The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 21, 1897, Page 27

Ui S — JBagor\ets Bristle From lIts Front--A Marvel- ous Motor Gycle That Seems Gapable of Annihilating y vented by a French genius which \Y promises to prove one of the most s been crested fora number of Con.petent military autho! 3 ve given the machine and the idea | of the inventor careful consideration, de- | clare that a company of soldiers mounted | on these cycles could inflict more damage upon the enemy, provided the conflict did | Dot oceur in a mountainous country, than four companies of infan ed in d accomp. res t 8 n France tk Minister of War, together witha military commission made up of the most thorovghly posted offi of t my of | France, is seriously i the | new invention the sanction of the Govern- | mpanies of n ent and equipp 3 the army with the machi No definite | decision in the matter is likely to be an- | nounced for several weeks, for the most careful study is being made of the cycle and the 1deas set forth by the inventor re- | garding what it can accomplish. It is| hinted ver, that all things point to | the dec being of afavorable nature, | and the adoption of the machine as a reg- | ular feature of the French army may | refore be considered more than prob- | here have been many experiments with the bicycle in the armies of Europe, | and the military authorities of no nation have taken more interest in the machine and its development than those of France. Whil ) it is only within the past year that | fixed effort bas been made in the | ted States army to test the value of | le as a method for conveying a | from place to place, both in com- pany form and as a dispatch-bearer, our Fre: compatriots have been experi: entimg with the wheel from a military nd point ior more than five years. Itis | 1 prising, then, that this somewhat startling addition to the merits of the | waeel that genius has made should be the | emanation of a French mind. | Now as to the motor cycle itself. It is, | a8 the accompanying illustration shows, in form and principle like unto the motor | cle with which we are all more or less There are, however, one or two | nportant exceptions, the most notable of | ®se, 5o far as the operation of the ma- | chine is concerned, being that the rider | steers the cycle with his feet, the handle bar, or 1ather the substitute for if, being | adapted to a totally different pur- pose. The motor, the impelling force of tire cycle, 1s located j forward of the rear wheel and is of cient size to in- re a satisfactory rate of speed. The small tank which carries the fuel which sipplies the motor contains an amp quantity to guarantee at least a day's journey without replenishing. The in- r claims that the machine will ea: make, over a fairly rough country, from | 74 MOTOR bicvcle has just been in-‘ a Small Army cept for purely transportation purposes, and that, therefore, they were in a great measure an incumbrance to an army in the field. In tims of battle, it was alleged, they were of no value whatever. vention of this Frenchman seems to re- move this objection entirely. bas lifted the wheel out of the rut of op- probriam into which it had fallen and | - placed it among the most effective sources | of carnage that is at the modern military | commander's beck and call. come, or untl there had been a war be- tweea civilized nations to give proof, the | use of the wheel for transporting troops would have been a bone of contention over which military officers would have argued incessantly. cycle has solved the problem. 1t might be said by quibblers that the | new cycle is not up to date because the | motive power is gasoline ragher than elec- | This is unfair, because electricity | trici for such use—for bicycles or motor cycles— is only in the experimental stage. While itis true that there is sufficient power te be obtained by electricity to drive the motor cycle or any other machine, there confronts one the old ‘probiem of the storage battery. This latter has never proved successful for - continued pro- pulsion. ba run tainty. on a basis of absolute cer- This is why, M. Francois L’Her- by him. The method of conveying an amount of | gasoline sufficient to supply the various machines is as thoroughly modern as the machines themselves. It isa tank, very much like those with which we are all amiliar, mounted upon a horseless wagon, which is also drived by a gasoline motor. It is the intention to recharge the motor cycles each day, as it has been estimated that the ordinary tank which forms part of the machine sufficient amount of gasoline to supply the motor for one day’s travel, the highest | estimated rate of speed being the basis of calcalation. Only one of the warlike motor cycles | has been construcied as yet. If M. L'Hereaux's invention is adopted, it will be manufactured by the French Govern- ment only. A Queen’s Guests. Concerning Queen V ment of “dine and slee at Wind- sor Castle this winter, a London corre- spondent of 8a exchange writes: These visitors, who are invited b; tue household, arrive about 6 o’clock in the evening, and they assemble in the rridor (every one in full dress) at 8:30, en the lord in waiting settles the order 1 which the company are to go in to ctoria’s entertain- Toe in- | In fact it | The bicycle itsell has won its way to | | permanent farue and usage asa vehicle for | the convevance of a dispatch-bearer. It is no exaggeralion to say that for years to | As it is, the motor | The motor cycle for war must | | eaux, the inventor, says gasoline was used | contains just about a | ie master of | THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 1897. 