The San Francisco call. [volume], July 19, 1896, Page 29, Image 29

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

Image provided by: University of California, Riverside; Riverside, CA

                
TO OAKLAND IN A
SUBMARINE TUBE,
A Transportation Proba
bility of the Near
Future.
Carriages Propelled at Enormous
Rate of Speed by Atmos
pheric Pressure.
An Easy and Ccmforlable Method of
Crossing the Bay— For Passen
gers and Freight.
It ia quite a safe pi-ophecy that early in j
the twentieth century the citizens of San
"Francisco and Oakland will look back I
upon the present transportation facilities
across the bay with the same feelings of
wonderment at the slowness of things in
the year 1896 as we now do to the early
ci»YH bfforo steam wh» made to supplant
the sail and the oar. The law of progress
ia ever onward. Some day we or our
children will cross the bay in an instant.
But how? Will it be by flying-machines
or the pneumatic submarine method?
Here prophecy ceases and speculation
begins.
Professor Frank M. Close, in the fol
lowing interesting article, has outlined
for "The Call* readers a brief sketch of
his Ideas of future transportation be
tween San Francisco and Oakland. Be
ing an expert in the department of phy
sical science, Professor Close's contribu
tion to this ever-fascinating subject of
the scientific possibilities of the future
Is not only highly entertaining but con
tains much food for serious thought.
One of the greatest factors in civiliza
tion is a means of transportation. The de
velopment of the world is accelerated or
impeded according as tbe facilities for the
transportation of passengers and freight
are good or bad.
The railroad has proven to be the most
potent agent in the civilization of the
world.
Land transportation has reached a fairly
satisfactory stage. Marine transportation
remains extremely crude, and presents
but slight improvement upon primitive
methods. The sail has been substituted
for the oar, and the steam propeller is
eradoally supplanting the sail, but as yet
marine transportation is lacking in both
speed and capacity, and is under all pres
ent systems continually menaced by delay
and wreckage resulting from unfavorable
and stormy weather.
Not only upon the great highways of
commerce, the bays and culfs and lakes
and oceans, do the necessities of traffic
meet with difficulty of attainment, but
also in the crossing of small bodies of
water, as estuaries and basins. Tbe
vatery expanse between San Francisco
aixl Oakland is an example. It is an im
mense hindrance to the commerce of the
cities upon its opposite-sneres.
To arrive at an intelligent conclusion as
to the best mode of marine transporta- j
tion, it will be necessary to consider the j
objections to existing methods.
Navigation confined to the surface of j
the water has to contend witn unfavorable !
winds and surface currents of water that
not un frequently increase to dangerous
proportions; while the almost continuous
presence of waves forming an unequal
surface adds no little impediment.
The employment of submarine vessels,
funken to a depth below the surface of the
water, and thus avoiding wave action,
would in some respects be a gain over the
surface system, as thereby the deterrent i
effects of unfavorable winds would be |
avoided. There are ro real mechanical •
difficulties in itie way of constructing and
operating a submarine vessel. But the ;
resistance offered by tne dense medium
through which the submarine vessel has
to pass requires the expenditure of enor
xnous power to accomplish desirable sDeed.
Celerity, safety ana certainty are essen
tial factors of perfect transportation, and j
each and all are measurably wanting in
existing modes of marine transportation. I
The submarine transportation of tbe
future will be conducted by means of tubes
or tunnels resting upon the bed of the sea. I
Let us suppose a continuous tube of a
slightly elliptical cross-section, having an '
internal diameter of, say ten feet, with
walls a foot in thicknes*, laid between San
Francisco and Oakland. There would not
be tne slightest difficulty in driving
through the tube, by pneumatic pressure,
a single carriage or a train of carriages at
a very high rate of speed.
Ot what material shall the tube be made?
how shall it be constructed; how shall it
be placed in position?
