Scientific American 1926-03: Vol 134 Iss 3

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THE MAGAZINE OF TODAY AND TOMORROW NEW YORK, MARCH, 1926 WASTE’ E are a very rich people. Part of our wealth is due to our ceaseless industry, and part—the greater part— to our enormously rich natural resources —coal, oil, iron ore, magnificent forests. But, for three hundred years, we have been wasting our patrimony. Commenc- ing in our April issue, J. Bernard Walker will tell you in a series of articles, to be published throughout the year, just how extravagant we have been, and what means are being taken by the Govern- ment to stop the waste and repair the damage. RESOURCES ANY and powerful are the argu- ments for enforcing a strict con- servation of our natural resources and not the least of these is based on the rapid growth of our population. At the last gathering of the American Statisti- cal Association, it was predicted that in the year 2000, New York would have a population of 11,880,000. Shall we be able to feed them? “Yes,” says Dr. O. E. Baker, “provided we develop our agricultural lands. We can develop our agricultural resources to support 250,000,000 people; and if we were to use the methods of intensive cultivation of Germany and Denmark, we could support over 400,000,000 people.” These are startling figures, but they are based on a thorough study by the most expert minds in this field of research. EDUCATION ly his annual report as president of Columbia University, Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler sets at the apex of the world’s problems the disappearance of “broad men.” “The plain fact is that early and in- tense specialization is at the bottom of the trouble,” he declares. “Specializa- tion is the parent of information and of a certain type of skill, but it is the foe of knowledge and the mortal enemy of wis- dom. Not narrow men, however keen, but broad men sharpened to the point, are the ideal product of a sound system of school and college education.” An excellent statement in which we heartily concur. The broad man must not shrink when his days within aca- demic walls are over. He must keep up with the achievements of the leaders of thought and action, not only in his own narrow segment, but in the whole sphere of human action. He must know what is going on and what it is all about. Or, to carry on Dr. Butler’s simile, the broad man’s fine point must not be permitted to grow dull from lack of use. Constantly it must be whetted on the swiftly turning wheel of progress. In This Issue The Truth About the New Cosmic Ray Rays that reach the earth from some unknown outside source have proved to be far more penetrative than X rays. Much unscientific nonsense has already been written about them. Commencing on page 149, Prof. Millikan, the scientist who found out what we know about them, tells you the truth. Which Mounting for Your New Telescope? Last month Mr. Porter told you how to make the marvelously accurate mirror for a reflecting telescope. This month, start- ing on page 164, he explains the fundamental principles of telescope mountings. What Destroyed This Budding Civilization? Proof has been discovered that centuries ago the Vikings founded a thriving colony in Greenland. Came adversity, changing climate, unknown causes. The colony died out— was forgotten. Now we find its pathetic remains. Fresh Air with Closed Windows Dr. Moore, former chief of the Weather Bureau, has not opened a window in his home for two years, and yet in the hottest weather he has a constant supply of clean, fresh, cool air. Read how he does it. Page 160. America’s Biggest Engineering Project Guy Elliot Mitchell describes the plan for the complete sub- jugation of the Colorado River, an undertaking which will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, harness the horsepower from a watershed of 244,000 square miles and cause millions of acres of desert land to become productive. MORE THAN 175 PICTURES Complete table of contents will be found on page 216. For Next Month Uncle Sam—S pendthrift We have wasted the rich natural resources of the United States. In no respect have we offended so greatly as in the ruthless way in which we have destroyed our once far-spreading forests. The story of former waste and present preservation is told by J. Bernard Walker who has made an exhaustive study of this important subject. Uncovering Ancient Corinth Last summer important excavations, that revealed stuccoed walls, mosaic floors and parts of a great Greek theatre of the pre-Christian city of Corinth, were carried out by the Ameri- can School of Classic Studies. Dr. T. L. Shear, of Princeton University, describes the wonderful finds. Measuring the Energy of Athletes Professor A. V. Hill, Nobel prize winner in medicine, is studying the chemical changes which take place in an athlete’s organs and muscles when in action. He uses some ingenious methods for his observations and reports surprising results. Other articles on Coins; Fish Farming; The Super Telescope; Rust; New Arenas of Sport; New Maya Indian Finds; The Truth About Karakul; Death Valley Dates; Radio; Astronomy. MORE THAN 175 PICTURES Are you sure you are right? Absolutely—~ I read the Scientific American. $4.00 a year brings the Scientific American—and assurance. EIGHTY-SECOND YEAR EINSTEIN UST as the Einstein theory had mman- aged to climb into some of the most exalted circles of scientific society and was getting nicely established there, along comes Professor Dayton C. Miller with a passion for getting at the facts through experiment and offers it such a shaking challenge as it has not re- ceived in years. Professor Miller was busy all last summer repeating the famous Michel- son-Morley experiment on top of Mt. Wilson, in California, and after making more than 100,000 readings from his delicate, revolving interferometer he now announces his conviction that he has proved the existence of an ether drift. If he turns out to be right, this knocks one leg from under relativity. After all, no matter how we feel about it, facts are facts, and the flag of science follows the truth wherever it can find it. Of course, the matter is by no means settled yet, one way or the other. FAME | a the history of recent stellar astronomy comes to be written, some living names such as H. N. Russell, Shapley, Eddington, and Jeans wiil shine as stars of the first magnitude.” — this is what Sir Oliver Lodge, the world’s most noted scientist, says in Nature about Professor Henry Norris Russell, of our editorial staff. Twenty-six years ago, an obscure graduate student from Princeton Uni- versity submitted to us an article about the stars. Ever since then, with almost unbroken regularity, the same author has written a monthly article for this magazine. From obscurity, Professor Russell has passed during these years to scientific note, especially because he took the leading part in the develop- ment of the theory of stellar evolution. We rejoice that we are still able to present to our readers a monthly review of the progress of the sciences of as- tronomy and astrophysics, written by se high an authority. PIONEERING E sure to read carefully the article on the Alaska Railroad, written, by its general manager. Some of you may take a trip over this line some day. If so, remember that it was built by the United States Government to develop a vast ter- ritory, that was without means of traffic communication with the outside world. From your car window the country will look very wild and few towns will be passed; but for hundreds of miles on each side of the line is a vast territory which this government railroad has placed in touch with the United States,

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148 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 149 Dr. Millikan looking into the eyepiece of the lead-sheathed electroscope with which he investigated the cosmic ray Cosmic Rays Radiation 10,000,000 Times the Frequency of Visible Light Has Just Been Added to the Growing Gamut of Ethereal Waves By R. A. Millikan Director, Norman Bridge Laboratory of Physics, California Institute HERE has been much newspaper pub- licity given to the report that I made on “High Frequency Rays of Cosmic Origin” at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences on November 9 at Madison, Wisconsin. The only official report of that address which I have submitted for publication to any journal appears in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences” for January. I wrote out hurried notes of my address for the guid- ance of the newspaper men who were at Madison for the sake of reporting to their various news ser- vices the proceedings, and these notes were shown to as many of the newspaper men as asked for them, but merely for the sake of guiding them in getting as correct a report as possible for their services. They were not intended as a scientific publication. For the sake of assisting in correcting, so far as it is possible to do so by a very condensed statement, such misunderstanding as may have arisen from the reports that have gone out, I am herewith respond- ing to the request of the editor of the Scientific American to make a very brief statement of the history of the experiments upon these rays and of the new results obtained within the past four years by I. S. Bowen, Russell M. Otis, G. Harvey Camer- on, and myself. Early Experiments on Penetrating Rays It was as early as 1903 that the British physicists, McLennan and Rutherford, reported that the rate of leak of an entirely enclosed electroscope could be reduced as much as 30 percent by surrounding it with walls of iron or lead a couple of inches thick. This proved that the normal leak of an electroscope is due in part to rays that are able to pass through a centimeter or more of lead and then ionize the gas inside of the electroscope. The rays having this property were therefore called “the penetrating radiation of the atmosphere,” and were at first as- sumed to be due to radio-active materials in the earth and atmosphere, and this is in fact the origin of the greater part of them. In 1910, however, Gockel, a Swiss physicist, took up electroscopes in a balloon to a height of 13,000 feet, and reported that he found “the penetrating The Truth about the Millikan Ray A short time ago the announcement was made that a new kind of ray had been discovered by Dr. R. A. Millikan. To account for this ray, various mislead- ing or inaccurate explanations were given publicity by the newspapers. The editor of the Scientific American, therefore, appealed directly to Dr. Milli- kan himself, asking him to write out an authoritative account of his discovery. The article which appears on these pages was received in reply. Dr. Millikan is best known to the lay- man scientist by his book, The Electron, in which he explains how he isolated the electron and actually “weighed” single individuals of these infinitesimally small bodies. For this research and for his work on the light-quant he received the Nobel Physics Prize. Dr. Millikan is too well known to need further introduction. radiation” about as large at this altitude as at the earth’s surface despite the fact that if the rays had their origin in radio-active materials in the earth and in the atmosphere they would have been expected to show a decrease with altitude. Between 1911 and 1914, Hess, another Swiss physicist, and Kolhorster, a German physicist, repeated these balloon measure- ments of Gockel’s, Kolhérster ascending to a height of 9 kilometers, or 5.6 miles. Both men reported that they found the penetrating radiation decreasing a trifle for the first mile or so, and then increasing until it reached a value at an altitude of 9 kilo- meters, according to Kolhdérster’s eight times as great as at the surface. to indicate that the penetrating rays came from out- side the earth and were therefore of some sort of cosmic origin. If so, it was computed from the Hess and Kolhérster data that the hypothetical rays would have to produce in an enclosed electroscope sent to the top of the atmosphere an ionization at least forty times as great as at the earth’s surface. measurements, This seemed Tests Ten Miles High In 1915 I made plans to test this point by sending up electroscopes to as near the top of the atmosphere as we might hope to come, but on account of the war it was necessary to postpone further plans in this direction. In the fall of 1921, however, Mr. I. S. Bowen and myself designed, with the aid of the instrument maker, Mr. Julius Pearson, some electroscopes that we succeeded in sending up from Kelly Field, Texas, in the spring of ’22 to altitudes of 15.5 kilometers, or nearly 10 miles. Our results agreed with those of the European observers in in- dicating a larger ionization inside our electroscopes at high altitudes than at low, but they proved corf- clusively that the intensity of ionization at high alti- tudes was not over one-fourth that which had been predicted from the Hess-Kolhérster data. . This meant that the rays of cosmic origin, if they existed, were very much harder or more penetrating than the European observers had imagined, or else that the observed ionization -was due to materials of some sort existing in the atmosphere itself, in which case it would presumably be of ordinary radio-active origin and hence have the absorption coefficients of ordinary gamma rays. Accordingly, Dr. Russell Otis and myself, in the

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r 150 summer of 1923, carried 300 pounds of lead and a 6 x 6 x 6-foot tank of water to the top of Pike’s Peak in order to find by absorption measurements what kind of penetrating power the rays existing at that altitude actually had. Our results showed that although the penetrating radiation found on Pike’s Peak was about twice as strong as that found at Pasadena, the great majority of it was indeed soft radiation, no more penetrating than gamma rays of radium, and we got evidence, too, from the fact that our electroscope-leaks inside 5 centimeters of lead were reduced by a heavy snowstorm, that the pene- trating rays there found were primarily of local origin. In a word, these Pike’s Peak experiments showed, like the sounding balloon experiments, that if pene- trating rays of cosmic origin exist at all, it is neces- sary that they be very much more penetrating than any one had thus far assumed, going through such screens as we had taken to Pike’s Peak without ap- preciable weakening, and further that they produce in our electroscopes no more than about 1 ion per cubic centimeter per second in the atmosphere at the earth’s surface out of the 11 ions that we observed, and which is about the usual number ob- served in an electroscope at sea level. This meant that it was hopeless to attempt to obtain crucial tests as to the existence or non-existence of these hypo- thetical cosmic rays unless we could go to very high altitudes where the rays, if they existed, might be expected to be three times as intense as at the sur- face, and where we could also obtain enormously larger quantities of absorbing material than we had been able to take to the top of Pike’s Peak. The only crucial test, therefore, which we could think of for the existence or non-existence of these rays, was to be found in sinking our electroscopes to various depths in snow-fed lakes situated at very great altitudes. Rays Shoot Through Space During the summer just past, Mr. G. Harvey Cameron and myself made somewhat elaborate prep- arations for making such tests, going first to Muir Lake (altitude 11,800 feet), a beautiful, very deep, snow-fed lake just under the brow of Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the United States. We sought a snow-fed lake because our own preceding under-water experiments had been vitiated by our discovery that the waters were radio-active, and we thought that that error might also have inhered in all preceding under-water experimerits, and particularly in experi- ments in crevasses in glaciers, such as Kolhérster had recently made. The results of our summer’s work were, very briefly, as follows: At the surface of Lake Muir our electroscopes “i ‘ ‘ fn Brown Brothers THE ELECTROSCOPE, A SIMPLE INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING ELECTRIC CHARGES As the charge leaks off, the two little strips of gold leaf fall together. X rays, cosmic rays and other rays discharge the electroscope at a measurable rate

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

CONDENSED TABLE OF ETHEREAL Waves IN OCTAVES Wave Lencm™ \Ocwed WIRELESS TEL. || weecLowm 25600 Ararraeen, gramme iea| i90 27 | Loncest wEAT waves 112800 |_| Teans- ocean %| 95 26 eso | 2 rz] 47 [29 = 3200 5 camer ours ; 24 30 | INFRA- RED » [s00__| 4 | 2 13 ¥ | 800 s Sane Soi8s 5 6 |32] RADIATION tl40o le &| 3 Iss z 200 7 [BecaccasninG ano : 1.5 [34 Zlwo |e a) eseleeneeeer, eae E ef) eee 3150 Seee] 36 |ViSIBLE LIGHT 4 25 10 | Waves cmercy vseo 1875 37 Sieen we eve ereme § 12.5 | 1 Uf BY Meerz in ms 937 36 | win snomrer waves : 6.25 | i2 ~ al worn] ™ 468 39 ULTRA-VIOLET : 3125] 13 234 |40| RADIATION 1.56] 14 yLut |4i a Ter {15 S| 58 |42 t 390 16 | Hertzian < 29 43 £} i9s 17 | RADIATION © 145 |44 [fiest measueco X trays ef] 97 | $|__z25|45 E] 46 | 19 S| 36 |4e 3|_ 24 | 20 21 16 |a7 X Rays tlie jz =] 0.9 |46 5 6 |22 ; 0.46/49 El 3 |25|tanuere vy kus, |} 5] _0.23).50 S| 15 | 24 oy mecnons ano) —" E 0.115] 51 “ 0.76} 25 : 0.057] 52 | Gamma Rays. : 0.38) 26 |suecrest HentT Zan ware 0.026] 534—sne sncoeree

Courtesy of the ““General Electric Review'’ THE ENTIRE KNOWN GAMUT OF ETHER WAVES Thanks to Dr. Millikan, the following data must now be added under the right-hand column: “00004 A to 0.00067 A—Cosmic or Millikan Rays” showed a rate of discharge corresponding to 12.4 ions per centimeter per second. As we sank the electroscope to greater and greater depths this rate of discharge decreased continuously down to a depth of 50 feet, after which it became constant at a value of 3.4 ions per cubic centimeter per second. No preceding under-water experiments had revealed a decrease in ionization below the value found at the surface more than about a fifth or a sixth part of that here found. This meant that we had obtained much more unambiguous and thoroughly quantita- tive evidence than had before been available for the existence of an extraordinarily penetrating radiation, indeed, so hard that, if it came from outside the atmosphere, it required 50 -+- 23, or 73 feet of water, the equivalent of more than 6 feet of lead, to absorb it entirely. The 23 feet in the foregoing is the water equivalent, so far as absorption is concerned, of the atmosphere above Muir Lake. How uncertain has been the evidence heretofore is well shown by the fact that one of the most careful and reliable of the German physicists, Hoffman, has just published a paper in November, 1925, in which he thinks he proves that these hard rays do not exist at all, the Brown Brothers X RAYS DISCHARGING AN ELECTROSCOPE AT THE DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY MARCH, 1926 results all being accounted for by radio-active im- purities. To get crucial tests as to whether the hard rays here observed were of cosmic origin or not, we next went to another very deep snow-fed lake, Lake Arrowhead, in the San Bernardino Mountains, 300 miles farther south, which has an elevation of 5,125 feet, and where the Arrowhead Development Com- pany put all their conveniences at our disposal. The atmosphere between the two elevations of Lake Muir and Lake Arrowhead has an absorbing power for any very penetrating rays equal to about 6 feet of water. If the rays that we observed at Muir Lake all came in from above and if there were no rays at all generated in the atmosphere between the two lakes, we expected to find that each electroscope reading at a given depth below the surface in Arrow- head Lake would be the same as the reading at a depth 6 feet farther down in Lake Muir, the atmosphere between acting merely as an absorbing screen, and as a matter of fact in both our electro- scopes we did find this prediction very beautifully verified. Our proof, therefore, is now quite definite and unambiguous that there is an extraordinarily hard radiation coming into our atmosphere from outer space. Further, since at all the altitudes at which we have experimented we find no measurable variation in the intensity of these rays at any time between midday and midnight, we conclude that these rays shoot through space equally in all directions. A Wavelength of .0004 Angstroms By the use of a formula of probable, though not of certain reliability, we can translate the observed absorption coefficients into frequencies or into the inverse of frequencies, namely, wavelengths. By so doing, we find that our hardest observed rays, those which our curve of variation of electroscope- leak with depth in water shows to have an absorption coefficient of .18 per meter of water, have a wave- length of .0004 A. This corresponds to a frequency at least fifty times that of the hardest gamma ray, a thousand times that of the average X ray, and about ten million times that of ordinary light. Our experiments further showed that these rays of cosmic origin are hardened as they go through the atmosphere, just as X rays are hardened in going through lead, and thus we infer that we are working with a region of spectral frequencies about an octave in width and ten million times above the octave of optical frequencies to which our eyes respond. This is a condensed statement of the facts about cosmic rays which the work of Mr. Julius Pearson, Mr. I. S. Bowen, Mr. Russell Otis, Mr. G. Harvey Cameron, and myself have brought to light within the past four years.

Were this electroscope sheathed in lead, the X rays would be excluded. The cosmic rays, however, penetrate even the lead, discharging the electroscope

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 151 THE SUSITNA RIVER BRIDGE This fine steel span, 504 feet long by 40 feet deep, 265 miles from the coast Our Alaska Railroad How the Building of This Railroad in the Face of Colossal Obstacles Opened the Far North w|HE object for which the great task of building the Alaskan Railroad was un- dertaken and carried to completion in the face of colossal obstacles in an almost uninhabited country was not for the development of the country that can be seen from the car window, but for the development of a vast area hundreds of miles from the rails. Viewing the broad field for development, the cost to the Government, after two years of actual placing in operation of a standard-gage line, above the earnings received, is of little importance. This deficiency, however, looms large in the minds of some people who have not traveled far beyond the line of the road and who appear to have overlooked the fact that our Government, by land grants, made possible the construction of our transcontinental railroads. The railroad is operated continuously every month in the year. Though the amount of freight and CONSTRUCTION DETAILS OF THE BRIDGE View looking through the 504-foot span showing the impressive end portal, ard the overhead sway Uracing to Freight and Passenger Traffic By Noel W. Smith, General Manager number of passengers handled during the winter are small, it is important for the proper development of the service that such service should be performed. The roads so far constructed in Alaska are not hard surface roads. They are built by covering the grade with gravel and are suitable only for wagons, auto- mobiles and light trucks. Only when the grades of these roads are frozen, can very heavy loads be hauled over them. Mining machinery, coal, oil, ore and similar commodities can be more economically transported in the winter season for this reason. In fact, heavy loads can not be transported at all when the roads are not frozen. In some locations no sum- mer roads exist—there are no bridges built over streams, lakes and swamps which can be safely crossed when frozen. Certain lumber operations can be conducted in the winter better than in the sum- mer, as is the case in all such operations. All winter activities can be more economically performed and, therefore, the development of the country advanced, if the railroad is in operation. Operates All the Year Round The morale of the railroad employees, as well as that of all other winter residents, is improved by reason of being in constant touch with the outside world, being able to get their mail and to travel back and forth. The Alaska Railroad extends from Seward, an open port on the Gulf of Alaska, to Fairbanks, 470 miles northward, connecting at Nenana, 411 miles from Seward, with the interior river system. The term “open port” may need some explana- tion. Contrary to what would be supposed and to the usual impression, Seward and other ports on the Gulf of Alaska are open to vessels every month in the year and the difficulties in docking vessels be- cause of interference from ice are practically neg- ligible, less than those experienced at Baltimore or Philadelphia. The Alaska Railroad is operated every month of the year. The climate varies as to temperature and snow fall on different sections of the line; but only on two sections, namely, where the line crosses the Chugach Mountains, which are parallel to the Coast, and the Alaska Range, which is the divide between the drainage area to the Gulf of Alaska and the Yukon basis, are rotary snow plows necessary to keep the road open. There are two important branches, the Chickaloon Branch from Matanuska to Chickaloon, 37.7 from which there are three spur tracks to the coal mines, and the Chatanika Branch, which. is a narrow- gage line and a part of the old Tanana Valley Railroad. This branch passes through the placer gold fields of the Fairbanks District. There is also a four-mile spur track from Healy to the mines of the Healy River Coal Corporation. It will be noted that the main line of the railroad is approximately the same length as the Pennsylvania Railroad be- tween Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs in a general northerly direction from Seward on to the Gulf of Alaska to Fairbanks, miles, Bs ] | } CROSSING THE RIVERS Much of the work was necessarily of a temporary char- acter. Hence timber trusses and pile trestles were used

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~ ‘ eee: Courtesy of Alaska Movins: Pictures Corporation ALASKA CANNOT DAUNT THE MOVIE MAN The “movie man” is ubiquitous. Here we see the train of a large moving picture corporation filming gold rush scenes amid the eternal snows of the Cheechakos a distance of 470 miles; and it has to overcome two mountain ranges, one not very far from the coast and running approximately parallel thereto, the other and higher range being the continental divide. Leaving Seward, the line climbs the Chugach Moun- tains above mentioned, on a grade of 2.2 feet in each hundred feet, to Divide, which is twelve miles from Seward. After a short descent on the same grade, the run is on an easy grade to a point 40 miles from Seward where it again climbs the moun- tain, on a grade two feet in a hundred, to the summit at Grand View where the elevation is 1,063 feet. From the summit, the line falls on a grade of 2.2 feet to the hundred to the southern end of Turnagain Arm of Cook Inlet. Because of the steep slopes of the mountain and for other topographical reasons, it was necessary, in order to keep the grade from be- coming too steep, to build a loop which is recognized as being a fine example of engineering skill. From mile 60, the line runs on an easy grade to Anchor- age, 114 miles from Seward. Forms Link with United States Anchorage is the railroad headquarters, and the repair shops are located there. The relation between Seward and Anchorage is not unlike the relation between New York and Philadelphia. Both are sea- ports; but Seward is an open port almost directly on the Gulf of Alaska, while Anchorage can be reached by water only after a long journey on Cook Inlet. Moreover, ice conditions permit the opera- tions of vessels to Anchorage but seven months of the year. From Anchorage the railroad passes through the valley of the Susitna River and follows the head- waters of that river, crossing the Alaska Range, which is the continental divide of Alaska, through the Broad Pass. The summit, 310 miles from the coast, is the high- est point on the line, with an elevation of 2,364 feet. The maximum grade encountered is one of 1.75 feet in one hundred feet. From the summit the railroad follows the headwaters of the Nenana River and the river itself to Nenana, where the Tanana River is crossed. Between Nenana and Fairbanks, 470 miles from Seward, the railroad, while it is parallel to the Tanana River, is in the valley of Gold Stream. The elevation of Nenana is 362 feet, and of Fairbanks, 4A8 feet. At Nenana, connection is made with river boat service on the Tanana and Yukon rivers; at Fair- banks, with a narrow gage; from the Chatanika SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Branch, to the gold fields by road and trail. Out- lying points are reached by roads and trails. Air- planes are also available for commercial flying to points in the interior to which access is difficult by ordinary means of travel. The true position of the Alaska Railroad in the field of transportation is often overlooked by those who visit Alaska and after superficial inspection give their views and impressions of Alaska. The railroad is sometimes described as connecting the city of Seward, with a population of about 1,000 people, with the city of Fairbanks, with a population of about 2,500 people, passing through Anchorage, a railroad city, and a sparsely populated intervening country. The impression conveyed is that the pur- pose of the railroad is to furnish transportation between these small cities. As a matter of fact, the railroad is a connecting link between the transportation system of the United States, through the port of Seattle, by means of steamships plying between Seattle and Seward, and the vast interior of Alaska. Fairbanks, from a traffic standpoint, is not a small city but a large mining district, served by a narrow- gage railroad, by roads and trails. Supplies for CURVING THROUGH A ROCK CUT The survey for the line follows the windings of the river valleys, and many rock cuts had to be made, as here, through the projecting bluffs MARCH, 1926 CANYONS CANNOT STOP THE BRIDGE BUILDER Although many of the lesser structures on the line are of timber, the more important structures, such as this fine trussed arch bridge, are of steel this district, while they are shipped chiefly from Seattle and Pacific Coast points, come from all parts of the United States; and the gold produced adds to the wealth of the nation. Without the railroad, few, if any, of the activities of the district could be carried on. Nenana is the junction of the railroad and the interior rivers. The Alaska Railroad operates steam- boats between Nenana and Holy Cross on the Yukon River for a distance of 720 miles, taking in supplies, bringing out products and carrying passengers, not only for the country along the river but for points on down the river. These products and passengers are subsequently transported by small boats and the vessels of the Northern Commercial Company to St. Michael, Nome, the Iditarod country, points on the Koyukuk River, and to other tributary country by the use of roads and trails. Earnings Gradually Increasing The American Yukon Navigation Company oper- ates steamboats between Dawson and Nenana. These boats connect by steamboat service between Dawson and White Horse, and by the White Pass and Yukon Railroad between White Horse and Skagway, and with steamship service between that point and Van- couver and Seattle. Ore concentrates from the Stewart River country are delivered to the railroad via this route for transportation to the States for smelting. Oil and gasoline are the principal in- bound shipments via this route, but other supplies in small quantities are moved. It is a popular tourist route; but it is limited by difficulties in obtaining outbound passage from Seward. From _ various points along the line, roads and trails connect vast areas, some of them producing, others, in the process of development or exploration, giving promise of becoming important producing fields in the future. Additional roads and trails as well as the extension of the present ones are needed for the development of these and similar fields. The operations of the railroad, like other Govern- ment departments, are conducted on a fiscal year basis. The earnings for the rail line, not including the river boat service, for the fiscal year 1924 were $907,174; expenses, $2,643,750; deficit, $1,736,576; the earnings for the fiscal year 1925 were $797,440; expenses, $2,324,155; deficit, $1,526,715. Included in the deficit shown for the fiscal year 1925 is the $280,040 charged to expenses on account of replace- ment of bridges and trestles, making the charges to actual ‘maintenance and operating expenses $1,246,- a sh ant Le oh ae 6 — —_— ee ee —_ Re Dna 4A = A He = & AF a 3 id a

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MARCH, 1926 675. This charge was due to charging the expense portion of roadway and equipment expenditure to expenses in accordance with Interstate Commerce Commission rules, which was not the practice in 1924. Therefore, the operation costs of the road were decreased approximately half a million dollars in the year 1925. It will be noted that the earnings also decreased; but the showing is quite satisfactory when it is explained that the decrease was due to the discon- tinuing of certain activities of the railroad which produced gross revenue but which were conducted at a loss, and because of a temporary decrease in the shipment of ore concentrates. It will be observed that the trend of traffic is up- ward and therefore encouraging. Viewing the situa- tion by comparison with that of a year ago, it is even more so. Alaska’s Resources Now Better Understood There is a much better understanding of the value of the mineral and other resources, their limitations and the proper method of procedure for develop- ment. Much harm has been done to Alaska by extravagant and exaggerated statements as to the wealth of its resources on the one hand and by incorrect statements on the other as to the lack of value of its resources. It is now realized to a much greater extent than ever before that Alaska has re- sources; but, like any other country, hard work and ample capital are needed for their development. This capital is now welcome, while formerly any offers of financial assistance were looked upon with suspicion. The maintenance of way and structures expense offers the greatest field for reduction in expenses, due to the unfinished conditions and number of temporary structures. The members of the Alaskan Engineering Commission had to contend with the most serious difficulties in locating and building a line of railroad through the wilderness. Knowledge was lacking on many important matters. Too great praise can not be given the Commission for the accomplishment of this project in the face of a good many obstacles. Prior to the authorization of the construction of the Alaska Railroad, the Alaska Northern Railroad had been built northward from Seward for a dis- tance of 71 miles, but was not a financial success. This railroad was purchased by the Government but had to be rehabilitated and in part reconstructed. The Tanana Valley Railroad, a narrow-gage line, had been built from Fairbanks to Chena and to w% IN THE MOUNTAIN RANGE In the foreground is the main track, in the middle distance is a stretch of snowshed, and in the background, a glacier and mountain peak SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN F™ RAILROAD LINE pom e STEAMBOAT LINE eee COMMERCIAL RIVER BOAT LINE The length of this Government railroad, from Seward on the Gulf of Alaska to Fairbanks, is 470 miles Chatanika. River boat traffic for Fairbanks was handled at Chena because the depth of water in the Chena Slough at Fairbanks ,is not sufficient to allow steamboats to come to Fairbanks, except in periods of high water. The Tanana Railroad was also pur- chased by the Government and construction was undertaken from the Seward end of the line north- ward, The necessity for pushing the ends of steel on each of the sections in the short working season made it imperative that every expedient for advanc- ing the work be used. Embankments in many in- stances were not raised to the adopted profile; a limited amount of ballast was placed under the ties; trestles built of spruce cut along the line were built where such would save time; and bridges, with few exceptions, were built on pile foundations, much of the piling being of native spruce. In many cases, due to the frozen condition of the ground and other reasons, the penetration of the piles was extremely small. Cuts and fills in many cases were not made as wide as desirable and bank protection was deferred until the line was connected through. Until these conditions can be corrected, the cost of maintenance must be high. The life of the native spruce piles is found to be short and construction 153 heavy renewal, or replacement, is now becoming due. As rapidly as funds are available, these bridges and trestles are being replaced by steel, concrete or solid fills with necessary culverts. Banks and cuts are being widened and additional ballast is being placed under the ties. As these improvements pro- gress, the cost of maintenance will proportionately decrease. Economies are also possible with more modern and up-to-date rolling and floating equipment, by the use of hydroelectric power for power and light, and by the expenditure of money for improvements of various kinds. In placer mining, the small mines are passing, but large dredging operations have subsequently taken their place. Load mining has been neglected in the past, be- cause the old-time Alaska miner was a placer miner; but it is receiving much attention now. A gratifying advance was made this year in this field, the greatest progress being made in the Willow Creek district, which is about 160 miles by rail north of the city of Seward. Should Eventually Be Self-supporting The coal mines have been improved and a new mine, the owners of which are possessed of ample capital, has been opened. Alaska coal has been praised by many and condemned by others and has frequently been described in a manner that would indicate that there is but one kind of coal. All kinds of coal are mined in Alaska, from very recent lignite to anthracite. Lignite of a very good quality and bituminous are mined commercially. Cannel coal and blacksmith coal are small amounts. About half of the commercial tonnage of the railroad is coal for domestic use, pewer plants and dredges. Alaska coast, especially by canneries, and such use should increase materially as the cost of production decreases. Lumber operations and fur farming show gratify- mined in A small quantity is used along the ing increases over last season, and agriculture and other activities, a slight increase. ing to Alaska in increasing numbers, as well as large game hunters. The prospects are favorable for a steady growth in traffic on the Alaska Railroad which, coupled with decreased maintenance and other costs resulting from improvements, eventually make it self-supporting. Such a situation, however, can not come about immediately, and should not be looked upon as the fulfillment of the purpose of the railroad. Tourists are com- should THE GLORY OF ALASKA A high, snow-capped mountain peak. The scenic setting of the Alaska Railroad matches the Alps or the Rocky Mountains in splendor

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154 UNCOVERING THE FIRST OF THE COFFINS These coffins were in a poor state of preservation and yielded only a single cross. The actual labor of excavation was performed by Eskimos SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 BURIED UNDER AN ANCIENT CHURCH Pressure due to the earth above had caused the lid of this wooden coffin to collapse. All that remained of its contents was a large, rude cross of wood Solving Greenland’s Historic Mystery The Medieval Tragedy of White Colonists in the Far North HE excavations carried out by Dr. Poul Norlund of the National Museum, Co- penhagen, at Herjolfsnes, the old Norse settlement of Osterbygd, in the present district of Julianehaab, in Southern Greenland, throw interesting light upon the mys- terious fate of the early Norse settlers in this land of the Far North. In the ancient churchyard at Herjolfsnes, some two hundred valuable were found. Many coffins were unearthed, as well as skeletons of the old Vikings in their shrouds, well-preserved articles of clothing, implements, tools, ornaments, and an relics imposing array of Christian crosses. Early in the summer of 1921, Dr. Norlund and his party landed in Greenland. After examining the ruins of various Norse settlements they proceeded to Herjolfsnes. At first, inclement weather and the ice hindered their movements. It was not until the be- ginning of July that the work of excavating was begun. This work continued without a break until August 27th, when attention had to be given to the packing of the many relics that had been found. On account of their age and the delicate nature of many of the finds, particularly the garments, it was most essential that they should be handled carefully. When they finally arrived at the museum in Copen- hagen they had to be examined and classified. This work occupied considerable time, but the result has now been embodied in a bulky volume, Meddelelser om Grénland Greenland ), which scholars of the future will regard as an im- portant archaeological contribution concerning the fate of those hardy Norsemen who settled in Green- land in the early centuries of the present era. Herjolfsnes, the scene of the excavations, is a barren, bleak spot, at the foot of Ikigait, an impos- ing headland, directly on the seashore and destitute of any habitation. The only signs of life the ex- cavators found wher they rowed ashore were the wild ravens that circled above them, declaring loudly their displeasure at being disturbed. Herjolfsnes was founded by an Icelander, Herjolf Baardson, who followed Eric the Red to Greenland in about the year 986. It was Eric the Red who discovered and first colonized Greenland, and for a period of 250 (Communications on By Harold J. Shepstone, F.R.G.S. years Greenland was an independent state. Then it came under the sway of the King of Norway. By the Twelfth Century the population of the Greenland colonies could not have numbered less than three thousand. They boasted of their cathe- dral, monasteries, fourteen churches and 240 large farms. A brisk trade was maintained with Europe until towards the end of the Thirteenth Century when it began to decline, and by the Fifteenth Cen- tury it had ceased altogether. It is common knowl- edge that when Hans Egede, the Danish Lutheran clergyman, went there in 1721, he found only savage, nomadic Eskimos, and from that time up to the present day historians have argued over the fate of the early white settlers. Sea Uncovers Coffin The very location of Herjolfsnes was lost. Its site was not rediscovered until 1830 when a mission- ary visiting the region found an inscribed tombstone used as a capstone over the door of an Eskimo hut. A few years later, as the result of the encroachment of the sea at this spot, a coffin was uncovered, and a Danish official, Ove Kielsen, after a trial digging lasting two days, definitely located the ancient ceme- tery. Several coffins were found, in addition to a skull with the hair preserved, the light color of which proved definitely that the buried bodies could not be those of Eskimos. Every time the sea carried away part of the shore, fresh burial remains came to light. This led the Danish Commission, a body responsible for the scientific exploration of Greenland, to open up nego- tiations with the National Museum in Copenhagen for a technical excavation of the churchyard site. It was not easy at first to locate the exact site of the churchyard, for the ruins were found to be almost completely overgrown with grass and furtle, only a few stones peeping out here and there. The first task of the excavators was a series of draining operations. This precautionary work proved inval- uable in keeping out the water. It took some days before the yielding layers were reached, but, when the first difficulties had been over- come, the finds came in rapid succession. On July 8th, a wooden cross was unearthed and on July 9th, the first coffin, and on the 11th, the first costume. “The special conditions of the excavations,” writes Dr. Norlund, “necessitated the invention of special methods for the exhumation and conserving of the finds, particularly the woven materials. They all lay directly in the earth and would hardly bear touching in their saturated, recently thawed condi- tion. Sometimes the earth could be rinsed away, sometimes it had to be removed with a shovel. In certain cases the uncovering of a costume took a whole day’s persistent work. The costume, once uncovered, had to be taken up, and that was an even more difficult task. The wet material was just as heavy as it was frail and could not carry its own weight. It was necessary to unroll sacking under it. “The next difficulty was the keeping of the cos- tumes. It was the middle of summer and not until the autumn, several months hence, could we expect to be in Copenhagen. There could be no question of any actual conservation on the spot. I tried to clean the earth off the material by rinsing it thor- oughly, but it could not be done. I tried drying it slowly, but then the threads burst and crumbled away. The only thing to be done was to keep the material in the same damp condition in which it was found and guard it from contact until it could be dealt with at the museum at Copenhagen. “We had brought with us three large, tin boxes in which we had intended to deposit the finds for fear the saliferous humidity of the ship’s hold should affect them. But, with objects of this kind and in this condition, humidity would be no danger. Apart from the fact that the tin boxes could not hold the very numerous objects, they proved quite unsuitable. A few pieces of cloth kept therein became mildewed. “The tin boxes being useless, we had to send to the nearest settlement for boards from which we made up cases adapted to the size of the costumes. But how were we to pack them so that they lay firm and would not dry? We had to deal not only with the costumes but with the numerous wooden objects that came to light. It was a serious problem. Grass, heather and seaweed were found to be unsuitable. Our difficulties were fortunately solved in the most satisfactory way. The beds of the numerous little rivers, carrying the melted snow down the mountain-

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MARCH, 1926 side, were overgrown with thick, quite saturated moss. This moss possessed all the properties we required. It was firm, yet soft, and very slow-drying and it was present in almost unlimited quantities. When the objects were temporarily laid on the grass, we covered them with it, and later on we used it as a packing material in the cases, where it lay firmly pressed down on the objects and kept them damp without preventing the access of air. Thanks to this, on unpacking, we found all the objects in exactly the same conditions in which they were laid down, despite the fact that three months had passed since the dispatch of the cases from Herjolfsnes.” Twenty-nine coffins were exhumed, but they did not yield so much as a shroud or even a piece of bone, being simply full of earth. Yet it was in the coffins that the more valuable crosses were found where they had been laid on the breasts of the dead. They are perhaps the most interesting part of the grave furniture, the collection totalling over fifty. Some are elaborately carved and inscribed with the name of the deceased and some religious quotation. In one coffin was found a little, carved stick with the following inscription in the Norse tongue: “This woman, whose name was Gudvig, was laid over- board in the Greenland Sea,” the inference being that she died on the way to Greenland, was buried at sea, and on arrival of the vessel at Herjolfsnes the little stick was carved in memory of her, placed in a coffin, and buried in the churchyard. Coffin-burial a Luxury The coffins were mainly of spruce, deal, red pine or larch and consisted of drift and imported timber. Only a single specimen was found to be of native growth, namely, of Juniper wood, a tree which still flourishes in Southern Greenland, although inclined to be stunted in growth. Some of the coffins were joined by wodden nails, others by whalebone fiber. The distribution of the coffins and shrouds would indicate that coffin-burial was preferred by those who could afford it. For the most part the coffins were found closely packed around the walls of the church where the most coveted burial-places were. In the out-of-the-way corners of the churchyard there were no coffins, but here some of the best-preserved These shrouds consisted of genuine articles of clothing, sometimes complete, sometimes mere fragments, but rarely so fragmen- tary that their use could not be determined. There were dresses, hose, hoods and caps. Evidently the clothing was not made for the dead, but had been worn by them when still alive. Hence they bear shrouds were found. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN A COLLECTION OF RECOVERED CROSSES Altogether, fifty-eight of these wooden crosses, some of them bearing runic inscriptions, were dug up marks of wear, and indeed, many of them are quite threadbare and patched with big patches. Mending was done by means of patching, darning as a means of repairing evidently being unknown. All the cos- tumes are of woven material and from tests made, they would appear to be entirely of sheep’s wool. It was only in the shrouds that any skeletons were found and some twenty-five of these were brought to Copenhagen. They were in a poor and exceed- ingly fragmentary condition and at first appeared to be hopelessly damaged and devoid of any value. Thanks to the skill and initiative of Dr. C. C. Han- sen, Professor of Anatomy at the museum, they were cleansed, sorted and subjected to minute microscopi- cal examination with the most interesting results. The task of conserving the relics was a protracted one. It also proved troublesome, and was inclined sometimes to be rather unpleasant. The wooden objects were treated with alum or glycerine. The various articles of clothing were first immersed in water, lying on the sacking on which they had been taken up. Here they remained for some days in order to dissolve the various foreign substances that had become entangled among the threads, such as root-fibers, and especially deposits from the decayed body clinging to the material. After the rinsing was finished the stuff was slowly dried, and was then subjected to a kind of massage cure, being laid on a table and treated with the fingertips to remove all foreign particles. This was CRUDE ORNAMENTS RECOVERED Two brass brooches, copper pins, a pendant cross of bone, a wooden peg and a man’s sleeve buttons -_——— AN ANCIENT HOOD Skulls of both men and women were found inside hoods made of coarsely woven material 155 the most important part of the conservation work, and also the most troublesome part. was accomplished, the material had regained its old But when it elasticity, and, to an astonishing degree, its original strength. dilapidated parts, whereupon ail the material was treated with a beticol preparation. The style and cut of many of the costumes would indicate that they are of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries, clearly showing that the Norsemen were in communication with Europe up to that time. There is certainly geographical and geological evi- dence to show that it was at this period that a fatal lati- A backing of tulle was affixed to the more change of climate occurred in these northern tudes. Whereas Herjolfsnes and_ the fjords had been free of ice all through the summer, they suddenly became blocked virtually all through the year, thus rendering navigation exceedingly pre adjoining carious if not impossible. It was at this period, too, that a gradual decline of shipping in Norway took place. shipping, coupled with the unexpected presence of This decline of ice in midsummer, no doubt meant that attempts to keep in touch with the settlements were gradually given up and then ceased altogether. When the Norsemen settled in were no Eskimos there, although they found remains of Eskimo dwellings. The latter had retreated north- ward following the ice on which they hunted seais, Much later, when the ice came south, they poured down upon the colonists Greenland there their principal item of food. and there are records of encounters between them. Ravaged by Disease and Malnutrition Being cut off from Europe, on which they had learned to depend for many essentials to their exis- tence, and being called upon to face a terribly rigor- ous and hard climate, the colonists gradually de- teriorated in physique. examination of the skeletons. stature, especially the women. were a weak and declining race, due no doubt to a long period of undernourishment. Not only were they small of stature but, from an examination of the skeletons, many of them had diseases involving physical deformities such as the weakening of one arm, or one leg, and even in some cases the trunk of the body. There are also distinct traces of tuberculosis of the vertebral column. Against the Eskimos, so brilliantly adapted to the arctic conditions, the physically weakened Norsemen could not hold out and their doom was sealed by the encroaching Greenland ice. This is evidenced by an They were short of Constitutionally they THREE GENERATIONS A man’s short-sleeved dress of heavy material, a child’s dress and that of an older girl

