Newspapers / Shelby Daily Star (Shelby, … / July 12, 1933, edition 1 / Page 9
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How Your Money Is Now Being Made l lte Bundling Room in the Bureau of Engraving and Printing at Washing ton. Here Paper Money I* Bundled According to Denominations. A Distinctive Portrait is Placed on Each Denomination, and the Public Is Requested to “Go Bv the Portrait.” George Washington's Portrait Appears on the Onc-Dollar Bills; I in coin’s on the l ive and Hamil ton's on the I e n - D o 11 a r IVotcS. t'ttprriaht. Harris and Ewing. to Last Longer The ManyTests That Uncle Sam Is Constantly Usin to Find More Du Paper on Which to Print His Promises MONEY that lasts longer! Such is the sincere and earnest wish of every citizen in the land. The United States Government ardently desires the same thing for the average of about 13 million dollars of currency its money factory is making every day. Take a dollar-bill, for example. It leads such a hard life that nine months sees the end of its existence. On the other hand, a ten-thousand-dollar bill may never wear out. Plenty of these big bills have been printed, but most persons have never seen one, to say nothing of possessing such a thing. It is estimated that the ten-thousand-doflar-bills now in existence arc sufficient to meet the needs of the country for the next hundred years. It is the bills of the smaller denomina tions. especially the dollar-bill, that is bothering Uncle Sam because of its very short life. The dollar-bill constitutes about 60 per cent of the currency in cir culation. Folded, curled, crumpled and passed through hands in all stages of uncleanliness—no paper money has such a gruelling experience as the dollar-bill whose replacement keeps Uncle Sam’s money factory busy. So in constant tests the government is seeking for a still • more durable paper on which to print its promises to pay. Scientists of the Bureau of Stand ards, therefore, have joined hands with the experts of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing to find a paper that will meet the acid test. Not long ago the government reduced the size of its currency to prolong the life of the bills,, as well as to effect other economies. The bills of smaller size wear longer because they can be put into a pocketbook of ordinary size with out being folded. The American wallet, heretofore, has been the w-orst destroyer of paper money. Another thing that Uncle Sam is try ing to find to make his currency last longer is a more impervious coating which he can apply to his bills to protect them from the terrific abuse they re tell’c. The motor car has proved to be a source of destruction to paper money. _ Since about one person out of three in * the United States drives an automobile millions of bills are daily used in buying fuel, oil and grease. This money is Freak Lamps for All Purp oses WHEN incandescent lamps were in then- infancy a little over 50 years ago the variety of shapes and sizes could be numbered on the fin gers of one hand. Today there are some 3,000 different kinds of lamps. Many of these have unusual applications and are manufactured only on special order, for which reason these “freaks” are seldom seen. ■ One of the most fascinating of these lamps is called the “grain of wheat” lamp because in size and shape it ac tually resembles a grain of wheat. It is the smallest lamp in commercial use to day and consumes only one-fiftieth of one watt. With a consumption so small it could burn all day long for a year at a cost of only 10 cents, based on a country wide average rate per kilowatt hour. ) These tiny “specks” of light are used in doctor’s instruments for exploring the Ctmrtmr at Watinshoua* Lamp Compaq insiues oi numan beings, such as the sinus regions of the head. • At the other ex tremity in the fam ily of freak lamps is the 10,000-watt lamp, which has a glass bulb larger than a man’s head. With an actual bulb diameter of 12 inches this lamp is 128 times larger than the ‘‘grain of wheat” lamp and consumes 50,000 times more watt- , age. The cost of operating such a lamp continuously for a year at the same average kilo watt-hour rate, would be $5,232. This hdjje lamp is used principally in motion picture studios, but also has applications in airport lighting and frequently is used for special lighting occasions where the spectac ular is desired. The Largest and Smallest Members of the Incandes cent Lamp Family, a 10,000-watt Lamp for Airports and Moving Picture Studios and the “drain of Wbrst” Lamp Used in Doc tors' IsitrassBU handled by thousands of service station men whose hands are covered with oil 'and grease which greatly damages all paper money. Today the dollar-bill has to work so hard that it succumbs to a premature A Trimming Machine ^ hicli Cul* ihc Large Sheri* of Paper Cur rency Into Separate Bills. V Row of I’rroM in I hr Printing Room of tht* Riirmn of Lngrnving Whrrr >r» Currency 1* Printed at thr Halts of More than 13 