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MORNING GLORIES COVER A

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HOUSE

A DWELLING so completely covered by a morning glory vine as to be entirely hidden, stands as a demonstration of what California vegetation will do if it is given a chance.

The morning glories were planted by previous occupants of the property, presumably to give a touch of color to the bare walls, but as the growth was not checked they rapidly spread until the walls and even the roof were enveloped in a mass of foliage and flowers. Before the tenants moved out, enough pruning was done to keep the place looking like a house but after they abandoned it, the morning glories had things their own way until even the outlines as well as the doors and windows have disappeared.

NEW INSTRUMENT FOR

LOCATING STARS

A FEW years ago Claude and Drien

court invented a prismatic altitude and azimuth instrument, to which some improvements have now been added by its constructor, Jobin. This instrument is employed in connection with a chronometer, for observing the instant at which the apparent altitude of a star attains a fixed value, approximately equal to 60 degrees. From such observations. it is possible to determine the momentary position of the zenith and the celestial sphere, by reference to the positions of stars whose co-ordinates are known, or conversely, to determine the position of an unknown star from the known position of the zenith. In the former case, the observation gives the sidereal time and the latitude of the place; in the latter, they furnish data from which the right ascension and declination of the star can be computed. The instrument is designed especially for observation of equal altitudes of the same star, east and west of the meridian, from which it is possible to deduce (according to the known data) the time of meridian passage, the error of the clock, the geographical position of the local meridian, etc., and for observations of the equal altitudes of three accurately known stars,

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WATER TOWER OF CONCRETE. SINGEN HOHENTWEEL. GERMANY..

GIANT FISH THAT BECAME STONE. Curious monument at Fischbach, Germany.

THE

FIREMEN'S CLIMBING

CONTEST

HE one thing, next to implicit obedience, that a French municipal fireman must learn is to climb-and not only to climb by ladder, but by rope, timber, pipe, or any other thing that will aid him in swarming upward. Indeed, a part of the equipment of most stations is a tower devised for this very purpose, where frequent drills are held. Quite a bit of rivalry is stirred up.

The illustration shows one of these drills in operation. It is an unusual occasion, for no less a personage than the Mayor of Vienna, on a visit to the French capital, is being entertained and instructed, by witnessing a climbing race. Each man must look out for himself. No aid is given to their less fortunate comrades by those who, more active or stronger, are the first to achieve the topmost porch. Such a drill has a double advantage: it keeps the firemen in excellent practice for their work, and it also maintains them in good physical condition, which is just as important.

WERE THE NORSEMEN IN
MINNESOTA?

Stone with ancient Scan-
dinavian writing discovered
by a farmer near Kensing-
ton, Minnesota.

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TOWER TAKES PLACE OF

SOLAR ECLIPSE.

A new way to photograph

sun spots.

WATER FINDER ON A SCIENTIFIC BASIS. This supplants the hazel twig.

THE SOLAR TOWER

IN connection with the observatory on
Mount Wilson, California, a one hun-
dred and fifty foot tower has been erected
which is of great interest to astronomers.
It is to be used with the spectro-helio-
graph, to photograph sun spots without
waiting for an eclipse. When it is in-
stalled at the base of the 150-foot tower
on Mount Wilson the sun will be photo-
graphed by means of reflections from the
top of the tower.

"The elements of light reflected into
the spectrograph are diffused through
prisms. A spectrum of the sun's spots is
taken and the plates are compared to as-
certain by scientific means the relative
amount of gases or other substances con-
tained in the elements photographed.
Each streak or spot on the plate, accord-
ing to its prominence, furnishes data for
scientific deductions according to known
formulas."

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AUTOMATIC WATER FINDER

THE

HE hazel twig as a water finder has been supplanted by a remarkable invention consisting of a simple apparatus. The principle on which the instrument works is the measuring of the strength of the air currents which flow between the earth and the atmosphere. These are always strongest in the vicinity of subterranean water courses, the flowing waters of which are charged with electricity to a certain degree. The apparatus takes the form of a box-shaped instrument fixed on a tripod, with a dial on which a needle is used to indicate the presence of water. If the needle remains stationary it may be taken for granted that no subterranean spring exists; the spot where the greatest movement of the needle is obtained is that where well-boring operations should be made. The water finder is an English invention and is manufactured in Liverpool.

SAFETY BALANCE FOR AEROS

THE many accidents to aeroplanes

have pointed to the fact that the safety problem will have to be attacked

NO NEED TO GO HOME IN THE DARK. Germany's small cities are not illuminated, but electric light may be secured from point to point by dropping 5-pfennig pieces in slots provided for the purpose.

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from entirely new lines, and at present, the "gyropter," the invention of Mr. Davidson, an Englishman, is nearing completion. This new flying machine has two gyropters which are declared to secure absolute safety in balance, and the complete machine will excel in speed the present system of aviation.

One was tried in America, with a diameter of 27 feet, to lift 3 tons at 55 revolutions per minute. It worked quite successfully.

The gyropter now nearing completion is worked by a Stanley engine. On either side of the engine room is a gyropter-wheel-containing 60 large blades-10 feet long-and 60 small blades-5 feet long-and each gyropter will make 60 revolutions per minute and

the ends of the blades are held together by a kind of band-which is braced into position.

The machine, when completed, will weigh 6 tons with a lifting capacity of 10 tons. The shed in which the new flying machine is building is arranged in halves. When the machine is finished for trial, the two halves of the shed, being on wheels can travel apart and the machine, which is of large dimensions, can then be taken in and out quite easily. If Mr. Davidson's device should work successfully it would be of the greatest service in the field of aeronautics, obviating the majority, if not all, of fatal accidents of the sort that stirred the world the past year.

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ROASTING COPPER ORE ON A GIGANTIC SCALE AT JEROME. ARIZONA.

ROASTING COPPER ORE

THE burning mountain shown in this

photograph is the outdoor "roaster" at Jerome, Arizona, where one of the world's largest copper mines is operated. The ores contain a great excess of sulphur and before they can be economically smelted it is necessary to burn out the greater part of the sulphur. This is called heap roasting, the ore being heaped with cord wood and allowed to burn from five to nine weeks. About 500 tons of ore form a heap, so that the enormous quantity shown in the photograph may be estimated. The ore for roasting is trammed through a tunnel 1,300 feet in length, which leads from the 500 foot level of the shaft, and when roasted and ready for the smelter it is sent back into the mine and hoisted to the mouth of the shaft, as the country is so rugged that there is no other way of reaching the smelter.

Owing to the exceeding richness of sulphur, 15 to 32 per cent., there is great danger of mine fires from spontaneous combustion. One very serious fire was

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