The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 3, 1897, Page 25

. type) a quarter of an inch square at a dis- THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, JANUARY 3, 1897. 25 The Very Latest Secret of Photography How to Have Small Hands and Feet in a Picture Is No Longer a Matter of Mystery to the Public HE woman with Junoesque hands | to a process of reduction is placed a|acid bath, the outlinesof the sunlight’s ind feet can now have them apnear n a picture as if they had been ed for Titania herself. If her nose too prominent, and if her mouth be rer 100 rich and ripe, she can have | a secret. Some persons of the tricks of the pher's trade. Any way, this is cement made of it in a nd although the picture- to d the question, annot be gainsaid. The process simple one, and the principal factor n is that remarkable little revealer , the lens of a microscope. y one knows that if you turn a | cope lens wrong side up and look | it, tne resuit will be that the ob- gazed upon w than greater, just as spy-glass from ject seem:far d ther: | seem smaller rather gh a a glance throu | might have been such a nose microscopic lens in inverse ratio. Of course, the lens of the camera which takes this picture must of necessity be different from the ordinary, or the two |seem, the contrivance by which the lens lenses—that is, the camera lens and the | microscopic lens—would ‘fire,” as thé photographers call it, and the person being photographed, if he or she appeared atallon the lens, wonld bear more the appesrance of a museam freak than a normal specimen of the genus homo. The lens used in the camera is of pe- | culiar make and bas been subjected to many strange and powerful tests, st to the layman if not to the profess In any evint, it is a lens which will not conflict with the 1icroscopic lens in any way. The subject is posed and the camera is ready. P bad a nose that seemed to him or her of Brobdignagian proportions. Possibly it that of lliam Visscher boasts, which Colonel W THE -SECRET. OF near at hand. This is the secret of the | photographer. Just wio discovered the idea no one sesms to know, but it has len 1nto the great photographers’ gal- es like a thief in the night. person who1s to have his or her pic- | aken is posed before the camers in the usual fashion. Over the part whichit is desired to have appear as if submitted | dark room smile when, after the usual | she wants it in evidence from the top of | i i SMALL HANDS AND FEET if there is any microscopic lens which would bave any effect on that. So the subsidiary lens is adjusted, the camera praperly focused, the button touched, and | the rest forced into history. Now then for the developing process. Just the same as with any other plate. But what is it makes the demon of the ossibly the subject may have | art are apparent. There is the subject, | and there is the nose. The latter has been | | greatly reduced. Unfortunately, it might was held in place is in evidence. “Very good,” says the artist to himseli; “I'll | make this party look as if that was the nose of a real Vonus.” And that is ex- actly what happens. | Presently, in a day or two, the subject eturns to the studio for the proof, and smiles with keen delight at what is pre- sented for inspection. The faca has not been changed, but the nose—well, that is | different. Itisas nice looking a nose as ever was seen beneath the shadow of the Acropolis. This is one of the instances | where comparisons are odious, so far as the original nose is concerned, and the photographer wisely refrains from making any. The person who has been photo- graphed is delighted. The photographer receives liberal remuneration for the ex- | ercise of his art. Every one is satisfied. IN PHOTOGRAPHS. | The same principle applies to the photo- raph of the hands and feet or the mouth. | | Not that it is one of fasiion’s recent dic- | tates that a person’s feet of necessity | | appear in a picture, but it is gradually | becoming more and more the case that | the swell youne woman loves to be photo- graphed in a costume so charming that | beautiful as possible. | always supposed to go hand in hand, and the very charming tortoise-shell pin that graces the apex of the goiden hair that does not hang down her back to the very tip of the—in the picture—tiny shoe that peeps from beneath .the skirt which is nothing if not a la mode. Now to have the tip of that shoe which projects from beneath the skirt of dis- proportionate size would be shocking indeed. So the photographer carefully adjust bis microscopic lens and the pic- ture is tuken.. The projecting foot is ting, or at least it appears so. Then there are the hands. It unfortu- nately happens that the young woman who looks at life from the window of a §100,000 residence often has much larger hands than the girl who seils her what she chooses at the great store. Nature is very queer tbat way and the respect that Le vught to feel for the persons of the 400 is not aiways in evidence. But the photog- rapher is more diplomatic than nature. Untike