27 =) T m IDEAL BUILDING OF THE FRENCH ARTIST. ROF. A. E. VERRILL, whose la- bors with the United States AN™ Fish Commission have made his |name familiar to all those who are interested in piscatorial investigation, announces the remarkable fact that fish are not the same color at night as during the day. Sometimes, he says, fish can | change color at will. | _ These statements, coming from a man of | Professor Verrill’s ability ani repu- tation, are of the most absorb- ing interest to the public in gen- eral, for they reveal accomplish- ments that few if any laymen knew fish possessed. The scientist’s investigations were principally conducted at night by the aid of electric light, his observations being contined to the inhabitants of an aquarium, comprising a collection which HOW THE NEW GASOLIN % 7 4 . /2 K7 :m. = WAR WHEELS WOULD APPEAR IN ACTION. twelve to filteen miles an hour, and be- lieves that with good roads, unimpeded, it | wonld do even better than this. Perhaps the most notable feature of the | cycle is the row of bayonets attached to a transverse bar, which is supported by & heavy steel rod that runs forward from the frame of the machine. As the ilius- | tration- shows, the bayonets extend for- ward sufficiently to clear the machine en- rely, and to be without an impediment to penetrate whatever the rider may charge at. In piace of the handle-bars is a curved gun-rest, which may be moved upward to suit the desire of the rider. Every rider is supposed to be armed with a repeating rifle, and it will be under- stood that from the fact that he can steer ¢ machine with his feet, he is left en- tirely free to use the weapon—as unin- cumbered as he would be if he were standing on the ground, like the ordinary infantryman of to-day. Such a combination as this, the French officers argue, would be almost irresisi- ible. A charge by a company mounted | on these cycles would practically be one | of those most dreaded events in a battle, bayonet conflict and a heavy fire trom flemen combined. Every wheelman knows -how expert a rider of a motor | cycie can become in maintaining the equilibrium of his machine against both ‘ordinary and extraordinary shock. It would take more than mere contact with a movable body to upset a rider of a motor cycle. - It has been a favorite argnment of the “opponents of the bicycle for army use that the machine could never be utilized ex~ dinner. The Queen enters from her own apariments exactly at 8:45, with the Princesses-and the lady in waiting, and the party at gnce proceeds to dinner in the oak room, which adjoins the corridor. The conversation at the banquet is not lively, her Majesty strictly confining her remarks to general subjects, such as art, literature, music and scenery. Any allu- sion to political or personal topics.is abe solutely prohibited. After dinner the Queen and Iadies retire to one of the drawing-rooms (there are three—the white, the green and the red), which open out of the corridor, where they are speedily joined by the men of the party. Formerly the Queen went round the sircle, saying a few simple and pleasant things to each person, but now her Majesty does not leavo her seat, and the guests are taken up to her in fours by the lady-in-waiting and the lord-in-wait. ing, after which she retires to her rooms with the Princesses (if any are present), ana the company finish the evening with music and whist. The guests’ apartments are very comfortable, with large baths and capital fires. Smoking is strictly for- bidden except in the smoking-room, which is far removed from the Queen’s own part of the castle. In the morning 2uests breakfast either in their own rooms or with the household-in-waiting, after which they take their departure, ——————— In Brazil, at the funeral of an unmar- ried woman, the mourning color is scar- let. The coffin, the hearse, the trappings of the horses and the livery of the driver are all scarlet. included a Jarge variety of those fish with which we are familiar, all of us, be- | sides a number of strange creatures not at | all unusual so far as their existence is con- | cerned, but infrequent candidates for pub- | lic attention. | The time of observation was generally between the