Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 91.djvu/398

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��Popular Science Monthly

��The Star Spangled Banner in Brick — A Feat of Chicago Masons

SOMETHING out of the ordinary in the way of flags was constructed by a Chicago company recently. It is a flag of burnt- clay brick that neith- er time nor elements can destroy or mar. So far as we know, it is the only flag of its kind in the world. It is fully thirty-two inches high by forty- eight inches wide. The red stripes consist of red, vitrified brick, the white stripes of matt- glazed brick, and the blue stripes of dark blue-enameled brick. The stars are of brick, too. Forty-eight of them were cut from white enameled brick with chisels and were laid in the blue background with blue cement mortar.

The masons who are responsible for the flag first thought of pasting stars cut out from oilcloth on the brick to represent the forty-eight States. Finally they decided not to fake the flag, and hit upon the idea of cutting the stars out of individual bricks. Needless to say, this was a b task, but the result was well worth the labor and means expended.

���"Old Glory" reproduced in burnt-clay brick. Even the stars are of brick. They were chiseled out and finished in white enamel

��bers of an Italian scouting party about to partake of their midday meal. Their faces and hands are besmeared with black grease to protect them against the burning rays of the sun, which are doubly strong when re- flected from the snow. They pre- fer to use vaseline, but that is too expen- sive. The snow not only burns the faces of troops but it in- jures their eyes so that sun glasses have to be worn. Needless to say, the black grease and the sun glasses make the Ital- ians excellent targets against a background of white snow.

However, the Alpine Italian troops do not always use grease and sun glasses. When there is hot fighting to be done in the Alps, they don snow-white suits and even paint their rifles white. In such a uniform they are practically invisible.

��Italian Soldiers Paint Their Faces — But Not for Beauty

THE Italians holding down trenches in the Alps have two enemies to deal with, the Austrians and the snow. Of the two the Italians prefer to en- counter the Austrians. As it is, they have to face both and get along as best they can. In order to do this they supply themselves with gunpowder and rifles for the Austrians and black grease and glasses for the sun.

The photograph shows four mem-

���Black grease and sun glasses prevent the sun from burning the faces and injuring the eyes of the Italian troops fighting in the Alps

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