,,marvels ,,of ,,modern ,,science  ,by  
,,paul ,,severing  ,edited by ,,theodore
 ,,waters  #aiaj    ,,contents          
,,chapter ,i ,,flying ,,machines ,early 
attempts at flight4 ,the ,dirigible4    
,prof4 ,langley's experiments4 ,the     
,wright ,brothers4 ,count ,zeppelin4    
,recent aeroplane records4  ,,chapter   
,,ii ,,wireless ,,telegraphy ,primitive 
signalling4 ,principles of wireless     
telegraphy4 ,ether vibrations4 ,wireless
 apparatus4 ,the ,marconi system4       
,,chapter ,,iii ,,radium ,experiments of
 ,becquerel4 ,work of the ,curies4      
,discovery of ,radium4 ,enormous energy4
 ,various uses4  ,,chapter ,,iv ,,moving
 ,,pictures ,photographing motion4      
,edison's ,kinetoscope4 ,lumiere's      
,cinematographe4 ,before the camera4    
,the mission of the moving picture4     
,edison's latest triumph4  ,,chapter ,v 
,,sky-,,scrapers ,,and ,,how ,,they     
,,are ,,built ,evolution of the         
sky-scraper4 ,construction4 ,new ,york's
 giant buildings4 ,dimensions4          

,,chapter ,,vi ,,ocean ,,palaces ,ocean 
greyhounds4 ,present day floating       
palaces4 ,regal appointments4 ,passenger
 accommodation4 ,food consumption4 ,the 
one thousand foot boat4  ,,chapter ,,vii
 ,,wonderful ,,creations ,,in ,,plant   
,,life ,mating ,plants4 ,experiments of 
,burbank4 ,what he has accomplished4    
,,chapter ,,viii ,,latest ,,discoveries 
,,in ,,archaeology ,prehistoric time4   
,earliest records4 ,discoveries in      
,bible lands4 ,american explorations4   
,,chapter ,,ix ,,great ,,tunnels ,,of   
,,the ,,world ,primitive ,tunnelling4   
,hoosac ,tunnel4 ,croton aqueduct4      
,great ,alpine tunnels4 ,new ,york      
subway4 ,mc,adoo tunnels4 ,how tunnels  
are built4  ,,chapter ,x ,,electricity  
,,in ,,the ,,household ,electrically    
equipped houses4 ,cooking by            
electricity4 ,comforts and conveniences4
  ,,chapter ,,xi ,,harnessing ,,the     
,,water-,,fall ,electric energy4 ,high  
pressure4 ,transformers4 ,development of
 water-power4  ,,chapter ,,xii          

,,wonderful ,,war ,,ships ,dimensions1  
displacements1 cost and description of  
battleships4 ,capacity and speed4       
,preparing for the future4  ,,chapter   
,,xiii ,a ,,talk ,,on ,,big ,,guns ,the 
first projectiles4 ,introduction of     
cannon ,high pressure guns4 ,machine    
guns4 ,dimensions and cost of big guns4 
,,chapter ,,xiv ,,mystery ,,of ,,the    
,,stars ,wonders of the universe4 ,star 
,photography4 ,the infinity of space4   
,,chapter ,,xv ,,can ,,we ,,communicate 
,,with ,,other ,,worlds8 ,vastness of   
,nature4 ,star distances4 ,problem of   
communicating with ,mars4 ,the ,great   
,beyond4     ,introduction  ,the purpose
 of this little book is to give a       
general idea of a few of the great      
achievements of our time4 ,within such a
 limited space it was impossible to even
 mention thousands more of the great    
inventions and triumphs which mark the  
rushing progress of the world in the    
present century2 therefore1 only those  
subjects have been treated which appeal 

with more than passing interest to all4 
,for instance1 the flying machine is    
engaging the attention of the old1 the  
young and the middle-aged1 and soon the 
whole world will be on the wing4        
,radium1 the revealer1 is opening the   
door to possibilities almost beyond     
human conception4 ,wireless ,telegraphy 
is crossing thousands of miles of space 
with invisible feet and making the      
nations of the earth as one4 ',tis the  
same with the other subjects1--one and  
all are of vital1 human interest1 and   
are extremely attractive on account of  
their importance in the civilization of 
today4 ,mighty1 sublime1 wonderful1 as  
have been the achievements of past      
science1 as yet we are but on the verge 
of the continents of discovery4 ,where  
is the wizard who can tell what lies in 
the womb of time8 ,just as our          
conceptions of many things have been    
revolutionized in the past1 those which 
we hold to-day of the cosmic processes  
may have to be remodeled in the future4 

,the men of fifty years hence may laugh 
at the circumscribed knowledge of the   
present and shake their wise heads in   
contemplation of what they will term our
 crudities1 and which we now call       
progress4 ,science is ever on the march 
and what is new to-day will be old      
to-morrow4 ,we cannot go back1 we must  
go forward1 and although we can never   
reach finality in aught1 we can improve 
on the past to enrich the future4 ,if   
this volume creates an interest and     
arouses an enthusiasm in the ordinary   
men and women into whose hands it may   
come1 and stimulates them to a study of 
the great events making for the         
enlightenment1 progress and elevation of
 the race1 it shall have fulfilled its  
mission and serve the purpose for which 
it was written4     ,,chapter ,i        
,,flying ,,machines    ,early ,attempts 
at ,flight--,the ,dirigible--,professor 
,langley's   ,experiment--,the ,wright  
,brothers--,count ,zeppelin--,recent    
,aeroplane   ,records4   ,it is hard to 

determine when men first essayed the    
attempt to fly4 ,in myth1 legend and    
tradition we find allusions to aerial   
flight and from the very dawn of        
authentic history1 philosophers1 poets1 
and writers have made allusion to the   
subject1 showing that the idea must have
 early taken root in the restless human 
heart4 ,aeschylus exclaims3      ,oh1   
might ,i sit1 sublime in air     ,where 
watery clouds the freezing snows        
prepare6  ,ariosto in his ,orlando      
,furioso makes an ,english knight1 whom 
he names ,astolpho1 fly to the banks of 
the ,nile2 nowadays the authors are     
trying to make their heroes fly to the  
,north ,pole4  ,some will have it that  
the ancient world had a civilization    
much higher than the modern and was more
 advanced in knowledge4 ,it is claimed  
that steam engines and electricity were 
common in ,egypt thousands of years ago 
and that literature1 science1 art1 and  
architecture flourished as never since4 
,certain it is that the ,pyramids were  

for a long time the most solid          
,skyscrapers in the world4  ,perhaps1   
after all1 our boasted progress is but a
 case of going back to first principles1
 of history1 or rather tradition        
repeating itself4 ,the flying machine   
may not be as new as we think it is4 ,at
 any rate the conception of it is old   
enough4  ,in the thirteenth century     
,roger ,bacon1 often called the ,father 
of ,philosophy1 maintained that the air 
could be navigated4 ,he suggested a     
hollow globe of copper to be filled with
 ethereal air or liquid fire1 but he    
never tried to put his suggestion into  
practice4 ,father ,vasson1 a missionary 
at ,canton1 in a letter dated ,september
 #e1 #afid1 mentions a balloon that     
ascended on the occasion of the         
coronation of the ,empress ,fo-,kien in 
#acjf1 but he does not state where he   
got the information4  ,the balloon is   
the earliest form of air machine of     
which we have record4 ,in #agfg a ,dr4  
,black of ,edinburgh suggested that a   

thin bladder could be made to ascend if 
filled with inflammable air1 the name   
then given to hydrogen gas4  ,in #aghb  
,cavallo succeeded in sending up a soap 
bubble filled with such gas4  ,it was in
 the same year that the ,montgolfier    
brothers of ,annonay1 near ,lyons in    
,france1 conceived the idea of using hot
 air for lifting things into the air4   
,they got this idea from watching the   
smoke curling up the chimney from the   
heat of the fire beneath4  ,in #aghc    
they constructed the first successful   
balloon of which we have any            
description4 ,it was in the form of a   
round ball1 #aaj feet in circumference  
and1 with the frame weighed #cjj pounds4
 ,it was filled with #bb1jjj cubic feet 
of vapor4 ,it rose to a height of #f1jjj
 feet and proceeded almost #g1jjj feet1 
when it gently descended4 ,france went  
wild over the exhibition4  ,the first to
 risk their lives in the air were ,m4   
,pilatre de ,rozier and the ,marquis de 
,arlandes1 who ascended over ,paris in a

 hot-air balloon in ,november1 #aghc4   
,they rose five hundred feet and        
traveled a distance of five miles in    
twenty-five minutes4  ,in the following 
,december ,messrs4 ,charles and ,robert1
 also ,frenchmen1 ascended ten thousand 
feet and traveled twenty-seven miles in 
two hours4  ,the first balloon ascension
 in ,great ,britain was made by an      
experimenter named ,tytler in #aghd4 ,a 
few months later ,lunardi sailed over   
,london4  ,in #ahcf three ,englishmen1  
,green1 ,mason and ,holland1 went from  
,london to ,germany1 five hundred miles1
 in eighteen hours4  ,the greatest      
balloon exhibition up to then1 indeed   
the greatest ever1 as it has never been 
surpassed1 was given by ,glaisher and   
,coxwell1 two ,englishmen1 near         
,wolverhampton1 on ,september #e1 #ahfb4
 ,they ascended to such an elevation    
that both lost the power of their limbs1
 and had not ,coxwell opened the        
descending valve with his teeth1 they   
would have ascended higher and probably 

lost their lives in the rarefied        
atmosphere1 for there was no compressed 
oxygen then as now to inhale into their 
lungs4 ,the last reckoning of which they
 were capable before ,glaisher lost     
consciousness showed an elevation of    
twenty-nine thousand feet1 but it is    
supposed that they ascended eight       
thousand feet higher before ,coxwell was
 able to open the descending valve4 ,in 
#aija in the city of ,berlin two        
,germans rose to a height of thirty-five
 thousand feet1 but the two ,englishmen 
of almost fifty years ago are still     
given credit for the highest ascent4    
,the largest balloon ever sent aloft was
 the ,giant of ,m4 ,nadar1 a ,frenchman1
 which had a capacity of #bae1jjj cubic 
feet and required for a covering #bb1jjj
 yards of silk4 ,it ascended from the   
,champ de ,mars1 ,paris1 in #ahec1 with 
fifteen passengers1 all of whom came    
back safely4  ,the longest flight made  
in a balloon was that by ,count de ,la  
,vaulx1 #aaic miles in #aije4  ,a       

mammoth balloon was built in ,london by 
,a4 ,e4 ,gaudron4 ,in #aijh with three  
other aeronauts ,gaudron crossed from   
the ,crystal ,palace to the ,belgian    
,coast at ,ostend and then drifted over 
,northern ,germany and was finally      
driven down by a snow storm at ,mateki  
,derevni in ,russia1 having traveled    
#a1aag miles in #ca-a_/b hours4 ,the    
first attempt at constructing a         
dirigible balloon or airship was made by
 ,m4 ,giffard1 a ,frenchman1 in #aheb4  
,the bag was spindle-shaped and #add    
feet from point to point4 ,though it    
could be steered without drifting the   
motor was too weak to propel it4        
,giffard had many imitations in the     
spindle-shaped envelope construction1   
but it was a long time before any good  
results were obtained4  ,it was not     
until #ahhd that ,m4 ,gaston ,tissandier
 constructed a dirigible in any way     
worthy of the name4 ,it was operated by 
a motor driven by a bichromate of soda  
battery4 ,the motor weighed #aba lbs4   

,the cells held liquid enough to work   
for #b-a_/b hours1 generating #a-a_/c   
horse power4 ,the screw had two arms and
 was over nine feet in circumference4   
,tissandier made some successful        
flights4  ,the first dirigible balloon  
to return whence it started was that    
known as ,la ,france4 ,this airship was 
also constructed in #ahhd4 ,the designer
 was ,commander ,renard of the ,french  
,marine ,corps assisted by ,captain     
,krebs of the same service4 ,the length 
of the envelope was #agi feet1 its      
diameter #bg-a_/b feet4 ,the screw was  
in front instead of behind as in all    
others previously constructed4 ,the     
motor which weighed #bbj-a_/b lbs4 was  
driven by electricity and developed     
#h-a_/b horse power4 ,the propeller was 
#bd feet in diameter and only made #df  
revolutions to the minute4 ,this was the
 first time electricity was used as a   
motor force1 and mighty possibilities   
were conceived4  ,in #aija a young      
,brazilian1 ,santos-,dumont1 made a     

spectacular flight4 ,m4 ,deutch1 a      
,parisian millionaire1 offered a prize  
of #bj1jjj for the first dirigible that 
would fly from the ,parc d',aerostat1   
encircle the ,eiffel ,tower and return  
to the starting point within thirty     
minutes1 the distance of such flight    
being about nine miles4 ,dumont won the 
prize though he was some forty seconds  
over time4 ,the length of his dirigible 
on this occasion was #ajh feet1 the     
diameter #ai-a_/b feet4 ,it had a       
#d-;cylinder petroleum motor weighing   
#baf lbs41 which generated #bj horse    
power4 ,the screw was #ac feet in       
diameter and made three hundred         
revolutions to the minute4  ,from this  
time onward great progress was made in  
the constructing of airships4           
,government officials and many others   
turned their attention to the work4     
,factories were put in operation in     
several countries of ,europe and by the 
year #aije the dirigible had been fairly
 well established4 ,zeppelin1 ,parseval1

 ,lebaudy1 ,baidwin and ,gross were     
crowding one another for honors4 ,all   
had given good results1 ,zeppelin       
especially had performed some remarkable
 feats with his machines4  ,in the      
construction of the dirigible balloon   
great care must be taken to build a     
strong1 as well as light framework and  
to suspend the car from it so that the  
weight will be equally distributed1 and 
above all1 so to contrive the gas       
contained that under no circumstances   
can it become tilted4 ,there is great   
danger in the event of tilting that some
 of the stays suspending the car may    
snap and the construction fall to pieces
 in the air4  ,in deciding upon the     
shape of a dirigible balloon the chief  
consideration is to secure an end       
surface which presents the least        
possible resistance to the air and also 
to secure stability and equilibrium4 ,of
 course the motor1 fuel and propellers  
are other considerations of vital       
importance4  ,the first experimenter on 

the size of wing surface necessary to   
sustain a man in the air1 calculated    
from the proportion of weight and wing  
surface in birds1 was ,karl ,meerwein of
 ,baden4 ,he calculated that a man      
weighing #bjj lbs4 would require #abh   
square feet4 ,in #agha he made a        
spindle-shaped apparatus presenting such
 a surface to the resistance of the air4
 ,it was collapsible on the middle and  
here the operator was fastened and lay  
horizontally with his face towards the  
earth working the collapsible wings by  
means of a transverse rod4 ,it was not a
 success4  ,during the first half of the
 #aith ,century there were many         
experiments with wing surfaces1 none of 
which gave any promise4 ,in fact it was 
not until #ahfe that any advance was    
made1 when ,francis ,wenham showed that 
the lifting power of a plane of great   
superficial area could be obtained by   
dividing the large plane into several   
parts arranged on tiers4 ,this may be   
regarded as the germ of the modern      

aeroplane1 the first glimmer of hope to 
filter through the darkness of          
experimentation until then4 ,when       
,wenham's apparatus went against a      
strong wind it was only lifted up and   
thrown back4 ,however1 the idea gave    
thought to many others years afterwards4
  ,in #ahhe the brothers ,lilienthal in 
,germany discovered the possibility of  
driving curved aeroplanes against the   
wind4 ,otto ,lilienthal held that it was
 necessary to begin with sailing flight 
and first of all that the art of        
balancing in the air must be learned by 
practical experiments4 ,he made several 
flights of the kind now known as        
gliding4 ,from a height of #ajj feet he 
glided a distance of #gjj feet and found
 he could deflect his flight from left  
to right by moving his legs which were  
hanging freely from the seat4 ,he       
attached a light motor weighing only #if
 lbs4 and generating #b-a_/b horse      
power4 ,to sustain the weight he had to 
increase the size of his planes4        

,unfortunately this pioneer in modern   
aviation was killed in an experiment1   
but he left much data behind which has  
helped others4 ,his was the first actual
 flyer which demonstrated the elementary
 laws governing real flight and blazed  
the way for the successful experiments  
of the present time4 ,his example made  
the gliding machine a continuous        
performance until real practical aerial 
flight was achieved4  ,as far back as   
#ahid ,maxim built a giant aeroplane but
 it was too cumbersome to be operated4  
,in ,america the wonderful work of      
,professor ,langley of the ,smithsonian 
,institution with his aerodromes        
attracted worldwide attention4 ,langley 
was the great originator of the science 
of aerodynamics on this side of the     
water4 ,langley studied from artificial 
birds which he had constructed and kept 
almost constantly before him4  ,to      
,langley1 ,chanute1 ,herring and ,manly1
 ,america owes much in the way of       
aeronautics before the ,wrights entered 

the field4 ,the ,wrights have given the 
greatest impetus to modern aviation4    
,they entered the field in #aijj and    
immediately achieved greater results    
than any of their predecessors4 ,they   
followed the idea of ,lilienthal to a   
certain extent4 ,they made gliders in   
which the aviator had a horizontal      
position and they used twice as great a 
lifting surface as that hitherto        
employed4 ,the flights of their first   
motor machine was made ,december #ag1   
#aijc1 at ,kitty ,hawk1 ,n4,c4 ,in #aijd
 with a new machine they resumed        
experiments at their home near ,dayton1 
,o4 ,in ,september of that year they    
succeeded in changing the course from   
one dead against the wind to a curved   
path where cross currents must be       
encountered1 and made many circular     
flights4 ,during #aijf they rested for a
 while from practical flight1 perfecting
 plans for the future4 ,in the beginning
 of ,september1 #aijh1 ,orville ,wright 
made an aeroplane flight of one hour1   

and a few days later stayed up one hour 
and fourteen minutes4 ,wilbur ,wright   
went to ,france and began a series of   
remarkable flights taking up passengers4
 ,on ,december #ca1 of that year1 he    
startled the world by making the record 
flight of two hours and nineteen        
minutes4  ,it was on ,sept4 #ac1 #aijf1 
that ,santos-,dumont made the first     
officially recorded ,european aeroplane 
flight1 leaving the ground for a        
distance of #ab yards4 ,on ,november    
#ab1 of same year1 he remained in the   
air for #ba seconds and traveled a      
distance of #bcj yards4 ,these feats    
caused a great sensation at the time4   
,while the ,wrights were achieving fame 
for ,america1 ,henri ,farman was busy in
 ,england4 ,on ,october #bf1 #aijg1 he  
flew #hbj yards in #eb-a_/b seconds4 ,on
 ,july #f1 #aijh1 he remained in the air
 for #bj-a_/b minutes4 ,on ,october #ca1
 same year1 in ,france1 he flew from    
,chalons to ,rheims1 a distance of      
sixteen miles1 in twenty minutes4  ,the 

year #aiji witnessed mighty strides in  
the field of aviation4 ,thousands of    
flights were made1 many of which        
exceeded the most sanguine              
anticipations4 ,on ,july #ac1 ,bleriot  
flew from ,etampes to ,chevilly1 #bf    
miles1 in #dd minutes and #cj seconds1  
and on ,july #be he made the first      
flight across the ,british ,channel1 #cb
 miles1 in #cg minutes4 ,orville ,wright
 made several sensational flights in his
 biplane around ,berlin1 while his      
brother ,wilbur delighted ,new ,yorkers 
by circling the ,statue of ,liberty and 
flying up the ,hudson from ,governor's  
,island to ,grant's ,tomb and return1 a 
distance of #ba miles1 in #cc minutes   
and #cc seconds during the              
,hudson-,fulton ,celebration4 ,on       
,november #bj ,louis ,paulhan1 in a     
biplane1 flew from ,mourmelon to        
,chalons1 ,france1 and return1 #cg miles
 in #ee minutes1 rising to a height of  
#ajjj feet4  ,the dirigible airship was 
also much in evidence during #aiji1     

,zeppelin1 especially1 performing some  
remarkable feats4 ,the ,zeppelin ,v41   
subsequently re-numbered ,no4 #a1 of the
 rigid type1 #ddf feet long1 diameter   
#db-a_/b feet and capacity #ecf1jjj     
cubic feet1 on ,march #bi1 rose to a    
height of #c1bhj1 and on ,april #a1     
started with a crew of nine passengers  
from ,frederickshafen to ,munich4 ,in a 
#ce mile gale it was carried beyond     
,munich1 but ,zeppelin succeeded in     
coming to anchor4 ,other ,zeppelin      
balloons made remarkable voyages during 
the year4 ,but the latest achievements  
7#aiaj7 of the old ,german aeronaut have
 put all previous records into the shade
 and electrified the whole world4 ,his  
new passenger airship1 the ,deutschland1
 on ,june #bb1 made a #cjj mile trip    
from ,frederickshafen to ,dusseldorf in 
#i hours1 carrying #bj passengers4 ,this
 was at the rate of #cc4cc miles per    
hour4 ,during one hour of the journey a 
speed of #dc-a_/b miles was averaged4   
,the passengers were carried in a       

mahogany finished cabin and had all the 
comforts of a ,pullman car1 but most    
significant fact of all1 the trip was   
made on schedule and with all regularity
 of an express train4  ,two days later  
,zeppelin eclipsed his own record air   
voyage when his vessel carried #cb      
passengers1 ten of whom were women1 in a
 #ajj mile trip from ,dusseldorf to     
,essen1 ,dortmund and ,bochum and back4 
,at one time on this occasion while     
traveling with the wind the airship made
 a speed of #ef-a_/b miles4 ,it passed  
through a heavy shower and forced its   
way against a strong headwind without   
difficulty4 ,the passengers were all    
delighted with the new mode of travel1  
which was very comfortable4 ,this last  
dirigible masterpiece of ,zeppelin may  
be styled the leviathan of the air4 ,it 
is #dhe feet long with a total lifting  
power of #dd1jjj lbs4 ,it has three     
motors which total #ccj horse power and 
it drives at an average speed of about  
#cc miles an hour4 ,a regular passenger 

service has been established and tickets
 are selling at #ej4  ,the present year 
can also boast some great aeroplane     
records1 notably by ,curtiss and        
,hamilton in ,america and ,farman and   
,paulhan in ,europe4 ,curtiss flew from 
,albany to ,new ,york1 a distance of    
#acg miles1 at an average speed of #ee  
miles an hour and ,hamilton flew from   
,new ,york to ,philadelphia and return4 
,the first night flight of a dirigible  
over ,new ,york ,city was made by       
,charles ,goodale on ,july #ai4 ,he flew
 from ,palisades ,park on the ,hudson   
and return4  ,from a scientific toy the 
,flying ,machine has been developed and 
perfected into a practical means of     
locomotion4 ,it bids fair at no distant 
date to revolutionize the transit of the
 world4 ,no other art has ever made such
 progress in its early stages and every 
day witnesses an improvement4  ,the air1
 though invisible to the eye1 has mass  
and therefore offers resistance to all  
moving bodies4 ,therefore air-mass and  

air resistance are the first principles 
to be taken into consideration in the   
construction of an aeroplane4 ,it must  
be built so that the air-mass will      
sustain it and the motor1 and the motor 
must be of sufficient power to overcome 
the air resistance4  ,a ship ploughing  
through the waves presents the line of  
least resistance to the water and so is 
shaped somewhat like a fish1 the natural
 denizen of that element4 ,it is        
different with the aeroplane4 ,in the   
intangible domain it essays to overcome1
 there must be a sufficient surface to  
compress a certain volume of air to     
sustain the weight of the machinery4    
,the surfaces in regard to size1 shape1 
curvature1 bracing and material1 are all
 important4 ,a great deal depends upon  
the curve of the surfaces4 ,two machines
 may have the same extent of surface and
 develop the same rate of speed1 yet one
 may have a much greater lifting power  
than the other1 provided it has a more  
efficient curve to its surface4 ,many   

people have a fallacious idea that the  
surfaces of an aeroplane are planes and 
this doubt less arises from the word    
itself4 ,however1 the last syllable in  
aeroplane has nothing whatever to do    
with a flat surface4 ,it is derived from
 the ,greek planos1 wandering1 therefore
 the entire word signifies an air       
wanderer4  ,the surfaces are really aero
 curves arched in the rear of the front 
edge1 thus allowing the supporting      
surface of the aeroplane in passing     
forward with its backward side set at an
 angle to the direction of its motion1  
to act upon the air in such a way as to 
tend to compress it on the under side4  
,after the surfaces come the rudders in 
importance4 ,it is of vital consequence 
that the machine be balanced by the     
operator4 ,in the present method of     
balancing an aeroplane the idea in mind 
is to raise the lower side of the       
machine and make the higher side lower  
in order that it can be quickly righted 
when it tips to one side from a gust of 

wind1 or when making angle at a sudden  
turn4 ,to accomplish this1 two methods  
can be employed4 #a4 ,changing the form 
of the wing4 #b4 ,using separate        
surfaces4 ,one side can be made to lift 
more than the other by giving it a      
greater curve or extending the          
extremity4  ,in balancing by means of   
separate surfaces1 which can be turned  
up or down on each side of the machine1 
the horizontal balancing rudders are so 
connected that they will work in an     
opposite direction--while one is turned 
to lift one side1 the other will act to 
lower the other side so as to strike an 
even balance4  ,the motors and          
propellers next claim attention4 ,it is 
the motor that makes aviation possible4 
,it was owing in a very large measure to
 the introduction of the petrol motor   
that progress became rapid4 ,hitherto   
many had laid the blame of everything on
 the motor4 ,they had said1--give us a  
light and powerful engine and we will   
show you how to fly4  ,the first very   

light engine to be available was the    
,antoinette1 built by ,leon ,levavasseur
 in ,france4 ,it enabled ,santos-,dumont
 to make his first public successful    
flights4 ,nearly all aeroplanes follow  
the same general principles of          
construction4 ,of course a good deal    
depends upon the form of                
aeroplane--whether a monoplane or a     
biplane4 ,as these two forms are the    
chief ones1 as yet1 of heavier than-air 
machines1 it would be well to understand
 them4 ,the monoplane has single large  
surfaces like the wings of a bird1 the  
biplane has two large surfaces braced   
together one over the other4 ,at the    
present writing a triplane has been     
introduced into the domain of ,american 
aviation by an ,english aeronaut4       
,doubtless as the science progresses    
many other variations will appear in the
 field4 ,most machines1 though fashioned
 on similar lines1 possess universal    
features4 ,for instance1 the ,wright    
biplane is characterized by warping wing

 tips and seams of heavy construction1  
while the surfaces of the               
,herring-,curtiss machine1 are slight   
and it looks very light and buoyant as  
if well suited to its element4 ,the     
,voisin biplane is fashioned after the  
manner of a box kite and therefore      
presents vertical surfaces to the air4  
,farman's machine has no vertical       
surfaces1 but there are hinged wing tips
 to the outer rear-edges of its         
surfaces1 for use in turning and        
balancing4 ,he also has a combination of
 wheels and skids or runners for        
starting and landing4  ,the position to 
be occupied by the operator also        
influences the construction4 ,some sit  
on top of the machine1 others           
underneath4 ,in the ,antoinette1 ,latham
 sits up in a sort of cockpit on the    
top4 ,bleriot sits far beneath his      
machine4 ,in the latest construction of 
,santos-,dumont1 the ,demoiselle1 the   
aviator sits on the top4  ,aeroplanes   
have been constructed for the most part 

in ,europe1 especially in ,france4      
,there may be said to be only one       
factory in ,america1 that of            
,herring-,curtiss1 at ,hammondsport1    
,n4,y41 as the ,wright place at ,dayton 
is very small and only turns out motors 
and experimenting machines1 and cannot  
be called a regular factory4 ,the       
,wright machines are now manufactured by
 a ,french syndicate4 ,it is said that  
the ,wrights will have an ,american     
factory at work in a short time4 ,the   
,french-made aeroplanes have given good 
satisfaction4 ,these machines cost from 
#d1jjj to #e1jjj1 and generally have    
three cylinder motors developing from   
#be to #ce horse power4  ,the latest    
model of ,bleriot known as ,no4 #ab has 
beaten the time record of ,glenn        
,curtiss' biplane with its #fj horse    
power motor4 ,the ,farman machine or the
 model in which he made the world's     
duration record in his three hour and   
sixteen minutes flight at ,rheims1 is   
one of the best as well as the cheapest 

of the ,french makes4 ,without the motor
 it cost but #a1bjj4 ,it has a surface  
twenty-five meters square1 is eight     
meters long and seven-and-a-half meters 
wide1 weighs #adj kilos1 and has a motor
 which develops from #be to #ej horse   
power4  ,the ,wright machines cost      
#f1jjj4 ,they have four cylinder motors 
of #cj horse power1 are #ab-a_/b meters 
long1 #i meters wide and have a surface 
of #cj square meters4 ,they weigh #djj  
kilos4 ,in this country they cost #g1ejj
 exclusive of the duty on foreign       
manufacture4  ,the impetus being given  
to aviation at the present time by the  
prizes offered is spurring the men-birds
 to their best efforts4  ,it is         
prophesied that the aeroplane will yet  
attain a speed of #cjj miles an hour4   
,the quickest travel yet attained by man
 has been at the rate of #abg miles an  
hour4 ,that was accomplished by         
,marriott in a racing automobile at     
,ormond ,beach in #aijf1 when he went   
one mile in #bh #a-e seconds4 ,it is    

doubtful1 however1 were it possible to  
achieve a rate of #cjj miles an hour1   
that any human being could resist the   
air pressure at such a velocity4  ,at   
any rate there can be no question as to 
the aeroplane attaining a much greater  
speed than at present4 ,that it will be 
useful there can be little doubt4 ,it is
 no longer a scientific toy in the hands
 of amateurs1 but a practical machine   
which is bound to contribute much to the
 progress of the world4 ,of course1 as a
 mode of transportation it is not in the
 same class with the dirigible1 but it  
can be made to serve many other         
purposes4 ,as an agent in time of war it
 would be more important than fort or   
warship4  ,the experiments of ,curtiss1 
made a short time ago over ,lake ,keuka 
at ,hammondsport1 ,n4,y41 prove what a  
mighty factor would have to be reckoned 
with in the martial aeroplane4 ,curtiss 
without any practice at all hit a mimic 
battle ship fifteen times out of        
twenty-two shots4 ,his experiment has   

convinced the military and naval        
authorities of this country that the    
aeroplane and the aerial torpedo        
constitute a new danger against which   
there is no existing protection4 ,aerial
 offensive and defensive strategy is now
 a problem which demands the attention  
of nations4     ,,chapter ,,ii          
,,wireless ,,telegraphy    ,primitive   
,signalling--,principles of ,wireless   
,telegraphy--,ether                     
,vibrations--,wireless ,apparatus--,the 
,marconi ,system4   ,at a very early    
stage in the world's history1 man found 
it necessary to be able to communicate  
with places at a distance by means of   
signals4 ,fire was the first agent      
employed for the purpose4 ,on hill-tops 
or other eminences1 what were known as  
beacon fires were kindled and owing to  
their elevation these could be seen for 
a considerable distance throughout the  
surrounding country4 ,these primitive   
signals could be passed on from one     
point to another1 until a large region  

could be covered and many people brought
 into communication with one another4   
,these fires expressed a language of    
their own1 which the observers could    
readily interpret4 ,for a long time they
 were the only method used for          
signalling4 ,indeed in many backward    
localities and in some of the outlying  
islands and among savage tribes the     
custom still prevails4 ,the bushmen of  
,australia at night time build fires    
outside their huts or kraals to attract 
the attention of their followers4  ,even
 in enlightened ,ireland the kindling of
 beacon fires is still observed among   
the people of backward districts        
especially on ,may ,eve and the festival
 of mid-summer4 ,on these occasions     
bonfires are lit on almost every        
hillside throughout that country4 ,this 
custom has been handed down from the    
days of the ,druids4  ,for a long time  
fires continued to be the mode of       
signalling1 but as this way could only  
be used in the night1 it was found      

necessary to adopt some method that     
would answer the purpose in daytime2    
hence signal towers were erected from   
which flags were waved and various      
devices displayed4 ,flags answered the  
purposes so very well that they came    
into general use4 ,in course of time    
they were adopted by the army1 navy and 
merchant marine and a regular code      
established1 as at the present time4    
,the railroad introduced the semaphore  
as a signal1 and field tactics the      
heliograph or reflecting mirror which1  
however1 is only of service when there  
is a strong sunlight4  ,then came the   
electric telegraph which not only       
revolutionized all forms of signalling  
but almost annihilated distance4        
,messages and all sorts of              
communications could be flashed over the
 wires in a few minutes and when a cable
 was laid under the ocean1 continent    
could converse with continent as if they
 were next door neighbors4  ,the men who
 first enabled us to talk over a wire   

certainly deserve our gratitude1 all    
succeeding generations are their        
debtors4 ,to the man who enabled us to  
talk to long distances without a wire at
 all it would seem we owe a still       
greater debt4 ,but who is this man      
around whose brow we should twine the   
laurel wreath1 to the altar of whose    
genius we should carry frankincense and 
myrrh8  ,this is a question which does  
not admit of an answer1 for to no one   
man alone do we owe wireless telegraphy1
 though ,hertz was the first to discover
 the waves which make it possible4      
,however1 it is to the men whose        
indefatigable labors and genius made the
 electric telegraph a reality1 that we  
also owe wireless telegraphy as we have 
it at present1 for the latter may be    
considered in many respects the         
resultant of the former1 though both are
 different in medium4  ,radio or        
wireless telegraphy in principle is as  
old as mankind4 ,adam delivered the     
first wireless when on awakening in the 

