making Large Fly Traps for Packing Houses ETTING rid of flies in packing houses is one of the problems which has engaged the attention of the Bureau of Entomology in cooperation with the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture. An extensive investigation of the various types of fly traps used at the establishments where Federal meat inspection is main- tained has been made. While there has been much varia- tion in the effective- ness of different types of traps, it has been found that the conical trap is most efficient. One type of mechanical trap has been found par- ticularly effective. This trap is 24 in. high, 18 in. in diameter with a cone 22 in. high, by 18 in. in diameter at the base. The frame is constructed of four hoops. Two of these hoops 18 in. in diameter are A cone within a cylin- der, both of screen wire nailed together. of the frame and the other two the top. The top of the trap may be made of an ordinary barrel end, with the bevel edge trimmed off so that the head will fit closely in the hoops. A 1Io0-in. square is cut out of the center of the top to form a door, the portions of the top being held together by I-in. strips placed around the opening ¥ in. from the edge, to form a jamb for the _ door. The door is a narrow frame covered with a screen well fitted to the trap. The top is then nailed to the upper hoops. The outer part of the trap is formed by fastening fine mesh galvanized screen wire to the outside of the hoops. Four light strips are tacked to the hoops on the outside of the trap to act as supports between top and bottom hoops, and the “7, 229¢56 ze\9 PYETIT. | Laying out a pattern, with an ordinary car- penter’s square, for cutting the cone wire mesh ends are allowed to project at the bottom to form legs. The cone is cut from the screen wire and may be either sewed with wire or soldered where the edges meet. The top of the cone is cut off to give an opening I in. in diameter. The cone is then inserted in the trap and tacked to the hoop around the base. The fly trap is now complete. In constructing the cone it is best to cut a pattern from a piece of heavy paper. An ordinary square is placed on the ma- terial from which the pattern is cut. A distance equal to the height of the cone is laid off on one leg of the square and a distance equal to one-half the diameter of the base of the cone is laid on the other leg. A line is then drawn between the two points A—B. In order to figure the distance around the base of a cone of any given diameter, multiply the diameter by 3.1416, or 3 1/7. Cut out the pattern on the curved line from C to D and on the dotted lines from A to C and A to D. They form the bottom

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Some Short Cuts to Hasten Work in Sign Painting HE prime factor in getting out sign T work is speed. The expert who is not speedy is not in it. His work may not be perfect, but this is not so much con- sidered if he can hustle it out. There is great competition in this art, or business, and I have known of one of the finest and oldest established shops going under be- Fig. 1. A scale sketch of letters to be made one foot or more in height from original cause it could not attain the quick gait. Nor could it come down to doing such work as present day requirements demand. All. this being true, it is surprising that so many will take the longest and most laborious way of doing certain kinds of sign work, that can be done in a far better way. Some think that the expert sign painter has merely to take a survey of the job before him and form in his mind’s eye the whole lay-out, without bothering with calculations or measurements. It is doubt- ful if any sign painter now living could do this. It is perfectly proper to train the eye for this work, for that will enable the work- man often to do certain work without taking time to measure or lay it off ac- curately. A large portion of sign work is done in this way. But he should not rely too much upon the eye alone. For certain large sign work, the ‘‘scale sketch” is the thing. It enables one to get all the letters right as to form and space; otherwise there would be some trouble at the end of a line, —” Fig. 2. Dividing lines in which an enlarged layout can be made by measurement say, where letters would either have to be cramped or extended. Perhaps the most convenient scale is that of 1 in. to 1 ft., giving eight eighths of 1 in., thus representing 1 ft. or I2 in. In Fig. 1 is shown a 12-in. letter in this scale. With this scale you get the Popular Science Monthly 465 proper widths of both vertical and hori- zontal strokes, and this will be found a great advantage when the lettering is from 2 to 5 ft. in height. The scale sketch is particularly useful when the sign work is high above the ground, and must be done from a scaffold or ladder; still more especially where the lettering takes a line so long that the swing stage must be moved once or more. Or when done from a ladder which must be moved several times. You simply take the sketch up with you, and set out the letters. Of course, the surface that is to be lettered must be measured and laid off in spaces the size the letters are to be when finished. Then it is simply a matter of reproducing the letters from the scale sketch to the wall. And with two or more copies, two or more painters can work on the letters, each with a certain part of the work todo. Or the workman may begin at the end, or in the middle, anywhere, sure that the work will be perfect. This laying out of a sign at an altitude may be done where possible by counting the rows of bricks, four to the foot, or if there are’ no bricks, the width of the sign can be had by measuring along the base Fig. 3. Large elliptical curves may! be drawn by angular lines, then drawn in freehand ‘of the building, this for making the scale sketch. The width may be laid off on the wall with the rule. The illustration Fig. 2 is not drawn to a scale, but is intended to show, by its dividing lines, how a man working from a ladder could set out and paint in the letters as he goes along, always measuring from the last upright on the sketch. Get the dimensions as previously suggested, from the ground, etc. The upright lines serve as a guide and the lettering is fancy, not standard. This is a very easy and quick method of lettering, and gives a good appearing sign, too. Large sweeps or elliptical curves are dif- ficult to form from ladder or stage. An easy way to form such sweeps, as they are called by the workmen, is shown in Fig. 3. The sketch explains itself very clearly.

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SE | SSM AGAIN SNE APES Mess see eg ae 466 Popular Science Monthly First draw the angular lines, and then with chalk or charcoal draw the sweep freehand. The angular or straight lines serve as a guide. Another illustration (Fig. 4) is of the Fig. 4. A pair of wood dividers are used to make sweep after drawing the angular lines same method, but in this latter case the wooden dividers, which are very large and made for the sign painter’s work, will usually be found sufficient for making the circular sweep, and if the sweep is to be elliptical, as it most always is, it may be made freehand, with the compass lines as a guide. The compass would do only for small signs. In Fig. 4 the upright lines serve a useful purpose in dividing the sketch. Illustration Fig. 5 shows the use of flourish or ornament, sometimes a valuable addition to certain forms of lettering, and these may also be indicated on the scale sketch, getting the form true and just as Fig."5. An ornament added to a sign where it is necessary is laid out from a scale sketch it is to be when placed, enlarged, on the* sign. The value of a beveled bristle fitch, used in connection with a beveled straight edge, is not appreciated as it should be for very large lettering work.—A. ASHMUND. KELLEY. An Easy Method of Preparing Demar Varnish O prepare demar varnish, place from 4 to 10 lb. of the gum in I gal. of turpen- tine, and allow it to dissolve. Agitating it in a churn is the best method. You may also use a mixture of turpentine and benzol, or carbon tetrachloride and benzine, for cutting the gum, but just the pure turpen- tine is commonly used. The amount of gum used per gallon determines the body or weight of the product. Rubber Plugs in Handsaw Handle to Prevent Its Falling HEN placed against awall a handsaw has a tendency to slide sideways and fall, often injuring the teeth. This js because the handle horns which touch the wall are smooth and polished, thus offering no frictional resist- ance. If these horns are pro- vided with soft rubber tips many a fall will be prevented. To accomplish this, drill a small yy or 3/32-in. hole about %¢ in. deep in the side of the tip of each horn. Partly fill each hole with rubber cement or mucilage and insert a plug of soft rubber cut from an eraser. Set aside todry. Have each plug project slightly, as shown. These rubber projections come in contact with the wall when the saw is leaned against it. This prevents the saw from falling down or sliding sideways. The same result may be obtained by winding an elastic band tightly around each horn.—Roy B. SNow. Rubber plugs in handle to pre- vent saw from sliding away from a wall Using Ball of Soap to Recover Screw in Spigot N the type of spigot where the washer is secured by a screw the constant turning on and off frequently causes the washer to twist, carrying the screw with it. As a result the’ screw finally falls into the bottom of the spigot, from . \\ whence it is extremely fag difficult to re- move it. The usual method is to turn on the water and flow it out, but this is rather uncertain as well as inconvenient at times. I found by fastening a ball of soap on the end of a stick I could remove the screw easily by pushing the device down so that the screw would become imbedded in it. Nuts may be re- covered the same way.—JAMES M. KANE. Soap on stick end picking up screw

