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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1917-7-5, Page 2How Tires Are Made. One of the most important parts of the ear, and the one which is most often neglected, is the tire. First, consider the purpose of the tire. The steel rim on the cart wheel is chiefly for protection, as it prevents the felloe from being damaged by eon.. tact with the road. The rubber tire has another importi,nt function to per- form. It protects the passengers and mechanism from shock by smoothing out the small inequalities of the road. If a steel tire meets a stone half an inch high the whole wheel must be lifted that distance in order to pass over it, TliYs shock may be partly taken up by the springs, but some of it is always transmitted to the pas- sengers and mechanism. The pneu- matic tire does not lift the wheel pass- ing over the small obstructions, but is dented, the rubber and air yielding enough to allow the wheel to pass on smoothly. Thus we literally "ride on air." The shock of a steel tire on a w..gd.n meeting a small stone is not great, as the vehicle does not travel very fast, but on the automobile traveling at the usual sate It would give too hard a blow, The present type of pneumatic tire has been evolved after years of experi- menting. It consists of two tubes. The outer one, called the "shoe," or "casing," provides the necessary strength to resist the driving strains, is flexible to allow whatever bending is necessary, and is thick enough to al- low for wear. The surface is com- posed of material which will insure traction, that is, which will stick to the read and prevent slipping. The "in- ner tube" merely provides an air chamber. It has not sufficient strength of its own to support the high pres- sure used, so must never be inflated beyond a few pounds while removed from the shoe. When we see the casing in cross- section we realize that it is far from being the simple thing it appears to be from the outside, We find it to be built up of several layers, all firmly welded together. The part that touches the ground is called "tread." It may be smooth, which means that it will slip readily when the road is wet, or it may be covered with projections of various kinds which are intended to pass through the soft mud and grip the hard ground underneath. This type is called "non- skid," Beneath the tread is a strip called the "breaker strip," supported by a layer of soft rubber called the "cushion layer," These act together to pre- vent puncture. The point of a tack coming through the tread must pass through the breaker strip before it can penetrate the vital part of the shoe. As the strip is tough and is support- ed on a yielding surface, it frequently escapes injury and so protects the layers beneath it. These layers are called the "fabric," and consist of the highest grade of close -woven canvas, made from Sea Island cotton, which has the longest staple (fibre) of any cotton in the world. This fabric is carefully inspected, and ther the raw rubber, prepared for vulcanizing, is laid over it. The two are then run through rolls under several hundred pounds' pressure, forcing the rubber into every part of the fabric, Then when the shoe is vulcanized it becomes one solid mass, although made up of so many layers. The cushion layer is continued down the side to protect the fabric, and is called the "side wall." Where the shoe touches the rim the edges are shaped in such a way as to grip the rim. These are called "beads." THE MOTHER OF STEVENSON. Interesting Incident of the Stevenson Memorial Meeting. Although the mother of Robert Louis Stevenson was ordinarily shy and retiring of manner, as she had been taught that all ladies should be, there was one occurrence that made her conspicuous but that greatly pleased her. Mrs. Stevenson was twenty years her son's senior, says Miss Evelyn Blantyre Simpson in Robert Louis Stevenson's Edinburgh Days, and it amused and flattered them both that once when they went out to dinner together the servant, judging him too young to be married, turned a deaf ear to the names they gave, and announced them as Mr. and Miss Stevenson. This "young" lady outlived her literary son, and so was able to enjoy much of his fame. The Stevenson Memorial meeting was the occasion on which she became conspicuous against her will. She started for the music hall not too early, feeling secure of a seat with a "reserve ticket" in her neatly gloved hand. When some one asked if she were going on the platform, she replied emphatrcally rn the negative. She had early Victorian ideas as to platforms being proper' only for the