Swivel

swivel

Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . New Miscellaneous Inventions here NEW MISCELLANEOUS INVENTIONS. APPARATUS FOR THE HYDRATION OF CHLORINE GAS. William Maynard, New York city.—This invention relates to an improved construction of apparatus for the hydration of gases, and more particularly chlorine gas for the manufacture of chlorine water for use in the industrial arts of bleaching, etc. It consists mainly in a case having an inlet for the water above, an inlet for the gas below, and provided with an intermediate water percolating medium; combined with a reservoir located below the level of the case and having a water-sealed communication therewith, which reservoir receives the hydrated gases, and which water seal prevents the heavy gas in the case from passing out through the bottom inlet. The case for the percolation of water and the absorption of the gas is made of conical shape, with the largest diameter at the bottom, to produce the greatest absorption of the heavy gas when first admitted; while horizontal partitions, or shelves, in said case are provided with upwardly projecting tubes which hold a permanent surface of water on the said partition or shelves. The tubes permit, by their peculiar shape, the water to pass down on one side and the gas up on the opposite side of said tube, while their alternating arrangement in the alternating shelves gives a zigzag and long continued passage to the gas and water in moving in opposite directions through the case. IMPROVED PROCESS OF PREPARING GAS FUEL. Martin N. Diall, Terre Haute, Ind.—This inventor saturates wood by immersing it in any hydrocarbon oil for from six to twelve hours, as required by the nature of the wood, so that it may take up the necessary quantity of oil for the required strength of gas. The wood is then immersed in a bath of water, for taking up a quantity of water outside the oil, and is then charged in the retorts, the same as coal, and distilled in the same way. By this process the inventor claims that he produces fixed gas equal to coal gas, much faster, and with less expense, the wood and water furnishing the hydrogen, and the oil furnishing the carbon. IMPROVED FISHING LINE LEADER. Welmer T. Jahne and Anthony Moors, Jersey City, N.J.—This consists of a leader made of spring wire, bent into V form, provided with a swivel and eye at its middle part, and with eyes or loops at its ends to receive the line and snells. By this construction the snells and hooks will be kept apart however the line maybe thrown, and however they and the leader may be turned about by the tide or current. The device is one well calculated to meet with a favorable reception from fishermen. IMPROVED ABDOMINAL CORSET. Christina Lascell, Newark, N.J.—The object of this invention is to furnish an improved abdominal corset, which supports the weight of the abdomen in a perfectly comfortable and easy manner, and throws the strain on the shoulders and hips of the wearer. The corset is adjustable to the varying conditions of the abdomen, does not interfere with the motion and different positions of the body, and is readily put on and taken off. It has adjustable elastic shoulder straps, and opening at the sides by lacings and elastic bands and buttons. The front part of the corset is stiffened by a stay that slides in a pocket to provide for stooping. A central front and lacing admit the front part of the corset to expand. The lower extension part of the corset has short stiffening stays, and it is connected independently of the upper stays by short side lacing and elastic straps to the side or hip parts of the corset. A hernial band extends from the lowermost part of the corset-extension between the legs to the rear, and is attached by adjustable hip straps to the sides of the corset. IMPROVED FIRE ESCAPE. John F. Werner, New York city.—The terrible disaster in the Brooklyn theater is serving as a stimulus to induce the invention of devices looking to the prevention of a like occurrence. The present inventor has devised a new fire escape for theaters, concert halls, and other public places of amusement, by which the space at the upper parts of the entrances, halls, or vestibules of the buildings is utilized for the purpose of forming additional passage ways for the persons in the buildings, to be used in case of fire for the more convenient and less dangerous exit of the same. The invention consists, mainly, of a movable floor, suspended by chains, pulleys, and weights, near the ceiling of the entrances, and lowered in case of fire. It is supported on projecting rests of the side walls, at suitable height above the floor. Sliding extensions and swinging stairs and rear sections connect with the ground outside of the door, and with the staircases of the gallery, so as to form separate exits above the regular entrances. IMPROVED ELECTRO-MAGNETIC DENTAL PLUGGER. James E. Dexter, New York city.—This invention consists, first, in a magnet having a centrally bored iron core, surrounded by a magnetic coil, which is enveloped by an iron shell that is concentric with the central core, and is attached to a flange formed on the lower end of the said central core. One side of both shell and core are split for the purpose of obviating residual magnetism. The invention also consists in combining a spring yoke, a vibrator, and a spring contact piece, as hereinafter particularly described. The third part of this invention consists in the arrangement of the key for completing the circuit, which is made with an insulating exterior, and is provided with one of the termini of the magnet coil, and bears against the side of the key to insure a constant contact of the surfaces. The various parts of the plugger are combined, so that pressing the key with the finger makes the circuit, and a succession of regular strokes is produced, the force of which may be varied by an adjusting screw. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2006). Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19406/pg19406-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

