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THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: AUGUST C, 191T.
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Value of
n HAVE often been told of the ,
value of what are generally '
called trifles. We know that
very great things often depend
upon very small onea, that, for
example, the lives of many teo-
w
ple and the. aafety of t ins of precious mer
chandise, mey be endangered by the neglect
of a bolt on a brldjr. and that a spark
may cause the conrianxatlon of a city or
of miles of forest lands.
While we know these things and willingly
admit them, and can rive Illustrative ex
amples of our own. I think most of mv
readers would Imagine t was drawing the
long bow when I tell them that a slxteen-hundred-dotlar
Instrument was thrown
completely out of use for the want of
cobweb! Yet. It was a sober fact, and
was painfully In evidence to me no less
than to some students of mine, one of
whom had como 7M miles principally In
order to use this Instrument. It was about
as serviceable to us as Its picture would
have boon: and all that on account of an
accident to the cobwebs It contained. Let
me explain the mystery.
The W ires or Threads In Teleacepe.
If the reader has ever looked through a
telescope that was on a measuring Instru
ment auch aa a aurveyor'a transit or level,
he will surely have seen In It at lea-st two
fine black lines crossing each other at
right ancles, one being vertical and the
other horizontal. The object of these lines
Is to enable the observer to direct his
trlescopo very accurately upon a given ob
ject, or conversely, to find the object hia
telescopa Is directed to when It Is adjusted
by means of Its levels or circles. The
whole' round picture seen In a telescope Is
called Its field of view. As this Is of some
considerable sixo and shows quite a num
ber of objects. It would be Impossible to
know which of these objects the telescope
was directed to, unlesa we had these fine
llnea to point It out to us.
A telescope, as we probably know, con
sists essentially of at least two lenses, one
at each end of a tube, cacn lena being It
self a compound of two or more simple
or elementary onea. The lens nearest the
object looked at la called the objective, and
Is always the larger of the two. This lens
forms near the other end of the tube an
Image of the object. In exactly the same
manner that a photographic camera does.
In fact, as far aa the objective la con
cerned, thcr ia ao difference between a
telescope and a camera, both have the
same kind of an objective mounted at one
end of a tube or box. the first having
generally a cylindrical or converging tube
The Crelghton T'nlversJtv. a
View" In a telescope,
Field of
Advantage and necessity of cross wires In
a field of view
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The store that presents, perhaps,
tl most uancsu'ne apioarj.nce of all
the l;on:e-f uriiUhing establishments
of O. vih i and the one that furnishes
the f.rod?et number of suggestions
to l.i .itt vi . i s o:i tho furnishings and
i i u. '. . i) u.; .f their cw.i hu. ies ia
t'rt l l e itubel Furniture Co., lo
.;. .1 at i.'iH-ISI.-. H. wiiid St. They
flu. ''ejiuiiti ailiitf wli.n clarnilng
lii.iH fir. ie inxiio Willi i.ieulum
I i1' til t;uo )a. Pi'uule of ivioJerat oir
; e (!- p'l.jl.lc.l to "'iMjUwe t lie
:y
. . . .
lot m irtlctic und pUuslug effects
ltlioui any ouiny, iheltni el
M.,ie lias e ijoye I a m:irk.d suc
irn tit past year, or since It be
tjm a tukuiuuuu of lhi city. Sue-
Where many
the Filmy Cobweb to the Science of Astronomy
1 W
I Ell
rinn of Transit Micrometer. The
framework A, which carries the reticle. Is
moved in the box Ii by means of the
screw 8. which has a hundred threads or
turns to the inch. The nut. head or drum
C of this screw la divided into a hundred
parts, tenths of which are Indicated by the
pointer N. In this way one-tentn of one
hundredth of one-hundredth, that Is, one
hundred-thousandth of an inch can be
measured. The reticle Is moved slowly by
turning the milled head U, which forms
one piece with the drum C and the shsnk
E. Turning the shsnk E moves the reticle
rapidly across the field. R R are two rods
supporting long apirai springs, which push
Rectlcle of transit, consisting of seven
vertical and two horizontal threads or
wires, each system being moved by a
micrometer screw.
so aa to have a small field of view, and
the second a diverging or exoandlng box
so aa to have a large field of view.
In the photograplilo camera we place a
sensitized plate where we can sea the
Image of the object on the ground glass.
and thus secure this Image by the pho
tographic or chemical action of the film.
A photographic telescope ia purely and sim
ply a photographlo camera, only that it Is
generally longer, that 19. has a longer
focus, and thus gives a larger picture.
