CoPyrlllht, 1900, by MUOD it Cu.

Scientific American, established 1845. t i Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year

Scientific American Supplement, Vol. XLIX, No.1256. \ NEW YORK, JANUARY 27, 1900. / Scientific American and Supplement. $7 a year.

TOW I N G CANAL-BOATS BY ELEC�TRlCITY. closed in a casi n g and t.he remai n i ng two w h eels per­ motive about three feet above the rail, and runs to a
mitted to r u n u pon the s i ngle rail. The driver's seat Illast on the barge. With a speed of t w o to th ree
THE wel l-kno w n German firm of Sie mens and Halske. is a rranged at one side of t he locomoti ve, within easy miles per hour, the locomotive can pull a load of
reach of t h e s t art ing and reg ulating apparatus and
says t h e I l l u strirte Zeit u n g, h ave established an ex­ 1 , 300 p o unds
. The po w e r developed i s s u fficient to
t he brakes. T h e t ow i n g h a wser is secured to the loco-
perimental electrical to wi n g syste m th ree q uart er� of a
- - tow three f u lly laden or two laden and two e mp ty
mile in length along t h e Finow Canal, n ea r boa ts .
Eberswalde . Experiments were made w i t h the
Lamb and Kattgen systems.
The Lamb system has been used in the COLOR IMPRESSIONS.*
Uni ted States and att racted n o l ittle atten tion IT is n o w wel l known that the perception
at the t ime it was firot i ntrod uced . T h e boats of color varies very greatly a m on g men and
are to wed by a cable passed aro u n d an e l l ipti­ also among animals. In fact, as !::5 c hopenhauer
cal l y-grooved w h eel on a car o r locomoti ve remarked, color is merel y a s ubj ective i m­
dri ven by an el ectri c motor. T h e towin g-cable pression, originating in t h e brai n. A normal
contains i n s u l ated wires and i s r i g i dly attached human being, i. e. , one constituted after the
to an eye- b o l t, j ust belo w the poi n t of insu la­ majority of his kind, distinguishes not merely
t i on o n the h anging fram e. 'rhe b i te o f the l ight and dark shades, b ut an i m m ense n u mber
rope is connected w ith a clam p made of non­ of different h u es . A convenient, b u t not al to­
cond u c ting m aterial. The socket of the c l a m p, gether com plete col lection of them can be
,

and t h e pi n by wh i ch i t is e n gag ed, con ta i n i n g obtai n ed b y passing a bea m of s u nlight t h rough

t h e w i l'es lead i n g to t h e revers i n g s w i tch. are a prism, an d recei ving the refracted rays on
made i rre� ular in shape, so that corres pondi n g a w h ite screen a t a l i t t l e d i stan ce from the
wires are o b l i ged t o corne in con t ac � w h e n t h e p rism. A colored band i s produced u pon the
clamp is con nected. T h e to w i ng-rope is se­ screen. This is the so eal l e d sol ar spectrum,
c u red to the salupsu n - post, leaving the end o f and if i t is caref u l l y exam i n ed i t w i l l eas i l y b e
the rope free. The wires are co n nect e d as de­ seen that e very part of t h e spec t rum is of a
s i red wi t h the r e s p ec t i ve w i res o f the rheostat different color, b u t t h at neigh bo r i n g parts
by the cl amp. \Vhen two boats coming i n closely resemble one another, As we have
o pp osite d irections approach each oth er, mo­ not words for all the various gradations, the
tors are stopped and cables disconnected. T h e course adopted i s to give separate names . 0
boats exc h ang e cab les and motors a n d proceed about hal f a dozen of the color regi o n s and ,

on thei r wav. A n extra cable w o u l d obviate denote the i ntermediate h u es b v co m bin ations
the necessit y of e x c h a n gin g motors. of thes e names. T h e color i m p r� ssions to w hich
Lamb's system did not prove as s u ccessful as w e give names are red, oran ge, yellow, green,
t. h at of h i s r i val. In Kattgen's method of tow­ blue and v iolet. I f red and violet l i g h t en ter
iug. i nstead of an ovel'head cab l e a narrow­
, the eye together, a color i m pression is received
gage rai l way i s em ployed, u pon w h ich a slIIall
,
w h ich cannot be o btai n ed from the spectrum,
electric, t wo-ton loco m o t i ve r UIlS. T h e motor that of p urple. I f we reckon t h i s, we have
i s conn ected with an overhead feed- w i re by a seven fundamental col o r ty pes re d oran ge,
- - ,

t rol ley- w h ee l w h i ch rUIlS over i nstead of under

,
yellow green b l ue, vio let, p urpl e.
, ,

the wi r e . The dead weight of the 10cOlnotive I n popu lar language, wh ite and black are also
is supported only by orie rail, t h e other rai l taken as colors. B u t they are not really so. We
serv i n g mere l y as a g u ide I f t h e road b e mac­
.

adalllized, t h e secu n d rai l can be d ispensed • Ab8tractcd by Invention (Xovcmber 4) from the Maler­
with, in w h ic h case two of the w heels are i n- THE KOTT G E N E LEC TRIC CANAL-BOAT LOCOMOTIVE. Zeitung.

'l'HE KOTTGEN SYSTEM OF E LEC'l'RI CAL TOWING ON THE FINOW CANAL, GERMANY.

© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.

 20128 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT,
recei\-e t he impression of white w hen all the colors act
UPOI l t h e eye s i m u ltaneously. so thl1t no one preponder,­
ates, and the i m p ression of black i n the absence of l i g- h t.
Heuce b lack is e i t h e r absolute oal' k n ess 01' a hodv whi c h
reflects n o l i g h t. Gray i s a w h ite delic ient i n vol ume of
Jig-h t, and is t h u s intel"luediate between w h ite ano b l ac k.
As h as just been said, the se\'en n ame� do not indicate
act u al disti n c t colors, but. rathpr color regious. The
w ord y e l l o w , for exaUlp le, i n c l udes a wllOle set of
Hhades, among w h ich Ulay be m e n t ioned s u l p h ur-yel­
low, citron-ye l lo w , pgg- yell ow, etc" as well as brownish­
yel low, sli g htly reddish - yellow, green ish - yellow and
llIany others_ A l l of t h e m can be n a m ed by combining
together t w o or more of t h e primary names, This is the
case even with a few of t h e m on w h ich usage has con ­
fpl'red sllp('i:t1 names: brown, for example, i s a very
dal'k yel l o w o r orange, reddish-brown a dark red, flesh
color a wh i t ish p u rplp, etc_
The sevell f u n o am ent a l s h ave two noteworthy pro­
pert i es , In the first place, t h e y follow each other in a
definite ord er, without, ho w e ve r, being se parated by
any sharp boundary lines. The orrler is orange, yel­
low, green, blue, violet, purple, red. In t h e second
p l ace, they llIay be descri bed by three n ames only, red,
y e l l o w and blne, de n o t i n g- sOllie of t h e m by combina­
tions of these names. The order w il l t h en read, red­
d i s h - y e l lo w, yellow, yellowish-blue, blue, bluish-red,
reddish-violet, reo. Ol'ang-e, g-ree n , violet and purple
are secondary color�_ 'fhese facts iudicate t h at t here
are o n l y three dist i n ct colol' i mpressions, and t h ese are
denoted wit h sufficiellt accn racy by the words red , yel­
low and blue, Hel m h o l t z has, h o we ver, s h o w n that,
m ore strict l y speaki ng-, re d, yel lowish-gree n and violet·
blue are the fundamental colors. The p hysi ca l expla­
nation of the threefold di\'l�ion of color is that t h e
normal eye con tains t h ree coiol'-appreciating organs_
If one is excited, the i mpression of red .is created, if
another that of violet·blne, w h i l e sti m u l ation of the
t h i rd causes a sensatio n of yellowish-green_ Red light
excites the fil'st, and yellow stimu lates the first and
t h i rd, t hereby prod ucing a sl'n sation i n termediate be­
s
t wee n those of rl'd and y e l lo w i h - gree n, Ye l l owis h ­
green l i g h t affects the t h i rd, and green or blue light the
st'cond awl thiJ'(l, p rod uc i ng t h e i mpression of green
when the thi rd is the more strong-Iy affected and of yel­
low w hen the sl'ennd is m OI'e st i m u lated, Bluish-violet
i l llpl'es�es 't h e 8e('ond, w h i l e a mix t u re of red and v i o­
let excitl's bot h first all(l 8e('01H1, so as to pl'oduce the
i m press i o n w h i !' h we d e s i g n ate purple. 'Vh e n all
t h l'ee ol'ga lls are aff�cted at t h e same time, the impres­
sion cause(i i s t h at of white, T h i s may h appen w h e n
l ig- h t of all colol's e l lters the eye, but i t also OCCUI'S with
the so-ca l l ed cOluplementary colo rs when t h ey e n ter
the eye together_ Such compl e m e n tary combinat ions
are red and blu ish-g re en , and yellow and blue. I n the
former case t h e I'ed l ig- h t affects the fil'st organ, and
green affects the other t wo, while in the second case t h e
y e l l o w l ig-ht acts o n o rgan s olle and th ree and b l ue on
t w o and t h ree. In each ca�e all the th ree are affected.
M E CHANI CAL TRAC'l'IO:'I ON CANALS.
ALTHOUGH 'V. S y m i n gton's first experiments to de­
term i n e the possibi l i ty of n l O v i n g vessels by steam
po wel' too k p l ace on a cana l , t hey w e r e not n eces­
sal'i l y made with a vie w to callal traction only. N e ver­
t h e less, at a very earl y date in the h i story of the steam
eng i n e, the idea of using- it instead of horses for w O I'k­
in!! can al traffic occuned to somo of the e m i n e n t men
who took so great a part in promoting the industrial
p l'O�perity of t h i s country a cen t u ry ago,
Of these, apparently the fi rst wa,; the Duke of Bridg­
w at"I', who had trials m ade of a steam pad d le· boat
on h is canal near 'Vorsley, some t i m e between 1 796 and
1 799_ A Captain S h an ks, R.N_ , from Deptford, buil t
her at 'Vorsl ey, u nder t h e D u ke's supervision. She
lIIanag-ed to tow eight coal boats, of 25 tons each, to
)Iauh h ester, at t h e rate of a little more than a m ile an
h Olll', but the padd les injured the bottom of the canal
al l(l t h re w the water on the bank_ and she was gi ven
up_ 'l'h e people cal led the vessel , . Huonapal'te," and re­
garded her as a m ost s t rang-e and u neart h l y invention_
About May or Ju ne, 1797, a boat heavily l aden with
copper s l ag w e n t fro m Newton Co m mon to St. Helens,
on the Sankey Canal , •. w i t h o u t the aid of haulers or
rowers, the oars performing eighteen strokes a m i n ute
by the application of steam only"! 'fhe return j o u r­
ney, ten m i les, was also m ade by steam. P08sibly
these" oars" were s h o v e l - l i ke b l ades set in a central
h u b, or i t may have been intended to imitate ro w i ng.
Haulers w ere the gangs of men who then, quite as
often as horses, painfu lly dragged t h e canal boats
along at a m i le 01' two an h o u r. The later experi­
ments of Symington were intended expressly to ascer­
ta.in w hether steam power could profi t a h l y s u persede
t h at of men or horses on cana l s, T hese were cal"l"ied
011 by t h e Forth and C lyde Canal Company in 1 80 1 and
1 802, at t h e instance of Lord Dundas, the govemor or
chairman, They issued in the construction of the
"Charlotte Du ndas," a stern- w h eel steamer having a
nearly h o rizo ntal c y l i nder, 22 by 48, on the top of the
boiler, and driving a l i g h t cranked !lhaft , w h i ch geare(i
i n w i th the axle of the paddl e wheel. This wheel was
ill a transverse orifice near t. h e stern, not proj ect i n g
beyond it, a s with m odern l i g h t-draught stern w h eel
steamers. Two rudd ers had to be provided, one on
each side of the wheel, and worked s i m ultaneously
from the bo w. Over the bows were stam pers, t h ree on
each side, raised in succession by levers worked tilt­
hammer fashion by stops on the sides of the paddle­
wheel, for brea k i ng the ice in wiotel' time. At trials of
t h i s boat in Decelll bel', 1 801, t h ree 60 ton boats were
h a u led, and in Arril. 1 80 2, two oth ers, the "Ac tive" and
the "Euphemia," of Gl'a nge m oll t h , were towed 19% m i les
to Port D undas against a wind so stro n g that no other
\'e,;,;els co uld make head against it. A l t h o u g h t h e ex­
peri m e n t s were satisfactory, some i n fluen t i a l pl'O p l'ie­
WI'S feared it w o u l d i n j u re t h e canal ba n k s , and in
couseq uence the " Charlotte D u ndas" was laid up in a
creek and lay rotting there for years. Without a load
!She did about six miles a n h o u r. In the Journal of
the Royal Institution fOI' 1 802 there is a curious v i e w of
a model of this v es s e l , shown to the Institution by
Sy mington hi mself at the request of Lord Dundas_
It shows the ice-breaking arrangement over each bow.
'fh e inventor estimated that a boat of the ki nd, doing­
twelve horses' work. w ou l d move at 2% m i les an hou l',
and cost £800 or £900_ The Duke of Bridgwatel' was
�() �ati�fied wi t h t he res u l t s she ga\'e t h at he ordered
No. 1256.
eight like her for his o w n canal, but his death put an
end to the project, and t h ey were not b u i l t, The specifi­
cation of S y m i n gton's patent for an eng i n e l i ke t h at of
the •• Charl otte Dundas," No. 2544, 180 1 , is c h i efly re­
markable as s h o w i n g the h i t h e rto ilJdispensable b eam
Illotion done away with and d i rect. action substitu ted.
For a long ti m e after t h i s l i ttle 01' not h i n g was h eard
of steam traction on canals. It was not, of coursl', till
1 8 1 2 or 1 8 13, t hat stea m n avigatio n I'ealiy p roved a
practical s uccess on I-ivers, and fOJ' canals t he difficu l t y
o f the wash of stern· wheel boats, and o f getting suffi­
c ient po wer i n to side- w h eel vessels narro w enough fOJ'
tile locks, relllained a hopeless problem. Most of the
principal l i n es of navigation w ere prosperous enough
to have little stimulus to make costly ex periments OJ'
i n n ovati ons, and it was not u n t i l .he railway era was
beginning t.o loom in the future t h at their propri etors
hegan to stir t h e mselves. It was ag-ain o n the Forth
and Clyde Canal that the question was carried to a
solution. This canal had locks 20 feet wide-much
wider than usual-an d was therefore especially s uited
for steam vessels. It was, in fac t, a cc ordi n g- to the
standard of those days, a s h i p canal. In 1828, M r. Mur­
ray, inspector of works on t h e canal , fi n d i n g that one
of the smalier Clyde steamers, named .. C u pid, " could
pass the locks, had a series of t rials m ade with her,
u nder t h e direction of 1\11'. J. 'Vatt, son of the great
.James Watt, of Soho, T h ese trials s h o wed at equa l
speeds a steamer llIade no 1II0re wash t h a n a h o rse­
drawn vessel, nor any objectionable amount up to four
or five m i l es an hour, while the cos t of work i n g wa�
about one-half. The company t h en fitted a heavy old
i ro n passage boat w i t h a stern w heel placed in a rect­
angular trough c u t out of t h e stern, closed on each
s ide and in fro n t. T h e wheel proved too m uch boxed
in, t h e vessel was very slow in the dead water of the
can al, tho ugh she could do s i x or seven m i l es an h o u r
i n the tideway bet ween Grangelllollth and A l loa. The
., Cyclops" carried about 40 tons of cargo, which had to
be as far forward as pOSSIble, o t h el' wise t h e paddle·
wheel was practically drowned , 'fh e len gth of this
boat was 68 feet; breadth, 1 5% feet or 16 feet; depth,
6 feet 01' 7 feet. It led to the b u i lding- of t h e " Lord
Dundas," an iron passe nger boat with pl ating only -tlf
i n c h thick, about the autulll n of 1 831. She onlv dre w
16 i nches of water, al l ti was really a n adaptation of
1\11'. Houston's long- light. passagf' boats IIIl'nt i o n ed in
The E n gineer of July 22, 1 898. She was 68 ff'et long-,
11 �,; feet beam_ 4�� feet deep, and weig-heri o n ly 7 tons
1 6 c w t. There were two paddle - w heel� i n a long h ol­
l o w space in the cerlter-all arra n gement which ga\'e
no bettel' speed t h al l the .. Cyc l o ps." A third iron
steamer, called the " l\I a n ches t. e r, " was made by Fair­
bai rn for the Forth and C l yde Canal Company in 1 831.
She was abo u t the same size as t h e" Cyclo ps," but had
two n arrow paddle·w h eels worki n g u n der the quarters,
3 feet wide and 1 1 feet i(l diallletel'. A 24 horse power en­
gine .. on the l ocomotive principle," w i t h cylinders on
the top (>f the boiler, drove these wheels. Fifty tons of
cargo CQuid be carried, but all three boats broke down
so frequently that t h e y cam e deal'er than horse power,
and were given up. Nor could they equal the nine
m i les an hour obtained by horses with t,he light pas­
sage boats on the Paisley Canal.
A double-hulled steamer was built at Liverpool for
the canal and ri ver service between Dublin and Lim­
erick, having the paddle-wheel between t.he two h u l l s.
Stern wheels, however, were very popular with en­
g-ineers, as sav i n g rOOlll, and in 1 826 a vessel of this
kind, whose wh eel wo u l d lift u p on entering a lock,
went from London to Birmi n gham. She carried 20
tous of goods, the m ac h i n ery weighing fo u r tons.
Steam was raised by· t h e" patent duplex generators"
- a system in which water was iujected, in very small
quantities at a t i m e, into a closed vessel between whose
inner and outer shell s the fire circu lated. The Patent
Steam Canal Company, w h ich was att e m p ted to be
forllled in 1 825. had driven a 70-foot barg-e at ten m iles
a n h o u r in the Thames, the 4 h o rse power eng-ine h av­
ing four "steam cham bers" 6 feet, l o n g, but only 6
i n c h es i n diameter. A small steamer went from LOll­
don to Manchester in 1828, the invention of David Gor,
don, one of the early steam-carriage men. S h e towed
a barge loaded with timber th roug-h a long tunnel, the
voyage being 1III.d ertaken solely to ascertain if steam
co uld be used without damag-i ng the banks-a fact
w h i c h walS s at i sfactOl' i ly proved.
On the Regen t's Canal, in London, steam haula�e by
means of a chain h as been used ever s i n ce 1 825. In
t h at year Capt_ Sam u e l Bro w n , builder of the chain
pier at Brighto n , tried this m ethod, the drum having
pegs l'oUnd its circumference t o engag-e with the l i n k s.
On w h at part of the canal this took place is not stated,
but in 1 828 a similar syst. e m was ill Ilbe in the Islington
Tunnel. T h e boat was nearly the w idth of the tunnel,
which is 17 feet, and had a 4 h o rse po wer high-pressure
engine, with It h o rizontal cylind er. The chain made
two o r three turns ro u n d a n iron roller, and passed i n
and out, h ead and stern , through a wrought iron t u be.
Coke was burnt, with t h e curious result that the heat
and s u l p h u r were almost insufferable at the h ead of
the boat , but scarce l y noticeable at t h e stern_ It was
supposed the boat did not pay, for it was disco n t i n ued
soon after, and the old system of "l eggi n g " thro ugh
resorted to, but t h e chain t ract i o n was again in use
th ro ug-h I s l i ng-ton T u n nel within a few years and i n ­
deed i s still. I n 1 828 t h e boat t o o k t w o 'fh ames barges
t h rough in fifteen m i n u t es, t h e distance being about
900 yards, but at present abo u t t w i ce t h at time is oc­
cupied, w h atever the load. The boat now in use is
apparently very old, nearly as wide as the tunnel, and
has a semicular i rou cove r i n g ovel' the m achinery and
boi l er. It makes a slight clan k i llg noise as it cra w l s
Rlo lIg, a n d i s locally known a s Noah's Ark, It goes no
flll'th el' t.han the tunnel in eit her di rection,
In A n � u st , 1834, the enterprising- Forth and Clyde
Callal COlupany t ried chain traction, with a t w i n boat,
in the llJid-space of which a groo ved wheel received the
cilain and passed it out behind. Steeri n g was n o t
found to be u n favo rab l y affected, and a speed o f as
m u c h as 8� m i les an hour was said to have been at­
tained. The i n t e n t ion was to lav a chain the whol e
l eng t h o f the canal, uut w e cannot state whether t h is
was ever done, or the system kept u p even part ial l y for
a l l Y length of ti me. The c:>m pany, h o wever, was t h e n
e n g- aged in a fruitless effort to prove the s u peri­
ority of canals to rai lways, in w hich it nat u rally got
worsted, although it is ne"ertheless certai n that in some
cases the "anal has advantages over it,s ri val. It even
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
.JANUARY 27. 1900
tl"ied toWillg from the ball k w i t h a road locolllotive 01'
steam-cal'l"iage of !Sonle kind, following it up, ill 1839,
by laying a short line of rail way for the sam e purpose.
An engine called Victoria, built by W. Dodds, was u sed,
r
t h e ljn e having stone block s l eepe s. A passenger boat
was drawn at nearly 20 Illiles an hour, and eight cargo
vessels, holding 364 tons , at 2M' m i l es an h o u r, the e ll­
gi n e working at only a quarter of its power. 'l'wenty
horses could only pull them at 172' m i l es, and 1I.t m u c h
greater cost. The line was near l o c k N 0_ 16_ Why the
experiment was not carried further does not ap ear, p
but it will be reco llected t h at a s i m i lar one on t h e Shrop­
s h i re Union Canal a fe w years ag-o was also given up.
Eve n rowing by steam see illS to have been t ried, A
boat h a v i ng long levers, fitted at the bottom with
h i n ged blades w h i c h folded back d U l'ing t.he retul'l1
stroke, was tried on the Regen t's Canal, Jan uary 2tl,
1 835. The stroke of the rod whic h worked t h e level'S
was about 3 feet , t h e n u m ber of strokes being estim atl'd
at 60 per minute. 'fhis seems very u n l i kt'ly, b ut, any­
h o w, the boat co u l d o n l y do t h rl'e m i les an h o u r with­
out a load.
In the summer of 1838 thp i ngenious fo rm of pl'opel l e r
invented b y the famo us Johll EI·icsson, patented by
h i m-N o. 7149-two years before, was t r ied 011 the Pad­
dington Canal. The boat went do w n to Hull's Bridge
at five miles an hOUl', frolll there to Hren tford by the
s
Grand Juncti o n , and back by t h e 'f h a m e , running
the 13 mi les of ri v er in 100 m i n ute�. The ve�sel was an
ordinary canal barge, cal led t h e" Novel ty," belonging to
Rob i n s, M i l l s & Co., carriers. The ho i l er was of pecu­
l i aI' constru ction, des igned by Ericsson: it was 5 feet. 10
i n ches Iong-. The eng- ine had two cylinders, either 12X
14 or 12XI0, makiug se\-e l l t y revol utions per m in u t e
with 3 0 po u nds steam, A t l east one "oyage from Lon­
don to Mauchester was m ad e, the boat cal'l'ying 1 0 or
12 tons of goods, and doing eight m i les an hour under
favorable c i rc u mstan ces, Shl' was also tested on the
B ri dgwater Canal, bet ween i\Ianchester and A l t r i n c­
h a m , but could not, 01' was 1I0t a l l o wed to, exceed five
miles an h o u r. Ericsson's sys te lll COlli bined paddle and
scre w action, there being two submerged t rans verse
paddle- w heels, one in front of the o t h e r, iu the position
w h e l'e a screw i8 no w p l aced, T h ese revol ved i n dif­
ferent d i recti ons and at differe n t s pe ed s, the double
movement being .effected by two shafts turning one
within the oth e r. The outer wheel moved faster, and
h ad its blades i n c l i n ed i n ward t oward the vessel. If
thi s wheel revolved to the l eft, as seen from the deck,
the boat moved for ward, The crank shanks w e re
cou pled together, t h e long t o pmost one driving the
outer w h eel, the 'short lower sh aft h aving s p u r gear
working the larger outside axle, which revol ved ro u n d
t h e other and carri ed the inner wheel. Eight shovel­
like blades constituted each paddle-wheel, bound to­
gether at the peri phery for strengt h , a n d h eld by a
perpendicu lar stay outside the r udder. A m uch larger
iron tugboat on E r i csson's s�-stelll was b ui l t soon after
the above trial by Lai rd, of B i rkenhead, and called t h e
" R . F _ Stockton." Earh' i n 1839 s h e went t o her dl's t i n a­
tiOD, t h e Delaware and' Raritan Canal in New .Jersey.
after towing a vessel of 650 ton� al-{ainst the flood tide
in the Thames at over six miles an h o u r. In t h is veal'
Ericsson also b u i lt a scre w p ropt'l l e r vessel, to be ilSl'd
for passenger t raffic on the Ash by-de-Ia-Zo u c h Ca n a l in
Leh�esters h i l'e, S h e w as n amed t.he .. Enterprise," was
about 70 feet long, 7 feet beam , an(l 14 horse power.
Whel'e the water was s u fficie n t ly wide and dee p she
could do nine or ten m i les an hou r, but did I,Iot. pay.
_
S h e was t h e n put to to wmg coal bal'gEoR on the Trent
and Mersey Canal , very successfully, u ntil the rai l ways
abstracted all the traffic,
In July, 1834, an i ron tug with sCl'ew propellers was
tried on the U nion Callal in Sco t laud. The engines
were ,. on the upright pr i n c ip le , " and were b u i lt by
W. Napier, of Glasgo w. The screws were 011 each side
o f the bo w , and driven at a h ig-h speed by s p u r geal'­
i n g, one wheel having iron, the oth e r w ooden teeth,
Six large barges, dee p l y ladel l, were attaehed to each
other by rods h aving a parallel motioll, all being COII­
trolled by a steersman on the steame r, and m o v i n g
a l o n g' a t a stead y and uniform pace _
D u r i n g 1843 a MI', H_ Davies constructed a number
of to w i n g boats fi t ted with his" d i s k en g i ne " for callal
service bet ween Wolverhampton and Ellesmere Port,
about seventy m i les. Two trains of six or eight boats
each l e ft. the term i n i daily, cal'l'y ing on thl' average
about 1 00 tons of m erc hand i s e, at the expellse of le�s
t h a n % cwt_ of coal per m i le. O l l ly t hn'e men accom­
panied each convoy. It was estimated that an eq ual
service w i t h horses would require six horses to every
tl'a in, besides relays, and t wen ty- fo u r men to drh'e
t h e m and steer the boats_
A curious form of subm erged h orizontal propel ler or
paddle - whe el. illve nted b) Capt. 'V. H . Taylor, was
tried on the Regent's and Gra n d Junction Canals in
t h e sUlllmer of 1845. On each side of the tug boat" at
abo u t mid-lengt l!, was a recess contai n i n g the wheel.
the blades projecting slightly o u t8ide the vt'ssel. Above
and be l o w the w h eels were cOlll part menT�; by t h e top
o n e the water flowed down i l lto t h e w lll' el, and was
s u p posed to escape by the lower. The boat waR !laid
to do fOIll' miles a n h o u r w i thout the least sigll a s to
how it was m oved, but the water access and 1'g"I'eRS \\'1'1'1'
probab l y not free en oug-h ; a fau lt which ruilll'd IIHIIIY
early types of boat prope l l e rs.
Another cu rious idea was t h at of 1\11', Johll Kibble. of
Glasgo w, w h ich he patented (No, 9 , 9 1 8) in 1843, awl
t ried in Scotland a l ittle latel', Two l al'gt' SllJoo t h
tired wheels o n each side o f the boat, coupli>d b y o ut­
side rods like those of a locomot i ve, carried an ell dless
belt of iron links, fi t t ed with float board!l at freq uent,
i ntervals, The wheels co u l d be forced apart to t i g h tI'll
the ch ain, For some reason 01' other the p lan waH
found to . o expensive for practical u se. A M I'. Smith, of
Deallston, tried in the Fort h and Clyde Cal l al, about
1 848, a paddle-wheel projecti ng- t h rou g h thl' bottom of
the boat, and wal king', as it were, 0 1 1 t h e bed of the
canal. T h is bri l l i ant notion, it is u n necessary to sa�',
prove(1 an utter failure.
In 1 846 Capt. Beado n's ., wal' p i n g Hystem" was g-ivell
a tl'ial ill the Regent's Canal. A flat, bottomed boat.
carried an eng-ille driving- two rol lers or d rullls, one at
each end of the vessel, by means of a c hain passi n g­
o v e r a grooved wheel o n the o u tside of thl' (11'11111. 'fhe
rope came ill, or I'au out, at t h e op posite elld of the
drum, 011 a l t e r n ate sides of the boat, to keep her
straight, alltl was fixe(l at ont' end on ly. It was, there·
fore, wound ill UI'OI1 ti l e drulII till t h e r� was no WOfQ
 JANUARY 27, 19tH). SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 1256 20129