Million* of Dollar* Daily. death, in spite of the fuct thal it is printed on the strongest linen paper to be had and fortified by a resin and animal jflue compound developed by govern ment chem ists to pro long its days. Today the e x perts of the Bureau of Standards are busily en « a p e d in making ex p e r i in e n t s with many other kinds of paper sizings, such as casein, cellulose, lacquers and different waxes. The paper which (he government uses in .printing its currency is made from a pulp which is 75 per cent linen and 25 Georgevv^shington’s Odd Barn Because George Washington is so famous as a military genius, a great statesman, as “the first American presi dent’’ and “the fa therof his country,” his versatility in other ways fs little known, although, he achieved notable success as an in ventor and along architectural lines. When Washing ton was 21 years old he began farm ing at Mount Ver non. He was a man of unusual effi ciency and had little patience with crude farming implements. Washington turned his talent for architecture to planning all the barns and other farm buildings which he erected on his Mount Vernon estate. One of these structures was a sixteen The 16-Sided Itarn Designed hv George Washington for Use in 'i'll resiling Wheat by Treading It Out Under the Feet of Slaves or Horses. sided brick barn. In Washington's day wheat was threshed by throw ing it on a hard surfaced floor and having slaves or horses tread out the grains. This method was very unsatisfactory and it was costly, as some of the wheat was destroyed and t It e r e m a i n d e r mixed with dirt. To solve this problem Washing ton devised a stx teomsided barn which had a spe '• i a 1 I y designed threshing floor filled with inter •slice? or cracks. The wheat was spread over this surface and when trodden the grains fell through the cracks to an other floor immediately beneath. In this way the grain was kept free of all dirt and fell on a perfectly clean sur face. How Minerals Help Crops HE addition of small quantities of the less common elements to the soil may lead the way to produc tion of larger yields of crops per acre. Tests being made by leading agricul tural scientists indicate that tne growth and activities of soil micro-organisms or bacteria, upon which plant life largely depends, may be stimulated by the pres ence of traces of copper, zinc, boron, manganese and other elements. This branch of soil research is still in its early stages, but enough work has been performed to indicate that the use of these rare elements may bo extensively used in agriculture to increase the bac terial activity of farm land. Crop rotation has been known for thousands of years. Varro (B. C. 116) wrote that “a crop is not sown entirely for the crop which is obtained the same year, but partly for the effect to be pro duced in the following; because there are many plants which when cut down and left on the land, improve the soil." During the past 25 years, interest in the bacterial life of the soil has been awakened and it is found that the num ber and kinds of bacteria or organisms in any (riven soil have a event influence upon the supply of plant food for crops. I n general, the soil bacteria using oxygen have a more favorable effect upon the soil than those which grow without oxy gen. The chief elements needed for plant life are potassium, nitrogen and phos phorus, which are usee! by growing plants in larger amounts than tne other elements. Magnesium, iron and sulphur also are important to plant growth, but they arc required in very small amounts and are generally found in soils in suffi cient amounts for crop production. Mag nesium helps in the formation of chloro phyll, which substance utilises the ra diant energy of the sun to manufacture sugar and starch. Iron, although it docs not enter into the chemical composition of chlorophyll, in some mysterious way has a great influence upon its forma tion. If the soil is deprived of iron, the plants quickly lose their chlorophyll. Sulphur seems to have some relation to the development of nitrogen-fixing micro-organisms. On some lands where potatoes are raised extensively, the ad dition of magnesium has been found to be necessary for maximum production. Why the Eyes of Some Persons Glisten WHY do the eyes of some persons glisten? An explanation of this curious physical quality of cer tain eyes is given in a bulletin of the Better Vision Institute. In normal eyes the pigment absorbs much of the reflect ed rays of light, but in eyes deficient in pigment, especially albinos, a pink light is reflected, which makes them glisten. In many animals this glistening effect is heightened by the presence of a special reflecting membrane in the back of the eye. which imparts an iridescent appear ance. Such a membrane makes the eye of the animal more sensitive in semi darkness, and incidentally adds to the pleam of the eye. Another interesting phenomena of op tical science is that of recurrent vision, or flicker. When the dark surrounding space is illuminated by a bright flash, as lightning close at hand, the surround ing objects may be seen by the eye, not only once, but three or four times in rapid succession. This recurrent vision has attracted the attention of scientists and many interesting experiments have been conducted, especially in relation to colored objects. < ms, ttvt rma-tt s~eii«t*. »?