Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 88.djvu/414

 386

��Popular Science Monthly

��truck, only one or two from the tail end can be dropped off at a time. A bag is stood up and the string is cut; the bag is thrown over, and its contents are spilled out by lifting the lower end. As the average bag of potatoes weighs about one hundred seventy-five pounds, this entails considerable manual labor and time. After the inspector passes on the potatoes they must be shoveled up and thrown back into the bag and the bag must be sewed up. This process must be repeated for all inspected bags. If as many as five are inspected out of, say, one hundred on a truck load, the inspection is considered adequate. It frequently happens that when the pota- toes reach their consumption destina- tion a large proportion are found of in- ferior quality ; they have never been seen by the inspector. Knowing that only the bags at the tail end of the truck can be inspected, the seller places there those of the best quality.

The device illustrated is intended to afford opportunity for better inspection and for the inspection of a larger pro- portion of the goods and the reduction of time and labor. The device is wheeled up to the end of the truck, a bag of potatoes is placed upon the small dump- er and the string cut ; it is then tilted over so that its contents spill and spread out in the tray. The inspector, stand- ing upon the platform at the side, views the entire contents at a glance, and then pulls the lever. The weight of the potatoes in the tray causes the front end to descend ; the potatoes run out through the spout into the bag held un- der it, and the bag is sewed up. There is little or no manual labor. The process is much faster than the old-fashioned way, and as many bags of potatoes through- out a delivery may be inspected as may seem desirable.

This device is suitable for inspection of the coarser vegetables — such as po- tatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, turnips, parsnips and the like. It is also suitable for such fruits as lemons, oranges, ap- ples and pears which need not be care- fully handled.

The floor of the machine is construct- ed of slats, so as to allow the dirt to fall between them. Hence the buyer pays only for the goods bought. These slats

��can be fastened at varying distances so as to act as a sorting device for size. Undersized fruits or vegetables drop through and are discarded.

By means of a small tray fitted into the permanent one and having a solid floor, grains can also be inspected — such as oats and corn. Thus the entire con- tents of a bag can be properly inspected, instead of simply a handful.

The device described was invented by Hugh M. Foster, examining inspector of purchase and supplies for New York's Board of Estimate and Appor- tionment. After years' experience he became impressed with the lax methods in use. By law an employee of the city is prevented from profiting directly or indirectly by the sale of an article to the city government; therefore the inventor gave permission to the city to construct as many of these machines as would be needed for its own use. This permis- sion has been accepted by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on behalf of the city, and the machine has been constructed and is now being used in the institutional departments which buy such supplies.

Why Do Moving Pictures Seem So Life-Like?

It takes a certain amount of time to affect the eye. You do not see things instantaneously. If you move a lighted cigar in a dark room very rapidly you see what is apparently a continuous curve of light.

The motion-pictures reproduce move- ments faithfully for the same reason. Be- fore the eye has a chance to see a picture in its entirety a new picture is flashed on the screen. The pictures appear and vanish at the rate of sixteen a second, in other words, so rapidly that the effect of continuous motion is produced.

Advantage is taken of this to produce very curious and unnatural effects ; for example, an old building tearing itself down, a hole digging itself in the ground, a skyscraper growing up from a found- ation without the aid of human hands. The camera operator has simply taken a picture of the demolition of the old building and the construction of the sky- scraper at the rate of perhaps one an hour, but projects them all in twenty minutes.

�� �