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the fine, light gold which they are satisfied has heretofore been lost, costing the company in the aggregate a great many thousands of dollars.

Notable African Bridge

IN connection with the great scheme of opening up the Dark Continent to civilization by means of the iron horse, some important bridge work has lately been completed across the Kafue river near the Broken Hill zinc mines in Rhodesia, the present rail-head of the Capeto-Cairo line. The bridge in question is remarkable from the fact that it is the

mally handed over by the contractors, Messrs. Pauling & Company, of London. The bridge is 260 miles north of the famous cataract known as the Victoria Falls, and in the region in question no less than seven bridges had to be con

structed. Some rapid rail-laying was

also effected in the vicinity, under the superintendence of Sir Charles Metcalfe, the consulting engineer, a mile a day being the average, though on one occasion the contractors managed to lay 534 miles

in ten hours.

Submarine Destroyer

longest of the kind in Africa-roughly A NEW naval terror in the shape of a

1,500 feet-and from the further fact of its having been completed in record time, all the massive iron work used in its construction having been supplied from England to the order of the contractors. The bridge consists of thirteen spans of 100 feet each, and stands on concrete pillars built by the caisson system in six feet of water. Much of the material had to be carried by ox-wagon for a distance of nearly 200 miles; and the actual work

submarine destroyer has just been invented by Lewis Nixon, a graduate of Annapolis and former naval officer, then shipbuilder, and now an official of the Carbon Steel Works of Pittsburg, Pa. The essentials of the new terror of the seas are being kept a secret until certain patent-rights have been granted by different countries. It is known, however, that the destroyer of submarines, as planned by Mr. Nixon, is scarcely larger

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down through the water at its mark, the slow-moving but death-dealing submarine. It is admitted that the submarine has to keep within twelve or fourteen feet of the surface to be of any damage to the enemy, and it will be an easy mark for the destroyer shooting in its wake directly overhead. It is claimed that the new destroyer can hit the mark 150 feet below the surface, a depth to which no submarine could possibly sink with security, forty or fifty feet being as deep as safety will permit. At greater depths than that, it is said, the pressure of the water is so great as to force the water through the seams and bolt-holes.

For Sailors' Safety то warn vessels of the proximity of dangerous shoals and rocks beneath the water's surface, a system of electric bells is being inaugurated. These bells are suspended 25 feet under water, and are rung from the shore by electricity, or are attached to buoys and operated by the energy of the waves. A telephonic apparatus is provided in the ship's hold, so that even in rough weather, the warning may be borne from 4 to 12 miles.

This invention should also prove of great practical use in the prevention of collisions. Off Newport, R. I., the approach of a submarine torpedo-boat has been determined from the noise of the craft's machinery while still two miles away.

Neither wind nor storm can affect the reliability of this system. It is, therefore, far superior to the untrustworthy air-sound signals.

Snow Locomotive

THE accompanying photographs show

a unique form of traction engine or locomotive which differs entirely from the usual vehicle for use on snow or ice. In nearly all cases, sprocket or driving wheels are used, which, with their steel teeth, cut into the frozen ground and thus propel the vehicle. In this locomotive, however, heavy chains are provided on each side of the engine, which, like an endless belt, move over two wheels and by contact with the ground push the vehicle. forward. These chains are 12 inches wide and 28 feet long. Within these, another pair of smaller chains are provided, which run over smaller sprock

ets.

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The engine is of the geared locomotive type, often used for logging; and the power from the four vertical cylinders is transmitted by spur pinions on crankshafts to pinions of driving shafts. On the rear of the latter, are attached bevel pinions which mesh in large gears runming on quills. The power is then carried through intermediate gears to the rear sprocket.

The speed of this locomotive is about four or five miles an hour, and the power developed is about 100 horse-power. These engines were put in service last winter, and worked successfully even in rough country. They will handle from seven to ten heavy logging sleds.

