Part 40

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The term “Shibboleth” has come to mean a countersign or password of a secret society since the Biblical days, when the Ephraimites, who had been routed by Jephthah, tried to pass the Jordan. They were made to pronounce the word “Shibboleth” and were easily detected as enemies when they pronounced it “Sibboleth.”

Why do We Get Hungry?

Hunger is a sensation partly arising in the stomach, since it may be relieved temporarily by the introduction into the stomach of material which is incapable of yielding any nutriment to the body. It may be due to a condition of fulness of the vessels of the stomach, relieved by any stimulus which, acting on the lining membrane, induces a flow of fluid from the glands. But it also arises from a condition of the system, since the introduction of nutriment into the blood, apart altogether from the stomach, will relieve it. This is also evident from the fact that hunger may be experienced even when the stomach is full of food, and when food is supplied in abundance, if some disease prevents the absorption of the nourishment, or quickly drains it from the blood. Hunger may be partially allayed by sleep or by the use of narcotics, tobacco and alcohol, all of which tend to diminish the disintegration of tissues.

The Story in the Modern Lifting Magnet[72]

Nearly every boy has had among his treasured possessions a small horseshoe magnet, painted red, with bright ends, and has spent many happy hours picking up needles, steel pins or other small objects, and finally tired of it because of its small lifting capacity and dreamed of one which would lift a hammer, or possibly even the family flatiron. Little did he know at that time of the long and interesting history of magnetism, the many stories and superstitions based on its strange power; or of its intimate relation to the wonderful growth of electricity within the last hundred years. His wildest dreams of lifting power would be realized if he could see a modern electric lifting magnet which has only come into use within the last ten years and is meeting with instant approval in nearly every industry where iron and steel is handled in any quantity.

There are three primary kinds of magnets: the lodestone or natural magnets, the artificial or permanent steel magnet, and the electric magnet. At present the lodestone is little used. The permanent steel magnet is used for compass needles, as the familiar horseshoe magnet, and in certain types of electric machinery. The electric magnet forms a part of nearly every kind of electrical machinery and is by far the most useful form of the magnet. The modern high-duty lifting magnet is a form of the electric magnet.

The properties of the lodestone and the permanent magnet have been known for thousands of years, while the electric magnet is a comparatively recent discovery.

All magnets, whether natural, permanent or electric, possess the same magnetic properties. Every magnet has two poles commonly called a north pole and a south pole. It has also been found that when a magnet is broken in two each piece becomes a magnet in itself with its own north and south poles.

For practical purposes it has been found convenient to assume that magnetism consists of a series of “lines of force” running through the magnet from one end to the other and back again through the air. Each one of these lines is assumed to have a certain strength, and the power of any magnet is determined by the number of lines of force flowing through it. These lines are clearly shown in Fig. 1, which was made by sprinkling iron filings on a sheet of paper over a bar magnet, and tapping the paper slightly so that the filings could arrange themselves along the magnetic lines of force.

Since Oersted’s first electric magnet in 1820, electric magnets have been made in a variety of forms and for many different purposes. The simplest form of electric magnet is shown in Fig. 2. It consists of an iron bar with an insulated electric wire wound around it carrying an electric current.

Another form of the electric magnet is shown in cross-section in Fig. 3. This consists of a short steel cylinder with a groove in its face for the electric coil. The modern lifting magnet is a highly specialized form of this type of electric magnet.

Although the use of a magnet for lifting purposes seems to be a very simple idea and easily adopted, many difficulties had to be overcome and years of experimenting done before the lifting magnet was a commercial success. Nearly all electrical machinery may easily be protected from rough usage and moisture, but the lifting magnet must be so strongly designed that it will withstand the countless blows due to heavy pieces of iron flying against it, and the banging it must get against the sides of cars, ships, etc. All light parts must be placed inside of the magnet or in such a position that they can never be knocked off or broken. To moisture in some form or other nearly all lifting-magnet troubles can be traced. Hence the importance of an absolutely moisture-proof construction. The result of moisture in the interior of a magnet is to weaken the effectiveness of the installation, leading eventually to short circuits and burn-outs. It is necessary not only to guard against moisture in the form of rain, snow or dew, but precaution must also be taken against the entrance into the magnet of moisture-laden air, since moisture so introduced will presently be condensed in the form of drops of water.

