SOILS BEING DRIED BY VACUUM PROCESS ter is continually changing. Every time a field is plowed or rain falls, the structure of the soil undergoes alteration. The principal ingredient of nearly all soils is quartz, or silica, which alone constitutes about sixty per cent of the crust of the earth. Chemically, the most important of soil constituents is lime-not only because of the plant-food elements it contains, but by reason of the various effects which it has upon the physical, chemical, and biological activities of the soil. Two other constituents are of great importance-clay and humus. While the proportion of the latter in most soils is relatively small, its influence upon the growth of plants is very pronounced. Little is definitely known about it, beyond the fact that it consists of the remains of plant and animal life, in various forms and stages of decomposition. All differences in soils are traceable to two things (1) the character of the rocks from which the soil has been derived, (2) the processes by which this material has been changed from mere rock or rock débris into a medium suitable for the growth of plants. Some WHEN SCIENCE STUDIES THE SOILS times soils are classified according to the kinds of rocks to whose disintegration they may be referred as granite soils, limestone soils, shale soils. But a given kind of rock does not always yield the same kind of soil; climatic and other influences may modify. Since time immemorial color has been regarded as an index to the character of the soil, and black has come to be almost synonymous with productiveness. Yet the most fruitful soils in the United States in arid regions are light gray. In humid regions a light color indicates a soil that is poor in lime and "available" phosphoric acid. The whiteness of many arid soils, on the other hand, is due to the presence of large amounts of lime. The soils of arid regions contain something like eleven times as much lime as those of humid regions. Sometimes they have so large a percentage of mineral salts that there is an accumulation of the latter (due to the constant movement of water from below and its evaporation at the surface) sufficient to injure or prevent plant growth. Under such circumstances the soil is called "alkali". Where 589 there is little rain, it naturally follows that the soluble mineral salts have a tendency to remain in the soil, instead of being carried off by drainage. As one result of the study of the soils. of the United States, the Bureau of Soils is dividing the country into a number of provinces, each of which contains soils peculiar to itself. Thirteen such provinces are so far recognized. But it should be understood that a given province is not all in one piece, topographically speaking; it is scattered about in patches of greater or less area. Among the most peculiar and interesting soils are those technically termed "organic", composed as they are very largely or almost entirely of decomposed plant and animal remains. They are divided into two classes, "muck" and "peat". The latter consists almost entirely of organic matter in a partly decomposed condition. Muck contains a larger percentage of mineral matter. Deposits of peat and muck occur in many parts of the United States, usually in small areas, and are found only where normal decay has been retarded by excess of moisture. Do you know what your blood pressure is? Do you at all know what blood pressure means? Three hundred sixty-five otherwise healthy men, apparently entitled to insurance, were rejected during a certain period by one progressive life insurance company because their blood pressure was found to be too high. Later this company took the trouble to follow up the health history of these three hundred sixty-five rejected applicants. The results of the investigation were startling. What they were you will find in Dr. F. C. Walsh's article, "Measuring Life," in the July number of TECHNICAL WORLD MAGAZINE. trates an POWER THE accompanying photograph illusinteresting engineering freak which is found on a plantation near Candor, North Carolina. It is an inclined overshot water wheel, the product of the brain and hand of a physician, and, according to his own statement, it cost him but sixty-five cents in addition to his own time and labor. The designer claims additional power owing to the fact that he keeps the wheel under the pressure due to the falling water a greater length of time than the ordinary vertical wheel, which of necessity would have to be of less diameter to fit any given condition of head. This wheel is 18 feet in diameter, sets at an angle of 35 degrees, and works under a 10-foot head. The cross section of the flume leading to the wheel is 6 by 12 inches, and the water stands at 3 to 4 inches. The outer rim of the wheel engages a friction wheel that transmits the motion to a pulley driving a small corn mill. The completed structure was a large task for any one man to have accomplished, and seems more