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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 3, 1909)
THE OMAHA SUNDAY DEE: JAXTTARY 3, 1900. 9 Transmississippi Poultry Show an Educational Factor of Much Value , mh mmmi i . mm -1 , . .." . r : .. ... .. . s. . .. .jf. . ' ... . ..' r ' ' , -1 v v 1 - . '.,'. ) ; , t v ' ...:-v ';';m',.; ,v" X f . , . A r. ; , . v ' 1 . V i a I) V i..y 6 '- R. A. NEWLYN. LANDSDOWNE, PA., JUDGE OF KKNNEX. SHOW. ... , ..... - J. . ..... . ..... ...... y .'Jsl .!.!. . .. 4 , - : i . - .... ? , ... , v . ; . (- ,.'.. . . 1 'V-'. v r .V:- f t:; v. E. B. DAT, Fremont, Prentdrat Trarnmltwlsalppl Poultry and Pet Stock association. B. A. NEWLYN, Judge of Kenncli. ' ' " I ' " ? . '. " . , . i,., . . . C. P. MTLASKEY OF PAPILUON AND BTENOO R APHER JUDGING POULTRY. YOUNG woman with enough plu- l ninge in ner nai 10 nave eqmp yCk I ped any ordinary barnyard fowl I wan Affpntlnr to take an Intelli gent Interest In tho various birds and chickens on display at the TransmUslsslppI Poultry show. "How," she nsked her companion, the fanciest of fanciers, "How are birds Judged? I like this rooster which did not get any prize at all, much better than that old thing there which has a blue ribbon, and besldts I know the owner of the first one and he said It was a very superior rooster." "Did he call It a rooster T' asked her companion. "He did," snapped the girl, and I think he Is a gocd deal more of a gentleman than you are." "Answering your question about Judging birds," said the man changing the subject abruptly. "You first take the fowl from the coop and after examining the head and the watths do you know what wattles are? you then turn it to an angle of 180 degrees from the horizon and peer closely at the breast. Next restore it to an angle of ninety degrees and scan the lobes, legs and ears. After rating the bird on these points and the body, neck, comb, eyes and color of plumage, you do a little mental arithmetic and announce the result. Da I make myself clear?" "It is clear," said the girl, " that you are trying to be funny and falling down hard." A poultry show is like every other ex hibition in the world In one respect. There assemble many who know as little of prize poultry as they do of chiaroscuro and the amount of "fourflushlng" at the poul try show Is almost as great as at an art exhibition. On the other hand the number of men and women who know something of chickens and can at least distinguish between a Plymouth Rock and a Brown Leghorn without looking at the entry slip, Is surprising until one remembers first that a show of this kind naturally attracts first those who have knowledge of and are acquainted with this sort of thing, as well as the fact that of a western city's popu lation a large proportion of the men and women came from the farm and were at least accustomed to collect eggs In Juvenile days. How true this last statement Is of a divergence from a strictly poultry theme is permitted was Illustrated at a recently held a banquet In this city. There were fifty-three men present averaging In age about 30 years; of these only seven ad mitted to having been born in Omaha and of tho other forty-six, thirty-nine had passed their earliest years upon a farm. Thus a poultry show like a oorn expo sition comes closer home the early home than would be thought at first glance. For a few a poultry show Is In a business way their only home. There are a number of men who do nothing else for a liveli hood than compete for premiums offered by poultry associations. They are not altogether welcome competitors for they discourage by their presence lens special ized exhibitors over whom they have the manifest advantage of experience and they defeat the real purpose of exhibitions ' which Is to help the poultry breeding science. It Is difficult, though, to devise rules which will not bar out desired en trants along with these professionals. The purpose of an exhibition like the Transmississippi Is in fact as truly educa tional as that of the National Corti show, and while less attention has, of course, been attracted to the first named, it has In a modest way been as helpful to chicken breeders as the greater show was to corn and oats breeders. Moreover, the great growth which the Transmisslppl has ex perienced goes to show that its full scope is not yet reached and that Us possibili ties are vast An attentive crowd was gathered around a small grating near the stands of the Coronation kennels. The crossbars were wide enough apart to permit a fox terrier pup to pass through with ease, and Charles Benson was trying to Induce the dog to bring through with him a crotched stick. He had given it to the puppy so that the V which the crook formed pointed In the opposite direction to which the dog ad vanced. The result was that the crook caught on a crossbar every time the dog tried to get through, he holding the stick by the forward end. Again and again the dog tried and failed. Benson was experimenting to see If the young canine could focus out the diffi culty. If the dog had caught the stick by the other end his progress would have been unobstructed. To help matters along, Benson took the stick away from him and threw it down again. The puppy caught it by the middle and with the stick at right angles to his line of direction tried to push through. This was, of