hours of midnighiand 2. m., and Professor Verrill wasalwaysalone. The lights were so arranged that while suffi- clently bright to enable the investigator 1o see clearly through the water in the tank, enabling him todistinguish without aifficulty exactly what the fish looked like, it was not sufficiently bright to cause the fish to swim aboutr. It was the pro- | fessor's desire to observe the fish while as quiet as possible, the quieter the better. ‘The conditions mentioned were the only ones by which this could be accomplished. A sudden jar of the floor or an unex- pected movement of any kind would set the finny prisoners in motion, so keen is their sense of sound, so alert are they to detect the presence of even the slightest thing that may mean danger. However, | Professor Verrill succeeded in observing the appearance of many fish while asleep, for not only did he thus discover curious color changes, but learned that they slum- bered in the strangest attitudes. Thoroughly familiar With the appear- anceof the fish in the daytime it was very easy for Professor Verrill to detect the changes that bad transpired during the time which had elapsed since daylight had faded away. Particularly noticeable was the change in the color and markings of the flounders. These fish, as all anglers know, lie upon ths bed of the ocean, and nature has kindly colored them so that it § is exceedingly difficult todistinguish them from the ground.on which they lie. There are several of the large fish that consider { flounders a particular dainty and if 1t | were not for the fact that the flounder and the ocean's bed are about the same color | | it is more than likely that tie flounder | would be an exceedingly rare fish. The specimens of this variety of fish in the aquarium were noticed by Professor Verrill to have become spotted and mot- | tled in what seemed tc be dark pigment, | the strong resemblance to the ground | color was lost entirely, and their markings | stood out as vividly almost as do those of | | the fresh-water perch. It wasalso noticed | | that several species of minnows which in | | the daytime seemed to be merely of a | dark aimost blackish color, were by night | marked by either longitudinal or trans- verse bands of a much deeper color than that which characterized the tiny fish by daylight. This statement also holds good of the kingfish, whose dark stripes averse it obliquely. Then there was the black sea bass and that peculiar-looking fish known as the sea robin, which ex- hibited changes very like unto those men- tioned. It was also noticed that a number of specimens of trout that were fairly light colored in the daytime grew to be | almost black at night. It must be thoroughly understood that | the light given by the electricity did not | |in any way cause the colors of the fish to | change. Professor Verriil had this light | s0 shine as to'produce the effect, so far as | | accurately distinguishing the colors is concerned, as if he had been gazing at the aquarium in broad daylizht. If this were ot vouched for by 50 thoroughly relinble an autkority as the investigatotr the cyni- cal zeologist would be very apt to question the statement. Coming from Professor | Verrill, however, as these facts do, they | are beyond question. Other fish than those mentioned show finitely more remarkable changes. Take the scup, or, as it is often termed, the porgy. This fish is usually of a silvery | color, bright and teeming with delicately | iridescent tints. It reminds one of the beautifully cofored fish one sees in the tropical streams and in the ocean off cer- tain portions of the South American con- tinent and the islands that dot the sea in the vicinity of the torrid zone. Itis, in fact, one of the mos% beautiful fish that swim in northern waters, Yet, when it sieeps, in the nighttime, it becomes of a | dull bronze brown color, and is marked by | transverse black bands. Itis difficult to imagine a greater change in appearance. So far as color is concerned one woula not know it was the same fish at all. In connection with this fact it was strange in the extreme to observe the awakening of this fish and its results, To test this fact Professor Verritl suddenly turned on the light with greater force. In the twinkling of an eye the porgy re- sumed its daylight appearance. The vower to make this change in color is really a very great protection to the porgy, which rests a great share of the time in the eel grass and seaweed that cover portions of the ocean’s bed. Natur- rally there is a difference in the appear- ance 1n tbis growth of nature during the day and at night, and the porgy changes color accoidingiy. | Another fish whose color pattern | changes at night very greatly is that dis- | disagreeable-iooking creature known as the filefish. Under ordinary circum- stances it is of blackish color, spotted with brown and olive-green patches. Both fins and tail are darker than the