Plain, Hard
WorE, Says
Burbank
?? -?
THOSE who think of Luther
Burbank as "the plant wiz?
ard" may be surprised to
Snow that he does not
relish the description. Burbank,
who has just reached his seventieth
veBr, does not like the implication
that his success came to him "on
the wings of some mystic power."
It was hard work, nothing less, that
has made him the foremost experi?
mental agriculturist in the country,
as a writer in "The American Mag?
azine" undertakes to show. He says:
"His career has been full of bitter
disappointments and heartbreaking set?
backs. H has been empty of lucky ac?
cidents. There has been nothing of
magic in his work. But there has been
a patience so invincible, a concentra?
tion so ardent and intense, that one
must marvel at the man himself more
than at any of his achievements, re?
markable as they are.
"You think he must have been lucky.
Well, whatever luck came to him bad
the minus sign in front of it. What
he has accomplished was paid for in
hard work lasting for twelve and four?
teen hour? a day. He has kept at a
'ask for ten, twenty, even thirty years
before the desired end was attained.
He so concentrated all his powers
on his work that hia very senses have
?yrJ? developed far beyond their nor?
mt* quality. It is self-mastery, not
magic, that has made him able to
achieve miracles.
A MarshaVs Baton
" T am convinced that every normal
individual has, as Napoleon said, a
marshal's baton in the knapsack with
which he starts out,' Mr. Burbank said.
'But if he thinks that the baton is a
magician's wand he will win no vic?
tories with it. Like the plough handle,
the potential marshal's baton must be
worn smooth by the determined grip of
the owner's hand.' "
Fifty years ago Mr. Burbank was
:i delicate New England boy, and in
1875 he went to California for his
health, locating near Santa Rosa.
His novitiate there was spent in
abject poverty, sales from his
nursery the first year bringing him
'$37. But later opportunity knocked
at his door, as the writer indicates :
"His real chance did not come until
the third year, and even then it was
a chance to do what every one said
could not be done. An impatient fruit?
grower was making the rounds of the
California nurseries looking for 20,000
young prune trees to be delivered
ready for planting within ten months.
Not a nursery would undertake it.
Such a thing was considered impos?
sible. But when the struggling nur?
sery owner of Santa Rosa heard of the
order he went after the contract for
the 20,000 trees, and immediately
started to produce them.
"Because no other seeds would
sprout so late in the season, he planted
almonds in beds of moist sand, cover?
ing them with cloth to maintain the
proper moisture and temperature. As
the almonds sprouted they were 'Te
moved one by one to the nursery rows.
Then he scoured the surrounding
orchards for prune buds, and as soon
as the young almond trees were far
enough advanced the prune buds were
budded into them and the tops of the
young trees were broken off, thu3
forcing them to make a new growth.
Within a little more than six months
young Burbank had delivered 10,025
prune trees ready for planting. He
had done the impossible."
The Shasta Daisy
An indefatigable laborer, no little
of Mr. Burbank's success has re?
sulted from his keen perception, an
example of which the writer points
out:
"While Mr. Burbank was developing
the .Shasta daisy he produced millions
of plants and blossoms, destroyed
ninety-nine out of every hundred, ar.d
continued with the seed of the sur?
vivors. He succeeded in producing
a daisy with a, large, Bhowy blossom,
with the hardiness and the other quali?
ties he wanted; bat all the- millions oi
?hite flowers that passed In review
?efore his eyes had a faint greenish
Made. At last, among several thcu
oms, he found one of purcsl
white.
"Taka the seed of the whitest oni
and destroy all the others,1 he told th<
iortaiiir,.
"The foreman looked the flowen
over long and carefully. By and bj
he earne back, a puzzled frown on hii
face.
" ? can't find any whitest one,' hi
Mid. 'They're ail white.'
"Nat could the numerous visit?n
detect the eiifhtest difference in th<
color?n? of the daisies, until one daj
?n artiat confirmed tha plant breeder'i
Judgment o? calor values. Througi
??naci?os and deliberate training Mr
Barbank'? ?ye? hav? become able t<
detect the minutest deUll with start
lin* clearness. }f? ?an see at a ?lane?
whether a boildlnf Is even a quarte,
of an inch out of true, or whether ?