course, Impossible. Half a dozen times the stick was thrown and as often the dog did nothing but grab at It the first way he could catch It and try to get through. Of studying the problem and discriminating the knotty point, there was absolutely nothing doing. Finally, by what was plainly sheer acci dent, the dog caught It by the right end and went through In triumph. A spectator who had Just come up, and who had not seen the failures, remarked: "Clever dog. He knew the right end to take It by." "It was pure luck," said Benson. "The dog did not even show the usual Intelli gence with which he is equipped. Your remark goes to show that before passing Judgment upon a matter of animal psy chology one should be In possession of all the facts. "As a matter of fact, there Is more loose talk about animal psychology than any thing else I know of. People talk at ' random about 'Instinct and 'reasoning and do not know clearly what they mean by the terms. Of course, animals have Intelli gence some of them a marvelous amount. Of acts of pure reason not even many men are often guilty, and animals not at all. The statement of the greatest living psychologist in the world Is about the best and shortest. Wundt declared: 'Few men and no animals reason.' " "Well, let me tell you about a dog my uncle owned," began one of the spectators, who looked ready to combat Benson's state ment. "This dog" "Walt a minute." said Benson. "I want you to tell me what the dog actually did and not what your uncle Inferred was pass ing in his mind, and which he told you, and to which you added a little yourself, un consciously." The man never did tell his tale, for half a dozen other spectators all began at once to narrate how their grandmothers' pet cats used to tell the time and read the ther mometer, or how "my dog used to feel ".!. "-Jl " """" "' " . i.nM..Mmiii..T,...i. I , t s . ' i ' ' ' , v- f V: : V: f ' X ) i - - vV 4 , 1 - JP- 1 : 1 : ONE TYPE OF ROOSTER, i ' j - .... .. i, ....aWA..- PRIDE OF THE BARNYARD. 1 - A FINE FIGHTING COCK. remorse when I whipped htm, he was so human,' and a dozen other narratives. "One ts a chump to try to combat dearly cherished views like these," reflected Ben son. "Nothing on earth could shake their views, and certainly not the truth. The truth in a matter of this kind is not thrill ing enough to satisfy. They want to be lieve that animal mentality is almost equal to the human mind and they can't be stopped thinking so." Children have gathered In greater num bers at the kennell part of the show than around the coops, although the chickens have not been despised by them and more unusual birds have attracted them In num bers. The silkies are beautiful creatures without a feather on them, but covered instead with long silk down. The African geese have proved a magnet and so also have other outre vareties, such as the smoked ball ducks, a new variety origi nated and owned by J. M. Baker of Omaha. The Toulouse geeso have been popular and the pretty black Minorcas have done fairly. Of the dogs, the dachshunds, as always, have attracted attention, and these long bellied bow-wows looked fairly as ludicrous as they ought to. The Prince and King Charles spaniels were comically melancholy and the fox terriers were as innocent in ap pearance and as mischievous as a fox terffer ought to look and to be. The smaller dogs, and also Boston bulls, setter puppies and fluffy baby spitzes, were ranged opposite the larger dogs, the mastiffs, Newfoundlands and Great Danes. In the intermediate class were the collies, affectionate as a cat and a good deal more trustworthy. The feline tribe got into the show through some handsome Persian cats shown by Mrs. H. O. Harrison of 1307 Martha street. These aristocrats of the cat world kept a good deal more quiet than the dogs at the show, who, after the manner of bench show dogs, generally tried all to bark at once. Electric Railways la Germany. American Consul General Richard Guen ther writes as follows about the elctrlc tramways of Frankfort: The Frankfort electric tramway lines at the close of the fiscal year (1907) had a length of thirty-eight English miles and carried during that year 74,260,X) passengers. There are 612 cars for the passenger service and the total number of empolyes is 2,124. As most of these are married, the Frankfort tramway ser vice furnishes means of living for about 10,000 people. On an average the electric cars run over 60,000 English miles per day. Dur ing the great International Turzler festi val last July the number of miles run on some days exceeded 60,000. Though the fares are lower than in American cities (ordinary fare Is 10 pfennigs, not quite 2hk cents) yet the net profit derived from the service turned Into tho munici pal treasury was 1,116,000 marks (1312, 970). The profit realized during the year by the city from its electric lighting and testing plant aggregated $400,200. The stride tramway travel has taken in Frankfort, in the last decade can be discerned when comparing the above sta tistics with those of m7, when the city bought out the then existing horse-car lines which belonged to a Belgian Joint stock company. Then the total length of line was 19V4 miles, number of cars. 197, which carried durlnig sold year, 3G.