NEW MISCELLANEOUS INVENTIONS

Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . New Agricultural Inventions here NEW AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS. IMPROVED GANG PLOW. Ezra Peak, Montana, Kan.—This invention is so constructed that it may be easily raised from and lowered to the ground, and adjusted to work at any desired depth in the ground. It is claimed to be of lighter draft than plows constructed in the usual way, also to be simple in construction and inexpensive in manufacture. The wheels, the faces of which are notched to give them a slight up-and-down movement as they are drawn forward, slightly jar the plows, and thus cause them to be easier drawn than when smooth wheels are used. The shaft can be provided with a ratchet wheel and pawl to hold it in any position into which it may be turned; and to it is attached a rope or chain, the other end of which, is attached to the forward end of the frame, so that by turning the shaft the plows may be raised from, lowered to, and adjusted to work at any desired depth in the ground. IMPROVED PLOW. James Willis Hendley, Cedar Hill, N.C., assignor to David N. Bennett and Samuel T. Wright, of same place.—The objects here are simplicity and cheapness of construction, and such arrangement of parts as will prevent the plow becoming clogged with weeds, etc. The mold-board is welded to the land side, or cast in one piece with it, so that no brace or other connection is required between the mold-board and standard; secondly, the curved beam is attached to the heel of the land-side and supported by a brace, which is bolted to the middle portion of the latter, and arranged in such relation to the mold-board that a space is left between them, into which the trash will fall, and thus be drawn into the furrow and covered. IMPROVED GRAIN DRILL. George W. Osborn, Parkville, Mich.—This is an improved attachment for seed drills, for gaging the depth at which the grain shall be deposited in the earth. It consists in an adjustable spring gage bar attached to the shank of each drill tooth, whereby the teeth may be made to enter the ground a greater or less depth. It is claimed to ensure the planting of seeds at equal depth in hard or soft ground, and to diminish the draft. IMPROVED HORSE HAY RAKE. Joseph B. Wakeman and John L. Wager, Deposit, N.Y.—The construction of this implement is such that a large space is afforded beneath the rake head for the collection of hay. The pivots of said rake head back are also brought back, so that the teeth may be readily raised to discharge the collected hay. By an ingenious lever arrangement the driver is enabled to hold the rake to its work by the pressure of his foot, and also readily to discharge the hay gathered. IMPROVED BEE HIVE. George W. Akins, Bridgeton, Pa.—In this hive, holes are bored in the sides of the compartment for ventilation, and windows are flared for the purpose of inspecting the inside of the hive. A frame is used whenever it is desired to have the honeycomb of any particular shape. It consists of a form of tin or other suitable maternal, placed on a frame or slide, and having the shape required in the comb. Bees will build inside of the form, leaving about one fourth inch space between the form and the comb. The tin sheet receives a portion of the refuse matter, and can be readily taken out and cleaned. On the 1st of May the bees are driven out into another hive and the frames examined. Three frames are taken out and set in a new box, and three empty frames are put in their place. The old queen must be put with the new colony, and half of the bees must be put in each box and shut up, and put on a stand. The hives are to be opened the next morning. At the next natural swarming time the swarms can be again divided. The hive cannot freeze, and it is proof against mice. IMPROVED PLOW STOCK. Robert Weber, New Ulm, Texas.—In this invention, by loosening a nut, the point of draft attachment may be raised and lowered to cause the plow to work deeper or shallower in the ground, or turned to one or the other side, to cause the plow to take or leave land, and may be secured in place when adjusted by again tightening the nut. IMPROVED COMBINED HAY TEDDER AND SIDE RAKE. John Huber and Henry Snell, Girard, Ill.—This machine may be used simply for stirring up and turning the hay, or for turning the hay and gathering it into windrows. The shaft of a reel revolves in bearings attached to the side bars of the frame near their rear ends. To the bars of the reel are attached spring teeth, which, as the machine is drawn forward, take hold of the hay, carry it up and over the reel, and drop it to the ground in the rear of the machine. A carrier takes the hay from the teeth, when it has been brought to the top of the reel, carries it over the shaft, and discharges it into a trough, down which it slides, and is deposited in a windrow along one side of the path of the machine. IMPROVED GRUBBING MACHINE. Ira Burley, Redwing, Minn.—This invention consists in the combination of wheels and axle, tongue, adjusting bar, adjustable brace, uprights, cross bar, two ropes, and four pulley blocks with each other. To the forward end of the tongue is attached a loop or clevis, to receive an iron pin, to be driven into the ground to keep the machine from moving about while being used. To the pulley block is swiveled a hook, to be hooked into a loop, attached to the forward end of a lever. The rear end of the lever passes through a slot in the upper end of a fulcrum post, and has a notch formed in its lower side to receive a bolt or pin, attached to said post to serve as a fulcrum to said lever. Several notches are formed in the lever to receive the fulcrum bolt, to enable the position of the fulcrum post to be adjusted to regulate the leverage, and as circumstances may require. To the lever is attached a strong clevis, to receive the hook of the chain, that is secured to the stump to be pulled. IMPROVED SEED PLANTER. Daniel J. Davis, Red Boiling Springs, Tenn.—In this invention two wheels revolve upon the journals of the axle. Upon the end parts of the axle are attached the rear ends of side bars, the forward ends of which are bolted to the outer sides of the forward ends of the plow beams. The forward ends of the beams are bolted to the ends of the front bar, to the center of which is secured the forward end of the central bar. To the beams are attached the plows for opening furrows to receive the seed as it passes from the conductor spouts. The lower ends of the spouts or tubes pass in through the sides of the plows, so as to conduct the seed into the bottom of the furrows before they have been partially filled by the falling in of the soil. The dropping plate is concaved around its dropping holes, and is provided with a plate that may be adjusted to cover one set of dropping holes to drop the hills twice as far apart as when both sets of holes operate. IMPROVED ANIMAL TRAP. Thomas N. Hughes, Muddy Creek, Tenn.—This trap is for animals of all kinds, as rats, mice, and larger animals, as foxes, minks, coons, etc., that are allured by bait, and is automatically set again by the animal caught, to be ready for the next animal attracted by the bait. It is divided by a longitudinal partition into two main sections, in which the working parts are disposed. The entrance at the end of one section has a drop door, which is arranged back of the same, resting, when closed, on side strips in inclined position, and being supported on an upright arm, of a centrally pivoted treadle door, at the bottom of the trap, when the trap is set. The treadle door is only required to swing sufficiently on its pivots to release the drop door from the arm, suitable seats at the under side of the trap, at both sides of the treadle door, preventing the door from swinging farther than necessary. The bait is placed, in a grated receptacle, near the treadle door, and entices the animal to pass in, so as to close the drop door when it arrives at the part of the treadle door near the bait. The back end of this section is perforated or grated to admit light, which attracts the frightened animal and induces him to pass toward the light. The top part of the trap may be grated to admit air, and the glass door at the end made to slide, to admit the taking out of the animals for killing them. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2006). Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19406/pg19406-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

NEW AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS

Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX. No. 6. [New Series.], August 10, 1878, by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . NEW CUTTING AND BORING ATTACHMENT FOR LATHES. here NEW CUTTING AND BORING ATTACHMENT FOR LATHES. Our engraving represents a useful little machine which is intended for attachment to lathes. Although it is exceedingly simple it is capable of performing a great variety of work. The machine is used in two ways, either by attachment to a rigid support, as shown in , or by suspending it by a belt, so that it is capable of universal motion, as shown in . Fig. 1 Fig. 2 The supporting frame, A, has three boxes for the spindle, B, and on the shaft at one side of the middle box there are planing knives, C, on the opposite side there is a balance wheel, and a pulley for receiving the driving belt. The spindle, B, extends beyond the ends of the frame, A, and has at each end a socket for receiving interchangeable cutting and boring tools. One end of the spindle is externally threaded to receive a face plate, to which may be attached a disk of wood for receiving sandpaper for smoothing and polishing wood or metal. The frame, A, is held to its work by means of handles, A', and the spindle is driven by a round belt that passes over a suspended pulley, E, and also over the pulley on the lathe mandrel. The entire attachment is balanced by a weight, F, attached to a cord that passes over a fixed pulley, F', to the pulley, E, to which it is secured by a swivel hook that permits of turning the belt in any direction. The belt is guided by small pulleys, H, so that the device may be turned without running the belt from the pulley on the spindle. Guides, G, are attached to the frame, A, for guiding the material being operated upon by the planing knives. The frame, A, may be supported by attachment to an arm, I, at the lower end of the screw-acted follower, J, which slides in a rigid support, K. The arm, I, has a notched disk which is engaged by a spring detent which holds the frame at any desired inclination. Among the kinds of work that may be done on this machine may be mentioned shaping and edging, fluting and beading table legs, balusters, etc.; dovetailing, boring, carving, paneling, shaping or friezing mouldings, scroll or fret work, inlaying and engraving, blind stile mortising and blind slat planing. By changing the inclination of the spindle different varieties of mouldings may be produced by the same cutter. The machine may be used as an emery grinder, and it may also be used for drilling and shaping metals. For further information address Mathew Rice, Augusta, Ga. Decrease of the New York Rainfall. In his report for 1876, Director Draper, of the New York Meteorological Observatory in Central Park, showed that a careful examination of the records in his office proved that there had been, in late years, a change in the rainfall of New York and its vicinity, affecting seriously its water supply. The decrease had been steady since 1869, previous to which there had been an increase. In his report for 1877, Mr. Draper discusses the question whether the change continues, or is likely to continue, in the same direction, and comes to the conclusion that the rainfall of New York will, most probably, continue to decrease by fluctuations for several years to come; also, that the variations are very nearly the same in the two portions of the year, the division date being July 1. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2013). Scientific American, Vol. XXXIX. No. 6. [New Series.], August 10, 1878. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19406/pg19406-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

NEW CUTTING AND BORING ATTACHMENT FOR LATHES

Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Improved Harness Cockeye. here IMPROVED HARNESS COCKEYE. We illustrate herewith a very simple little device for attaching traces to the single tree. It forms a secure fastening which may be instantly attached, and which, by its construction, is prevented from wearing out rapidly. Fig. 1 shows the cockeye attached to the single tree, and Fig. 2 exhibits parts in section, displaying the construction very clearly. The yoke is of the usual pattern. Swiveled to it is a long loop, which is chambered out to receive a spiral spring which acts upon a plunger. The latter is provided with a follower having a semicircular notch, which corresponds in form to the inside of the end of the loop. The follower also has guiding lips which extend over the sides of the loop. Through the yielding of the spring, the space between the follower and loop adjusts itself to studs or hooks of any size. Patented December 12, 1876, through the Scientific American Patent Agency. For further particulars, address the inventors, Messrs. F.W. Knapp and C. Schallhorn, Fiddletown, Amador county, Cal. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2006). Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19406/pg19406-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