Chemistry in its work i 3 constantly mak
ing discoveries of the properties of sub
stances. When there shall be found Borne
Etibstance which if incorporated with gutta
percha or other similar material stiall pro
duce a substance that when in the air
shall posses-s a degree of flexibility and
plasticity, and when submerged beneath
the water shall become indurated, as a re
sult of its exposure to the water, then the
whole question will be satisfactorily soived.
Recent experiments already foreshadow
the production of such material.
Granted that such a material is avail
able, then a huge tube or pipe of the de
sired dimensions of cross-section and
length i 3 made and laid, the water being
allowed to flovr into the tube during the
process of laying. The tube, being flex
ible, permits its easy handling. It may—
and perbaps such would prove the better
way— be manufactured on board a vessel,
specially constructed for that purpose,,
and paid out as the process of manufac
ture goes on. The admission of water
into the tube fulfills a double purpose— it
allows the tube to assume its natural
cylindrical shape by equalizing the water
pressure inside and out, and also perfects
the process of induratiou throughout.
Once laid, the tube is allowed to rest at the
bottom of tbe sea for a period of time suffi
cient to complete the induration, when it
is emptied of its watery contents.
It may be one and it rr.ay be five miles
from the surface of the water to tbe bot
tom bed, on which rests the tube. No
pump could possibly be used, nor could
the water be forcibly expelled. But one
of nature's simple laws may be safely re
lied upon to successfully accomplish tbe
desired end. A larjce electric cable, well
insulated, i 8 placed iv the tube at the time
of laying. This cable is severed at the
center of the length of the tube, the ends
of the cable being carried out beyond the
shore ends of the tube. When the period of
induration has expired and tbe walls of the
tube are sufficiently hardened the positive
pole of a powerful dynamo is connected to
one of the shore ends of the cable and the
negative pole of a similar dynamo to the
other shore end of the cable. Electrolysis
(the decomposition of water by the electric
current) at once takes place, and the
water in the tube is separated into its con
stituent elements, and oxygen gas passes
out at one end of the tube and hydrogen
gas at the other, the process of electrolysis
continuing until all the water in the tube
is eliminated.
The tube once free of water, it becomes a
simple matter to fit the interior with proper
carriages and propel them by atmospheric
pressure at enormous speed, and any num
ber of carriages may be en route at the
same time.
Such a system is admirably adapted to
both passenger and freight traffic. Pure
air in abundance is assured, and light
may be readily provided by electric appli
ances. Motion would be scarcely felt by
the passenger, while by means of appro
priately placed wires in the inner wall of
the tube each carriage would be in con
stant communication with outside sta
tions.
The cost of such a tube would be less
than 1 per cent of a modern bridge having
the same traffic capacity.
With such a mode of transportation
across the bay, the passenger for Oakland
from San Francisco would make*his jour
ney in two minutes, aud even greater
speed would be attained in tubes connect
ing America with Europe.
Frank M. Close, D.Sc.
Interior of Passenger Coach for Submarine Railway.
A BAR IN THE PATH
OF THE BANK ROBBER.
Bullet-Proof Plates to Protect the
Cashier.
When the Pistols Are Leveled and
the Order Given to " Shell Out,"
You Touch the Button.
Heretofore it has been an easy matter
for a highwayman to enter a bank, cover
j the cashier with a revolver and compel
{ him to give up the coin. The invention
1 of James L. de Long of Dcs Moines, lowa,
j however, is calculated to do away with
| this— to a degree, at least.
Briefly, the invention consists of an ap- j
I paratus by which the cashier can, by press
. ing a spring, cause a plate of bullet-proof
steel to spring up between himself and the ;
robber.
Of course, in such an apparatus, the
! whole counter must be made to suit it, al
though such changes in no way alter the
outward appearance of the banlc fittings, j
To a person enterine the bank there would j
i be nothing to suggest that the counter was
j any different than those commonly in use. ]
) But a gJance at tbe inside, where the cash
' ier stands, would reveal a complicated ar
! rangement of rods and springs and a big
1 steel plate close up against the woodwork.