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Sa Se. ——— RA SIE RS PSR at Ss CG RERESE S aS ae ee. ee a se es BSS rox keer aor, eas “ye TEP. SP a BE Sith a SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 Our Point of View The Last Word on the Shenandoah FTER a most searching investigation into the loss of the Shenandoah, the court has issued a report which we think should carry conviction. Anyone who followed the long-drawn-out hearing must have shared our conviction that no partiality was shown and that the court was honestly striving to get at the absolute facts. In the first place, the court places no blame upon any of the personnel for the less of the Shenandoah. It was clearly established that the naval authorities at Washington, so far from forcing the hand of the late commander, Landsdowne, listened to his objections against mak- ing the trip earlier in the season, as first proposed, and left it to his final decision as to when it would be desirable to start on the trip to the west. It was clearly established that not only the captain but all of the officers and crew, entered upon this cruise not only free from apprehension, but with the enthusi- asm which is characteristic of the flying personnel. The disgusting newspaper sensationalism (we can call it nothing less), which did not hesitate to invade the privacy of a young widow within a few hours after the death of her husband and endeavor to show that there was coercion on the part of the Govern- ment, was proved to be sensationalism pure and simple without a basis of fact for its charges. lt will be no surprise to those who followed the evidence that the court exonerates the personnel from any responsibility for the disaster. The loss of the Shenandoah must be considered “as part of the price that must inevitably be paid in the development of any new and hazardous art.” As we suggested in an earlier issue, it was the entrance of the ship into ‘a violent line storm with its ascending and descending currents which destroyed her. “The final destruction of the ship was due primarily to large, unbalanced, external, aerodynamic forces, arising from high-velocity currents.” Although the court holds that none of the struc- tural changes in the ship contributed to the accident, it gives a measure of endorsement to the claim made by Captain Heinen that the reduction in the number of gas valves was the direct cause of the accident. A review of the testimony on this point, says the report, justifies the opinion that “gas pressure due to altitude and rate of rise may well have reached values sufficiently high to produce damage to the structure.” We believe that, though excessive gas pressure and aerodynamic forces had their share in the destruction of the ship, it will never be possible to determine the relative destructive effect of each. Billion-Dellar Dividends of Research In a recent address, Secretary Hoover pointed out to the American nation that our material civilization rests squarely on the sub-foundation of abstract research in pure science. When you telephone, when you drive your car, when you wash with scientifically made soap or eat scientifically balanced bread, do you think of the ultimate source of the scientific truths that made them possible? Just as engineer- ing, industry, medicine and all the important arts of today rest on fundamental scientific principles, doggedly worked out in the past, so those of the future will depend on the research of today. Professor R. A. Millikan recently pointed out that our entire knowledge of mechanics rests on the ab- stract research of one man, the immortal Galileo. In our own day one man’s research resulted in the discovery of the three-element vacuum tube, and radio became possible—a billion-dollar by-product of a mere laboratory effort. Think of it! More of the current dividends of industry must go back into the business, enriching the mother lode of pure science and abstract research from which applied science may later on be dug. And the scientist must not forget that, unless he take the public into his confidence and write about his re- search in the language of the ordinary mortal, thus gaining the sympathy of the layman, who in the last Elimination of Waste Among the many investigations: that are afoot, and their name is legion, there is none so rich with promise of benefit, industrial, financial, aye, and social, too, as that which is being carried on under our indefatigable Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover. We refer to the nation- wide campaign to eliminate waste. Al- ready the first fruits have been gathered. There has been an increase in railroad efficiency; larger and faster trains carry freight at a markedly lower cost ot fuel per ton-mile. By improving inland water- ways, bulky goods are being attracted in the midwest area to the cheaper water- borne traffic. There is a fuller utilization of our water resources for irrigation, flood control and power. There is an ever- increasing elimination of waste, by closing innumerable small power plants and con- centrating in highly efficient units in a few large stations. Let us never forget that failure to use great natural resources is waste on a gigantic scale. Neglect of water power means an equivalent con- sumption of coal, and coal thus used is coal wasted. analysis foots the bill, his beloved science will always be in danger of such attacks as that which occurred last summer in Tennessee. Physicians and Philanthropy WHATEVER may be said against the superior social standing, which is still accorded in many European countries to the professions as distinguished from the trades, the distinction, where it exists, is based upon a historical fact of great ethical interest. Centuries ago, when learning was confined almost exclusively to the doctor, the priest and the lawyer, and the great mass of the people, from lordly baron down to poorest serf, were absolutely unlettered, it is a well- attested fact that these gentlemen were supposed to give and very largely did give their services gratis, their remuneration depending upon the means and good-will of their clients. That this high, ethical standard is by no means dead in this money-making age is proved by certain statistics which have recently been made public by a director of the National Endowment Fund for the Physicians’ Home for Aged Physicians and Surgeons and their Families. It seems that the physicians and surgeons in New York give the public annually, free of charge, services which are estimated to be worth at least fifteen million dollars; while the country at large receives free services worth one hundred and thirty-five million dollars. This statement is based only on what is known as “free hospital days” and it takes no note of visits to patients who can not, or will not, pay for such services. The estimate was arrived at from returns from 107 out of 140 medical and surgical serving institutions in which, during twelve months, New York medical men gave 5,020, 502 “free hospital days” which at three dollars, give us a total of $15,061,506. We confess that these figures are amazing. They assist in answering the question as to why so many physicians make barely enough for a decent exis- tence; why the majority (so the director tells us) die without estate; and why many become public charges because of financial difficulties. So when anyone of you finds himself the subject of exorbitant medical charges (and that such charges are too frequently made is attested and condemned, now and then, by leading physicians) bear in mind the enormous amount of charitable work mentioned above, and do not allow the extortions of the few to cloud the honor which belongs to the great body of medical men as a whole. The House Naval Bill THE discussion of the House Naval Bill by the Naval Commission has revealed a sharp division of opinion among the ranking officers of the Navy, particularly as to the future policy in regard to the construction of dirigibles. Secretary Wilbur and Admiral Jones are opposed to the construction of a new dirigible to take the place of the Shenandoah; and they are in favor of closing down the activities of the naval station at Lakehurst, New Jersey. They recommend that the sum appropriated for the maintenance of Lakehurst station be reduced from $1,880,000 to $130,000. In other words, the magnifi- cent hangar will be practically put out of commis- sion and the Los Angeles with it. We believe that the closing of the Lakehurst station (for it practically amounts to that) would be a serious mistake, defeating the very object of economy at which it aims. The large sums of money which have been expended on lighter-than-air craft and the acquired experience in designing and operation, con- stitute an asset whose value will very largely be lost if the Navy closes and locks the gate on future development. The Aeronautical Bureau wishes to embody its experience in a new and larger ship and suggests that this is the time to carry forward our experimental work with vigor. To close the Lake- hurst station and abandon all work on airships would be considered throughout the world as a con- fession of failure upon the part of our Navy. If we object to the aeronautical policy advocated by the Committee, we are, on the other hand, heartily in sympathy with its proposal to secure economy by placing some of our battleships out of full commis- sion and maintaining them with skeleton crews. “With respect to putting some of our vessels in re- serve,” says the report, “it should be pointed out that Great Britain has but thirteen of her eighteen capital ships in full commission. We have had eighteen until recently, when three were detached and de- commissioned for modernization.” The difference between keeping eighteen and a dozen modern battleships in full commission would represent a large saving of funds which could be expended where they are desperately needed—namely, in the construction of large cruisers and fast scouts, in which our Navy has a lamentable deficiency. vd inaknememantnssanatnanseiion

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Star Clusters 157 There Is a Close Relation Between the Brightness and Spectral Types Professor of Astronomy at Princeton University. HE stars are decidedly gregarious; al- though they are scattered all over the vault of heaven, they congregate here and _ there groups and clusters, some of which are conspicuous enough into to have received names in antiquity which are still in use. The best known of all these clusters is the Pleiades —which from its compact character, and the bright- ness of its constituent stars, cannot fail to attract attention. The more straggling cluster of the Hya- des—also in the constellation Taurus, was likewise known and named in Greek times. The smaller and denser cluster in Cancer which appears to the eye as a hazy spot of light, but shows its separate stars with a field-glass, bears the Latin name Praesepe; and another loose cluster, farther east in the skies, has been raised to the dignity of a constellation, under the name of Coma Berenices—commemorating the beauty of the hair of some fair lady of classic days. Galactic or Open Clusters These four conspicuous groups are examples of a type which finds hundreds of representations among telescopic objects—the so-called “open clusters.” This name is given them in antithesis to the far richer and more condensed “globular clusters”— from which they differ in the smaller number and more open array of their stars. In their situation in the heavens, too, they are unlike the others, being for the most part in the Milky Way—for which reason they are sometimes called “galactic clusters” -while the globular clusters avoid this region of the sky. They differ, too, from the globular clusters in being much nearer. While the nearest of the latter is twenty thousand light-years away; the nearest open cluster—the Hyades—lies at a distance of only 140 light-years—less than one percent as far away. Sev- eral of the other clusters are real enough to show definite proper motions—all the cluster-stars moving together in space like a flock of birds in the sky— while the globular clusters are so remote that their motions, though really very rapid, appear imper- ceptible. Measuring Their Distances By indirect methods the distances of all the star clusters have been accurately measured by Dr. Har- low Shapley, taking advantage whenever possible of the luminosity-period relation that obtains in the Cepheid variables. Apparent diameter of the cluster and its distance may be correlated on the assumption that globular clusters are of the same order of linear dimension. Where no Cepheid variables are present another method is employed. It is assumed that the typical giant stars of the cluster have about the same absolute magnitude, and that this holds good for all the clus- ters. Therefore the apparent magnitudes of the twenty-five brightest stars of the cluster in question are determined, and since their absolute magnitudes are known, as mentioned above, their distances may be easily deduced by comparatively simple mathe- matical formulae. It is not surprising, therefore, that individual stars of the open clusters appear to us much brighter than of Their Component Stars By Henry Norris Russell, Ph.D. any in the globular clusters. This makes it possible to study them individually—for example, to photo- graph their spectra. In the brighter clusters, it has been known for many years that the relation between the brightness and spectral type of the stars is very close. The brightest stars of the cluster are white, the fainter ones, yellowish and the faintest are yellow, or even reddish. This is exactly the relation which is found among the majority of the stars whose distances and real brightness are known, and is characteristic of the “main sequence” of stars of which we spoke a few months ago. brown brothers A GLOBULAR STAR CLUSTER Its diameter is at least 1,000,000,000,000,000 miles. sun may be thought of as lying near the center of a cluster Our such as this. Such clusters are not compact In this sequence the average brightness or “abso- lute magnitude” of the stars varies rapidly with the spectral type—stars of class A, like Sirius—averag- ing about thirty times as bright as the sun—those of' class G—like the sun—being of about the sun’s brightness, and so on. In the Hyades cluster, where the distance can be found accurately by other means, exactly the same relation between absolute magnitude and _ spectral type holds true. In the other clusters, for which the distance has not been directly measured, the relative brightness of the whiter and redder stars follows the, same law; but the apparent brightness of the stars, as we see them differs widely. It is natural and reasonable to attribute these differences to differ- ences of distance from one cluster to another—the stars in the remoter clusters appearing fainter. In this way it is found that the Pleiades and Coma Berenices are at distances of about 300 or 350 light- years and the Praesepe group a little farther off, perhaps 450 light-years. Research Associate, Mt. Wilson Observatory, California A systematic study of the fainter clusters has been made—indeed is still under way—by Dr. Triimpler of the Lick Observatory. Working with specially designed of great light-gathering power he has determined the spectral types of the stars in more than fifty clusters. In every case but one, the same steady gradation of color with bright- ness presents itself and it is evident that most of the cluster stars belong to the main sequence. In rather less than half the clusters, yellow or red giant stars, about as bright as the white stars of class A, are also present—for example in Praesepe, Coma Berenices and the Hyades. In the rest, for example in the Pleiades, all the stars belong to the main sequence. spectroscopes No Strict Uniformity A few scattered stars which do not conform to either of these groups are doubtless interlopers— stars which do not belong to the cluster at all, but lie in front of it or behind it. For some of the near clusters, this suspicion is turned to proof, when it is found that the suspected stars are moving in different directions, or at different rates, from. the members of the cluster. In the one aberrant case—a loose cluster of rela- tively few stars—there is no recognizable relation between brightness and spectrum, and it is probable that this is a mere chance agglomeration of unrelated stars. For all the other clusters, the grouping evidently corresponds to a real association of the stars in space, and the distance of the cluster can be found from the difference between the apparent and real brightness of the stars of a given spectral type. Clusters in Evolution Dr. Triimpler thus finds that the four bright clus- ters which have already been named are the nearest. The others have distances ranging up to 16,000 light- years—most of them lying between 1,500 and 6,000 light-years. This shows that they lie well out in the Milky Way, although the remotest of them is nearer than the nearest of the globular clusters. Wity some of these clusters should contain red or yellow giant stars and others none demands explana- tion, and this demand is intensified by Dr. Triimp- ler’s discovery that whenever the cluster contains stars of class B—the brightest and hottest of all— the redder giants are absent. able suggestion that this is a matter depending on the age of the cluster. If—as is now very generally believed—the stars start their careers as red giants, develop first into stars of class A or B and then fade gradually into dwarf only the relatively clusters should contain giant stars of low temperature. In the course of ages, these red stars should: gradually grow yellow and then white, finding no successors to take their places, and thus a group like the Hyades would turn ultimately into one which roughly re- sembles the Pleiades. The fact that the B-stars, when present at all, are much brighter than any others—averaging more than a thousand times as bright as the sun, is not, however, fully explained. But the interpretation of this may come with a continuation of the studies which are now in progress, He makes the reason- stars, young

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158 ia | a a ] I I I DARK CANYON DAM eS a os ————E — 5 | | | PROFILE OF COLORADO RIVER e | | m AND ' NS ‘sy | | GREEN RIVER ae oe | Sees ; $50 4 SHOWIN Le & 8 5513S | | | | |POSITION OF ALL KNOWN DAM SITES) |} 3 | | | L ——- x 8 3/08 et 4 ei is —_} —-- —} -- —__+———? —j—_F —N ] : | } | . 3 2876 COLORADO 1DAHO | > j —m | i 3 x 4 778 N GOLOFIELL | lg F a CALIF RIZOP is | kf ¢ , s 0103 ANGELES ) hej 5 Ww )|MEX ae a = 7 4 | . i | : = a aw : > | \§ 3 S05 3 a 7 a“ eM a 457 M 'co i } 1 1 | ‘50 270 250 300 350 dU. 450 500 550 60a 650 700 750 800 850 goo 950 1000 DISTANCE IN MILES FROM YUMA, ARIZONA The Subjugation of the Colorado Substituting Power, Light and Fertile Lands for Disastrous Flood Waters HE great Colorado River of the west is no longer a mystery, an unknown dan- ger. It has given up all of its secrets to engineering and scientific explora- tion and, even now, definite plans have been formulated to prevent its disastrous floods, to harness its vast power and to spread its huge volume of fertilizing, irrigating waters over millions of des- ert acres. The complete subjugation of the Colorado is an engineering undertaking of stupendous magni- tude—one, not of millions but of hundreds of mil- lions of dollars of cost.

The Monster Will Be Tamed The Colorado has its source in the high moun- tains of the Continental Divide. Its waters drop some 14,000 feet in their 1,500-mile course to the sea. Every workable horsepower in that great fall is to be utilized as needed—and, after this energy has been harnessed, the same waters, gathered from a watershed of 244,000 square miles, will be led out to irrigate millions of acres of thirsty, desert lands and there te produce crops of fabulous magnitude. If there is poetry in engineering, surely the Col- orado is a fascinating theme for contemplation. A wild and cruel monster, a giant of destruction to human life and property, its evil tendencies may all be corrected; it may bring staple foods and luscious fruits to millions of people; it may turn the wheels of a thousand industries; and though now a region of almost utter inaccessibility, a fact not very gen- erally realized, it may become a place of lake and canyon splendor surpassing perhaps anything in the world, to be visited with ease and comfort. Looking somewhat ahead of the present interest in the Colorado, the United States Geological Sur- vey has for many years been making a close study of the river and its great watershed. The Survey’s By Guy Elliot Mitchell hydraulic and topographic engineers have traversed and mapped every foot of its great canyon and its many tributary canyons, and its geologists have ex- amined the rock structure.of its multitude of dam and reservoir sites; for the river can be controlled and utilized only by the creation of great artificial lakes or flood-storage reservoirs, We are apt to think of storage reservoirs as ponds of a score or possibly a hundred acres or so in extent, retained by masonry walls; but the storage lakes of the Colorado will be hundreds of square miles in extent and they will be bounded by rugged canyon walls. The volume of the flow of the Colorado and that

RAINBOW NATURAL BRIDGE Three hundred feet high, chiselled out of one solid mass of rock by the age-long action of the elements of its tributaries has been measured and plotted by the Geological Survey engineers during a period of over twenty years. This close scrutiny of the behavior of the river, of its range in flow from a comparative trickle of 3,000 cubic feet of water per second to wild floods of over 200,000 second- feet, and the examination of inaccessible dam sites, culminated two years ago in the voyage by engineers and geologists through the 200 most dangerous miles of the Grand Canyon itself. And now comes the result of this labor of mag- nitude, analyzed and presented in a government en- gineering report—a definite plan for the complete subjugation and utilization of the river. It is a project to construct 13 great dams and reservoirs and create hundreds of miles of artificial lakes, whereby all the floods of the Colorado will become only historic; since they will be converted into a great resource by the utilization of all the water for power and irrigation. One Comprehensive Plan Essential E. C. LaRue, the author of the Colorado River report and plan, is a hydraulic engineer of the Geological Survey, and throughout the southwest you may often hear him referred to as the “father of the Colorado.” He has known the river for half a lifetime; he has made hundreds of miles of boat trips through its wild and treacherous canyon reaches, charged with the responsibility of selecting all possible dam sites and supervising their survey. But even in this report, the Geological Survey is not presuming to promote any particular power oF irrigation project. It is making available the mass of information needed for outlining a feasible scheme for the full development of the river and especially for an orderly and wise planning. The river must be developed as a single undertaking, piecemeal it is .

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\er alf vat MaRcH, 1926 true, but according to a general plan; and no single or initial project must be permitted which will ruin or detract from the later and greater possible ulti- mate development. In order that this may be accom- plished, there must be government regulation of the engineering phases of the work. The beginning in construction will doubtless be to prevent flood damage. There is urgent need for the building of a dam to protect the hundred or more million dollars invested along the lower reaches of the river in the Imperial Valley and else- where. The recurrence of any one of the big floods of the Colorado would wipe out this property and perhaps cause great loss of life—and it may, come next year, or in any year. It is also probable that a dam for the development of power will be built at an early date. But these or any other dams should be built as part of the whole, big adventure. In developing the water resources of the United States, Mr. La Rue states, the haphazard policy under which our cities have been laid out has been fol- lowed. In the development of our important rivers, he fails to find an instance in which a comprehensive plan of development was prepared in advance of construction. Engineers have been sent into the field to locate sites where water might be stored or power developed at a minimum cost. Almost without ex- ception the projects for immediate development have been selected with little regard for future develop- ments. Its Value for Irrigation and Horsepower Summarized, the thirteen-dam-plan would make available 3,383 feet of fall in the 860 miles of the Colorado below its juncture with its principal con- fluent, Green River, for the development of power, and a maximum of 42,000,000 acre-feet of storage capacity for the control of floods, the equalization of flow and the storage of silt. Including full de- velopment in the upper basin, it would make pos- sible the irrigation of nearly 6,000,000 acres and the generation of 3,420,000 continuous horsepower. Under an annual load factor of 60 ‘percent the aggregate installed capacity of the plants would be 95,743,000 horsepower. It would also provide a domestic water supply for a population of 10 to 15 million in urban communities in the southwest. A brief glance at two or three of the dam-site and reservoir projects included in Mr. La Rue’s plan will be of interest. The Ouray headwater reservoir site is on the Green River in Northeastern Utah. With a moderate sized dam, 170 feet high, a reservoir would be formed with a capacity of " COLORA DO RIVER BELOW GLEN CANYON DAM SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Elev, 1773 ft ‘oe oe BRIDGE CANYON DAM SITE The side walls are of granite. The dam would develop over 000 continuous horsepower 8,000,000 acre-feet.* This reservoir would regulate the flow of the Green River for adjacent irrigation and power; but it would also be beneficial to irri- gation and power on the Lower Colorado. The stored water, as released, might eventually pass through power houses with an aggregate head of more than 3,400 feet, and the flood flow of the lower river would be materially reduced. If the flow of the Green River were thus regulated, less storage capacity would be required at all hydraulic structures built on the lower river, whether operated in the interests of flood control, irrigation or power development, a fact which appears to show the wis- dom of a plan involving up-stream storage. The lower end of Glen Canyon reservoir site, one of Engineer La Rue’s thirteen, is located just above Lees Ferry. A dam 386 feet high, cementing to- gether the precip:..te Jurassic sandstone walls of this part of the Grand Canyon, would back the water up the Colorado, forming a narrow lake over 175 miles long, and would store 8,000,000 acre-feet. This would remove the flood menace on the river below, and would reduce the cost, by millions of dollars, of all dams subsequently built below this canyon. There are ten such dam sites» below, where a total head of 2,523 feet may be utilized for power devel- * Acre-foot equals one acre of water one foot deep. ya owe The dam would develop 334,000 continuous horsepower, The water is carried through a tunnel to discharge into penstocks, thence down to the power house (left). The overflow discharges through a tunnel (right) 159 opment. At present, without storage, the total power capacity of these ten sites is 1,758,000 horsepower; but with storage in Glen Canyon reservoir their capacity would be increased to 4,345,000 horsepower. That the construction of this single dam is a stupen- dous undertaking is seen from the statement that to complete the underwater foundation work on the dam it would be necessary, in the long interval between successive annual floods, to pour between 5,000 and 10,000 cubic yards of concrete a day. Glen Canyon is a remarkable dam site. By about doubling the height of the proposed dam, the reser- voir thus formed would store more than twice the entire annual flow of the Colorado. Immediately above the head of Glen Canyon reservoir would rise the dam of the Dark Canyon reservoir 148 miles long, which would carry the chain of reserveirs up to over a hundred miles beyond the confluence of the Green River with the Colorado River. Another great lake would be the Mohave reservoir at the extreme lower end of the Grand Canyon, which would store 10,400,000 acre-feet of water and form a lake 100 miles long and five to eight miles wide. Another remarkable site is at Bridge Canyon where a dam 566 feet high, between granite walls, would take the water out of the river on the 1,773-foot level—above sea level—for irrigation purposes, and would develop over 600,000 continuous horsepower. Will Provide Scenic Beauty There must be a further word touching on the scenic development that would result from the adop- tion of La Rue’s suggested plan. From the town of Parker, down in Arizona, all the way up to the con- fluence of the Colorado with the Green River in Utah, the thirteen reservoirs would form a chain of lakes of practically unbroken continuity. These lakes would vary in width from narrow fjord-like bodies of water, deep down below precipitate walls and cliffs thousands of feet high, to others several miles across. Among other present inaccessible wonders, the Rainbow Natural Bridge would be brought to within a mile of the shore of the Glen Canyon reservoir- lake. This graceful, natural arch of sandstone is high enough to span the dome of the Capito! Build- ing at Washington and surpasses in size and sym- metry any other known natural bridge. Mr. La. Rue, although a hard-headed engineer, ventures in his report the belief that, after the completion of auto- mobile highways leading to the Gler Canyon Lake, the tourists to this section alone would number hun- dreds of thousands annually. GLEN CANYON DAM SITE This dam, 386 feet high, would form a lake, extending for 175 miles up the Canyon

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~. 4 \ ae . a) Wi a ee . eee Photogrepns by Lee Mc DR. MOORE AND HIS AIR GATHERER A and B are wind-vanes which control the intake and outflow apparatus SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 z i > THE AIR WASHING AND COOLING APPARATUS Here the air is cooled as much as thirty degrees on a hot summer's day Cooling Your House in Summer How a Former Chief of the Weather Bureau Solved the Problem of Keeping the Air in His Home Cool in Hot Weather and Moist in Winter IR. WILLIS L. MOORE, for twenty years chief of the United States Weather Bureau, former President of the Na- tional Geographic Society, and founder of the National Geographic Magazine, has found a practical way to maintain the air in his home at Pasadena, California, both cool in summer and hygienically moist in winter. In summer, the Professor takes in air from a large scoop on the roof, washes it, cools it in a simple apparatus and then passes it all through his house by means of ducts. In winter, he maintains the relative humidity of the air at seventy percent, where it ought to be, by means of a special humidifying heater. The summer apparatus consists of air-scoops on the house roof, an air washer and air cooler, a fan and eight-inch conduits leading to the various rooms; also registers for controlling the inflow. With this simple equipment, Dr. Moore has found that the house may be closed as tight as a drum, yet in the extreme heat of summer the temperature will not exceed 80 degrees. Windows Never Opened In the left-hand illustration of the two shown above, the detail of one side of this four-sided air- scoop may be discerned. You are looking into three separate ducts, at the level of Dr. Moore’s hand. Imagine several more of these ducts radiating from a center, in ali directions of the compass, so that some of them will always catch the breeze. At the center there is a vertical, metal cylinder with one- fourth of its circumference cut away, thus leaving an opening into which the wind collected by the scoop ducts may blow. This opening is always kept directed towards the proper scoops by means of a wind vane which shows at A. The air rushes into the scoops and since they are narrower at the center, it gains velocity. This forces it out of the end of the cylinder and through the washing, cooling and moistening vats which are con- tained in the box just behind Dr. Moore. In the illustration on the right, above, the con- tents of this box are shown. The fibrous, cloth- covered cones, which wash and cool the air, are shown projecting out of the water. In passing through this part of the equipment, the air, when its temperature is high, is cooled some 30 degrees. In the same box an electric fan is shown. This fan may be used to force the washed and cooled air down through a number of eight-inch ducts to the ceilings of the rooms, where its inflow may be con- trolled by registers. Thus, with this fan, all of the air may be changed within eight minutes. However, it is rarely that this fan is needed. Careful tests have shown that without the fan a wind blowing at the rate of only three miles an hour will completely change the air in the house within fifty minutes. THE HUMIDIFYING APPARATUS, USED IN WINTER The heat is turned on by means of valve B. Valves A, A, are for controlling the amount of humidity In each room there are two registers on the ceil- ing, one being the inflow register, the other the out- flow register. The latter lead to exhaust flues on the roof. One of these flues, equipped with a wind- vane which keeps it pointed away from the wind in order to provide suction, is shown at B, in the left- hand illustration, above. Ordinarily, the circulation of the air within the rooms is almost imperceptibly gentle, yet its velocity may be measured by means of little, spinning air- meters placed on each inflow register. Practically all of this equipment was invented by Professor Moore. His house is equipped with double windows, and so efficient is the air-circulating appa- ratus that in the period—almost two years—since his house was completed not a single window has been opened. There is no need to open them. More- over, double windows are a discouragement to bur- glars. Between the double windows and between the double walls of the house there is also a constant air circulation. Every room in the house has its own thermometer and hygrometer and these tell at a glance, the temperature and amount of moisture in the air. The humidifying apparatus for winter use con- sists of a heater, shown in the illustration in the middle of the page. This heater has four units. Water is let into each unit separately, by means of a valve. A float maintains this water at constant level. By manipulating the valves the desired per- centage of relative humidity in the house may be controlled. In practice, in Dr. Moore’s house, one, or at most, two of the units provide enough moisture to keep the air at 70 percent relative humidity. Hot Air Is Thirsty Few people know the effect on the contained mois- ture when we warm our air. For each 18 degrees that we heat it, air doubles its capacity for holding moisture. What, then, is the corollary of this state- ment? It means that since we do not usually give our air a chance to take up this needed moisture, it goes without. No, it does not entirely go without, it abstracts all the moisture it can get from our woodwork and our furniture, which dry up, shrink and crack. Far worse, it takes moisture from us! As was recently pointed out in the Journal of the American Medical Association, when we take cold air from out-of-doors at freezing temperature and at a relative humidity of 80 percent and heat it to 70 degrees, we thereby reduce its relative humidity to only 20 percent. We then live in this air and so we become kiln-dried, along with the woodwork. Office buildings, heated to nearly 80 degrees, often have 4 relative humidity of as low as 15 percent. Thus we get the hot-house habit. We become hypersensitive, afraid of every chill and every little draft. We also get colds, grippe, even pneumonia, because the dry, thirsty air of our houses blots up the moisture of our throat passages and reduces their natural resistance to infections,

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 rf i f = as ES es zi Scenes in a Pineapple Cannery in Hawaii by side. Here they are removing skin specks from the shredded pineapple. Ricut: Girls sorting slices of pineapple. Lower: Cutting off the olies of the Edgeworth Studio, Honolulu, Hawaii pineapple skins by hand. The workers wear rubber gloves to insure cleanliness. The employees of a big pineapple cannery repr sent all races. LEFT: They are shown here enjoying a Christmas dinner in their caivteria. Hawaiian, Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Portuguese girls work side

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“ Harris & bwing SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN RADIO MOVIES THROUGH C. Francis Jenkins, of Washington, demonstrating his radio motion picture receiver for use in homes. AN ORDINARY MARCH, 1926 { miniature screen is placed on the wall,and a distant scene in action is reproduced, This shows the picture of a girl dancing at the transmitting station, detected by an ordinary broadcast receiver Seeing Around the World by Radio The Development ct a New Combination Photo-electric Cell and Vacuum Tube Has Created an n= engineers are making rapid ; ‘2 §) progress in developing an “eye” for hae broadcasting, so that television, or see- ing distant scenes by radio will be as common as tuning in music. It has been learned upon good authority that television appa- ratus in simple form will be on the public market just as soon as all phases of the system are pro- tected by patents. Seenes Sent Through Space When the radio optic, and its associated instru- ments, is released to supplement broadcast service, it will work in conjunction with the microphone, the former picking up light waves, so that they can be transformed into electricity and radio waves, and the latter doing likewise with sound. Then the radio announcer will snap a switch connecting the mechan- ical eye and ear with the transmitter and all scenes and sounds within range will be sent through space to millions of homes. For example, the eye-ear de- vice might be placed in front of Niagara to record the thunder of water, camera the spray cloud and forward the picture along with the roar to firesides and schools throughout the nation, and some day to a world-wide audience. It will all be true to life and nature, is the pre- diction of radio men. Today it may seem far- fetched; but so did broadcasting six years ago. Those in touch with the research laboratories know that television will be a reality. Today there are ap- proximately 1,000 broadcasters in the world; and when they are equipped with “eyes,” the scenes of the earth, now thousands of miles apart AND HIS RADIO “EYE” V. K. Zworykin, research engineer, who has proc combination photo-electric cell and vacuum tube is the basis of television. with a modern receiving tube, held in his ‘Eye” for Wireless By Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr. Orient to America, from New York to Moscow and from the North to the South Pole—will be separated by just a few marks on the scale of a simple tuning device. When a broadcasting station goes on the air there is a carrier current or steady stream of energy sent through the ether. It serves as a wire or pathway through space over which the music and words take flight. When the microphone is switched into the circuit all sounds within its range are picked up and their vibrations in the microphone cause corres- ponding fluctuations in the electrical circuit con- nected to the broadcast transmitter. Thus, the car- rier wave is modulated accordingly, that is, instead of it being a constant flow of electricity it is shaped to correspond with the tones of the music or of the voice. Photo-electric Cell the Important Link The main problem has been to produce a device which will treat a shadow as the microphone does a whisper. The photo-electric cell, employed in various processes, is apparently the important link in the chain of developments, which will make tele- vision and radio movies possible. The fundamentals ef \ne photo-electric cell were discovered by Hall- wachs, a German physicist. The principle is based upon the fact that certain metals give off electrons when their surfaces are illuminated. Generally, an alkali metal is employed, such as potassium, sodium, caesium, rubidium or lithium. This cell has been combined, by V. K. Zworykin,

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MARCH, 1926 a physicist of the Westinghouse Electric Research Laboratories, with the radio vacuum-tube amplifier to form a new step in science. It resembles the ordi- nary vacuum-tube detector and amplifier used in broadcast receivers, but variations of light falling on this device instantly become variations of elec- trical current and are amplified thousands of times. The current, which the light waves create as they strike the tube, is amplified by the tube itself. The photo-electric cell is built into the tube, one end of which is coated on the inside with potassium, or an alkaline metal which throws off showers of electrons when light falls upon it. This electron stream is an electric current. The electron flow is feeble if the light is weak, heavy if the light is in- tense. Thus the variation in light governs the strength of the electron shower. In order to prevent the light from the filament falling on the sensitive film of alkaline metal, metal shields are used and the filament is operated at a temperature below visual emission. Smoke Rings Bell The device is so sensitive to light variations that a thin veil of cigarette smoke was utilized to ring a bell in the initial demonstration. The smoke was blown so that it drifted between a light and Zwory- kin’s mechanical optic. The smoke intercepted suf- ficient light to reduce the electrical current, which the illumination from the lamp had been actuating. The reduction in current caused a switch to close and completed an electrical circuit in which the bell was located. The “eye” was then used in connec- tion with a loudspeaker which howled when a wire one millimeter thick was passed between the source of light and the photo-electric cell. It is understood that the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company are developing a proc- ess for broadcasting pictures, and that this new tube is the basis of the system. Mr. Zworykin has pointed out that all the processes needed for tele- vision, or the projection of motion pictures by radio, are already in existence. “The theory is all right,” he said, “but at present the apparatus would have to be endless, cumber- some and uncertain. But it will be simplified. It will take some years; but we will have eventually the instantaneous or nearly instantaneous transmis- sion of motion pictures.” By selecting the suitable electrical characteristics Kadel & Herbert SHADOW ELECTRIC APPARATUS The combination photo-electric cell and vacuum tube in a radio set is so sensitive that it is energized with a shower of electrons when the slightest shadow crosses its light SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN - Collector Ba fling Plates Filament Plate Zz ohn ecting against Press Pa ff 2... prow RADIO’S SENSITIVE OPTIC So sensitive is the Zworykin photo-electric vacuum tube to variations in light that a thin screen of cigarette smoke will act upon it and create a howl in a radio loudspeaker. Engi- neers expect that it will serve to broadcast light just as the microphone broadcasts sound Western Electric of the tube and the accompanying batteries, Mr. Zworykin has produced a device in which no current will flow through the tube’s plate circuit when the sensitive metal film is in darkness; but as soon as light strikes this alkaline film, the electrical barrier averting the flow of current is removed and the cur- rent will flow through the plate circuit of the tube in proportion to the intensity of the light falling upon it. In daylight, or under an electric light, the cur- rent flow thus produced is sufficient to operate a standard telegraph relay, which in turn can be ar- ranged to control electrical or other apparatus to any desired extent. By reversing connections, the effect of the operation of the tube can be reversed, v Wide World 163 so that it will produce current in darkness, but will prevent current flow although it may be fully illuminated. The instrument is useful as a fire alarm in such places as the holds of vessels, automatic, unattended electrical stations, storerooms of buildings and other places. At the least suggestion of smoke, caused by overheating from any cause, an alarm can be sent out by both wire and radio to any desired sta- tions. It can be employed in connection with varia- tions of light for any purpose, such as the exact matching of colors, detection of flaws in tinplate and textiles, the turning on of street lights at twilight and extinguishing them at dawn, and for innumer- able other applications of similar nature. The reaction of the Zworykin tube to light varia- tion is extraordinarily rapid, being on the order of one-hundred thousandth of a second; and since, when incorporated in a suitable circuit, it will send out radio impulses of any desired frequency in direct proportion to the amount of light falling upon it, it has opened the way for the development of tele- vision. Will Radio Travel Everywhere? C. Francis Jenkins, the Washington inventor, who has demonstrated a machine for sending silhouettes of moving objects, which some have termed the real step in the broadcasting of movies, uses a photo- electric cell in his apparatus to convert the high lights and shadows of objects into corresponding in- tensities of electric current. Captain R. H. Ranger, an engineer of the Radio Corporation of America, who has developed a pen-and-ink method of repro- ducing pictures sent by radio, also employs a photo- electric cell as the “eye” of his system. Mr. Jenkins, in explaining the essentials of tele- vision, says, “If one puts his head under the black cloth of an old-fashioned camera pointed at a base- hall game he sees in miniature on the ground glass an exact reproduction of the game as it progresses. It is carried by light from the ball diamond to the ground glass screen. That is exactly what we want, only we want it in our homes. Light working alone will not do it, for light goes only in a straight line, and obstructions cut it off; we must, therefore, have some kind of carrier which can go around obstruc- tions and through the walls of our bomes. A copper wire will do, but a wire carries only to one place. “Let us take radio that travels everywhere!” A BRITON’S VERSION OF TELEVISION Through this complex layout of wires and disks a British experimenter is seeking a system for sending pictures through space from one distant station to another by radio

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 The Springfield equatorial mounting, showing its fixed eyepiece and the convenient arrangement of the slow motion controls and setting circles Mountings for Reflecting Telescopes EATED weil up in the bleachers (Lati- | tude 43° N) we amateur astronomers in Springfield, Vermont, can command a fine view of the greatest of all spec- Among its The entrants gain Until Copernicus somewhat rudely shoved us over to one side, we thought we saw the show at first from a central coign of vantage. However, the change was not all a loss, for it placed us on a movable platform where we became a real participant. I always like to think of this old earth of ours as a giganti¢ piece of exquisite mechanism with which, by the aid of a mirror of my own making, ! am privileged to play at will. But, before I may appreciate the beauties of this mechanism, my mir- vor, along with its prism and eyepiece, must be properly mounted. tacles—the solar system. planets the race is always on. and lose on each other as they pass us by. The Fundamentals of a Mounting The essentials of an efficient reflecting telescope mounting are: that the optical train—mirror, prism and eyepiece—be held rigidly in relation to each other; that provision be made for conveniently ad- justing these parts; and that the whole be supported on bearings, permitting any celestial object to be easily followed as it moves across the sky. The first of these conditions is readily met by the use of a tube of sheet metal to which the different optical parts are attached. Since the hollow c¢ylin- der is one of the stiffest forms for its weight and can be obtained at any tinsmith in galvanized iron at moderate cost, the reasons for its use are obvious. The mirror A (Figure 1) rests in a cell B, fastened io one end of the tube C. The eyepiece F fits into another tube E called the adapter, which slides By Russell W. Porter, M.S. All Drawings by the Author easily in a flanged piece D fastened to the side of the telescope tube. The prism G (hypothenuse side) is held against a corresponding face on member H. A stud on the rear of H fits in the sleeve I held to THE SPRINGFIELD MOUNTING IN USE The observer’s position is fixed (note the bicycle seat). light reaches his eye through two prisms The the telescope tube by the three knife-edges J. The knife-edges have threaded ends. They rest in slotted holes in the tube and are provided with set nuts. With this arrangement the prism may be adjusted to bring it into proper relation to the mirror and eyepiece. This solution of our first and second essential conditions is the one now in almost universal use. When taken indoors for safe keeping, the optical parts are easily removed without disturbing their adjustments. An additional refinement is a focusing rack and pinion. Sometimes a diagonal, flat piece of glass (silvered on its front surface) is substituted for the prism, but this is not advised because it adds an unnecessary silvered surface to be protected. The prism is not silvered and is totally-reflecting, owing to the acute angle which the light strikes its hy- pothenuse side. What an Equatorial Mounting Is The tube must now be supported so that it will follow the stars. Of the several ways by which this may be accomplished, one condition underlies them all—there must be provided two bearings at right angles to each other, and one of them must be ca- pable of being adjusted parallel to the axis of our earth. A familiar instrument having these two bear- ings at right angles to each other is the surveyor’s transit or theodolite. One of the axes (A-B, Figure 2A) is always plumb. Imagine the instrument tipped over until this axis is parallel to that of the earth (second drawing of Figure 2), and we have what astronomers call an equatorial mounting. The axis about which the telescope swings is called the declination axis. To visualize this condition of parallelism between the polar axis of the mounting and the axis about

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 165 Cw x . DT tet intl it ——_ H / -- f G 2 t Figure 1: A typical Newtonian mounting, showing how the mirror, prism and eyepiece are attached and adjusted which the earth rotates, | have drawn Figure 3. In this schematic diagram a mounting is shown placed on the earth’s surface in about the middle latitude of the northern hemisphere. Its polar axis and the earth’s axis are seen to be parallel to each other. At right angles to the polar axis is the declination axis about which the tube swings, allowing it to be pointed at any angle with the observer's horizon. The earth, turning in the direction of the arrow, gives the stars an apparent motion in the heavens in the opposite direction, and a slow motion of the polar axis spindle of just the right amount will keep any star (regardless of its elevation above the horizon) constantly in view in the eyepiece of the THE SURVEYOR’S TRANSIT Figure 24: Mounted as shown, the vertical axis is not parallel to that of the earth. But see Figure 2B instrument. When the telescope is pointed toward the pole of the heavens, stars move slowly across the field of view. Polaris, for example, seems hardly to move during an entire evening. But, as the tube is swung down toward the celestial equator, the apparent motion of the stars is accelerated. Thus, the motion of the moon in a high-powered eyepiece is so rapid as to give an almost overwhelming real- ization that the earth is turning over in space. Were the mounting to be erected at the poles, the polar axis would of course be vertical to the ob- server's horizon; if placed anywhere on the equator, it would be horizontal, or parallel to one’s vision. In any case the polar axis of one’s mounting makes an angle A with his northern horizon, equal to his latitude, for the two angles A, A are always the same, as is evident from the two triangles shown. The most common type of mounting is known as the German mounting. The tube (Figure 4) fits into a ring A to which is attached a spindle B. The bearings C, C for this spindle are at one end of spindle D, and D’s bearings, E, E are part of the casting fastened to the pier F. When D is adjusted by the screws G parallel to the earth’s axis, any object in the telescope eyepiece will be held in the center of the field by revolving the in- strument about D just fast enough to counteract the daily rotation of the earth. Four Common Types of Mountings The German type of instrument is completely counterbalanced. The tube is gripped at such a point that it will remain pointing in any position without clamping. Since it overhangs one side of the polar axis, sufficient weight H is added to the opposite end of the declination spindle to bring the center of weight into the polar axis near its upper bearing. The total weight is, therefore, inside the base and is equipoised. Usually for convenience in following a star, a worm and worm wheel are pro- vided on the polar spindle. In the English or fork type (Figure 5) the tube is swung in a yoke attached to the upper end of the polar spindle, but considerably overhanging the pier. It has the advantage of requiring no additional counterweights. This excessive overhang of the tube in the fork form is overcome in a third type (Figure 6) where the tube is brought within the two bearings of the polar axis, whose spindle is enlarged into a double yoke within which the telescope swings in decli- nation. However, all forms of mountings are compromises, and in this case the gain in rigidity is obtained at the cost of cutting off a part of the northern heavens. THE “WHY” OF THE EQUATORIAL MOUNTING Figure 3: Its polar axis having been made parallel to that of the earth, the telescope will now follow the stars This was the form adopted to carry our greatest of all mirrors, the 100-inch reflecting telescope at Mount Wilson, California. Still another form of mounting is. made by ex- panding the upper bearing of the polar axis to a large equatorial ring E (Figure 7) within which the telescope swings on its declination axis, the lower polar bearing being a thrust bearing at F. The large ring turns on the two roils R, R. This mounting is very stable, the center of weight of the moving parts being well within the supporting rolls and thrust bearing. Part of the equatorial ring E is cut away in order to allow the tube to reach all parts of the heavens. THE EQUATORIAL MOUNTING Figure 2B: The transit of Figure 2A has been tilted. Its axis, A-B, is now parallel to the axis of the earth In all of these mountings considerable machining of parts is required, also special castings, running into amounts of money beyond the means and capa- bilities of most amateurs. The Springfield Teles. cope Makers selected the first of them, namely, the German form. But these men had access to the resources of the machine shops here and were all skilled mechanics. I shall, therefore, at the risk of possible criticism, describe a wooden equatorial mounting containing the essential features, but which may be easily put together from materials available anywhere. When the mirror maker has given his glass a good tryout with this mounting he will either be satisfied with it or will become so enthused with its performance, that he wil! attempt something bet- ter in metal. To hold the optical parts, a clear straight-grained