Will devint*? an inch per 100 fee
from a straight line/?
& addition to hfs axperimenta
A THOROUGH and authentic
review of concrete Bhips
which the United States
Geological Scnrwej has just
published, according to an editorial
in "Concrete Craft," emphasizes
some of the reasons for extensive
concrete craft canstraction. The
j writer, Mr. Robert W. Wesley,
points out:
"(1) Materials easily obtained and
the steel readily available; (2) labor
required is less skilled and can be re?
cruited from different classes than or?
dinary shipyard labor; (8) cost of con?
crete craft is equal or less than steel
vessels?and no- upkeep required; (4)
the time of construction is shorter."
In another place he refers to the
cost estimates by the Shipping
Hoard as putting concrete ship dead?
weight cost between $100 and $125,
as compared with wood ships $165
and steel ships $222. Irrespective
of war conditions and changes it is
reasonable to suppose that this ratio
will maintain. But what can be
expected when large experience in
concrete craft begins to save costs
throughout? It will be like any j
other new industry and the margin :
of saving compared with any other j
floating equipment will be one of
the wonders of the engineering age. ''
That concrete as a factor in the
industrial world has an illimitable
future might be predicted from the j
manifold methods of application |
that are revealing themselves.
"At the present moment," a writer ''
in "The Scientific American" as- '
serts, "the concrete freight car is
one of the latest demonstrations of i
the utility of concrete. As far back
as 1909 practical plans were already
formulated for the manufacture of ?
reinforced concrete freight cars, but '
the construction of a trial car was ?
delayed by the war. Only recently !
the first car of the gondola make
was completed by a Chicago com?
pany and tested under service condi?
tions.
"The basic feature of the design,"
says the writer, "is a steel skeleton i
body forming the outer boundary of
the car, and mounted upon a steel un- j
derframe. The concrete walls and floor
are contained within this frame, and,
together with the frame and floor rein- I
forcement, are connected to and inter- !
locked with the underframe. The steel
frame forms the finishing and protect- ,
ive edges, thus entirely shielding the
concrete and also serving as a complete
system of stress-bearing members.
"In the construction of the test car ?
the 'cement gun' was used. The forms ]
were r?aced on the outside of the car '.
and the cement was shot against them !
from within. The outside of the car?j
work, Mr. Burbank is a good deal
of a philosopher and pounds home
some of his ideas as follows:
"I have little sympathy for triers,
slackers and whiners. I prefer the ?
doers. Providence and nature intended J
every normal human being to render
the service for which he is fitted. It !
has been proved time and again that !
the normal man has in him the latent ?
capacity for far greater things than |
Luther Burbank
ho accomplishes in hi? dally routine.
It is only a question of arousing this
capacity und establishing the habit of
putting It to it? best usos constantly.
"Sporadic excellence and improve?
ment will not get a man very ft\r. Like
the plant breeder, bo must learn how
to fix tho new traits and character- !
iltiea he develop? so that the improve?
ment will be a lasting orio that can bft
transmitted to futuro generations.
"In my experiment? I ha va often
grown, examined and destroyed hum
Picturesquely rustic though
this garden entrance appears,
it is, nevertheless, built of the
ubiquitous concrete
that is, the surface against the forms?
was given a smooth finish, but the in?
terior was left much as it came from
the gun.
"Tests of the completed car, both
empty and loaded, demonstrated its
practicability for rough service. In
the test without load it withstood ex?
tremely rough handling in switching
and came through without injury. Sub?
sequently the car was loaded with
fifty-five tons (10 per cent overload)
of sand and turned over to a switching
crew for service handling. It with?
stood this test also without injury.
"Other merits are claimed for the
concrete car. It will not need painting
and will practically eliminate main?
tenance charges. Its life will be much
lenger than that of the wooden car. It
will have the important advantage,
also, of being unaffected by its cargo,
and will consequently be adapted bet?
ter than the steel car for hauling slag
and ashes."
