Science/Nature Books

here was no use hiding from the truth. Somebody had blundered—a fatal blunder—and they were going to pay for it! Mark Forepaugh kicked the pile of hydrogen cylinders. Only a moment ago he had broken the seals—the mendacious seals that certified to the world that the flasks were fully charged. And the flasks were empty! The supply of this precious power gas, which in an emergency should have been... more...

DATES AND THE DATE PALM. Even those whose knowledge of the customs of the Orient extends no further than a recollection of the contents of that time-honored story book, the "Arabian Nights," are doubtless aware that, since time immemorial, the date has been the chief food staple of the desert-dwellers of the East. The "handful of dates and gourd of water" form the typical meal and daily... more...

GUSTAVE TROUVÉ. The accompanying portrait of M. Gustave Trouvé is taken from a small volume devoted to an account of his labors recently published by M. Georges Dary. M. Trouvé, who may be said to have had no ancestors from an electric point of view, was born in 1839 in the little village of Haye-Descartes. He was sent by his parents to the College of Chinon, whence he entered the École des Arts et... 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...

There Comes a New WorldMysterious, dark, out of the unknown deep comes a new satellite to lure three courageous Earthlings on to strange adventures.he one hundred and fifty-ninth floor of the great Transportation Building allowed one standing at a window to look down upon the roofs of the countless buildings that were New York. Flat-decked, all of them; busy places of hangars and machine shops and... more...

EMPEROR WILLIAM II. OF GERMANY. Since William II. of Germany ascended the throne as German Emperor and King of Prussia, on June 15, 1888, the eyes of Europe have been fixed on him. He has always been rather an unknown quantity, and he is regarded by the powers as an enfant terrible. The press of the world delights in showing up his weak points, and the "war lord" undoubtedly has them, but, at... more...

IRON PILE PLANKS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF FOUNDATIONS UNDER WATER. The annexed engravings illustrate a method of constructing subaqueous foundations by the use of iron pile planks. These latter, by reason of their peculiar form, present a great resistance, not only to the vertical blow of the pile driver (as it is indispensable that they should), but also to horizontal pressure when excavating is being... more...

With Discussion by Messrs. William Arthur Payne, and Eugene Klapp. A private yacht pier, built near Glen Cove, Long Island, has brought out a few points which may be of interest. It is an example of a small engineering structure, which, though of no great moment in itself, illustrates the adoption of means to an end that may be capable of very great extension. The problem, as submitted to the writer,... more...

STEAM ENGINE VALVES. By THOMAS HAWLEY. In considering the slide valve in its simple form with or without lap, we find there are certain limitations to its use as a valve that would give the best results. The limitation of most importance is that its construction will not allow of the proper cut off to obtain all the benefits of expansion without hindering the perfect action of the valve in other... more...