sterner sex. She wished to sit unnoticed in the audience. The crowd was beyond her expect- ations. Mrs. Stevenson arrived to find every passage blocked and a surging' :.mass at the main entrance clamoring. for admittance. She feared that she, with them, should be turned away;; but, as a forlorn hope, she appealed to a policeman to get her in. "It'snae use, it's fu'," he said. "Re- serve seats ta'en an hour ago by folks that had nae tickets, and they would na gang out." "I must get in!" cried Mrs. Steven- son, "I've a right to get in! I am Robert Louis Stevenson's mother." "Ay, you've the best right," the policeman replied, and, turning to the crowd, he cried, "Mak' way, there! She mann get in. She's Roabert Louis's mother." Persons who thought themselves packed too tightly to move somehow packed closer, and let Mrs. Steven- son squeeze and wriggle past. Breath- less, and, for onee, with her mantle and bonnet a little awry, she was pushed on, much against her will, to the platform. There she hastened to so literal a back seat that when Lord Rosebery, at the beginning of his ad- dress, spoke the four telling words, "His mother is here," and turned to bow with courtly deference to her, he had to pause and to engage other eyes as well as his own before he found to which side Robert Louis's mother had unobtrusively withdrawn. Mrs. Stevenson was all aglow; she fwas visibly overcome by the unexpect- edly large crowd and its tremendous enthusiasm. For once her usual calm left her. BARON'S TRUNK A DEATH-TRAP Contained Explosives and Dangerous Germs, An amazing collection of bombs, bacilli of deadly diseases and other means of death and destruction has been seized by authorities at Chris- tiania recently as part of the baggage of Baron von Rosen, a Swedish noble- man alleged to be a German agent. The baron fled to Norway in January, after his activities aroused the Swed- ish authorities, He was arrested, but as he could not be convicted of violating any Norwegian law he was released with a warn After the baron was ordered out off Norway those portions of his baggage which had not been seized in Sweden arrived in Christiania. Among the articles found were cans of explosives marked "table salt," bottles marked "mouth wash" containing cultures of dangerous bacilli, boxes of lump su- gar, each lump concealing a small vial filled with bacilli of anthrax or gland- ers, and explosive pencils, This latter articles has the appear ante of an ordinary pencil, but if sharpened a drop of acid concealed in a tube is released and, acting on other concealed chemicals, causes an explos- ion sufficient to maim or perhaps kill the sharpener. The revelations have aroused great indignation at Christiania and the au- thorities are severely blamed for re- leasing the baron. It Lives On. Yea can complete a good work, but you can never end it, r, Kicking ceases to help when it be- comes chronic. FISHING BY KITE. iy Some Modern Uses of One of the Old- est Tey.'• s in the World. The kite is one of the oldest toys in the world. It appears to have had its origin in China, where for thousands of years kite flying has been the fav- orite amusement not only of children, but of grown persons, too, From. Japan, Burma, the Malay Peninsula, and other Eastern lands kite flying has long ago made its way to all other parts of the world. Young people of the Far East would consider it very' poor sport to fly kites as plain and simple as those which Canadian boys fly. The kites are of many shapes and sizes. Most of them represent a bird, or a fish, or a dragon, or some other curious im- aginary monster. The frame -work is commonly made of bamboo, and the covering is colored paper, or, in case of the best ones, -silk. Often the kites have tails of great length. The grown-up people have kite fly- ing festivals in which all the people of the village join. On such occa- sions some of the kites are of great size and most elaborate. Nor are the people content with kite flying simply as a pastime, They have contests that rouse great interest — contests in which one person tries to keep his kite in the air longer than his rival can, or contests in which one person tries to make his kite bring down or destroy the kite of the other. In our times the kite has become a very useful tool of science. Men use it to study the conditions that prevail in the air far above the earth; thus it helps them in building airships, in taking pictures, in signaling, and in life saving on the coast. The Chinese have long used kites to tow boats, and to drop their fishhooks well out to sea while they themselves stand on the shore. ELECTRIC PLANTS FOR