,garden of ,eden he discovered ,eve and 
addressed her in the vernacular of      
,paradise in that famous sentence which 
translated in ,english reads both ways  
the same1--,madam1 ,i'm ,adam4 ,the oral
 words issuing from his lips created a  
sound wave which the medium of the air  
conveyed to the tympanum of the partner 
of his joys and the cause of his        
sorrows4  ,when one person speaks to    
another the speaker causes certain      
vibrations in the air and these so      
stimulate the hearing apparatus that a  
series of nerve impulses are conveyed to
 the sensorium where the meaning of     
these signals is unconsciously          
interpreted4  ,in wireless telegraphy   
the sender causes vibrations not in the 
air but in that all-pervading impalpable
 substance which fills all space and    
which we call the ether4 ,these         
vibrations can reach out to a great     
distance and are capable of so affecting
 a receiving apparatus that signals are 
made1 the movements of which can be     

interpreted into a distinct meaning and 
consequently into the messages of       
language4  ,let us briefly consider the 
underlying principles at work4 ,when we 
cast a stone into a pool of water we    
observe that it produces a series of    
ripples which grow fainter and fainter  
the farther they recede from the centre1
 the initial point of the disturbance1  
until they fade altogether in the       
surrounding expanse of water4 ,the      
succession of these ripples is what is  
known as wave motion4  ,when the clapper
 strikes the lip of a bell it produces a
 sound and sends a tremor out upon the  
air4 ,the vibrations thus made are air  
waves4  ,in the first of these cases the
 medium communicating the ripple or     
wavelet is the water4 ,in the second    
case the medium which sustains the      
tremor and communicates the vibrations  
is the air4  ,let us now take the case  
of a third medium1 the substance of     
which puzzled the philosophers of       
ancient time and still continues to     

puzzle the scientists of the present4   
,this is the ether1 that attenuated     
fluid which fills all inter-stellar     
space and all space in masses and       
between molecules and atoms not         
otherwise occupied by gross matter4     
,when a lamp is lit the light radiates  
from it in all directions in a wave     
motion4 ,that which transmits the light1
 the medium1 is ether4 ,by this means   
energy is conveyed from the sun to the  
earth1 and scientists have calculated   
the speed of the ether vibrations called
 light at #ahf1djj miles per second4    
,thus a beam of light can travel from   
the sun to the earth1 a distance of     
between #ib1jjj1jjj and #ie1jjj1jjj     
miles 7according to season71 in a little
 over eight minutes4  ,the fire messages
 sent by the ancients from hill to hill 
were ether vibrations4 ,the greater the 
fires1 the greater were the vibrations  
and consequently they carried farther to
 the receiver1 which was the eye4 ,if a 
signal is to be sent a great distance by

 light the source of that light must be 
correspondingly powerful in order to    
disturb the ether sufficiently4 ,the    
same principle holds good in wireless   
telegraphy4 ,if we wish to communicate  
to a great distance the ether must be   
disturbed in proportion to the distance4
 ,the vibrations that produce light are 
not sufficient in intensity to affect   
the ether in such a way that signals can
 be carried to a distance4 ,other       
disturbances1 however1 can be made in   
the ether1 stronger than those which    
create light4 ,if we charge a wire with 
an electric current and place a magnetic
 needle near it we find it moves the    
needle from one position to another4    
,this effect is called an               
electro-magnetic disturbance in the     
ether4 ,again when we charge an         
insulated body with electricity we find 
that it attracts any light substance    
indicating a material disturbance in the
 ether4 ,this is described as an        
electro-static disturbance or effect and

 it is upon this that wireless          
telegraphy depends for its operations4  
,the late ,german physicist1 ,dr4       
,heinrich ,hertz1 ,ph4,d41 was the first
 to detect electrical waves in the      
ether4 ,he set up the waves in the ether
 by means of an electrical discharge    
from an induction coil4 ,to do this he  
employed a very simple means4 ,he       
procured a short length of wire with a  
brass knob at either end and bent around
 so as to form an almost complete circle
 leaving only a small air gap between   
the knobs4 ,each time there was a spark 
discharge from the induction coil1 the  
experimenter found that a small electric
 spark also generated between the knobs 
of the wire loop1 thus showing that     
electric waves were projected through   
the ether4 ,this discovery suggested to 
scientists that such electric waves     
might be used as a means of transmitting
 signals to a distance through the      
medium of the ether without connecting  
wires4  ,when ,hertz discovered that    

electric waves crossed space he         
unconsciously became the father of the  
modern system of radio-telegraphy1 and  
though he did not live to put or see any
 practical results from his wonderful   
discovery1 to him in a large measure    
should be accorded the honor of         
blazoning the way for many of the       
intellectual giants who came after him4 
,of course those who went before him1   
who discovered the principles of the    
electric telegraph made it possible for 
the ,hertzian waves to be utilized in   
wireless4  ,it is easy to understand the
 wonders of wireless telegraphy when we 
consider that electric waves transverse 
space in exactly the same manner as     
light waves4 ,when energy is transmitted
 with finite velocity we can think of   
its transference only in two ways3 first
 by the actual transference of matter as
 when a stone is hurled from one place  
to another2 second1 by the propagation  
of energy from point to point through a 
medium which fills the space between two

 bodies4 ,the body sending out energy   
disturbs the medium contiguous to it1   
which disturbance is communicated to    
adjacent parts of the medium and so the 
movement is propagated outward from the 
sending body through the medium until   
some other body is affected4  ,a        
vibrating body sets up vibrations in    
another body1 as for instance1 when one 
tuning fork responds to the vibrations  
of another when both have the same note 
or are in tune4  ,the transmission of   
messages by wireless telegraphy is      
effected in a similar way4 ,the         
apparatus at the sending station sends  
out waves of a certain period through   
the ether and these waves are detected  
at the receiving station1 by apparatus  
attuned to this wave length or period4  
,the term electric radiation was first  
employed by ,hertz to designate waves   
emitted by a ,leyden jar or oscillator  
system of an induction coil1 but since  
that time these radiations have been    
known as ,hertzian waves4 ,these waves  

are the underlying principles in        
wireless telegraphy4  ,it was found that
 certain metal filings offered great    
resistance to the passage of an electric
 current through them but that this     
resistance was very materially reduced  
when electric waves fell upon the       
filings and remained so until the       
filings were shaken1 thus giving time   
for the fact to be observed in an       
ordinary telegraphic instrument4  ,the  
tube of filings through which the       
electric current is made to pass in     
wireless telegraphy is called a coherer 
signifying that the filings cohere or   
cling together under the influence of   
the electric waves4 ,almost any metal   
will do for the filings but it is found 
that a combination of ninety per cent4  
nickel and ten per cent4 silver answers 
the purpose best4  ,the tube of the     
coherer is generally of glass but any   
insulating substance will do2 a wire    
enters at each end and is attached to   
little blocks of metal which are        

separated by a very small space4 ,it is 
into this space the filings are loosely 
filled4  ,another form of coherer       
consists of a glass tube with small     
carbon blocks or plugs attached to the  
ends of the wires and instead of the    
metal filings there is a globule of     
mercury between the plugs4 ,when        
electric waves fall upon this coherer1  
the mercury coheres to the carbon       
blocks1 and thus forms a bridge for the 
battery current4  ,marconi and several  
others have from time to time invented  
many other kinds of detectors for the   
electrical waves4 ,nearly all have to   
serve the same purpose1 viz41 to close a
 local battery circuit when the electric
 waves fall upon the detector4  ,there  
are other inventions on which the action
 is the reverse4 ,these are called      
anti-coherers4 ,one of the best known of
 these is a tube arranged in a somewhat 
similar manner to the filings tube but  
with two small blocks of tin1 between   
which is placed a paste made up of      

alcohol1 tin filings and lead oxide4 ,in
 its normal state the paste allows the  
battery current to get across from one  
block to another1 but when electric     
waves touch it a chemical action is     
produced which immediately breaks down  
the bridge and stops the electric waves1
 the paste resumes its normal condition 
and allows the battery current to pass  
again4 ,therefore by this arrangement   
the signals are made by a sudden        
breaking and making of the battery      
circuit4  ,then there is the magnetic   
detector4 ,this is not so easy of       
explanation4 ,when we take a piece of   
soft iron and continuously revolve it in
 front of a permanent magnet1 the       
magnetic poles of the soft iron piece   
will keep changing their position at    
each half revolution4 ,it requires a    
little time to effect this magnetic     
change which makes it appear as if a    
certain amount of resistance was being  
made against it4 7,if electric waves are
 allowed to fall upon the iron1         

resistance is completely eliminated1 and
 the magnetic poles can change places   
instantly as it revolves47  ,from this  
we see that if we have a quickly        
changing magnetic field it will induce  
or set up an electric current in a      
neighboring coil of wire4 ,in this way  
we can detect the changes in the        
magnetic field1 for we can place a      
telephone receiver in connection with   
the coil of wire4  ,in a modern wireless
 receiver of this kind it is found more 
convenient to replace the revolving iron
 piece by an endless band of soft iron  
wire4 ,this band is kept passing in     
front of a permanent magnet1 the        
magnetism of the wire tending to change 
as it passes from one pole to the other4
 ,this change takes place suddenly when 
the electric waves form the transmitting
 station1 fall upon the receiving aerial
 conductor and are conducted round the  
moving wire1 and as the band is passing 
through a coil of insulated wire        
attached to a telephone receiver1 this  

sudden change in the magnetic field     
induces an electric current in the      
surrounding coil and the operator hears 
a sound in the telephone at his ear4    
,the ,morse code may thus be signalled  
from the distant transmitter4  ,there   
are various systems of wireless         
telegraphy for the most part called     
after the scientists who developed or   
perfected them4 ,probably the foremost  
as well as the best known is that which 
bears the name of ,marconi4 ,a popular  
fallacy makes ,marconi the discoverer of
 the wireless method4 ,marconi was the  
first to put the system on a commercial 
footing or business basis and to lead   
the way for its coming to the front as a
 mighty factor in modern progress4 ,of  
course1 also1 the honor of several      
useful inventions and additions to      
wireless apparatus must be given him4   
,he started experimenting as far back as
 #ahie when but a mere boy4 ,in the     
beginning he employed the induction     
coil1 ,morse telegraph key1 batteries1  

and vertical wire for the transmission  
of signals1 and for their reception the 
usual filings coherer of nickel with a  
very small percentage of silver1 a      
telegraph relay1 batteries and a        
vertical wire4 ,in the ,marconi system  
of the present time there are many forms
 of coherers1 also the magnetic detector
 and other variations of the original   
apparatus4 ,other systems more or less  
prominent are the ,lodge-,muirhead of   
,england1 ,braun-,siemens of ,germany   
and those of ,de,forest and ,fessenden  
of ,america4 ,the electrolytic detector 
with the paste between the tin blocks   
belongs to the system of ,de,forest4    
,besides these the names of ,popoff1    
,jackson1 ,armstrong1 ,orling1 ,lepel1  
and ,poulsen stand high in the wireless 
world4  ,a serious drawback to the      
operations of wireless lies in the fact 
that the stations are liable to get     
mixed up and some one intercept the     
messages intended for another1 but this 
is being overcome by the adoption of a  

special system of wave lengths for the  
different wireless stations and by the  
use of improved apparatus4  ,in the     
early days it was quite a common        
occurrence for the receivers of one     
system to reply to the transmitters of a
 rival system4 ,there was an all-round  
mix-up and consequently the efficiency  
of wireless for practical purposes was  
for a good while looked upon with more  
or less suspicion4 ,but as knowledge of 
wave motions developed and the laws of  
governing them were better understood1  
the receiver was tuned to respond to the
 transmitter1 that is1 the transmitter  
was made to set up a definite rate of   
vibrations in the ether and the receiver
 made to respond to this rate1 just like
 two tuning forks sounding the same     
note4  ,in order to set up as energetic 
electric waves as possible many methods 
have been devised at the transmitting   
stations4 ,in some methods a wire is    
attached to one of the two metal spheres
 between which the electric charge takes

 place and is carried up into the air   
for a great height1 while to the second 
sphere another wire is connected and    
which leads into the earth4 ,another    
method is to support a regular network  
of wires from strong steel towers built 
to a height of two hundred feet or more4
  ,long distance transmission by        
wireless was only made possible by      
grounding one of the conductors in the  
transmitter4 ,the ,hertzian waves were  
provided without any earth connection   
and radiated into space in all          
directions1 rapidly losing force like   
the disappearing ripples on a pond1     
whereas those set up by a grounded      
transmitter with the receiving          
instrument similarly connected to earth1
 keep within the immediate neighborhood 
of the earth4  ,for instance up to about
 two hundred miles a storage battery and
 induction coil are sufficient to       
produce the necessary ether disturbance1
 but when a greater distance is to be   
spanned an engine and a dynamo are      

necessary to supply energy for the      
electric waves4  ,in the most recent    
,marconi transmitter the current        
produced is no longer in the form of    
intermittent sparks1 but is a true      
alternating current1 which in general   
continues uniformly as long as the key  
is pressed down4  ,there is no longer   
any question that wireless telegraphy is
 here to stay4 ,it has passed the       
juvenile stage and is fast approaching a
 lusty adolescence which promises to be 
a source of great strength to the       
commerce of the world4 ,already it has  
accomplished much for its age4 ,it has  
saved so many lives at sea that its     
installation is no longer regarded as a 
scientific luxury but a practical       
necessity on every passenger vessel4    
,practically every steamer in ,american 
waters is equipped with a wireless      
station4 ,even freight boats and tugs   
are up-to-date in this respect4 ,every  
ship in the ,american navy1 including   
colliers and revenue cutters1 carries   

wireless operators4 ,so important indeed
 is it considered in the ,navy          
department that a line of shore stations
 have been constructed from ,maine on   
the ,atlantic to ,alaska on the         
,pacific4  ,in a remarkably short       
interval wireless has come to exercise  
an important function in the marine     
service4 ,through the shore stations of 
the commercial companies1 press         
despatches1 storm warnings1 weather     
reports and other items of interest are 
regularly transmitted to ships at sea4  
,captains keep in touch with one another
 and with the home office2 wrecks1      
derelicts and storms are reported4      
,every operator sends out regular       
reports daily1 so that the home office  
can tell the exact position of the      
vessel4 ,if she is too far from land on 
the one side to be reached by wireless  
she is near enough on the other to come 
within the sphere of its operations4    
,weather has no effect on wireless1     
therefore the question of meteorology   

does not come into consideration4 ,fogs1
 rains1 torrents1 tempests1 snowstorms1 
winds1 thunder1 lightning or any aerial 
disturbance whatsoever cannot militate  
against the sending or receiving of     
wireless messages as the ether permeates
 them all4  ,submarine and land         
telegraphy used to look on wireless1 the
 youngest sister1 as the ,cinderella of 
their name1 but she has surpassed both  
and captured the honors of the family4  
,it was in #ahih that ,marconi made his 
first remarkable success in sending     
messages from ,england to ,france4 ,the 
,english station was at ,south ,foreland
 and the ,french near ,boulogne4 ,the   
distance was thirty-two miles across the
 ,british channel4 ,this telegraphic    
communication without wires was         
considered a wonderful feat at the time 
and excited much interest4  ,during the 
following year ,marconi had so much     
improved his first apparatus that he was
 able to send out waves detected by     
receivers up to the one hundred mile    

limit4  ,in #aijj communication was     
established between the ,isle of ,wight 
and the ,lizard in ,cornwall1 a distance
 of two hundred miles4  ,up to this time
 the only appliances employed were      
induction coils giving a ten or twenty  
inch spark4 ,marconi and others         
perceived the necessity of employing    
greater force to penetrate the ether in 
order to generate stronger electrical   
waves4 ,oil and steam engines and other 
appliances were called into use to      
create high frequency currents and those
 necessitated the erection of large     
power stations4 ,several were erected at
 advantageous points and the wireless   
system was fairly established as a new  
agent of communication4  ,in ,december1 
#aija1 at ,st4 ,john's1 ,newfoundland1  
,marconi by means of kites and balloons 
set up a temporary aerial wire in the   
hope of being able to receive a signal  
from the ,english station in ,cornwall4 
,he had made an arrangement with ,poldhu
 station that on a certain date and at a

 fixed hour they should attempt the     
signal4 ,the letter ,s1 which in the    
,morse code consists of three successive
 dots1 was chosen4 ,marconi feverishly  
awaited results4 ,true enough on the day
 and at the time agreed upon the three  
dots were clicked off1 the first signal 
from ,europe to the ,american continent4
 ,marconi with much difficulty set up   
other aerial wires and indubitably      
established the fact that it was        
possible to send electric waves across  
the ,atlantic4 ,he found1 however1 that 
waves in order to traverse three        
thousand miles and retain sufficient    
energy on their arrival to affect a     
telephonic wave-detecting device must be
 generated by no inordinate power4      
,these experiments proved that if       
stations were erected of sufficient     
power transatlantic wireless could be   
successfully carried on4 ,they gave an  
impetus to the erection of such         
stations4  ,on ,december #ba1 #aijb1    
from a station at ,glace ,bay1 ,nova    

,scotia1 ,marconi sent the first message
 by wireless to ,england announcing     
success to his colleagues4  ,the        
following ,january from ,wellsfleet1    
,cape ,cod1 ,president ,roosevelt sent a
 congratulatory message to ,king        
,edward4 ,the electric waves conveying  
this message traveled #c1jjj miles over 
the ,atlantic following round an arc of 
forty-five degrees of the earth on a    
great circle1 and were received         
telephonically1 by the ,marconi magnetic
 receiver at ,poldhu4  ,most ships are  
provided with syntonic receivers which  
are tuned to long distance transmitters1
 and are capable of receiving messages  
up to distances of #c1jjj miles or more4
 ,wireless communication between ,europe
 and ,america is no longer a possibility
 but an accomplishment1 though as yet   
the system has not been put on a general
 business basis4 ,footnote3 ,as we go to
 press a new record has been established
 in wireless transmission4 ,marconi1 in 
the ,argentine ,republic1 near ,buenos  

,ayres1 has received messages from the  
station at ,clifden1 ,county ,galway1   
,ireland1 a distance of #e1fjj miles4   
,the best previous record was made when 
the ,united ,states battleship          
,tennessee in #aiji picked up a message 
from ,san ,francisco when #d1ehj miles  
distant4     ,,chapter ,,iii  ,,radium  
,experiments of ,becquerel--,work of the
 ,curies--,discovery of                 
,radium--,enormous ,energy--,various    
,uses4   ,early in #ahif just a few     
months after ,roentgen had startled the 
scientific world by the announcement of 
the discovery of the ,x-rays1 ,professor
 ,henri ,becquerel of the ,natural      
,history ,museum in ,paris announced    
another discovery which1 if not as      
mysterious1 was more puzzling and still 
continues a puzzle to a great degree to 
the present time4 ,studying the action  
of the salts of a rare and very heavy   
mineral called uranium ,becquerel       
observed that their substances give off 
an invisible radiation which1 like the  

,roentgen rays1 traverse metals and     
other bodies opaque to light1 as well as
 glass and other transparent substances4
 ,like most of the great discoveries it 
was the result of accident4 ,becquerel  
had no idea of such radiations1 had     
never thought of their possibility4  ,in
 the early days of the ,roentgen rays   
there were many facts which suggested   
that phosphorescence had something to do
 with the production of these rays ,it  
then occurred to several ,french        
physicists that ,x-rays might be        
produced if phosphorescent substances   
were exposed to sunlight4 ,becquerel    
began to experiment with a view to      
testing this supposition4 ,he placed    
uranium on a photographic plate which   
had first been wrapped in black paper in
 order to screen it from the light4     
,after this plate had remained in the   
bright sunlight for several hours it was
 removed from the paper covering and    
developed4 ,a slight trace of           
photographic action was found at those  

parts of the plate directly beneath the 
uranium just as ,becquerel had expected4
 ,from this it appeared evident that    
rays of some kind were being produced   
that were capable of passing through    
black paper4 ,since the ,x-rays were    
then the only ones known to possess the 
power to penetrate opaque substances it 
seemed as though the problem of         
producing ,x-rays by sunlight was       
solved4 ,then came the fortunate        
accident4 ,after several plates had been
 prepared for exposure to sunlight a    
severe storm arose and the experiments  
had to be abandoned for the time being4 
,at the end of several days work was    
again resumed1 but the plates had been  
lying so long in the darkroom that they 
were deemed almost valueless and it was 
thought that there would not be much use
 in trying to use them4 ,becquerel was  
about to throw them away1 but on second 
consideration thinking that some action 
might have possibly taken place in the  
dark1 he resolved to try them4 ,he      

developed them and the result was that  
he obtained better pictures than ever   
before4 ,the exposure to sunlight which 
had been regarded as essential to the   
success of the former experiments had   
really nothing at all to do with the    
matter1 the essential thing was the     
presence of uranium and the photographic
 effects were not due to ,x-rays but to 
the rays or emanations which ,becquerel 
had thus discovered and which bear his  
name4  ,there were many tedious and     
difficult steps to take before even our 
present knowledge1 incomplete as it is1 
could be reached4 ,however1 ,becquerel's
 fortunate accident of the plate        
developing was the beginning of the long
 series of experiments which led to the 
discovery of radium which already has   
revolutionized some of the most         
fundamental conceptions of physics and  
chemistry4  ,it is remarkable that we   
owe the discovery of this wonderful     
element to a woman1 ,mme4 ,sklodowska   
,curie1 the wife of a ,french professor 

and physicist4 ,mme4 ,curie began her   
work in #ahig with a systematic study of
 several minerals containing uranium and
 thorium and soon discovered the        
remarkable fact that there was some     
agent present more strongly radio-active
 than the metal uranium itself4 ,she set
 herself the task of finding out this   
agent and in conjunction with her       
husband1 ,professor ,pierre ,curie1 made
 many tests and experiments4 ,finally in
 the ore of pitchblende they found not  
only one but three substances highly    
radio-active4 ,pitchblende or uraninite 
is an intensely black mineral of a      
specific gravity of #i4e and is found in
 commercial quantities in ,bohemia1     
,cornwall in ,england and some other    
localities4 ,it contains lead sulphide1 
lime silica1 and other bodies4  ,to the 
radio-active substance which accompanied
 the bismuth extracted from pitchblende 
the ,curies gave the name ,polonium4 ,to
 that which accompanied barium taken    
from the same ore they called ,radium   

and to the substance which was found    
among the rare earths of the pitchblende
 ,debierne gave the name ,actinium4     
,none of these elements have been       
isolated1 that is to say1 separated in a
 pure state from the accompanying ore4  
,therefore1 pure radium is a misnomer1  
though we often hear the term used4     
,footnote3 ,since the above was written 
,madame ,curie has announced to the     
,paris ,academy of ,sciences that she   
has succeeded in obtaining pure radium4 
,in conjunction with ,professor         
,debierne she treated a decegramme of   
bromide of radium by electrolytic       
process1 getting an amalgam from which  
was extracted the metallic radium by    
distillation4 ,all that has been        
obtained is some one of its simpler     
salts or compounds and until recently   
even these had not been prepared in pure
 form4 ,the commonest form of the       
element1 which in itself is very far    
from common1 is what is known to        
chemistry as chloride of radium which is

 a combination of chlorin and radium4   
,this is a grayish white powder1        
somewhat like ordinary coarse table     
salt4 ,to get enough to weigh a single  
grain requires the treatment of #a1bjj  
pounds of pitchblende4  ,the second form
 of radium is as a bromide4 ,in this    
form it costs #e1jjj a grain and could a
 pound be obtained its value would be   
three-and-a-half million dollars4       
,radium1 as we understand it in any of  
its compounds1 can communicate its      
property of radio-activity to other     
bodies4 ,any material when placed near  
radium becomes radio-active and retains 
such activity for a considerable time   
after being removed4 ,even the human    
body takes on this excited activity and 
this sometimes leads to annoyances as in
 delicate experiments the results may be
 nullified by the element acting upon   
the experimenter's person4  ,despite the
 enormous amount of energy given off by 
radium it seems not to change in itself1
 there is no appreciable loss in weight 

nor apparently any microscopic or       
chemical change in the original body4   
,professor ,becquerel has stated that if
 a square centimeter of surface was     
covered by chemically pure radium it    
would lose but one thousandth of a      
milligram in weight in a million years' 
time4  ,radium is a body which gives out
 energy continuously and spontaneously4 
,this liberation of energy is manifested
 in the different effects of its        
radiation and emanation1 and especially 
in the development of heat4 ,now1       
according to the most fundamental       
principles of modern science1 the       
universe contains a certain definite    
provision of energy which can appear    
under various forms1 but which cannot be
 increased4 ,according to ,sir ,oliver  
,lodge every cubic millimeter of ether  
contains as much energy as would be     
developed by a million horse power      
station working continuously far forty  
thousand years4 ,this assertion is      
probably based on the fact that every   

corpuscle in the ether vibrates with the
 speed of light or about #ahf1jjj miles 
a second4  ,it was formerly believed    
that the atom was the smallest          
sub-division in nature4 ,scientists held
 to the atomic theory for a long time1  
but at last it has been exploded1 and   
instead of the atom being primary and   
indivisible we find it a very complex   
affair1 a kind of miniature solar       
system1 the centre of a varied          
attraction of molecules1 corpuscles and 
electrons4 ,had we held to the atomic   
theory and denied smaller sub-divisions 
of matter there would be no accounting  
for the emissions of radium1 for as     
science now believes these emissions are
 merely the expulsion of millions of    
electrons4  ,radium gives off three     
distinct types of rays named after the  
first three letters of the ,greek       
alphabet--,alpha1 ,beta1 ,gamma--besides
 a gas emanation as does thorium which  
is a powerfully radio-active substance4 
,the ,alpha rays constitute ninety-nine 

per cent1 of all the rays and consist of
 positively electrified particles4      
,under the influence of magnetism they  
can be deflected4 ,they have little     
penetrative power and are readily       
absorbed in passing through a sheet of  
paper or through a few inches of air4   
,the ,beta rays consist of negatively   
charged particles or corpuscles         
approximately one thousandth the size of
 those constituting the ,alpha rays4    
,they resemble cathode rays produced by 
an electrical discharge inside of a     
highly exhausted vacuum tube but work at
 a much higher velocity2 they can be    
readily deflected by a magnet1 they     
discharge electrified bodies1 affect    
photographic plates1 stimulate strongly 
phosphorescent bodies and are of high   
penetrative power4  ,the radiations are 
a million times more powerful than those
 of uranium4 ,they have many curious    
properties4  ,if a photographic plate is
 placed in the vicinity of radium it is 
almost instantly affected if no screen  

intercepts the rays2 with a screen the  
action is slower1 but it still takes    
place even through thick folds1         
therefore1 radiographs can be taken and 
in this way it is being utilized by     
surgery to view the anatomy1 the        
internal organs1 and locate bullets and 
other foreign substances in the system4 
,a glass vessel containing radium       
spontaneously charges itself with       
electricity4 ,if the glass has a weak   
spot1 a scratch say1 an electric spark  
is produced at that point and the vessel
 crumbles1 just like a ,leyden jar when 
overcharged4  ,radium liberates heat    
spontaneously and continuously4 ,a solid
 salt of radium develops such an amount 
of heat that to every single gram there 
is an emission of one hundred calories  
per hour1 in other words1 radium can    
melt its weight in ice in the time of   
one hour4  ,as a result of its emission 
of heat radium has always a temperature 
higher by several degrees than its      
surroundings4  ,when a solution of a    

radium salt is placed in a closed vessel
 the radio-activity in part leaves the  
solution and distributes itself through 
the vessel1 the sides of which become   
radio-active and luminous4  ,radium acts
 upon the chemical constituents of      
glass1 porcelain and paper1 giving them 
a violet tinge1 changes white           
phosphorous into yellow1 oxygen into    
ozone and produces many other curious   
chemical changes4  ,we have said that it
 can serve the surgeon in physical      
examinations of the body after the      
manner of ,x-rays4 ,it has not1 however1
 been much employed in this direction   
owing to its scarcity and prohibitive   
price4 ,it has given excellent results  
in the treatment of certain skin        
diseases1 in cancer1 etc4 ,however it   
can have very baneful effects on animal 
organisms4 ,it has produced paralysis   
and death in dogs1 cats1 rabbits1 rats1 
guinea-pigs and other animals1 and      
undoubtedly it might affect human beings
 in a similar way4 ,professor ,curie    

said that a single gram of chemically   
pure radium would be sufficient to      
destroy the life of every man1 woman and
 child in ,paris providing they were    
separately and properly exposed to its  
influence4  ,radium destroys the        
germinative power of seeds and retards  
the growth of certain forms of life1    
such as larvae1 so that they do not pass
 into the chrysalis and insect stages of
 development1 but remain in the state of
 larvae4  ,at a certain distance it     
causes the hair of mice to fall out1 but
 on the contrary at the same distance it
 increases the hair or fur on rabbits4  
,it often produces severe burns on the  
hands and other portions of the body too
 long exposed to its activity4  ,it can 
penetrate through gases1 liquids and all
 ordinary solids1 even through many     
inches of the hardest steel4 ,on a      
comparatively short exposure it has been
 known to partially paralyze an electric
 charged bar4  ,heat nor cold do not    
affect its radioactivity in the least4  