&10, 000 passengers and covered a running dis tance of $3,375,000 English miles wmamwmmmmwmimmnmmimmmmm!mMtmwrmmnrimmmmmMimmmMmrmmmmwmmmKrm?a in. mis kWuJ r ram viM ....yfcf. . ;. .' !., . - -' - ' - - ' . ' GENERAL VIETV OF THE AUDITORIUM DURING THE FOULTRY SHOW. Flyingf of Kites in Thunder Storms by Benjamin Franklin Opened Up an Unlimited Field RNJ1U1N FRANKLIN went the world has ve seen, and of which th vlnm r.Ann.n..n mu- B ENJAMIN FRANKLIN went flying kites In thunder show ers to some purpose. He hadn't a guess as to the won derful future of that discov ery of his and probably never In the moments of greatest elation over the strange results of his experiments did there come to him a vision of that v.hlch was to be realised. Nowadays electricity Is constantly as suming more and more of the world's work, says the Toledo Blade. There are few things that It does not do, fewer by far than It cannot do If given the op portunity. The application of the force to practical labor waits less on the will of the Inventor than on the determina tion of the user of power to teat electric ity In his business. There Is prospect of a wider application of electricity to the heating of dwellings. The thing Is roost feasible, but has seemed to have met with a wall of con servatism, Even In the places where water power has cheapened electricity Its substitution for the furnace has not come out. The arrival of the electrical age ap pears almost at hand. It Is here so far as our communication Is concerned, nearly bere as regards transportation. Produc tion is very likely to have to depend upon U entirely before the century Is out. Casal of Kleetrle Locomotive. Among the Inventions which Edison pre dicted as coming within the next twenty or thirty yeirs to mark the moat wonder ful advance In science and Invention that the world has evei seen, and of which the News recently gave account, he named the advent of the electric1 locomotive, and pre dicted that on our main trunk lines it would replace steam locomotives. The change, he thought, might be looked for within fifteen or twenty years, dependent on the financial condition of the country. It is a credible prediction, for rouds are already "looking" In that direction, and it Is probably even now more a question of finance, of working from one system to the other economically, than anything else. The New York Central road has had elec tric locomotives on Its Harlem division, from the city of Mount Vernon, for two years, and now contemplates the extension of the service thence to White Plains. In these two years only one serious accident has happened, the New York Tribune says, and this was by no means clearly attributable to the new methods. The Tribune goes on to speak of what all know the advantages of 'he change to passengers and to people that live on the line of the road the ending of smoke, staam and cinders, and the advantage to the road, as well as of the acceleration of movement after a atop, which Is of par ticular value In a suburban service. But for the financial stringency of recent times the road had long ago undertaken the ex tension. The Tribune says that the trfcU of a direct current and a third rail, which have been characteristic features of the Central's method, has evidently satisfied the company that it has made no mistake here, and that besides the economy of the substitution of elctrlcity, the lUa has ob vious recommendations. The third rail Is no menace to employes or even to tres passers on the right-of-way. Its current Is of such low voltage that It can not kill. In all the two years no one has been hurt by it. It has other advantages In being more easily shifted with the track than other systems, while Its freedom from side supports and overhead wires leaves noth ing to be knocked out of gear in case of accident, and so paralysing traffic. It does not follow that the system will be adopted for long runs, since the alternat ing current has undeniable merits. Machine Coatrel by Wireless. Wireless electric control of distant ap paratus would seem to be a certainty of the near future. Of course there is no possibility, as some seem to expect, of wireless power transmission. The power to be utilized, whether it Is steam, gas or electricity, must either be generated at the machine or transmitted to It In one of the usual ways; the electro-raagnetlo waves may start, slop or control the ma chinery, but cannot run It Several In ventors are now able to exhibit devices of this sort that will work for short dis tances, so that the problem now Is merely to Increase the radius of action. In the latest form of apparatus, In vented by two engineers of Nuremburg. Germany, and exhibited recently in that city, the same sending apparatus actu ated one or another of various machines In an adjoining room, according to the position at which a lever was adjusted, thus demons (rating the possibility of tuning" the receiving apparatus so (hut it will be affected by waves of only trie length. With the sending levtr in one position, for Instance, electric lumps were lighted at the receiving station; at other positions a steam engine was start. -rt, slowed up or stopped; at another still, a revolver was fired, and so on. When this or some similar device has been perfected so that it will up rate at a sufficient distance, it will be able to control automobile torpedoex. explode mines, and so on. It will appa -e.itly, however, be subject to the same biectlon as the present operative