Science/Nature Books

MACHINE TOOLS FOR BOILER-MAKERS. We give this week an engraving of a radial drilling machine designed especially for the use of boiler-makers, this machine, together with the plate bending rolls, forming portion of a plant constructed for Messrs. Beesley and Sons, boiler makers, of Barrow-in-Furness. [Illustration: IMPROVED BOILER PLATERADIAL DRILL.] This radial drill, which is a tool of substantial... more...

llan Randall stared at the man before him. "And that's why you sent for me, Milton?" he finally asked. There was a moment's silence, in which Randall's eyes moved as though uncomprehendingly from the face of Milton to those of the two men beside him. The four sat together at the end of a roughly furnished and electric-lit living-room, and in that momentary silence there came in... more...

PART I rapped again! But this time, Lance swore, they'd not get away without paying dearly for it!The story of the "Torpedo Plan" and of Capt. Lance's heroic part in America's last mighty battle with the United Slavs.Under the mesh of his gas-mask the lean lines of his jaw went taut. Tense, steely fingers flipped to the knobbed control instruments; the gleaming single-seater... more...

THEODOR BILLROTH, PROFESSOR OF SURGERY AT VIENNA. The well known surgeon, Theodor Billroth, was born on the island of Rügen in 1829. He showed great talent and liking for music, and it was the wish of his father, who was a minister, that he should cultivate this taste and become an artist; but the great masters of medicine, Johannes Mueller, Meckel v. Hemsbach, R. Wagner, Traube, and Schönlein, who... more...

THE ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK. HIS is an American bird, and has been described under various names by various authors. It is found in the lower parts of Pennsylvania, in the state of New York, and in New England, particularly in autumn, when the berries of the sour gum are ripe, on the kernels of which it eagerly feeds. As a singer it has few superiors. It frequently sings at night, and even all night,... more...

TURPENTINE AND ITS PRODUCTS. By Edward Davies, F.C.S., F.I.C. In treating this subject it is necessary to limit it within comparatively narrow bounds, for bodies of the turpentine class are exceedingly numerous and not well understood. In this definite class turpentine means the exudation from various trees of the natural order Coniferæ, consisting of a hydrocarbon, CH, and a resin. The constitution... more...

his news," said Cliff Hynes, pointing to the newspaper, "means the end of homo Americanus."Out of the Antarctic it came—a wall of viscid, grey, half-human jelly, absorbing and destroying all life that it encountered.The newspaper in question was the hour-sheet of the International Broadcast Association, just delivered by pneumatic tube at the laboratory. It was stamped 1961, Month 13, Day... more...

COCOS PYNAERTI. This is an acquisition to the dwarf growing palms, and a graceful table plant. It first appeared in the nurseries of M. Pynaert, Ghent, and is evidently a form of C. Weddelliana, having similar character, though, as shown by the accompanying illustration, it is quite distinct. The leaves are gracefully arched, the pinnules rather broader than in the type, more closely arranged, and of a... more...

NEW SPANISH ARTILLERY. The Spanish Government is now engaged in supplying some of its principal fortifications with heavy guns of the most improved construction. The defenses of Cadiz and Ceuta have been greatly strengthened in this respect. The most recent additions are some very powerful Krupp guns for the fortress of Isabel II., at Mahon.   NEW KRUPP BREECH LOADING GUNS FOR SPANISH FORTIFICATIONS.... more...

JAMES PRESCOTT JOULE. James Prescott Joule was born at Salford, on Christmas Eve of the year 1818. His father and his grandfather before him were brewers, and the business, in due course, descended to Mr. Joule and his elder brother, and by them was carried on with success till it was sold, in 1854. Mr. Joule's grandfather came from Elton, in Derbyshire, settled near Manchester, where he founded... more...