New-York tribune. [volume], July 21, 1918, Page 5, Image 39

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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The Great Workshop of Science
Louisville's New Open-Well Caisson
- -From The Engineering N?ivs-Record
?PPORTING the GO.OOO.OOO-gallon
pumping station which Louisv.lle
is building for ir-; water works,
"Engineering News-Record,"
i, a concr ? open-well caisson 90 feet
square and 83 feet deep, containing 5,858
cubic yards of concrete and 145 tons of
reinforcing steel. Construction, the
writer ci ntinues, was initiated?
"by til.' driving of fifty-foot steel sheet
] round the west and south sides of
the s te to keep down the warer and par?
ticularly to prevent movement <r material
from areas adjacent to or under the old
Ground water, coming toward
th? river, was even more troublesome than
anticipated beci use of th( vo ume and h gh
level. V cofferdam ?? ?? ? iced i r< und the
river and easl : i s to close tue area of
op?: i ion. Tl is was filled with material
excavated from the site and dredged from
the river. With a few exceptions the dam
S
was tight against ordinary river levels, al?
though three units having a combined
capacity of 2,700 gallons a minute were
operated much of the time, particularly
when the top of the caisson was below
river or ground-water levels. The maxi?
mum draw down or difference maintained
in elevation between river height and the
water inside the cofferdam was sixteen feet.
"When the river portion of the site had
been levelled off and trenches excavated
in the sloping bank for setting up the cut?
ting edges, the steel plates were riveted
together, the reinforcing was placed and
the forms were erected. Before the con?
crete was deposited earth was backfilled lin?
de r the cutting edges up to a point whore
(he truncated pyramidal shape intersected
the octagonal shape of the wells. This was
to give additional support to the cribwork
of short timbers, which was not sufficient
to carry the concrete load. A depth of four?
teen feet was placed first in three lifts.
"Some sagging took place, but before the
final set of the concrete, so that no perma
ncnt injury was done and a true monolith
was obtained. After fourteen days the
forms were removed and excavation was
begun immediately,1'" the blocking 'being
dredged out as the work proceeded. There?
after concrete, lifts of eight feet each alter?
nated with the work of excavation, about
ten days being allowed each time for the
concrete to set before excavation was re?
sumed.
"To handle the materials two derricks
and a whirly or revolving crane were set
up so as to cover the entire site. The con?
creting plant, with 100-foot tower and
chute, was placed on one of the river cor?
ners of t he cofferdam and was supplied
with aggregate and cement entirely from
barges. Trestles for narrow-gauge tracks
for the removal of excavated material and
to bring in reinforcing bars and other ma?
terial were built along each side of the
structure, just inside the line of sheet pil?
ing on the west and the cofferdam on the
east. The height of the trestle was about
thirty-six feet."
Taking Movies Under Water
?s WE SAIS TOUT," of Paris, re
?* g cently carried the following
SLr description, accompanied by a
diagram, of the mechanism
used in taking moving pictures under
the surface of the sea:
"A water-tight metal lube, consisting of
segments which may slide back and forth
lik< the pi rts of field glasses, is provided
lit bol ? nds with reflecting mirrors. The
? From Je Sais Tout
picture received in the lower mirror is sent
up through the tube to the upper mirror
and from there it is reflected in a horizon?
tal direction to the recording apparatus. In
order that the faintest objects may be re?
flected very strong illumination i* necs
ury. For thin purpose use is made of a
powerful electric projector, v/'iich is at?
tached above the lower mirror and connect?
ed with a dynamo by means of insulated
wire running along the tube. The entire
apparatus is simply a periscope which
bring? to a moving-pie'are earner* placed
on board a vessel the picture of the depths
of the ocean, well illuminated by a sub?
merged reflector. The employment of the
new apparatus makes unnecessary a sub?
mersion of the camera itself."
Austria Mas Her Aerial
Post, Too
rP HE longest aerial postal route is
undoubtedly that between Vienna
and Kiev, which was established in
March by the Austrian government in
order to secure rapid communication
with the Austrian officer? and official?.
Th* air line distance, according to the
*"VossWhe Zeitung," is about 700 mile?,
knt the route taken by way of Cracow
atid Ltmilmr* is longer than that. The
Post 13 carried daily from Vienna to
?Kiev, There are relays at Cracow and
Lember?T, where another aviator with his
own machine takes over the mail and
carries it forward. The post starts from
Vienna at 8 o'clock every morning and
reaches Kiev in from ten to twelve
hours, whereas the present schedule
time of the fastest railway train is forty
hours. About 1,000 letters are carried
on each trip, many of which are for
officials in Cracow and Lern berg.