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= i an _ bt ——V rN OU™ Sheet Metal Working Simply Explained IV.—Development of patterns for three-piece elbow with adaptations By Arthur F. Payne Assistant Professor Manual Arts Bradley Polytechnic Institute ing of a pattern for an elbow is that one piece can be used for any piece of pipe shown in the drawing, and many more combinations are possible. The method used in developing this . A N interesting fact about the develop- pattern is exactly the same as in the “Trench Periscope’ and two-piece elbow pattern in the June, 1917, issue, also for the “Scale Scoop”’ in the July, 1917, issue. It is the method known as the “parallel line,” which simply means that the pat- tern is developed by means of lines parallel the pipe. Third, step off the base line C-D equal in length to sixteen of the spaces marked off on the bottom view and number the points as in the drawing. This will give the length of the piece of tin required to make the pipe. The reason for number- ing two points one is that when the piece of tin is rolled up these points come together at the seam, making only one point. Project lines upward from these points on the base line as shown by the dotted lines in the drawing. Fourth, from the points on the bottom view B project lines upward tl y/ The parallel line method is used for developing this pattern for an elbow, which is used throughout sheet metal working for laying out many patterns of a similar nature in round work for turns to each other. All cylindrical pipe prob- lems are developed by this method. If you will compare the problems in the issues mentioned you will see that this is a fact. The first step in developing such patterns is always to draw the front view A, of the elbow to exactly the dimensions you need. Second, draw the bottom view B and divide it into 16 equal points. Number these points starting No. 1 on the seam of 467 until they intersect the joint line (see dotted lines in the drawing). Fifth from the point where line No. 9 of the bottom view intersects the joint line E- F project a line at right angles until it crosses line No. 9 coming up from the base line C-D, make a cross where these number nine lines cross, as in the drawing. Do the same for line 10 and 8, 11 and 7 and so on around the bottom view. Sixth, you will now have a

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468 Popular Science Monthly series of crosses outlining the pattern for A. Connect these crosses into a freehand curve. Make the 3/16-in. allowance on each edge for lock seam and you have the complete pattern for A. Now comes the interesting part of this problem. The curve G- H is the pattern for every joint shown on the drawing; this is so because every one of these joints are the same angle. To get the pattern for J take the distance F-J on the front view and set it off as F-J on the pattern. In the same way take the distance E-K on the front view and set it off as G-K and H-K on the pattern. Then lay out the curve G-H as K-K, and the pattern for J will be as shown in the drawing. For the pipe L on the front view, with the seam on top, we would use the pattern G-H-N-M. For the pipe O in the upper drawing, that part of the pattern for J marked K-J- F-G would give us one-half of the pattern for pipe O. For the pipes marked P we can use the same pattern curve but the top curve K- K would have to be drawn so that the low part J of the top curve would be opposite the low part G of the bottom curve. Similar adaptations would be necessary for the other pipes. Making Soldiers in Black and White on the Typewriter Y the use of a little ingenuity a sten- ographer, or any person who can operate a typewriter, may hammer out a whole regiment of soldiers on the type- writer, using the letters and punctuation marks found on all the standard machines. The accompanying sketch shows how lifelike the type- writer drawing is. sign supplies the head, chest, and arms, a small ‘‘o” the body, a period the cap, a capital ‘‘W’”’ the legs, a double a quotation mark (“) the feet, asco and the hyphen standing Soldier space. A colon provides two Sgn buttons for the coat, and the transverse line used in making fractions makes a remarkably lifelike gun. Best results are secured by making a whole rowatatime. If the typewriter is equipped with a double color ribbon, very pleasing effects can be produced by printing the char- acters in different colors; for instance, the cap and trousers red and the others black. The “&” ° A Cigar Cutter Attachment for a Pocket- Knife O make a handy and novel cigar cutter procure a bone or wood handle pocket-knife and with a round file make an arc of a circle cut in the handle about %4 in. from the hilt as shown at A. To trim the cigar open the blade of the knife and place the end of the cigar in the arc, shut the blade quickly, and the deed is done. The notch does not harm the knife in any way.—C. T. WANDREs. The cigar end is put in the notch for cutting Clothes-Hangers Used for Handles on Barrel Covers ARRELS used as containers for storing apples, potatoes, and the like are usually kept closed with a detachable zover. To handle such covers conveniently it is necessary to have some kind of a hand The small double hook screw hanger makes an excellent handle for a barrel cover grasp. A clothes-hanger will answer the purpose nicely. The kind illustrated has two hooks with a screw point in the center. It is quickly applied.—H. DRoBE.

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AS as

in length, weighing complete less than 20 lb., capable of carrying 300 lb. and which may be made easily by any young man, is illustrated in the accompany- ing drawings. The entire frame is made of either spruce or birch, the latter preferred, the material being in strips 34 in. thick and 14 in. wide. The widest pieces are the seats and keel boards, all of which are 5 in. with a thickness of 34 in. The illustration does not show the canvas, as the manner of constructing the frame is the important thing to be considered. When made according to directions it will be found very rigid, even before the canvas is applied. The bulging shape of the keel and the midship section of the canoe have a wonderful stabilizing action on the craft when it is in motion. Two pieces of keel strips A are provided, each 6 ft. long from the center of one hole to the center of the other. To each end of the two parallel keel strips thus described is attached a keel extension strip B, each of which is 26 in. from hole to hole. Each hole in these strips is to be bored with a 3%-in. bit, and bolts 21 in. long should be used. Suitable washers should be used behind each bolt-head or nut and properly sunk into the surface of the wood so the head and nut will fit evenly. Eleven keel boards, each 61 in. long, are ranged along the two parallel keel strips, the keel strips being spread apart in the middle so they measure 6 in. frorn outside to out- side. The keel boards C are then laid on evenly and nailed to the k-<i strips, thereby providing a suitable runway for the occupants of the canoe. A KNOCK-DOWN canvas boat, 10 ft. A Knock-Down Canvas Boa 469 == eee ——y zs By J.S.Zerbe ae

a The side, or gunwale strips D, are 6 ft. long, each end being cut off square on a vertical line, but on an angled line in a horizontal direction. To each end is fitted a side extension bar E, by means of a hinge, the opposite end having a hole 244% in. from the angled end. These extension bars are joined at their ends to the end of the keel extension. The three lapped ends are secured by a bolt. It is now necessary to join the keel portion with the gunwale frame. A span frame for each end of the canoe, and a pair of span frames provided with seats are placed midway between the end spans. The frame for the ends is made of a top cross-piece G, of material 34 in. thick and 2 in. wide, which indicates the dimensions of all the parts of the span frames. Each cross- piece of the two end frames is 22 in. long, each end having a cut-out portion 1% by 34 in. in which the side pieces D rest. A hole through the side piece and end of each cross-piece permits a pin to be driven in to hold the parts together until the canvas is applied. The fabric will prevent the pin from coming out. Two V-shaped pieces extend down from the ends of the cross-piece, the lower ends being held together by a short cross-piece. The ends of the V-pieces are cut so they span the keel strips, while the short cross- piece rests on the keel strips and thus serves as a support for the upper frame- work. The seats F are each 301% in. long, and at zach end is a cross-strip or cleat,

