Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-07-24
arth Dams.

is and it may be or may AOt NC
cr1ldelv constructed; but certainly nc
TYNE Of structure that man builds to
confne water can compare IN perma-
nence with the earth embankment'
Wood decays and metal corrodes'
Stone. in a longer or shorter time,
crumbles under the action OF the
weather Earth, however, has al
ready experienced all the changes
that the gnawing tooth Of time can
bring. It cannot disintegrate, for 1t
is already disintegrated. Temper
allure stresses, which cause the en-
gfneer so much anxiety in other struc-
lures, have no terrOrs for the earth
embankment The only dangers to
which it is subject are oYertopplng
by foods, saturatiCn OF the mass by
water until the whole yields like a
semi-liQuid to the pressure behind 1t,
and erosion of the side slopes. How
shall the earth dam be made water
tight? All kinds Of earth are more
or less permeable to water. Through
gravel water flows rapidly, through
sand steady flow also occurs at a
rate depending on the degree Of fine
ness and the percentage Of voids. 1t
is only earths containing clay or
vegetable loan which have the prop
erty Of checking the passage of water
so greatly that the flow through them
is practically nothing. To build an
earth dam, therefore, the engineer Sc
lects from the earths available near
the site those of the most clayey
character and places them in the
center Of the bank to form the puddle
core"
Artificial Marble.
Tho lack of marble in Denmark has
led to many attempts to produce a
substitute which would equal in
decorative effects the natural product.
A Danish master builder is producing
a stone of such delicate transition Of
tints and play Of color that it is i'm
possible to distinguish it from the
natural product while as to cost of
manufacture, it can compete with all
other artificial marbles. The imi-
tation of the more expensive species
does not exceed in cost that of the
cheaper ones.
The process of manufacture is
simple and the cost of the output
does not exceed $175. The article
can be produced in any form desired
columns, plain or fiuted, and cap
itals-as readily as fiat slabs Ii is
claimed that even pictures may be
made Of this material. 1t seems to
have the durability of genuine marble,
but it's cost is only about one-tenth as
much
AcetyIene Gas.
A new acetylene generator is
described as being much simpler in
construction than any yet placed upon
the market In it's operation the fall
ing OF the carbide into the water is
automatically regulated by a hollow
rubber ball, which, as soon as it is
filled with gas, closes the valve be-
tween the carbide and the water
When the volume of gas decreases,
the rubber ball contracts and the feed
valve again permits the carbide to
drop. The gas is stored partly in the
rubber ball and partly in the space
between the funnel-shaped carbide
magazine and the water If more
than the normal amount of gas is
generated, it secures more room by
forcing the water through valves into
the water jacket in the sides of the
apparatus. A separate gas tank is
therefore not needed Should too
much gas be produced, both the water
and the gas escape through a safety
valve. Common carbide is used; no
cartridges.
Electric Shocks.
Electric shocks cause death by pro-
ducing, it is said, a 3pasm of the dia-
phragm The direct current. are
probably much more destructive with
in the same limits than are the alter
mating, although at one time the
opposite was considered the truth.
Little can be done to help anyone who
mas received a heavy shock of cleo
tricity. The best-known way is to
invert the patient instantly, SO as to
make the blood gravitate toward the
brain. By this means recovery has
been secured after a 2,000-volt shock
from hand to hand. The patient was
inverted and his chest thumped and
artificial respiration secured. He re-
covered in As minutes. Another man
received the same violent current and
fell down a staircase, remaining for
IS minutes without assistance head
downward. He also recovered-Medi-
cal News.
The indigestion OF Loneliness.
There are some few happily dis
posed individuals who can dine alone
and not eat too fast, nor too much.
nor too little. With the majority it
is different. For due and easy nutri-
ton food should be slowly taken and
the mind should not be intensely exer
cised during the process Everyone
knows that violent bodily exercise is
bad just after a meal, and mental
exertion is equally so, In fact the
experience of countless generations
has perpetuated the lesson that a man
should not eat alone, nor think much
at this time but should talk and be
talked to while he feeds. Most peo-
pie do not think much while thew talk.
and talking is a natural accountant
ment of eating and drinking.
Chocolate for Milk.
Reinach has made a series of ex-
periments upon children of and y
months, with chocolate. He founu
that the fat was we'll absorbed, ano
q s.