IMPROVED HARNESS COCKEYE

SCULPTURING MACHINES

Scientific American Supplement, No. 799, April 25, 1891 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE POWER OF WATER, OR HYDRAULICS SIMPLIFIED. here THE POWER OF WATER, OR HYDRAULICS SIMPLIFIED. By G.D. Hiscox. CURRENT WHEELS FOR POWER AND RAISING WATER. The natural flow of water in a current is probably one of the oldest and cheapest of the methods for obtaining power, or the lifting of water within moderate elevations, for a supply for irrigation and domestic purposes; and we propose, apart from the current wheel, to treat only of self-water-raising devices in this chapter. Water wheels of various forms for this purpose have been used from time immemorial in Europe, Asia and Egypt, where the record gives examples of wheels of the noria class from 30 to 90 feet in diameter; the term having been applied to water wheels carrying buckets for raising water; the Spanish having buckets on an endless chain. noria noria Records of a Chinese noria, of 30 feet diameter, made of bamboo, show a lifting capacity of 300 tons of water per day to a height of ¾ of the diameter of the wheel—velocity of current not stated. For less quantity and greater elevation, these forms of wheel may have pumps attached to the shaft, by crank, that will give a fair duty for a high water supply. For power purposes, as in the plain current wheel, Fig. 23, there are two principal factors in the problem of power—the velocity of the current and the area of the buckets or blades. Their efficiency is very low, from 25 to 36 per cent., according to their lightness of make and form of buckets. A slightly curved plate iron bucket gives the highest efficiency, thus ( to the current, and an additional value may also be given by slightly shrouding the ends of the buckets. The relative velocity of the periphery of the wheel to the velocity of the current should be 50 per cent. with curved blades for best effect. The most useful and convenient sizes for power purposes are from 10 to 20 feet, and from 2 to 20 feet wide, although, as before stated, there is scarcely a limit under 100 feet diameter for special purposes. In designing this class of wheels special attention should be given to the concentration and increase of the velocity of the current by wing dams or by the narrowing of shallow streams; always bearing in mind that any increase in the velocity of the current is economy in increased power, as well as in the size and cost of a wheel for a given power. The blades in the smaller size wheels should be 1/4 of the radius in width, and for the larger sizes up to 20 feet, 1/5 to 1/6 of the radius in width and spaced equal to from 1/4 to 1/3 of the radius. They should be completely submerged at the lowest point. For obtaining the horse power of a current wheel, the formula is Area of 1 blade × velocity of the current in ft. per sec.
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                          400 × by the square of difference of velocities of current and wheel periphery = the horse power; or in which A equals the area of blade in square feet, V and v velocities of current and wheel periphery respectively, in feet per second. Thus, for example, a wheel 10 feet in diameter with blades 6 feet long and 1 foot in width, running in a stream of 5 feet per second—assuming the wheel to be giving as much power as will reduce its velocity to one half that of the stream—the figures will be horse power of the wheel. The total power of the stream due to the area of the blade equals the Square of the velocity of the stream
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         Twice gravity (64.33) volume of water in cubic feet per second × 62.5 (weight of 1 C') = the value or gross effect in pounds falling 1 foot per second. This sum divided by 550 = horse power. Thus, as per last example, due to the area of the blades of the water wheel. For the efficiency of this class of wheel, with slightly curved and thin blades, divide the horse power of the wheel by the horse power of the current area, equals the percentage of efficiency. As in the last case, 0.468 /  1.32 = 0.35½ per cent. efficiency of the water wheel. With higher velocities of stream and wheel the efficiency will be from 2 to 3 per cent. less, although the horse power will increase nearly with the increase in velocity of the current. For details of application of various forms of current wheels for power purposes see illustrated description Yagn's and Roman's floating motors in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 463. A very good example of a floating motor of the propeller class is Nossian's fluviatile motor, illustrated and described in SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, No. 656. Fig. 24 represents a very complete floating motor, in which the floats are wedge shaped at the stem, for the purpose of increasing the current between them, the wheel being an ordinary current wheel, as shown in Fig. 23, with a curved shield or gate in front, which can be moved around the periphery of the wheel for the purpose of regulating its speed or stopping its motion by cutting off the stream from the buckets. The float, rising and falling with the stream, is held in position by a braced frame swinging on anchorages within the mill on shore, and parallel with a swiveled shaft. Tide wheels and tidal current wheels have been in use for more than 800 years, and were largely in use in Europe and the United States during the first half of the present century. No less than three were running in the immediate vicinity of New York, in 1840, for milling purposes. Their day seems to be past, except in some special localities. We will also pass them, and illustrate some of the SELF-ACTING WATER-RAISING DEVICES. The tympanum derives its name from its similarity to a drum as made by the Romans, but its origin was Egyptian. It is a current wheel with frame like Fig. 23, to the outside of which a set of chambers or tubes are fixed, radiating spirally, so as to lead the water to the shaft as the wheel revolves, as shown in Fig. 25. It has a lift of a little less than half its diameter, and answers an excellent purpose for the irrigation of rice and cranberry fields, or on streams running through low lands in arid districts. It is still one of the Nile irrigating wheels. The building of these wheels is within the scope of the carpenter and the tinsmith. A short wooden shaft made square or octagonal, as convenient, with gudgeons in the ends and arms of wood bolted across each of the sides of the shaft, or as shown in the cut, will form a frame work upon which a rim may be fastened, to which the blades and tubular buckets can be attached. The directions in regard to the current wheel, Fig. 23, may be followed as to number and form of blades, which must be made in length and width proportional to the velocity of the stream and the quantity of water to be lifted by each tubular arm. The tubes may be made of galvanized sheet iron and attached to the outside of the wheel, as shown in Fig. 25. THE NORIA OR BUCKET WHEEL. This is a simple current wheel with pot buckets, rigid or swinging, arranged on the rim of the wheel, to carry up and discharge the water nearly at the top of the wheel, and through the long ages that it has been in use for irrigation, village water supply, and even for private establishments, has assumed a variety of forms in detail of construction ranging from the bamboo wheels of the Chinese to the light iron wheels of modern construction. We illustrate the most simple of these forms in Figs. 26 and 27, in which the first is a series of boxes or chambers in the rim of the wheel with side openings in the forward part of the box as the wheel revolves, and a lip extending from the inner edge of the opening to direct the outflow into the trough. Another form, Fig. 27, is arranged with swing buckets or pots, pivoted just above their centers, and with the catch trough so fixed as to tip the buckets at the highest point, thus giving this wheel the greatest possible advantage as to height of discharge for a given diameter. The power value of these wheels for raising water is a matter of computation as nearly reliable as for other devices for the same purpose, when the velocity of the current is known at the point of contact with the blades. The horse power of the wheel may be computed as for the current wheel, Fig. 23, and, as the horse power is equal to 33,000 pounds raised one foot high per minute, we may assume a construction of wheel that will allow of discharging at 8 feet above the stream; then 33,000 / 8 = 4,125 pounds of water discharged at 8 feet elevation per horse power per minute. As the net power of the wheel in the last example, for Fig. 23, was 0.468 of a horse power, then 4,125 × 0.468 = 1,930 pounds of water raised 8 ft. per minute by the size of bucket and velocity of current in that case. From this a deduction of 20 per cent. should be made for loss by spill and imperfect construction, so that 1,500 pounds or 176 gallons per minute would be the probable output—over 253,000 gallons per day; or, for irrigating purposes, equal to a rainfall of over 1¼ inches in depth on 50 acres in one week. The proportion of capacity of the lifting buckets for such a wheel becomes of as great importance as its efficiency. If the buckets are too large, the wheel will stall, and if too small, the wheel will not give its full duty. For obtaining the approximate capacity of the lifting buckets, assuming the example as above computed, a 10 foot wheel with the velocity at periphery of 2½ feet per second is 150 feet per minute, or five revolutions per minute, nearly. Then 1,930 lb. per m. / 5 revolutions = 386 pounds water capacity for all of the buckets on the wheel. If such a wheel is constructed with 16 blades and 16 buckets, one between each blade, then 386 / 16 = 24 pounds for each bucket, or 38 / 100 of a cubic foot. The spill from this capacity of bucket being sufficient to compensate for the friction of the shaft journals. The lifting buckets of the noria class, Figs. 26 and 27, can be made of positive dimensions to suit the computations as above; but those of the tympanum class, Fig. 25, should be made of dimensions to conform with the required capacity at the moment of leaving the water, as the water at this point flows into the arm. ( .) To be continued About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2004). Scientific American Supplement, No. 799, April 25, 1891. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/11649/pg11649-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE POWER OF WATER, OR HYDRAULICS SIMPLIFIED

Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877 by Various, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . Improved trolling hook here IMPROVED TROLLING HOOK. Mr. Henry C. Brush, of Brush's Mills, N.Y., has patented through the Scientific American Patent Agency an improved troller, the novel feature in which consists in attaching a float to the shank of the implement under the revolving blade, the object being to keep the troller near the surface of the water, where the fish may see it more readily, and whereby the liability of catching in weeds and logs is obviated. A is a float, attached to the shank, , of the troller. B is the spoon, which is swiveled in the usual manner. The device is very simple, and is claimed to prevent all the annoyance arising from the hook catching in sunken obstructions. a About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Various (2006). Scientific American, Volume XXXVI., No. 8, February 24, 1877. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19406/pg19406-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

IMPROVED TROLLING HOOK

Sources of the Advantages arising from Machinery and Manufactures

The Go-Getter: A Story That Tells You How to be One by Peter B. Kyne is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . I here I Mr. Alden P. Ricks, known in Pacific Coast wholesale lumber and shipping circles as Cappy Ricks, had more troubles than a hen with ducklings. He remarked as much to Mr. Skinner, president and general manager of the Ricks Logging & Lumbering Company, the corporate entity which represented Cappy's vast lumber interests; and he fairly barked the information at Captain Matt Peasley, his son-in-law and also president and manager of the Blue Star Navigation Company, another corporate entity which represented the Ricks interest in the American mercantile marine. Mr. Skinner received this information in silence. He was not related to Cappy Ricks. But Matt Peasley sat down, crossed his legs and matched glares with his mercurial father-in-law. " have troubles!" he jeered, with emphasis on the pronoun. "Have you got a misery in your back, or is Herbert Hoover the wrong man for Secretary of Commerce?" You "Stow your sarcasm, young feller," Cappy shrilled. "You know dad-blamed well it isn't a question of health or politics. It's the fact that in my old age I find myself totally surrounded by the choicest aggregation of mental duds since Ajax defied the lightning." "Meaning whom?" "You and Skinner." "Why, what have we done?" "You argued me into taking on the management of twenty-five of those infernal Shipping Board freighters, and no sooner do we have them allocated to us than a near panic hits the country, freight rates go to glory, marine engineers go on strike and every infernal young whelp we send out to take charge of one of our offices in the Orient promptly gets the swelled head and thinks he's divinely ordained to drink up all the synthetic Scotch whiskey manufactured in Japan for the benefit of thirsty Americans. In my old age you two have forced us into the position of having to fire folks by cable. Why? Because we're breaking into a game that can't be played on the home grounds. A lot of our business is so far away we can't control it." Matt Peasley leveled an accusing finger at Cappy Ricks. "We never argued you into taking over the management of those Shipping Board boats. We argued me into it. I'm the goat. You have nothing to do with it. You retired ten years ago. All the troubles in the marine end of this shop belong on my capable shoulders, old settler." "Theoretically--yes. Actually--no. I hope you do not expect me to abandon mental as well as physical effort. Great Wampus Cats! Am I to be denied a sentimental interest in matters where I have a controlling financial interest? I admit you two boys are running my affairs and ordinarily you run them rather well, but--but--ahem! Harumph-h-h! What's the matter with you, Matt? And you, also, Skinner? If Matt makes a mistake, it's your job to remind him of it before the results manifest themselves, is it not? And vice versa. Have you two boobs lost your ability to judge men or did you ever have such ability?" "You're referring to Henderson, of the Shanghai office, I dare say," Mr. Skinner cut in. "I am, Skinner. And I'm here to remind you that if we'd stuck to our own game, which is coast-wise shipping, and had left the trans-Pacific field with its general cargoes to others, we wouldn't have any Shanghai office at this moment and we would not be pestered by the Hendersons of this world." "He's the best lumber salesman we've ever had," Mr. Skinner defended. "I had every hope that he would send us orders for many a cargo for Asiatic delivery." "And he had gone through every job in this office, from office boy to sales manager in the lumber department and from freight clerk to passenger agent in the navigation company," Matt Peasley supplemented. "I admit all of that. But did you consult me when you decided to send him out to China on his own?" "Of course not. I'm boss of the Blue Star Navigation Company, am I not? The man was in charge of the Shanghai office before you ever opened your mouth to discharge your cargo of free advice." "I told you then that Henderson wouldn't make good, didn't I?" "You did." "And now I have an opportunity to tell you the little tale you didn't give me an opportunity to tell you before you sent him out. Henderson a good man--a crackerjack man--when he had a better man over him. But--I've been twenty years reducing a tendency on the part of that fellow's head to bust his hat-band. And now he's gone south with a hundred and thirty thousand taels of our Shanghai bank account." was "Permit me to remind you, Mr. Ricks," Mr. Skinner cut in coldly, "that he was bonded to the extent of a quarter of a million dollars." "Not a peep out of you, Skinner. Not a peep. Permit me to remind that I'm the little genius who placed that insurance unknown to you and Matt. And I recall now that I was reminded by you, Matthew, my son, that I had retired ten years ago and please, would I quit interfering in the internal administration of your office." you "Well, I must admit your far-sightedness in that instance will keep the Shanghai office out of the red ink this year," Matt Peasley replied. "However, we face this situation, Cappy. Henderson has drunk and gambled and signed chits in excess of his salary. He hasn't attended to business and he's capped his inefficiency by absconding with our bank account. We couldn't foresee that. When we send a man out to the Orient to be our manager there, we have to trust him all the way or not at all. So there is no use weeping over spilled milk, Cappy. Our job is to select a successor to Henderson and send him out to Shanghai on the next boat." "Oh, very well, Matt," Cappy replied magnanimously, "I'll not rub it into you. I suppose I'm far from generous, bawling you out like this. Perhaps, when you're my age and have a lot of mental and moral cripples nip you and draw blood as often as they've drawn it on me you'll be a better judge than I of men worthy of the weight of responsibility. Skinner, have you got a candidate for this job?" "I regret to say, sir, I have not. All of the men in my department are quite young--too young for the responsibility." "What do you mean--young?" Cappy blazed. "Well, the only man I would consider for the job is Andrews and he is too young--about thirty, I should say." "About thirty, eh? Strikes me you were about twenty-eight when I threw ten thousand a year at you in actual cash, and a couple of million dollars' worth of responsibility." "Yes sir, but then Andrews has never been tested----" "Skinner," Cappy interrupted in his most awful voice, "it's a constant source of amazement to me why I refrain from firing you. You say Andrews has never been tested. Why hasn't he been tested? Why are we maintaining untested material in this shop, anyhow? Eh? Answer me that. Tut, tut, tut! Not a peep out of you, sir. If you had done your Christian duty, you would have taken a year's vacation when lumber was selling itself in 1919 and 1920, and you would have left Andrews sitting in at your desk to see the sort of stuff he's made of." "It's a mighty lucky thing I didn't go away for a year," Skinner protested respectfully, "because the market broke--like that--and if you don't think we have to hustle to sell sufficient lumber to keep our own ships busy freighting it--" "Skinner, how dare you contradict me? How old was Matt Peasley when I turned over the Blue Star Navigation Company to him, lock, stock and barrel? Why, he wasn't twenty-six years old. Skinner, you're a dodo! The killjoys like you who have straddled the neck of industry and throttled it with absurd theories that a man's back must be bent like an ox-bow and his locks snowy white before he can be entrusted with responsibility and a living wage, have caused all of our wars and strikes. This is a young man's world, Skinner, and don't you ever forget it. The go-getters of this world are under thirty years of age. Matt," he concluded, turning to his son-in-law, "what do you think of Andrews for that Shanghai job?" "I think he'll do." "Why do you think he'll do?" "Because he ought to do. He's been with us long enough to have acquired sufficient experience to enable him--" "Has he acquired the courage to tackle the job, Matt?" Cappy interrupted. "That's more important than this doggoned experience you and Skinner prate so much about." "I know nothing of his courage. I assume that he has force and initiative. I know he has a pleasing personality." "Well, before we send him out we ought to know whether or no he has force and initiative." "Then," quoth Matt Peasley, rising, "I wash my hands of the job of selecting Henderson's successor. You've butted in, so I suggest you name the lucky man." "Yes, indeed," Skinner agreed. "I'm sure it's quite beyond my poor abilities to uncover Andrews' force and initiative on such notice. He does possess sufficient force and initiative for his present job, but--" "But will he possess force and initiative when he has to make a quick decision six thousand miles from expert advice, and stand or fall by that decision? That's what we want to know, Skinner." "I suggest, sir," Mr. Skinner replied with chill politeness, "that you conduct the examination." "I accept the nomination, Skinner. By the Holy Pink-toed Prophet! The next man we send out to that Shanghai office is going to be a go-getter. We've had three managers go rotten on us and that's three too many." And without further ado, Cappy swung his aged legs up on to his desk and slid down in his swivel chair until he rested on his spine. His head sank on his breast and he closed his eyes. "He's framing the examination for Andrews," Matt Peasley whispered, as he and Skinner made their exits. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Peter B. Kyne (2004). The Go-Getter: A Story That Tells You How to be One. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12257/pg12257-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