that good dame, if he be a fashion- able he must of necessity please his sashionable pairons. The shopkeeper or professional man who makes his customer look her prettiest, or rather prettier than she is, is the one who best pleases, and so, when the photogra- pher with his microscopic lens makes the abnormal hand of his customer look as charming as Cinderell’s foot in the famous slipper, he has achieved a finan- cial and artistic success. No one, as stated, knows just who learned of this clever plan to make what seems to be a real photogravh a gross flat- tery of nature. It cannot be called a Yankee trick. English damesand damo- sels were, so far as known, the initial bene- ficiaries of the new art, as it is now called, and there are unkind people who say that it is one of those inventions that is con- | ceived by an English brain because of the dire necessity therefore. However, this is unkind and cannot be proved, at least not offhand in a newspaper article. However that may be, it is exceedingly fashionable in England at the present moment, and people who know say that more than half the sweil femininity which daily disports itself on Rotten Row patronizes photographers who keep micro- scope lenses in stock. Over in Paris, where no woman who thinks anything of herself admits thay either her hands or her feet are other than exactly of the right proportion, the pho- tographer’s microscopic lens has met with distinct failure. In the United States, and particularly in New York, where the fad has taken a very firm hold, society has indorsed the microscopic lens. Dame Fashion, accord- ing to our own interpretation erideas, says there is N0 reason on earth why we should not make ourselves apbpear as Art and nature are in the case of the photographer’s pictures they are certainly doing just that thing. It is claimed that every photosrapher has to slightly alter the photographs of his patrons, provided those patrons are wealthy and the photographer is fashion- able. It does not do to let us see ourselves always as others see us. Never a portrait- maker is there who does not appreciate this fact. The most popular fashionable photographer is lhe who, like the late Sarony, always shows of us the very best that nature put forward, and: then helps us out with a little art. The photographer calls the aid he gives to nature retouching. In our hearts we know better. We ail know that not one of us who has his photograph taken .would accept it from the photographer if every blemish that the truthful piate shows were allowed to remain. Nota bit of it. ‘We may say that we are not vain, and that we must have: our photograph *‘nat- ural.” Just the same, we are vain, and we wish to look unfiditural. It is these truths that have made the secret of the photographer revealed in this article so popular. Itis the catering to human vanity that makes the picture- maker a leader among his fellows. He must be an artist and one of the most notable of the notables in Vanity Fair. In London-alone there are 2500 feather- curlers, 4500 artificial-flower makers and 4500 umbrelia and walking-stick makers. llls Caused by the Vanity of Woman Recent Scientific Experiments Show the Injurious Effects of Veils Upon the Eyesight JOMAN’S vanity has been the cause of many ills, and now a N Chicazo physician is authority | for the statement that weak eyesight, head- | aches, vertigo, and sometimes nausea, are | produced by wearing of veils. Indeed, he practicaily admits that blindness is some- times brought about by the filmy nets. The physician who makes this state- | ment is Dr. Casey A. Wood. He is profes- | sor of ophthalmolo y at the Post| Graduate Medical School and ophthalmic t Memorial Hos- 1 in tne Windy y. and is regarded as one of the most eminent specialists in | the United States. This fact gives great weight to his words, and to prove his as- ion the results of a dozen tests have been brought by him to the attention of | the scient:fic world. Although much hae been written about 1l effects of veils upon the eyesight, e has been done in the way of deter- | the exact degree of interference | sion which these ornamental pro- tectors bring about. It was t.is fact that Dr. Wood to begin his investigations. The direct cause of the many headaches produced by wearing veils is found in the hat the eyes are under a continual strain by being forced to see through or around some object, and this strain, if kept up for a sufficient length of time, of course brings about more serious results. Dr. Wood says in tnis connection: *‘As in other cases of abuse, the burden rests heaviest upon the weakest eyes, and prob- ably the reason why one encounters so comparatively few instances of asthenopia girecily due to veil wearing is that the embarrassed eyes are avle to overcome the additional strain where the vision is nor- | mal, the oculo-muscular system in proper equilibrium and the general health good.” Dr. Wood, in beginning his experiments, realized that different kinds of veils pro- duced different effects on