Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-07-05
STOPPING A TORPEDO.
How Experts Figure That a Battle
ship Could Escape a Charge.
FINANCES OF THE OSTRICH FARM,
Prints Of the Fingers Make Signature
Always Identifable.
RULES FOR THE CARE OF THE EYES
CwRrTTEN FOR THE D1sPArcH.l


Recent developments in the war in Chi1a
/ demonstrate the destructiveness of the tor
| pedo. In order to insure to a battlesbin
complete immunity against danger it is adb-
solutely necessary, if the net defenses can
not be depended upon, to stop a charging
torpedo boat before it has reached range.
This range is variously placed at 800 Yards
A well-known naval expert has recently de-
scribed the manner in which torpedo at
tack on man-of-war can be repulsed A
vessel armed with single three-pounder
hotchkiss is supposed to be attacked by a
hrst-class seagoing torpedo boat of about so
tons displacement. The torpedo boat is
provided with Whitehead torpedoes. The
torpedo boat Is discovered by electric search
lights when 1,2OO yards distant and is seen
charging in at full speed. Fire from the gun
commences at once, but must cease at 900
yards, the minimum distance at which the
torpedoes will be discharged
The dimensions of the target formed by
the boat are: Height, 81 feet; breadth. IL
feet; length, 20 feet: the length of the target
representing the length of the boat FROM Che
forefoot to the after engine room buIkhead.
The remaining 40 feet are left out of consid-
GRAFTON on account of the few vital points
presented to the attack of she'll The
length of the target lies N the direction of
the line of fire, and within the target spaca
are contained all the vital points-the tor
pedoes ready for launching, the launching
tubes and apparatus the reserve torpedoe5
and their magazines, the steering gear, the
helmsman, the commanding officer, the
boilers and the engines.
Assuming that torpedo boat Is charpino
at the rate of 2l knots per hour, she will be
traversing 354 feet per second. This speed
will represent the extreme speed probable
under the most favorable circumstances
with q boat that can make % knots per hour
on trial. Under this assumption, the dura-
tion of an attack will be minute and IS Sec
onds. IT the gun be absolutely true, be in
simultaneously and perfectly aimed, and
nothing affects the flight of the projectiles,
the fire will be perfect and every shot will
pierce vital spot at extreme range and be-
come effective by explosion. Under actual
firing test a trained crew has repeatedly
fired p shots froma athree-pounderhotchki
Allowing for fatigue of firing, it Is safe to
say that 20 shots per minute can be fired in
the course of the duration of attack and
giving for perfect fire % hits for speed Of
21 knots. From the statements of trained
ordnance experts, these assumptions for
perfect hre are deemed by no means extra
ordinary, inasmuch as they are often real
lied with almost complete exactitude on the
firing ground.
Ostrich Farming in California.
A new industry has been successfully
started in California, in the raising of
ostrich feathers. The first ostrich farm wss
a tract of land some 200 acres in extent 2e
miles southeast of Los Angeles. 1t started
few years ago, and its live stock consisted Of
21 birds. There are now several hundred
birds on different farms in the country. The
young birds do not begin to pay urI:I they
are six months old. They are pluA go then
for the first time and at intervals g. seven
or eight months ever afterward.. The
feathers of the first plucking areEy d very
valuable, but when the birds affair = sges
of two or three years each feather -<-S1o !
at 50 or So, and year and half iszasF 70
birds are in their finest plumage. Th5 .iiU,s
of the feathers ranges according to quality,
from under 81 to 50 and $40 and upwards
each. OStrieheS live for nearly 100 wears,
and are known to breed after they are 50, q
fact which strongly suggests the possibili-
ties of profit in the business. Each fully
grown bird produces about 80 long, beautiful
plumes, % on each wing, valued at 81 to So.
so that the feathers of q single ostrich may
realize in one year from $500 to $3.50
The birds are plucked in different WAYS:
vicious and wild birds are generally driven
into a corral just wide enough to hold them.
and the feathers are picked through afence;
but the tame ones are driven one at a time
into q corner of the corral by three men, two
of whom blindfold them, while the third
plucks the feathers. The plumes are then
cleaned, sorted and dyed, ready for the
market. The industry is yet in its infancy,
but there is reason to believe that in course
of time California will be able to supply al
most the entire American demand fer
ostrich plumes, and compete successfully
with South Africa, which mas hitherto had
almost a monopoly in ostrich farming
Rules for Preserving the Eyesight.
The following simple rules for the preser-
walton of the eyesight are worth remember
ing: Keep shade on your lamp or gas
burner. Avoid all sudden changes between
light and darkness. Never begin to read,
write or sew for several minutes after COM
ing from darkness into light. Never read by
twilight, moonlight or any light so scant
that it requires an effort to discriminate
Never read or sew directly in front of the
light, window or door. 1t is best to let the
light fall from above, obliquely over the
left shoulder. Never sleep so that on first
awakening the eyes shall open on the light
of q window. The moment you are instinct
lively prompted to rub your eyes, that
moment stop using them.
Should any of the following symptoms be
experienced an oculist of repute should be
consulted: Spots or sparks of light floating
before the eyes; quivering of the lids or
sensation of sand in the eye; perceptible
fatigue or the requirement of strong light in
reading; the holding of objects at arms
length or close to the eye; squinting one eye
or seeing objects double; dizziness or dart
ing pains in the eye balls or over the temple;
perceiving colOred circle around the lamp;
sensitiveness of the eyeballs or contraction
of the visual field; blurring of the vision or
being unable to see objects distinctly at .
distance: watering OF redness of the eyes or
lids; running together OF the letters when
reading, or seeing the vertical better than
the horizontal lines
A New Sign Manual.
Francis Galton has placed before the
Royal Society of England some very res
markable facts bearing on the use of finger
prints as a means of personal Identification.
The person who is to make his mark places
his fingers ON an linked pad and then i'm,
presses them on piece of paper. The re.
suit is print of the papillary ridges on the
bulbs on the fingers and it appears that
every individual has pattern which is as
distinctive as his features. The subject has
been pursued for some Is years or so, and it
has been proved that the same pattern per.
sists in the case of children, adults and old
people. There seems good reason to believe
that during entire lifetime the same
character of design remains, although, OF
course, it changes in size and possibly in
shape. The reticulation, however, remains
constant, ana can be identified without
doubt.
A method of indexing these finger prints
has been devised by classifying and num-
bering the various patterns, so that to each
finger on a hand there can be assigned at u
glance a number which expresses its char-
acteristics. The combined numbers OF q
hand represent the individuality of Its
owner, and enables q previous PRINT 20 De
Immediately picked out OF thousands OF
others. 1t has been suggested that II the
confirmed, it would have many advantages
of the existing style of signature.
A Patent Horseshoe.
A new patent covers a horseshoe which
possesses many advantages. On Its under
surface is stamped pattern which gives
number of points for the securing OF better
grin on the pavement, and this, where
-, ,ooda, ,1ax-a,naDts n re- used is an impOrtant