A very natural question is, how much such a magnet will lift. For a given size of magnet, the lifting capacity varies greatly with the nature of the load handled. With a magnet sixty-two inches in diameter, this may vary from in the neighborhood of 1,000 pounds for light scrap, to from 4,000 to 5,000 pounds for pig iron, and as high as 60,000 pounds for a solid mass of steel or iron such as, for instance, a skull-cracker ball or a casting affording surface for good magnetic contact.

The lifting magnet has been adopted for the handling of materials in all branches of the steel and iron industry. It is used for handling pig iron, scrap, castings, billets, tubes, rails, plates, for loading and unloading cars and vessels, and for handling skull-cracker balls and miscellaneous magnetic material.

Probably one of the best illustrations of the saving accomplished by means of a lifting magnet is its use in unloading pig iron from steamers. By the old hand method it required twenty-eight men, two days and two nights, to unload a cargo of 4,000,000 pounds. When the lifting magnet was introduced, the total time for unloading was reduced to eleven hours, and was done by two men whose labor consisted in manipulating the controllers in the cages of the cranes. Thus two men and two magnets did the work of twenty-eight men in less than one-fourth of the time. Furthermore, the vessels were enabled to double their number of productive trips.

In railroad work, lifting magnets are at the present time used principally in scrap yards and around store-room platforms, where it is necessary to handle iron and steel rapidly and economically. For this class of work magnets are generally used in connection with a locomotive crane, making a self-contained, self-propelled unit which may be operated over the shop-yard tracks as required. The use of this combination has reduced very greatly the cost of handling both new and scrap material, both by reducing the actual expense of handling and by enabling the material to be handled much more rapidly than was before possible.

Probably the best possible endorsement of the waterproof construction of the modern lifting magnet is the fact that one of them was successfully operated seventy feet below the surface of the Mississippi River. At New Orleans a large load of kegged nails was raised from a depth of seventy feet. A load of steel cotton ties was raised near Natchez and a barge of iron wire near Pittsburgh. And these are only a few instances of such work.

The magnets used in this river work were three and one-half feet in diameter. They were dropped into the stream, the current turned on, and five or six kegs of nails or bundles of wire were raised each trip. The nails weighed 200 pounds to the keg, so there were lifted each time, from 1,000 to 1,200 pounds from the bed of the river.

The variety of uses to which these magnets may be put are shown by the accompanying illustrations and there are many industries handling iron and steel where the introduction of the modern, high-duty lifting magnet will effect a great saving in time and labor.

An amusing incident occurred recently in a factory where a large lifting magnet is used in connection with a crane to carry pig iron through the shop. Just as the operator was bringing it across the shop unloaded, he saw two laborers ahead of him in altercation. One held a short pinch bar and the other a heavy shovel. As he approached, they both raised their tools like weapons. In a flash the operator switched on the current and the two men stood as if transfixed, hanging desperately to their weapons that were held aloft as by some giant’s hand. The laughter of everyone who saw the tableau ended the quarrel.

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Why is the Thistle the Emblem of Scotland?

According to tradition, the Danes were attempting to surprise an encampment of the Scotch one night, and had come very near to it without being observed, when a Dane stepped on a thistle and its sharp points made him cry out with pain. The Scotch were then awakened and succeeded in defeating their assailants. Ever since that time the thistle has been made the insignia of Scotland.

How are Animals Identified on Cattle Ranges?

The question of how to mark animals started with the first stock raisers. In those days the main object was to provide some way animals could be identified as to ownerships, and many crude and more or less cruel methods were used, such as notching or lopping off part of the ear or branding with a hot iron, burning a letter or figure often ten or twelve inches high on the side of an animal. Branding in this way was used mostly by cattle raisers when large herds were grazed on the western plains. The large brand made it possible for cowboys on horseback to separate the cattle of different owners, as the brand could be seen at some distance.

As the industry advanced the methods of marking improved. At the present time a mark in the ear made of metal is most commonly used. These are in many different styles such as narrow bands looped into the edge or in the form of a button fastened through the ear.

Tags are lettered with owner’s name and address and numbered, which serves not only as a mark for identification of ownership but as a means of keeping a record of each animal by number; also in making health tests before shipping from one point to another.

How is Glue Made?