the eye, and in each of his dozen tests & person with a normal eye was used as a subject. According to authorities it must be premised that a person having a normal vision is able to distinguish with each eye separately capital biock letters (bold-faced tance of twenty feet, and to read diamond print with eass at a distance of fourteen | inches. With this as a standard the re- sults of Dr. Wood’s experiments were truly remarkable. : The first test was made with a 1ine black net veil having small blackdots two inches apart and white flowers three inches apart. There were 100 meshes to the square inch, with the dots a sixteenth of an inch in diameter, It was found that almost immediately after patting on the veil distinct vision was reduced in each eye by two-thirds. Diamond print was read with difficulty throngh the meshes. When a dot was presented before the pupil, bourgeois was the smallest type which could be de- | ciphered. The s cond test was made with a single thread chenile dot, black fishnet, a veil worn very frequently by the fair sex. There were sixteen squares and sixieen dots to the square inch. The result with this was a very slight reduction of the vision both distinct and near. When a dot was presented before the pupil the effect was the same as in the first test, only more marked. A black dotted threaded net was used for the next experiment, with dots a quar- ter of an inch in diameter and numbering nine to the square inch. “With this,” Dr. Wood says, *“the distant visual acaity is reduced from two-fifths to onme-fifth, and print to from émall pica to great primer according as tbe object is seen ‘through’ the open meshes or ‘.round’ a spot. All print is greatly blurred.” The finest plain black Brussels net was then tried with the result that the vision was reduced to three-quarters and fine print was blurred. Thne same veil with pinhead dots produced the same effect, but a test with plain black chiffon lowered the vision one-half for distance and raised the type for reading from diamond to minion. White veiling—or Brussels—net lace with flower sprays four inches apart, was used for the seventh experiment. There were sixty meshes to the square inch, and under this strain it was found that pearl type was much blurred. Perhaps the eighth test was the most satisfactory, from the view point of the veil advocate. Single thread dotted square mesh net was used. There were forty- eight meshes to the square inch, with dots one-eighth of an inch in diameter and one and a half inches apart. With this, the vision was only slightly reduced. The same veiling was used in test num- ber nine, except that the dots were four times as numerous, and the only difference was a marked reduction in vision whben a spot was be ore the pupil. Fine biack silk net similar to that used in the first test, but with a flower spray three inches apart, produced much the same reduction in vision, except that | when a dotv was placed before the pupil the sight was much more affected. A test with white doubie thread net with four black dotsand the meshesnumbering | sixteen to the square inch was found to be | most irritating to the eye. The vision was reduced to three-fifths, and minion type | was blurred. | There was only little advantage gained | from the twelith and last experiment, | which was made with the same veiling as | used in the eghth test, only with larger | dots. It was noticed that with this the | vision was markedly reduced when a dot | was before the pupil. Dr. Wood made the most careful notes during his experiments, and after a thorough comparison he reached the fol- lowing conclusions: That every description of veil affects, more or less, the ability to see distinctly, both in distance and near at hand. The most objectionable kind is the dotted veil, although the influence of this yariety for evil is more marked in some samples than others. Other things being equal, in undotted and unfigured veils vision is interfered with in direct proportion to the number of meshes per square inch. The texture of the veil plays an im- portant part in the amount and kind of eye strain produced by the veil. When the sides of the mesh are single, comnnct' thread the eye is embarrassed very much less in its effort to distinguish objects than when double threads are employed. The least objectionable veil is that with- out dots, sprays or other figures, but with large, regular meshes made with a single compact thread. The results of these experiments have aroused great interest in the ophthaluric world and caused no little' excitement | among the fair sex, Almost every sve- cialist seen on the subject agrees with Dr. Wood that the wearing of veils is most injurions to the eyes. Some of them, however, contend that a healthy eye in a healthy body can resist the strain so long astorender the danger almost inopera- oy tive, but even these gentlemen admit not one person in a hundred possesses ‘‘a healthy eye in a heaithy. body.” All agree, however, that if the eye is naturally weak, or is weakened 1n