,it gives off but little light1 its     
luminosity being largely due to the     
stimulation of the impurities in the    
radium by the powerful but invisible    
radium rays4  ,radium stimulates        
powerfully various mineral and chemical 
substances near which it is placed4 ,it 
is an infallible test of the genuineness
 of the diamond4 ,the genuine diamond   
phosphoresces strongly when brought into
 juxtaposition1 but the paste or        
imitation one glows not at all4  ,it is 
seen that the study of the properties of
 radium is of great interest4 ,this is  
true also of the two other elements     
found in the ores of uranium and        
thorium1 viz41 polonium and actinium4   
,polonium1 so-called1 in honor of the   
native land of ,mme4 ,curie1 is just as 
active as radium when first extracted   
from the pitchblende but its energy soon
 lessens and finally it becomes inert1  
hence there has been little             
experimenting or investigation4 ,the    
same may be said of actinium4  ,the     

process of obtaining radium from        
pitchblende is most tedious and         
laborious and requires much patience4   
,the residue of the pitchblende from    
which uranium has been extracted by     
fusion with sodium carbonate and        
solution in dilute sulphuric acid1      
contains the radium along with other    
metals1 and is boiled with concentrated 
sodium carbonate solution1 and the      
solution of the residue in hydrochloric 
acid precipitated with sulphuric acid4  
,the insoluble barium and radium        
sulphates1 after being converted into   
chlorides or bromides1 are separated by 
repeated fractional crystallization4    
,one kilogram of impure radium bromide  
is obtained from a ton of pitchblende   
residue after processes continued for   
about three months during which time1   
five tons of chemicals and fifty tons of
 rinsing water are used4  ,as has been  
said the element has never been isolated
 or separated in its metallic or pure   
state and most of the compounds are     

impure4 ,radium banks have been         
established in ,london1 ,paris and ,new 
,york4  ,whenever radium is employed in 
surgery for an operation about fifty    
milligrams are required at least and the
 banks let out the amount for about #bjj
 a day4 ,if purchased the price for this
 amount would be #d1jjj4     ,,chapter  
,,iv  ,,moving ,,pictures               
,photographing ,motion--,edison's       
,kinetoscope--,lumiere's                
,cinematographe--,before the            
,camera--,the ,mission of the ,moving   
,picture4   ,few can realize the extent 
of the field covered by moving pictures4
 ,in the dual capacity of entertainment 
and instruction there is not a rival in 
sight4 ,as an instructor1 science is    
daily widening the sphere of the motion 
picture for the purpose of illustration4
 ,films are rapidly superseding text    
books in many branches4 ,every          
department capable of photographic      
demonstration is being covered by moving
 pictures4 ,negatives are now being made

 of the most intricate surgical         
operations and these are teaching the   
students better than the witnessing of  
the real operations1 for at the critical
 moment of the operation the picture    
machine can be stopped to let the       
student view over again the way it is   
accomplished1 whereas at the operating  
table the surgeon must go on with his   
work to try to save life and cannot     
explain every step in the process of the
 operation4 ,there is no doubt that the 
moving picture machine will perform a   
very important part in the future       
teaching of surgery4  ,in the           
naturalist's domain of science it is    
already playing a very important part4  
,a device for micro-photography has now 
been perfected in connection with motion
 machines whereby things are magnified  
to a great degree4 ,by this means the   
analysis of a substance can be better   
illustrated than any way else4 ,for     
instance a drop of water looks like a   
veritable ,zoo with terrible looking    

creatures wiggling and wriggling through
 it1 and makes one feel as if he never  
wanted to drink water again4  ,the      
moving picture in its general phase is  
entertainment and instruction rolled    
into one and as such it has superseded  
the theatre4 ,it is estimated that at   
the present time in ,america there are  
upwards of #bj1jjj moving picture shows 
patronized daily by almost ten million  
people4 ,it is doubtful if the theatre  
attendance at the best day of the winter
 season reaches five millions4  ,the    
moving picture in importance is far     
beyond the puny functions of comedy and 
tragedy4 ,the grotesque farce of        
vaudeville and the tawdry show which    
only appeals to sentiment at highest and
 often to the base passions at lowest4  
,despite prurient opposition it is      
making rapid headway4 ,it is entering   
very largely into the instructive and   
the entertaining departments of the     
world's curriculum4 ,millions of dollars
 are annually expended in the production

 of films4 ,companies of trained and    
practiced actors are brought together to
 enact pantomimes which will concentrate
 within the space of a few minutes the  
most entertaining and instructive       
incidents of history and the leading    
happenings of the world4  ,at all great 
events1 no matter where transpiring1 the
 different moving picture companies have
 trained men at the front ready with    
their cameras to catch every incident1  
every movement even to the wink of an   
eyelash1 so that the stay-at-homes can  
see the show as well1 and with a great  
deal more comfort than if they had      
traveled hundreds1 or even thousands1 of
 miles to be present in propria persona4
  ,how did moving pictures originate8   
,what and when were the beginning8 ,it  
is popularly believed that animated     
pictures had their inception with       
,edison who projected the biograph in   
#ahhg1 having based it on that wonderful
 and ingenious toy1 the ,zoetrope4 ,long
 before #ahhg1 however1 several men of  

inventive faculties had turned their    
attention to a means of giving apparent 
animation to pictures4 ,the first that  
met with any degree of success was      
,edward ,muybridge1 a photographer of   
,san ,francisco4 ,this was in #ahgh4 ,a 
revolution had been brought about in    
photography by the introduction of the  
instantaneous process4 ,by the use of   
sensitive films of gelatine bromide of  
silver emulsion the time required for   
the action of ordinary daylight in      
producing a photograph had been reduced 
to a very small fraction of a second4   
,muybridge utilized these films for the 
photographic analysis of animal motion4 
,beside a race-track he placed a battery
 of cameras1 each camera being provided 
with a spring shutter which was         
controlled by a thread stretched across 
the track4 ,a running horse broke each  
thread the moment he passed in front of 
the camera and thus twenty or thirty    
pictures of him were taken in close     
succession within one or two seconds of 

time4 ,from the negatives secured in    
this way a series of positives were     
obtained in proper order on a strip of  
sensitized paper4 ,the strip when       
examined by means of the ,zoetrope      
furnished a reproduction of the horse's 
movements4  ,the ,zoetrope was a toy    
familiar to children2 it was sometimes  
called the wheel of life4 ,it was a     
contrivance consisting of a cylinder    
some ten inches wide1 open at the top1  
around the lower and interior rim of    
which a series of related pictures were 
placed4 ,the cylinder was then rapidly  
rotated and the spectator looking       
through the vertical narrow slits on its
 outer surface1 could fancy that the    
pictures inside were moving4  ,muybridge
 devised an instrument which he called a
 ,zoopraxiscope for the optical         
projection of his zoetrope photographs4 
,the succession of positives was        
arranged in proper order upon a glass   
disk about #ah inches in diameter near  
its circumference4 ,this disk was       

mounted conveniently for rapid          
revolution so that each picture would   
pass in front of the condenser of an    
optical lantern4 ,the difficulties      
involved in the preparation of the disk 
pictures and in the manipulation of the 
zoopraxiscope prevented the instrument  
from attracting much attention4         
,however1 artistically speaking1 it was 
the forerunner of the numerous graphs   
and scopes and moving picture machines  
of the present day4  ,it was in #ahhg   
that ,edison conceived an idea of       
associating with his phonograph1 which  
had then achieved a marked success1 an  
instrument which would reproduce to the 
eye the effect of motion by means of a  
swift and graded succession of pictures1
 so that the reproduction of articulate 
sounds as in the phonograph1 would be   
accompanied by the reproduction of the  
motion naturally associated with them4  
,the principle of the instrument was    
suggested to ,edison by the zoetrope1   
and of course1 he well knew what        

,muybridge had accomplished in the line 
of motion pictures of animals almost ten
 years previously4 ,edison1 however1 did
 not employ a battery of cameras as     
,muybridge had done1 but devised a      
special form of camera in which a long  
strip of sensitized film was moved      
rapidly behind a lens provided with a   
shutter1 and so arranged as to          
alternately admit and cut off the light 
from the moving object4 ,he adjusted the
 mechanism so that there were #df       
exposures a second1 the film remaining  
stationary during the momentary time of 
exposure1 after which it was carried    
forward far enough to bring a new       
surface into the proper position4 ,the  
time of the shifting was about one-tenth
 of that allowed for exposure1 so that  
the actual time of exposure was about   
the one-fiftieth of a second4 ,the film 
moved1 reckoning shiftings and stoppages
 for exposures1 at an average speed of a
 little more than a foot per second1 so 
that a length of film of about fifty    

feet received between #gjj and #hjj     
impressions in a circuit of #dj seconds4
  ,edison named his first instrument the
 kinetoscope4 ,it came out in #ahic4 ,it
 was hailed with delight at the time and
 for a short period was much in demand1 
but soon new devices came into the field
 and the kinetoscope was superseded by  
other machines bearing similar names    
with a like signification4  ,a variety  
of cameras was invented4 ,one consisted 
of a film-feeding mechanism which moves 
the film step by step in the focus of a 
single lens1 the duration of exposure   
being from twenty to twenty-five times  
as great as that necessary to move an   
unexposed portion of the film into      
position4 ,no shutter was employed4 ,as 
time passed many other improvements were
 made4 ,an ingenious ,frenchman named   
,lumiere1 came forward with his         
,cinematographe which for a few years   
gave good satisfaction1 producing very  
creditable results4 ,success1 however1  
was due more to the picture ribbons than

 to the mechanism employed to feed them4
  ,of other moving pictures machines we 
have had the vitascope1 vitagraph1      
magniscope1 mutoscope1 panoramagraph1   
theatograph and scores of others all    
derived from the two ,greek roots grapho
 ,i write and scopeo ,i view4  ,the     
vitascope is the principal name now in  
use for moving picture machines4 ,in all
 these instruments in order that the    
film projection may be visible to an    
audience it is necessary to have a very 
intense light4 ,a source of such light  
is found in the electric focusing lamp4 
,at or near the focal point of the      
projecting lantern condenser the film is
 made to travel across the field as in  
the kinetoscope4 ,a water cell in front 
of the condenser absorbs most of the    
heat and transmits most of the light    
from the arc lamp1 and the small picture
 thus highly illuminated is protected   
from injury4 ,a projecting lens of      
rather short focus throws a large image 
of each picture on the screen1 and the  

rapid succession of these completes the 
illusion of life-like motion4  ,hundreds
 of patents have been made on cameras1  
projecting lenses and machines from the 
days of the kinetoscope to the present  
time when clear-cut moving pictures     
portray life so closely and so well as  
almost to deceive the eye4 ,in fact in  
many cases the counterfeit is taken for 
the reality and audiences as much       
aroused as if they were looking upon a  
scene of actual life4 ,we can well      
believe the story of the ,irishman1 who 
on seeing the stage villain abduct the  
young lady1 made a rush at the canvas   
yelling out1--,let me at the blackguard 
and ,i'll murder him4  ,though but      
fifteen years old the moving picture    
industry has sent out its branches into 
all civilized lands and is giving       
employment to an army of thousands4 ,it 
would be hard to tell how many mimic    
actors and actresses make a living by   
posing for the camera2 their name is    
legion4 ,among them are many            

professionals who receive as good a     
salary as on the stage4  ,some of the   
large concerns both in ,europe and      
,america at times employ from one       
hundred to two hundred hands and even   
more to illustrate some of the          
productions4 ,they send their           
photographers and actors all over the   
world for settings4 ,most of the        
business1 however1 is done near home4   
,with trapping and other paraphernalia a
 stage setting can be effected to       
simulate almost any scene4  ,almost     
anything under the sun can be enacted in
 a moving picture studio1 from the      
drowning of a cat to the hanging of a   
man2 a horse race or fire alarm is not  
outside the possible and the aviator has
 been depicted flying high in the       
heavens4  ,the places where the pictures
 are prepared must be adapted for the   
purpose4 ,they are called studios and   
have glass roofs and in most of them a  
good section of the walls are also      
glass4 ,the floor space is divided into 

sections for the setting or staging of  
different productions1 therefore several
 representations can take place at the  
same time before the eyes of the        
cameras4 ,there are properties of all   
kinds from the ragged garments of the   
beggar to kingly ermine and queenly     
silks4 ,paste diamonds sparkle in       
necklaces1 crowns and tiaras1 seeming to
 rival the scintillations of the        
,kohinoor4  ,at the first1 objections   
were made to moving pictures on the     
ground that in many cases they had a    
tendency to cater to the lower          
instincts1 that subjects were           
illustrated which were repugnant to the 
finer feelings and appealed to the gross
 and the sensual4 ,burglaries1 murders  
and wild western scenes in which the    
villain-heroes triumphed were often     
shown and no doubt these had somewhat of
 a pernicious influence on susceptible  
youth4 ,but all such pictures have for  
the most part been eliminated and there 
is a strict taboo on anything with a    

degrading influence or partaking of the 
brutal4 ,prize fights are often barred4 
,in many large cities there is a board  
of censorship to which the different    
manufacturing firms must submit         
duplicates4 ,this board has to pass on  
all the films before they are released  
and if the pictures are in any way      
contrary to morals or decency or are in 
any respect unfit to be displayed before
 the public1 they cannot be put in      
circulation4 ,thus are the people       
protected and especially the youth who  
should be permitted to see nothing that 
is not elevating or not of a nature to  
inspire them with high and noble        
thoughts and with ambitions to make the 
world better and brighter4  ,let us hope
 that the future mission of the moving  
picture will be along educational and   
moral lines tending to uplift and       
ennoble our boys and girls so that they 
may develop into a manhood and womanhood
 worthy the history and best traditions 
of our country4       99       99       

99       99       99       99  ,the     
,wizard of ,menlo ,park has just        
succeeded after two years of hard       
application to the experiment in giving 
us the talking picture1 a real genuine  
talking picture1 wholly independent of  
the old device of having the actors talk
 behind the screen when the films were  
projected4 ,by a combination of the     
phonograph and the moving picture       
machine working in perfect synchronism  
the result is obtained4 ,wires are      
attached to the mechanism of both the   
machines1 the one behind the screen and 
the one in front1 in such a way that the
 two are operated simultaneously so that
 when a film is projected a             
corresponding record on the phonograph  
acts in perfect unison supplying the    
voice suitable to the moving action4    
,men and women pass along the canvas1   
act1 talk1 laugh1 cry and have their    
being just as in real life4 ,of course1 
they are immaterial1 merely the         
reflection of films1 but the one hundred

 thousandth of an inch thick1 yet they  
give forth oral sounds as creatures of  
flesh and blood4 ,in fact every sound is
 produced harmoniously with the action  
on the screen4 ,an iron ball is dropped 
and you hear its thud upon the floor1 a 
plate is cracked and you can hear the   
cracking just the same as if the        
material plate were broken in your      
presence4 ,an immaterial piano appears  
upon the screen and a fleshless         
performer discourses airs as real as    
those heard on ,broadway4 ,melba and    
,tettrazini and ,caruso and ,bonci      
appear before you and warble their      
nightingale notes1 as if behind the     
footlights with a galaxy of beauty1     
wealth and fashion before them for an   
audience4 ,true it is not even their    
astral bodies you are looking at1 only  
their pictured representations1 but the 
magic of their voices is there all the  
same and there is such an atmosphere of 
realism about the representations that  
you can scarcely believe the actors are 

not present in propriae personae4  ,mr4 
,edison had much study and labor of     
experiment in bringing his device to a  
successful issue4 ,the greatest obstacle
 he had to overcome was in getting a    
phonograph that could hear far enough4  
,at the beginning of the experiments the
 actor had to talk directly into the    
horn1 which made the right kind of      
pictures impossible to get4 ,bit by bit1
 however1 a machine was perfected which 
could hear so well that the actor could 
move at his pleasure within a radius of 
twenty feet4 ,that is the machine that  
is being used now4 ,this new combination
 of the moving picture machine and the  
phonograph ,edison has named the        
kinetophone4 ,by it he has made possible
 the bringing of grand opera into the   
hamlets of the ,west1 and through it    
also our leading statesmen may address  
audiences on the mining camps and the   
wilds of the prairies where their feet  
have never trodden4     ,,chapter ,v    
,,sky-,,scrapers ,,and ,,how ,,they     

,,are ,,built    ,evolution of the      
,sky-scraper--,construction--,new       
,york's ,giant                          
,buildings--,dimensions4   ,the         
sky-scraper is an architectural triumph1
 but at the same time it is very much of
 a commercial enterprise1 and it is     
indigenous1 native-born to ,american    
soil4 ,it had its inception here1       
particularly in ,new ,york and ,chicago4
 ,the tallest buildings in the world are
 in ,new ,york4 ,the most notable of    
these1 the ,metropolitan ,life          
,insurance ,building with fifty stories 
towering up to a height of seven hundred
 feet and three inches1 has been the    
crowning achievement of architectural   
art1 the highest building yet erected by
 man4  ,how is it possible to erect such
 building--how is it possible to erect a
 sky-scraper at all8 ,a partial answer  
may be given in one word--steel4        
,generally speaking the method of       
building all these huge structures is   
much the same4 ,massive piers or pillars

 are erected1 inside which are usually  
strong steel columns2 crosswise from    
column to column great girders are      
placed forming a base for the floor1 and
 then upon the first pillars are raised 
other steel columns slightly decreased  
in size1 upon which girders are again   
fixed for the next floor2 and so on this
 process is continued floor after floor4
 ,there seems no reason why buildings   
should not be reared like this for even 
a hundred stories1 provided the         
foundations are laid deep enough and    
broad enough4  ,the walls are not really
 the support of the buildings4 ,the     
essential elements are the columns and  
girders of steel forming the skeleton   
framework of the whole4 ,the masonry may
 assist1 but the piers and girders carry
 the principal weight4 ,if1 therefore1  
everything depends upon these piers1    
which are often of steel and masonry    
combined1 the immense importance will be
 seen of basing them upon adequate      
foundations4 ,and thus it comes about   

that to build high we must dig deep1    
which fact may be construed as an       
aphorism to fit more subjects than the  
building of sky-scrapers4  ,to attempt  
to build a sky-scraper without a        
suitable foundation would be tantamount 
to endeavoring to build a house on a    
marsh without draining the marsh1--it   
would count failure at the very         
beginning4 ,the formation depends on the
 height1 the calculated weight the frame
 work will carry1 the amount of air     
pressure1 the vibrations from the       
running of internal machines and several
 other details of less importance than  
those mentioned1 but of deep consequence
 in the aggregate4  ,instead of being   
carried on thick walls spread over a    
considerable area of ground1 the        
sky-scrapers are carried wholly on steel
 columns4 ,this concentrates many       
hundred tons of load and develops       
pressure which would crush the masonry  
and cause the structures to penetrate   
soft earth almost as a stone sinks in   

water4  ,in the first place the weight  
of the proposed building and contents is
 estimated1 then the character of the   
soil determined to a depth of one       
hundred feet if necessary4 ,in ,new     
,york the soil is treacherous and       
difficult1 there are underground rivers 
in places and large deposits of sand so 
that to get down to rock bottom or pan  
is often a very hard undertaking4       
,generally speaking the excavations are 
made to about a depth of thirty feet4 ,a
 layer of concrete a foot or two thick  
is spread over the bottom of the pit and
 on it are bedded rows of steel beams   
set close together4 ,across the middle  
of these beams deep steel girders are   
placed on which the columns are erected4
 ,the heavy weight is thus spread out by
 the beams1 girders and concrete so as  
to cause a reduced uniform pressure on  
the soil4 ,cement is filled in between  
the beams and girders and packed around 
them to seal them thoroughly against    
moisture2 then clean earth or sand is   

rammed in up to the column bases and    
covered with the concrete of the cellar 
floor4  ,in some cases the foundation   
loads are so numerous that nothing short
 of masonry piers on solid rock will    
safely sustain them4 ,to accomplish this
 very strong airtight steel or wooden   
boxes with flat tops and no bottoms are 
set on the pier sites at ground water   
level and pumped full of compressed air 
while men enter them and excavating the 
soil1 undermine them1 so they sink1     
until they land on the rock and are     
filled solid with concrete to form the  
bases of the foundation piers4  ,on the 
average the formation should have a     
resisting power of two tons to the      
square foot1 dead load4 ,by dead load is
 meant the weight of the steelwork1     
floors and walls1 as distinguished from 
the office furniture and occupants which
 come under the head of living load4    
,some engineers take into consideration 
the pressure of both dead and live loads
 gauging the strength of the foundation1

 but the dead load pressure of #b tons  
to the square foot will do for the      
reckoning1 for as a live load only      
exerts a pressure of #fj lbs4 to the    
square foot it may be included in the   
former4  ,the columns carry the entire  
weights including dead and live loads   
and the wind pressure1 into the         
footings1 these again distributing the  
loads on the soil4 ,the aim is to have  
an equal pressure per square foot of    
soil at the same time1 for all footings1
 thus insuring an even settlement4 ,the 
skeleton construction now almost wholly 
consists of wrought steel4 ,at first    
cast-iron and wrought-iron were used but
 it was found they corroded too quickly4
  ,there are two classes of steel       
construction1 the cage and the skeleton4
 ,in the cage construction the frame is 
strengthened for wind stresses and the  
walls act as curtains4 ,in the skeleton1
 the frame carries only the vertical    
loads and depends upon the walls for its
 wind bracing4 ,it has been found that  

the wind pressure is about #cj lbs4 for 
every square foot of exposed surface4   
,the steel columns reach from the       
foundation to the top1 riveted together 
by plates and may be extended to an     
indefinite height4 ,in fact there is no 
engineering limit to the height4  ,the  
outside walls of the sky-scraper vary in
 thickness with the height of the       
building and also vary in accordance    
with the particular kind of             
construction1 whether cage or skeleton4 
,if of the cage variety1 the walls1 as  
has been said1 act as curtains and      
consequently they are thinner than in   
the skeleton type of construction4 ,in  
the latter case the walls have to resist
 the wind pressure unsupported by the   
steel frame and therefore they must be  
of a sufficient width4 ,brick and       
terra-cotta blocks are used for         
construction generally4  ,terra-cotta   
blocks are also much used in the        
flooring1 and for this purpose have     
several advantages over other materials2

 they are absolutely fire-proof1 they   
weigh less per cubic foot than any other
 kind of fire-proof flooring and they   
are almost sound-proof4 ,they do equally
 well for flat and arched floors4  ,it  
is of the utmost importance that the    
sky-scraper be absolutely fire-proof    
from bottom to top4 ,these great buzzing
 hives of industry house at one time    
several thousand human beings and a     
panic would entail a fearful calamity1  
and1 moreover1 their height places the  
upper stories beyond reach of a         
water-tower and the pumping engines of  
the street4  ,the sky-scrapers of to-day
 are as fireproof as human ingenuity and
 skill can make them1 and this is saying
 much2 in fact1 it means that they      
cannot burn4 ,of course fires can break 
out in rooms and apartments in the      
manufacturing of chemicals or testing   
experiments1 etc41 but these are easily 
confined to narrow limits and readily   
extinguished with the apparatus at hand4
 ,steel columns will not burn1 but if   

exposed to heat of sufficient degree    
they will warp and bend and probably    
collapse1 therefore they should be      
protected by heat resisting agents4     
,nothing can be better than terra-cotta 
and concrete for this purpose4 ,when    
terra-cotta blocks are used they should 
be at least #b inches thick with an air 
space running through them4 ,columns are
 also fire-proofed by wrapping expanded 
metal or other metal lathing around them
 and plastering4  ,then a furring system
 is put on and another layer of metal1  
lathing and plastering4 ,this if well   
done is probably safer than the layer of
 hollow tile4  ,the floor beams should  
be entirely covered with terra-cotta    
blocks or concrete1 so that no part of  
them is left exposed4 ,as most office   
trimmings are of wood care should be    
taken that all electric wires are well  
insulated4 ,faulty installation of      
dynamos1 motors and other apparatus is  
frequently the cause of office fires4   
,the lighting of a sky-scraper is a most

 elaborate arrangement4 ,some of them   
use as many lights as would well supply 
a good sized town4 ,the ,singer         
,building in ,new ,york has #ae1jjj     
incandescent lamps and it is safe to say
 the ,metropolitan ,life ,insurance     
,building has more than twice this      
number as the floor area of the latter  
is #b-a_/b times as great4 ,the engines 
and dynamos are in the basement and so  
fixed that their vibrations do not      
affect the building4 ,as space is always
 limited in the basements of            
sky-scrapers direct connected engines   
and dynamos are generally installed     
instead of belt connected and the       
boilers operated under a high steam     
pressure4 ,besides delivering steam to  
the engines the boilers also supply it  
to a variety of auxiliary pumps1 as     
boiler-feed1 fire-pump1 blow-off1       
tank-pump and pump for forcing water    
through the building4  ,the heating     
arrangement of such a vast area as is   
covered by the floor space of a         

sky-scraper has been a very difficult   
problem but it has been solved so that  
the occupant of the twentieth story can 
receive an equal degree of heat with the
 one on the ground floor4 ,both hot     
water and steam are utilized4 ,hot water
 heating1 however1 is preferable to     
steam1 as it gives a much steadier heat4
 ,the radiators arc proportioned to give
 an average temperature of #fe degrees  
,f4 in each room during the winter      
months4 ,there are automatic regulating 
devices attached to the radiators1 so if
 the temperature rises above or falls   
below a certain point the steam or hot  
water is automatically turned on or off4
 ,some buildings are heated by the      
exhaust steam from the engines but most 
have boilers solely for the purpose4    
,the sanitary system is another         
important feature4 ,the supplying of    
water for wash-stands1 the dispositions 
of wastes and the flushing of lavatories
 tax all the skill of the mechanical    
engineer4 ,several of these mighty      

buildings call for upwards of a thousand
 lavatories4  ,in considering the       
sky-scraper we should not forget the    
role played by the electric elevator4   
,without it these buildings would be    
practically useless1 as far as the upper
 stories are concerned4 ,the labor of   
stair climbing would leave them         
untenanted4 ,no one would be willing to 
climb ten1 twenty or thirty flights and 
tackle a day's work after the exertion  
of doing so4 ,to climb to the fiftieth  
story in such a manner would be         
well-nigh impossible or only possible by
 relays1 and after one would arrive at  
the top he would be so physically       
exhausted that both mental and manual   
endeavor would be out of the question4  
,therefore the elevator is as necessary 
to the skyscraper as are doors and      
windows4 ,indeed were it not for the    
introduction of the elevator the        
business sections of our large cities   
would still consist of the five and six 
story structures of our father's time   

instead of the towering edifices which  
now lift their heads among the clouds4  
,regarded less than half a century ago  
as an unnecessary luxury the elevator   
to-day is an imperative necessity4      
,sky-scrapers are equipped with both    
express and local elevators4 ,the       
express elevators do not stop until     
about the tenth floor is reached4 ,they 
run at a speed of about ten feet per    
second4 ,there are two types of         
elevators in general use1 one lifting   
the car by cables from the top1 and the 
other with a hydraulic plunger acting   
directly upon the bottom of the car4    
,the former are operated either by      
electric motors or hydraulic cylinders  
and the latter by hydraulic rams1 the   
cylinders extending the full height of  
the building into the ground4  ,america 
is pre-eminently the land of the        
sky-scraper1 but ,england and ,france to
 a degree are following along the same  
lines1 though nothing as yet has been   
erected on the other side of the water  

to equal the towering triumphs of       
architectural art on this side4 ,in no  
country in the world is space at such a 
premium as in ,new ,york ,city1         
therefore1 ,new ,york per se may be     
regarded as the true home of the tall   
building1 although ,chicago is not very 
much behind the ,metropolis in this     
respect4  ,as figures are more eloquent 
than words in description the following 
data of the two giant structures of the 
,western ,world may be interesting4     
,the ,singer ,building at the corner of 
,broadway and ,liberty ,street1 ,new    
,york ,city1 has a total height from the
 basement floor to the top of the       
flagstaff of #gdb feet2 the height from 
street to roof is #fab feet1 #a inch4   
,there are #da stories4 ,the weight of  
the steel in the entire building is     
#i1bjj tons4 ,it has #af elevators1 #e  
steam engines1 #e dynamos1 #e boilers   
and #bh steam pumps4 ,the length of the 
steam and water piping is #e miles4 ,the
 cubical contents of the building       

comprise #ff1iej1jjj cubic feet1 there  
are #daa1jjj square feet of floor area  
or about #i-a_/b acres4 ,the weight of  
the tower is #ah1cjj tons4 ,little      
danger from a collapse will be          
apprehended when it is learned that the 
columns are securely bolted and caissons
 which have been sunk to rock-bed #hj   
feet below the curb4  ,the other        
campanile which has excited the wonder  
and admiration of the world is the      
colossal pile known as the ,metropolitan
 ,building4 ,this occupies the entire   
square or block as we call it from #bcrd
 ,st4 to #bdth ,st4 and from ,madison to
 ,fourth ,avenue4 ,it is #gjj feet and  
#c inches above the sidewalk and has #ej
 stories4 ,the main building which has a
 frontage of #bjj feet by #dbe feet is  
ten stories in height4 ,it is built in  
the early ,italian renaissance style the
 materials being steel and marble4 ,the 
,campanile is carried up in the same    
style and is also of marble4 ,it stands 
on a base measuring #ge by #hc feet and 

the architectural treatment is chaste1  
though severe1 but eminently agreeable  
to the stupendous proportions of the    
structure4 ,the tower is quite different
 from that of the ,singer ,building4 ,it
 has twelve wall and eight interior     
columns connected at every fourth floor 
by diagonal braces2 these columns carry 
#a1hjj pounds to the linear foot4 ,the  
wind pressure calculated at the rate of 
#cj lbs4 to the square foot is enormous 
and is provided for by deep wall girders
 and knee braces which transfer the     
strain to the columns and to the        
foundation4 ,the average cross section  
of the tower is #ge by #he feet1 the    
floor space of the entire building is   
#a1jhj1jjj square feet or about #be     
acres4  ,the tower of this surpassing   
cloud-piercing structure can be seen for
 many miles from the surrounding country
 and from the bay it looks like a giant 
sentinel in white watching the mighty   
city at its feet and proclaiming the    
ceaseless activity and progress of the  

,western ,world4     ,,chapter ,,vi     
,,ocean ,,palaces    ,ocean             
,greyhounds--,present ,day ,floating    
,palaces--,regal                        
,appointments--,passenger               
,accommodation--,food ,consumption--,the
 ,one   ,thousand ,foot ,boat4   ,the   
strides of naval architecture and marine
 engineering have been marvelous within 
the present generation4 ,to-day huge    
leviathans glide over the waves with a  
swiftness and safety deemed absolutely  
impossible fifty years ago4  ,in view of
 the luxurious accommodations and       
princely surroundings to be found on the
 modern ocean palaces1 it is interesting
 to look back now almost a hundred years
 to the time when the ,savannah was the 
first steamship to cross the ,atlantic4 
,true the voyage of this pioneer of     
steam from ,savannah to ,liverpool was  
not much of a success1 but she managed  
to crawl across the sails very          
materially aiding the engines1 and      
heralded the dawn of a new day in       

transatlantic travel4 ,no other         
steamboat attempted the trip for almost 
twenty years after1 until in #ahch the  
,great ,western made the run in fifteen 
days4 ,this revolutionized water travel 
and set the whole world talking4 ,it was
 the beginning of the passing of the    
sailing ship and was an event for       
rejoicing4 ,in the old wooden hulks with
 their lazily flapping wings1 waiting   
for a breeze to stir them1 men and women
 and children huddled together like so  
many animals in a pen1 had to spend     
weeks and months on the voyage between  
,europe and ,america4 ,there was little 
or no room for sanitation1 the space was
 crowded1 deadly germs lurked in every  
cranny and crevice1 and consequently    
hundreds died4 ,to many indeed the      
sailing ship became a floating hearse4  
,in those times1 and they are not so    
remote1 a voyage was dreaded as a       
calamity4 ,only necessity compelled the 
undertaking4 ,it was not travel for     
pleasure1 for pleasure under such       

circumstances and amid such surroundings
 was impossible4 ,the poor emigrants who
 were compelled through stress and      
poverty to leave their homes for a      
foreign country feared not toil in a new
 land1 but they feared the long voyage  
with its attending horrors and dangers4 
,dangerous it was1 for most of the      
sailing vessels were unseaworthy and    
when a storm swept the waters1 they were
 as children's toys1 at the mercy of    
wind and wave4 ,when the passenger      
stepped on board he always had the dread
 of a watery grave before him4  ,how    
different to-day4 ,danger has been      
eliminated almost to the vanishing point
 and the mighty monsters of steel and   
oak now cut through the waves in storms 
and hurricanes with as much ease as a   
duck swims through a pond4  ,from the   
time the ,great ,western was launched1  
steamships sailing between ,american and
 ,english ports became an established   
institution4 ,soon after the ,great     
,western's first voyage a sturdy ,new   