Mr. Alden P. Ricks, known in Pacific Coast wholesale lumber and shipping circles as Cappy Ricks

Miss Thorne's Fête Champêtre

Mrs. Proudie Victrix

Dedicated to New York City's Books of Wonder

The Fugitive.

A Floating City and The Blockade Runners by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . The “Dolphin” had a good crew, not fighting men, or boarding sailors here The “Dolphin” had a good crew, not fighting men, or boarding sailors The “Dolphin” had a good crew, not fighting men, or boarding sailors, but good working men, and that was all she wanted. These brave, determined fellows were all, more or less, merchants; they sought a fortune rather than glory; they had no flag to display, no colours to defend with cannon; in fact all the artillery on board consisted of two small swivel signal-guns. The “Dolphin” shot bravely across the water, and fulfilled the utmost expectations of both builder and captain. Soon she passed the limit of British seas; there was not a ship in sight; the great Ocean route was free; besides no ship of the Federal marine would have a right to attack her beneath the English flag. Followed she might be, and prevented from forcing the blockade, and precisely for this reason had James Playfair sacrificed everything to the speed of his ship, in order not to be pursued. Howbeit a careful watch was kept on board, and in spite of the extreme cold a man was always in the rigging ready to signal the smallest sail that appeared on the horizon. When evening came, Captain James gave the most precise orders to Mr. Mathew. “Don’t leave the man on watch too long in the rigging, the cold may seize him, and in that case it is impossible to keep a good look-out; change your men often.” “I understand, Captain,” replied Mr. Mathew. “Try Crockston for that work; the fellow pretends to have excellent sight; it must be put to trial; put him on the morning watch, he will have the morning mists to see through. If anything particular happens call me.” This said, James Playfair went to his cabin. Mr. Mathew called Crockston, and told him the Captain’s orders. “To-morrow, at six o’clock,” said he, “you are to relieve watch of the main-masthead.” For reply, Crockston gave a decided grunt, but Mr. Mathew had hardly turned his back when the sailor muttered some incomprehensible words, and then cried,— “What on earth did he say about the main-mast?” At this moment his nephew, John Stiggs, joined him on the forecastle. “Well, my good Crockston,” said he. “It’s all right, all right,” said the seaman, with a forced smile; “there is only one thing, this wretched boat shakes herself like a dog coming out of the water, and it makes my head confused.” “Dear Crockston, and it is for my sake.” “For you and him,” replied Crockston, “but not a word about that, John; trust in God, and He will not forsake you.” So saying, John Stiggs and Crockston went to the sailor’s berth, but the sailor did not lie down before he had seen the young novice comfortably settled in the narrow cabin which he had got for him. The next day, at six o’clock in the morning, Crockston got up to go to his place; he went on deck, where the first officer ordered him to go up into the rigging, and keep good watch. At these words the sailor seemed undecided what to do; then making up his mind, he went towards the bows of the “Dolphin.” “Well, where are you off to now?” cried Mr. Mathew. “Where you sent me,” answered Crockston. “I told you to go to the main-mast.” “And I am going there,” replied the sailor, in an unconcerned tone, continuing his way to the poop. “Are you a fool?” cried Mr. Mathew, impatiently; “you are looking for the bars of the main on the fore-mast. You are like a cockney, who doesn’t know how to twist a cat-o’-nine-tails, or make a splice. On board what ship can you have been, man? The main-mast, stupid, the main-mast!” The sailors who had run up to hear what was going on, burst out laughing, when they saw Crockston’s disconcerted look, as he went back to the forecastle. “So,” said he, looking up the mast, the top of which was quite invisible through the morning mists; “so, am I to climb up here?” “Yes,” replied Mr. Mathew, “and hurry yourself! By St. Patrick a Federal ship would have time to get her bowsprit fast in our rigging before that lazy fellow could get to his post. Will you go up?” Without a word, Crockston got on the bulwarks with some difficulty; then he began to climb the rigging with most visible awkwardness, like a man who did not know how to make use of his hands or feet. When he had reached the top-gallant, instead of springing lightly on to it, he remained motionless, clinging to the ropes, as if he had been seized with giddiness. Mr. Mathew, irritated by his stupidity ordered him to come down immediately. “That fellow there,” said he to the boatswain, “has never been a sailor in his life. Johnston, just go and see what he has in his bundle.” The boatswain made haste to the sailor’s berth. In the meantime Crockston was with difficulty coming down again, but his foot having slipped, he slid down the rope he had hold of, and fell heavily on the deck. “Clumsy blockhead! land-lubber!” cried Mr. Mathew, by way of consolation. “What did you come to do on board the ‘Dolphin’! Ah! you entered as an able seaman, and you cannot even distinguish the main from the fore-mast! I shall have a little talk with you.” Crockston made no attempt to speak; he bent his back like a man resigned for anything he might have to bear; just then the boatswain returned. “This,” said he to the first officer, “is all that I have found; a suspicious portfolio with letters.” “Give them here,” said Mr. Mathew. “Letters with Federal stamps! Mr. Halliburtt, of Boston! An abolitionist! a Federalist! Wretch! you are nothing but a traitor, and have sneaked on board to betray us! Never mind, you will be paid for your trouble with the cat-o’-nine-tails! Boatswain, call the Captain, and you others, just keep an eye on that rogue there.” Crockston received these compliments with a hideous grimace, but he did not open his lips. They had fastened him to the capstan, and he could move neither hand nor foot. A few minutes later James Playfair came out of his cabin and went to the forecastle, where Mr. Mathew immediately acquainted him with the details of the case. “What have you to say?” asked James Playfair, scarcely able to restrain his anger. “Nothing,” replied Crockston. “And what did you come on board my ship for?” “Nothing.” “And what do you expect from me now?” “Nothing.” “Who are you? An American, as these letters seem to prove?” Crockston did not answer. “Boatswain,” said James Playfair, “fifty lashes with the cat-o’-nine-tails to loosen his tongue. Will that be enough, Crockston?” “It will remain to be seen,” replied John Stiggs’ uncle without moving a muscle. “Now then, come along, men,” said the boatswain. At this order, two strong sailors stripped Crockston of his woollen jersey; they had already seized the formidable weapon, and laid it across the prisoner’s shoulders, when the novice, John Stiggs, pale and agitated, hurried on deck. “Captain!” exclaimed he. “Ah! the nephew!” remarked James Playfair. “Captain,” repeated the novice, with a violent effort to steady his voice, “I will tell you what Crockston does not want to say. I will hide it no longer; yes, he is American, and so am I; we are both enemies of the slave-holders, but not traitors come on board to betray the ‘Dolphin’ into the hands of the Federalists.” “What did you come to do, then?” asked the Captain, in a severe tone, examining the novice attentively. The latter hesitated a few seconds before replying, then he said, “Captain, I should like to speak to you in private.” Whilst John Stiggs made this request, James Playfair did not cease to look carefully at him; the sweet young face of the novice, his peculiarly gentle voice, the delicacy and whiteness of his hands, hardly disguised by paint, the large eyes, the animation of which could not hide their tenderness—all this together gave rise to a certain suspicion in the Captain’s mind. When John Stiggs had made his request, Playfair glanced fixedly at Crockston, who shrugged his shoulders; then he fastened a questioning look on the novice, which the latter could not withstand, and said simply to him, “Come.” John Stiggs followed the Captain on to the poop, and then James Playfair, opening the door of his cabin, said to the novice, whose cheeks were pale with emotion, “Be so kind as to walk in, miss.” John, thus addressed, blushed violently, and two tears rolled involuntarily down his cheeks. “Don’t be alarmed, miss,” said James Playfair, in a gentle voice, “but be so good as to tell me how I come to have the honour of having you on board?” The young girl hesitated a moment, then reassured by the Captain’s look, she made up her mind to speak. “Sir,” said she, “I wanted to join my father at Charleston; the town is besieged by land and blockaded by sea. I knew not how to get there, when I heard that the ‘Dolphin’ meant to force the blockade. I came on board your ship, and I beg you to forgive me if I acted without your consent, which you would have refused me.” “Certainly,” said James Playfair. “I did well, then, not to ask you,” resumed the young girl, with a firmer voice. The Captain crossed his arms, walked round his cabin, and then came back. “What is your name?” said he. “Jenny Halliburtt.” “Your father, if I remember rightly the address on the letters, is he not from Boston?” “Yes, sir.” “And a Northerner is thus in a southern town in the thickest of the war?” “My father is a prisoner; he was at Charleston when the first shot of the Civil War was fired, and the troops of the Union driven from Fort Sumter by the Confederates. My father’s opinions exposed him to the hatred of the Slavist part, and by the order of General Beauregard he was imprisoned. I was then in England, living with a relation who has just died, and left alone with no help but that of Crockston, our faithful servant, I wished to go to my father and share his prison with him.” “What was Mr. Halliburtt, then?” asked James Playfair. “A loyal and brave journalist,” replied Jenny proudly, one of the noblest editors of the “Tribune,” and the one who was the boldest in defending the cause of the negroes. “An abolitionist,” cried the Captain angrily; “one of those men, who, under the vain pretence of abolishing slavery, have deluged their country with blood and ruin.” “Sir!” replied Jenny Halliburtt, growing pale, “you are insulting my father; you must not forget that I stand alone to defend him.” The young Captain blushed scarlet; anger mingled with shame struggled in his breast; perhaps he would have answered the young girl, but he succeeded in restraining himself, and opening the door of the cabin, he called “Boatswain!” The boatswain came to him directly. “This cabin will henceforward belong to Miss Jenny Halliburtt; have a cot made ready for me at the end of the poop; that’s all I want.” The boatswain looked with a stupefied stare at the young novice addressed in a feminine name, but on a sign from James Playfair he went out. “And now, miss, you are at home,” said the young Captain of the “Dolphin.” Then he retired. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (2022). A Floating City and The Blockade Runners. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/67829/67829-h/67829-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