The following Interesting ex?
amples of "concrete things" are
taken from the pages of "Popular
Mechanics":
"A concrete track base is being suc?
cessfully used without ballast, on a
short stretch of open main line, by a
western railroad. A continuous con
dreds of thousands of plants at a time,
frequently retaining only one, sowing
its seed and repeating the process
until I had produced a plant which un?
failingly transmitted its newly ac?
quired traits to its progeny. With
some plants this process of fixation
is comparatively easy. Other plants,
like certain species of palms, are so
absolutely, so stubbornly fixed in their
hereditary characteristics that no
human expedient has been abio to
produce an alteration so far.
"Wo can't select the best individual
human beings, keep them for breed?
ing purposes, and kill off all the rest.
Nor is this necessary. Man has in
him the power of conscious self-im?
provement, and the exercise of this
power makes every succeeding step
easier for tho individual."
Rubber
64rT,HB lack of suitable harbors in
Sumatra and other Far Eastern
countries, where a large part of tho
crude rubbor used in this country i?
produced, works a great inconvenience
In tho transportation of this raw ma?
terial overseas," notes a writer in "Tho
Argonaut" And ho goes on to say:
"At present plantation owners aro
compelled to load their crude rubber
on lighters, which transport it out to
the ocean liners that, on account of the
j lack of docking facilities, must anchor
off shore. This necessitates an extra
handling of the shipment. Realizing
the great importance of a deep harbor
on tho east ? coast of tho island to
accommodate the ocean Hteamers that
must transport tho rapidly increasing
production of crude rubber across tho
Pacific, tho government of tho Nother?
lands East Indios in about to construct
a $4,000,000 harbor at Bolawan, the sea?
port for Medan, which Is fifteen miloa
inland, in tho contro of a large rubber
producing rsigion. It in planned to
dredge a harbor deep enough to afford
docking facilities for tho Inrgust ves?
sels. About three yours will bo re?
quired to complote tho gigantic proj?
ect."
The entire structure of this Cuban garden pavilion?tree trunks,
ceiling beams and decorative inlay?is entirely of concrete!
?Photographs from Popidar Mechanics
crete slab, eight feet wide, with wood
cushions for the rails, is the salient
feature of the arrangement. The thick?
ness varies, for experimental reasons,
from 16% Inches to 24 inches. Also as
an experiment, both continuous timber
bearings and short wood blocks were
used under the rails on different sec?
tions.
"The concrete was moulded in bot?
tomless forms on the well tamped road?
bed, at a point where it runs through
a gravel cut, and no ballast was used.
The wood cushions for the rails are
| screwed to wood sills, imbedded in the
concrete. Although the concrete baso
is continuous with the track, 9-16-inch
expansion joints, cushioned with as?
phalt, are provided by moulding the
slabs in length 16 feet 51? inches.
"The ends of tho slabs are mortised
; to guard against side shifting. It is
! agreed that the concreted track rides
? more easily than adjacent tracks of
I usual construction, and maintenance is
low."
How concrete is used for ship re?
pairing is further explained:
"What may prove to be a new era in
ship repairing has been inaugurated by
ils Your Garden Backward?
Try the Ultra-Violet Ray
SOME remarkable experiments recently have been made in
regard to the influence of ultra-violet rays on the de?
velopment of sugar cane, the pineapple and the banana,
according to a writer in "The London Lancet." These
seem to show that if it were not that the atmosphere largely
absorbed these rays from sunlight the world's production of
vegetable foodstuffs would be very materially increased.
The writer continues:
: "For example, three lots of sugar^
! cane were planted, the first being cov- I
I ered with colored glass to exclude 50
I per cent of the sun's ultra-violet rays,
I the second being exposed normally to
sunlight and the third to the com
I bined action of sunlight and of the
j ultra-violet rays from a mercury vapor
lamp. Beyond this distinction other
things were equal, as, for example,
supplying the plunt with the same
I kind and amount of fertilizer. After
j several months the second lot was I
? found to contain as much as 30 per
I cent more sugar than tho first, and the \
| third lot contained 8 per cent more j
i sugar than the second.
"It is suggested that, according to ?