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470 34 by % in. in size, nailed thereto. The two lower depending strips, arranged in V-shape, are secured together at their lower ends by a cross-strip which rests on the keel strips, in the manner described in a (A iL £ B SF 10 CROSS FRAME ‘eference to the end frames. Pins or screws may be used to hold the seat frames to the body of the canoe, but small dolts are preferable for this purpose. The entire framework, together with the canvas and oars, can be knocked down and folded in a space 6 ft. long, 1 ft. wide and 6 in. thick, and can easily be shouldered and carried by a boy. The end extension pieces B, swing down and rest between the keel strips A. The hinges on the side bars D, provide a means for swinging the end pieces alongside the bars for packing purposes. The Cause and Prevention of Rim Cuts on Tires ROTECTION from rim cutting is not afforded by any particular type of tire but depends rather upon the design, quality and usage. No good tire of standard type will be cut by any standard rim, if properly used. On the other hand, any type of tire will be injured if subjected to abuse. Under-inflation, dented and irregular rims, excessive loads, tire fillers and stiff reliners are the common causes for cutting and breaking above beads. The flanges of a rim may be battered down and roughened as a result of a tire being used deflated for a considerable distance. When another tire is applied it is sure to cut above the beads. Tires carrying heavier loads than those for which they are designed may break at the beads where they are engaged by the clinchers of the rim. If rims become PSSS=2-PIN TO HOLD SIDE BAR Popular Science Monthly rusted from water working in around the beads when the tires are run soft, or. through neglected cuts in the tires, or from neglect to put proper fittings on the valve stem, the rust should be removed with TRIANGULAR SPAN FRAME FOR THE SEATS \LE \\\ B seat ano || \ SPAN FRAME \tt SIDE EXTENSION BAR. \] FOR END OF FRAME = eS h - ) | | \ | \\| ‘\ \ my \ }i} i } { i] Detail of the parts for making the frame in the construction of the canvas canoe emery paper and the rims painted with a coat of aluminum, graphite and oil. It is not uncommon for tires to be applied to rims of wrong size through a mistake as to dimensions. Sometimes a 36 by 41%-in. tire is placed on a 36 by 4-in. rim. The diameter of this rim is ap- proximately 28 in. and the diameter of the beads of the tire approximately 27 in. fora ~ quick detachable type, and approximately 26 in. for the regular clincher type, there- fore it becomes necessary tod stretch and strain the beads considerably. Again, the 414-in. beads are not constructed to fit a 4-in. rim, and will not engage properly in the clinchers. Good results cannot be secured when the beads are strained and crowded in this manner. Trick of Passing Cigarette Smoke Under Handkerchief LACE an ordinary china saucer over an empty glass tumbler and cover the whole affair with a handkerchief. Place the bundle on a table. Light a cigarette and blow a few rings of smoke towards the hidden tumbler. Then make a few magical passes. Remove the handkerchief and saucer and the smoke will be found in the glass. To effect this you rub a few drops of hydrochloric acid on the inside of the glass and some ammonia on the saucer. The two fumes combined produce a vapor resembling cigarette smoke.

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An Outboard Motor Made of Pipe and Fittings SERVICEABLE and satisfactory out- A board motor for a rowboat can be con- structed from a second-hand motor-cycle engine and ordinary pipe and fittings. Either the one-cylinder or a “twin” motor can be used, the only difference being in the mounting, which can be worked out by an amateur mechanic. While the stern transoms of rowboats vary somewhat in size, the dimensions herein given will suffice for the average boat. Any increase or decrease in the length of the upright supporting the motor can be adjusted by varying the length of one of its sectional parts, as shown in the drawing. . There are two essential parts to its con- struction; the motor and pro- peller frame and the supporting : board. Sections nn. PP A, B, and C are made of 114-in. pipe. The parts ‘ D and E are the same size cross tees while F is a 14-in. coupling Tillery rease cup Greas uP witha %in. if ei threaded opening in the side at G. Thetotaldistance U from the flange H to the bottom of E should be sufficient to im- merse the pro- peller-blade at least 3 in. under water, and the distance from G to the center of E must be at least 6 inches. The propeller J should be not over 10 in. in diameter and of shallow pitch, to allow for the usual high speed of motorcycle engines. This is connected with a tool steel shaft revolving in the proper bushings in E. The other end of the shaft carries a large sprocket wheel J. The rudder hanger K is made of %-in piping by means of two straight pieces and an elbow. Fit the lower end with a tee to receive the bottom rudder-peg. A cor- responding piece of 14-in. pipe is threaded into G. Thread a small hole in one side of E and Semi-circu- A lar strap The parts in detail for making and attaching a motor- cycle engine to a rowboat for an outboard motor Popular Science Monthly 471 fit with a thumbscrew, then bore a 14-in. hole about 2 in. under the flange on A and through the side of the pipe. The mounting of the motor must neces- sarily be left to the builder, as each of the varied types and makes of motors must be mounted in its own way. The semi- circular strap shown in the drawing can, however, be adapted to several different standard makes. In any case be sure that the small sprocket M is lined up with J and that the crankshaft is long enough and pinned, to accommodate a starting handle. The rudder N can be cut out of heavy galvanized shéet iron and riveted to the rudder rod O. This rod extends up as far as the base of the motor and is connected with the tiller by an elbow. The tiller is swung off at an angle so thatit turns either way to clear the motor and frame. Connect the two sprockets with a light motorcycle chain and cover well with heavy grease. board can be made of a piece of heavy oak 18 in. long and 12 in. wide. Curve the top edge to con- form with the curve on the edge transom. Have a black- smith make two heavy iron brack- ets P and Q and fit the short ends with thumbscrews as shown. Bolt one bracket to each end of the board, counter- sinking the bolt-heads on the underside. The smaller brackets, R and S should be sufficiently heavy to hold the motor and frame by means of a steel pin passing through the holes in the ends of the brackets and the hole in the pipe A. Bend a short piece of I-in. pipe so that the curve will equal the arc made by swinging the suspended motor frame back and forth on the pin. Then secure the pipe to the board by means of a wide flange so it will travel through E. The motor can be held at any point along T by the thumb- screw, according to the pitch of the transom.—L. B. ROBBINs. Bracket clamp Thesupporting .