systems of wire less telegraphy; that is, the posHlbllity of another operator's "butting in." It might be awkward to have the enemy steal your torpedo en route and turn It against cne of your own ships. Aleinlnluin carried put by Teats. the Brills Tests carried put by the British Na tional Physical Laboratory determine the maximum load of aluminium wire as li t tns per square Inch (2t.2kg. per sq. mm.), nd the yield load was 13.1' tons per square Inch (20.6kg. per sq. mm.), whereas un aluminium overhead line Is usually pro portioned for a load of only 5k. per sq. mm. It Is almost the invariable practice to employ a stranded conductor for over head transmission lines of any Importance, no matter w hether of aluminium or copper. An aluminium conductor of a given con ductivity is comptsed of some 60 per cent trore strands than the equivalent copper conductor, and actually offers less increase In resistance due to "skin effects'' than is the cane with the copper conductor. The dlstunce apart at which the overhead conductors must be pltced to withstand a given elrctroptiitlc presruie between them without having a brush discharge Is less the greater the dinnutcr of the conduc tors. This Is another p'lnt where for hlph tension overhead transmission lines (and clo for underground cables) alumin ium hns the advantage over copper Alum inium is already employed on at least l.OtV) miles of overluad transmission lines in various parts of tho world, under varying climatic conditii ns. and a specimen cut out of an aluminium line which has boen In operation In nn exposed position on the. tea coast for over seven ears shows practically no trace of deterioration. The aluminium transmission lines at present in operation were installed when the sav ing In ci st over copper was appreciably loss than at present, and the fact that the employment of aluminium for this purpose Is continually on the increase Indicates that no engineering clfficultles have been met with which have not been satisfactor ily overcome. 6 Taanrt Electrified.' One of the greatest engineering feats for many years has been completed by the electrification of the Bt. Clair tunnel Canada's Grand Trunk railway system, joining Sarnla, Ont., to PrA Huron, Mich., which was definitely opened for traffic on Nov. 12. The St, Clair tunnel Is one of the longest submarine tunnels In the world, be ing over two miles la length, encased In an Iron tube nineteen feet and ten Inches in signature. All that Is necessary Is to write diameter, the tube alone weighing SG.UlO.OuO the telegram on metallic paper with a spe- thls paper being placed upon a pounds. The Westlnghouse company wero the contractors, and it has taken them a year to construct it. The cost was more than 100,000. This Improvement will In crease the efficiency of the tunnel enor mously, as the new electric locomotives which will be used for traction will bu able to haul 30 per cent more traffic, and save 60 per cent In time over the giant steam engines they have displaced. Irre spective of the convenience to passengers by overcoming the danger and Inconven ience of having the tunnel clogged with gas and smoke. This Is the third great en glneerlng feat accomplished by the Grand Trunk railway, the others being the single arch steel bridge spanning Niagara and the largo Jubilee Victoria bridge crossing the River St. Lawrence. Letters by Wire. M Pascal Berjonneau, a Frenchman, la Dringing out a remarkable invention whic.i clal Ink, cylinder upon which as it turns a needle writes. Tho correspondent, who may be hundreds of miles away, possesses an Identical tel autographone, the cylinder of which Is cov ered with a chemically-prepared paper, provided also with a needle. The electrio current works the two needles. The point of the transmitter remains In ert as long as It passes over the bare metal, but directly It touches the Inked part, It presses on It and communicates the pressure to the other end of the wire, where the reproducing needle places Itself at the same time on the white paper of the receiving cylinder, so that the writing by a succession of down strokes Juxtaposed, one after the other, ends by being faith fully reproduced. For Instance, in the transmission of a capital "V," you will see first 'he heads of the two down strokes, then the latter contract to meet at she tin he .alls the telautographone. Tills aupar- Whlth torm lne b"e' ,n tne ,am U ' " Bjtll h. r,,tuultvl. n ......... I . , " " " wi - iu viaiiBuui iuuiw score, a pen and ink drawing, etc. During these atus. ts it name implies ("who himself writes a distance") makes It p-isslhle to transmit speech written and spoken. It may take the place of any telephone system. It la ss big as a typewriter, and operates b means of clockwork moved by a very powerful spring. It is very simple, and can hardly get out of order. A child can work It. Henceforth. It is claimed, a dis patch can be transmitted over Soo miles, and wlU retain Intact the same writing and transmissions it will be possible for the transmitters and receivers to telephone. A nollceable feature of the Invention Is that it is possible to Insure the strict se crecy of the- cornmuncutlon which It is desired to make. It Is sufficient to set the cylinder at a number of turns agreed on beforehand, and only those who have their apparatus set accordingly qrlll recctT the tueesaga. ,