The steel plate is the most important
| part of the apparatus. It is made to slide
| in grooves on the counter posts and to
• come down flush with the top of the coun
ter, so that its existence would never be
j suspected.
On botii sides of this steel plate are
springs or weights so arranged that they
can force it upward about three feet. Of
course the plate is not desired in that po
sition all the time and so is fitted with a
i sort of catch and trigger attachment that
wiil hold it when it is pushed down even
with the top of the desk.
In this position the steel plate is in
! much the same condition as a "cocked"
I pistol. But the catches that hold it are, of
| course, made so that some force is required
to release it.
Along the floor on the inside of the coun
ter is a rod that connects with the catches
by a series of joints. When in position,
the rod is a few inches above the floor and i
! resting easily against the catches that hold j
I the plate down.
Should a robber suddenly enter the bank,
the cashier quickly puts his foot on the
rod, which pulls out the catches, releases
! the spring and tbe steel plate flies upward
j like a flash, putting an impenetrable bar- j
rier between them. The springs are made
so sensitive that the plate will work al
most as quickly as the robber could pull
the trigeer of his weapon.
A New Magazine Pistol
Cartridges Concealed in the Handle.
Tea Shots Can Bj Fired Suc
cessively.
A pistol capable of firing ten shots In
succession and almost instantaneously is
the invention of Martin Byer of Worces
ter, Mass. In tbe new firearm the old
"revolver" principle is entirely done away
with and so is the auxiliary barrel fre
quently used. Tbe repeating power is ac
complished by storing the cartridges in
the handle of the pistol, the necessary
space being acquired by lengthening it
very slightly.
Tbe loaded cartridges are put into the
magazine at tbe top of the pistol, and as
each is placed in position it presses on a
spring that has a tendency to force it up
ward. When the magazine is full the
firing-pin and breechbolt are allowed to
slide into place and the pistol is ready for
use.
By pulling the trigger the firing-pin and
breechbolt are moved back to allow a cart
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JULY 19, 1896.
A Profile View of the Proposed Submarine Railway Across San Francisco Bay.
ridge to slip upward. By pulling the trig
ger still further the breechbolt moves for
ward and pushes the cartridge into tbe
chamber, at the same time takinz a hold
on the rim. The firing-pin moves back its
full distance until the trigger strikes a pin
that releases it, so that it causes it to spring
forward and discharge the cartridge.
By pulling the trigger again the breech
bolt moves baclc as before, only this time
it pulls out the empty shell and the fresh
cartridge pushes it out at the same open
ing it was put in. The rest of the move
ments are the same as have been described,
and can be kept up as rapidly as the user
is capable of and as long as there are any
cartridges left in the magazine.
To Protect Anima s From F ies.
It Is a difficult matter to keep flies out
of a house and a still more difficult matter
to keep them out of a stable, but the in
vention of Harvey Chenault of Richmond,
Cross Section of Tubing.
A— Electric light -wires. BB— Telephone vires.
Va., seems calculated to accomplish the
purpose, so that horses and cows can rest
in peace.
Mr. Chenault's inventioy consists of
a covered passageway built in front
of the entrance to tbe stable and
so constructed that it will be in
semi-darkness. At the inner end of it
there is suspended a screen of ropes that
will be kept slightly in motion by the cir
culation of air. Just above this there is a
flytrap, placed bo that the iight wilt
strike it.
The New Bicycle Boat That Now Plys on the East River.
[Reproduced from the New York Herald.]
The flies are supposed, after they catch !
the odor of the horses, to start in the pas- |
sageway, but finding darkness move cau- i
tionsly. The swaying ropes frighten them
and in looking for a way to escape they see !
the ray of light coming through the trap, j
It iseasy for them to get in, but impos- i
sible to get out.
By putting screens on the stable-win
dows it is possible to keep the place free
from flies and at the same time there will
be no difficulty to get a horse or cow out
at any time, and the place is sure to be
always well ventilated.
The owl has no motion in tbe eye, the
globe of which is immovably fixed ia its
socket by a strong, elastic, hard, cartila"
ginous case; but in order to compensate
for the absence of motion in the eye the
owl is abie to turn its bead round in al
most a circle without moving its body.
