ACROBAT THOMIK DROP- ARMORED AUTOS IN THE AUSTRIAN ARMY. UP IN A HOT-AIR BALLOON THE photograph at the left shows acro- Almost every other day the news- Most of us are astounded at the risk these persons take and while, if we get the opportunity, there is a certain fascination in watching, we usually conclude that it is very foolish. FOR HANGING" NERVOUS Apparatus in use at National Hospital, Bloomsbury, England. The patients are "hanged" for a few seconds cach day. A LESSON IN TREE CLIMBING WI As the picture shows, however, the "A LIVING FLAG POLE." The daring climber has a novel method of ascent. FASTEST WAR VESSEL IN THE WORLD. The destroyer Paulding. United States Navy: speed, 34.85 knots an hour. STAMPS BY THE ROLL IT T is not often that the English postal authorities are guilty of innovations but recently the postmaster general has concerned himself in popularizing the postal service throughout the United Kingdom. The little novelty seen here is a case in point. Any one who desires to buy five shillings worth $1.20-of penny-two-cent-stamps may now purchase them in the very neat contrivance shown in our picture which holds exactly sixty stamps, each one of which may be easily detached in the manner shown. Apart from the cost of the stamps there is of course no charge made for the roll carrier. The device really appears superior to the stamp books in use in the United States. WORLD'S BIGGEST BALLOON AT SHELTER T Konigsberg, Germany, there has been erected a big building capable of accommodating two airships of such gigantic proportions as Count Zeppelin's. It is 540 feet long, 180 feet wide, and 120 feet high. The entire building is rendered fireproof by a covering of asbestos. To admit light, there are windows in the side, front and roof, of twenty-five square yards each. The doors are almost incredibly heavy affairs, each weighing 50 tons, with dimensions of 90 by 120 feet. They open and shut by means of wheels which roll on iron rails. The structure is built on so substantial a basis to protect against three things: fire, wind and predatory persons. Where hundreds of thousands of dollars are invested in a single balloon, it is well worth while, the Germans think, to protect adequately so big an investment. TRAINING A STIFF-NECKED HORSE THE accompanying photograph shows a real "cow-puncher" subduing a real bronco according to a well known method on the range. The horse had just been broken to the saddle but he was self-willed and refused to answer to the bridle, or as the cowboys express it, "he was stiff-necked." BREAKING A HORSE TO ANSWER TO THE BRIDLE. In order to correct that the rider first constructed a rope bridle known as a "hackamore," which exerts a painful pressure on the horse's nose and when even this failed to produce the desired effect he took a lariat and a short length of rope and effected a cure in this way: the short piece of rope was fastened in the hair of the horse's tail so as to form a loop and the end of the riata was attached to the bridle and the other end passed through the loop so that when the free end of the lariat was pulled the horse's head and tail would be drawn together. Naturally the bronco resented this, but as the cowboy was at the other end of the forty-foot rope his kicking and pawing did little good. When the bronco began to quiet down he tried to ease the strain on the neck by turning round and round slowly, and the horse breaker allowed him to do this, merely flipping the rope over his back so that he would not get tangled in it. This was exhausting work for the bronco, and sweat began pouring from him but his master was not satisfied until the operation had been repeated, turning his head the other way. After about an hour of this treatment the bronco was thoroughly tired out and the muscles of his neck were so painful that he was willing to obey the slightest pull of the bridle. It was a lesson that did not have to be repeated, and while it was unpleasant for the animal did not injure it in the least. CARNIVAL PAGEANT AT PHILADELPHIA. It took twelve months to make this highly embroidered robe to be worn by the chief mummer, QUICK OIL TESTER A WESTERN firm has recently perfected a centrifuge for testing oil, which will be of great value to producers as it will determine the proportion of sediment, water and oil within a few minutes instead of the forty-eight hours or so required by the gravity test. The new device may be briefly described as follows: four glass flasks are set in aluminum cases which are adjusted about a vertical shaft in such a manner that they revolve with it, the centrifugal force, causing the flasks to stand out in a horizontal position and rapidly precipitating those elements which are heavier than oil. The improved type is driven by a motor. This centrifuge is now being modified for the use of mining men for the testing of slimes. LIFE-SAVING HELMET FOR USE OF CREWS IN Escape is made from the sunken vessel-as shown-by coming up through the conning tower. |
