The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-10-11


Fishing Through Automatic
Valves House Flooded with
Lights Beneath the Waves and
Surrounded With Swimming
Things.
Copyright, 1896.
New York, Oct. 10.-For originality and
luxury Americans are thought to surpass
the world, but all their efforts have been
outdone by an Englisman, whose recent
happy thought places him in the front
ranks of inventors and discoverers, be-
sides setting him down as the author OF
new means of amusement
This Englisman, whose name is Pen;-
land, has built a house in the middle ct
lake upon his country property, and
he is entertaing the celebrities Of England
and Scotland in this submarine abode
The plan of the house is not unlike
that of other homes. There is a dining
room, small reception room and SER
wants quarters. There have been no
sleeping rooms built as yet as the guests
go home every night and sleep on
land. But that is a small matter yet to
follow. The house as It stands would
drive Jules Verne, who thought his Maui
titus barely possible to the very verge
Of insanity with realized joy.
Upon the estate of this Englishman
there was small lake five miles in cir
conference and perhaps a mile across at
the widest This makes a fair-sized lake
for purposes of beauty and for fishing, bur
Tor sailing yacht it was far too small
n.,a H.
scientific book thought came to the
owner of the lake
calling together his Landscape garden
er, his consulting engineer and some drain
age experts, he ordered them to drain the
lake dry and make it possible to work
within the excavation where the lake was.
AS soon as the water was drained off bv
temporary pipes, he called his workmen
and set them digging upon trench 1t
was for foundation to a future home
In the bottom of the trench was laid con-
crete Above that was stone tightly seal
ed. Above that was more concrete. Then
came solid flooring, into which no wa
ter could possibly penetrate no more
than through a stone pier
Now, from the foundation of the struc-
ture there were erected walls Of solid
| plate glass. These were very heavy. and
there were several thicknessess of them
to make the walls strong and proof
against the beating of waves Last of all
| a glass roof was laid on. This work went
| slowly along, because it had to be done
| in the most careful manner The small
| est error, one unprotected crack, a weak
place in any part of the work, and the
house would not have been water tight.
Leading from this glass house in the
middle of the lake a passageway was
built. This had a stone floor, glass sides
and glass top. 1t led to land upon the
shores of the lake. Here a beautiful
ledge was constructed and fully furnish
ed. At the rear of the lodge was a door
which opened upon flight of stone steps
inclosed with glass, down which one
could travel through the glass passage
into the glass house beyond. Nothing
more complete could have been invented
The matter of supplying air was an i'm
portant consideration 1t could be done
with pipes. but pipes are never or
namental, and the whole was to have an
aesthetic aspect Incompatible with the
idea of lead and tubing. Another haItpy
thought came to the inventor.
He ordered a quantity of large artificial
water lilies made. These We're to lie upon
the surface of the water, while their stems
big and hollow, would reach down to the
house below. Being such large, hollow
stems, the air could easily be supplied to
the inmates of the glass house small
apartment where the engineer and his
pumps We're located in the rear of the
house would communicate with the lilly
stem pipes, and thus air could be freely
supplied to the rest of the house. There
were cluster after cluster of these lilies.
enough to positively insure a supply of
fresh air.
When all was done the water was turned
back into the lake. In it ran with a rush
and swirl, but the glass house stood firm
and the lilies on top of the water respond
ed with supply of air, while the pumps
inside sent back the bad air to other lily
pipes. 1t worked much as a divers suit
is managed but without the danger.
The house, now that it stands completed
is worth a long journey to see. If opened
as a museum Of living curiosities 1t would
be filled night and day with visitors With
in all is quiet as at the dead of night The
peculiar stiffness is what first strikes a
visitor. Positively not a sound is heard
Then you notice the peculiar SURROUNDINGS
Swimming ell around you outside the glass
house are FISH of every description. You
see sheilfsh near the bottom, reaching up-
ward with their rasping claws, and above
them are tho big fish mounting their way
through the water, while the little ones
scurry to get out of their way their fins
Tapping like submarine fans and their
scales glistening like chips of sunlight.
The house itself is lighted by eectrici-
IT, Otherwise the light below would be
dim and half the glories of the water
lost. With these lights glowing there Is
a positive picnic under the sea all the
time. The fish rush towards the brilliant
light, beating their heads against the
glass, and the more sluggish of the ma
rine inhabitants drag themselves there to
lie alongside the stone foundation and
bask in the light. II may be curiosity
that brings them there, or IL may be the
hope Of warmth, but there they are SWIM
ming close In such great quantities that
at times the water looks Ike a sea of
phosphorus. Strange 10 say, at this depth
of perhaps fifteen feet the water has
green look. verging to black and recalls
unspeakably Bayard Taylor's emerald
sea.
With such a multitude of the fnny
family floating around IT, II is not to be
wondered at that a mind so sportsmanlike
as to invent this submarine marvel should
want to indulge In that elysum Of all
watermen. a good fishing ground. And
here fishing is managed as an Arcadja-a
perfectly governed affair.
BY the most ingenious arrangement OF
wires and lines Il is possible for the fish
erman within the glass house and his
friends to throw a line out A valve
opens and at the same time closes auto
maticaly an outer valve. Only a small