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Re Making and Using a Casting Rod I.—The kind of material, size and fittings for a casting rod By Stillman Taylor may be quickly fashioned from almost any pliable wood, but the construction of a. nicely balanced and flexible casting rod requires careful work- manship. No special skill is required, and as only a few common tools are needed, any boy of average ingenuity will be able to make a first class one that even an expert can use with satisfaction and which will compare favorably with the better class rods sold in the stores. A rod of this kind is somewhat expensive to buy, but as labor and retail profit represent almost two- thirds of its actual cost, a really fine rod may be built by the amateur at a comparatively small cost. N ROUGH-AND-READY fishing pole Tools and Materials The tools required are: a 4 or 5-in. block plane, a 14-in. single-cut mill file, a thin fine-tooth saw, a steel cabinet scraper, a small oilstone to keep the plane iron sharp and a few sheets of No. 1 and o sandpaper. To obtain the proper taper to the rod, a calipering tool of some kind is essential, for this work cannot be done by eye or by measuring with an ordinary rule. As the hand-made split bamboo rod possesses the greatest strength and elas- ‘ticity with the least weight, it is regarded as the standard. But this material is so difficult to work, that only the more expert amateurs can succeed in making a first class rod of split bamboo. Different woods are used in rod making, but expert anglers prefer Bethabara, Greenheart, Dagama and Lancewood. Bethabara makes a fine rod, but it is hard to work; Greenheart is a fine material, but good quality stock is difficult to secure; Dagama possesses the strength and elasticity of the above, has a straighter grain, is free from knots, and does not warp readily, hence is the best for the amateur. Dagama stock in the square is easy to obtain at moderate cost. Lancewood is softer, full of small knots, and costs about the same as Dagama. Specifications for a Casting Rod Length 5 ft., weight about 61% oz, Handgrasp—cork. . Rod tapered as fol- lows: Butt Joint 24 in. long, tapering from 15/32-in. to 19/64 inch at ferrule; Tips 3 ft. long, tapering from 17/64 inch at ferrule to 7/64 in. at tip; sections can be made same length if desired but the longer tip type is much better in action and makes a stronger rod for the same weight. Ma- terial—Dagama in square. Butt 2 ft, long by 54 in. square. Tips 3 ft. long by 3 in. square. Mountings 1 Shouldered and belted ferrule, 17/64 in. with closed end center for each tip. 1 Reel-seat, with straight hood, 34-inch. 1 Butt cap, I-in. 1 Taper, small end 15/32-in. 2 — angle casting tops, 3/3?-in. tip. 4 Narrow casting guides, 44 in. (2 for each tip.) 3 ~ sore washers, 144 in. diameter, 44-in. thick. (1 for each Before commencing work, draw a dia- gram giving the actual taper the full length of the rod, as shown in Fig. 1, with the cross stations spaced at 6-in. Ina piece of sheet zinc or brass, cut or file a series of slots in one edge to correspond to the diameters on the. diagram, making the slots perfectly square, as in Fig. 2. With this gage check up the work. Before making an attempt to plane the stick, run the plane along it to find out which way the grain runs. Select one end for the butt of the rod, and drill a couple of small holes, about 14-in. from the ends, making the second hole at right angles to the first, as shown in Fig. 3. Drive a brad or small finishing nail in one end of the bench, and hook the stick over the head. This holds the stick firmly so that it will not slip about during the planing. Plane the stick on four sides, from end to end, until it is 14-in. square. Set the plane very fine, with the breaker-iron close to the edge of the plane-iron, and ground as sharp as possible. Draw cross lines on the 472

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1 tO 1e 1e as he Popular Science Monthly 473 ends to find the center, and mark off the length of the hand-grasp. While a shorter grasp is sometimes preferred and used on tournament rods, the best length is a double-grasp measuring 12 in. overall, including the taper and butt cap. Plane the stick with the grain until it is evenly tapered in the square, planing from butt to joint, and check often with gage until the exact dimensions are obtained. The work of rounding up the stick is accomplished by using a length of common %-in. flooring with a groove in one edge. Plane the groove to roughly correspond chased punched to any desired diameter, but it is a simple thing to punch them by taking a common brass ferrule 15/32-in. in diameter, sharpening the edge with a file. Fold several thicknesses of cloth over the end to make a pad for the hand, and rotate the cutter, back and forth, pressing down at the same time, to force the cutter through the cork. Do not hammer the cutter, for this will make a ragged hole. Corks of 11%-in. diameter and 4-in. thick are best, but the %- or %-in. thick corks obtainable from any druggist may be used. Cut the butt off square above the holes, 32 ("he (te 2Meq | 2 5 0, 2; We, 24 Yo Ma" 52 phe |%2 4 (5 le 1 0 fe” —sdi2”.—sia”=st24” FIG.| TIP Plan for the taper, gage and way of holding the rough wood for planing it to shape, together with the manner of cutting the handles from ordinary corks and the fittings for the entire rod with the taper of the rod. Nail or clamp the board with groove uppermost on the bench, and lay the stick in the groove. Plane off the four corners to make the stick octagon in form, then take off these corners to make it sixteen-sided. Work very carefully, setting the plane very close and use the gage often to obtain the desired taper. The stick will now be almost round, and for the final rounding, make a scraper by filing grooves of different sizes in one edge of the steel cabinet scraper, shown in Fig. 4. As the bottom of the groove does the scraping, make it sharp by using a fine-cut file and hold it at right angles to the steel. With this little tool the edges are reduced to shape and sandpapering will make the rod smooth and free from hollow places. The hand-grasp is fashioned from solid cork-washers. These corks may be pur- brush on a 4-in. band of liquid glue, and force the cork down in place. Coat the upper face of this cork and another section of the butt with glue, and force the second cork down against the first. Proceed in this manner until the grasp is of the desired length, 434 in. being about right for the lower grasp. The reel-seat is now fitted over a soft wooden core. This core may be purchased for a few cents, bored to any desired diameter, or made from white-pine. Bore a 15/32-in. hole in a stick of pine, and plane down to fit. The butt end of the core should be cut off 14 in. shorter than the reel-seat, at each end. As the ordinary reel-seat is rather long, cut it down to 4-in., reverse the hood and place it at the bottom end of the seat nearest the hand. When the core is a snug fit, give the upper surface of the cork and the butt it covers a

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474 coat of glue, and push the core down into place. Coat the core with glue and push the reel-seat down over it, forcing the metal edge well into the cork to make a water- proof joint. The upper grasp is now formed on the butt above the reel-seat in the same manner as the lower grasp. Make this 24% in. long. When all corks are glued in place, lay the rod aside for 24 hours to harden, before attempting to shape it. The cork may be turned in a lathe, or roughly shaped with a sharp knife—a sloyd knife is a handy tool for this work—and sandpapered to make it smooth. A swelled or oval grasp is the best, and the writer prefers to form a ring 14-in. from the reel- seat to make a rest for the forefinger when casting, thus doing away with the metal finger hook. This and many other points may be seen by referring to the cut shown in Fig. 5. To prevent the reel-seat and butt-cap from turning, a small hole is drilled in the hooded end of the reel-seat, and on the edge of the butt-cap, and a small brass pin is driven in. To avoid weakening the wood, drive the pin in a little way, and file off flush. The tip is planed and rounded in exactly the same manner as the butt-joint. The metal taper which finishes off the upper hand grasp, the ferrule, closed-end centers and casting tops, are first carefully fitted by filing down the wood. Use ferrule cement to hold it in place, first melting the cement and then smearing a little on the wood and in the tube. The final varnishing is done after the guides and whippings are in place, but a thin coat of varnish should be brushed on and allowed to become thoroughly dry before the rod is whipped. This makes the wood waterproof beneath the whippings. Any good outside spar varnish may be used, or extra light coach varnish. Two guides are needed on a rod up to 6 ft. in length, the first being affixed to the tip 7 in. from the closed-end center, and the second 15 in. from the first. No guide is required on the short butt-joint of a casting rod, as the line renders more smoothly without it. Smooth off the rough spots of the bases of the guides with a fine file, and affix roughly in place by a few turns of common thread around one half of the base. Common sewing silk in size ‘“‘A’’ may be used, but 00 size is better for small rods. This size can Popular Science Monthly only be obtained from a dealer in rod- making or fly-tying supplies. Red and green or’ red and yellow are the favored color combinations. Guides and whippings are put on with the invisible knot, shown in Fig. 6. A good way to wind the rod is to hold the spool of silk in one hand and rotate the rod with the - other, letting the strands of silk coil closely against each other. A loop of waxed silk is inserted as shown, and through it the end of the whipping is carried beneath its coils to make a strong and invisible finish. Whip- pings may be wound on at any desired distance, but many narrow turns will make a neater appearance than wide bands of color. Red and green, red and black, with an occasional edging of yellow, always prove satisfactory. When all windings are on, coat with orange shellac dissolved in alcohol to make a medium thick varnish. Do not shellac the rod, and let the silk dry well before varnishing the rod. A camel’s hair brush about %-in. wide answers for this work. If varnishing is done outside, select a warm, sunny day, otherwise do the work in a warm room, free from dust. Warm the varnish by putting the can in a dish of hot water before using. It will now spread smoothly, and every bit of the wood should be touched. Hang up to dry by the tip, and allow at least three days before brushing on the second and final coat. If the rod is much used, it is a good plan to brush on a third coat later on in the season. An Emergency Burning Glass Made of Match Crystals —. the need for a burning glass arises where one is not obtainable —for instance, in the woods to light a fire without matches. Two watch crystals, fitted together and filled with clear warm water, will prove very effective. Smear the edges with thick mud to keep the water from running out.—E. D. RI&s. The Trick of Burning a Lump of Sugar PPLY a match to an ordinary lump of sugar such as you find in little cubes for table use, and it will not burn. But, strange to say, if you cover the cube of sugar with cigar ashes and then apply a lighted match it will begin to burn.

