Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 89.djvu/827

 pear in a fami lendencycan be daughter so that baldness itself might not show for many genera- tions. In the long run half the sons of a bald man or a woman carri- er will be bald and half of the daughters carriers. If the mother is bald all of the sons will be

��Popular Science Monthly

\y suddenly. The carrier bald and all transmitted from mother to Illness will

���Father and daughter aged sixty and twenty-two. Both have lux- uriant hair, although the father lost his in youth t'lrough fever

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of the daughters carriers.

occasionally cause bald- ness in wom- en when there is only the single inherit- ed tendency. In a case of this kind not all of the sons will be bald. Where there is no tenden- cy to baldness the hair may fall out from poor health, butafterw'ard it is regained.

��A Bicycle Which Won't Let You Lose

Your Balance /VN APPARATUS has been invented by l\ Eugene Tourtier, of Paris, France, which gives bicycles, motorcj'cles and every other similar vehicle a vertical equilibration regardless of whether or not the road is level. It is merely necessary to support the machine in an upright position by operating a lever attached to the handlebar.

The le^'er can be operated while the bicycle is mov- ing, making it pos- sible for a rider to remain in his seat as the wheel comes to a stop and to start again without dis- mounting.

The apparatus consists of two steel- rod supports pi\ot- ally attached to the rear frame of a bi- cycle or motorcycle, and a strong, flexible wire which leads from the supports to the lever on the handlebar. The sup- ports may be forced downward as the bicycle moves, caus- ing it to stop quickh- and holding it up- right and steady when it does stop.

���The steel rod supports are tain a combined weight of

��Cork Fabric for Featherweight Raincoats

CORK fabric is a recent French produc- tion, the result of a new French proc- ess. It is waterproof, a non-conductor of heat, and unbreakable. By using a special machine, thin slices of cork of an even thickness are obtained from a block of cork. The slices are placed in chemical baths in order to remove the resinous parts which make cork a. more or 'ess brittle sub- stance. Upon their removal the cork sheets become flexible and may be compared in this respect with thin leather. In fact, the sheets can be folded and bent without breaking. Bv combining the cork sheets with any suitable cloth, prefer- ably a thin and strong cloth of good color, an excellent water- proof material is obtained. An adhesive preparation is employed to glue the cork to the cloth; or, if a stronger garment is desired, the cork sheets are placed between two layers of cloth. The cork fabric has a decided advantage over ordi- nary rainproof ma- terials because it is porous, permitting ventilation where the ordinary rain- coat prevents it. Of course the cork is very light. A coat made of it is said to be the lightest on the market.

��strong enough to sus- eight hundred pounds

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