,england ,quaker from ,nova ,scotia     
named ,samuel ,cunard went over to      
,london to try and interest the ,british
 government in a plan to establish a    
line of steamships between the two      
countries4 ,he succeeded in raising     
#bgj1jjj pounds1 and built the          
,britannia1 the first ,cunard vessel to 
cross the ,atlantic4 ,this was in #ahdj4
 ,as ships go now she was a small craft 
indeed4 ,her gross tonnage was #a1aed   
and her horse power #gej4 ,she carried  
only first-class passengers and these   
only to the limit of one hundred4 ,there
 was not much in the way of             
accommodation as the quarters were      
cramped1 the staterooms small and the   
sanitation and ventilation defective4   
,it was on the ,britannia that ,charles 
,dickens crossed over to ,america in    
#ahdb and he has given us in his usual  
style a pen picture of his impressions  
aboard4 ,he stated that the saloon      
reminded him of nothing so much as of a 
hearse1 in which a number of            

half-starved stewards attempted to warm 
themselves by a glimmering stove1 and   
that the staterooms so-called were boxes
 in which the bunks were shelves spread 
with patches of filthy bed-clothing1    
somewhat after the style of a mustard   
plaster4 ,this criticism must be taken  
with a little reservation4 ,dickens was 
a pessimist and always censorious and as
 he had been feted and feasted with the 
fat of the land1 he expected that he    
should have been entertained in kingly  
quarters on shipboard4 ,but because     
things did not come up to his           
expectations he dipped his pen in       
vitriol and began to criticise4  ,at any
 rate the ,britannia in her day was     
looked upon as the ne plus ultra in     
naval architecture1 the very acme of    
marine engineering4 ,the highest speed  
she developed was eight and one-half    
knots or about nine and three-quarters  
miles an hour4 ,she covered the passage 
from ,liverpool to ,boston in fourteen  
and one-half days1 which was then       

regarded as a marvellous feat and one   
which was proclaimed throughout ,england
 with triumph4  ,for a long time the    
,britannia remained ,queen of the ,seas 
for speed1 but in #aheb the ,atlantic   
record was reduced to nine and a half   
days by the ,arctic4 ,in #ahgf the ,city
 of ,paris cut down the time to eight   
days and four hours4 ,twelve years later
 in #ahgi the ,arizona still further    
reduced it to seven days and eight      
hours4 ,in #ahha the ,alaska1 the first 
vessel to receive the title of ,ocean   
,greyhound1 made the trip in six days   
and twenty-one hours2 in #ahhe the      
,umbria bounded over in six days and two
 hours1 in #ahij the ,teutonic of the   
,white ,star line came across in five   
days1 eighteen hours and twenty-eight   
minutes1 which was considered the limit 
for many years to come4 ,it was not long
 however1 until the ,cunard lowered the 
colors of the ,white ,star1 when the    
,lucania in #ahic brought the record    
down to five days and twelve hours4 ,for

 a dozen years or so the limit of speed 
hovered round the five-and-a-half day   
mark1 the laurels being shared          
alternately by the vessels of the       
,cunard and ,white ,star ,companies4    
,then the ,germans entered the field of 
competition with steamers of from       
#ad1ejj to #bj1jjj tons register and    
from #bh1jjj to #dj1jjj horse power4    
,the ,deutschland soon began setting the
 pace for the ocean greyhounds1 while   
other vessels of the ,north ,german     
,lloyd line that won transatlantic      
honors were the ,kaiser ,wilhelm ,,ii41 
,kaiser ,wilhelm der ,grosse1 ,kronprinz
 ,wilhelm and ,kronprinzessin ,cecilie1 
all remarkably fast boats with every    
modern luxury aboard that science could 
devise4 ,these vessels are equipped with
 wireless telegraphy1 submarine         
signalling systems1 water-tight         
compartments and every other safety     
appliance known to marine skill4 ,the   
,kaiser ,wilhelm der ,grosse raised the 
standard of ,german supremacy in #aijb  

by making the passage from ,cherbourg to
 ,sandy ,hook lightship in five days and
 fifteen hours4  ,in #aiji1 however1 the
 sister steamships ,mauretania and      
,lusitania of the ,cunard line lowered  
all previous ocean records1 by making   
the trip in a little over four and a    
half days4 ,they have been keeping up   
this speed to the present time1 and are 
universally regarded as the fastest and 
best equipped steamships in the         
world1--the very last word in ocean     
travel4 ,on her last mid-,september     
voyage the ,mauretania has broken all   
ocean records by making the passage from
 ,queenstown to ,new ,york in #d days   
#aj hours and #dg minutes4 ,but they are
 closely pursued by the ,white ,star    
greyhounds such as the ,oceanic1 the    
,celtic and the ,cedric1 steamships of  
world wide fame for service1            
appointments1 and equipment4 ,yet at the
 present writing the ,cunard ,company   
has another vessel on the stocks1 to be 
named the ,falconia which in            

measurements will eclipse the other two 
and which they are confident will make  
the ,atlantic trip inside four days4    
,the ,white ,star ,company is also      
building two immense boats to be named  
the ,olympic and ,titanic4 ,they will be
 #hdj feet in length and will be the    
largest ships afloat4 ,however1 it is   
said that freight and passenger-room is 
being more considered in the            
construction than speed and that they   
will aim to lower no records4 ,each will
 be able to accommodate #e1jjj          
passengers besides a crew of #fjj4  ,all
 the great liners of the present day may
 justly be styled ocean palaces1 as far 
as luxuries and general appointments are
 concerned1 but as the ,mauretania and  
,lusitania are best known1 a description
 of either of these will convey an idea 
to stay-at-homes of the regal           
magnificence and splendors of the       
floating hotels which modern science    
places at the disposal of the traveling 
public4  ,though sister ships and       

modeled on similar lines1 the           
,mauretania and ,lusitania differ       
somewhat in construction4 ,of the two   
the ,mauretania is the more typical ship
 as well as the more popular4 ,this     
modern triumph of the naval architect   
and marine engineer was built by the    
firm of ,swan1 ,hunter  ,co4 at         
,wellsend on the ,tyne in #aijg4 ,the   
following are her dimensions3 ,length   
over all #gij feet4 ,length between     
perpendiculars #gfj feet4 ,breadth #hh  
feet4 ,depth1 moulded #fj4e feet4 ,gross
 tonnage #cb1jjj4 ,draught #cc4e feet4  
,displacement #ch1jjj tons4  ,she has   
accommodation space for #efc first      
cabin1 #ejj second cabin1 and #a1cjj    
third class passengers4 ,she carries a  
crew of #cij engineers1 #gj sailors1    
#cej stewards1 a couple of score of     
stewardesses1 #ej cooks1 the officers   
and captain1 besides a maritime band1 a 
dozen or so telephone and wireless      
telegraph operators1 editor and printers
 for the wireless bulletin published on 

board and two attendants for the        
elevator4  ,the type of engine is what  
is known as the ,parsons ,turbine4      
,there are #bc double ended and #b      
single ended boilers4 ,the engines      
develop #fh1jjj horse power2 they are   
fed by #aib furnaces2 the heating       
surface is #aei1jjj square feet2 the    
grate surface is #d1jfj square feet2 the
 steam pressure is #aie lbs4 to the     
square inch4  ,the highest speed        
attained has been almost #bf knots or   
#cj miles an hour4 ,at this rate the    
number of revolutions is #ahj to the    
minute4 ,the coal daily consumed by the 
fiery maw of the furnaces is enormous4  
,on one trip between ,liverpool and ,new
 ,york more than #g1jjj tons is required
 which is a consumption of over #a1ejj  
tons daily4  ,there are nine decks1     
seven of which are above the water line4
 ,corticine has been largely used for   
deck covering1 instead of wood as it is 
much lighter4 ,on the boat deck which   
extends over the greater part of the    

centre of the ship are located several  
of the beautiful en suite cabins4 ,abaft
 these at the forward end are the grand 
,entrance ,hall1 the ,library1 the      
,music-,room and the ,lounging-,room and
 ,smoking-,room for the first cabin     
passengers4  ,there is splendid         
promenading space on the boat deck where
 passengers can exercise to their       
hearts' content and also indulge in     
games and sports with all the freedom of
 field life4 ,many life boats swing on  
davits and instead of being a hindrance 
or obstacle1 act as shades from the     
sunshine and as breaks from the wind4   
,in the space for first-class passengers
 are arranged a large number of cabins4 
,what are known as the regal suites are 
on both port and starboard1 and along   
each side of the main deck are more en  
suite rooms4  ,on the shelter deck there
 are no first-class cabin quarters4 ,at 
the forward end of this deck are the    
very powerful ,napier engines for       
working the anchor gear4 ,abaft this on 

the starboard side is the general       
lounging room for third-class           
passengers1 while on the port-side is   
their smoking room with a companion way 
leading to the third-class dining saloon
 below and to the third-class cabins on 
the main and lower decks4 ,the          
third-class galleys are accommodated on 
the main deck house and close by is a   
set of the refrigerating machinery used 
in connection with the rooms for the    
storage of supplies for the kitchen     
department4 ,the side of the ship for a 
considerable distance aft of this is    
plated up to the promenade deck level so
 that the third-class passengers have   
not only convenient rooms but a         
protected promenade4 ,abaft this        
promenade is another open one4 ,indeed  
the accommodations for the third class  
are as good as what the first-class were
 accustomed to on most of the liners    
some dozen years ago4  ,to the left of  
the grand staircase on the deck house is
 a children's dining saloon and nursery4

  ,on the top deck are dining saloons   
for all three classes of passengers1    
that for the third being forward1 for   
the first amidships and for the second  
near the stern2 #dgj first-class        
passengers can be seated at a time1 #bej
 second class and more than #ejj of the 
third class4  ,the main deck is given up
 entirely to staterooms4 ,the whole of  
the lower deck forward is also arranged 
for third-class staterooms4 ,the firemen
 and other engine room and stokehold    
workers are located in rooms above the  
machinery with separate entrances and   
exits to and from their work4 ,promenade
 and exercise space is provided for them
 on the shelter deck which is fenced off
 from the space of the second and third 
class passenger4 ,amidships is a coal   
bunker with a compartment under the     
engines for the storage of supplies4    
,the coal trimmers are accommodated     
alongside the engine casing and abaft   
this are the mailrooms with             
accommodation for the stewards and other

 helpers4 ,the orlop or eighth deck is  
devoted entirely to machinery with coal 
bunkers on each side of the boilers to  
provide against the effect of           
collisions4  ,the general scheme of     
color throughout the ship is pleasing   
and harmonious4 ,the wood for the most  
part is oak and mahogany4 ,there are    
over #ej1jjj square feet of oak in      
parquet flooring4 ,all the carving and  
tracing is done in the wood1 no         
superpositions or stucco work whatever  
being used to show reliefs4  ,the grand 
stairway shows the ,italian renaissance 
style of the #afth century2 the panels  
are of ,french walnut2 the carving of   
columns and pilasters is of various     
designs but the aggregate is pleasing in
 effect4  ,the ,library extends across  
the deck house1 #cc by #ef feet2 the    
walls of the deck house are bowed out to
 form bay windows4 ,when you first enter
 the ,library the effect is as though   
you were looking at shimmering marble1  
this is owing to the lightness of the   

panels which are sycamore stained in    
light gray4 ,the mantelpiece is of white
 statuary marble4 ,the great swing doors
 which admit you1 have bevelled glass   
panels set in bronze casings4 ,the      
chairs have mahogany frames done in     
light plush4  ,the first class lounging 
room is probably the most artistic as   
well as the most sumptuous apartment in 
the ship4 ,the panels are of beautiful  
ingrained mahogany dully polished a rich
 brown4 ,the white ceiling is of simple 
design with boldly carved mouldings and 
is supported by columns embossed in gold
 of exquisite workmanship4 ,some of the 
panels are of curiously woven           
tapestries1 the fruit of oriental looms4
 ,chandeliers of beautiful design in    
rich bronze and crystal depend from the 
ceiling4 ,the curtains1 hanging with    
their soft folds against the dull gold  
of the carved curtainboxes1 are of a    
charming cream silk and with their      
flower borders lend a tone both         
sumptuous and refined4 ,the carpet is of

 a slender trellis design with bluish   
pink roses trailing over a pearl grey   
ground and forms a perfect foil to the  
splendid furniture4 ,the chairs are of  
polished beech covered with #ahth       
century brocade4  ,the smoking-room of  
the first-class is done in rich oak     
carving with an inlaid border around the
 panels4 ,an unusual feature in the main
 part of the room is a jube passageway  
extending the whole length and divided  
into recesses with divans and card      
tables4 ,writing tables may be found in 
secluded nooks free from interruption4  
,the windows of unusual size1 are       
semicircular and give a home-like       
appearance to the room4  ,the dining    
saloon is in light oak with all carvings
 worked in the wood4 ,a children's      
nursery off the main stairway in the    
deck house is done in mahogany4         
,enameled white panels depict the old   
favorite of the ,four and ,twenty       
,blackbirds baked in a ,pie4  ,an air of
 delicate refinement and rich luxury    

hangs about the regal rooms4 ,a suite   
consists of drawing-room1 dining-room1  
two bedrooms1 bathroom and a private    
corridor4 ,the drawing- and dining-rooms
 of these suites are paneled in ,east   
,india satin-wood1 probably the hardest 
and most durable of all timber4 ,the    
bedrooms are in ,georgian style finished
 in white with satin hangings4  ,the    
special staterooms are also finished in 
rich woods on white and gold and have   
damask and silk hangings and draperies4 
,an idea of the richness and            
magnificence of the interior decorations
 may be obtained when it is learned that
 the cost of these decorations exceeded 
three million dollars4  ,the galleys1   
pantries1 bakery1 confectionery and     
utensil cleaning rooms extend the full  
length of the ship4 ,electricity plays  
an important part in the culinary       
department4 ,electric motors mix dough1 
run grills and roasters1 clean knives   
and manipulate plate racks and other    
articles of the kitchen4 ,the main      

cooking range for the saloon is #bd by  
#h feet1 heated by coal4 ,there are four
 steam boilers and #ab steam ovens4     
,there are extensive cold storage       
compartments and refrigerating chambers4
  ,in connection with the commissariat  
department it is interesting to note the
 food supply carried for a trip of this 
floating caravansary4 ,here is a list of
 the leading supplies needed for a trip1
 but there are hundreds of others too   
numerous to mention3 ,forty thousand    
pounds of fresh beef1 #a1jjj lbs4 of    
corned beef1 #h1jjj lbs4 of mutton1 #hjj
 lbs4 of lamb1 #fjj lbs4 of veal1 #ejj  
lbs4 of pork1 #d1jjj lbs4 of fish1      
#b1jjj fowls1 #ajj geese1 #aej turkeys1 
#cej ducks1 #djj pigeons1 #bej          
partridges1 #bej grouse1 #bjj pheasants1
 #hjj quail1 #bjj snipe1 #ce tons of    
potatoes1 #ge hampers of vegetables1    
#ejj quarts ice ream1 #c1ejj quarts of  
milk1 #cj1jjj eggs and in addition many 
thousand bottles of mineral water and   
spirituous liquors4  ,the health of the 

passengers is carefully guarded during  
the voyage4 ,the science of             
thermodynamics has been brought to as   
great perfection as possible4 ,not alone
 is the heating thoroughly up to modern 
science requirements but the ventilation
 as well1 by means of thermo tanks1     
suction valves and exhaust fans4 ,all   
foul air is expelled and fresh currents 
sent through all parts of the ship4     
,there is an electric generating station
 abaft the main engine room containing  
four turbo-generators each of #cge      
kilowatts capacity4  ,there are more    
than #e1jjj electric lights and every   
room is connected by an electric        
push-bell4 ,there is a telephone        
exchange through which one can be       
connected with any department of the    
vessel4 ,when in harbor1 either at      
,liverpool or ,new ,york1 the wires are 
connected to the ,city ,central exchange
 so that the ships can be communicated  
with either by local or long distance   
telephone4  ,by means of wireless       

telegraphy voyagers can communicate with
 friends during almost the entire trip  
and learn the news of the world the same
 as if they were on land4 ,a bulletin is
 published daily on board giving news of
 the leading happenings of the world4   
,there is a perfect fire alarm system on
 board with fire mains on each side of  
the ship from which connections are     
taken to every separate department4     
,there are boxes with hydrant and valve 
in each room and a system of break glass
 fire alarms with a drop indicator box  
in the chartroom and also one in the    
engine-room to notify in case of any    
outbreak4  ,the sanitation is all that  
could be desired4 ,there are flush      
lavatories on all decks in marble and   
onyx and with all the sanitary          
contrivances in apparatus of the best   
design4  ,the vessel is propelled by    
four screws1 rotated by turbine engines 
and the power developed is equal to that
 of #fh1jjj horses4 ,now #fh1jjj horses 
placed head to tail in a single line    

would reach a distance of #ij miles or  
as far as from ,new ,york to            
,philadelphia2 and if the steeds were   
harnessed twenty abreast there would be 
no fewer than #c1djj rows of powerful   
horses4  ,such is the steamship of      
to-day but there is no doubt that the   
thousand foot boat is coming1 which     
probably will cross the ,atlantic ocean 
in less than four days if not in three4 
,but the question is1 where shall we put
 her1 that is1 where shall we dock her8 
,to build a thousand foot pier to       
accommodate her1 appears like a good    
answer to this question1 but the great  
difficulty is that there are ,united    
,states ,government regulations         
restricting the length of piers to #hjj 
feet4 ,docking space along the shore of 
,new ,york harbor is too valuable to    
permit the ship being berthed parallel  
to the shore1 therefore vessels must    
dock at right angles to the shore4 ,some
 provisions must soon be made and the   
regulations as to dock lengths revised4 

,the thousand footer may be here in a   
couple of years or so4 ,in the meantime 
the two #hdj footers are already on the 
stocks at ,belfast and are expected to  
arrive early in #aiaa4 ,before they come
 changes and improvements must be made  
in the docking and harbor facilities of 
the port of ,new ,york4  ,if higher     
speed is demanded1 increased size is    
essential1 since with even the best     
result every #ajj horse-power added     
involves an addition to machinery weight
 of approximately #ad tons and to the   
area occupied of about #dj square feet4 
,to accomplish this the ship must be as 
much larger in proportion4  ,the ship   
designer has to work within             
circumscribed limits4 ,if he could make 
his vessel of any depth he might build  
much larger and there would be          
theoretically no limit to his speed3 #dj
 knots an hour might be obtained as     
easily as the present maximum of #bf1   
but in designing his ship he must       
remember that in the harbors of ,new    

,york or ,liverpool the channels are not
 much beyond #cj feet in depth4 ,high   
speed necessitates powerful engines1 but
 if the engines be too large there will 
not be space enough for coal to feed the
 furnaces4 ,if the breadth of the ship  
is increased the speed is diminished1   
while on the other hand1 if too powerful
 engines are put in a narrow vessel she 
will break her back4 ,the proper        
proportions must be carefully studied as
 regards length1 breadth1 depth and     
weight so that the vessel will derive   
the greatest speed from her engines4    
,,chapter ,,vii  ,,wonderful ,,creations
 ,,in ,,plant ,,life  ,mating           
,plants--,experiments of ,burbank--,what
 he has ,accomplished4   ,in ,california
 lives a wonderful man4 ,he has         
succeeded in doing more than making two 
blades of grass grow where grew but one4
 ,yearly1 daily in fact1 this wizard of 
plant life is playing tricks on old     
,mother ,nature1 transforming her       
vegetable children into different shapes

 and making them no longer recognizable 
in their original forms4 ,like the      
fairies in ,irish mythology1 this man   
steals away the plant babies1 but       
instead of leaving sickly elves in their
 places1 he brings into the world       
exceedingly healthy or lusty youngsters 
which grow up into a full maturity1 and 
develop traits of character superior to 
the ones they supplant4 ,for instance he
 took away the ugly1 thorny insipid     
cactus and replaced it by a beautiful   
smooth juicy one which is now making the
 western deserts blossom as the rose4   
,the name of this man is ,luther        
,burbank whose fame as a creator of new 
plants has become world wide4  ,the     
basic principle of ,burbank's plant     
magic comes under two heads1 viz43      
breeding and selection4 ,he mates two   
different species in such a way that    
they will propagate a type partaking of 
the natures of both but superior to     
either in their qualities4 ,in order to 
effect the best results from mating1 he 

is choice in his selection of           
species--the best is taken and the worst
 rejected4 ,it is a universal law that  
the bad can never produce the good2     
consequently when good is desired1 as is
 universally the case1 bad must be      
eliminated4 ,in his method1 ,burbank    
gives the good a chance to assert itself
 and at the same time takes away all    
opportunity from the bad4 ,so that the  
latter cannot thrive but must decay and 
pass out of being4 ,he takes two        
plants--they may be of the same species1
 but as a general rule he prefers to    
experiment with those of different      
species2 he perceives that neither one  
in its present surroundings is putting  
forth what is naturally expected from   
it1 that each is either retrograding in 
the scale of life or standing still for 
lack of encouragement to go forward4 ,he
 knows that back of these plants is a   
long history of evolutions from         
primitive beginnings to their present   
stage just as in the case of man        

himself4 ',tis a far cry from the       
cliff-dweller wielding his stone-axe and
 roaming nude through the fields and    
forests after his prey--the wild        
beast--to the lordly creature of        
to-day--the product of long ages of     
civilization and culture1 yet high as   
the state is to which man has been      
brought1 in many cases he is hemmed in  
and surrounded by circumstances which   
preclude him from putting forth the best
 that is in him and showing his full    
possibilities to the world4 ,the        
philosopher is often hidden in the      
ploughman and many a poor laborer       
toiling in corduroys and fustian at the 
docks1 in the mills1 or sweeping the    
streets may have as good a brain as     
,edison1 but has not the opportunity to 
develop it and show its capabilities4   
,the same analogy is applicable to plant
 life4 ,under adverse conditions a plant
 or vegetable cannot put forth its best 
efforts4 ,in a scrawny1 impoverished    
soil1 and exhausted atmosphere1 lacking 

the constituents of nurture1 the plant  
will become dwarfed and unproductive1   
whereas on good ground and in good air1 
which have the succulent properties to  
nourish it the best results may be      
expected4 ,the soil and the air1        
therefore1 from which are derived the   
constituents of plant life1 are         
indispensably necessary1 but they are   
not the primal principles upon which    
that life depends for its being4 ,the   
basis1 the foundation1 the origin of the
 life is the seed which germinates in   
the soil and evolves itself into the    
plant4  ,a dead seed will not germinate1
 a contaminated seed may1 but the plant 
it produces will not be a healthy one   
and it will only be after a long series 
of transplantings1 with patience and    
care1 that at length a really sound     
plant will be obtained4 ,the same       
principle holds good in regard to the   
human plant4 ,it is hard to offset an   
evil ancestry4 ,the contamination goes  
on from generation to generation1 just  

as in the case of the notorious ,juke   
family which cost ,new ,york ,state     
hundreds of thousands of dollars in     
consequence of criminality and idiocy4  
,it requires almost a miracle to divert 
an individual sprung from a corrupt stem
 into a healthy1 moral course of living4
 ,there must be some powerful force     
brought to bear to make him break the   
ligatures which bind him to ancestral   
nature and enable him to come forth on a
 plane where he will be susceptible to  
the influence of what is good and noble4
 ,such can be done and has been         
accomplished4  ,burbank is accomplishing
 such miracles in the vegetable kingdom1
 in fact he is recreating species as it 
were and developing them to a full      
fruition4 ,of course as in the case of  
the conversion of a sinner from his evil
 instincts1 much opposition is met and  
the progress at first is slow1 but      
finally the plant becomes fixed in its  
new ways and starts forward on its new  
course in life4 ,it requires patience to

 await the development ,burbank is a man
 of infinite patience4 ,he has been     
five1 ten1 fifteen1 twenty years in     
producing a desired blossom1 but he     
considers himself well rewarded when his
 object has been obtained4 ,thousands of
 experiments are going on at the same   
time1 but in each case years are        
required to achieve results1 so slow is 
the work of selection1 the rejecting of 
the seemingly worthless and the eternal 
choosing of the best specimens to       
continue the experiments4  ,when two    
plants are united to produce a third1 no
 human intelligence can predict just    
what will be the result of the union4   
,there may be no result at all2 hence it
 is that ,burbank does not depend on one
 experiment at a time4 ,if he did the   
labors of a life-time would have little 
to show for their work4 ,in breeding    
lilies he has used as high as five      
hundred thousand plants in a single     
test4 ,such an immense quantity gave him
 a great variety of selection4 ,he      

culled and rejected1 and culled and     
rejected until he made his final        
selection for the last test4  ,sometimes
 he is very much disappointed in his    
anticipations4 ,for instance1 he marks  
out a certain life for a flower and     
breeds and selects to that end4 ,for a  
time all may go according to his plans1 
but suddenly some new trait develops    
which knocks those plans all out of     
gear4 ,the new flower may have a longer 
stem and narrower leaves than either    
parent1 while a shorter stem and broader
 leaves are the desideratum4 ,the       
experimenter is disappointed1 but not   
disheartened2 he casts the flower aside 
and makes another selection from the    
same species and again goes ahead1 until
 his object is attained4  ,it may be    
asked how two plants are united to      
procure a third4 ,the act is based on   
the procreative law of nature4          
,plant-breeding is simply accomplished  
by sifting the pollen of one plant upon 
the stigma of another1 this             

act--pollenation--resulting in          
fertilization1 ,nature in her own       
mysterious ways bringing forth the new  
plant4  ,in order to get an idea of the 
,burbank method1 let us consider some of
 his most famous experiments1 for       
instance1 that in which by uniting the  
potato with the tomato he has produced a
 new variety which has been very aptly  
named the pomato4 ,mr4 ,burbank1 from   
the beginning of his wonderful career1  
has experimented much with the potato4  
,it was this vegetable which first      
brought the plant wizard into worldwide 
prominence4 ,the ,burbank potato is     
known in all lands where the tuber forms
 an article of food4 ,it has been       
introduced into ,ireland and promises to
 be the salvation of that distressed    
island of which the potato constitutes  
the staple diet4 ,the ,burbank potato is
 the hardiest of all varieties and in   
this respect is well suited for the     
colder climates of the ,temperate ,zone4
 ,apart from this potato which bears his

 name1 ,mr4 ,burbank has produced many  
other varieties4 ,he has blended wild   
varieties with tame ones1 getting very  
satisfactory results4 ,mr4 ,burbank     
believes that a little wild blood1 so to
 speak1 is often necessary to give tone 
and vigor to the tame element which has 
been long running in the same channels4 
,probably it was ,emerson1 his favorite 
author1 who gave him the cue for this   
idea4 ,emerson pointed out that the city
 is recruited from the country4 ,the    
city would have died out1 rotted and    
exploded long ago1 wrote the ,new       
,england sage1 but that it was          
reinforced from the fields4 ,it is only 
country that came to town day before    
yesterday1 that is city and court       
to-day4  ,in ,burbank's greenhouses are 
mated all kinds of wild and tame        
varieties of potatoes1 producing crosses
 and combinations truly wonderful as    
regards shape1 size1 and color4 ,one of 
the most palatable potatoes he has      
produced is a magenta color approaching 

crimson1 so distributed throughout that 
when the tuber is cut1 no matter from   
what angle1 it presents concentric      
geometric figures1 some having a        
resemblance to human and animal faces4  
,before entering on any experiment to   
produce a new creation1 ,burbank always 
takes into consideration the practical  
end of the experiment1 that is1 what the
 value of the result will be as a       
practical factor in commerce1 how much  
it will benefit the race4 ,he does not  
experiment for a pastime or a novelty1  
but for a purpose4 ,his object in regard
 to the potato is to make it a richer1  
better vegetable for a food supply and  
also to make it more important for other
 purposes in the commerce of the        
nations4  ,the average potato consists  
of seventy-five per cent4 water and     
twenty-five per cent4 dry matter1 almost
 all of which is starch4 ,now starch is 
a very important article from a         
manufacturing standpoint1 but only      
one-fourth of the potato is available   

for manufacturing1 the other            
three-fourths1 being water1 is          
practically waste matter4 ,now if the   
water could be driven out to a great    
extent and starchy matter increased it  
is easy to understand that the potato   
would be much increased in value as an  
article of manufacture4 ,burbank has not
 overlooked this fact in his potato     
experiments4 ,he has demonstrated that  
it is as easy to breed potatoes for a   
larger amount of starch1 and he has     
really developed tubers which contain at
 least twenty-five per cent4 more starch
 than the normal varieties2 in other    
words1 he has produced potatoes which   
yield fifty per cent4 of starch instead 
of twenty-five per cent4 ,the ,united   
,states uses about #ab1jjj1jjj worth of 
starch every year1 chiefly obtained from
 ,indian corn and potatoes4 ,when the   
potato is made to yield double the      
amount of starch1 as ,burbank has proved
 it can yield and more1 it will be      
understood what a large part it can be  

made to play in this important          
manufacture4  ,also for the production  
of alcohol the potato is gaining a      
prominent place4 ,the potato starch is  
converted into maltose by the diastase  
of malt1 the maltose being easily acted 
upon by ferment for the actual          
production of the alcohol4 ,therefore an
 increase in the starch of the potato   
for this purpose alone is much to be    
desired4  ,of course the chief          
prominence of the potato will still     
consist in its adaptability as an       
article of food4 ,burbank does not      
overlook this4 ,he has produced and is  
producing potatoes with better flavor1  
of larger and uniform size and which    
give a much greater yield to the area4  
,palatability in the end decides the    
permanence of a food1 and the ,burbank  
productions possess this quality in a   
high degree4  ,burbank labored long and 
studied every characteristic of the     
potato before attempting any experiments
 with the tomato4 ,though closely       

related by family ties1 the potato and  
the tomato seemed to have no affinity   
for each other whatever4 ,in many other 
instances it has also been found that   
two varieties which from a certain      
relation might naturally be expected to 
amalgamate easily have been repellant to
 each other and refused to unite4  ,in  
his first experiment in trying to cross 
the potato and tomato1 ,burbank produced
 tomatoes from the seeds of plants      
pollenated from potato pollen only4 ,he 
next produced what he called aerial     
potatoes of very peculiar twisted shapes
 from a potato vine grafted on a        
,ponderosa or large tomato plant4 ,then 
reversing this operation he grafted the 
same kind of tomato plant upon the same 
kind of potato plant and produced       
underground a strange-looking potato    
with marked tomato characteristics4 ,he 
saw he was on the right road to the     
production of a new variety of          
vegetable1 but before experimenting     
further along this line he crossed two  

distinct species of tomatoes and        
obtained a most ornamental plant1       
different from the parent stems1 about  
twelve inches high and fifteen inches   
across with large unusual leaves and    
producing clusters of uniform globular  
fruit1 the whole giving a most pleasing 
and unique appearance4 ,the fruit were  
more palatable than the ordinary        
tomatoes1 had better nutritive qualities
 and were more suitable for preserving  
and canning4  ,very pleased with this   
result he went back to his experiments  
with the potato-tomato1 and succeeded in
 producing the most wonderful and unique
 fruit in the world1 one which by a     
happy combination of the two names1 he  
has aptly called the pomato4 ,it may be 
considered as the evolution of a potato 
seed-ball4 ,it first appears as a tiny  
green ball on the potato top and as the 
season progresses it gradually enlarges 
and finally develops into a fruit about 
the size and shape of the ordinary      
tomato4 ,the flesh is white and the     