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a Me nal 7 ov Military Marching for Beginners The fundamentals of military marching illustrated to show the correct positions of a soldier in line By Albert B. Wegner N these stirring times it is important that boys of all ages and men of military age should at least know some of the funda- mentals of military tactics. There is nothing more fundamental than marching. Every group of boys or men who wish to march should send for the U. S. Infantry Regulations, price 35c, to the Superin- tendent of Documents, Government Print- ing Office, Washington, D. C. Unfortu- nately, this excellent guide is not illustrated and its detailed descriptions are hard for the novice to understand. Then, too, al- though the matter is ar- ranged logically it is not in the best order for teaching a beginner. The writer at- tempts here to describe and illustrate these fundamentals in the simplest and most progressive manner. Forming a Line The first thing to do with a group of marchers is to get them formed in a line. The instructor, or officer, calls out, “Fall in.’’ At this, the men line-up in two lines, called ‘“‘ranks,” one rank 40 in. back of the other and with the tallest at the right of the lines. (The tallest man in the front line; the next is directly back of him; the third tallest takes his place at the left of the tallest in the front rank; number four is back of number three, etc.) Those at the extreme right of the lines are the “guides.” At the instructor’s call ‘Fall in” the guides take their places facing the instructor. They stand erect, with left hand on the hip, fingers pointed down- ward, eyes straight to the front. The next in line take their places at the left of the guides so that their right arms just touch the left elbows of the guides. With left hand on hip and heads turned to right (called ‘‘eyes right”) they aline with the guides. All of the others ‘‘fall in’’ in the same The positions of ‘Atten- tion” and “Eyes Right” in forming a Company line 475 manner. As soon as each one feels the one at his left touch his elbow he himself drops his elbow and turns his head to the front. The position that each now has is called “Attention” in which he stands erect, heels together, shoulders back and down, feet at 45 deg. angle. The instructor now calls, ‘‘Right dress.”’ At this all place the left hand on the hip and turn eyes to right, holding that position until the instructor goes to the right of the lines to see if they are straight. If anyone is out of alinement he calls to him “Mr. forward”’ or “backward” as the case may require. If several are out of alinement the instructor calls attention to that part of the line as ‘backward at the center,” or “forward at the left.” After the instructor is sat- isfied that the lines are straight he commands “Front,” at which all face to front, dropping their hands into position of “Attention.” Simple Movements While Standing in Line The next things to learn are a few simple movements while in line. Nearly all commands are given in two parts. The first is the “prepar- atory command,” that tells the soldier what to do. The second is the ‘‘ccommand of execution,” when he must begin the movement. There is always a pronounced pause between these commands so as to give all time to understand and prepare for the movement. ‘“‘Parade—Rest.”’ At the command “Rest’’ step backward 6 in. with the right foot, the body weight on the right leg, the left knee slightly bent. At the same time place the thumb of the left hand between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand, all fingers extended downward. ‘“Company—Attention.” At the com- NL

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476 Popular Science Monthly mand “attention’’ take the pcsition already described for attention. ‘‘Rest.” At this command the soldier may speak or do any- thing he likes as long as he keeps one foot on the line. ‘‘At Ease.” This is like ‘‘Rest’’ except that there must be no talking. “Fall out.”’” At this all may get out of line and do as they please; but they must remain near-by. After any of the above commands the in- structor must always bring the company to “attention” before giving them any other is stationary stepping (no advance is made) and is done by lifting the feet only about 2 in. at each step. If the command is given while standing still, start stepping with the left foot. ‘“Forward—March.” Step forward with the left foot first, 30 in, at each step, arms swinging naturally, “Company—Halt.”’ At the command “Halt,” given as either foot strikes the ground, step forward with the other foot and then bring the rear foot up to “‘atten- tion.” “Half step—March.” Take steps The first command is preparation and the second execution. The first two figures are at ‘“Parade Rest,” the third, ““Hand—Salute,” the fourth, ‘“Rifle—Salute” and the last three are of the “Right Face” and “Left Face,’’ each one making a quarter turn to right or left in two counts command. After the command “fall out” he must give them ‘“‘fall in’’ to get them at “attention.” “‘Hand—Salute.”’ Raise the right hand smartly to the hat brim above the right eye with the forearm at an angle of 45 deg. then lower it smartly. ‘‘Rifle—Salute.’”’ This command is given only when soldiers have rifles. The left forearm is raised hori- zontally across the body, the palm of the hand downward. ‘‘Right—Face.’’ Each one executes a quarter turn to right in two counts. On count I turn to right on the right heel and the left toes. On count 2 bring the left foot to ‘‘attention’”’ (see picture). ‘‘Left—Face’’ is done conversely. “About—Face.”’ This is a half turn and is always done to the right. After the com- mand ‘Face’’ is given, place the right foot about 6 in. back of the left with toe of the right shoe on the ground. Now turn on the left heel and right toe half way about. This will bring the heels together at “attention.”’ ‘Mark time—March.” This of only 15 in. each. ‘“‘Backward—March.” March backward, start with the left foot, I5 in. at each step. When ‘‘Company— Halt”’ is given while marching backward execute it conversely to the marching for- ward. “Right step—March.” Step side- ward to right, right foot first, keeping the body to the front. (‘Left step’ con- versely). ‘‘Double time—March.” This is the command to run. “Quick time— March.” At this command resume the ordinary marching time. The command ‘‘Halt’”’ or ‘‘Mark time” must be given if it is desired to change from marching forward to either backward or side step or the reverse. To keep the company marching in step the instructor counts almost continuously, ‘One, two, three, four,’’ and when he sees anyone out of step he calls to him, ‘‘Get step.’’ Each one is responsible for keeping in line. For this he must constantly give attention to those at his right. If the officer sees any who are out of alinement he calls to them, SEs . Fon ee ee ee a ee