to wind, w h e n a fresh section of \'Ope was attached to wave caused the boat to �cl"ape the bottolll . The old han d , being w h at i� known as a slow-b u rni lJg puwuer,
the other d rum and the p rocess l'eCOIlJluencea. Mean· idea of an i ron t win-boat with one central paddle was and calling for grf'ater length of bore i l l order to enable
w h i le, o f cou rse. the first rope o r chain was detached also revived on the same eanal, and was fou nd to re­ the comb u stion o f t h e powder to be com pleted before the
where the second began, and paid o u t behind for the q u i re less pow er. Experiments had been l 1 I ade with shell leaves the m uzzle. It will be noticed tbat. though
next boat. . . t h e Arch imedes scre w principle " o n this line, how the guns given ill Table I. were built for the use of
Th ere is a view of this boat in The Mechanics' e ver, as earl y as 1840. Sma l l scre w engines were used brown pow der, the ballistic data are worked out for
Magazi n e of August 29, 1846. Some of the t rials took in Regen t'" Canal boats in 1855, and so far as we know charges of slllokeless powder, the intention bei n g that
p l ace i n Maida-hil l T u n nel, w h ich is 370 yards i n no n e w princi ple of mechan i cal traction has been used in the f u t u re only t h is kind of powder shall be used ill
lengt h , and passes u n der t h e Ed ge ware Road. A trai n o n B ri tish i n land n avigations since that period. The o u r navy.
of barges, carrying 123 tons of coal , was worked T h waite-Cawley system of electric haulage, ho wever, A comparison of velocities and energies achieyed re·
through at th ree m i les an h o u r, which was all that the is to be tried, we hear, on the Leeds a n d Liverpool s pecti vely by the old and n e w patterns of the gun�
great resistance of the si des of the t u n nel to the escape Canal, near Wigan . shows the i mproved bal listics I'es u l t i n g from the l arge
of t h e water would pennit. More than a year later. Scre w steamers, able to carry about 30 tons of cargo powder challl ber and great length of bore wh ich char-.
toward the ena of 1847, t h is boat was working on t h e and to tow t w o or th ree large boats, have long- been acterize the n e w type. 'rh us t,he 50· caliber, 4·inch gun
Bridgwater Canal, between R u n corn and Preston considerably used on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, h a" a m u zzle velocity of 3.000 foot-seconds as again st
Brook. One end of the rope was made fast at the des­ and between London and Birmingham, and n o d o u bt 2,200 foot-secon d s for the 40·caliber guns. The velocity
tin ation, and wound in u pon the barre l . Arri ving at, e lsewhere. The screw, whether driven by steal1l, elec­ of the lO-i n c h guns mounts from 2, 200 foot-seconds to
say, Runcoi'll, the other rope and drum would be used tricity, or petrol, is so far t.he m ost efficie n t and con­ 2,800 foot-seconds, and that of the 12-inch from 2, 300 to
for the return j o u rney, the f u l l reel be i n g put out of venient form of power for canal t raffic, but mech ani­ 2,800 foot-seconds, the i ncrease i n the muzzle-energy
gear, and allowea to u n wi n d a s the boat went along. cal traction, of course, o n l y pay� wh ere there is enough in each case bei n g in p roport ion. It is i n terest ing,
'fhe distance o f about five and one-half m iles cou l d be trade to keep the steamers in regular w ork. I f many moreover, to compare the 35-cal i ber 1 2-inch gun fi l'in g
(lo n e in two hours, working six loaded barges, equal in of our can als h ave fal len i n to comparative dis use, it is smokeless powder with t h e same g u n w h en fi ring n;e
al l to 250 tons b urden. The plan seems i n ferior to that not because better means of haulage than horse power old brown powder. In the former case t h e m uzzle e n ­
of winding on a chain or rope fixed at each end, as the were unknown or u n t l'ied, for it is evident that a re­ ergy was 25,990 foot-tons ; with smokeless powder t h i s
boat would be greatl y down by the head w hen one reel marka ble amount of i nventive talent has been appl ied same gun s h o w s a m u zzle-energy of 31,170 foot·tons,
was full and the other empty, besides the nee<l of two to the subject i n past times, e ven since the rail ways w h i l e the new 40-caliber 12- inch gun with its larger pow­
ropes instead of o n e. began to supersede the old i n land navigations.-The der challl ber shows a m uzzle·energy of 46,246 foot·tons,
A very extraordi n ary system of canal traction was Engin eer. which, by the way, is 13, 000 foot-ton s greater than that
tried o n the Gloucester and Berkeley S h i p Canal in of the 13·inch gun when f:ring brown powder, and 6,000
1850. A con t i n uous flexib l e rai l o r bar was fixed o ver THE N E W SMOKELESS POWDER GUNS OF foot-tons greater than the same gun when firing smoke­
the s u rface of the w ater, a n d passed between a pai r of less powder.
T H E UNITED S TATES NAVY.
ro llers driven by a steam engi n e on board a small boat. The new guns are to be fitted with an i mproved type
'fh e engine was po werful enough to tow a b rig of 350 b' one were asked to name the most i m portant of breech-mechanism, i n vented origi n al l y by We l i n, a
tons against the wind at a wa l k i n g pace, and also took among the elements which go to make up the modern S wedish engineer, a n d by h i m sold to the VickerH
ordinary canal boats at six m i l es an h o u r, the tide fighting s h i p, preference would haV"e to be given to the Company in Engl a n d, from w hom the U n i tI'd States
seeming to make l ittle differen ce, on only 25 pounds of armam ent ; for it is certai n that, whatever else a fight­ h as p urchased the pate n t rights for this cou n try fOl'
coal per hou r. ing ship may or m ay not have, she must carry gu ns, the sum o f $200,000. In the new b reech-hlock, b v c u t­
About t h i s t i l lle stealll p o w e r was appl ied on the and plenty of th em, if she is to be true to h er n ame. ti n g t h e threads with varying radii, it has been -possi­
Kennet and A\'on Canal by Capt. G. F. Morrice, R.N . . T h e supremacy of the gun in modern warfare was sug­ ble to red uce the len gth of the block by 30 or 40 lJer
t h e traffic manager. H e had a n i ron vessel bui lt, 47 gested, if not proved, by the excellent results obtai ned cent. and thus save a great weight and b u l k of metal
ieet long, 9 feet beam , and 5 feet depth of hold, fitted with our extemporized wars h i ps i n the way of con verted i n the body of the gun itself, besides sec u ring a lighter
with Jones' paten t " Camb rian" engine and Griffiths'
screw propel ler. The l atter had a large spherical cen­
TABLE I.-ELEMENTS OF NAVAL GUNS, GIVING PERFORATION OF FACE-HARDENED ARMOR AT RANGES UP
ter, froUl wh ich sprang blades grad ually taperi n g to
their outer extre m i ties. T h e boat answered well, and '1'Q 3.000 Y ARDS, WITH SMOKELESS POWDER AND UNCAPPED ARMOR-PIERCING PRO.JECTILES, AT NORMAL
IMPACT.
w as also tried on vari ous pal·ts of the ri ver T hames,
both in the tide way and above i t. The Kennet and
Avon barges were lllostly 70 feet long, 13% feet wid e, Perforation Perforation Remaining Remaining
Perforation Perforation
and carried 50 to 60 tons on a d raught of 44 inches to at 3,000 at 3,000
Weight of Muzzle Muzzle at muzzlt", atmuzzle, velocity velocity
Calibers of Length. Weight. yard. of yards of
48 inches. gun._ projectile. velocity. energy. Harveyed Krupp at 1,000 at 3,000
Uarveyed Krupp
nickel-.teel. armor. yard•. yard•.
There seems to have been no end to the ingen uity of nickel-.teel. armor.
t h e i n ventors of various methods of steam canal trac­ - ---- - --_. ---- --- --- ---- --- - --�
tion, and it was a pity, on all acco u n ts, that eeonomic
causes wel'e stronger than they. I n November, 1 852, a Calibers. Tons. Pound •. Foot-.ecs. Foot·ton•. Inche•. IncheR. Foot-sec•. Fo(}t-secs. Inche•. Inches.
c u rious com b i n ation of rai l way a.nd canal was tried o n 4 - i nch . . 40 1-5 33 2_200 1 , 107 i'05 3'24 1,817 1,245 1 '88 1'50
t h e Grand Junct i on n a v i gat i o n at Gro ve, n e a r Lei gh­ 5-inch . _ 40 3'1 50 2,f>50 2,434 5'90 4'72 2,175 1 , 466 2'68 2'14
ton Buzzard , and was pate n ted (No. 1 3,851) by Mr. 6-inch . . 40 6'0 100 2, 550 4, 507 7'88 (i-BO 2, 212 1, 665 4-46 3'65
John Lake. A double ro w of wooden posts was erected 8 -inch . . 35 13'1 250 2, 300 9 , 168 10'44 8-35 2,079 1 . 698 6 ' 97 5'58
in the bed of the canal, about 15 feet apart, an d n ear 10 -inch . _ ao 25'7 500 2.200 16, 775 13'46 10-77 2;033 1 ,736 9'81 7'85
one side, to leave the other free fOl'traffic. Upon these 1 2-i nch . . a5 '45:2 850 2.300 31.170 18'U2 14-42 2,151 1 ,882 1 3'79 1 1 '03
posts were beams, havi n g light i ro n !"ails screwed down 13 -ill ch . . 35 60:5 1, 100 2.300 40,338 20'28 16-22 2,164 1 , 917 1 5 91 12'73
u pon them. The con necting rods of the engine worked
cran ks u po n an axl e carry i n g a pair of small wheels or NOTE.-With capp�'<l projectiles all increased thickness of from 15 to 20 pcr cent. may be perforate'i.
rol l ers resti n g u pon the rails. I t should be stated that
the s u rface of the rails was only about 1 8 i n ches above
that of the water. I n ord e r to get sufficient bite, the merchant steamers, yachts, and tugs, which rendered breech-block, and one more easil y and speed i l y manip­
drivi n g �haft was pressed down ward by a pair of levers such a good acco u n t of the msel ves in the Spanish w'tr. ulated_ The mountin g of the guns of the 6- i n ch cali­
attaehed to the boat, but their other ends could be Moreover, i f our guns arfl to be f u l l y effective against ber w i l l be sim i lar to that of the Vickers gun, w i th
l'a i�ed by a screw to take the weigh t off if n ecessary. an enemy w hose abi l ity to maneuver his s h i ps and certai n i m provements i ncorporated by the B u reau_
A double lock o f 7�� feet rise in the experi mental handle his guns i s s u pposed l y equal t o o u r own , there I n closing we would d raw attention to an instructive
length of h alf a mile was fitted with a n incli ned plane, must be no defieiency on our side as far as the weapon s comparison in the tab l es between the perforation
o n w h i ch were rol lers at regu lar i ntervals, in one-half themsel ves a r e concerned ; th ey m u s t be a b l e to shoot through H arveyi zed armor and th rough the n e w
of it. The other portion of t h e lock was kept iu its as fast, as far, and as true. K r u p p armor, from wh ich we l earn, for i nstance, t h a t
original state for the o rd i n ary conduct of the traffic. The B u reau of O rdnance of the U n ited States Navy w h i l e t h e n e w 12·inch g u n can perforate 23'42 inches o f
The rai ls grad ual l y rose up t h e i n c l i n e to the top, and is to be con gratu l ated o n the fact t h at it h as al ways Harvey armor a t the muzzle, it is o n l y capable of per­
then went down the other side ti l l thel'e was water maintained the ord nance w hich is carded by o u r s h i ps foratingat the muzzle 18 75 in ches of the Krupp armor,
enough to float the boats. At the bottom of the lock at the same h i g h level, if not somewhat i n advance, of t h e s u periority of the Krupp armor being proportion­
the gates, of cou rse, were removed ; at the top the the efficiency of the sh ips themselves. In t h e days of ate l y marked i n the case of all other guns, whether it
floor of t h e i n cl i n e rose a. little above t h e water level brown, smoke- prod ucing powder, the guns of the be at the muzzle or at the 1,000, 2,000 or 3,000 yard
of the u pper pou n d, to prevent the w ater from flo wing U nited States Navy were f u l l y equal t o those i n use ran ge. W e com mend t h i s com parison to those Con­
dow n . At the point w h ere the fi rst boat, o w i n g to the abroad ; and the weapons which have been designed gressmen who are seeking to prevent the country from
rise of the bOttOlIJ, would gro u n d on the rollers, rack­ and are now bei n g man ufactured at Washington to the purchase of Krupp armor at the reasonable price
rai ls began on the timbers and conti n u ed beyon:l the meet the req uirements of the new smo keless powdel', of $500 per ton demanded by our manufaeturers.
summit for abou t the length of an average train of w i l l be superiOl' to those w hich are mo unted in foreign
barges. A t u g fitted with a 10 horse power engine. took n avies ; thus placing us for the first time in the lead i n
TRADE RISKS 'ro EYESIGHT.
fou r small boats, equal to about fifty tons dead weight, the matter o f ord nance.
up t h is·i n c l i n e very satisfactori l y i n to the u pper pound. By the courtesy of Rear-Admiral O'Neil, we are en­ FEW of us, perhaps, recognize the dan gers to sight.
The vessels were old canal boats with their s harp ends abled to present the two acco m panying- tables show­ that are in volved i n some occu pations. Mr. S i m eon
cut off, so they fittea closely to each other . . An experi­ i n g the ballistic q ual ities, both of o u r o l d guns b u i l t in S n ell, i n h i s presi d ental add ress to the ophtha l­
ment w as t hen tried of working the boats back again the days of brown po wder, and of the n e w g u n s of ex­ mological sect ion at Portsmouth, said that in mam'
down to the. l o wer, po u n d . T h i s w as accomplished ceptionally long caliber w h ich have been constructed trades associated with i ron an d steel sllIa l l foreig-ll
simply by the engine bein g kept reversed while the s pecial ly to meet the req u i rements of smokeless pow­ bodies were very apt to be lodged in the workmen's
boats, which m ust have been in fro n t of it, began to der. The guns given i n 'rable L represent the pattel"lls corn ele. Even i n the course of a single d ay a grinder
run d o w n b y gravity. There were some very sharp built between 1 883 and 1888. before the era of smoke­ might get several such bodies fixed in h is cornea. If
c u rves o n the trial length, but by making the rail s a less powder, w hen the brown powder was the only kind the cornea of a gri nder were careful l y exam i n ed with a
little wide to gage, not the least trouble was ex­ used in our navy, It- w i l l oe Meen that the length of m agnifyi n g glast;, it would not i n freq uently be fou n d
perienced from t h e fact. MI-. Lake estimated that a the guns ranged from 30 cali bers in the lO-i nch to 40 to b e studded over with mi n u t e nebulle caused by the
llJile of line, probably single track, could be laid for calibers in the 4, 5 and 6·inch guns. Comparing these repeated slight i n j u ries which h ad been thus recei ved ;
£1,200 to £1,500, according to the kind of t i m bel' used, with guns of the same cal iber in Table II., it will be seen and, if further testi mony of the risks to which the
and an incline of average length for abo u t £l,OJO_ that the smaller guns have been raised from 40 to 50 grinder's eyes are exposed were requ i red, it might be
Considering the saving of w ater, 10ck-keepEr's wages, eal i bers i n length, and the larger ones from 30 and 35 fo und by exami n i n g the spectacles of such grinders as
and boat attendants, the systelll w o u l d appear sound up to 40 and 45 cal ibers. The lengthening" of the guns use them. The s urface would be fo u n d to be stu dded
o n the face of it. WHh a 30 horse power engi n e i t was i s d ue to the d ifference in the two powderlS, the brown all o ver with marks caused by the i m pact of particles
f'st i m ated that 7d . or Sd. per m i l e wou l d cover the cost being qu icker burning (the charge taking l ess time to of steel or emery. Many workmen were, he said, very
of work i n g a gross load of 300 tons. T h e specification be con verted into gas an d t herefore req u i ring less ski l l f u l in removing "motes," as these particles are
plans s h o w both single and double l i nes of rails, the l e n gth of bore to develop its full accel erating e nergy called when they stick i n the corllea, and t h e nu m ber
cf'n t ral ro ws of posts being connected transvel'sel y for upon the shell), the smokeless powder, on the other which they removed in the cou rse of a single day was
strength, and the two outer ones with the sides of the
canal. TABLE n.-TYPES OF NAVAL GUNS (lI'IODELS OF 1 899), GIVING PERFORATION OF FACE·HAltDENED ARMOR
Even o u r old friend, the atmosp heric system, was AT RANGES UP TO 3, 000 YARDS WITH SMOKELESS POWDER A�D UNCAPPED ARMOR-PIERCING PROJEC'l'ILES,
pressed into t h e service of canal t raction, or at least i t AT NORMAL IMPACT.
w a s hoped i t would b e , for i n 1845, w h e n the rai l way
m ania was at i ts height, t h ere appeared the prospectus
of Pilbro w's Atmosphedc Rail way and Canal Pro p u l­ Perforation Perfora tion
Perforlltion Perforation
Rcmainin!:! Remaining at 3,000 at 3.000
sion Compan y. The t u be was to be b u ried, w h ereby Calibers of
Length. Weight_
Weight of Muzzle Muzzle at muzzle, atmuzzle.
\ eloClty at velocity at yard. of yards of
gun•. projectile. velocity. energy. Harveyed Krup p
leakage wou l d be entire l y avoided, and the applica­ nickel-steel.
I,UIXJ yards. 3,000 yards. ilarveyed Krunp
armor
tion of the principle to canals would be "attended nickel-.teel. armor.
w i t h incalculable advan tages. " We are not aware that ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- --
it was e \'er tried for canal work. T w in-scre w boats
were apparently tested about 1849 o n the Grand Canal Cali bel"8 . Ton�. Pounds. Foot-sec8_ Foot-tons. Inches. Inche s_ Foot-secs. Foot...ec8_ Inches. Inches.
in Irelan d, b u i l t by Mr. Joh n I n sh aw, of Birmingham, 3·inch . . 50 0'87 14 B_OOO 874 4'1 9 3 ' 35 2,328 1 , 401 1'52 1 22
who abput that time n u m bered among his appren tices 4-illch. _ 50 2'56 B2 3_000 1,999 6 ' 12 4 9o 2,477 1 , 6 90 2'85 2'2tl
Wil liam lStroudley, well known afterward as the loco- 5 lIlch _ . 50 4'4fi no 2,\)00 3,503 7'51 6 01 2,460 1, 771 B'89 3 11
1 lI0tive su perintendent of the Brighton Rail way. Sere w 6-i n c h . . ,')0 8'00 100 2.900 5,838 9'35 7 71 2, 516 1 , 89B 5'30 4'24
boats were abo used on the Lancaster Canal. bet ween 8·incll 45 18'00 250 2.80 0 13, 602 1 3 ' 57 10 ' 66 2,531 2, 068 9'06 6'61
Preston and Kendal, abo u t 1855. A 20 horse power en­ lO·inch . . 40 B3 40 500 2 8 00 27.204 18 57 14'86 2, 587 2 _ 209 13'53 10'82,
gine, with two 8- i nch cylinders, con veyed 200 tons of 12- inch . . 40 52'00 850 2,800 46, 246 23'42 18'74 2,619 2,291 17'92 14"34
eoal ill five boats, but t h e water was so low t h at if _.

luore than t w o miles an houl' was attempted, the bow NOTII.-With capped projeclile. an increased thickne•• of from 15 to 20 per cent. may be perforated.

© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.

 201 30
sometimes very large. O n e man, a timekeeper at
works where 1 , 000 lll en besides out workers were e m ­
ployed, stated t h a t someti mes h e h ad extracted a score
or more a d a y, sometimes less, but that for many years
he had not passed a day w i thout h a ving h ad at least
one case, H e, howe ver, was not the o n l y man at
these works who had a reputation for remo ving
" motes," an d , proba bly, t h e total n u m ber of s u c h ac­
c i d ents was very largp. i ndeed. -Hos p i t a l .
LContinued from SUPPLEMENT, No. 1255, page
l' H E H OME MADE W I N D M i LLS OF N E BRA SKA.
'
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN S UPPLEMENT, No. 1 2 5 6.
n ecessary ; b ut i n cases where big work is to done,
then big machine ry m ust of necessity be employed .
THE TOWERLESS 'rURBINE.
T h e sim plest T urbine found thus far is one south of
the Platte some t wenty m i les from Got hen b urg, in
Dawson County. This p aradox of a m i l l consisted sim­
p l y of the w h eel, without tower, axle, crank, cog, 01'
s p roc ket wheel . or other work i n g parts, yet it worked
and cost nothing, and defies competition along the line
of simplicity. T h e farmer simply bolted a n old wagon
20115.,
J ANUARY 2 7, 1 9-00.
STATIONARY TURBINES.
As the next simp les t mill of t h i s type we may select
out of a long list that of Fred. Mathiesen, near Grand
Island. It is full of suggestions, though ro n gh and
c heap. Some locust poles cut froUl the place w ere well
anchored and ro ughly braced. U pon this tower was
bolted t h e dri ving parts of an ol d self· binder, with
journ a ls, b earings, and crank i n p l ace. To the crank
of the sickle d r i vel' was attached a slender po l e w hich
was bolted to the pump rod, and to the other end of

By E RWIN H INCKLEY BARBOUR. *

THE HOLLAND MILL.

THE Dutch or Holland m i l l is an old - fas h ioned forIll

betttlr known perh aps than any other mill, and needs
no des c ri p tio n . However, our farmers have m o d i fied
them in su ch a variety of ways that their l i keness to
the mother mill is obscu red.
Someti mes they are m o unted upon tall, slender
towers, or u pon milk houses, sheds or barns. For the
fou r fans, covered with d uck, are often s u bstituted six
fans of thin l u m ber. Thp. smallest of them are ten to
twelve feet in diameter, the largebt t h i rty· s i x feet.
A s m al l Holland m il l b uilt by Wheeil.'I' & Ben nett
near Grand blan d p r oved very i nteresting b ecause of
the use to w h ich i t w as put. People l i v i n g i n the
smaller cities and towns find i t con ven ient to own t h e i r
cows. A ccordi n g l y t h e t o w n herd a n d h erder, gener­
ally a boy on horseback, is a fixed institution. In t h e
morning the c o w s a r e asse m b l ed a n d d riven to pas t u re,
and watered and cared for d uring the day, and re­
turned at night.
By putting u p this simple m i l l t h e o w n ers of a neigh­
boring p as t ure were able to acco m modate a large town
h erd to advan tage. S i m ilar m i l l s are to b e found near
Beatrice, O maha, and elsewh ere, but the best example
i s to be found o n t h e farm of August Prinz n ear
Chalco. It is a fi ne, statel y structure, a n d a !" ort of
landmark. I t s cost, o n e h u ndred a n d fi fty dol lars, i s
large, b u t n o t out o f propor tioll to the w o r k performed,
for i t runs an eight horse power feed grinder, and t urns
out a grist of two h u ndred and even t.h ree h u n d red
bUlShels of ground feed p er day, in the ortl i nary w i nd s of
winter, when it i s in use grinding feed for stock. We
h ad no m ean8 at h and for m easuring i ts t r u e efficiency,
and assume that its working efficiency is at l east eight
horse power, as measured by t h e g rinder w h ich it runs.
Furth ermore, i t grinds away w i thout superintendence,
for it elevates the grain , a n d d isch arges the grist i n t o
the proper bins a utomat ically . In a good wind fo ur
FI G . 2 1 . -'l'be latge Dutch m i ll buil t by Mr . August Prinz, Chalco, Nebraska. . Diameter
of wheel. 36 feet; capacity. 200 T,O �t � 1 hllBhel� o f ground feed a d i Y, a ccording to the
wi n d ; efficiency between SIX and eight hors(� paWl'f. RUDS an eight hors power feen
grinder. Cost, $150. 'l'he deoigner prepared h is own models, and hae! them cast ir
Omaha.
a x l e to a beam on the south s i d e of t h e barn , p u t SO lll fl the shaft was attached six rough board fans, and t he
a x le grease upon t h e s p i n d l e , p u t on t h e w heel as o f m i l l was done, and cost b u t Il dollar or two at most,
o l d , to w h i c h h e h a d p reviously nailed slats or b l ades . and p u m ped water for the st o c k in a large pas t ure
scre wed on t h e n u t, attached the p u m p rod , and hall The brake was t h e embodiment of s i m pl i city. To
t h e sati sfact ion of see i ng it go, and a t last acco unts i t stop the m i l l a rai l was pushed forward bet ween the
was s t i l l r u n ning. T h e cran k was s i m p l y a heavy fans, and not h i n g more need be said about this simple
s p i k e dri ven i nto one edge of the wooden h u b . b rake. To start the m i l l the obstruction was reo
I t w a s begun and d o u e in a fe w hours, cost noth ing . moved . 'rh ese are m i lls of grea t n u m ber and v ariety,
and p u m p s water. W here is its equal for simplicity ? a nd o n ly occasion ally one ad m i ts of mention, the
Of course i t is a low grade mill, and runs only when ground plan of all b eing essential l y the s a lli e.
the wind is from the sout h-i ts prev a i l i ng d i l'ection- They are made i ll a set or fixed position upon the
tower, and are consequ e ntl y inefficient in winds from
the east or w est, but work well in those from the north
an d south .
A short distance b eyond we fonnd the set T urbine of
Friederich Ernst meyer, a sim ple fou r-fan mock T ur­
bine, w h i ch i nterested u s because the mill w as well
b uilt a nd neat l y mounted u pon a cottonwood tower,
the whole stru ctu re being attractive, if not even art­
istic, and yet the cost was but thi rty - two cents ( t h e
price of a sixteen· foot board out of which the fans
were b u i l t). T h is, l i ke the foregoing, used the frames
and work ing parts of an old reaper, so it ran u pon
fa.i r l y friction less bearings, and rf'sponded to l ig ht
wmds, and p u m pf'd the water needed for his stock.
The brake was rather si m p l e and inllenious. - It con­
sisted of a cultivator w h eel wedged securely to t h e
axis ; agai nst t h i s rubbed a b e a m guided b y a
l e v e r at the ground. It was a small matter to
e i t. h e r ch eck t h e s peed of the mill or to stop it .
o u t right .

FIG. 22.-The stationary six-fan T urbine mill desi gn e e! an d b u ilt by Fre derick Mathiesen. near
Grand [sland, giving front and side views. Made of parts fr om an old mower ; 12-foot
tower; 9-foot wheel. Waters fifty head of cattle. Cost bet w een $4 ane! $5. FIG. 24. - Front view of the six .fan set Turbine wiudmill of Fred . Mnthi·
esen, near Graua Isla n d, Nebraska. Diameter, 8 feet.

FIG. 23.- '1'ho fonr.fan Turbine windmill of Mr. Friederich Ernstmeyer. near Grand Island, FIG. 25.-Stationary Turbine windmill of the .Jan ak. BrotheJ"!l, Sarpy FIG. 26 . - A plan for the constrnction of simple
Nebraska. Built on the framework of an old mower. the frame of which was bolted dlfectl,Y Mi!ls. Nebraska. The wheel. 10 feet in diam eter. made of weather­ vaneles8 rrurbines, as pronosf'd by the writer.
to the cottonwood tower. A brake (worked by the wire to the left) rubbed against the CUltI­ boarding. stands facing the south, and accordingly is efficient in Tower of poles. A, platform ; B. stationary
vator wheel seen just back of the fans, �o as to check or stop the m ill . Diameter of wheel, north and south winds only. This mill pumps water for thirty axis of 3· mch gMS pipe around which turns
8 feet. Cost 32 cents (for a 16-foot board for the fans). Pumps the water for the stock of head of cattle. ha. been in service tb ree years, and �ost $3 to $4, the platform . C, wb ich supports the mil).
the place. including tbe tower. The arrows show the direction of the wind.

sails give too m uch s t r en g- t h , so t wo are generall y
furl e d . T h e m i l l i s s o wel l b u ilt that its- term of
u sefu ln ess m ust contin u e for ten to fifteen years to
colne.
Man y cannot afford so expensive a m i l l . nor is it
* Condensed from the Bulletin No. 59 of the Un i ted S tates Agricultural
Experiment Station o f Nebraska, Li nwl n, Neb . , to w hich we are indehted
for kindly
lending the engravin gs .
and yet one m ust not dem an d too m uch of that which
cost nei ther ti m e n or m on e y.
From this poi nt. one goes up t h e scale rapidly, Ilnd
the mock T u r b ines b egin to h ave towers ; then they
are m ade to revol ve u pon their towers, so as to face
any w i n d ; then thf'Y begi n to h ave rudd ers to guide
themselves automatically, and so on to the last degree
of refinement.
'r hese may be taken as fit representati ves of the fou r­
fan, six-fan, and eight· fan Turbines, and we com e t o
th ose h aving many fans. They are st i l l s ta tion ar y 01'
fixed Turbines ; t ha t is, set for north and south winds
only ; asi d e from this they resemble the ordinary m i l ls.
A goorl exam ple i s fo und i n the m i l l b u i lt bv t h e
Jan ak Brothers a t Sar p y Mi lls, nellr Omaha.
T he older brother, who had arri ved frolll B onelD il\

© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.

