The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1893-05-27
SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY.
ABOUT NEW INVENTIONS AND
DISCOVERIES.

Electrical and Mental Telephony
More Bullet-Proof Textures
Photographin0 Letters by
Telegraph-What the Pho
nograph Will Do forUs.
More Bullet-Proof. Textures.
The discussion raised in Germany by
Herr Doves claim to the invention OF
a "bullet-proof'' substance Is being
warmly carried on, and is further conn-
plicated by the fact that there are now
three claimants to the distinction or
having invented bullet. resisting ma
terial, instead Of one. The Berlin firm
that intends to work Herr Doves In.
vention propose to turn out a material
impenetrable to rifle bullets, lancaS and
swords, that can be utilized so as to
afford shelter to the body and arms
from the neck to halfway down the
upper part Of the leg, and can be used
as q defensive covering to the. KNAPP
sack. It is further intended to give
protection to horses, as well as to prove
q shield for the garrison Of a fortress
or for soldiers employed as held and
horse artillery. The invention Is now
ACSoAuCA NY uCA AAlAAIoAy AS
ties as n of enormous Importance,
and as likely. to materially affect the
question of military ornaments. 1t Is
a fact that a composition has been
found manifesting the same power OF
resistance as steel, with only a tenth
of the weight of this metal. A breast
plate Of steel capable Of affording pro-
lection against bullets from modern
rifles would weigh about fifty pounds,
and one after Herr Doves cOnStruc-
ton something under five pounds. The
first tests were not considered salts
factory, but better results were after
ward obtained before representatives
of the German war office. The expert
ments hitherto made, however. cannot
be pronounced absolutely conclusive.
A Vienna rival to Herr Dove has ap-
peare5 in the person of Herr Scarneo,
who states that he long ago invented
q coat of mail that has been virtually
copied by Herr Dove. Herr Scarneo
states that the fundamental principle
of his system is enormous elasticity.
He uses hemp automatically pressed,
over which is laid a sort Of railing OF
flattened English steel wire, against
which the bullet must strike after it
has been heated by it's passage through
AAO w. NAS lhS ~ ACoI 40
vastly increased by the force Of o
cussion against the steel grating, and
the bullet Is broken up into bits. The
Whole b~reast-I late is very light. The
bullet strikes only one, or at most only
two flattened bars, which are placed at
intervals Of a quarter of a milimeter
from each other, and are held in posi-
ton by means of cord and rest upon a
layer OF wool, whereby they acquire an
Incredible degree Of elasticity. Herr
Scarneo claims that his material will
take the place Of steel armor on men,
of-war. it does not split or break, rs
steel plates often do; it is non-infiama-
Elc and fre-proof, and, being 4 bad
conductor Of heat, would keep the in
terror Of the ship warm in winter and
cool in summer. In battle it could be-
easily be donned by soldiers, just like
the blanket with a hole in the middle
used in Bolivia and Peru, before going
into action; it would hang loosely like
a mantle, and in nowise hinder the
rider. Further, artillery would reap
enormous advantages from its use as a
screen for bicycles to protect gunners
from the murderous fire of the enemy's
infantry. These are a few Of the claims
that Herr Scarneo makes for his re-
/ puSS" paw AASCAIlOAs AL .lAC cdt
time a Herr Reidel is said to have
brought out a bullet-proof substance
twice as light and twice as cheap as it's
predecessors, and of; a natu1e SO flexi-
Die that 1t be inserted as q lining to
the uniform, and the fight Of the sys-
TENS is being waged with such bitter
ness that 1t would appear as If each in
ventor would have to don his own
armOr in Self-defenSe before it is ended.
Carrier Pigeons for Lake and Sea
Vessels. c
Public attention has been directed to
the prominent part played by carrier
pigeons in carrying dispatches to diff
ferent points from the warshiDs en-
| gagged in the naval rendezvous in Hamp-
ton Roads, and further to the fact that
a Philadelphia philanthropist has orig
mated The idea of placing a supply of
birds IN the United States cruiser New
York, with a view to using them for
messenger service, and has, moreover.
made an Easter gift to the shin of a
full complement Of the cote. The ex-
pertinent of homing birds on the cruis-
er New York will have a certain de-
gree Of novelty, inasmuch as their home
will not be stationary. It~yill be curl
GUS to see If the h1ming instincts Of
the birds will be sufficiently strong
to discover the whereabouts of their
cote, although it may have been moved
many miles since they were carried
from it. Similar experiments were
tried some, time ago at New, Orleans
on board a pilot boat, but they were
only partially successful. 1t is, how
ever the OniniOn Of axnortc +ho+ +ho
s. of carrier pigeons for the trans
mission OF messages from ships can be
greaflg extended with advantage, Only
recently Capt. G. A. Brown proposed
the adoption Of q carrier pigeon sys-
TEN on the lakes, and his views met
with strong support, Capt. Brown
would have every lake vessel carry nig.
cons, which could be released in cases
Of emergency and bring messages to
shore. He quotes the case Of the w.
II. Glcher, which was lost on Lake
Michigan last fall with all hands. The
cause OF her loss is to this day a mys-
terry, but had she had pigeons on board
the world would have received definite
information about her even IL it had
been too late to save life. There can
be no doubt that by carrying pigeons
on board relief may often be secured
| more quickly in cas- of accident, and
| lives may be saved. An English paper,
! which represents important merchant
shipping interests, makes, in connection
with a comment on the loss Of the Mar
onic, a suggestion on the same lines
| which seems worthy Of consideration.
It asks: "Why should not all sea-going
vessels take with them a few homing
l nipnnnS2 pr TT hn1dS that IF tho vessel