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166 (Figure 8) 11% inches thick, 6 inches wide at the mirror end and tapering plank of pine or spruce A, to 2 inches at the other is used. The mirror rests in a l-inch board, 61% inches square, screwed to A, as shown, and recessed for the mirror to a depth of 14-inch. In order to prevent the possibility of the mirror falling out of its cell, wooden buttons or brass clips may be distributed around the edge of the recessed beard. At the back of the shelf which has been formed . —— THE GERMAN TYPE OF MOUNTING Figure 4: This is the commonest of the equatorial types. It has many advantages and comparatively few drawbacks there are three adjusting screws on which the mirror resis. At the other end of A a hole is bored to take the tube C. about 6 inches long, with an inside diameter equal One is cut down, leaving two ears at I with This is a piece of brass tubing to the diameter of the eyepiece to be used. end of C enough spring in them to grip and hold the l-inch totally-reflecting prism. Some of the tube between the plank and prism is cut away in order to offer no more obstruction to incident light on the mirror than is necessary to support the prism. The other end of the tube is slotted to allow the eyepiece to Se much for the member hold- ing the optical parts. When assembled, find the point on A where it balances and bore a \%-inch hole. alide for focusing. = —— THE ENGLISH OR FORK TYPE Figure 5: It dispenses with counterweights but it is not as steady as some others, due to its long overhang SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN D is a block of wood 6 inches square, and 214 inches thick. Part of one side within a 4-inch circle is recessed one-eighth of an inch. Two holes, re- spectively 14-inch and l-inch in diameter are now bored through the block, as shown. When finished the latter is attached to A with a \%-inch bolt 4 inches long, provided with washers and a butterfly nut, An Approximate Equatorial Mounting The polar axis is a piece of 1l-inch shafting about 2 feet long. the blacksmith over 6 inches of it until it makes an angle with the rest of the shaft about equal to the complement of the observers’ latitude. The remainder of the mount consists of a 2-inch steam pipe 2 feet long, cast vertically into a con- crete pier. When the bent end is adjusted parallel to the earth’s axis by lining it up on Polaris some evening Have bend g, cement is poured into the steam pipe and allowed to set, the block D is dropped down over the shafting in the hold provided for it, and the mount is finished. The butterfly nut will give the desired pressure between A and D so that the telescope will turn, but will remain fixed at any required declination. If 1) is slotted as shown, the wood screw M will take up any looseness of the bearing of the polar axis. The mirror is adjusted in its cell until its optical axis passes through the center of the prism J (Figure 8), and this is tested by placing the eye well be- hind the prism and noting whether the reflection of the prism is in the center of the mirror. Should it be found, say, at K, unscrewing the screw L will make the reflection move toward the center. THE DOUBLE YOKE TYPE Compare this with Figure 5. Having two bear- ings this type is very steady Figure 6: The prism is adjusted by taking out the lenses of the eyepiece and looking into the adapter. The reflection of the mirror will be seen in the prism. The reflection of the prism should be central and must be made so by filing the seat of the prism. A slight movement of the prism between its ears will cause the reflection of the mirror to move and will indicate where the seat should be altered. The focal length of the mirror has previously heen found during the knife-edge tests. It is one- half of its radius of curvature. The distance from the surface of the mirror to the center of the adapter tube will therefore be this focal length, less the dis- tance from the center of the prism to the focus of the eyepiece—(about 5 inches). For a glass of four feet focal length, the distance from mirror to adapter MARCH, 1926 THE EQUATORIAL RING MOUNTING Figure 7: This type has many advantages, particularly that of steadiness. Here as elsewhere the polar axis is P—A would be 48—5=43 inches. The focal plane of a negative eyepiece is somewhere between its com- ponent lenses; of a positive eyepiece it is just in front of the field lens. The wooden part of the mount should be well painted and the polar axis should be kept slushed with hard grease. The wooden member can be lifted off the polar axis and taken indoors as a whole, for it is quite light. A cap of some sort (a piece of window glass will do) should always cover the mir- ror when not in use. This is to preserve the luster of the silvered surface. The Accurate Springfield Mounting One of the most convenient of equatorial mount- ings (Figures 9 and 10), and the one producing the most satisfactory results here, has the advantage of a fixed eyepiece. It is true, a second prism is re- quired. This, however, permits the observer to sit in one position looking comfortably down the polar axis for all celestial objects. The two controls in right ascension and declination are within easy reach (see page 164), the setting circles are large and need no verniers. The tube is counterpoised and can reach all parts of the heavens. Loss of light by the additional reflection through a second prism is negligible. Light from the mirror, after reflection from the usual prism A in the tube (Figure 9) passes through the hollow declination stud B, to another prism C, directly over the polar axis stud D, and below the eyepiece. In addition to its fixed eyepiece a dis- tinctive feature of this mounting is the manner in which the two axes are maintained. Instead of two spindles held in bearings at their extremities, the bearing surfaces consist of large areas held together with small central studs, that of the declination axis being hollow. This arrangement permits very rigid forms to the three castings I, II and III. The setting circles c and d are cut on member II in convenient positions for reading. Control in motion is as follows: the two tangent screws a and b (Figure 9) bear against spurs on the edges of two thin sheet steel discs inserted between castings I, II and III. Figure 10 shows the detail of slow motion about the polar axis. The spur on the periphery of disc D, bears in the cir- cular groove C of screw B. Sufficient friction is maintained between the bearing surfaces of the discs so that not only will the tangent screws produce slow motion to either axis, but will also allow the telescope to be swung quickly through large ares

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MARCH, 1926 of the heaven in both declination and right ascension. This arrangement makes a very good substitute for the expensive worm wheel drives. The Hartness, Turret Telescope Of the many designs of mountings which enable the observer to sit in comfort in an enclosed and warmed room, space here forbids treatment. The most notable of these among amateurs is the Hart- ness turret, described in the Scientific American, March 9, 1912, in which the roof of the building, made of cast iron, rotates on rolls, carrying the optical parts and delivering the light from a ten- inch objective to an eyepiece insidé the room. Bell, in his book, “The Telescope,” describes this and several similar mountings. Mention only, has been made here of the New- tonian reflecting telescope. There are, however, others, but they are not as practicable for the ama- teur as this type. In the Gregorian type a small, concave mirror just outside of the focus is substi- tuted for the prism. It reflects the light from the mirror to a secondary focus lying behind the mirror, through a hole in the center of the glass. The Cassegrainian type is similar, except that it inter- poses a convex mirror just inside the focus. Both of these combinations greatly increase the virtual focal length of the mirror without increase of tube length, but they are useless for day work on terres- trial objects and they require the figuring of an additional optical surface. With an equatorial mounting providing with set- ting circles one can select any celestial object (above the horizon) by looking it up in the Ephemeris and setting the circles to the correct declination and hour angle. One also sets his watch to running on star time. If he has made no blunder in his cal- culations and the instrument is in fair adjustment, the object will appear in the field of view of the eyepiece. It may be an obscure double star, or a nebula, or a cluster, or a comet, wholly invisible to the naked eye and impossible of locating in any other way. Thus the desirability of owning a mount- ing provided with circles is seen, if one wishes to delve into the great storehouse of hidden wonders above us. On the other hand, the simple wooden mounting which I have described will enable one to pick up all of the apparent celestial planets, sun spots, bright double and multiple stars, two nebulae visible to the naked eye, and one or two star clusters. bodies—the moon, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN HOW THE STARS ARE SLOWLY FOLLOWED Figure 10: Detail of the slow motion, front and side eleva- tions. This is a part of Figure 9 Care must be taken in observing the sun, for the mirror makes a powerful burning-glass. It works best for this purpose while still unsilvered, but if it is silvered, cover the glass with a cardboard in which an inch hole has been cut. The safest way is not to use the eye at the eyepiece but to project the sun’s image on a card placed outside the eyepiece. It is hoped that the amateurs will not copy these mountings slavishly, and partly for this reason set dimensions are not given except in a few instances. When controlled by a clear comprehension of the principles of the mountings used and some mechani- cal judgment, the exercise of the amateur’s indi- viduality in planning his telescope is highly de- sirable. This suggestion will, it is hoped, obviate the production of a large number of telescopes, as like as a lot of peas. For example, Mr. Clarendon Ions, of Miami, has built an ingenious equatorial mounting almost entirely from discarded parts of a Ford car. Eyepieces or oculars for astronomical telescopes are usually the Hyghenian type in 114-inch tubes. Their powers vary according to their equivalent focal length (e.f.l.). For our telescope of 4-foot focal length an eyepiece of l-inch e.f./. would give 48 magnifications (the focal length of the mirror divided by the equivalent focal length of the eye- piece). A Y%-inch eyepiece would give 96 magni- 167 fications and a 14-inch, 192 magnifications, respec- tively This makes a good battery of eyepieces for range of powers. They cost from about six to ten dollars apiece. Were I to have but one eyepiece at first, it would be the low power, viz, l-inch e.f.l. The Hyghenian eyepiece is not, however, achromatic, and the color is quite noticeable in a mirror telescope. I have used almost exclusively the Hastings, three-lens, posi- tive oculars, which give a beautiful, flat and colorless field. Eyepieces from old microscopes are not to be despised and they work very well with a mirror. They are usually of low power and are useful for terrestrial observation. It is not advised to use a higher power than 14-inch e./.l., as the atmospheric disturbances and the quality of the mirror surface set a practical limit to the magnification. Literature and Materials A finder is a small telescope fastened to the eye- piece end of the telescope as an aid in pointing the tube to any desired and visible object. They are undoubtedly a’ convenience in picking up a star quickly, although we usually get along here by sight- ing along the tube itself. Of course, with one’s mounting provided with setting circles, in good ad- justment, a finder is unnecessary. Literature on mountings includes the following: “The Polar Reflecting Telescope,” by R. W. Porter, Popular Astronomy, May, 1916. “The Enclosed Observing Room,” by R. W. Porter, Popular As- tronomy, May, 1917. “A New Form of Telescope Mounting,” by R. W. Porter. “The Telescope,” by Louis Bell. “The American Ephemeris and Nau- tical Almanac” (Supt. of Docs., Washington, D. C.) “The Amateur’s Telescope,” by Ellison (reprinted by the Scientific American Publishing Company). Materials may be obtained as follows: . Prisms and eyepieces from the J. B. McDowell Company, 1954 Perrysville Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: the Spencer Lens Company, Buffalo, New York. Working blueprints of an equatorial mount- ing for a reflecting telescope with a fixed eyepiece; prisms, from John M. Pierce, 1b Harvard Street, Springfield, Vermont. also, also eyepieces, q Later in the year it is hoped that photographs of the various telescopes made by our readers, with » their makers included, will be received for pub- lication. With the publication of these pictures in view the individuality displayed should be of great interest. LATITUDE A WOODEN, EQUATORIAL MOUNTING THAT ANYONE CAN MAKE Figure 8: A fair approximation of the equatorial type is obtained, simply by bending the metal shaft F, until it is roughly parallel with the earth’s axis Figure 9: TWO ELEVATIONS OF THE SPRINGFIELD, EQUATORIAL MOUNTING This is the mounting shown on page 64 and on the cover. with setting circles, a star may be located with the aid of the Ephemeris Since it is equipped

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168 Fis. ¥- AR {viators laying a cloud of gas over a forest. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN = Y MARCH, 1926 This may be the solution of the gypsy-moth and boll-weevil problems Peacetime Uses for ‘‘Poison Gas’”’ A Wartime Weapon Is Made to Serve Mankind F you have boll weevils in your young cotton, a cold in your head, valuables to protect from bandits, mobs to disperse, or marine pilings that are being at- tacked by teredo worms, your best bet is to use “gas.” In spite of the efforts of sentimentalists te consign chemical weapons—“poison gas”—utterly to the consuming fires of Tophet, peace is develop- ing multitudes of valuable uses for them little, if any, less important than their service in battle. Both the materials and the methods used in the war be- tween men and nations are proving of the utmost service in man’s constant warfare against the pests and parasites which prey upon him and his works. if such peace projeets are to be discountenanced hecause they are of a nature readily convertible to wartime usage, with all the supposedly inhumane and cruel resulis, one must confess himself unwill- ing to approach the subject with any degree of open- mindedness, as the facts on record fail utterly to support such a contention. To obtain a true view of the facts, one must brush aside, as biased and interested, the various statements which were made during the war years in order to urge the United States into the conflict, and look frankly at the rec- ords of the war prepared by the best informed authorities for no other purpose than as a matter of history. Gas Prevented Tuberculosis! The report of American casualties by the surgeon general shows that some twenty-eight percent of all the injuries suffered by our soldiers during the World War were caused by gas alone, a not incon- siderable item when added to it is the fact that less than one percent of the cost of the war was spent on this weapon. But the record further shows that only two men died out of every hundred injured by gas, while twenty-four died out of every hundred wounded by shot, shell, shrapnel, bayonet and other weapons. In other words, the man who became a casualty from gas had twelve times the chance of recovery that the one injured otherwise had. It is also important that, By D. H. Killeffer Secretary, New York Section, American Chemical Society according to this record, only one man in 2,300—a vanishingly small proportion—of those gassed were permanently injured, while one in fourteen of those injured by other weapons, but not killed, lost at least an eye, an arm, a leg, or the use of one or more joints. Because it is most conveniently avail- able these statistics are taken from the American casualty record. The data for the other armies engaged differ only slightly from these figures. At the time of the Armistice, no one knew what would be the later effect of gassing on the men who had apparently recovered. Many of them were seri- ously warned to expect to die within five years, and others, that pulmonary tuberculosis would surely overtake them. The passage of time has shown con- clusively that these well meant warnings were quite groundless and only served to disturb the minds of veterans. However, they were so fully believed that some 300,000 applications for aid were made to the Chemical Warfare Service - . x A CURE FOR COLDS Pulmonary disorders are treated in an air-tight chamber. The chlorine controlling device is under constant observation Veterans’ Bureau by men who believed themselves suffering from the delayed effects of gas, when the official records show that only some 70,000 American soldiers were gassed during the war seriously enough to need attention! No less authority than that of the surgeon general, supported and amplified by the sworn testimony of Dr. Albert P. Francine (medical consultant-in-gas with the Fourth Army Corps in France and an ear- nest student of post-war developments among gassed men), before the Select Committee of the Senate on Investigations of the United States Veterans’ Bureau, states that far from causing tuberculosis, gas actu- ally prevented it. In their statements that gas left no serious after-effects, both the surgeon general’s official report and Dr. Francine’s testimony were later fully confirmed, through their replies to a question- naire on the subject which was widely distributed to medical men in both this country and Europe. Few of These Weapons Killed In the face of such facts, one can hardly hold that gas in war is the heinous invention it is com- monly pictured. Nor need one fear that the develop- ment of peace uses of this weapon will lead us more quickly into war than the arming of our police and our hunters with deadly weapons of another sort. The peace value of chemical warfare depends more especially upon the methods developed for war which are applicable to peace problems and to in- tensive study of poisonous and disagreeable mate- rials. The ordinary term, “poison gas,” applied to chemical weapons has led the majority of people to overlook two essential facts: few chemical weap- ons are actually lethal poisons, and even fewer of them are gases, surprising as it may seem. It is quite impossible to kill a man with the majority of chemical weapons because they so discomfort him that he will not stay in their vicinity long enough to get a fatal dose; and even if he were to do so. few of these weapons would kill. Actual gases, however poisonous they may be, are seldom usable in the open—and the battlefield can scarcely be put under cover—because of their strong _— — fk fe in

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‘ Chemical Warfare Service MARCH, 1926 tendency to dilute themselves rapidly in the sur- rounding air and thus prevent the building up of a high enough concentration to cause death. Of course, the first large-scale gas attack, against Ypres in April 1915, was made with an actual gas, chlorine. In spite of its apparent success against unprotected troops, the prompt development of masks to keep it out, coupled with its tremendous cost, when used in a cloud, led to the abandonment of this sort of attack. Chlorine has been known and used in commerce in huge quantities for several decades. Our water sup- ply is purified by it, our clothes are bleached by it and it has been—in the form of chloride of lime— one of our most valuable disinfectants. As a war gas it failed on account of the ease with which it could be kept out of the lungs of the soldiers. How- ever, it soon was observed to have a very beneficial effect in keeping the nose, throat and lungs free from bacterial infection. Hence, a study of possible means of applying it war fashion was made. In very low concentrations in the air—little more than enough to smell easily—it has been found to prevent and cure colds, influenza, bronchial infections and even to reduce the dangers of tuberculosis. Here we have a definite argument against the widely cherished fears of gas as a cause of pulmonary disorders, for this one actually cures them. Last year (1924) many submitted to the chlorine treatment for colds and were easily cured. Tear Gas Effective But Harmless The method of treatment consists in having the patient sit in a chamber the air of which contains a faint trace of chlorine—0.02 milligrams per liter of air—for an hour or so. In a report of experi- ments along this line in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Drs. Vedder and Sawyer state that of 931 persons so treated for a variety of acute and chronic pulmonary complaints, including laryn- gitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, whooping cough and influenza, 71.4 percent were completely cured and 23.4 percent were materially benefited. Among those chemical weapons which are neither poison nor gas, “tear gas” is finding the widest use in peace for the identical purpose that made it valu- able in war. A whole group of quite non-toxic ma- terials were used in the war to affect certain parts of the human system and to make the soldier as uncomfortable as possible by forcing him to wear a gas mask which was hardly less uncomfortable than the tears, sneezing and vomiting it was intended to prevent. These agents were not intended to produce death, but rather to penetrate the mask and force its wearer to remove it, laying himself open to injury Me Miah 8 A TRAVELING DISPENSARY Several of these units for the treatment of colds, et cetera, with chlorine are now being operated by the Red Cross. Such a service would be particularly effective during epidemics SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Chemical Warfare Service A HAND GRENADE BURST In this photograph, however, it is burst for the purpose of spreading disinfecting gases, not as a deadly weapon by poisonous materials sent over at the same time. Tear gas (cyanogen chloride, or C.N. for short) does nothing but produce a blinding irresistible flood of tears. Once started, nothing can stop them until the weeping eyes are entirely removed from the con- taminated atmosphere, and in the meantime the vic- tim is quite helplessly blind. After a few minutes (less than ten) in a clear atmosphere the tears and smarting stop and even the most skillful oculists can- not detect the slightest signs of permanent injury. Certainly the handling by machine and riot guns of mobs which refuse to be scared, is sure to result in injury to someone, while tear gas as it is used, mixed with smokeless powder in special, non-fragmenting hand grenades, developed for the purpose, in blank cartridges and in policemen’s billies, cannot cause any permanent harm, In addition to the police use of tear gas, jewelry establishments throughout the country are being equipped with apparatus for releasing it by the foot, which renders the bandit who may threaten robbery, as helpless as a babe. To the uninformed, gas has a great element of fear connected with it, as witness the prompt dispersion of the mobs in the Mingo min- ing district at the mere threat of its use. At Austin, Texas, some months ago, the courthouse became so infested with bats, rats and their accom- a& Pacific & Atlantic A PEACETIME GAS ATTACK Workmen putting the finishing touches on a tennis court in Hollywood, California, using chemicals that produce a deadly gas. Twenty minutes only can the men work continucusly 169 panying vermin as to threaten the dignity of the tribunals therein. Non-persistent, penetrating chem- ical weapons were used and, behold, the pests were no more. Ships’ holds must frequently be so treated, and the only satisfactory fumigant which the public health service can find for this purpose is hydro- cyanic acid, a deadly poisonous, almost odorless gas. It has the drawback, however, of giving no warning of its presence and many lives have been lost by men going into ships before the atmosphere has cleared. To correct this, small amounts of tear gas are generated now along with the highly toxic hydro- cyanic acid and everyone is promptly warned of threatened danger by copious tears. Its Use Successful Again Insect Pests Two other types of pests are being fought by chemical weapons, the insects preying upon our vege- tation and the teredo worm and other marine borers, which annually destroy immense numbers of wooden structures, ships and piers in salt water. The cotton boll weevil is, perhaps, the most destructive of the insect pests; and scores of others, the gypsy moth and the peach borer, particularly, destroy wealth in quantity. It is proposed to put these and their kind out of business by laying a cloud of poisonous smoke (a characteristic war trick) by airplane over the infested areas. Experiments so far indicate that greater success will be thus attained more cheaply than by present methods of spraying and dusting. It should be easily possible to kill the insects in vast fields and forests by such a method, once the details are worked out. All the tribe of marine borers are refusing to touch experimental pieces of piling treated with some of the near relatives of the war gas, Lewisite. Chloro- vinyl-arsenious oxide and phenyl-arsenious oxide are proving more effective in protecting wooden sub- marine structures than any of the treatments now in use, No discussion of the peacetime activities in gas research could be complete without mention of the defense that has been developed against carbon mon- oxide (probably the most deadly of all to man), hydrocyanic acid, chlorine, ammonia, sulfur dioxide and a number of others which frequently kill per- fectly peaceable men. Carbon monoxide is present in city gas and kills quickly without warning. The development of a gas mask to keep it out was a dificult problem but it has at last been solved, a reasonably comfortable mask devised, and an efhcient absorbent found. All the other ordinary gases can be kept out and the lives of many public servants (firemen and miners especially) can thus be saved. , 4 ee ~ ~

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170 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 Telephoning Beneath the Sea - Using Sound Waves Above the Audible Frequency, the Navy Has Developed a New Way to Telephone Secretly Through the Water from Ship to Ship telephone has been perfected which gives real promise of direct and unin- terrupted communication between sub- merged submarines, between a_ sub- merged vessel and a ship on the surface, or between a submarine and a shore station. It is not a radio device; it has nothing to do with radio. It is a reversion to the principle of the telephone pure and simple—the transmission of voice by sound waves. Submarines cannot be very effective until they are abie to talk to each other and thereby co-or- dinate their battle maneuvers. They have been hampered always by having to work singly or out from a shore base or from a mother ship. Heretofore, all devices for direct underwater communication have been failures. Submarines have been able only to rise to the surface of the water and receive radio signals from such powerful sta- tions as Arlington Radio Station. Long wavelengths can penetrate the water to a depth of from 20 to 30 feet, but short waves cannot be received. Further- more, the submarine was unable to answer the com- munication,—a very serious handicap—because it is impossible to transmit electrical energy from sub- merged antennas on account of the high electrical conductivity of salt water. If the new apparatus perfected at the Naval Re- search Station, Belleview, D. C., proves as effective for long distances under the ocean as it has already proved for two-mile distances beneath the Potomac River, the officer in his cabin can simply pick up a telephone exactly like the one on your desk and talk to the commanding officer of another submarine with as much ease as you talk to a friend a few city blocks away. Making Inaudible Waves Audible The idea on which the instruments are based is not new; scientists have been working unsuccessfully along the same lines for years, but they have always tried working with audible sound waves—the same sound waves that are used in voice transmission by land. One of the scientists of the Naval Research Sta- tion then decided he would try the inaudible sounds. He began experimenting with the short waves, or the “supersonics,” as they are now familiarly called in the Navy Department. To his astonishment and delight he found that these waves could be directed. He devised a telephone by means of which the voice sounds are transmitted on the supersonics from one vessel to the other and then are superimposed on audible waves, or heterodyned, at the other end and are then heard through the ordinary telephone instrument, He has now perfected his instruments to a point where it is possible to direct these very high- pitched sounds in a beam which can be turned in any direction, as we do the beam of a searchlight, and therefore, in the particular direction of the vessel with which he wishes to communicate. The chief advantages of this type of sound tele- phone over any previous means of underwater com- munication are: 1. Nobody or no ship can hear the message except the one toward which it is directed. The element of secrecy thereby provided is immediately evident. 2. By putting on several By Nell Ray Clarke transmitters, a submarine can talk to a fleet of sub- marines at one time and plan an active campaign and even serve as headquarters from which operations can be directed. But, in order to do this, the instruments must be tuned to one another. That means that the United States will have all its subsea telephones tuned to a certain wavelength, which is done when the instru- ment is made. This is a mechanical tuning. The instruments will send only one wavelength and receive only one. As long as the wavelength on which the instru- ment operates is kept secret, there will be no danger of an enemy submarine tuning in to catch the mes- sages. And even should an enemy find out the wavelength, enemy vessels would have to be equipped with the apparatus for receiving the message at such a lime as it might get into the direct beam of the sound—a situation which might happen, but is not probable. Pacific & Atlantic DR. HARVEY C. HAYES, THE INVENTOR A closeup of the electrical apparatus for transmitting the voice from one point to another under the water, as it would appear set up in the submarine Experiments now being conducted at the Naval Research Station hold out an alluring future for the instruments. The apparatus is simple and inoffen- sive looking. The same harmless transmitter, which resembles the top of a fireless cooker, is also used for the receiving disk. It is made of two circular plates, each being about as large around as a saucer. Between them are thin sheets of quartz crystal of the Piezo-electric type. The plates are mounted in a circular piece of steel, which in turn is mounted in the end of an iron container, a pipe-like affair on the bottom of the ship or on the side of the submarine, so that it comes directly in contact with the water. Electric wires, carrying an alternating high-fre- quency current, pass through the pipe and are at- tached to the steeel plates. When the current is sent over the wires, the quartz between the plates expands and contracts and sets the disks in motion just a little, It is these small movements of the disk which send out through the water the super-sound waves. A receiving instrument exactly like the transmitter on the other vessel to which the communication is ad- dressed vibrates in sympathy with the wave and sets up a current in the instrument, which is heterodyned down to a wave the human ear can hear. Up to the present time, the instruments have not been tried out on submarines, but experiments are being conducted from two barges which have been towed out in the Potomac for the tests. Not only have the men been able to talk to each other at distances of two miles or more, but every quality of the voices is reproduced perfectly. In transmitting, the carrier sound wave is modified by voice inflec- tions and the modifications come back through the detector. To make assurance of the reproductive quality of the instruments doubly sure, the men have played phonograph records near the instruments, choosing the most difficult operatic selections, but the selec- tions have come over as perfectly as if the phono- graph were in the same room. The high-power vacuum tubes, commonly used to supply energy in radio transmission, are being used for the alternating high-speed current, and the tele- phoning is being done at a pitch of 120,000 kilo- cycles. This is astonishing in view of the fact that the human ear can ordinarily hear only the sounds at a pitch of from 30 to 30,000 kilocycles. There seems to be only one kink in the new method that may give trouble, and that is due to the fact that sound waves travel much more slowly than It takes a sound wave in water five seconds to travel four miles. radio waves. Short Waves Solve the Problem The real secret of the invention lies in the peculiar behavior of short sound waves as distinguished from the long ones. Waves always have the tendency to travel out in every direction from a diaphragm. In using the instruments of the Fessenden-oscillator type, previously thought to offer the solution of the underseas communications problem, long sound waves are sent out in every direction, but upon com- ing in contact with the irregular ocean bottom they are reflected back in echoes to the instrument which sent them out. These echoes of the original signal become so con- founded with each other that there seems to be no possibility of interpreting a message. For instance, if an operator sent out a dot and a dash, he prob- ably would get from five to eight or more echoes of each sound. Before all the dots came in, the dashes would begin coming in. The short waves—and by short waves, always is meant short with respect to the diameter of the transmitter—also travel out spherically from the os- cillator, ‘but they have a tendency to neutralize each other, a fact well known to students of the action of sound waves. As a result, those which travel out from the steel disks in straight, parallel lines are the only ones left to transmit the sound, and it is these waves which make a beam that can be directed. The audible waves, on the other hand, due to the distance between their crests as compared with the dimensions of the sending apparatus, do not neu- tralize each other so readily.

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— MancH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 171 MOTION EXTERNAL POWER WIRE- RRs, & STREET CARS EXTERNAL WITH STORAGE- SMALL LOCOS, CARS BOATS, AUTOS INTERNAL POWER - Y, LARGE BOATS , SMALL & Whete LARGE LOCOS, AUTOS L, Reo ke RIO EXTERNAL WIRELESS (FUTURE) Pere (AIRPLANES a Fs REO ut me & wr MOTOR oR PRESSURE ty Ff) tp J) -PRESSURE ” REQUENCY ENERATOR - et -F OTOR-G ROTARY CONVERTER TRANSFORMER A.C.(CHARGER D.c.-M ° F ra Fe a) S 2 TRANS- FORMATION a) ®%¢ > ABS Lan \ ? Z @= WIRELESS NOILOV TATING URE) TING YNCHRONOUS aaa i ALTERNATING UNI. DIRECTIONAL iY A % Ww > %, 6 46 QB Ae % ow {wit HEAT. TO AND ASSOCIATED ELECTRIC WITH HEAT AND LIGHT-HAVING THE VELOCITY OF LIGHT WORK DONE EQUALS THE GENERATED = ELECTRICITY IN ELECTROSTATIC CONDITION ELECTRICAL ENERGY MINUS INTERNAL |_|-— BECOMES ELECTRO- DYNAMIC BY THE LOSS, WHICH IS HEAT * PHYSICAL ACT OF CLOSING THE CIRCUIT ON MOTION OF CONDUCTOR IN MAGNETIC FIELD CHEMICAL ACTION HEAT F ENERGY AIWSINA > \ Compiled by L. 8. Treadwell, Associate Editor Scientific American A Tree of Electricity It is impossible to clearly delineate all the ramifications of electricity. We give, therefore, only the principal applications to show their inter-relation

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Photogravhs courtesy of the Metropoiitan Museum of Art BRONZE STRIP BEFORE TREATMENT A part of a decorative panel, completely mineral- ized, yielded to electrical treatment with astonish- ing results. Dilute caustic soda and clectricity reduced the outer coating to sponge copper aineness. was of anctent origin. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN A GREEK MIRROR This mirror was submitted to microscopic and other tests to determine its gen- On the basis of these examinations it was concluded that the mirror The mirror was at one time fastened to a wooden back- ing. The frame was protected by a thin layer of gold MARCH, 1926 BRONZE STRIP AFTER TREATMENT After the rough bronze shown on the left was treated by electricity, the sponge copper was removed with nitric acid, showing the gold leaf, one-tenth the thickness of a human hair The Restoration of Ancient Bronzes How Corrosion of Antique Works ot Art Is Halted and Restoration Is Accomplished _— meme tif) restoration of antique works of art has always been more or less shrouded in mystery. Fortunately, however, we are now able to present a new method of restoration, based on scientific prin- ciples, the result of the collaboration of Columbia University and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The director of that institution, Dr. Edward Robin- son, goes into the general subject briefly in a pam- phiet issued by the Metropolitan Museum of Art: “Diseased” Specimens Affect Others “It is a general impression among visitors to museyms that once a work of art has been properly installed, once it has been set on a pedestal or hung upon a wall, and more especially if it has been pro- tected by glass, its life is assured for an indefinite future. So far is this from being the fact, however, that exactly the conteary might almost be true. Many objects bring with them the germs of deterioration, if not of actual destruction; others, though sound when they are received, are highly sensitive to rela- tive degrees of heat and cold, moisture and dryness, and to the atmospheric impurities of our modern cities, never so serious a menace as they are today. These dangers are not confined to any one material or class of material. Indeed, there are very few— if any-—which can be regarded as immune from one or another of them; and when we add to this the knowledge that one ‘diseased’ specimen in a show- case may and frequently does infect others, it will be realized that eternal vigilance is the price at which a curator keeps his collections in condition, though he is often at his wit’s end.to know how to arrest or prevent the disaster with which he finds kimself threatened. One is the corrosive green crust with which objects in bronze or other copper alloys are apt to become thickly coated through long burial in the earth, and which not only completely hides the details of the modeling and the engraved designs, but frequently eats deeply into the surface of the by a Process of Electrolysis By Colin G. Fink and Charles H. Eldridge metal itself, thereby rendering the object valueless, and sometimes destroying it altogether. The other is what is now familiarly known among collectors as the ‘bronze disease.’ ” We began our studies and experiments in January, 1923. The object of our investigation was to start with specimens of badly corroded bronze and to so treat them that the ugly crust should be removed and any detail of shape, design, engraving, tool International Newereet DR. COLIN G. FINK IN HIS LABORATORY He is the discoverer of a new method of restoring antique bronzes and silver by electro-chemistry mark, or other signs of workmanship remaining on the specimen might be restored or preserved intact. It is generally conceded today that the corrosion of metals and alloys is due to an electrolytic process; and it occurred to us that if this electrolytic process of corrosion could be reversed, a method might be devised whereby the metal compounds in the crust would be reduced back to metal. This line of attack of the problem seemed most hopeful, since other methods, such as dipping the bronze into strong mineral acids, are far too radical and seldom produce satisfactory results. It will be appreciated at once that any acid method is very difficult to apply, since it is almost impossible to regulate the action of the acid in such a way as to avoid the pitting of the underlying metal when such exists. Furthermore, the metal contained in the compounds of the incrustation is removed by the acid, whereas in the ideal case it should be reduced and put back into place. In the case of completely mineralized objects, acid would destroy them beyond redemption. Object Made Cathode We have given a large variety of methods a most careful trial and observed the results. We very soon decided in favor of an electrolytic method of attack. The fundamental idea was to replace cathodically the metal that had passed into the crust rather than to completely eliminate the crust with its metal con- tent by corrosive acids or by mechanical means. In developing our electrolytic process we tried out various electrolytes used by earlier workers, as well as other electrolytes suggested by our own labora- tory observations. We finally decided upon a two percent solution of caustic soda as the safest elec- trolyte to use. Finkener’s electrolyte of two percent potassium cyanide was found to be unsatisfactory. Without any preliminary cleaning, the bronze ob- ject to be treated is hung as cathode (as will be ex- plained below) in the two percent caustic soda solu- tion, and a low amperage direct current is applied. The object is suspended with soft copper wires and is completely immersed in the solution. In case the object is very soft and fragile or is completely min- eralized, fine, annealed copper wire is wrapped yn -_—_—ARe. ee — «ee a wa.

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MARCH, 1926 COPPER TRAY BEFORE RESTORATION This tray was about six inches in diameter. It was corroded and covered with a hard green crust around the object, one to two turns per inch, and electrical connections are made with several turns of this wire. The anodes are hung on either side of the object. (The anodes are the poles or electrodes at which oxygen gas is evolved during the passage of the current.) Iron, duriron, and platinum anodes have been used with success. battery jar’ with a capacity of one and one-half quarts serves well as a container for the treatment of small bronzes. For large objects we have used stoneware tanks; and there is no objection to the use of large tanks made of heavy sheet iron welded at the joints. The object being treated is always made the cathode—that is, that pole or electrode at which copper, gold, silver or other metal is deposited dur- ing passage of the current. The action of the electrolysis is to precipitate metal at the cathode and to reduce the crust to finely divided or spongy copper. If the cell is operated for a longer time a compact deposit of metal is obtained. If the object treated originally had a hard metal surface under a thin sandy layer of crust, we may remove the reduced copper film or layer by a gentle brushing with a stiff bristle brush or soft brass-wire brush. The first step in each case is to submit the object to a very careful examination. It is measured and weighed; the crust of patina is studied and analyzed to get an estimate of the prob- able composition of the underlying base. In the course of our investigations on ancient bronzes, we have had occasion to examine a number of objects concerning which there was some uncer- A rectangular glass e A GREEK BRONZE GOAT This little bronze goat was covered with a hard gray-green crust. The fore feet were encrusted and cemented together SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN tainty as to whether or not they were genuine an- tiques. It need hardly be mentioned that there are a large number of spurious antiques sold to people who are not familiar with even the simplest means of determining the composition and age of the object. Just as there are means and methods of detecting a counterfeit “Rembrandt,” so likewise are there methods of detecting an imitation or spurious “antique” bronze. Although it is true that absolute identification of the fraud is not always possible, in the large majority of cases we can, by a systematic method of physical, chemical, and metallographic analysis, determine whether or not the bronze or other alloy is of comparatively recent origin. We have divided our method of investigation and procedure into three distinct steps: 1. Microscopical examination of the patina or crust. 2. Metallographic examination of the metal core. 3. Chemical analysis of the metal. In the examination of the patina we may find dis- tinct crystalline growths of malachite or azurite, the tiny crystals partially imbedded in the underlying oxide film. Such crystalline growths are most difh- cult to imitate and patinas of recent origin are almost always amorphous or non-crystalline. Nevertheless, the patina may be recently formed or applied and yet the bronze may be genuine—in fact, very many of the genuine bronzes exhibited nowadays have patinas of recent or artificial formation. Corrosion Products in Layers Accordingly, if the microstructure of the malachite or azurite particles in the crust or in the patina is distinctly crystalline and interlaced with the copper oxide layer, the bronze is very likely genuine. But an amorphous malachite deposit does not necessarily imply that the underlying bronze is not genuine. Under the outermost coating of malachite or azurite or clayey material, there usually is found, in the case of genuine bronzes, a layer of copper oxide, reddish-brown to reddish-black in color. It is usually of considerable thickness and is not readily applied by any rapid artificial process. Further- more, very often the products of corrosion are im- bedded deeply in the metal next the crust. In the metallographic examination of the bronze we find additional proof as to whether or not the bronze is genuine. Taking a very fine slice of metal from some inconspicuous part of the bronze, and preparing this by polishing and etching for micro- scopical examination, we noted in the case of a OO BEFORE AND AFTER TREATMENT Lert: A bracelet of round silver alloy wire. Ricut: An oval bronze bracelet with snakes’ heads at the ends 173 COPPER TRAY AFTER RESTORATION After electrolytic reduction and restoration, the design engraved on the copper was revealed almest completely genuine bronze that there is a gradual change in structure as we pass to the outer exposed edge of the bronze; furthermore we sometimes noted changes in the size of certain crystal components of the bronze, changes that are brought about by a very slow process of “afnealing.” Chemical analysis must be carried out with great care. The results may support the findings of the metallographic investigation by determining chem- ically that the main body or interior of the brenze has a decidedly different composition from the layers under the outer oxide or patina surface. In conclusion we would like to quote from Dr. Robinson’s introduction to the museum pamphlet: “We are now well on the way to salvaging bril- liantly thousands of bronzes which might otherwise have been ruined by crude attempts at ‘cleaning’ or discarded altogether as worthless. The artificial patination of such objects as may require it after treatment, and the cure or prevention of the bronze disease, still call for further study; but considerable progress has been made in both, and we are justified in believing that satisfactory solutions are not far distant. The museum official or collector who hopes to find in this report a ready-made formula for treating bronzes which anybody can apply will be disappointed. While Dr. Fink and Mr. Eldridge have shown that ancient bronzes can be cleaned and preserved, they have demonstrated with equal force that this can be done only by a highly trained expert who watches and deals instantly with every symptom that develops during his treatment. cts de Bk ee THE BRONZE GOAT RESTORED The goat was submitted for three days to the electrolytic process, which restored it to the condition shown ahove

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174 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN —_ = F MARCH, 1926 i TWO EXAMPLES OF PISE HOUSES OVER 150 YEARS OLD This house built in 1773 of rammed earth is now standing at 13th Street and Rhode Island Avenue, Washington, D. C. More Mud Houses An Ancient Method of Building Which Has Been Revived in Europe and is Now Being Built in 1773, the owner attempted to demolish it. The walls were so hard that they were retained in the remodeled structure pisé rammed _ earth. The Moors brought the method into Spain, where we find the many centuries old Alham- bra palace (Granada) is built in some parts of this material. The Romans knew and used the method. In Southern France old pisé houses are plentiful, and it is from France we have the term Pisé de Terre, commonly shortened to pise. We have some old buildings here in America, in fact it is quite probable that the pisé method was in use on the American continent earlier than in any other part of the globe. In Central and South America the pre-historic races have left some re- markable architectural creations, among which can be found proof that these people also knew how to build terraces and buildings with rammed earth. To this class of buildings, no doubt, belong the Casa Grande ruins, Arizona. In 1632 this ruin was six stories high and the Government is now prezervin® what remains of it. The Indians at that time had no legends as to who constructed it. To many it is a puzzle by what method the Casa Grande was built. But the markings of pisé forms can still be seen, and we are sure at least, that that method was used in its construction. Walls Hard as Stone To us it is of more practical value, however, to find that some of the early colonists knew how to build with rammed earth. One of the oldest houses in America is a building of this construction in St. Augustine, Florida. It is established that it was built in 1556. Another old pisé building has been found in Washington, D.C. According to preserved ‘ documents it dates from 1773. A few years ago the present owner of this house attempted to wreck it, needing the space for a more modern building. The wrecking had to be given up, however, because the walls were found to be as hard as stone. It would be an expensive process to completely demolish Put to Good Use in America Py Karl J. Ellington Photographs by Courtesy of the Author them. So, the house was remodeled and the exterior refinished with white pebble dash. Similarly constructed buildings are said to exist at various places in the south, or where the colonists f A Way to Lower Building Costs In our April 1924 issue we described the revival in America of the art of build- ing houses out of ordinary earth—the so-called Pisé method. A large number of inquiries came in requesting more par- ticulars. These were referred to Mr. Kar] J. Ellington who has had much to do with introducing this method into the Scandinavian countries and is the one responsible for its revival here. He tells here of the development which our first article predicted. Weare convinced that when Americans are more generally informed as to the virtues of the Pisé method, there will be springing up all over the country attrac- tive homes, built well within the means of the average citizen. had come from pisé-building provinces in Spain or France. Thomas Jefferson knew of the method and recommended its use, and it is thought that some of the old farm buildings near the Jefferson home in Virginia are so built. The first studies and experiments were made in this country many years ago, but only a few hundred inquiries and very little building resulted up to 1920. Just after the war the writer happened to be visiting in Europe, and introduced the method into the four Scandinavian countries. In Sweden and Norway now are to be found fine residences and even factory buildings as far north as the polar circle. These buildings have stood the severe winters up there for many years and prove that a pisé wall is practically as good under the midnight sun as on the equator, so far as its wearing qualities are concerned. This revival in Europe has been mentioned occa- sionally in newspapers in America and a few indi- viduals became interested and sought more informa- tion on the subject. Some two thousand inquiries have been received by the writer from all parts of the country, while several hundred have already made the first venture or are now building. Notable among these are a beautiful and luxurious home in Kansas City and a fine residence in Washington, D. C., of which we give a photograph. In Rockford, Illinois, is a small house that is so successful, work is now proceeding on a dwelling house. Another successful building is in Newcastle, Indiana. In Brunswick, Minnesota, a small house was built last year and a larger one is being erected this year— all by the pisé method. Good for Hundreds of Years Several hundred settlers and farmers in Canada are also building with rammed earth. They usually start with a chicken house, garage or barn and build the living houses after having more facility in handling the material. In every case the trial build- ing has been so successful that large buildings follow. In the adobe-building states, many home builders are finding the pisé method far superior to the old way both as to time saving and the final result. On the Pacific Coast many are preparing to build this summer. The method and material harmonizes well with the architectural traditions grown out of the early Spanish culture in these parts, with its missions and haciendas, and occasional touches borrowed from the venerable pueblo crea- tions. That this type of house is the most healthful kind to live in, can be abundantly proven to anyone who will care to investigate or listen to the evidence. The investigator will also find that such a house will remain good for hundreds of years—practically

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MARCH, 1926 4 SMALL OUTLAY IN CASH FOR this henhouse was the sensation of Kanabec County, Minne- sota, last year. The curious traveled miles to see it and many similar “coops” were patterned thereafter indestructible; that in fact the rammed earth wall will become stronger and harder with greater age, owing to the chemical action of weathering. As for foundation, many architects regard basements as an old-fashioned extravagance, and many a housekeeper has found running up and down stairs to and from the cellar an irksome part of the day’s work. A Cellar Above Ground In building with pisé we have one more good reason for discarding the old style basement, since the best kind of a cellar, if wanted, can be built above ground and conveniently located near the kitchen or even connected with the same. In this way the rammed earth wall also obtains minimum cost even for the foundation, for in some localities there will be natural stone near at hand to use, and a little cement will be needed on top only, on which to spread the damp-proof course. Thus, the ex- pense of excavation will be eliminated. It is of importance that this method be taken up by farmers and settlers. There the conditions are most favorable for getting buildings at very small Whatever will reduce the farmer’s expenses will enable him to sell foodstuffs at lower prices. Lower building costs will also help many young men to choose farming instead of the city. Next to farmers and settlers, all people who want outlay in cash. to live in suburbs or in country homes ought to know how to build their homes with the soil on the building site. Our pisé house is not only cheap to build, healthy to live in-—cool in summer and warm in winter— money-saving as to upkeep, fuel, insurance, doctor’s FORMS USED FOR BUILDING WITH RAMMED EARTH The author stands in the right foreground directing construction of a demonstration building SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN A GOOD TYPE TO START WITH The first attempt at pisé building is usually a structure of this kind. When facility is attained, larger buildings follow bills, and so on, but it is also a house that will last forever, and, if built right, will withstand even the severest storms and cyclones. This, of course, is an important consideration in our middle western states —Qhio, Kansas, Nebraska, and so on. Great Saving in Maintenance If it were commonly known that the very best kind of dwellings and other buildings can be built with rammed earth, and if the method were utilized wherever conditions would warrant its use, it would mean a saving of millions every year in reduced building costs, maintenance and insurance. And this is only the financial side of it. It would mean to have at hand a building system that would enable every American family to live in a home of its own, without a cloud of debt overhanging. This freedom from obligation to the rent man would contribute much to the happiness of independence-loving Americans. That by this method a house can be built at much lower cost than with any other material is self- evident, since the soil to build with, is already on the building site and free of cost even for freight. This soil requires no special treatment, and the im- plements needed—a movable form and three ram- mers—can be made by the self-builder in his own yard, A good demonstration of the utility of pisé on LIKE ANY OTHER MODERN TYPE OF HOME , . : A completely modern house recently constructed in the suburbs of Washington, D. ©. 175 THE OWNER BUILT THIS HIMSELF To build this bungalow at Costa Mesa, California, dirt from the cellar excavation, with barbed wire reinforcement was used upon a concrete foundation the coast is a bungalow recently built in Costa Mesa, California, a photograph of which we give. This building is thirty feet by twenty-nine feet with five rooms and bathroom, also hall and porch. The owner is not a builder by trade and knew nothing about it except what he learned from the book, “Modern Pisé Building.” No other help or guidance was needed. The method is for self-builders. There are a hundred details to be observed and none of them can be ignored, but they are all easy to under- stand. Any man with ordinary intelligence can follow them and do as well, but no one should attempt to build with rammed earth with fragmen- tary information, for pisé building is as much an art as any other method of building, and many of the seemingly fine points are essential to complete success. Opens Up Unlimited Possibilities The writer has a pisé home, now under way. The cellar will be above ground near the kitchea. For smoke channels, drainage pipes rammed into the walls make brick and masonry superfluous. Rammed earth will be used for the floors with open space between the ground and the floor, so it will be com- pletely dry. Round pillars of great strength and some other stunts in pisé are features already tried out. The next experiment will be a good, tight and cheap roof made principally of compressed soil. Here there are a few problems in stresses that must be solved. Pisé building opens up unlimited possibilities and, though it has passed the experimental stage, there still remain numberless effects of architectural beauty and utility to be perfected.

