Popular Science Monthly 



fitting tunics, others possess a distinct 

 Western cut, while others again wear 

 loose-fitting gowns, reminding one of 

 a lady's tea gown. 



The headgear is equally as varied, 

 that of the Sultan's personal body- 

 guard consisting of a highly embell- 

 ished pyramid shaped hat with a wide 

 brim in front and two laps that fall 

 down over the ears. So far as the 

 v/eapons are concerned, they are about 

 as varied and wonderful as the uni- 

 forms. Some men are armed Avith long 

 pikes, others with lances, still others 

 with old-fashioned, long-barreled mus- 

 kets bearing ludicrously long ijayonets. 



Was This the Tower of Babel? 



IT is doubtful if there is any place 

 in the world so rich in ancient re- 

 mains as the valley of the Euphrates, 

 in Mesopotamia. The result is that 

 to archaeologists and scholars the 

 place is a veritable "Tom Tiddler's 

 ground," and new "finds" are con- 

 stantly being reported. \\'hen it is 

 remembered that tradition places the 

 site of the Garden of Eden here, while 

 amongst its many ruins are those of 

 ancient Babylon, the promising nature 

 of the valley to the scientific excava- 

 tor becomes apparent. 



It is near the ruins of Babylon that 

 we find what many scholars believe 

 to be the remains of the Tower of 

 Babel — an immense cube of brick 



89 



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S' 





Here is one reason why walnut furniture is likely to be 



pKDpular and expensive before long. This pile of American 



walnut logs is waiting to be cut up into gunstocks for the 



soldiers of Europe 



A lonely pile, worn by ages of weather 



jis the world's only claimant to the 



honor of being the Tower of Eabel 



work, called by the natives Birs 

 Mimrud. Recent exhaustive examina- 

 tion of the strange pile and its site has 

 revealed the fact that the tower which 

 once stood hei^e consisted of seven 

 stages of brick work- on an earthen 

 platform, each stage being of a dif- 

 ferent color. The tower boasted of a 

 base measurement of nearly six hun- 

 dred square feet, and rose to an un- 

 known height. Even- to-day the ruins 

 rise some hundred and sixty feet above 

 the level of the surrounding plain. 



Piles of Walnut Logs 

 for Gun Stocks 



THIS pile of logs rep- 

 resents about one- 

 fourth of the material 

 needed to fill a large war 

 order received by an 

 Iowa sawyer. His mill 

 has a capacity of one 

 million gun stocks a 

 year. These walnut logs 

 are valued at about six- 

 ty thousand dollars, and 

 will make two hundred 

 and fifty thousand gun 

 stocks. Five car loads 

 is the daily capacity of 

 this part of the plant. 

 F-ach tree is inspected 

 by an agent of the com- 

 I)any before it is cut. 



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