FARM. Small Equipments Save Much Labor on the Farm and in Home. One of the recognized necessities in connection with our increased agricul- tural production is better and more attractive conditions on the farm, and among the many suggestions the use of electricity should be considered. Electric power is a great convenience in the farm home, and saves much time to the farm help. The farm or country home situated within the area of an electric system of transmission or distribution is fortunate, but the vast majority must look to the small isolated plant. This alternative, however, is now much more promising than a few years ago. Many factories manufac- ture this type of equipment, the oper- ation of the plants has been simplified and cost has been much reduced. These small plants may be advant- ageously used for many domestic pur- poses in addition to lighting, such as ironing, washing, toasting, pumping water, etc.; and also for the very im- portant use of charging storage bat- teries. There are a number of these small plants now on the Canadian market, ranging in size from 175 watts, and costing from 5300 upward. Six dif- ferent types were described in a re- cent electrical magazine, some using storage batteries in conjunction, and generally using a gasolene engine as a prime mover. They are usually operated at a very low voltage. These small plants are perfectly safe, so far as the handling of the electric energy is concerned. BIRDS AT EVENING. When the rocks fly homeward, and the gulls are following high, And the grey feet of the silence with n silver dream are shod, I mind me of the little wings abroad in every sky Who seek their sleep of God. When the dove is hidden, and the dew is white on the corn, And the dark bee in the heather, and the shepherd with the sheep, I mind me of the little wings in the elm -oak and the thorn Who take of Him their sleep. When the brier closes and the iris - flower is furled, And over the edge of the evening the martin knows her nest, 1 mind me of the little hearts abroad in all the world Who find in Him their rest. —Marjorie Pickthall. A WARNING TO RUSSIA, BRITISH ADVANCE figures Which Show the Menace That °� }� 117 lI HL1r EAST 'i.'hreetens the New Democracy. Monsieur Andre Cheradame has addressed to' the Extreme Wing of Russian Revolutionists a very striking warning in figures, which the ,New Europe translates from'L'Information. Ile points out that peace on the mili- tary basis of this moment, so far from satisfying the new democracy of Rus- sia, would set up a new Gorman men- ace on their borders in the shape of a German power whose political, econo- mic, and military ascendancy over the eastern half of Earope would be com- plete. The point is driven home in the following table:— Pan-Germanism able:Pan-Germanism in 1917. Population. 1.—THE MASTERS. German . , .. , , .....' . 73,000,000 2.—THE VASSALS. Magyar 10,000,000 Bulger . 5,000,000 Turk . 6,000,000 21,000,000 3.—THE SLAVES. French . 3,000,000 Belgian . 7,500,000 Alsace-Lorraine . 1,500,000 Danes . 200,000 Poles . 22,000,000 Ruthenes . 4,500,000 Czech . 8,600,000 Jugoslav . 12,000,000 Rumanian, Italian 8,000,000 Greek . 2,000,000 Armenian . 2,000,000 Levantine . 2,000,000 Arab . 8,000,000 81,000,000 Total . 1701,000,000 THE UPSIDE-DOWN WATCH A Successor to the Wrist Watch for ' Use by Soldiers. The wrist watch, which rose so high in popularity on account of the en- dorsement given it by men of the army and navy, has retired to second place in the soldiers' favor. The reason for this is not that this style of watch proved to be leas convenient than it promised, but that bullets and bursting shrapnel which constantly threaten the exposed men are likely to strike the arm wearing the watch and drive bits of broken glass and metal into the flesh, thus aggrevating the wounds. The watch which now holds first place is worn suspended from the belt by a loop of leather. The loop ends in a pocket into which the watch fits. The front surface of the pocket has a circular opening through which the face of the watch shows. A small strap encircles the watch and wastens it securely in place, buckling on the outside of the pocket. The watch hangs top -downward, but when the wearer raises it in his hand or glances down at it as it hangs from the belt, it is in just the proper position to be read. If it should happen to be shat- tered by a bullet the particles of glass or metal would be caught and held in the leather case, so that they would do no harm. Many a fighter has had to thank the watch on his wrist for stopping a bullet that might have necessitated the loss ofan arm. The very fact that the