 JANUARY 2 7 , 1 900. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 1 2 56. 201 3 1

lctuout t h l'ee years before, found a neighbor in need of
a mill for pumping- stock water for about thirty head
of cattle. Accord ingly, at a cost of three or fo u r
d o l lars, he p u t u p the ten- foot s e t T u rbine shown i n
Fig. 25, a n d it has been i n operation ever since. Its
worki n g pal·ts are very simple and are perfectl y obvi­
ous from the sketch. The w h eel was painted red and
w h i te. which gave i t a finished look.
v A N ELESS TURBINES.
in making the homemade w i n d m i l ls. a good many
l( )�e sigh t of the fact that their mills may b e built in
buch a way that t h ey w i l l n atural l y swing aro und and
stand i n the wind with the i nterven tion of a rudder,
and this brings us to the van eless T u r bi ues.
A l most any s teel m i l l . i ll case of the loss of its rud­
der, will yet s wing around with its back to the wind
ordi nary steel m i l l the fan i s struck b y the full force of
a Rudden gust before its mechan ism begi n s to turn it
out of t h e wind and so to adj ust it. I n the m eantime
it sustains the shock of the f u l l wind. This led Mr.
Baldwin to devise a. method w hereby the regulating
lever should be struck by the blast first, and so thro w
the fans as to escape t h e f u l l fury of the wind. H e
has attained this end i n . a very clever way b y means of
a regulator or rudder-like lever in front of the fans.
The slightest motion of the lever i s instantly conveyed
to the fans, w h ich are t urned edge wise more or less.
accord ing to the velocity of the wind, t h u s adj usting
i t with nicety, A little further examination will s h o w
a weight suspended to this lever. w h ich tends to keep
the blades al ways in action. When the weight is re­
moved. the fan s are exactly edge t o the wind , so the
mill is completely out of gear. Detailed drawings and
m arkable giant T urbine of J. W. Warner, four and
one-hal f miles southeast. of O verton.
This giant Turbine, with i t s t wenty-foot wheel, is
the largest kno wn as yet, and while its true efficiency
cou l d not at the time be measured, yet it runs a four
horse power feed grinder, which is a pract ical measure
of its strength. H o wever, it runs the grin der with
less speed than the four h orses. I t i s pro bably a two
or three h orse power m i l l . I t also runs the grindstone
and other machi nery by means of o verhead sh afting
w i t h pul leys and belts. It is also con ne cted to a walk­
ing beam and dri ves t wo large p u m ps with a thirteen­
inch stroke, one pump havi ng a fou r-inch and the
other a five-i n c h cylin der. The owner says they should
h ave been six-inch cyl i n ders.
As i t stands, i t has i rrigated eight to ten acres of
alfalfa and six or eight acres of corn by p u mping di-

FIG. 27.-Giant Turbine windmill designed and built hy Mr . •J. W. Warner, n c a r Over­
ton. Nebraska. Diameter, 20 feet; runs a four horse power feed grinder and other
mach inery, and drives two pumps, one with a 5-inch, the other w i th a 4-inch cylin­
der ; 14-inch stroke ; 8-1 00t lift. Irrigates ten acres of alfalfa and six to eight acres
of corn. Cost, $60.

FIG. :l9.-Collstructioll of thc four-fan T u rbine mill of Henry Boerson, near Grand
Island. Tne head of an old wooden pump serves as the axis on which the mill
revolves The driving parts consist of the fiy-wheel and sprocket-wheels of an old
corn sheller. The fans were wired to the spokes of the fiy-wheel. Geared in the
ratio of three revolutions of the fans to two strokes of the pump. A crossbar nailed
to the pump head carries two pulleys (made of spools) ; a Weighted piece of rope,
passing through one pulley and attached to an arm on the rudder. tell d s \0 hold the
rudder in position. A pull on the opposite rope, which passes down tne center of
the wooden pump head, throws the rudder to one side and the mill out of gear.
Eight-foot wheel ; pumps water for sixty head of cattle. Cost. $2.

FIG. 28.-Showing the construction ·of the homemade Turbine mill built hy Mr. W. F. FIG. 30.-A reconstructed windmill seen near Kearney, toIebra.ka. Thin lumbe,' was
McComb. Grand Island, Nebraska. This is often miEtaken for a regular shopmade nailed at the pro per angle uvon the somewhat lengthened and strengthened arms of
m ill. Diameter, 10 feet. Cost about $20. an abandoned wmdmill.

in�tead of i ts face, and yet cont i n ue to run about as
well as before, though back ward. 'l'his fact is taken
ad vantage of, and thus one m echanical part is easily
d ispensed with, and greater s i m pliCity secured. which
is the h i g h est attai n m ent i n the art o f i n venting.
The vaneless mill of W. F. Bald win, of Ainsworth.
Brown C o u n ty. when vhlited i n the fal l, made a fine
showing, as good as could be expected of any first
m odel. Eight s i m i lar models b uilt for neighbors were
giving entire satisfaction and w ere better b u i lt, I f
t h i s same m i l l w e r e b u i l t a t the shop, a n d w i th t h e
!'alue care w h ich i s bestowed o n the steel mill. it w O l1 l d
scarcely find a su perior. I t s arrangement f o r adj ust­
ing i tself i n stantly to every varying wind w heth er a .•
gust or zephyr, seemed very sensitive and hard l y to be
illl proved u pon.
The i d ea which led to the invention is this ; I n the
the working parts will be shown at another time, and
photographs of the mill and s u rroundi ngs will be
furnished as soon as .. pace and means w i l l allow.
I t has been used p u m pi ng water for t h e hou se and
stock for three years past, and is good for several years
of service yet, and the whole mill cost but five dol lars,
which show s what a smal l watel' tax the man w i t h the
windmill has to pay, as compared with many a m an in
the city.
GIANT TURBINES.
In regions subject to h i gh w i n ds there is a risk of
m i lls o n high towers being overthrown. especially
when the diameter of the wheel i s i ncreased above ten
or t welve feet ; so i n order to get b read th of hase and
corresponding stabi lity, w e fi nd a m i l l which i s built
jnside of its tower jnstead of upon it. This is t h e re-
rect l y i nto t h e fu rrows. Mr. Warner b el ieves that
when a p roper storage reser voi r shall hal'e been b u i lt,
he can i rri gate t wenty acres sufficiently for that re­
gion, w here good yields are assured wi.thou t irri­
gation .
T h e ex penses of this m i l l -an especially well-built
and pai n ted on e-amount to nearl y one h u n d red dol­
lars. But n o w that the owner's original i d eas are p u t
into material form, h e could b u i l d the s a m e m i l l i n Ip�!<
time and at hal f the cost.
It i s a splendid -looking structure and h as no eq ual in
its class, although t wo other s i m i lar m i lls, built u pon a
somewhat similar but smaller plan , are known farther
west, near Lexi ngton. (See Fig. 27. )
MOCK TURBINES.
Our moc k T u r b i nes so closely resemble the shop-

© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.

 20 1 B2 SCI ENTIFIC
made ltIi ll� that they pass for t h eltl, and t h i s i s why
thev ' are so seldom noticed.
A s a n exalllple, we w i ll select t h e mill of W. F.
McCo m b, o f Grand Isl and. T h e fans are of metal,
t h e r udder of l ight w ood , easi l y t h ro w n in and o u t o f
gear. I t li fts w a t e r for t y - fo u r f e e t a n d i rrigates
garden and l a w n , and costs a possible twenty dollars,
and h as been in s e r v i c e s i nce the s pring o f 1 897.
Some of o u r m ock T u rb i n es are m ade w i t h less care
and so m e w i t h gre ater, b u t all are q u ite l i ke the shop­
mad e a r t i c l e .
I f a n y o n e c o n t e m plate s build i n g so elaborate a m i l l ,
o lle w h i c h IIlU�t con s u m e time a n d money, and wh ich
comes dangero u s l y close to the price of a regu lar one,
he i s ad vised to consider the practica bil ity o f patroniz-
j<'W. al .
F I G . :) ! . -To " b o w how witH.lmill eller�y llIay b e tra1l81l1itted from Olle poi llt t o allother
m
by means of ho m c . ud e (Jl13drants and oscillating w i res . �'IG. 32. � A still I';impier
form, made of boards lIaIled together crotl� graineu.
m o
B . a ttach e n t t o t wer o r stationary s u p po rt ; lV, t5trong fencing wi re .
i n g h i s nearest w i nd m i l l age n t , or else to b u y and re­
pair some dam aged m i l l .
THE R E C O N S'l' R V c 'r r o N OF W I N D l\I l LLH.
T h ese m i lls rank in i lll portance next to the regu lar
lII i l l , and offer possibilities w h i ch Ill an y may avail
them sel ves of to good a d v antage. T he re is scarcely a
com m lm i ty witho u t several d a m aged a n d fallen m i l l s,
somet i m es Hew o r b u t l i ttle worll . Sometimes good
Illi l l s and t o w e rs are overturned b y a heavy wind
s t Ol' lll - w e h a v e fo u n d as m an y as fifty in the path o f
a s i ngle storlll-a n d t h e r e t h e y l i e to be gro wn o vel'
w i t h weeds. At. the b u s y season, w h e n such storms al'e
I lI O S t freq u e n t , man cannot afford to abandon t h e
larger a n d I1lOre important work of tending the gro w-
- - ;. -
' --
- � --=----
:��---�� .:.... -,....
F I G . 3:J.-A 1 2 ·foo t Aeromotor wind mill a ttacb e d to a 12-foot water wheel of t b e tympa.
num variety, d e s igned and built by Mr. Th omas, North Platte, Nebraska.
ing crops to p u t up a m i l l. For t h e man of mod erate
means it i s often better policy to send fOl' the win d m i l l
agent and urdel' a n e w m i l l p u t u p . B u t f o r the lII a n
of less means, t h e fallen m i l l opens opportuni ties. He
can n o w b u y t h e fal len mill of h i s neigh bor at h i s o w n
price, T h e essential parts ;w i l l be damaged b u t Hlight­
Iy and the o t h e l' parts lIlay be easily restored.
JUdiciously I llanaged, the cost o f such reconstruc­
t i o n w i l l not, exceed t h at of a Jumbo o r Battle-ax, and
w i t h better results.
T h e n aga i n th ere i s the mill which stands in dis use
because of some accident to the fans, r u dder, or o t her
ess.mtial and easily restored parts. Such mills Illay
be p u rchased at s mall cost, and after a litt. l � repair
Illay be reinstated u pon t h e i r towers, not quite as good
as n e w, but al most as serviceable.
A.NIE RlCAN S UP P L E :VIE NT,
Anothel' mil l, rather au elaborate affai t-, stood u p ­
o n its s u b stantial to wer, w h ich formerly h ad s u p­
ported a fi n e shop made mill. After this m i l l had be­
come a ske l e ton , with little left but bare arms, i t was
restored to life and usefulness by n a i ling on a few
paddle-shaped boards for fans. The original m i l l was
used for watering ' a large garden and lawn and for
starting trees abo u t the place. T h e rej u v e nated m ill
w as doing al most as m uch and cost nothing.
At Kearney, w e fo und a reconstructed mill and a
storage reservoi r filled w i t h · w ater as i n its better days.
The arms had been lengthened a trifle, and at the ex­
trem i ties o f each three thin boards from the sides of
boxe� had been nai led, I t was a crude affair, b u t that
m atters l i t t l e w h en w e know that i t did its work well.
A. attac h m e ut to pump ro d ;
The matter of reconstructinl� and reclaim ing aban­
doned, damage d , and fal len m i l ls offers many possibi l i ­
ties, and the writer would cal l the especial attention of
farlIlers and others to the advan tages w h i c h may be
secured i n this way.
T R A N S lII I S S I O N O J<' W I N D M I L L E N ERGY.
Sometillles our far mers find the well so si tuated that
the w ind m i l l and tower cannot be set u p without i n ­
terfering w i t h t h e porch, k i tchen, a u d Ill ilkhouse ; i n
which event, a walking bealll o r rockel' shaft often con­
nects the m i l l and p U lll p. I f too d istant, recou rse i s
h ad to t h e a n g l e block a n d connect ing w i res. I n t h is
way the mill a t the ho u s e can be geared to run t h e
p u m p at t h e b a r n , 01' e ven i n a n e i g h boring field.
T h e better way i s to purchase such th ings of the
m an w h ose b u s in ess it i s to make them, and so have
und i vi ded time for o n e's o wn bu siness. B n t wh e n o n e
w i s h e s to m a k e h i s o w n an gles i t i s a s i m p l e llIattel',
and several s ketches are appended to suggest w h at
lIIay be don e in trans mi tting the energy of the m i l l b y
means of two osci l lating w i res and a co u p l e o f q u ad­
rants cut out of a board,
A French n at u ralist q uoted by Popular S c i e n ce
N e w s asserts that " If t. h e world shou ld beco m e bird­
less, Illan would not i n habit it after n i n e veal's' t i m e
i n s p i t e of a l l t h e s prays a n d poisons t h at (�o u l d b �
m anu fact. u re d f o r t h e destruct i o n of i n sects. T h e b u gs
and s l ugs would simply eat up all t h e orchards and
crops in that tillle. "
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
No. 1 2 5 6. J ANUA1t Y 2·7, 1 900.
C O MPETIT I O � F O R TH E B E S T L I F E - S A V I N G
D E V I C E I N CAS E S O F D I S A S T E R AT S E A . *
ANTHONY POLLOK lVl E l\I O R I A I, P RIZE.
REGULATI O N S .
THE Co m m i ss i oner- Gen e ral of the Universal Inter­
national E x pos ition of 1900
Considering the letter of the Com lll bsio ner- General
of t h e U n ited States, d ated May 9, 1 899 ;
Considerin g the di�patch of t h e Uni t e d States AIlI­
bassad or to France to the Minister o f Foreign Affairs
of t h e Repu blic of France, d ated May 27, 1899, and t h e
repl y o f the M i n ister o f Foreign Affairs, dated June 15,
1899 ;
Considering t h e dispatch of t h e Mi n i ster of Forei gn
Affairs to the Minister of COlll merce, I n d ustry, Post
Office and Telegrap h , dated September 14, 189!J,
D ecrees :
AR'l'IC],E I.
A competi tion w i l l be opened at the U n iversal Inter­
n ational Exposition of 1900 fol' the best l ife-sav i n g ap­
parat u s o r device for use in cases of disaster at sea.
The competition w i l l also i n c l ude devices designed to
save l ife by preventing a vessel from sin k i n g at sea as
the res u l t o f collision with another vessel, an iceberg,
or other obj ect.
A R'I'ICLE II.
Th e competitors m ust be e x h ibitors in Class 33
(Equ i p m ent for Merchant M arine) und er the con d i­
t i ons defined by the General Regulations of t h e Expo ·
si tion. T h i s adm ission does not exempt t h e m from
p resenti ng spec i a l applications for partici pation in t h i s
com petition, w h i c h m u st b e addressed , before March 1,
1 900, to t h e COlIl m i ssioner Gen eral o f the E x position,
either d i rectly if t h ey are Fl'f'll ch, o r through the
Commissioners-General of their countries i f they are
foreigners.
AR'l'ICLE Ill.
The devices or i n ventions themsel ves may be exh i b­
i ted, Working models 01' d rawings to a redu ced scale
w ill also b e accep ted. In all cases, the competitors
are req u i red to explain t h ei r applications by written
s tatements cont.aini n g t h e follow ing information :
D etailed d escri ption ; construction, stating m e t h od
of llJ a n u factu re or fabrication in detai l ; nomenclature
of each separat e part, stated i n list for m , w i t h refer­
ence letters corresponding to letters on accompan y i n g
draw i n gs ; k inds a n d quantities of llJaterials used i n
construction ; dim ensi ons of a l l parts ; w eights of p r i n ­
c i p a l parts a n d total weigh t of a p p a l'at us o r d e vi c e ;
est i m ated ('ost at w h ich it may be f u m i s h e d ; descrip­
tIOn of m ethod of u s i n g; c l a i ms of i n v e n tor for d e \'ice
set forth specifically, i n full, and i n n u m eri cal ord e r;
w h ether d e vi ce or any of its parts i s covered by letters
patent or caveat i n any coun try ? If pate n ted, i n whl' t
country or conn tries, gi v i n g regi stered n U llJ ber o r
n umbers of patent o r patents ? \V hether i t h as ever
been actual l y used o r tried ? I f so, when, w h ere, a n t!
with what res u lts ?
ARTICLE IV.
A prize of one h u n d red t h ousand francs (1 00, 000
francs), u nder t h e name of the A n t h ony l�o l l o k pri ze,
i s offered b y the heirs of the late bi I'. Anthon y Po l l o k ,
of Was h i n gton, to perpetu ate th e m e m ory of t b e i t·
relati ve, who perished w i t h Mrs. All thony Po l l o k in
the wreck of the s h i p La Bo u r g ogne, in col lision wit h
t h e Cromartys h i re off S a b l e Island , J u l y 4, 1 898.
The amo u n t of t h i s prize i s deposited w i t h the Amer­
ican Security and Trust Com pany of \Vash ington.
AR'I'ICLE v.
The com petition w i l l be j udged by an international
j ury, accordi n g to t h e ru les set forth i n the General
Regulations o f the E xposi tion .
ARTICLE V I .
The j ur y will have the right to requ i r e tri als an d
tests, for which, i n agree m en t w i t h t h e Com m i ssioner­
Gen eral, it will afford all faci l i t i es possible. All ex­
penses, connected w i t h the trial and test ing of the ap­
parat us or device, shall be borne by the competi tors.
I n passing upon the merits of the devices or inven­
t ions, the j ur y will taka i nto consid eration not. only
their values as preservers of l i fe when once i n the water,
but in case of appl ian ces w h ich depend upon the aid
of persons other than those to b e rescued (s u c h as
boats, rafts, etc. , as d i sting u i s h ed fro III l i fe-preservers
an d t h e like), it w i l l t ake i n to acco u n t the faci l i t y and
safety with w h i ch they l IIay be d etached o r launched
from the vessel u n der any con d i tions. The w e i gh t o f
t h e device or apparatus, its faci l i ty f o r carri age u pon
t h e vessel, the space occupied, its capacity and adapt­
a b i l i t y for carryi n g n u mbers o f persons, the m eans of
sustaini ng l ife w h e n in t h e water, i t s seaworth iness,
i ts d u rabi l i ty, and its cost of m ai n tenance in the ser­
vice, will all be considered.
AHTICLE VII,
The j ury shal l have power to d i spose of the prize i ll
the fol l o w i n g m anner :
First. - It Ill ay a ward th e en t i re aIll o u n t of 100, UUO
francs to one person s n b m i tti n g t h e best o r i g i n a l ap­
paratus or device for the sav i n g of l ife in case of d is"
aster at sea, provided it is� ill the opi n i on of the j u ry,
of sufficient val u e to the world to j u st i f y the a w ard ;
Second. -In case t w o or more per�oll s shal l s u b m i t
devices w h i c h s h a l l seem to the j u ry to be of equal or
nearly equal value, there IlIay be awarded to the sev­
eral inven tors t hereof SlICh a ratable proportion of the
ent i re S U Ill as th e j u ry llIay deem j u st ; o r
T h i r d . - I n case n o n e of t h e devices p resented s h a l l
be' deellled by t h e j u ry of s u ffi c i e n t value t o j u stify t h e
g i v i n g' t h erefor of t h e p rize offered, t h e j u ry l lI a y 1 ' 0 "
ject all, b u t may rei m b u rse a n y competi n g i n ventor
for his expenses, wholly or i n s u c h part as i t may j udge
proper.
A R TI CL E V I I I .
T h e decision of the j u r y w i l l be made k n o w n to t i l e
Secretary o f State of r h e United States, b y the COIII­
m issioner-General of t h at c o u n try to the E xpositiOl l .
T h e Secretary o f State o f t h e United S t a t es thro u g h ,
the Commission er-Ge n eral of t h a t co n n try, w i l l at.tend
to the payment of the S U l ll S a w ard ect by the j u ry.
A lt 'l'I C LE IX,
The device 01' invent i o n s a \\' a l' < l e <1 prizes shal l bp
* Pubhsheu in f u l l at the request uf man:,' reauers.
 JANuARY 2 7 , 1 H OO. �CI EXTIFfC
k n o w n a� Life· saving apparat u s - A n t h o n y Pollok
p r ize.
AltT I C L �; x .
The prese n t reg u lations w i l l be d i strib u te!l to com­
petitors t h rough t h e French Com m i ss i o n e r Heneral of
t h e E x position, and through the f o reign C o m m is­
s i oners-General, each for his o w u Co ulltl·ymen.
Done at Paris, Dece m b er 1 5 , 18HU.
The Com m issioller-Gf'neral
of the U niversal Ex position of 1 900,
AI,!<'R R D P I C ARD.
Read and accepted :
Paris, Decem her 15, 1899.
'fh e Com m issioner-General of the U nited States.
FERDDi A;>fD 'V. P E C K.
Df'tai l e d plans and specifications of a p paratus for
Po l l o k P r i z e competition s h o u l d b e sent to
JOHX H . MCGIBBONS.
Director of Exploi tation. Paris Exposition COlIlmission,
E q uitable B uildi ng, 120 Broad way, New York,
and s h o u l d be marked
" POLLOK l\IE�IO RIAL PRIZE. "
Smal l models may also be sent t h erf'.
If a decision as to merits of ap paratus can not be
rf'achf'd by t h e COlll m i t tee, t h e com peti tors will be
asked to send such additiona.l matter as lIlav b e neces­
sary, i n c l u d i n g l arger models, an d . i n certain cases,
apparatu s i tsel f. 'WILLIA:\,I KER, Secretary.
INFLU E N C E O F VARI O U S O X I D E S O N
I N C A N D E S C E N T M A N 'f L E S . *
B y W . BRUNO.
N o one i s now ignorant of t h e i m portance w h i ch i n­
can desce n t man tles h ave attained in l i g h t i n g technics.
It h as been recog nized t h at with the aid of an i n can­
d escen t s u bstance a considerably greater q uantity of
light i s ob tained than t h rough t h e ord i n ary open
fl ame, and efforts are n o w being d i rected toward
adapting a l l t h e fuels heretofore employed for i l l u m i n ­
a t i n g p u r poses, f o r the u s e of h l Candescen t m a n t l es.
Among these are, nat u rally, to be ranked all those
f u e l s w hich heretofore, on accou nt of their l o w per­
cen tage i n carbon, were not adapted for i l l u m inating
pu rposes, to w hi c h , h owever, by t h e aid of the i n ­
can desce n t man tle, t h e pos� i b i lity i s given o f trans­
forming into l i ght the h eat of co m b u stion. H a n d i n
h a n d with t hese efforts h ave gone the experiments for
the i m prove men t of the i n ca n d esce n t body itse l f.
T here are sti l l 1 WO conspi c u o u s d e fects i n herent i n
t h e i n candesce n t m a n t l e o f t h e 'V ebbac h light. T h e
tirst is t he fal l i n g off of l ight after a longer or shorter
t.i me, and the o t h e r i s the great del icateness of the i n ­
candesce n t man tle.
It i s k no w n that the Welsbach mantle consists of
the oxid ps of t. hori u lIl an d ceri u m , and that i t i s a
structure of extraord i nary fragi li ty. T h i s latter pro­
perty fo l lows fr'o m the abso l ute necess ity t h at t h e
mantle b e extre mel y fi n e a n d l ight so a s to offer n o
great resistance to t h e flame .
In t h e contrary case, t h f're would be too m uch heat
absorbed by t.he man t le, w h ich wou ld not be t rans­
fo rmed i n to l i g h t . I n t h i s co n n ect i o n l l llust rem ark
that a l l atteln pts. w h ether i n d i vidual or u n i ted, to
con struct a so-cal l ed " fi rm " i ncandesce n t Illantle have
failed o n acco u n t of these d i ffi c u l ties. The firmer s u b­
stance or the greater mass of s u bstance absorbs a d is-' w h i ch in l ighting, i n consequence o f the explosion
p roport ionately greater q u a n t ity o f h eat, w h i c h i s thus
Hot transformed i nto light.
Of t h e i n n u merable attempts that have been p u t
forth i n t h is d i rectio n , n o t a si ngle o n e h as y e t ma­
t u red to a state of Illore than partial utility.t
T he fi r l l l n ess of the ma n tle can be increased, to a
certain d egree, by using a very �trong sol ution of the
thori u m and ceriu lll salt for i m pregnation ; the i n ­
creased firlll ness aim ed a t i s , howevel', s o smal l that i t
is pract ica l l y o f n o value. T h e power o f light emis­
sion possessed by such mantles is also considera b l v
l ess t h a n t h at of the i n cand escent mantles usual l y
man u factured.
T h e attempt has been m ade to man u factu re incan­
d escent bodies fro m fine w i res or from incdmbust i b l e
th reads . T h e idea of obtaining through t h i s means a
firm i n combustible i ncandescent mantle lies very near
t o the correct solution . The res u l t has been al ways an
enti rel y negati ve one, and it was n ecessar i l y so frolll
the reason s previously stated. After it was percei ved
that in this wav a firmness or at least a notable hard­
n ess a n d capacity for resistance of the mantl e cou l d
Hot, wit h o u t f u rther treat ment, b e com bined s u ccess­
f u l l y, the attempt was made to arl'ive at the desired
res u l t i n another way. A s i lll p l e means of securing
an i n crea�ed firm ness is t h rough t h e elevation i n tem­
peratu re of the same flame with w h i c h t h e mantle was
a n n ealed a n d hardened in man ufactu re.
In the larger factories fOI' the man u fact ure of i n can­
d esce n t mantles t h e employment of cOlu p ressed gas for
the formation and hard e n i n g of t h e m a n t l e by aid of
air p u m ps is comlll o n . With this con t r i vance it i s a
v ery easy m atter to ele vate t h e p ress u re of t h e gas to
any des i red height. 'r he velocity of the gas at t h e .d is­
charge orifice increases wit h t h e p ress u re, and w i t h
t h is t h e capac i t y of d ra w i n g t h e air a l o n g w i th i t,
u n i l i n g w i th t he issuing stream of gas, and by t h is
means in creasing the tem perature of the b l u e fl a l l l e
w h i c h is formed. But e v e n here certai n l i m i tatio n s
exist. With a press ure of more than 79 i nches, or at
lllOSt 1 1 8 i n ch es water press u re, the mantle becomes
e x posed to the danger of be i ng torn into pieces or
carried away t h rough the ve h emence of the iss u i n g
ga� .
'I' he u s e o f ox ygen i s im p racticab l e from an econo m i c
sta n d point, like wise a l s o t h a t of water-gas, s i n c e t h i s
gas req n i res f o r its p rod uct.ion apparat u s w hose cost
of i n stal l ation i s cons i d e rab l e . I n both cases the cost
of prod uction of m a n t l es wou l d be i n creased ll fl!l uly.
Regard i n g th e serv i ('ea b l e n ess of m antles a n n ealed es­
pecially hard, i t may he remarked that h a rd m a n tles
s u rpass t h e soft o n es i n fi r m n ess only i n a slight de-
* Translated b y Progressive Age from ZeitBcbrift f U r BclenchtnngsweBen
(.fuly 1 O 1 .
-I' TheRe deduction", a r t ' i l l pf'rfrct congruity ,\'ith onr n w n which we
made i n t h e yf'ar IH�J5. and p u b l ished in vol . i., page 73. -Ed. Zeit. f.
Beleucht.
AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No.
gree. iSO t h at t here is no practical su periority secu red .
On the o t h e r h a n d , it is to be remarked t h at hard
man t l es, t h o ugh correspond iug in a s u bstanti a l l y ex­
act m a n n e r to th e soft ones, are in respect to t h e i r
p o wer of ligh t e m i ss i o n i n ferior to t h e soft. These re­
actions are i llcapable of being demonstrated. by . single
ph otometric meas u re m e n ts, for w h ic h an entire series
of observations is req uired, and t h e res u l ts can be
condensed i n to a j udgmen t o n l y in cou rse of t i l u e
t h ro u g h contin ued experi m ents. 'f his disadvantageo us
property of hard m antles is due to t h e fact t h at t h e
oxides are m o r e fi r m l y smelted together by the h i g h
tem pe rat u re.
T h e use of s u l p h ates i n place of nitrates seems to con­
firm t h i s view, since the mantles w hose i m pregnating
l i qu id contained part ly s u l p h ate became somewhat
firmer and harder ; yet, on the other hand, did not
s h o w the high l u m i no ll s effect of the mantles produced
from p u re nit rates. The thori u m s u l p h ates in t h e
crucible s h o w a far less porosity t h a n the thori u m
nitrates ; o f equal significance w i t h the elevat.ion of
tem perat ure i s a longer d u ration of t h e mantle i n the
ord inary b l ue flame.
It can be observed that every mantle w h ic h h as
been i n the burner for some h o u rs becomes consider­
ab l y h arder. It is, ho wever, likewise a wel l k n o w n
fact that each of t. h e i n candescen t bodies n o w known,
i n t h e course of its first 100 h o u rs of b u r n i ng, i . e. , in
the t i m e of its hardelli ng, l oses i n light t h e most
rapi d l y, and t h at w h e n t h e hardness n o l o n ger in·
creases, t h e d i minution of i ts i l l u m i nating power takes
place less rapidl y.
I have a l ways fou n d that the softer mantles t u rned
out the m ore favorab l y photometrical l y, and that t h e
h ard mantles a r e d u l ler i n l u minous effect, y e t fal l o ff
less rapid l y i n i l l u m i nating p o w e r . An equil i b ri u m be­
t ween the t wo took place usua l l y after abo u t 200 hours
of burning. From then on ward both se ries con t i n ued
photometrical ly a i i ke. T hese phenomena were pre­
viollsly observed ' w ith all mantles, n o m atter of what
m a n u factu re. I t mav also be stated that the i l I UlIlin­
ati n g power of a ma ntle i s i n versely proportional to its
hard ness.
Later in the d iscussion I shal l retu r n to t h i s sen­
tence, w h i c h has been the fou n dation of a series of in­
teresting ex peri ments.
Besides by the means stated, hard ness o f the mantle
m ay also be prod uced by defi n i t e add i t ions of thori u m
a n d ceri u m . I n t h e fol l o w i n g I review t h e p l'i nci pal
f'xperiments ; a l l solu tions are in the ratio of 4 : 1 0, and
the addition of the 0'1 u p ward was made. The solu­
tions were of n itrates throughout.
Al u m i n i u m.-'Vith 1 per cent. a certain elastic i ty and
tou ghness of the mantle i s a lready o bservable, w h i c h
i ncreases with t h e conte n t of a l u m i n i u m a n d final l y
leads to a firm b o d y w i t h a great capacity f o r resist­
an ce. The l i gh t remains eqnal to that of the pure
thori u m - <'eri u m mantle, as well in respect to i ntensity
as also to i ts color. With al l man tles contain i n g
a l u m i n i u m appears the d i s t i nct tendency to contract
i n ward l y j u st above the top edge of the burner. T h i s
phenomenon occurs a l s o i n t h e absence of traces of
a l u m i n i u m and was not entire l y to be obviatpd. Self­
e v i d e n tly, the can d l e power of t h p mantle l o wers w i t t>
t h is deformation, so that w i t h a co nsiderablfi conten t
of a l u m i n i um, after a h o u t o n e h o u r n o t mo re than half
the orig i n a l i l l u m i nating power i s obtained.
Magnes i um. -T his is closely rel ated to al u minium i n
its p ropel·ties, prod u ci n g with add itions o f abo u t 1 per
cen t . , cracked mantles. Be low 1 per cent. it rema i n s i n
t h i s respect less dangerous, causes a certain brittleness
which i s very often u n a voidabl e i n gas c h i mneys,
b ursts t h e mantle. The firm n ess is other wise s i m i l ar
to that of t h e mantles co ntai n i n g alu mi n i u m . The
light i s unchanged. T h e experi ments with alu m i n i u m
a n d m agnes i u lll offered f o r t h e m a t first a field r i c h i n
p rospect, on which accou n t, even from t h e otber side,
greater atten tion has been turned. T h e magnesium
seems t o be ad apted t o replace t h m·iu m. The pure
magnesi u m mantle is s i m i lar to t h e thori u m m a n t l e, of
a pale bluish color and also without light e m i ssion. I f,
now, ceri u m be added to such pure m agnesiu m
mantles, there appear the gradual shades from bright
yellow to deep golden yellow, accord i n g to t h e content
of ceri u m , j ust as in the t h o l'iu m-ceri u m mantles. It
has been an i m possi bil ity, at least for me, to prevent
the appearance of cracks and to form the mantle sym­
metrica l l y i n the flame of com p ressed gas. With the
l east man i p u l ation of the flame th ere occu rred pec u l iar
deformations, so that a mantle was seldom in any de­
gree valuable. All attem pts by mechanical or chem ica l
remedies to correct t h i s evil complete l y fai led . The
application of n i trate of ammon ia, w h ich i s s u ccess­
fu lly used by the Auer compa n i es in order to prevent
t h e stretch i n g of the man t l e caused by the s h rinking
i n ward, d i d not contri bute to ward an y i m p rovement.
Beryl l i u m i s s i m i lar to both these m aterials i n very
low s pecific weight. T h e same gives, with ad ditions of
up to 0 '5 per cent. , mant lps which can n o t. be d i stin­
gu ished from the p u re t h oriu m-ceri u ll1 lII a n t les, and
they rell1ain soft and sensi tive. With a h i gher con ­
t e n t of beryl l i u m, the mantles s h ri n k b o t h i n length a s
well a s d iall1eter, so that t h ey become t o o n ar ro w for
the ordi nary b u rner. T h is act ion con t i n ues incessa n t l y
d u ring t h e first h o u rs of the b u rning. T h e man tles
become hard ami firm, but, on acco u n t of t h e property
n amed, are useless. T h rough t h e e ll1ploYll1ent o f a
larger tissue nothing is attained, since the s h r i n kage
only COll1es to a stand sti l l when the i ncandesce n t body
has reached the inner zone of flame. T h is was aCCOll1-
panied by a series of ex peri ments w i t h zinc, w i t. h
w h ich a d i m i n ution of t h e il l u m i nating po wer was
remarked, so t hat the same was soon giveu up as
worth l f'ss.
Cad m i u lll . -T h e mantles con tain ing cad m i u m be­
have s i m i l ar l y to t h ose co m posed of m agnesi u m ; t h ere
also occ u rs d u ri n g the fi rst h O ll l' of b u rn i n g a tend ency
toward the con i cal shapi n g of the mantle. An i n ­
crease i n firm n ess or a n y i n d ication of hard ness i s
scarcel y perceptible. Cad m i u lll i n n o way affects the
i l l u m i n at i ng power.
Calci u m . -A l l mantles com posed of calc i u m shrink
stro n g l y in length an d also in d i ameter, and contract
i l l ward l y over t h e flam e o f a com p ressed gas. T h e i l l u ­
m i nating power is weakened accord i n g t o t h e pro­
portion of l i m e con tai n ed . The phenomena are s i m i l ar
to t hose of a mantle whose tissue is i m pure or leaves
beh i n d it a strong residue of ashes.
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
1 256. 20 L 33
P o t assi u m awol �od i u m have a like effect u pon tire
mantle-they cause a some what cou i cal form ation ; the
top of the in candesce n t body d raws itse l f o u t to ward
the point of the fl a m e. Both are adapted to give t h e
mantle a l i g h t y e l lo w i s h tint, w h i c h i n cOl l t rast with
the yellowish tint prod uced by ceri u m does not disap­
pear w i t h a long contin ued burning. In light, t.hese
mantles hold out better t h an the p u re thori u m· ceriu m
o n es. A too high conten t of sod i u m is indicated by
the fact that the mantles w h e n reduced to ashes t U r I I
gray and a l so f a l l a w a y easily. F o r t h e perfect. i on o f
t h e m antle a series of experi ments w a s i n stituted, w i t h
which t wo o r l II ore o f the substan ces named were COlll­
b i ned and added to the thori u m-ceri u m sol u t i o n . i n
addition also to various com binations with acids.
Through these combinations no othel' res u lts than
w i t h th e i n d i vid ual substances are attainable, since
t h e s pec i fi c properties of one of the com bined bodies
usual l y p redominate and the combination does not
take on n e w properties. A very useful man tle which
also, i n respect to i ts hardness and com pactn ess, fu r­
nishes satisfactory res u l ts may be formed by the ad d i ­
t i o n of abo u t 1 '5 p e r ce nt. of o n e part magnesi u m a n d
t w o parts t h a l i u m . 'I' h e mantles are som e w h at diffi­
cult o f shaping i n the flame of com pressed gas, yet
through treatll1ent w i th selenic acid a s u bstantial i m­
provement is sec u red.
Selenic Acid. -Man tles con taining selenic acid sho w
pec u l i a r phenomena. I n the cold state they gi ve oc­
casiona l l y in the dark a weak phosphorescent appear­
ance. Mantles are in general dielectrics. If a selen i u m
mantle b e p u t i n t o water through wh ich a n electric
c u rrent o f o n l y ll10derate i n tensity is made to pass, the
m a n t i e i nstant l y s h o w s a sligh t l u ster. I f this experi­
ment be repeated with a greater n u m ber of m an tles so
arran ged as to be in contact, and the water then be
allo wed to run off, a sensitive gal vanollleter w i l l be
agitated as soon as i t i s conn ected b y a copper w i re
with both ends of the series of m a n t l es. If n i tric acid
be introd uce(l i n to the w ater, the phenomena become
m ore marked. Pith balls are repel led by t h e mantles.
T h e disch arge of an e l ectric battery above it does not
give rise to a n y phosph orescen t ap pearance.
Yttri u Ill. -A very i n teresting experi m e n t i s t h at w i th
yttr i u m . According to t h e anal y s i s of the Auer fl uid.
yttr i u m i s contained th erein in m i n u tf'ly smal l traces.
Additions even of t races of yttri u m gave the i n can­
descent body a very pecu l iar appearance, the l i g h t
becoming b r i l liant. A n yttri u m m a n t l e, even for those
who k n o w the l u ster of y ttri u lll i n candescent bod ies, is
u n recogn izable when placed in a long series of mantles.
The brigh t n ess of this mantle i ncreases w i t h its con­
tent of y ttri u m . Moreover, t h ese bod i es are exceed­
i n g l y h ard, without, h o wever, being brittle. U n for­
t u n ately, t h e fi rst named beauties are very perishable.
W i t h more than traces o f y ttrium, say with the pres­
ence of 0 '5 per cen t . , the l i g h t of the mantle dimi n ishes
great l y . so that after 24 h o u rs of b u rn i n g o n l y a pale
d u l l light remai ns as the miserab l e remnant of i ts
former splendor and bri l l iancy. I believe that I alii ,
h o w e ver, able to say that for i ncreasing the bri l l iancy
of the m aniles a very m i n u te ad d i tion of y ttri u m ap­
pears efficacious.
D i d y m i u m bears a s i m i l ar rel atio n to i n can descent
bod i es as yttri u m . I t is w e l l k n o w n that t h i s metal i s
fou n d combined w i t h ceri u m , a n d t h e ailll of chem ical
factories occ u p i ed with the preparation of ceri u lII is
di rected to ward t h e prod uction of ceri u lll as free as
possible from d i d ym i u m. D i d y m i u m causes a sti l l
more energetic depression o f l igh t than yttri u m . T he
presence of didym i u m in t h e ceri u l ll n i trate is i n d icated
by the spectroscope, t h e d i d ym i u m l i n e bei n g plai n l y
visible i n t h e spectru m.
Lanthan u m belongs among those s u hstances w h ich
p ro d uce a certain h a.rden i n g of the mantle, causing at
the same t i m e a depression i n the i I l l1 luin a t i n g power.
I t lanthan u Ill be added otherw ise than i n m i n ute
quantities, i t gives a brownis h l ight.
I pass over that series of s u bstances w h ich t h rough
their peculiar coloring of the light arp, th erefore, not
adapted for securing an increased firmness i n the ill­
candescent s u bstance, such as chro m i u m , cobal t, zlr·
con i um, u ran i u m , etc.
Prof. H i ntz, of W i esbaden, has observed th at zircon­
hlln added in slllal l quantities prod uces an i n crease i ll
the l u minous power. (See " Ueber Gasgluh l icht, " by
D r. Ernst H i ntz, W ies bad en ; C. W. Kreidel, p u b­
l isher ; 1898. ) None of the s u bstan ces last mentioned
are adapted as a substitute for thoriu lll , since they
g i ve no <,oherent structure. The mantles fall i n to a
powder when red uced to ash es. O n l y t h f' t h ree fi rst
named , a l u m i n i u m , magnes i u m and bery l l i u m , show
any coherence. Beryl l i um, o n acco u n t of i ts high
price, can not be taken into consideration as a manu­
facturing material .
IODINE IN ARTICLES OF DIE'!'.
IOIHNE h as not hitherto been presumf'd to be pre ·
sent i n any i m porta n t q u a n t i t y i n alimentary m ate­
rials, b u t according to recent researches, w h i c h hav!'
opened u p a very del icate p rocess for the df'tectiol!
and esti mation of iod i n e, t h i s element occurs certai n ly
i n t h e flesh of fish and shel l fis h i n n ot a negligible
quanti ty. It is true t h at traces of iod i n e have beel!
fou n-d i n cod liver oil, which w i t h other e l !' lUents s u c h
a s b rom i n e and p h osphorus p robab l y e x e r t a slig h t
specific action a n d possi bly a favorab l e i nfluence on
t h e absorption of t h e oil, thus contri b u ting i n some
m easure to its tonic effects. The flesh of fis h is
pec u l iarl y n u tritive though l ess satisfying and perhaps
less sti m u latiug t h a n ordi nary k inds of m eat . . I t is
abl e to be digested more easil y an d rapidly than is
an imal flesh, and o n these considerations affords a
usefu l food for i n valids. B u t most fishes contain
iodi ne, and t h u s the occu rrence of this element lIIay
be a factor of i m portance i n the suitab i l ity of a fi � h
diet f o r i n valids. T h e h errin g appears to b e at t h e top
of the l ist, cont.a i n i n g t w o m i ll igrammes of iod i n e per
kilogramme. Next come m u ssels, 1 '9 m i l l i gl'alll mes
per k i l ogra mme ; next sa.l mon, 1 '4 mi lli graulll l es per
k i logralUllIe ; t h en l i n g and cod , 1 '2 milligrammes per
kilogram me, and the same amount in oysters. The
sal mon trout appears to contain the smallest quantity,
which i s only O ' l m i lligralll llle per kilogram me. These
results are i n terest i n g, and d O l 1 bt less the i n q u iry w i l l
b e extended to other arti c l e s of diet, though o n t h e
face of i t there is mOl'e probab i l i t y of iodi n e occurri n g
in fi s h t h a n i n mammals 0 1' vegetab les. -The Lancet.
 THE PAN- AMERICAN EXPOSITION OF
By Roy CRANDALL_
EVEN th e leadin g optimists of the Pan-American Ex­
position, which will be held at B uffa lo in t h e year 1901,
did not dare to hope at the o utset that the countries of
South and Central America would warm to the project
and with great cordiality volunteer representation at this
early stage_ They expected, and rightly too, that the go v­
ern m e n t of the United States, the Empire State, and a
Yery fair percentage of the States of the Union woul d m a ke
a ppro p ri ati o ns ; they hoped that the Dom inion of C anad a
would c ross the border and enter into friend ly trade
r i v alry, and some hopes were even e ntertain e d that Mexico
Illight see the wisdom of ap pr o p riati n g a s u ffic i en t SU Ill of
money to sho w h e r prod u c ts _ But that was practically
all.
It was n o t realized at th at time what a vast interest t he
1 901. for i t takes time to erect St ate b u ildings ; sco ur the com­
m o n wealth for all that is best an d mOb t interesting for a
d isplay, make the joumey and instal l the exhi bits.
I t will all be a revelation to the visitors when they reach
B uffalo i n 1901, for the men at the head of the coming fai r
h a v e made ,radical departures i n t h e construction of the
b u i l dings and the l a y i n g out of the gro u n ds, and the re­
sults will be start l i n g i n their beauty. The selected tract
of land on which the buildings will stand embraces about
335 acres of th e fi n e s t s ec ti o n of the city ; 180 acres being
the show portion of Delaware Pa rk , the handsomest sub­
division of Buffalo's very complete and handsome park
system. T o reach this ideal spot it is ne ces sary to traverse
the finest res i de nt ia l section of a city that is noted far and
wide for the beauty of its homes and th e magnificence of
its avenues and boule vards, and the v i s i tors will be spared
the sight of th e m unicipal back yard.
At the outset it was the intention of the management of
that time i ts h is t or y has been a panegyric. With a rush
over 12, 000 o f the men and women of the Niagara frontier
signed for stock in amo u n ts ranging fro m $10 to $25, 000,
and when the first financial rush was l ulled, t h e com pa n y
w a s standing u p o n a fi r m financial footing w i t h nearly
$1, 500, 000 a v aila bl e for the prel i mi n ar y work and the co n ­
struction of the b uildings. '.rhen the government a n d the
E m p i re S tate ap propriated respecti vely $500,000 and
$300, 000, a n d the N e w York State Legislat u re passed a bi l l
i ncreasing the capital stoc k f r o m $1,000,000 to $2, 500,000
and empo weri ng the Board of Directors to float bonds in a
simi lar amou n t.
Without d e l ay the organization was co m p leted b y the
election of Hon. John G. M I l burn as president, John N.
S ca t c h erd as c h air m a n of t h e exec utive committee, Hon _
John B. Weber as co m miss io n er- ge n eral, Ge orge L.
Williams as treasurer, and Ed win Fl e m in g as secretary.
Foll o w ing the selection of those gentlemen came the per-
pools f o r the numerous lagoo n s, water courts and la k es
w h ich wi l l contrib u te so much to the artistic ensemble
t.:)
which is being s o u gh t and which will be attained. Within o
th irty d ays the magnificent Service Build in g was con­ .......
stru c te d , decorated and furnished, and Director Carlton 0=
�
with his Bureau chiefs and their army of assistants are
n ow social recluses, for they are l i v i n g in that building and
are working like b e avers to get th e fou ndations down
and have the work started o n five of the other g rea t
b u ildin gs.
I t is hoped and confiden t l y expected that the Mach i ner y
and Tr a n spo rtati on B u i l d i n gs , t h e E l ec tr ic B uild in g, t h e
H or ti c u ltu re Bu i ldi n g and the Graphi c Arts B ui l di n g will
b e under roof befo re the spring arrive!!, and d urin g the
s u m m er thE-se b u i ld i ngs will be finished and the work w i l l
bc forwarded on t h e magnificent structures p lanned by t h e
S upervising Architect o f the Treasu ry D e partment of the
Go vernm e n t, on the Roma n Stad i um and the Electric

