Popular Science Monthly 



397 



The Candle Still Flour- 

 ishes Even in This 

 Electric Age 



NOWADAYS we think 

 of light in terms of 

 electricity or gas lamps, 

 but it will surprise some to 

 learn that the average 

 daily expenditure for can- 

 dles in this country alone 

 this year will be about 

 sixty-seven thousand dol- 

 lars. On this scale the val- 

 uation of the 1 91 7 produc- 

 tion of candles in the United 

 States will total a round 

 twenty million dollars. 



This crane, attached to an idle dirt wagon and operated by 

 a crank, will pick up and empty the largest garbage cans 



A Patriotic Float Made of Raisins 

 to Represent a "Tank" 



FRESNO, which is the center of the 

 California raisin industry, each year 

 in May holds a "Raisin Day" celebration, 

 an important feature of which is a parade. 

 This year it was given over to a patriotic 

 display and many remarkable floats moved 

 in the procession. 



The float which won first prize as an 

 industrial display was entered by one of 

 the express companies. It was made up as 

 a "tank," twenty feet long, fourteen feet 

 wide and thirteen feet high. The float was 

 built up solid with raisins. Out'of the float 

 projected the muzzles of fifteen dummy 

 cannon. On top was a miniature refrigera- 

 tor car. The float was drawn by four bay 

 horses and 

 driven by 

 ' 'Uncle 

 Sam." 



Three 

 hundred 

 and fifty 

 pounds 

 of raisi n s 

 were re- 

 quired for 

 the body 

 alone. The 

 bottom of 

 the float was 

 covered 

 with huckle- 

 berry greens 

 and poppies. 



w 



The float was built up solid with raisins — just raisins. The 

 bottom was covered with huckleberry greens and poppies 



Converting the Dirt Wagon Into an 

 Efficient Garbage Collector 



'ILLIAM M. WALSH, a highway 

 commissioner at Grand Rapids, 

 Michigan, holds the patents on a novel 

 scheme which enables him to convert any 

 of the city's idle dirt wagons into a more- 

 than-ordinarily efficient garbage collector. 

 His idea involves the use of a small crane 

 by means of which the driver can lift the 

 largest garbage cans into his wagon with 

 little effort. 



The movable crane is secured against the 

 driver's seat and carries two tongs for 

 grappling the garbage can. By turning a 

 crank while standing on the ground, the 

 two tong cables are wound upon a drum, 

 and the can is slowly lifted. On reaching 



the top of 

 the crane, 

 the driver 

 fastens his 

 crank upon 

 another 

 shaft which 

 operates the 

 cable con- 

 n e c t i n g 

 with the 

 bottom of 

 the garbage 

 can. Turn- 

 ing this 

 shaft tilts 

 the can up- 

 ward and 

 empties it. 



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 Science Monthly is at your disposal. Write to the editor if you think he can help you. 