The best quality of glue is obtained from fresh bones, freed from fat by previous boiling, the clippings and parings of ox hides, the older skins being preferred; but large quantities are also got from the skins of sheep, calves, cows, hares, dogs, cats, etc., from the refuse of tanneries and tanning works, from old gloves, from sinews, tendons and other offal of animal origin.

By a process of cleaning and boiling the albuminoid elements of the animal matter are changed into gelatine. This, in a soft, jelly-like state, constitutes “size;” dried into hard, brittle, glassy cakes, which, before use, must be melted in hot water, it forms the well-known glue of the joiner, etc.

When a solution is mixed with acetic or nitric acid it remains liquid, but still retains its power of cementing; in this state it is called liquid glue.

Marine glue is a cement made by dissolving India rubber in oil of turpentine or coal-naphtha, to which an equal quantity of shellac is added.

Why does a Hot Dish Crack if We Put Ice Cream in It?

If we take a hot dish and put ice cream in it, it cracks because the dish when hot has expanded. All the tiny particles that make up the dish have absorbed some heat and have expanded. When the ice cream is put in the particles composing the inside of the dish are cooled off and begin to contract, while the outside particles have not cooled and they pull away from each other, causing the dish to crack.

Footnotes

[1] Illustrations by courtesy of the Lake Torpedo Boat Co., unless otherwise indicated.

[2] The following information and statistics by courtesy of The Panama Canal, Washington office.

[3] Illustrations by courtesy of the Columbia Graphophone Co.

[4] Illustrations by courtesy of the Hendee Manufacturing Co.

[5] Courtesy of the Waltham Watch Company, and “The American Boy.”

[6] Illustrations by courtesy of the Remington Arms-Union Metallic Cartridge Company, unless otherwise indicated.

[7] Illustrations by courtesy of Plymouth Cordage Co.

[8] Illustrations by courtesy of Colt’s Patent Fire Arms Manufacturing Co.

[9] Illustrations by courtesy of Consolidated Fireworks Company of America.

[10] Illustrations by courtesy of Eastman Kodak Company.

[11] Illustrations by courtesy of R. Hoe & Co.

[12] Illustrations by courtesy of the A. I. Root Co.

[13] Illustrations by courtesy of the Hotpoint Electric Heating Co.

[14] Illustrations by the courtesy of the American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

[15] Illustrations by courtesy of the Otis Elevator Co.

[16] Illustrations by courtesy of the International Silver Co.

[17] Illustrations by courtesy of the McClure Co.

[18] Illustrations by courtesy of New York Edison Co., unless otherwise indicated.

[19] Illustrations by courtesy of The Curtis Publishing Co.

[20] Courtesy of George A. Hormel & Co.

[21] Courtesy of The Field, New York City.

[22] Courtesy of The Field, New York City.

[23] Courtesy of the California Redwood Association.

[24] Illustrations by courtesy of The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co.

[25] Illustrations by courtesy of the American Pin Company.

[26] Illustrations by courtesy of the Common Sense Gum Co. Story by courtesy of the American Chicle Co. and the Common Sense Gum Co.

[27] Illustrations by courtesy of The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Co.

[28] Illustrations by courtesy of the Addressograph Co.

[29] Illustrations by courtesy of the Pyrene Manufacturing Co.

[30] Illustrations by courtesy of Gatchel & Manning.

[31] Courtesy of Mr. Charles L. Trout.

[32] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[33] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[34] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[35] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[36] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[37] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[38] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[39] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[40] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[41] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[42] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[43] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[44] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[45] Illustrations by courtesy of the Bethlehem Steel Co.

[46] Illustrations by courtesy of United Shoe Machinery Co.

[47] Courtesy of James Boyd & Bro., Inc.

[48] Courtesy of American LaFrance Fire Engine Co.

[49] Courtesy of American LaFrance Fire Engine Co.

[50] Courtesy of American LaFrance Fire Engine Co.

[51] Courtesy of American LaFrance Fire Engine Co.

[52] Illustrations by courtesy of American Cyanamid Company.

[53] Courtesy of The Strauss Bascule Bridge Co.

[54] Courtesy of The American Magazine.

[55] _Illustrations by courtesy of the Railway Age Gazette and Standard Steel Car Co._

[56] Illustrations by courtesy of Diamond Crystal Salt Co.

[57] Illustrations by courtesy of the General Motors Truck Co.

[58] Illustrations by courtesy of Jacobs & Davies, Engineers.

