Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1889-04-16
A FEW LITTLE WUNbERS.
THE MECHANICS Art DISPLAYED
IN iNfINTESlNALS

some Of the wosaer. os the wssid which
Seem Almost Impo.sibIs-A City In .
Cherry stsn~-A Coach Dr.ws ~ Fleaa-
Oth~r DimInafiveA
The Surent~rgers have always been IA
nsons for their many ingenious mechanical
coutrivancss. but perhaps the most wonder
full Is a Cherry stone story.
At the time Of the French Crystal Palace
exposition a Nuremberg toymaker exhibited
a cherry stone within the hollow Of which b
e had btiilt perfect plan Of the city Of sevss-
tapol. showing plainly railway station and
the famous Messiah Of Klopsfock-
powerful microscope was used by the ex-
hibitor Of this wonder and II was estimated
by the exhibition authorities that not len
than 50OOO people took peep at the results
Of the toymaker's toll. each Of whom deposited
q franc IN the hands Of the ingenious me-
chane, making him a snug little fortune
Machines for weights and measures have
ako been brought up almost to perfection
cHAfs AND COACH FOR FLEAs
Sir W Armstrong, the great gun maker.
had ON exhibition IN iSss machine for tax
ing measurement. that did its work 10 nicely
that the millionth part Of an inch could be
asrsrtained with a. much precision an
inch q foot At the came exhibition one
A. H. Uberiong showed halancs 80 uicely
adjusted 10 weigh accurately the one thou
slndth part Of grain Talk about little won
ders not being wonderful the person surely has
but little conception Of the really marvellous
that would not inspect Mr. Obsrlongs deli
cate balances rather than a Howe platform
scale the sizs Of the state Of Missouri
Oswaldus Sorthingenus, artist who lived
during the reign Of Pope Paul V, about
1910 Is said to have made six hundred
plates or dishes of pewter which were Of
such diminutive proportions as to admit OF
the whole lot being hidden upon the inside Of
the stone Of a common peach.
Mark Scariost, a blacksmith who lived un-
der the reign Of Queen Elizabeth. made q
chain OF fort -fve links, To which he attached
u paddock made OF steel and brass, consisting
Of eleven pieces besides the key The chain
was so small as to freely admit Of being fast
ened about the neck OF a common every day
Hea, and the apparatus, flea. chain, paddock,
key and all weighed but grain and a half
when exhibited before the wondering royalty
plate Of polished silver.
The reader will, no doubt. think these fea
and cherry stone stories worthy to be taken
with the proverbial grain Of salt, noting, as
he will that they nearly all bear the date and
stamp of ''ye olden times" but what will he
say when informed that within the last five
years San Francisco professor has equaled
Mark Scarlost' ingenuity in every particular.
This Golden Gate grasper after the infini-
teslmal exhibited a perfectly trained team OF
1eas drawing miniature tally no coach
made of gold, with all four wheels perfect,
each turning on its axle All the elite of San
Francisco witnessed the professors wonderful
exhibition Of his control over these frisky
little pets and all were unsparing in their
praises OF the queer little team, the professor
aud the golden coach.
SMALL WATCHES.
The first watch was made in Nuremberg in
the cherry stone about the year i411. Soon
after its invention curious gold and silver
smiths began to experiment on what they
could do in the way of diminutive time pieces
One Of these. now over 30 years DID, is kept
as wonder In one Of the Swiss museums It
is only three-sixteenths Of an inch in diameter,
but small as it is IL not only indicates hours
and minutes, but seconds and tenths Of Sec
pnd., days Of the week, days Of the month
and the number OF the year
Another Of the old Nuremberg wonders
was in the form OF al acorn, flve-sixteenths
Of III inch in diameter and half an inch long.
1t was perfect in every particular. Kept good
time and was used as charm on lady :
necklace.
One Of exactly the same pattern, but pro-
vlded with o tiny pistol, which was used rs
an alarm. is now to be seen In the South
kensington museum, London King George
Ill, Of England, had watch not larger
than an old fashioned silver Ave cent piece,
tla
not weighing rs much as a silver dime. II
would take q column OF The Republic to
enumerate ali the dainty little time pieces
that have been invented during the past 400
yeara They have been made not larger
than peas and set in rings for physicians to
facilitate the counting OF the pulse They
have also been fixed In bracelets, brooches,
eye glasses. tops Of pencils and even in UNI
brella handles Finished workmanship and
plenty of money will provide almost anything
that can DO conjured up by q myriad minded
people
ISFISTTESIMAL ENGINES.
The enginemakers, like the watchmakers.
have also tried to attain distinction in the
matter Of the diminutive In 1870 John
Penn the eminent maker Of great steam en-
gines who resided at Greenwich, England,
came In possession of what was then the
smallest steam engine in the world. It stood
on n three penny piece 1t really covered less
space, for its base plate measured only three
eighths Of an inch by about three tenthA
From tho extreme 1nallness Of the model
come Of the details were omitted, but not
enough to interfere in any way with its
going The screws were only the one-eigh-
tieth Of an inch in diameter. and these wers
duly furnished with hexagonal nuts, which
could only be ioosened by aid of a tiny wrench
made for that purpose The weight Of the
whole model, without the three penny base,
was less than the weight of the coin itself.
Six years later. time of our centennial ex-
hibition, Penn would have felt ashamed Of
his three penny piece engine" had he had 1t on
exhibition at Philadelphia During the prog
gress Of that great exposition, Levi Taylor.
OF lndianola, la, placed on ibitlon, side by
side" with the great Coriiss engine, an engine
perfect in all its parts, built on twenty five
cent gold piece, and with some of its parts SO
small az 10 ouIy be seen by aid of powerful
microscope The entire engine weighed but
three grains In other words, it would have
taken l4d such engines to balance an ounce
avoirdupois Three Of the Penn engines
would hive weighed mora than l46 like that
made ny Taylor
The engine made by d A. Buck. Of " ater-
bury. Conn, is usually given in lists Of small
| things the smallest engine In the world
| but this Is a mistake. The one mentioned
last above so far takes the palm for Smallnesx.
! The writer cheerfully admits that the Buck
engine Is more perfect in its details than the
| Iowa wonder. but the fact that its base plate
| is gold dollar forever kills its claim to being
the smallest, the Iowa engine as men
toned above. uses q twenty-five cent gold
| piece for the purpose. Bucks engine has las
distinct pieces Of machinery. held together
| by tifty-two screwx Three drops Of water
fill the boiler to overlooking. The diameter
Of its cylinder is one-twenty eighth Of an
inch, the length OF stroke. three-thirty sec
onds Of an inch. its entire weight, four and .
half grains John W. Wright in St Louis
Republic.
| What He Wa. There For.
As funny thing as ever occurred in 4
court happened at Napoleon, O.. in 1899.
before Judge Potter and a jury. A case
was on trial. and an outsider seated him
self on one Of the puncheons at the far