In a visual telescope the Image Is looked
at through an eyepiece, which is the second
of the two lenses we mentioned before, and
derives Its name from the fact of Its being
nearest the eye of the observer. This eye
piece Is a magnifying glasa In principle,
and makes the image look larger. It Is
often easily removable and replaceable by
another, which has a different magnifying
power, so that one may examine tho object
he Is looking at under various degrees of
magnification. The higher tne power, the
fainter la the Image, because the eyepiece
receives only a definite amount of light
from the objective, and the more the Image
Is magnified, the more the light Is spread,
so that the highest powers of a telescope
can seldom be used to advantage , except
on a bright object and In a clear sky.
Character of the Lines.
The fine black lines we have mentioned
before are at the same place In the tube
where the objective forms the Image, ao
and
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k !. ATTRACTIVE 013
or TMiwoa rost thi par low j
cess has attended the endeavors oil
the firm on every hand. In a very
short time after the store was estab
lished here, the firm outgrew lis
quarters and was forced to move to
a new location on Hbward street,
where it has continued to prosper.
The Hubel Furniture Company Is
distinctively a new kind of store for
Omaha. It does business in a differ
ent way from moat furniture houses,
dne of Its popular plans Is to allow
t'l days tree trial on ail purchase!.
If any article proves unsatisf&ctory
...
y?if
a irunroi
for any i-eu-un whatever, it may be
txcbanired or returned for credit. No
rharga re male. This firm makes
as inuny eadiMr-cea aa may be
necessary lu uriler to i1mn a
the frame-work A away In the opposite
direction, when the screw Is turned rack
ward. These springs are strong enough to
hold the reticle firmly In any position. F
Is the field of view. The number of whole
turns Is indicated by a cogwheel gearing
Into a short spiral screw on the lateral
fiice of the drum. It is not represented on
the diagram. There Is a second and similar
micrometer at right angles to the one
shown. It moves two parallel horliontal
threads, which are eupnortedd by two short
rods or studs, and brought as close to as
possible without touching the seven verti
cal threads, ao as to be In the same focus
with them.
that both Image and lines are viewed to
gether through the eyepiece. For very
accurate work it Is evident that these lines
thould be very fine and smooth, so that
they may be looked at through eyepieces
of the highest magnifying power. They
ought also to be perfectly straight and
taut, and sufficiently elastic to remain
straight and taut, no matter how much the
tube of the telescope and the frame on
which they are fixed, expands and con
tracts with the temperature, or Is moved
about In various positions. And lastly, they
should not be hygroscopic, that Is, should
not be affected by wet weather.
Cobwebs.
Very few substances possess all these
qualifications In a higher degree than the
commonest kind of cobweb, simple ordinary
spider's web, which tidy people abhor so1
much In the corners of their rooms. A
spider line Is perfectly smooth under the
highest magnifying power. It Is perfectly
black In a bright field, and may be made
bright In a dark field. It Is also elastic,
and may therefore be stretched perfectly
straight. Its weight being so insignificant
that In short lengths there can be no dan
ger whatever of sagging.
Cobweb Is Inexpensive, to be sure, but so
delicate, that It Is quite an accomplishment
to know how to handle it. Perhaps the
reader would lke to know how this Is
done, and how spider lines are actually
put Into a telescope.
How Spider Lines Are Pnt In.
The first thing to do Is to get the cob
web. This Is not aa easy as It looks. Not
every spider gives a web that can be used.
Some lines are altogether too fine to be
readily seen even with a magnifying glass,
and too trying on the eyes. Some consist
of loose strands not sufficiently knit to
gether, they are not one line but many of
them and absolutely unfit for the purpose.
Borne have heads strung upon them, or are
otherwise of varying thickness. It took
us actually a whole week to find the cob
web we wanted. This may be a powerful
proof of the cleanliness of our buildings
and premises, but it was a fact notwith
standing, and was responsible for 90 per
cent qf the Inactivity of our telescope.
When the right spider has been found,
his thread is caught as he spins It and be
fore It touches anything, and wrapped on
a branching twig or stiff wire shaped like
the letter Y. Having then made ready the
frame work on which the threads are to be
Omaha women get splendid ideas on the furnishing
beautifying of their own homes
When a retail itore determines not to be a mere chop for the Bale of wares, but baa an
ambition to excel to make iteelf a source of
information and a place of Interest to all call
ers it merits the praise of the general public.
eft
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IHAOttiFICLNT SHOWINC
-OF FLOOR
customer. This method forma a strik
ing contrast to the unwilling manner
in which some store consent to ex
change goads .