• per cent cotton. Imported linen rags and domestic cotton rags, both waste products of the garment-making; trades, are cooked in a solution of lime or caus tic soda. The durability of paper on which the government prints its currency is tested in various ways. To determine the wearing qualities of the paper it is tested by an electrical device which continually rubs the paper hack and forth until it is worn through. A counting attachment records the num ber of rubs the paper will stand. Since creasing a bill is most destruc tive an electrical machine is used to test the folding strength of the paper. The bill being tested is put under tension and pressed over rollers until it “cracks,” each folding of the paper be ing registered. Bills tested at standard humidity can stand 5,000 foldings be fore breaking. Currency paper is also tested for its moisture-resisting powers. A satisfac tory paper resists the passage of mois ture for at least one minute. To make the moisture test, small pieces of the paper arc placed in aluminum floats launched in shallow containers of water. In the bottom of each float is a hole over nhirh the paper is fastened. A mixture of sugar and chemical dye is sprinkled over the paper which is then covered with glass. When the water finally soaks through the paper it dampens the mixture of the sugar and dye and a dis coloration is produced. The tensile strength of currency pa per is found by stretching the samples on the yawning jaws of a device which actuates a pendulum to register the pull necessary to break the paper. .Since an average of six million pounds of paper money wear out every year and close to a billion worn-out bills are destroyed annually by the United States Treasury, it is at once under stood why Uncle Sam is trying to make his money last longer. Fungus That Forms Like a Bird's Nest WHILE you are wandering through the wood* Nature has many fascinating things to show you. Some of these things, however, and which are among the moat interesting, she ia not forcing on your attention. Un less you have a keen eye and an alert mind you will overlook some of the won tiers or tne woodlands. You will admire, of course, the rocks and their peculiar for mationa; the moss that carpets the ground in a cool green, as well as the many vari eties of flow ers and ferns that beautify the surround extend your observations to include the fallen leaves one of the most inter esting of all nature forms is very likely to escape your eyes. This group is a fascinating and varied for m# o f growth which is called bird's nest fungus be cause of its shape. This fungus, which is kno>yn to sci a n t i a t a as “crueibulum vulgare,” is found on the fallen leaves of trees and on decaying stems. Some of these fungi appear only as little b r o w n pouches. Oth The Bird’* Xml Fon «u* Which Grow< «n Fallen Leave* and De caying .Stem*. era may be in a mature staff* of develop ment in which the top has burst and formed into a trumpet-shaped nest which is filled with tiny, glistening whit* eggs. They are not eggs, however, but spore cases which are fastened to the nest by tiny thread-like cords. The name fungus, which ia a Latin word meaning mushroom, is the bo tanical term given to all those lower cellular growths which develop from spores and have no chlorophyll, the green coloring matter contained in plants. It is the lack of chlorophyll that re stricts the mode of life of fungi. Be cause they cannot decompose the car bon dioxide of the air, these growths are forced to live on other plant*. The World s Biggest Bass Horn made of copper pounds and is of being six feet height. Aside, from the ^ eighs DO short ,iust claim that this horn is the largest one ever made, it has a history that, per haps, makes it equally as famous as its sise docs. This historic musical instru ment was made ip 1 8 9 .'1 especially for John Philip Sousa, the band master, and was to be played in his •band at the Chi cago World’s Fair of 40 years ago hold in celebra tion of the four hundredth anni versary of the discovery of America. At the close of the Columbian • Exposition Mr. Sousa presented the huge horn to Harry S. Hobson, who was at that time a composer of music at the fair. Mr. Hobson today is living at Pasadena, California, where he is a realtor. This Huge Horn. Which Was First Played at the ill Chicago World*# Fair in Wm 1893, Is Made of Cop- H per. Weigh# 90 Pound# ■! and 1* timoit Si* Feet “ in Height.
Shelby Daily Star (Shelby, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 12, 1933, edition 1
9
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