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A VIEW SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 OF THE OLD KIMBERLEY MINE, SOUTH AFRICA This mine has been worked to a depth of two thousand feet. The great open pit would hold a mountain The Art of Cutting Diamonds How the Rough Stone Is Cut, Sawed and Polished to Produce the Most Brilliant of Jewels g|OT so very long ago, we read in our old geography text book the sentence, “Am- sterdam is noted as the center of the diamond-cutting industry of the world.” The statement is true no longer. To day, America leads the world in the value of dia- monds cut within her borders; and of all her cities New York glitters most brilliantly with these preci- ous stones of her own cutting. It has been estimated that all known diamonds represent a value of five billion dollars. In other words, these stones approach the value of all the gold accumulated in the world, which amounts to something less than eight billion dollars. GETTING THE STONES READY FOR CUTTING Before the diamonds are split or sawed the stones are marked to show where the cuts should be made By {lbert A. Hopkins Most of these diamonds come from South Africa, about ninety million carats having been mined there. Brazil has produced fifteen million carats, south- western Africa, five million, and India two million. he total output of all the other diamond-producing countries is less than two million carats. Dr. George Ff Kunz, a gem expert of international reputation, estimates that the tutal production of the various diamond fields is a little less than one hundred and fourteen million carats. Cutting a Highly Skilled Art Naturally, the diamond in its rough state is use- less except for technical purposes. It must be cut and polished with the highest degree of skill before it can take its rightful place as the queen of jewels. Early in the history of the lapidary art Amsterdam acquired a monopoly of the diamond-cutting indus- try, a monopoly she held until recently. The cut- ting of diamonds is a highly skilled art, difficult to learn, and mistakes made in cutting are extremely costly. Few skilled cutters were to be found out- side of Amsterdam. With the World War, however, trafic in precious stones in Holland was seriously interrupted. Added to this was the rapid increase in the use of gems in the United States. What more natural than that the stones should be cut here? For a long period experiments were carried on in a small way, but larger wages offered in this country were a powerful inducement to highly skilled Euro- Of late years, the industry has grown swiftly and to startling proportions. pean workmen. Each diamond has its own peculiarity; and each one must be dealt with individually to bring out its particular merits. The diamond is too precious to be wasted in experiment. The cutter must exercise wise judgment based on long experience; for an unskilled workman may ruin a valuable stone. Before cutting, a diamond is given a close and critical examination to determine into which one of the recognized forms it can be cut to the best ad- vantage. Upon the decision depends largely the profit to be made on the stone. Sometimes it is found that a large diamond of excellent quality con- tains several minute flaws which must be eliminated. Only an expert can determine how the stone should be divided to get the best results. When he has made his decision, the examiner indicates by little scratches where the stone is to be cut. It then is passed to the “cleaver,” who divides the stone by sharp blows on a steel blade. This process, too, requires wide knowledge of the forma- fi a a eee - _ ( a ot a “m “LOPPING” OR PUTTING ON THE LARGE FACETS This step in the process is performed by the revolving disk or lap, which is charged with diamond dust

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN ROUGH DIAMONDS AND THE PROCESS OF CUTTING Twenty-five thousand dollars worth of uncut diamonds. The insert shows the successive steps in the process of cutting and polishing tion of diamonds, for while they can be split easily on the proper planes of cleavage, they may be ruined if the tool is applied improperly. Not only is the stone divided into the desired parts by the splitting process, but much of the superfluous material and the parts containing defects There is still another shaping process, however, through which the stone must be put to bring it approximately to are removed by the same operation. its final form. This is sawing, a process used widely in this country. In sawing, the stone is first fixed in a holder by imbedding it in a small mass of lead in the end of the tool. Thus mounted, it can be held against the saw, which is a small disk of phosphor-bronze ex- ceedingly thin and revolving at great speed. There are no teeth on the saw and it makes no impression unless its edge is kept charged with diamond dust mixed with oil. particle of waste material, both from the splitting As the stone is slowly cult, every and from the cutting is carefully saved for diamond dust for use in sawing and other operations; for the diamond is the only thing which has been found which will cut another diamond. The operation of sawing involves a high degree of technical knowledge and, in fact, is often carried on as a special trade within the general trade of diamond-cutting. Sawing reduces the stone only roughly to its final DETAILS OF CL JTTING—FROM SHAPING THE STONE TO PUTTING ON THE SMALL FACETS size. To finish it and produce the many glistening facets, sometimes as many as fifty-seven in a well- cut brilliant, the stone must be cut or polished. For our drawing showing the sequence of operations to the stone we are indebted to Mr. A. T. Hunt, of J. R. Wood and Sons. Formerly, this was done by mounting two stones in separate holders and pa- tiently rubbing them together, the two faces smeared with a mixture of oil and diamond powder. Now, however, the work is done on a horizontal iron wheel which revolves rapidly and upon which the stone to be cut is pressed by means of the holder. The cutting wheel is charged with diamond dust. Even ve | AON pe - se CLEAVING THE DIAMOND After the stone has been marked for Citting, it is divided along the cleavage planes with a steel knife. A sharp blow is all that is necessary to split it with this mechanical aid the process is slow and re- quires, great patience. The cutter relies entirely upon his eye and a false move would quickly end in disaster. The cutting of a single stone is the work of several days. The greater the number of facets, the greater is the danger of the stone being damaged in the workman’s hands. The sequence of operations is shown in our draw- ing. First, the rough diamond is sawed or cleft; then it is cut or shaped; then lopped to make it four square; then lopped again to make it eight square, and finally “brillianteered” or finished by putting on the small facets, when it is ready for its setting in gold or platinum. In the process of cutting, about sixty percent of the weight of the rough stone is lost. The cost of cutting and the rarity of really fine gems in the rough account for the high price of the finished diamond. value of a diamond, since the purity of the stone and the skill exercised in its cutting are what count most. Diamond-cutting is an industry which not only re- quires great skill but it is of ancient and honorable lineage. Although it now centers in New York City, Amsterdam may still take comfort in the thought that a considerable number of the diamond-cutters in the United States are native Dutchmen. Weight often is a poor criterion of the Lert: This is a diamond cutting another diamond. One is in a lathe, the other in a holder. Ricut: Diamonds are cemented in a “dap” or holder preparatory to cutting. Urrer Insert: Brillianteering or putting on the small facets which are produced on the revolving lap

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s)/HE early naturalists in America, as in other countries, were woefully no twisted in the matter of giving the names, thus nature observers of later generations some cause for complaint. Not only were absurd appellations used in imitation ef Old World names, as, for example, the names robin, partridge, pheasant, quail, panther, adder, and so on, but also such erring terms as make us think of restricted habitats. Thus we have the term thrush applied to warblers and warbler given to many birds that do not warble and for widely distributed species, such titles as Maryland yellow-throat, Kentucky, Ten- nessee, Nashville and Connecticut warblers, Louis- iana heron, English snipe, English and French mock- ing-birds and Carolina wren. Not Native to Carolina The Carolinas have no more right to be honored with the name of this little songster than have any other states south of Middle Pennsylvania and New Jersey, Southern Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa, the range of the species not extending far west of the Mississippi River, but all over the eastern, south- ern and mid-southern United States. Added to this misapplied appellatien is another specific misnomer. The systematist Gmelin, having received specimens solely from Louisiana, called the species ludovici- anus. Aithough Wilson, ignorant of Gmelin’s work and falling into the more common error, had named the bird caroliniana, Audubon, Nuttall, Bonaparte and subsequent students up to the present day must follow the prior naming. Then, as though not content with the extent of these absurdities, Viellot wished to put the unoffend- ing little creature into another genus, calliag it mis- takenly a leaper of reeds, Thryothorus. This name was rejected for a time, although it is now admitted, so that, if we wish to be accurately specific in a universal understanding, we refer to the bird as Thryothorus ludovicianus, the reed leaper of Louis- SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN By S. F. Aaron iana. Sometimes one must incline to the beloved Burrough’s idea that scientific names are uselessly cumbersone and often misleading. It is not less antusing to note the variations in the descriptions of the species. Wilson and Audubon called it the Great Carolina Wren and gave its length as five and one-quarter inches. Coues and Jordan leave off the “great” and note the length of the bird as six inches. The United States Government Bulle- tins and Ridgway give it as five and one-half inches. It is likely that most bird lovers have their favor- Lively: All drawings by the author THE SONG OF THE WREN This drawing shows the singing attitude of the Carolina Wren. These birds sing also when they are fighting MARCH, 1926 The Carolina Wren This Happy, Optimistic Mite of a Bird Is a Musician. Architect and Artisan ites among these feathered friends that are at least better understood. Thus, I have heard some select the intrepid little hawks; some the wood thrush, solely for its musical ability. Others choose the kingbird or the shrike. I know one intellectual stu- dent of birds that most admires the crow. The father of American ornithology probably favored the bluebird more than any other, as did Burroughs; Maurice Thompson chose the mocking- bird. From their complete writings one might infer that Job would select some of the sea birds, that Chapman most favors the veery, that Stone could grow moderately enthusiastic over the purple martin, that Ridgway’s favorite is the western meadowlark, that Spencer Baird loved the thrasher and that David Starr Jordan very possibly agrees with the poet Bry- ant in his admiration of the bobolink. Others, such as Audubon, Nuttall, Brewer, Maynard, Samuels, Coues and Bendire express no preferences. Possesses Remarkable Vocal Powers If this deponent may have a feathered favorite, one of truly heroic mold and one that is worthy of the greatest admiration for its abilities as a musician, architect, artisan, its happy, optimistic disposition and its domestic virtues, then none other than our little friend, the Carolina wren must be named. I confess that the barn swallow, with its excellent nest building—combing masonry, basket-work and mattress making—its cheerful twitter, its poetry of motion on the wing and its well managed family affairs reaches a close second, easily overtopping all but the voluble, intrepid, ever-happy, sprightly, amusing, more than active, thumb-sized gleaner in hidden places, the Carolina wren. First perhaps is the song. And who, loving all that is beautiful, can fail chiefly to note it! This little bunch of flesh and feathers, which, with the feathers picked off is no larger of body than a shrew, is most remarkable for its vocal powers. A certain sweetness of tone might be expected, from the fact Se eet

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- MARCH, 1926 that it is a wren. The loudness of its notes may also be explained in part as a matter of heredity. But even that cannot anticipate the wonderful volume of sound that comes from the throat of this mite. It is probably one of the loudest bird songs of any kind to be heard anywhere and it comes from one of the smallest of the warm-blooded, back-boned crea- tures in existence. How, without splitting its larynx, shattering its palatine bones and jarring its entire system to the point of sudden dissolution, it can emit such high-pitched and penetrating vocal efforts is beyond understanding. How such tiny lungs can get sufficient force into sounds that sometimes can be heard for over half a mile and are always be- lieved by the listener to come from a creature ten times the size is hardly to be comprehended. If one may find even a poor excuse for putting bird songs into words, the Carolina wren’s com- monest utterance may be written: weet-so, weet-so, weet-so, weet-so, the eight or ten syllables given rapidly and repeated about ten times a minute. The second syllable of each note is higher pitched. There is also heard, and perhaps as often, a decidedly different pronunciation which may best be likened to tootle-tootle-tootle-tootle, the last syllable lower. Sometimes the notes are pitched so that the highest one is about middle C on the piano; at times, espe- cially during the breeding season and when the birds are fighting, there is greater rapidity and more than half an octave higher is reached without, of course, any particular key being chosen. Sings All Through the Year Fully as remarkable is the fact that this small bundle of energy sings all the year round—on the hottest days, far into the fall, often on the coldest, windiest days of winter and more often when a bright sun slants upon a world of wind-drifted snow. This habit, shared only by one other of our avian fauna—the mocking-bird—is positively demonstrated in the wren’s southern habitat, but also, although less frequently, in its more northern haunts. Penetrate thicketed patches, covered deep by the Frost King’s mantle, and the most cheery call you will hear, nearly the most musical in any season, will be the far-flung, three-syllable song of the Caro- lina wren. It rings out through the frosty air, a veritable beacon of sound, at delightful odds with the wintry surroundings and the landscape and like unto nothing that we may expect, each time a sur- prise even to him who has heard it before. Among bird lovers, Audubon showed the greatest appreciation of the Carolina wren’s song. With his not unusual exaggeration he ascribed to it mimick- NEST OF THE CAROLINA WREN The exterior is entirely of twigs and small roots. It is placed in a large brush heap in the woods SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN CONTENTS OF STOMACHS OF WRENS Lert: Bird shot in April. Center: Bird shot in June. Ricut: Bird shot in October. Ants, spiders, caterpillars and a miscellaneous assortment make up the bulk of the food. Much is difficult to identify. Comparatively indigestible parts, such as the heads of caterpillars, remain whole longest ing sounds and named the bird also the “mocking wren,” but there is not the least reason to suppose that the notes are meant to imitate other sounds of any bird; not even the bird’s musical trill of alarm nor of self-communion is like that of any other bird or animal. The Carolina wren earns also the unique distinc- tion of being, among passerine birds, the only non- migratory species inhabiting temperate eastern North America. I have given the closest observation to a number of these birds of both sexes and to definite pairs nesting in certain localities and not once have I failed to note that individual wrens, told by cer- tain definite characteristics, remained in or near the neighborhood where they nested, perhaps traveling half a mile or a little more along lines of hedges and thickets to insure well-filled stomachs. At this time I know of three pairs of Carolina wrens each of which have inhabited sections of a few acres in extent, one an old mill site, the other pairs in patches of thicketed woods and for five years they have strictly adhered to their chosen lo- cality. I am only at a loss to know what becomes of the young of two broods each, aggregating thirty. successfully reared each season. No doubt there is a large mortality among them, especially from hawk- and shrikes; that they do journey away is certain. but how far? The nests of the Carolina wren differ little from those of other species of the same family, excep! that the former are not attached to reeds like those of the marsh wren nor are they constructed within such restricted spaces as those chosen by the house wren. Placed in rocky chinks and crannies, in dense masses of brush and thickets of broken-down briars, in holes made by the rotting limbs of fallen trees, always out of the reach of such larger enemies as the squirrels, the fair-sized snakes and even the short- tailed shrew, the birds need fear only such smaller reptiles as the garter and ribbon snakes, more rarely the long-tailed shrew, which creatures they combat with such fury as often to defeat them. I have examined more than forty nests of the Carolina wren, mostly in the mid-southern states, some in Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland and have always found them as above described. A bul- 179 letin of the United States Agricultural Department asserts that they are sometimes placed in vines, but I have never seen them in such situations, There is a great variation in the material chosen, and this variation is not geographic. Two nests in Tennessee, placed as close together as the rivalry between the males would allow, were built in the manner most commonly employed: a rounded mass with the en- trance hole near the top of one side. And as usual the insides were lined with feathers and a downy stuff plucked from some unidentified vegetation. But the outside of one nest was made entirely of coarse sticks and twigs, some short pieces being al- most as thick as a lead pencil, while the exterior of the other nest was solely of fall grass, sometimes called horse grass—possibly because horses will not eat it. Not even the nest of the ovenbird, the meadowlark nor of Mrs. Bobwhite can equal the sheltering com- pactness and mass strength of the Carolina wren’s nest. The female does it all, but should her lord and master, who is often woefully henpecked, dislike the situation for any reason—and such is frequently the case—he will build a nest of his own in which, at times, he may roost. This nest is generally quite superior to that of the female. being more bulky. better put together and softer inside; but invariably, I think, she turns him down, occupies her own man- sion and the little ones are reared therein, being fed also by the paternal hustler. The wren-like agility of both parents, surpassing pethaps almost any other bird even of its nearest kin, insures an abundance of nourishment to the young, who fly in about two weeks after hatching. Its Food Mainly Noxious Insects The contents of the stomachs of birds have been carefully studied in Washington, the averages being quoted as very representative. In my own obser- vation of those birds of the species, shot for museum specimens, the general menu holds much alike in all, with some differences in percentages of species. The busy little gleaners get those insects that fre- quent the places where the wrens seek shelter; thus spiders, ants, barkflies, ground beetles, black crickets, cave crickets, the caterpillars and chrysa- lides of moths and those arthropods that crawl into lowly places to hibernate, naturally compose the bulk of the bird’s food. Some of these creatures. such as spiders and certain rapacious insects are beneficial, but it is safe to say that the majority arg noxious species. Thus the economic value of thé Carolina wren is assured; and, since this is the cas¢, every effort should be made to protect it. an ANOTHER NEST OF THE WREN This nest was found in a scrap lumber pile. In contrast to the other, the exterior is made of grass

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 From the Scrap-book of Science—Cyme Kadel & Herbert ’ bg Kadel @ H THE BUSHMAN’S CANDLE If you light the stems of this plant they will burn like tallow candles. The plant grows in the deserts of South Africa, a region formerly inhabited by large numbers of a primitive negroid race known gs Bushmen. Hence the plant’s name This Sor to distin; vides ai Kade! & Herbert bee ay pres = MECHANICAL TRACK INSPECTOR HOW BLOW THE WINDS ALOFT? jolts due to imperfect railroad { hydrogen balloon is being released while an observer stands nearby with a theodolite, ready to follow its course as it rises and floats down-wind. Some of these balloons have gone as high as 90,000 feet. By following them with these instruments it is possible to determine the velocity of the wind at various levels. This information is of great value to aviators it ) iiations and themsélves automatically on a roll paper moving through this device. Separate yds are n of up and down jolts, sidewts¢ and lengthwise jolts. After a run itis posstble ect which has left its record ch register fe a Zipven ¢ Ewing Galloway HOW NEW YORK GES ITS DRI The interior of the concrete-lined tunnel which carries miter from th City—the world’s largest and most expensive m Sater system PROVING AN OLD MAXIM Steel siphon pipes, buried well belowte surface, ta maxim that the early bird catches the worm is surely true in this case ng at sunrise and the most active of the group quickly get their fill and depart. birds near La Jolla, California The sea gulls meet the plowmen every This picture shows a plowman and saadianctantas EXPANSION OF PRECIOUS STONES DETERMINED G. E. Merritt, expert at the U. S. Bureau of Standards, looking into a blazing furnace where dia- rtain temperatures to note their expansion. The - WHERE IS IT? 1” to locate airplanes that can be heard but cannot be seen. oping this sound-ranging apparatus as an aid to the human ear. udge direction of sounds by combining the impressions received in the respective to make them so that hot foods will not ars. Above is a battery o} super-ears, which may be turned in all directions The Army has been With our ears monds and precious stones are heated to « of Standards has been cooperating with the makers of dishes, telling them the best way in pand them unevenly, thus causing them to break

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Camera Shots of Scientific Happenings N Kadel & Herbert A LOAF, OR A STONE? candles, This South African plant so closely resembles a stone that it is hard ‘ormerly to distinguish from a stone. It is composed largely of water and pro- own as _— vides a welcome thirst quencher for both human beings and animals. In the foreground is a real stone i Henry Miller Keystone View “SEEING” THE BANG OF A GUN HOW OLD IS “DIFFUSED LIGHTING?” This is the muzzle of a 45-caliber revolver just before the bullet We have heard much about the recently-discovered has emerged. The reund, black curve that shows is the primary value of diffused lighting. Here, however, is @ sound wave, photographed by the United States Bureau of Stand- cobbler’s lamp of the Middle Ages. By placing a ards. Sound waves are local condensations of the air. This fact candle between four globes of water the light was enables them to be photographed, since light is differently “bent” diffused in a crude way. This was given to Dr. as it passes through these areas of greater or less density John Finley, when he last visited France 1K GS ITS DRINKING WATER arrits #ter from the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskills to New York jcipd Sater system. The three channels are for siphon connections. Severe tests had to be passed by this gasoline truck tank before New York City would permit its use in the streets below surface, take the water across low valleys tanks were barred until recently, owing to such possibilities as that of gasoline in large quantity running from EAGLE-EYE FINGERPRINT CAMERA For photographing fingerprints, George Blum, official photographer of the San Francisco Police, has invented a special camera, that does the work perfectly. The camera is equipped with six small electri lights, placed in front of the lens, no other light being necessary to make the photograph. It als: has attachments for the use of ray filters, when it is necessary to register color TRUCK TANK UNDERGOING FIRE TEST These hem into subways and being ignited by sparks EGGS OF EXTINCT REPTILES "it The third Asiatic expedition has returned from Mongolia with new finds of animal life. A closeup of the contents of the nest of the 100,000,000-year-old dinosaur eg@s. These eggs are about eight inches long and the fact that they were dinosaur eggs was determined by finding the embryos of tiny dinosaurs in some aj them International Newsreel

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182 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 Novel Devices for the Shop and the Home A Department Devoted to Recently Invented Mechanical and Household Appliances Egg boiler made of wire Egg-Cooking Device Owed housewife will appreciate this t latest novelty for the kitchen. It is an ee oker, server and detector. From one # six eggs may be boiled in this device at me tine. When they are taken out of the w they may be served on the table in »ker. Spoiled eggs may be detected oiling, because they will float out of i arate holders Anti-Giare Auto Lamps HESE new automobile anti-glare lamps Ah will undoubtedly eliminate many auto which result from the deadly glare = , oncoming car. They come in sets, 7 a car. One lamp is placed on the ie bn the lefi side of the car focused he rear. The other lamp is placed on ght fender and is focused to the front of the car. The lamp on the right gives ull vision of the road ahead and the one ve left gives the oncoming car behind a ight on the road Safe Lowering of Tools | | almost any industry, and particularly in the electrical trades, it is often neces- sary to raise or lower a tool to a workman. tirowing tools from an elevation has re- ! ip thousands of serious accidents. The Detroit Edisun Company has solved the problem by attaching rings to the various tegle so that a line may be secured to the ng the tools can thus be lowered or raise with safety to the workman and wiikerut endangering the passerby. The de viec If very simple and is strongly recom- Danger from falling tools will be ¥ eliminated by this very simple Motor-Driven Babcock Tester ‘HE Babcock cfm tester has now been 4 ’ ded with a meter which adds to its epeed and efficiency. It is alao artanged so rel ean be driven hy hand power. The mA made in two separate sections, the upper half of which may be removed easily Conducted by Albert A. Hopkins Babcock tester with cover removed for inspection and cleaning. opening in the cover for inserting and re- moving the bottles being tested, without re- moving the cover. An English Innovation ‘ROM the Olympia show in London we illustrate a car equipped with a compact tool chest built into a panel of the door. m a position resting on the rear deck Line rings for tools A Shiftable Top for Automobiles HE top is of rigid construction and is shiftable by hand to and from a position resting on the rear deck. Counterbalancing springs carry the dead weight of the top so that no appreciable effort is necessary to effect the shifting operation. This type of top structure allows the car to be changed in a moment from an uncovered roadster to a weather-tight coupe. Door windows rack up and the quarter windows quickly clamp into place. These latter windows are housed in a compartment back of th seat when not in use. A movable panel in the top allows use of the deck seat when the top is lowered. The top consists of an ash frame, padded and covered with water-proof fabric. It is securely clamped in either position so that no shake or rattle is pos- sible. With the roadster increasing rapidly in popularity as the sport type of car, this top construction is interesting because it offers an improvement needed in the road- ster, namely, a top which is easily lowered or raised and one which will not lose its appearance by repeated lowering. Further- more, the fact that the car is quickly made into a snug coupe if the weather becomes inclement is decidedly advantageous. An English “Safety Line” REMARKABLE form of white line is 4 now under test in London. In the center of the North Circular Road, say The Engineer, an illuminated line over 30 feet long has been laid. The “line” is contained in a wrought iron trough sunk to the road level. In the trough are electric lamps, and the trough is closed with alternate sections of reinforced white marble and prism glass. Thus the line is visible both by day and night. The lighting up and extinguishing switch is controlled by a clock. to the positions shown in the illustrations MARCH A Bum OTTI and aflords p cause it hands. break, n frame ne js washe' An AS in Ih use public : for the Some of It will « out mal stoop. has a s cording any pos price. ’ is bases A steel to the | pressed the bla stroke increas spring can be log to strong] with a finely The s design perien woods AT H is entire

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MARCH, 1926 Safety for baby’s bottle A Bumper for the Baby’s Bottle OTTLES are apt to fall from baby hands and break. This rubber frame for them affords protection against such accidents, be- cause it provides an anti-skid grip for little hands. A bottle thus protected will not break, nor will it roll out of reach. The frame need not be removed when the bottle is washed. An Improved One-Man Saw AN improved hand tool which is being fi used by a number of telephone and public service companies, though designed for the farm, is shown in the illustrations. Some of its advantages will be readily seen. It will do the work of a two-man saw, with- out making it necessary for the operator to stoop. It folds compactly for transportation, has a spring tension that feeds the saw ac- cording to the strength of the operator, in any position desired; and it is moderate in price. The principle on which the saw works is based on the operation of a pressure bar. A steel coil spring connects the pressure bar to the handle and operates to keep the saw pressed against the log at all times, causing the blade to cut as efficiently on the return stroke as on the forward one, and without increasing the labor of the operator. The spring is adjustable so that the pressure can be regulated to suit the width of the log to be sawed. The tool consists of a strongly built frame of the best steel tubing with all joints brazed and a saw blade of finely tempered rolled 13-gage saw steel. The saw teeth and rakers are of special design, determined by years of actual ex- perience by R. W. Graves, a Canadian woodsman, the inventor of the saw. A Box Without Bolts or Rivets HE carpenter’s box which we illustrate is welded throughout, so that there is an entire absence of rivets or bolts. oes wes A welded carpenter’s box SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN cd Cutting a twenty-six-inch cherry log with a one-man saw. Notice the spring tension that feeds the saw A booster for th grease gun consists of a small metal unit producing extra pressure, particularly in case of clogged or tight bearings A one-man cross-cut saw machine A cap that can be pried off and resealed An Easily Removed Bottle Cap O open this new bottle it will be un- necessary to search for a bottle opener or for a handy nail on which to rip off the cap. The rim of the bottle is constructed in such a manner that a ledge guides the blade of the opening medium upward so that it comes in contact with the crown cap without striking the gless locking rim. coin, key, knife, or any flat piece of meta! applied under the edge of the cap and twisted will remove the cap witheut any mutilation; and the reseal value of the hottie is preserved, for the cap may be put on again and it will be tight. In the use of this new device it is claimed there is net the danger of chipped bottles which is com mon to other types. Greasing the Auto SMALL metal unit which can be readily attached to any grease-gun by means of a screw-thread is of great asaistance in greasing the auto. The extra pressure on the grease is produced by a piston operated by a very fine screw thread. A handle on the outside permits of the booster being operated by a few turns of the fingers—raising the pressure from an average of five hundred to five thousand pounds. This is a great ad- vantage in cases of clogged or tight bearings which resist the pressure of the ordinary grease-gun. A Handy Rod for the Angler ITH a locking device the guides of the fishing rod shown on this page are kept in perfect alignment. The caps, when screwed down, lock the joints in position; and they cannot creep out of position, even under the heaviest use. The ferrules are not depended upon to hold the sections together Our illustration shows the butt section about half way out of the handle. It also shows the notch in the handle part and the section which, when held together, prevents twisting. To insure against rusting from the inside, each section is covered first with a rust-proof priming coat, which is baked on, and then with two coats of tough, glossy, baked enamel.

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Loading anchor for automobiles Metal Loading Anchor for Automobiles Ye new anchor for automobiles cuts down the labor and assures safety. The construction is clearly shown by the j danger of the engrav- anchor ing There is no injuring the tires, because the machine is suspended from the hubs. The metal anchor very durable and is for this reason supe rior to one made of wood, which is only 4 good tor one trip. “Dryice”—a New Refrigerant [ TNDER this name a very useful prepara- rhe name solidified tion is now being marketed trade-mark and stands for It turns to a clear dry Physically, it resembles a cake of well-packed fine snow, than is a carbon dioxide gas gas without giving out a liquid harder water-ice and nearly twice as heavy. li is shipped and used in a paper wrapper. This product makes it possible to home from the later. A insulating first, buy ice cream on the way fh and consume it six hours disk of dry ice wrapped in an compound is placed in the container then the ice cream. Our engraving shows a store window in Bosten with the product dis- played. There is no danger of drip, because when the ice wastes away it is in the form of a gas. “Dryice” is most efficient for re- frigerating show windows, a job which has always been dificult with ice-encrusted pipes. Taking Shot from the Soil Wits a new invention, a specially con- structed sluicing machine, Charles Loveridge and A. E. Cox are atiempting to elear shot from the ground on which the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN “Dryice” is really solidified carbon dioxide Portland Gun Club, Oregon, has been shoot- ing for years. The field has been plowed sev- eral times, and the ground to a depth of ten with shot. From the dirt that clung to the roots of an old corn shock, a tablespoon of shot was panned; and four inches is filled hours’ work with the sluicing apparatus over a surface measuring about six by twenty feet yielded six hundred pounds. It is esti- mated that there are about one hundred tons Probably other gun clubs could use the machine to advantage. of shot to recover. MARCH, 1926 Side view of the anchor A Mechanical Pacer ESIGNED to revolutionize the coaching and training of track athletes, a ma- chine called a “pacer” has recently been invented by Coach Thomas E. Jones, of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Offcials claim that the device will be invaluable in teaching runners how to judge their pace. The invention, the result of four years of experiment, is merely a wooden box with a bell in it, and so constructed and timed that the bell rings at regular intervals. A runner attempting to do the quarter mile in sixty seconds will set the machine to ring every twenty Every time he completes one of the three laps on the indoor track at Wisconsin he can check up on whether he is running ahead or behind schedule. The same scheme is of use in judging pacing for distance runs. For years coaches have held a watch on their men and instructed them after each lap of the track whether to maintain, de- crease or to increase their stride, but Coach Jones has invented this ingenious instrument which can be set to ring at any desired interval. Experienced runners can frequently estimate within one or two seconds the time it has taken them to run a mile, gaged by their stride and the pace set. Nurmi, the great Finnish runner, carries a stop watch. The same machine will be used by Coach Vail of the Wisconsin crew for rhythm in training the “Varsity 8.” The machine will be used also on the outdoor track. Gongs will be placed at intervals of one hundred and ten yards on this quarter mile track and wires will lead to the machine so that the dial can be set for any speed desired. The device is portable. seconds. Doing away with the coach by means of a mechanical pacer invented by a “coach” himself

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN The Scientific American Digest Newest Developments in Science, Industry and Engineering Conducted by Albert G. Ingalls 185

Doubling the Automobile Mileage Per Gallon As everybody knows, the object of the carburetor is to furnish “gas” or gasoline to the motor. Gasoline being a liquid, it gets to the motor partly as a vapor (in gaseous form) and partly as a fine mist, due to the action of the jet. This latter is undesirable, as it makes a fuel of variable composition and richer than is economical. The best results are obtained by the use of a wholly gasified fuel mixed with air in the proper proportion. This is brought about, according to Augustus H. Gill, Ph.D., Professor of Technical-Chemical Analysis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, by the throwing-out of the gasoline mist or droplets from the carburetor mixture, by the highly ingenious and compact attachment known as the Bursley-Trask Fuel Adjuster. Briefly described, this consists of a bowl heated by a portion of the exhaust gases, containing a rotor with vanes curved at the top, which by centrifugal action, separate out the mist, dust, and so on, from the gas- oline-charged air stream. The apparatus is attached between the carburetor and the manifold. In the sec- tional view, G shows the bow! of aluminum or aluminum alloy, heated by a portion HH of the exhaust gases; a portion only being used, so as not to heat the gasoline vapor too hot. The amount of heating. according to the season may be regulated by a damper. K shows the pocket into which the atomized gasoline or gasoline mist is thrown: road dust is also removed from the air stream and collected here. D shows the rotor in the air-gasoline stream. This is made up of six spiral blades, curved over at the top. which are fastened to a hardened steel shaft. which runs in a jewelled bearing of sap- phire, with end stoned of the same. This is comparable with the balance wheel “staff” and bearings of a watch, and has a similar length of life, sapphire being next in hard- ness to the diamond. The rotor D is set in motion by the air- gasoline stream E from the carburetor. This stream moves with astonishing velocity, at- taining a speed of a mile a minute. As is evident from the figure, it throws out by centrifugal force, all heavy particles passing through it. It will even separate oil from gasoline! These heavy particles (the gas- oline mist and road dust) fall into the pocket K. Here all the gasoline fit to burn

& ; | x | A Museum of Sounds RESEARCH workers in anthropology, th: science of human culture, use phonographs for recording permanent records of the speech and music of primitive peoples whom the onward march of civilization has marked down to disappear within a few generations; but only since the end of the last century have comprehensive collections of records been systematically made for scientific pur poses. One of the first scientific institutions to take up such work was the Academy of Sciences in Vienna, which established sume years ago its now well-known twenty-five

Making permanent records of native songs that will soon be forgotten when the inevitable encroachment of civilization absorbs a savage race

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AS a ee, aN Aa me RS Hn Face The “Green Goddess,” service in England. Phonogramm-Archiv, or “Phonogram § Ar- chives.” Metal matrices made by a galvanizing process, trom the original record are the nucleus of the Phonogram Archives. They will last for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, and they seem almost indestructible, even by fire Today the Archives contain more than three thousand of them. They have been made from records taken in all parts of the world, always under scientific et ntrol The records are classified into four main groups: those of philological and linguistic musical interest, “voice interest, those of portraits” of well-known persons, and records of interest to students of medicine and physics. It is impossible here, of course, to give a list of all the languages in the collection, but some ef the more curious ones may be mentioned; for instance, the “Spaniolish” Paraguay, the Spanish of “i Y ee A German 15-inch-gage passenger train at the recent Munich Transport Exhibition spoken by Balkan Jews, and all the existing Celtic dialects—Welsh, Irish, Gaelic, Manx and Breton. A point has been made of securing, as far as possible, languages or dialects which are dying out. In a few years the Manx, and Basque records, for example, will be of unique historic value. Another particularly valuable set of phonograms is the collection of Sanskrit records, made in the Brahmin priest-schools by the Felix Exner while on an expedition to India in 1904. Among the records of the speech of primi- Archives owe those taken meteorologist tive peoples, thie among the Kalahari Bushmen, and in New Guinea, to the late Professor Rudolf Péch, the well-known ethnographer and anthropolo- gist. It is of the greatest importance to SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN a miniature locomotive in regular freight-and-passenger It draws ten cars at 35 miles per hour science that the language of the ancient race of Bushmen, now almost extinct, has been preserved from oblivion in this way. This language is of peculiar intérest, and in the phonograph records the “clicks” and other characteristic sounds made by these people as a part of their speech can be plainly heard. Such records are of enor- mous value, not only for the student of phonetics and philology, but also for the ethnologist and student of folk-lore. The group of musical records also covers an extremely wide field. The chief feature of the musical department so far is the wonderfully rich collection of exotic records from other lands. Papuans can be heard playing on bamboo flutes, and Zulus singing their dancing war-songs, hunting-songs, and wild laments. The plaintive sounds of the “cornemuse” of Brittany and of the Scottish bagpipes are not wanting. One very strange series of recoridls shows the peculiar way of chanting the Bible prac tised by certain Eastern Jews—a subject of study equally philologist. ethnologist, or musician. The records, of course, are very often of many-sided interest, as, for example, the Sanskrit collection, or the strange old “Regés”. songs sung by Hun- garian peasants on New Year's night, and thought to date from heathen times. The third main group of the Archives’ records, that containing the voices of famous persons, is small as yet, but already has historic value. Some of the speakers, notably actors, can already be distinguished by their interesting to speech as belonging to a past generation. although the oldest of the records does not go back more than twenty-four years. Thus quickly do the fashions of speech change! It is easy to see that such a gallery of “voice portraits” may be of enormous interest to both scientists and historians in the future. Miniature Locomotives and Railroads in Europe By the courtesy of Mr. Henry Greenly (Assoc. Inst. Loco. Engineers, England) we present the accompanying photographs and the following data of an interesting develop- ment of miniature railways and locomotives in England and on the continent. Mr. Greenly, the designer of these locomotives, who has devoted the greater part of 25 years to the development of 15-inch gage railways, writes us that he has designed miniature en- gines for this gage on railways operating at Eskdale, Rhyl, Margate, and that he is in close touch with Herr Roland Martens, who is carrying out similar work in Germany. Here, in America, we think of these little locomotives as being used for pleasure, mainly for exhibition purposes at amusement parks. It will come as a surprise to many to learn that the larger part of these little fel- lows have been designed for, and are in use on, a commercial railroad seven miles in length which traverses one of the most beau- tiful valleys in the mountain district of iss Mary O. Pair MARCH, 1926 The “River Esk,” a miniature locomotive, hauling rock from a quarry. These engines are not toys, but must earn their keep by work, year after year Northern England. Starting at Ravenglass. a junction on the main broad-gage line, the 15-inch line, which has taken the place of the original 3-foot gage railroad built in 1875, is in service throughout the year, carry- ing passengers in the summer months, and bringing out rock and crushed stone through the winter months. This line between Raven- glass and Eskdale has proved eminently suc- cessful during the past ten years. Mr. Greenly designed his first 15-inch gage locomotive in 1904, which was tested out on the Duke of Westminster's private railway at Eton Hall, where it carried trains of 60 passengers at 26.4 miles per hour. Six of these were built and are still running. They are of the American “Atlantic” type, with 18-inch coupled drivers and 3°%-inch by 6-inch cylinders. Then followed a larger model with 44-inch by 6%4-inch cylinders and 20-inch wheels. One of these more powerful 15-inch engines was placed on the Eskdale line in 1915. It is still in service and has covered over 150,000 miles. This engine formed the basis for similar Pacific- type engines, of the type shown in our illus- tration with six-coupled drivers. The last carried a pressure of 180 pounds per square inch. These later locomotives have wide fire- boxes, following the American practice. Mr. Greenly states that in such small locomotives the proportion of the boiler, in reiation to the cylinder capacity, should greatly exceed the figures generally accepted by makers of small-gage industrial locomotives. The heavy passenger traffic is transferred from the main-line trains at Ravenglass Junction, and frequently over 500 passengers are unloaded at this station at once. The newer engines can deal with 260 passengers in a single train, and traverse grades of as much as 2% percent. The latest locomotives are one-third full size, which is the accepted standard for all future 15-inch gage locomo- Many of the trains run the whole seven miles non-stop. This is indeed a test for endurance. It is only possible by the use of ample heating surface, duplicate in- jectors, water gages, and tenders, holding sufficient water for the round trip. The first “Mikado” engine to be built in England was the “River Esk,” with eight coupled drivers. It has hauled 270 passengers on a 30-car train. Two engines of this type, built for Count Zborowski, have made 35 miles an hour with 10.cars. At 45 percent cut-off they have developéd 40 horsepower, They have hauled 34 tons up a 1 in 60 grade. Their cylinders are 5% by 8% inches; drivers 25% inches diameter; boiler pressure 180 pounds per square inch; tractive effort 1470 pounds; tota! weight, locomotive and tender, 178,000 pounds; total length 24 feet 9 inches; width 37 inches; height 57 inches. We show a view of a locomotive built by Herr Martens, from Mr. Greenly’s designs, for the Transport Exhibition at Munich. Three were built, following the design of the Zborowski locomotive. tives. A New Way to Illuminate Microscopes WHEN using the compound microscope it is necessary to throw relatively strong light on the object which is being viewed. Always this has been done by means of daylight or electric light. the rays being reflected on the object either from above it or from below it. Now that the process of making fused quartz glass in various sizes and shapes has become practicable, a new way to illuminate the object under the microscope has been found. A bent rod of the new quartz glass is placed under the object, as shown in the illustration. If one were to do this with ordinary glass, however, so little of the light that entered the end of the tube would find its way around the corner that the arrangement Light from the lamp follows up through the solid quartz rod, illumi- nating the object would be useless, It is, however, a peculiar- ity of fused quartz glass that light will follow through it, around a_ corner—@ phenomenon which is almost uncanny when observed. The facts that quartz absorbs a very small portion of the light, and has a high melting point, make its use in this work advan tageous. The light conveyed through a solid quartz rod is sufficiently brilliant to illumi- nate high-power objectives without the additional use of substage condensers. The rod also gives better detail than the ordi- nary methods of illumination. The ends of the rod are ground uniformly, but not pol ished. Diffused light thus obtained obviates all trouble from images of the filament. It is also possible to work farther from the light source to avoid heating of specimens. + (Continued on page 188)

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 130,000 tim-es better One of the great steps forward in the develop- ment of the Radiotron was the evolution of the X-L filament. When you tune in to clear reception, do you know that a stream of electrons leaping from a glowing filament is the current which, translated into sound, you hear as a fine symphony, a jazz orchestra, a clever story? . a The more electrons thrown off at a given tempera- ture, the longer the tube lasts, and the longer the batteries last. The X-L filament in Radiotrons UV- 199 and UV-201-A throws off, at operating tempera- ture, 130,000 times as many electrons as an ordinary tungsten filament. In one sense, therefore, the X-L filament is 130,000 times better! And this filament means stability, too—and silent operation. And it keeps its efficiency practically to the end of its life. Watch for the RCA mark on every tube you buy, and know that you have the latest, most perfected tube, as well as the most accurately made. Radiotron UV-201-A Radiotron UV-199 is the standard tube for storage is the standard tube for dry bat- battery sets. UX-201-A is exactly tery sets. UX-199 is exactly like like it, but has a new base. it, but has a new base. RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA New York Chicago San Francisco MADE BY THE MAKERS OF RADIO@ZAS