Beating Russia at Her
Own Game
ALMOST five revolutions without
falling over or getting dizzy is the
record for this spruce tree in the course
of its eighty-three years of existence, aa
described by Alice Spencer in "Ameri?
can Forestry." In setting forth the
Lheory advanced to account for this
phenomenon, the writer says:
"It is known that a coniferous tree, grow?
ing at a slant, forms, on the lower side of
the trunk, a dense reddish wood known as
'rothholz.' As the 'rothholz' in this par?
ticular specimen is a continuous formation,
winding from the centre to within half an
inch from the circumference, it is surmised
that it was growing in an inclined position
on the edge of a glacier where it was caused
to rotate so that different radii of the stem
were'successively on the downward side,
thus causing the 'rothholz' to intersect the
annual rings and, as the tree grew older,
forming a spiral.
"The formation of the 'rothholz' appar?
ently began when the treo was six years old,
the 'rothholz' as well as the tree itself mak?
ing almost five complete revolutions, requir?
ing from eight to nineteen year? for each
revolution. The tree was eighty-three years
?from simencan forestry
old, as determined by counting the annual
rings, and the formation of the 'rothholz'
ceased about twenty-one years before the
tree was cut, which means that the tree
must then have assumed a vertical position.
"It is reported that where this specimen
was collected a number of other spruce
trees showed the same phenomenon.
"We like to believe that this tree foresaw
the great world war that was to take place
some eighty-odd years after it began its ex?
istence and knew that it would be called
upon to aid In the struggle for democracy.
Therefore, with the aid of a glacier, it be?
gan the peculiar gyrations which proved its
fitness for airplane stock.
"Ten revolutions in ten seconds, with head
bent to the knees, at the end of which time
he must resume an upright position, is one
of the tests given an aviator, but even he
will admit that five revolutions in a life?
time is doing well for a tree."
Cactus Alcohol
r|PHE newest use for Southwestern
cactus is as a source of alcohol for
industrial purposes. With the crudest
sort of stills, Mexicans have made bev?
erage alcohol from cactus for many ?
A Twenty-Five Ton Lift
? Committee on Public Information, from Vndericood ? Cn?erwoo?
'T'tiEY are all American?engineers, cranes and locomotive parts. The last named are
* being unloaded from freight cars in France, preparatory to assembling
years. Cactus alcohol would conserve
corn and other grains. A concern in
Louisville, Ky., is now looking into the
possibilities of this waste-land crop.?
Seien I i fie A m erican.
When the German U-Boat
Is Wrecked
T~"\UTCH newspapers, according to
"The Electrical Experimenter," de?
scribe a new method by which crews of
U-boats escape from their boats to the
surface after they have been destroyed
or wrecked :
"Statistics prepared by the German Admi?
ralty show that, despite popular belief, a
submarine runs less danger in its opera?
tions than does the cruiser or other ship of
war, and that despite the terrific strain
there has been a very small Joss of life
among the crews.
"When the U-boat is wrecked or disabled
and lies on the bottom of the sea, a little
compartment on top is opened and a buoy
which has been filled with air is released
and at once rises to the top, carrying at?
tached to it a steel cable. Equipped with
swimming vests, also inflated with air, the
men climb to the surface by means of the
cable. During this climb to' the surface
each man wears over his mouth and nose a
small apparatus containing pure air. so that
he is enabled to breathe oxygen. This appa?
ratus at the same time purifies the carbonic
acid, and keeps the air pure for several
hours. The buoy on the surface also is
equipped with an electrical apparatus so
that electric waves can be sent through the
water calling for assistance. The buoys
are large enough to accommodate nearly all
the men of the crew.
"When danger threatens the alarm is at
once sounded and this new life saving appa?
ratus is at once prepared for use, so that
the men can leave a U-boat within a few
minutes. It is said that this apparatus will
make the operat.on of the U-boats as safe
as can be devised fcr their crews. Thus it
peems the Germans do find time to invent
safety devices."
Petroleum's Part in the
War
ii A S petroleum was one of the prin
-r"*- cipal contributions to the vast
commercial fabric which was our glory
in times of peace, so it has been as neces?
sary to warfare as men or cannon,"
writes A. C. Bedford in "The National
Marine." He continues:
"Picture oil in war time. The multitude
of factories turning out munitions of war
must have fuel and lubricating oils in un?
usual quantities. Transports carrying our
soldiers and war products over the seas are
relying more and more on fuel oil. Fuel oil
is largely the fuel for the Allied fleet?.
