Amador ledger., 1909-12-17

In the experiments OF II. T.. WlllSle
and J. Boyle, Jr., solar heat has been
collected by passing water through a
glass covered heater exposed to the
suns rays The heated water was
stored in a we'll insulated tank and
drawn off to circulate around sulphur
dioxide boiler, then, after giving up its
heat, was again passed through the
heater. 1t was calucalated that in lati
tude "a deg square foot of water sur
face would take 10 about 2, 300 British
thermal units on June day and l,600
in December day. Using two heater
sections exposing | 200 square feet to
the sun, the heat collected was made to
run 20 horsepower sulphur dioxide
engine, and at times developed about
Is horsepower, with boiler pressure
OF 245 pounds per square inch. Review
ing the results, Mr. Willse has found
the cost per horse power of the solar
power plant to be about $l64, or rather
more than four times the cost of a steam
power plant. He makes due allowance,
for this difference in first investment,
but sanguinely concludes that in suit
able region-like California-sun power
can compete in cost with steam power
so long as coal costs more than &c cents
per ton, and with producer-gas power
using coal at 81, per ton.
The system of electric agriculture de-
veloped by Sir Oliver Lodge, aided by
J. E. Newman and R. Bamford, is now
in use on several farms in England, six
in Germany and one in Holland. A
network of galvanized iron wires is
suspended at height of Is feet on
wooded posts TO yards part, about one
post per acre being needed, and an in
duction COIL supplied with continuous
current by an ordinary dynamo, positive
ly electrifes the wires to 10000 to
100, 600 volts. This identification of the
air over the soil continues 8 to 10
hours day for or months Very
little power is needed, and the yield per
acre is increased 80 per cent, and even
more under some conditions.
A new ire-alarm box tried at Kel has
a loud-Speakng telephone transmtter
and receiver in place of the usual clock
work mechanism. This enables the
central station to make necessary in,
quires about the fire.
A unique instance of the enclosure of
stones by growing wood has been
brought to the notice of. the Linnaean
Society of London by Cecil Carus-Wil-
son. A gravel-pit was opened near
Faversham, Kent, about p years ago,
and excavation was continued until 10
years ago, the oak trees growing over
the deposit having been felled and the
stumps and roots dislodged. The gravel
consists of subangular water-worn Gints
and sandstone blocks mixed with sand.
Some of the roots and stumpS are still
on the ground, as the woody tissue had
taken up and completely enveloped many
OF the stones, and the material not only
resisted saw and axe but was dangerous
to use as fuel because the heat caused
the violent bursting of the stones. Some
roots contain dozens of stones, really
forming a conglomerate of tlints, en-
closed in woody matriX. In one speci-
men 81 tintS were counted, the largest
weighing several pounds, and many
empty cavities showed where others
had fallen out through shrinkage of the
wood. Examples of stones in wood in
much less abundance are not unknown
elsewhere. A churchyard six or seven
miles south of FaVershan has six very
large Yews, in the trunk of some lints
being embedded feet above ground and
another churchyard not far away has two
yews showing fints and fragments OF
tiles at height of feet.
The most rigid long-span suspension
bridge ever built is stated by T. Ken
nard Thomson to be the williamsburg
Bridge OF New York. The bridge is
1880 feet long, the main span being /, 59G
feet, the 9titiening trusses are about 40
feet deep, and the four main cables cou-
tain 81, 1884 wires POS wires making up
each of the 1897 strands of each cable.
The DETECTION at the centre-due to eX-
panSion, contraction and live Loads 81
feet 9 inches, The Brooklyn sus-
pension bridge is 5000 feet long, with
river span of |, 595 feet, and center rises
and falls about feet each way, or rs
feet in all, The Blackwels Island
bridge, a cantileyer, is expected to have
an extreme detection of only about 20
inches