Kansas City daily journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1892-1897, 1895-03-11
The SKILL IN MECHANICS.
ACHIEVEMENTS or INGENIOUS mt.
MAN HANDS.
The Great Pyramids of Egypt--Thc Me.
chanicai Mar,eis OF the Famous
Strasburg Clock-Many other
Curious Time Pieces.

or by the agency of machinery. This ar
tcle will outline the history and trace the
developments OF mechanics. The purpose
rather Is TO indicate some OF the more re
specify some of Its peculiar developments.
MeGnanics, In practice, 1T is safe to say Is
as Old as the race. Men were mechanics
| long ages before there was what could be
called mechanical science just as they used
language long before there was a science
before the flood; and in the years that i'm
medaisly followed there were TubaI-Cains
IN brass and iron and wood as well as
:, Practical experience, says the Chicago
knowledge we'll founded soon becomes
science. one has no reason to doubt, there
fore. that at very early age of the worlds
| history some of the principles of mechanic
al science were well understood.
one of the earliest applications of hum
man genius, would naturally be in, the di-
rection of building. Men required homes
and they built for themselves houses. They
required protection, and they congregated
IN great ia minititndes' and built for them. m
a living, and they had to hght and protect
| themselves against the enemy, and they
made for themselves swords and spears
needed clothing, and the productions of the
lSom r. msradi,nially took the place Of the skins
experience led to knowledge, and knowledge
| to science.
this day included among the worlds won
ders, are to be regarded as marvellous tri-
| uUlDnS OF lneGnInlCal Skill OF these there
are many scattered over the Nile. valley,
| some of brick, some of stone and of varied
height. The, two largest are in, the neigh
| for thousands of years. the most colossal
monuments in the world. The largest, that
have been 500 feet high and the length of
| Its base on each side the same 1t is built
| OF huge stone ranging from two to three
| feet in height. 1t is now rugged and has
| the character as well as the appearance of
| between the stems believed q have been
| filled IN with white marble, which would
shine like snow under the bright Egyptian
| sun. The pyramid now is much reduced in
| height not being more than 500 feet. 1t is
generally admitted that the pyramids were
principles. There is an inner chamber
where the s,areophasuss was placed. When
build his tomb. When he died his body
was. placed in the sacred chamber prepared
closed. The pyramid was then completed
| If the monarch's reign was long, the pyra-
mid was large. If short, the pyramid was
| small. How these structures We're reared
| how the huge masses were brought togeth-
er and put in their places--s a question
| which has. never been satisfactorily an
swered. OF mechanical forces some of the
early people seem to have had much more
ord ord c Of. .''s '''''' '''e'e " ''S N'-e'' '
1t was Archimedes who made the first
| The world owes to him the lever and the
screw and it was he who discovered that
| a body Immersed in fluid loses as much of
places-a principle which has much to do
with the floating leviathans of the deep.
When one thinks of the discoveries and ap-
plications of modern times the discoveries
of the great Syracusan sing into insgnih-
cance. 1t is unnecessary to refer to the
steam engine and its numerous appllca-
tions-applications which are being multi
piled every day, one exception must be
made. Nasmyth's steam hammer is in
vention of comparatively recent date 1t
Is really something wonderful to behold
this mighty hammer come down with gem
n
enough to forge huge anchor. BY means
of this instrument. in the matter of driv-
hours can be reduced to four; and If large
enough it is capable of welding by one
stroke into solid mass whole tons of
The strasburg clock has often been de-
scribed The original clock was really a
wonderful contrvance. 1t was constructed
in l0O. on its plate was celestial globe
with the motions of sun, moon and planets.
The phases of the moon We're presented,
and there perpetual almanac. the
Gay Of the month being indicated by. a
tatuS Eysry cSiiy gnarter was struck the
by youth with an arrow; the third by a
man with the tip of his staff, and the last
was struck by an angel who opened the
door and S,aluted the Virgin Mary. An
which he turned when the hour was struck.
on the arrival of each successive hour a
golden cock tapped his wings, stretched
his neck and crowed twice. The present
Strasburg clock, which is reconstruction
of the old. gives one a very imperfect idea
of the original, especially in its outward
performances.
a clock scarcely less curious was CON
structed toward the close of the last CEN
Figures of n negro, a dog and shepherd
Wien the clock struck the shepherd played
and fawned upon him, When being exhib-
tied &c, to The h. king Of Of, Spain by pros, its max
from the shepherds basket The dog
barked and set the kings dog barking
one of the most prominent jewelers. and
mechaniclans of London about the third |
quarter of the last century was man of
collection of clocks and ciockwork one of |
the wonders Of his collection was q cage
Pumasa ] Of the birds " was OF stones H Various
ly coiored, The birds huttered, warbled |
and and moved dlns their 6is to every mote a
pieces. to the establishment of the audi
With the application of the spring to the
clock it became apparent that the time
piece, piece he could be made made portable Watches
re the sxeenth f0wn n knPMn a. al 1e
the clockmaker of Paris in 1914 the exclus-
I've privilege Of making clocks and watches
have spent much money on watches. Ed
ward VI had at his palace. of Westminster
iron gilt with. two plummets of lead"
Elizabeth was fond Of watches, of which
s siocke ' Of GOLD Ee EsrSished With S dyemSndes
rubyes, emeraldes and perles," zone arm
let or shakell OF gold, all over fairly gar
nished with rubyes and dyemondes, having
on the closing the air of clocke." was a
gift 10 her in l57l-2 by the Earl of LelCes-
ter. master of the house.
Mary of Scotland had her watches. In
those days there was a great variety in the
shape of the watch. A fayorte shape was
that of a coffin Descriptions exist of sew |
eral of Mary's watches. There was one
coiiiu-shaped in "A crystal case. There was
another in which catgut supplied the place
of the interior chain in the modern watch |
one very marvellous piece of workmanship
in the form of a skull is the property Of |
the Dick Lauder family 1t was originally |
the property of Mary Queen of Scots, and
was bequeathed to Mary Setoun, her maid
of honor, February 7, 1851 on the fore
the scythe and the hour-glass. At the back
of the skull is Time, and at the top OF the
head are the garden of Eden and the cru
ciiXior. The watch Is opened by reversing
the skull Inside are the holy family, an
gels and the shepherds with their fiocks.
The works form the brains. The dial plate
Is the palate Another skull-shaped watch
which belonged to Mary was a gift from
her husband, Francis IL.
Arnold of the Strand presented George
III. In 1854 a watch of his own manufact-
ure set In ring. Later, in 1770, he pre-
sented the king with a small repeating
watch, also set in ring, the cylinder of
which was made of an oriental ruby. The
czar of Russia, when he heard of these
mites of watches, offered Arnold 900 gum |
eas II he would make one for him but the
artist would not consent,