marrow1 which contains but a few tiny   
white seeds1 is exceedingly pleasant to 
the taste1 possessing a combination of  
several different fruit flavors1 though 
it cannot be identified with any one4   
,it may be eaten either raw or cooked   
after the manner of the common tomato4  
,in either case it is most palatable1   
but especially so when cooked4 ,it is   
exceptionally well adapted to preserving
 purposes4  ,the production of such a   
fruit from a vegetable is one of the    
crowning triumphs of the ,california    
wizard4 ,probably it is the most novel  
of all the wonderful crosses and        
combinations he has given to the world4 
,it would be impossible here to go into 
detail in regard to some of the other   
wonders accomplished in the plant world 
by this modern magician4 ,there is only 
space to merely mention a few more of   
his successful achievements4 ,he has    
given the improved thornless and        
spiculess cactus1 food for man and      
beast1 converting it into a beautifier  

and reclaimer of desert wastes2 the     
plum-cot which is an amalgamation of the
 plum and the apricot with a flavor     
superior to both2 many kinds of plums1  
some without pits1 others having the    
taste of ,bartlett pears1 and still     
others giving out a fragrance as sweet  
as the rose2 several varieties of       
walnuts1 one with a shell as thin as    
paper and which was so easily broken by 
the birds that ,burbank had to reverse  
his experiment somewhat in order to get 
a thicker shell2 another walnut has no  
tannin in the meat1 which is the cause  
of the disagreeable flavor of the       
ordinary fruit2 the world-famed ,shasta 
daisy1 which is a combination of the    
,japanese daisy1 the ,english daisy and 
the common field daisy1 and which has a 
blossom seven inches in diameter2 a     
dahlia deprived of its unpleasant odor  
and the scent of the magnolia blossom   
substituted2 a gladiolus which blooms   
around the entire stem like a hyacinth  
instead of the old way on one side only2

 many kinds of lilies with chalices and 
petals different from the ordinary1 and 
exhaling perfumes as varied as those of 
,oriental gardens2 a poppy of such      
dimension that it is from ten to twelve 
inches across its brilliant bloom2 an   
amaryllis bred up from a couple of      
inches to over a foot in diameter2      
several kinds of fruit trees which      
withstand frost in bud and in flower2 a 
chestnut tree which bears nuts in       
eighteen months from the time of        
seed-planting2 a white blackberry       
7paradoxical as it may appear71 a rare  
and beautiful fruit and as palatable as 
it is beautiful2 the primusberry1 a     
union of the raspberry and the          
blackberry2 another wonderful and       
delicious berry produced from the       
,california dewberry and the            
,cuthbert-raspberry2 pieplants four feet
 in diameter1 bearing every day in the  
year2 prunes1 three1 four1 and five     
times as large as the ordinary and      
enriched in flavor2 blackberries without

 their prickly thorns and hundreds of   
other combinations and crosses of fruits
 and flowers too numerous to mention4   
,he has improved plums1 pears1 apples1  
apricots1 quinces1 peaches1 cherries1   
grapes1 in short1 all kinds of fruit    
which grow in our latitude and many even
 that have been introduced4 ,he has     
developed hundreds of varieties of      
flowers1 improving them in color1       
hardiness and yield4 ,thus he has not   
only added to the food and manufacturing
 products of the world1 but he has      
enriched the aesthetic side in his      
beautiful flower creations4             
,,chapter ,,viii  ,,latest ,,discoveries
 ,,in ,,archaeology    ,prehistoric     
,time--,earliest ,records--,discoveries 
in ,bible ,lands--   ,american          
,explorations4   ,for the earliest      
civilization and culture we must go to  
that part of the world1 which according 
to the general belief1 is the cradle of 
the human race4 ,the civilization of the
 ,mesopotamian plain is not only the    

oldest but the first where man settled  
in great city communities1 under an     
orderly government1 with a developed    
religion1 practicing agriculture1       
erecting dwellings and using a          
syllabified writing4 ,all modern        
civilization had its source there4 ,for 
#f1jjj years the cuneiform or           
wedge-shaped writing of the ,assyrians  
was the literary script of the whole    
civilized ancient world1 from the shores
 of the ,mediterranean to ,india and    
even to ,china1 for ,chinese            
civilization1 old as it is1 is based    
upon that which obtained in             
,mesopotamia4 ,in ,egypt1 too1 at an    
early date was a high form of neolithic 
civilization4 ,six thousand years before
 ,christ1 a white-skinned1 blond-haired1
 blue-eyed race dwelt there1 built      
towns1 carried on commerce1 made woven  
linen cloth1 tanned leather1 formed     
beautiful pottery without the wheel1 cut
 stone with the lathe and designed      
ornaments from ivory and metals4 ,these 

were succeeded by another great race    
which probably migrated into ,egypt from
 ,arabia4 ,among them were warriors and 
administrators1 fine mechanics1         
artisans1 artists and sculptors4 ,they  
left us the ,pyramids and other         
magnificent monumental tombs and great  
masses of architecture and sculptured   
columns4 ,of course1 they declined and  
passed away1 as all things human must2  
but they left behind them evidences to  
tell of their prestige and power4  ,the 
scientists and geologists of our day are
 busy unearthing the remains of the     
ancient peoples of the ,eastern world1  
who started the waves of civilization   
both to the ,orient and the ,occident4  
,vast stores of knowledge are being     
accumulated and almost every day sees   
some ancient treasure trove brought to  
light4 ,especially in ,biblical lands is
 the explorer busy unearthing the relics
 of the mighty past and throwing a flood
 of light upon incidents and scenes long
 covered by the dust of centuries4      

,babylon1 the mightiest city of ancient 
times1 celebrated in the ,bible and in  
the earliest human records as the       
greatest centre of sensual splendor and 
sinful luxury the world has ever seen1  
is at last being explored in the most   
thorough manner by the ,german ,oriental
 ,society1 of which the ,kaiser is      
patron4 ,babylon rose to its greatest   
glory under ,nebuchadnezzar1 the most   
famous monarch of the ,babylonian       
,empire4 ,at that period it was the     
great centre of arts1 learning and      
science1 astronomy and astrology being  
patronized by the ,babylonian kings4    
,the city finally came to a terrible end
 under ,belshazzar1 as related in the   
,bible4 ,the palace of the impious king 
has been uncovered and its great piles  
of masonry laid bare4 ,the great hall1  
where the young prophet ,daniel read the
 handwriting on the wall1 can now be    
seen4 ,the palace stood on elevated     
ground and was of majestic dimensions4  
,a winding chariot road led up to it4   

,the lower part was of stone and the    
upper of burned bricks4 ,all around on  
the outside ran artistic sculptures of  
men hunting animals4 ,the doors were    
massive and of bronze and swung inward1 
between colossal figures of winged      
bulls4 ,from the hall a stairway led to 
the throne room of the ,king1 which was 
decorated with gold and precious stones 
and finished in many colors4 ,the hall  
in which the infamous banquet was held  
was #adj feet by #dj feet4 ,for a       
ceiling it was spanned by the cedars of 
,lebanon which exhaled a sweet perfume4 
,at night a myriad lights lent          
brilliancy to the scene4 ,there were    
over #bjj rooms all gorgeously          
furnished1 most of them devoted to the  
inmates of the king's harem4 ,the ruins 
as seen to-day impress the visitor and  
excite wonder and admiration4  ,the     
,germans have also uncovered the great  
gate of ,ishtar at ,babylon1 which      
,nebuchadnezzar erected in honor of the 
goddess of love and war1 the most       

renowned of all the mythical deities of 
the ,babylonian ,pantheon4 ,it is a     
double gateway with interior chambers1  
flanked by massive towers and was       
erected at the end of the ,sacred ,road 
at the northeast corner of the palace4  
,its most unique feature consists in the
 scheme of decoration on its walls1     
which are covered with row upon row of  
bulls and dragons represented in the    
brilliant enamelled bricks4 ,some of    
these creatures are flat and others     
raised in relief4 ,those in relief are  
being taken apart to be sent to ,berlin1
 where they will be again put together  
for exhibition4  ,the friezes on this   
gate of ,ishtar are among the finest    
examples of enamelled brickwork that    
have been uncovered and take their place
 beside the ,lion ,frieze from ,sargon's
 palace at ,khorsabad and the still more
 famous ,frieze of ,arches of ,king     
,darius in the ,paris ,louvre4  ,the    
,german party have already established  
the claim of ,herodotus as to the       

thickness of the walls of the city4     
,herodotus estimated them at two hundred
 royal cubits 7#cdh feet7 high and fifty
 royal cubits 7#hf-a_/b feet7 thick4 ,at
 places they have been found even       
thicker4 ,so wide were they that on the 
top a four-horse chariot could easily   
turn4  ,the hanging gardens of ,babylon1
 said to have been built to please      
,amytis the consort of ,nebuchadnezzar1 
were classed as among the ,seven        
,wonders of the ,world4 ,terraces were  
constructed #dej feet square1 of huge   
stones which cost millions in that      
stoneless country4 ,these were supported
 by countless columns1 the tallest of   
which were #afj feet high4 ,on top of   
the stones were layers of brick1        
cemented and covered with pitch1 over   
which was poured a layer of lead to make
 all absolutely water-tight4 ,finally1  
on the top of this1 earth was spread to 
such a depth that the largest trees had 
room for their roots4 ,the trees were   
planted in rows forming squares and     

between them were flower gardens4 ,in   
fact1 these gardens constituted an ,eden
 in the air1 which has never since been 
duplicated4  ,new discoveries have been 
recently made concerning the ,tower of  
,babel1 the construction of which1 as   
described in the ,book of ,genesis1 is  
one of the most remarkable occurrences  
of the first stage of the world's       
history4 ,it has been found that the    
tower was square and not round1 as      
represented by all ,bible illustrators1 
including ,dore4 ,the ruins cover a     
space of about #ej1jjj square feet and  
are about ten miles from the site of    
,babylon4  ,the ruins of the celebrated 
synagogue of ,capernaum1 believed to be 
the very one in which the ,saviour      
preached1 have been unearthed and many  
other ,biblical sites around the ancient
 city have been identified4  ,capernaum 
was the home of ,jesus during nearly the
 whole of his ,galilean ministry and the
 scene of many of his most wonderful    
miracles4 ,the site of ,capernaum is now

 known as ,tell ,hum4 ,there are ruins  
scattered about over a radius of a mile4
 ,the excavating which revealed the     
ruins of the synagogue was done under   
supervision of a ,german archaeologist  
named ,kohl4 ,this synagogue was        
composed of white limestone blocks      
brought from a distance and in this     
respect different from the others which 
were built of the local black volcanic  
rock4 ,the carvings unearthed in the    
ruins are very beautiful and most of    
them in high relief work1 representing  
trailing vines1 stately palms1 clusters 
of dates1 roses and acanthus4 ,various  
animal designs are also shown and one of
 the famous seven-branched candlesticks 
which accompanied the ,ark of the       
,covenant4  ,most of the incidents at   
,capernaum mentioned in the ,bible were 
connected with the synagogue1 the ruins 
of which have just been uncovered4 ,the 
centurion who came to plead with ,jesus 
about the servant was the man who built 
the synagogue 7,luke ,,vii3#a-aj74 ,in  

the synagogue1 ,jesus healed the man    
with the unclean spirit 7,mark          
,i3#ba-bg74 ,in this synagogue1 the man 
with the withered hand received health  
on the ,sabbath ,day 7,matthew          
,,xii3#aj-ac74 ,jairus1 whose daughter  
was raised from the dead1 was a ruler of
 the synagogue 7,luke ,,viii3#c7 and it 
was in this same synagogue of ,capernaum
 that ,jesus preached the discourse on  
the bread of life 7,john ,,vi3#bf-ei74  
,the hill near ,capernaum where ,jesus  
fed the multitude with five loaves and  
two fishes is also identified4  ,the    
stoning of ,st4 ,stephen and the        
conversion of ,st4 ,paul are two great  
events of the ,new ,testament which lend
 additional interest to the explorations
 now being carried on at the ancient    
,city of ,damascus4 ,damascus lays claim
 to being the most ancient city in the  
world and its appearance sustains the   
claim4 ,unlike ,jerusalem and many other
 ancient cities1 it has never been      
completely destroyed by a conqueror4    

,the ,assyrian monarch1 ,tiglath        
,pileser1 swept down on it1 #b1gjj years
 ago1 but he did not succeed in wiping  
it out4 ,other cities came into being   
long after ,damascus1 they flourished1  
faded and passed away2 but ,damascus    
still remains much the same as in the   
early time4 ,among the famous places    
which have been identified in this      
ancient city is the house of ,ananias   
the priest and the place in the wall    
where ,paul was let down by a basket is 
pointed out4 ,the scene of the          
conversion of ,st4 ,paul is shown and   
also the ,street called ,straight       
referred to in ,acts ,,ix3,,ii4         
,jerusalem1 birthplace and cradle of    
,christianity1 offers a vast and        
interesting field to the archaeologist4 
,one of the most remarkable of recent   
discoveries relates to the building     
known as ,david's castle4 ,major        
,conder1 a ,british engineer in charge  
of the ,palestine survey1 has proved    
that this building is actually a part of

 the palace of ,king ,herod who ordered 
the ,massacre of the ,innocents in order
 to encompass the destruction of the    
,infant ,saviour4  ,the tomb of ,hiram  
is another relic discovered at the      
village of ,hunaneh on the road from    
,safed to ,tyre2 it recalls the days of 
,david4 ,hiram was ,king of ,tyre in the
 time of ,david4 ,the tomb is a         
limestone structure of extraordinary    
massiveness ,unfortunately the ,mosque  
of ,omar stands on the site of          
,solomon's ,temple and there is no hope 
of digging there4 ,as for the palace of 
,solomon1 it should be easy to find the 
foundations1 for ,jerusalem has been    
rebuilt several times upon the ruins of 
earlier periods and vast ancient remains
 must be still buried there4 ,the work  
is being pushed vigorously at present   
and the future should bring to light    
many interesting relics4 ,at last the   
real site of the ,crucifixion may be    
found with many mementoes of the        
,saviour1 and the ,apostles4  ,professor

 ,flinders ,petrie1 the famous ,english 
archaeologist1 has recently explored the
 ,sinaitic peninsula and has found many 
relics of the ,hebrews' passage through 
the country during the ,exodus and also 
many of a still earlier period4 ,he     
found a remarkable number of altars and 
tombs belonging to a very early form of 
religion4 ,on the ,mount where ,moses   
received the tables of the law is a     
monastery erected by the ,emperor       
,justinian #ebc ,a4,d4 ,although the    
conquering wave of ,islam has swept over
 the peninsula1 leaving it bare and     
desolate1 this monastery still survives1
 the only ,christian landmark1 not only 
in ,sinai but in all ,arabia4 ,the      
original tables of stone on which the   
,commandments were written1 were placed 
in the ,ark of the ,covenant and taken  
all through the ,wilderness to          
,palestine and finally placed in the    
,temple of ,solomon4 ,what became of it 
when the ,temple was plundered and      
destroyed by the ,babylonians is not    

known4  ,clay tablets have been found at
 ,nineveh of the ,creation and the      
,flood as known to the ,assyrians4      
,these tablets formed part of a great   
epic poem of which ,nimrod1 the mighty  
hunter1 was the hero4  ,explorers are   
now looking for the palace of ,nimrod1  
also that of ,sennacherib1 the ,assyrian
 monarch who besieged ,jerusalem4 ,the  
latter despoiled the ,temple of many of 
its treasures and it is believed that   
his palace1 when found1 may reveal the  
,tables of the ,law1 the ,ark of the    
,covenant1 the ,seven-branched          
candlestick1 and many of the golden     
vessels used in ,israelitish worship4   
,ur of the ,chaldees1 birthplace of     
,abraham1 father and founder of the     
,hebrew race1 is a rich field for the   
archaeologist to plough4 ,some tablets  
have already been discovered1 but they  
are only a mere suggestion as to future 
possibilities4 ,it is believed by some  
eminent investigators that we owe to    
,abraham the early part of the ,book of 

,genesis describing the ,creation1 the  
,tower of ,babel and the ,flood1 and the
 quest of archaeologists is to find1 if 
not the original tablets1 at least some 
valuable records which may be buried in 
this neighborhood4  ,excavators         
connected with the ,american ,school at 
,jerusalem are busy at ,samaria and they
 believe they have uncovered portions of
 the great temple of ,baal1 which ,king 
,ahab erected in honor of the wicked    
deity #hij ,b4,c4 ,when the remains of  
this temple are fully uncovered it will 
be learned just how far the ,israelites 
forsook the worship of the true ,god for
 that of ,baal4  ,the ,germans have     
begun work on the site of ,jericho1 once
 the royal capital of ,canaan1 and      
historic chiefly from the fact that     
,joshua led the ,israelites up to its   
walls1 reported to be impregnable1 but  
which fell down at the blast of the     
trumpet4 ,great piles have been         
unearthed here which it is thought      
formed a part of the original masonry4  

,one excavator believes he has unearthed
 the ruins of the house of ,rahab1 the  
woman who sheltered ,joshua's spies4    
,another thinks he has discovered the   
site of the translation of ,elijah1 the 
,prophet1 from whence he was carried up 
to heaven in a fiery chariot4  ,every   
,christian will be interested in        
learning what is to be found in         
,nazareth where ,jesus spent his        
boyhood4 ,archaeologists have located   
the ,fount of the ,virgin1 and the rock 
from which the infuriated inhabitants   
attempted to hurl ,christ4  ,in the     
,land of ,goshen where the ,israelites  
in a state of servitude worked for the  
oppressing ,pharaoh 7,rameses ,,ii71    
excavators have found bricks made       
without straw as mentioned in           
,scripture1 undoubtedly the work of     
,hebrew slaves1 also glazed bead        
necklaces4 ,they are looking for the    
,house of ,amran1 the father of ,moses1 
where the great leader was born4  ,the  
site of ,arbela1 where ,alexander the   

,great won his mightiest victory over   
,darius1 has been discovered4 ,it is a  
series of mounds on the ,western bank of
 the ,tigris river between ,nineveh and 
,bagdad4 ,all the treasures of ,darius  
were taken and ,alexander erected a     
great palace4 ,bronze swords1 cups and  
pieces of sculpture have been unearthed 
and it is supposed there are vast stores
 of other remains awaiting the tool and 
patience of the excavator4 ,the famous  
,sultan ,saladin took up his residence  
here in #aahd and doubtless many relics 
of his royal time will be discovered4   
,the remains of the city of ,pumbaditha 
have been identified with the immense   
mound of ,abnar some twenty miles from  
,babylon1 on the banks of the           
,euphrates4 ,this was the centre of     
,jewish scholarship during the          
,babylonian exile4 ,one of the great    
schools in which the ,talmud was        
composed was located here4 ,the great   
psalm1 ,by the waters of ,babylon1 we   
sat down and wept4 was also composed on 

this spot1 and here1 too1 ,jeremiah and 
,isaiah thundered their impassioned     
eloquence4 ,broken tombs and a few      
inscribed bowls have been brought to    
light4 ,probably the original scrolls of
 the ,talmud will be found here4        
,several curiously wrought vases and    
ruins have been also unearthed4         
,several monuments bearing inscriptions 
which are sorely puzzling the           
archaeologists have recently been       
unearthed at the site of ,boghaz-,keni  
which was the ancient1 if not original  
capital1 of the mysterious people called
 the ,hittites who have been for so long
 a worry to ,bible students4            
,archaeology has now revealed the secret
 of this people4 ,there is no doubt they
 were of ,mongolian origin1 as the      
monuments just discovered represent them
 with slant eyes and pigtails4 ,no one  
as yet has been able to read the        
inscriptions4 ,they were great warriors1
 great builders and influenced the fate 
of many of the ancient nations4  ,in    

many other places throughout these      
lands1 deep students of ,biblical lore  
are pushing on the work of excavation   
and daily adding to our knowledge       
concerning the peoples and nations in   
whom posterity must ever take a vital   
interest4  ,a short time ago1 ,professor
 ,doerpfeld announced to the world that 
he had discovered on the island of      
,ithaca1 off the west coast of ,greece1 
the ruins of the palace of ,ulysses1    
,homer's half-mythical hero of the      
,odyssey4 ,the ,german archaeologist has
 traced the different rooms of the      
palace and is convinced that here is the
 very place to which the hero returned  
after his wanderings4 ,near it several  
graves were found from which were       
exhumed silver amulets1 curiously       
wrought necklaces1 bronze swords and    
metal ornaments bearing date #b1jjj     
,b4,c41 which is the date at which      
investigators lay the ,siege of ,troy4  
,if the ruins be really those of the    
palace of ,ulysses1 some interesting    

things may be found to throw a light on 
the ,homeric epic4 ,as the schoolboys   
know1 when ,ulysses set sail from ,troy 
for home1 adverse winds wafted him to   
the coast of ,africa and he beat around 
in the adjacent seas and visited islands
 and spent a considerable time meeting  
many kinds of curious and weird         
adventures1 dallying at one time with   
the lotus-eaters1 at another braving the
 ,cyclops1 the one-eyed monsters1 until 
he arrived at ,ithaca where he bent his 
bow and slew the suitors of ,penelope1  
his harassed wife4  ,in ,north ,america 
are mounds1 earthworks1 burial sites1   
shell heaps1 buildings of stone and     
adobe1 pictographs sculptured in rocks1 
stone implements1 objects made of bone1 
pottery and other remains which arouse  
the enthusiasm of the archaeologist4 ,as
 the dead were usually buried in        
,america1 investigators try to locate   
the ancient cemeteries because1 besides 
skeletons1 they usually contain         
implements1 pottery and ornaments which 

were buried with the corpses4 ,the most 
characteristic implement of early man in
 ,america was the grooved axe1 which is 
not found in any other country4 ,stone  
implements are plentiful everywhere4    
,knives1 arrow-points and perforators of
 chipped stone are found in all parts of
 the continent4 ,beads and shells and   
pottery are also found in almost every  
,state4  ,the antiquity of man in       
,europe has been determined in a large  
measure by archaeological remains found 
in caves occupied by him in different   
ages1 but the exploration of caves in   
,north ,america has so far failed to    
reveal traces of different degrees of   
civilization4     ,,chapter ,,ix        
,,great ,,tunnels ,,of ,,the ,,world    
,primitive ,tunneling--,hoosac          
,tunnel--,croton ,aqueduct--,great      
,alpine   ,tunnels--,new ,york          
,subway--,mc,adoo ,tunnels--,how        
,tunnels are ,built4   ,the art of      
tunnel construction ranks among the very
 oldest in the world1 if not the oldest1

 for almost from the beginning of his   
advent on the earth man has been        
tunneling and boring and making holes in
 the ground4 ,even in pre-historic time1
 the ages of which we have neither      
record nor tradition1 primitive man     
scooped out for himself hollows in the  
sides of hills1 and mountains1 as is    
evidenced by geological formations and  
by the fossils that have been unearthed4
 ,the forming of these hollows and holes
 was no indication of a superior        
intelligence but merely manifested the  
instincts of nature in seeking          
protection from the fury of the elements
 and safety from hostile forces such as 
the onslaughts of the wild and terrible 
beasts that then existed on the earth4  
,the ,cave ,dwellers were real          
tunnelers1 inasmuch as in construction  
of their rude dwellings they divided    
them into several compartments and in   
most cases chose the base of hills for  
their operations1 boring right through  
from side to side as recent discoveries 

have verified4  ,the ancient ,egyptians 
built extensive tunnels for the tombs of
 their dead as well as for the temples  
of the living4 ,when a king of ,thebes  
ascended the throne he immediately gave 
orders for his tomb to be cut out of the
 solid rock4 ,a separate passage or     
gallery led to the tomb along which he  
was to be borne in death to the final   
resting place4 ,some of the tunnels     
leading to the mausoleums of the ancient
 ,egyptian kings were upwards of a      
thousand feet in length1 hewn out of the
 hard solid rock4 ,a similar custom     
prevailed in ,assyria1 ,mesopotamia1    
,persia and ,india4  ,the early         
,assyrians built a tunnel under the     
,euphrates river which was #ab feet wide
 by #ae high4 ,the course of the river  
was diverted until the tunnel was built1
 then the waters were turned into their 
former channel1 therefore it was not    
really a subaqueous tunnel4  ,the       
sinking of tunnels under water was to be
 one of the triumphs of modern science4 

,unquestionably the ,romans were the    
greatest engineers of ancient times4    
,much of their masonry work has         
withstood the disintegrating hand of    
time and is as solid and strong to-day  
as when first erected4  ,the            
,fire-setting method of tunneling was   
originated by them1 and they also       
developed the familiar principle of     
prosecuting the work at several points  
at the same time by means of vertical   
shafts4 ,they heated the rock to be     
excavated by great fires built against  
the face of it4 ,when a very high       
temperature was reached they turned     
streams of cold water on the heated     
stone with the result that great        
portions were disintegrated and fell off
 under the action of the water4 ,the    
,romans being good chemists knew the    
effect of vinegar on lime1 therefore    
when they encountered calcareous rock   
instead of water they used vinegar which
 very readily split up and disintegrated
 this kind of obstruction4 ,the work of 

tunneling was very severe on the        
laborers1 but the ,romans did not care1 
for nearly all the workmen were slaves  
and regarded in no better light than so 
many cattle4 ,one of the most notable   
tunnels constructed by the old ,romans  
was that between ,naples and ,pozzuoli  
through the ,posilipo ,hills4 ,it was   
excavated through volcanic tufa and was 
#c1jjj feet long1 #be feet wide1 and of 
the pointed arch style4 ,the longest of 
the ,roman tunnels1 #c-a_/b miles1 was  
built to drain ,lake ,fucino4 ,it was   
driven through calcareous rock and is   
said to have cost the labor of #cj1jjj  
men for #aa years4  ,only hand labor was
 employed by the ancient people in their
 tunnel work4 ,in soft ground the tools 
used were picks1 shovels and scoops1 but
 for rock work they had a greater       
variety4 ,the ancient ,egyptians besides
 the hammer1 chisel and wedges had tube 
drills and saws provided with cutting   
edges of corundum or other hard gritty  
material4  ,for centuries there was no  

progress in the art of tunneling4 ,on   
the contrary there was a decline from   
the earlier construction until late in  
the #agth century when gunpowder came   
into use as an explosive in blasting    
rock4 ,the first application of         
gunpowder was probably at ,malpas1      
,france1 #afgi-afha1 in the construction
 of the tunnel on the line of the       
,languedoc ,canal #eaj feet long1 #bb   
feet wide and #bi feet high4  ,it was   
not until the beginning of the          
nineteenth century that the art of      
tunnel construction1 through sand1 wet  
ground or under rivers was undertaken so
 as to come rightly under the head of   
practical engineering4 ,in #ahjc a      
tunnel was built through very soft soil 
for the ,san ,quentin ,canal in ,france4
 ,timbering or strutting was employed to
 support the walls and roof of the      
excavation as fast as the earth was     
removed and the masonry lining was built
 closely following it4 ,from the        
experience gained in this tunnel were   

developed the various systems of soft   
ground subterranean tunneling in        
practice at the present day4  ,the first
 tunnel of any extent built in the      
,united ,states was that known as the   
,auburn ,tunnel near ,auburn1 ,pa41 for 
the water transportation of coal4 ,it   
was several hundred feet long1 #bb feet 
wide and #ae feet high4 ,the first      
railroad tunnel in ,america was also in 
,pennsylvania on the ,allegheny-,portage
 ,railroad1 built in #ahah-ahba4 ,it was
 #ija feet long1 #be feet wide and #ba  
feet high4  ,what may be called the     
epoch making tunnel1 the construction of
 which first introduced high explosives 
and power drills in this country1 was   
the ,hoosac in ,massachusetts commenced 
in #ahed and after many interruptions   
brought to completion in #ahgf4 ,it is a
 double-track tunnel nearly #e miles in 
length4 ,it was quickly followed by the 
commencement of the ,erie tunnel through
 ,bergen ,hill near ,hoboken1 ,n4,j4    
,this tunnel was commenced in #ahee and 

finished in #ahfa4 ,it is #d1djj feet   
long1 #bh feet wide and #ba feet high4  
,other remarkable engineering feats of  
this kind in ,america are the ,croton   
,aqueduct ,tunnel1 the ,hudson ,river   
,tunnel1 and the ,new ,york ,subway4    
,the great rock tunnels of ,europe are  
the four ,alpine cuts known as ,mont    
,cenis1 ,st4 ,gothard1 the ,arlberg and 
the ,simplon4 ,the ,mont ,cenis is      
probably the most famous because at the 
time of its construction it was regarded
 as the greatest engineering achievement
 of the modern world1 yet it is only a  
simple tunnel #h miles long1 while the  
,simplon is a double tunnel1 each bore  
of which is #ab-a_/d miles4 ,the chief  
engineer of the ,mont ,cenis tunnel was 
,m4 ,sommeiler1 the man who devised the 
first power drill ever used in such     
work4 ,in addition to the power drill   
the building of this tunnel induced the 
invention of apparatus to suck up foul  
air1 the air compressor1 the turbine and
 several other contrivances and         

appliances in use at the present time4  
,great strides in modern tunneling      
developed the shield and brought metal  
lining into service4 ,the shield was    
invented and first used by ,sir ,m4 ,i4 
,brunel1 a ,london engineer1 in         
excavating the tunnel under the ,river  
,thames1 begun in #ahbe and finished in 
#ahda4 ,in #ahfi another ,english       
engineer1 ,peter ,barlow1 used an iron  
lining in connection with a shield in   
driving the second tunnel under the     
,thames at ,london4 ,from a use of the  
shield and metal lining has grown the   
present system of tunneling which is now
 universally known as the shield system4
  ,great advancement has been made in   
the past few years in the nature and    
composition of explosives as well as in 
the form of motive power employed in    
blasting4 ,powerful chemical            
compositions1 such as nitroglycerine and
 its compounds1 such as dynamite1 etc41 
have supplanted gunpowder1 and          
electricity1 is now almost invariably   

the firing agent4 ,it also serves many  
other purposes in the work1             
illumination1 supplying power for       
hoisting and excavating machinery1      
driving rock drills1 and operating      
ventilating fans1 etc4 ,in this field1  
in fact1 as everywhere else in the      
mechanical arts1 the electric current is
 playing a leading part4  ,to the       
,english engineer1 ,peter ,barlow1 above
 mentioned1 must be given the credit of 
bringing into use the first really      
serviceable circular shield for soft    
ground tunneling4 ,in #ahfc he took out 
a patent for such a shield with a       
cylindrical cast iron lining for the    
completed tunnel4 ,of course ,james     
,henry ,greathead very materially       
improved the shield1 so much so indeed  
that the present system of tunneling by 
means of circular shields is called the 
,greathead not the ,barlow system4      
,greathead and ,barlow entered into a   
partnership in #ahfi4 ,they constructed 
the tunnel under the ,tower of ,london  