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policy of Pan-Americanism was to ('rl'atl' w ithin the few
mon ths following the organization of the E x position Com­
pan y. I t is n o w assured that the cou n tries of South and
Central America will make l R.rge appropriation s and erect
splendid b uildings, and the cou n tries of North America w i l l
of course s e e to i t t h at she is not overshado wed by the con­
tinent of the South. Already the Govern ment of t he
U n ited States, the E m p i re State, the Dom inion of C a n ada,
the Republic of. Mexico, n early a dozen of t h e Latin-Ameri­
can- I'e p u b lics, the Fre n c h col ony of Guadelou pe, and a
n u m ber of the States of t h e Un ion h a v e officially acce pted
the i nvitations sent out s o m e t i m e ago, and some of the
republics have made their ap propriations and started the
prelimi nary work.
I t is true t h at still eigh teen months m ust elapse before
the gates of the gre at Exp o siti on w i l l be s w u n g o pl' n to the
oncoming throng of visitors, but there is no time t o waste,
the fair to expe n d an even m i l lion dollars i n the construc­
tion of an ex position that would fit co m for ta bl y on Cay uga
Island, a beautiful bit of lan d i n Ni agara River, a short
fo u r miles above the Cat aract. This was the p lan ea rly i n
t h e year 1897, w hen t h e original Pan-American Exposition
Com pany was orga n ized. I t w as goi n g along famously on
those small lines. a n d t h e Federal Governmen t and the
go �ern ment of the E m pire S tate had been approached and
had made promises for Legislative a n d C o n gre ssiona l aid.
Then the Spanish-Am erican war broke out, and i t was dl'­
c i de d that i t would be u n wise to ask the n a tion to aid a n y
enterprise, be it e v e r so g reat, w h e n the men of the n ation
were battling with a fo reig n power. MattE-rs were held i n
abe yan c e for a time, a n d i t was decided t h a t t h e exposition
shou l d be postpon ed from the year 1899, when i t was
or i gi n al l y i n ten d ed that it take place.
I t was started again as Ii, popular movement, and since
fection of the bu reau organ ization, and then N ewcomb
Carlton was appointed to the very i m porta n t position of
D i rector of Works and an Ad visorv Board o f Arc h itects
was selected ; t he board bei n g eight - i n n u m ber and made
up of t hree of the famous architects of N e w York, t wo of
Boston and three of B uffalo. Follo w i n g came the selec­
tion of Hon. William J. Buchanan to the pO S i t i o n of
Di rector- General.
All have worked wel l since t h o se earlier days, a n d at the
p resen t time the magnificen t tract of lan d on wh ich the fai r
w i l l stand i s u n d ergoi n g an almost fairyl i ke transforma­
tion. Day by day t h e great stretch of ro l lin g mead o w a n d
grassy p lai n is b e i n g t o r n up. and w here streets and pat hs
and gol f l i n ks formerl y were. th ere is now a wonderf u l
can al two miles i n length being cut. and h u n d r eds of men
a n d teams with steam plows and loading machines are ta k ­
ing out acres of earth and form i n g the artistIc h o llows and
Tower. w hich will be the architectu ral chef d'ouvre of the
en tire fair.
'I'his grand structure, which w i l l ha ve the position of honor
at the head of the Grand Court of Honor, will be the h i g h ­ �
est s tru c tu re on t h e grounds and the m ost expensive and >
ornate. I t will be a bo ut three h u n dred fee t in height and �
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w I l l be a Ill a ss of fountai n s an d electrical effects never >
before attem pted. :'i
I t is but fi tting that Buffalo and the Pan-American Ex­ 01
position should d o this on acco u n t of their proximity and l�
close commercial relati onship w ith t he Ni aga ra Cataract -1
a nd Niagara's electric power_ I t is now ass u red that the
energy of the great cataract will domin ate the Exposi tion. .....
Already the streets of the city in wh ich the E x position is �
located are lighted . the stre e t cars of the In ternational o
traction are pro pelled by t h e 8ame power. I n 1901 m a n y �
of t h e l eading i n dustries of t h e c i t y will be operated by

© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.

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H O RTICULTU RE, GRAPHIC ARTS, AND FO RESTRY. U1
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T H E PLAZA.

© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.

