Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 47.djvu/621

Rh, and the shape of the truck brings the base of the telescopic pipe much nearer the ground, enabling the men in charge to stand on terra firma. Two jacks act as adjustable legs to add steadiness while in action. The water connection is made by means of a three or four way Siamese coupling that rests on the ground, thus giving a free course to the stream. This tower can be raised to a much greater height than could previous towers. The above-mentioned company has recently purchased all the Hale patents, and now virtually controls the building of water towers in this country. Every large department in the United States is equipped with one or more towers, and the smaller cities are rapidly following the example. The Davol tower is a very useful contrivance manufactured by the Cornelius Callahan Company, of Boston. It is a curved nozzle attached to a flexible pipe, and can be placed on the upper rungs of an extension ladder. A guide rope enables a fireman to direct the stream from the ground. Recent tests have shown that a great deal of force is lost in a stream from the water tower on account of the friction, and there is still much for

room improvement in this piece of apparatus. The small hose reels adopted in the early part of the century were the forerunners of the large and gayly decorated four-wheeled reels used by the volunteer hose companies. After the