#a1cej feet in length and seven feet in 
diameter which penetrated compact clay  
and was completed within a period of    
eleven months4 ,this was a remarkable   
record in tunnel building for the time  
and won for these eminent engineers a   
world wide fame4 ,from thenceforth their
 system came into vogue in all soft soil
 and subaqueous tunneling4 ,except for  
the development in steel apparatus and  
the introduction of electricity as a    
motive agent1 there has not been such a 
great improvement on the ,greathead     
shield as one would naturally expect in 
thirty years4  ,the method of excavating
 a tunnel depends altogether on the     
nature of the obstruction to be removed 
for the passage4 ,in the case of solid  
rock the work is slow but simple2 dry1  
hard1 firm earth is much the same as    
rock4 ,the difficulties of tunneling lie
 in the soft ground1 subaqueous mud1    
silt1 quicksand1 or any treacherous soil
 of a shifting1 unsteady composition4   
,when the rock is to be removed it is   

customary to begin the work in sections 
of which there may be seven or eight4   
,first one section is excavated1 then   
another and so on to completion4 ,the   
order of the sections depends upon the  
kind of rock and upon the time allotted 
for the job and several other           
circumstances known to the engineer4 ,if
 the first section attacked be at the   
top immediately beneath the arch of the 
proposed tunnel1 next to the overlying  
matter1 it is called a heading1 but if  
the first cutting takes place at the    
bottom of the rock to form the base of  
the tunnel it is called a drift4        
,driving a heading is the most difficult
 operation of rock tunneling4 ,sometimes
 a heading is driven a couple of        
thousand feet ahead of the other        
sections4 ,in soft rock it is often     
necessary to use timber props as the    
work proceeds and follow up the         
excavating by lining roof and sides with
 brick1 stone or concrete4  ,the rock is
 dislodged by blasting1 the holes being 

drilled with compressed air1 water force
 or electricity1 and1 as has been said1 
powerful explosives are used1           
nitroglycerine or some nitro-compound   
being the most common4 ,many charges can
 be electrically fired at the same time4
 ,if the tunnel is to be long1 shafts   
are sunk at intervals in order to attack
 the work at several places at once4    
,sometimes these shafts are lined and   
left open when the tunnel is completed  
for purposes of ventilation4  ,in soft  
ground and subaqueous soil the shield is
 the chief apparatus used in tunneling4 
,the most up-to-date appliance of this  
kind was that used in constructing the  
tunnels connecting ,new ,york ,city with
 ,new ,jersey under the ,hudson ,river4 
,it consisted of a cylindrical shell of 
steel of the diameter of the excavation 
to be made4 ,this was provided with a   
cutting edge of cast steel made up of   
assembled segments4 ,within the shell   
was arranged a vertical bulkhead        
provided with a number of doors to      

permit the passage of workmen1 tools and
 explosives4 ,the shell extended to the 
rear of the bulkhead forming what was   
known as the tail4 ,the lining was      
erected within this tail and consisted  
of steel plates lined with masonry4 ,the
 whole arrangement was in effect a      
gigantic circular biscuit cutter which  
was forced through the earth4  ,the tail
 thus continually enveloped the last    
constructed portion of this permanent   
lining4 ,the actual excavation took     
place in advance of the cutting edge4   
,the method of accomplishing this1      
varied with conditions4 ,at times the   
material would be rock for a few feet   
from the bottom1 overlaid with soft     
earth4 ,in such case the latter would be
 first excavated and then the roof would
 be supported by temporary timbers1     
after which the rock portion would be   
attacked4 ,when the workmen had         
excavated the material in front of the  
shield it was passed through the heavy  
steel plate diaphragm in center of the  

shell out to the rear and the shield was
 then moved forward so as to bring its  
front again up to the face of the       
excavation4 ,as the shell was very      
unwieldy1 weighing about eighty tons1   
and1 moreover1 as the friction or       
pressure of the surrounding material on 
its side had to be overcome it was a    
very difficult matter to move it forward
 and a great force had to be expended to
 do so4 ,this force was exerted by means
 of hydraulic jacks so devised and      
placed around the circumference of the  
diaphragm as to push against the        
completed steel plate lining of the     
tunnel4 ,there were sixteen of these    
jacks employed with cylinders eight     
inches in diameter and they exerted a   
pressure of from one thousand to four   
thousand pounds per square inch4 ,by    
such means the shield was pushed ahead  
as soon as room was made in front for   
another move4  ,the purpose of the      
shield is to prevent the inrush of water
 and soft material while excavating is  

going on2 the diaphragm of the shields  
acts as a bulkhead and the openings in  
it are so devised as to be quickly      
closed if necessary4 ,the extension of  
the shield in front of the diaphragm is 
designed to prevent the falling or      
flowing in of the exposed face of the   
new excavation4  ,the extension of the  
shell back from the diaphragm is for the
 purpose of affording opportunity to put
 in place the finished tunnel lining    
whatever it may be1 masonry1 cast-iron1 
cast-iron and masonry1 or steel plates  
and masonry4 ,where the material is     
saturated with water as is the case in  
all subaqueous tunneling it is necessary
 to use compressed air in connection    
with the shield4 ,the intensity of air  
pressure is determined by the depth of  
the tunnel below the surface of the     
water above it4 ,the tunnelers work in  
what are called caissons to which they  
have access through an air lock4 ,in    
many cases quick transition from the    
compressed air in the caisson to the    

open air at the surface results fatally 
to the workers4 ,the caisson disease is 
popularly called the bends a kind of    
paralysis which is more or less baffling
 to medical science4 ,some men are able 
to bear a greater pressure than others4 
,it depends on the natural stamina of   
the worker and his state of health4 ,the
 further down the greater the pressure4 
,the normal atmospheric pressure at the 
surface is about fourteen pounds to the 
square inch4 ,men in normal health      
should be able to stand a pressure of   
seventy-six pounds to the square inch   
and this would call for a depth of #agh 
feet under water surface1 which far     
exceeds any depth worked under          
compressed air4 ,for a long time one    
hundred feet were regarded as a maximum 
depth and at that depth men were not    
permitted to work more than an hour in  
one shift4 ,the ordinary subaqueous     
tunnel pressure is about forty-five     
pounds and this corresponds to a head of
 #ajd feet4 ,in working in the ,hudson  

,tunnels the pressure was scarcely ever 
above thirty-three pounds1 yet many     
suffered from the bends4  ,what is      
called a freezing method is now proposed
 to overcome the water in soft earth    
tunneling4 ,its chief feature is the    
excavating first of a small central     
tunnel to be used as a refrigerating    
chamber or ice box in freezing the      
surrounding material solid so that it   
can be dug out or blasted out in chunks 
the same as rock4 ,it is very doubtful  
however1 if such a plan is feasible4    
,the greatest partly subaqueous tunnels 
in the world are now to be found in the 
vicinity of ,new ,york4 ,the first to be
 opened to the public is known as the   
,subway and extends from the northern   
limits of the ,city in ,westchester     
,county to ,brooklyn4 ,the oldest1      
however1 of the ,new ,york tunnels      
counting from its origin is the ,mc,adoo
 tunnel from ,christopher ,street1 in   
,manhattan ,borough1 under the ,hudson  
to ,hoboken4 ,this was begun in #ahhj   

and continued at intervals as funds     
could be obtained until #ahij1 when the 
work was abandoned after about two      
thousand feet had been constructed4 ,for
 a number of years the tunnel remained  
full of water until it was finally      
acquired by the ,hudson ,companies who  
completed and opened it to the public in
 #aijh4 ,another tunnel to the foot of  
,cortlandt ,street was constructed by   
the same concern and opened in #aiji4   
,both tunnels consist of parallel but   
separate tubes4 ,the railway tunnels to 
carry the ,pennsylvania ,r4 ,r4 under   
the ,hudson into ,new ,york and thence  
under the ,east ,river to ,long ,island 
have been finished and are great        
triumphs of engineering skill besides   
making ,new ,york the most perfectly    
equipped city in the world as far as    
transit is concerned4  ,the greatest    
proposed subaqueous tunnel is that      
intended to connect ,england with       
,france under the ,english ,channel a   
distance of twenty-one miles4 ,time and 

again the ,british ,parliament has      
rejected proposals through fear that    
such a tunnel would afford a ready means
 of invasion from a foreign enemy4      
,however1 it is almost sure to be built4
 ,another projected ,british tunnel is  
one which will link ,ireland and        
,scotland under the ,irish ,sea4 ,if    
this is carried out then indeed the     
,emerald ,isle will be one with ,britain
 in spite of her unwillingness for such 
a close association4  ,england already  
possesses a famous subaqueous tunnel in 
that known as the ,severn tunnel under  
the river of that name4 ,it is four and 
a half miles long1 although it was built
 largely through rock4 ,water gave much 
trouble in its construction which       
occupied thirteen years from #ahgc to   
#ahhf4 ,pumps were employed to raise the
 water through a side heading connecting
 with a shaft twenty-nine feet in       
diameter4 ,the greatest amount of water 
raised concurrently was twenty-seven    
million gallons in twenty-four hours but

 the pumps had a capacity of sixty-six  
million gallons for the same time4  ,the
 greatest tunnel in ,europe is the      
,simplon which connects ,switzerland    
with ,italy under the ,simplon ,pass in 
the ,alps4 ,it has two bores twelve and 
one-fourth miles each and at places it  
is one and one-half miles below the     
surface4 ,the ,st4 ,gothard also        
connecting ,switzerland and ,italy under
 the lofty peak of the ,col de ,st4     
,gothard is nine and one-fourth miles in
 length4 ,the third great ,alpine       
tunnel1 the ,arlberg1 which is six and  
one-half miles long1 forms a part of the
 ,austrian railway between ,innsbruck   
and ,bluedenz in the ,tyrol and connects
 westward with the ,swiss railroads and 
southward with those of ,italy4  ,two   
great tunnels at the present time are   
being constructed in the ,united        
,states1 one of these which is piercing 
the backbone of the ,rockies is on the  
,atlantic and ,pacific railway4 ,it     
begins near ,georgetown1 will pass under

 ,gray's peak and come out near         
,decatur1 ,colorado1 in all a length of 
twelve miles4 ,the other ,american      
undertaking is a tunnel under the famous
 ,pike's ,peak in ,colorado which when  
completed will be twenty miles long4    
,it can clearly be seen that in the way 
of tunnel engineering ,uncle ,sam is not
 a whit behind his ,european            
competitors4     ,,chapter ,x           
,,electricity ,,in ,,the ,,household    
,electrically ,equipped                 
,houses--,cooking by                    
,electricity--,comforts and             
,conveniences4   ,science has now       
pressed the invisible wizard of         
electricity into doing almost every     
household duty from cleaning the windows
 to cooking the dinner4 ,there are many 
houses now so thoroughly equipped with  
electricity from top to bottom that one 
servant is able to do what formerly     
required the service of several1 and in 
some houses servants seem to be needed  
hardly at all1 the mistresses doing     

their own cooking1 ironing1 and washing 
by means of electricity4  ,in respect to
 taking advantage of electricity to     
perform the duties of the household our 
friends in ,europe were ahead of us1    
though ,america is pre-eminently the    
land of electricity--the natal home of  
the science4 ,we are waking up1 however1
 to the domestic utility of this agent  
and throughout the country at present   
there are numbers of homes in which     
electricity is employed to perform      
almost every task automatically from    
feeding the baby to the crimping of my  
lady's hair in her scented boudoir4     
,there is now no longer any use for     
chimneys on electrically equipped       
houses1 for the fires have been         
eliminated and all heat and light drawn 
from the electric street mains4 ,a      
description of one of these houses is   
most interesting as showing what really 
can be accomplished by this wonderful   
source of power4  ,before the visitor to
 such a house reaches the gate or front 

door his approach is made known by an   
annunciator in the hall1 which is       
connected with a hidden plate in the    
entrance path1 which when pressed by the
 feet of the visitor charges the wire of
 the annunciator4 ,a voice comes through
 the horn of a phonograph asking him    
what he wishes and telling him to reply 
through the telephone which hangs at the
 side of the door4 ,when he has made his
 wants known1 if he is welcome or       
desired1 there is a click and the door  
opens4 ,as he enters an electrically    
operated door mat cleans his shoes and  
if he is aware of the equipments of the 
house1 he can have his clothes brushed  
by an automatic brush attached to the   
hat-rack in the hall4 ,an escalator or  
endless stairway brings him to the first
 floor where he is met by the host who  
conducts him to the den sacred to       
himself4 ,if he wishes a preprandial    
cigar1 the host touches a segment of the
 wall1 apparently no different in       
appearance from the surrounding surface1

 and a complete cigar outfit shoots out 
to within reach of the guest4 ,when the 
gong announces dinner he is conducted to
 the dining hall where probably the uses
 to which electricity can be put are    
better exemplified than in any other    
part of the house4 ,between this room   
and the kitchen there is a perfect      
electric understanding4 ,the apartments 
are so arranged that electric dumbwaiter
 service is operated between the centre 
of the dining table itself and the      
serving table in the kitchen4 ,the      
latter is equipped with an electric     
range provided with electrically heated 
ovens1 broilers1 vegetable cookers1     
saucepans1 dishes1 etc41 sufficient for 
the preparation of the most elaborate   
house banquet4 ,the chef or cook in     
charge of the kitchen prepares each dish
 in its proper oven and has it ready    
waiting on the electric elevator at the 
appointed time when the host and his    
guest or guests1 or family1 as the case 
may be1 are seated at the dining table4 

,the host or whoever presides at the    
head of the table merely touches a      
button concealed on the side of the     
mahogany and the elevator instantly     
appears through a trap-door in the      
table1 which is ordinarily closed by two
 silver covers which look like a tray4  
,in this way the dish seemingly         
miraculously appears right on top of the
 table4 ,when each guest is served it   
returns to the kitchen by the way it    
came and a second course is brought on  
the table in a similar manner and so on 
until the dinner is fully served4       
,fruits and flowers tastefully arranged 
adorn the centre of the dining table and
 minute electric incandescent lamps of  
various colors are concealed in the     
roses and petals and these give a very  
pretty effect1 especially at night4     
,beneath the table nothing is to be seen
 but two nickel-plated bars which serve 
to guide the elevators4  ,down in the   
kitchen the cooking is carried on almost
 mechanically by means of an electric   

clock controlling the heating circuits  
to the various utensils4 ,the cook1     
knowing just how long each dish will    
require to be cooked1 turns on the      
current at the proper time and then sets
 the clock to automatically disconnect  
that utensil when sufficient time1 so   
many minutes to the pound1 has elapsed4 
,when this occurs a little electric bell
 rings1 calling attention to the fact1  
that the heat has been shut off4        
,another kitchen accessory is a rotating
 table on which are mounted various     
household machines such as meat         
choppers1 cream whippers1 egg beaters   
and other apparatus all electrically    
operated4  ,there is also an electric   
dishwasher and dryer and plate rack     
manipulator which places the dishes in  
position when clean and dried4  ,the    
advantages of cooking by electricity are
 apparent to all who have tested them4  
,food cooked in an electric baking oven 
is much superior than when cooked by any
 other method because of the better heat

 regulation and the utter cleanliness1  
there being absolutely no dust whatever 
as in the case when coal is used4 ,the  
electric oven does not increase the     
temperature nor does it exhaust the pure
 air in the room by burning up the      
oxygen4 ,the time required for cooking  
is about the same as with coal4  ,the   
perfect cleanliness of an electric plate
 warmer is sufficient to warrant its    
use4 ,it keeps dishes at a uniform      
temperature and the food does not get   
scorched and become tough4  ,steaks     
prepared on electric gridirons and      
broilers are really delicious as they   
are evenly done throughout and retain   
all the natural juices of the meat2     
there is no odor of gas or of the fire  
and portions done to a crisp while      
others are raw on the inside4 ,in       
toasting there is no danger of the bread
 burning on one side more than on the   
other1 or of its burning on either side 
and a couple of dozen slices can be done
 together on an ordinary instrument at  

the same time4 ,the electric diskstove1 
flat on the top1 like a ball cut in two1
 can be also utilized as a toaster or   
for heating any kettles or pots or      
vessels with flat bottoms4  ,very       
appetizing waffles are made with        
electric waffle irons1 because the      
bottom and top irons are uniformly      
heated1 so that the irons cook the      
waffles from both sides at the same     
time4  ,electric potato peeling machines
 consist of a stationary cylinder opened
 at the top for the reception of the    
potatoes and having a revolving disk at 
the bottom4 ,the cylinder has a rough   
surface or is coated with diamond flint1
 so that when the disk revolves the     
potatoes are thrown against the sides of
 the cylinder and the skin is scraped   
off4 ,there is no deep cutting as when  
peeled by a knife1 therefore1 much waste
 is avoided4 ,while the potatoes are    
being scraped1 a stream of water plays  
upon them taking away the skins and     
thoroughly cleansing the tubers4  ,among

 other electric labor savers connected  
with the culinary department may be     
mentioned floor-scrubbers1 dish-washers1
 coffee-grinders1 meat choppers1        
dough-mixers and cutlery-polishers1 all 
of which give complete satisfaction at a
 paltry cost and save much time and     
labor4 ,a small motor can drive any of  
these instruments or several can be     
attached and run by the same motor4 ,the
 operation of an ordinary snap switch   
will supply energy to electric          
water-heaters attached to the kitchen   
boiler or to the faucet4 ,the           
instantaneous water heater also purifies
 the water by killing the bacteria      
contained in it4  ,the electric tea     
kettle makes a brew to charm the heart  
of a connossieur4 ,in fact all cooking  
done by electricity whether it is the   
frying of an egg or the roasting of a   
steak is superior in every way to the   
old methods and what accentuates its use
 is the cleanliness with which it can be
 performed4 ,and it should be taken into

 consideration that in electric cooking 
there is no bending over hot stoves and 
ranges or a stuffy evil smelling smoky  
atmosphere1 but on the contrary1 fresh  
air1 cleanliness and coolness which make
 cooking not the drudgery it has ever   
been1 but a real pleasure4  ,let us take
 a glance at the laundry in the         
electrically equipped house4 ,there is a
 large tub with a wringer attached to it
 and a simple mechanism by which a small
 motor can either be connected with the 
tub or the wringer as required4 ,the    
washing is performed entirely by the    
motor and in a way prevents the wear and
 tear associated with the old method of 
scrubbing and rubbing done at the       
expense of much elbow grease4 ,the motor
 turns the tub back and forth and in    
this way the soapy water penetrates the 
clothes1 thus removing the dirt without 
injuring or tearing the fabric4 ,in the 
old way1 the clothes were moved up and  
down in the water and torn and worn in  
the process4 ,by the new way it is the  

water which moves while the clothes     
remain stationary4 ,when the clothes are
 thoroughly washed1 the motor is        
attached to the wringer and they are    
passed through it2 they are completely  
dried by a specially constructed        
electric fan4 ,whatever garments are to 
be ironed are separated and fed to a    
steel roll mangle operated by a motor   
which gives them a beautiful finish4    
,the electric flat iron plays also an   
important part in the laundry as it is  
clean and never gets too hot nor too    
cold and there is no rushing back to    
replenish the heaters4 ,one is not      
obliged to remain in the room with a hot
 stove1 and suffer the inconveniences4  
,no heat is felt at all from the iron as
 it is all concentrated on the bottom   
surface4 ,it is a regular blessing to   
the laundress especially in hot weather4
 ,there is a growing demand in all parts
 of the country for these electric      
flat-irons4  ,electricity plays an      
important role in the parlor and        

drawing-room4 ,the electric fireplace   
throws out a ruddy glow1 a perfect      
imitation of the wide-open old-fashioned
 fireplaces of the days of our          
grandmothers4 ,there are small grooves  
at certain sections in the flooring over
 which chairs and couches can be brought
 to a desired position4 ,when the master
 drops into his favorite chair by the   
fireplace if he wishes a tune to soothe 
his jangled nerves1 there is an electric
 attachment to the piano and he can     
adjust it to get the air of his choice  
without having to ask any one to play   
for him4 ,in the drawing-room an        
electric fountain may be playing1 its   
jets reflecting the prismatic colors of 
the rainbow as the waters fall in       
iridescent sparkle among the lights4    
,such a fountain is composed of a small 
electric motor and a centrifugal pump1  
the latter being placed in the interior 
of a basin and connected directly to the
 motor shaft4 ,the pump receives the    
water from the basin and conveys it     

through pipes and a number of small     
nozzles thus producing cascades4 ,the   
water falling upon an art glass dome1   
beneath which are small incandescent    
lamps1 returns to the basin and thence  
again to the pump4 ,there is no         
necessity of filling the fountain until 
the water gets low through evaporation4 
,when the lights are not in colored     
glass1 the water may be colored and this
 gives the same effect4 ,to produce the 
play of the fountain and its effects1 it
 is only necessary to connect it to any 
circuit and turn on the switch4 ,the    
dome revolves by means of a jet of water
 driven against flanges on the under    
side of the rim of the dome and in this 
way beautiful and prismatic effects are 
produced4 ,the motor is noiseless in    
operation4 ,in addition to the pretty   
effect the fountain serves to cool and  
moisten the air of the room4  ,the      
sleeping chambers are thoroughly        
equipped4 ,not only the rooms may be    
heated by electricity but the beds      

themselves4 ,an electric pad consisting 
of a flexible resistance covered with   
soft felt is connected by a conductor   
cord to a plug and is used for heating  
beds or if the occupant is suffering    
from rheumatism or indigestion or any   
intestinal pain this pad can be used in 
the place of the hot water bottle and   
gives greater satisfaction4 ,there is a 
heat controlling device and the circuit 
can be turned on or off at will4  ,there
 are many more curious devices in the   
electrically equipped house which could 
they have been exhibited a generation or
 so ago1 would have condemned the owner 
as a sorcerer and necromancer of the    
dark ages1 but which now only place him 
in the category of the smart ones who   
are up to date and take advantage of the
 science and progress of the time4      
,,chapter ,,xi  ,,harnessing ,,the      
,,water-,,fall    ,electric             
,energy--,high                          
,pressure--,transformers--,development  
of   ,water-power4   ,the electrical    

transmission of power is exemplified in 
everything which is based on the        
generation of electricity4 ,the ordinary
 electric light is power coming from a  
generator in the building or a public   
street-dynamo4  ,however1 when we talk  
in general terms of electric            
transmission we mean the transmission of
 energy on a large scale by means of    
overhead or underground conductors to a 
considerable distance and the           
transformation of this energy into light
 and heat and chemical or mechanical    
power to carry on the processes of work 
and industry4 ,when the power or energy 
is conveyed a long distance from the    
generator1 say over #cj miles or more1  
we usually speak of the system of supply
 as long distance transmission of       
electric energy4 ,in many cases power is
 conveyed over distances of #bjj miles  
and more4 ,when water power is available
 as at ,niagara1 the distance to which  
electric energy can be transmitted is   
considerably increased4  ,the distance  

to a great extent depends on the cost of
 coal required for generation at the    
distributing point and on the amount of 
energy demanded at the receiving point4 
,of course the farther the distance the 
higher must be the voltage pressure4    
,electrical engineers say that under    
proper conditions electric energy may be
 transmitted in large quantity to a     
distance of #ejj miles and more at a    
pressure of about #agj1jjj volts4 ,if   
such right conditions be established    
then ,new ,york1 ,chicago and several   
other of our large cities can get their 
power from ,niagara4  ,in our cities and
 towns where the current has only to go 
a short distance from the power house1  
the conductors are generally placed in  
cables underground and the maximum      
electro-motive force scarcely ever      
exceeds #aa1jjj volts4 ,this pressure is
 generated by a steam-driven            
alternating-current generator and is    
transmitted over the conductors to      
sub-stations1 where by means of         

step-down transformers1 the pressure is 
dropped to1 say1 #fjj volts alternating 
current which by rotary converters is   
turned into direct current for the      
street mains1 for feeders of railways   
and for charging storage batteries which
 in turn give out direct current at     
times of heavy demand4  ,that electric  
transmission of energy to long distances
 may be successfully carried out        
transformers are necessary for raising  
the pressure on the transmission line   
and for reducing it at the points of    
distribution4 ,the transformer consists 
of a magnetic circuit of laminated iron 
or mild steel interlinked with two      
electric circuits1 one1 the primary1    
receiving electrical energy and the     
other the secondary1 delivering it to   
the consumer4 ,the effect of the iron is
 to make as many as possible of the     
lines of force set up by the primary    
current1 cut the secondary winding and  
there set up an electromotive force of  
the same frequency but different        

voltage4  ,the transformer has made long
 distance the actual achievement that it
 is4 ,it is this apparatus that brought 
the mountain to ,mohammed4 ,without it  
high pressure would be impossible and it
 is on high pressure that success of    
long distance transmission depends4  ,to
 convey electricity to distant centres  
at a low pressure would require         
thousands of dollars in copper cables   
alone as conductors4 ,to illustrate the 
service of the transformer in           
electricity it is only necessary to     
consider water power at a low pressure4 
,in such a case the water can only be   
transmitted at slow speed and through   
great openings1 like dams or large      
canals1 and withal the force is weak and
 of little practical efficiency1 whereas
 under high pressure a small quantity   
can be forced through a small pipe and  
create an energy beyond comparison to   
that developed when under low pressure4 
,the transformer raises the voltage and 
sends the electrical current under high 

pressure over a small wire and so great 
is this pressure that thousands of      
horse-power can be sent to great        
distances over small wires with very    
little loss4  ,water power is now       
changed to electrical power and         
transmitted over slender copper wires to
 the great manufacturing centres of our 
country to turn the wheels of industry  
and give employment to thousands4       
,nearly one hundred cities in the       
,united ,states alone are today using   
electricity supplied by transmitted     
water-power4 ,ten years ago ,niagara    
,falls were regarded only as a great    
natural curiosity of interest only to   
the sightseer1 today those ,falls       
distribute over #ajj1jjj horse-power to 
,buffalo1 ,syracuse1 ,rochester1        
,toronto and several smaller cities and 
towns4 ,wild ,niagara has at last indeed
 been harnessed to the servitude of man4
 ,spier ,falls north of ,saratoga1      
practically unheard of before1 is now   
supplying electricity to the industrial 

communities of ,schenectady1 ,troy1     
,amsterdam1 ,albany and half a dozen or 
so smaller towns4  ,rivers and dams1    
lakes and falls in all parts of the     
country are being utilized to supply    
energy1 though at the present time only 
about one-fortieth of the horse-power   
available through this agent is being   
made productive4 ,the water conditions  
of the ,united ,states are so favorable 
that #bjj1jjj1jjj horse-power could be  
easily developed1 but as it is we have  
barely enough harnessed to supply #e    
million horse-power4  ,eighty per cent4 
of the power used at the present time is
 produced from fuel4 ,this percentage is
 sure to decrease in the future for fuel
 will become scarcer and the high cost  
will drive fuel power altogether out of 
the market4  ,new ,york ,state has the  
largest water power development in the  
,union1 the total being #hhe1hfb        
horsepower2 this fact is chiefly owing  
to the energy developed by ,niagara4    
,the second ,state in water-power       

development is ,california1 the total   
development being #dff1ggd horsepower   
over #a1jgj wheels or a unit            
installation of about #dcf ,h4,p4  ,the 
third ,state is ,maine with #cdc1jif    
horse-power1 over #b1gjg wheels or an   
average of about #abc horse-power per   
wheel4  ,lack of space makes it         
impossible to enter upon a detailed     
description of the structural and       
mechanical features of the various      
plants and how they were operated for   
the purpose of turning water into an    
electric current4 ,the best that can be 
done is to outline the most noteworthy  
features which typify the various       
situations under which power plants are 
developed and operated4  ,the water     
power available under any condition     
depends principally upon two factors3   
,first1 the amount of fall or           
hydrostatic head on the wheels2 second1 
the amount of water that can be turned  
over the wheels4 ,the conditions vary   
according to place1 there are all kinds 

of fall and flow4 ,to develop a high    
power it is necessary to discharge a    
large volume of water upon properly     
designed wheels4 ,in many of the western
 plants where only a small amount of    
water is available there is a great fall
 to make up for the larger volume in    
force coming down upon the wheels4 ,so  
far as actual energy is concerned it    
makes no difference whether we develop a
 certain amount of power by allowing    
twenty cubic feet of water per second to
 fall a distance of one foot or allow   
one cubic foot of water per second to   
fall a distance of twenty feet4  ,in one
 place we may have a plant developing   
say #aj1jjj horse-power with a fall of  
anywhere from twenty to forty feet and  
in another place a plant of the same    
capacity with a fall of #a1jjj1 #a1ejj  
or #b1jjj feet4 ,in the former case the 
short fall is compensated by a great    
volume of water to produce such a       
horse-power1 while in the latter        
converse conditions prevail4 ,in many   

cases the power house is located some   
distance from the source of supply and  
from the point where the water is       
diverted from its course by artificial  
means4  ,the ,shawinigan ,falls of ,st4 
,maurice river in ,canada occur at two  
points a short distance apart1 the fall 
at one point being about #ej and at the 
other #ajj feet high4 ,a canal #a1jjj   
feet long takes water from the river    
above the upper of these falls and      
delivers it near to the electric power  
house on the river bank below the lower 
falls4 ,in this way a hydrostatic head  
of #abe feet is obtained at the power   
house4 ,the canal in this case ends on  
high ground #acj feet from the power    
house and the water passes down to the  
wheels through steel penstocks #i feet  
in diameter4  ,in a great many cases in 
level country the water power can only  
be developed by means of such canals or 
pipe lines and the generating stations  
must be situated away from the points   
where the water is diverted from its    

course4  ,in mountainous country where  
rivers are comparatively small and their
 courses are marked by numerous falls   
and rapids1 it is generally necessary to
 utilize the fall of a stream through   
some miles of its length in order to get
 a satisfactory development of power4   
,to reach this result rather long       
canals1 flumes1 or pipe lines must be   
laid to convey the water to the power   
stations and deliver it at high         
pressure4  ,california offers numerous  
examples of electric power development  
with the water that has been carried    
several miles through artificial        
channels4 ,an illustration of this class
 of work exists at the electric power   
house on the bank of the ,mokelumne     
river in the ,sierra ,nevada mountains4 
,water is supplied to the wheels in this
 station under a head of #a1dej feet    
through pipes #c1fjj feet long leading  
to the top of a near-by hill4 ,to reach 
this hill the water after its diversion 
from the ,mokelumne river at the dam1   

flows twenty miles through a canal or   
ditch and then through #c1jjj feet of   
wooden stave pipe4 ,although ,california
 ranks second in water-power development
 it is easily the first in the number of
 its stations1 and also be it said1     
,california was the first to realize the
 possibilities of long distance         
electrical energy4 ,the line from the   
#ae1jjj horsepower plant at ,colgate in 
this ,state to ,san ,francisco by way of
 ,mission ,san ,jose1 where it is       
supplied with additional power1 has a   
length of #bcb miles and is the longest 
transmission of electrical energy in the
 world4 ,the power house at ,colgate has
 a capacity of #aa1bej kilowatts in     
generators1 but it is uncertain what    
part of the output is transmitted to    
,san ,francisco1 as there are more than 
#ajj substations on the #a1cge miles of 
circuit in this system4  ,another       
system1 even greater than the foregoing 
which has just been completed is that of
 the ,stanislaus plant in ,tuolumme     