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Neopet. onda lA A ST OLE Ode oT rae. eens nae De “ ee ee ere cl ‘i "ale es Ante on the versatile wood of the industries In the design of wooden parts for hundreds of uses, HARD MAPLE affords advantages of the utmost economic and structural value. Its extreme hardness with uni- formity of structure — great strength in proportion to its weight — stability of shape and resistance to wear—smooth sur- face and adaptation to any finish —these assure a diversity of use and efficiency in service, which only HARD MAPLE can give. Because of this rare combination of qualities, HARD MAPLE enters, as first choice, into a myriad of manufactured articles, filling almost every human need—among the trades, in sports and music, for vehicles and machines, on the farm and in the home, flooring, building construction and the lower grades for superior crates and boxes. In utility, Michigan and Wisconsin HARD MAPLE is practically unlimited in its applications, but exclusive in its supremacy as an industrial hardwood. Get All the Facts about HARD MAPLE Send TODAY for this FREE Book 60 Pages, 32 illustrations, 10 tables on official strength tests and comparative data on all American Hardwoods. An Authentic Reference Work that You Need! The Northern HARD MAPLE Manufacturers 311 F. R. A. Building, Oshkosh, Wis. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN _) MAPLE INDUSTRIES NOTE: Hard Maple may be had in mixed shipments with Beech, Birch and other desirable Northerr Hardwoods. Write for list of member mills. THE HARDEST HARDWOODS GROW IN THE NORTH | Miss S. B. Lgiter, metallographist, in the research laboratory of the General Electric Company, has been obtaining satisfactory results with several types of clear fused quartz illuminators. For use with the ordi- nary small microscope, a half-inch quartz rod with a right-angle bend is used. The light source is a small moving picture lamp, with the lens removed. The intensity of the light is regulated by a rheostat. There is less loss of intensity than when the light is reflected from a substage mirror, and the light can always be directed to the stage of the microscope where wanted. In the case of the inverted type of micro- scope, where illuminating a _ transparent specimen has presented difficulties, the use of quartz rods is especially convenient. Since intense heat does not shatter quartz, one end of the quartz rod can be placed immediately over an arc, and better illumi- nation conveyed to the specimen. * + * The Einstein Theory at the Re- cent Meeting of the American Association for the Ad- vancement of Science Easity the outstanding feature of the recent annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, as the writer saw it at Kansas City, was Professor Dayton C. Miller’s announcement that le had carried his previous experiments on ether drift to the extent of making over 100,000 observations, largely during the past summer, and that they apparently prove the existence of an ether drift. The significance of this result, if it is substantiated, is that the Einstein theory must be very seriously affected. In fact, Professor Einstein, himself, makes the flat statement that, “if Dr. Miller’s results should be confirmed, then the special relativity theory. with the general theory in its pres- ent form. falls.” Continuing, Professor Ein- stein says. “Experiment is the supreme judge.” What finer example of the true, sports- manlike spirit of the scientist who searches only for the facts rather than for a vindica- tion of his own life work could possibly be adduced than this clear, unequivocal state- ment. Professor Einstein, it will be remembered, threw out the ether of space very largely because of the negative results reached in 1887 by Professors Michelson and Morley. in which they found no ether drift. All the phenomena of nature go on, said Einstein, precisely as though there were no ether. More recently it occurred to Professor Mil- ler that the now famous Michelson-Morley experiment was performed in a basement, and that had there actually been an ether Acme MARCH, 1926 drift, that is, had the earth in its motion been partially dragging the ether along with it just as a ship drags along the water near its hull, it was possible that the negative results of the original experiment was be- cause the ether was so penned in by the cellar that any existing ether drift would not have been perceptible there. So he began a series of experiments in the open air. Last spring he announced at the meeting of the National Academy of Sciences that he had actually detected and measured an ether drift, working mostly on Mt. Wilson. California, and that it amounted to about one-third of the orbital velocity of the earth. Professor Miller’s results were not, how- ever, received by science without consider- able reservation. Some _ scientists were inclined to pass them off rather lightly, as due, perhaps, to some systematic error in observation. So all through the past sum. mer Professor Miller has been busy repeat- ing his experiment under still more favorable conditions. After making more than 100,000 observa- tions he has now finally announced his conviction that there is absolutely a positive, systematic drift effect, which varies through- out the day as the revolution of the earth on its axis adds to or substraets from the general effect. This effect also varies accord- ing to the direction of motion of the earth in its orbit. Professor Miller finally con- cluded this year that all his observations were consistent with the assumption that the solar system is moving in space toward the constellation of Draco, with a velocity of more than 125 miles per second, and that as it moves, the ether drags about 95 percent and slips about 5 percent. This may depend, however, on local contours of the earth's surface. In the August issue of the Scientific Ameri- can we saw, on the other hand, how two other recent experiments strongly favored the Einstein theory, one being the Michelson- Gale pipe experiment, conducted last winter near Chicago, the other the spectral shift of light coming from a star known as the Companion of Sirius, a star having a density some 5,000 times that of water. Thus we are now presented with a sort of dead-lock between relativity and the old conceptions. When scientists disagree, what is the layman to do? He must fold his hands and wait, perhaps for decades. Either that, or he can choose one or the other side and “root” for it, according to his tempera- ment, and if one were to judge by many let- ters written to the Scientific American by bloodthirsty proponents of relativity, and by an equal number received from equally bloodthirsty opponents of this theory, it (Continued on page 190) Prof. Dayton C. Miller, whose experiments may upset the Einstein theory

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Sk an ee MaRcH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 189 More Power to New York EW YORK CITY uses International Trucks and Duty Trucks doing the toughest work with ease, the list of the boroughs and departments they _Internationals are competently serving different de- serve tells a significant story of motor hauling effi- partments of the country’s largest city day in and ciency. This great municipality demands much of its day out. Low-cost hauling for New York! trucks but not more than these trucks are giving. And in cities and towns from coast to coast, in Internationals are prominently 7 : aE oe every type of work, municipal 4 : s ollowing departments of t ity of New Yor s * identified with every phase of rer, weiner tia dae and commercial, International municipal transportation in the | department of Street Cleaning Department of Welfare Trucks are delivering utmost sat- ° ° —Boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Department of Public Markets | , . - City of New York. Whether it | Bronx and Richmond Police Department isfaction. They have been doing D t truct p 7 be the one-ton Speed Trucks | pcParrment of Parke—Manhattan _, —;Borough of Brooklyn this for over twenty years, just as making quick work of jobs that Department of Water Supply, Gas Boroughs of Manhattan, | other products of the Harvester must be done when they must | 24 cnx ey, Company have been giving good be done, or the five-ton Heavy- service for almost a century. INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER COMPANY 606 SO. MICHIGAN AVE. QRooRrORS Ti CHICAGO: ILL. INTERNATIONAL RUCKS The International line includes a Speed Truck for 2000-pound loads; Heavy-duty Trucks ranging from 3000 to 10,000 pounds, maximum capacities; and Motor Coaches for ail requirements. International has the largest Company-owned truck service orgauization in the world—112 branches in this country alone—the farther you go from one the nearer you get te another. Our 112 branch houses Aurora, IIL Cheyenne, Wyo. Dubuque, Iowa Green Bay, Wis. Little Rock, Ark. New Orleans, La. Richmond, Va. Sioux Falls, 8. D, are located in the cities Baltimore, Md. Chicago, Ill. (3) Duluth, Minn. Harrisburg, Pa. Long Island City, N. ¥. New York, N. Y. Rochester, N. Y. Seuth Bend, Ind. listed here; and in Billings, Mont. Cincinnati, Ohio East St. Louis, IIL Helena, Mont. Los Angeles, Calif. Ogdensburg, N. Y. Rockford, IL Spokane, W ash. addition there are dealers Birmingham, Ala. Cleveland, Ohio Eau Claire, Wis. Houston, Tex. Louisville, Ky. Oklahoma City, Okla. Saginaw, Mich. Springfield, LiL located conveniently Bismarck, N. D. Columbia, S. C. Elmira, N. Y. Hutchinson, Kan. Madison, Wis. Omaha, Neb. St. Cloud, Minn. Springfield, Mass, from one end of the Boston, Mass. Columbus, Ohio El Paso, Tex. Indianapolis, Ind. Mankato, Minn. Parkersburg, W. Va. St. Joseph, Mo. Springfield, Mo. country to the other. Brooklyn, N. Y. Council Bluffs, lowa Evansville, Ind. Jackson, Mich. Mason City, lowa Parsons, Kan. St. Louis, Mo. Springfield, OG, Aberdeen, S. D. Buffalo, N. Y. Dallas, Texas Fargo, N. D. Jacksonville, Fla. Memphis, Tenn. Peoria, Ill. Salina, Kan. Terre Haute, Ind. Akron, Ohio Camden, N. J. Davenport, Iowa Fort Dodge, Iowa Jersey City, N. J. Milwaukee, Wis. Philadelphia, Pa. Salt Lake City, Utah Toledo, Obie Albany, N. Y. Cedar Falls, Iowa Dayton, Ohio Fort Wayne, Ind. Kankakee, Ill. Minneapolis, Minn. Pittsburgh, Pa. San Antonio, Tex. Topeka, Kan. Amarillo, Tex. Cedar Rapids, Iowa Denver, Colo. Fort Worth, Tex. Kansas City, Mo. Minot, N. D. Portland, Ore. San Francisco, Calif. Watertown. 8. D. Atlayta, Ga. Charlotte, N. C. Des Moines, Iowa Grand Forks, N. D. Knoxville, Tenn. Nashville, Tenn. Quincy, Til. Shreveport, La, Wichita, Kan. Auburn, N. Y. Chattanooga, Tenn. Detroia, Mich. Grand Rapids, Mich. Lincoln, Neb. Newark, N. J. Richmond, Ind. Sioux City, lowa Winona, Minn,

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190 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

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would seem as if it were temperament, rather than that calm, “wait-and-see” quality of the true scientist, that is the governing factor in the formulation of many people’s opinions about relativity. The Scientific American, however, has no set opinion about the Einstein theory, one way or the other, preferring to wait until more actual empirical work has been per- formed on it. This, also,is the position taken by the majority of the world’s scientists. Those who wish to read technical but brief accounts of Dr. Miller's work, up to last spring, will find it described in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. Il, pages 306-314; the Michelson-Gale pipe experiment was de- scribed by the actual experimenters in the April, 1925, issue of the Astrophysical Jour- nal, pages 137-145. It must be remembered that the pipe ex- periment does not, as some have sai.l, prove simply that there is no ether, but, in the words of Prof. | 2 “there is no ether or else that if there is an ether, the earth does not drag this ether into motion by its rotation.” In the latter would be a flat contradiction be- work of Miller and that of Michel- son and Gale. At the meeting of the {ssociation for the Advancement of Science, Professor Charles E. St. John presented a paper on the astronomical evidence for gravi- tational displacement of spectrum lines, fav- Professor St. John is a solar physicist, and is a member of the staff of the Mt. Wilson Observatory, California. He is one of the leaders in the group that favors the Einstein theory. partly by reason of the work done by himself and by Dr. W. S. Adams, in which they detected the Ein- stein shift, due to the gravitation of the sun Jeans, it shows that case, there tween the recent American oring relativity. and stars. Dr. Miller, City a lantern slide displayed at Kansas showing the data from howe ver, purporting to estab- lines of the which a certain curve lish the Einstein shift in the solar spectrum was drawn, and he left it to his audience to decide whether the basis of this curve, a large mass of somewhat scat- tered dots, was sufhciently determinative to warrant the issue of positive statements fav- theory as were From the dots obtained oring the Einstein issued several months ago. by the without a doubt. but Einsteinists a curve could be drawn, its definiteness did not give one an overpowering sense of proof. A great many people, after reading yearly the numerous interesting press reports that emanate from great gatherings of scientists, such as the one referred to above, what they are actually like, what the scien- tists do at the meetings, what sort of people they are taken en This, of is the sort of thing that does not get into the newspapers, it is too informal. inquire when masse. course, The annual meetings are held during the Christmas holidays and in selected cities.

Wide World MARCH, 1926 The great majority of those who attend are college professors. This year, Kansas City was chosen because it was rather farther west than usual, and this fact was reflected in the personnel of those who attended, they came very largely from the middle west and far west. What do these men do after they get there? It would be manifestly impracticable for them to meet always in a single body, although like Congress they do meet thus once daily on the average. Like ( Congress, also, most of the work is done in small and more wieldy groups. For example, the mathematicians meet together; so do the physicists, the chemists, the astronomers, the geologists, the zoologists, and so on. Papers are read before groups of from 25 to 200 listeners. Usually these papers are illustrated by lantern slides. Discussions follow these papers and thus the sessions go on all day long. At night there is usually a general lecture of some sort which would interest most of the scientists as well as the more intelligent local people. It may interest our readers to know that anyone is welcome to attend the sessions of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Next year’s meet- ing will be held in Philadelphia, after Christmas. To the outsider, the tensibly meeting only for the of ideas through the formal reading ef papers and through their public discussion. Aet- ually, however, these men do not travel long distances for this purpose alone, for in a great measure this work could be and is actually covered by the many publi- cations in the field of science. Therefore, it would probably be found. if any quantita- that most of scientists are os interchange covered tive measurement were possible. those who attend, do so in order to see other scientists, both in their own and in other lines of work. and to talk with them between lectures, in the hotel lobby or their rooms. They talk shop, renew old acquain- tances and form new ones. And at these meetings all sorts of general scientific pol- formulated. Irritations between workers disappear when they meet thus, face to fac e. else, not merely icies are Evervone gets to know everyone from his writings but by face, voice and temperament. Thus, it is largely the these that bring men hundreds of miles to attend them. * * * A New Oil-Electric Railroad Car In making a broad survey of the field of human aspect of meetings transportation, one is increasingly impressed with the rapidity and the wide extent to which the internal-combustion engine is win- ning its way. So true is this, that one begins to ask whether, both by sea and land, the age of steam is not about to give way to the age of oil, as represented by the internal combustion motor. (Continued on page 192) This high-speed oil-electric car recently made a trip across Canada and back, a distance of 5,874 miles, in less than six days

tel tri rm

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MakcH, 1926 THE -HOUSE:- THAT: JACK: BUILT" — and your telephone SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 191 This is the telephone that ad Wenern Elec- ? JS? tric built. “; This is the shell that I inclosed the receiver on the telephone that Western Electric built. = This is the mould that made the shell. . . nine i adi eae —~— This is the lead that This is the plant that Pr formed the mould, ,., made thegas that heated the lead that formed the mould that made the shell that inclosed the receiver on the telephone that Western Electric built, yor recall the chain of events in the _ tries within an industry have been devel- House that Jack Built—onethinglead- oped here—notonlya factory for producing ing to another? When it comes to the — the many types of telephone equipment, Telephone that Western Electric Built —butalsoa tool factory,a rubber mill, a cable you find the same sort of chain. shop, a wire-drawing plant and manyothers. At Western Electric skilled artisans For all the world it is like a fairy tale carry the work of making the Bell tele- come true. But on how vast a scale —the phone on through all its stages. Indus- fact greater than the fancy! SINCE 1882 MANUFACTURERS FOR THE BELL SYSTEM

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AMERICAN In offering the above thought we are not unmindful of the great part which has been, and is indeed today, played by the electric motor, which is so extensively in use as to suggest that future historians writing on transportation will speak, distinctively of the electrical age. We are inclined to think that the era upon which we have entered, so far from super- seding the use of electric power, will enhance transportation, at least, the oil motor it, for in engine and the promise to electric become inseparable, The even torque and the marvelous flexibility of the electric motor render it an ideal reduction gear between the high-speed oil engine and the lower and ever-varying speeds required on the driving wheel of the car or the propeller of a ship, be it yacht, merchant ship or naval vessel. No apology need be offered on behalf of which has been the the world’s line, locomotive developing systems. For main the steam supreme far-flung railroad express, and freight traffic it stands today at the close of its first century of operation a rival, except for heavy trains on road. Its weak point, found on the score of has acquired agent in without hilly hitherto, has sections of a been economy; for the locomotive the reputation of being an extravagant con- sumer of fuel. But the very fine work which has been done in the improvement of the economy of the locomotive during the past few years has brought it up, particularly in the latest types, to a very respectable stand- movers In respect steam, prime high introduction of the ing among other of its economy. and superseding the recent water tube boiler, as seen in the “Horatio Allen,” to say nothing of the improvements in valve gear, are full of high promise of economy in the futures On the other hand, locomotive builders and users have realized for many years past, that trafic locomotive is an pressure for local and branch service, where is not heavy, the steam extravagant form of motive power, and it is in this particular field that the internal com- bustion engine, when combined with the electric motor. has proved its great values > 73 <P i aaa * < ot ae r ! t ON i See hs hte Wide World

MARCH, 1926 We illustrate an oil-electric car which has been recently placed in service on certain lines of the Canadian National Railways, Two types of these cars have been devel. oped; one a 60-foot car carried on four. wheel trucks, and the other a larger type, which is known as the articulated car, and consists of two bodies with an overall length of 102 feet, which is carried on three four- wheel trucks. Both of these types are de. signed for carrying passengers, express and baggage. The single passenger car accom- modates 57 passengers, 18 of whom are provided with side seats in the baggage compartment. The two-body articulated car can seat 126 passengers, all of whom find room in the passenger compartments. The cars are being built at the Poynte St. Charles Shops, Montreal, of the Canadian National Railways. The power plant of each car is in the for- ward end of the baggage compartment, and it consists of an oil engine directly con- nected to a direct-current generator, the cars being driven by standard railway-type motors mounted as usual on the trucks. For the 60-foot car the plant consists of a modified Diesel cycle of the solid-injection four- stroke cycle type, there being four cylinders in line; for the articulated car the engine consists of eight cylinders in line. For fuel a light residue oil of 0.86 ull gravity is used; the lubricating oil is forced under pressure to all working bearings: the oil is filtered, and before entering the tanks it circulates through a cooler on the roof. The engine is started by the generator driven as a motor from a 300-volt battery, and the battery also supplies the control cir- cuits at 30 volts, the generator field excita- tion at 300 volts, the two air compressors at 300 volts, and the air-cooling system at 30 volts. The car bodies are built of steel through out. The inside finish is of mahogany. The articulated system originated in England, and fast express trains consisting entirely of articulated cars have been operated suc cessfully for several years on trains running (Continued on page 194) The Diesel engine which drove the oil-electric car shown on page 190. During the entire run of 5,874 miles this engine never stopped running .

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Nal TBS NAAR IE eye os a a SmI MARCH, 1926 A CHALLENGE We'll make a little wager with you that if you try one tube of Listerine Tooth Paste, you'll come back for more. LARGE TUBE—25 CENTS SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Was this a hint? HIS was the third time it had happened within a month: he, the head of the concern, find- ing one of these advertise- ments on his desk, marked for his attention, no signa- ture, Of course, he had read about Listerine and halitosis. But never had he applied the idea to himself. _Was someone giving him a hint? Was he, perhaps, guilty this way, and successful in spite of it? It certainly set him thinking. ** &* You, yourself, rarely know when you have halitosis (un- pleasant breath). That's the insidious thing about it. And even your closest friends won't tell you. Sometimes, of course, halitosis comes from some deep-seated organic disorder that requires professional advice. But usu- ally—and fortunately—halitosis is only a local condition that yields to the regular use of Lis- terine as a mouth wash and gargle. It puts you on the safe and polite side. More- over, in using Listerine to eombat halitosis, you are quite sure to avoid sore throat and those more seri- ous illnesses that start with throat infections. Listerine halts food fermen- tation in the mouth and leaves the breath sweet, fresh and clean. Not by substituting some other odor but by really removing the old one. The Listerine odor itself quickly disappears. This safe and long-trusted antiseptic has dozens of differ- ent uses; note the little circular that comes with every bottle. Your druggist sells Listerine in the original brown package only—never in bulk. There are four sizes: 14 ounce, 7 ounce, 3 ounce and 1% ounce. Buy the large size for economy. — Lambert Pharmacal Com- pany, Saint Louis, U. S. A. For HALITOSIS +7

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t ; : : a RR RI RE Te ey a a re 194 SCIENTIFIC On Municipal Docks Yellow Strand Wire Rope lends a helping hand in the transfer of shipments between dock and river barges. Big loads are handled as safely as little ones and economy is certain. Made by one of the oldest wire rope manufacturers, virtually pioneers in the industry, Yellow Strand has a thoroughly established reputation for strength and long life. The strand of yellow is the quality mark of Yellow Strend—and your protection. This company also makes all standard grades of wire rope for all purposes. BRODERICK & BASCOM ROPE CO. 843 North First Street, St. Louis, Mo. Eastern Office and Warehouse: Western Office: Seattle Authorized Dealers in all Industrial Localities Motorists Carry a Basline Avtow- line in your car and safeguard your spare tire with Powersteel Autowlock. Both are made of Yellow Strand. Ask your accessory dealer. Yellow Strand WIRE ROPE 76 Warren St., New York City Factories: St. Louis and Seattle AMERICAN from London to the north. On the articulated car under discussion the center truck sup- both the front and the At the junction each body which are ports one end of rear car bodies. carries a cast-steel end sill, to bolted male and female center castings, one resting within the other and both engaging the truck center plate. Both the single and articulated cars have maintained a speed on level track of about 60 miles an hour, and the fuel consumption for non-stop runs worked out as 3.5 miles to the imperial gallon on the large car, and 7 miles to the gallon on the small car. In MARCH, 1926 a test of the single car a run was made from Montreal to Toronto, 334 miles, in 8 hours and 30 minutes, the engine running continuously throughout the trip. The eost of the fuel oil used on this trip was about $3.50, and of the lubricating oil 48 cents, Another remarkable run was made from Montreal to Vancouver, a distance of 2.937 miles, in 72 hours total and 67 hours actual running time, at an average speed of 438 miles per hour. The oil-engine, it should be noted, ran continuously for the whole 72 hours. The car consumed .206 imperial gal- lons per mile, at .266 cents per mile, The Heavens in March By Professor Henry Norris Russell, Ph. D. apend Spring. Summer and Pali gathering but tertiles, insects? | buy »2 FEMALE hundreds of kinds for collections. Some worth $1 to 87 eac Siew pt werk with my instru tions, pictures. » lt Send 10 cents for my watrated Prospectus t J stamps) fc sending butterffte ma. St rr im, DEALER th INSECTS, Dept. 36, Box 1424, San Diego, Cai, MALLEABLE CASTINGS Rough or Machined We specialize on machined mallieables in quantity pro- duction. Many users who operate large machine shops im connection with their business find it to their ad- vantage to buy of us. Per- haps you could do likewise. © Benton Harper MALLEABLE Founpry Co. Benton Harbor Michigan KINKADE GARDEN TRACTOR sardener Sut ’ ruck AND POWER LAWNMOWER Practical, Proven Power Cultivator for ts, Nurserymen, Fruit Growers. American Farm Machine Co. 1057 33rd Av. $.£., Minneapolis, Minn. At 11 o'clock: Mar. 8 At 104% o'clock “Mar. 16 At 10 o’clock: Mar. 23 At 9 o’clock: April 7 At 8% o'clock: April 14 At 8 o'clock: April 22 At 944 o'clock: Mar. 29 NIGHT SKY: MARCH AND APRIL The Heavens LL four of the prominent clusters which 4 Kare mentioned in the article on p. 157 view, and all may the stated west, are now in full found upon our map. At the Pleiades are low in the west and the Hyades not far away—at little to the equal altitude, and a hour. north- left— marked by the bright star Aldeberan. The for by unusual brightness and by a favor able position north of the sun. He remains above the horizon till 7:30 P.M. Venus is now a morning star and at het greatest brilliancy. She rises about 4:4 a.M. on the first and 3:50 on the 3st and is the chief ornament of the morning sky. Mars is a morning star, too—rising at 3:30 a.m. in the middle of the month, but is still more than 150,000,000 miles away Huther Brothers Small Saws and Groovers 3 to 6 inch sizes Specialties for small cutting and grooving. Write for in- formation and prices. Huther Bros. Saw Mfg. Co. ROCHESTER, N. Y. Makers of Better Seus for More Than Fifty Years ws, oe ww, wa a Praesepe cluster is high in the southwest, between Gemini and Leo, while Berenices is well up in the east above Arcturus. To the naked Praesepe is but a hazy blue, but the indi- vidual stars of the other three groups are easily seen. The winter sight, but we shall soon lose them. Orion and Canis Major are all low in the Auriga, Gemini and Leo is high about midway Coma eye. constellations are still in Taurus, west and southwest. Canis Minor are above them. in the south with Hydra below, and Virgo, Corvus are in the southeast. Corona and Hercules are in the east and northeast. Ursa Major, high in the north with Draco and Ursa Minor be- low and Cassiopeia and Cepheus on the horizon. Crater and Bootes, The Planets Mercury is an evening star this month and can be best seen on or about the 14th, when he is farthest from the sun. Being close to perihelion, his elongation is small, only 18 degrees, but this is compensated and looks only about as bright as Antares. Jupiter is a morning star like the others and rises at 4:45 on the 15th. He is i conjunction with Venus on the 22nd, bub even at their nearest, the planets are almost five degrees apart. Saturn is in Libra and comes to thé meridian about 4 a.m. Uranus is in Cor junction with the sun on the 17th and ® invisible. Neptune is not long past opp} sition and is well observable telescopically: The moon is in her last quarter at 7 AM on the 7th, new at 10 p.m. on the 13th, @ her first quarter just after midnight on thé 2Ist and full at 5 a.m. on the 29th. She is nearest the earth on the 12th and far thest away on the 25th. During the month, she is in conjunctio® with Saturn on the 5th, Mars on the 9th Venus and Jupiter on the 11th, Uranus on the 14th, Mercury on the 15th, Neptune on the 25th. At 4 a.m. on the 2lst the sun crosses i celestial equator and passes over the ve nal equinox; wherefore, in almanac Jair guagé, “Spring commences.”

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN HEET STEEL The Material Which is Giving America’s Industries Better Products and New Markets. Everywhere manufacturers are facing these problems— How can a better product be built that is practical? How can new markets be obtained? Many of them will find the answer to both questions in Sheet Steel. Ford is said to have found that each time the price was lowered fifty dollars it added 1,500,000 more potential customers in this country alone. Sheet Steel enabled him time and again to extend his markets through greater economy. The recent announcement of All-Steel cars in both open and closed models, has been the natural result. Sheet Steel office files have virtually done away with other types. Their compact construction, greaterstrength, rugged durability and fire- safeness have made them the universal choice. And now Sheet Steel is being adopted for other office furniture as well, from desks to waste pa- per baskets, from partitions to employes’ clothes lockers. Hotels, hospitals and resi dences, too, are turning to Sheet Steel for their furniture requirements. It offers in creased sanitation, it is easily cleaned and its beauty en- dures the most severe tests of use and abuse. Today Sheet Steel finishes in either wood grains or flat enamels can be had which resist smoke, water and dirt. A bottle of perfume may be spilled on a steel dresser top without damage. A cigarette can burn itself out on the polished surface without a trace. Manufacturers and de- signers will do well to study the many applications that are being made in Sheet Steel. Many of these have brought about new production meth- ods that offer possibilities undreamed of a decade ago. Through proper standardi- zation and organized large- scale operations they permit offering the buyer better products and better values. A magazine called ‘““MAK- ING MARKETS” is published by the Committee for the benefit of manufacturers and designers. If you are not now receiving copies they will be mailed you regularly on re- quest.

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a re idles é distal Fina ee Oe ee ae pee ” A a At Bvt ——— ow eee» : mca oma aed ew malin Me oe SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 199 | Science and Money | The Oil Industry By Henry C. Trundle From One Sentence To Millions Om Marcu 10, 1876, a single sen- tence was heard over the tele- phone. Now, after half a century, 0,000,000 conversations are each day. “Mr. Watson, come here; I want you,” spoken by Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor, was the first sentence. His first crude instruments had been tested by sounds and single words; the patent had been granted; the principle was estab- lished from which a world of tele- phones has since resulted. But at that time the telephone had not proved its practical useful- ness—its power to command. Bell’s words, electrically trans- mitted over a wire, brought his assistant from another part of the building. And with his coming, the telephone became a dynamic factor in human affairs. Since that first call untold mil- lions of sentences have been heard over the telephone. Men have traveled vast distances in answer to its calls. The wheels of great industrial enterprises have turned at its commands. Every- thing that man.can say to man has been carried to a distance over its wires and the thoughts and actions of nations have been influenced through its use. AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CoMPANY AND AssocIATED ComPANIES BELL SYSTEM IN ITS SEMI-CENTENNIAL YEAR THE BELL SYSTEM LOOKS FOR- WARD TO CONTINUED PROGRESS IN TELEPHONE COMMUNICATION INSOLUBLE “SOLUBLE” TREATMENTS PETRIFY UNISOL, wniform, correct, soluble-under-all- temperatures boiier feed water treatment invariably proves successful: while in pil oom INSOLUB. " £ “soluble” treatments PETKIFY:—RESULT ooponee, & scale, burning, a F IRST CL ASS i UNIS( rT produces desired results throughout Br world—WtiY? Because it is not detrimental: I SOLUBLE Fifteen years of observation and application prove it; BOILERS PROVE IT Success depends ® UP msolubility. GIVE BOILER FEED WA Ht te AND BOILERS PROPER TRE RTMEN . Pa — 8. on request. UNISOL MFG. CO., Jersey City, N. J., U.S.A. Sime, Dansy & Co. Ltd., Singapore, S. S. for Straits Rettioments FACTORY-TO- RIDER; $10- 413 15 p Renoee and 30 on approval days’ f , express aid. Pay only Ha “free Wits secey,, 7 for 3 catslog and our wonderful r offer. MEAD Cycle Go., Dept. a7 “CHICAGO cauipped with WICO Magneto, speed power po governor and 2 fly wheels. you. FRE fail detains picture and low pres No obli- writi Or, if interested, ask for our 1 Saw Rig or Pump Catalogs. All Free. Witte Engine Works 333; 8697 tnone tle. Funbenh Pe. SONG POEM WRITERS Send for my proposition. RAY HIBBELER, DS7, 2104 N. Keystone Ave., Chicago, Ill. WITTE +2teSaw them ‘up FAST—one Oil Heating— What You Should Know About It A textbook showing why Oil is better, cheaper, cleaner and safer than coal as a domestic heat- ing medium, together with an impartial, non- technical description of 20 makes of oil burners. Sent postpaid for 30 cents DOMESTIC APPLIANCE PUBLISHING CO. 475 Eighth Avenue - New York City T HE high mark in crude oil production in the United States was reached in 1925 when 758,500,000 barrels were obtained. Twenty years ago this country’s consumption amounted to only about 100,000,000 barrels. Thus has the tremendous growth in the num- ber of automobiles and the general use of oil for power, heat and light made this product of front-page importance. Discov- eries of new fields and improved production knowledge have taken from oil some of its romance, and have made it a respectable industrial commodity. Despite heavy production in each of the past few years, with the largest increases in 1923 and 1924, the year 1925 closed with the industry in a better condition than it has occupied since 1920. Consumption de- mand, like the demand for autos, had run much ahead of forecasts, so that there was a smaller carry-over to stocks. Prices of crude oil were practically stabilized. When it came time to prepare reviews for the year, commentators confined themselves mostly to laudatory remarks on the excellent current position of the industry and to conjectures concerning prospective company mergers within it. Seience and Oil Production At one time oil production was carried on very haphazardly, but such ways have Leen discarded in favor of the scientific methoris of the geologist and the petroleum engineer, who are sponsored by financially able concerns. Stories regarding the work of these prospectors in domestic and foreign fields are featured items in newspapers and magazines. For the most part the industry is now in the hands of huge corporations, whose affairs are subject to the closest scrutiny. Rumors of malpractices have been rampant, so that the word “oil” is often associated with political scandal. In recent years our government has been disturbed by the dis- closures brought to the public’s attention through various investigations, and for a time some sort of an international fracas seemed imminent. It is therefore encouraging to read that the industry is now on a sound basis. Since oil is of such major importance and its continued supply a matter of conjecture, a great deal of study has been made to deter- mine its source, the nature of its constituents and the probabilities for a larger production to meet a growing market. Several theories have been advanced as to the origin of oil, all based logically on apparently sound prop- ositions. For some time it was thought that petroleum was formed by inorganic agencies, which depended upon voleanic phenomena. Chemists, through laboratory tests, proved to their satisfaction that this was the case. Oil Where Life Was Abundant The belief was that the core of the earth was composed largely of the carbides of the common metals (especially iron), and that chemical reaction took place as water pene- trated to that depth. The resultant gases were thought to seep through cracks to the surface and to cool there as a liquid. This theory, at first hard to disprove, has now been replaced by the organic theory which forms the basis for most new geologic investi- gations. Those who hold to this theory be- lieve that oil is converted from materials which have been deposited in certain areas at the time of geological changes. Oil is expected to be found only where life is known to have been abundant. The color of rocks, their chemical nature and the manner of their formation are therefore im- portant items. So difficult is it to analyze the mother substance of oil that the organic theory has been grouped under two heads— the animal theory and the vegetable theory. That oil is found almost en‘irely where ani- mal and plant life has been dense gives credence to these viewpoints. The oil industry has come te be regarded as separable into the following divisions: (1) production; (2) transportation; (3) refining; (4) marketing. Some companies confine their operations jp one phase of the business, while the presen tendency toward stabilization in production and price has led to other companies under. taking all four functions as a part of their organization. The current activity in regard to consolidations is in line with this policy and will have a positive effect in the estab. lishment of the industry upon recognized economic principles. Geological Data Necessary Before wells can be worked, oil must be found. If the geological strueture of the entire world were known and recorded there would be little need for extensive scientific expeditions to distant lands. For the most part domestic fields are known, and are owned or leased by the major companies, which fact precludes in a.measure the possi- bility of some group gaining quick wealth through a new discovery. It is the usual practice to lease, or to ebtain the right to drill upon any lands where the presence oi oil is suspected. It is less expensive to carry a lease for large areas for years than it would be to purchase the same lands after oil is found there. Sometimes land is purchased outright from the individual or government, or it is exploited under an equitable arrange- ment. Frequently the larger companies have access to a wide area through the ownership or lease of plots arranged in checkerboard fashion, the land thus being held in alternate squares. This is more satisfactory than hold- ing « solid block, since a much larger area can be advantageously controlled with the same capital outlay. Methods of Drilling and Transporting In the United States the most productive field has been California, where, in 193. 231,673,000 barrels were produced, or overt one-third the country’s entire output. Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Kansas, West Virginia, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Kentucky are the other chief producing states. Mexico, perhaps more than any other country, is known to us for its oil. Venezuela, Per and Colombia, in South America, are like wise important. In the Old World, field: are found in Russia, Rumania, Egypt, Persia. Mesopotamia, India and Japan. Actual drilling operations are considered either as wildcat operations or as production drilling. Wildcat operations are entered upon because of “hunches,” or are 80 tf garded because of the lack of proper geologi cal knowledge. Production drilling is the work of sinking wells in predetermined areas. The old-time method of hand drilling he been supplanted by machine drills and vat ous systems have been developed to utilize these to the best advantage. While the work of locating and producing crude oil is highly colored with romanee, the other stages in making the finished product available to the consumer are not without! their own colorful aspects. At first it wa necessary to transport oil in small barrels of in bottles. When the Pennsylvania , were opened up it was estimated that there were in operation more than 6,000 carts, eacli drawn by a team of horses. Next came eu bersome railroad box-car shipments and short pipe lines. Today we are familiar with road tank cars of steel construction, with a capacity of over 100 barrels each. harbors are visited frequently with tank ships, the larger tankers, plying betwee? the Pacific and the Atlantic c asts. In‘many ways the pipe line appears 48 the logical method for transporting oil from MAR — ll ~~ — > =F =—aAepreao © a em OD OL eed

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1926 Lives arded sions: (3) NS to resent ction inder. i to e of ould il is neni. nge- have ship oard nate old: area the Peru ike sia. nd ur ge en he MarcH, 1926 Adair Guaranteed 64% Bonds yield 62% more than 4% bonds 30% more than 5% bonds 18% more than 514% bonds 8% more than 6% bonds Increase Your Income! O other bond of equal security offers so much —an annual income of $65 for every $1,000 invested —both principal and in- terest unconditionally guar- anteed by the Adair Realty & Trust Company, with capital and surplus exceed- ing $2,000,000. No bond could be safer— amply secured by a closed first mortgage upon income earning properties, ideally located—backed by a rec- ord of over 60 years with- out loss to any investor— and approved for insurance by one of the oldest and strongest surety companies in America. If your present holdings do not yield you 6%%— if your present holdings are not guaranteed and can- not be insured—you owe it to yourself and those de- pendent upon you to thor- oughly investigate Adair Guaranteed Bonds. Mail the coupon today $1000, $500 and $100 denominations Serial Maturities ADAIR REALTY & TRUST Co. Founded 1865 Healey Building, Atlanta, Ga. Packard Building, Philadelphia, Pa. ADAIR REALTY & MORTGAGE COMPANY, INC. 270 Madison Avenue, New York City Ownership Identical Adair Realty & Trust Co., Dept. SA 1, Atlanta, Ga. Please send me full information describ- ing recent issues of Adair Guaranteed 614% Bonds. Name SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN field to the large markets or to storage places. Except for short lines, between pools or to | shipping points, the pipe-line system, how- ever, has not been generally adopted except in the United States. Here a_ trunk-line system has been developed connecting the productive areas in Texas with the consumer | in New York, as well as points intermediary. Perhaps the largest line other than this is the | line between Baku and Batoum, on the Black | Sea, which was 600 miles long, and now believed to have been destroyed by recent | revolutions. Storage a Problem The problem of storage naturally arises with the consideration of transportation. At the present time it is the practice to store oil in tanks which average between 40,000 and 80,000 barrels in capacity. producing areas will be found concrete-lined reservoirs to hold 100,000 to 5,000,000 barrels. Because of the danger from fires, it is advis- able to utilize the smaller tanks; thus a clus- ter of these is located usually not far from retail districts. So far we have been concerned with oil only in the crude state, which is of little value to the average consumer. The extrac- tion from crude oil of its various products— benzine, naphthene, kerosene, gasoline and dozens of others—is the work of refineries, and while these products are obtained simul- taneously, they require distinct operations. One needs to be well up on one’s chemistry to understand how but slightly different con- ditions result in the various familiar oils. The first procedure is to physically separate the several fractions contained in crude oils. This is done usually through distillation and condensation, although the processes of cold pressing, cold settling, centrifuging and sweating are used. Study the Offerings Made Refining plants are designed to treat the particular crude oils that come to them so that the proper products will be obtained. Gasoline, naphtha and kerosene need to be in a highly purified state, while the solid fuels need not be purified. The stills, usually five or six in number, are so arranged that the oil flows by gravity from one to another, the desired fractions being removed at the proper instant. The astounding growth in demand for gas- oline, together with the rapid rise in price, has been the impetus for much experimental work directed toward an increased produc- tion. The result has been many new processes, the most important of which is cracking, or the breaking up of heavier oils through pressure under certain time, tem- perature and catalytic conditions. Full use of this procedure is now hampered by various patent suits. The ultimate aim of the oil man jis to place the finished product in the consumer's hands. This phase of the business is not complicated by chemical formulas such as are encountered in studying refinery opera- tions, and is perhaps the branch familiar to the public. Competition has made it necessary that the selling and dis- tributing organizations be efficient to the extreme. Most refineries sell their output direct to retailers, and their problem is not so much one of sales as one of delivery. Refineries are located naturally near their markets or close to adequate shipping facilities. Is there anyone who at some time has not dreamed of sudden wealth through oil? Be- cause of the known instances of great wealth that has come out of the industry to a very few, and because the dramatic elements are present, oil stocks have carried an enormous appeal. Probably more money has been lost by the public in oil stocks than has been actually made by the operators. Oil, clearly, is an essential commodity, and the business of production and sale a legiti- mate one. The industry does not deserve the speculative stigma clinging to it. Inves- tors will therefore improve the investment side of the oil business if they will really study the offerings made them, rather than pour out their money indiscriminately. In the largest | most | ...a heating method that actu \\ -H EAT ives all over your s_ / BUILDING 4M A Ventura fan driven by a fully en- closed industrial type electric motor insures a definite positive air circu- lation through the heater—enables the amount of heat to be regulated and actually forces the heat over a wide area in the direction desired. Heat is forced over the highly effi- cient Aerofin heating coils (de- scribed below) into the areas to be heated and not in one corner of the room or against the wall. This fea- ture in itself is worth the price of the Venturafin Method of Heating— it reduces heat loss to a minimum, enables the Venturafin Method to heat up more quickly at any time— makes it possible to keep even tem- peratures over large areas — and aids ventilation. The Aerofin heating coil is made of tubes of copper end brass, each tube helically wound with a continuous fin. By this construction, which is patented, the heat transmitting sur- face of the tubes are made nearly five times greater which not only gives you greater heating effi- ciency, but also reduces fuel costs materially and enables a light com- pact unit to do the work of an other- wise large aud bulky unit. A recirculating box completes the Venturafin unit—it takes the air off the floor and feeds it to the fan whence it is forced over the heating coils and back into circulation. The complete unit represents the most scientific method of industrial heat- ing. It is based on sound, proven principles and can be used with either steam or hot water The Venturafin Method of Heating And this sound, proven method of heating can be purchased cheaper than ordinary heating equipment and the installation and maintenance costs are lower. Write for complete details or ask your heating contractor to tell you of the benefits of the Venturafin Method of Heating. AMERICAN BLOWER COMPANY, DETROIT BRANCH OFFICES IN ALL PRINCIPAL CITIES CANADIAN SIROCCOCOMPANY,LTD., WINDSOR, ONT. (498) merican Rlower VENTILATING, HEATING, AIR CONDITIONING, DRYING, MECHANICAL DRAPT Manufacturers of all Types of Air-Handling Gig Ey t Since 188i

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The Hydro-Electric Dishwasher has removed the drudgery of dishwashing from thousands of homes. It’s

7

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Type SAX dy h. dD. mf with special base. or Nickel plated. Operates on A.C. D.C, DUMORE Fractional H.P. Motors are giving trouble-proof service in thou- sands of places where a small motor must absolutely be depended on. Our Engineer- ing Department knows how to adapt small motorstohard jobs. If youare developing or improving a motor driven device, per- haps we can offer some suggestions that will help you. No obligation at all—just write or wire.

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926

X

Nature in a Playful Mood The cyclone at Murphysboro, Illinois, re- cently produced many freakish results, one of which is shown in the accompanying photograph enclosed with a note from our correspondent: “This tree stood in the Logan school yard at Murphysboro, Illinois. “The 1 by 10 board was driven into the tree by the cyclone that devastated Murphysboro, Illinois, March 18, 1925, about 3 P.M. “The board hit the tree about seven feet from the ground and is so firmly driven into the tree by the velocity and force of the wind that it bore the weight of a 150-pound man hanging on it with- out loosening it in the least. “In the top of the tree is a carpenter's horse also blown into the tree by the force of the wind.” \N TAR EDITORS MAIL

A \" which we published a letter from Sir Arthur oe mee = oe See pe par 7 2 — - = bei “agp ote ins sacha exact facts was made to appear a sinner, ae a ere Se pr sea a first in relation to the Murillo forgery, f we received an item from Dr. Walter Frank- and secondly as to the fake photograph lin Prince, author of the article on spirit of the “spirits” of Chicago firemen ex- 2 photographs in our December issue. He has hibited by Sir Arthur upon the screen 8 called the item “A Footnote”—and it is a in New York. P A T | | N TS reply to Sir Arthur’s comments on his article (Continued on page 200) 3 ? “ ; TRADE-MARKS # CERIO ; DESIGNS 4 : ‘KT ~ ~ FOREIGN PATENTS 4 a i MUNN & CO g . ;Z PATENT ATTORNEYS 4 : yt Associated since 1846 with the Scientific American

WOOLWORTH BUILDING SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN BLDG. : tg eS oe 4 233 Broadway, N. Y. C. Washington, D. C. al / TOWER BUILDING HOBART BUILDING a) Chicago, Ill. San Francisco, Cal. i | i ii VAN NUYS BUILDING ' Los Angeles, Call.

