Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 9, 1903, Page 35

THE 1LLUSTRATED BIEL. PARTY AT A LAWN SOCIAL GIVEN BY THE FIRST METHODIST CHURCH OF BOUTH OMAHA N . . ~ s Christening Gift HERE is nothing llke a spoon for baby's christening present, and of all the spoons made for the pur- pose none are as good as the re- productions of old-time designs— the “‘apostle spoons,” with the head of the apostle whose day in the calendar comes nearest the day of baby's birth or christen- ing. These spoons are of heavy silver, with the figure entirely in relief forming the end of the handle. A teaspoon will cost $3.50, the next size as much again, and the largest size 5till more, but with the child's monogram in the bowl in entwined script letters it makes a pretty and useful gift. These apostle spoons date back to the middle ages, when baby's religious educa- tion began with the spoon as scon as he could eat. Shakespeare speaks of a spoon as being the acceptable christening gift in his day, but nothing more than its gen- em.l utllity is necessary to make it popu- lar today. Any kind of a spoon is good for this purpcse, and later it will form part of the household silver when the lit- tle man or woman is grown up. There are many special baby spoons be- sides those of religious significance. There is the regular pap-spoon, which is, per- haps, the most convenlent for the child's use—a short spoon, with the handle bent over and under, the end touching the bowl again, and forming a lcop, which is con- venient for baby fingers to hold. There is sure to be a pretty design of some kind in the bowl, and in the bowl of a spoon of ordinary shape baby can see his own image ~—a pretty baby's head—engraved, There are all sorts of other things given as christening gifts—pins of various kinds, little gold chains, ornaments, cups, plain mugs and so many loving cups with in- numerable handles that baby is not quite sure whether he Is a yacht race or a dis- tingulshed citizen. One of the prettiest and newest cups is light and shallow, small at the bottom and rounding out to the wide top. Engraved in these cups are various animals, and babies’ heads, and the small owner s delighted to drink his milk in order to see the pretty plcture beneath. Independent of the Sun A new light for exposing plates is the latest improvement in modern photography. Ever since the introduction of the dry plate, twenty years ago, the tendency of all effort to improve the art of plcture mak- ing has been along the line of freeing tho camera from the sun. In the old days when the sun refused to shine the photographer grew grave and, with tears in his eyes, turned much ready cash away from his door, bidding it return when the sun should shine again. The lay mind, through long training, be- lleves thoroughly today that if it is raining, if it is overcast, it “is not a good day.tor pictures.” When one thought of photography ono thought of the sun, upon whose smiling face results depended. But such strides have been made in the art that the sun has almost ceased to exist for the camera. Plates have been rendered so quick that an exposure of one one-hundredth part of a second is an everyday occurrence under a cloudy sky, while a thousandeth part of a second is not impossible in the strong sun- HMght, and results can be obtained even at night by time exposure. And there is practically no limit to what & photographer can do at night, The flash light . lamp illuminates the darkest halls, and since the Invention of the quick-printing paper, which like a sen- sitized plate spreéad out on paper, requires but an instant's exposure to daylight, elec- tric light or gaslight, a picture can be made at midnight and be on its way through the malls to its prospective owner Pefore the sun is up next day, It is no exaggeration to say that the sun mever shines on some pictures. But with all the lmprovements in light PICNIC DINNER OF TiI: DOUGLAS COUNTY W. C. 2. U,, RECENTLY HELD AT HANSCOM PARK-—Photo by a suq_ Artist, and material there had never been found a light which could be used for artistic light- ing. The hard, “stary’ effect of the flash-light is apparent to (\\'eryone‘und the exposure made under electric lights are lacking in softness and modeling. The new light has none of these defects and will enable the artistic portrait pho- tographer to work under all conditions of weather, It is the invention of Mr. Cooper Hewitt, son of tho late Abram 8. Hewitt, It is really an electric light working through the fusing agency of mercury—a form of Crookes tube. Imagine a vacum tube about one and a half inches in diameter and four inches long standing on end and surmounted by a glass ball. Inside, at the bottom, 1is about an inch of mercury. ‘Wires extend from it at the top and bot- tom. When the current is turned on im- mediately there appears in the tube a blue- white light. It spreads to the top of the tube, carrying some of the mercury with it in the form of a vapor. When It reaches the top of the glass the cooling influence of the ball comes into play, and the vapor is converted again into mercury, and falls down to the bottom of the tank, to repeat the action as long as the light is being used. The light itself which glows from the glass tube is rich in purple purity. To the eye it does not seem so bright. One can look at it steadily without experi- encing any uncomfortable results.—St Louls Republic. Hottest Spot on Earth The hottest and also the coldest spots on earth are located in the District of Colum- bia just across the Chevy Chase road from the National Zoological park. In the hot place the temperature goes up to 5,400 de- grees Fahrenheit. Water boils at 220 de- grees and mercury goes off in thin vapor before it begins to warm up there. During a real hot spell firebrick burns with the same enthusiasm as does bituminous coal in other places. In the cold spot the tem- perature dreps to 430 degrees below the Fahrenhelt zero. The temperature may go below 430, but the ingenuity of man has not devised any way of measuring a lower temperature and the people who work sbout the hot and cold places have to let it go at that. These extremes in temper- atur are only a few yards apart; in fact, they are covered by the same roof and in- WILLA SIBERT CATHER OF B8U- PERIOR—A NEBRASKA POETESS. closed by the same walls. They are to be found in the new mechanical laboratory of the national bureau of standards, of which Prof. Samuel W, Stratton is the di- rector. Tem,: 2ature has to be glven ~areful con- sideration when exact measurements are made. It affects every known substance more or less. KEven men and women are taller in summer than in winter. They don’'t know it, but they are. For this rea- son, the greatest possible range in temper- ature is used in the work of the bureau. The hottest place on earth is inside the electrical furnace, .where the extreme of heat is secured. The low temperalures are secured from liquid gases, If, scientifically speaking, a moderately low temperature is needed liquid carbon dioxide is used. If it is desired to freeze iron or glass or other substances which are immune to the temperatures to which ordinary mortals are accustomed, liguid air, which is about 200 degrees below Fahrenheit zero, Is used. But if the absolute zero or the nearest point to it known to man is wanted, then jiiquid hydrogen is used and the tempera- ture drops down about 9 degrees lower than that of liquid air, The machinery for making these low temperatures is in the laboratory. Then there are cntire fioors ia the build- ARTHUR L, SHEETZ OF OMAHA, NATIONAL SECRETARY COM~- MERCIAL TRAVELERS' ASSOCIA- TION. ings which will be held the year around at nearly the samo temperature by more ordinary means, such as the ice and re- frigerating machines, In- these rooms will be kept the delicate Instruments used by the standardizing bureau, for scientists know that marked changes are often the unmaking of otherwise the most careful calculations, Many of the metals which enter into their composition do not return to their normal size after being expanded by hecat or contracted by the lack of fit, The new building is literally honeycombed with ducts and flues to be used in govern- ing the temperature. When the bureau is working at high pressure Prof. Btratton expects that thirty tons of pure ice will bs used a day in the work and a machine of that capacity has been installed. This jce will be made from distilled water and be- cause of its purity its melting temperature will always be the same, Other conditions being the same, melling ice is a natural standard of low temperature just as bolle ing water is of high,—~Chicago Newms Sure Thing When a woman has “rats” In her head, she keeps as quiet as & mouse about i