,county1 ,california1 from which a      
transmission line on steel towers has   
been run in ,tuolumme1 ,calaveras1 ,san 
,joaquin1 ,alameda and ,contra ,costa   
,counties for the delivery of power to  
mines and to the towns lying about ,san 
,francisco ,bay4 ,the rushing riotous   
waters of the ,stanislaus wasted for so 
many centuries have been saved by the   
steel paddles of gigantic turbine water 
wheels and converted into electricity   
which carries with the swiftness of     
thought thousands of horse power energy 
to the far away cities and towns to be  
transformed into light and heat and     
power to run street cars and trains and 
set in motion the mechanism of mills and
 factories and make the looms of        
industry hum with the bustle and        
activity of life4  ,it is said that the 
greatest long distance transmission yet 
attempted will shortly be undertaken in 
,south ,africa where it is proposed to  
draw power from the famous ,victoria    
,falls4 ,the line from the ,falls will  

run to ,johannesburg and through the    
,rand1 a length of #gjj miles4 ,it is   
claimed the ,falls are capable of       
developing #cjj1jjj electric horse power
 at all times4  ,should this undertaking
 be accomplished it will be a crowning  
achievement in electrical science4      
,,chapter ,,xii  ,,wonderful ,,warships 
,dimensions1 ,displacements1 ,cost and  
,description of ,battleships--          
,capacity and ,speed--,preparing for the
 ,future4   ,all modern battleships are 
of steel construction4 ,the basis of all
 protection on these vessels is the     
protective deck1 which is also common to
 the armored cruiser and many varieties 
of gunboats4 ,this deck is of heavy     
steel covering the whole of the vessel a
 little above the water-line in the     
centre2 it slopes down from the centre  
until it meets the sides of the vessel  
about three feet below the water2 it    
extends the entire length of the ship   
and is firmly secured at the ends to the
 heavy stem and stern posts4 ,underneath

 this deck are the essentials of the    
vessel1 the boilers and machinery1 the  
magazines and shell rooms1 the          
ammunition cells and all the explosive  
paraphernalia which must be vigilantly  
safe-guarded against the attacks of the 
enemy4 ,every precaution is taken to    
insure safety4 ,all openings in the     
protective deck above are covered with  
heavy steel gratings to prevent         
fragments of shell or other combustible 
substances from getting through to the  
magazine or powder cells4  ,the heaviest
 armor is usually placed at the water   
line because it is this part of the ship
 which is the most vulnerable and open  
to attack and where a shell or          
projectile would do the most harm4 ,if a
 hole were torn in the side at this     
place the vessel would quickly take in  
water and sink4 ,on this account the    
armor is made thick and is known as the 
water-line belt4 ,at the point where the
 protective deck and the ship's side    
meet1 there is a projection or ledge on 

which this armor belt rests4 ,thus it   
goes down about three feet below the    
water and it extends to the same        
distance above4  ,the barbettes1 that   
is1 the parapets supporting the gun     
turrets1 are one forward and one aft4   
,they rest upon the protective deck at  
the bottom and extend up about four feet
 above the upper deck4 ,at the top of   
the barbettes1 revolving on rollers1 are
 the turrets1 sometimes called the      
hoods1 containing the guns and the      
leading mechanism and all of the        
machinery in connection with the same4  
,the turret ammunition hoists lead up   
from the magazine below1 delivering the 
charges and projectiles for the guns at 
the very breach so that they can be     
loaded immediately4  ,an athwartship    
line of armor runs from the water line  
to the barbettes1 resting upon the      
protective deck4 ,in fact1 the space    
between the protective and upper deck is
 so closed in with armor1 with a        
barbette at each end1 that it is like a 

citadel or fort or some redoubt         
well-guarded from the enemy4 ,resting   
upon the water-belt and the athwartship 
or diagonal armor1 and following the    
same direction is a layer of armor      
usually somewhat thinner which is called
 the lower case-mate armor2 it extends  
up to the lower edge of the broadside   
gun ports1 and resting upon it in turn  
is the upper case-mate armor1 following 
the same direction1 and forming the     
protection for the broadside battery4   
,the explosive effect of the modern     
shell is so tremendous that were one to 
get through the upper case-mate and     
explode immediately after entering1 it  
would undoubtedly disable several guns  
and kill their entire crews2 it is1     
therefore1 usual to isolate each        
broadside gun from its neighbors by     
light nickel steel bulkheads a couple of
 inches or so thick1 and to prevent the 
same disastrous result among the guns on
 the opposite side1 a fore-and-aft      
bulkhead of about the same thickness is 

placed on the centre line of the ship4  
,each gun of the broadside battery is   
thus mounted in a space by itself       
somewhat similar to a stall4 ,abaft the 
forward turret there is a vertical      
armored tube resting on the protective  
deck and at its upper end is the conning
 tower1 from which the ship is worked   
when in action and which is well        
safe-guarded4  ,the tube protects all   
the mechanical signalling gear running  
into the conning tower from which       
communication can be had instantly with 
any part of the vessel4  ,to build a    
battleship that will be practically     
unsinkable by the gun fire of an enemy  
it is only necessary to make the water  
belt armor thick enough to resist the   
shells1 missiles and projectiles aimed  
at it4 ,there is another essential that 
is equally important1 and that is the   
protection of the batteries4 ,the       
experience of modern battles has made it
 manifest1 that it is impossible for the
 crew to do their work when exposed to a

 hail of shot and shell from a modern   
battery of rapid fire and automatic     
guns4 ,and so in all more recently built
 battleships and armored cruisers and   
gunboats1 the protection of broadside   
batteries and exposed positions has been
 increased even at the expense of the   
water-line belt4  ,armor plate has been 
much improved in recent years4 ,during  
the ,civil ,war the armor on our        
monitors was only an inch thick4        
,through such an armor the projectiles  
of our time would penetrate as easily as
 a bullet through a pine board4 ,it was 
the development of gun power and        
projectiles that called forth the thick 
armor1 but it was soon found that it was
 impossible for the armor to keep pace  
with the deadliness of the guns as it   
was utterly impossible to carry the     
weight necessary to resist the force of 
impact4 ,then came the use of special   
plates1 the compound armor where a hard 
face to break up the projectile was     
welded to a softer back to give the     

necessary strength4 ,this was followed  
by the steel armor treated by the       
,harvey process2 it was like the        
compound armor in having a hard face and
 a soft back1 but the plates were made  
from a single ingot without any welding4
  ,the ,harvey process enabled an       
enormously greater resistance to be     
obtained with a given weight of armor1  
but even it has been surpassed by the   
,krupp process which enables twelve     
inches of thickness to give the same    
resistance as fifteen of ,harveyized    
plates4  ,the armament or battery of    
warships is divided into two classes1   
viz41 the main and the second batteries4
 ,the main battery comprises the        
heaviest guns on the ship1 those firing 
large shell and armor-piercing          
projectiles1 while the second battery   
consists of small rapid fire and machine
 guns for use against torpedo boats or  
to attack the unprotected or lightly    
protected gun positions of an enemy4    
,the main battery of our modern         

battleships consists usually of ten     
twelve-inch guns1 mounted in pairs on   
turrets in the centre of the ship4 ,in  
addition to these heavy guns it is usual
 to mount a number of smaller ones of   
from five to eight inches diameter of   
bore on each broadside1 although        
sometimes they are mounted on turrets   
like the larger guns4  ,a twelve-inch   
breech-loading gun1 fifty calibers long 
and weighing eighty-three tons1 will    
propel a shell weighing eight hundred   
and eighty pounds1 by a powder charge of
 six hundred and twenty-four pounds1 at 
a velocity of over two thousand six     
hundred and twenty feet per second1     
giving an energy at the muzzle of over  
forty thousand foot-tons and is capable 
of penetrating at the muzzle1 forty-five
 inches of iron4  ,during the last few  
years1 very large increases have been   
made in the dimensions1 displacements   
and costs of battleships and armored    
cruisers as compared with vessels of    
similar classes previously constructed4 

,both ,england and the ,united ,states  
have constructed enormous war vessels   
within the past decade4 ,the ,british   
,dreadnought built in nineteen hundred  
and five has a draft of thirty-one feet 
six inches and a displacement of        
twenty-two thousand and two hundred     
tons4 ,later1 vessels of the            
,dreadnought type have a normal draft of
 twenty-seven feet and a naval          
displacement of eighteen thousand and   
six hundred tons4 ,armored cruisers of  
the ,british ,invincible class have a   
draft of twenty-six feet and a          
displacement of seventeen thousand two  
hundred and fifty tons with a thousand  
tons of coal on board4 ,these cruisers  
have engines developing forty-one       
thousand horse-power4  ,within the past 
two years the ,united ,states has turned
 out a few formidable battleships1 which
 it is claimed surpass the best of those
 of any other navy in the world4 ,the   
,delaware and ,north ,dakota each have a
 draft of twenty-six feet1 eleven inches

 and a displacement of twenty thousand  
tons4 ,great interest attached to the   
trials of these vessels because they    
were sister ships fitted with different 
machinery and it was a matter of much   
speculation which would develop the     
greater speed4 ,in addition to the      
consideration of the battleship as a    
fighting machine at close quarters1     
,uncle ,sam is trying to have her as    
fleet as an ocean greyhound should an   
enemy heave in sight so that the latter 
would not have much opportunity to show 
his heels to a broadside4 ,the          
,delaware1 which has reciprocating      
engines1 exceeded her contract speed of 
twenty-one knots on her runs over a     
measured mile course in ,penobscot ,bay 
on ,october #bb and #bc1 #aiji4 ,three  
runs were made at the rate of nineteen  
knots1 three at #bj4ej knots1 and five  
at #ba4ih knots4  ,the ,north ,dakota is
 furnished with ,curtis turbine engines4
 ,here is a comparison of the two ships3
                                        

,north                                  
,delaware    ,dakota   ,fastest run over
 measured mile444444444 #ba4ih          
#bb4be   ,average of five high          
runs44444444444444 #ba4dd      #ba4hc   
,full power trial speed44444444444444444
 #ba4ef      #ba4fd   ,full power trial 
horsepower444444444444 #bh1fjj4         
#ca1djj4   ,full power trial1 coal      
consumption1 tons per day444444444444   
#egh4       #ehc4   ,nineteen-knot trial
     coal consumption1 tons per         
day4444444 #cae4       #bie4            
,twelve-knot trial coal     consumption1
 tons per day4444444444444#aaa4         
#aje4  ,the ,florida1 a #ba1hbe ton     
boat1 was launched from the ,brooklyn   
,navy ,yard last ,may #ab4 ,her sister  
ship1 the ,utah1 took water the previous
 ,december at ,camden4  ,here is a      
comparison of the ,north ,dakota of     
#aijh and the ,florida of #aiaj3        
,n4 ,dakota         ,florida   ,length  
#eah ft4 #i in4     #eba ft4 #f in4     
,beam                   #he ft4 #b-a_/b 

in4  #hh ft4 #b-a_/b in4   ,draft1 ,mean
            #bf ft4 #aa in4     #bh ft4 
#f in4   ,displacement           #bj1jjj
 tons       #ba1hbe tons   ,coal ,supply
            #b1ejj tons        #b1ejj   
tons   ,oil                    #djj tons
          #djj tons   ,belt ,armor      
#ab in4 to #h in4   #ab in4 to #h in4   
,turret ,armor           #ab inches     
#ab inches   ,battery armor          #f 
in4             #f-a_/b in4   ,smoke    
stack protection #f inches              
#i-a_/b inches     l#b-;inch guns       
,ten               ,ten     #e-;inch    
guns          ,fourteen                 
,sixteen   ,speed                  #ba  
knots          #bj4ge knots  ,the       
,florida has ,parsons turbines working  
on four shafts and generates #bh1jjj    
horse-power4  ,the ,united ,states ,navy
 has planned to lay down next year      
7#aiaa7 two ships of #cb1jjj tons armed 
with l#d-;inch guns1 each to cost       
eighteen million dollars as compared    
with the #aa1jjj1jjj ships of #aiaj4    

,the following are to be some of the    
features of the projected ships1 which  
are to be named the ,arkansas and       
,wyoming4  #eed ft4 long1 #ic ft4 #c in4
 beam1 #bh ft4 #f in4 draft1 #bf1jjj    
tons displacement1 #bh1jjj horse-power1 
#cj #a_/b knots speed1 #a1fej to #b1ejj 
tons coal supply1 armament of twelve    
l#b-;inch guns1 twenty-one #e-;inch1    
four #c-pounders and two torpedo tubes4 
,fittings in recent ,united ,states     
battleships are for #ba-;inch torpedoes4
 ,the armor is to be #aa inch on belt   
and barbettes and on sides #h inches1   
and each ship is to carry a complement  
of #a1aae officers and men4 ,two of the 
turrets will be set forward on the      
forecastle deck1 which will have #bh    
feet1 freeboard1 the guns in the first  
turret being #cd feet above the water   
and those of the second about #dj feet4 
,aft of the second turret will be the   
conning tower1 and then will come the   
fore fire-control tower or lattice mast1
 with searchlight towers carried on it4 

,next will come the forward funnel1 on  
each side of which will be two small    
open rod towers with strong             
searchlights4 ,then will come the main  
fire-control tower and the after funnel 
and another open tower with searchlight4
 ,the two lattice steel towers are to be
 #abj feet high and #dj feet apart4 ,the
 four remaining turrets will be abaft   
the main funnel1 the third turret having
 its guns #cb feet above water2 those in
 the other turrets about #be feet above 
the water4 ,the guns will be the new    
#ej-;calibre type4 ,all twelve will have
 broadside fire over a wide arc and four
 can be fired right ahead and four right
 astern4     ,,chapter ,,xiii  ,a ,,talk
 ,,on ,,big ,,guns    ,the ,first       
,projectiles--,introduction of          
,cannon--,high ,pressure                
,guns--,machine ,guns--,dimensions and  
,cost of ,big ,guns4   ,the first arms  
and machines employing gunpowder as the 
propelling agency1 came into use in the 
fourteenth century4 ,prior to this time 

there were machines and instruments     
which threw stones and catapults and    
large arrows by means of the reaction of
 a tightly twisted rope made up of hemp1
 catgut or hair4 ,slings were also much 
employed for hurling missiles4  ,the    
first cannons were used by the ,english 
against the ,scots in #acbg4 ,they were 
short and thick and wide in the bore and
 resembled bowls or mortars2 in fact    
this name is still applied to this kind 
of ordnance4 ,by the end of the         
fifteenth century a great advancement   
was shown in the make of these          
implements of warfare4 ,bronze and brass
 as materials came into general use and 
cannon were turned out with twenty to   
twenty-five inch bore weighing twenty   
tons and capable of hurling to a        
considerable distance projectiles       
weighing from two hundred pounds to one 
thousand pounds with powder as the      
propelling force4 ,in a short time these
 large guns were mounted and carriages  
were introduced to facilitate           

transportation with troops4 ,meantime   
stone projectiles were replaced by cast 
iron shot1 which1 owing to its greater  
density1 necessitated a reduction in    
calibre1 that is a narrowing of the     
bore1 consequently lighter and smaller  
guns came into the field1 but with a    
greater propelling force4 ,when the cast
 iron balls first came into use as      
projectiles1 they weighed about twelve  
pounds1 hence the cannons shooting them 
were known as twelve-pounders4 ,it was  
soon found1 however1 that twelve pounds 
was too great a weight for long         
distances1 so a reduction took place    
until the missiles were cut down to four
 pounds and the cannon discharging      
these1 four pounders as they were       
called1 weighed about one-quarter of a  
ton4 ,they were very effective and handy
 for light field work4  ,the eighteenth 
century witnessed rapid progress in gun 
and ammunition manufacture4 ,grape and  
canister were introduced and the names  
still cling to the present day4 ,grape  

consisted of a number of tarred lead    
balls1 held together in a net4 ,canister
 consisted of a number of small shot in 
a tin can1 the shots being dispersed by 
the breaking of the can on discharge4   
,grape now consists of cast iron balls  
arranged in three tiers by means of     
circular plates1 the whole secured by a 
pin which passes through the centre4    
,the number of shot in each tier varies 
from three to five4 ,grape is very      
destructive up to three hundred yards   
and effective up to six hundred yards4  
,canister shot as we know it at present1
 is made up of a number of iron balls1  
placed in a tin cylinder with a wooden  
bottom1 the size of the piece of        
ordnance for which it is intended4      
,towards the close of the eighteenth    
century1 short cast-iron guns called    
carronades were introduced by ,gascoigne
 of the ,cannon ,iron ,works1 ,scotland4
 ,they threw heavy shots at low velocity
 with great battery effect4 ,they were  
for a long time in use in the ,british  

navy4 ,the sailors called them smashers4
  ,the entire battery of the ,victory1  
,nelson's famous flag-ship at the battle
 of ,trafalgar1 amounting to a total of 
#ajb guns1 was composed of carronades   
varying in size from thirty-two to      
sixty-eight pounders4 ,they were mounted
 on wooden truck carriages and were     
given elevation by handspikes applied   
under the breech1 a quoin or a wedge    
shaped piece of wood being pushed in to 
hold the breech up in position4 ,they   
were trained by handspikes with the aid 
of side-tackle and their recoil was     
limited by a stout rope1 called the     
breeching1 the ends of which were       
secured to the sides of the ship4 ,the  
slow match was used for firing1 the     
flint lock not being applied to naval   
guns until #aghj4  ,about the middle of 
the nineteenth century1 the design of   
guns began to receive much scientific   
thought and consideration4 ,the question
 of high velocities and flat            
trajectories without lightening the     

weight of the projectile was the        
desideratum2 the minimum of weight in   
the cannon itself with the maximum in   
the projectile and the force with which 
it could be propelled were the ends to  
be attained4  ,in #ahef ,admiral        
,dahlgren of the ,united ,states ,navy  
designed the ,dahlgren gun with shape   
proportioned to the curve of pressure1  
which is to say that the gun was heavy  
at the breech and light at the muzzle4  
,this gun was well adapted to naval use 
at the time4 ,from this1 onward1 guns of
 high pressure were manufactured until  
the pressure grew to such proportions   
that it exceeded the resisting power1   
represented by the tensile strength of  
cast iron4 ,when cast1 the gun cooled   
from the outside inwardly1 thus placing 
the inside metal in a state of tension  
and the outside in a state of           
compression4 ,general ,rodman1 ,chief of
 ,ordnance of the ,united ,states ,army1
 came forward with a remedy for this4   
,he suggested the casting of guns hollow

 and the cooling of them from the inside
 outwardly by circulating a stream of   
cold water in the bore while the outside
 surface was kept at a high temperature4
 ,this method placed the metal inside in
 a state of compression and that on the 
outside in a state of tension1 the right
 condition to withstand successfully the
 pressure of the powder gas1 which      
tended to expand the inner portions     
beyond the normal diameter and throw the
 strain of the supporting outer layers4 
,this system was universally employed   
and gave the best results obtainable    
from cast iron for many years and was   
only superseded by that of built up     
guns1 when iron and steel were made     
available by improved processes of      
production4  ,the great strides made in 
the manufacture and forging of steel    
during the past quarter of a century1   
the improved tempering and annealing    
processes have resulted in the turning  
out of big guns solely composed of      
steel4  ,the various forms of modern    

ordnance are classified and named       
according to size and weight1 kind of   
projectiles used and their velocities2  
angle of elevation at which they are    
fired2 use2 and mode of operation4  ,the
 guns known as breechloading rifles are 
from three inches to fourteen inches in 
calibre1 that is1 across the bore1 and  
in length from twelve to over sixty     
feet4 ,they weigh from one ton to fifty 
tons4  ,they fire solid shot or shells  
weighing up to eleven hundred pounds at 
high velocities1 from twenty-three to   
twenty-five hundred feet per second4    
,they can penetrate steel armor to a    
depth of fifteen to twenty inches at    
#b1jjj yards distance4  ,rapid fire guns
 are those in which the operation of    
opening and closing the breech is       
performed by a single motion of a lever 
actuated by the hand1 and in which the  
explosive used is closed in a metallic  
case4 ,these guns are made in various   
forms and are operated by several       
different systems of breech mechanism   

generally named after their respective  
inventors4 ,the ,vickers-,maxim and the 
,nordenfeldt are the best known in      
,america4 ,a new type of the            
,vickers-,maxim was introduced in #ahig 
in which a quick working breech         
mechanism automatically ejects the      
primer and draws up the loading tray    
into position as the breech is opened4  
,this type was quickly adopted by the   
,united ,states ,navy and materially    
increased the speed of fire in all      
calibres4  ,what are known as machine   
guns are rapid fire guns in which the   
speed of firing is such that it is      
practically continuous4 ,the best known 
make is the famous ,gatling gun invented
 by ,dr4 ,r4 ,j4 ,gatling of            
,indianapolis in #ahfj4 ,this gun       
consists of ten parallel barrels grouped
 around and secured firmly to a main    
central shaft to which is also attached 
the grooved cartridge carrier and the   
lock cylinder4 ,each barrel is provided 
with its own lock or firing mechanism1  

independent of the other1 but all of    
them revolve simultaneously with the    
barrels1 carrier and inner breech when  
the gun is in operation4 ,in firing1 one
 end of the feed case containing the    
cartridges is placed in the hopper on   
top and the operating crank is turned4  
,the cartridges drop one by one into the
 grooves of the carrier and are loaded  
and fired by the forward motion of the  
locks1 which also closes the breech     
while the backward motion extracts and  
expels the empty shells4 ,in its present
 state of efficiency the ,gatling gun   
fires at the rate of #a1bjj shots per   
minute1 a speed1 by separate discharges1
 not equaled by any other gun4  ,much   
larger guns were constructed in times   
past than are being built now4 ,in #ahhj
 the ,english made guns weighing from   
#ajj to #abj tons1 from #ah to #bj      
inches bore and which fired projectiles 
weighing over #b1jjj pounds at a        
velocity of almost #a1gjj feet per      
second4 ,at the same time the ,united   

,states fashioned a monster rifle of    
#abg tons which had a bore of sixteen   
inches and fired a projectile of #b1djj 
pounds with a velocity of #b1cjj feet   
per second4  ,the largest guns ever     
placed on board ship were the ,armstrong
 one- hundred-and-ten-ton guns of the   
,english battleships1 ,sanspareil1      
,benbow and ,victoria4 ,they were       
sixteen and one-fourth inch calibre4    
,the newest battleships of ,england1 the
 ,dreadnought and the ,temeraire1 are   
equipped with fourteen-inch guns1 but   
they are not one- half so heavy as the  
old guns4 ,many experts in naval        
ordnance think it a mistake to have guns
 over twelve inch bore1 basing their    
belief on the experience of the past    
which showed that guns of a less calibre
 carrying smaller shells did more       
effective work than the big bore guns   
with larger projectiles4  ,the two      
titanic war-vessels now in course of    
construction for the ,united ,states    
,navy will each carry a battery of ten  

fourteen-inch rifles1 which will be the 
most powerful weapons ever constructed  
and will greatly exceed in range and    
hitting power the twelve-inch guns of   
the ,delaware or ,north ,dakota4 ,each  
of the new rifles will weigh over       
sixty-three tons1 the projectiles will  
each weigh #a1djj pounds and the powder 
charge will be #dej pounds4 ,at the     
moment of discharge each of these guns  
will exert a muzzle energy of #fe1fjj   
foot tons1 which simply means that the  
energy will be so great that it could   
raise #fe1fjj tons a foot from the      
ground4 ,the fourteen-hundred-pound     
projectiles shall be propelled through  
the air at the rate of half a mile a    
second4 ,it will be plainly seen that   
the metal of the guns must be of        
enormous resistance to withstand such a 
force4 ,the designers have taken this   
into full consideration and will see to 
it that the powder chamber in which the 
explosion takes place as well as the    
breech lock on which the shock is       

exerted is of steel so wrought and      
tempered as to withstand the terrific   
strain4 ,at the moment of detonation the
 shock will be about equal to that of a 
heavy engine and a train of ,pullman    
coaches running at seventy miles an     
hour1 smashing into a stone wall4 ,on   
leaving the muzzle of the gun the shell 
will have an energy equivalent to that  
of a train of cars weighing #ehj tons   
and running at sixty miles an hour4     
,such energy will be sufficient to send 
the projectile through twenty-two and a 
half inches of the hardest of steel     
armour at the muzzle1 while at a range  
of #c1jjj yards1 the projectile moving  
at the rate of #b1bce feet per second   
will pierce eighteen and a half inches  
of steel armor at normal impact4 ,the   
velocity of the projectile leaving the  
gun will be #b1fjj feet per second1 a   
speed which if maintained would carry it
 around the world in less than fifteen  
hours4  ,each of the mammoth guns will  
be a trifle over fifty-three feet in    

length and the estimated cost of each   
will be #he1jjj4 ,judging from the      
performance of the twelve-inch guns it  
is figured that these greater weapons   
should be able to deliver three shots a 
minute4 ,if all ten guns of either of   
the projected ,dreadnoughts should be   
brought into action at one time and     
maintain the three shot rapidity for one
 hour1 the cost of the ammunition       
expended in that hour would reach the   
enormous sum of #b1ebj1jjj4  ,very few1 
however1 of the big guns are called upon
 for the three shots a minute rate1 for 
the metal would not stand the heating   
strain4  ,the big guns are expensive and
 even when only moderately used their   
life is short1 therefore1 care is taken 
not to put them to too great a strain4  
,with the smaller guns it is different4 
,some of six-inch bore fire as high as  
eight aimed shots a minute1 but this is 
only under ideal conditions4  ,great    
care is being taken now to prolong the  
life of the big guns by using           

non-corrosive material for the charges4 
,the ,united ,states has adopted a pure 
gun-cotton smokeless powder in which the
 temperature of combustion is not only  
lower than that of nitro-glycerine1 but 
even lower than that of ordinary        
gunpowder4 ,with the use of this there  
has been a very material decrease in the
 corrosion of the big guns4 ,the former 
smokeless powder1 containing a large    
percentage of nitro-glycerine such as   
cordite1 produced such an effect that   
the guns were used up and practically   
worthless1 after firing fifty to sixty  
rounds4  ,now it is possible for a gun  
to be as good after two or even three   
hundred rounds as at the beginning1 but 
certainly not if a three minute rate is 
maintained4 ,at such a rate the life of 
the best gun made would be short indeed4
     ,,chapter ,,xv  ,,mystery ,,of     
,,the ,,stars  ,wonders of the          
,universe--,star ,photography--,the     
,infinity of ,space4   ,in another      
chapter we have lightly touched upon the

 greatness of the ,universe1 in the     
cosmos of which our earth is but an     
infinitesimal speck4 ,even our sun1     
round which a system of worlds revolve  
and which appears so mighty and majestic
 to us1 is but an atom1 a very small    
one1 in the infinitude of matter and as 
a cog1 would not be missed in the       
ratchet wheel which fits into the grand 
machinery of ,nature4  ,if our entire   
solar system were wiped out of being1   
there would be left no noticeable void  
among the countless systems of worlds   
and suns and stars2 in the immensity of 
space the sun with all his revolving    
planets is not even as a drop to the    
ocean or a grain of sand to the         
composition of the earth4 ,there are    
millions of other suns of larger        
dimensions with larger attendants       
wheeling around them in the illimitable 
fields of space4 ,those stars which we  
erroneously call fixed stars are the    
centers of other systems vastly greater1
 vastly grander than the one of which   

our earth forms so insignificant a part4
 ,of course to us numbers of them       
appear1 even when viewed through the    
most powerful telescopes1 only as mere  
luminous points1 but that is owing to   
the immensity of distance between them  
and ourselves4 ,but the number that is  
visible to us even with instrumental    
assistance can have no comparison with  
the number that we cannot see2 there is 
no limit to that number2 away in what to
 us may be called the background of     
space are millions1 billions1           
uncountable myriads of invisible suns   
regulating and illuminating countless   
systems of invisible worlds4 ,and beyond
 those invisible suns and worlds is a   
region which thought cannot measure and 
numbers cannot span4 ,the finite mind of
 man becomes dazed1 dumbfounded in      
contemplation of magnitude so great and 
distance so amazing4 ,we stand not      
bewildered but lost before the problem  
of interstellar space4 ,its length1     
breadth1 height and circumference are   

illimitable1 boundless2 the great       
eternal cosmos without beginning and    
without end4  ,in order to get some idea
 of the vastness of interstellar space  
we may consider a few distances within  
the limits of human conception4 ,we know
 that light travels at the rate of      
#ahf1jjj miles a second1 yet it requires
 light over four years to reach us from 
the nearest of the fixed stars1         
travelling at this almost inconceivable 
rate1 and so far away are some that     
their light travelling at the same rate 
from the dawn of creation has never     
reached us yet or never will until our  
little globule of matter disintegrates  
and its particles1 its molecules and    
corpuscles1 float away in the boundless 
ether to amalgamate with the matter of  
other flying worlds and suns and stars4 
,the nearest to us of all the stars is  
that known as ,alpha ,centauri4 ,its    
distance is computed at                 
#be1jjj1jjj1jjj1jjj miles1 which in our 
notation reads twenty-five trillion     

miles4 ,it takes light over four years  
to traverse this distance4 ,it would    
take the ,empire ,state ,express1 never 
stopping night or day and going at the  
rate of a mile a minute1 almost         
#ej1jjj1jjj years to travel from the    
earth to this star4 ,the next of the    
fixed stars and the brightest in all the
 heavens is that which we call ,sirius  
or the ,dog ,star4 ,it is double the    
distance of ,alpha ,centauri1 that is1  
it is eight light years away4 ,the      
distances of about seventy other stars  
have been ascertained ranging up to     
seventy or eighty light years away1 but 
of the others visible to the naked eye  
they are too far distant to come within 
the range of trigonometrical            
calculation4 ,they are out of reach of  
the mathematical eye in the depth of    
space4 ,but we know for certain that the
 distance of none of these visible      
stars1 without a measurable parallax1 is
 less than four million times the       
distance of our sun from the earth4 ,it 

would be useless to express this in     
figures as it would be altogether       
incomprehensible4 ,what then can be said
 of the telescopic stars1 not to speak  
at all of those beyond the power of     
instruments to determine4  ,if a        
railroad could be constructed to the    
nearest star and the fare made one cent 
a mile1 a single passage would cost     
#bej1jjj1jjj1jjj1 that is two hundred   
and fifty billion dollars1 which would  
make a #id-;foot cube of pure gold4 ,all
 of the coined gold in the world amounts
 to but #d1jjj1jjj1jjj 7four billion    
dollars71 equal to a gold cube of #bd   
feet4 ,therefore it would take sixty    
times the world's stock of gold to pay  
the fare of one passenger1 at a cent a  
mile from the earth to ,alpha ,centauri4
  ,the light from numbers1 probably     
countless numbers1 of stars is so long  
in coming to us that they could be      
blotted out of existence and we would   
remain unconscious of the fact for      
years1 for hundreds of years1 for       

thousands of years1 nay to infinity4    
,thus if ,sirius were to collide with   
some other space traveler and be knocked
 into smithereens as an ,irishman would 
say1 we would not know about it for     
eight years4 ,in fact if all the stars  
were blotted out and only the sun left  
we should still behold their light in   
the heavens and be unconscious of the   
extinction of even some of the naked-eye
 stars for sixty or seventy years4  ,it 
is vain to pursue farther the           
unthinkable vastness of the visible     
,universe2 as for the invisible it is   
equally useless for even imagination to 
try to grapple with its never-ending    
immensity1 to endeavor to penetrate its 
awful clouded mystery forever veiled    
from human view4  ,in all there are     
about #c1jjj stars visible to the naked 
eye in each hemisphere4 ,a three-inch   
pocket telescope brings about one       
million into view4 ,the grand and       
scientifically perfected instruments of 
our great observatories show            

incalculable multitudes4 ,every         
improvement in light-grasping power     
brings millions of new stars into the   
range of instrumental vision and shows  
the background of the sky blazing with  
the light of eye-invisible suns too far 
away to be separately distinguished4    
,great strides are daily being made in  
stellar photography4 ,plates are now    
being attached to the telescopic        
apparatus whereby luminous heavenly     
bodies are able to impress their own    
pictures4 ,groups of stars are being    
photographed on one plate4 ,complete    
sets of these star photographs are being
 taken every year1 embracing every nook 
and corner of the celestial sphere and  
these are carefully compared with one   
another to find out what changes are    
going on in the heavens4 ,it will not be
 long before every star photographically
 visible to the most powerful telescope 
will have its present position          
accurately defined on these photographic
 charts4  ,when1 the sensitized plate is

 exposed for a considerable time even   
invisible stars photograph themselves1  
and in this way a great number of stars 
have been discovered which no telescope1
 however powerful1 can bring within the 
range of vision4 ,tens of thousands of  
stars have registered themselves thus on
 a single plate1 and on one occasion an 
impression was obtained on one plate of 
more than #djj1jjj4  ,astronomers are of
 the opinion that for every star visible
 to the naked eye there are more than   
#ej1jjj visible to the camera of the    
telescope4 ,if this is so1 then the     
number of visible stars exceeds         
#cjj1jjj1jjj 7three hundred millions74  
,but the picture taking power of the    
finest photographic lens has a limit2 no
 matter how long the exposure1 it cannot
 penetrate beyond a certain boundary    
into the vastness of space1 and beyond  
its limits as ,george ,sterling1 the    
,californian poet1 says are--      fires
 of unrecorded suns     ,that light a   
heaven not our own4  ,what is the limit8