Books and Information on Patents “H | and Trade-Marks by Request.

f Associates in All Foreign Countries. - ae —— —— = — = J What a cyclone can do. Note the saw horse also blown into the tree by the wind

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26 i ——eSEe_—_—_aeSaaN aaa SSS 8a rere eee. ee ea a aww MARCH, 1926 In the Timken Steel Mill, reels of hot metal like this represent millions of bear- ing rolls, in long pieces. Later the rolls are cut, shaped and finished Every process, from the very pro- duction of the steel itself, is carried on in the great self- contained Timken plant. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN | 199 Milas of Might 7) 4 for Reels of rolls! Thos@fittle rolls in the Timken Tapered Mller Bearings of your car are spun By the mile in the great Timken sted@mill. This is the mill with the la é st output of electric furnace steel igfthe world. It is the only steel mill Mirectly a part of the resources of a Bearing plant. What self-sufficient @@impleteness— what massive operatiorng-—when bear- ings are hardly so nffich as 1% of the weight of a motofevehicle. But Timken Bearings so $frely improve cars and trucks that 13000 Timkens per day are added to tlie 150,000,000. of them already in use] THE TIMKEN R Ti Tapered Roller otor Cars ermanence, silence, simplicity, and economy are the coveted character- istics Which Timken Bearings assure in transmissions, in differentials, on pinion and worm gears, in rear wheels and front wheels, in steering pivots and in fans. Most largely responsible are Timken positive roll alignment, Timken capacity for both vertical and horizontal stresses, and Timken steel from Timken furnaces, as well. Since 83% of all makes of motor vehicles in America use Timken Bearings, you can easily choose from among Timken-equipped automo- biles and trucks. OLLER BEARING CO CANTON OHIO

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ok! Mat eae Fleets aa fies yee ns Se Perk a oe de eeregu ers ora eS RAMS ~~. ; 3 ee bisa ve Phe re is @ mistak Horses do hard work and get nothing but their board. Day labor ere. do hard work and remain day La trs rers alws Send for the book that gives SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN J | At what rate do you run your brain? O you realize how much more you could do and earn if you gave yourself a real chance — if, for instance, you knew the secret of fifteen min- utes a day? Which of these men is most like you? The laborer, shovel- ing coal all his days? Or the skilled man, working hard for eight hours but making no real progress? Or the factory super- intendent, who has a little more leisure and hope? Or the really big man, whose earning capacity has no limit, and who gets more interesting play and recreation into his life than all the others put together? Said Emerson: “Any man with an ordinary common brain can make good if he has the willingness to run that Drain up to So per cent of its highest efficiency.” The secret of running your brain up to $o per cent or more of its true capacity is no longer a secret, in the true sense of the word. For over 400,000 ambi- tious people have learned it, and put it to work for themselves. can learn the secret as from a wonderful little book which is offered on this page. You they did, Y ou can enjoy these good books while you are paying for them. PP. 2. Collier & Son, since 1875 have brought good booka w ithin reach of all. Act today This book is free; it gives the plan, scope, and purpose of the most famous library in the world- DR. ELIOT’S FIVE-FOOT SHELF OF BOOKS —and the wonderful part it can play in your mental life. Every well-informed man or woman should at least know something about this wonder- ful library. The free book tells about it—how Dr. Eliot has so chosen and arranged its 418 great mas- terpieces that, in even fifteen minutes a day, you can get from these “Harvard Classics” the culture, the knowledge of men and of life, and the broad view- point that can alone win for you an outstanding and solid success. You are earnestly invited to have a copy of ‘‘Fifteen Minutes a Day.”’ It is free, will be sent by mail, and involves no obligation what- ever. Tear off this This és the free book, coupon and mail it ee Se oe . Send for it today. you TC IDA " a P. F. COLLIER & SON COMPANY 250 Park Avenue, New York City By mail, free, send me the little guide-book | to the most famous books in the world, describ- ing Dr. Eliot’s Five-Foot Shelf of Books (Harvard | Classics), and containing the plan of reading recommended by Dr. Eliot of Harvard. Also how | I may secure the books by small monthly pay- ments, ( Mr PE Sue, wveniva Scat Maalcesednel acksunus ( Miss | | | | | | BAP, “csadabace nontiol anieanclarhcs ve | ™ 4118-HCM L ABGEMBS seccccsccccccccccccsccesceccecsesccccoss | The publishers cannot undertake to send the booklet free to children. | 1. Sir Arthur says that I was belated in my discovery of the Murillo impos- ture, since he inserted a certain article in Light six weeks before my article was printed. But my article was in the hands of the editor two weeks before that, and, moreover, it was another picture which Doyle announced in Light that he de- tected, not the one to which | referred. My expression of wonder whether I was the first to discover the Murillo impos- ture had reference to the fact that it had passed the inspection of Doyle and many others long enough to get into the /nter- national Psychic Gazette. Of course, I did not expect to be the only one who would ever make the discovery, nor did I regard the priority of mine as any part of the issue. Sir Arthur says that I misquote him; that he did not say that the picture was “the most remarkable spirit photograph” he had ever seen, but that it was “the most artistic.” But I did not say that he said it, but that the /nternational Psychic Gazette said he said it, which was true. Thus, by magnifying details, and by wrongly relating them to me, attention is diverted from all that | deemed impor- tant, and all I emphasized, namely, that a clumsy and brazen photographic fraud passed the inspection of Spiritualists long enough to be reproduced as a proof of spirit action, in one of their promi- nent magazines, that Murillo’s concep- tion of the Deity was “recognized” by a woman as her “spirit guide,” St. John, and that four of his conventional cherubs were “recognized” by four mothers as their respective children. (The International Psychic Gazette has since said that I ought to know that spirits are capable of making a “repro- duction of existing paintings.” In the present case this would mean that spirits carefully cut away two-fifths of the “Holy Family,” and blocked out the betraying dove with cotton batting so thick that its edge casts a shadow. I should say that if spirits are so anxious to prove their work a fraud they should be ac- commodated. ) II. As to the fake spirit photograph shown in New York: Sir Arthur tells us that in showing this picture on the screen he did not say it was genuine, and that he withdrew it after | communicated with him. This is exactly what I stated in my article. The reason I related the story was that I felt that such portion of the public as think that the distinguished novelist, since he invented Sherlock Holmes, must himself possess superior detective in- stinct should, in view of his bitterness against the (English) Society for Psychi- cal Research and those who preserve its traditional policy of caution, recognize that he has an easy intellectual con- science. He knew nothing about the history of the fireman picture; and yet he showed it in his public exhibit of choice proofs. And even now he says he is not sure that it is not genuine, al- though I let him read the original letters of Fallis, the Chicago photographer, who made it to prove to Dr. Hodgson MARCH, 1926 how easily a “spirit” photograph could be made. I have stated what was the important point in connection with this part of my article. Again it is sought to divert attention from the real issue, and to fix it upon an irrelevant detail. Had jt been shown that I had misstated a single detail, that would have been to the point, But no, it is intimated that I am not a gentleman, because I did not keep the matter a secret forever, as I kindly did at the time in order that the novelist’s lecture tour should not be less success- ful. I believe that, in connection with psychic research or this particular inci- dent, whether I am a gentleman or not, like the question whether my nose is be- coming, is an irrelevant detail. To be sure, | did not understand that I was obligated or expected to be forever silent on the little matter. have no such secrets concerning myself, and anyone is at liberty to tell the truth about me at any time. It is not “prejudice” to state irrefuta- ble facts, nor “unfair” to quote with ex- actitude, although I admit that “Dr. Prince is always doing this kind of thing.” But it is getting so that to have vision, memory and _ logical faculty enough te expose pretentious and blatant frauds is regarded by the resolute devout as evidence of a soul filled with all iniquity. Walter Franklin Prince. Kill the Ant! Here is a clever device, guaranteed to catch and kill red ants. Our correspondent describes the process by which these pests climb up the perforated spout, there to fall off to their death. A trap guaranteed to catch and kill red, cutting ants has been invented by a Texas man. The trap is a square trough, about an inch deep, with an elevated spout at one corner. The ants climb up the spout and fall into a pan of kero- sene oil which kills them. The device, which occupies only a square foot of space, is set by being intrenched around the nole in such a manner that the in- sects fall into the trough either when leaving the hole in search of food or when returning after foraging. In setting the trap, care must be taken to bank the dirt up against the sides so that the ants will tumble in when trying to enter or reach their bed. The curved- in sides prevent the ants climbing out, while the perforated floor of the spout makes it possible for them to ascend it with ease, only to fall into the oil. The accompanying picture shows one of the traps set around an ant bed, with hundreds of dead ants piled up near the can. Several holes in the bottom of the trough will provide escape for rain water that might fall in it. The trap is not guaranteed to catch small sugar ants which, because of their size and light weight, can climb out. These traps are made of ordinary sheet tin covered with a coating to make it An ingenious trap for killing red ants + an ans oo os eo ee ee ee ee —a_ae em © & *& = & & = 4 Pe em 4 a eee Mi cl le pe ee ee ee ee

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MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 201 slippery. Pieces are first cut for the sides and spout on a standard cutting knife. Then these pieces, cut in exact sizes, are run one at a time through a series of machines operated by hand cranks. Each machine performs a spe- cific operation, such as perforating the bottoms, bending the sides, and cutting a hole in one side for the spout. Sector gears, cutting dies, scavenger springs and heavy weights are the principal parts of the machines, which were also invented by the inventor of the trap. After the pieces have been cut and bent into shape, they are soldered together to form the completed trap. As the Patterson-Sargent Company says: “The choice of mill construction has proven wholly satisfactory. We feel that for our purpose it is superior to any other type of construction.” Lee Woods. A Novel Fertilizer One of our friends in Guatemala sends the following: Radio fans may be interested in figuring out just what reaction takes place in the gap between the ground and —_—_o -— the end of the antenna. Editor, Scientific American: You may be interested in the experi- ments I have been making in stimulating plants by means of electricity from the atmosphere. The lime tree which was rejuvenated by means of atmospheric electricity Plants are natural lightning conduc- tors, as the points of the leaves and needles place themselves in electrical connection with the atmosphere. After each electrical storm it may be noted that the plants obtain new vigor and growth. Therefore, if the stem and branches of the plant are provided with copper wires adjusted in two or three places by means of narrow copper bands and if the upper ends extend toward the atmosphere in the form of small light- ning conductors, the plant remains in direct contact with the electricity of the atmosphere and will be stimulated in such a way that it will produce a great quantity of new flowers and fruits. The fruit is of far better appearance and of better quality on account of this device. My first experiment was made with a young guava tree. After having placed an antenna on this tree during the months of March to June of this year it made several new shoots; it has flowered and produced fruit twice and the fruits are twice the size of the ordinary fruit and are much sweeter. During these months we had many electrical storms. On the 15th of July of this year I experimented with an old lime tree. The fruits of this tree were dried up before they were much good. In order to ob- tain a better result 1 placed three an- tennas of copper wire in the tree, also surrounding some of the branches and also I placed an antenna of loose copper wire. These antennas consisted of 50 turns around the main branch just above the trunk and extended down the trunk to a point just above the ground. By means of these four antennas the tree started to make new growths within fifteen days after a storm; on the present date (the 15th of October) it has pro- uced many new shoots and the fruit has improved noticeably, is juicy and sweet. At present on the tree are flowers and fruits of all sizes and it continues to flower and produce fruit. The tree is completely rejuvenated. Jose Gallegos. A Room in the Plant of The Patterson-Sargent Company, Long Island City, New York, Manufacturers of B. P. S. Paints, and B. V.S. Varnishes The Ballinger Company, Architects and Engineers Every Manufacturer whose business demands utmost flexibility of internal plant arrangement should read this — Quoted by Permission from letter of THE BALLINGER COMPANY Architects and Engineers, New York “With reference to the Patterson-Sargent project, a marked advantage that mill construction has over masonry construction —the ease with which alterations can be made—was a matter of primary importance in the man- ufacture of paints and varnishes. Alterations or extensions of the plant equipment almost invariably involved changes in the rather elaborate system of pipes through which the material flows. Mill construction permits the per- foration of the floors for new piping at practically any point at a small cost.” The Popularity of the Mill Construction Building Is Enhanced by the Ready Availability and Fine Structural Qualities of Douglas Fir An increasing percentage of the big timbers and plank required for all general con- struction purposes are being supptied today in Douglas Fir from the Pacific Northwest. From the fine structural qual- ities inherent in the species, scientific selection makes it pos- sible tosecure,on special order, where exceptionally heavy loadings demand it, a “select structural grade,’ the equal, if not the superior, of any struc- tural wood on the market today. Through the Weyerhaeuser dis- tributing plants at Baltimore and Minnesota Transfer, Saint Paul, Douglas Fir in all standard grades and sizes can be laid down quickly and economically in every industrial section of the country. Twenty-two percent of all the lumber produced in this country to- day is Douglas Fir. USINESS men who know the importance of keeping down plant overhead are paying more and more attention to the adaptabilities and econo- mies of heavy timber mill construction for factory and warehouse expansion. It is the business of the architect and engineer to advise you whether Mill Construction is adaptable to your individual building requirements. Or, if you prefer, there is available the consultation of a Weyerhaeuser Expert Construction Engineer. The advantages of ‘‘Mill Construction’’ and the structural quality of Douglas Fir are thoroughly covered in the Weyerhaeuser booklets ‘‘Indus- trial Buildings’ and ‘‘Structural Timbers of Doug- las Fir’’ and in ‘Technical Note No. 201” issued by the U.S. Forest Products Laboratory. These booklets will be sent on request to responsible members of industrial concerns. WEYERHAEUSER FOREST PRODUCTS SAINT PAUL* MINNESOTA Producers for industry of pattern and flask lumber, factory grades for remanufacturing, lumber for boxing and crating, structural timbers for iadustrial building. And each of these items in the species and type of wood best suited for the purpose. Also producers of Idaho Red Cedar poles for telephone and electric transmission lines. Sool hi Weyerhaeuser Forest Products are distributed through the established trade channels by the Weyerh Sales C p \ with branch offices at 208 So. La Salle St., Chicago; 220 Broadway, New York; Lexington Bidg., Baltimore; and 806 Plymouth Bidg., Minneapolis; and with repr ives thr the country.

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— meaner erage = eel See el ae a9 — —_ eee a= ly \} / Perhaps you, too, can cut your V SS **B”’ battery costs in half. | follow the chart. secret of ‘‘B”’ battery economy THOUSANDS of people have made this discovery. Eveready “B"’ Batteries, when used in the proper size and with a “C”’ bat- tery*, are the most economical, reliable and satisfactory source of radio current. On sets of one to three tubes, Eveready “B” Battery No. 772, used with a “C”’ battery, will last a year or longer, usually longer. On sets of four and five tubes, either of the larger Heavy Duty Eveready Batteries No. 770 or No. 486, used with a “C”’ bat- tery*, will last eight months or more. These figures are based on the average use of receivers, which a country-wide survey has shown to be two hours daily throughout the year. If you listen longer, of course, your batteries will have a somewhat shorter life, and if you listen less, they will last just that much longer. Here is the secret of “B” bat- tery satisfaction and economy: With sets of from 1 to 3 tubes, use Eveready No.772. W ith sets of 4 or more tubes, use either of the Heavy Duty Batteries, No. 770, or the even longer-lived Eveready Layerbilt No. 486. Use a “C” battery on all but single tube sets. Evereadys give you their re- markable service to the full when they are correctly matched in capacity to the demands made upon them by your receiver. It is wasteful to buy batteries that are too small. Follow the chart. In addition to the batteries illustrated, which fit practically all of the receivers in use, we also make a number of other types for special purposes. There is an Eveready Radio Battery for every *Norte: In addition to the increased life which an Eveready “C” Battery gives to your “B” batteries, it will add a quality of reception unobtainable without it. Radio Batteries ~they last longer SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Just It gives you the ! wel aete)t © ¢ i | ‘) Or = © 9) more radio use. To learn more about the entire Eveready line, write for the booklet, “Choosing and Using the Right Radio Batter- ies,” which we will be glad to send you on request. This book- let also tells about the proper bat- tery equipment for use with the new power tubes. There is an Eveready dealer nearby. Manufactured and guaranteed by NATIONAL CARBON CO., Inc. New York San Francisco Canadian National Carbon Co., Limited Toronto, Ontario Tuesday night means Eveready Hour— 9 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, through the following stations: wear-New York wyar—Providence weEel—Boston wsal-Cincinnati wEAR-—Cleveland ww J-Detroit WTAc-W orcester won-Chicago wri-Philadel phia woc-Davenport wor-Bu ffalo weco { Minneapolis weae-Pittsburgh St. Paul xsp-St. Lowis xco-San Francisco, 8 P. M. Pacific Coast Time MARCH, 1926 Radio Notes A Review and Commentary on the Progress in This Branch of Rapid Communication Conducted by Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr. Wide World A waterproof radio transmitter has been designed especially for use in lifeboats. The operator’s hand and arm are covered by a canvas bag which keeps water from entering the waterproof cabinet Is Radio Menaced by Strange Rays? Rapio followers, who have been reading in the papers of the new scientific discov- ery of wild and powerful rays traveling from the “depths of outer space” toward the earth with the speed of radio, are likely to wonder what effect they will have upon broadcasting and the ether. The extremely short length of these im- migrant 10,000,000-volt variety, which is estimated to be much shorter than X-rays, is “unimaginable,” says Dr. R. A. Millikan, discoverer of the rays, who has been probing and studying nature’s secrets upon the edge of finite space. So powerful is their energy after they penetrate the upper regions of the atmosphere that it is estimated Old Mother Earth might experi- ence a disastrous effect should the number of rays increase. Dr. Millikan reports that these rays come from space and bombard the earth from all directions at all times, and that they have extraordinary penetrating power. Will they, like the sun’s rays, menace radio by absorbing its strength? There is no doubt that the rays of Old Sol are responsible for the limited range of radio concerts in the daytime. This is proved by the fact that as soon as twilight blends into darkness the distant stations begin to come forth from loudspeakers hun- dreds of miles away, and as the night progresses the waves span greater distances, with increased intensity. Then come the first faint traces of dawn in the Eastern sky and the distant transmitters begin to wax and wane, suddenly vanishing, produc- ing at sunrise a death-like silence in the radio realm. Radio experts explain that the ultra- violet rays and other beams radiated from the sun penetrate the atmosphere and act as millions of antenna, absorbing radio energy, or serve as a pathway over which Hertzian waves reach the ground before they have an opportunity to seek an anten- na. One might picture this effect of the sun’s rays as a curtain made up of myriads of wires stretched from the sky to the earth, but when darkness sets in the curtain rises and the radio theatre is opened on a national scale. It is then that receivers in New waves, of York skyscrapers can be put in tune with melodies played out where the corn grows tallest. What would man do if these immigrant waves increase in number and have an ill effect upon the ether? All radio might van- ish and the great radio industry which grew “over night” wou'd crumble. What assur- ance has man that the ether will always remain toe vibrate with human thoughts and emotions? These strange rays might wipe radio out over night and several have sug- gested that man himself will destroy the ether, because with millions of receiving sets tapping the invisible, odorless, tasteless substance, it may finally be used up. Others dispell such fear and contend that the ether is an everlasting supply and will occupy all space until doomsday. Others point out that these new rays may be signals from another planet and they add weight to this contention by calling atten- tion to the fact that the mysterious waves are extremely short in length. This short- ening of wavelengths seems to be the trend radio is following in its earthly development as amateurs talk from nation to nation, across continents and over seas, on short wavelengths propagated by less power than is required to operate an electric iron. If a boy can do this from the attic of his home, why could not some race of superior devel opment devise a system of short wave com munication far more effective and powerful than man has discovered on earth? Undoubt- edly, 1,000 years hence, the earth’s inhabi- tants will look back upon our radio of today as only a crude and tiny link in the chain of their ultra and inter-planetary broadcasting system. Perhaps these nomad rays, which are being wafted in from the infinite, are transporting motion pictures of other worlds, but we are so far behind in radio science that they cannot be flashed upon earthly screens. Some say that there is no cause for alarm because no one seems to be sure that there is such a medium as the ether. It is am established fact that the air is not the basis of radio, so there must be another medium; and scientists have named it the ether. They tell us that the ether occupies mountains, that it exists in a vacuum, in our bodies and in* the walls of our homes, and that 1 broa no 0 symf throt 186.0 pecu wher Ch worl that that erties of fo metz is 0 attem it is unten Sir staun He b ible not e out t for tl consti air h to pri to le theori it ma No in that t myste radio Kadel & | Tuni

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se ce vrwereee, _ Sara tern SS TT SEF TP eee re ees SR2F2°225838 MaRCH, 1926 Wide World Owners of receivers in Japan pay a fee amounting to about eighty cents a month to the Tokio municipal station. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN The sets are sealed on this one wavelength so that the operator cannot tune in another broadcaster indoor antenna radio Did you ever stop to think that, is why intercept broadcasts. no matter where you are, housewives’ talks, symphonies and jazz, sermons and news, pass through your body at the speed of sunlight, 186,000 miles a Whatever this peculiar medium is, it seems to be every- where! Charles P. Steinmetz startled the radio world shortly before he died by declaring that there were no ether waves! He argued that radio and light waves are merely prop- erties of an alternating electro-magnetic field of force that extends through space. Stein- metz said that the conception of the ether is one of those hypotheses made in an attempt to explain a difficulty, and the more it is studied the more unreasonable and untenable it becomes. Sir Oliver Lodge, on the other hand, is a staunch defender of the ether’s existence. He believes that, because the ether is invis- ible is no reason for saying that it does not exist. Those who agree with him point out that man and animals breathed the air for thousands of years before the chemical constituents were known or even that the air had weight. A barometer was needed to prove that fact. If it required centuries to learn about the air, why cast aside theories regarding the ether or worry that it may be destroyed by some outside force? No instrument has been discovered to prove that the ether exists. It remains one of the second. mysteries of God’s handiwork along with radio and the Millikan rays. ' + Kagel & Herbert Broadcasters Using Powerful Tubes A new 10-kilowatt vacuum tube, which vibrates at the rate of 5,000,000 times a second and requires for operation at full capacity as much current as would be used to light every room in a dozen six-room dwellings, is now in use at KDKA, WBZ, KFKX and KYW. The tube uses a voltage that is twenty times as high as traction companies use to propel street cars. This tube handles so much energy that it has been impractical to build a base that would not be burned up if all the filament, grid and plate leads were run through the base. Consequently, the leads are taken off at different places—the filament wires at the bottom, the grid lead at the side and the plate wire at the top. The tube stands a foot and a half in height. A water jacket carries off the heat created when the 15,000 watts of energy are applied to the plate. The plate is a copper tube nine inches long and an inch and a half in diameter, closed at one end. Almost the entire length of the plate protrudes from the top of the tube. The water jacket is fastened to the plate and water is circulated under pressure to absorb the heat. The column of water is about twenty feet long. The hose is half an inch in diameter. The amount of current which leaks away to the ground through the column of water is negligible. The resis- tance of water to the flow of electrical cur- rent is more than a billion times that of a Tuning a ship’s radio aerial system. The wavelength on which the S.S. Grips- holm operates can be quickly changed by this unique layout of taps _ —— KEYS ——>} —, ¥essty se Steel Sheets that Resist Rust! HE destructive enemy of sheet metal is rust. ——— | An alloy of copper gives to Steel Sheets and Tin Plates the highest de- gree of resistance to rust and corrosion. Keystone Copper Steel gives maximum endurance—a fact proved by actual time and weather tests. Demand Keystone quality for lasting service. ROOFING AND SIDING ) yas > 3 LL oo! Apollo BEST BLOOM ALVANIZED SHEETS APOLLO-KEYSTONE Copper Steel GALVANIZED SHEETS CULVERT, FLUME AND TANK STOCK FORMED ROOFING PRODUCTS Black Sheets for all Purposes AUTOMOBILE SHEETS— ELECTRICAL SHEETS DEEP DRAWING AND STAMPING STOCK TIN AND TERNE PLATES Apollo Galvanized Sheets, made continuously since 1884, are the best known Galvanized Sheets produced. An additional factor for permanence has been added in Apollo-Keystone grade by the use of Keystone Copper Steel for the base metal. This copper-steel alloy is particularly adapted for roofing, siding, gutters, spouting, flumes, culverts, tanks, and all sheet metal work requiring highest rust-resistance. Keystone quality demonstrated its excellence in service tests of American Society for Testing Materials. Could you ask for more thorough or impartial proof? Sold by leading metal merchants. We shall! be pleased to assist the trades in the solution of problems involving the use of Sheet and Tin Mill Products. Send for Facts booklet. Sheet eWUll “Products CineMill Products Biack Sheets for all purposes, Apollo American Coke and American Charcoal and Apollo-Keystone Copper Steel Gal- M Bright Tin Plates, Taggers Tin, Ameri vanized Sheets, Oulvertand Tank Stock, %& 7 can Old Style and American Namethodd Formed Roofing and Siding Products, Roofing Terne Plates, MF Roofing Tin Special Sheets for Stamping, Automo- Plates, Black Plate for al! purposes: bile Sheets, Electrical Sheets, Stove and Enameling Stock, Stove Pipe and £) Range Sheets, Barrel and Keg Stock,etc. bow Stock, Special Stamping Stock, ete American Sheet and Tin Plate Company General Offices: Frick Building, Pittsburgh, Pa. 4 DreTRict SALes OFFICES === Cincinnati Denver Detroit New Orleans New York Philadelphia Pittsburgh St. Louis Export Representatives: Untrep StaTxs Steet Propvcts Co., New York City Pacific Coast Representatives: UNITED StaTEs STEEL PRopucts Oo., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portiand, Seattie Chicago

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LNA INE Bia Ne atc. Bet rita di dt sa 5 ee ee f SAS. 4 ee? tere at ee Saaeeier see er nn ean eet 204 SCIENTIFIC STRENCTH—LIGCHT WEIGHT — DURABILITY Maccar uses DAYTONS| Maccar, “The Truck of Continuous Ser- vice” uses Dayton Steel Wheels. Like the Maccar Truck, Dayton Steel Wheels are built to give continuous ser- vice. Day after day, year after year, Day- ton Steel Wheels meet the most exacting requirements of heavy duty truck service. The records of prominent fleet owners show that Dayton Steel Wheels increase the life and the earning capacity of their trucks. That’s why nearly all the leading truck manufacturers use Dayton Steel Wheels. Specify them on your next order. The Dayton Steel Foundry Co. Dayton, Ohio Dayfon Steel Truck Wheels TIRE ECONOMY—ACCESSIBILITY—APPEARANCE GEARS All HKinds-Small The most accurate made and prices te ‘Ice Making and Refrigerating | | Machinery | | Corliss & Poppet Valve Engines || | Bulletins sent upon request ' THE VILTER MFG. CO. | | &99 Clinton Street Milwaukee, Wis. | shipment. Can also quote on special gears of all kinds. Send us your in- quiries Write for Catalogue 20 CHICAGO STOCK GEAR WORKS 105 Seath Jefferson Street Chicago PATENTS TRADE-MARKS DESIGNS FOREIGN PATENTS MUNN & CO. PATENT ATTORNEYS 4 fe. Associated since 1846 with the Scientific American A New Line of South Ben Lathes The new Line of South Bend Lathes possesses the necessary material, workmanship, and design to insure sustained accuracy and pre- cision. le is an outstanding example of a re- markabie value for the money, unequalled in the fine lathe field. Write for descriptive literature explaining 96 types and sizes. South Bend Lathe Works 523 E. Madison St., South Bend, Ind. Z WOOLWORTH BLDG. - 233 Broadway, N. Y. C. SCIENTIFIC AMER. BLDG. - Washington, D. C. TOWER BUILDING - - - Chicago, Ill. HOBART BUILDING - - San Francisco, Cal. VAN NUYS BUILDING - Los Angeles, Cal. Books and Information on Patents and Trade-Marks by Request. Associates in All Foreign Countries. AMERICAN copper cable of the same length and diam- eter. Thus, by water cooling, the output apacity of the vacuum tube has been in- creased to 10,000 watts, sufficient power to light 200 ordinary 50-watt lamps. Several of these tubes can be used in parallel to produce greater power than 10-kilowatts. Radio Sets on Farms Growing in Number THERE are close to 600,000 radio receivers on farms in the United States, and the number is rapidly increasing. The farmers’ appreciation of broadcasting is seen in the fact that there has been a 300 percent in- crease in radio sets on farms since 1923. Dealers in various parts of the country report that the farmer generally buys a high- class set, costing between $125 and $400. Twenty-four agricultural colleges maintain broadcasting stations; and they cooperate with the Department of Agriculture in send- ing out weather, crop and market reports. Tests Show February Best for Radio OBSERVATIONS made by the Bureau of Standards on the waves of KDKA revealed the following results: The worst atmospheric conditions were experienced in June and the February air seemed to be superior to that of all other months. The next best months were in order, March, January, November, December, May, October, April, August, July and September. The worst fading was encountered in Octo- ber and the least in February, with fading increasing in the following order: April, July, March, June, January, May, November, December, August and September. Big Radio Market in Chicago ALTHOUGH there are approximately 686,000 homes in Chicago, it is estimated that there are only about 100,000 receiving sets in operation in that city. When to Tune in Cuban Stations Station 7SR, Elia, Cuba, will be on the air at 8:30 p.m.. Eastern Standard Time, every Tuesday and Thursday up to May Ist. The transmitter is rated at 500 watts and Station PWX, the wave is 295 meters. ak — Fotogrems The S.S. Gripsholm, the electrically driven Swedish liner, has a two kilowatt spark set which carries 500 miles in daylight. MARCH, 1926 Havana, is on the air Wednesdays and Sg. urdays from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, and can be heard on the 400 meter wave. Station 6KW. Tuinueu, broadcasts every day from 8:00 to 10:15 p.M., Eastern Standard Time. It can be found on the 338 meter wave. The trans. mitter is rated at 500 watts on week days, and 6,000 watts on Sunday nights. Radio Sets’ Total Nears 5,000,000 It is estimated that there are now about 5,000,000 radio sets in operation in the United States. There are approximately 22,000,000 homes in this country so the radio market is still very large. The total for radio is small compared with the 18,000,000 automobiles; about 15,000,000 _ telephones and 12,000,000 phonographs. Five Loudspeakers in One Set A NEW receiver named the “Zeniphonic” has been introduced by the Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago. It is a ten-tube circuit, equipped with five stages of radio frequency amplification. There is only one dial, and it tunes over a range from 80 to 600 meters. The ordinary tuning range is from 180 to 600 meters; but it is quickly lowered by throwing a small switch inside the cabinet. The purpose of this wide tun- ing range, according to officials of the com- pany, is to make provision for what they believe to be an inevitable development in broadcasting, that is, the extension of the broadcasting wave band below 100 meters. Several of the models are equipped with two loudspeakers, which give a balance between the high and low tones. The most expensive model has five loudspeakers, to insure high quality of tone. Predicts Six Companies Will Control Radio COMMENTING upon the increase in radio sales, Alexander Eisemann, Treasurer of the Freed-Eisemann Radio Corporation, said that in his belief 95 percent of the radio busi- ness will be done by less than six companies. He pointed out that at the present time 9 percent of the automobile business is done by twelve companies. “The larger units in the radio manufac- turing business now well established will At night the range is greater f ‘ ays M. gro’ con: unit busi five pro enti stro the is n as i Ps of Ass« radi and appe ity « wall espe Sout ing Tregic buil surf; but eral] has or ¢ stud

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ut lio lio ic- ill MarcH, 1926 Kadel & Herbert SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN The radio receiver on the S.S. Gripsholm. The circuit has a tuning range of from two hundred to three thousand meters grow bigger, and there will undoubtedly be considerable mortality among the smaller units, just as was the case in the phonograph business years ago. It is very evident that five or six companies whose position as to product and merchandising policies is well entrenched, are growing § stronger and stronger, and that within a very few years the bulk of the business will be concentrated in comparatively few hands. New capital is no longer rushing into the radio business as it formerly did,” says Mr. Eisemann. Fotograms The new liner Berlin is the first ship to be equipped with radio telephone booths for the use of passengers. The booths are connected with the ship’s radio room, much like a regu- lar telephone switchboard. Passen- gers can talk to other ships within a few hundred miles A Radio Puzzle for Home Builders Tue architectural and engineering bureaus of the National Lumber Manufacturers’ Association declare that the general use of radio in the home has precipitated a new and perplexing problem for builders. It appears that, co-incidently with the popular ity of broadcasting, a new form of exterior wall construction was widely introduced, especially in Florida, other parts of the South, California and the Southwest. In tak- ing advantage of the mild climate in those regions, and for the purpose of reducing building costs, people have adopted skeleton- surfaced houses, eliminating shingled walls, but substituting stucco-surfaced siding. Gen- erally, the wooden framework of the house has no lumber sheathing. Instead, metal lath or chicken wire is applied directly to the studdings, and then the stucco is plastered over the webbing. This metal network creates a shield for radio waves and prevents Hertzian impulses from reaching indoor an- tennas or loops, which are popular in south- ern climes because they are not exposed to intercept as much static as an outdoor wire. Some lumber dealers throughout the South are taking prompt advantage of the metal lath shields and are encouraging all-lumber homes. It is pointed out that a receiving set located in a house shielded by wire or metal lath will not be shielded, providing an outdoor antenna is employed. It is the antenna that intercepts the energy from the ether, and if it is not shielded the receiver attached to it will work all right, although it may be in an all-metal compartment. Overcoming Changes in Aerial Capacity Joun Hays Hammonp, Jr., has invented a means of compensating for variations in the capacity of an antenna circuit caused by changes in the effective height of the wire. Such changes might be effected, for example, by the roll or tipping movement of a ship to which the antenna is mounted. College Station Acts as Relay RELIABLE and consistent radio relay of broadcast signals up to 300 miles is best obtained en long wavelengths, according to tests made between WGY and WCAD, St. Lawrence University, Canton, New York. The operators at the college station inter- cept the programs from Schenectady, broad- cast on the 1,560 meter wave. All programs of WGY are radiated on 379.5 meters, 41.88, 109, and 1,560. Obser- vations of the transmissions on each wave- length are made. Fxperiments in relay.work between WGY and WCAD indicate that 1,560 meters is superior to such waves as 40 meters or 100 for relay purposes. 15,110 Amateur Stations THERE are now 15,110 amateur transmit- ting stations licensed in the United States. The number has decreased since last year when the number totaled 15450. Miniature Station for Testing One of the smallest practical broadcasting stations is in use at the King Quality Prod- ucts radio plant at Buffalo, New York. It was put into service to meet an insistent demand for morning broadcasting so that sets at the factory could be tested, despite the fact that the regular broadcasters were off the air. The miniature station is mounted on a panel eight and one-half inches square, and it is attached to a phonograph. The transmitter’s wavelength range is from 200 to 600 meters and can be heard in the area of a city block. This Arguto Bearing was in constant use on the countershaft of an 18-inch Lodge & Davis engine lathe for twenty-two years— and when taken down showed only .0124@ wear with not a cut or scratch, and an in- ner surface polished like a mirror Twenty Years Without a Drink! Camels go a week or more without a drink. Then time is taken out to hunt an oasis. While the camels are being replenished with water the caravan is halted. But, at that, the camel has something on metal bearings. For they function only as long as they have constant care and attention. But the usual treatment of bearings on quantity production machines is intermittent oiling. Then friction takes its inev- itable toll. Machines are stopped. Production ceases. Idle hands stand around. New bearings are put on- and another red-ink entry goes in the ledger. Stop this waste once and for all by installing Arguto Oilless Bearings. Many Argutos have gone 20 years without oil or attention. Their econ- omy is represented not only in their years of trouble-free service, but also in their first cost—which is one-sixth that of bronze bearings. If you care to know more about these 20-year bearings just fill out the coupon. ARGUTO OILLESS BEARING CO. Wayne Junction Philadelphia, Pa. ARGUTO OILLESS BEARING CO. Wayne Junction, Philadelphia, Pa. Please send information and facts about Arguto Oilless Bearings. Name Address. City and State

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 M: | “ Z Learning to Use Our Wings Aircraft are being put to use in peace as well as in war. This depart- | ment will keep our readers informed of the latest facts about airships and airplanes YOULL wonder how such power and and pep can into so tidy a wonderfully compact—yet very: ° to care for. New 1926 refinements, Wa fo eed ieu [MARINE 10-15 MOTOR H.P_ | Conducted by Alexander Klemin In charge, A GOOD IRON FENCE affords permanent protection, im- proves plant appearances, is a perpet- ual guard against prowlers. That’s the reason so many leading industrial Daniel Guggenheim School of Aeronautics on the heels of its =, 1925 gain of 2366 more 2 plants have erected the STANDARD RECO -” ‘ $3,000 to $10,000 yearly in a business of your own, the é DIGNIFIED — ENDURING — ATTRACTIVE —many are making it in the New Profession of i —it instills pride among workmen. foot correction, not medical nor chiropody. Open. w a die. aieaian te dacheni ings everywhere with all the trade you can attend e offer you &@ wide choice in designs to; easy terms for license and training by mail; and a product recognized as “stand- | no further capital needed, or goods to buy; no ard.” Send for catalog. | agency or soliciting. Write today for full details, es | STEPHENSON LABORATORY 3 Chainlink Factory Fence | 23 Back Bay Boston, Mass. air’ with fabric ga/eanized after weaving and as ¥ » — gre long lived as our heavy fence framework, Let us quote cn your requirements. INVENTIONS PERFECTED—MODELS MADE ure Tae Stewart lgon WORKS COMPANY Ina fully equipped machine shop age incorporaied Manufacture dies, tools, jigs, and fixtures eng f 244 Stewart Block, Cincinnati, 0 of precision ; “The Werld’s Greatest Iron Fence Builders” Let us manufacture and act as your factory vs : © Kerston-New York equ f The Bristol Pullman, an interesting ten-passenger airplane, equipped with a rh f Lucifer 400-horsepower, air-cooled engine rs ee SY ag eet U. S. Signal Corp. 120 watt, 275 volt H The Bristol “Pullman” engine ahead; and it is undoubtedly easier D.C, Sepeemease for radio traneniniog of oceans ins' * : . : . F - mee -” wor ill give a voltage up to icrophones, — i HE possibilities of multi-engined planes ‘' Wat h Sy ey and one — i $1. 2 4 Condensers, Si. 500 cycle, 300 wen Alter- ead i ae . . ; - Instruments than it is to watch the switch- | nators, cycle Motor- b . winter Da volt D.C. eng while great have not by any means teil oll a ltiple-uni ls drive % K.W., $25. Plate Transformers, Filament the caused the disappearance of the single- oard of a multiple-unit power plant. Transformers, 5 watt Tubes, etc. Postage extra. ; ' engined air transport. The simplicity of At the present time passenger comfort is | R. WwooD 38 Way Avenue Corona, New York. abi ' the single-engined power plant and the being carefully studied by both American | _ greater efficiency of the single-engined plane and foreign designers. One of the signs of _ i which has no inefficient head-resistance- this increasing care for the passengers is in des : —__—_— producing-engine nacelles to pull through the the long exhaust pipe carried by the Bristol | (w | air have left many adherents of this type of . Pullman. This pipe is at least twenty feet tr F | plane. For example, the Bristol Pullman, in length and is carried far behind the pas- | — tho f with only 400 horsepower in its single Luci- Senger compartment. The pilot - has FOR SALE OR LEASE a ' fer engine, can carry ten passengers through somewhat of a climb on the outside ladder to f he ai is fe ile et into his cockpit; the passengers have to Factory Building, 112 x 36, 2 stories, and 40 x 20, eng : the air at a speed some ten to twenty miles £ § CKpit, passengers | 1 story; 10 acres of land on state highway, electric he greater than the Farman Jabiru, or the mount but three or four feet off the ground. | end steam railroad, 8 miles, from Northemptes “er a . ~ . , on P . | ass. ater wer a c electric: as Blériot “quadri-moteur” which with 720 The photograph of the interior of the ||| Equipped for aenuinusing A 7. as horsepower can only carry 12 passengers. Pullman emphasizes the care now lavished on ||| of Commerce, Williamsburg, Mass. ; The efficiency of the single-engine type is the passenger cabin. The passengers are . ; P —a spe : particularly marked when an air-cooled seated on roomy, well-upholstered seats. H east b - : . : MM en ; engine is employed and the weight of radi- Each passenger can see a clock, an altim- SS oh ood S) ORI of q ator, and water in engine and radiator are eter and an air-speed indicator ahead of if FIONEY roryvyot It saved. In the Pullman the front of the fuse- him and can tell thereby where he is, how in ‘ lage is skilfully rounded off and little of the high he is and how rapidly he is reaching at pe ' air-cooled engine is actually exposed to the his destination—not with the accuracy of Pa poe 4 blast of air. The pilot sitting high in the the navigator, but with sufficient accuracy — cen yours ake & Co., Publ sta _ ‘ ‘ fuselage has a vision which is quite as good to satisfy natural curiosity. There are no 1065 Michisan toe, Raman, ny bs Sto Fi urin / as in the four-engine jobs where there is no crosswires or beams of any description in | ae bot F EW J p Figuring. || LEARN WATCHWORK 2534283, YORE ! 4 A fine trade commanding a good salary and Len Bl ¥ . = 7 * services always in demand or you i End Mistakes—Dov dle Speed with start in business for yourself. At res 4 Precalculated Verified Answers BRADLEY INSTITUTE ‘ i The greatest school for 18 ; Meilicke ready-made answers to routine gatchaakers ta the wee, il GD area cut calculating time in half for frediey Polyteche ale inet. pul 44 estern Union, Western Electric and many Il, for our latest catalogue of vf other users. Any employee can use Meilicke vis’ ’ v0} visi 4 Systems without training. here are ao | keys to punch, no levers to pull. Just rn po i] the card and copy the answer. | lag i The Meilicke line consists of the following thi at devices } Interest Calculators Commercial Calculators _ vin, p Bonk Calculators Butter. fat ¢ iculators " Pay Roll Calculators ion sant Onleuiators 7 pry ey eed Water Bill Extenders a = Srepisicrs.. Electric Bill Extenders cH tnt Celeulators Gas Bet Extenders Men to manufacture Metal Toys and Novelties. pI a ae Vortleal Catsleging Good chance to start your own well-paying busi 4 ‘oa} Caleviaines Phone indexes ness producing such big sellers as Toys, The Dictaform for letters, paragraphs and all data. ties, Ash Trays, Book-blocks, Souvenirs, Advertit 7" Meilicke Systems meet every need, and ing Specialties, Paper Weights, etc. We furnish . special Calculatora can be supplied to meet forms with complete outfit for speedy p . - any special requirements. Let us show you Absolutely no experience or tools necessary ; without obligation how Meilicke Systems can special place needed. Small investment puts ye? save money for your business. rite now. on road to success. Demand exceeds supply 4 5 we assist and co-operate with our manufacturers 4 Agents Some velysite ~ in selling their products. We put you in are stil} open. Fite today. with the buyers and assure an outlet for your MEILICKE SYSTEMS, INC. goods. Strictly a business proposition and th } 3472 N bh Clark S . Chi investigation invited. A splendid opportunity 10 P a » anes an enormous and profitable business for am % men. No others need apply. Catalog and i » 1 . k | ©Kerston-New York formation mailed on request. 1 | Interior of the Bristol Pullman. The passengers are seated on comfortable seats, ©x c.. ‘ 1c. Ce. | the windows can be completely opened and the instruments at the end of the Metal Cast Products Co. York 1T Time Saving Devices cabin tell the airplane’s speed and height 1696 Boston Road New Yor

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26 EBS os ang! no ils, CNS SC ntal ter: ent es | a i’ J'e” 2ana Dll i Nn lll li I A i al MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 2¢ © Kerston, New York The Farman Jabiru, a four-engined monoplane carrying twelve passengers, with two engines in tandem on either side of the fuselage the cabin, and each window can be wholly opened if desired. In cold weather special arrangements for tapping the exhaust allow the cabin to be comfortably heated. Four-Motored Airplanes GREAT £4 agreed on the necessity of multi-motored provide the many aircraft operators are airplanes in air transport to greatest safeguard against power-plant fail- ure. The British Air Ministry has encour- aged the construction of a number of three- Junkers and Fokker have each produced carrying craft, equipped with three engines. French con- structors have gone further in this direction by building four-motored planes. The basic advantages of using four engines 1. The greater secur- when one engined planes; passenger even instead of three are: ity against power-plant failure; engine of the four goes out of commission the loss of power is unimportant as far as ability to continue the flight is concerned and even if two engines go out of commis- sion, the plane should be able to reach its destination, although with difficulty (whereas the failure of two engines on a tri-motored job means a forced landing even though the glide downwards may be very some gentle). 2. The even number of engines employed allows the disposition of two engines on either side of the central fuselage, frees the passenger carrying fuselage of gasoline tanks and minimizes the danger from fire to the occupants in case of a crash. The use of four engines involves certain special difficulties, however. The more engines employed the greater the complexity of the power-plant and instrument system. It is quite a task to keep four engines run- ning smoothly together, and the engine in- strument board requires as much careful study as the switchboard of a large power station on the ground. Also, it is difficult to arrange the four engines so as to maintain both aerodynamic and propeller efficiency. As the photographs indicate, Farman and Blériot have arranged the engines of their respective designs in radically different ways. The Farman Jabiru is equipped with four 180-horsepower Hispano-Suiza engines. The pilot and his mechanic sit at the front end of the fuselage, at its very top, so that their vision is almost perfect in all direction. Two powerful headlights in the front of the fuse- lage are useful for a night landing. The thick wing monoplane is free from excess © Kerston, New Y ork of bracing and has a span of 62 feet. A speed of over 100 miles per hour is obtain- able and a climb to 13,000 feet in 37 minutes. The dee} able cabin for 12 passengers with toilet and baggage compartment in the rear. The en- gines are supported on a short stub-wing fastened to the bottom of the fuselage. which has considerable lifting capacity. The en- gines are arranged in tandem in a very neat nacelle, with the gasoline tanks between each set of engines, so that the head resistance of the power plant is not too great. But there is real difficulty in the design of the pro- fuselage provides a very comfort- pellers. The rear propeller works in air already disturbed by the front propeller; also, s is in the slipstream of the front propeller, it is attacking air which is moving faster than the airplane, while its effective thrust is still acting with only the speed of the plane. Therefore, the efficiency of the rear propeller is lower than that of the front propeller (some improvement is effected by making the pitch of the rear propeller greater than the pitch of the forward propeller). In the Blériot 115, which is also equipped with four Hispano-Suiza motors of 180 horsepower each and likewise carries 12 passengers at a speed of over 100 miles per hour, a biplane structure is adapted with each engine in an individual nacelle. The disadvantage of the tandem propeller arrangement disappears, but other difficulties present themselves. The projected area of the power-plant nacelles is now twice as great as in the Farman Jabiru. Another dificulty is the very high thrust of the engines. mounted on the upper wing. If, on taking off, the lower engines suddenly fail, a disastrous nosing over of the ship is almost a certainty. Even in the air the pilot must be prepared to meet sudden and powerful changes in balance conditions if one of the upper motors fail. Yet in prac- tice, the Blériot is flying quite satisfactorily. It is being used on the Paris-Strasburg- Warsaw and on the Paris-Strasburg-Vienna- Constantinople airlines.. In all probability, the ultimate solution of the multi-engine problem will be the pro- vision of several motors in a central fuselage, working on one propeller, but provided with clutches so that any motor can be thrown out of the system at will. Minimum head resistance and ability of the mechanic to overhaul any unit that is out of commission are powerful incentives to experimenters. The Bleriot 115, which illustrates another system of disposing of the engines in a four-motored plane it tt wey: i it R ii 2 Jor erent Down Come the Ton-Mile Costs! BY DELIVERING More Power per Cubic Inch—by traveling farther between overhauls and repair lay-ups—the Wisconsin-powered truck cuts costs per ton-mile. There are other savings equally important. For the builder: Certainty of performance, lower motor inventory, one engine builder as complete source of motor supply. For the dealer: An easier-selling line, a simplified service problem, and performance that builds trade. Write for the fact-full booklet, “‘Buy- ing Power on a Business Basis.’’ Free. WISCONSIN MOTOR MFG. COMPANY Milwaukee Wisconsin 4sCO Wisconsin Motors are built in a full line of Sixes and Fours with a power range from 20 to 105 H.P. For trucks, busses, trac- tors, boats and industrial units.

