HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1923-11-01, Page 3orld's Loneliest .Jot
Ocie hundred and twenty feet "'lie-
nesith the waves that swirl 'off the
Donegal Coast, sonoirg rooks "covered
with the slime of the ocean depths,
eed.;•eurrou;ncled by'little.lrnown forme
'of marine plant life, a $quad,of divers
has been bueily engaged for four years
recsvering the $35,009,000 worth of
bullion that; Went down with thq' great
liner Laurentic.
'Ile story of 'their achievements,
when fully told, will read like, an Ara-
bian Nights romance, The divers,.
highly -skilled mueinbers•: of the Navy,
have in the aggregate spent months
ander" the waves, blasting away many
obstructions and sending to the sur -
Pape box after box of gold. No trea-
sure hunt bee eyer been more success
fur,
Training the Beginner.
Sotize little-known' facts about divers
and their methods were given to the
writer'" by the head of the firm of
Siebe, Gorman and Co., the -best-known
submarine engineers in the world.
Before a mancan become a diver he
must be passed as medically fit in
every way, while frequent examine -
",tions by .a doctor are carried out dur-
ing training. To begin with, the no-
vice; in complete diving kit, is sub-
merged in from ten to twenty feet of
water.
His first jobs consist of locating lost
articles and slinging them in the ap-
proved fashion so that they can be
sent safely to the surface. Clearing
propellers of fouling material, re -
'covering cables, and removing rust
from ships' bottoms are other jobs
that fall to the lot of the beginner,.
who cannot qualify as a fully-fledged
—,diver until he has worked at a depth
of.120ft.
A diver first removes his own cloth-
ing and puts on an assortment of un-
derclothing, including woolen vests,
pants, 'stockings., and a thick jersey
with a woollen cap. The shoulder -
pad is then put on, after which the
l diver has literally to be forced' inter.
his deep•sea armor, " The weight of
the oomplete outfit, ineludiug boots
that weigh 151b. each, and 801b, of lead
to;ahield the shoulders, is; 175 lb.
The art of diving, apart from that
associated with swimming feats, has
been known well over 2,900 years:
Divers were emeloyed during the de-
fence .of Syracuse. (215-212 B C,). to tee -
Move barriers• which had beensunk in
the Harbor. It is recorded that Alex-
ander the Great was lowered into the
sea in a machine -specially ,designed to
keep out the water and to admit light.
Diving by means ;of air tubes was also
practised at this period.
One of the forerunners of the mo-
dern diving dress was that invented:
by a German marine engineer, whose
device, a cylindrical arrangement with
air pipes attached, was in use up to a
hundred years ago, when Augustus,
Siebe produced a form of diving dress
not unlike that worn now, although it
possessed many crudities that were
not eliminated until many years' later.
Attacked by an Octopus.
The greatest depth at which a diver
has worked with success is 182 ft,, the
hero of this exploit being a Spanish
diver, who recovered $6,000 in silver!
from a wreck off Finisterre. It has
been proved, however, that it is pos-
sible for a diver in certain circum-
stances to work at the great depth of
210ft.
A remarkable fact in the history of
modern diving is that although divers
all over the world wear suits of Bri
tish design and make, no accident has
yet occurred as a result of faulty work-
manship or defects in the materials
used.
In the ease of, the Laurentic, attacks
by giant dogfish have had to be guard-
ed against, While on one occasion a
large octopus appearedon the scene,
threatening a diver with its .unpleas-
ant embraces.
Where Colors Come From.
Insects, fish, and plants all help to
provide the colors with which an artist
• paints his pictures. The cuttle-fish is
responsible for sepia, this color being
obtained from the fluid which the fish
discharges in order to hide itself from
its enemies.
-,The cochineal insect is the founda-
ton of carmine, and at one time ver-
million 'was made from it. Nowadays
the latter color is produced chemically
from mercury.
Another insect given crimson lake,
at -least,' the color is made from the
resin `:'deposited .by an "insect en - the
bay ,yan tree:' From- the -madder plant
are obtained ,bot,l>;ate da„,e nd
Turkey -red, the, roots, of.'" the..t: ant• `.be -
:ani yra;Shed, baked, and ground.
r Indigo is, made by' soaking the indi-
ga plant in water until it is decom-
posed. Gamboge is really a corruption
of the -name : Cambodia, where the res-
in providing ; the color is found. A
natural earth from Sienna, in Italy,
gives both ordinary and burnt sienna,
the latter, of course, as the name int -
being burnt earth. Burnt umber
18 alseran earth, while yellow ochre is
a clay.
- Prussian blue was originally made
from the hoof of the horse, but now.