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“Guide right,” or “‘left’’ as he desires. “Change step—March.” This means a quick change of step by bringing the right foot up to the left and then stepping for- ward again with the left (or conversely). It is similar to the move- ment known among chil- dren as “‘skipping,”’ but, of course, done only once and not continuously as in skipping. ‘‘Route step —March.” In this the soldiers keep in line but need not keep in step. Talking is allowed. ‘‘At ease—March.” This is like “route step’’ except that talking is not allowed. “By the right flank— March.” At this com- mand each one turns to the right and marches at right angles to the previous direction. The command ‘‘March”’ must be given as the right foot strikes the ground. Each one then steps forward and turns on the ball of the left foot, then steps in the new direction with the right foot (see diagram). The converse when done to left. ‘“To the rear —March.’’ The command ‘March” must be given as the right foot strikes the ground. Each one then steps for- ward with the left foot; then turns to | right on the balls of both feet; then steps ‘ry, forward in the op- \%* posite direction with the left foot. (This is never done to left.) “Right oblique March.”’ Each one makes an eighth turn to right and marches in’an oblique direc- tion, starting with the left foot. If the command ‘‘Halt’’ is given while marching obliquely each one halts and then turns in the former marching direction. If the command ‘‘Forward— March”’ is given while marching obliquely, all turn and march in the former direction. the left heel “Left Face” is a half turn on and right toe This position is “Right Dress” with face to the right and the elbows touching the next person in line so he can feel it Popular Science Monthly AT7 Company Movements , These maneuvers may be done with few or many men in line, but the following ones must have at least two squads (16 men) and it would be better to have four squads. After the company ex- ecutes ‘‘Fall-in,” “Right dress,” and ‘‘Front’’ the instructor commands “Count off.’ At this, beginning with the tallest men at the right of both lines they count in rota- tion “One, two, three, four.” The first four front line men together with their rear line men constitute the first “squad” (8 men to a squad); the second eight are the second squad, etc. “Squads right— March.” At this com- mand No. 1 of the front rank of each squad ex- ecutes ‘‘Right face’ and then ‘Mark time.”’ The others of the front rank execute ‘‘Left oblique’? and place them- selves beside No. 1 on the new alinement. No. 4 of the rear rank steps directly forward 4 steps, No. 3 three steps, while No. 2 and 1 follow No. 3. This brings them back of their cor- responding front line men upon whom they close to march- ing distance; then all eight without further command march forward in the new direction. (Con- versely to left.) “Right by squads— March.” This com- mand sounds much like the preceding one but is executed differently, although it too is used to bring the company from a line to a “Column of squads” (squads back of one another). At the command ‘March’ squad I marches directly forward. The other squads execute ‘Squads right’’ (de- scribed above) and then ‘‘Column left”

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(described below) so as to follow after squad 1. (Conversely to left.) ‘Column right—March.” This is a ‘‘follow-your- leader’? movement and may be done when the company is marching in column of squads, single file or by twos. When march- ing in columns of squads, squad I executes “Squads right’’; then as each of the other squads come to the place where squad I turned they also take the command, “Squads right,’’ so as to follow squad I. (Conversely to left.) ‘Squads right about —March.” In this each squad executes two “Squads right” in succession so that they now march in the opposite direction. (Conversely on the command ‘Squads left about.’’) There are three ways of getting a column of squads into a line again. The simplest is to have them do ‘Squads left— March” (or ‘Squads right’). In the other two ways the line must come to a halt. ‘‘Left front into line—March.” The captain of the company commands, ‘‘Left front into line,” then waits a moment for the corporals of the squads to give their commands. Corporal of squad I commands, “Forward” (if the company is marching he. R does not give this command). At the A A 1 vw V (hy Lil S | (} Company Foward Backward, march mach. Popular Science Monthly dress.’’ After the squads have all thus halted and dressed at the officer’s order, the captain then commands “Front. ” (‘Right front into line’ is done converse. ly, of course.) “On left into line—March.” The captain of the company commands “‘On left into line,”’ and then waits until the corporals of the squads have given their commands, Corporal of squad 1 commands, : ‘Right turn.”’ At the same time the other corporals command, ‘“‘Forward.’”’ Then the captain commands ‘‘March,” upon which each squad executes the command of its corporal. (“Right turn” is executed as follows: No. 1 squad faces to right and takes ‘‘Half step.’ The rest of the front rank ‘Right oblique’? without command and place themselves again to the left of No. 1. The rear rank do the same move- ment when they come to where squad 1 turned. Then when the rear rank has arrived at their proper distance back of the front rank the entire squad takes up the regular step of 30 inches, called ‘Quick step,’ but without command.) : Now the captain may at (| eU; igs { By the right flank To the rear Change step “Forward March”’ starts with the left foot, and “(Company Halt” as either foot strikes the ground; “Backward March” with the left foot; then “Right Step March,” “To the Rear” and “Change Step” same time the corporals of the other squads command, ‘Left oblique.’”. Then the captain commands, ‘“March,’’ upon which each squad executes the command of its corporal. The captain may then at any time com- mand, “Company—dHalt,” upon which squad 1 only halts and its corporal com- mands, “Right dress.’’ When the other squads have marched a squad’s length left obliquely their corporal commands, “‘Right oblique—March.”” When they have come up to the left of squad 1 their corporal com- mands, “‘Squad—Halt,” and then, “Right any time command, ‘‘Company—Halt,” upon which squad I only halts and their cor- poral commands, ‘‘Right dress.’’ Each of the other squads marches forward until it gets a squad’s length beyond where its predeces- sor turned. Then the corporal commands, “Right turn—March.” When they come into line he commands, “Squad—Halt,” and then, ‘‘Right dress.’” Then when all squads are in line and ‘‘dressed”’ the captain commands, ‘‘Front.’’ ‘‘On right into line— March.” Squad 1 executes ‘‘Squads right.” Squad 2 marches forward to a point one 7 _

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squad’s distance beyond the point where squad 1 turned, then it does “Squads right.” Each of the other squads thus goes beyond where its predecessor turned and Popular Science Monthly

479 a quarter right wheel or swing of the entire company. No. 1 of squad 1 makes a “Right face” and marks time. All of the others ‘‘Left oblique’ until they get in line then they also turn. At “Company— with him again; then the officer commands Halt’? squad 1 halts. The other squads ha i a ee = idle ane ee oe 4040 40 46) ‘Ke Se oo = * Neus wae _ INAWAAsgr> 6 @ 12400040 pe be Sql lqs eases vs ‘ (asaseses? 4 t vu? A3 Squads right 5 42 144064000! 2s aoe 943 25 See cuue ot vs ”_—o or ' ' ' c~-*€E SE SSe3gen pe 46 i" Cece RS AL moa ) agi2 a 4 498 t / EE Se Left front ~\s as agagas}”§ . ane ma yy Ps “ »e nae into fine Se Wahiers Hg by aeit ( AQ G10 4, 4 Pee eS eS Se ‘ CC ye ie A. sae i“ othe Va boda go) #2 A015 yt: STACY RY AYE Y ¥ 6 SRT . re Vo — as| Column right 5q.2., GIG , ‘eas tq ---» @ & 14 pases 0s pote wm aan q!, . Py / ,-->€2 8642 iSquads left front 46 46.40 ¥) linto line 8 --->~¢ ¢ Sq ' 5 13 1 9 Sqz2 — OOo 98 2 oe 86 44 40-44) "Vesasases ze ‘in ‘ ‘ is e€ same orders executed in squads $42 44 444490 a3 of sixteen men each, showing their SYR Yan Vb Yd t< positions taken and lines of march

4 a we co ap apa od ye a V 1 1 ' Pt Pe YUEUYY) Rea YUTYEY hak Se a a 6 On right into line IVEVIVEVR RVI YIU W149 90 99 06909408" when they come up to Sq.2 - Sqt wheresquad I halted. Right by squads If while the com- pany is marching in columns of squads it is desired to get them into single file the command is, ‘Right by file—March.”’ At this Nos. 1 of squad I march directly forward. All the others halt. Nos. 2 of both ranks follow Nos. 1 of both ranks, etc. To form them into columns of squads again the command is “Squads left front into line—March.” Nos. 1 of each squad halts. The others “Left oblique” and take their places in the squad. ‘Right by twos—March’”’ is the same type of formation as the above but marching in twos. To get them into file of squads the command is the same as above. Of course all of these may be done con- versely in the other direction. Marching in file and by twos is seldom used in the army because it takes too much time and room to be very useful, but in small groups it is a good variation. “Company—Right.” This maneuver is executed while in line formation and means

“Forward—March”’ or ““Company—Halt,” as he wishes. To dismiss the company the officer brings it to ‘“‘Attention ”’ then com- mands ‘‘Dismissed.”’