The “Dolphin” had a good crew, not fighting men, or boarding sailors

HOT AND COLD BLOOD

“O RUSSET WITCH!”

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . A NOVEL PROPOSAL OF CAPTAIN NEMO’S here CHAPTER II: A NOVEL PROPOSAL OF CAPTAIN NEMO’S On the 28th of February, when at noon the came to the surface of the sea, in 9° 4′ N. lat., there was land in sight about eight miles to westward. The first thing I noticed was a range of mountains about two thousand feet high, the shapes of which were most capricious. On taking the bearings, I knew that we were nearing the island of Ceylon, the pearl which hangs from the lobe of the Indian Peninsula. Nautilus Captain Nemo and his second appeared at this moment. The Captain glanced at the map. Then turning to me, said: “The Island of Ceylon, noted for its pearl-fisheries. Would you like to visit one of them, M. Aronnax?” “Certainly, Captain.” “Well, the thing is easy. Though, if we see the fisheries, we shall not see the fishermen. The annual exportation has not yet begun. Never mind, I will give orders to make for the Gulf of Manaar, where we shall arrive in the night.” The Captain said something to his second, who immediately went out. Soon the returned to her native element, and the manometer showed that she was about thirty feet deep. Nautilus “Well, sir,” said Captain Nemo, “you and your companions shall visit the Bank of Manaar, and if by chance some fisherman should be there, we shall see him at work.” “Agreed, Captain!” “By the bye, M. Aronnax you are not afraid of sharks?” “Sharks!” exclaimed I. This question seemed a very hard one. “Well?” continued Captain Nemo. “I admit, Captain, that I am not yet very familiar with that kind of fish.” “We are accustomed to them,” replied Captain Nemo, “and in time you will be too. However, we shall be armed, and on the road we may be able to hunt some of the tribe. It is interesting. So, till to-morrow, sir, and early.” This said in a careless tone, Captain Nemo left the saloon. Now, if you were invited to hunt the bear in the mountains of Switzerland, what would you say? “Very well! to-morrow we will go and hunt the bear.” If you were asked to hunt the lion in the plains of Atlas, or the tiger in the Indian jungles, what would you say? “Ha! ha! it seems we are going to hunt the tiger or the lion!” But when you are invited to hunt the shark in its natural element, you would perhaps reflect before accepting the invitation. As for myself, I passed my hand over my forehead, on which stood large drops of cold perspiration. “Let us reflect,” said I, “and take our time. Hunting otters in submarine forests, as we did in the Island of Crespo, will pass; but going up and down at the bottom of the sea, where one is almost certain to meet sharks, is quite another thing! I know well that in certain countries, particularly in the Andaman Islands, the negroes never hesitate to attack them with a dagger in one hand and a running noose in the other; but I also know that few who affront those creatures ever return alive. However, I am not a negro, and if I were I think a little hesitation in this case would not be ill-timed.” At this moment Conseil and the Canadian entered, quite composed, and even joyous. They knew not what awaited them. “Faith, sir,” said Ned Land, “your Captain Nemo—the devil take him!—has just made us a very pleasant offer.” “Ah!” said I, “you know?” “If agreeable to you, sir,” interrupted Conseil, “the commander of the has invited us to visit the magnificent Ceylon fisheries to-morrow, in your company; he did it kindly, and behaved like a real gentleman.” Nautilus “He said nothing more?” “Nothing more, sir, except that he had already spoken to you of this little walk.” “Sir,” said Conseil, “would you give us some details of the pearl fishery?” “As to the fishing itself,” I asked, “or the incidents, which?” “On the fishing,” replied the Canadian; “before entering upon the ground, it is as well to know something about it.” “Very well; sit down, my friends, and I will teach you.” Ned and Conseil seated themselves on an ottoman, and the first thing the Canadian asked was: “Sir, what is a pearl?” “My worthy Ned,” I answered, “to the poet, a pearl is a tear of the sea; to the Orientals, it is a drop of dew solidified; to the ladies, it is a jewel of an oblong shape, of a brilliancy of mother-of-pearl substance, which they wear on their fingers, their necks, or their ears; for the chemist it is a mixture of phosphate and carbonate of lime, with a little gelatine; and lastly, for naturalists, it is simply a morbid secretion of the organ that produces the mother-of-pearl amongst certain bivalves.” “Branch of molluscs,” said Conseil. “Precisely so, my learned Conseil; and, amongst these testacea the earshell, the tridacnae, the turbots, in a word, all those which secrete mother-of-pearl, that is, the blue, bluish, violet, or white substance which lines the interior of their shells, are capable of producing pearls.” “Mussels too?” asked the Canadian. “Yes, mussels of certain waters in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Saxony, Bohemia, and France.” “Good! For the future I shall pay attention,” replied the Canadian. “But,” I continued, “the particular mollusc which secretes the pearl is the pearl-oyster, the meleagrina margaritiferct, that precious pintadine. The pearl is nothing but a nacreous formation, deposited in a globular form, either adhering to the oyster shell, or buried in the folds of the creature. On the shell it is fast; in the flesh it is loose; but always has for a kernel a small hard substance, may be a barren egg, may be a grain of sand, around which the pearly matter deposits itself year after year successively, and by thin concentric layers.” “Are many pearls found in the same oyster?” asked Conseil. “Yes, my boy. Some are a perfect casket. One oyster has been mentioned, though I allow myself to doubt it, as having contained no less than a hundred and fifty sharks.” “A hundred and fifty sharks!” exclaimed Ned Land. “Did I say sharks?” said I hurriedly. “I meant to say a hundred and fifty pearls. Sharks would not be sense.” “Certainly not,” said Conseil; “but will you tell us now by what means they extract these pearls?” “They proceed in various ways. When they adhere to the shell, the fishermen often pull them off with pincers; but the most common way is to lay the oysters on mats of the seaweed which covers the banks. Thus they die in the open air; and at the end of ten days they are in a forward state of decomposition. They are then plunged into large reservoirs of sea-water; then they are opened and washed.” “The price of these pearls varies according to their size?” asked Conseil. “Not only according to their size,” I answered, “but also according to their shape, their water (that is, their colour), and their lustre: that is, that bright and diapered sparkle which makes them so charming to the eye. The most beautiful are called virgin pearls, or paragons. They are formed alone in the tissue of the mollusc, are white, often opaque, and sometimes have the transparency of an opal; they are generally round or oval. The round are made into bracelets, the oval into pendants, and, being more precious, are sold singly. Those adhering to the shell of the oyster are more irregular in shape, and are sold by weight. Lastly, in a lower order are classed those small pearls known under the name of seed-pearls; they are sold by measure, and are especially used in embroidery for church ornaments.” “But,” said Conseil, “is this pearl-fishery dangerous?” “No,” I answered, quickly; “particularly if certain precautions are taken.” “What does one risk in such a calling?” said Ned Land, “the swallowing of some mouthfuls of sea-water?” “As you say, Ned. By the bye,” said I, trying to take Captain Nemo’s careless tone, “are you afraid of sharks, brave Ned?” “I!” replied the Canadian; “a harpooner by profession? It is my trade to make light of them.” “But,” said I, “it is not a question of fishing for them with an iron-swivel, hoisting them into the vessel, cutting off their tails with a blow of a chopper, ripping them up, and throwing their heart into the sea!” “Then, it is a question of——” “Precisely.” “In the water?” “In the water.” “Faith, with a good harpoon! You know, sir, these sharks are ill-fashioned beasts. They turn on their bellies to seize you, and in that time——” Ned Land had a way of saying “seize” which made my blood run cold. “Well, and you, Conseil, what do you think of sharks?” “Me!” said Conseil. “I will be frank, sir.” “So much the better,” thought I. “If you, sir, mean to face the sharks, I do not see why your faithful servant should not face them with you.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