upside-down watch is carried against a more vulnerable part of the body than is the wrist watch, makes it all the more valuable as a protective medium. It may be worn under the cartridge belt, JAPAN'S CORAL BEDS. Value Depends Greatly on the Color of the Coral. The coral beds of Japan are worked by divers in the employ of a master diver who receives the take as it comes in, grades it, and when a suf- ficient quantity has been obtained, asks for bids on the lots of each grade, Representatives of the leading export- ing and wholesale firms are always at hand during the season the best coral is taken, to inspect the take and prof- fer bids. Tho total annual take is about 65,000 pounds, valued at $700,- 000, The color of the coral has a great deal to do with the value placed upon it. The most expensive is "boke," a pale quince color. Single beads of this color, suitable for manu- facture into ornamental hairpins, bring from $10 to $60 each. The next color in value is pink; followed by white light red and dark red. CRUSADERS IN KHAKI MARCII- ING ON JERUSALEM, • Its Capture Would Lead to the End o German Control' of, the f Holy Land. Tho steady advance of the British from the Suez north, past Gaza an along the Palestine coast, has brough them almost within striking distant of Jerusalem. Tho Turks'. earlier in tention of offering no serious resist once has been changed under Ger many's urging to a determination t defend to the uttermost the Hol City, Jerusalem, which Jas been mgr often besieged, sacked and devastate than'has any other city, is thus des tined to become again a scene of ear nage and bloodshed. Germany has every reason to sav Jerusalem from falling into the hand of the Alligs. From the time of th kaiser's spectacular entrance into th Holy Land and of his alliance wit Abdul Hamid he has always strive to strengthen the German grasp upo the city of David and to transform Of it into an East-rn stronghold 61 Teutonism. He has encouraged an developed public and private enter- prises and industries, and at vantag points on the roads from the city to the sea he has caused the erection o German buildings that are landmark in the neighboring country. German Structures in the Holy City He has built the Church of th Redeemer near the Holy Sepulchre and the massive German Roman Cath- olic Church and beautiful Kaiseri Victoria Hospital on the Mount of Olives. The advancing khaki-cla crusaders will see the lofty spir,s of these structures, one of which i equipped with a wireless plant, an- other with a searchlight that sweeps the surrounding country, long before their eyes will rest upon the slender minarets, the domes of mosques and the historic walls and towers of Jerusalem. The strategic value of the Holy City in the present warfare is per- haps less than that of the already captured Bagdad. Its greater mili- tary importance belonged to the days when it was on the crossroads trav- elled by Persians, Saracens, Romans, the days when warriors of empires long past battered at its mighty walls, Still Jerusalem would be valuable fruits of victory. It would give to its captors a hold 'upon Bethlehem and the Jordan valley. The Judean hills won and the sea command of the ports of Haifa and Beirout in their control, the Allies would have the kly to Galilee. They would be able more easily to effect a military penetration that would place in their hands Nazareth, Mount Carmel, the Sea of Galilee and the regions to the north. This would effectually end the kaiser's control of the Holy Land; it would be a more serious blow to his schemes of ex- pansion than the loss of a colony. Replace the Crescent by the Cross. It would have, too, the great sen- timental value of restoring the con- trol of the sacred places of the Holy Land to Christianity. For 673 years the Holy City of Christianity has been under the Moslem rule, and ex- cept for the attempt of Napoleon I. a century ago, no nation until the present time has made a serious mili- tary effort to break this rule or to restore it to the Christian world. Forgotten for centuries in the rise of new empires and new civilizations, Jerusalem appears again in modern history. The fall of Constantinople and the recovery of St. Sophia would not send a greater thrill of emotional interest throughout the Christian world than would the capture of Je- rusalem by the khaki -clad British soldier crusaders and the restoration of Christianity's sacred symbol to the walls of the city where it had its origin, its fullest significance. • d t e 0 y e d e e e h n n d e f s e n d e s Three mothers by your cradle stand: One mother who has given birth, And one of them is