? this experiment, the time taken nor- ?
mally for the dcvclopmont of the cano :
to maturity, which Is as a rule
twenty months, would bo very con-,
sldorably reduced if only an economic
and practical sourco of ultra-violet
rays could be found. Tho use of mer?
cury lamps on any scalo Is, of course,
impracticable, but there is a possibility
of producing tho rays perhaps by less
j oxponsivo moans. Pineapples Bubmit
? ted to tho raya for forty minutes each
morning devolopod a fruit riper, juicior
and larger than that exposed to sun?
light only.
"It wan further noticed that banana
leaves and stalks which had boon cut
and placed in water kept their original
frenhnoss even after two weeks when
thoy had been exposed to ultra-violet
rays, whereas tho same materials un?
treated faded completely after six or
?ovon days. This treatment whon
carefuly carried out, therefore, delays
tho deterioration of the fruit, and ?o
would help its export to a remote des?
tination in sound condition.
"The ultra-violet rays, of course, are
well known for their germicidal prop?
erties and have been used as a means
of sterilizing drinking water even on
a large scale, as in several towns in
France. It would bo interesting if
some relationship were proved to exist
between this sterilizing action of the
rays and their stimulating effect on
plant development."
Figures on
Fitness
THE reports of the madical exam1
iners to the army recruiting
boards show a deplorable state of
British natnonal health, according
to the medical correspondent of
"Tho London Times," who says:
So far as information is at present
available tho situation is deplorable,
nothing liko half of tho men examined
having proved healthy in a military
sense.
Here, for example ara a few figures
which, if unofficial, oro yet sufficiently
accurate for pructical purposes:
Out of every nine men examined?
Throo were fit for service and wcro
good lives.
Two were more or less unfit, but nblo
to do something.
Four represented wreckage of one
Although the big-leafed vines
and foliage seen in this picture
are natural, everything else (in?
cluding the trees) is concrete
a Buenos Ayres firm. A wooden vessel
of some 200 tons displacement, with
ribs quite rotted away at the bottom,
was reinforced by new concreto ribs
being cast between the existing wooden
ribs. These were secured to the skin
of tho vessel by means of screws
being driven into the latter and the
concrete set around them. The con?
crete also serves a:? ballast, hence
nothing is added to the weight of the
vessel. The repair was quite success?
ful."
Concrete rowing machines are
used by the United States navy:
"Those who have handled only the
light oars of pleasure boats on a gentle
sea may not fully realize the difficulties
' of managing the multiple-oared aux?
iliary craft used by tho navy. For
the purpose of training sailors in this
necessary duty the Naval Training Sta?
tion at Capo May, N. J., has built a
concrete rowing machine, consisting of
a dummy boat of huge size with a row
of oarlocks the full length of each side.
The machine was built on dry land, but
now occupies the centre of a concrete
tank, or pond. A bridge at each end
establishes permanent shore connec?
tions." N
A shortage of steel in Texas led
to the use of concrete in oil reser?
voirs :
"Shortage of steel has caused rein?
forced concrete to be used in the con?
struction of a 330.000-barrel oil reser?
voir near Gainesville, Tex.
kind or another, some of it hopeless,
moat of it preventable.
Tho picture for the whole of the
country will, we believe, be found to
average out something after this fash?
ion:
Fit men, 36 per cent.
Fairly good men, 23 per cent.
Unsound men, 31 per cent.
Totally incapacitated, 10 per cent.
This, it will be seen, is a very gloomy
estimate. We must, however, realize
that many a man unfit for military ser?
vice is yet fit enough to earn his liv?
ing. That being allowed for, it has
further to be borne in mind that the
examining boards were anxious to pass
as many recruits as possible. Indeed,
during tho critical days of last year
every man who could reasonably be ex?
pected to help was urgently required at
the front. There can be no doubt that
had tho boards been working on a civil
rather than on a military basis the
picture would have been different; in
some instances better, in others worse.
Roughly sneaking, however, the
; physically fit men in this country
! amount to about 36 j>er cent of the
population at a conservative estimate,
the unfit to 64 per cent. In other
words, thero are very nearly twice as
! many unfit as fit men.
