300 



THE WORLD'S ADVANCE 



corrected. All specific instructions go 

 through the control boards which make 

 possible a perfect co-ordination of efforts 

 leading to complicated assemblies. From 

 raw material to finished product every- 

 thing is kept moving in harmony to meet 

 the requirements set on charts at the 

 boards. The records on the boards are 

 made permanent by photographs taken 

 once each week. 



Plans for building 3,500 automobiles 

 this year mean the setting of a task in- 

 volving specific instructions on about 

 52,000 things to be done. To check the 

 accomplishment against the task, the ac- 



complishment of the individual is brought 

 back to the control board and the two 

 compared. But since the initial instruc- 

 tions were exact and the methods of the 

 factory would fail only through inaccu- 

 rate orders, comparison of attainment to 

 task is a matter principally of check to 

 show what has been done and thus pre- 

 vent duplication of orders. 



As a result of the installation of the 

 boards there has been a marked reduc- 

 tion in the stores and work-in-process 

 investment in the last year and a half, al- 

 though the firm is turning out twice as 

 many cars per month. 



THE FOLDING BICYCLE OF THE 

 SWEDISH ARMY 



The accompanying illustration shows 

 a useful and ingenious type of folding 

 bicycle used in the Swedish army. There 

 are two hinges in the frame, one in the 

 top horizontal bar and the other in the 

 front slanting bar directly beneath. 

 These hinges are provided with bolts for 

 locking them shut, so that the frame is in 

 no danger of suddenly folding up while 

 the bicycle is being ridden. This folding 

 feature enables the rider to carry the 

 bicycle on his back with ease while 

 marching over rough roads ; a leather 

 sling being utilized for that purpose. 



Folding the bicycle makes it easier to 

 carry, as the weight is more compact 

 and not so awkward to manage. This 

 type of bicycle enables a bicycle squad 

 to walk closer together when dismounted 

 and carrying their wheels over impassa- 

 ble roads, and also permits of packing 

 the wheels more closely together in rail- 

 way freight cars. Special apparatus for 

 conveniently holding the knapsack is at- 

 tached to the handle bars. This queer 

 but practical army bicycle is on exhibi- 

 tion in the Swedish Building at the 

 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Fran- 

 cisco. 



One of the Folding Bicycles used in the Swedish 



Army, which can be Folded and Carried on the 



Soldier's Back by Means of a Strap. 



REDWOOD SPLINTERS MILLIONS 

 OF YEARS OLD 



The discovery of splinters millions of 

 years old has been made by a professor 

 of paleontology at the University of 

 California. The splinters are neither de- 

 cayed nor petrified, but retained the 

 ?rain and distinct markings of the Cali- 

 ornia redwood, and it is even possible to 

 whittle shavings from the larger splin- 

 ters. The discovery of these splinters was 

 made at Mussel Rock, California, a bank 

 of rock about twenty miles out of San 

 Francisco. This stratum of rock offers 

 an excellent opportunity for the study of 

 rock formations, and it was while on a 

 trip of this kind that the splinters were 

 found imbedded in the sandy base of the 



