Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-07
OUTDOOR ADJUSTMENTS.
ITEMS OF INTEREST TO THE LOVERS OF
FIELD SPORTS.

lin this department. the head indicates we pro-
pose TO make record Of current sporting events.
communications to the paper concerning such
matters should be addressed to the Outdoor
Amusement Department j
VELOCITY OF RIFLE BULLET.-Prof.
Robert Spice, the Brooklyn chemist and
physicist, appeared last evening at the
Cooper Institute In lecture on projectiles.
The great hall was crowded in every part
many standing in the aisles. When the
weli-known face of Mr.. Cooper appeared
the audience, as usual, gave him a very
hearty welcome, and the applause was re-
newed when, on the introduction of PROF..
Raymond, the lecturer came forward.
The task which Prof Spice was to accom-
plish was to determine the actual velocity
of rifle bullet fred across the stage. The
distance measured on the platform was SO
feet, which the lecturer explained was
shorter than usual, as the ordinary distance
used IN determining this question was
about 200 feet. To carry this performance
out he had secured the cooperation of
Lieutenant E. L. Merriam, of the Brooklyn
Thirteenth Regiment, who has gained
some reputation at the Creedmoor Range,
as evidenced by the medals which he wore.
In the first place Prof. Spice explained
the apparatus to be used He called
the attention of the audience to
mahogany base, twelve inches
by fifteen inches, on which were placed
two levers which carried bent wires to make
marks on piece of smoked glass under
meath the points. One of these wires con
nected with pendulum attached to an
Atwood machine, vibrating seconds. By
means of electric currents the lever con-
nected with the pendulum came down on
the glass precisely at the beginning'of each
second, making series of lines separated
by spaces somewhat similar to the old
Morse alphabet Consequently the distance
from the beginning of one line to the begin
ming of the next represented second of
time. The second lever, exactly opposite,
hao spring attached to one end, which
kept the point off the glass. 1t also had
two electro magnets, one at each end, which
had electric currents passed through of
different strength the weaker current
tending to pull the lever down on the glass;
the stronger current tending to keep it
elevated. In addition to this, the current
from the stronger magnet passed through
loose wire resting on two globules OF mer-
curry, and Immediately in front of this wire
was to rest the muzzle of the rifle. The
weaker current passed through precisely
similar loose wire, also ON two globules
of mercury, which wire was placed
thirty three feet distant from the first wire.
Lieutenant Merriam now came forward
and loaded his rifle. 1t was regular
Creedmoor, 45 caliber, "a inch barrel, and
placed in it cartridge containing a $50
grain ball and 40 grains of powder, explain
ing that this was not full charge. He
then took his position. The object was to
shoot away the wires on the mercury. A
box of sand was placed to receive the ball
The pendulum above described was then
set in motion. Onits striking the fifth sec.
end the plate of smoked glass was drawn
along by the descent of a weight on the
top of column of sand which ran out of
tube. On the sixth second, Lieutenant
Merriam pulled the trigger and both wires
Y: nshed. On the first wire being broken
TIE point of the corresponding lever de-
scended on the glass, but Immediately rose
again by the action of spring, when the
bullet broke the second wire. The conse-
duShNC VI bhio W do tildt blc pOlilb COlUGCbcC
with this lever scraped very short line on
the smoked glass while the other point,
being kept down during the swing of the
pendulum, scraped a longer space. Then
the glass was withdrawn and placed in
the stereopticon, projecting amagnifed i'm
age of the line on the screen. The relative
lengths of these lines were ascertained,
thus obviating any source of error in
measuring the minute lines of the smoked
glass. This method of measuring the
lengths was claimed to be original by the
Professor. On this measurement it was
found that the shorter line was five
inches long, and the other line nine feet
two inches These numbers were brought
down to the common fraction of inches,
the result giving ITO inches for the longer
space. 1t was then ascertained how many
times the former was contained in the
latter, and the fraction thus obtained was
clearly the fraction of second that the
bullet took to pass from one wire to the
other-that is ID of second. Multi
plying the distance between the
wires (33 feet) as above, by the de-
nominator of the above fraction, the
velocity of the bullet in feet was obtained,
namely 726 feet in second. The result
was long applauded, and the lecturer, to
make matters sure, determined to repeat
the experiment. The second attempt was
equally successful. Professor Spice then
proceeded to give illustrations or expert
ments of the well-known magician, show
ing how science and art are resorted to 20
deceive the senses. His performances and
explanations were of great interest to his
IN V Tr,In,o
DEMoRALIzED HUNTERs.-A. L. Thiel,
@. HI. Woods, j. F. Fordham, ]. r. Rob-
inson and Chas. Cochran, the /" boss MIN.
rods of town, started out for hunt. on
Wednesday. The start was made in fine
style, their guns were bright, and the dogs
were as risky as kittens When the
ground was reached they separated and
beat the bushes to fill up their game bags
in approved manner. They walked miles
and miles without finding game enough to
satisfy city clerk, and the few birds seen
were wilder than March hares so that only
about twenty were bagged by each of these
crack shots. During this days sport both
men and dogs were utterly demoralized by
the unaccountable movements INDUCED in
by the quail, which we are assured would
have upset the nerves of anyone seeing
them for the first time Every person who
has hunted these birds knows that when
first disturbed they seek safety in
running, and that only when closely pur-
sued do they fly. The manner of their
flight is also well known, and no sound is
dearer to a sportsman's ear than the sharp
whirr-rr-rr made by the active wings of
this swift bird. But on this day, without
exception, the quail seemed to have dis
covered new wrinkle, and when hard
pushed they would spring straight up like
sky lark to great hight without noise,
and then begin series of frantic evolu-
tions that can only be compared to de-
moralized tumbler pigeon. This would be
kept up for some seconds, when all OF a
sudden the bird would gather is energies
for final effort and mount the clear skies
until out of sight. This startling innovation
proved most discouraging to the hunters,
and after awhile their hands refused to
pull the trigger. But the effect was still
more noticeable on the thoroughbred dogs,
81 l. j.. IL