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"dining saloon," are made of stamped steel ornamented like the cabin of a ship. All these rooms are on the first floor, or "deck," as it is termed. The basement is the "hold," and here are stored, not only the fuel supply, but all of the food, as well as extra bedding and furniture not needed for immediate use. The cupola is modeled like the pilot-house of a steamer, with a row of windows. The veranda seen in the photograph extends clear around the building, and is termed the "outside deck" by the owner.

This unique dwelling was constructed by Captain M. P. Doullot, a vessel-owner of New Orleans, with a gang of men consisting entirely of ship carpenters. It is built of brick and wood, and cost $8,000. It of course goes without saying, that this remarkable structure has attracted a great deal of attention, and its owner has received many compliments for the ingenuity of his idea.

graph shows one of these "ice-mountains," as they are termed, piled up opposite the business portion of the city. An idea of its dimensions can be gained by comparing it with the group of persons on the top and sides. Ice-mountains have been formed fully 75 feet in height, requiring the explosion of a large quantity of dynamite to break them up and allow the passage of the water in the spring.

Recharging Dry-Cells THE dry-battery, when run down, is ordinarily discarded as useless. It need not be thrown aside, however; for, at a slight expenditure, it may be converted into an efficient fluid battery. A fruit-jar cut an inch shorter than the drycell to be used, makes an excellent holder for the liquid. To reduce the jar to the

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of paraffine into the jar and let it harden. Then fill the jar up with melted resin; and, when cool, top it off with a little paraffine, to render all air-tight.

A cell thus made will often last longer than a new dry-cell.-HARRY A. MUN

YAN.

HOW TO USE A RUN-DOWN DRY-BATTERY CELL.

height desired, twist a piece of string three or four times around the glass at the point where the cut is to be made. Then saturate the string with alcohol and set fire to it, holding the jar in a horizontal position and turning slowly so that the glass will be heated evenly all the way around at the place where the fracture is to be made. When the flames are gone, plunge the jar into cold water, and it will break at the line where the string was wound.

Now strip the cover from the exhausted cell, and punch a series of small holes around the zinc can, from the bottom up to within about two inches of the top, so that the liquid may soak into the dry-cell. Next place the dry cell in the jar, and fasten it in place with melted resin. When the jar has cooled, fill it nearly full with a solution of sal-ammoniac (ammonium chloride), and let stand for a day. More of the solution should be added from time to time. When the cell has absorbed all it will, pour one-fourth inch

IN

Fishing by Phone

N Norway they fish by telephone. A microphone, which intensifies sound, is placed in a hermetically sealed steel box. Electric wires connect this instrument with a telephone on shipboard. The inventor asserts that with the aid of this device the kind, and approximately the number, of fish in the neighborhood can be ascertained. When herring or smaller fish approach the microphone, a whistling noise can be detected. Codfish make known their presence by a howl. The noise is said to be caused by the flow of water through the gills of the fish. The motion of the fins produces a dull rolling sound.

Catch Hugest Shark

A HUGE shark that is claimed to be

the largest of its kind ever caught, was recently taken in San Pedro bay, Southern California. Its weight proved to be 14,000 pounds, or seven tons. From tip to tip, it measured 32 feet; the circumference of the body above the dorsal

HUGE SHARK CAPTURED IN SAN PEDRO BAY, CALIFORNIA.

fin measured 15 feet. It took an hour or more to land the monster, which was caught by becoming entangled in 1,500 feet of net that he was robbing of fish at the time. The net wound about him, hampering his free motion. When open, the mouth, in which the children are shown seated, measured 2 feet 6 inches, from upper to lower jaw. The fish was publicly exhibited as a curiosity.

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A Mechanical Hand INVENTION has provided the lone woman with a helpmate in the form of an artificial hand that is expected to

MECHANISM OF ARTIFICIAL HAND.

other useful The mechan

chop wood and perform chores about the house. ism consists of all the essentials of a hand. It is made up of four jointed fingers and a thumb, constructed of either aluminum or wood, so that strength and lightness are at once combined. The hand is controlled by a mechanism in the palm, which is operated by rotating the forearm of the machine. This device is fastened to the human arm above the elbow, and by moving one's forearm, which is likewise laced to the operating mechanism, the artificial fingers grip the ax or other desired object and execute the task assigned them.

Radium IT is significant of the limitations upon human knowledge, that chemistry, which is the basis of so many physical sciences and industries, is lost in the realm of hypothesis when it comes to the problem of the nature and constitution of matter.

One of the most striking examples of the uncertainty of our scientific knowledge is afforded by the supposed element radium. What we knew about this substance yesterday, is obsolete theory to-day. Its relation to other elements is not yet fully known; and the question of the manner of its generation and ac

COURTESY OF THE AUTOMOBILE."

tion is as much a mystery as the question of the ultimate constitution of the mysterious source of energy known as electricity.

We are now told that radium is perhaps millions of times more powerful than dynamite, and that it is estimated that a single ounce of this substance would have sufficient power to raise 10,000 tons a mile above the earth's surface. Another way of stating the same estimate is this: the energy needed to tow a ship of 12,000 tons a distance of 6,000 sea miles at 15 knots an hour, is contained in 22 ounces of radium.

Amphibious Auto AFRENCHMAN has invented a novel machine which is aptly termed an "amphibious automobile," as it is equally at home on land or water. In construction, this device is not unlike the usual motor-boat. It has additional features, however, which the ordinary motor-craft does not possess. Four wheels are concealed in the body of the boat; and these, with the assistance of attached exterior springs, the automobilist can instantly convert into the supporting gear of a terrestrial vehicle, the rear wheels doing the driving.

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CANOT VOITURE COMBINATION AUTO AND BOAT.

The invention is designed primarily for touring through regions interspersed with lakes and other bodies of water.

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Nice Point in Etiquette

IF you accidentally overturn your plate into your lap, leave it there, and go on eating as if nothing had happened. It is vulgar to call attention to an accident at table.-CAROLYN WELLS, in Associated Sunday Magazines.

BLOWING OFF STEAM

Giving Him Fair Warning AGENT: "I see you're busy-I won't bother you long-just want to talk a little life insurance to you.

FARMER: "Do you want to insure a murderer who might be hanged in a few months?" AGENT: "Mercy, no! Are you a murderer?" FARMER: "No, but I will be if you agents don't quit bothering me about life insurance."

The Men Who Lose

The world has pity for the man

Who, having lost, goes on
And tries to smile despite the hope
Of profit that is gone.

But, on the other side, contempt
Is all the cold world feels
For him who loses in the game

And then lies down and squeals.

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