 20 1 3 6 SCIENTIFIC AME RICAN SUPP L ��M I£ NT, No. 1 2 5 6.
t h i s pow er, and the p.ntire Exposition mach inery w i l l
be Q u ickened b y i t s influe nce.
A glance at the accom pan ying pictures of the first
t h ree b u i l d i ngs planned i s con vincing evidence of
the fact that the management i ntends to i n vite the
world to an expos i tion t h at sha l l be wort h y of the oc­
casion and of the city and country i n w h ic h i t is held.
THE B U I L D I N GS O F T H E PAN-AMERICAN
EXPOSrfION O F 1 90 1 .
T H E northern part of the ex h i b ition ground i s occu­
pLed by a sq uare about 500 feet frolll east to west and 350
feet from north to sout. h . The b u i ld ings bounding three
sides of this square and the arrangement of the sq uare .
it�el f h ave been given to Messrs. Babb, Cook & W i l lard,
of N e w York, and t h e style adopted-a very free version
of Spanish arch i tecture-has suggested t h e name of
the Plaza, which has been given it. T h e central POI' ­
t i o n of this square is occu pied b y a terrace o n l y very
sligh t l y raised above t he surface of the square, and s u r­
rounding a sunken garde n , i n t h e m id d l e of w h ich is
a bands�and. T h e terrace as we l l as t h e garden i tsp l f
w i l l afford a large space for listen ers w h o attend the
con certs which it is proposed to g i ve .
O utside, and at t h e n o r t h of t h e Plaza, is t h e rai l w a y
and trol ley station, from w h ich i t i s s u pposed the
greater lJ u m ber of visitors w i l l enter the exhibition
gro u nds. 'f he rail way station i t se l f i s masked by a
colonn ade flanked at either e n d by t w o col ossal arches,
one for those e n tering the Exposition and the other
for t hose leaving it. This colon n ade bou n d s the Plaza
on the n O I·th. It is surro u n ded b y a t re l l is, w h ich i t is
proposed to cover w i t h vines of various sorts.
The west side of the Plaza is bou nded b y a b u ild­
i n g w h ic h i s to serve as a large restaurant. T h e p u blic
pass through the lower arches of this buildi n g, w h ich
TH E
M ACH I N E R,Y AND
PA N - A M E R I C A N
C O P Y R I G H T , 1 8 9 9 . BY PA N - A M E R I C A N E X PO S I T I O N Co.
are open. i n order to reach that portion of the Exposi·
t i o n w h ich correspon d s w i th the Midway Plaisance at
C h icago. The restaurant b u i lding i tself i s two stories
high, and i s about 350 feet long.
O n the east side of the Plaza is a b u i ldi n g closely re­
se m b l i n g the restaurant, w h ich serves pl'i ncipal l y as
the e n t rance to the Stad i u lll or ath letic field . a l t h o u g h
portions a r e also used f o r exh i bi tion P U I·poses. T h i s
also h as t wo stories, t h e u pper story being a large
open_jgall ery. from which views of the Plaza o n t h e
one s i d e and the Stad iulll on the other a r e afforded.
Fin ally, the south side of t h e Plaza i s bounded by
the E lectri cal To wer, the designing of which has been
given to Mr. Howard .
T h e Stad i u m or athletic field has been i n al l i ts de­
tai ls a snbj ect of carefnl study. I t resembles i n a
general way that erected at Athens a few years ago,
although this o n e can be, of course, only a temporary
structure. It w i l l contain easily 25, 000 spectators, and
is i ntended as a model of what it is hoped may be exe­
cuted some day in permanent form. I t h as a quarter
m ile run ning track and a sufficiently large space i n
t he inside of thia for any o f the ath letic games. Great
attention has been paid to h aving a large n u mber of
Il isles to reach the seats, and i n addition to the pri n c i­
pal e n t.rance on the west, there are provided seven
large exits. These exits are m ade of sufficient bread t h
a n d h eight to a d m i t i n case of need the largest veh i cles
or floats, as it is p roposed to use t h e Stad i u m for cer­
tain pageants, exhi bits of automobiles in operation,
j n d gi n g of horses, l i ve stock, agri c u l t u ral machinery,
road machin ery, etc. No e x h i b i tor h as ever had s u c h
a s p l e n d i d arena i n w h i ch such e x h i bits c a n be d is­
played, &ond the athlet i c car n i val to w h i ch the Stadium
is pal·ticularly devoted i s expected to be one oCthe
most i n teresting featu res of the exh i b i t i on . The space
u n d e!' the seats is to be used for ex h i bition pnrposes,
and is in itself the equh'al e n t of a very large b u i l d i n g.
T h e total length of the Stad i u m , including the b u ild­
i n g w h ich forms t h e entrance, i s about 870 feet, and
the breadth abont 500 feet.
'l' h e three b u i ldi ngs for horti c u l t u re, grap h i c arts,
and forestry, of w h ic h Messrs. Peabody & Stearns are
the architects, form a picturesq u e gro u p at the end of
the west garden.
The largest of these, the Horticultural B u i l d i n g,
stands bet ween t h e other two on an ax i s with t h e gar­
den. 'l' h e Forestry Bui lding is on the n orth side ; t he
Grap h i c Arts on the south, adj o i n ing the lake. Ar­
cades connect the three buildi ngs, forming in front a
semicircu lar court. Bet ween the arcades t h e gro u n d
rises slightly to t h e level of the Fou n tai n of t h e Sea­
sons.
The area of the H orticultural B u i l d i n g is 45, 000
square feet. The Graph i c Arts and Forestry b U I l d ­
i n gs each cover 30,000 s q uare feet a n d a r e s i m i lar i u
de"8 i g n . I n p lan, the Horticultural B u i l d i n g i s square,
with central l antern, risin g to a height of 240 feet at
the intersection of the fou r arms of a Greek croES,
which i n c l u des in its angles fo ur small do Ill e s. O n the
center of each facade is a deeply recessed arched en­
trance.
'fhe Gra p h i c .A rts and Forestry b u i ld ings have four
corner towers, and on the east fa<;ade a vau lted loggia
of th ree arches forms the mai n en tranc� Above t h e
r e d roofs of S p a n i s h tile n u merous lantern, pinnacles,
and Venetian flagpo l es, from which float gayl y colored
ban n e l's, add a fe� t, i ve picturesqueness to the skyl ine.
The b road w h ite wall surfaces are ornamented with
colored bass-rel iefs. A rabesques of t wining vines o f
fru i t and flo wers, a m o n g t h e branches of w h ic h are
ch i l d re n aud b i rds, decorate the n u merous pilasters of
the f/H;ades and arcades. A bove the eastern entrance
of the H ortic u l t u ral B u i i d i n g are two colored cOlllposi­
tlO n s represell t i n g Ceres, t h e goddess of the harvest,
hear i n g in her arms a s h eaf of golden w h eat. Her
ch al'iot is dra w n by t h ree lions led by Flora and Pri­
mavera.
The decorat ion of the G raphic Arts and Forestry
C OU RT
TRAN S PO RTAT I O N BUI LDI N G
E X P05 1 TION BUFFA LO. N . Y.
b n i ldi ngs is c h iefly confined to the vau l ted cei l i ngs of
their loggias, w h ere the bri l l ian t l y colored decorations
rem i n d Olle of the famous example of the Villa Madama.
T h e C o u rt of the Mach i n ery and T I'ans portatio n
B ll i l d i n g. -T h e Mac h i nery and T ransportation B u i ld­
i ng itse l f form� a hollow sq uare, with this Court i n its
cen ter. It i s 200 feet long and 100 feet wide, the east and
west ends ope n i n g respecti vely to th e great entrances
from the Gran d Canal and the Court of the Fo u n tai ns,
w h i l e the great e x h i biting rooms of the Mal l side of the
build ing', and the two exhi bition roo ms and great en­
trance co urt from the Court of the Fou n tains side of
the bu i ld i ng, l i e on either si de. ' Along each side of t h i s
Court, a n d exte n d i ng t h e e n t i re l e n g t h , a r e roof· covered
arcades under w h i c h the visitors llIay find rest o n t h e
comfortable b e n ches.
The pool itsel f i s 175 feet long and 27 feet wide. I t is
placed in the center of the Court. The bank is sod ded
and planted on a l l sides, forming a pleasing frame or
border effect ; the water is low. so as to receive the re­
flectiolJ of the gro wth around the pool.
T h e fonntai n i s an i m portant feat u re, placed in t h e
center of the poo l , and giving l i fe t o t h e sce ne and
fresh n ess to the atm osphere. Throughout the Court
are pl easan t walks and paths, bordered w i t h low· grow­
i n g s h ru b bery and p l ants. and at" i ntervals at axis­
poi nts w i t h the arcades, rare p lants are p laced in great
vases, lIIak i n � a tru l y arch itect ural landscape effect.
The enti re sch eme g i ves t h e effect of an ad m i rable i n ­
closure o f a I l J ission cloister. and i s p lanned a s o n e of
the Ifl a n y little cases for the refre�h ment of the weary
sigh tseer. T h i s b u i ld i n g an d Court h ave been de­
signed by Green & Wicks, of B u ffalo.
Change in Venezuelan Mining Laws. -Con sul Plu­
macher t l'ansmits from Maracai bo, undel' d ate of No­
vem bel' 27, 1 899. t ranslation of a d ecree abolishi n g t h e
resol ution of October 20, 1898, a s not i n accordance w i t h
t.h e m i n i n g code, w h i ch prescribes t h e exemption of d u ­
t i e s on m ac h i nel'y a n d articles i m ported f o r the exploi­
tatiolJ of m ines.
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
J A N UARY 2 7, J 9 00.
TH E N A T I V E S O F A U S 1' R A L I A AN D THEIR
OlW:H N .
By R . LYDEKKER.
IF the visitor to the N at u ral H istorv Muse u l II at
South Kensington d i rect his attention to a case i n t h e
u p per Mam mal ian Gallery bearin g" the s u perscri ption
" Comparison of Man and Apes : Cran iometry , " he
w i l l scarcely fai l to be struck by t h e remarkable differ­
ence presented between t h e palates of t h ree s k u l l s
placed side by side, a n d respectively la beled Mongo lian,
Austral ian, and C h i m panzee. In the fi rs t the teeth,
w hich are of comp'l.rat i ve l y small si ze, form a regu lar,
u n broken horseshoe· l i ke cu rve, as t hey l i ke w i se d o i l l
a E u ropean ; w h i l e t h e b o n y palate of t h e sku l l i s so
short that its transverse d i a meter considera b l -v exceeds
the longitudinal. On the other band, -in the A ustra l i an
s k u l l the i n d i v i d u a l teeth themsel ves are l arger, an d
instilad of t h e whole series forming a regu lar ho rseshoe,
the l i n e of grinders o n eac h side, together w i t h the eye­
tooth, or canine, forms a disti nct an � l e w i t h t h e i n cisor
line in front. Moreover, t he palate is lon ger and n ar­
rower than i n the Mongo l ian s k u l l ; the l e u gt h of i t s
longitUdinal diameter exceed i n g t h e tran S\'erse_ T u m ­
ing t o t h e Chimpanzee s k u l l, t h e obser ver w i l l not ice
t hat the -featu res indicated i n that of t h e A u stmlian
are intensified ; the palate i tself being much longer
than broad, while t h e teeth are proport ionat.ely very
l arge, and those on each side are arranged in a straight
l ine, curving slightly i n w ard, and formi n g a marked
angle with the i ncisors i n front, frolll which they are
separated by a distinct gap.
Looking at the t h ree palates, the i m partial observer
can scarcely fai l to see that although the A u stral ian
is nearer to the Mongo l i an t h an i t i s to t h e Chim pan­
zee, yet it forms a very marked step in the d i rection of
the latter, and t h at if we had but one more l i n k , t.he
gap between the Mongolian and Si m i an palates wou l d
be practically -br i dged. I n d eed, although, j u dgi n g
from t h e skul l alone, t h e E u ropean should have n o
h esitation i n clai m i n g t h e Australian a s a fel l o w JUan,
y et to say t h a t h e is a " bl'other " would be stretch i n g
t h a t some w h at elastic term very h ard i n deed-an ex­
tremely di�tant cousin wou l d more adeq uately express
the relationsh i p !
H ad we only A ustralians on the one hand and Eu­
ropeans and Mongolians on t.h e other to deal w ith, i t
ap pears h igh l y probab le that w e should be perfectly
j U b t i tied in regard i n g the former as a d i stinct speci es
of mankind. For not only i s th ere the above men­
tioned stri king difference in t h e stru cture of the palate,
but (not t.o m e n tion other poi n ts of d istin ction) the
spinal col umn of the A u stralian lacks t h e full d e velop­
llI ent o f the exq u isite curves of that of t h e E u ropea l l ,
and t h u s approx i m ates to t h e Chimpanzee and Go ri l la.
As a matter of fact, however, the frizzly-haired Mel­
anesian s of Ocean ia, as well as the t r u e N egroes of
Afri ca, stand ill some degree i n termed i a t e bet.ween t h e
Aust ra l i a n and the E u ropean i n respect t o t h e s t ru c­
t ure of the skeleton, and thus forbid us regard i n g t h e
former a s a species apart.
One of the greatest puzzles i n the sci ence of a n th ro­
pology is indeed to u n derstand the relation s h i p of t h e
A ustralians t o other races of man k i nd. In t h e i r s k ele­
t.al struct u re t h ey u ndou bted ly cO llie nearest t o the
Melanesians a n d the A frican Negroes, although p re­
senting a still more pri mitive type. Their b lack COIII­
plexion, t h ick and pouting l i ps, proj ect i n g j aws, l arge
l eeth, and long sku l l s are i ndeed esse n t i al1y N egro
c haracters . 'T h e i r eyes, too, are deeply set in t h e s k u l l .
a n d their l egs s h o w little o r n o cal f. I n t. h e pro m i n e n t
r i d ges o v e r the eyes. they freq u e n t l y ex h i bi t a re­
sel1l blance t o t he M elanesi a n rather t h an t o the
A frican Negro t y pe, in w h i ch t h ese brow- r i d ges are
undeveloped. Au stral ians l i k e w ise rese m b l e Negroes
in that t h e color of the skin of the i nfants is l i g h t yel­
low or brown i n st ead of black ; the ad u l t sable tint
not b l- i n g acq u i red till between eighteen 1IIonths and
t wo years of age.
B u t (and this is a very large .. but " i ndeed) h ere
the resembll\Oce ceasl's : fOJ' all A u stralians are b road l y
d isti n g u ished from Negroes a n d Malanesi ans-even
their n ear n eigh bors t h e Taslll anian s�by t h e charac­
ter of their hair, wh ich, in place of bei n g " woo l l y , " or
frizzly as it. may be better termed , is at most bushy,
c u rly, or wavy ; being general ly coarse i n texture and
black i n color. The b eard an d m u stache are l i k ewise
well developed ; and i n fact, A ustralians cannot be
distinguished b y th e i r hair from the w i l d tri bes of
I n d ia, who are generally regard ed as h a v i n g .no near
relationship with Negroes, and who display n o mark­
ed ly low type in the form of the palate.
Before attem pting to con sider t h e mean i n g of this
m arked difference between Australians on t h e one side
and Negroes and Melanesians o n the other, i t m ay be
well to devote a fe w l i nes to the essen tial d i stinction
bet ween frizzly and other types o f hair. I f sections b e
taken from t h e h a i r of a h orse's t a i l or mane, and then
be examined under a m icroscope or lens, i t w i l l be
foun d that they are perfectly circular : and the en tire
hair being thus cyli n d rical, i t n at u rally hangs straight
down. The lank black h air of a J apanese, a C h i ne�e
or an American Indian i s of the same cy l i n drical type.
O n the other hand, the hair of an average European
w hen seen in section presents an oval e l l i pse, and t h u s
causes the wavi ness so frequently n oticeab le. When ,
however, the hair of a Negro or Mel anesian is sec­
tionized, it is found to presen t a flat e l l i pse : and it i s
owing t o this pecul iar structure t h at t h e h a i r o f these
peoples assu mes its ch aracteristi c frizziness. N o w i t is
very noticeable that i n crossbred races, such as t h e
Brazilian Capesos (Negro and Native half-breeds, Vl h o
are mop-h eaded l i ke the Papuans), this frlzz i n ess of
the hajr tends to persist ; and a hybrid descri bed as
half N egro, a quarter Cheroki, and a qu arter English ,
is stated to have reta i n ed the N egro " wool " Hence
i t has been s uggested that frizz ly hair represents the
pr·i r n i t i '-e h U l l l an t y pe of capil lary adornment.
But i f we exam i n e the hair o f a C h i m pa n zee, Gori lla,
O I'ang- l1 tan, or i n d eed an y other Old World Ape 0 1'
Monkey, it w i l l be found to be of t h e strai ght type,
and to show not the sligh tE!st tendency to frizz i n ess.
C l early then, frolll the e volution ary poi n t of v i e w, t h e
straight-haired t y p e ough t to be the origi n a l one ; and
w e find the late S i r W. H. Flower saying that the
frizz ly type " of h a i r i s pro b a b l y a specialization, for it
see m s very u n li kely that i t was t h e attri bute of the
common an cestors of the h u man race. "
If this hypothesis be true, it would poi n t to the con-
 �T AT'TT A1� Y 2 7, 1 900. SCIE NTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 1 2 5 6.
c l ll � i o n t h a t t h e A u s t r a l ian � are a more pri m i t i ve type
t h an t h e Melan esi a n s a n J N egroes ; a view w h i c h reo
ce i ves stro n g s u pport from t h e pri m i ti ve ch aracters
p resented lJ y t h e i r skeletons. B u t it must be observed
t h at S i t· \V i l l i al ll F �o w e r , in s p i t e of t h e opi n i o n ex·
p ressed above. s u ggested that the Austra l i :tns are a
Itt i xed race, d e ri v e d from a cross i n g bet ween fri zz l v ­
h a i red M e l a n e s i a n s and some low type of the C a u c a ­
s i a n stock, s u ch as t h e w i l d tl'i bes of Southern I n d ia..
I t Itt a y be u rg e d . h o w e ver, from what h as al read y been
said in regard to its persistence among h a l f· b reeds, t h at
t h e frizzly t y p e of hair wou l d be very u n l i ke l y to h a ve
so c o m p l et e l y d i sap peared a m o n g t h e Australian s ;
added to w h ic h is t i l e circu mstance that had such ex­
tens i ve cross i n g w i t h the Ca u c a si a n stock taken place,
the Austral ians cou l d scarce l y h ave preserved s uch an
extremely low t y pe o f s k e l e t a l struct u re-a type which,
at l east as regard s t h e p a l a t e and t h e spinal col u m n ,
a ppears l o w e r t h an t h at of either Melan esian s o r
Negroes.
'l' hat t h e A u stra l i a n aborigines reached their present
hotlle from s ou t h eas t e r n Asia may be regarded as al ·
Ittost certai n ; a n d som e h a ve considered that the mi­
g 'l'ation took p l ace at a time when there was stil l a more
o r l ess com p l e t e Ia,nd con n ection between Malaysia and
A ustralia. Moreover, cer tai n South A u stral i a n tribes
a re cons i d e red to b e c l ose l y related to the ancient i n­
h a b i tants of E u rope, as t y p i fi e d by t h e famous Nean­
(Ierthal s k u l l . H e n ce t h ere i s n o t h i n g i m probable i n
t h e s u p pos i t i o n that both th e A u stral ians and t h e
p r i m i tive C a u cas i an tri bes of I n d i a are t h e descendants
of a common stock. the Austra l ians having retai ned
t h e pl'i m i t i v e ch aracter of t h e i r Neanderthal an cestors,
w h i l e the I n d ian tri bes have attai ned a h igh er grade
of e vol u t i on.
O n t h i s v i e w the frizzl y · h a i red Melanesians and
African Negroes, as wel l as in a l l probab i lity the round­
headed N egritos o f L u z o n , in the P h i lippines. w o u l d
b e descendants from t h e primitive stock of w h i c h
t h e A u stral i a n s a r e l ess m o d i fied representatives. And
i n t h i s con n ection i t is i m portant t o m e n tion t h a t Dr.
O. Finsch, w h o h as traveled m u c h i n A ustral i a, is of
o p i n i o n that t h e Austral i a n aborigines forlIl a si ngle
a.nd peculiar race, w h ic h d i ffers more fro m e i t h e r
typical Melanes i a n s or Pa p u ans t h a n do b o t h the l at­
ter from African .N egroe � .
'l' h e general p h y s i cal s i m i l ar i t y of the nati ves fro lll
a l l parts of A u stral i a is i n deed a very stri king pec u ­
l i ar i t y of the race, a n d serves to show t h at, w h atever
be t h e i t' ori g i n and their relation ship, they h ave been,
previous to the E u ropean colon ization of their island
co n t i n en t , isolated for an i lllmense period of time froIII
t h e rest of t h e h u m an race.
T h e i l' u n i t y of type and isolation from other races
i� s t ron g l y e llJ p h as i zed by their lang uage, which, w h i l e
u n i form throughout t h e country, i s a t t h e s a m e t i lll e
q u i t e d i stinct f r o m t h a t o f a n y other people. I t has
i n deed been attem pted to c o n n ect t h e A ustralian
ton g n e w i t h t h at of t h e D r a v i d i an races of Southern
I n d i a, but t h is, accord i n g to recognized experts, b
s t ated to have res u l ted in a total fai l u re.
'f h ere is, howe ver, a very curious con nection be­
tween the Austra l ian abor I g i n es and cert a i n of the
w i lli tri bes of S o u t hern I nd i a. namely, that both
possess the boomeran g ; a weapon u n k n o w n to a n y
o t l w r m e lll be l'S of t h e h u m a n race. * O f·cou rse, ' there
i s t i l e poss i b i l i t y t h at t h i s very r e m a r k a b l e i mplement
has been i ndepen d e n t l y i nven ted b y t h e t w o peo p l e
w ho u s e i t, b u t t h e r e i s a considerable d egree of i m ­
proba b i l i t y i n t h i s idea. I f , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , it b e
an i n h er i ta n ce o f t h e A ustralians from Asiatic ances­
tors, i t may be fairly argued that i t i s u n l i kely to
h ave been evolved at the extremel y remote epoch
w h e n the ancestral A u stral i a n s started from theil'
Asiatic h o m e. A n d if this view b e accepted, t h e n
we are com pe l led to revert to t h e idea of a l ater im­
l II i grat i o n from Asi a, which b r i n gs us agai n to t h e
q ues t io n of t h e origi n of t h e wavy hair' of the Aus­
t ra li a ns.
Ap pare n t l y there is n o poss i bility of giving a definite
ans wer as to t h e origi n of the boomerang ; but there
i s o n e very c u ri o u s p o i n t w h i c h may i n d icate the great
antiquity o f its i n t roducti o n . As most of my readers
are aware. t h e A ustra l i a n a borigi nes possess a semi­
d O lll esticated dog--the D i n go ; and t h e re are strong
reas o n s for regard i ng this a n i mal as not pertai n i ng
to · t h e i n d igenous fa u n a of t h e co u n try. I ts I'emains
are, howe ver, met w i t h i n ass ocia t io n with t h ose of a
n U ! lI ber of e x t i n c t a n i m a ls, so that t h e date of i ts i n ­
t r od u c t i on was eviden t l y v e r y ear l y . B u t i f, a s sOlll e
s u ppost', man reac h e d A u s t ral i a at a time when it was
m u c h lII ore cl ose l y con n ected w i t h Malaysia than is at
p rese n t t h e case, h i s ad vent m i g h t well have been con­
tem poran e o u s w i t h that of the D i ngo. A n d h ere comes
i n t h e poi n t refel" l"ed to, namely, t h at (as I learn from
an expert) the D i ngo is very closel y related to the
Paria dogs of I n d ia. Now since these lattel' are do­
mesti cated b r e eds the evidence, i f it llI ay be rel ied on,
, w i t h faci lity a n y pec u l iar perso nal m annerism of those
points to a very ear l y i m m i gra t i o n i n to Austral ia of
aborigin a l t r i bes accompanied b y dogs from Asia.
A mI if s u c h ear l y aborigines had domesticated a dog,
they m i ght s u re l y be deemed capabl e of having in­
vented the boo merang.
Like all tri bes who hawe been brought into connec­
t i o n w i t h E u ropeans, t h e Austral ian aborigi n es, es­
pecial l y i n t h e d istricts longest col o n ized, have altered
-and freq u e n t l y for the worse-fro m their pri m i tive
conditio II ; w h i l e they have also sadly d i m i n ished i n
n umber. \Vriti ng, u n der the pseudonym o f . . A n O l d
Bushma n , " so l o n g ago as 1 860, an observant settler i n
t h e v i c i n i t y o f M e l bourne m a d e the following re­
marks :
" O f the Ill a n y t h ousands w h o i n h ab ited the col o n y
before the arri val of the w h i t e m a n , n ot 2, 000 s u r v i ve,
and most of t h ese are o n the b a n ks of the M urray.
A l though debased far below t h e i r o w n savage level
s i nce their i n t e m o u rse w i t h the w h i t e man , t h e f e w
t h at a r e l e f t s t i l l re t a i n m u c h of that free i n de pe n d e n t
spirit a n d w i l d rovi n g d isposition wh i ch chamcte rize
all savages w h o h a ve t o get their I i v i n� by t h e c h ase.
For although they get their rations all the year
rou nd at the h ead station , they nevel' care to I i ve
long i n one place ; b u t, fol l o w i ng u p t h e h a b i ts of
the.i r early l i fe, make period i cal excu rs ions i n to the
b u s h at d i ffere n t. seaso ns, w h e n the d iffere n t game i s
i n . T h u s E w ans' eggs, kall ga roo, duck�, e e l s , and c ray-
'" The hO()llleran� o f Intlia has not the return flight o f the Au�tl'uliall
weapo n .
fish, a l l furnish them with food and occu pation at dif
fprent seaso n s . "
The procuring of a sufficient s u pply of food is in deed
the great problem of the life of the aboriginal Aust ra­
lian ; espec i a l l y as h i s weapons, with t h e exception of
t h e boomerang, are of an extremely poor descriptio n .
Conse.q ue n t ly, these people, i f we may j udge f r o m the
accounts of t h ose w h o have had the best opportun ities
of observi ng them , al'e some of the best, if not actual l y
t h e best. h u n ters a n d trackers i n the world ; i ndeed,
D r. Semon u n hesitat i n g l y absigns to them the highest
posi tion in t h i s res pect. Noth i n g that can be i n any
way regarded as edi ble seems to come a m i ss to a n Aus­
tralian , even such u n satisfactory morsels as grass·
hoppers, beetles. a n d fleas being con s u med with relis h .
Probably t h e d i ffic u l t y of obtai ning a s u fficient food
s u p p l y from other sources was originall y the reason
that cann i balism came i nto vogue, but w h e n once es­
tab l ished i t assumed a prom inent place, Dr. Lumholtz
tel l i n g u s that h u ma n fl e s h is the greatest dietary
luxury that these people i n their primitive con dition
enjoy.
I n t h e proper sense of the term t h e Aus tral ian ap­
pears to h ave n o rel igion at all ; at any rate it has been
aut horitati vely stated that h e has never been observed
either to pray, wors h i p, or offer sacrifice, and that i n
h i s natural condition he has n o sort o f conception o f a
f u t u re state of existence. H i s extremely low grade of
development is li ke wise stri k i ngly exe m plified by the
treatment accorded to t.he fe male sex--a treat ment
perhaps only para l leled among the F uegians. Such of
m y readers as wish to learn h o w brutal this treatment
is, may refer to t h e works of Dr. Semon and Mr.
Brough Smyth ; b u t n o good object would be gai ned
b y quot i n g the pitiful detai ls in this p l ace. N either
n eed detailed reference be made to t h e complicated
system of c lass marriages w h ic h obtai ns among certai n
of t h e tri bes. A l though under a care f u l systein o f
e d u cation i n E u ropean schools t h e nat i ve children are
capable of acq u i r i n g a certain amo u n t of know ledge,
d isplaying a d ec i d e d capacity for drawing, thel'e can
be no doubt that t h e mental capacity of the Aus­
tralian in h i s pri m i ti ve condition stands at an ex­
tre m e l y low level. No better exempl ification of this
can be cited than his ari � h m e t i cal capacity-or rather
i n capacity. So low i ndeed does h e stand i n this re­
spect, that none o f the t r i bes have a word to express
a n u m ber h i gher than t h ree, w h i l e some content them-
Q U A D RI C Y C L E H A U L I N G AN
selves w i t h th ose f o r one and t wo. M r. E . M . Carr is
o f o p i n io n that no u n i nstl'ucted Australian nat i ve can
b y a n y possi b i l ity cou n t even as high as seven cor­
rectly. " I f you lay seven pins on a table," h e writes,
.. for a b lack to reckon . and then abst ract t wo, h e
would not m iss them. I f one wpre removed. h e wo u l d
m iss i t , because h i s m a n n e r of cou n ting by ones a n d
t wos amou nts to t h e sa me a s if h e reckoned by odds
and evens." I t is d ifficult to i luagine anything much
lower than th is.
Perhaps t h e i r one redee m i n g' q u ality is their honesty
and truth f u l n ess ; the " O ld B ush man " stati ng that
t h ough they w i l l ask for an y a r t i c l e t h at may take their
fancy, as if t h e y had a righ t to i t. yet that h e never k n e w
t h e m t o steal. A l l w h o ha\'e had much i n tercourse w i t h
t h e m agree t h a t t h e y a r e n at u ral ly a merry a n d h u mor­
ous people, w i t h a great capacity for mimicry, taki ng off
with wholll they may be brought in con tact, o r im itat­
ing the movem e n ts o f the kan garoo and the emu.
To work of a l l kinds t h ey have a rooted objection,
a n d t h e writer l as t l I l e n t i o n e d g'i ves it as his opi nion
that i t wou l d be i m possi lJ l e to make a slave of an Aus­
tralian Black . N e verthe less, i f I may j udge from cer­
tain photograp hs lent m e by Mr. B. Wood ward , of the
Perth Museum, t h e aborigi nes re mai n i n g i n the settled
d i s t r i cts do n o w Derfol'm a certain amou n t of labor.
T h ey h ave also taken to European cloth ing-of sorts.
B u t. to quote o n ce more from the " Old Bushman . " t h e
Austl'ali a n ladies, who are b y n o m eans remarkab le
for personal beauty, at least from a Eu ropean stand­
poi n t, ., seem to care noth i n g for fi n ery or ornaments.
a d i rty blanket or opossu m-rug wrapped loosel y ro u n d