It consists principally of iron, potas-
sium, and sulphur. 'It was first made
In Prussia.
Ultramarine, which means. "from be-
yond the sea," was formerly made by
crushing a stone of that name. This
process is now out of date,'and the
color is produced by chemical means.
It is the same with the chromes of dif-
ferent shades, which; are derived from
the chemical chromium. Chinese white
is oxide of zinc; it was first known in
'China, hence its name. Ivory -black
sounds a curious contradiction;its-
_ Poueelation is burnt ivory heti bone.
Is. the Earth a Jelly?
A startling' suggestion is put for-
ward by Professor W. de Sitter, of the
University of Leyden, in "Nature,". It
1S that, the earth is not rotating as a
rigid body, but that some parts ,of its.
surface are Ynoving relatively to other
parts : .
Tlieearth, in: fact, is behaving, as if
it Here a jelly-Iike substance, and not
a" sphere rigid as steel. It :would :fol-
low 'that the'" distance • between vari-
ous points on its surface is shifting the blaring ofthe huge fog Born, the .southbound nmi ration were more :num-1
slightly: Wireless time -signals ex- g
changed bettviceu various observa• all night circling of the great soft bats •e,rou�s than in the memory of any roan
torics have -shown discrepancies reach- of the Light, the tempestuous winds along Cape Sable. We noted down
Ing on ave- show several tenths ao- that sdhook sea and land, cabin and some 250,000 elder clucks and drakes •
oon'. s light, in their furious grasp, our nights passing• south and pietmied in�any of
sectrete disturbed andour drays were but them, They flew in flocks of thirty to
Similar tiuctatiotis iii- recent years unending conflicts with sea and
tide, fifty, with about five minutes antermis-
h ve bten observed on the surface of .'sami at and tortucutsn tided. channel, but ��
,all day.t
oni'They
Were. i thee
the moon; in fact, something very we saw more wonderful sightsm#hat ones that were breaking' off the outer
qeer is happening in the solar sys-
year's hard cold work than in many edge of some immaanu'e`flock resting
a year before, far up the coast. Of course 'we did not
Down -Lined Nest; sea so Many, cn the northern trip. •,
Spring of '22, the nor'—west wiinde blew
Whether it is serious remains to be. Out some twenty miles from shore them'far out to se,a The men did not
seen. Trilling causes tray produce lay Seal Island, wh,e,re the eider ducks, see so many in x922-2:1, asp title old
tragic effects; tlitts the "wobbling" of` the American usually, makes its dawn- spt!ng and su•mnmer held back er chill-;
.„the Poles is now believed by seismo- lined nest. The breast of the female ed loony eggs but the men far out
Family Pride.
A small boy returned from school
-and confronted his father with the.
question: "Father, what are you?"
"What am I, my boy? Why do you
ask?"
"Well, father' was the reply, "Jen-
kins carie up to me in the dinner hour
and said, "What's your father?"
"And what did you say?" asked his
father.
"I didn't say anything," answered
the boy. "I -just hit him."
Just a. Home Run.
Bird -"Great Scott, what is that, an
aeroplane egg!"
,AND THE WORST' I YR
' ; COME
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441
1 �— 'rl 'v C'ti 1 "f o
lag
Ocean Greyhounds..
In eighty-three years overseas travel
has been built up until from its small
beginnings it has . reached the height
of perfection and luxurious comfort
that is obtainable to -day.
The Britannia, the first Cunard liner.
which left Liverpool for Boston and
Halifax, carried sixty-three passengers•
and " accomplished the journey in " 14
days and 8 hours. Her length was bu e f t,
0
orld's Champion Cow:"
I ' fye world's champion cow is Ages-
si Sagas May Echo. She was given a
p the reception the other week in her
lio'tiit town of. Agassiz, in British Co-
lumb!a, in honor of her record -break-•
'ing"',faat of milk add butter production"
during a period of 365 days:.