It will, we think, come as rather a
: surprise to Londoners to find that their
i city does not compare favorably with
i other parts of the country in this re?
spect. Tho following percentage table
may be taken as an anticipation of
what tho figures will reveal. It is, of
course, entirely unofficial:
Average for Lon- Scot
country, don. land. Wales
Fit. 36 28 44 46
Impossible ... 10 12 8 7
It will bo seen that Wales Is esti?
mated as likely to bo much better than
"the rest of the country, with a high av?
erage of acceptances and a low average
of total rejections. Scotland comas
noxt. London is in both cases worso
than tho average for the whole coun?
try.
Theso figures, of course, are very In?
complete, and may even, as wo have
explained, bo misleading unless the
special circumstances are borna in
in hid. Hut they do servo one purpose.
They emphasize the burden which tho
tit men nre called upon to bear, and
thoy strengthen tho demand of the fit
for meaauren to rollove them.
i "The type is found In California
j fields, but is new in Texas. It con
| sists of a circular basin floored with
| three inches of wire-strengthened con
! crete and covered with a concrete roof
supported on timber posts and girders.
"The bowl was provided by making a
five-foot excavation in a limestone
stratum and throwing up an earthen
embankment seventeen feet in height.
! By tying together tho wiring in the
roof and slope slabs and connecting
the pipo lines likewise with the roof
reinforcing, precaution has been taken
against firo being caused by lightning."
A concrete cap is said to lengthen
the life of a chimney:
"The life of many a chimney would
be greatly lengthened if a concrete cap
wa3 made for it when built. The cap
holds tho chimney in alignment, pre?
vents tho top bricks from becoming
loose, acts as a watershed, and tho
chimney looks much neater than if no
cap is used.
"Such a cap will add years to tho Ufa
of an old chimney, but any loose bricks
at the top of the chimney must be
carefully cleaned and set in fresh mor?
tar before tho concreto is put no.
"The concrete cap should project one
inch beyond the brick on all sides of
the chimney. On tho top it slants,
with a fall of one inch to the foot, the
concrete being four inches thick at the
thinner edge. The cap should bo made
by tamping a rather dry mixture?one
part cement and four parts sand?into
a form made the proper size for tho
chimney."
Concrete telegraph poles are now
manufactured in Connecticut:
"Vertical moulds are used at a plant
in West ?laven, Conn., for casting con?
creto telegraph poles. Four of the
moulds are supported by a towerlike
frame of timber. Chains, hung from
the top of the tower, aro used for rein?
forcing tho upper half of the poles, the
tower half being strengthened by s
hollow steel core held upright in the
centre of the mould. The mixture if
hoisted to the top of tho tower and
poured into the moulds, which are re
moved early enough to dress the pole;
to a smooth surface before they set."
Concrete anchors have been founc
to be practical:
"Concrete anchors are the l?gica
successors to the concrete ship, an<
seem to be equally practical. Made o
reinforced concrete, they are claimet
to possess several advantages over tin
l traditional type. Initial cost is ver;
low, making los3 of an anchor in i
, storm a less serious matter than be
j fore, and upkeep is practically nothing
since they will not rust nor corrode
jand hence never need chipping o
painting.
"There are two kinds now being mar
ufactured?a slab type, for barges, an
! a fluke type, used for floating fis
! traps. Neither looks very acceptabl
to a sailor, but tho latter most near!
resembles the familiar steel ancho:
having regulation steel-capped fluke;
with edges bevelled and surface
smoothed. Theso anchors are no\
being produced in largo quantities, i
?izes ranging from BOO to 8,000 pounds.
The Soul of
the Cockle
! Burr
A BULLETIN issued by the
American Chemical So?
ciety declares that a "new
and valuable oil" is now
being made from the despised
cockle burr, which heretofore has
been chiefly associated with stick?
ing: to tho clothes of the passersby.
Details have been explained by
L. B. Rhodes, oil chemist of the
, North Carolina Department of
' Agriculture, in an address delivered
at Raleigh, N. C, before the North
Carolina section of the American
Chemical Society. The A. C. $.
bulletin quotes Mr. Rhodes as
follows :
i "The cockle burr is a coarse plant
with rough leaves smi prickly bead.
It is widely distributed through the
United States so that it is moro or
I less a nuisance in most localities, and
| is very abundant throughout the South.