The statistics of life insurance 9how that
in the last twenty-five years the average
woman's life has increased from nearly
forty-two to nearly forty-fix, or more than
8 per cent, while man's life average has in
creased from nearly forty-two to forty
four, which is 5 per cent.
There are 5783 miles of tram lines in
operation in the United States, having
32,505 cars, and employing 70,764 men.
: do not fall to read Thomas Slater's advertise
ment on page 9 for men.
A GREAT AIRSHIP
TO FREE IRE CUBANS
Monstrous Vessel to Drop
Shot and Shell From
the Clouds.
Already Partially Constructed
Will Carry Men and Arms
to the Insurgents,
Supported by Balloons an! Propelled
by Sails— Not a Creature of the
Imaginat on, but a Fact.
"The war in Cuba is sure to last two or
three years longer," wrote President Cis
neros a week ago to a friend in this city,
says the New York Herald, "unless some
quicker agent of destruction is employed
against the Spaniards here. The old
methods of warfare are too slow for the
topography of Cuba. As soon as we re
duce the enemy in one quarter the home
government sends out a fresh installment
of young soldiers to take the place of
those who have fallen victims of the
machete and fever. Any honorable means
of warfare will be gladly hailed as bene
ficial to the Cubans if it is only swift and
destructive and ahead of any means now
at our disposal."
This anjwer has been written in reply to
a representative of a French syndicate now
in New York, who had submitted to the
Constituent Congress at Cubitas a plan to
make war on the Spaniards from the
clouds by balloon. The matter was re
ferred to General Carlos Roloff, the Cuban
Minister of War, and he at once gave
favorable consideration to the scheme of
the Frenchmen. General Roloff, who ib
an expert in the manufacture and manipu
lation of high explosives, thought well of
the arrangements and pians submitted to
him, because he is a firm believer in the
use of balloons for signaling and dispatch
ing messages in war times.
While the Cubans were negotiating with
Captain E. Lagrifoule of Marseilles, who
came to this city about two months ago,
other aspirants for fame and fortune ap
peared in the persons of Dr. Rufus Gibbon
Wells and Senors Morel and Hardinas of
the Junta, who ciaini to have discovered
the secret of navigating a balloon in the
upper regions so as to drive it in any di-
rection they choose. Dr. Wells is so con
fident of the success of his aerial invention
that, he is now attempting to raise $20,000
at St. Louis, where he claims to be well
known, for the purpose of making a prac
tical test of his machine.
I understand from the Cubans who fre
quent the Junta, at 56 New street, that the
invention which finds the greatest favor
is that of an American in the military
balloon corps of the French army, and
which is now controlled by French capi
talists. Captain Lagrifoule, who has i
greatly improved upon the American's air- j
j ship, and who calls it bis balloon, called
upon Allen S. Williams, general manager
of the Newark Cuban festival, last
week, and after showing him tbe plans
of his airship and exhibiting his creden
tials from the proper authorities he tried
to secure the services of Carl Meyer, a
noted balloonist, who made a balloon
ascension at Waverley, N. J., on July 4,
under Mr. Williams' management, and
who has twice crossed Weyler's famous
trocha in Pinar del Rio in an airship of his
j own construction with dispatches from
Antonio Maceo to Jose Maria Aguirre.
Captain Lagrifonle is to begin the con
struction of one of his airships at once in a
secluded grove in Florida. When it is
completed, which will be, so he claims,
within a few weeks, Carl Meyer will pilot
the balloon, or rather the cluster of
balloons, for of such is the ship con
structed, to Cuba.
Thi3 one airship will carry 125 men, 1000
rifles, a half million rounds of rifle ammu
nition, a material from which to make
dynamite and a large quantity of hospital
stores, to be sent out by the Cuban Army
Sanitary Corps.
I saw Captain Lagrifoule when he called
on Mr. Williams at the Market-street
headquarters in Newark, and in reply to
my questions about his project and his
balloon, he said: .