Burning Out Designs on a Piece of Paper HIS sort of amusement can create con- siderable fun. This idea has been used many times in advertisements on post cards in this manner: A given point is lighted with the glowing end of your cigar or match and it causes a trail of fire to slowly eat itself around the paper until it has traced out some name or design. The same thing can be done with a newspaper and any design or wording worked out such as “‘Merry Xmas,’”’ ‘‘Welcome,” etc. Just outline the wording with a pointed brush dipped into a concentrated solution of potassium nitrate. Allow the paper to dry and all tracings will vanish. Mark the paper with a pencil so that the start of the line can be determined and then light it with a red hot poker, cigarette or something which will not make a flame to burn up the paper, but cause the invisible lines to burn out as the fire traces its arranged course. —CLARENCE T. HUBBARD.

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480 Popular Science Monthly Knockdown Walls to Make a Portable Summer House UCH a popular demand has _ been created for knock-down building ma- terial for furniture, boats and the like, that some manufacturers are now furnish- ing ‘‘ready-made”’ houses, shipped in pieces, cut to lengths and marked so that a handy man can set one up or build it for a perma- nent home. The illustrations show such a house. It is not really a ‘‘ready-made”’ given in the plans. The siding and roofing material are also distinctive fea. tures of this house. The siding and roofing boards used :-are the small narrow kind They are made to lap in the usual manner and are backed with canvas, like parquet flooring or the covering for a roll-top desk. In making the siding or roofing, the boards are attached to the canvas with the best grade of cabinet glue. This form of construction keeps the siding in the exact areas in which they are used on the building 1X 2x4" STRAP IRON BRACES Ee eo i 2k 4 STUDDING 2°CTOK i aes 5 Z°X5 RIDGE BOARDS TO FASTEN ROOFING IN THIS MANNER RK ROOFING SAMEAS SIDING = £~ “RSS Z 4 H 1 = SSS: “# ‘ , AA \r3255 2°k4" RAFTERS ‘ - s \7 2x4" PLATE Z Za“ | sese"2 She S 24°C. 106 t ‘p 2X4 224g ANGLE Ft ae Bee + 1exaPLa ! | “hh SL fP PRS SVP EXTEND Pe hassidycss (MP | ROOFING 8 a] a 214’ CORNER 2°K4" RIDGE) (2KZK{ ANGLE IRON THROUGHOUT BLDG DOOR WINDOW POS 15 SPACE FLOOR ON SLEEPERS CORNER of R24” SILL BRACE SIDING WITH SCREWS TO STUDDING CLAPBOARDING ROLLED UP CLAPBOARDS OVERLAPPED 3 TO GIVE SECURITY FROM 4 Ral N i Yun tn STYLE OF HANDBOL SILLS AND SLEEPERS WITH DRY BEACH SAND, TAMP (ee THE PARTS UNDER “ORY BEACH SAND “SS q | ry 7] if 2 8 b> —_———-¢ ab qj p_—___——_-¢J = — ————- — ———— }— 10’ —H— — +— —IH4 | | | | | WELL UNDER ALL ae 1} The studding, joist and sills are so constructed that they may be readily taken apart. The siding is put on canvas for rolling it up like a carpet so that the whole house is readily stored structure, but is designed so that the parts will fit together without any permanent fastenings, so that the owner may move it from place to place as desired. It is especially adapted to the summer camper, or for the person who desires to live by the seashore during the hot months of the year. One of the features of the building con- struction is that the angle-irons used are permanently fastened to the wood pieces in such a manner that they aid in distinguish- ing the parts for their respective places. The size and dimensions of the parts are and they may be rolled up like carpet and stored for the winter. The method of holding the siding is clearly shown in the plans. It consists of applying the sections and clamping their ends at the corners with corner-boards, using bolts with lever-nuts. A few screws are put in here and there to keep the boards from warping. Long dock-bolts, run through each end of the sills and into the ground, keep the building rigid. The door and windows are of light mill stock, secured by hand-bolts to their frames.

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t and ing is ists of their oards, BCrews p the s, run o the ———~« Popular Science Monthly TYCOS What It Means By Waldemar Kaempffert ACTERIA are deadlier than bullets. Before Pasteur discovered that, babies died of “‘summer complaint,” “inflammation of the bowels,”’ and other vaguely named, misunderstood ills no longer mentioned in medical lexicons. They died because the cow’s milk fed to them was swarming with invisible disease germs. Pasteur showed that heat killed the germs and made the milk safe to drink. That is why milk is “pasteurized,” which means that it has been heated up to % certain point. The tem- perature to which the milk is heated must not only be accurately known but carefully maintained. If it is too low the germs are not killed; is too high the milk is cooked, so that it is difficult to digest. In the modern sanitary dairy thousands of gallons of milk flow through a heater. The temperature rarely varies even a fraction of a degree from the critical 145 degrees. It is automatically controlled by a wonderfully accurate instrument which regulates the amount of steam supplied to the heater. No human hand is so sensitive, no human brain so watch- ful as that ingenious mechanical intelli- gence. The lives of thousands who drink that dairy’s milk depend on the faultless workmanship, on the infallibility of that device. On the face of that instrument stands the name “T'ycos Temperature Regulator.” One bottle of homemade catsup out The lives of countless thou- sands who drink milk de- if it pend on the infallibility of Tycos temperature devices When writing to Advertisers please Mention Popular Science Monthly of twelve may spoil; a housewife is not a failure because of that. But a vegetable- canning factory might face bankruptcy if even one per cent. of its products were unsalable. Your health and the factory’s reputation—that intangible something which you take on faith—are dependent on the maintenance of quality. Why is it one can of tomatoes on a grocer’s shelf is as good as every other can of tomatoes! Why is one can of corn like every other can? Vegetables must be cooked before they arecanned. Most of them contain starch. Raw starch is indigestible. So, the canner must cook his corn. Mechanical arms stir the corn in a huge kettle. A metal rod dips into the kettle too. It is like your finger—that rod; it feels how hot is the corn. It expands and contracts with the slightest rise or drop in tempera- ture and signals back to a valve on a steam-pipe. “Turn off the steam,” it says if the corn is too hot; or “more heat,” if the temperature is falling. And the regulator responds instantly by mov- ing a valve. No tired workman is ~ asked to watch the temperature at 5:30 P.M., when he is thinking of going home. The regulator is never tired. It never allows the tem- perature to vary a single degree. The cans in which the vegetables are contained are ster- On the heat measur- ilized. In other ing devices in the 2 : canning factory you words, all the will find the name germs killed by — heat. The vege- tables in the cans are heated for an hour at 245 degrees. ‘Tell-tale thermometers are fitted to some of the cans while they