• ` Inthat time she gave 30,886 pounds
of ilk, which yielded 1,345 pounds of
207ft., and she had a `"speed of, 8.5." r- a equal to 1 675 pounds Y
bu
knots 1i, er •This• is eighty-six. pounds more
To -day the Mauretaniaoneafthe
than the previous, world champion pro -
world's fastest liners, -has completediini'es her own weight•in milk and al -
duped: , She gave just over sixteen
the trip. in 4 days 10 hours 41 ?nitrates, most her own` weight in butter during
while an average ennarder - •wi`th a., - .
length of 910ft. has a sliced -of 2't ,04 tha test.
knots- the was milked four times a day by
- ' the; same man, who also attended to
Whereas formerly one .oft ,nils sats "her` feeding. The cow was never
ficed to light two cabinso-day the . on
A 'tai "h 10 pasture, but kept in abox-stall; except
qui n a as 000 . e'lectrie Iamps, fon; a short time during the •hot weath
while hen, electric: power, is sufficient , .�r"
to su 1 er,=when she ,vet s allowed out in a pad -
Pp" y the" domestic, needs of a• town rl alk Her best day's milk production
of 0,000 inhabitants: 'was 121?/ pounds. -
1leay.,Echo has'an- amazing appetite',
m Cyte :day of.her highest outptit"5he'
r„ up ds p gin and' a sinal
ntity of corn anjp hay
As coinpared 'With tub,,• baths. in
senger cabins , we „have to -day • 105 pri.
`vate ordinary and : shower • baths, and
'Tti'o""'YaxKaxzt3iig""Tiv.r a—wy:, ..^ta�&m o-yc.!i. Glltl
breakfast table isnot the, least" of theme'
wonderfi :achievements in the: ro ;;
nuance -of world travel, ,
"Handle with care" "seems to mean
little to the"ordinary freight handler.
Perhaps he does not read. A precau-
tionary measure that some companies
are now. using is stericilling on.the
outside of the case. a` picture of what
the, package contains. •The picture, of.
an electric -light bulb, it seems, is mole
efficacious than admonitions. An X-
ray. of what some of the eases contain
at the end of the journey .might be,
useful too. -
Before" 'telescopes not 'over 6,000
stars had been seen by human eyes.
•
Grafting the living nerve of a dog
onto •a -maim with stlecess was. one of
the surgical wonders of the war; feel-
ing .became possible in` 148 days, and
power of :movement in 340.
,Certain diseases `have been diag
nosed in; a'very early stage by means
of 'the camera; -the lens will show up
a rash long before it is visible to the
naked eye. •
Vital Work of the Quarantine Service of Canada
(Prepared under the direction of Dr.
nient of lrIeeltli, I y Dr. J. D. Page,
One of the chief assets of a nation
is its health, The vitality of a peo)lq
is not only a national i'ea>ai roe butt one
that largely d,eternrinee national staid-
ing in the world arena,
The safeguarding of the health: of
the people 'from a national and cote
nmunity standpoint is the care of the
federal and provincial health depart
ntents, the various medical health of -
.1 -Were and numerous organizations, In
country of .stable population, inter-
nal organization would probably be,all
that was necessary, but in the case of
Canada, where immigrants are coming
in by the . tens of :thousands every
year, the possibilities of spreading an
epidemic far and wide are very
great. unless the gates are olosely
guarded. Ths vital work is being car-
ried on by the Maritime Quarantine
Stations of the Dominion.
In thickly populated countries like
Great Britain and France, with their
well -organized systems of health con-
trol, the quarantine statiin has been
dispensed with and:replaced by what
is known as the "follow-up" system,
whereby tache individual landing from
an infected vessel ` and believed to
have been exposed to the disease, ls•
referred to the local health authorities
of • the district to whi9. he or -she is
destined. This method, however, is
not practical in an immense and thinly
populated country, like Canada.:
The most serious infectious diseases
to be guarded against are •cholera,
plague, smallpox, typhus; and yellow
fever. To prevent the transmission of
these and other epidemics into this
country from an infected ship, the Do-
minion Government quarantine sta-
tions, situated at Quebec, P.Q., Halifax
Nova Scotia, St. John, New Brunswick,
and Victoria, British Columbia, be -
J. "A; Amyot, Deputy Minister, Depart -
Chief of the DlVieloo of Quarazrtine),
sides, maintaining 'officers at tt11 020
priticpal ports,
Value of Quarantine Stations,
At the four main" stations adequate
facilities exist in the form of well -man-
ned hospital acepmmodation for eaoh
type of infectious disease; detention
quarters for the proper observation of
those who -Have been exposed to in-
feetion; disinfecting and fumigating•c,
plants; bath -houses and apparatus for.
fumigating shipe' quarters, Large
numbers •can be handled rapidly anct
delay reduced to the minimum consist-
ent -with safety.
The man .in the street noting the
comparatively few cases of infectious
disease quarantined each year, might
be: led to wonder if quarantine sta-
tions were not becoming obsolete. It is
true that quarantipe work is made
lighter by the improved sanitary con-
ditions throughout the world, includ-
ing the -countries from which, Canada's
immigrants are drawn, and also by the
Medical inspection before and during
the voyage, but a little consideration
will show that if a number of persons
infected with plague or typhus were
allowed to enter the country undetect-
ed, a serious epidemic might develop.
