Popular Science Monfhhf 



53 



An Inverted Steam-Hammer for 

 Drawing Piles 



THE time rc'(|iiir(.Ml for drawing 

 sheet steel piling is reduced to 

 seconds by the use of an inverted 

 steam-hammer. Two hundred and 

 seventy-five upward blows per min- 

 ute, with an S^^'.J'-in. stroke are able 

 to remove piles in less time than it 

 takes to dri\-c ihem. This has been 

 proved. The l)uil<ling of the new 

 warehouse for the Pittsburgh and 

 Lake Erie Railroad necessitated the 

 use of cofTer-dams for constructing 

 the foundations. Concrete five feet 

 thick was poured directly against 

 the piling, with no intervening 

 material to prevent adhesion. In 

 this case, ninety seconds was the 

 average time required for drawing 

 these 35-foot piles, which was 

 a minute less than the time 

 used in driving. 



The hammer which does 

 this rapid work is sus- 

 pended from the 

 cranebyahea\^ 

 wire cable. A 

 massive strap of 

 steel passes 

 around the anvil 

 block in the 

 form of a loop, 

 the ends uniting 

 below for at- 

 tachment to the 

 pile. A rubber 

 tube con\eys 

 the supply of steam from the crane. 



The inverted hammer was also em- 

 ployed in the construction of the 

 Lexington Avenue subway in New York 

 city, with a great saving of time. Not 

 only is the work hastened, but the piles 

 are kept in good condition, being ready 

 for redriving as soon as pulled. 



Six Battleships Go Into Reserve 



THE navy department announced 

 recently that six of the older 

 battleships of the Atlantic fleet have 

 been ordered into reserve. They are 

 the Nebraska, New Jersey, Rhode Island 

 and Virginia at the Boston Navy Yard 

 and the Louisiana at the Norfolk Navy 

 Yard. Lack of men was admitted to be 

 the reason for this unusual measure. 



Piles can be drawn in less 



time than it takes to 



drive them with this 



inverted steam-hammer 



When the Fighting Man Dreams 



THE harmony of the sleep of the 

 exhausted soldier has but one 

 discordant note, and that is the dream 

 of battle," declares Dr. George \V. Crile. 

 ("A Mechanistic View of War and 

 Peace." The Macmillan Company.) "The 

 dream is always the same, always of the 

 enemy. In the hospital wards, battle 

 nightmares were common, and severely 

 wounded men would often spring out 

 of their beds. An unexpected analogy 

 to this battle nightmare was found in 

 the anesthetic dreams. Precisely the 

 same battle nightmare that occurred in 

 sleep occurred when s<jldiers were going 

 under or coming out of anesthesia, when 

 they would often struggle valiantly 

 against the enemy's surprise attack." 



