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Sanitation at Panama

ONE

NE of the great difficulties and sources of expense in building the Panama Canal is the problem of sanitation. The overlooking of this feature by the old French company cost many lives. The many thousands of workers must not only be housed and fed, but also protected against those terrible enemies, yellow fever and malaria. That our Government has not underestimated the importance of the hygienic problem, is seen from the many sanitary installations to be found on the Isthmus.

There were a few thousand little houses left by the French company, of which some have been restored and made fit for human habitation. Also new houses and hotels have been built. The

houses are, in general, built of wood, with lower floor more than a yard above the ground. For each person, 500 cubic feet of air space is provided.

Another important question is the supply of pure drinking water. There is an abundance of the latter high up on the hills. From there it is now pumped in large pipes to the houses. A thorough system of drainage also has been installed in Panama, Colon, and other cities. The cleaning of the streets is carried on systematically. Many swampy localities have. been elevated with sand and gravel.

Against yellow fever and malaria and their chief propagators, the mosquitoes, a real war has been raging. In the early months of the American occupation, both diseases prevailed to some extent on the Isthmus. Now, however, they have been

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TYPICAL GROUP OF HOUSES, HOTELS, AND HOSPITALS IN THE CANAL ZONE, PANAMA.

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brought under control. The principal method of combating them is to screen completely all houses and receptacles containing food, and to fumigate all rooms. This kills the insects inside. It was found, also, that the blood of most of the negroes contained malaria bacilli, and that any insect biting an infected negro could easily infect others, especially the whites. By destroying the mosquitoes through fumigation, and by the use of internally administered drugs in the case of the negroes, the malaria was also practically stamped out. It is estimated that $2,000,000 will be needed for completing the sanitary work in the Canal Zone.-MAX BRUNNER.

Pike's Peak Locomotive

NEW engines of a very interesting type

are being built for use in climbing Pike's Peak. The railroad which traverses the sides of this great mountain is known as the Manitou & Pike's Peak

ALTERNATING-CURRENT DETECTOR.

600 gallons. The capacity for oil is 325 gallons. Beneath the cab floor are the oil tanks, from which the oil is fed through a heater on one side of the engine, consisting of a 14-inch oil pipe inside a larger pipe. The space between these pipes is filled with steam. The boilers of this odd-appearing locomotive are so set that when the engine is upon a 16 per cent grade the tubes are horizontal.-W. FRANK MCCLURE.

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Railway, and is one of the most novel roads in the world. The new locomotives, one of which is shown in the accompanying photograph, differ from their predecessors chiefly in that they burn oil instead of coal; that each of their axles is fitted with a driving gear, which, as can be seen, lies unusually close to the roadbed; and that the highpressure cylinders are one inch greater in diameter and of two inches longer stroke. The weight of the new engine is 60,000, pounds. The tank capacity for water is

IT

An A-C Detector

T is a well-known fact that electric circuits have mostly to be switched out, thus interrupting the service, whenever the existence of an alternating current is to be ascertained or its intensity measured. An instrument recently constructed, called an "applier," will show the presence of alternating currents of any kind, and may serve to determine their intensity, merely by being applied outside the circuit, thus in no way interfering with the service.

This apparatus consists of a small transformer, the iron core of which is divided into two pieces forming a kind

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of tongs, the jaws of which are opened by a pressure exerted on the legs, and are automatically closed again as the pressure is removed. To insure a safe magnetic closure, the jaws of the tongs should entirely encircle the conductors. The circuit encircled by the back part of the jaws constitutes the primary coil of the transformer; while the secondary coil, in the shape of a small bobbin, is solidly fitted to the back bolts of the jaws, being connected to the measuring instrument proper by a fine electric cable. The measuring instrument consists of either a telephone or a heating coil instrument, the former being suitable for ascertaining the existence of considerably weaker currents than the latter.

Whenever the intensity of a current is to be measured, the line should be free

COURTESY OF ELECTRICAL WORLD AND ENGINEER,"

TRACKLESS TROLLEY-CAR AND TRAILER.

House Moving by
Water

CHICAGO still has so many frame houses that house-moving is frequently undertaken. The crowded condition of the streets, with both elevated and trolley lines, is, however, a heavy obstacle. Consequently, when the buildings are near the water, they are often

carried to their new destination on scows. The accompanying illustration shows a house being towed on the Chicago river to its new location.-W. HILD.

Trackless Trolley-Car THE trackless trolley is a French and

German novelty which is offering serious competition to the regular lines. The advantage of such a motor-car lies in the saving in the cost of track laying and maintenance. In Germany the construction of a two-mile trackless trolley line cost but $35,000, as against $87,500 for the regular system between the same points. Moreover, in country districts

having good roads, the trackless trolleys perform a service in the marketing of farm products that the track lines cannot do. The cost of operation is low. In winter the energy required for a distance of some 28 miles is said to be about 40 cents per car -considerably less than with the usual track lines. The rate of speed is about 51⁄2 miles per hour. The trackless trolley is almost impracticable, however, where the road surface is much broken by ruts or other irregularities.

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The

Standing clear, 83 feet above highwater mark, it is designed to relieve traffic on an older bridge lying half a mile to the east. The total length is 2,500 feet. Four lines of railway cross over. main portion of the bridge consists of four spans of steel girder work, 231, 300, 300, and 191 feet long, respectively. The approach consists of masonry arches. An unusual feature in the construction of this bridge was that electricity was extensively employed in the work. With great pomp, King Edward opened the bridge for traffic, he being the first passenger to cross.

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Building a Chimney MANY of us who have seen factory chimneys projecting into the air, some a hundred feet and over, may have wondered how they could be constructed so solidly, yet without being crooked. The accompanying photograph gives an idea of how they are built. When the brickwork is completed a few feet above the ground, rods of iron are fastened

HOW A BRICK CHIMNEY IS BUILT,

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Saves from Flames CONTRARY to the mode of operation

of other inventions of its kind, a fire-escape that is to be used, not by the imperiled person himself, but by his rescuers, is here shown. The invention is in the nature of a substantial, portable ladder not partaking of the flimsy character of those devices which one is supposed to carry about with him in his trunk or suit-case.

TELESCOPE FIRE-ESCAPE, CLOSED.

The apparatus is known as the "telescope" fire-escape, from the way it is opened and closed. It is drawn about on a truck, and requires a somewhat elaborate system of machinery for its. operation. The illustrations show the fire-escape closed; also as it is when it has been released and extended up the side of a building. Where there is no fire-escape attached to the building, or where it is necessary to fasten several ladders together, the telescope method should prove invaluable.

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New Way to Waves FOR electricity, still another use has

been found-namely, in the launching of vessels. The British battleship Agamemnon, recently launched, slid to the water by this new method. A series of interlocking levers were connected with the electrical arrangement. The Countess of Aberdeen, who performed the ceremony, turned a wheel which controlled the apparatus, thus closing the circuit and releasing the triggers that held the manof-war on either hand. The time occupied by the ceremony was very brief. From the instant the Countess put her hand to the wheel, to the ship's clearing the ways, was a matter of but one minute and fifty seconds.

To safeguard against the contingency of the vessel's not starting of herself, powerful hydraulic rams were placed, one on each side of the vessel. No use was found, however, for either of these.

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