 ,answer philosopher1 answer sage1      
answer astronomer1 and we have the      
solution of the riddle of the ,universe4
  ,as yet the riddle still remains1 the 
veil still hangs between the knowable   
and the unknowable1 between the finite  
and the infinite4 ,science stands       
baffled like a wailing creature outside 
the walls of knowledge importuning for  
admission4 ,there is little1 in truth no
 hope at all1 that she will ever be     
allowed to enter1 survey all the fields 
of space and set a limit to their       
boundaries4  ,although the riddle of the
 universe still remains unsolved because
 unsolvable1 no one can deny that       
,astronomy has made mighty strides      
forward during the past few years4 ,what
 has been termed the ,old ,astronomy1   
which concerns itself with the          
determination of the positions and      
motions of the heavenly bodies1 has been
 rejuvenated and an immense amount of   
work has been accomplished by concerted 
effort1 as well as by individual        

exertions4  ,the greatest achievements  
have been the accurate determination of 
the positions of the fixed stars visible
 to the eye4 ,their situation is now    
estimated with as unerring precision as 
is that of the planets of our own       
system4 ,millions upon millions of stars
 have been photographed and these       
photographs will be invaluable in       
determining the future changes and      
motions of these giant suns of          
interstellar space4  ,of our own system 
we now know definitely the laws         
governing it4 ,fifty years ago much of  
our solar machinery was misunderstood   
and many things were enveloped in       
mystery which since has been made very  
plain4 ,the spectroscope has had a      
wonderful part in astronomical research4
 ,it first revealed the nature of the   
gases existing in the sun4 ,it next     
enabled us to study the prominences on  
any clear day4 ,then by using it in the 
spectro-heliograph we have been enabled 
to photograph the entire visible surface

 of the sun1 together with the          
prominences at one time4 ,through the   
spectro-heliograph we know much more    
about what the central body of our      
system is doing than our theories can   
explain4 ,fresh observations are        
continually bringing to light new facts 
which must soon be accounted for by laws
 at present unknown4  ,spectroscopic    
observations are by no means confined to
 the sun4 ,by them we now study the     
composition of the atmospheres of the   
other planets2 through them the presence
 of chemical elements known on the earth
 is detected in vagrant comets1         
far-distant stars and dimly-shining     
nebulae4 ,the spectroscope also makes it
 possible to measure the velocities of  
objects which are approaching or        
receding from us4 ,for instance we know 
positively that the bright star called  
,aldebaran near the constellation of the
 ,pleiades is retreating from us at a   
rate of almost two thousand miles a     
minute4 ,the greatest telescopes in the 

world are now being trained on stars    
that are rushing away towards the       
furthermost of space and in this way    
astronomers are trying to get definite  
knowledge as to the actual velocity with
 which the celestial bodies are         
speeding4  ,it is only within the past  
few years that photography has been     
applied to astronomical development4 ,in
 this connection1 more accurate results 
are obtained by measuring the           
photographs of stellar spectra than by  
measuring the spectra themselves4       
,photography with modern rapid plates   
gives us1 with a given telescope1       
pictures of objects so faint that no    
visual telescope of the same size will  
reveal them4 ,it is in this way that    
many of the invisible stars have        
impressed themselves upon exposed plates
 and given us a vague idea of the       
immensity in number of those stars which
 we cannot view with eye or instrument4 
,though we have made great advancement1 
there are many problems yet even in     

regard to our own little system of sun  
worlds which clamor loudly for solution4
 ,the sun himself represents a crowd of 
pending problems4 ,his peculiar mode of 
rotation2 the level of sunspots2 the    
constitution of the photospheric        
cloud-shell1 its relation to faculae    
which rise from it1 and to the          
surmounting vaporous strata2 the nature 
of the prominences2 the alternations of 
coronal types2 the affinities of the    
zodiacal light--all await investigation4
  ,a great telescope has recently shown 
that one star in eighteen on the average
 is a visual double--is composed of two 
suns in slow revolution around their    
common center of mass4 ,the spectroscope
 using the photographic plate1 has      
established within the last decade that 
one star in every five or six on the    
average is attended by a companion so   
near to it as to remain invisible in the
 most powerful telescopes1 and so       
massive as to swing the visible star    
around in an elliptic orbit4  ,the      

photography of comets1 nebulae and solar
 coronas has made the study of these    
phenomena incomparably more effective   
than the old visual methods4 ,there is  
no longer any necessity to make drawings
 of them4 ,the old dread of comets has  
been relegated into the shade of        
ignorance4 ,the long switching tails    
regarded so ominously and from which    
were anticipated such dire calamities as
 the destruction of worlds into chaos   
have been proven to be composed of      
gaseous vapors of no more solidity than 
the airy nothingness of dreams4  ,the   
earth in the circle of its orbit passed 
through the tail of ,halley's comet in  
,may1 #aiaj1 and we hadn't even a       
pyrotechnical display of fire rockets to
 celebrate the occasion4 ,in fact there 
was not a single celestial indication of
 the passage and we would not have known
 only for the calculations of the       
astronomer4 ,the passing of a comet now1
 as far as fear is concerned1 means no  
more1 in fact not as much1 as the       

passing of an automobile4  ,science no  
doubt has made wonderful strides in our 
time1 but far as it has gone1 it has but
 opened for us the first few pages of   
the book of the heavens--the last pages 
of which no man shall ever read4 ,for   
aeons upon aeons of time1 worlds and    
suns1 and systems of worlds and suns1   
revolved through the infinity of space1 
before man made his appearance on the   
tiny molecule of matter we call the     
earth1 and for aeons upon aeons1 for    
eternity upon eternity1 worlds and suns 
shall continue to roll and revolve after
 the last vestige of man shall have     
disappeared1 nay after the atoms of     
earth and sun and all his attending     
planets of our system shall have        
amalgamated themselves with other       
systems in the boundlessness of space2  
destroyed1 obliterated1 annihilated1    
they shall never be1 for matter is      
indestructible4 ,when it passes from one
 form it enters another2 the dead animal
 that is cast into the earth lives again

 in the trees and shrubs and flowers and
 grasses that grow in the earth above   
where its body was cast4 ,our earth     
shall die in course of time1 that is1   
its particles will pass into other      
compositions and it will be so of the   
other planets1 of the suns1 of the stars
 themselves1 for as soon as the old ones
 die there will ever be new forms to    
which to attach themselves and thus the 
process of world development shall go on
 forever4  ,the nebulae which           
astronomers discover throughout the     
stellar space are extended masses of    
glowing gases of different forms and are
 worlds in process of formation4 ,such  
was the earth once4 ,these gases        
solidify and contract and cool off until
 finally an inhabited world1 inhabited  
by some kind of creatures1 takes its    
place in the whirling galaxy of systems4
  ,the stars which appear to us in a    
yellow or whitish yellow light are in   
the heyday of their existence1 while    
those that present a red haze are almost

 burnt out and will soon become         
blackened1 dead things disintegrating   
and crumbling and spreading their       
particles throughout space4 ,it is      
supposed this little earth of ours has a
 few more million years to live1 so we  
need not fear for our personal safety   
while in mortal form4  ,to us ordinary  
mortals the mystery as well as the      
majesty of the heavens have the same    
wonderful attraction as they had for the
 first of our race4 ,thousands of years 
ago the black-bearded shepherds of      
,eastern lands gazed nightly into the   
vaulted dome and were struck with awe as
 well as wonder in the contemplation of 
the glittering specks which appeared no 
larger than the pebbles beneath their   
feet4  ,we in our time as we gaze with  
unaided eye up at the mighty disk of the
 so called ,milky ,way1 no longer regard
 the scintillating points glittering    
like diamonds in a jeweler's show-case1 
with feelings of awe1 but the wonder is 
still upon us1 wonder at the immensity  

of the works of ,him who built the earth
 and sky1 who1 throned in height        
sublime1 sits amid the cherubim1 ,king  
of the ,universe1 ,king of kings and    
,lord of lords4 ,with a deep faith we   
look up and adore1 then reverently      
exclaim1--,lord1 ,god6 wonderful are the
 works of ,thy ,hands4     ,,chapter    
,,xvi  ,,can ,,we ,,communicate ,,with  
,,other ,,worlds8    ,vastness of       
,nature--,star ,distances--,problem of  
,communicating with   ,mars--,the ,great
 ,beyond4   ,a story is told of a young 
lady who had just graduated from        
boarding school with high honors4       
,coming home in great glee1 she cast her
 books aside as she announced to her    
friends2--,thank goodness it is all     
over1 ,i have nothing more to learn4 ,i 
know ,latin and ,greek1 ,french and     
,german1 ,spanish and ,italian2 ,i have 
gone through ,algebra1 ,geometry1       
,trigonometry1 ,conic ,sections and the 
,calculus2 ,i can interpret ,beethoven  
and ,wagner1 and--but why enumerate8--in

 short1 ',i know everything4'  ,as she  
was thus proclaiming her knowledge her  
hoary-headed grandfather1 a man whom the
 ,universities of the world had honored 
by affixing a score of alphabetical     
letters to his name1 was experimenting  
in his laboratory4 ,the lines of long   
and deep study had corrugated his brow  
and furrowed his face4 ,wearily he bent 
over his retorts and test tubes4 ,at    
length he turned away with a heavy sigh1
 threw up his hands and despairingly    
exclaimed1--,alas1 alas6 after fifty    
years of study and investigation1 ,i    
find ,i know nothing4  ,there is a moral
 in this story that he who runs may     
read4 ,most of us are like the young    
lady1--in the pride of our ignorance1 we
 fancy we know almost everything4 ,we   
boast of the progress of our time1 of   
what has been accomplished in our modern
 world1 we proclaim our triumphs from   
the hilltops1--,ha6 we shout1 we have   
annihilated time and distance2 we have  
conquered the forces of nature and made 

them subservient to our will2 we have   
chained the lightning and imprisoned the
 thunder2 we have wandered through the  
fields of space and measured the        
dimensions and revolutions of stars and 
suns and planets and systems4 ,we have  
opened the eternal gates of knowledge   
for all to enter and crowned man king of
 the universe4  ,vain boasting6 ,the    
gates of knowledge have been opened1 but
 we have merely got a peep at what lies 
within4 ,and man1 so far from being king
 of the universe1 is but as a speck on  
the fly-wheel that controls the mighty  
machinery of creation4 ,what we know is 
infinitesimal to what we do not know4   
,we have delved in the fields of        
science1 but as yet our ploughshares    
have merely scratched the tiniest       
portion of the surface1--the furrow that
 lies in the distance is unending4 ,in  
the infinite book of knowledge we have  
just turned over a few of the first     
pages2 but as it is infinite1 alas6 we  
can never hope to reach the final page1 

for there is no final page4 ,what we    
have accomplished is but as a mere drop 
in the ocean1 whose waves wash the      
continents of eternity4 ,no scholar1 no 
scientist can bound those continents1   
can tell the limits to which they       
stretch1 inasmuch as they are           
illimitable4  ,ask the most learned     
savant if he can fix the boundaries of  
space1 and he will answer1--,no6 ,ask   
him if he can define mind and matter1   
and you will receive the same answer4   
,what is mind8 ,it is no matter4   ,what
 is matter8 ,never mind4  ,the atom     
formerly thought to be indivisible and  
the smallest particle of matter has been
 reduced to molecules1 corpuscles1 ions1
 and electrons2 but the nature1 the     
primal cause of these1 the greatest     
scientists on earth are unable to       
determine4 ,learning is as helpless as  
ignorance when brought up against this  
stone-wall of mystery4 ,the effect is   
seen1 but the cause remains             
indeterminable4 ,the scientist1         

gray-haired in experience and           
experiment1 knows no more in this regard
 than the prattling child at its        
mother's knee4 ,the child asks1--,who   
made the world8 and the mother answers1 
,god made the world4 ,the infant mind1  
suggestive of the future craving for    
knowledge1 immediately asks1--,who is   
,god8 ,question of questions to which   
the philosopher and the peasant must    
give the same answer1--,god is the      
infinite1 the eternal1 the source of all
 things1 the alpha and omega of         
creation1 from ,him all came1 to ,him   
all must return4 ,he is the beginning of
 ,science1 the foundation on which our  
edifice of knowledge rests4  ,we hear of
 the conflict between ,science and      
,religion4 ,there is no conflict1 can be
 none1 for all ,science must be based on
 faith1--faith in ,him who holds worlds 
and suns in the hollow of ,his hand4    
,all our great scientists have been     
deeply religious men1 acknowledging     
their own insignificance before ,him who

 fills the universe with ,his presence4 
,what is the universe and what place do 
we hold in it8 ,the mind of man becomes 
appalled in consideration of the        
question4 ,the orb we know as the sun is
 centre of a system of worlds of which  
our earth is almost the most            
insignificant2 yet great as is the sun  
when compared to the little bit of      
matter on which we dwell and have our   
being1 it is itself but a mote1 as it   
were1 in the beam of the ,universe4     
,formerly this sun was thought to be    
fixed and immovable1 but the progress of
 science demonstrated that while the    
earth moves around this luminary1 the   
latter is moving with mighty velocity in
 an orbit of its own4 ,tis the same with
 all the other bodies which we          
erroneously call fixed stars4 ,these    
stars are the suns of other systems of  
worlds1 countless systems1 all rushing  
through the immensity of space1 for     
there is nothing fixed or stationary in 
creation1--all is movement1 constant1   

unvarying4 ,suns and stars and systems  
perform their revolutions with unerring 
precision1 each unit-world true to its  
own course1 thus proving to the soul of 
reason and the consciousness of faith   
that there must needs be an omnipotent  
hand at the lever of this grand         
machinery of the universe1 the hand that
 fashioned it1 that of ,god4 ,addison   
beautifully expresses the idea in       
referring to the revolutions of the     
stars3      ,in reason's ear they all   
rejoice1     ,and utter forth one       
glorious voice1     ,forever singing as 
they shine-     ',the ,hand that made us
 is ,divine4'  ,our sun1 the centre of  
the small system of worlds of which the 
earth is one1 is distant from us about  
ninety-three million miles4 ,in winter  
it is nearer2 in summer farther off4    
,light travels this distance in about   
eight minutes1 to be exact1 the rate is 
#ahf1djj miles per second4 ,to get an   
idea of the immensity of the distance of
 the so-called fixed stars1 let us take 

this as a base of comparison4 ,the      
nearest fixed star to us is ,alpha      
,centauri1 which is one of the brightest
 as seen in the southern heavens4 ,it   
requires four and one-quarter years for 
a beam of light to travel from this star
 to earth at the rate of #ahf1jjj miles 
a second1 thus showing that ,alpha      
,centauri is about two hundred and      
seventy-five thousand times as far from 
us as is the sun1 in other words1 more  
than #be1ege1jjj1jjj1jjj miles1 which1  
expressed in our notation1 reads        
twenty-five trillion1 five hundred and  
seventy- five billion miles1 a number   
which the mind of man is incapable of   
grasping4 ,to use the old familiar      
illustration of the express train1 it   
would take the ,twentieth ,century      
,limited1 which does the thousand mile  
trip between ,new ,york and ,chicago in 
less than twenty-four hours1 some one   
million two hundred and fifty thousand  
years at the same speed to travel from  
the earth to ,alpha ,centauri4 ,sirius1 

the ,dog-,star1 is twice as far away1   
something like eight or nine light years
 from our solar system2 the ,pole-,star 
is forty-eight light years removed from 
us1 and so on with the rest1 to an      
infinity of numbers4 ,from the dawn of  
creation in the eternal cosmos of       
matter1 light has been travelling from  
some stars in the infinitude of space at
 the rate of #ahf1jjj miles per second1 
but so remote are they from our system  
that it has not reached us as yet4 ,the 
contemplation is bewildering2 the mind  
sinks into nothingness in consideration 
of a magnitude so great and distance so 
confusing4 ,what lies beyond8--a region 
which numbers cannot measure and thought
 cannot span1 and beyond that8--the     
eternal answer1--,,god4  ,in face of the
 contemplation of the vastness of       
creation1 of its boundlessness the      
question ever obtrudes itself1--,what   
place have we mortals in the universal  
cosmos8 ,what place have we finite      
creatures1 who inhabit this speck of    

matter we call the earth1 in this mighty
 scheme of suns and systems and         
never-ending space4 ,does the ,creator  
of all think us the most important of   
his works1 that we should be the        
particular objects of revelation1 that  
for us especially heaven was built1 and 
a ,god-man1 the ,son of the ,eternal1   
came down to take flesh of our flesh and
 live among us1 to show us the way1 and 
finally to offer himself as a victim to 
the ,father to expiate our              
transgressions4 ,mystery of mysteries   
before which we stand appalled and lost 
in wonder4 ,self-styled rationalists    
love to point out the irrationality and 
absurdity of supposing that the ,creator
 of all the unimaginable vastness of    
suns and systems1 filling for all we    
know endless space1 should take any     
special interest in so mean and pitiful 
a creature as man1 inhabiting such an   
infinitesimal speck of matter as the    
earth1 which depends for its very life  
and light upon a second or third-rate or

 hundred-rate ,sun4  ,from the earliest 
times of our era1 the sneers and taunts 
of atheism and agnosticism have been    
directed at the humble believer1 who    
bows down in submission and questions   
not4 ,the fathers of the ,church1 such  
as ,augustine and ,chrysostom and       
,thomas of ,aquinas and1 at a later     
time1 ,luther1 and ,calvin1 and ,knox1  
and ,newman1 despite the war of creeds1 
have attacked the citadel of the        
scoffers2 but still the latter hurl     
their javelins from the ramparts1       
battlements and parapets and refuse to  
be repulsed4 ,if there are myriads of   
other worlds1 thousands1 millions of    
them in point of magnitude greater than 
ours1 what concern say they has the     
,creator with our little atom of matter8
 ,are other worlds inhabited besides our
 own4 ,this is the question that will   
not down--that is always begging for an 
answer4 ,the most learned savants of    
modern time1 scholars1 sages1           
philosophers and scientists have given  

it their attention1 but as yet no one   
has been able to conclusively decide    
whether a race of intelligent beings    
exists in any sphere other than our own4
 ,all efforts to determine the matter   
result in mere surmise1 conjecture and  
guesswork4 ,the best of scientists can  
only put forward an opinion4  ,professor
 ,simon ,newcomb1 one of the most       
brilliant minds our country has         
produced1 says3 ,it is perfectly        
reasonable to suppose that beings1 not  
only animated but endowed with reason1  
inhabit countless worlds in space4      
,professor ,mitchell of the ,cincinnati 
,observatory1 in his work1 ,popular     
,astronomy1 says1--,it is most          
incredible to assert1 as so many do1    
that our planet1 so small and           
insignificant in its proportions when   
compared with the planets with which it 
is allied1 is the only world in the     
whole universe filled with sentient1    
rational1 and intelligent beings capable
 of comprehending the grand mysteries of

 the physical universe4 ,camille        
,flammarion1 in referring to the utter  
insignificance of the earth in the      
immensity of space1 puts forward his    
view thus3 ,if advancing with the       
velocity of light we could traverse from
 century to century the unlimited number
 of suns and spheres without ever       
meeting any limit to the prodigious     
immensity where ,god brings forth his   
worlds1 and looking behind1 knowing not 
in what part of the infinite was the    
little grain of dust called the earth1  
we would be compelled to unite our      
voices with that universal nature and   
exclaim--',almighty ,god1 how senseless 
were we to believe that there was       
nothing beyond the earth and that our   
abode alone possessed the privilege of  
reflecting ,thy greatness and honor4'   
,the most distinguished astronomers and 
scientists of a past time1 as well as   
many of the most famous divines1        
supported the contention of world life  
beyond the earth4 ,among these may be   

mentioned ,kepler and ,tycho1 ,giordano 
,bruno and ,cardinal ,cusa1 ,sir        
,william and ,sir ,john ,herschel1 ,dr4 
,bentley and ,dr4 ,chalmers1 and even   
,newton himself subscribed in great     
measure to the belief that the planets  
and stars are inhabited by intelligent  
beings4  ,those who deny the possibility
 of other worlds being inhabited1       
endeavor to show that our position in   
the universe is unique1 that our solar  
system is quite different from all      
others1 and1 to crown the argument1 they
 assert that our little world has just  
the right amount of water1 air1 and     
gravitational force to enable it to be  
the abode of intelligent life1 whereas  
elsewhere1 such conditions do not       
prevail1 and that on no other sphere can
 such physical habitudes be found as    
will enable life to originate or to     
exist4 ,it can be easily shown that such
 reasoning is based on untenable        
foundations4 ,other worlds have to go   
through processes of evolution1 and     

there can be no doubt that many are in a
 state similar to our own4 ,it required 
hundreds of thousands1 perhaps hundreds 
of millions of years1 before this earth 
was fit to sustain human life4 ,the same
 transitions which took place on earth  
are taking place in other planets of our
 system1 and other systems1 and it is   
but reasonable to assume that in other  
systems there are much older worlds than
 the earth1 and that these have arrived 
at a more developed state of existence1 
and therefore have a life much higher   
than our own4 ,as far as physical       
conditions are concerned1 there are suns
 similar to our own1 as revealed by the 
spectroscope1 and which have the same   
eruptive energy4 ,astronomical ,science 
has incontrovertibly demonstrated1 and  
evidence is continually increasing to   
show that dark1 opaque worlds like ours 
exist and revolve around their          
primaries4 ,why should not these worlds 
be inhabited by a race equal or even    
superior in intelligence to ourselves1  

according to their place in the cosmos  
of creation8  ,leaving out of the       
question the outlying worlds of space1  
let us come to a consideration of the   
nearest celestial neighbor we have in   
our own system1 the planet ,mars3 ,is   
there rational life on ,mars and if so  
can we communicate with the inhabitants8
  ,though little more than half the     
earth's size1 ,mars has a significance  
in the public eye which places it first 
in importance among the planets4 ,it is 
our nearest neighbor on the outer side  
of the earth's path around the ,sun and1
 viewed through a telescope of good     
magnifying power1 shows surface         
markings1 suggestive of continents1     
mountains1 valleys1 oceans1 seas and    
rivers1 and all the varying phenomena   
which the mind associates with a world  
like unto our own4 ,indeed1 it possesses
 so many features in common with the    
earth1 that it is impossible to resist  
the conception of its being inhabitated4
 ,this1 however1 is not tantamount to   

saying that if there is a race of beings
 on ,mars they are the same as we on    
,earth4 ,by no means4 ,whatever         
atmosphere exists on ,mars must be much 
thinner than ours and far too rare to   
sustain the life of a people with our   
limited lung capacity4 ,a race with     
immense chests could live under such    
conditions1 and folk with gills like    
fish could pass a comfortable existence 
in the rarefied air4 ,besides the       
tenuity of the atmosphere1 there are    
other conditions which would cause life 
to be much different on ,mars4          
,attraction and gravitation are         
altogether different4 ,the force with   
which a substance is attracted to the   
surface of ,mars is only a little more  
than one-third as strong as on the      
earth4 ,for instance one hundred pounds 
on ,earth would weigh only about        
thirty-eight pounds on ,mars4 ,a man who
 could jump five feet here could clear  
fifteen feet on ,mars4 ,paradoxical as  
it may seem1 the smaller a planet1 in   

comparison with ours and consequently   
the less the pull of gravity at its     
centre1 the greater is the probability  
that its inhabitants1 if any1 are giants
 when compared with us4 ,professor      
,lowell has pointed out that to place   
the ,martians 7if there are such beings7
 under the same conditions as those in  
which we exist1 the average inhabitant  
must be considered to be three times as 
large and three times as heavy as the   
average human being2 and the strength of
 the ,martians must exceed ours to even 
a greater extent than the bulk and      
weight2 for their muscles would be      
twenty-seven times more effective4 ,in  
fact1 one ,martian could do the work of 
fifty or sixty men4  ,it is idle1       
however1 to speculate as to what the    
forms of life are like on ,mars1 for if 
there are any such forms our ideas and  
conceptions of them must be imaginary1  
as we cannot see them on ,mars we do not
 know4 ,there is yet no possibility of  
seeing anything on the planet less than 

thirty miles across1 and even a city of 
that size1 viewed through the most      
powerful telescope1 would only be       
visible as a minute speck4 ,great as is 
the perfection to which our optical     
instruments have been brought1 they have
 revealed nothing on the planet save the
 so-called canals1 to indicate the      
presence of sentient rational beings4   
,the canals discovered by ,schiaparelli 
of the ,milan ,observatory in #ahgg are 
so regular1 outlined with such          
remarkable geometrical precision1 that  
it is claimed they must be artificial   
and the work of a high order of         
intelligence4 ,the evidence of such     
work1 says ,professor ,lowell1 points to
 a highly intelligent mind behind it4   
,can this intelligence in any way reach 
us1 or can we express ourselves to it8  
,can the chasm of space which lies      
between the ,earth and ,mars be         
bridged--a chasm which1 at the shortest1
 is more than thirty-five million miles 
across or one hundred and fifty times   

greater than the distance between the   
earth and the moon8 ,can the inhabitants
 of the ,earth and ,mars exchange       
signals8 ,to answer the question1 let us
 institute some comparisons4 ,suppose   
the fabled ,man in the ,moon were a real
 personage1 we would require a telescope
 #hjj times more powerful than the      
finest instrument we now have to see    
him1 for the space penetrating power of 
the best telescope is not more than #cjj
 miles and the moon is #bdj1jjj miles   
distant4 ,an object to be visible on the
 moon would require to be as large as   
the ,metropolitan ,insurance ,building  
in ,new ,york1 which is over #gjj feet  
high4 ,to see1 therefore1 an object on  
,mars by means of the telescope the     
object would need to have dimensions one
 hundred and fifty times as great as the
 object on the moon2 in other words1    
before we could see a building on ,mars1
 it would have to be one hundred and    
fifty times the size of the             
,metropolitan ,building4 ,even if there 

are inhabitants there1 it is not likely 
they have such large buildings4         
,assuming that there are ,martians1 and 
that they are desirous of communicating 
with the earth by waving a flag1 such a 
flag in order to be seen through the    
most powerful telescopes and when ,mars 
is nearest1 would have to be #cjj miles 
long and #bjj miles wide and be flung   
from a flagpole #ejj miles high4 ,the   
consideration of such a signal only     
belongs to the domain of the            
imagination4 ,as an illustration1 it    
should conclusively settle the question 
of the possibility or rather            
impossibility of signalling between the 
two planets4  ,let us suppose that the  
signalling power of wireless telegraphy 
had been advanced to such perfection    
that it was possible to transmit a      
signal across a distance of #h1jjj      
miles1 equal to the diameter of the     
earth1 or #a-cj the distance to the     
moon4 ,now1 in order to be appreciable  
at the moon it would require the        

intensity of the #h1jjj mile ether waves
 to be raised not merely #cj times1 but 
#cj times #cj1 for to use the ordinary  
expression1 the intensity of an effect  
spreading in all directions like the    
ether waves1 decreases inversely as the 
square of the distance4 ,if the whole   
earth were brought within the domain of 
wireless telegraphy1 the system would   
still have to be improved #ijj times as 
much again before the moon could be     
brought within the sphere of its        
influence4 ,a wireless telegraphic      
signal1 transmitted across a distance   
equal to the diameter of the earth1     
would be reduced to a mere              
sixteen-millionth part if it had to     
travel over the distance to ,mars2 in   
other words1 if wireless telegraphy     
attained the utmost excellence now hoped
 for it--that is1 of being able to      
girdle the earth--it would have to be   
increased a thousandfold and then a     
thousandfold again1 and finally         
multiplied by #af1 before an appreciable

 signal could be transmitted to ,mars4  
,this seems like drawing the long bow1  
but it is a scientific truth4 ,there is 
no doubt that ether waves can and do    
traverse the distance between the ,earth
 and ,mars1 for the fact that sunlight  
reaches ,mars and is reflected back to  
us proves this2 but the source of waves 
adequate to accomplish such a feat must 
be on such a scale as to be hopelessly  
beyond the power of man to initiate or  
control4 ,electrical signalling to ,mars
 is much more out of the question than  
wireless4 ,even though electrical       
phenomena produced in any one place were
 sufficiently intense to be appreciable 
by suitable instruments all over the    
earth1 that intensity would have to be  
enhanced another sixteen million-fold   
before they would be appreciable on the 
planet ,mars4  ,it is absolutely        
hopeless to try to span the bridge that 
lies between us and ,mars by any methods
 known to present day science4 ,yet men 
styling themselves scientists say it can

 be done and will be done4 ,this is a   
prophecy1 however1 which must lie in the
 future4  ,as has been pointed out1 we  
have as yet but scratched the outer     
surface in the fields of knowledge4     
,what visions may not be opened to the  
eyes of men1 as they go down deeper and 
deeper into the soil4 ,secrets will be  
exhumed undreamt of now1 mysteries will 
be laid bare to the light of day1 and   
perhaps the psychic riddle of life      
itself may be solved4 ,then indeed1     
,mars may come to be looked on as a     
next-door neighbor1 with whose life and 
actions we are as well acquainted as    
with our own4 ,the thirty-five million  
miles that separate him from us may be  
regarded as a mere step in space and the
 most distant planets of our system as  
but a little journey afield4 ,distant   
,uranus may be looked upon as no farther
 away than is1 say1 ,australia from     
,america at the present time4  ,it is   
vain1 however1 to indulge in these      
premises4 ,the veil of mystery still    

hangs between us and suns and stars and 
systems4 ,one fact lies before us of    
which there is no uncertainty--we die   
and pass away from our present state    
into some other4 ,we are not annihilated
 into nothingness4 ,suns and worlds also
 die1 after performing their allotted   
revolutions in the cycle of the         
universe4 ,suns glow for a time1 and    
planets bear their fruitage of plants   
and animals and men1 then turn for aeons
 into a dreary1 icy listlessness and    
finally crumble to dust1 their atoms    
joining other worlds in the             
indestructibility of matter4  ,after    
all1 there really is no death1 simply   
change--change from one state to        
another4 ,when we say we die1 we simply 
mean that we change our state4 ,there is
 a life beyond the grave4 ,as           
,longfellow beautifully expresses it3   
,life is real1 life is earnest1     ,and
 the grave is not its goal1     ,dust   
thou art1 to dust returnest1     ,was   
not spoken of the soul4  ,but whither do

 we go when we pass on8 ,where is the   
soul when it leaves the earthly tenement
 called the body8 ,we1 ,christians1 in  
the light of revelation and of faith1   
believe in a heaven for the good2 but it
 is not a material place1 only a state  
of being4 ,where and under what         
conditions is that state8 ,this leads us
 to the consideration of another        
question which is engrossing the minds  
of many thinkers and reasoners of the   
present day4 ,can we communicate with   
the ,spirit world8 ,despite the tenets  
and beliefs and experiences of learned  
and sincere investigators1 we are       
constrained1 thus far1 to answer in the 
negative4  ,yet1 though we cannot       
communicate with it1 we know there is a 
spirit world2 the inner consciousness of
 our being apprises us of that fact1 we 
know our loved ones who have passed on  
are not dead but gone before1 just a    
little space1 and that soon we shall    
follow them into a higher existence4 ,as
 ,talmage said1 the tombstone is not the

 terminus1 but the starting post1 the   
door to the higher life1 the entrance to
 the state of endless labor1 grand      
possibilities1 and eternal progression4 
,,the ,,end