Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/190

 176

��Popular Science Moiithly

��There are sixteen metal cages for all sizes of canines in this dog- catcher's automobile

��B e lo w, is shown thehu- mane way in which a dog is caught by the wire net

���Modern Dog- Catchers Use Motor Trucks and Wire Nets

KEEPING apace with the times, even the modern dog-catcher now uses mo tor- trucks to collect stra\' animals and haul them quickly to the pound. One of the latest types of dog-catcher's trucks is shown in the accompanying illustration. It is used in one of the western cities and is equipped with an all-metal body for cleanliness. It is divided into eight compartments into which are slid sixteen metal cages to confine the dogs. The cages are pushed into place from both sides of the truck, meeting at the center. Four of the cages are sub- divided into two parts each by horizontal partitions. These are used for the small- er animals while the remainder are employed for large dogs.

Each of the compartments has a shutter-door which protects the animals from the hot sun in the summer or snow in the winter and which gives them sufficient ventilation.

Motor-trucks have proven particu- larly adaptable for the dog-catcher because of the large growth of suburban territory about many of the big cities. This has necessitated longer hauls than horses could accomplish day in and da\- out through all kinds of weather.

Some dog-catchers prefer to use the wire net in catching the animals. This method is said to be far safer and surer than other methods in vogue, such as the wire noose and rope, both of which are more or less cruel. The catcher using

��the net merely throws it over the dog; the animal becomes entangled and is then placed in the wagon without further trouble.

��The Cockroach Attracts Attention as a Trouble Maker

RECENTLY while inspecting a large plant attention was called to a peculiar incident. On a branch circuit there was some peculiar trouble. Fuses would blow out at various intervals running from one-half hour to twenty- four hours.

At first no attention was paid, but when the ground detector started to show signs of trouble, first on one side antl then the other, an in\estigation was made. t"o\-crs were removed from the outlet boxes and from one box a shower of live and dead cockroaches fell on the head oi the examiner. On looking into the box, it was found that the insulation around the joints and especially at the points had been entirely eaten away, the vibration of the building doing the rest toward creating the trouble.

�� �