"In this pge of progress there is noth
ing impossible. Some things may look
very difficult to do, but human ingenuity
can surmount all obstacles. The upper at
mosphere is not an unknown region to
aeronauts, who have made a scientific
study of it. Ballooning is a science, like
anything else. The ordinary balloon
crank who ventures into upper space
without knowing the region, generally
ends up with an accident. It is much
safer up there in the cloud region than
down here, because if a cyclone or cork
screw storm breaks down here you are at
its mercy on the earth, while up there we
can see it coming or gathering hours
ahead, and can ride above, in the bright
sunshine, while tbe poor mortals below
are fig n ting for their lives.
•'The balloon in which I propose to go
to Cuba will be the first complete and
efficient airship ever directed through
upper space by the hand of man, and I
am proud to let ihe Herald have a sketch
of it. This is no day dream— it is a scien
tihe fact, and it is going to solve the prob
lem of rapid transit through the cloud
regions. I have everything ready and
shall proceed to build my airship just as
soon as I can conclude some business ar
rangements with the Junta."
The airship is one of the most remark
able things of its kind ever conceived by
an aeronaut. Its chief feature, which ex
cites the greatest wonder, is its extreme
lightness considering its tremendous
strength.
The airship consists of a boat-shaped car
that doe 3 not swing, but is held solidly,
tbough pendent, from a cluster of five bal
loons.
The monster spheres are divided insicio
in sections like those of au orange, so that
if a break- should occur in any particular
place it cannot affect the other parts of the
balloon. Repair pieces are to be carried
in case of accidents. The gas to be used
is something niucii lighter than that ordi-
Exterior of Passenger Coach for Submarine Railway..
AA— Contact springs of electric light circuit. B— Contact spring of telephone circuit.
CCC— Friction rollers. DD—Kubbcr diaphrams.
Cross Section of Submarine
Carriage.
narily used by balloonist?. Its manufac
ture is secret, known only to Captain Lag
rifoule,and is made of chemicals by electric
power. 0
If the gas carriages, or the system of bal
loons, are remarkable, the car, or boat, is
a contrivance still more wonderful. Its
shell is 100 feet long, 50 feet wide across
tbe middle and is 25 feet at its mean
depth. It is built ol aluminum, and is
extraordinary light It is surrounded with
eighteen circular windows or portholes of
clear glass. There are nine windows on
each side, something more than ten feet
apart. A series of long, narrow openings,
closed with aluminum bars, run around
the upper guard wbich runs around the
upper deck of the boat
This marvelous air coach is provided
with comfortable accommodations for 125
men. There is an electrical engine room,
an electrical kitchen and bedrooms, smok
ing-room and an observatory. Tbe vessel
is lighted, heated and worked by elec
tricity. Water is taken from the clouds
and not a spark of fire is used in wonting
A Fly-Proof Stall for Horses and Cattle.
| this monstrous air ship. The balloon
i valves are operated by a system of elec
tric buttons and there is no confusion of
ropes or lines. The observatory is pro
vided with powerful glasses, and while the
operator can ride far above the earth, out
of reach of the longest-range guns known
to military science, he can bring the
enemy's camp close to nis range of vision
and cdn throw dynamite bombs down
upon his adversaries with remarkable pre
cision.
The man in the observatory is the pilot
of the airship. The entire mass of sailing
machinery and men and armament is kept
steadily poised by a steel keel running
along the bottom of the car. It will
require the services of a crew of but five
men to operate this wonderful battle-ship
of the clouds. It is the intention of the
Cubans to destroy the trocha in Pinar del
Rio with it and afterward an attack will
be made upon the Spanish warships as
they ride at anchor in Cuban waters or as
they cruise around the island.
Men and arms will be landed in Cuba
at will without fear of being chased by
either Spanish or Arrerican cruisers, and
the Spanish military camps will be
destroyed in rapid succession. All this is
the belief of the inventor and his friends.
