Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/206

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��Popular Science Monthly

��problem. In many cases all that is neces- sary is to balance the insect carefully against some object, as was done with the cigarette smoker. In other cases a prop of some sort will be required, and this may be thrust into the body and then into the moss. A fine wire is excel- lent for this purpose. Of course the wire must be carefully hidden.

In most of ni}' pictures the foreground consists of some species of moss. This can be found growing in abundance in rocky localities or in low swampy woods. A great many varieties exist, so that sameness in one's pictures may be avoided. Where bushes are needed to break the monotony of the landscape some kind of lichen may be employed. The kind which I use is found in rocky localities growing in dense masses many feet in circumference. By carefully separating a small portion from the mass, an excellent imitation of under- brush will be obtained.

My backgrounds are, as a rule, white, as this seems to set off the insects to best adv^antage. A light blue sheet of paper is employed for the purpose, blue photographing white. White paper should not be used as it is apt to reflect too much white light into the camera and produce a fogging of the plate.

Occasionally clouds will be found to add interest to a picture, and these may be printed in from a separate cloud negative made for the purpose. It is well to have a dozen or more such negatives on hand, so that a repetition of the same cloud effect may be avoided.

Now let us consider the production of the pictures one by one. I can perhaps serve the reader best by quoting some of the data recorded in my note book.

"An Old Salt." — Staged in a saucer of water. Backgrountl, moss. Canoe, pea- pod. Paddle carved out of wot)cl. Clouds printed in. Plate, Hammer's E.xfast Ortho. Time of exposure, 30 seconds, F:36, near west window, sun bright, 2:30 P. M., August. Pyro tank devel- oper. Cyko enlargement.

"At the Photographer's." — Camera, small cube of wood, dii)|)ed in ink. Lens, small section of hay cut at one of the joints. Trii)od, three fine wires thrust into the camt-ra, and fine stalks of hay slipped o\er wires. tlu'r data as before.

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��A Tool for Buffing, Drilling and Grinding Metal Surfaces

ANDPAPERING and polishing un- vZ5 wieldy or immovable objects is a task, which, done by hand, requires a vast expenditure of time and muscular effort. Portable electric grinders and buffers have been perfected to do the same work in a fraction of the time and with results that exceed the finest of hand work.

A light, compact electric motor on a no-tipping pedestal is provided with a handle by which it is easily carried and with a long cable that is attached to the nearest electric light socket. A snap switch on the side of the motor controls the current supply. Power to turn the buffer or grinder is .supplied through a long, flexible tube.

The instrument has found its way into a variety of interesting u.ses. Some ada|i- tations of it are employed in automoliile garages for polishing brass and enameled surfaces. Crevices which could only be reached with difficult\' are cleaned out in an instant by the whirring disk. This tool finds itself welcome in workshops where odd and difificult jobs such as die-sinking, drilling, butting, grinding and those of similar nature are daily encountered. Another form of the tool helps in lighten- ing the task of the floor-lajer. In this case, the motor is attached to the ceiling and the flexible tube operated from the end of a long pivoted arm. Among the other unique applications of the buffer and grinder are those of cleansing house- hold utensils, signs on the front of buildings and performing other tasks of an equally diversified nature.

��Pneumatic Gun with a Dynamite Shell

A BALTIMORE man has lai.l before the navy otticials the plans for a pneumatic gun with a dynamite shell. It is said that a test of the gun is shortly to be made. The inventor began work- ing on his invention some months before the war started, and onI\- comi^leted it last summer. The latest model is a 20-pounder, which he has made adjusta- ble to hurl a dynamite bomb as far as 22 miles.

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