The progressive farmer., 1902-03-18
NOTEWORTHY ARTICLES IN THE MARCH
MAGAZINES
Ones as Given in the March Review Of Re-
views.
WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.

Ones as Given in the March Review Of Re-
views.
WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.
The March Century has very
complete account of the ACTUAL events
of Mr.. Marconi's epoch making ex-
periments at ST. Johns, Newfound-
land, by P. T. McGrath, the editor
of a st. Johns paper, who had inter
views twice, day with Mr.. Marooni
during the three weeks of the latter 8
stay in st. Johns. Mr.. MoGrath
recites with further detail the main
features of the experiments and
adds the following interesting digest
of Mr.. Marconi's conclusions, given
to him by the inventor himself: The
wireless agency is most effective
over marine areas. Over 1ow-lying
country, two-thirds of the sea dis
tanoe can be reached, but over aver
age hills the potency of the vibra-
tions is reduced by one-half. The
vibrations reach farther in fog than
in fine weather. Atmospheric con-
ditions do not seriously affect them
electrical distur Dances are their only
foe. A pole 200 feet high gives the
best results. A horizontal wire is of
no value, nor is it an advantage to
set up the pole or kite on high hill.
It is a disadvantage that ocean
ships have masts only 12O feet high,
thus limiting. the range to about 100
miles. The curvature of the earth
makes no interference. The Cunard-
ers now take, in toll for passengers
$3.50 trip at ten cents a
word, the dispatches being sent
within a hundred miles of the shore.
THE ''RIvER AND RARBOR" HUMBUG.
In an able article in the Forum on
Government Construction of Reser
voirs in Arid Regions" Lieut. Col.
Fl. M. Chittenden, U. S. A, exposes
the practice of wasting public money,
year after year, on the pretense of
improving the navigation of small
streams. He recalls from his own
as a government engineer
a striking instance of this tendency
to squander on useless Improve
the money needed by the
farmers of the West for works which
would turn large areas of desert land
into veritable gardens.
"The first public work upon which
the writer was ever engaged was the
of the upper Missouri
River near the head of navigation,
at Fort Benton, Mont The pro-
fessional problems involved were in
teresting and practicable !; but what
ever satisfaction might justly attach
to their successful solution was
wholly neutralized by the reflection
that the work was utterly useless.
It is doubtful if from that day to
this, eleven years, half dozen COM
steamboats, have passed over
this section of the river"
THE ECONOMICa FUTURE OF THE PHILIP
PINES.
In an essay published in the At
lantio Monthly on "The Economic
Future of the Philippines, Mr..
Charles A. Conant expresses the
opinion that Caucasian leadership
will be necessary for long time to
come in these islands. One Of the
most serious difficulties in the way
of economic progress is the labor
problem, as the average Filipino is
oonstitutionally averse to systematic
work, and would have about as much
chance in competition with American
labor as a mouse in thrashing ma
chine. Mr.. Conant thinks the Philip.
pines will not have complete peace
for some time to come. However,
he says that in the civilized prov
inces there Is no reason why gar
risons should be much larger than
those in the United States. In the |!