body. When the file sleeps it turns almost white in color, although fins and tail become black as jet. The file sleeps on the bed of the ocean, leaning up against something, for all the world like the man without a home. Inasmuch aa the file lives among the rocks and weeds, its changeable color enables it to frequently be practically invisible. President Cleveland’s favorite catch, the tautog, is dark on oue side and light colored on the other. When it goes to sleep on its s de, for it slumbers lying as a fish on a marble slab in the market, the color of the exposed side becomes so dark as to make it practically undistinguish- able from the ground on which it is sleep- ing. The squid, the monster that is dreadea and hatedealike by the real and the amatear fisherman, sleeps resting | esting facts. on the tip of its tail and the basic portion of those deadly arms that wind about its victim and drag him to one of the most frightful of deaths. In color the squid is darker when asleep and its ugly spots show with remarkable distinctness. Its peculiar position when sleeping is evi- FISH, LIKE CHAMELEONS, CHANGE COLOR. Singular Discovery Regarding the Finny Jribe—By the Fierce Glare of an Electric Light Professor Verrill Views a Sight Strange to Human Eyes dently to give the monster breathing room, for its head and the anterior por- tion of its body are raised from the ground. The accompanying illustration shows the method whick Professor Verrill adopted to take the observations which have resulted in securing so many inter- These investigations de- veloped more strongly than most of us realize how thoroughly nature strives to protect the smaller fish from the depre- dations of their big and cannibalistic brethren. In every instance where those changes of color were noted it was ascer- tained that they were for the purpose of enabling the fish to render itself almost invisible to even the keen-eyed big brother who sought him for an evening, noonday or morning meal. Each fish has its peculiar haunts. Rarely are they just alike. Thatis why it is that the color- ings of the fish differ so greatly. Even at the bottom of the sea there is considerable difference between night and day. What may be bright and sparkling at certain periods during the twenty-four hours undergoes a considerable change at another time. The fish that lingeramong certain kinds of growth at the ocean's bottom, the bottom of the lake or river would be easily discernible oftentimes at night if natare had not so made them that they could change color with their sur- roundings. It all seems very wonderful, and yet the more one investigates the more he sees that not & single change takes place without a cogent reason there- for. In discussing the facts which his in- vestigations brought to his attention, Professor Verrill stated that he consid- ered he had but made a beginning and that he hoped to induce other naturalists and zoologists to continue the study he bad just inaugurated. It will thus be seen that as eminent authority as there Is believes that there is a mine of informa- tion in this line of investigation, that wonders of which even science has not dreamed may be revealed by painstaking experiment and careful study. The whole line of discovery goes to show that Dame Nature has surprises for the world every day and that though it should exist in- terminab'e centuries the surprises would be equally numerous, It is very likely, scientists who are par- ticularly interested in this line of investi- gation say, that Professor Verrill’s advice about continuation of experiments will be favorably zonsidered by the United States Government. I Know My Love I;Tmc. Iknow my love is true, And, oh, the day is fair! The sky is clear and blue, The flowers are rich of hue, The air I breathe is I have no grief or care For my own love is true, And, oh, the day is fairl My love is false, I find, And, on, the dey is dark; Blows sadly down the wind, While sorrow holds my mind; 1do not hear the lerk, For quenched s life’s dear s, My love is false, I find, And, ob, the day is dark! ark— For love doth make the day Or dark or doubly bright; Her beams along the way Dispel the gloom and gray. She lives and all s bright, She dies end life is night; For love doth make the day, Or dark or doubly bright. PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAB, in Lyrics Life. of Lowly A Relic Returned. The Louisburg cross, captured at the siege of Louisburg, in colonial times, stored for a generation or two in the cellar of the Harvard Library, set up finally outside of that building, and stolen some- what more than a year ago, to the scan- dal of the university, has been re- turned. It was found on January 5 hanging to the doorknob of the li- brary, and with it a note, of which at this writing the authorities have not disclosed the purport. The loss of the cross was greatly lamented, and its recovery will excite proportionate enthusiasm, albeit 1t is very much what might have been ex- pected, since the cross has no intrinsic value and must have been stolen for senti- mental reasons or temporary use.