The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1909-11-25
SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY
London has $500 taxicabs.

soldiers.
The torpedo leaves the gun at rate
OF forty knots an hour
Steel ties are being placed on the
tracks of the Pittsburg traction lines.
Each railroad tie treated by the oil
process takes up about three gallons of
| oil.
The portion of the city street which
is subjected to the greatest wear Is
that Immediately beside the car tracks.
| There were 40 boiler explosions in
this country during 1908. There is
one greater record. The fatalities
| numbered 281.
Dry goods manufacturers and re
tail firms of England are promoting a
central commission house in London.
1t is to be trust, with the manufac-
turers controlling prices. France and
Germany are to be allowed to have
representatives on the board
The new tariff bill introduced to most
people the word quebracho, the extract
used in tanning hides. In Paraguay
and Argentina this is a large indus
try, there being thousands Of square
miles of the quebracho tree. Such land
is valued at from $4,000 a square
league upward. Quebracho logs are
also used for railway ties.
AS Americans learn the ropes of
suburban life and our farmers make a
keener selection of profitable industry
poultry raising becomes more and
more important in this country. Ger
many has virtually abandoned the
work of providing poultry and eggs at
home. In 1872 the combined imports
Of eggs and poultry into Germany
amounted to only half million dol
lars. Thirty-five years later they were
more than $4,000, 000--eggs $37,845,-
$50. poultry 3O.5OO.--New York
Press.
With the assistance Of Messrs. H.
d'Osmont and Montpillard, Mr.. Pavie.
a French photographer, has succeeded
in obtaining interior photographs in
the colors of nature by the use of mag
nesium light The exposures are, of
course, instantaneous, and the success
of the experiments is based upon the
employment of special powder COM
posed of magnesium and phosphorus,
which burns with great rapidity, and
specially colored screens. The photo
graphs of moving objects are said tc
be surprisingly perfect in all their col
ors. The operation is performed as in
! ordinary photography with magnesium
light That is to say, the lights in
the room are not burning when the
exposure is made.
A writer In the Elektrotechnische
Anzeiger cites many incidents to show
that electricity was not unknown to
the ancients and that George Ebers'
suggestion in a novel that the Egypt
ians made use Of lightning conductors
was well founded Instruments much
like the modern heliograph were also
used, the writer says, by priests as a
means of communicating between the
temples. There can be no doubt, he
says, as to the temple having been
protected by lightning rods. The Bib
lical description shows that the roof
was provided with metallic points held
aloft by columns and that these points,
ending in chains. terminated in great
water tanks. He adds: "All Of which
is vouched for in the first book of
Kings and the second book of Chron-
| icles."
Certain minerals exhibit the curious
optical property known as asterism.
That is to say, they show star-shap-
ed figure when light Is reflected from
them, or transmitted through them.
| This is seen, for example, in the star
stone, a sort of sapphire, and in the
star ruby. A note in knowledge de-
scribes and figures the asterism of
mica. The photograph of lamp flame
taken through plate of mica shows
beautiful six-rayed star, with six
| fainter radiations between. Outward
" star mica resembles the ordinary
form and shows the same phenomena
under colored light. When examined
under the microscope, however. the
star mica is found to contain fine
needles of another mineral, and these
are regularly arranged mt angles of
| 100 degrees. To these needles the star
seen by transmitted light is due.
Actors are proverbially improvident,
except Francis Wilson, William H.
Crane and a few others. But who has
any idea that circus performers are
the thriftiest class of all public enter
| tainers? They do not sit around in
| public places telling what great per-
| formers they are, and returning fiat
| terry with expensive conviviality. Hard
ly one Of them draws more than a
quarter of his wages. The circus treas
urer is his banker, and at the end of
the season Mr.. Clown or Miss Bare
back Rider draws down a fat roll of
bills. Then the vacation is spent
how? Not in high living. For these
are of the most frugal classes. Usually
a group of performers repairs to a
boarding house somewhere in the
country, kept by superannuated lady
of the circus. There they erect pri-
vate ring, where the spare time is
spent in perfecting an act for the next
season.-New York Press.
Four years ago the corporation of