VI 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



July. 1913 



Coral Builders and the Bell System 



In the depths of tropical seas the 

 coral polyps are at work. They are 

 nourished by the ocean, and they 

 grow and multiply because they 

 cannot help it. 



Finally a coral island emerges 

 from the ocean. It collects sand 

 and seeds, until it becomes a fit 

 home for birds, beasts and men. 



In the same way the telephone 

 system has grown, gradually at 

 first, but steadily and irresistibly. 

 It could not stop growing. To stop 

 would mean disaster. 



The Bell System,starting with a few 

 scattered exchanges, was carried for- 

 ward byan increasingpublicdemand. 



Each new connection disclosed a 

 need for other new connections, and 

 millions of dollars had to be poured 

 into the business to provide the 

 7,500,000 telephones now connected. 



And the end is not yet, for the 

 growth of the Bell System is still 

 irresistible, because the needs of the 

 people will not be satisfied except by 

 universal communication. Thesystem 

 is large because the country is large. 



American Telephone and Telegraph Company 

 And Associated Companies 



One Policy One System Universal Service 



SCIENTIFIC AND 

 TECHNICAL 



BOOKS 



U| WE HAVE JUST ISSUED A NEW CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL 



Ji books, which contains the titles and descriptions of 3500 of the latest and best books covering 

 the various branches of the useful arts and industries. 

 UJ OUR "BOOK DEPARTMENT" CAN SUPPLY THESE BOOKS OR ANY OTHER 



jl Scientific or technical books published, and forward them by mail or express prepaid to any 

 address in the world on receipt of the regular advertised price. 

 |][ SEND US YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, AND A COPY OF THIS CATALOGUE 



jI will be mailed to you, free of charge. 



MUNN & COMPANY, Inc., Publishers 

 SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN OFFICE 361 Broadway, New York City 



Plant for Immediate Effect 



Not for Future Generations 



It takes many years to 



Start with the largest stock that can be secured! 



grow such Trees and Shrubs as we offer. 

 We do the long waiting — thus enabling you to secure Trees and Shrubs that 



give an immediate effect. Price List gives complete information. 



CHESTNUT HILL 

 PHILADELPHIA., PA. 



ANDORRA NURSERIES 



Box 



N 



WM. WARNER HARPER, Proprietor 



PROGRESS OF THE PANAMA- 

 PACIFIC EXPOSITION 



THE Panama-Pacific International Ex- 

 position which is to be held at San 

 brancisco in celebration of the comple- 

 tion of the Panama Canal will open its 

 doors to the public on Saturday, Febru- 

 ary 20, lyio. Although two years in ad- 

 vance of the opening date, progress upon 

 the exposition has reached a stage of 

 accomplishment in all its departments 

 which, in the opinion of expert observers, 

 has not been exceeded by either of the 

 last two great expositions a year before 

 their opening. The exposition grounds, 

 which cover an area ot 625 acres, have 

 been prepared. First work has started 

 and the exposition headquarters building 

 has been completed. Twenty-six Ameri- 

 can Commonwealths have selected sites 

 for their State buildings. The following 

 foreign governments have thus early ac- 

 cepted the invitation of the president to 

 take part in the Panama-Pacific Exposi- 

 tion : Liuatemala, Haiiti, Salvador, Do- 

 minican Republic, Honduras, Panama, 

 Mexico, Peru, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Japan, 

 Ecuador, Uruguay, Canada, Eiberia, 

 France, Nicaraugua, Cuua, Ureat Britain, 

 China, Portugal, Sweden, Holland, Spain, 

 Denmark, Argentine Republic. 



AN AERONAUTICAL WEATHER 

 BUREAU 



GERMANY, says an Exchange, is the 

 first country in the world to estab- 

 lisn a weather bureau for aeronauts. The 

 importance of such an institution will be 

 clear to any one who realizes that the 

 sailors of the air are at the mercy of 

 wind and weather to a far greater ex- 

 tent than the sailors of the sea; yet the 

 latter are always eager to hear the latest 

 news from the storm-predicting services 

 that every civilized country now main- 

 tains. Only the biggest liners leave port 

 when a severe gale is announced. 



The aeronaut is not only interested in 

 storms; he wishes to know the force and 

 direction of the winds in the upper air 

 — usually quite different from the condi- 

 tions that prevail near the ground. The 

 observation stations of an ordinary 

 weather bureau are at a low level, com- 

 pared with the heights reached by the 

 airmen. On the contrary, the stations 

 of the aeronautical weather bureau are 

 thousands of feet above the earth. 



At fourteen places, well distributed 

 over the German Empire, a small, free 

 balloon is sent up every morning, be- 

 tween seven and eight o'clock, and it$ 

 course in the air is followed as long as 

 possible with a theodolite. The balloon 

 carries no instruments and no aeronaut; 

 it is simply a wind-indicator. Each sta- 

 tion telegraphs the results of its observa- 

 tions to the headquarters of the servicle 

 at Lindenberg, near Berlin. Here the 

 observations are assembled and charted, 

 and a bulletin is telegraphed to aeronaut- 

 ical centers throughout the country, ad- 

 vising aerial navigators of the kind of 

 winds they are likely to encounter withih 

 a few hours after the time of the report. 

 The forecaster also has reports from the 

 ordinary weather stations of Germany 

 and adjacent countries, and these, in 

 combination with the balloon observa- 

 tions, enable him to predict severe storms 

 in the upper air. 



A similar institution is about to be es- 

 tablished in France, and other countries 

 are sure to follow in the near future. 



