Amador ledger., 1910-12-30

strung on wires Is novel ancnOr IOr
sand deposit, and is a French solution
of the problem of preventing the wash
ing away of river and lake shores and
even the shifting of dunes exposed to
the ocean. The bricks, weighing ten
pounds each, are pierced with two
holes each for the passage of gal
vanized iron or copper wires. The
slope being properly graded, horizon
tai wire cable is stretched along it's
bottom, wires are attached to this.
and the bricks are shipped upon the
wires so as to lie close together in
regular rows. The bricks can be made
and laid rapidly, the gravelly sand of
the locality being used with the
cement. A number of applications of
this method of land protection have
been made in France, and have sue
cessfully resisted water, frost and
ocean gales for two or three years.
The sheathing of the Soulac dune,
soon to be extended $500 feet, is now
900 feet long and 20 feet high. The
first part was completed early in 1909.
and has withstood some bad storms.
The "parasol" with which the eyes
of such birds as owls, eagles and cocks
are protected, has been the subject of
recent experiments by French natural
lists. This is black, opaque mem
brane attached to the retina near the
optic nerve, and, while it closes into
thin line that does not interfere with
vision, it opens so as to completely
cover the retina and protect it from
strong light. The eagle that boldly
faces the sun sees nothing, for his
curious eye parasol is spread
To prevent earthquakes seems to be
the most surprising of the many
reasons for restoring forests. 1t is
suggested that in such localities as,
Messina and southern Italy. cutting
away the forests has loosened the
soil, and this may have given rise to
faults and added to the earthquake
or their effects. If this
theory, is correct, of course replanting
the trees should again bind the loose
material with roots, giving the surface
its old time greater stability.
Since the growth of cast iron under
repeated heatIngs first attracted atten-
tion some years ago, various eXplana-
tions have been offered. Superheated
steam causes high pressure steam
valves to become enlarged, and in the
great Baltimore fire cast-iron beams
were so changed by the intense heat as
to distort and ruin masonry building,
while the buildings in which cast steel
had been used were not affected. Re-
peated heatings cause castiron bars to
become porous and cracked. Prof. H.
Carpenter, British meUallurgist. ex-
plains that the growth has now been
definitely ascribed to the chemical re-
action that takes place between the
flame gases and the constituents of the
iron, especially to the change of sill
con to silica, and also to the reaction
between the flame gases and the gases
dissolved in the iron. To
obtain iron that will not grow it has
been necessary to give care to Its COM
position. The silicon must be removed
as nearly as possible, and all carbon
contained must be in chemical COM
bination with the iron, none being pre-
sent IN the free state.
Changes of pressure over the great
areas of high and low barometer that
persist for long periods over much of
the earths surface are regarded by
DIR. Otto KlotZ as cause of earth
vibration, or microseisms. The crea-
tion or alteration of these areas shifts
vast load, and may set up vibrations
in blocks of the earth crust covering
tens of thousands of square miles.
Differences of temperature or the
transient differences due to the pas
sage of storm or fair weather areas
would have little influence. The nature
of the vibrations produced is possibly
dependent on or modified by marked
geological configuration, and when
once set up the vibrations many con-
tinue long after the cause has disap-
peared.
Though aeroplane engines represent
a gain in lightness, they show a loss
in fuel economy. Such is the result of
tests carried out at the National Pysi-
cal Laboratory in England, where it
has been learned that the Gnome en-.
gine, SO famous for lightness per
horsepower. uses O.89 pounds of fuel