Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-03-23
HOUSE OF ABALoNE SHELLS.
1t is Near Cypress oint and Belongs to
Chinese Fisherman

1t is Near Cypress l. ONT and Belongs to
Chinese Fisherman.
Odd habitations are to be found all
over California. Sometimes there is q
good reason for this being odd, but often
it is the result of some crank idea. On
the beach near Cypress Point, in Monte
rey county, there is one that cannot come
under the first head and hardly under
the last.
The residence belongs to a Chinese
fisherman, and is part natural and part
the work of his own hands. The nat
ural portion of the house is a small case
all over the beach. The other part is a
sort of wooden shed that has been built
in front Of this opening. The lumber
used is of the toughest kind, but the
esthetic Chinaman overcame this Objec-
ton by covering the whole outside with
abalone shells, the hollow side being
turned out.
The Chinaman evidently did that many
years ago, when the shells were plentiful
and had scarcely any market value. Ey-
cry shell used has been destroyed, as one
or more nails have been driven through
them, according to their size. Some Of
the shells are magnificent in color and
enormous in size. There is one at least
Is inches in diameter, and a duplicate in
San Francisco for any price Most of
the larger shells, if they were not punct-
ured with nail holes, would readily sell
for from SIS to So apiece. But that
size cannot be had in the market now
and would be difficult to find on the
rocks of any part of the coast.
The general effect of the house, when
the sun strikes it at the proper angle, is
dazzling The polished, pearly surfaces
sparkle with astounding brilliancy and
flash with all the colors of the rainbow
1t is a pleasing and surprising sight,
and the only pity is that so many beauti-
full shells were destroyed to produce it
San Francisco Call.
Labor and Money-Saving Device.
To what extent labor-saving device
can be made to effect an economy has
been very strikingly demonstrated in the
case of one of the large electric illuminat-
ing companies, which recently concluded
to fit up each one of it's arc light poles
with clock-switching device designed
to automatically throw into and out of
circuit each of the lights at certain hours
of the evening and morning, and thus to
supplant the service of the men hitherto
employed to make the rounds of the poles
and do the same thing by hand. The
company had at the time 600 arc lights
in use for street illumination. The lights
NC1C 1OV 1GGL apart. anu the CITY COLI
tract specified that they had to be turned
on not later than fifteen minutes beyond
certain hour of the evening and might
be again turned off not earlier than ff-
teen minutes before certain other hour
in the morning.
Experience had shown that man
could walk about 400 feet i'll fifteen
minute interval, and turn on or off the
ten lights within that distance, SO that.
for the whole 600 lights, the services of
sixty men were required, which could
not be secured for less than 81 per week
per man, entailing, thus, the expenditure
of $24O per week, or S12,4S0 per year.
The clock-switching devices, which did
the same work, cost $3.50 apiece, maxi
ing a total for the 600 poles Of only
$4,000, which investment, of course, will
not be yearly recurring one. What the
saving effected by the automatic switches
will be may be left to the readers own
calculation. The whole affords a lesson
in central station economics in which
station superintendent ought to find
something decidedly interesting Gas
sier's Magazine for March