—Har- per's Weekly. e —————— The finest needles are about 1inch in length. A needle for sewing with coarse thread is from 1}4 to 2 inches in length, . A BUILDING FOR THE FAIR SEX The Most Striking Structure Ever Planned for Woman—It Wil a Gomposite HAT is probably the most strik- 5 ing plan for a building whicn | SM/MCN has been conceived in many vears has just been submitted to the com- mission of the Exposition Universelle at Paris. The architect proposes that the woman’s building of the great fair shall be constructed in the form of a woman's head and neck, the model therefor being a photograph taken from a composite arrangement made up from photographs of the most beautiful women obtainable. JThe exterior of the statue-building will, if it is constructed, certainly be so unique as to pract: excel in the matter of attracting attention all other arebitectural features of the exposition. Tue plansof the architect are in brief as foliows: The statue will in no sense be so constructed | as to have the appearance of just a plain, every-day wooden building in strange | ery effort will be bent toward | the effect of a living head, one which seems almost to breathe. Beneath the layer of thin wood upon which the paint | covering the face will be placed it is the intention to arrange a number of very | powerful electric lights. The wood referred to will be of some variety which 1s not opaque and the electric lights of sufficient force to send through the wood and paint a soit glow. With this arrangement it is belieyed the face will shine at night, not in a glaring way, butin a degree that will be both beautiful and picturesque. The eyes will be particularly striking at night,-as the pupils are to consist of powerful electric | arclights. The hair of the statue will be made as life-like as possible. In color it will be of a dark brown shade and will | consist of sirands of rope as fine as can be used which will stand exposure to the weather. Crowning this hair will be a wreath, to be constructed in the form of that very familiar adornment of the God- dess of Liberty. | | | bead is divided into two sections. Be Modeled After Photograph classics of the culinary art shall be as familiar as the outer atmosphere. There will be competent persons on hand to ex- plain to the visitors anything they may wish to know regarding the cooking and appliances. Itisintended that the prices of this restaurant shall be very moderate indeed. And the very non-European cus- tom will prevail of forbidding tips to the waitresses, for, of course, no one wili be employed about the building who belongs to the sterner sexif itis possible to avoid it. All these are rather unusual things for an architect to consider, but not only has M. Joseph Germain planned the structure, but so enthusiastic is he over his idea that he has includd in his documents submit~ ted to the French Commission all the de- tails quoted here. Of course there will be plenty of light and air in this strangest of structures, but the windows are to be of peculiar shape and so constructed as to leave unmarrea the contour of the face and in no way de- tract from the general appearance of the statue. In fact, the architect claims that every detail will be attended to so care- fully that the usual appearance of haste, which has marred so many structures, will be entirely absent here. He believes that the artistic effect will be so thor- oughly maintained that the whole struc- ture will be the wonder of the world and the delight of the entire profession of artists, ‘I'he promenade arranged on the figure is perhaps its most unique feature, in a way. The wreath that rests with seeming lightness upon the crown of the statue's These sections are about thirty or thirty-five feet apart and the intervening space consti- tutes the promenade. The entrance to this is from the restaurant, and openings will be made through the material which composes the wreath on each side that The entrance to the statue will be at the base of the neck, and its height sufficient to warrant the arrangement in the order of a four-story bailding. On the first floor it is intended the receptioa-rooms shall be located. These are to be elaborately deco- rated with designs, in which women are to be the central figures. It is intended they shall be selected from the works sub- mitted by the very best artists who can be induced to enter into competition 1or the same. In class decoration of this na- ture it has been the custom in the past to accept designs which are practically an- cient subjects utilized in as effective man-. ner as possible, the ancient classical fig-| ures being preferred. It is intended in this instance, however, that a design, in | order to be worthy of acceptance or even consideration, must