WHIMSICAL INVENTIONS.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 17, Issue 17, 26 April 1895, Page 2

WHIMSICAL INVENTIONS.

! Ifc is not very Jong since a worthy i raagisir-ite was suspecled of being, io ; league wUh vhe powers of darkness, i owing to a wbivudcAl contrivance of bis. IHe "had a huge water barometer ! c ecled in hia Lome. Lb mainly con- ! si& ed of a lorg lube containing the ijB (i Uie of a man. Thia column of i wale? soiled to the proper altitude, and left the little figu-e flo;uiDS on its sip/ace; bur, aH the lower part of the lube being concealed, tbe weather nrnaikin made is appearance only when raised «)) iuto view in fine woatber, which greatly astonished and mystified b ; s les.3 scien.ific neighbors. But a more cmious piece of mecbaniHm than fcbe foregoing was the figure of a man constructed of 700 pieces of Bteel. Moat of these were either spriog3 or slides, and were bo arranged as to be capable of a graduated movement, by means of which tho proportions of the whole figure might be expanded from the standard size of a bunion being to those of a giant. .Tbis elaborate piece of mechanism was intended to bo used i'ov the various measurements of army tailors, as it wou'd serve for the figures of men of vavious sizes. But it is doubtful if it proved much of a rival to the ordinary wooden dummies and lay figures. Many marvels of ingenuity, whimsical and otherwise, have been made by prisoners and others duriug enforced periods of protracted leisure. An English carpenter, when a prisoner of war, haviDg eol'ecled various materials for his purpose,macie of wood,wive,paßte, and paper an image of a saint with such art; and excellence that in Btrange motion, variety of gesture, mmblenf.-BS of joints, comeHuest«, and proportion, it surpassed all that before had been seen, being capable of almost every human movement and expression. Another ingenious pvisonev — a German —is Baid to have constructed a watch about three inches in -diameter with no other m*ieriaJg or tools than two needles, a spool of thread, a newspaper, aud some rye atiaw. The wheels, posts, and cogs were all made of rye al-aw. It ran six hours without w'nd'.rg, and kept good time. That was a marvol'ous clock recently made by a pauper in Liverpool. The man had formerly been a wa'..cbmi»ker, and he made thia curious clock out of piDS, buttons, pieces of beds'.cads, and other cdd« aud enda. The back and fiont of the clock were made from the ends of iron becWatbp, while the bairel was part of a large brass fenule, the onda being brass buttons hammered out. The cogs were made of' boot rivets and pieces o£ knitting needles. This curious contrivaiice was on exhibition, and obtained a sum of money fur ibe owner wbich made him independent of charitable institutions. When repeating watches were unknown, a scientific gentleman confiivucled a ttrange chronometer, with a large dial, the figures of which were hollow. la these figures he pieced various^ flavored sweetmea s. to thai; when he wished (o know ihe hour of ibe night ha feH with hw finger thn position of the hand, and ascertained the hour by he taste of the sweetmeat r. Mutton fat n considered a cook's perquisite, but who would ever think of utilising tucli stuff for art manufacture ? "Yet a lover once made a kiud of wax figure ouu of no o.ber material tban a n^xlure of nun ton-fat and la r d. What effect the heat of a room would havoou st?(h tin ornament is not sla-ed by the inyento-'. Re'evcnce to a cook and muiton-fat brings to mind the exlraordinavy rowing &pit, belongiog to a wealthy nobleman, which wub considered tlia most eiugu'ar in the world. Thia ppit turned 130 different roaats at ouce end Dlaved hveniy-fonr tunes, and whatever it played co responded to a re-laiu kind of cooking which was perfectly ooderß'ood by the chef. Ifc wou'd be difficuH, perhaps, to carry further tho love of music and gormfurliaing. There are btill more cranky inventors. In America, for instate, there was a recent putent for (.be application of stilts to a horse. By fastening two of them to tho lega on the same Bide of the animal it can comfortatfy drag a plough on the flide of a sleep hill. Another genus proposes to &ink boileva so deep in the ear' h that the water in them, through the increased temperature at such a depth, will be converted iuto steam without the assistance of furnaces. You have only to sink your boilers three miles. Ifrom boilers to engines is but a step. The originator of such an idea wou'd probably approve of the invonlion of a carriage which aupolies its own railway, laying ib down as it advance?, and taking it up after the wheels havo passed over. But where would the inven>o»' of such a thing always get level ground for his purpose ] ' Exchange.'