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102 Popular Science Monthly are in the “process kettle,” as it is known. Without the thermometers the canner would not know whether the temperature is high enough to kill all germs. Some of the cans of vegetables would spoil on the shelves of the retailer. On these heat-measuring devices, both the automatic instrument as well as the tell-tale thermometers, is the name Tycos. No machine is so extraordinarily sensi-: tive, so delicately poised as a man. More than any other mechanism he would not “oo,” if the operating conditions are not just right. He is peculiarly dependent on heat—both the heat of the sun and the heat he generates himself like every living organism. His temperature must not vary more than two degrees from the normal. And “normal” means 98.6 degrees F. Even a variation of one degree may not be ignored. Do you wonder now why a physician’s first step in finding out what ails a sick man is to take his temperature? He thrusts a little thermometer beneath the tongue, waits for a few minutes, and then reads the temperature. Without the thermom- eter he would be no wiser than an In- dian medi- cine man. He could not pre- scribe in- telligently. Remember that a vari- tion in temperature from the normal of only one degree may not be dismissed lightly; two degrees is a forecast of illness that may be serious, even fatal. There are one hundred and eighty degree marks on the Fahrenheit scale between the freezing and boiling points. That physician’s thermometer must not be wrong by even half a degree. Are you wrong only once out of every three hundred and sixty times? Life and death depend on the correct- ness of the little instrument that the physician places under a patient’s tongue. If it is wrong the physician is misled. On the highly accurate thermometers Without the thermometer a physician would be no wiser than an _ Indian medicine man used by most physicians is engraved the name Tycos. Intuition, which means good guessing used to play an important part in the making of factory candy. The man who could divine the exact moment when the syrup had reached the correct tem- perature was an expert confectioner. He was highly paid because of his almost psychic powers. Nowadays a man with a thermometer takes his place and does his work far more scientifically. There is no longer any mystery about candy making. Such _ bewildering terms as “smooth,” ‘‘thread,”’ ‘‘soft ball,” “hard ball,” “small crack,” and pany sim- “haed crack” anc ELS o.. now translated into seaeeniaaaes intelligible Fahrenheit degrees. Any competent housewife can make candy as well as a confectioner, if, like the modern candy maker, she uses a thermometer. A candy manufacturing company simply must use thermometers—accurate ther- mometers. The overheating of the syrup by only a degree means the loss of valua- ble sugar and of valuable time. Without temperature control there would be no cheap, wholesome candies. On the special thermometers used by candy makers stands the name~- Tycos: You have heard of vulcanizing as a very important step in the manufacture of rubber goods. Everything that is made of rubber is vulcanized—everything from an automobile tire to an elastic band. When rubber is vulcanized it is mixed with sulphur. The effect is magical. The rubber becomes wonderfully elastic or wonderfully hard. The result desired depends on the amount of sulphur and on temperature control. Without heat the sulphur could not be digested by the rubber. But the heat must be regulated. Every vulcanizing apparatus must have its thermometer and temperature regu- lator. Without the thermometer there would be no rubber industry—no insu- lated submarine cables, no automobile tires, no vulcanite utensils, no electric insulators made of rubber. In the great rubber factories, where heat- A candy manu fac- turing com- When writing to Advertisers please mention Popular Science Monthly } | | |

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| | } control isso all-impor- tant, Record- ing Ther- mometers are used that bear the name Tycos. A modern automobile is made not a Every vulcanizing apparatus of steel, but must have its thermometer steels. There and temperature regulator are almost as many kinds of steels as there are kinds of wood. Add a little chromium, or nickel, or tungsten, or vanadium—a mere pinch of any one of a dozen different ele- ments—and you produce an alloy-steel with perhaps valuable properties. But without “‘heat treatment,” as it is called, there would be no modern science of metallurgy, no inexpensive automobile. It is heat treatment that makes it possible to produce an alloy-steel axle from which an eighty-ton locomotive can be suspended; to pull a valve-stem out like rubber in a testing machine; to obtain a gear with a surface so glassy-hard that a microscope must be used to detect the wear to which it has been subjected after running ten thousand miles; to manufac- ture a brake-rod or a steering-knuckle that can be operated a hundred thousand times without weakening. But heat treatment implies careful heat measurement. The furnaces in which the parts of an automobile are ‘heated must be watched. And watched . they are—by a man who never sees them. He sits in front of a series of electrical heat recorders, called Recording Pyrom- eters, perhaps hundreds of feet from the furnaces. Each recorder is con- nected with its furnace. If the tempera- ture of a furnace rises or falls ever so little the man at the temperature-control board knows it. He warns the man in charge of the furnace by flashing an electric light. On the pyrometers de- pends the ultimate quality of the parts that compose an automobile. Every great automobile factory has its heat treatment room. On the pyrometers that control the fur- naces you will find the name Tycos. In every steel plant,.in every glass When writing to Advertisers please mention Popular Science Monthly Popular Science Monthly 103 factory, in every copper smelter, in every plant where furnaces so hot are installed that metal or clay becomes as liquid as water when subjected to their terrific heat, you will see a man now and then setting up a little instrument on a tripod and looking through a telescope. He is finding out how hot is the furnace. He cannot use any ordinary heat-measurer; it would melt away like butter on a stove. His instrument is the Féry radiation pyrometer. When you understand the principle of its operation you think of the time when you burnt your name on a piece of wood with a lens. The instru- ment focusses the heat from a furnace or from a white-hot body. Instead of a lens it has a concave mirror, which operates in the same way. When the heat rays strike the mirror they are con- centrated on what is known as a thermo- couple. Now the thermo-couple consists merely of two different metals joined to- gether. When they are heated an electric current is generated; the hotter the junction, the more powerful will be the current.” It is easy to see that the current has only to be measured in order to determine the heat concentrated by the mirror on the ther- mo-coupler. That heat may be as high as 3600 degrees F.— hotter than white-hot molten steel. Until’ the Féry radia- tion pyrome- ter was in- vented high industrial temperatures could be only approximately measured. It has made ceramic processes, for instance, more exact. On the Féry pyrometers sold in this country appears the name Tycos. Without accurate pyrometers the steel plant would be no better than the blacksmith-shop There are poultry breeders who raise fifteen thousand ducklings and twenty- thousand chickens at a time for market. To obtain ducks and hens enough to hatch fifteen thousand eggs would be an impossibility. And if it were possible the

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percentage of eggs hatched would be un- profitably small. Incu- bators are surer than warm bird bodies. But incubators would be use- less without thermometers —without temperature control. Heat creates life in an egg; but only the right amount of heat. ‘foo much or too little “kills. There must be no guessing. And so the great poultry breeders hatch out eggs in huge incubators ‘provided with au- tomatic heat-controlling devices. Noone is much concerned whether the tempera- ture is right or wrong; the heat-controll- ing devices never fail. On the automatic thermometers used by great poultry breeders is the name Tycos. Every industry is dependent directly or indirectly on heat-control. A magazine of smokeless powder or dynamite is absolutely unsafe without thermometers that detect the slightest rise in internal temperature. A cold-storage plant would be a commercial failure without tempera- ture control; the recondensing of the ammonia could not be successfully regu- lated -without heat-measuring devices. And that means? Simply that there would be no cheap, cold-storage food; the cost of living would be even higher than it is. A wholesale baker of bread Incubators would be useless without thermometers— without temperature control Popular Science Monthly would be well-nigh helpless without thermometers to control his ovens, and to aid him in economizing in flour and fuel. Wherever there is an asphalt-melting tank, a tar and oil still, an ink factory, a paint- making plant, wherever, in a word, there is an industrial process, there you will find a heat-recorder of some kind. And that instrument will usually bear the name Tycos. That word Tycos has come to mean dependability. It is applied to the temperature, pressure, indicating and recording instruments made by the Taylor Instrument Companies of Roches- ter, N. Y. Thermometers were first made in this country by David Kendall. With George Taylor he established the firm of Kendall & Taylor in 1851. That was the beginning of the thermometer- making in the United States, the begin- ning of the Taylor Instrument Companies, the oldest American firm of its kind and the largest in the world. Kendall & Taylor made only half a dozen different kinds of thermometers in 1851, and those only for household use. But the Taylor Instrument Companies of today, makers of Tycos instruments, produce not only 1600 different styles of thermometers alone, but compasses, hydrometers, hygrometers, vacuum- gauges, meteorological instruments, aero- nautic navigating devices, and blood- pressure instruments. Wherever a pres- sure indicator or a heat-measurer is used you are almost sure to find that it bears the name Tycos. We publish a little book by P. R. Jameson, F. R. Met. Soc., on ‘‘The Thermometer and Its Family Tree.’’ It tells very simply how the thermometer was invented by Galileo, how it was developed, and how it is made. The book is yours for 10c postage stamps ‘“‘Temperature and Its Relations to Health and Comfort,’’ interesting booklet mailed on application Literature on any specific subject cheerfully sent. No charge. Tell us subject in which you are interested. Taylor Instrument Companies ROCHESTER, N. Y. When writing to Advertisers please mention Popular Science Monthly