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of the bodies bore a slight resemblance to those which have been found in Egyptian tombs.

This island covers but a few acres. It is located not far from the formation known as the Dalles, where the river rushes through a crevice in the cliffs which line the shore on either side. There is a legend that at one time a great natural bridge spanned the Columbia at The Dalles, but that one of the Indian gods in a fit of anger wrenched it apart and destroyed it. The legend states that Memaloose island was a part of this bridge which was hurled in the river, and this is why it was considered sacred by the natives.

Tapping an Oil Well

'HE extent of the oil deposits of Cali

THE

fornia is so great that while the bulk of the various forms of petroleum is pumped from wells driven at various distances into the earth, some of the deposits are so near the surface that the removal of a few shovel fuls of sand or earth reveals the oil "springs," as they are called locally. When an oil spring is "tapped," it is often drawn off like so much water by means of troughs or wooden conduits, open at the top, and accumulated in the reservoir by gravity. The accompanying photograph shows an oil spring in the

PETROLEUM FLOWING THROUGH SLUICE.

desert foothills and a type of the conduit. The thickness of the petroleum is well illustrated by the picture.

SPRING OF PETROLEUM IN CALIFORNIA DESERT.

Noiseless Loom

THE loom, whose busy shuttle is proverbial, is to become silent. A mechanism has been invented which propels the shuttle noiselessly across the shed, obviating the picking motion that makes the whirring sound. The new device works much on the same principle as does an orange seed shot out from between thumb and finger by pressure. In the new invention the shuttle is mounted on wheels. Small fingers protrude about the shuttle race. The fingers give a sinuous motion.

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As each wave of motion passes, the shuttle is pressed forward by it. For weaving goods of high grade, the mechanism. is particularly valuable.

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Automobile on Fire

WE

E frequently hear about automobiles taking fire and being consumed, but seldom is a camera available so that a picture can be taken showing just how they burn. In this instance, however, a photographer happened to be on hand just as the touring car ignited, and made several pictures showing the fire in various stages. The destruction which gasoline will cause is well shown in the view taken after the car began to blaze. The accident occurred in Cleveland, Ohio, the gasoline taking fire from some unknown cause. In fifteen minutes the car was practically a wreck, even the engine in front being so badly damaged that it was useless.

Small Engines' Power THIS photograph is a striking illustra

tion of the saying Multum in parvo, for the little engines with which this dry dock is equipped have a power to raise

AUTOMOBILE ON FIRE.

a vessel of 5,000 tons completely out of the water. Considering the size of this dock it is notable for its simplicity. Located on Puget Sound, it is placed on the end of a wooden pier, extending from the shore to a point in the sound where

RAISING FULL-RIGGED SHIP INTO DRY-DOCK.

the water is deep enough to float the largest steamship. The dock is set in the midst of piles, with a machine shop containing the necessary repairing tools in the rear. The sides of the dock are hollow, as well as those of the bottom, so that it can be sunk low enough to float a ship into the interior when the water is pumped out by means of the engines located in the side walls. The tides of Puget Sound, however, have a rise at times of fully eight feet, so it is necessary to lift the keel at least this distance above the surface of the water. In all, less than 100 horse-power are required to raise and lower the dock. The photograph shows a clipper ship of 4,000 tons being repaired in the dock.

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Man Without Brains

A mechanical man, that can do a great many things a human being can do, is the invention of a German. The machine has 305 compartments and several electric motors.

Animals Photograph Themselves

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By Dr. Alfred Gradenwitz

Berlin Correspondent. TECHNICAL WORLD MAGAZINE

HOTOGRAPHIC views of animals are obviously quite invaluable to the zoologist, who cannot possibly study every species in nature. In the case of wild animals, where immediate observation is especially difficult for obvious reasons, the rôle of photography becomes particularly important, and it certainly is of interest that Mr. C. G. Schillings, the well-known African explorer, should have succeeded in photographing wild animals in their free state, thus penetrating into the deep

SHOWING HOW THE APPARATUS WORKS.

est secrets of the forests of the dark continent.