Transport lorries carry the soldiers and the
supplies to the front. The efficiency of the
auto trucks transporting supplies to Verdun
blocked the way to Paris. Had it not been
for the gasolene that supplied the sub?
marine chasers the submarine war would
have taken an inestimably greater number
of our merchant ships. Had it not been for
gasolene it would not be possible to-day to
operate the new boats that are being used
to detect the presence of the U-boats be?
neath the waves, and rinaly gasoiene is
vital to the vast airplane fleet which the
United States will ship to France.
"How the war has called for more and
more of these supplies is indicated by the
fact that in 1913 our exports of gasolene to
our present allies totalled 29,000,000 gal?
lons, and these exports rapidly increased
until in 1917 they totalled 300,000,000 gal?
lons, and in like manner the exports of lu?
bricating oil increased from 103.000.000 gal?
lons in 1913 to over 200,000.000 gallons in
1917. During the war the requirements for
naphtha and gasolene have jumped forward
with tremendous strides, our total exports
of naphtha and gasolene in 1913 being 188,
000,000, against over 400,000,000 galions in
1917."
How to Make a Reading
Lamp
A GOOD, though perhaps not orna?
mental, reading lamp, a corre
spondent to "The Electrical Experiment?
er" suggests, may be easily made from
some old gas piping and odd parts. It
is constructed this way:
"The base of the lamp is made of a
rather heavy paper weight which has a few
?!j P!'*^?. dt~\< sa ??ftl ? 8 T^ "^1 <H*^ ?#"?i ffl si ^"^ ?W T* ?^"^
lilt; i diKing vxi?vc
THE day is passed when the ability
to speak is closed to the deaf
mute, says John I). Wright in
"The Medical Times." A deaf
mute, according to Mr. Wright, is really
a person who is first deaf, and who be?
cause of deafness is unable to learn to
speak. Nevertheless, this person can
still be taught to speak?
"even though the avenue of approach to
the brain through the ear is absolutely
closed. In a surprising number of cases,
however, children whom physicians have
properly classed as 'deal' mutes' because
liey are deaf and, as a consequence of
their deafness, are 'mutes,' have, never?
theless, a power of perceiving sounds with?
in the range of the speaking voice. While
it is not acute enough to enable them to
acquire speech or an understanding of
spoken language in the ordinary uncon?
scious manner of the 'hearing' child, be?
cause they cannot hear those sounds so
far away as the distance of daily inter?
course, and perhaps not even at much
shorter distances, it is still sufficient to
convey to the brain the impressions of ar
ticulatory utterance when the sounds
originate very near the. ear and are loud
and distinct.
"It is astonishing how deaf a child may
be and yet can bo taught to interpret into
ideas the sounds of speech. The teaching
process is precisely the same a3 that by
which the hearing child learns to under?
stand what is said to him, except that it
is conducted at an inch or more from his
ear, and partly while facing a mirror, in?
stead of being carried on a yard or more
away from him without any necessity fur a
mirror.
"For more than twenty-five years I have
been educating deaf children and teaching
them to speak and to read the lips of those
who speak to them, and I have found that
slightly over 83 per cent of them possessed
a sufficient power of perceiving sounds
pitched within the normal range of the
speaking voice to enable me to teach them
to interpret language through the ear. In
some cases the amount of hearing was so
?mall that it did not enable the pupil to
learn to modulate his voice by ear, and yet
he could learn to comprehend spoken lan?
guage."
But Imagine the Case of
Those Both Deaf and Blind
Far more difficult ia the problem of
dealinjf with those rendered both deaf
and blind, and thus. cut off from the
world by the two main avenues of sense.
The present war, probably inore than
any other in history, has proved destruc
tive of sight and hearing, and it is a
matter of congratulation that plans are
already being made for restoring to
normal life those so maimed.
Some idea of the method is given in
a pamphlet by Harold T. Clark, "Talking
j Gloves for the Deaf and Blind." Careful
! sturJy of the situation reveals the fact
that some system of a touch alphabet or
"talking gloves" has been in existence
for at least two or three hundred years,
and one is on record, devised by George
Dalgarno, of Oxford, England, in 1618. i
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell improved
the system in 1872, and there are noted
cases of persons deaf and blind who
have further modified and perfected the
method. Perhaps the one most widely
known is that of Dr, William Terry, of
Ansonia, Conn., briefly described below:
"It makes use of the places on the hand
where the sense of touch is most acute; j
that is, the tips of the fingers arid the !
creases at the joints. Dr. Terry's cxperi
ence as a surgeon suggested this thought '?
to him, and a moment's trial will convince
one that when any of these points is
touched the exact location may be told
very quickly. This arrangement of letters
will readily be understood from a glance
at the accompanying illustration. It ia an
especially good arrangement not only be?
cause it is compact and orderly, but be?
cause it brings the vowels and letters
most frequently used in places on the hand
where they are readily found. Either right
or left hand may be used. Dr. Terry found
his right hand most sensitive to touch, and '
therefore used it.