In this way the Cubans of the Junta
believe that a speedy end of the revolu
tion and the independence of Cuba may
be brought about.
The dromedary parcel post service in the
German territories of Southwestern Africa
has given better results than were ex
pected. The dromedaries are adapted to
tbe climate, are not affected by the preva
lent cattle diseases, are not made foot
sore in stony regions, and d<> not suffer
extreme thirst when deprived of water for
a week.
i
QUEER HERBS THAT
PASS FOR TOBACCO.
Busy Brains at Work on Sub-
stitutes for Nicotine.
A Woman's C gar Patent That Can
Be Used in the Pipa or to
Clean the Teeth.
Among the queer things recorded at the |
Patent Office are mixtures designed as j
substitutes for tobacco. Apparently tr.e j
whole vegetable kingdom has been ran
sacked for material to taka the place of j
nicotine in clears, plug for chewers and
fuel for the pipe. There is hardly a fa
miliar herb whose leaves are not called
into requisition. It is no idle tale that the <
potato, the beet, the cabbage and the j
turnip help out the commercial supply of j
tbe weed. For the preparation of these
plants and the imitative doctoring of them
there are numberless ingenious processes.
In speaking o! this matter, a Kearny-
Htreet tobacconist said theother day: "We
have a preparation which, in appearance,
resembles an ordinary plug of tobacco. It
is made up of gentian root, prickly ash
bark, sassafras bark and extract of licorice.
This is quite extensively used now, and
yon doubtless have many frienfis who
you think are chewing tobacco when in
reality they are merely chewing this sub
stitute.
"There are also some simple substitutes,
such as cocoa leaves, bay leaves and many
others, which are largely used. The most
peculiar preparation that I know of is one
for which a woman has secured a patent.
She manufactures cigars of eucalyptus
leaves; and the inventor claims that they
leave a clean, pleasant flavor in the mouth.
She seems to consider this the only ill
effect of tobacco using. This woman in
ventor is prolific in ideas, and claims for
her cigars that they can, if necessary, be
broken up for use in a pipe; that they can
be ground up for snuff, powdered into a
tooth paste, and, with suitable fats, made
into candies and soaps.
"It is not tbe real substitutes that we
fear; we rather favor them. There are a
great many people who have certain dis
orders of the body who should never
smoke. Such persons we advise to stop
the use of tobacco and take to some sub
stitute. What we do object to, though,
are certain preparations which have been
put on the market as tobacco, instead of
substitutes.
French horse meat sells for 3 pence per
pound in Germany. The smoked article
brings 6 pence.
To Protect Ladies' Stint
Excellent Wet Weather Device of an
lowa Woman — Keeps the
Garments Dry.
Debora Owen of Van Wert, lowa, has
come to the aid of her sisters who get
their skirta wet in rainy weather. Her
invention is not a new costume that it
takes nerve to wear, but an extra skirt of
very thin gossamer that can be carried in
a small handbag.
This skirt is so arranged that it can be
put on over the ordinary street dress. On
both sides there are places for tte ankles
and along the bottom a fastening device
to close it. The wearer thus arrayed is
fully protected from mud and slush and
her movements are as free as if she wore
bloomers.
Buttons are the jewelry of China. The
manufacture was originally introduced to
Canton by foreigners, but it has been
allowed to pass almost entirely into native
hands, and last year over 560,000 pounds
of brass buttons were actually exported by
the Cantonese.
Dr. Albert Shaw, tbe sociologist, was
born in an Ohio town which bears the
queer came of Paddy's Kuu,
THE BICYCLE BOATS.
GAINING FAVOR,
Already Many of Them Are
in Use on the Har
lem River.
Their Machinery Simple and
Danger Very Much Re
duced.
Are Easy to Ride and Much Safer
Than a Rowboat. but You Can't
Take Them Home.
