Popular Science MonUihj 



241 



A grasshopper's leg, showing 

 to climb and which prevent 



Why a Grasshopper Is Like a 

 Telephone Lineman 



E\F.R\' boy and girl lias souii a teU- 

 phonc or telegraph lineman cliinlj 

 a pole by means of iron spurs strapped to 

 his shoes. The grasshopper's legs carr\' 

 spurs which act on a similar principle, 

 although the 

 method is 

 different. The 

 grasshopper 

 has neither 

 the weight 

 nor the 

 strength to 

 drive its 

 spurs into 

 the s u b- 

 stance of the 

 object or 

 other surface 

 on whicii it 

 is climbing. But a twig or a grass blade 

 under a microscope appears, as do the 

 poles to the unaided eye, to be studded 

 with holes anil superficial rough places. 

 The grasshopper's sharp spurs catch 

 into some of I Iiese holes and unc\'en spots 

 and thus enable it to climb. 



By the aid of a small reading glass 

 one can carefully watch grasshoppers in 

 the act of climbing and discover that 

 their method is much like that of the 

 telephone man, with the exception al- 

 rcad}' noted. Instead of making holes, 

 they take advantage of holes already 

 made. But they ha\e still more fre- 

 quent and ser\iceable use. This is to 

 prevent the insect from slipijing back 

 when it makes its gigantic citort in 

 jumping. K\er\- one knows that it 

 would be difficult to stand still on smootii 

 ice and make a long jump forward. A 

 rough surface facilitates the movement. 

 The grasshopjier is a more successful 

 jumper than an\- boy can be, because it 

 ran leap many times its own length. It 

 must therefore obtain a firm hold on the 

 ground so as to prc\cnt the loss of force 

 by backward slipjiing. All its energy 

 must be e.\erted in throwing its bod\' 

 forward. If a boy could jump like a 

 grasshopper, comparing size with size, 

 he could hurl himself forward at least 

 four hundred feet. A grasshopper an 

 inch in length finds it easy to jump a 

 hundred times its length. 



Hitting the Trail with a Wheel-Barrow 

 and Determination 



TRAMPING across the continent 

 with the aid of all sorts of odd con- 

 trivances seems to be a fa\'orite form of 

 di\ersion for the athletically fit. The 

 last team to "hit the trail" for New 



York are tw(j 

 Bakersfield, 

 California, 

 mechanics, 

 who are push- 

 i n g their 

 camp outfit 

 ahead of 

 them in a 

 w'heel-bar- 

 row. They 

 intend to 

 traverse the 

 length f)f the 

 Lincoln High- 

 way and expect to reach the end of their 

 journey before the winter season makes 

 camping too uncomfortable. 



Their outfit weighs about one hun- 

 dred pounds and includes a tent and 

 necessities for road travel and life in the 

 open. The whole load is packed on a 

 specially constructed wheel-barrow which 

 balances as perfectly as a pair of scales. 

 It has a capacious sheet-metal body with 

 handles about twice as long as those of 

 the ordinary wheel-barrow. The han- 

 dles are equipped with rubber grips. 

 The wheel is of the bicycle type and it is 



the sharp spurs which enable it 

 it from slipping when jumping 



set well back under the body. 



\ehicle is so arranged that the 



!> u s h i n g it 



bears none of 



the weight and 



can divert his 



whole strength 



to forcing it 



along the road. 



The 

 man 



The determination is in the men; everything 

 else is in the featherweight wheel-barrow 



