664 



Popular Science Monthly 



At the approach of poison gas in the 

 trenches a klaxon horn is sounded 



A ''Honk! Honk!" in the Trenches 

 Means "Don Your Gas Masks!" 



THE deadly gases which have been 

 introduced into trench warfare as the 

 equal if not the superior of exploding shrap- 

 nel for exterminating an enemy, have 

 necessitated the use of various kinds of gas 

 masks, many of which have proved effec- 

 tive. But it is inconvenient for the soldiers 

 to wear the masks constantly. So, various 

 mechanical devices have been used to give 

 the alarm of approaching poison gas to 

 enable the troops to put on the masks in 

 time to avoid danger. 

 In a French trench 

 the klaxon horn, 

 shown in the ac- 

 companying photo- 

 graph is used for the 

 purpose, which gives 

 an altogether new 

 meaning to the fa- 

 miliar "honk." The 

 masks are kept with- 

 in instant reach, and 

 so readily are they 

 adjusted that when 

 the alarm is heard 

 the soldiers almost 

 immediately be- 

 come unrecognizable 

 under them and cor- 

 respondmgly safe. 



Massaging the Digestive Organs by 

 Deep Breathing 



PHYSICIANS agree that massaging the 

 abdominal organs is at best a delicate 

 procedure requiring the skill of a profes- 

 sional in order to prevent more harm than 

 good being done. And yet abdominal 

 massage is recommended as a help or cure 

 for various ills, especially for constipation. 

 A method which is so gentle that no baneful 

 effects could possibly result employs sys- 

 tematic deep breathing as the agent. 



The diaphragm and the muscles of the 

 abdomen share in the work of respiration 

 and at the same time press rhythmically 

 upon the intestines. In order to increase 

 the pressure so that massaging of the 

 intestines results, it is only necessary to 

 breathe more deeply than is customary and 

 to keep it up rhythmically. The patient 

 should lie face downward across the bed 

 taking from five to seven deep breaths a 

 minute. A pillow under the abdomen 

 serves to press the organs in so that the 

 force of the breathing is felt more by the 

 enclosed organs than by the stretching 

 outer skin. 



The transportation system which a gold- 

 bearing district in Alaska boasts. The 

 track is composed of wooden poles 



Railroading in Alaska Is Still 

 Far from Rapid 



THE photograph below shows the only 

 method of transportation in the rich 

 gold-bearing Iditarod region of Alaska, and 

 this is probably all they will have for some 

 time to come, although their outlet or con- 

 nection is now a real railroad line instead of 

 uncertain water transportation as formerly. 

 Gold was discovered there about six years 

 ago with the usual 

 resultant rush of 

 miners and prospec- 

 tors. 



The present rail- 

 road consists simply 

 of short poles for 

 ties, laid on the 

 mossy surface of the 

 ground, without bal- 

 last, and rails of 

 sawed wood ; but on 

 it a tandem of stout 

 horses with one driv- 

 er can haul a tram 

 car containing as 

 much merchandise 

 as was formerly car- 

 ried by a pack train 

 of twenty animals. 