While it may be unlikely that ter-
rible epidemics such as"those of tht
third and fourth decades, of the last
century which carried off their vic-
tims
ia
aims by thousands will ever again visit
Canada, nevertheless the prevention
of even a small epidemic would pay''
for the quarantine service for a long
time, not to speak of the greater sav-
ing in health, working power and hap-
piness. World statistics show that the
quarantine stationenow a century -old
institution, has more than justified its
existence and that its continuance, es-
pecially in thinly populated countries
like Canada and Australia, ig a `neces-
sary and far-sighted policy.
Fragrant Names.:'
Many charming legends have helped
to christen flowers" -
'
lowers -
' Practical Psychology.
"How do you manage to remember
everything I tell you so well, Mary?"
inquired her employer the other day.
"I'll tell -you, ma'am," Mary replied.
"All me life never a lie I've told. And
when ye don't have to be taxin' yer
memory to be rememberin' what ye
told this one or that one, or how ye
explained this or that,_ye don't over-
work
ver
work it and it lasts ye, good as new,
for ever."
Counted the Most.
1st Business Man—"Of all your of-
fice equipment what do you think
counts the most?"
2nd Ditto—"The adding machine, of
'course." •
Narcissus w bb a beautiful. youth be-
loved by the nymph Echo. But as' he -
was incapable of love Echo died from
grief. In order to punish him the god-
dess Nemesis caused him to see his
image reflected in a fountain. Narcis-
sus fell in love with his own shadow
and slowly pined away until he was
changed into the form of the flower.
The hyacinth sprang from the blood
of another handsome youth, Hyacinth-
us, the son of a spartan king. While
he was playing -at quoits the god Zep.
hyrus, in a- flt• aef< jealousy, caused a
quoit to strike his head, killing him in-
` r means: ramow.
And be-
ire`*��anrx,.ro�rY.:�xrrft,ll�Sr���
unite heaven 'anti earns,• the "ancient
Greeks regarded Iris as the messenger
of the gods.
Snowdrop, bluebell and honeysuckle
are names that explain themselves.
The daisy is the "day's eye," but the
foxglove is 'really the "fairy's glewe."
The origin of tulip is in the Turkish' `
form of "turban," a name prompted by
the resemblance between the flower
and the head-dress. Thyme is derived
from a Greek word meaning "incense,"
and was so called because of its sweet
smell.
The dahlia is a unique monument to
Andrew Dahl, a distinguished botanist,
Studying the Eider D ��s With Camera and Note Book
�t
The Wonders of the Annual Migration Along the; Atlant
We chose the most outlying point of held ,nests and gotidlen-brown backed males of''the American. . These big
Nova -Scotia so that we might be very female •eider ducks -northern .eiders, drakes have a light yeblow, long, soft
clots,e to the migration route and try king eiders and the one•we call the bi'ilcovsr; a'rick purple head and a s�ea-
to estimate the numbers • of he wild American.
ducks,. the seafowl, and the shorebirds On a Labrador Schooner.
that pass south along this coast. Our
cabin was right beside the great Cape
Sable Light, and hundreds of the poor
migrants perishaed on the telephone
wires nearby.
There were two magnificent cres-
cents of sntndbeaches. wh:ea'e the surf
poured on in all its, roaring, "rusih>Ing
majesty. Then there were the large
itideflats, filled with worms: and food
for the shorebirds, some thousands of.
acres of wet lands shielded and built
up by the serf itself, and in turn torn
down and carried out to make the
things we etull "The Banks" fifty
two hundred miles off shore. Between
to
If you take one sof the little schoon-
ers, that make Labrador each spiting
and saimmrer you will find all the three
birds breeding along.that wild coast,
and also the young of both Eskimo and
Montagnais• Indian killing them with
arrow and ` throwing stick, and the
dld,er men with sheeguns. All the • men
with whom I have spoken on both
coasts above civilization always say,
"My father' always took eggs and
ducks •' and his father too, and so do
we." A very natural ,argument. With
all the slaughter, in which the white
Men join all down this . coast—law
fully' ---the eiders, aur 1921.22,. on, the
green,' fading into white, neck, and
back•�things of most exquisite beauty.
Then .• there were the golden brown fe-
male�s and then, as the spring ad -1
vai}eed, there were these --"sting
necks." brown birds with.od�d patches
Of' white feathers here and -there.
