The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-07-07

distant; when the operator. by ascend.
ing to an altitude, can command q
twenty smile vtew, twenty miles is the
torpedo's range The new rays, so far
as Is known are Affected by no OBJ
stacles-they will n through hills or
brick ffOuAes with hnAitntnished power
When the sterpedpf ii tEayeiinE beneath
the water 1T IS usually submerged-a
shaft projeettn vfr0rn It above the wac.
ter, surfn6u11ted by q white disc, re-
ceives the rays, and passes them on
to be transmitted into motive energy
At night time the projecting rod car
ries a strong electric light, shaded so as
to be invisible Ito the enemy, though
visible to the operator. With the ne"
appliance, any number Of torpedoes
may be started, controlled, and ex-
ploded at will, SO that an operator, with
a whole regiment Of torpedoes at ms
command, may, marshal them as ne oe-
sires, and naneuver them through any
complicated evolution. And since the
torpedoes are usually submerged, ana
travel at a high rate of speed, they az
ford@a bad target for guns.
~
Lewiston (Me.) Journal: Last year,
it will be remembered, there was con-
siderable agitation in some of the
Maine coast towns over what seemed TO
be the firing of cannon off shore. The
more nervous thought they must have
been fired by Spanish gunboats; others
by the American vessels patrolling this
coast One man who heard these
sounds was Or. G. II. Hay of Philadel-
phia, who was staying on Cranberry
ISLE and he. noticed that the reports
were never heard except in foggy
weather, and were loudest and most
pronounced on hot, muggy days, when
the fog was lifting to let in bars of
sunlight He hunted up some French
and German books and read accounts
of similar sounds which have been
heard near the North Sea and near
Antwerp These noises were caused
by fog rumblings, which were common
on warm days. The natives called them
tmistpoeffers," which literally translat-
ed means fog hiccoughs. After COM
pairing the two phenomena, DR.. Hay Is
certain that the mistpoeffer of the old
world is found on the coast of Maine.
And as the sounds have been heard
this year when there was no Spanish
ship within 5000 miles of Maine, he
is confirmed in his opinion.
Kansas papers describe method of
fighting or arresting cyclones which is
certainly novel. but we leave it to the
reader to verify the practical workings
of the scheme. It is said that one of
the Rough Riders: who went to Cuba
last summer found cannon pretty cheap
after the Spanish surrender so he
bought four of them and brought them
to his home in Oklahoma. One of
these was sold to, the Town Council of
Hennessy, o. r., and placed in charge
of a man who is paid $50 a month to
stand on the lookout for cyclones. If
a cyclone or waterspout appears any
where in the vicinity he mounts his
horse and draws his battery within a
range of about forty rods, when the
cannon, loaded with salt, is discharged
at the funnel shaped mass. 1t is said
that this mode Of defense is effective
and has three times saved the town of
Hennessy from the visitation of cy-
clone this season. Some years ago the
people down in that section Of the
country tried to make rain by similar
methods.
The British cable steamship Britain
MIA was recently engaged in a twenty
six-day cruise taking soundings and
surveying the route for new line OF
| cable from Germany to the United
States. The cable is to be laid and
owned by the Land and Sea Cable Com
pany of Cologne, and the Commercial
Cable Of New York The line will run
from Emden, Germany, to Fayal, In
the Azore Islands. and thence to Coney
Island, near New York City. The
stretch of cable between the Azores
| and New York will measure 2,279 miles
and the cost Of, laying the cable the en-
tire distance to Germany will be about
$5.00O.OOO.
The Japanese battle ship Asahi, said
to be the largest war ship ever con.
structed, was launched from the Clye-
bank yards recently, The vessel is 42j
feet long, with beam ofs'75 feet. 21s
inches, and displacement of 1920
tons, at draft of q feet 3 inches. The
horse power of the engines is $1,000
and the calculated speed 10 knots. The
armament consists Of four. 12-inch guns,
fourteen 6-inch quick firing guns
eight 3-pounders and four 21122 FOUNDERS.
The armor belt has. thickness of y
inches and the protection of the gun
deck is 8 inches. The coal capacity is
], 400 tons.
Water is, very good transmitter of
sound. scientist by the name of Cal
ladon made some experiments on Lake
Geneva, Switzerland, to demonstrate
the power of sound to-, travel a long
way in water. A clock was made to
strike under the water, and was heard
to distance of twelveN miles. In q
second experiment the striking of a
clock was heard to a distance of twen-
ty-seven.
Swedish inventor has patented an
addition to the log. by which its read
ing may be directly shown in the
chartroom or coming tower. The in
strument is connected by means Of an
electric cable to a contact mechanism
giving suitable number Of contacts
per mile to the part of the instrument
that points out the distance on a dial
graduated in miles. The instrument
points out the miles exactly. according
to the taffrail. log; it registers the miles
per hour, and gives, if desired, a signal
| on an electric bell when certain dis
| lance has been Travelled.
-
Two Kansas women have designed
a fastener which will securely hold a
hat, consisting of a single piece Of wire