[59] Illustrations by courtesy of Ford Motor Co.

[60] Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

[61] Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

[62] Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

[63] Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

[64] Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

[65] Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Railroad Co.

[66] Courtesy of the General Electric Co.

[67] Courtesy of the Westinghouse Co.

[68] Illustrations by courtesy of International Harvester Company of America, unless otherwise indicated.

[69] Illustrations by courtesy of the Nicholas Power Co.

[70] Illustrations by courtesy of Endicott, Johnson & Co.

[71] Courtesy of Mr. Charles L. Trout.

[72] Illustrations by courtesy of Cutler-Hammer Mfg. Co.

Index

Abacus, 347 Acid, Nitric, 464 “Adam’s Apple,” 321 Adding Machines, 345 Addressograph, 364 Aerial Railway, 120 Aerials, 264 Aerial Trucks, 451 Aeroplane Bombs, 158 Aeroplanes, 505 Aestivation, 241 “After-damp,” 247 Agate, 49, 149 Agriculture, 461, 556 Air, Liquid, 461 Air Currents, 158, 231, 244, 263 Air-locks, 497 Air-mines, 390 Air-pressure, 411, 492 Airships, 505 Alcohol, 336, 478 Alloys, Gold, 448 “Almighty Dollar,” 355 Alternating Current, 363 Amazon, 98 “American Turtle,” 9 Amethysts, 149 Ammonia, 466 Ammunition, 75, 94, 158, 398 Animals, 51, 138, 146, 229, 241, 293, 297 Anthracite, 244 Anti-cyclones, 450 “A-1”, 136 Apaches, 147 Apartment-houses, First, 334 Apiaries, 183 Apples, 136 Aquarium, 378 Arack, 214 Arc Lamps, 577 Area of Oceans, 169 Armored Railway Car, 470 Armor-piercing Shells, 402 Armor Plate, 422, 435, 470, 478 Army Ambulances, 485 Arrows, 79 Artesian Wells, 96 Artificial Precious Stones, 361 Artillery, 386 Astronomical Observatory, 66 Atmospheric Conditions, Recording, 58 Atmospheric Nitrogen, 459 Atmospheric Pressure, 180 “Atmospherics,” 264 Atoms, 324 Austrian Guns, 388 Autographic Photography, 168 Automatic Bowling Pin Setters, 360 Automatic Machine Guns, 144, 391 Automatic Pistols, 143 Automatic Rakers, 565 Automatic Rifles, 89 Automobile Factory, 518 Automobile Guns, 145 Automobiles, 145, 223, 278, 290, 451, 481, 518, 557 Auxiliary Pumps, Fire, 455

Bacon, 300 Bacon, Roger, 83 Baggage Trucks, 545 Baking Clay under Water, 501 Balanced Rations, 298 Balance-wheels, 65 Balloons, Captive, 58, 515 Balloons, Fire, 157 Balloons, Military, 515 Balls, 309, 357 Bascule Bridges, 466 Battery Park, 378 Battle of Four Elements, 513 Battleship Aeroplanes, 506 Battleships, 22, 266, 480 Battleship Turrets, 425 Beaches, 149, 180 Bed Lasting Machines, 440 Beef, 297, 299, 458 Bees, 184 Beets, 464 “Before you can say Jack Robinson,” 119 Bell, Alexander Graham, 217 Belting, 118, 535 Benday Engravings, 382 Bending, Illusion, Stick in Water, 308 “Benedicts,” 149 Bicycles, 52 “Big Trees,” 304 Billiard Tables, 309 Binders, 562 Biplanes, 505 Birds, 303 Blackberries, White, 316 Blackfeet Indians, 148 Blast Furnaces, 417 Bleriot’s Monoplane, 509 Boats, Submarine, 9 Body Chute, Auto, 530 Bolters, Salt, 476 Bomb-dropping Device, 514 Bombs, 152 Boots, 436 Boots, Rubber, 111, 116 Boring Tool, 87 Bow and Arrow, 79 Bow-drill, 77 Bowling Alleys, 357 Box Kites, 59 “Breathing Bags,” 248 Breech-loaders, 85 Bridges, 467 Briquetting Machines, 249 Broadway, 274, 280, 308 Bud-grafting, 136 Buffing Machines, 444 Buildings, Large, 221, 234, 274, 280, 540 Bulbs, Rubber, 116 Bullets, 93 Bull-fights, 362 Burbank, Luther, 317 Bureau of Mines Rescue Crew, 247 Burnishing, Silverware, 260