any manner, that the wearing of veils will be iollowed im- mediately oy hurtful results. It is held that hundreds of women are now suffer- ing from nervous disorders that are di- rectly traceable to their vanity, but it is only fair to presume that they are also ig- norant of their foily. It has been urged in defense of veils that they are requisite to retain the hat in place, 1o keep the hair in order, and also to protect the face from direst contact with the wind; but even if all this be admitted there seems to be no excuse for the foliy of reading through the unnatural screens, a sight often witnessed in the railroad and street cars. \ There is another phase of veil-wearing which will perhaps command more atten- tion with aview to reform. It is the effect of putting the *‘abominable obstruc- tions” on the faces of babies. All special- ists agree that this practice is almost criminal if continued after a knowledge of its ill effects. This, it may be said in- cidentally, is the reason given for the statement that there are so few ‘‘healthy eyesin healthy bodies,”” the seed of dis- ease being thus sown by thoughtless mothers, who would invariably stop the practice did they know the crime they are committing, To thread sewing-machine needles a new device is a metal guide, wich swings down from the machine arm, containing a slot through which the thread is forced, the slot being large on the front side and tapering to a small hole in front of the needle eye. ————— A new tire fastening for solid-rubber wagon tires consists of a loop bolt passed through the felly and into a recess in the tire. A rod passes lengthwise through the tin and through th- slotted bolts, which can then be tightened by nuts on the other end pressing against the felly. northernmost of Uncle Sam’s pos- sessions,lies what the Government now pro- nounces the coming gol :-mining center of the worid. Here for the first time is told by J. Edward Spurr, chief of the party sent out by the Government Geological Survey to thoroughly examine the goid fields, the | truth concerning what has hitherto been largely veiled in mystery. There is little about the country beside its mineral wealth to invite. In the short summer clouds of mosquitos descend on the yellow land like the pestilence of ancient Egypt. In the long winter the cold is so severe that mining can ouly be carried on during the sunshiny days. Yet Professor Spurr tells us in the accom- panying statement that this is a country which for placer mining will exceed Cali- fornia’s palmiest days. To gather the gold, however, and wean it from the sur- roundings in which nature has placed it much valuable machinery is necessary. 8o 1t will be seen that it is going to be a hard fight the seeker of wealth will have who tries his chances with fortune in the Yukon gold fields. Thisis what Professor Spurr says: *To the Editor: Much has been written of late concerning the possibilities of LOSE to the waters of the Yukon % River, in far-away Alaska, the 5 SCENES Alaska s a gold-producing country. As a matter of fact, the production of the present year may be roughly estimated at $3,000,000. This amount, however, comes square miles, or about a quarter as large as the United States. Ofthe mines which produce this gold some are in the bedrock while others are placer diggings. “The bedrock mines are few in number and situated on the southeast coast, which is the most accessible part of the Territory. The chief one is the Treadwell mine, near Juneau,and there arealsoimportant mines Berners Bay, at the island of Unga and other places. Most of these mines, how- ever, are in low-grade ore, and the ‘pro- duction is only made profitable by means of careful management and operations on a very large scale. “The placer mines are those which oc- cupy the most prominent place in the popular mind, since they are remote from civilization and in a country about which little is known, and which is, on account of this uncertainty, dangerouslv attractive to the average man. This gold-producing country of the interior is mostly in the vicinity of the Yukon River or of some of its immediate tributaries. The most pro- ductive districts hitherto have ‘been the Forty-mile district, which lies partly in American and partly in British territory, | and the Birch Creek district, which lies in American territory. Some gold aig- gings are also supposed to exist on Stew- art River and some gold has been shipped from the Koykuk. During the latter part of the past season diggings were also found on the Klundek and Indian rivers, near Forty-mile. “Another place concerning which there have been many vague rumors of gold, causing a stampede of many ynorepared and unfitted men, is the Cook Inlet country, which lies on the coast above the mouth of Copper River, a situation res mote ahke trom the mines near Junean and from the placer mines on the'Yukon. “In all this immense country over which placer-di-ging is carried on, or has been carried on, I esuumate that there are about 2000 miners, They are mostly in