Popular Science Monthly 



Handling Hot Firebricks 

 Asbestos Mittens 



with 



AT 7KEX it becomes necessary to repair 

 VV the firebrick arch in the fire-box 



fire is knocked out 



of a locomotive the 

 and steam blown 

 down to about half- 

 gage pressure. Then 

 the blower is turned 

 on and a man enters 

 the fire-box to make 

 the necessary re- 

 pairs The heat is 

 intense and is bear- 

 able for a short 

 time only owing to 

 the stream of cold 

 air blown into the 

 fire-box by the 

 blower. The man 

 must handle the hot 

 firebricks quickly, 

 yet gently enough 

 to prevent their 

 breakage. To ena- 

 ble him to do this 

 he wears mittens of 



canvas with a protective layer of asbestos 

 on the palm side to avoid burning his hands. 



These mittens can be made for about 

 thirty-five cents a pair, and some of the 

 large railroads have introduced their use 

 as a matter of economy. Fifteen loco- 

 motives can be repaired before these 

 gloves wear out, so that the cost for each 

 locomotive is about two and one-third 

 cents. This is a profitable investment. 

 The injur>' to the hot firebricks, when 

 carelessly handled, as they would be 

 without gloves, would represent a loss 

 many times greater than the cost of 

 the mittens. In fact it would be very 

 difficult to handle 

 them at all, since 

 the bricks hold 

 the heat for a 

 long time. 



Asbestos is be- 

 coming more and 

 more a necessity 

 in modern indus- 

 try, both for small 

 conveniences and 

 large apparatus, 

 and this is only 

 one more use. 



Asbestos-lined mittens enable the man to 

 remove and handle the hot firebricks 



753 



Telephone and Telegraph Senice in 

 Argentina Held I p by Spiders 



Dl RING the dry season in Argentina 

 a certain species of spiders' webs col- 

 lects on the telephone and telegraph wires 

 in enormous quan- 

 tities. As soon as 

 the sun sets they 

 become soaked with 

 dew and cause short 

 circui.s between the 

 wires Eleven 

 pounds v. vight have 

 been swept from 

 four wires o\er a 

 distance of sL\ miles. 



Leglessness Is No 

 Drawback 



THE Frenchman 

 is nothing if 

 not ingenious. Here 

 is a poll us answer 

 to the embarrassing 

 question of how to 

 do without legs. It- 

 tricycle with ver>* 

 and a wicker 



Who needs legs anyway? This novel vehicle is 

 a poilu's idea for circumventing leglessness 



consists of a kind of 

 exaggerated handlebars, 

 seat, comfortably mounted on springs be- 

 tween the two back wheels, in place of a 

 saddle. The driving mechanism is repre- 

 sented by a regular bicycle driving-wheel, 

 having handles instead of pedals, mounted 

 between the long handlebars in easy reach 

 of the seat. This drives a countershaft, 

 haA-ing a sprocket at each end, by means 

 of a long chain, which, in turn, is con- 

 jiected with the front wheel by a shorter 

 vertical chain and 

 sprocket. Steer- 

 ing is accomplish- 

 ed in the same 

 manner as steer- 

 ing a bicycle. 



It is said that, 

 this machine will 

 make fifteen 

 miles an hour on 

 a good road with 

 a husky, legless 

 "engine." It is 

 thus shown that 

 even legs are not 

 really indisnt^ns- 

 able. 