Cabinet-making, 310 Cable, Hemp, 123 Cable, Wire, 132 Cactus, Spineless, 316 Caissons, 504 Calcium Carbide, 459 Calculating Machines, 345 Calendering, 109, 116 Calibers, Guns, 389 California, 49, 304, 332 “Calling-crabs,” 229 Cameras, 162 Canal Navigation, 39 “Canary-bird Test,” Mining, 250 Candles, 63 Cannel Coal, 251 Cannon, 386 Carats, 317 Carbide Furnaces, 460 Carbines, 87 Carbon Filament Lamps, 275 Carboniferous Strata, 247 Carburetors, 56 Carnelians, 149 Carrier Pigeons, 216 Cars, Armored Railway, 470 Cars, Freight, 545 Cars, Motor, 145, 223, 290, 451, 481, 518, 557 Cars, Pullman, 544 Cars, Sight-seeing, 482 Cars, Special Heavy Duty Freight, 424 Cars, Street, 215 Cartridges, 85, 94 Casting Gold Ingots, 449 Casting Machines, 414 Castings, 424, 531 Catenary Construction, 284 Cat’s-eye, 149 Cattle, 297, 458 Cattle Food, 298, 317 Cave Men, 75 Cellulose, 450 Cellulose Acetate, 168 Central Exchanges, Telephone, 218 Central Station, First Commercial, 273 Centrifugal Extractors, Honey, 190 Chafing Dishes, Electric, 210 Chain Rammers, 407 Channel Cementing Machines, 441 Chattering, Teeth, 182 Chemical Engines, 454 Chemical Fire Extinguishers, 375, 523 Chemicals, Photographic, 162 Chewing Gum, 337 Chicle, 337 Chimes, 260 Chimneys, 158 Chinese Firecrackers, 150 Chrome Leather, 582 Circuits, Telephone, 225 Citrus Fruits, 331 “Clam-shell Dredges,” 491 Clay, 247, 496 Clicking Machines, 438 Cliff Dwellings, 334 Clinking Glasses, 231 Clocks, 61, 344 Clothes, 252 Coal, 244, 543 Coast Defense Guns, 396 Cobbler Shop, 437 Cocoanuts, 132, 138, 214, 450 Cod, 216, 325 Coffee-machines, Electric, 207 Coining, 302, 449 Coir, 132 Coke, 251, 460 Cold Storage, 299, 466 Color-printing, 289, 382 Comb, Honey, 183, 197 Combination Engravings, 381 Combined Sweep Rake and Stacker, 567 Combustion, Spontaneous, 42 Combustion Engines, 12, 53 Compass, Gyro, 74 Compasses, 435 Composition Billiard Balls, 315 Compressed Air Construction, 492 Compressed Air Engines, 133 Conduits, 223 Conning Towers, 425 Continuous Core Ovens, 532 Conveyor Belts, 535 Conveyors, Spiral, 240 Cooking, 121 Cooking Appliances, 205 Co-operative Agriculturists, 333 Copper, 448, 450 Cordage, 121 Cork, 385 Corn Binders, 562 Cotton, 464 Counting, 345 Coursing, 377 “Court of Love,” 363 “Cowboys,” 374 “Cow-trees,” 383 Crabs, 138, 229 Cradles, 559 Cradle Springs, 55 Crane Neck Hand Fire Engine, 452 Cranes, Traveling, 536, 543 Crane way, 531 Crank-shafts, 435, 518, 535 Cravats, 270 Crops, 458, 556 Cross-bow, 82 Cross-section on Sixth Avenue at Thirty-third Street, New York, 503 Crowns, 384 Crude Rubber, 99 Cruisers, 478 Cucaracha Slide, 27 Cues, Billiard, 313 “Culebra Cut,” 25, 29 Culverins, 83 Curfew, 289 Curing, Fish, 329 Meat, 292, 300 Currying, 583 Cutlery, 333, 491 Cutting Shield Head, 495 Cyanamid, 458 Cyanide Gold Process, 448 Cyanometer, 199 Cyclones, 450 Cylinder Machining, 524 Cylinder Presses, 173 Cylindrical Valve Machines, 26