be entireiy original and altogether unlike the stereotyped | forms that have become so familiar to all | to whom art and artists are not strangers. will admit of full advantage of the view being taken. No refreshments will be sold here, as anything of that sort can be ob- tained in the restaurant. The chief difficulty in carrying out the ideas suggested by the artist is in obtain- ing photographs of the beauties of all na- tions as he desires. From the best of these he* would have taken a composite photograph. It is his intention, should his idea receive official approval, to at once send requests to the authorities in the larger cities of different countries, #sking them to co-operate with the expo- sition officials in securing pictures of the most beautiful women known in the vi- cinity of the residence of the person ad- dressed. When all photographs desired are received, it is the idea of M. Germaine to nave a committee of artists appointed —a beauty committee—who shall decide from which pictures the comjposite pboto- | graph used as the statue’s model shall be Not only will the walls of the reception- rooms be decorated in this manner, but | the ceiling given as careful attention. In | every instance the design will not only be | appropriate to the building, but to the | room fn which it isused. Infact, every | made up. This committee will have one month in which to inspect the counter- feit presentments of beauty, and make its decision. The architect declares that the result cannot fail to be pleasing in the ex- treme. The photographs thus secured are to be AR PTG ‘. The Strange Denizens of the Tank U 28 % nderwent a Complete Transformation. effort will be made to preserve throughout the structure the most absolute harmony in furnishing, coloring and decoration, at the same time avoiding anything like a similarity or sameness that would tire the eye rather than refresh, The second story will be mostly taken up by a large hall, in which lectures will be delivered by various feminine celebri- ties, meetings of the different societies of women that may gather in Paris and vari- ous events of that sort take place. On this same flocr also will be the offices of the Woman’s Commission that is in charge of the building. The third story will consist of retiring rooms for women visitors to the exposi- tion, who wish to rest from their journey- ing about. There will be two large rooms filled with couches and easy chairs, and these will be open to the use of any and ali ladies who may visit the exposition. In addition to this, it is intended that there shall be a number of bedrooms, plainly but very comfortably furnished, each with a bath aitached, supplied with hot and cold water. The rooms will not be large, but of sufficient size to avoia anything like the stuffy effect that is gen- erally the principal feature of a small room. These rooms#vill be given tothe use of those who pay therefor a nominal fee, just enough to cover the cost of keep- ing them in order. They will be let to no one for any length of time, as it is not the intention to have lodgings in the building. On the Jourth floor will be situated the restaurant and kitchen, which, it is pro- posed, shall be models. The kitchen will be open to inspection of visitors, and it is the intention (o have in use therein the most modern appliances for cooking and chefs to whom the A B C’s and the higher by no means permitted to waste their loveliness in unappreciated seclusion, but utilized in adding to tle beauty of the surroundings in the reception-rooms on the first- floor. Certain it is that if the plan were carried out it would likely re- sult in a -collection such as no one ever saw before. The whole idea is declared by the expo- sition authorities fo be the most unique thus far submitted. Whether it will be adopted or rejected as_too chimerical no one seems to know. It is, however, being carefully considered They Are Gomrades. Two inseparable comrades, both mem- bors of the Loyal Legion, are General H. 8. Huidekoper and State Senator Francis A. Osbourn. Both are veterans of the Civil War, in which unpleasantness each lost an arm. But while General Huidekoper is minus his right arm, Senator Osbourn mourns the loss of his left. For years it has been the practice of the two veterans to make one pair of gloves do for botb. Whenever the general purchasad & pew pair he invariably sent the right glove to the Senator, and when the Senator invested the general would get the left glove. Up to last Monday the Senator hadn’t received a glove. from the general for about a year, and had con- cluded that his old friend was getting par- simonious, when a package was handed to him in his seat at Harrisburg, On open- ing the bundle the Senator was overjoyed to find a right-hand glove.—Philadelphia Record. —_———— The flying squirrel is 6 inches in length, His *'wings” are merely thin membranes connecting the fore and hind legs,