Latest in Cycles A NOVEL bicycle has been built in

London, which has been pronounced "as comfortable as a rocking chair." It is fitted with an anti-vibrating easy-chair-like saddle saddle which affords wonderful relief to a tired back, and which proves a luxury when coasting down long hills. The ladies' machines are meeting with particular favor. They are of exactly the same construction as are the machines built for men. The illustration gives some idea of the comfort found in these new bicycles.

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built by P. W. Bartlett of Richmond, England, for a Java resident. He was so pleased that he has now placed an order for twelve more of the same construction. The weight is somewhat greater than that of the light-weight racing machines; but as these bicycles are built for comfort and not alone for speed, this is no detriment. The cost is the same as in the case of any other high-grade bicycle.

Safe Gasoline Stove

THE housewife may now use the gaso

line stove as carelessly as she pleases, as a Texas man has designed one claimed to be absolutely non-explosive. The reservoir may be covered with oil and set afire. with impunity. The stove is constructed with two tanks, one to contain water, the other gasoline. The piping is so arranged that the gasoline reservoir is always full, the pressure beneath the water forcing the oil to the top and thence into the burner. So long as the air is thus excluded from the gasoline reservoir the tank cannot explode.

League Island Dry-
Dock

NAVAL engineers and contractors are

rushing to completion the new million-dollar dry-dock at League Island Navy Yard, near Philadelphia, Pa. Work

on the dry-dock, despite numerous drawbacks, three fires of incendiary origin, the changing of contractors, and the holdingup of government funds, has progressed rapidly.

In no other naval station in this country will there be found an inland dock superior in any respect to that of League Island. The biggest ships of the line, drawing more than 27 feet of water and of more than 16,000 tonnage, can easily be accommodated within these great walls of masonry. At the entrance to the dock there has been erected a costly brick power house containing the most modern machinery. Far down underground, something over thirty feet, are run giant pipes, through which the dock is to be filled and emptied. With the aid of three great centrifugal pumps, each having a capacity of 43,000 gallons a minute, the new dry-dock can be filled or emptied with twice the rapidity of the yard's old dock.

Crippled by the inadequacy of the old dock, League Island has not been a very busy naval center in the past. With this fine new dock, however, there will begin an era of activity at the yard.

Cot Made for Travel THE traveler who loves a clean and

easy bed will appreciate the portable cot, a recent invention. Made to fit into a suit-case, it may be used on a thousand and one occasions-in camp, on the lawn, in an ill-equipped country inn-any

where, in fact, where a couch or bed is appropriate. The mattress consists of a series of cushions hinged together; the body is in two sections, also hinged. A waterproof case is provided for protecting the cot against the weather.

Air-Propelled Boat THE "Hydroplane" (water plane) is

the strange invention of an Italian engineer, Signor Forlanini. The craft, it will be noted, has two propellers, one at

the reason that he is a victim of heliotropism. This term simply means the tendency to bend toward or away from light. The moth is influenced to seek the rays of light; the earth worm, to shrink away from them. Butterflies and some other insects are similarly influenced. If the light is diffused, as are the rays of the sun, the winged creature will flutter gaily about in the air.

It is not because it sees the light that the insect finds its way to the candle, for, as stated, the earth worm, though sightless, shuns all light. The phenomenon

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each end, and these beat the air instead of the water. A motor of seventy horsepower drives the boat over the surface of Lake Maggiore, where Signor Forlanini is testing his invention. The speed attained is something over 40 miles an hour. The inventor purposes to build a dirigible flying machine on the same model.

Moth and Flame

THE 'HE moth scorches his wings in the flame, not because he is consumed by curiosity, as the Romans believed, but for

cannot be explained by reference to the nervous organism, as plants, though wanting in nerves, are likewise subjected to heliotropism.

But heliotropism is not altogether destructive to insect life. It serves it, as well. Certain caterpillars just after being hatched are ravenously hungry. Light draws them to the tips of branches, where the tender buds give them their first nourishment. The sensitiveness to light is largely lost by caterpillars after their first meal. Professor Loeb advances the theory that the annual migrations of birds, may, perhaps, in part be explained by heliotropism.

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