? If the burrs could be obtained eys
. tematically in sufficiently large quan?
tities, they could be easily milled.
"Those which I have gathered were
| either dry or in a half-dry condition.
! They were first cut in half by a trim
ming board and the kernels mashed.
They were then placed in a box and
' vigorously shaken. The hulls were
i taken out, leaving tho kernels at the
i bottom. These kernels were then
?pounded and rubbed in a mortar until
the black shucks were removed after
which the husks were forced out by
blowing. The ground kernels were
then wrapped in cheesecloth and pressed
between cold stcA plates.
"The oil thus obtained was allowed
to settle for three or four days' and
then filtered. It is of a light yellow
; shade; has a clear sparkling appear
I anee.and a pleasant odor and an agree
i able nutty taste. It keeps well without,
! becoming rancid. On account of this
quality it should eventually be used
i as a substitute in the dietary for other
; vegetable oils.
"The press cake left after expressing
| the oil should be of value as a food
for cattle and certainly it can be read
; ily used as a fertilizer."
Mr. Rhodes said that he had no
' doubt that before long the cockle
j burr oil would have a place in com
| merce, because of the richness of
, the kernel and ease with which the,
i oil can be extracted. The yield
, from the kernel is about 30 per
cent, and the kernels constitute
about the same proportion of the
' bulk of the crude burrs. The press
cake contains 40.34 per cent of
; protein.
With such things in their favor
j the familiar roadside pests may
j prove of real service to both man
: and beast.
TWO X-ray photographs taken
of Premier Clemenceau im?
mediately after the attempt
on his life by the anarchist
Cottin were included among the ex?
hibits at the would-be assassin's
trial. The Paris weekly "L'Illustra?
tion" has secured permission to re?
produce these interesting photo?
graphs, or, rather, their skeletonized
diagrams. They are accompanied by
an anatomical explanation by Dr.
Maingot, a well known French scien
i tist, who says :
"In the thorax are domiciled the
principal organs of life?the heart and
the lungs. Near these a number of big
arteries and veins pass through the
thorax, among them the aorta, with
its ramifications; also the oesophagus,
which connects the pharynx with the
stomach, the two forming part of the
alimentary canal. The oesophagus is
leaning on the vertebral column and
follows it almost to the bottom of the
thorax.
"Each of these organs has ita fixed
place. Tho thorax is divided into two
parts?the circumference, which lodges
the lungs, and the centre, where are
located the heart, the aorta, the
branches of the aorta, the vein?, the
oesophagus, etc. This central part is
called mediastino.
"Situated between the two lungs, be?
tween the vertebral column and the
breastbone, the mediastine extends
from the upper to the lower part of
the thorax. Below, it is almost filled
by the heart; this is the inferior
mediastine. Above, it lodges the aorta,
the superior hollow vein, the windpipe;
this is the superior mediastine.
"Thanks to tho facility with which
a wounded person can bo examined
from different angles, the localization
of a projectile in the thorax is one of
the easiest of all anatomical localiza?
tion 8."
I,?X-ray photograph of pie thorax (full face): 1?Right lung.
S?Left lung. S?Heart 1?Aorta. S?Vertebral column.
6?Collarbone. 7?Liver. 8?Stomach.
g.?X-ray photograph of the thorax (profile): 1?Lungs. S?Clear
?pace representing the back part of the mediastino. S?Heart.
??Aorta. 5?Vertebral column. G?Fore wall of tJie thorax.
7?Liver.
Bullet A struck in the fore part of the mediastine; seen from ill*
front, it is projected on the right border of the aorta; seen from
the side, it lies apart behind the vessel. Bullet B is in the back
and lower part of the mediastine; in front, it is seen against
the silhouette of tho heart; from the side, it can be noticed that
it is in reality behind the heart Bullet C is in the fore part of
the mediastine; like- Bullet /,', it appears in front of the heart,
but the profile photo locates it beyond question behind that
organ. Bullet I), seen both from the front and the side, floate
within the silhouette- of tho heart: it lias an "intra-cardiac"
position. Ballet E is not in tho liver against whose silhouetta,
it is seen; the profile picture shows that it is in the lowest part
of the lung, near the baok, $