extraordinary in the face of the fact that a small hand ax was the only tool used in its construction. DOG IS A MISER A MAGNIFICENT collie dog owned by a London innkeeper has manifested an unnatural love for "filthy lucre". He has been in the habit of receiving pennies from patrons in the bar of his owner's house. With these he could purchase biscuits at the counter. It was found, however, that the pennies were unaccountably disappearing, so the dog was watched and was discovered burying the coppers in an adjacent field. IN DRAINING A LAKE BY A WELL N southern Oregon, that region of natural wonders, there is a lake which will soon be supplanted by town sites and fertile farms. This lake, Tule by name, covers about sixty thousand acres and is navigable for boats drawing four feet of water. It rests upon a lava flow of comparatively recent origin. Geological changes have cut off its original outlet, and the Government Reclamation Service has pre-empted Lost River, thereby cutting off its only source of supply. As a result of these conditions, Tule Lake is slowly drying up. Nature has, oddly enough, seen fit to supplement the process of evaporation. Engineers re cently found near the shore a small whirlpool which showed a subterranean outlet through which a large amount of water was escaping. Laborers were brought to the spot and the work of digging a well on the shore was begun. Dynamite was used to enlarge the subterranean crevice. and to connect it with the bottom of the well. A cut in the shore below the surface draws the water into the well, from whence its pressure forces it through the crevice to the hidden river beneath the lake bed. The exposed margin is rapidly growing in area. Already a strip half a mile in width has been put in cultivation, and the day is not far distant when the plow will have superseded the rowboat. AUTO SEAT USED AS SWING EXTRAORDINARY METHOD OF DRAINING A LAKE The water is conducted to an artificial well, which connects with a subterranean passage. USE FOR WORN OUT AUTO SEAT WHEN the family auto is ready for the junk pile, there is much of the wreckage that may be made available. The photograph shows how an old, but very comfortable tonneau seat was made into a hanging settee for the porch. Very little labor was required to finish the rough edges, when it was removed; the main work was done in attaching four stout chains to the corners of the seat and then to hooks in the ceiling of the porch. A padded settee of this type is more comfortable than the porch swing in general use, at the same time serving to recall the pleasant trips of the past. This novel use of old auto seats will probably appeal to most motorists. "AMERICAN-MADE" THE land change! This delectable country is located near Pine Ridge, South Dakota, on the Sioux Indian Reservation of that name. Paris with its exclusive "creations", which go out of style almost before they can be marketed, is given several "pointers" by the modistes of the Sioux Nation. It is true the difference in cost for a single dress is not great but, while the "confection" from the Rue de la Paix is out of date in a few short months, the dress of the young Sioux girl will wear for a couple of generations. In lieu of washing, this strictly American costume is "holystoned" once a month to keep the beads bright, while the silver bosses on the Cleopatra-like girdle and pendant are polished at similar periods. At first glance this young woman's costume would not appear to be expensive but, when it is considered that many months were spent upon the beadwork for the bodice, it will be seen the completed dress represents a considerable amount of money in labor alone. The deerskin, too, for the skirt attained its satin-like smoothness only after much manipulation by the old women tanners of the tribe. The shopping bag may be out of date according to our standards, STATIONARY SHIP CAFE but it will still be carried by its owner when most of the shopping bags of today have gone to follow yesterday's fashions. Only persons of robust physique will be attracted by this type of garment as the beadwork "cloth" weighs about ten A DOMESTIC FASHION PLATE pounds to the square yard. The figures on the bag and cape are generally tribal emblems and tell a story of their own to those who know the lore. K VENICE SHIP CAFÉ ONE of the most unusual of dining places is the ship café at Venice, California. It is modeled after the Spanish frigate in which Juan Cabrillo made his voyages of discovery, and is built over the surf of the Pacific Ocean. The ship is one of the pleasant surprises for the tourist who visits this popular summer and winter resort. The vessel has two decks; the seating capacity is four hun dred and seventy-five. There are a number of small compartments designed especially for parties, etc. From the windows of the café the guests may look down upon the tumbling surf, which is breaking beneath them. At night the ship presents a beautiful appearance. |