At Uie Kuttei store an efort la made
fastened, we take a compass or dividers,
such as Is used for drawing circles, put a
drop rf shellae or other sticky substance
at the points, and pick up a su'table spider
line longer than Is finally needful. Stretch
ing this by opening the compass a trifle,
we place the line In position, using a
magnifying glass If necessary, and press It
down so that It touches the shellac we
have placed on the outside, on the la'eral
sides as we might call them of the frame
work, make sure that It is caught there,
and cut It off with a penrntfe. We nert
put the second thread in position In the
time way. and all the others that we may
need. We then with a clean pin or needle
adjust them cautiously under a marnlfytng
glass, and when everything Is satisfactory
we drop a little shellac on all the threads
on the front sido of the frame work, and
the Job Is done,
DirricnTtles.
Tes, when everything Is satisfactory
has the reader ever tried It? We think
not, for It takes a long time and Infinite
patience before everything is satisfactory.
Cobweb Is extremely delicate. The least
false movement will tear the thread. Re
moving the loose ends may ruin two or
three neighboring threads. Patience, try
again. Sometimes the final drop of shellac
may be too wet with alcohol and may so
affect the threads as they curl up and stick
together. Vnravellng then Is almost sure
disaster. Flics must not witness the work,
for they may spoil the threads directly as
well aa Indirectly by annoying the operator.
A breeze is almost as objectionable. Alto
gether it is as trying a piece of work as
one could well Imagine, trying to hands
and eyes and much more so to patience.
The material la not worth much, but the
T- Ml .
Photograph of whole eyepiece of transit
taken out of the telescope. It shows the
micrometer box with Its two screws. The
eytplooe proper is diagonal, that is, turned
at right angles to the telescope, so that
stars high up In the sky may be con
veniently observed. It is also parallactic,
that Ik, may be moved some distance later
ally in any direction, so that any wire of
the reticle may be brought into the middle
of the field of view, no matter how far it
may be moved by Its screw.
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There is always something fascinating about
beautiful articles for the home, and when beau
tiful articles are so displayed as to give tha
visitor new ideas on how to make her borne
more attractive, It becomes a store of special
Interest to the lover of the home Lecuiiful,
whether this person Is in need of any articles
for her home or not.
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C0VERMcf9
to show the moat beautiful pieces at
all timea. From the nature of this
company's stock ojie ran readily see
that the firm is in clone tuucu wliti
tiie test mauufacturers In the coun
-' !)Y- '
The slxteen-hundred-dollar transit In- j
strument. which together with the chono-
graph hidden behind It in the photograph, I
skill Is. and when one has tried It for
the first time, he will admit that the two
dollars that a professional Instrument
maker charges In his catalogue for only
two threads at right angles, are far from
being an unfair price. But if there had
to be nine wires, one-hundredth of an Inch
apart, what would the charge be then?
That was exactly our case. And we did not
have the time to send the eyeriece to a
professional and wait for Its return, what
ever the Item of coat might be.
Platinum W ires and Holed Glass.
Spider lines are so delicate tnat some
makers use very fine platinum wires. One
of the greatest firms In the country says
in Its catalogue: "No one but a workman
with practiced hand and provided with th.i
best facilities can properly set the platinum
wires In a cross-wire diaphragm, and it Is
useless, therefore, for us to send a parcel
of wires for that purpose." Platinum wires
are, however, harder to set close and
parallel and rtratght. than spider lines.
They may be more durable, although our
cobwebs were all that could be desired for
twenty-one years, until they were de
stroyed by an accident. This accident con
sisted In one of mv students Inserting an
eyepiece that was scarcely ever used. The
lens went into the tube too far and tore
two of the threads. These could not be
replaced without renewing the whole set
or reticle, aa it Is called. Whatever fault
to
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try. The Ruliels present a particu
larly handsome showing of living
room furniture in new fumed oak and
other novel finishes. They are dl
trioulir.g aseuia fur LimUrri's Arts
and the clocks In the vault, was rendered
perfectly useless for th want of a few
cobwebs.
there was, ought to be laid upon the In
strument maker, who should have pre
vented such a possibility. If It waa the
student's, he nobly made amends for It by
spending a whole week upon the new reti
cle, and finally delivering one In every
respect as good as the one he had injured.
Some makers use ruled glass. But the
glass intercepts some light, and may be
come soiled by age or dust, when It would
be difficult to clean. Whatever its ad
vantages may be. It could not be used In
our lnatrument on account of Its peculiar
construction, as Its maker himself per
sonally affirmed. I have never yet found
anything superior to common sptderr's web.
Vsea of n Itecticle.
The spider lines in a telescope serve also
other purposes besides merely Indicating
the center of a field of view by means of
a simple cross. When there are many
wires, as there are In everv astronomical
transit, the exact fraction of a second that
a star crosses them Is carefully noted.
Knowing the Interval between the threads
we can reduce the observed transits to the
middle wire, and thus practically have as
many chancea at the middle wire as there
are threads in the field.
Micrometer.