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oT Dnlenehe dane bi eitadineiy wanna’ na, oo he eae aay hetanteiten Ree ~ ame Soe ery Beat 1g tae The Encyclopedia At a Popular Price ° How Do You Do It? , HIS is the question that I asked of the Book Division of The Outlook Com- [ pany when I saw that advertisement of the New Universities Encyclopedia. i could not see how it was possible to offer five good-sized volumes of some seven hundred pages each at the price of $8.50. Was there something the matter with the Encyclopedia that it was so cheap’? I looked at it, and couldn't see anything the matter. So I went to the Book Division and asked how they sould do it. Their atiswer was equally prompt and honest. I want you to know it. It explained to me what had been a puzzle. In the first place, the paper is not expensive, though it is tough and opaque. It serves ite purpose, which is to provide a good background for legible type and to survive frequent handling. It does not pretend to be and does not need to be expensive. In the second place, the binding is not of the costly kind, though, like the paper, it serves its purpose. Being of cloth, it will stand wear, as many forms of more expensive binding will not Nothing is spent on the binding for pre- tense or show It has the good looks of honesty and usefulness. In the third place, the mechanical cost of printing and binding and distri- bution has been reduced by quantity production We all know that the cost of the Ford ear has been reduced by the same means. What business men call the “overhead” is divided up into so many fragments by the number of volumes that each volume bears a very small share of it. Now it is to this overhead that is charged a great part of the cost of col- lecting the information and putting it into a concise, clear, and interesting form. And this is where all the money was spent that needed to be spent to make this extraordinary encyclopedia what it is. Saving there by scrimping was not necessary. And so owners of this encyclopedia have in a convenient form a body of information, conveniently arranged, so abundant that I am sur- prised it can be put into such space. I do not know where an equal amount of general information can be found in the same compass. I certainly do not think it can be found anywhere at such a price. All human work is fallible. I suppose there are errors in this. But the high standing of the men who are responsible for the editing of it is warrant for the high quality of the scholarship that is represented in it The informa- tion is modern, covering events as late as 1924, presented with extraordinary impartiality, based upon recent facts and conclusions of science, history, and other devartments of human knowledge. Hereafter I shall have it at hand, and in most cases it will be the first encyclopedia to which I shall turn. I should like to tell you more about the encyclopedia itself. It is a sort of Who's Who of living celebrities as well as of the distinguished of all times. Its more important articles are well worth reading for their own sake as well as for the purpose of reference I do not know, for example, where else one ean find such a survey of the World War; or such an account of the automobile, with not only such a story of its past and such a description of its essential parte, but such a peering into its future; or such bird's-eye views of recent events like the rise of the Irish Free State. If I could send a gift to every household with which I am acquainted, I think [ should choose this set of five volumes of the New Universities Encyclo- pedia No matter what other encyclopedias one may own, there will be a use for this to which no other could be put. For the student in school or college it affords quick access to the main facts of any subject he would like to look up. For anyone whose time is limited this encyclopedia is particularly welcome, because it does not require search through long articles for outstanding facts. If it were not for the explanation I got from the Book Division I could not understand how such a work could be disposed of at $8.50 except as an act of charity or as the result of grand larceny. am assured, however, that there is no lareeny involved, and I do not need to be told that there is no charity. ~, Ernest Hamurw Apsorr a (Editor-in-Chief of The Outlook) The New Universities Encyclopedia Contains 3,500 large two-column pages, and treats 36,000 subjects. Its five volumes are printed from new plates on tough opaque paper and are strongly bound in green seal-crain cloth, with backstrap titles in gilt and blind stamping on the sides. Each volume has a frontispiece in full color. There are fifty full- page maps Mail this coupon today or send a post-card. Examination is free and places you under no obligation. Note the easy terms of payment: THE OUTLOOK COMPANY (Book Division) 120 East 16th Street, New York City I shall be glad to receive for free examination The New Universities Ency- clopedia in five volumes. Within 5 days I will send you $1 as my first payment and $2 a month for the 4 months following. Or I will return the books at your expense and owe you nothing. ($8.50 cash.) eee eee Dt / sith} it Oot pen eineOs O50 06s 6000 46060000000000680 6000060640600 cE eS Oeiccs ale Aa codNStehesecccacesconses boos see qedea Ps ac ence cccecicccoute Unease SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1926 A Sleeve Valve for Use in Aero Engines OWER-PLANT failures, according to British statistics, account for from 21% to 50 percent of flying unreliability. The sources of power-plant failure are themselves analyzed as follows: 28 percent in the water system; 19 percent due to valve breakage; 10 percent in the oil circulation system, with the remaining 43 percent accounted for by actual breakage of materials in the crank- case, housings, and so on. The readiest way to get rid of water- system troubles is to use air-cooled engines. To meet the valve problem, the British are resorting to a well-known automobile device and building a sleeve-valve aero engine simi- lar in principle to that employed in the | Willys-Knight automobile. Safety in Air Transport N a presidential address before the Royal Aeronautical Society, Major General Sir Sefton Brancker reviews six years’ experi- ence of British air transport, now concen- trated in one company, the richly subsidized Imperial Airways. Sir Sefton summarizes the sources of dangers as follows: a, breakage of the air- craft itself in the air; b, jamming or failure of the controls; c, fire; d, engine or instal- lation failure over heavy sea or country where a safe landing is difficult or impos- sible; e, error of judgment or sickness on the part of the pilot, and g, collision either in the air or on the ground. This list of possible dangers looks formid- able, yet actually, the number of fatal ac- cidents in British air transport since its inception is only five, and, for every source of danger, a safeguard or a line of investi- gation leading to a safeguard is readily available. Modern airplanes seldom break in the ified 225 Diameters This is what the tip of a fly's leg is like when seen through ULTRALENS MICROSCOPE Any amateur can immediately Start using his Ultralens to examine the edge of a razor, the mesh of a cotton the bacteria in dirty water. No tech. nical training required, yet eal of scientists and teachers are using this instrument. Gives enor. mous magnifi- con 75° for,, SCIENTIFIC APPARATUS CORP, Hotel Marseilles BROADWAY AT 103d STREET (Subway Express Station at Door) NEW YORK CITY Absolutely Fireproof Near Riverside Drive, Central Park, Theatres and Shopping Sections Single room, running water . $2.50 Single room and bath. . . . $3.00 Double room, bath .. . . $5.00 Handsome suites of 2 and 3 rooms Dinner de Luxe $1.35 Served in Blue Room and Grill Exceptional Orchestra | M. P, MURTHA, Manager | air and there is practically no air strain which they cannot meet, if up to designed strength. With wooden airplanes, however, the possibility of deterioration and of re- sulting weakness in some vital part is always present. Therefore, the develop- ment of metal construction for every part of the airplane is advocated. There is no excuse for the failure or jamming of the controls. Correct mechan- ical design and careful inspection should eliminate this entirely. As regards possibility of fire, General Brancker is optimistic: “I think that it is fair to say that in a well tried-out machine, properly looked after, the danger of fire in the air is negligible. The danger in- volved by the remote possibility of a gasoline pipe breaking is guarded against by the provision of fireproof bulkheads between the engine and the crew and cabin. . The danger of fire in case of a crash is admitted, but can be reduced to the minimum by the careful placing of tanks and the avoidance of pressure systems of gasoline feed.” To guard against the dangers of engine failure over unpromising territory, the Gen- eral gives the following advice to engineers and designers: They must devise and install an infallible power plant even at the cost of extra weight and extra expense. The British seem to speak rather loosely of error of judgment by the pilot. If a plane crashes, following a power plant fail- ure or bad weather, the cause of the acci- dent may be given as “error of judgment!” Almost no weather is too bad to fly in. High winds which have stopped the crossing of the Channel steamers between Dover and Calais have not prevented the flight of airplanes between London and Paris. But there is a strain on the pilot in such condi- tions, which may ‘lead to mistakes and “errors of judgment.” The remedy lies in the design of airplanes of greater stability and easier maneuverability. Collision may mean collision on the ground or collision in the air. The air seems to be vast enough for innumerable | aircraft to fly without ever meeting, yet collisions have occurred in foggy weather at busy airdromes. The suggested remedy is, “the evolution of some form of automatic fog signal.” BARNES Electric Bench Price includes boring attachment, Ei eel, ete. W. F.& JOHN BARNES CO. Runs from lamp socket _ Wocktord: a. STAR MAPS In response to numerous requests for the Star Ma) —_ appear regularly in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICA prepared to furnish sets of six maps—January, Felon ju ag June, July, August, September, October, November, ecemi ° These are printed on strong, durable paper which can readily be mounted on cardboard a will be found extremely handy for convenient reference. Price per set of 6 each— !0c SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN PUBLISHING CO. Woolworth Buildi New Crops: Ite “MADE AT KEY WEST. Why Buy Worry or Loss | pte: investing your surplus funds, take the precaution against loss by seeking the expert and conservative advice of your local or investment banker who will gladly serve you. | Eliminate the Loss In Investments For after all good investment oppor- tunities predominate. Caution, Care, Investigation will reveal safe and profit- able channels for your surplus funds. | | | The Financial Article that appears in the March issue of Harpers Magazine will help solve your investment problems. Harpers GA*ZINE 49 East 33rd Street, New York, N. Y. poe

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.? 21) & a * we Frat ot — i 1926 MARCH, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Static test of the 1925 Curtis Racer Destroying for Safety N the design of airplanes, refined methods of strength calculation are employed— perhaps more than in any other branch of engineering. In the design of a bridge uncertainty as to strength calculations is met by adding more metal to the girders and no very great harm is done. The airplane has to meet far more rigid requirements, as to weight. The simple expedient of piling on steel is not permissible. Hence, for airplanes of a novel type, particularly for pursuit air- planes in which the skilful and violent maneuvering impose great strains on his craft, is not placed entirely on the engineer’s calculations. refined pilot can by reliance Static testing or sand testing to destruction is resorted to. Our photograph shows the static test of the wings of the 1925 Curtiss racer. It will be noted that the wings are upside down in the test. In the air the forces on the wings act upwards. The sand bags can only exercise under gravity—hence, if simulated, the bags or lead-shot forces downwards flying conditions are to be wings must be upside In a sand test the distribution of the bags on the wings simulate air pressure as far as possible. The bags are carefully arranged on the floor to represent so many loads. As each unit load, representing approximately the gross weight of the airplane, is applied, the wings are slowly released from support- ing jacks and deflections at various impor- tant points are carefully measured. The jacks also prevent the collapse of the down. complete wings when a failure does occur, so that the observers can see the exact character and extent of the failure. By such methods extraordinary advance has made in securing large factors of safety for airplane structures. During the war single-seater pursuit ships were constantly flown with factors of safety of only five or six. Now machines with fac- tors of safety of fifteen are being built, yet with structures so light that the highest per- formance in speed and climb is nevertheless obtained. been A Contrast EK NGLISH locomotives appear ridiculously 4 small to American eyes, efficient though they are. Still they form a striking con- trast in size with aero engines of equal Witness the Cuffley, an express locomotive of 1,000 horsepower and weigh- ing 318,000 pounds, and the Napier Cub Aero engine, which with its four banks of four cylinders, delivers 1,000 horsepower likewise, but weighs only 2,300 pounds. power. Lessons of the World Flight HE “First World Flight” (written by Lowell Thomas, published by _ the Houghton Mifflin Company of Boston) makes fascinating reading. Lowell Thomas is a well-known explorer and he has made a splendid story of “the personal narratives of Lowell Smith, Erik Nelson, Leigh Wade, Leslie Arnold, Henry Ogden, and John Harding,” the six young Army Air Service Both these engines develop 1,000 horsepower 209 “Bee Turkish Liscett & Myers Tosacco Ca “A cut above the ordinary” IF, LIKE MOST MEN, your taste runs to end cigarettes and you are seeking offe a cut above the ordinary the finer grades of tobacco then learn from Fatima what a whale ofla difference just a few cents maké Coil § Moth Ball Holder A HANDY SPIRAL CONTAINER with removable cover. This simple device can be hung on clothes- hangers or behind the door-jambs, where its action is very effective in making the whole closet moth-proof. A box of moth balls will! fill eight (8) holders Price $1.50 per dozen. Discount to agents in gross lots. R. J. LEWERS 1888 Cedar Ave. New York City Going to Travel? Then by all means refer to the travel section of Harpers Magazine-—Every month you will find many alluring suggestions and the announce ments of a large namber of Tourists Agencies Railroads, Steamship Lines, Resorts and Hotels SAILING DATES IN EVERY ISSUE For the convenience of our readers we will pul lish each month the sailing dates for Europe and other countries together with the dates of special tours and cruises, Feel perfectly fr rite us—Our Travel Gureae will gladly heoniohe « any information desirec Harpers MAGAZINE 49 East 33rd Street, New York, N. Y. ot a peing the U. s. arm caliber Mod. 1906 cart eight, § is. Length, yt barrel. finches. Torned Flown bolt handle. Special price. $10.45. Ballcartridges, hard nose, $3.50 0 pe ri Web cart. Belt, 40 cents Tents, cots, t ks haversacks, Outing Suits, hats ~-B. Sadat ,etc, 16 Rore= Ari 1 » Oth Ann ear, issue, 372 pgs., rally illustrated, contains pictures and his- torical information of all American Military gunsand pistols (incl Colts) since1775, with allWorld War rifles ee Est earns Yay sel Ceonke ne Tote 501 Broadway, New York City BIGGER PROFITS Budgeting Your volume of business may be satisfactory, but what about profits? Take the first step to bigger — by budgeting your usiness. Our special report shows how other concerns are profiting by budgets. A copy gratis un request Babson's Dep. 1-10 Babson Park Massachusetts LARGEEBT 6TATISTICAL COMMUNITY IW AMERICA “45

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‘te ~~ it 7 it “). POINTS OF ‘ SUPERIORITY There are 21 reasons why you should not be without this super- hoist, with its 21 points of superior- ity. Let us tell you about each one? Wright Manufacturing Company Lisben IMPROVED SHE SPEED HOIST Ohio |} CAMERA CRAFT re A Mesthy Phstagraphie Magusne covers ali phases of photography, practical, interesting and ‘beautifal. 1S Cents the Copy $1.50 by the Year Sample copy on request Camera Craft Publishing Company 703 Market Street ~ - San Francisco, Cal. Makers of all kinds of Model Marine and Stationary Steam Engines | aad Boilers; also Miniature Boiler and Pipe line fittings, etc. liksstrated catalogue, 20c THE BATHE MANUFACTURING CO. Dept. G., 5214 Woodland Ave., _ Philadelphia, Pa. AGENTS 500% PROFIT GUARANTEED GOLD LEAF LETTERS Oe ea Rede cma 440 WN. Clark, Chicago WASHINGTONS NEWEST AND MOST LUXURIOUSLY APPOINTED HOTEL Mayftower COUECTEUT ly UE DWAY BETWEEN Wire HOUSE & DUPONT C CIRCLE THE CENTER OF . DISTINGUISHED SOCIAL LIFE ee PWrmrriri iit itt | lieutenants | globe and in every kind of weather. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN whom he friendly plane for thousands of miles. At the time that these, dashing young aviators were circumnavigating the globe, we thought accompanied in a | our interest had been killed forever by an | abundance of front-page news stories. But now, nearly eighteen months after the glori- | ous feat, we read this book with full inter- est. Besides the personal interest and the sense of adventure the book leads to certain conclusions which bear on the development | of world air transport. It is true that the world flight occupied 172 days, and that the fliers had the most thoroughgoing and skilful support of their own government and of the governments of twenty-two other countries. Nevertheless, the fact remains that with proper prepara- tion a plane can fly in every part of the As well | as good planes and good pilots, air transport needs meteorology, and more meteorology. It was only by months of expert study of | winds and other weather conditions that the flight was made possible. Planes must be supported by careful ground organization. of this is in the wonderful arrangements made by the Air Service in providing all over the globe boxes containing spare parts for planes and engines, small quantities of standard utility parts, material such as tub- ing, shock absorber cord, plywood and so on, with the boxes themselves constructed of ash, spruce and plywood to serve for, pos- sible repairs. The instinctive flier who relies only on his skill and sense of balance must yield to the ultra-scientific pilot who can handle the following formidable collection of instru- ments: the tachometer, the air-speed indi- cator, the ampére-meter, the volt-meter, oil- the most | An instance | pressure gauge, gasoline-pressure gauge, al- | timeter, an ordinary airplane earth-inductor compass, compass, an a bank-and-turn in- dicator, comprising two small gyroscopes for | flying in fog, six gasoline-control valves, alti- tude controls, to change the proportions of gasoline and air fed to the engine at vary- | ing heights, and an engine primer for start- ing in cold weather—and this is not the complete list of instruments carried by these | practical men. The physical well-being of a pilot is as important as his training in flying and navi- gation. Before the long journey, both pilots and mechanics devoted several hours a day each to calisthenics, medicine-ball, tennis, basketball and road work, as though they belonged to a football squad! The importance of detail in the power | plant is forcibly illustrated by the mishap occurring to Leigh Wade in the early stages | of the trip when, because a drain-cock had vibrated and broken loose, he was forced to make a bad landing near the Sacramento River. The effect of tropical heat on the air and the consequent inability of a plane to get aloft when fully loaded, the effect of intense heat on fabric-covered wings, the difficulties of fog flying, the dangerous effects of the wash of the propeller on a following plane, the hazards of mooring seaplanes in unshel- tered seas, are a few of the technical points which the journey brought to light or em- phasized. An interesting book of adventure is thus, as well as a source of useful information on the general art of aviation. Landing at Night ANDING safely on an airdrome at night 4 is quite a difficult problem. The earliest method employed was to place a battery of searchlights about the field, directing the rays upon the ground. But this method was found to be both expensive and inefficient. | After much experimentation a single flood- light of 500,000,000 candlepower has been | developed by the B. B. T. Corporation which | answers the purpose far better. The light carries a large ground lens, built up of twenty-one dioptric elements, and throws the light in an are of 180 degrees, covering an area of approximately half a square mile. The intensity is such, however, that a book or a newspaper may be read at a consider- MARCH, 1926 ee ‘The Book Department Owing to the unusual response to a former listing of Practical Books, we take the liberty of again putting before you books of similar character. The dependability and thoroughness of these publications are assured. Ask for our ATS catalogue containing full descriptions. Home Owners’ Handbook by Lescarboura...........ccceccocccccsceccescocce $2.65 TS oe eee ere 3.15 (See author’s article in this issue “More Houses of Mud”) Accountancy, Theory and Practice by Bell. ............ccccccccccccsccccece 5.40 ree Sah aed dng geen sieencescbewdveasesens Sadie» sence 1.65 Alternating-Current Machinery by Fsty..............c.cccccscescecccccecces 3.15 Se I IOI oo 5. dias. 0. 00 Silnbis0 ces occ o6'v sen season cesmetnee 2.15 Astronomy, Descriptive by Moulton........... bis icine u's ¢as Rice aed bh cae hae 2.15 SI NE FF III oon otc ccs vec cccscccccseccesecaces ceununn 4.15 BE Ge in vac cdols be9ee0s ctcsanecesdscen see seen 3.15 I i os occa cccstcceseceeseced sane dechnesiieeen 2.15 Bridge Engineering—Roof Trusses by Dufour................00.ceeeeeeeeees 3.15 Dulbsing Saperintendemes by ‘Nichols... 0... cccccccesccccccvcccccccsscead 2.15 ny I 6 ee Oke codes besdnemagieceencctectéeatoea can 2.15 Pe We ES OY GIONS, 5 oso ccs newts ceeenncesecsaecncece ani 2.15 NOTE OCTET EE PORE OTE PERCE TS 2.15 ee I, I TS ois ccnckcccacbeekecenneepeseseseccbesen 2.65 SUNN OO NN on. cnc ccccoepeccsecesecesetccbensdueceae 2.15 Electro-Chemistry and Welding by Burgess................eeceeceececcecees 2.15 Fimancial Management by McKinsey..............cccccccccccccccccccccccces 5.40 II ini cua oa none sd bo6soscs civaedecessceubawont 2.15 ey GRINS Et UNITE ogo. cnc coc eccccacscotscucneceuseoae 2.65 Ford Car Construction and Repair by Bayston................ 2.200 eee eeeeee 2.15 SP LL TEETEG NE ECL PETE CLERC EOC 2.15 Gas and Oil Engines and Gas Producers by Marks.....................0004: 2.65 Sales and Advertising Management by Gauss................ 00. cc ceeeeeeeeee 5.40 Small Motors, Transformers and Electromagnets by Stoller................ 2.65 cated Obi eee ooo dR eS NON Os bee cbbN ety tUe ecient 2.15 NS OE TI osc cn crcns so gece wee swae aun ekuwaudessoecledteeadee 2.65 ID, DUNS Do dane citts ca redcceenccecSeb did Lbowsdu es tuticweees Ses cee 2.15 I I aa Sais Sd Rik Hike ds dds eee aeeeiw Galieekechaltens sacl 6.15 I Tt OR id hte 0:66-80- 04 000.660 200b06e HAW esse. 60s SE 2.15 I CE OE TERRE, 6g ons cnet bends Hi ened enecesseusedecwsstaeen 2.15 i CGE OE BU os cca 65 bEe Cae Uw tot sced bases éwih soiccodl 2.65 NS POO EEC EL CCT TTT OE POO 2.15 i i Sn Ce Ok TERE, .. «siis cenwis cme caeW ade omseaels 4 eue-ciie 2.15 Orders of Architecture, Portfolio of by Bourne.................02c0 cece eee 3.15 Pees, DRAM DY DUMOUD, .... .-cicances fiwadbniddbae sep seensc onreas 5.40 Real Property Law (Future Interests) by Kales............20eeeceeesesceeeees 2.65 SOME MT PADIUUNOEE. 60 0.65.0 so ccc 5 secu eewsesdwngsiecensas dans ccmone nana 2.15 rr re tr ooo. oss bc kabie dk ueaanawk a sh esenndeenewe eae 2.15 Cammontey by Townsend. ... .. 1... ccrcccccccccccccccseccescctccenccocesccqens 1.65 Commanded Law bey Citmmibotlain...s .....00...2.ccccscccccecesccccsccccccesccese 2.15 All Prices Postpaid College Chemistry By L. C. Newell Prof. Chemistry, Boston Univer. Succinct and well illustrated this work covers the fundamentals of chemistry in a manner which will appeal to the occa- sional searcher, as well as the student. Cross references are numerous. Published by D. C. Heath & Co. $3.15 postpaid. Ears to Hear By D. G. Mason Prof. of Music, Columbia A delightful pamphlet outlining a course of reading for those who desire a deeper understanding and appreciation of music. Published by The American Library Asso- ciation. Cloth, 6c. postpaid. The Mystery of Mind By L. T. Troland Prof. of Psychology, Harvard Designed primarily for those who have not made a special study of psychology, this work digs through the crust of com- monplaces and reveals the ~~ a? workings of our minds. Published by Van Nostrand Co. $3.20 postpaid. Manual Training Course in Concrete A very concise and amply illustrated series of exercises of a most practical kind, with wide application to useful articles and work. Published by Portland Cement Association, Chicago, Ill. Address pub- lishers. History of Three-Color Photography By E. J. Wall An exhaustive treatise, the result of thirty years’ work by Prof. Wall, covering every phase of color work with a particu- larly excellent chapter on Optical Data. Published by American Photographic Pub. Co. $15.25 postpaid. Draft and Capacity of Chimneys By J. G. Mingle A much needed comprehensive treatise written for the designer of power plants as well as for the operator who wishes to check the size, etc., of existing chimneys. Published by D. Van Nostrand Co. $3.65 postpaid. Industrial Applications of Coal Tar Products By H. M. Bunbary and A. Davidson — This work answers the question “How — is such and such a product obtained “ what are its uses?” And shows how the — final products are arrived at from the rawie product. Published by D. Van Nostrand Co. $10.25 postpaid. is + Surveying for Everyone By A. F. Williams The layman who wants to know comenll thing about surveying will here find sim ; methods graphically illustrated, that cam be worked by anyone. Published by Mace millan Co. $1.15 postpaid. RE. All the above books are obtainable from the Scienti American Book Department, 233 Broadway, N. Y. C.j MA able of th and more there landi secon pilot’ powe the g Sas Futur inven scien! glimp resper Pre locke far fr of all the nh the d future signee clearg to les No: in ait huma a clo: in a s is he or to Pro of the tion, safer In th Ff

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wee wT we Ww -_—_s oOo = Ss MARCH, 1926 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN The landing light on able distance from the light. The direction of the rays is also very easily controllable, and the beam may be made to reflect not more than four feet off the ground, so that there is no danger of blinding the pilot. The first of our photographs shows the landing light on its movable chassis. The second photograph shows it at work; the pilot’s eye is clearly seen to be above the powerful beams, while he can evidently see the ground with perfect clearness. The Future of Flying yene Airways prints an interview with Professor A. M. Low entitled, “The Future of Flying.” Professor Low is an inventor of distinction, a man of vivid yet scientific imagination. We read of his glimpses into the future with interest and respect. Present-day air travel with the passenger locked up in a close and cramped cabin is far from comfortable. The worst discomfort of all and the chief cause of airsickness is the noise of the engine. Professor Low is of the definite opinion that aero engines of the future will be noiseless, with carefully de- signed silencers and with the large valve clearances of today cut down considerably, to lessen the chatter of the valves. Nor have we reached the limit of speed in air travel; certainly not on the score of human endurance. “If you put a man into a closed box and send him through the air in a straight line at 400 miles per hour, how is he to know at what speed he is traveling or to feel any ill effects?” Professor Low predicts the displacement of the wooden airplane by all-metal construc- tion, and of the gasoline engine by a far safer engine, one burning a heavy fuel oil. In these views many authorities agree with him. But perhaps some of these authorities will be startled by the statement that “eventually all aircraft may be driven by Schoenhais its movable chassis power, broadcast into the air from wireless stations.” Here is a still more extraordinary prediction: “There is no reason why, with metal aircraft they should not be made to land or ascend in an electromagnetic field.” The Professor has very strong views about airdromes. “Airdromes at present are one of the greatest handicaps to the develop- ment of flying. Streets will eventually be roofed in to provide landing grounds for aircraft. . The airport of the future will be a very different thing from the tem- porary, lonely and muddy thing it is at pres- ent. A hundred years hence, or less, the air traveler will walk into a comfortable and well appointed waiting room in the center of the city. An elevator will take him up to the roof where he will step direct into a roomy and really comfortable airplane cabin. There will be no bumping over a hilly air- drome, but the machine, mounted on a turn- table, will be shot off into the air by cata- paults and travel through space at over 300 miles an hour.” These fascinating opinions are encouraging to read. And perhaps what appears start- ling today, may soon be a commonplace. Night Advertising HE electric signs of Broadway may soon have an aerial competitor. Ronald Rohlfs, the well-known pilot who once held the world’s altitude describes in Aviation a new form of night airplane adver- tising sign which seems promising. Glass tubes of five-eighths of an inch in diameter, shaped to form any desired letters are attached to the underside of the lower wing of a biplane by special shock absorbers of very light construction. The tubes are record, filled with Neon gas, and, when a current of electricity is passed through them they give off a singularly penetrating red light. No reflectors are required; it is only neces- (Continued on page 213) The powerful beams of the light used for landing planes at night makes it possible for the pilot to see the ground with perfect clearness Double Cushion Tires Give Greater Truck and Load Protection With Double Cushion tires, wear on your trucks is minimized, operating costs reduced and added profits provided by maintaining schedules. The pneumatic qualities of Double Cushion Tires absorb shocks and vibrations, make easy rid- ing, provide extra cushioning and greater resiliency for moving vans, oil delivery, tank and general haulage trucks that carry rated tonnage. Fire- stone tread design insures effective traction and non-skid qualities. Firestone Truck Tire Service Dealers offer com- plete facilities and experience in determining your correct tire equipment and maintaining rigid tire inspection. MOST MILES PER DOLLAR Firestone TRUCK AND BUS PNEUMATICS AMERICANS SHOULD PRODUCE THEIR OWN RUBBER «6% kninlond. “WONDER” Cold Pipe and Tubing Benders Do Not Crack, Flatten or Crimp the Pipe way, per l-ineh pipe 6 ots 2-inch pipe 10 eta 4-inch pipe % cte inch pipe 60 ots 8- Dips $1.00 Ce. 32 Pearl St. Basten, Mass. Seuu for Cataiogue J onRAINEHOTEL Broad St. at Fairmount Avenue. *PHILADELPHIA: ROOMS $292 UP. EUROPEAN PLAN. * WRITE FOR BOOKLET : OEE Ee See SIMS NERVE STRAIN Read ‘‘Nerve Force,’’ a 64- page book on the care of the This book is a star- tling revelation to people with sensitive or deranged nerves. It has aided many thousands to gain control of their nerves and build up _ their Price 25c postpaid. (Coin or Stamps.) HE high pressure, mile-a- minute life of today, with its mental strain, worry, anxi- ety, grief and trouble, is WRECKING THE NERVES of mankind. This applies especially to the people with highly active brains and sensitive nerves. Have your Nerves stood the strain? nerves. Force. What Readers of ‘‘Nerve Force”’ Say: “T have gained 12 pounds since reading your book, and I feel so energetic had about given up hope of ever find- ing the cause of my low weight.” A physician says. “Your book is the most sensible and valuable work I have ever read on the prevention of neurasthenia. I am recommending your book to my patients.” relaxation an New York City “Reading your book has stopped that dreadful feeling ot FEAR lyzed my stomach and digestior “Your book did more for me for indi- gestion than two courses in dieting.” “The advice given in your book on calming of nerves has cleared my brain. Before I was half dizzy all the time!” Write to PAUL von BOFCKMANN, Studi 251, 110 W’. 40th St PRICES . gatses ont almost ball. 2 and it’s yours All late models, spa re. Pures brand new. UARA. 4) ‘orten EARS. Send n FREE catalog ° our direct-te- ment plan and 10-day free trial iw international Typewriter Ex.,3 le St. Nerve which para- BOECKMANN PAUL Von Author of ““Nerve Force” and various other books on Health, Psychology, Breath- ine, Hygiene and thindred subjects, many of which have been translated into foreign languages

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212 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MARCH, 1996 Bren nnn oa “Scientific American!” exclaimed Mark Twain. “I’ve been reading it since I was that high.” And he held out : his hand about four feet from the ground. “My brother and I used to fight over who would read it first when it came : to our home.” Thus the famous humorist gave away, a few months before his death, the secret of the knowledge of explosives, : machinery, and electricity he displayed so well in “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court” and other books ; that will live for centuries. : Other men, distinguished for their knowledge or their ability, have acknowledged their debt to the Scientific : American. ‘To read it regularly is an education in practical things, a constant fellowship with the world’s most stimu- ' lating minds. It is the most helpful magazine in America. : When King C. Gillette, originator of the safety razor, sent a check saying, | 4 : “Send me the Scientific American for the rest of my life,” he was expressing more — : than his own individual reading preference; he was providing an example which any forward-looking man could follow to his benefit. For a year you may have the pleasure and the value of the Scientific American at a cost of only $4. A New Kind of Book Have you seen the new Scientific American Annualog, the new kind of ref- erence book? When you do you will want to keep it constantly on your library : table or office desk for it is full of just the sort of information you will need nearly : every day. : Among its contents are: : Events of 1925 All Sorts of Calendars : Star Maps for Each Two Months’ Time, Daylight Savings, etc. ; Meteorologic Data Geographical Data : Geological Facts, Evolution, etc. Economics, World’s Productions : Aeronautics Patents and Trade Marks : Radio Governments of Countries and States : First Aid—Poisons and Antidotes Chemical Elements, Atomic Weights, etc. 256 PAGES, BOUND IN CLOTH. i Weights and Measures Mathematical Tables 514 x 714 INCHES. Hach year a new Annualog will appear to supplement the Annualog for 1926, with an index covering all previous volumes. It will form an up-to-date, progressive cyclopedia of science and industry. A single question it will answer for you may be worth far more than the cost of this unusual book—$1.5o. : Screntiric AMERICAN, bi ° Off ; |g Broadway Combination er! = st. +) aw « : Send me the Annualog for 1926 rpatade Gira = and Scientific American for one year. ams . *¢ . ; i "Check for $4.50 is enclosed United States Scientific American for one year $4.00 | Both : ere rere oe seesueaue tenons Annualog for 1926 “ = n ‘ 1.50 for hc al ” an ai 450 Total value $5.50 | - 6 to) a re MA sary win lett unb gre: obt. ator hig! witl and fort cess | F to ; Kur atta pro atu gas anc of | fue ligk to tail tha pra An, als

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26 "8 MaRcH, 1926 Kade! & Herbert A “take off” by a parachute jumper, 1,500 feet above Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The jumper is Lieut. J. R. Tate, U. S. N. was dragged from the speeding plane into space. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN 21 2 The camera snapped him just as he His parachute has just started to open up sary to paint the under surface of the lower wing a dark non-reflecting color. Owing to the tubular character of the letters their air resistance is small and the unbroken line of light in each tube adds greatly to its legibility. The current is obtained from an electrically driven gener ator, with a step-up transformer to give the high voltage The whole outfit with several letters, weighs only 100 pounds and several night demonstrations of this new form of advertising have been highly cessful. required. suc- Thermostatic Airship Control F expensive Helium gas is to be used in airships, valving losses must be reduced to a minimum. Two Berlin chemists, Drs. Kurt Peters and Peter Schlumgohm, have attacked this problem from a new angle, by providing for the control of the gas temper- ature. At the beginning of a voyage the gas is heated electrically so that its bouy- ancy is increased and the carrying capacity of the airship is thereby improved. As the fuel is burned up and the load becomes lighter, the temperature of the gas is allowed to decrease and equilibrium is thus main- tained. This is perhaps a simpler method than the process of exhaust-gas recovery practiced on the Shenandoah and the Los Angeles, Thermal control, skilfully employed might also be used to prevent valving of gas under Transatlantic such circumstances as heating of the gas by the sun’s rays. The Berlin chemists have not carried their work beyond the laboratory stage, but there seems no reason why their method should not be extended to use on actual airships. Landing in a Fog mee ote in a fog is bad enough, but radio direction finders can help the pilot effectively on his journey. But how can he land? This is how the British propose to tackle the problem this winter, according to | General Brancker. | “At Croydon, during the coming winter, I hope that we shall be able to try out at full scale a complete system of landing in a fog. The aircraft will be led up to the air- | drome through its wing coils. It will dis- cover the right line of approach and alight- ing by balancing the signals from a leader cable (the leader cable being a cable laid along the ground and carrying a current from which aircraft can be guided by their pilots so as to fly directly over the cable) ; and a line of Neon lights (glass tubes filled with Neon gas which under high voltage give a very penetrating red light) laid along the leader cable on the ground will show the pilot where to flatten out as he glides down in accordance with the leader cable indica- tions. . . . It behooves every expert in sound, light and electricity to turn his mind to this difficult and interesting problem.” The Kowno Airdrome (Russia) one of the relay ports of the German-Russian-Air- Company. The number of passengers using airplanes for trips to the eastern countries is augmenting every day, the journey by plane being much shorter and much more comfortable than by train Geared ha the Penn that Pairs The pace that pays—in machine operation—is a little faster than “‘normal.” It's got to be set to a definite standard, and kept up by checking up pro- duction-rate. With the record in sight on a Veeder Counter, it governs the speed; it gears your machine to the rate that should register on the Needor COUNTER | The large Set-Back Rev- olution Counter at right is less than % actual size. The small Revolu- tion Counter below is shown nearly full size. vy to The Set-Back Revolution Counter above re- cords the output of the larger machines where the revolu- tions of a shaft record operations or output. Counts one for each revolution, and sets back to zero from any figure by turning knob once round. —— with from four to ten figure-wheels, as required. Price, with four figures, as illustrated, $10.00 (subject to discount). The Small Revolution Counter at left records the output of smaller machines where a shaft revolution indicates an operation. Though sraall, this counter is very durable ; its mechanism will stand a very high rate of speed, making it especially adapted to light, fast-running machines. Will subtract if run backward. Price, $2.00. There’s a VEEDER to fit every machine—and every need in your development-work. The Veeder booklet shows scores of counters; write for this free guide to greater production. = The Veeder Mfg. cake 18 Sargeant St. Hartford, Conn. LANGUAGES WORLD-ROMIC SYSTEM. MASTERKEY, 5000 lan- guages. Primers, $1.98: Chinese, French, Spanish. Dic- tionaries, $1.9. Languages Pub. Co.,8 W.40S8t., New York. Fine Lustruments and Fine Machinery, nventions Developed. Special Tools, Dies, Gear Cutting, Kite. HENRY ZUHR, Inc. erimental and Model Work 187 Lafayette Si., New York City Amateur Telescope Making The widespread interest in amateur Astronomy prompted the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN to write up a little group in Vermont which has been producing exception- ally good instruments. At the end of this article was added a paragraph requesting those who would be interested in the details of ““How to Make’’ to write in and say so. Over 400 replies were received. Precise instructions are scant. So the best were collected, together with the series of articles run in answer to the above requests and are now offered in our new book Amateur Telescope Making Now on the Press Price $2.00 postpaid, domestic $2.15 postpaid, foreign SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN PUBLISHING Co. Woolworth Building New York EY By “3 iB bs

