Omaha daily bee., 1902-07-28
PLAN TO HARNESS THE sun
Building Inspector Garter Finds Inventors
Long Lost Drawing.
WOULD MAKE OLD SOL PUMP FOR FIELDS
Bin I'm Abandoned Elevator Yields
Record of idea which Has Been
Developed in Another
Form.

Since Building Inspector Carter began his
crusade against ramshackle structures he
has come across many curious articles
tucked way between joists or studding,
or hidden In ~cubbyholes or closets, and evil
IDENTIFY long since forgotten by persons who
once cherished them. Love letters. tied
with faded ribbon are turned UP by the
bale. Rusty cutlery, dimantled firearms and
dog-eared books make up the bulk of this
hotsam Of the rookeries, though OCCASION
ally he chances upon such articles Of In
trinsic value as old coins and once a dust
covered mantle yielded a certificate OF di-
vorce. It is possible that the certificate was
the sequel of the love letters, though this
cannot be proved, as Mr.. Carter does not
keep a collection.
Saturday he found something in a bin Of
the old elevator at Eleventh street and
Union Pacific tracks that interests him al
most as much as would a pile OF human
bones. or a chart showing the location Of a
cached treasure. II is a drawing and de-
scription Of a device for utilizing the suns
rays in operating q pump for irrigation
purposes.
Such a device Is already in use, but the
machine which is now irrigating the orange
groves of southern California differs very
materially from that portrayed in the draw
ings. Moreover, the drawings must have
been made long before the California ma
chine was built. or perhaps ever thought
Of. They are widowed, faded and In some
places rotten with age. Thrust ava in .
niche of the great gully-like bin, a guam
tity of different kinds of grain ratified out
Of the sheets as they were removed, show
ing that they must have been there for .
long time before the elevator was aban-
| 1nnn1 WvhAaA uwAa aaWIw ~ -
Principle Of the Machine.
The California sun pump utilities the
principle OF reflected heat, mirrors being
used to converge the rays upon a boiler.
This machine uses double convex lenses
instead of mirrors, and ~refracts the heat
instead Of rejecting It. II the drawings
are any criterion the machine contemplated
by the unknown inventor is much more
compact, concise and simple than the one
now in use.
The principal feature of It is three SUI
perposed convex lenses. The lower one Is
immovably fixed e few feet above the
boiler, upon which II focuses the SUMS
rays; the two upper ones are fitted with
bearings which permit them to follow the
sun in its flight across the heavens, a
movement which, on the part Of the lenses,
is accomplished automatically, without the
use Of clockwork. Each OF the top lenses
gathers the rays and bends them upon the
lens beneath, but does not focus them, as
the discs are placed too close together to
admit Of that-a p~recaution taken, no
doubt. to prevent the melting of the glass.
The device for keeping the top lens faced
toward the sun is ingenious. The bearings
in which It swings are fitted with soft lead
bars about the size Of lead pencils. which
project horizontally into the shaft. The
moment the rays touch a side OF the shaft
Ia fact which indicates that the top lens
is no longer in a correct position In rela-
ton to the sun and the lenses beneath ~
a small portion Of the lead point Is melted
away, the lens resumes Its proper plane
and the error is corrected.
h.. .ts,s Notation of I~nventor
The following notation appears on one Of
the sheets of drawing paper:
Plan Of device for generating steam for
operating a pump for irrigating purposes.
Should be useful In case of drouth, when
for weeks no clouds appear in the sky
and the sun shines VIII
save its cost in fuel in a short time.
1.-THE machine may not work." said Mr..
Carter, but the principle seems sound,
and l believe It can be made to work. No,
1 don't think I shall go to the expense OF
having a model made, but I'm going to
show these drawings to a practical me
chanic / have in mind and see what he
thinks Of them"
II the drawings ever bore the name OF
the inventor It has been obliterated by
time.