And again, by having the whole reticle,
or at least one wire of it. movable, we can
place a thread wherever we please, and
thus observe and measure the positions of
and Crafts furniture.
The Huhels mark all their articles
in plain iigures so that a prospective
buyer may walk through the store
and tee just what each plc-e is worth.
Tho ltubel Company has a big score
In Minneapolis. u,ls establishment
does a large business. The trade at
the Ona:i.t and Minneapolis house
Is sj grei't that the company is en
abled to buy in sufficient iiuantities
to seoiu-e the very lowest prices from
all lactone... 'i no liiiu ia suong In
lis t-iuiin on low prices ana l.ivHt
2rt DiSs-cAtca z
iven m Sue rmr,:
1(Xt ARTICLti A3ST0VP
oomparlsona with figure at other
tores.
Credit Is extended by the Kurels to
customers and the terme of payment
may be uik.de by the buyers. The Itu-
stara or objects anywhere In the field fif
view. In the Crelghton university transit
the whole reticle is moved by means of a
screw which has a hundred thread of
turns to the Inch. The head of the screw
Is divKlod Into a hundred parts, and thesa
I arts are read by estimation to tenths, so
that we may measure down to one-tenth
of one-hundredth of one-hundredth, that
Is. to one hundred-thousandth of an Inch.
There are two such micrometer screws In
the eyepiece, one moving the seven vertical
threads, and the other the two horizontal
onea. Their accuracy Is such that ona
could measure Inches on a stake eighty
miles away.
The finely divided circle on this Instru
ment Is read b ytwo micrometer micro
scopes, which also use spider llnea These
came with the Instrument twenty-flva
years ago, and are so well protected that
there Is no likelihood of their ever being
damoged.
Importance of the ftplde-r Lines.
All the refinements of this slxteen-hundred-dollar
Instrument were lost on ac
count of the want of the few cobweb
which constituted tta reticle. Stars could
not be timed, the micrometers had no em
ployment, and the circle could not be used.
Nor Is this all. Several connected Instru
ments were rendered Idle. The chronograph,
unon which star transits are recorded,
and tho sidereal and solar clocks as well,
were all out of commission cn account of
that apparently most Ins-.gnlficant acci
dent to a few cobwebs. Even our great
equatorial telescope, was only a eclne In
strument, and had lost a great part of Its
power of measurement, because the error
of our tlme-plcces could not be ascer
tained. In a word, It was an actual fact,
and. as I said, painfully In evidence, that
all -the measuring power of our observa
tory was ruined on account of the want of
a few cobwebs. It was a great object lea
son, which the reader may turn to hia
profit in hia own way. and thus form a
much higher estimate than he has ever
done before of the value of "trifles, and
especially of the value of a cobweb.
WILLIAM F. RIOOE, S. J.
Crelghton University Observatory,
Omaha. Neb.
WHAT WOMEN ARE DODJO.
Mary Hoover, aged 1 years, of Valley,
Pa., is the champion snake-killer of that
section. She has the skins of twenty-five
reptiles a dispatched already this season,
but none of them so large as the black
snake she killed after a battle- feet 1
inches. j
Miss Rose Morlarty of Elyrla, Ohio, la
deputy city treasurer, deputy city auditor, t
deputy clerk of the town council, clerk I
of the board of control, clerk to the dl- I
rector of public service and clerk to the I
director of public safety.
Among the newest strange gifts Mrs.
Taft has received are several sacred tea
plants from the garden of the Buddhist 1
prlesta In Ceylon. The plants were sent j
to the secretary of agriculture, who will ,
have them cared for in the tea until
of the Carolines, which are under the
supervision of the department.
Lady Mlnto distributed the diplomas and .
prizes at the recent commencement exer- J
clues of the London School of Medicine for
Women. Jn her address she said that she
had been much Impressed by the graduates
of the school In Canada and India, as well
aa in Great Britain. As president of the
National Society for Providing Medical
Aid for Women in India she had come into
close touch with women physicians, many
of them graduates of the London school,
who were treating native women In India
and struggling to teach modern aclentlflo
methods in the homes and hospitals of
India.
bel company never takes a salary as
signment, for this Is regarded aa un
worthy the dignity of a reputable
hcuise. Thi utmost leniency la exer
cine.l with all customers.
Those who have not visited the es
tabliaument of the Rubel Furniture
Co. on Howard atrvet, can hardly
realize, even lrom tne pictures oiu
duced here, how very artistic and at
tractive this siore really Is. Tho man
agement of the Rubol store extends a
cordial lnviti.t.ou to everybody to call
aud ace tha pretty store and its mtuy
fcaTWiaSatJl.J
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charming articles. No on I asked t
buy. All may come and vlait and
the management will be pleaaed to
do all It can to allow the fineat plc
aud explain points aUiut tbaio.
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