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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Commercial Property News MARCH, 1926 A Department of Facts and Notes of Interest to Patentees and Owners of Trademark Rights Better Protection Abroad e yw. was held at The Hague from October 8 to November 6, 1925, a con- ference to consider the revision of the Con- vention of the Union for the Protection of Industrial Property,” reports Patent Commis- sioner Robertson, whe attended the confer- ence as Chairman of the American Dele- gation. “The convention, which relates principally to patents and trade-marks and provides for the granting of certain reciprocal rights, was adopted at Paris in 1883 and revised at Brussels in 1900 and at Washington in 1911. Its fundamental principle is the agreement of each country to treat the citizens’ of all the other countries of the Union exactly as it treats its own citizens in these matters. The Union is now composed of 32 countries, and the revised convention adopted at The Hague was signed by delegates from all these countries. “The particular changes made relate to the working of patents, the granting of a period of years for the payment of taxes, the prevention of piracy of trade-marks and the repression of unfair competition.” An agreement was reached that the period of three years which must be allowed before any penalty can be imposed for not working is to be reckoned from the date of the grant of the patent instead of the filing of the application. This is described as a very material advantage to Americans. Another new development is the provision for the cancellation of fraudulently registered trade-marks. This is believed to furnish an effective remedy ageinst piracy of well-known marks. “While the conference did not go as far in the matter of working patents and the taxes thereon as the United States delegates desired and proposed,” Commissioner Robert- son concludes, “it afforded very material re- lief from the former onerous conditions, and the adoption of the present conference is a long step forward in the direction of doing away entirely with requirements of working in order to maintain a patent in force.” Historians Take Notice R. IRVING LANGMUIR, Assistant Di- rector of the General Electric Research Laboratory, is now definitely accorded a place ameng the world’s great inventors. He has been awarded a patent for the modern vacuum tube used extensively in radio, X ray and similar work. This award ends a twelve-year battle for the patent rights. Dr, Langmuir made his invention in 1912. Since then it has been the center of con- troversy. The legal battle was suspended during the World War, because of the neces- sity of war work being done by the litigants, but was resumed soon after the Armistice. The tube is characterized by its hard, constant vacuum and its general reliability, permitting operation with more than 50,000 volts as well as smaller currents, such as are used in home radio receiving sets. The in- vention is described as making possible the enormous development of practical radio within the last ten years. It is estimated that there are more than 10,000,000 tubes embodying the invention now in operation in the United States. Joint Inventors OR a long time it has been a well-estab- lished principle of patent law that where two men, who believe themselves joint in- ventors file a patent application jointly, later learn that only one of them actually is the inventor, they may amend their applica'ion for a patent so that the patent issues only to the one who is the inventor. Conducted by Milton Wright Patents Recently Issued Classified Advertising Advertisements in this section listed under proper classifications, rate 25c per word each insertion; minimum number of words per insertion 24, maximum év. Payments must accompany each insertion. Official copies of any patents listed in this section at 15c each; state patent number to insure receipt of desired patent copy. Pertaining to Aeronautics Moorine Device ror LIGHTER-THAN-AIR CraFt.—By means of which the ship may be safely moored by the crew, without em- ploying operators on the ground. Patent 1551655. O. Geisler, 6947 Peoria St., Chi- eago, Ill. SAFEGUARDING AGAINST AERIAL ATTACKS. —By releasing at intervals, from high speed aireraft, a series of parachutes, each sup- porting by a long light cable a contact bomb, to obstruct the probable line of attack. Pat- ent 1558713. J. A. Steinmetz, c/o Jenney- Steinmetz Co., Philadelphia, Pa. AIRPLANE-ADJUSTING DEvIcEe. — Wherein means are employed within the fuselage and within easy reach of the operator whereby the wings may be simultaneously shifted. Patent 1560341. H. H. Plath, R. D. No. 3, Erie, Pa. _ Pertaining to Apparel UNDERGARMENT. — Composed mainly of visea or artificial silk, and having the edges bound with real silk to prevent damage when the fabric is wet. Patent 1554860. A. Leopold, ¢/o Carl Gutman & Co., 334 Fourth Ave., New York, N. Y. UNDERHOSE.—The toe, sole and heel por- tions being less thickness than thé rest of the hese, so that they may be comfortably worn under silk outer hose. Patent 1555752. O. Osborne, Jr., 1845 E. Willard St., Phila- delphia, Pa. CoLLaR SuPpPporTeR.—For turnover collars ef the semi-soft type which functions to hold the outer portions properly spaced from the neckband. Patent 1556517. 8S. L. Ged- ney, 33 Clinton Ave., Maplewood, N. J. Union Svuir.—Wherein the crotch seam and belt effect are entirely eliminated, the entire construction being for comfort and freedom. Patent 1559845. J. P. Brown, 9114 Grant St., Atlanta, Ga, NECKTIE HoLper.—Whereby a previously knotted necktie can be readily attached to a collar button and drawn up under the collar folds. Patent 1559823. A. W. Wilson, 180 Duboce Ave., San Francisco, Calif. Chemical Processes Test FoR PEeTROLEUM.—For determining the flashing and burning points of petroleum products by a thermometer test. Patent 1554993. OC. Ettele, c/o Standard Oil Co. of N. Y., Sannomiya P. O. Box 357, Kobe, Japan. Process OF MAKING OXYGEN, CONTAIN-| 1NG Soap Powper.—Which consists in mix- ing potassium-permanganate with paste-like soap, and mixing the same with an oxidizing agent. Patent 1555588. R. Korselt, Zittau, Saxony, Germany. METHOD OF PURIFYING HyYDROCARBONS.— Resulting from the distillation of crude oil containing wax, by causing crystallization and then mechanically separating the oil from the wax crystals. ecuiszki 6, Poland. Electrical Devices Batrery.—Constructed to carry a substi- tute for the usual hard rubber insulator plates, which will take up no additional space. Patent 1557952. W. L. Whidden and L. MeCartney, Morgan Hill, Calif. THERMOSTATIC Switcu.—In which a flexi- ble device supports a circuit breaker caused to open or close at an expansion or contrac- Patent 1562425. A. | Greenspan, c/o Dr. O. Wasser, Livow, Kos: | ~ | sizes. tion of its support. Patent 1561425. H. R. Fernandez, 14 Villegas 8t., Havana, Cuba. CLocK MECHANISM.—In which the move- ment is actuated by electric impulses consist- ing of a minimum number of parts. Patent 1561786. H. M. Huemann, 411 6th St, Wallace, Idaho. Foitp1ngc-Loop ANTENNA.—Which may be folded up and quickly extended, the wires being held normally taut when extended. Patent 1559193. M. W. Stavrum, R. L. Olson, and W. H. Berry, ¢e/o Radio Appli- anee Laboratory, 4884 N. Clark St., Chi- eago, Ill. Of Interest to Farmers CHECKING IMPLEMENT.—For the throw- ing up of checks or levees in preparing agri- cultural land for irrigation. Patent 1557035. W. Dost, Route 3, Box 41, Yuba City, Calif. APPARATUS FOR GRINDING FODDER, STRAW oR SIMILAR RovucH Foop For SrTock.— Which- may be mounted upon the chassis of a motor vehicle and driven by the propelling power. Patent 1558394. J. N. Rice, 61314 So. 7th St., St. Joseph, Mo. Fruit - GATHERING APPARATUS. — Which will automatically pick up fruit such as prunes, or other spheroidal bodies, and de- posit the same in boxes without injury. Patent 1558924. A. N. Riggs, 297 Reed St., San Jose, Calif. Of General Interest 5 DRAWER ATTACHMENT FOR’ SINKS. — Whereby, with relatively simple means, @ plurality of drawers for holding kitchen ware may be attached to a sink. Patent 1558274. C. A. Peterson, 7716 Calumet Ave., Chi- eago, Ill. DAYLIGHT DEVELOPING OF PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES AND FitmMs.—Whereby the develop- ing process can be readily carried out in the field without the use of a stationary dark room. Patent 1563228. C. D. Rodriguez, Leon, Nicaragua, Central America. ComBINED SPACING AND TIE Bak For ConcRETE ForMs.—Particularly adapted for use in connection with the usual wooden forms employed when building concrete |foundations, walls and the like. Patent 1556313. J. H. Dodd, P. O. Box 703, San Francisco, Calif. Carp-INDEX Fire.—In which the cards are arranged radially above a drum in a manner to be readily accessible. Patent 1558376. L. R. Lewis and J. J. Colvin, | Hudson Falls, N. Y. Gutter Mount.—Which permits the gut- ter to be removably connected to its support, and the support located under the tiles or shingles forming the roof. Patent 1558385. |C. Meunier, Box 145, Great Neck, ) Grass Seep CoNTAINER.—For use in the first instance, as a sales package, and sec- ondly as a means for sowing the seed. Pat- ent 1558396. R. L. Roehrs, Roehrs Nursery, | Rutherford, N. J. ADJUSTABLE FINGER RINc.—In which the head and shank are constructed as separate elements, adjustable to fit fingers of various Patent 1558418. F. B. Wendel, c/o |Hereules Novelty Mfg. Co., 126 South St., Newark, N. J. Process FOR SEPARATING CALCINED COLE- | MANITE FROM CLAY AND OTHER IMPURITIES. |-—-Consisting in discharging the material to |be treated peripherally, by centrifugal force lto cause a rain of particles over a circular |zone. Patent 1556110. H. D. Hillmers, c/o West End Chemical Co., Oakland, Calif. Patent Commissioner Robertson, however, in his recent decision in Ex-Parte Benes gives definite expression of the fact that the contrary does not hold true. Benes sought to change a sole patent application to a joint application, saying that his friend, Warren J. Fretz, was a joint inventor, “It is true,” says the Commissioner, “that the subject matter of the applica- tion remains the same, but it adds an additional party who did not sign the specification or join in the oath as originally filed. To accept the amend- ment, would, in effect, be giving’a filing date and a serial number to an incom- plete application, as the proposed joint application was not complete as a joint application at the time this application was given a filing date.” This rule might well have the effect of preventing a patent from ever being granted in the case of an inventor who files a sole application and later discovers that the in- vention is a joint one. Victory for Small Grocers HE independent grocers have won a skirmish in their fight with the chain store organizations. It is over the prices they pay for Uneeda Biscuit, Nabisco, Zu Zu and three hundred other products of the National Biscuit Company and Tak-homa biscuit, Parfetto, Yum Yum and other prod- ucts of the Loose-Wiles Company. In many localities, the Federal Trade Commission finds, there is such a demand for these advertised cakes and crackers, that it is impossible for a grocer to conduct his business without them. The chain stores, however, are able to undersell him because the big baking companies charge them less than they charge the independent man, de- spite the fact that each chain store, or unit, is solicited separately by a salesman and its requirements supplied just as though it were an independent store. The independents, organized into grocery associations, demanded the same discounts for quantity purchases as the chain stores were getting. The National and the Loose- Wiles companies refused, except on the Pacific Coast, where other cracker manufac: turers are outselling the National and the Loose-Wiles. After a thorough hearing of the facts the Federal Trade Commission orders the baking companies to desist “from discriminating in price between purchasers operating separate units or retail grocery stores of chain sy* tems and purchasers operating independent retail grocery stores of similar kind and character purchasing similar quantities of respondent’s products.” Orange Beverage, 5c a Glass Y= might visit. Washington and fail to see the White House, the Washington Monument or the Patent, Office, but to fail to see an “orange beverage” store would be an impossibility. The pioneer in this busi- ness is Carroll Dikeman who has a chain of retail stores throughout the city. Each has a white painted front with glass folding doors and on either side of the entrance the legend “Dikeman’s” Delicious Qrange Bever age 5c” in gilt letters, surmounted by @ representation of a cluster Jofyoranges foliage. The entire sign is don¥ex and sur rounded by a blue border. Some time ago Kissel and Kokalis, Wash- ington lunchroom proprietors, started in the orange drink business, placing at the door signs so closely resembling Dikeman’s that even President Coolidge himself might be misled. -The Federal Trade Commission, howeve® has come to the rescue. It has ordered the lunchroom partners to stop making place resemble Dikeman’s. eye AND quit and Pate ton for firm 1556 appl of t Pate 226, sign: mins Par: Hill, tatir wher rapi mou a sti port: Zitz Sa may ber | confi Molec for «

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of le een oF Fae F7 ERE SRT FESS wos MARCH, 1926 APERTURE SIGHT.—Constructed to obviate eye-strain when using cup peep sights, the device may be readily fitted to existing types of rifies. Patent 1558367. R. K. Johnston, | and the like, which may be quickly mounted, 40 Dowling St., Dunedin, New Zealand. SracInc BRAcCKET.—Which eliminates the | tween periods of use. necessity of employing expensive scaffolding | Edmister, 210 South 11th St., Lincoln, Neb. for effecting repairs to a gutter or edge of a roof. Patent 1558425. Marcella St., Boston, 19, Mass. LAWN SPRINKLER.—Whereby the sprink- ler will act automatically and periodically to vary the position of the spray nozzles. Patent 1558355. C. W. Hart, 3231 Post St., Los Angeles, Calif. Rack FOR COLLARS AND NECKTIES.— Whereby such articles may be better dis- played in stores, or more selectively as- sembled in the home. Patent 1557989. A. Dombrowsky, Box 57, Balboa, Canal Zone. CHECK-BoOoK BLOTTER.—Adapted to be readily secured to the holder of a cheek book and to overlie the uppermost check. Patent 1558354. O. H. Halverson, 701 Marshall St., Manitowoc, Wis. BINDER FOR CARDS AND THE LIKE.— Wherein the titles, names or the like appear- ing in the marginal portions are visible as. an index. Patent 1556908. C. A. Briggs, Chino, Calif. SHELF CABINET.—Which will do away with waste space and provide for extending shelves for the storage of maps or plans. Patent 1556711. Z. P. Pietrzycki, Klamath Falls, Ore. Boat.—Of the paddle wheel type, wherein the paddles dip into and out of the water in the manner of the oars of a row boat. Patent 1557990. F. D. Doty, Box 1608, New Orleans, La. HowtpInc Device FoR VIBRATORS. — In which a razor with a straight edge may be clamped in either right or left hand position. Patent 1558327. G. Adelmo, c/o J. Mig- none, Spring Valley, Ill. TooTHBRUSH.—Having a handle so formed that a roll or wad of cotton may be carried therein, for polishing the teeth and gums. Patent 1559519. T. A. Buckley, 80 Carlyle Ave., Yonkers, N. Y. EYEGLASSES OR SPECTACLES.—With means for properly positioning the glasses and holding them always at the same angle to the eyes. Patent 1558744. E. B. Miner, 65 E. Holland St., Portland, Ore. PAPERHANGERS’ TRIMMING GAUGE.—By means of which the operator may lay a straight edge at an exact pre-determined dis- tance from the edge of the paper. Patent 1558678. R. F. Koenig, 106 E. Washington St., Jackson, Mich. SaniTrarRy CAN AND SEAL.—In which co- acting folding portions, not only act as a seam structure but as means for containing sealing material. Patent 1559096. W. M. Hall, c/o Flagg, Hall & Adams, 183 Main St., Brockton, Mass. ATTACHMENT FOR CRIBS, PERAMBULATORS, AND THE LIKE.—Which will hold a mos- quito canopy, or the like in proper position; | and is easily removable when not desired. | Patent 1559352. V. P. Nelson, 264 Lexing- ton Ave., New York, N. Y. CANDLE RING.—An efficient attachment for a candle whereby the same may firmly held in any type of socket. Patent 1559304. E. L. Bearse, Centerville, Mass. WasHInG BrusH.—Wherein the water is applied simultaneously with the application of the bristles to the surface to be washed. Patent 1559441. W. Kundel, P. O. Box 226, Hoboken, N. J. HAIR-TRIMMING GUIDE.—Particularly de- signed as a means for facilitating the trim- ming of bobbed hair. Patent 1559363. Jean Parziale, 110-10 Jamaica Ave., Hill, N. Y. CuHart Horiper AND FINDER.—For facili- tating the tabulation of column indicia, whereby reading and comparisons may be rapidly made. Patent 1559459. J. Rogers, 82 North Ave., New Rochelle, N. Y. Sounp Box anp Tone ARM.—Having a mounting whereby the arm is maintained in a steady position, and more effectively sup- ports the free end. Patent 1559514. J. Zitzerman, 449 Stone Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. SMOKE-PRINTING DEVICE.—Wherein smoke may be directed through a perforated mem- ber for producing a picture. or other desired configuration. Patent 1559345. P.. Be Moloney, 2211 82d St., Brooklyn, N. Y. Pipe CLEANER.—An assemblage adapted for cleaning the stem of a smoking pipe or Richmond | O. Yetter, 27) swinging type, having a special weather strip | | Oregon. SCIENTIFIC loosening the tobacco. Patent 1558652. E. A. Thornton, Valentine, Neb. TREE StanD.—For holding Christmas trees and easily stored in a minimum space be- Patent 1559563. G. CASEMENT WINDOw.—-Especially of the in- for preventing wind or rain from passing between the sill and sash. Patent 1558954. A. E. Walker, 2372 Sandy Blvd., Portland, Howper.—-For carrying articles relating to the use of a telephone, including the tele- phone book, a writing pad, pencil and a ealendar. Patent 1560493. P. Steinberg, 2221 Jerome St., Toledo, Ohio. DEVICE FOR CLEANING FLOOR DRAINS.— Which loosens accumulations of foreign sub- stances so that they may be forced down through the goose-neck trap. Patent 1559,- 900. E. V. McCarthy, c/o Electric Shoe Shop, 1151 W. Madison St., Chicago, Ill. LepGcerR STAND.—Supported on casters, ad- justable as to height, and by the use of which the lifting of the ledger is entirely obvi- | ated. Patent 1559844. C. E. Brooks, c/o Commercial Savings Bank, Mason City, Iowa. INDICATOR.—Particularly adapted for use at gasoline stations for displaying the price | of gasoline and calculating amounts repre- senting various quantities. Patent 1560336. J. F. Dodd, 67 Lincoln Ave., Delaware, Ohio. | METHOD FoR AUTOMATIC AND RAPID PRo- | DUCTION OF CRYSTALLIZED OR PRESERVED Fruits.—Treating large quantities, and ob- taining in three to four days, without han- dling, a crystallized marketable product. Patent 1560396. P. Navarre, 56 Avenue de Chatillon, Paris, France. Razor-StRopP1nG Device.—Whereby both sides of each cutting edge of a safety razor blade will be sharpened. Patent 1559897. F. A. Leigh, 827 Newport Ave., Chicago, Ill. CHECK PRoTECTOR.—Which is small, may be readily transported in the pocket, having serrated impression members for covering the numerical amount of a check. Patent 1561,- 423. J. Evans, c/o U. S. Naval Fuel Sta- tion, Melville Station, Newport County, R. I. CorpAGcE StRucTURE.—Having a cover for the strands constructed to give greater strength than is the case in rope of ordinary construction. Patent 1561357. F. Riesen- berg, Tuckahoe, N. Y. Low-WaTER ALARM FoR BoILers.—Adapt- ed to be attached to a steam boiler of con- ventional construction, being actuated when the water falls to a definite level. Patent 1561135. W. MacA. Barbour, 709 Henry St. S. W., Roanoke, Va. Box Crosure.—For shoe blacking and | similar pastes, which may be readily opened | without the use of tools. Patent 1561330. | A. H. Keller, P. O. Box 586, Pleasantville, | N. J. Sranp.—Of pedestaled receptacle design, for use as a smoking stand, having rotary movement, a match box holder attached, and means for discharging refuse. Patent 1561,- 339. E. A. Maraffi, c/o Electrolite Products Co., 1143 De Kalb Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. CoNTAINER.—Which will support a tube of tooth paste, shaving cream or the like, in vertical position thus preventing exudation. Patent 1561382. G. Walters, c/o Mount Royal College, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. MANUFACTURE OF ROLLED METAL DIsKS. |lar package. AMERICAN pipe. 215 Patent 1560903. F. Eiche, 2000 S.;for printing the amount on a check, and 23rd St., Lincoln, Neb. | mutilate the check to prevent unauthorized FLOWERPOT.—Which has novel means for | changes. draining any excess water from the pot, thus | preventing the plant roots from rotting. Pat- ent 1561824. H. M. Boehm, c/o Boehm Decorating Co., 252 First Ave. apolis, Minn. TUBULAR HoLpEeR.—In which an explosive charge may be lowered in the bore of a well or like place. Patent 1562123. E. L. Pitts, c/o C. C. Fisher, Okmulgee, Okla. Fiyrrap.—Of extremely simple construe- tion, which can be folded flat for storage or transportation. Patent 1561661. E. D. Pep- per, 413 Edwards Bldg., Jackson, Miss. | Stamp Howpine Device.—Comprising a| cup-shaped casing having a slotted peripheral flange and a plurality of spring fingers for supporting rubber stamps. Patent 1562369. A. W. Schmidt, c/o Consolidated Stamp Mfg. Co., 87 Maiden Lane, New York, N. Y. Direct CooLING or Goops.—By refriger- ating or freezing’ of goods through direct treatment with a cooled solution of inor- }ganic salts, or both inorganic and organic matters. Patent 1562360. A. J. A. Ottesen, 14 Dosseringen, Copenhagen, Denmark. WALL CoNSTRUCTION.—Including an en- ameled sheet metal construction forming a substitute for the wainscotting, so that the surface will be waterproof. Patent 1562233. IE. A. Hayer, 502 W. 122nd St., New York, ie ake ARTIFICIAL STONE AND PROCESS OF MAK- ING.—Which characterizes certain striated or veined surfaces, and simulates the age worn appearance, of the natural Roman travertin. Patent 1560450. R. M. Wesely, Los An- geles, Calif. CLoTHES Drier.—In the form of a stand- ard with a plurality of radially extending arms, removable when not in use, and se- curely locked in use. Patent 1563137. G. Amsler, 201 W. Duncannon Ave., Philadel- phia, Pa. Pipe HoLper.—Which is portable, and | | Patent 1558869. C. A. Guiling and E. W. Cheney, 139 No. Va. St., Hoyt, Norcross, Cheney & Hoyt, Rene, Nevada. MIXING APpPARATUS.—Particularly adapt- N., Minne-/|ed for mixing the proper proportion of lime with sugar juices. Patent 1558669. 90. Prieto y Cruz, c/o Central Boea Chica, Inc., Apartado 169, Ponce, Porto Rico. ONE MAN Boat LAUNCHING APPARATUS FoR Sairs.—By which one man can by him- self launch a life boat ready to be filled with passengers and crew. Patent 1559534. C. B. Osbon, 107 College Ave., West Somer- ville, Mass. Beam Rest.—For use in removing beams from warping machines, the rest being con- structed to support the filled beam. Patent 1559434. W. Imbt, c/o Russell Imbt, Box 115, EF. Stroudsburg, Pa. MACHINE FOR PRINTING PHOTOGRAPHS.— Adapted for quantity production, the device being constructed to hold a number of plates, and sufficient paper for successive printing in series. Patent 1559438. A. M. Josepho, 16 W. 46th St., New York, N. Y. | Motor Drive ror WRINGERS.—Which can |be readily secured to a standard type of wringer, and transform the same from a hand-operated to a mechanically driven de- vice. Patent 1560387. H. C. Law, Factory Lane, Hastings on Hudson, N. Y. Om Cup.—Having an automatic feed con- trolled by the temperature of the machine bearings, and feeding the necessary quantity from time to time. Patent 1560838. L. C. Dutro, 2020 Cerritos Ave., Long Beach, Calif. | MEASURING APPARATUS FOR Boarps.—A timber-measuring device, which automatically determines both the dimensions and number lof boards measared, and the sum of the values. Patent 1560392. H. Mager, ¢/o Urbantschitsch, 1 Tuchlauben 21, Vienna, Austria. MACHINERY ALARM.—Adapted for use in will hold a smoker’s pipe in position to pre- _ connection with the clearance space of a vent the ashes from falling onto a desk or the | Teciprocating motor to indicate 2 reduction like. Jefferson Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y Patent 1563210. J. H. McIntire, 276 | of the space. Patent 1557957. H. Amrbein, W. 4th St., Oxnard, Calif. ATTACHMENT FOR PENCILS.—Adapted to | HAND-PROPELLED Boat.—The propulsion cooperate with a pencil of ordinary construc- tion, without extensive changes, to hold a pen at one end of the pencil. Patent 1563,- | hull. of which is effected by means of levers geared with the propeller at the rear of the Patent 1559826. G. F. Winter, c/o 277. C. M. Haddox, 6 California Apart-|The Lynch Co., Honolulu, Territory of ments, California Ave., Charleston, W. Va. COMBINED CIGARETTE CONTAINER AND Aso Tray.—Associated with a package of cigarettes of ordinary type, and when not in use has all the compact features of the regu- Patent 1562497. W. R. Derry, c/o L. J. Fluker, 741 Green St., Union Point, Pa. | STRAINER.—Which will function to collect sediment in the bottom of the strainer, out of the path of movement of the milk. Pat- ent 1562492. A. Brown, Plymouth, Wis. Book Cover. — An formed in a single piece which can be con- veniently applied to the regular binding of a book of any one of a plurality of sizes within considerable range. The inventor has been granted two patents, 1562504 and 1562505. E. W. Jackson, c/o E. L. Steck & Co., Austin, Texas. Hardware and Tools Quick ReLease Sarety Hoox.—Compris- ing two complementary hook-shaped body auxiliary binding, | Hawaii. Sarety VALVE.—Which may be readily attached to a gasoline tank to automatically keey) the pressure within the tank at a pre- determined point. Patent 1560457. J. EB. | Wood, c/o A. C. Anderson, 1911 Washing- ton Blvd., Chicago, Ill. | PORTABLE PNEUMATIC GREASE GuUN.-—-By means of which the amount of grease forced into the grease passage may be accurately determined. Patent 1559894. C, B. Lans- ing, Colorado Springs, Colo. Kery.—For attaching pulleys and the like to shafts, having gripping members formed on the working face for engaging the shaft. Patent 1560399. . Preston, Sr., Box | 666, Mamaroneck, N. Y. | PAaTTeRN-PRINTING MACHINE.—In which |a strip of fabric, such as 2 bolt of cloth, may be printed with a plurality of patterns of the same nature. Patent 1560710. H. H. | Meyer, c/o M. Katz, P. O. Box 55, Station | “A,” 113 Greene St., New York, N. Y. EXPANDING PLUNGER For Or Wetxs.— Whereby the cost of production is greatly | members and two clamping springs, in addi-|To insure the tight fitting of the plunger in reduced and waste material is practically | tion to a swivel link. Patent 1561337. T.| the working barrel and unfailingly produe- . . | eliminated. 44 W. 44th St., New York, N. Y. CuHEcK VALVE.—With a minimum inter- ruption of flow, the structure being such that | the valve disk may be ground onto its seat at any time. Patent 1561395. KE. T. Adams, c/o The Fairbanks Co., 416 Broome St., New York, N. Y. GRatTeR.—Of the cylindrical type, having a removable member with a grating surface which permits of the device being cleanse ! without inconvenience. Patent 1561401. M. Bembina, c/o D. G. Vernaci, 44 W. 44th St., New York, N. Y. SusPpensory.—So constructed that the sack | may be readily renewed, and yet is properly supported when in use. Patent 1560753. W. J. Young, 564 N. W. 30th St., Miami, Fla. | trousers legs. Patent 1558946. J. Tedford, | duit. Patent 1561346. F. Milliken, | F. Madigan, c/o Collison & Co., 483 Collins ing suction for operating the pump. St., Melbourne, Australia. Sanp Rippite.—Or screen, of woven wire, having regularly spaced upset portions, and flat portions between the upset portions. Patent 1563047. M. J. Somers, 13 EL. Co- lumbia St., Springfield, Ohio. Machines and Mechanical Devices UNIVERSAL JOINT.—Which is particularly adapted for use in the transmission of power | where exceedingly heavy strain is to be ap-| plied. Patent 1556840. W. H. Kadesch, | 1109 Main St., Cedar Falls, Iowa. PRESSING MACHINE. — Especially con- structed to obviate the wrinkling and con- | striction of the lower ends of tapering’ Patent 1561407. ©. Card, c/o Mrs. C. Card, Box |27, Breckenridge, Texas. Vacuum CLEANER.—Wherein intermittent suction draft is used, instead of a continuous flow, for lifting the dust from the surface | being cleaned. Patent 1561321. M. Good- man, 9 E. 41st St., New York, N. Y. ComPpuTInG Bin.—Particularly adapted for dispensing such commodities as sugar, ce, coffee, etc., by means of a measuring cylinder rotatable under the bin. Patent 1560824. I. S. Karraz and D. V. Bridwell, Fargo, Ark. GRINDING MILL.—-Wherein the ground ma- terial is forced through a screen and de- posited within a suction and discharge con- Patent 1 J. B. Sedberry, ¢/o DeEvICcE FoR CLEANING SMOKING Pires.—|N. E. cor. State St. and Jackson Blvd.,| The Bossert Corp., Utica, N. Y. Which will permit a powerful blast of com- pressed air, such as that obtained at auto- mobile service stations, to be applied to the | matically move a type into printing relation | effective sand trap and gas anchor. Chicago, Ill. Creck Protecror.—Which will auto- Pump.—Especially designed for use with oil wells, so constructed as to provide an Patent { 3 a ip oF ¢ 7 Sa

Page 70

216 1561049. J. H. S. Bonner and M. T. Cham- berlin, Box 1191 Wichita Falls, Texas. EXCAVATING Bucker.—Capable of use| either with a standard excavating machiue or a so-called “slack line” cableway. Patent 1560895. F. T. Crowe, Guernsey, Wyo. MACHINE vor FormMiInG Paper Har RInos. -As used in supporting hats when packed in a box for shipment and for preventing injury. Patent 1562368. LB. Schiffenhaus, c/o M. Morris, 299 Broadway, New York, a! 4 MACHINE For TURNING SHOFRS AND THE Like.—For automatically reversing a shoe or similar article, from wrong-side-out to right side-out, or vice versa. Patent 1562282. D. Baum, 226 Newell St., Brooklyn, N. Y. WALKING Bram.—Having an auxiliary waiking beam which rides upon the main beam to increase the stroke of the pump and thereby the output. Patent 1561723. J. 0. Keefover, ¢/o H. L. Johnson, Gilliland Oil Co., Tulsa, Okla. Medical and Surgical Devices APPARAT? 8 vor TREATMENT OF THE PAR. | Pertaining more particularly to a device for treating certain diseases of affections of the ear with gases, Patent 1554876. R. McK. Nastasia, cor, Norwood Ave. and Wall St., Long Branch, N. J. Evecur.—Adapted to direct the liquid! toward the sides of the eye when washing the same. Patent 1557620. UH. Robinson, 825 N. 11th St., Waco, Texas. DentaL Device.—Comprising a pair of | adjustable jaws for determining the space between the gums for the adaptation of false | teeth. Patent 1560004. J. Ellard, Tex homa, Okla, Lea AND Foot DeveLorer.—An appliance that will make heel and toe natural, restore defective muscles to their normal functions, and produce blood circula- | tion in affected regions. Patent 1562294. J. J. Cooper, 56 W. 47th St., New York, N. Y. TRANSMITTING MEANS FoR ULTRA-VIOLET Rays.—-By therapeutic lamps, in which the interposition of a vacuum between the lamp and the patient reduces the heat without affecting the short wave rays. Patent 1559, 770. KR. G. Paddock, 510 Stockton St.. San Francisco, Calif. Prime Movers and Their Accessories Mixing Device.—So construeted as to thoroughly break up or sereen and gasify the combustible mixture as it leaves the car- buretor. Patent 1557862. O. Harris, 154 Clay St., Hackensack, N. J. STANDAKRD-UNIT MARINE CONDENSER.— For reconverting steam into water, in which only one header is necessary, the tubes being rigidly soldered to that one header. Patent 1556697. R. L. Leach, Box 852, New Or- leans, La. Spark P.ioe.—Particularly adapted t high speed engines, where a very consider- able degree of pressure and high tempera- tures are reached. Patent 1559463. M. Sacchi, 38 Corse Valentino, Turin, Italy. Speark Pive.—In which the core is ren- dered transparent and the spark visible from the outside to note whether or not the plug is functioning properly. The inventor has been granted two patents of a similar nature. Patents 1560510 and 1560511. L. Hirsch, 505 E. River St., Ei Paso, Texas. Spark Piue.—In which a pair of elec- trodes are spaced apart, the terminals form- ing a spark gap in line with a space between two projections. Patent 1560512. L. Hirsch, 505 BE. River St., El Paso, Texas. Spark Pive.——Wherein a pair of sparks is provided with an isolated conductor inter- posed so as to insure a more complete com- bustion. Three patents of a similar nature have been granted to the inventor. Patents 1560613, 1560614 and 1560515. L. Hirsch, 505 EB. River St., El Paso, Texas. Railways and Their Accessories LocoMoriIve CONSTRUCTION.—Having four eylinders and four drivers, the drivers being coupled te operate as one, accomplishing a gain in power and speed. Patent 1562284. F. A. Benolken, c/o Rev. J. H. O'Neill, Mount St. Charles College, Helena, Mon- tana. Brake.—Especially adapted for use with railway cars, the controlling means being operative at all times while the car is in motion. Patent 1561794. P. L. Peterson, Box 262, Manti, Utah. walking more | SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN AvuToMATIC SLAcK ADJUSTER FOR AIR BRaAKES.— Which is applicable to any exist- ing type of air brake system, for periodically | adjusting the brake shoes. Patent 1560980. |W. S. De Camp, 348 E. Maine St., Chilli- ecothe, Ohio. Meruop AND Device ror BRAKING RATI- |} WAY AND OruerR VEHICLES.—Which may be propelled by any motive power, to better secure the continuous controlling of brakes, more particularly in long trains. Patent 1562825. P. Hallot, 15 Rue du Plelo, Paris, France. Pertaining to Recreation Game.—Consisting of a playing board and playing pieces, the pieces being constructed to partake of eccentric and startling move ments. Patent 1562322. C. Gitchel, Kear- ney, Neb. Toy wira Movaste Freatures.—In the form of a doll having a head, body and leg | portion, and a sound producing device ma- |nipulated by vibration. Patent 1561829, I. | E. Cohn, 65 4th Ave., New York, N. Y. Carp GAME.—Having a plurality of main and honor suits, forming combinations re- | sulting in a predetermined number of cards designating the winner. Patent 1562149. H. T. Cox, 5676 York Blvd., Los Angeles, | Calif. TEETERING Device.—A toy which will amuse a child, and at the same time provide a safe healthful and exhilarating exercise. Patent 1562700. W. L. Herring, ¢/o F. E. Riddle, Mayo Bldg., Tulsa, Okla. Pertaining to Vehicles | $1gN.—More particularly for use upon | automobile doors, constructed of flexible ma- | terial that it may be adapted to the door curvature. Patent 1557955. L. H. Young, Visalia, Calif. | BRrake-Adsusting TooLt.—Which will en- gage the brake foot pedal for adjusting the same and varying the amount of depression. Patent 1558854. N. Falconer, 1342 Hayes St., San Francisco, Calif. FRAME FoR LICENSE PLATES.—Which will minimize the non-aesthetie appearance of the usual license plate, and its mode of mount- ing. Patent 1561420. F. D. Elliott, 608 Currie St., Sault Ste. Marie, Mieh. AUNILIARY Fvet TANK FoR AUTOMOBILES. | So construeted that the driver must deliber ately connect up the auxiliary, and therefore know that he is almost out of fuel. Patent 1561358. C. L. Sarnelle, 1663 W. 11th St.. Brooklyn, N. Y. PUNCTURE-CLOSING COMPOSITION. — For closing punctures or blowouts in inflated vehicle tires, the composition consisting of asbestos, slippery elm bark and water. Pat- ent 1561332. TT. E. Law, Mesa, Arizona. Suock AssorseR.—In which abrasive plates resiliently maintained in frictional engagement with a sliding plate restrains the movement of the sliding plate. Patent 1560594. D. F. MeMahon, 5314 W. 24th St., Cicero, DL. Sarety Brake Lock AND BRAKE-LOCKING Device FOR AUTOMOBILES AND TRUCKS.— For locking levers of either the emergency or foot brake type or both, to prevent move- ment of the wheels. Patent 1560582. ¥F. H. Kagarise, 617 Pierce Ave., Sharpsville, Pa. NEUTRAL Device.—Especially adapted for Ford cars, which automatically insures the positioning of the speed control in neutral position, by means of a heel operated pedal. Patent 1561340. C. F. Marston, 1007 Frank- lin Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. CENTER EMERGENCY BRAKE AND CONTROL Lever FoR Moror VenttLes.—Which will equalize the pull upon the brake bands, and which may be easily attached to standard types of motor vehicles. Patent 1560636. G. C. Allen, 427 Virginia Ave., Joplin, Mo. AvuTOMOBILE RapIAToR.—Provided with a simple arrangement for tightly fitting the ends of the radiator tubes into an end ecast- ing to prevent leakage. Patent 1561695. C. Costelloe and 8. G. Stoll, 915 Calumet Ave., Hammond, Ind. Revotvinc NAME PLate.—The plate being revoluble under the force of a moving current of air thereby attracting attention. Patent 1561830. W. C. Connell, R. No. 3, Box 70, Yakima, Wash. Lock1nc RInc For SeparRasLe RIMS.— Which is flat, extends beyond the felloe for holding the rim, and may be easily secured or removed. Patent 1560756. T. D. Bryan, Linden, Calif. MARCH, 1926 CONTENTS MARCH 1926 ARTICLES Cosmic Rays—By Dr. R. A. Millikan...............sceceeee coccccceccccccccoccsocccces 149-150 ee eee eee NEE, Wes. GIR 6000 bcc ciccvcvcccesetescecesecoeeses coccccces 151-168 Solving Greenland’s Historic Mystery—By Harold J. Shepstone, F.R.G.S............... 154-155 ee Ae I Ae eb o.cas eae Obed 00500 6004000865 16006000000"RNr 156 Star Clusters—By Henry Norris Russell, PRD... 2.0... cccccccccccccccccccccccccccccces 15 The Subjugation of the Colorado—By Guy Elliot Mitchell. .............ccccecesceeecces 158-159 ee RG. iad Sits on 5 kph ea dn ceue eWS mae eeseebe choos edsebeeiae 160 Scenes in a Pineapple Cannery in Hawaii—Page of photographs..................ee0. 161 Seeing Around the World by Radio—By Orrin E. Dunlap, Jr.............. cc ccc cccecs 162-163 Mountings for Reflecting Telescopes—By Russell W. Porter, M.S.............cccccccees 164-167 Peacetime Uses for “Poison Gas”--By D. H. Killeffer...........ccccccccccscccccceces 168-169 Telephoning Beneath the Sea—By Nell Ray Clarke. ............ccccccccccccccsccccces 170 a ae ID III, 6.5 so 0.00 '0.0.65:0:656:90:600000b055.60n kad neeeeesace 171 The Restoration of Ancient Bronzes—By Colin G. Fink and Charles H. Eldridge....... 172-173 ee ees FE Se NN, os oc nwa neces decease eens soneeus deecdaeeanen 174-175 The Art of Cutting Diamonds—By Albert A. Hopkins. ...........-cceccccccccccccsces 176-177 ee ey SO a, Bl IR ia a id ib dGas seeks OO nbes bodes dads wag eeteeel 178-179 From the Scrap-book of Science—Two pages of photographs. .............ccceeccccecs 180-181 DEPARTMENTS Inventions New and Interesting................0-sccecccccccceces edd remnnaneed e - 182-184 oc oe aa ee end ena hieks seman kd mien kamen pemaea Ounce 185-194 EE ME PN, 0 oa 8:9 E065. 6g 096.8500 660cecheeérscwenecaeewedoauencaneekacede 194 eS SD WE PNR iviv cn ndvnccdccdvoetececdssseseenebeecccee paces 196-197 In the Editor’s Mail—Where Reader Meets Reader..............cccccccccccccccccccecs 198-201 BE a re ee ae ae 202-205 Learning to Use Our Wings—A Department of Aviation News..............cecceeeces 206-213 enn IIE MII riding chwiase sd00ncseakvteeet cdbsecontébddebecasébadsnwis 214 ED Fe es Saitek satin sdenns 6s cb essddbbvadwebeteidic Covcccccccece - 214-216 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS BROMERER, FOe oc idecscedcdvves cssccacect 190 Mead Cycle Company. ......ccccccccecsss 196 BGaie Meals Mi, Trash. nvccccccccsccesves 197 Meilicke Systems, Inc. ..........02cscce00. 206 MEE. THE TI. go oon no sn cscecvewe 197 Metal Cast Products Co... ..ccccscccccccces 206 American Farm Machine Co............. 194 Metallic Sign Letter Co.........ccecceess 210 American Patent Protection Corp........ 192 it 2 Se rere 206 American Pipe Bending Machine Co..... 211 ae 206 American Sheet & Tin Plate Co......... 203 BE GE. CHE. 0 c.ccckcconscenccees 198-204 American Telephone & Telegraph Co..... 196 Arguto Oilless Bearing Co.............+. 205 National Carbon Co............cccuccces 202 Babson Statistical Organization ......... 209 ertnere, Hines Megle Manutnstarer. ...-- - Francis Bannerman Sons ................ 209 . iii O ee ee eee a nner 208 Outlook Publishing Co..............0--6- 208 Bathe Manufacturing Co................ 210 >) Benton Harbor Malleable Sissthoe Go”! 194 Packard Motor Car Co.......ccccccscccece 146 *radley Polytechnie Institute ............ 206 Radio Corporation of America........... 187 Broderick & Bascom Rope Co............ 194 Razor Products Corporation.............. 190 Camera Craft Publishing Co............. 210 ~ . . Chamber of Commerce of Williamsburg, Fe et sap nan ae gg ae a ae = tay Wik. eter. ce er en eee Frees 206 Scientific Apparatus Corp. teseeee seeeeee 208 chicago Micste Geni MPeniin ....c. . 2.0. 204 Sheet Steel Trade Extension Committee... 195 i talent ine) ** 300 Simonds Saw & erro 192 is sill la cite 4 EE rr rer 194 Co wrtez Cigar Company......... seeees . 208 Seal: teienketon 145 Crane Company ................Second Cover Skinner Bros. Mfg. Company............. 196 Dayton Steel Foundry ee 204 South Bend Lathe Works. ...-++04-.eeees 204 Domestic Appliance Publishing Co....... 196 Stephenson Laboratory nN tee he ee 206 FP. J. Drake & Company. ...cccccccccccce 206 Dewwads Tees Wretee Geis. cocccancsensies 206 Firestone Tire & Rubber Co.............. 211 ‘Timken Roller Bearing Co............+++ 198 General Electric Co............. Fourth Cover Unisol Manufacturing Co........ssse+-++ 196 Universal Motor Co........ceccee. eonecees 206 Harper & Brothers. .......cccccccsess 208-209 ern Fe eee 196 Veeder Manufacturing Co.............0+5 213 Oe NED ensign epentsbd ne bouncones 208 Vilter Manufacturing Co..........ee0e+% 204 kl =e ove Oe Paes Welk COIR oso ccc ccncccasesss 211 Huther Bros. Saw Mfg. Co 194 Ct 191 International Harvester Co. of America, Weyerhaeuser Forest Products Co........ 201 DE eS on det Nhaeks dst 084s Kas dubeaces 189 ee CS ocak cee vavebcnenie Third Cover International Studios, AE ATT Ce 211 Williamette Iron & Steel Co....... ee International Typewriter Exchange ...... 211 Wiaconsin Electric Co. .......cscccccces .. 198 Wisconsin Motor Manufacturing Co....... 207 Lambert Pharmacal Co..............0+-: 193 Pee SO SPOOU asc opase cccncsexees 196 Languages Publishing Co................ 213 NE SIMD 6:4. bi Giad Sead eok eneunmaale 206 | SELLE eS Wright Manufacturing Co.............+- 210 Liggett & Myers Tobacco Co............. 209 RN GNU Siialin dA CAbice de nsctdcetaee 211 Sey AN, Gis ovis cccicicccicseeges 213 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY Munn & Company, 233 Broadway, New York ORSON D. MUNN, President ALLAN C. HOFFMAN, Secretary and Treasurer EDITORIAL STAFF J. BERNARD WALKER, Editor Emeritus ALBertT G. INGALLS KATRINE A. CAMPBELL MILTON WRIGHT Louis S. TREADWELL Pror. HENRY Norris RUSSELL Pror. ALEXANDER KLEMIN CHRISTINE M. Lewis, Editorial Assistant O. D. MUNN, Editor and Publisher Asert A. HOPKINS CORRESPONDING EDITORS H. Dreperious, Prof. of Experimental Engi- D. T. MAcDovcat, Director, Laboratory for neering, Cornell University. Plant Physiology, Carnegie Institution of Sau. DusHMAN, Ph.D., G. E. Research Lab- Washington. oratory. ; Roy W. MINer, American Museum of Natural Epwarp ELLery, Consulting Chemist, Union History. College. H. F. Moore, Research Prof. of Eng. Materials, Rautpu J. Focc, Prof. of Civil Engineering, Lehigh University. Leon A. HausMAN, Ph.D., Asst. Prof. of Zoélogy, Rutgers College and State Univ. of N. J. Harry S. Hower, Prof. of Physics, Carnegie Institute of Technology. Austin C. Lescarsoura, A. I. E. E., Croton, New York. M. Luckrescnu, Dir., Lighting Research Lab- oratory, National Lamp Works of General Electric Co., Nela Park, Cleveland. University of Illinois. Dr. WALTER FRANKLIN PRINCE. H. C. RAmsower, Director of Agricul. Ext Service, Ohio State University. SAMUEL J. Recorp, Prof. of Forest Products, Yale University. J. HAMMOND Situ, Prof. of Civil Engineer- ing, Univ. of Pittsburgh. G. A. Younc, Head, Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University. Western Advertising Office, Wilson and Galey, Harris Trust Building, Chicago, IIl. Vol. 134, No. 3. Published monthly. Entered as second class matter, June 19, 1879, at the post office at New York, N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. Price, 35 cents a copy. $4.00 a year. Postage prepaid in United States and possessions, and Mexico, Cuba and Panama; $4.50 a year for Canada, Foreign subscriptions, $5.00 a year postage prepaid. Wi the du In eve evi tri

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+ RE He Quick, Clean, Safe Dump The tapered dump body is hoisted on sturdy arm and link lifts by a safe, speedy and positive gear drive. It lifts to an angle greater than 50 degrees, dumping any load clean. The body is under positive control through rigid connections at all times. It may be held at any angle. It is lowered by the same mechanism that hoists it, but can be lowered with the truck in motion. At normal position and at extreme dumping angle the body is automatic- ally stopped. The body is mounted so that load weight is properly distributed and the dumping point is so far back that the load dumps cleanly over the edge of a soft fill without danger of miring the truck, or piles clear of the truck on level ground Double-acting tail gate further facilitates dumping. Low body sides make loading from the ground easy. The dumping mechanism sets solidly down in the frame in a dirt-proof and weather-proof housing All the gears run in oil. wy

4 /,

ie Pelek Auxiliary Low Gear An auxiliary transmission gives you maximum power at all times—extreme flexibility of power. In holes, in mire, on hills it enables you to gear down to the hardest pull. It works independ- ently of the regular transmission. Power is transmitted in a straight line from starting crank to rear axle when operating under load This insures maximum power and maximum life of all drive units YS — Double Reduction Drive White Double Reduction Gear Drive is the finest type of final drive for heavy juty. It is obtainable only on Whites. In every test of heaty-duty service, in very line of heavy truck work, in every part of the world where heavy trv re used it has proved its su- » any other type of final * had universal success in thousands of operators ff thousands of miles. run in oil All of its 1. It saves time, man It puts more of the vork. te Model 52-D the r and safety that operations de- vlar-type radi- the frame; “umper: tow steering: air saves fuel in all sea- akes with t insures vz brake cations.

in Heavy-Duty Dump Trucks pwr. ps Sou ah industry Turn this White loose on any dump truck job. The job is licked! . . . Put a load on it. . . . Stick it in a hole with steep sides or soft bottom... . Then slip in that auxiliary gear. Step on it... . It just walks out. Dump? ... It’ll dump any load while you’re thinking about it. Sure-acting gears and rigid arms hoist that tapered body to an angle so near straight up that the stickiest load slides out. . . . You can back up to the edge of a soft fill, dump clean and get away without miring. And on the -*- level the load piles up clear of the wheels. . . . Let the body come down safely while you’re speeding back for another load. White engineers are constantly watching all truck operations. Their foresight for the devel- opment and improvement of dump truck opera- tion is built into this heavy-duty White. Let a White salesman show you how this Heavy- Duty White Dump Truck—Model 52-D—will do more work and earn more money for you. THE WHITE COMPANY, CLEVELAND ~<—_— - “TE TRUCKS ILD RIGHT ~ KEPT RIGHT

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= = 4 . ade Pn A cross section of an underground coal conveyor in a Pennsylvania mine—a “‘river of coal’’ run ning at a speed of 500 feet a minute, all uphill. The rotary cylinder dump, longer than a city block, empties a 40-car trainload of coal into the hopper, which has a capacity of 1250 tons. A wheelbarrow four miles long The coal mines of the United States require nearly three million electrical horsepower.To meet this colossal demand the General Electric Company pro- duces locomotives and motors for the conveyors that have displaced the poor old mine mule; it designs motors, large and small, for huge stripping shovels, loaders, fans, pumps, hoists and under- cutting machines—all bear the monogram G-E. GENERAL EL ®” A giant belt conveyor, whirling through a moun- tain, and carrying 10,000 tons of coal a day from mine to waterfront —it sets a thrift example for the whole world. Equipped with G-E motors and automatic } control, it almost runs itself. Each motor auto- c: matically starts its section as soon as the adjoin- : ing belt has attained full speed. You may never need a wheelbarrow four mile long. The chances are all against it. But sor where in your factory, or office, or home, the a task that electricity could do better and ch The General Electric Company makes the ment to do that task.