t h e m , and a s h o r t b l a c k p i p e st uck i n t h e i r h ai r com­
p l etes their toilet . " Not i m probably my lady I'eaders
w i l l consider t h i s a more convincing proof of the low
grade of the A u stra l i an a b o r i g i n e s than any other in­
s t a n ce that could be I I l p n t ioned !
Si n ce writing t h e a b o v e . I have had an opport u n i ty
of carefully read i n g Dr. Semon's book, " I n t h e Aus­
tral ian Bush, " and alll p l eased to find that h e agrees
with t h e v i e ws here e x p ressed as to t he racial disti n ct­
n ess of I he A u stralian abor i g i n es fro m their neighbors.
B ut he goes a step f u rther than I have ven t u red to·ad­
vance, and suggest s that t.he A u st ral ians are real l y n ear
relat ions of t h e Veddas of C e y l o n , and are therefore i n
real ity a low bran ch o f the pri m i tive C a u casian stock ,
and have n ot h i n g to do w ith Negroes, to . whom they
are com lllon l y affi liated.
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
20 1 3 7
A U l'OMO B l L I S M IN H O SP I T A L S E RV I C E.
THE applications of autollJO b i l i s m i n p u bl i c services
are rapi d l y multi plying. The c i t y of Alen�o n h as
recently been trying an i n teres t i n g i nnovation in t h e
w a y of a " Service of Prompt Rt' l i ef, " w h ich really
merits its name. To a quad ricycle i s harn essed an
ambu lan ce vehicle of the Lagogue system. I f i t is a
q u estion of goi ng to afford relief to a person wounded
i n the cou n t ry, at several miles from the city, the
dri ver goes for the surgeon, who takes his seat i n fron t
of the q u adricle. Thus carried to the spot, the s Ul"geon
i lllmediately gives the patient all the atten tion t h a t is
necessary for the moment, and then has h i m placed i n
t h e ambu lance, which carries h i m t o the hospital of
Alen<;on.
For the above partic u lars and the engraving, we are
i ndebted to L' I l l ustration.
ANCIENT E GYPT I A N GARD E N I N G.
WRITING for T h e Gardeners' C h ronicle, Mr. Percy E.
N e w berry gives the following description of gardening
6. 000 years ago. Although the Egyptian soi l is ex­
tremely fertile, it is a remarkable fact t h at n o co u n try
in the same latitude has so poor a variety of indigen­
ous plants. Wild flowers are rare ; native trees are
fe w . O w ing to the ann ual i n undation of the Nile, much
of the land i s u nder water for n earlv fo u r months in
every year ; for anoth er fou r.months t'he valley is green
with gro w i n g crops, or golden with ripening corn , and
t h e remaining fou r months of tme year the s urface o f
t h e soil i s bare, parched and baked by t h e burning
sun. O f natural shade t here is vecy little. The com ­
m o nest trees that are lIIet w i t h at the present day on a
journey up the Nile are the Acacia Nilotica (the S u n t
tree of t h e Arabs), the Date Palm , the D(tm Palm, t h e
N e bak (Zisyp h u s spina C h risti), the Parkinson i a, or
Wild Sese ban, and the Tamarisk, none of w h ich trees
prod uce much shade. The o n l y tree of any size bear­
ing dense foliage is the w i l d Fig, or Sycamore (the
Gimmez of t h e Arabs). which grows here and there i n
. an i so lated fashion. Y e t i f there be a co u n try where
the cool shade of trees is req u i red, that country i s
Egypt. The native i n h abitant longs for it as Ill uch as
the foreign resident, and d u ri n g the m idday heat of
spring, summer and autumn, when the sky is always
cloud less, the observi n g eye will note that the fellaheen
A l\IB U L A N C E .
lIIen and boys utilize every a,'ai lable shady corner.
'fhe ancient Egyptian m ust have equally felt this n eed
o f a cool place w h erein h e might take h i s noonday
si esta, and with this object in view he u ndoubtedly
fi rst planted trees aro u n d his house. N u m berl ess iu­
scri ptions record the prayer t h at a man 'might sit in
t h e s h a d e of his Sycamores and " inhale the sweet,
cool ing breeze of the north w i n d . "
T h e m o s t anoient, descri ption of a garde n t h a t has
come down to us p l aiorll y shows that w h en the gard e n
w a s l a i d o u t , the c h i e f object of the designer was t o
m a k e a shady place t o sit ill. 'f h i s descri ption, written
in hieroglyphic writi ng, w a s di scovered i n a tom b near
A b u ser, a little v i l lage not far from the modern ci ty of
Cairo. Accord i n g t o the i nscri ptions i n the tomb, t h e
. garden belonged to a eertai n wealth y noble named
A m te n , who o w ned several landed estates. At t h e
o utset ·of h is career, h i s fat her obtai n ed f o r h i m a gov­
ernment appoin t ment connected with the A d m i nistra­
tion of Provisions, and it was Amten's duty to receive,
register, and distribute the meat, bri'ad, fruits, and
fresh vegeta bles, which i n those early days constituted
part of the government taxes. W h i l e still a young
man, h e becam e d irector of the Royal F l a x , which
m eant that h e s upervi sed its culture, cutting, and
general preparation for the manufactu re of linen. La­
ter in life he was appo i n ted to the ran k of a Provincial
Governor, and bpcame rich enough to build fOI' h i m sel f
a magnifice n t villa upon olle of h is o w n estates. Of
the garde n w h ich he laid out aro u n d this villa li p has
left us a remarkable descri ption, w h ich, th ough brief,
is n evertheless of great i n terest, as bei ng by far t h e
old est record of a garden yet discovered . " The bound­
ary wall," h e writes , . , was 2(10 c ub i ts (i. e. , 350 feet) in
breadth, a n d the saUle i n w i d t h ; the garde n inside it
was planted w i t h bea uti f u l trees, and a very great
pond was excavated i n its center, t h e s u rrou n di n g
garden bei n g plan ted with fig-trees a n d vines . " When
t h e . , writ i n g for t h e royal rescript had been made, a
very great vin eyard was plan ted, which y i e l d ed me
w i n e i n great quantity. I trained two acres of v i n e
h i dden i n the i nterior of the wall, and I p lanted trees
aro u n d i t . "
I t w i l l be n oticpd t h a t o n l y two kind s of tree are
m e n t i oned. The first is the Fig-tree, cal led dab in t his
early i n scri ption, but i n later writi n gs invariably
named n ehat or the tree par excellen ce-that is. the
shade-giving tree of t h e cou ntry. The s pc o wl i � t h p
vine, called !\areret, from a word, !\ar, mean ing " to
 20138 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 1 256.
bind, " " to twist round, " " to twine, " showing that the
Egyptian name of the vine has the same etymological
sense as our European word vinum. I n h ieroglyphics
a word waH often written with t w o distinct groups of
signs, one group havin g phonetic-that is sound-val­
ues , the other ideographic or picture val ues. Some­
ti m es these picture signs have sim ply a general mean­
i n g ; at other times they have specific meanings. To
i l l u strate this let us take the ancient Egyptian name of
the Lotus, or Water-Li ly, w h ich may b e written i n two
d i fferent ways. I n both examples t h e word is spel t out
-that is, i t has three sound si gns-(1) a line wi t h two
strokes i n the m iddle, w h ic h is equivalent to our s ; (2)
a rectangular sign, representing a tank, equivalent t o
o n r s h ; a n d (3) a zigzag sign, equali n g our n . T h ese
t h .·ee sound signs give the soun d of the word-ses h e n .
The last sign of t h e two examples of the word, h o w ­
ever, differ. The three flowers attached to o n e stem i n
the tirst example is a general picture s i g n , w h i c h m a y
be placed a t the e n d of a l l flower or plant namt's. and
merely means " a flower, " or " an y kind of plant ;" but
the sound si gns before it fix its precise meaning-that
is, it is the seshen-flower or plant. I n the second ex­
ample, we see the last sign is a Water-Lily, thus prov­
ing beyond all dou bt that t h e ses hen was the Water­
L i l y. In the case of tree-names, the generic p i cture­
sign (or determinati ve, as it i s techn ical ly cal led) is a
pointed tree, so mewhat l i ke a C ypress tree. Some­
times, however, mere l y a s i n gl e branc h of a tree is used
as a determinative, though t h i s latter sign is generally
confined to such trees as supplied the ancient carpen­
ters with good wood for building or othe r purposes,
and not to fruit-bearing trees. The n ames of fruits,
likewise, are determined general l y by three little round
balls, or a number of balls in a basket. The names of
grains, also, are determi ned by th ree grains of wheat
or a n u mber of grains in a basket. From the above­
men tioned examples t h e reader will have obtained
some idea as to the system of old Egyptian writing,
and the use of picture-signs or determi natives.
In the inscri ption describing Am ten's garden, the
word for a vineyard i s determined by a little p icture of
a vine gro w i n g over th ree upright forked stakes, from
between which hang two fi n e bunches of grapes. T h i s
sho ws that t h e v i n e s were trained a s a t the present day
in Egypt and in Italy, over stakes, so as to form a
s h ady arbor. At L u xor, I myself had a vine yard
nearly two acres in extent of t h i s type ; and in s u m mer
t i m e, when the vine leaves form a thick i m pen etrable
shade, this was by far the coolest p lace i n a well-stocked
orchard and gard en .
At the time of the pyrami d - b u i l d i n g ki ngs, the vine
was extensivel v c u l t i vated in d i fferent districts of
Egypt, and wine making appears to h ave been an i m­
pOl·tant i ndu stry. In many of t h e tom bs of this pe­
riod we have representations of v i n eyards and scenes
i l l ustrating the process of wine making. In the tom b
of Ptah-h etep a t Sakkara ( 1 5 m i l es so u t h of Cairo) i s
preserved a series of scenes of t h is k i n d . We s e e first
of all a gardener named A h y wateri n g the roots. of a
trellised vine, from w h ich t wo men and a boy are gath­
ering b u n ches of grapes, and caref u l l y placi n g. them
i nto wi cker or Pa l m - leaf baskets. T h e inscrJption
above them reads . . . P l ucking j!rapes; " Pollowi n g t h i s
acene is another. s h o w i n g t h e tread i n g of the .grapes,
and it is curious to note t h at alllong t h e m is a profes­
sional wig- I llaker or hair-dresser. A third scen e shows
the fi nal process of wine making, the extraction of
j u i ce frolll the pulp. T h fl latter h as been p u t into
a strong bag with a loop at either end, a pole has been
passed through each of the loops, and the j uice is
wrung out with great force by five persons. As ear l y
as 3500 B . C . , s i x sorts of wi n es were made, a n d i n t h e
inscr i pt i o n s we read of red, white, a n d black wines, a s
well as northern wine f r o m the D e l ta pro vi nces of
Lower Egypt ; an d S u n u wine, from grapes grown at
Assuan, in Upper Egypt. One of the faVOrite k i n d s
w a s t he Amt-wine, gro w n i n t h e neighborhood of N e ­
besheh, a tow n i n the Delta, s o m e di stance to t M e
north-east of Cairo.
Another i m portant i ndustry in ancient- Egypt was
the cultivation of the Papyrus plant for the manu fac­
tu re of papyrus paper. It was gro wn in the marshes,
and there are several scenes preser \'ed in the tom bs
s ilowi n g the Papyrus harvest. It seems to have been
ch iefly culti vated in Northern Egypt, and in t h e hiero­
/!Iyph i c wri t i n g a Papyrus plant w i th three stalks sig­
l I i fies Lo wer Egypt. 01' the mars h y district of the Delta.
The corresponding sign for U pper Egypt was a Rush­
like plant, per haps some variety of Sci rpus.
I n the lists of offeri ngs w h ich are written u po n the
walls of some of the ear l y tombs, the culti vated fi g. t h e
w i ld or sycam ore-fig, the n ebak (Z isyphus s p i n a C h risti)
frui t, of which a k i n d of bread was made. the Balan­
i tes regyptiaca, and some othe.· frui ts, are llI entioned.
The ouion, called hez, . . t h e w h i te vegetable, " was ex­
tensh·ely gro w n . and perhaps also the radish. Several
k i nds of grai n are named, i n c l u d i n g the d u rrah (Sor­
ghum vulgaris), afi d wh eat and barley. The names of
local ities and estates were often, as w i t h us in Europe,
taken frOID the nalll es of trees or plants, and among
t h ese we tind at the earliest h i storical period the " vil­
l age of t h e vine," the " v i l lage of the barley," t h e " heg­
J i g (Balani tes regyptiaca) town , " the " Fi g-tree town,"
and so fort h .
A side - l i gh t is thro w n upon the gard ens of the Nu­
p
bians at this eriod frolll a passage i n t h e In!,cription
of the Genera U na. He tel ls us that in one of h i s ex­
ped i tions beyond t h e southem frontier of Egypt, h e
. . cut down t h e Vi nes and Fig- t.rees o f t h e outer barba­
rians. " This general, accord i n g to h i s lengt h y bi ogra;
p h y, which h as lucki l y b�en preserved almost i n tact to
t h e present ti me, began h i s ca reer as one of Pharaoh's
/.:ardeners. Born l ate in the reign of King Unas (about
3. 500 years before t h e C h ristian era). this remarkable
l lIan tells u s tl1lit h e wore the flower-crown of a bov
("ou rtier under King Teta, by whom he was appoi nted
T O t h e post of overseer of one of t h e royal storehouses,
at the same time aC'ti ng as u n der-gardener to the k i ng.
Then, after serving some t i me as a C'ourtier an d an u n ­
rl e r-pri est, h e was, c u l"iously enough, appoi nted j u dge.
So m uch esteemed was he, t h at he was ordered b y the
king to try, " alone w i t h the chief j ustice and prime
m i n i ster, " severa) i m portan t legal cases, because, as he
naively tel ls u s . . . the k i n g's heart. was sat isfied with me
more than with any of h i s prin ces, his officers, 01' h i s
servan ts. " For the services which he rendered i n this
connection, h e was rewarded by the magnificen t gift of
a speCially pl·ep ared sarcophllglJtl a n d material to build
a fine tomb for himself-a p resent which may seem
strange to our eyes, but was one of the greatest honors
that an Egyptian could receive at the hands of his
monarch . During the time t h at he acted as a judge he
probably stil l retai ned his office as garden er, for he
w rites : " Now when I was a j udge, his m ajesty m ade
me superintendent of the garden of P h ar aoh, and I
i n �tructed the overseers of the garden that were t here. "
W h i l e stil l a com paratively young m a n , he was com­
man ded by the king to i n q u i re ' into certain matters
connected with what appears to h ave been a con spir­
acy agai nst the l i fe of the ruler of t h e state. Concluding
t h i s inquiry to the king's satiflfaction, h e was soon after
g i ven even more i m portant duties to perform t han any
of the preceding. For the safety of the kingdom it was
l I ecessary to organize an expedition agai ns� the tribes
on the southern fron tier, and Una was sent at the head
FIG. 3.-RO B E R'r .u O U IHN ' S CLOCK.
of a great army of many tens of thousands. " I it was,"
writes the autobiograp h er, .. who planned their pro­
cedure, although my grade was that of superi ntendent
of Pharaoh's garden. " T h e expedition was successful,
and the gen eral ret u rned to Egypt covered with glory.
and was promoted to one of the h ighest ad min istrative
positions i n the coun try, the whole of Southern Egypt,
from the first cataract to the Fayum, being placed un­
der his j urisdiction. Such was the even tfu l career of
one whose " grade, " as he expresses i t, w as at first no
higher than that of a n " under-gardener " to Ph araoh.
MYSTERI O U S CLOC KS.
IN all t i m es certai n c1ockmakers, fond of what i s odd,
have endeavored to concea.l the movements of clocks
to as g.·eat a degree as possible, in order to make their
operation a m atter of more or l ess m ystery.
In t h e t i mepieces that. we are about to descri be, i t
has been t h e desire t o g i v e t h e i l l usion of hands moving
of th emsel ves. Attem pts to accom plish this were made
a s long ago as the sixtee n t h cent ury, and the clock
w hich we re present in Fig. 1 , and w h ich belongs to M.
Pau l Garnier, is a very curious and pleasing type of
s u c l ! devices. It is 8 i nches in height, is made entirely
o f gilded copper, and see ms to be of Ital i an origin.
'r h e hour is marked by the small sty le seen at
A . r h i s style, w h i ch is cut out of steel, i s carried
' with the movement placed i n the wooden base which
CLOCK OF T H E
FIG. l . -MYST E R I O U S
SEVENTERNTH CENTURY.
alon g simply b y a wheel con cealed be tween the t wo
d i sks that serve as d i a.ls an d u pon w h i ch it is fixed.
This smal l Re naissance clock, i n the form of a mon­
strance, i s one of t h e k i nds t h at were placed upon a
table : and so. l i ke the m ajority of. its congeners. it h as
two d i als, i n order that the time may be seen on each
side. As the t i m e is necessar i l y i ndicated by the same
poi n ter, the hours on each d isk aro en gra ved in a d i f­
feren t d i rection. So it will be seen from the figu re,
w h ich shows t h e posterior face of the p i ece, that the
n u mber 1, for example, is at the place usually occupied
by U.
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
J ANUARY 2 7, 1 900.
The little figure tbat i n d i cates the qu arters en gl"a \"ed
around the sphere upon which it stands is very cu rious.
But the interest of the t h i n g is not centered he .·e,
since this com b ination conforms with the very freq uent
use of two dials on the clocks of this epoch-one for the
hours and the other for t h e quarters. The i l l usion
consists e specially i n the method of transmission of the
wheel work pl aced i n the base of the piece. It would
seem as if the vertical rod that s u pports tbe sph ere
would prevent the w h eel con cealed between the d isks
from revotving, since, through i t s position, the rod
seems to intersect it. In reality it is the contrary that
occurs, since the rod moves tbe w h eel through the i n ­
termed i u m o f a p i n ion that gears with i t . T h e ratio
between tho teeth of the p i n ion and those of the wheel
is such that the sp here makes one revolution an bour.
while the wheel that carries along the pointer makes
its revolution but once in the twenty-four hOU1·S into
w h ich the dial is divided.
In Fig. 2 we give a reprod uction of a t i m e p iece dat­
ing back to t h e eighteenth century. It is 24 in ches i n
height. T h e figure that supports it is of sculptured and
gilded wood. Upon the dial, which is of copper, there
are twelve enameled faces u pon which the hours are
pai nted. Tbe handle of the i n verted scythe held by
Time is so arranged as to serve, together with a tree
trunk placed beh ind the figure, as a su pport for the
axis u pon which- tbe single hand is mounted. T h i s
axis is broken. T h e posterior portion is fixed i n an
aperture i n the tree, and to i t is keyed a toothed wheel.
The anterior part, which is movable, and carries the
hand, is connected with a drum which envelops the
toothed w h eel and u pon wh ich is fixed a second and
larger drum inclosing the movement. This latter
gears with the fixed toothed w h eel. So the move ment;
rest.ing upon the fixed toothed wh eel, descri bes a satel­
lite moti on around the l atter and carries with it t h e
t w o interdependent drums, t h e movable part of t h e
a x i s , a n d consequently t h e band.
I ndepen dently of this cu rious fun ction, the clock
maker has complicated matters through the two dials
t h at are seen at each extremity of the hand. O n e of
these marks the day of the month and the other the
days of the week.
Behind each dial there is a box contai n i n g the motive
system of the hands. This is exceed ingly simple and
the same for both . It consists of a cen tral, toothed
wheel u pon the axis of which is fixed the hand, and
w hich is set in operation by a p i n ion upon w h ich is
fi xed a relatively heavy mass of m etal. The large
central needle m akes one revolution around its dial i n
twelve hours ; a n d t h e pinion b e i n g free a n d always held
vertically by its weight, makes also one com plete revo­
l u tion, and consequently causes the wheel that it
controls to turn forward. It is then only a ques­
tion of the ratio between the n u mber of teeth of
the pinion and the wheel carrying t h e h a n d that de­
term i n es the i n d ication by the latter of t h e day of tbe
week or day of the month. The two boxes with their
dials and their w eights are very well balanced , so
that the watch movement which carries along the
whole operates very easily.
Fig. 3 represents a clock in vented by Robert Houdin
about sixty years ago. This very remarkable time­
piece consists of a dial composed of two juxt aposed
d isks of glass, one of which is stationary and ca.rries the
hours, wh ile the other is m m'able and serves for the
lIl otion of the hands. This l atter disk is provided with
a wheel or rath er a toothed ring concealed with i n th e
m etal lic ring forming a dial. The /llass column w h ich
constitutes the body of the piece is formed of two tu bes
which operate accordi n g to the principle of the dial, tbat
is to say, one i s stationary and the other movable. To
each of the extremities of t.he latter is fixed a wheel.
These wheels gear w i t h transm ission pinions which com­
m u n i cate, one of them at the top with the movable
plate of glass of the dial, and the oth er at the bottom
Fm. 2 . -MYST E R I O U SC LOCK O F T H E
EIGHTEE N T H C E N T U R Y .
supports the glass shade covering- the clock. All these
con cealed transmissions are a .... an ged in a most skil ful
manner, and com plete t h e i l l usion. T h e movable glass
of the dial, carried a l o n g by the col u m n , actuates a
small dial-trai n mounted in t i l e t h i ckness of the sta­
tionary glass, and within an extremely narrow space i n
t h e center o f the dial. I t i s covered b y the smaH hand
and is conseq u e n t l y i n v i s i ble. The hands are very
easi l y act u ated by i t on acco u n t of th eir extrem e light­
ness and perfect equ i l ibri u m . We therefore fi nd, at
two centuries apart, in the examples j ust given, tbe
Bame t endency to ward making mysterious clocks.
 J AN lJ A R Y 2 7 , 1 9 00 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 1 2 56.
U ndoubted l y, from a d ecorati ve point of view, t h e
most bea u t i f u l o n e is t h e most l,I.ucient, b u t the t w o
others a r e n o n e the less i n t ere!.ting, and in no respect
l ess ingen ious t han the form!'r, especial l y the last on e
d escribed, w h ic h is ind eed a marvel of its kind.
For the en gravings and the above particulars we are
indeb ted to La Nature.
LATTICE REFRIGE RATORIES.
FOR the econo mical cooling of warm water, many
ind ustrrial establ i s h ments e m ploy open work refrigera·
tories derived from the well known fagot type, in which
the watel', d i vided into thin streams or even into drops,
flows u p w ard t h rough ascending currents of air.
Owing t o their po wer, such refrigeratories occupy
considerable space and are quite co.stly to estab l i s h .
.
"
FIG. t . -SECTION OF A ZSCHOCKE LATT I C E
REF RIG E RATO RY
Moreover, the m aterials of w h ich they are constructed
do not resist the destructi ve action of the water as long
as might be desired, and the repairs to them are not
very easy by reason of the diIDculty of access to the i n­
teriOl' of the structure.
Some importan t improvements have already been
made from this point of view, and the occasion now
p l'esents i t self to make known to o u r readers a new
lattice refrigeratory for cooling the warm water of in­
d ustrial establishments, recently i ntrod uced b y the
well known i n ventor, M. Zschocke. As i s well known,
lattice refrigeratories are used particu larly i n large
manufactories i n w h ich steam is t h e mot i ve force, and
w h ich employ, of course, economic engines operating
i n com pany with condensers.
When the water of a distribl'lting servico is expensive
o r the local services render the storage of i t diIDcult,
i t is of interest to use ane w the water of condensation,
after it h as been properly cooled.
The Zschocke apparatus is not only an efficacious
refrigerator, but also a separator of the oil and grease
carried along with the conde nsed steam. I t consists of
8imilar sect ions joi ned toget her in n u mbers vary ing
FIG. 2.-0PEN REFRI G E RATORY.
with the quantity of warm water t o be treated. O n e
of these sections is represented i n F i g . 1 . The water
that enters at t h e upper part i s d istri bu ted u n i formly
in thin sheets over very wide sU l'face!! of refrigeration,
whence it fl o w s in smal l d rops submitted to contact
w i t h the ail' circulati ng freely in an opposite d i rection.
Th is water is lifted by a p u m p and e m ptied t h rough a
pipe at .A into the oi l separator, R. A partial parti­
tion, B, brea ks the cu rrent, w h i l e a barrier (rendered
visi ble i n the figure through the removal of a porti on
of the side of the trough) permit8 the oily su bstances
to rise to the surface of the water, which o v erflows i n
front. Here the bottom of the trough i s traversed by
a vertical p i pe, C. open at the top and provi ded with
two oblique l ateral tubulures, that enter the water to
a medium depth, so that neither t h e o i l o n the surface
uor the m u d or sand at the bottom can enter the tubu·
l u res. The water d rawn off t h rough th is pipe flows
i n to the lower trough, G, which, t h ro u g h s mall iron
tubes arranged at the sides of its base, e m pties i t iu
j ets into narro w d i stri buting channels, D. '1'0 each
pair of tubes t hel·e corresponds a c h a n n e l t hat extends
o ver the entire width of the apparatus and the walls of
w h ich are notched at the top and bottom i n such a way
as to allow t h e water to fall d rop by d rop upon screens
arranged beneat h .
A s t h i s water is depri ved of o i l y matter, i t gives rise
to none of the well k n o w n inconveniences in the con­
denser, and does not fo u l the screens, w h ich otherwi se
would soon lose their refrigerating efficiency, since,
u pon an oily su rface, water rolls in large drops. The
oil i s extracted f ro m time to time, and, after being fil­
tered, may be used over again.
Mountain pine i s excl USively employed i n the con­
struction of the screens. This wood, it seems, presents
a greater resistance to the action of the air and hu·
m i dity than fir.
The screens are formed of several sections, each hav·
ing five lattices assembled obliquely and resting upon
strips of wood fixed to the framework. The lattices
are notcbed at their lower part. The water spread s
over their surfaces and t h e n unites in drops that flow
over the screens placed inl lu u l iately beneat h. As may
FIG. S . - A N OPEN R E FRIG R RATORY
I N STALLED UPON A ROOF.
be seen, the elements, K. of the second row of screens
are parallel with those of the fi rst, H, and are obliq ued
i n the opposite direction ; and the sallle is the case i n
the other rows.
The water that flows over the wide su rface of refrige­
ration t h u s formed gi ves rise to a fine shower, which
m eets with ascending cu rrents of air broken between
the l attices. The res u l t i s an active evaporation w h i <l h
removes the heat qo t onlY f r o m t h e thin sheets of water
spread over the l attices, but also from the drops d u ri n g
t h e i r descent. 'f he external walls of this refrigeratory
are formed of o verlappin g slats, as in Venetian bli nds,
w hich , w h i l e allowing the air to enter freel y, red uce
the loss caused by removal of water to the exterior by
the wind.
Fig. 2 represen ts an " open " lattice refrige rator y as a
w h ole. At the m u nicipal electric works of Kaiserslau­
ten, w h ich uses a 796 horse power engi ne, the water (If
condensation enters an ap parat us of thi>! kind at a
tem perat ure of fro m 50° to 56° C. and makes i ts exit
therefrolll at a tem perat u re vel'y sligh tly exceedi ng
t hat o f air in the shade. In SU lll lll e r it even descends
a little belo w the surrounding tem perat ure.
When space is wanting, it i s possible a t the time of
the construction of the b u i l d i n gs o f a m an u fact.orv to
arrange the one contai n i n g t h e engi nes i n such a way
that an " open " or . . closed " refri geratory m ay be
placed u pon the roof (Fig. 8). I n s u ch a case the forc­
ing of the water absorbs about SO per cent. of the pow­
e r of the mot? r with an injecti.oll condenser and only
to per cen t. With a su rface condenser.
This solution of the question is adopted only excep­
tionally. In fftct, i t is very rarely the case that the
neces�lI ry s pace i s not fou nd for a ,. closed " refl'igera­
tory (Fig. 4), w h ich . with a l i m ited s urface , presents
great efficiency. T h e internal arran gements there i n
a r e l i k e those th at w e h ave descri bed , b u t the fram e ·
work is closed a l l around b y boa rds, a n d at t h e top
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
20139
there is a draught shaft w hich operates after the man­
nel' of a chilll ney .
The closed refrigeratory ms.y likewise be i n stalled in
small yards in w h ich there are no n atural currents of
a i l·. A suIDcient height. is given to the ch i m ney to a l -
1 0 1V the vapors t o b e d isengaged above the surround­
ing bui ldings. The loss of water t h rough being car­