the Yukon districts. These districts lie VEILS THAT BLIND SOCIETY GIRLS. from an immense region of half a million | in a broad belt of gold-producing rocks, baving a considerable width and extend- ing in a general east and west direction for several hundred miles: Throughout this belt occurs ‘quartz veins which carry gold, but so far as yet found out the ore is of low grade, and u large proportion of the veins have been so broken by move- ments in the rocks that they cannot be followed. For this reason the minesin the bedrock cannot be worked except ona large scale with improved machinery, and even such operations are impossible until the general conditions of the coun- try, in reference to transportation and supplies, are improved. ; “Through the gold-bearing rocks the streams have cut deep gullies and can- yons, and in their beds the gold which was contained in the rocks which have been worn away is concentrated, so that from a large amount of very low-grade rock there may be formed 1n places a gravel sufficiently rich in gold to repay washing. Allthe mining which is done in t.is country, therefore, consists in the washing out of these gravels. “In each gulch prospectors are at lib- erty to stake out claims not already taken, the size of the claims being determined by vote of all the miners in each gulch, according to the richness of the gravel. IN THE NEW ALASKA GOLD FIELDS, THE The usual length of a claim is about 500 feet along the stream, and the total width of the gulch bed, which is ordinarily nar- row. When a prospector has thus staked out kis claim, it iz recorded by one of the miners, who is elected by his fellows mn each gulch for that purpose, and this se- cures him sufficient title. The miners’ laws are practically the entire govern- ment in these districts, for the remoteness prevents any systematic communication being carried on with the United States. All questions and disputes are settled by miners’ meetings, and the question in dis- pute is put to popular vote. “In prospecting, the elementary method of panning is used to discover the pres- ence of gold in gravel, but after a claim is staked and systematic work began, long sluice-boxes are built of boards, the min- ers being obliged to fell the trees them- selves and saw out the lumber with whip- saws, a very laborious kind of work. depth of gravel in the bottom of the gulches varies from a foot to twenty or thirty feet, and when it is deeper than the latter figure it cannot be worked. “The upper part of the gravels is bar- ren, and the pay dirt lies directly upon the rock beneath and is generally very thin. To get at this pay dirt all the upper gravels must be shoveled off, and this pre- liminary work often requires an entire season, even in a very small ciaim. When the gravel is deeper than a certain amount—say ten feet—the task of remov- ing it becomes formidable. In this case the pay dirt can sometimes be got at in the winter season when the gravels are frozen hard by sinking shafts through these gravels and drifting along the pay dirt. “The pay dirt thus removed 1s taken to the surface and washed out in sluices when the warm weather begins. This underground working is done by burning instead of blasting and picking. A fire is built close to the frozen gravel, and when it is sufficiently thawed it is shoveled out and removed. The stripping off of the upper gravels which have been mentioned can be done only in the comparatively short summer season when the surface “The ordinary method of getting into the Yukon country is by crossing the Chil- koot Pass from Juneau, down the Lewes and Yukon rivers to the gold districts. | The usual time for starting isin April, and a large part of the journey is made over the ice which fills the lakes and rivers at this time of the year. By this early starting a large part of the season available for working is obtained. Not every comer can fina new diggings which are profitable, and many of them are glad to work for wages. “The ordinary wages in summer are $10 per day, but sixty days is considered about the average number for summer work, so tnat the total earnings are not so great as will appear at first sight, ana the pres- pects for work during the remainder of the year are slight. The journey over the pass and down the Yukon is ove of great difficulty and harasbip, especiaily as all supplies have to be carried slong. The pass itself is difficult to cross, the lakes are subject to violent gales and there are a number of very dangerous rapids. Once in the country the newcomer finds himself no more comfortable, “During the summer season, when the days'sometimes are really bot, there are swarms of mosquitos and gnats, which have not: their equal in the worid, and which - are enough alone .to discourage most men,. I have heara stories, which I can rend{ry believe to be true, of strong and hardy men being so tormented by these pests while on the trail through the swamp to the Birch Creek diegings that they broke down and sobbed in utter despair. The method of reaching