A NOVEL PROPOSAL OF CAPTAIN NEMO’S

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . VANIKORO here CHAPTER XVIII: VANIKORO This terrible spectacle was the forerunner of the series of maritime catastrophes that the was destined to meet with in its route. As long as it went through more frequented waters, we often saw the hulls of shipwrecked vessels that were rotting in the depths, and deeper down cannons, bullets, anchors, chains, and a thousand other iron materials eaten up by rust. However, on the 11th of December we sighted the Pomotou Islands, the old “dangerous group” of Bougainville, that extend over a space of 500 leagues at E.S.E. to W.N.W., from the Island Ducie to that of Lazareff. This group covers an area of 370 square leagues, and it is formed of sixty groups of islands, among which the Gambier group is remarkable, over which France exercises sway. These are coral islands, slowly raised, but continuous, created by the daily work of polypi. Then this new island will be joined later on to the neighboring groups, and a fifth continent will stretch from New Zealand and New Caledonia, and from thence to the Marquesas. Nautilus One day, when I was suggesting this theory to Captain Nemo, he replied coldly: “The earth does not want new continents, but new men.” Chance had conducted the towards the Island of Clermont-Tonnere, one of the most curious of the group, that was discovered in 1822 by Captain Bell of the Minerva. I could study now the madreporal system, to which are due the islands in this ocean. Nautilus Madrepores (which must not be mistaken for corals) have a tissue lined with a calcareous crust, and the modifications of its structure have induced M. Milne Edwards, my worthy master, to class them into five sections. The animalcule that the marine polypus secretes live by millions at the bottom of their cells. Their calcareous deposits become rocks, reefs, and large and small islands. Here they form a ring, surrounding a little inland lake, that communicates with the sea by means of gaps. There they make barriers of reefs like those on the coasts of New Caledonia and the various Pomoton islands. In other places, like those at Reunion and at Maurice, they raise fringed reefs, high, straight walls, near which the depth of the ocean is considerable. Some cable-lengths off the shores of the Island of Clermont I admired the gigantic work accomplished by these microscopical workers. These walls are specially the work of those madrepores known as milleporas, porites, madrepores, and astraeas. These polypi are found particularly in the rough beds of the sea, near the surface; and consequently it is from the upper part that they begin their operations, in which they bury themselves by degrees with the debris of the secretions that support them. Such is, at least, Darwin’s theory, who thus explains the formation of the , a superior theory (to my mind) to that given of the foundation of the madreporical works, summits of mountains or volcanoes, that are submerged some feet below the level of the sea. atolls I could observe closely these curious walls, for perpendicularly they were more than 300 yards deep, and our electric sheets lighted up this calcareous matter brilliantly. Replying to a question Conseil asked me as to the time these colossal barriers took to be raised, I astonished him much by telling him that learned men reckoned it about the eighth of an inch in a hundred years. Towards evening Clermont-Tonnerre was lost in the distance, and the route of the was sensibly changed. After having crossed the tropic of Capricorn in 135° longitude, it sailed W.N.W., making again for the tropical zone. Although the summer sun was very strong, we did not suffer from heat, for at fifteen or twenty fathoms below the surface, the temperature did not rise above from ten to twelve degrees. Nautilus On 15th of December, we left to the east the bewitching group of the Societies and the graceful Tahiti, queen of the Pacific. I saw in the morning, some miles to the windward, the elevated summits of the island. These waters furnished our table with excellent fish, mackerel, bonitos, and some varieties of a sea-serpent. On the 25th of December the sailed into the midst of the New Hebrides, discovered by Quiros in 1606, and that Bougainville explored in 1768, and to which Cook gave its present name in 1773. This group is composed principally of nine large islands, that form a band of 120 leagues N.N.S. to S.S.W., between 15° and 2° S. lat., and 164 deg. and 168° long. We passed tolerably near to the Island of Aurou, that at noon looked like a mass of green woods, surmounted by a peak of great height. Nautilus That day being Christmas Day, Ned Land seemed to regret sorely the non-celebration of “Christmas,” the family fete of which Protestants are so fond. I had not seen Captain Nemo for a week, when, on the morning of the 27th, he came into the large drawing-room, always seeming as if he had seen you five minutes before. I was busily tracing the route of the on the planisphere. The Captain came up to me, put his finger on one spot on the chart, and said this single word. Nautilus “Vanikoro.” The effect was magical! It was the name of the islands on which La Perouse had been lost! I rose suddenly. “The has brought us to Vanikoro?” I asked. Nautilus “Yes, Professor,” said the Captain. “And I can visit the celebrated islands where the Boussole and the Astrolabe struck?” “If you like, Professor.” “When shall we be there?” “We are there now.” Followed by Captain Nemo, I went up on to the platform, and greedily scanned the horizon. To the N.E. two volcanic islands emerged of unequal size, surrounded by a coral reef that measured forty miles in circumference. We were close to Vanikoro, really the one to which Dumont d’Urville gave the name of Isle de la Recherche, and exactly facing the little harbour of Vanou, situated in 16° 4′ S. lat., and 164° 32′ E. long. The earth seemed covered with verdure from the shore to the summits in the interior, that were crowned by Mount Kapogo, 476 feet high. The , having passed the outer belt of rocks by a narrow strait, found itself among breakers where the sea was from thirty to forty fathoms deep. Under the verdant shade of some mangroves I perceived some savages, who appeared greatly surprised at our approach. In the long black body, moving between wind and water, did they not see some formidable cetacean that they regarded with suspicion? Nautilus Just then Captain Nemo asked me what I knew about the wreck of La Perouse. “Only what everyone knows, Captain,” I replied. “And could you tell me what everyone knows about it?” he inquired, ironically. “Easily.” I related to him all that the last works of Dumont d’Urville had made known—works from which the following is a brief account. La Perouse, and his second, Captain de Langle, were sent by Louis XVI, in 1785, on a voyage of circumnavigation. They embarked in the corvettes Boussole and the Astrolabe, neither of which were again heard of. In 1791, the French Government, justly uneasy as to the fate of these two sloops, manned two large merchantmen, the Recherche and the Esperance, which left Brest the 28th of September under the command of Bruni d’Entrecasteaux. Two months after, they learned from Bowen, commander of the Albemarle, that the debris of shipwrecked vessels had been seen on the coasts of New Georgia. But D’Entrecasteaux, ignoring this