It is a curious fact now, considering the
rapid development of the bicycie, that at
its inception it was designed only for use
on the water. The records of tbe United
States Patent Office show an assortment of
queer inventions of tliis character, based
on the idea of the catamaran as to hull,
but having the motive power of the pedal
subsequently adopted in the ordinary
| bicycle of to-day. Engravings of the water
bicycle, representing a man astride of a
framework and saddle speeding over the
water at apparently twenty-rive knots an
hour, appeared in the illustrated periodi
cals forty years ago, says the New York
Herald.
The land cycle at that time was not only
I still unknown— it was not dreamed of as a
means of locomotion. The water cycle was
not a succe-s, the screw propeller not
having been generally introduced. It was
constructed somewhat on tbe principle of
the swan boats that are now the delight
of the little children in Central Park. The •
water wheel was geared to make more
revolutions than the axis of tbe pedal.
The catamaran was of the lightest cou
| struction. No passengers were provided
I for beyond those who worked the machine.
The latter was designed to be both single
and double — the two operators sitting side
by side. It was an English invention, if I
remember rightly.
Tbe invention of the land bicycle, fol
lowing as it did on the heels of the tricy
cle, threw the water machine into obscur
ity and the water wbeel was cast aside as
a sort of exploded experiment, as had
been the flying machine and perpetual
motion. The land bicycle itself was for
| years considered impracticable for any
i really useful purpose, and long after its
j usefulness in everyday life had been dem-
I onstrated its advocates and riders were
! considered "cranks," who ought to be
! sent to the workhouse or incarcerated in
lunatic asylums. From that period to
the present tbe transition has been too
rapU to follow coherently; all the world
j rides a wheel.
So fully absorbed bave inventors become
in the improvement and perfection of the
; road wheel tbat the original object of
water travel has received no attention
! until very recently. Perhaps the spoon
| oar, the cedar shell and the swift steam
1 and naphtha and eiectric launches have
■ contributed to this neglect, These wera
also unknown when the first water bicy
| cle was introduced. But this apparent
i neglect is being atoned for in the recent
I sudden rush of inventors into the field of
| open water. Several practical bicycle
i boats have been invented during the last
few months. Scores of patents in this line
have been applied for at the same time.
It will surprise some parsons to learn
j that bicycle boats of various designs have
j been "scooting" along the Harlem this
I spring, and that more ambitious craft of
! this kind have been encountered on the
! open sound. It may be a still greater sur
i prise to learn that boats of this character
are now under construction which, when
i completed, will dare the dangers of the
i deep sea, and even cross the Atlantic.
But it is a fact. Some of these have al
! ready been successfully tested. They
j all preserve the characteristics of the land
| bicycle and consequently adberj in great
. measure to the design ot the original
water wheel.
The hull is of cedar, the same as tbat o
i the ordinary racing shell. But it is of
j peculiar s .ape, the ordinary hull" being
supplemented by a second and smaller
j hull dropped immediately below the other.
j Into this lower hull, which corresponds to
; the hold of a vessel, the machinery, gear-
I ing and ballast are placed, and the screw
| shaft revolves. The second, or lower hull,
1 not only furnishes room for the machinery
I below the water line, but it thns gives
i j great stability to the boat, which, having
j a short shaft and light upper works, is
practically non-capsizable. The wheel is
thoroughly submerged also and is never
lifted out of the water in a chop sea. The
arrangement of the water-tight compart
ments places the queer craft on the same
footing with tbe lifeboat of the life-saving
service — that is, the weight in the bottom
j and the air chambers above cause the boat
to right itself if capsize! ; and it is impos
sible to sink it without destroying first the
air-tight compartments.
The lower hull has a very sharp cut
water, and also acts as the modern fin
keel in giving the boat steadiness while
under great speed. This vibration and
unsteadiness were the most difficult of
the several problems to overcome.
WEW TO-DAT.
Mo-Ban Ms Kirro.
Lost Force Restored -and
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The Tobacco Vice - Undermines Vigor
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| ' " Tobacco-using : is '. a' reckless : waste of Ufa
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| -, : It is a dirty, nasty, men-wrecking disease,
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i cago, Monvreftl or New York,
29