Motherland, And one of them is Mother Earth; Three mothers must you have in all, And two are great and one is small, Your Motherland is strong and dread; Her shield your sure protection a makes; She spreads her law above your head, But even while she gives she takes. Her arm is strong, her word is true, But she may ask your life of you. From Mother Earth by toil you wring Or feast or crust at her caprice, The shelter for your journeying, Though brief at best will be the lease. And at the end she gives you bed But cares not where your soul has sped. The Mother who has borne your flesh Through good or ill will hold you fast, Will guide you through the world's dark mesh, And so will save your soul at last, Three mothers shall you have in all, And one is great and two are small. —Met, Wilson. Never keep vinegar or yeast in stone crocks or jugs; their acid at- tacks the glazing, which is said to be poisonous, Light, one -inch -mesh fish netting Takes an excellent covering for ripen- ing berries that attract the birds. Scare -crows and strings usually fail; netting is sure, and not expensive for small areas, A Great Remedy Ti. 1"1NNDllIlSON'6 Ilorb Treat- ment (tablets), the trre0,1 blood purifier, will euro ,!flonmatlam, con- stipation, eczema idllnol, 11ver .atom- ach and female troubles. Prigs 91, ..with uarantee, or 0 boxes 05,. vste Q, I lenderggon Herb Co Dept. „ 17 Spualea Ave floronto $2,500,000 IN LOST •LETTERS. Circumstances Which Contribute to the Loss of Mail Matter, Of the thousands of letters and postcards which fail to reach their destination, it is safe to say that the Post Office is to blame in less than one in every thousand instances, Every year thousands of missives aro posted without address, while many others are never posted at all Quite a number are found in the books of free libraries, the senders slipping them inside, and then for- getting them. In one year in England alone $2,- 500,000 in the shape of cheques, money and ,postal -orders, bills, and banknotes were found in letters which were unaddressed, or addressed in such a careless manner that the per- sons for whom they were intended could not be discovered. A funny result of insufficient ad- dresses once occurred at Oxford. The secretary of a 'Varsity society sent out notices of a .meeting to the mem- bers; but instead of writing the name of the college in , full, and adding 'Tool," he merely wrote the college Worcester, Exeter, Pembroke, etc. These were sent to the towns of the same name; but others, which . were addressed to colleges, such as Balliol, arrived without delay. Three or four years ago a packet of registered letters for America mys- teriously disappeared, and was thought to be stolen. In fact, some underwriters had actually paid the insurance when the letters unexpect- edly turned up in Yokohama, having been sent to Japan by the U.S.A. postal authorities by mistake. Animals are sometimes responsible for the loss or delay in the delivery of letters. Lions are still a nuisance in some parts of Africa, and a few months ago the Governor of Nyassa land reported that a mailbag had been seized and destroyed by lions. The same thing occurred in Rhodesia. Even in England a bullock has up- set the regular delivery of the mails, one charging a • motor -van in Kent, and damaging it to such an extent that a horse -vehicle had to be sent for, while the animal trotted off con- tentedly and unhurt. Couldthe dutiful daughter who sent her father a pair of spectacles addressed to "The White Cottage with Green Failings, Yorkshire," be sur- prised that he did not get them? And to the uninitiated it seems second sight would be required to translate "Mandston, Barzzarks, A comny," into "A Company, the Barracks, Maidstone." Three Mothers. Where spraying with arsenate of lead is not feasible, asparagus slugs can be destroyed by knocking them off the plants at mid-day. The sun and hot soil will kill them before they can reach the plants again, RI6fir'Nis WAS — 1'LLGUS YOUR 0161 -IT WI114IN 71IREE poUNDS— %14.BET via LADY WEIGHS MORE 'THAN THE LITTIEE. 130'—I 11, 312) CD /MIL /. - CD2 -time:,-time:, a .5A1I HELEN,, Yo HAD BErre.R Go AHEAD AND Go 1.10M-.: I'M GOING OVER TO 8l c1 A PAIR or y SHOES WELL, DONT BE LoNG n nn rl1ln11 n nil f 4ow }IELEN, LETS I MEASt1RE.