ried away by the wind is here oomp l etel y preven ted .
For t h e forcing of the water only 10 per cent. of the
power of the motor is reckoned, w i t h the ch i m n ey re
fri geratory i n stalled npon the ground, w h atever be the
system of condenser,
For the above particulars and the engravings we are
indebted to La Rev ue I n d ustrie l l e.
REC ORD I N G FERN SHAPES.
MOST of those whose inclination leads them m uch
afield find at. times bits of Nature's tracery i n an od d l y
marked leaf or rare fern , w h ich appeals to their sense
of the beauti ful, says a w riter in The Eveni n g Post.
T h ey have a desire to preserve these specimens, but
the memory of things of this kind b l·ough t home from
excursions and pressed be tween the leaves of a boo k,
only to be m arred or destroyed, uF ually causes them
to abandon this idea. T h ere is one way, howe ver, in
w hich a faithful represen tation of these objects may
b e secu red, a way at once interesting and instructive.
This is by using the l eaf or fern as a negative ; that is,
laying it on a sheet of photographic printing paper,
and exposi ng it in a printing frame in the ord i u ary
way to the action of the sun . T h e equipment neces­
sary to set up as an adept at this l i ttle fad in amateur
photography is inex pensi ve and easi ly procured, being
as follows : A printing fram e, 4 X 5 or 6 X 8 ; a pair
of scissors, a dozen sheets of pri nting paper, a piece of
soft cloth, and a good book. 'f hose who have even
the slig htest know ledge of amateu r photograph y w i l l
u n derstand from w h at h as a l ready been written h o w
to obtai n pri n ts in the m a n n e r men tioned, w hile t hose
not 80 qualified can become easily skil led i n maki ng
t h e m by follo wing the hints here given.
When you next go for a ram ble along the river or OIl
the hills, take the articles noted above. 'f he pri nting
frame shouid hftve a weaker spring than those u sed
for ordinary work, so .:.s not to cause press ure enough
on the green t h i n gs placed in i t to fo rce the sap t ro m
them. Whatever kind of printing paper is sel ected,
choose the best grade of thftt particu l ar ki nd. 5he
scissors should h ave b l u n t ends, so as to do away with
any chance of inj ury i ll case o f a fal l w h i le scrambling
up a ban k after a choice fern. They will come i n
handy to cut t h e paper i n to the req u i red s i z e f o r small
leaves. The cloth i s to clean t h e glass of the frame,
and the leaf or fern before the print is m ade. 'fhe use
of the book will appear later.
The leaves w h ich yield the prettiest prints are those
of the su mach, oak, e l m , wild r6se, cherry, and the
rasp berries ; w h ile ferns, of a l l t h i n gs, lend themselves
to the pastime most read i l y. They are, ho wever, from
their delicate n ature, h arder to handle than leaves,
which the beginner should pri n t from at first.
When you have m ade up your m i n d on what leaf
you wish to try your s k i l l and patien ce, do not seek to
secure i t fro llJ a large tree, as most of t h e leaves on
large trees, being much exposed to the stings of
FIG. 4.-CH I M N EY R � F R I G E RA 'f O R Y .
i n sects a n d the action of the s u n , become spotted o r
stai ned b y the time they are ad vanced e n o u g h to b e
h andled w i t. h o u t dan ""er of abrasi on. I n t h e under­
brush n ear at hand y � u w i l l find some l u sty scion of
the tree you have decided upon, w h i ch, be i n g sheltered
by i ts pare n t from al l the i l ls that have vexed the
latter, h as retai ned its springtime freshness. Having
made your selection from this, the pri n t should be
made as q u ickly thel·eaf t.e l· as practicable, a s the l eaf
wi l l soon lose its crisp II p p earance.
Re tire to the shadow of a large tree trunk, stump,
or othel' shield frolll the s u n , and lay the book on the
gl·ound for a restmg place for t he printing frame.
O pen the frame and make SlIre that the glasl! is free
from dust. Wipe the leaf caref u l l y and place it on the
 2 0 1 40 8CI�NTn'IC AME RICAN S UPPLEMEN'r, No. 1 2 5 6 .
glass, face down, i n t h e position yotlr taste d ictates
as l i kely to yield the m ost p l easing resu lt. Open the
e n velope w h ich conta i n s the printing paper (which
should al ways be g uarded as much as possible fro m
the l i ght), and t.ake out a sheet face dowu. Place
this ou the leaf i n the f rame, the under side of the
leaf al ways i n co ntact with t h e face of the paper. Do
this as q u ickly as possible, and do not turn the frame
face u p ward until it is locked. H aving arrange d
matters to y o u r sat isfaction, find a spot w here t he s u n
c o m es tlll'ough t h e l eaves a n d place t h e frame face u p
i n t il e d i rect light of · i ts rays. T h e u s i t d o w n aud
read from your book w h i l e t h e · su n does t h e wOI'k.
From t wo to ten min utes will b e req u i red to secure a
good print. according to the t i m e of d a v and thickness
of the leaf or fern. Of t h e leaves. i he oak prints
quickest, while the e l m and raspberry take somewhat
l o n ger. The ferns all print very q uick ly, the m aid e n ­
hai r resisting the actio n of the l i g h t least of all.
Take t h e print from the frame with the same pre­
cautions used in placing i t t here, and put i t between
the l ea ves of the book or i n a separate en velope to
guard it fro m the light.
The pri n ts may be ton e d i n the ordi nary way. If
you have not time to do th is, any p rofessional will b e
g l a d to r u n t h e m through with his regular w o r k f o r a
com paratively smal l sum. Mounted, they w i l l form a
pleasing collection to turn to on a w i n ter's day, w h i l e
i f d ried out on a ferrotype plate, they m ay be used for
decorative p u rposes in n u m berless ways, as the o w ner's
taste may su ggest.. T h e y w i l l be permanent if made
on good paper, and will not be subject to the same
dange r from rough hand l i n g that pressed leaves and
fern s are. And, best of all, if you are a collector of
fe ms, when you w rite to a brother or sister enth usiast
tel l i u g of a s C l'amble u p a cliff o� search th rough the
u n d e l'b r u s h after some rare specimen, you can wind up
Y O Il l' e n l o g i s tic description of i t with the p, S.-" I i n ­
close h e re w ith a print , which w i l l enable you to form
some fai n t idea of the beauty of the original . "
T RA D E S U GGESTIONS F R O M UNITED
STATES CONSULS.
Automobiles and Electric Power Plants in Sweden.­
Many business men h ere think that the import of
motor carriages into S weden, if once p roperly started,
wil l be considel'ab le, provided they can be made dur­
able. neat in appearance, safe and easy to h andle, and
not too expensive, says United States Consul Robert
S . S. Bergh . Cab owners, especially in Stockholm, are
considering the advisability of pu rchasing motor car­
riages, and a short time ago they sent experts to Berlin,
t o study and exami n e motor cabs man ufactured in
G ermany . T h e report they made o n their ret.urn was
not altogether favorab l e . T hey said that automobiles
w h ich in catalo g ues seemed to be ideals of perfection , i n
reality d i d not come u p t,o expectations.
The chief objection to the 1lI0tor cabs, with ac('u m ll­
l ators or storage bat t e ries , wall t h at t h ey could not
make sharp enough t u rns. T h e cabs were built with
the batteries placed c lose to t h e back wheels. The
steering power of t h e front w h eels was so smal l that
t h e carriages co u l d t u rn o n l y i n very large curves, mak­
i n g t h e m unfit for use on n arro w streets. Another i n ­
con venience was that a s soon a s the cabs got on a road
covered with a layer of sand an inch th ick, they stopped
helplessly,
Besides these incon veniences, com mon to French and
German m otor cabs a l i ke, it was said that fe w of the
carriages ex hibited were of t,h e type desired-that is,
w i th room for from two to fou r passengers. H u nting
wagons, motor cycles, delivery wagons, etc" for sports­
m e n an d business houses were plentiful ; but cabs were
fewer and, as a rule, clumsy in a ppearance. A German
man u factu rer proUlised, however, to rem e dy the faults
ment.ioned ; b u t it is not yet genera l l y known whether
t h e prospective purchasers and the manu facturer can
a gree o n terms, Manufactu rers of motor carriages
u s u a l l y demand one· fourth of the price for th i rty days'
t I'ial ; w h i l e the cab ow n ers in question desire free trial
he fore purchase, becalise they are u n w i l l i n g to buy
�uch expensive machines w ithout being sure t hat they
are practica l l y us e f u l .
At pr esent, there i s o n l y a petroleum-motor carriage .
and a l ight motOi' cycle i n Gothenb urg, both of French
m an tl factu re. I be l ie v e t here i s an American motor
<'Ilrriage in Stoc khol m : but A m erican manu facturers
o u g h t t o pay attention , also, to the markets in the
o t h e r cities of this kingdom, especi a l l y Gothenburg and
M a l l llo. It would be of great advantage for A merican
fi rms to be represent e d here at once,
Another thing of i m portance is e lectrical machinery
in general, which will be i n great deman d as soon as
the p eople hav e f u l l y learned t h e value of their n u mer­
ous waterfalls. A large electric power plant w i l l soon
be built at Troll hlittan ; electric rail ways and tram­
ways are being planned for Gothenburg, Lund,
BjerrO d, and .JOn kOp ing. I n this line, as i n e very t hing
else, t h e Germans are al ways watchful ; they pay close
attention to details, and, if n ecessary, send e xperts
here to s t udy plans, etc. , w h ereby they greatly i n ­
<'rease t h e i r chances to introduce machinery. If i t is
not practical for Americans to do likew ise, they could
possi b l y e m ploy active agE nts to represent them here,
Electric-motor carriages are preferred for city traffic,
Those with benzine m otors are said to be noisy and to
e l ll i t offensive gases.
Grain Elevator at Amaterdam. -There has recently
been completed a grain elevator i n Amsterdam, the
ol l l y one i n t h e Neth erlands, sa.ys Consul Frank D,
Hill, of Amsterdam , I t is near the timber h arbor ; its
l e n gth is 125 meters (410 feet) and its width 33 meters
( l 08) fee t) . It was b u i lt by the city and leased for a
term of fi f ty-fi v e years at 6, 000 florins ($2, 400) a year to
Messrs . Korthal Al tes. For the b u ilding itself a space
o f 2, 200 meters (7, 218 feet) was reserved . The capacity
is from 8,000 to 9,000 l asts (16, 000 to 18,000 metric tons) ;
t h e greater part WIll be used for t h e storage · of g rain
in silos : the ground floor alone, with a storage capac­
ity of 1, 609 l asts (3,OOO tons). being intended for the
storage of I( rain and seeds i n bags,
S team and sail i n g vessels w i l l be d ischarged as fol ­
lows :
The cargo is weighed by hand and put over the ship's
side in tipping buckets , which deposit i t on the travel­
ing bands. I t i s t. hen brough t to its p lace by mechan­
ical power. The velocity of t ran s po rt is calcu lated so
as to i n s u re an easy transfer of all the grain , however
fal't. I t luay be d h s c h a r g'ed, A maxi m u m capac i t y of
200, 000 k i J ogram m es (440, 920 pounds) per hour has been
fixed, and t w o kinds of grain may, if necessary, be dis­
ch arged s i m u ltaneously from the same vessel.
'.rhe traveling bands run i n a channel i n front of the
b u i lding up to its cen ter, where t h e grain is deposited
on t ransverse travelers that take it to the elevators.
T h ese work the grain u p to t h e top of the building,
whence it can b e conveyed to any ch osen d i vision by
means of t h e trave l i n g bands r u n n i n g over t h e si los.
The A mptying of the silos, or bins, is t h us conducted :
Below the conical bottom of the si los are shafts, t h rough
which the grain is t ransmi tted to travel i n g bands run­
ning o n th e ground floor : it is a gain raised to the top
b y the elevators, and th ence may be carried o ff in any
desired d i rection .
If the object ill merely to stir the grai n, it is taken to
one of the top travelers and thrown i nto another silo ;
but it may also be sent first t h rough a sha f t to t h e
clean i n g or weigh ing mac h i n e, and t h e n u p again by
m eans of a small elevator to another silo or through a
s haft,
The gra i n can be d ischarged at the side of the harbor
in w a !! o n s o r lighters at the ra te of 100, 000 k i logra m mes
(220, 460 pou nds) per h o u r. For damaged grain, s i los
are al'J'anged in w h at are cal l ed hospital ce l ls.
Oyster Oulture in France.-Oysters are a l uxury i n
E urope, says Consu l A . W. Ton rgee. T h e natural beds
have been exhausted. as the Amel'ican beds are rapidly
becoming, arid arti ficial cult ure has long been de­
pended upon for a supply of this luscious b ivah'e,
The chief b reed ing gro u nd ill France is t h e Bass i n
d'Arcachon, a triangu lar tidal bay about 9 mi les on each
side, entirely landlocked and open ing out of the Gol f
de Ga.'!coigne (Bay of Biscay) i n t o t h e D epartment o f
Girunde by a narro w channel abo u t 3 mi les in l e n gth.
T h e coast is sand y and deserted. A solid forest of mari­
time pi nes (pi n u s pin aster) . hand planted during the
present century, h as checked the i n land march of the
sand d u nes and · protects the basin from the south west
winds which blow fifty out of the fifty-two weeks of
each year. The shal l o w bay is net worked with naviga­
b l e channels, between w h i c h at l o w tide rise t h e half
clay, half sand flats util ized for breeding the succulent
mollusk. During the low spri n g t ides, the flats are
covered with quantities of a c heap variety of ordi nary
roofing tile, which h as been previously coated w i t h a sort
of coarse w hitwash. T h e spawn brough t in by high
water catches 011 these t I les, and the lime of t h e white­
wash helps the little l u ollus k to form his first shel l .
To ward w i nter, these t iles are t a k e n up and carefully
scraped . T h e oysters, as large n o w as one's t h u m b
nail, a r e spread i n fl a t covered trays, or b askets, o f
closely woven osier to protect them f r o m t h e star fi s h ,
crabs, a n d other enem ies, a n d moved nea r er the salt
marshes o n the east side of the basin, to gro w. W h e n
t h e y have become a l ittle a('customed t o an i ndepend­
ent existence, they are placed in trench e!! a l ittle bel o w
w a t e r level, w h i ch a r e p ro vid e d w i t h sl uice gates, by
w h i ch they can be flooded at w i l l . T h ey are t h u s pre­
vented fl'o ln being c h i l l ed , i n w i n t e l' or dried up i n SUIll ­
mer, and are eas i l y protected from enemies, the ga tes
being covered with w i re netting of fine m esh ; but t h e
pr i m ary ai m of the gat es i� to acc usto m them to being
depri ved of water-that is, to teach them to keep their
val ves tigh tl y closed w hen ou t of it. I n about eighteen
m o n t h s their education in that I'espect i s com p lete,
and they are raked u p, barreled, and sent on a j o u r n e y
of several d ays to t he copper roc ks at Maren n es,
France, and to W h i t s tabl e , E n gl a n d , to fa t t e n ·and
ass u m e t h e bilious green tint and brass y flavor de­
manded by E u ropean epicures. A bout 250, 000, 000 a l'e
s h i p ped annua l l y . T h e work on the beds is done by
bare· fuoted men and wOlil e u , both clad in bright cri m­
son knee breeches a n d s w e a t ers , w h ich render the sexes
quite u n ti isti nguis h able. The regular trenches a n d
d i kes, k e p t i n place with spi les inte l'laced with wattles,
look l i ke a Du tch goarJ en .
To one accusto llIed to the pl u mp, cl ean , white and
gray Am�rican b i v a l ve, t h e flabby. yellow or greE'nish
European speci llle ll .is not i n v i t i n g . 'r h e shells art! flat,
t h i n, i l'regu lar, and as s l i m y an d corrugated as an o l d
barnacle, w h i le t he i n lllates are . a bo u t the s i z e and
thickness of a 50 - (' ent pi ece fOI' a 5 · i l l c h shell, O n the
sput, they sell fl'O I ll 7 to 1 0 c e n t s a dozen, Elsew here,
they com mand m ore, and the gree nel', the higher prices,
O ysters are never eaten here except on t he half shel l .
A suggestion t o p u t t he m i n to sou p or patties, to
scallop or stew them, shocks a French chef as a propo·
sition to broil a waterm elon would a Carolina cook. 1
think a .. pan roast " would be regarded here as l i ttle
less than sacrilege, E ven w h e n by much persistence
you have achieved so m e form of cooked oyster, the
chances a.t'e i n fi n i t e that the most not,iceable res u l t will
be a fit of homesickness caused by regretful me m ories
o f the delicio u s .. Blue Poi n t s, " 0 1' succulent .. Lynn
Haven Bays . " I t is to be hoped t h at our oyster men
will learn and p l'actice the . art of propagating and
nourish ing the oyster so as to preserve bot h its s u­
perior size and fla VOl'.
Railroads and Street-Car Lines in Siam . -Nea r l y all
of what can be propel'ly termed public works that
exist to-day in S i a m have been constru cted during the
last ten years. Prior to that ti me, only a few canals,
a very few streets, and a l i m i ted extent of telegraph
line existed i n the cou ntry, says Consul-General Ham i l ­
t o n King a t Ban gkok.
The constl'Uction of railroads began in 189 1 although
a horse car l ine had been started in Ban gko k in 1889.
The first line of rail way was about 15 m i les i n length,
narrow gage, and run n i n g from Bangkok, the capital ,
to Pak Nam. t h e port at the Illouth of Menam Ri ver.
T h is enterprise is called the Pak Naill Rai l w ay Co m ­
pany, Limited, and pays 7 per cen t, d i v i d e llds regularly.
T h e second was the government l i ne, from ·Bangkok
to Korat, a di stance of 165 m i les. This li ne, w h i c h
w a s begun i n 1892 and is stan d ard gage, is n o w nearly
completed and w i l l cost the go vern ment nearly $33, 000
gold per m ile.
A l l the mate l' i a ls for thi s line h ave been manufact ured
in England, Germany, and Belgi u m .
A l i n e from Ban Mayee to C h i en gmai, a d i stance of
about 400 m i les, has been started, and t h e first divi­
sion of about 50 m i l es is under construction. This l i ne
will also be standard gage. .No m anu fac t q. red m ate­
rials to s peak of have as yet bee n p urc h ased for t h i s
l i ne.
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
J A NUA RY 2 7 , 1 9 00.
A l i n e of meter gage (39 ·37 i n ches) w i l l possibly b e
st arted n e x t year, r u n n i n g- to R at b u l'i , 4 5 m iles, a n d
Pet c hab ure e , 7 3 m i les , from B a n gkok toward t h e B u r­
llIese fron tier. T h e su rvey o iJ l y is com p leted, and no
materials fOl' constr uction have yet been ord ered .
T h e K i n g h as j ust granted a franchise to Pl'ince
C how Sai to build 70 m i l es of l ight rail way fr o m t h e
Menam Ri ver t o t h e Naka w n Nayoke Ri ver, w i t h se ,'­
era l branches.
This passes through a rich rice cou n try, w h ere t h ere
is a large p o p u lation. The King has also a ra i l wa,·
programme cO llsisti n g of l i nes east and w est aggregat­
i n g more than 500 m i l es of ad d i t ion a l rai l w ays ; b u t,
the re venue of the co u n t. ry is not sufficient to carry
�>u t all t h ,! se works at one t i lll e. For t h i s p u rpose, i t
IS n o t u n l i kely that t h e gover n m e n t m a y n egotiate a
loan in t h e near fut,ure.
A pri vate syndicate in 1887 obtained a concession for
street-rai l way l i nes i n Ban g k o k , T h e s e w e re b ll i l t for
h o rse cars in 1889 and changed to an el ectric- trollev
system i n 1892. This line i s 'crowded with p ass�nge is
all day long and p a ys 1 2 per cent. on the i n vestment,
'r he rol l i n g stock, mach i nery, a n d w i re for t h i s road
h ave all been bought in Amel'ica ; the rai l s in E urope .
It is probable that this l i n e w i l l be extended in th e
near future, and t h a t another sim ilar s y s t e m w i l l b e
b u i lt.
American Goods in New ·South Wales. -I am m ak i n g
e very effort to i n trod uce Am erican m an u factu red
goods into t h i s co n sular district, says Consul F. W.
Goding, of N e w castle, N. S. W, A few years ago, n o
American man ufactu res could be seen i n t h i s c i t y, b l l t
n o w they are disp layed i n t h e various shop windo w s
a n d are w e l l l i ked.
Some time ago I arra nged to hav e a specimen shot ­
gu n sent here, having g ive n the best ban k references ,
A sale of perhaps t h i rty of · the b i g h e s t pI'iced g u n s
m i g h t have been made if the specimen h ad been · s e n t
a n d h a d proved to b e a s represented, b u t it never
.
came.
At another time I sent an order for about $ 1 , 200
worth of r u bber goods to a n A m erican firm, b u t my
letter remai n s unans wered , A n order for 500, 000 en­
velopes r e main s open, because the man u fact u re rs
have fai led to repl y to l etters addressed to them. I t is
decidedly disheartening for con s u l s who are tryi n g
t h e i r best to bri n g AllI erican goods to the attention of
local b usi ness men, to find t h e i l' efforts fai l becau se of
t h e lack of i n t erest at home . I t is all the more d is­
couraging w h en the main pOl'tion of l etters rece i ved
by consuls are i n q u i ries wade by t h ese firms, w h o later
fai l t.o secon d our efforts. Even as i t is, the i ncrease i n
t h e amo u n t o f United States goods sold here i s some­
t h i n g enOl'Jnous, but it m i g h t be m il c h mor e . I f there
is any way of lett i n g o u r ex porters k n o w that co n s u lar
officers would l i ke to have their su g gestions folI-owed
u p , the co n s u lar service would be sti l l more val uab le
to t h e busi n ess i n terests of the U n i ted States than i t .
n o w is.
Labor in Franc e , -Consul Atwell writes from "&ou ­
baix, Decem b e r 7 , 1 899 :
At a meeting of t h e labor com mittee i n Paris on De­
c e m ber 6 it was decided t h at. eleven h o u rs should con­
stitute the length of the l abor day for m e n . wom en and
c h i l d ren. The reso l u tion w as also adopted that three
years from t h e pro lU u l gation of the eleven-hou r law,
the time should be red uced to ten and one-half hOllrs,
and six years t hereafter to ten hours. For the past
m onth stri kes have been goi n g o n i n the d i ffel'ent
spi n n i n g. wea v i n g and d y e i n g es t ab l is h men ts o f Rou­
bai x-Tourco i n g , I n som e eases the deman d s of th e
stri kers have been granted ; i n others, th e lab o rers
h ave resumed work under old cond i tions. SOllie fa c ­
tories have been compelled to close tem pol'ari l y , as, i n
v i e w o f t h e h i g h p r i ce o f raw material, i t was fO ll U d
i m possible t o accord t h e i n crease i n w a ges d e l ll a n d e d .
T h ere are daily parades of stri kers i n t h e streets, w i t h ­
o u t host ile demon s tra t i o n .
Steel and Iron Rails Wanted in Australia . - C O l l s u l
Godi n g wri tes fr0 111 .N e wcastle, N e w South Wale�, �o­
ve m ber 7. 1899 :
T h ere is a great scarcity of steel and i ron rai l s in t h is
colony. Should our m a n u factu rers look into t h e mat­
ter at on ce. I b e l i e ve t,h e y cou ld secure a large order­
perhaps £200, 000 ($973. 300) worth.
The colonial a u t horit.ies are very anxious to o btai n
rai ls, and, 1 a111 led to t h i n k, may consider favorably
orders fr0111 the U u i ted S tates.
The con s u l desi res t h i s not ice to h ave the w i dest ci r­
c u l ation possi b le, as he regards t h i s as an excellen t op­
por t u n i t y fOl' A m erican m a n u factu rers.
German-Uruguayan Commercial Agreement, - C o n s u l
S waIm, of Montevi deo, u n d e r d ate o f O c t o be l· 24, 1899.
calls attention to the ratification of the t l·eat," bet w ee l l
Uruguay and Germany. T h e aClt is i n the- n a t u re of
re-establish i n g the treaty of 1892, which was denoun ced
in 1897. Accord i n g to the terms of t h e agreement, the
citizens and the prod u cts of each country rect-ive the
most - favored -nation treatment in the other country,
except that Uruguay is permitted to make commercial
arran gemllnts with the co u n tries adj o i n ing, for pro­
d ucts that do not com pete with those o f Ge rman
ori g i n .
I N D E X 'fO A D V A N C E S H E ETS O F C O N S U LAR
R E P O R·l'S .
No. 6 2 2 . J a n u a r y 8 . -Rail way a n d Other Enterprises in Northern
Brazil-Duties on Touacco in Venezuela ":' * Change in Venezu elan
Mining Laws-*Phylloxcra in Cape Colony.
No. 6 2 3 . J a n u a r y 9 • . Commercial Travelers in Uruguay-:}[aml­
facture of Wine and Piqnette in Southern France,
No. 624. J a n u a r y 1 0 . World ' s Production of Precious Metal_­
*Labor in France-*Beet IlIlrvest in Russia i n l899--*Ncw Duties in
Venezuela,
No. 6 2 5 . J a n u a r y 1 1 . - Hr lzilian Excise Taxes : Cotton Oood.
-"Manufacture of Alcohol from Acetylene.
No. 626. J a n u a r y 1 2 . -'I'he Si berian RIIilroad - Demand for
Wheat in France. -Custody of Ships' Papers in Venezuela - Cable to :5t_
Helena,
No. 6 2 7 . J a n u a r y 1 3 . -Ru bber in MexiCO-German 'I'rade w i th
Japan and China - Opening for American Coal in Canary Island8-
American Goods i n th� Straits Settlements.
The Reports marked with an asteri.k (*) will be published in the SCIEN­
TIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLE MENT. In tert'sted parties can obtain th� otllt'l'
Reports by apphcation to Bureau of Foreign Commerce, Department "f
St",•. Washingt,on. D. C . , Rnd we suggest immediate applicatiull befm c tlle
supply i. exhjlusted.
 JMWARY 2 7, 1 9 0 0. SCIENTIFIC AME RICAN 8 U PPL EMENl', No. 1 2 56.
TR A D E N O T E S A N D RECE IPTS.
Ferric Oxide Colors . - C h i e fl y consist of i ron �esq ui·
oxi de, and lll U " t contain at least 80 pel' (le l l t . o f t h is
s u bstance . As a general rule, th e specific � nl. V i t y of
the powdered pi gillent i s a very good test. Same lll ust
not b e lower than 4 '2. I t h as been fo u n d that the reo
s i stance of the p i gille n t to atmos p h er i c i n fl uen ces in­
c reases with the specific weigh t. It was also o bserved
t h at the color t u rn s out bettel' and lll ore permanent i n
proportion to t h e degree to w h i c h t h e tem perature i s
ra i sed i n t h e m a n u fact u re . -Far ben Zeitung.
Pastes for Lab el s . - The Seifen Pabrikant p u blishes
the fol l o w i n g reci pes :
1. Sti r 5 parts of rye flour to!ret her w i t h 1 part of
Venetian turpe n t i n e an d add enough glue water (si ze)
80 that a paste res ults. T h i s glue d r i es very slowly, b ut
t h e paper labels pas ted on wit.h it sti c k very firlllly to
a l l m etal l i c s u rfaces.
2. G u m arabic, 50 part s ; gl yceri n , 1 0 parts ; water, 30
parts ; liq. stibii c h lorate, 2 parts .
3. Boil rye fl o u r 'and strong glue water i n t o a m ass,
t o w h i c h add 30 parts of good boiled linseed oil and 30
parts of turpenti ne oi l per 1, 000 parts. T h is lll i x t u re
f u r n i s h es a g l u i n g agent w h ich w i t h stands d aill pness .
4. D i ssol ve d extri n 2 parts and aceti c acid 1 part i n
5 parts o f water, b y heat i n g i n a water bat h , a n d add
1 part of alco h o l to the sol ution.
5. Po u r 140 parts . o f d i stilled cold water over 1 00 parts
of g U Ill arabic a n d d i ssolve with freq u e n t stirring. T o
the so l u ti o n , w h i c h is effected b y stan d i n � f o r th ree
days, add 10 parts of glycer i n , later 20 parts of d i l u ted
acetic acid, and fi na l l y 6 parts of al u m i n i u m sulphate,
and stra i n t, h rough a fi n e h a i r sieve.
6. Boi l 50 graill mes of j o i n er's g l u e soaked a day be·
fore in cold 'vater with 1 00 gram mes of powdered rock
can dy and 25 gram mes of p o w d ered gum al'a bic d i s­
so l ved in water and boiled u n t i l the mass flows.
7. Accord ing t o another recipe, good gl ue i s said to be
obtai n ed b y d i ssolving 1 part o f powdered s ugar in 4
parts of sol uble soda ·glass.
Absolute Alcohol.-T h e co mmittee for the com p i la·
tion of the GerllJan Arz n e i b uc h established the fo l­
lowing tests fOI' t h e deter m i n ation of a bsol u te alcohol :
A c l ear, co lorless, volati l e, read i l y i n fl a m m a b l e l iq u i d
w h i c h b u rns w i t h a fai n t l y l u m inous flame. Absol u t e
a l c o h o l h as a pecu l i ar odor, a b u rning taste a n d does
not affect I i t l tl u s paper. Boi l i n g poi n t, 78 ' 50. Specific
g ravi ty. 0 ' 795 to 0 ' 797. 100 parts contain 99 ' 7 t o 1)1J ' 4
p arts, 'b y vo l u me, or 99 '6 to 99 '0 parts, by weigh t, o f
alcohol.
Abso l ute alcohol should have n o foreign smell and
should m i x w i t h watel' w i t ho u t clou d i ness.
Ten c. Clll . of absolute alcohol shou l d , after the admix­
ture of 5 ' drops of s i l ver n i t rate sol u tion, not beco m e
t urbid or colored e ve n o n heating.
A m i x t u re of 1 0 C. cm. of abso l u t e alcohol a n d 0'2 C. cm.
of potas h lye e vaporated down t,o 1 C. cm. should not
exhibit an odol' of f u se l o i l after su persat u ration with
d i l uted s u l p h u r i c acid.
5 C. cm. of s u l p h uric acid, carefully covered, i n a test
t ube, w ith a st rat u m of 5 C . Clll . of abso l u t e alcohol,
should not form a rose colOl'ed zone at t h e s m'face of
con tact, even on standing for some ti m e .
The r e d co l o r o f a mixture of 1 0 c. c m . o f absol u te