communication—rather uncertain, besides—directed his course towards the Admiralty Islands, mentioned in a report of Captain Hunter’s as being the place where La Perouse was wrecked. They sought in vain. The Esperance and the Recherche passed before Vanikoro without stopping there, and, in fact, this voyage was most disastrous, as it cost D’Entrecasteaux his life, and those of two of his lieutenants, besides several of his crew. Captain Dillon, a shrewd old Pacific sailor, was the first to find unmistakable traces of the wrecks. On the 15th of May, 1824, his vessel, the St. Patrick, passed close to Tikopia, one of the New Hebrides. There a Lascar came alongside in a canoe, sold him the handle of a sword in silver that bore the print of characters engraved on the hilt. The Lascar pretended that six years before, during a stay at Vanikoro, he had seen two Europeans that belonged to some vessels that had run aground on the reefs some years ago. Dillon guessed that he meant La Perouse, whose disappearance had troubled the whole world. He tried to get on to Vanikoro, where, according to the Lascar, he would find numerous debris of the wreck, but winds and tides prevented him. Dillon returned to Calcutta. There he interested the Asiatic Society and the Indian Company in his discovery. A vessel, to which was given the name of the Recherche, was put at his disposal, and he set out, 23rd January, 1827, accompanied by a French agent. The Recherche, after touching at several points in the Pacific, cast anchor before Vanikoro, 7th July, 1827, in that same harbour of Vanou where the was at this time. Nautilus There it collected numerous relics of the wreck—iron utensils, anchors, pulley-strops, swivel-guns, an 18 lbs. shot, fragments of astronomical instruments, a piece of crown work, and a bronze clock, bearing this inscription—“Bazin m’a fait,” the mark of the foundry of the arsenal at Brest about 1785. There could be no further doubt. Dillon, having made all inquiries, stayed in the unlucky place till October. Then he quitted Vanikoro, and directed his course towards New Zealand; put into Calcutta, 7th April, 1828, and returned to France, where he was warmly welcomed by Charles X. But at the same time, without knowing Dillon’s movements, Dumont d’Urville had already set out to find the scene of the wreck. And they had learned from a whaler that some medals and a cross of St. Louis had been found in the hands of some savages of Louisiade and New Caledonia. Dumont d’Urville, commander of the Astrolabe, had then sailed, and two months after Dillon had left Vanikoro he put into Hobart Town. There he learned the results of Dillon’s inquiries, and found that a certain James Hobbs, second lieutenant of the Union of Calcutta, after landing on an island situated 8° 18′ S. lat., and 156° 30′ E. long., had seen some iron bars and red stuffs used by the natives of these parts. Dumont d’Urville, much perplexed, and not knowing how to credit the reports of low-class journals, decided to follow Dillon’s track. On the 10th of February, 1828, the Astrolabe appeared off Tikopia, and took as guide and interpreter a deserter found on the island; made his way to Vanikoro, sighted it on the 12th inst., lay among the reefs until the 14th, and not until the 20th did he cast anchor within the barrier in the harbour of Vanou. On the 23rd, several officers went round the island and brought back some unimportant trifles. The natives, adopting a system of denials and evasions, refused to take them to the unlucky place. This ambiguous conduct led them to believe that the natives had ill-treated the castaways, and indeed they seemed to fear that Dumont d’Urville had come to avenge La Perouse and his unfortunate crew. However, on the 26th, appeased by some presents, and understanding that they had no reprisals to fear, they led M. Jacquireot to the scene of the wreck. There, in three or four fathoms of water, between the reefs of Pacou and Vanou, lay anchors, cannons, pigs of lead and iron, embedded in the limy concretions. The large boat and the whaler belonging to the Astrolabe were sent to this place, and, not without some difficulty, their crews hauled up an anchor weighing 1,800 lbs., a brass gun, some pigs of iron, and two copper swivel-guns. Dumont d’Urville, questioning the natives, learned too that La Perouse, after losing both his vessels on the reefs of this island, had constructed a smaller boat, only to be lost a second time. Where, no one knew. But the French Government, fearing that Dumont d’Urville was not acquainted with Dillon’s movements, had sent the sloop Bayonnaise, commanded by Legoarant de Tromelin, to Vanikoro, which had been stationed on the west coast of America. The Bayonnaise cast her anchor before Vanikoro some months after the departure of the Astrolabe, but found no new document; but stated that the savages had respected the monument to La Perouse. That is the substance of what I told Captain Nemo. “So,” he said, “no one knows now where the third vessel perished that was constructed by the castaways on the island of Vanikoro?” “No one knows.” Captain Nemo said nothing, but signed to me to follow him into the large saloon. The sank several yards below the waves, and the panels were opened. Nautilus I hastened to the aperture, and under the crustations of coral, covered with fungi, syphonules, alcyons, madrepores, through myriads of charming fish—girelles, glyphisidri, pompherides, diacopes, and holocentres—I recognised certain debris that the drags had not been able to tear up—iron stirrups, anchors, cannons, bullets, capstan fittings, the stem of a ship, all objects clearly proving the wreck of some vessel, and now carpeted with living flowers. While I was looking on this desolate scene, Captain Nemo said, in a sad voice: “Commander La Perouse set out 7th December, 1785, with his vessels La Boussole and the Astrolabe. He first cast anchor at Botany Bay, visited the Friendly Isles, New Caledonia, then directed his course towards Santa Cruz, and put into Namouka, one of the Hapai group. Then his vessels struck on the unknown reefs of Vanikoro. The Boussole, which went first, ran aground on the southerly coast. The Astrolabe went to its help, and ran aground too. The first vessel was destroyed almost immediately. The second, stranded under the wind, resisted some days. The natives made the castaways welcome. They installed themselves in the island, and constructed a smaller boat with the debris of the two large ones. Some sailors stayed willingly at Vanikoro; the others, weak and ill, set out with La Perouse. They directed their course towards the Solomon Islands, and there perished, with everything, on the westerly coast of the chief island of the group, between Capes Deception and Satisfaction.” “How do you know that?” “By this, that I found on the spot where was the last wreck.” Captain Nemo showed me a tin-plate box, stamped with the French arms, and corroded by the salt water. He opened it, and I saw a bundle of papers, yellow but still readable. They were the instructions of the naval minister to Commander La Perouse, annotated in the margin in Louis XVI’s handwriting. “Ah! it is a fine death for a sailor!” said Captain Nemo, at last. “A coral tomb makes a quiet grave; and I trust that I and my comrades will find no other.” About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

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