De Land, Florida, secured this magnificent row by paying the property owners a half dollar for every sapling planted in front of their premises. none of the payments were made for trees which did not live. So many were set out that the town treasury suffered at first, but the valuation of the trees has increased a hundred fold, now that they are grown. A large proportion of the trees are water oak, which is a very long-lived species. GAS LEAKS RUIN ASPHALT PAVEMENTS ILLUMINATING gas leaking from city mains under asphalt pavements will soften and disintegrate the surface. Experiments carried on by pavement experts have proved that in a few weeks several square yards of pavement may be spoiled by a comparatively small leak and that the effects are practically the same on asphalt block, sheet asphalt, and bituminous concrete surfaces. The first signs of trouble are always a cracking and checking of the asphalt surface. When this has taken place it means that all the surrounding top surface must be relaid after the leaks have been found and repaired. At the same time there is always a shifting and rolling of the surface, proving the softened condition. It has been found that the actual leak is not necessarily directly below the spot in the pavement affected, as the gas, following the line of least resistance, may travel through porous earth for a considerable distance. The experiments have put an end to the claims of gas companies and city officials that illuminating gas has no effect on bituminous pavement. Cubes of asphalt were hung in glass jars for considerable periods and subjected to a flow of gas. They gradually melted and dripped. to the bottom, although cubes not subjected to the test remained in their original condition. The explanation is that gas, being one of the lightest forms of hydrocarbons, softens the heavier hydrocarbons of which the asphalt is composed, causing the pavement to give way under traffic. Being in a gaseous form, illuminating gas is in its most penetrating state, and can seep through pavement from the smallest leak. The ultimate solution of the difficulty lies either in leak-proof mains or in keeping them away from the pavement. ASPHALT PAVEMENT RUINED BY ILLUMINATING GAS LEAKING FROM THE MAIN UNDERNEATH POP CORN BY ELECTRICITY corn. Small rubber-tired wheels make IT is no longer necessary for the one it possible to shake the popper without who pops the corn at a party to retire to the kitchen. All those present can enjoy the process when the electric corn popper, which has recently been placed on the market, is used. Like other electric household appliances, the new device can be attached to any heavy duty socket. No grease is used with it, and the heat is so readily controlled that there is little likelihood of burning the ELIMINATES DIRT AND BURNS This electric popper is also equipped with rubber wheels, so that it may be used on polished tables. scratching a finely polished table. It is especially convenient for children to use, since there is no danger from fire. The popper consists of an ordi nary electric heating plate on which a guard is placed. A screen rounded over the top gives the kernels a chance to move when they pop and lets the one who is superintending watch the popping, and guard against burning. When these Argentine sailors came to take home a battleship and found that it was not ready for them, the United States allowed them to use the old Massachusetts as a hotel while they were waiting. COVERED RIVER D By FRANCIS J. DICKIE IVING under four feet of ice in a river with a swift current of twelve miles an hour, and with the thermometer at forty degrees below zero, is an extraordinary hazard. The extremely low temperature numbs the diver; the rapid current draws him down stream; and the continual rubbing of his air line against the broken ice on the edge of the hole, through which he made entrance, further menaces him. All told, few men would care to take the risk. But the feat was performed at Edmonton last winter, when the water main pipe, which runs along the bottom of the Saskatchewan River, broke. The break demanded instant repair; and that meant that someone had to take the plunge. Shot holes were bored in the ice directly above the spot where the break A REAL TASK FOR THE DIVER He went under an ice-covered river in order to locate a leaking water main. When he had done so, a bucket on a trolley was used to clear the accumulated débris away so that repairs could be made. was supposed to be, and dynamite blasts were made. Following the initial breaking of the ice, men with saws cut the aperture smooth and even to the water line, to make the friction on the life line as small as possible. The search for the break then commenced. It occupied some time, as, owing to the extreme cold, the diver could only stay a few minutes in the water at a time. One trip, however, was protracted to thirty-five minutes, and incidentally nearly cost the diver his life; for, while he was stumbling along the uneven surface of the river's bottom, one of the sharp eddies for which the river is noted, caught him. Unbalanced, he was whirled along by it into a stretch of piling belonging to an old, disused bridge. Here he was able once more to get control of himself, and he started to return; but he turned the wrong way and found that the air line was wrapped around one of the piles. With his first move, the line tightened and the air was cut off. The diver was forced to move backwards very slowly to extricate himself; and he was fast becoming numb with cold. But he held out, made his way back to the spot under the hole in the ice, and was then drawn to the surface. When the break was located, a long lane was dynamited in the ice, in line with the pipe. At the end of this lane of open water, a stout pile was driven, at the point farthest from the south side bank. To the pile was attached one end of a steel cable, and the other end of the cable was attached to a gin-pole high up on the bank. On this inclined track, a bucket shovel was operated. Controlled by a two-drum donkey engine, the bucket ran slowly down the incline into the water at the foot of the pile. The cable then was allowed considerable sag, which, with the weight of the bucket, carried it to the bottom of the river, a depth of some twelve feet. The bucket then was drawn slowly back up the incline by a pulley line, filling as it went, much in the same fashion as a slip scraper fills on surface excavation. By the time the bucket had reached the end of the open lane in the ice, the incline of the cable was sufficient to clear it. It then proceeded on to the top of the ginpole, where the load was dumped. In this way, the surface débris was cleared away from over the pipe, so that the break could be repaired. MILLIONAIRES AS MOVIE newest things in landscape gardening, kennels, and stables. Millionaires are not content merely with furnishing the background for pictures. They are acting in the pictures, Until recently, all of the actors in the movies except the principals, that is, the actors and actresses composing the "mob" or the "extras" as they are known in picture parlance, were composed of people who were glad to receive three dollars each day for their efforts. But now millionaires are forming many of the "mobs". Because the society men and women have clothes that are the last word in style, and because they are up on the latest dances and the latest games and are clever at polo, golf, at driving a car, at swimming, they prove a welcome addition to the moving pictures. One of the largest pictures that has been made recently where, instead of painted scenery, the homes of millionaires form the background, and in which HOBART C. CHATFIELD-TAYLOR One of Chicago's millionaires, who has written and produced an elaborate "movie" on his estate near the city. society people and movie actors mingle as performers, spectators and directors, is "The Crimson Wing", written by Hobart C. Chatfield-Taylor, author, play |