a lcohol and 1 C . C I l l . of potassi u m permanganate sol u tion
s h o u l d not pass i n to y e l l o w before 20 m i n utes.
Absol ute alcohol s h o u l d not be d yed, e i t h e r by hydric
s u l p h ide w at e r or by aq ueous ammonia.
5 C. c m . of absol u te alcohol should not leave b e h i n d a
w e i g h able resi d ue after e vaporation in the water bath.
-Lac k u n d Farben I n dustrie.
Weatherproof Browning of . Brass. - T h e han dsome
colori n gs of copper and i ts alloys, w h i c h are based
e i ther u pon a s u perfieial chem ical c h ange 01' u pon t h e
sto p p i n g u p of t h e exterior pores w i t h dyeing agents,
are exceed i n g l y t h i n and so l it.t l e resi sting that t h e y
a r e soon destroyed by rai n water. Outside, e very alloy
only too q u ickly fo l l o w s its own way, I'egard less of the
artist's l a bor. For t h i s reason only such colori n gs are
perman e n t as are ei t h e.r conti n ua l l y forilled agai n by
the caustic s u bstan ces in t h e ra i n water or can not be
l l i ssol vecl at al l . I n case of a l loys rich i n copper, o : r l y
t h e green patina a n d t h e wel l known black pat i n a
are self-form i n g. '.r h e hand soille green pati n a. i s
o n ly 'd urable i n case i t h a.s developed b y itself i n
t h e course of decades. T h e green bronzings so fre­
q u en t l y, seen can hut e n d u re the air o f the d l'a w i n g-
1'00m. I n t h e o p e n they q u ickly change i n to u g l y b l ack
8 hades. A l l oys rich i n z i n c, among which b rass takes a
prom i n e n t p l ace, do not ad m i t of being colored in such
handsome gree n or b ro w n is h s h ades as cop per, red
metal and b ro n ze. Hence, as i d e from a fe w i nsignifi­
cant col o r i n gs, w h ich are only calculated for tem porary
a p peara nce, brass would have first to be coppered,
w h i c h j,!I, as a nI le, too trou blesome, o r else recourse
m u st be h ad to o t h e l' m ed i u ms, w h ich do not fal l i n t h e
categol' y o f b r o w n i ng. '.r h e latter is a l l t h e more j usti·
fied, as the taste of the p u b l i c at l arge runs o n l y too
s t l'On gly o n l uster and l i g h t tones.
The s i m plest way, therefore, would be to pol ish the
raised port. ions of the p lates bright, i m parti n g a dark
s hade to the cavities w i t h graph i te and s i m i lar black
s u bstances u n t i l a n at u ral b lac kness res u l t,s, and to pol­
i s h off t h e d i rt from t h e brigh t p l aces fro m time to time.
If t h e work of pol ish i n g' is to be avoided, t h ere o n l y
rem a i n s t h e choice bet ween o i l pai nt, n ickeling a n d
g i l d i ng. I n t h e fi r s t case, c o p a l l i n seed oil varnish es,
b l o n d in colOl' or m i xed w i t h pigme nts or bronze, g i ve
good res u l ts, especially i f burned i n i n the d rying stove.
Nickeling covers up the pleasa n t color of the brass en­
t i rely, looking a l most com lllon on s mooth s urfaces, b ut
i t is the only n o n - p recious metal w h i c h remai ns i n u n­
ass u ming clean l i ness. B'ut if art and d u ra b i l i t y are to
be co m b i ned, g i l d i n g is posit i ve l y all visable. Same
can no wadays be produced so c h eapl �' hy electro- plat·
iug t h at the costs do not come too h i gh if the plates are
man u fact ured in a large n u m ber and t h e possib i l i t y i s
considered t h a t by g i l d i n g i n i tself a n d , i f necessal'Y,
by the aid of verd igris and sal-a m m o n iac or l i ver of sul­
p h u r, one i s enabled to obtain far handsomer, d ura ble
color i n gs than b y t h e ord i n ary l aborious process of
bro w n i n g, w h ich al ways looks d u l l. The public will
not object to t h e increased cost of gilding i f the hollows
are l i g h t l y shaded in an art i s t i c manner with black var­
n is h , and t,h e magn ificent color of gold, not obtainable
in any o t he r manner, becomes all the m ore brilliant in
the raised positions. -Werkilleister Z e i t u ng . t h e P l'Opol·tioll o f 2 ' 7 t o 1 only,"
MISC g L LA N IW U S N O TES.
Some interesting ex peri ments on t h e d istrib ution of
magnetic i n d uction along a long .cy l i n d rical i ron rod
are descri bed by Dr. C . G. Lam b in T h e P h i l osoph ical
Magazi n e. .. W h e n the rod is weakly magnetized , the
m ean positions of its poles are com parati vely near the
ends o f the rod ; with stronger magnetization the poles
move fal·ther from tne e n d s ; and with very strong
magnetization t h e pole8 move more and more toward
the ends.' D I·. Lam b points out that t h i s h as i m port­
ant beari ng u pon the m agnetic testi n g of iron.
American �ocomotives do not appear to be a s u ccess
in I n d ia, says Sells' Com mercial I n tell igence. " T h e
B o m bay, Bal'Oda, a n d Central I n d i a Company recently
p u rchased some eight or ten locomoti ves from t h e
Bal d w i n Works. T h e v turn o u t to be u seless over the
w hole l i n e , and al r. h o ugh cheaper i n the fil'st i n stance
than ' E n glish loco moti ves, their cost will soon prove
m uch greater in wOl'ldng all d repairing. '.r hey have to
be sent some 319 m i les from Bom bay to God h ra before
they can turn ro u nd, because t h e y do n ot fi t the turn ·
tab les. " T h en i t is t i m e we sold t h e R. , B. a n d C. I .
COlll pany s o m e n e w t.u rn ta bles.
In answer to a. correspo l l de n t who asks h o w to keep
f rost from w i n d o w glass, The Pharmaceutical E ra
says : . . T h e m ethods u s u a l l y ad vised are t h e e m ploy­
ment o f double w i ndows 01' the coat i n g of the glass
w i t h glyceri n . It is said t hat a t h i n coat of gl yceri n
applied to both sides' of the glass w i l l effectual ly pre­
vent any moisture from forming th ereon and will stay
u n t i l it col lects so m uch d ust that i t cannot be seen
through. I t has also been reco mmended as particu­
larly useful to locomotive engineers to prevent t h e ac·
cU lll ulation o f steam and frost on theil' windows d u ri n g
t h e c o l d weather. Another v e r y effic i e n t meas u re i s
s a i d to b e a s m a l l f a n run by electricity 01' o t h e r power,
and so placed as to blow directly upon the glass. "
A number of experi m e n ta l details on the sterilization
of water fO I' d ri n k i n g p u rposes b y means of ozo n e are
g h'en by Weyl in a rece n t co m m u n ication (Centr. f.
Bak. , x x v i . , p . 16). Water fro l ll the Spree was p u m ped
t h rough a cham bel' fi l l ed with s tones by which t h e sus·
pended m atter was strai ned off. B y means of anotber
centri fugal p u m p the water was p u m ped i n to a secon d
cyl i n d rical c h a m ber, 4' 5 meters i n h eight a n d filled
with lal'ge stones, t h rough which the watel' tricl{ led
and so became fi l l el y d i v i d ed, meeting the stream of
ozonized air i ntrod uced bel o w . T h e ozonized water
collected in the lower part o f this cham bel' and thence .
passed to the I·ese l·voir. T h e plant was capable of
treat i u g 3 ' 5 to 4 c u b ic meters of water per hour (800
gal l ons). T h e expel'illlents s h o wed that for a good wa­
ter 1 gra m m e o f ozone per c u b i c metel' \220 gal lons)
was s u fficient, but for a bad w a.ter 2 gram meli were re­
q u i red for ster i l i zation, the cost be i n g about one-third
of a p e n n y pel' gram me of ozone. T h e whole of the
m ac h i nery was d riven by electri city.
One of the lIIany uses to w h i c h compressed air tools
are now a p p l ied, is that of quarry i n g salt which has
conso l i d ated w h i le in store. Vac u u m pan salt,
being of fine grain and contai n i n g a l arge percen tage
of b r i ne, becomes very h ard and com pact, !l0 that it i s
difficult t o b reak i t u p for packi n g. M u c h hand l abOl'
w i t h picks was former l y reqll i red, b u t now a firm i n
M ichigan uses a mech an i cal ap paratus w h ic h does
the WOl'k cheaply and eas i l y . T he machine, w h i c h i s
i l l ustrated i n T h e Rai l way Re view, consists of a hand
truck fitted with a hori zontal s h aft to w h i c h is attached
a 1 0 inch spiral augel', 6 feet long, operated by a
Boyer piston air-d rill. T h e operator advan ces with
the truck against t h e bas e of the salt wal l , and t h e au·
gel' penetrates to a depth of 6 feet in 45 seconds. When
a n u m ber of t h ese holes are drilled closely together,
t h e section t h u s II ndermined falls and breaks up rea.d y
for packing. By t n e use of t h i s m ach i n e 2� days a
week, it is fo u n d t h at t h i rty packers do the work
w h ich had p reviou s l y requ i red s i xty, and the work i s
not nearl y so laborious.
The great acti vity i n t h e Gerillan locomotive i n d us­
try and the i m possibility of com pleti ng fresh orders
with i n the desi red period have i n d uced the Bavarian
State Railway Ad m i n istrat ion to follow the example of
certai n E n g l i s h rai l way com pani es, and order l ocomo­
ti ves from makers in the U n i ted States . The ge neral
d i rector of t h e Ba varian l i n es on the occasion o f a re­
cent visit to America pl aced co n t racts for several loco·
1lI0ti ves by way of experiment for the German rail­
ways, the engines ordered being o f the heavy type
general ly in use a!1ross the Atlantic. 'i' wo o f the loco­
m o t i ves have ah'ead y been s h i pped in sections, and de­
l i vered at M u n i c h . where the parts have been assembled.
T h e complete 10Coillo tives are n o w being tested in
act ual work. I t i s said that, notwithstanding the h igh
fre i ght, the price of the A m erican engines is lo wer than
t hat o f the locomoti ves obtained fro m the Ger man
works. The Financial T i m es says that the efficiency
of the n e w e n gines is very h i g h , b u t t h e i r d u ra b i l i t y i s
less, owing to t h e large use of cast steel i n t h e construc­
tion of many parts of the locomoti ves.
English as t. h e mod i c u m of co nverse has made rapid
progre�s t h roughout t h e ch' i 1 i zed cou ntries of the world
d u r i n g the cen t u r y the l ast year of w h ich we h ave
started o n . O n t h i s h e a d a fe w statistical fact� t akell
f l'o m T h e Journal of Com merce may prove i n struct i ve ;
we q uote : . . When t h e ce n t ury began, th ese peo p l e n U lll·
bered on l y 22, 000, 000, or 16. 000. 000 less than the people
who spoke Germ a n . 12, 000, 000 l ess t h an those who
spoke French and 10, 000, 000 l ess even than those w h o
spoke Span ish. As t h e c e n t u r y d ra w s to i ts close, t h e
people who s p e a k E n g l i s h a s t h e i r mother-t.ongue n um­
ber 127, 000, 000-an i n crease o f 477 per cent. and a
greatel' n u m ber than al l the peo p l e w h o speak French
and German com b i n ed. At t h e end of t h e last. cent u ry
t h ere wel'e i n these U n i ted S tates o n l y 5, 000, 000 inhab­
i t a n ts ; t h e census w i t h w h ich this o n e will t erminate
w i l l h ard l y show less than 75, 000. 000. In the same
p e l'iod the pop n lation of t il e U n i t ed Kingdom has
gro wn from 16, 000, 000 to 41, 000. 000, a n d t h e colon ists of
E n gl i s h race have i n creasl'd f rom a fe w h u n d red
t h o usand to betwe en 1 1 , 000. 000 and 12, 000,000. At the
begi l l n i n g of the cen t l l l'y the p o p u lation of t h e E u l'O ­
pea n conti n e n t was 1 70, 000 ,000. At i t s close t h e tota l
approach es 343, 000.000. T h us, w h ile at the end of t h e
l a s t cen t u r y t h e E n g l i s h ·s pea k i n g fa m i l y w a s outn u m ·
bered b y t h e nations of Con t i nental Europe i n t h e pro­
portion of 8 to 1 . it i s o u t n u mbered by them to-day i n
© 1900 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, INC.
20141
SELECT�1) PORM U LlE.
Orange Cider (Orange Wine) ,- Many of t h e prepar·
ations sold under thiS naille are not real ly orange
c i d e rs, but are varyin g mixtures o f u ncertain COlll­
pos i tion, possi bly flavored w i t h orange. The following
are made by the use of oranges :
1. S ugar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 avo pounds.
' . . • , . .
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2;l4' gal l ons.
O ranges . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5
Dissol v e t h e sugar i n t h e water b y t h e a i d of a gentle
heat, ex press the oranges, add the j u ice and rinds to
the s i r u p, p u t the m i xture i n to Ii cask, keep the
whole in a warm place for 3 or 4 days, sti rri n g fre·
q uently, t hen close the cask, set al:!ide in a cool cellar
and d ra w off the clear l i q u i d .
2. E x press t h e j u ice f r o m sweet oranges, a d d water
equal to the vol u ill e of j u i ce obtained, and macerat e
the expressed oranges w i t h the j u i ce and water for
about 1 2 hours. For each gallon of j uice add 1 pound
o f gran ulated sugar, grape s u gar or gl u cose, put t h e
w h ole i n to a s u i table vessel. covering t o eXI· l u d e the
d ust, place i n a warlll location until ferllleu tat ion i s
com pleted, d r a w off the cleal' liquid, a n d pl'esel' ve i n
wel l-stoppered sto u t bottles i n a cool place.
3. Orange wine s u i table for � ' soda " p u r poses may
be pre pared b y llIi x i n g 3 fl u i d o u n ces of oran gI' essence
with 1 3 fl u id ounces of s w eet Catawba or ot h e l' nJ i l 1!
w i ne. SOllI e s i r u p m ay be added to this if desired . ­
Pharmaceu tical E ra.
Fi xing Bat h . -
I.
1 . Alum . . . . . . . . . . 10 parts.
..
Water . . . . . . . . . . . : . . . . . . . . , 1 00
2. Sod i u lll s u l phite . . ... 20
. . . . . 0 • • • • • •
Citric acid . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . . 3
.
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 . . . . . . .
3. Sod i u m h y posulphite . . . . . . . . . . 40
'Vater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
To use; m i x 3 parts of No. 1 w i t h 3 of No. 3 and 1
of No. 2. In t h i s mixture, citric acid tends to pre­
vent the form ation of the p l'eci p i tate which often
forms in the a l u m hypo fi x i n g bat h .
II.
Sod i u m h y posulphite . . . . . . . . . . ' 4 ounces.
C h rome a l u m . . . . . . . . . . . . . . �
Sod i u m acid s u l p h i te . . . . . . . . . . . . �
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 q u art.
D i ssolve the hypo, add t h e c h rome a l u m , then fil ter
and add the acid su l p h ite. E vaporation of the bath is
prevented by keeping t he dish covered when not i ll
use.
COMBINED 'rON I X G AND FIX I X G BATH.
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 fl. o u nce�.
Sod i u m h y pos u l p hite . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
A m m o n i u m sulphocyan i d e . . . . . . . 1
Sod i u m acetate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . % .
-,
Mix, and add-
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 fl . o u n ces.
. • . • . . ,
Gold chloride . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 grains.
Atll tllOni u lll chloride . . . . . . 30
. . . . . . .
H
Add to the solution 100 grai n s of silver ch loride or
some scraps of u ntoned papel', spoiled prints, etc.
For ton i n g alpha paper, d e veloped with ferrous oxa·
late, the following combined toning bat h is given :
Water . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 fl. o u n ces.
,-
Sod i u m hyposulphite . . . . . . . . . . . 2 �
Sodium acetate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "
�
A m m o n i u lll sulphocyanide . . . . . . �
Gol d chlori d e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 grains.
A great variety o f tones can be obtained, these being'
princi pal l y dependent u pon the amo u n t of expo� l I re
given to the p r i n t pl'evious to d eveloping. -Pharma­
ceuti cal Era.
Boiler Compounds.-Boiler compounds and purges,
as viewed by the t raveli ng engiJleer, were t.reated of
in a com m i ttee report presented to · the recent conven­
tion of the Trave l i n g Engi neers' Association. The
concl u s i o n s o f the com m i ttee were a s follows :
1. The cOl ll mi ttee recolllmend the use of soda ash as
a boiler co m pound, as it h a s the w idest range of
adaptability to the various i n crusting ingred ients COll­
tai n ed i n the feed water. T h e l'e are a n u m ber of
other compounds on the market, some possessing
lllerit, but t, h e cost bars their use on the l ocomoti ve,
while soda ash is c h eap and easi l y obtained, and wi l l
give good results w h e n properly handled. Of cou rse
t h ere is some water that w i l l re qui!'e a special com­
pou n d , b ut the c h e m ist should be able to d ecide th at.
T h e chemist s ho u l d analyze the water and decide the
aillo unt of the com po u n d to be used. I t was found
that i n watel' contai n i n !: fro m 2 to 4 pounds of incrust­
ing m atter to the 1', 000 gal lons, from 6 to 8 ou nces
of the cOlllpound would keep the minerals in sus­
pensi on, and i n water contai n i n g lllore than this
aill o u n t of i ncrusting matter to the 1 , 000 gal lons, from
8 to 16 ou nces of the co m pound w i l l give good res ults.
2. Boilers should be furn ished with at least two good
p r. eu matic b l o w·off cocks, kept i n good working order,
and the boilers gi ven a good b l o w i n g out, both on ar·
riving and departi n g from term i nals. The amount of
soda ash for t h e trip should be put in at the terminal
j u st before the engine is taken out. I n using blow-off
cocks on t h e road , we would recom mend that they b"
used several t i llles each tri p a n d for a fe w seconds at a
time. T h is will get rid of a large amo u n t of the sedi­
ment thrown down by the p u rge and w i l l preven t
boi lers from foami ng, a s we fi n d- o n i n vestigating cases
o f foam ing that the trouble was caused by poor boi lel'
was h i n g and not using the blow·off coc ks properl v.
Boilers should be i nspected every time they are washed
out, to see that the purge is keep i n g them clean and
that the sedi ment and scale thrown d o w n b v t h e
purge has n o t lod ged bet ween fl u es a n d sheets. T h ere
shou ld be at least two flues left o u t i n the center o f
the flue sheet and washout p l u g s p u t i n , so t h e space
bet ween fl ues can be thoroughly washed. We find
the average cost of the compound per 1 , 000 miles is
bet ween 25 and 35 cents, and the l i fe of tl ues h as been
i n creased 50 per cent. to 75 per ce nt. We also find
w h ere soda ash is being u sed, and boiler wash i n g
p roperl y attended t o , t h a t it is a rare occurrence t o
have flues leaking on t h e road , w h i l e before sod a . ash
was used , leaking fl ues and sheets were a con tin ual
source of tro uble. - Railway Mastel' Mechanic.
 201 42 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMEN T, No. 1 2 5 6.
T RA '-ELS IN A B Y S S Lq A.
I N t h e Section of Geography at the meeti n g of the
B ri tish Association, Capta i n \Yelby gave a n acco u n t
of h i s recent t ravels i n A byss i n i a , i n t h e cou rse o f
w h i c h he s a i d t h at K i n g Menelek's capital consisted
I l I el'e l v o f an acc u m u lation of h u ts, w i t h t h e Palace o r
G l . e b i o f t h e K i n g p l a n ted conspicuously o n a s m a l l
h i l l . T h e l a nd i n t h e val ley w a s w e l l watered and
!!ood , the c l i m ate i n vigorati n g, and the graz i n g all t h at
could be desi red . B u t t here was no wood. \Yood was
brought in d a i l y frolll a d istance of 1 5 m i l es, and w as
comparati vely the most expensive article i n the market.
At t h e t i m e of h i s arrival in the capital with Captai n
H arrington, K i n g :\Ie nelek was about to march north
wi t h an arlll Y of 70, 000 men, a n d he traveled with the
K i ng. \V h il e o n the march h e was struck w i t h the
t h orough kno wledge these so-call e d savages displayed
of their own i n d i v i d ual d u t ies. O n e S u nday morning,
when all were resting, the King w i t h a lavish hand
b reakfasted his loyal s u b j ects, governors of pro v i n ces,
generals, and com m o n soldiers ali ke. The m ea l m ai n ly
consisted of h u ge legs of ra w, q u i veri n g beef, the reo
past being concl uded in a most u n expected manner by
glasses being handed r o u n d and fi l led with ch ampagne.
I t w as civilization was h i n g away barbarism.
Though his soj o u r n i n this C hristian land was short,
h e could not help feeli n g convinced t h at when the
Abyssinians had still f u r t h e r tasted the pleas u res a n d
p rofits of t h e c i v i l ized world, t h ey wou l d adopt m ore
o f its ways a n d customs, and it m ust be re m e m bered
that the Abyssi n ians had in a way li ved i n dependently,
u ntouched b y E u ropean nations and their i n venti ve
power, and t h u s they w e re, from our point of view.
steeped i n the most asto n i s h i n g ignorance ; b u t f o r a l l
t h a t there l a y i n t h e m a m i n t of p l u c k , energy. a n d i n ­
telligence w h ich was merely wai t i n g for development.
T h e Abyssinian d o m i n i o n at t, h e presen t day extended
to a far greater extent south than was gen erally sup­
posed. Some of the tri bes w h o w i l l i n g l y b o re the coI­
laI' of s u bj ection were appare n t l y contented and w e l l
fed. w h i le others, w h ose s pi r i ts were t o o elevated for
S U bjection, h ad a n opposite existence.
'I'hose who relied for food solely o n milk an d meat
were of finer physique than those favored with cereals
as well. while those depe n d e n t o n fish a n d vegetables
were, as a rule, m iserable looking. F u rth ermore, they
d ispelled the idea that fish was productive of a pleth­
ora of brai ns. Captai n '\Vel b y said t h at a co u ple of
days south of the capital t h e y came to the sacred h i l l
of Zaguala, o n t h e s U III m i t o f w h i c h h e di scovered a
l ake said to be of u n fathomable depth. Look i n g fro m
t h e s u m m i t of t h i s h i l l . he v i e wed the diRtant lake of
Zouei, the firs t of a chain of three lakes conn ected bv
r u n u i n g streams. T h e water of the fi rst h e descri bed
as good and fres h , of the �econd as brac kish but d ri n k­
a b l e, and of the t h i rd as nighly offensive to t h e palate.
On the banks of the fi rst t w o lakes were tri bes l i v i n g
i n a very poor way, b u t o n t h e t h i r d was a n ind epend­
ent tribe, which had n evel', RO far as he k n e w , been
visited by any w h i te man. 'I' h ey evide n t l y took h i m
a n d his Somali companions for a n Ab yssinian party.
and had not darkness come to his assistance h e m u s t
h a ve fared badly. Other t r i bes in the district dis­
p layed both frie n ds h i p and hosp i t a l i t y .
After crossi n g a b e l t of bea u t i f ul, t ho u gh waterless,
land, he en tered the cou n t r y of the Walamo, a people
credited w i t h the power of transferr i n g the feelings
and behavior of a devil i n to t h e body of the stranger.
T wo theories h ad been s u ggested to him of the strange
feel ings experienced i n this cou ntry. First, that the
body was affected b y the water of the district, which
was probably impregnated b y metals ; seco n d l y, as to
the mental effects ; it had been s u ggested that, w i t h ­
out being aware of it, h e w a s eat i n g his m e a l before
t h ese people u nder a great mental strain ; but t h e argu­
ment was rather beyond him. F u rther south lay the
most picturesque d is trict h e had v isited. H e f o u n d
h i l l s nearly 1 1 , 000 feet high, some clad w i th slopes of
gree n t u rf. and others with th ick wood. From o n e of
t h ese high-ly i n g camps another chain of beaut i f u l la kes
was seen, o n the shores of w h i c h t h ere existed a mark
to commemorate the spot where t5acchi, the friend and
doctor of Botego, was k i l led. D ro p p i n g i n t o the plltins,
h e steered for Lake Rudolph, or, more p roperly, Lake
Gallop, w here his escort of A b yss i n i a n sold i ers left h i s
exped i tion t o t h e i r o w n devices, t h e i r p l ace bein g taken
b y 30 head of cattle, presents from the A byssi fl l a n s .
Short l v b efore t h i s h e b a d come across a tribe cal led
the Asi l l1 . T h ey al ways asked h i lll for rai n, as t h ey
entertain e d t h e notion t h at w henever t h u n de r took
p lace a w hite man was born. and t h u s the wh ite man
m ust al ways be able to bri n g rai n. Probably they be­
l i e ved this because t h e \" had n e v e r seen a white W O . IJ a !J .
T h e western s h O l'e of Lake Gal lop was a p leasant a u d
i n v iting l a n d , w i t h a n a b u n d auce o f game. both fish ,
fo w l , and meat. T h e cli mate was good and the scenery
various. At this t i m e the baggage a n i l lJ a l s were dying
at an alar m i n g rate from a n t h rax, a nd i n stead of eat­
ing their cat t l e t h e y t u rned them i n t o beasts o f b u r­
dell . Some travelers. he was told. adopted the p l a n
of cutting s t e a k s frO lll the I i v i n g a u i m a l , but t h e y had
n o need to test this econ O l u i cal pIau .
Prom the southern e n d of t h e lake they struck a
westerly course i nto the u n k n o w n before steeri n g n o r t h
again for t h e o u tlyi n g S o u d a n post of N asse l·. o n t h e
ri ver S a b a t , s o m e 1 8 0 m i les froUl i t s j U l l ction with the
\Y h ite Nile. During the journe y of over 700 m i les
they discove l'ell t wo so u rces of fh e Sabat, a n d came
i n to contact w i t h many m O l'e t r i bes. w i t h al l of whom
they established a friendly feeling, the most i nterest­
ing tri be met with being a race of giants. T hese sav­
ages stood in many i n stances 7 feet h i g-h . T h e y wore
r i n gs of i ro n rou n d t h e i r arm s and necks, somet i m es of
such a ri(l ic u l o u s height t h at t h e head co u l d only be
m o ved slightly to the righ t 0 1' l eft. T he h ai r hung
over t h e s h o u l ders to the waist. bei n g f ll rther length­
ened b y the add i t i o n of a long stick resem bl i n g a tail.
T h e e n d of the hai r was t u rned u p and formed a re­
ceptacle for kn ick- knacks. T h e y carried two s pears
and a sleeping p i l l o w, a n d , l i k e most savages, h ad no
desire to stand before the camera.
New Duties in Venezuela. -Mi n i s t e r Loo mis tele­
graphs from Caraca�, Jan uary 6. 1 900 :
Venezuela to-day i m poseti extra e m ergency d u t y on
Ill a n y articl es-fio u r, 1 � cents per pOl1 IllI ; butter, 6
cents, etc
JANUARY 2 7 , 1 900.
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C h e nl i s t r y . Descriptive General Chemistry. A Textbook for HI. B O 'l' A N Y.-Recording Fern Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . , . . . . . . . . . . . 2013tJ
Short Course. By S. E. Tillman. 8vo, cloth, 429 pages . New York,
1899 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . $ 3 0 0 IV. COLO R.-Color Im pressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20127
C l a y M o d e l l i n g f o r S c lt o o l s . A Progressive Course for v. C O � �l E RC E . -rr'rade Suggestions from United States C o n s u l s . . .. 20140
Primary 8chool s and Grammar Grades. By Anna M. Holland. 8vo. cloth.
illustrated, 21 pages, 19 plates. Boston. 1899 . . . . . . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . $1 0 0 VI. � L E C'l' R I C I T Y . -'J' owing Canal Boat� b y E l ect ri city . -2 illustra-
tlons . ....... ... .. . . . . ...... ...... ... .......... . . . . . : . . . . . . . . . . . . 20127
(; y a n i d e P r o c e s s . Practical Notefo1 o n the Cyanide Process. B y
. . . . . . .
F. L . Bosqui. 8vo. cloth. illustrated, 201 pages. N e w York, 1899 . $2 5 0 V I I . E'l' H N O L O G Y . - 'r b e Natives of Au strnha and their Origin.-By
.
R . I.JYI) E K � E lt . . . . . . . . . . . . ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20136
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ons engravmgs and dJa!!rams. Edited by Paul )I. IIasluck. 16mo. cloth, V I I I . JI] X PLOSI V F. S . - 'r h e New Smokeless Powder Guns o f the
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IX. EX P 0 8 pr I O N .-'r h e Bui1 dings of the Pall - A m erican Expos ition
D a UI S . T h e Dm�ign and Construction o f Dams, inrluding Masonry,
Earth, Rock -Fill, anti Tirn oer Structure,. Also the principal types of o f ]001.-4 i l I u s t rati oll s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2013(i
Movaole Dams. By Edward Wegmann. Fourth edition. revised and en· 'fhe Pan- A m erican "'H:xposition of 1901.·- By R OY C H A �· DA LJ, . . . . 2U184
larged. (�uarto. cloth, 250 pages of tex t , 83 folding plates. New York, X. H O I W L O G Y .-}l y sterious Cloc k s . -3 i l l ustrations . . . . . . .. . . . . ...... tOWS
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. . . .
X l . I LL U M I N A T I O � . -lnfiuence of Various Oxides on I n candescent
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by the latest known methods. Containing historical review of the tools
. . . . 201 ;);)
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E ng i n e e r' s H a ndy-Bo o k . Containing Facts, Formnlre, 'rabIes
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Heat. Fuel and Steam, the Steam Boiler and accessories, Steam Engines Trade Notes and Receipts .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 4 1
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X \' 1 1 . T ]{ A V J<) L A N D EX PLO R A T 1 O N . -'I· ruvel s i n A b y s s i n i a . . . . . 20142
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