"It is well to add that various ways of '
_!
THE WILLIAM TERRY TOUCH ALPHABET
RIGHT HAND-FRONT VIEW RIGHT HAND-BACK VIEW
?From Talking Gloves for the Deaf and Blind
I saving time may be devised. Thus, a touch
on the right hand means 'Yes,' touching
the left hand signifies 'No' and touching
the forehead T don't know.' Moreover,
there are certain word signs, like a touch
on the wrist for 'and' and phonetic spell?
ings, like 'r' for 'are.' The end of a word
is signified by gently touching the back of
the hand. Then the deaf and blind person
will repeat aloud what he has understood.
If a mistake is made in the spelling or
understanding of a word the hand is
closed a moment as a signal to repeat.
Just Put on the Magic
Glove and Talk
"As has already been stated, by u.^ing a
white glove marked with the alphabet any?
body can readily talk with the deaf and
bund person, although the 'speaker' never
tried the system before. All that is neces?
sary is to touch the letters as marked on
tiie glove much as one wou'd press the keys
of a typewriter. This is a great advantage
over the ordinary methods, where the one
wiio wishes to converse must know the
special manual alphabet. One famiiiar
with the alphabet may, just as in operat?
ing a typewriter, use all his fingers in
touching the letters and attain a speed
which is quite surprising.
"It was Dr. Terry's custom to keep a
marked g'ove in his pocket. Whenever any
one came to see him he would reach in hi.
pocket, put on the glove and enjoy a
good visit.
"It has been silage s ted that in the case
of young or middle aged deaf and biinc
persons various advantages couid be gui?ee
by arranging the letters "n the finders
having special regard to the frequency ol
their use and the combinations in which
they are most likely to occur, as is dan(
in the universa! keyboard of a typewritei
or linotype machine.
"The speed obtainable is quite rem&rka
ble. The deaf and blind person soon learni
word and sentence construction and antici
pates what is coming, so that in conversinj
it ig unnecessary to spei! out all of even
sentence or, indeed, of every word. More
over, certain word signs Or contractions art
easily worked out, which increase tht
speed."
Dr. Bell says, regarding a pupil:
'Tie did not require to look; ho eouli
feel where he was touched. He recognisei
the words in this way, however rapidly
spelled them upon his hand. As I had fiv
lingers, I couid touch five letters simul
taneous'y if I so desired, and a little prae
tice enabled me to play upon his hand a
one would play upon the keys of a pianc
and quite as rapidly."
A Home-Made Electric Reading Lamp Con?
structed from Some Pipe, a Wooden Ba*e *na
a Lamp Socket.
?From The Electricat ?.rjjerimenter
ornamental beads turned on it for appear?
ance. On the top of this an old switch
base is fastened with two machine screws,
which thread into holes in the paper
weight tapped for that purpose. The weigh?,
should be at least four inches in diameter.
"A piece of V? inch , n pipe x1.^ inches
long is then fastened to the switch base by
two gas-pipe nuts on either side of the
switch base. The illustration shows the
toti nut as well as the bottom nut which
fits itjto the hollow of the switch base. An
elbow is screwed into the top of the pipe
carrying another two-inch piece of pipe.
"'i ii.s .-.h ut piece lias at its other end the
sr>rt of elbow usually used on gas lines at
the Lurner. A standard candelabra socket
is screwed into this elbow. The wiring is
carried down into the base, where it con?
nects with flexible cord und connecting
plug and is let out of trie base by a quar?
ter-inch hole diametrically through the
paper weight. An 8-c. p., 110-volt, frosted,
candelabra buib will be found very satis?
factory, not hurting the ey-'s and giving a
good illumination. The whole lamp may
be painted with biack paint, such as Japa
lac, which adds considerably to its appear?
ance.'
: '
Women Dive for Shells
in Japan
'T'HT! Japanese Industry of making but
| -*- tons, scarfpinSy shirt studs?, cuff
links and the like from sea-shells brought
from the Indian Ocean, the Philippines
I and the South Sea Islands huts a?ade
! mighty srriofes these last few yvars. M?O
j ions of tht? shells are gathered fr\>m the
i ocean bottom by women diver?, wiro
i work without the aid of any diving appa
| ratas whatever.?From Gas Logic*