•— 1 WANT -To SEE HOW MUCH SHoRThR.. IA"400 WHY 'TOM, I RSALi-`l believe YOU ARE GETTING AI -LER 1 GUESS -fllERln ARE SNORTER - 60/S TITAN Ma IN '0416 WORLD. THE POLICEWOMEN OF OLD LONDON FINELY, ORGANIZED AND WELL - DRILLED BODY. England's Force of Women Police May Receive Official Recogni- tion in the Near Future. It is the ultimate aim of the corps of policewomefi in England to claim full official recognition, In the mean- time, its members are working as volunteers in London, and the experi- ence thus gained has enabled them to fill positions as professional police- women in towns where they are re- quired by the authorities. Their work is carried out under the direc- tion either of the civil or military au- thorities, or both, and they have re- cently been fully recognized by the Ministry of Munitions, and are now sent in large numbers for service in factdries where there are women workers. The chief officer ' and the chief superintendent of the service have been specially, appointed by the Ministry of Munitions to act as re- cruiting and training agents for this purpose, World Done by Policewomen. The duties 'of the policewomen in munition factories consist of checking the entry of the women*into the fac- tory, examining passports, searching for contraband, such as matches, cigarettes and alcohol; dealing with complaints of petty offences, patrol- ling the neighborhood for the protec- tion of women going home from -work, accompanying the women to and fro in the workmen's trains to'the neigh- boring towns where they lodge and appearing in necessary cases at the police court and assisting the magis- trates to deal with such cases. At these factories serious cases of 'an- noyance and assault on girls frequent- ly occur. Therefore,.the presence of a number of women fully qualified to deal with these and other cases is of immense service. Another admirable portion of the work done by policewomen, especially in London, is the patrolling of streets and suburban and country lanes and fields. The women always patrol in couples, and are, of course, in uni- form. Their work lies also in the sa- loon bars of public houses, in the big railway termini and in certain dis- tricts where there are houses suspect- ed of containing many bad characters who'1'ure young girls within their doors. The patrolling of the railway sta- tions is of special value to the author- ities in these days, when there are constantly arriving and departing troop trains, and it is very difficult to prevent a certain amount of drunk- enness and street fighting among men and women. The policewomen have in many iustances of this kind suc- ceeded in restoring order, and the chief officer assures me that they sel- dom encounter much resistance from the men and women concerned. Zeppelin Raid Work. During the Zeppelin raids that havo taken place in London and on the east coast large numbers of policewomen have been on duty and have- assisted the authorities in keeping order and preventing panic. In fact there is no doubt that in England policewomen have been able by their presence in uniform to exercise a beneficial and quieting influence among the inhabit- ants of many notoriously troublesome distlicts..' It -has been proved that they have made their districts safer for the ordinary passerby, and have never themselves been in any way molested. It is especially true that the ser- vices of women as guardians as well as police will be of value always in those cases of immortality among young girls and little children which are constantly being brought to no- tice in London. Thera are many phases of life in every great city that are peculiarly painful, and these could beet be dealt with only by women, Although the work of the police- women is only now beginning to be thoroughly recognized by the Govern- ment ns well as by the military au- horities, there is no doubt that they have bon the means of ,roving their value in their capacity of police. War brings with it an unruly spirit among masses of people of both sexes, and ho necessary checking of turbulence rid excitement means work of a spe- ialized character for which women eem well adapted. Do not wait for blight to appear be- fore applying Bordeaux mikture. Give first application when plants are four to siztinches high. Drilled corn has given higher yields than that planted in hills, the soma amount of seed being used per acre, in experlements conducted at ass Ohio Experiment Station For corn plant- ed in hills three plants per hill has been most satisfactory. Not only should the grower know when and how to spray, but he should know what lcind of nmgtitnition to use. Bordeaux ,,mixture is the standard material for fungous diseases. It may act as a deterrent but it will not hill chewing or sucking insects, For the former, arsenical poisons must be used, such as arsenate, of lead or Paris green, Black -leaf 40, kerosene emul- sion or whale -oil soap will control aphis and other sticking insects whorl properly applied. t a c s