Special devices of ingenious construction had to be made, by means of which shy animals could be compelled, under certain conditions, to photograph themselves by night, quite unconsciously, with the aid of flash lights. This ingenious idea of automatical photography is due to Mr. Schillings himself, who developed the process to a high degree of perfection. in the course of several years of arduous work in the African forests. It may be mentioned that in view of Schillings' suc

Animal comes in contact with cord, causing first metal shutter to drop, and the objective to open. Sand bag, which drops on cord, disengages slot shutter.

cessful result, the same devices have now been made accessible to the public.

In planning the apparatus referred to, a perfect harmony of all the mechanical parts and an absolute reliability of working, even under the most unfavorable climatic conditions, had to be provided for, inasmuch as it was necessary to expose the apparatus to variable atmospheric conditions frequently for days and even weeks at a time. Moreover, it had to be as simple as possible in construction in order that it might be handled by even the inexperienced. This problem was successfully solved.

Wandering across the glade, the animal touches a string, when a trap shutter, fitted to the objective, is disengaged, and immediately afterwards the flash light and the slot shutter are operated. After the ex

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posure has taken place, the objective is covered automatically by a second protective shutter. The ignition of the flash powder can be obtained in two different ways; in the case of the instruments used by Schillings a fuse tube was employed to this effect, but electrical ignition, as well, can be made use of, where the power is available.

The apparatus consists of the photographic camera, including the special mechanism and the stand on which the flash light powder with the reflector and disengaging device are mounted. In the event of the slide's having to be left open for some length of time, in addition to the familiar slot shutter in front another trap shutter, arranged within the camera casing, has been provided. To operate one of the trap shutters, a spring peg engages in a lever connected to the shutter. After the curtain has been wound up, another click engages in the winding button, after which the second shutter can be arranged. The whole lever system is situated in a partition wall, being closed outwards by a door.

The

The stand comprising the flash light groove has been made as light as possible and consists of bamboo rods. head of the stand as well as the flash light groove are made of nickel-aluminum. The groove is fitted at its base with two levers, carrying on one side the sand bag, the use of which will be explained

presently, while on the other side is clamped a small rod, which is readily torn off. The sand bag is, however, connected by a string also to the fuse bolt of the fuse tube. Below the sand bag is placed a frame fitted with a transversal string, leading to the camera and terminating in a small rod.

The working of the apparatus is as follows: the animal to be photographedwhich is possibly allured by a bait,comes in contact with the string, thus causing the first metal shutter to drop and the objective to open, while at about the same time the animal touches a second string, the peg of which is torn off the lever, causing the sand bag to drop and to touch the cord, disengaging the slot shutter. On continuing its fall, the sand bag tears off the fuse bolt, when the photographic view is taken. After

the slot shutter has run out, it automatically brings the second metal shutter in front of the objective, so that the sensitive plate is no more exposed, though the slide be opened. As a matter of course,

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Banking by Automobile

By H. W. Perry

EEPING bankers' hours" has from time beyond memory been a popular expression to convey the idea of leisure and affluence. The latest innovations seriously threaten not only to depose the hackneyed phrase, but to give it a meaning just the reverse of that which it has always had.

Breaking all precedents in banking circles, by the establishment of an institution that is open all day and all night, on every day of the year except Sundays and holidays for the receipt of deposits and to cash checks, seems revolutionary enough of itself, but, in its wake, it has brought about a tremendous advance in banking methods that one can readily see threatens to bring about a great change, not alone in the minor matter of banking hours, but also in the methods of bankers. The title of "banker" is generally associated in the mind with con

servatism and deliberation, a great contrast to the keen competition that exists in trade. Doubtless all this will change now, however, as a result of the latest idea just put into concrete form by the Night and Day Bank, of New York City.

This is the establishment of an automobile service for the convenience of its patrons. It represents not only an extension of the policy of the institution to render the greatest accommodation to its customers, but it immediately places the bank in a position that menaces its competitors, if banks can be considered competitors of one another.

The increased risk of sending messengers to the bank with large sums of cash at midnight and in the small hours of the morning, led the directors to decide to call for the deposits at the doors of their patrons, using an automobile for the purpose. The chassis of a large gasoline

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