These wenn but the young males of
the, American, last year's young
°draanes. Tlhen there were a few riohly-
ool rred drakes which bad golden and
bright red bilis. These were :the males
iof the king or in eom�e. canes the nart,h-
ern eider, so there are but three kinds
ademig here after all. They again puz-
zlle,:the hunters when they return from.
the breeding ground. First of all
ic. By Bonnycastle Dale
come the lazy old drakes, who had
been sunning,th�eniselves� far from the
ne.ste ail summer, Then the nesting
females and then the young males and
females who, had not come south with
the ducks.
"Butterbiils and Patchpoles."
In the spiting of '22 we went up to
the tap of a wIbd, surf -torn hill, a but
of true ground not yet' eaten off by
the surf, and the eiders were blown
aright in over our ,leads,. There were
both American and northern, and surf -
ducks, or "buitterbills 'and •Patchp•oles,"
as. the gunners, call :them.
In the years when they were not
protected it was a wonderful sight to
sit on the great surf -thrown seawall
that guards "the• Cape," and see a
triple string of gunners' skiffs, anchored
tem, because even the sun seems to
have been infected the
the new as-
tronomical complaint.:
tl i
logists and geologists to be muster,.
onsly '"connected with violent earth-
quakes and volcanic eruptions,
• `a
On its Last Lege.
"Don't you think title marathon
dancing Is dying out?"
"Yes; ; L's on its fast lege,"
is plucked :bare to forret this warm' say that huge flocks event
conifoet7able home for •the teff downy, sc;ath in '22; far out: of pliers`
wise, swift-ocncealinig little ducks, ' Many Kinds .
Ottr meiglibors who made the Iceland
,trip tell us that theeider docks breed I 'There areflo:eks of th!e8e m:a!st
there all over the, ' fo,resh,ore, right beautiful dtr•cks which winter off, mit
around where the fi,s'hertnen Pass and coast, and the men call them "sting-
work, end, no man dare distufb thein,' hooks," and sei ducks • and "white
for" after the 'huge • heat leaves, the • throats: ' All the.se Cape islanders
down iri thte testa to gathered and spoke• of so nie.iry different' kinds bf
makes 'a donifortabis iannm cf reeeee eldeem that they had tis puszled until
for those isolate d people. S'o tante are` the sPiingtitne carate• We are Per' •
•the gree-t_,;ticcks in time bays • off the inXted to take and Care for any itt
breeding grenade that they, 'tee males jure' or shk b ted, so at times we
and barren feunttles, oimtiy pia"r:ocl to hove quite "a bird Ivesp?,tat.
let the rowboats through, eee,,aft the r We noted intny alill" chicks among
fiat plaoeii On that pxecipitows" slier 0 the elders. There were. the glorious
rv;
IT Mitt' 'BE FIJNNY TO AN OLD T1M•ER
rP.:ihb51. �.
off out in the open sea off "The Cape."
Three Hues of tiny fourteen foot gun-
ndnng skiffs, with a man in each, and.
about fifteen or twenty boats in a line
that extended half a mile out to sea.
There was a swift tide running the
last time I saw them, and a big, long,
Slow swell. Also out of the great sea
came .at times an "olid s'ea," a relic of
a storm in some distant part; these
rolled twenty flet high and the wind -
chop on top would readily upset any
boat it hit, so they must dodge it. The
pale sun was just emerging from the
sea when I crept up the cold sliding,
clattering stoma. All the boats were
in place, some since 2 a.m.
Best Shots in Canada.
Far off towards Baccaro Light came
a long black line. It swept the top of
the swell until it saw the first line of
boats; then it slid up the ,a,kyline un-
til it was; say thirty yards, above the
gunner, and it esisayecl to pass over.
There are no better shots in Canada
than these Cape Sable gunners. Puff
—puff -puff blew off on the cold air--
ping—ping—ping
sang tenU:aresy and
down Bell half that line of swiftly fly-
ing black objects. The balance soared
and crossed the second line and the
few remaining went still higher and
swept cn over the third line of boats.
Out of some sixty birds but seven.
went south. For an hour I watched
this novel sight. After the birds were
down they were by no means to be
counted in the score; they had to be
picked up 'or fihietec1 off fleet. To see
these., foolhardy melt standing erect
in those tossing tiny beats, swinging
their gains ilt halfcircies, killing each
black head the instant it po:ppe5 up -
in time white and green seas -good,
clean, merciful killing. If these bards
are sent here as food, at the httnter be"
aliened and the vane suffer but little.
The modern ehotgun 'With its sn1•oke-
lesspowder and hard shot, with the
spertsm•an educated in all the tricks
and wiles of, the game, there are bat
few suffering, loot, w:aunlled birds,
which tape every atoin of pima;,re e rut
of the day's, hunting.
•