this and The /| May Become the Wonder of the World The First Official Knowledge Made Public of the Vast and Priceless Gold Fields of the Yukon other diggings consists partly in pulling a loaded boat against a swift stream, and often over rapids, and partly in trudging througn the swamp or over a rough moun- tain trail with a heavy load on one’s back. In winter the thermometer falls so low that it cannot be measured by any availa- ble means, [t is certain, however, that it reaches 70 degrees below zero. During all this .winter season very little can be done, and as darkness exists most of the time life often seems intolerable. “The actual expenses of getting into the country are considerable. Indians must be hired to do a part or the whole of the transportation of supplies across the Chilkoot Pass at very high wages, and the cost of the necessary outfit is in itself con- siderable. On arriving at the diggings provisions are often not obtainable at any priee, or if they are to be had the variety is slight. The supply is always uncertain, depending upon the iateness of the spring and of the fall. “Owing to the difficulty in bringing in supplied prices are very high at the river posts, and much higher in the diggings. The freight alone from the coast to the diggings costs as high as 50 cents a pound, 50 that when one eats potatoes at $la pound and bacon at 85 cents a pound, other things in proportion, the cost of liv- FIRST EVER PUBLISHED. ing is enormous, and even employment at $10 per day for sixty days out of the year will not enable a man to grow rich very rapidly. Even employment for wages is scarce, there being several applicants for every job. Owing to the high prices for supplies, no claim that does not pay at least $10 a day to each man working can be worked except at a loss. Many compe- tent men who engage in mining here and work faithfully experience failure and are unable to earn enough to huy provi- sions. “In such a situation it is very difficult to make one's way out of the country, for the journey up the river along the usual route requires upward of thirty days' hard work, and provisions must be bought for the trip. The trip down the riverand back to civilization by steamer is very ex- pensive, and of late years the number seeking to get out in that way hasex- ceeded the carrying capacity of the few steamers. Last year fully 150 men who wished and intended to leave the country by steamer were unable to do so, and are still there. “Under the conditions which now exist, there are quite enough in the Yukon dis- trict already, and the object of this article is to discourage peovle from rushing there without due consideration. Probably 99 out of every 100 men are unfitted by nature for such a life as Yukon mining necessitates, and had much better never make the attempt. The hundredth man must be a miner and frontiersmah by nature, strong and patient, a nard worker, and a lover of a secluded life. Even such 2 man will very likely fail on account of the farge element of chance, and the most successful miner obtains only a few thou- sand dollars in profit aiter a number of years’ patient work. “Any great increase in the number of men going into the Yukon district would pe disastrous, on account of the strict limits of the food supply and facilities for transportation. The resuit would be famine, disorder and failure. Several years ago this actually happened, when all the Forty-mile miners were without food and were obliged to travel down the Yukon over the ice to St. Michaels in the dead of winter, a terrible journey of nearly 2000 miles. At that time there were only a few men in the country, but if the num- ber nad been very much iarger, even this rasource would have been impossible. “My general advice to the average man intending to go to the Yukon gold dis- trict is—to stay out. Many men go there every year and suffer hardship, ‘ailure, loss of capital, and sometimes health. If any one undertakes the trip he should take with him enough supplies to last as long as he intends to stay—one year, two years, or whatever amount. He should have money enough to last him into the country and out again, if necessary, and should start early enough in the season to enable him to return up the river it he ntends to come out the same year, for the facilities for transportation by steamer are likely to be entirely inadequate. “J. EDWARD SPURR, . “United States Geological Survey.” The accompanying illustrations, which are drawn from photographs taken by members of Mr, Spurr’s party, show ex- actly what sort of country and people one sees in that deso'ate region where Mammon, 1n chitl and hideous garb, holas sway overall. It is more than probabie that the next five years will see an army of adventurers ana a host of legitimate miners brave the dangers and discom!orts of this locality, which, unlike California, will- never be made to blossom like the rose, though it may yield the riches of the Indies. Over £1,300,000 worth of pickles and sauces are exported from England every year.