Show THE RIGHT THING AT THE RIGHT TIME presence of mind io in the presence of a Is sometimes Bome timea of inestimable inee value as it enables the ingenuity to have batter apfl more direct ply play we read that several years yeara ago ft steamer while brossi crossing nig the bay of biscay biechy in a violent storm gave indications by various means that thai lug was wrong with the screw propeller or the shaft operating it outside the ship meaning the open space between the stern anil and the rudder post where the ibe screw revolves there was wae nu no ury dry dock in any of the ports forts on the where the ship could go to tw be and on arrival at vigo it appeared as if there was no do alteri alternative DatiVe but to remove the cargo itom from the stern aud and by placing it forward thus lift the abrew propeller tod hind abaft to the surface of the water the alternative simple as it ii wae meant a serious delay and a great expeL Ame before commencing to remove the cargo another consultation was held it was then U to put ut the stern of the ship over abed of light 0 c lored lord ivand and as the water was wait very very clear there might be a possibility oi 01 the extent or cause of f the mishap for two days after the vessel venal isao placed the wind caused a ripple on the water which effectually prevented anything being seen it was waa then suggested by some boma one on board to try the use of oil on the burlace of the water round the stern pt the ship the effect was most moot satisfactory the water was becalmed as aa if by magic and it was wag then seen that the wedge or key wha which ch keeps beech the propeller in its ita place on the shaft abaft had come partly out and thus left the screw loose on the which caused the noise by continuing the use of oil for a few hours the wedge was ultimately driven into its ita place and secured many days of detention det eLtion and the use of cs cosily atly appliances and labor aers thus saved incidents illustrative of how bow much can be saved in time wear and tear exasperation and money by the application of a little hide coolheaded cool beaded t I 1 are numerous as much so at perhaps as are the antitheses which show duhow nit how much of destruction waste and turmoil are the result of doing things rashly or without sufficient consi tiera tion A conspicuous incident in the former class clasa occurred in an obscure place in germany some years ago an iron bridge of considerable length whose weight was wan about tons tone had bad been constructed in england for the place referred to and by some mishap the bridge when finished was found to be some distance out to one side an error which the proprietors insisted should be rectified to take down and re erect the bride would be simply ruin to the contractor but necessity is the mother of invention it was summer time and the contractor proceeded to find the amount of expansion which was caused by the heat of the ibe sun over the whole length of the bridge he next ascertained what contraction took place in the night by cooling armed with these theae data he thought it might be possible to bring the bridge to its proper position in a few days the bridge ot course in its ordinary condition expanded frum from the center pushing lie its two ends out ward or farther apart and again con tr trao acting ting toward the center taking advantage of these conditions condit ione one end was made fast in the morning moraine and the bridge was forced to expand from that immovable point instead of from the middle as formerly when theiron the iron composing the bridge had expanded to its ita full extent in the direction in tended that end was released and the opposite end made fast the bridge then ben contracted toward its true position chup whatever was gained by bj the days expansion was secured by the subsequent contraction when the metal cooled at night and the process being renewed day by day the work was wae successfully of ully accomplished the application of the 9 of expansion and contraction of met Is are nu numerous one of the most moot prominent and best known in this country being that of the great structure across the mis mio api river at tit st louis A beam or girder was a trifle too long to enable the builders to get it into the socket designed for it and here abelay loss and annoyance was ed ad all at once came the thought that there were other means than undoing a portion of the work and having the beam cut off to shorten it that it if the iron mould could be made cold coid it would shrink pe perhaps flins enough forthe for the purpose so BO it was wrapped in lee ice and in a short abort time that part of the work was completed A similar cade with host heat as the agent occurred in france recently the walls walla of a large build ing in parts paris were observed to be giving way by bulging out outward and the problem was to bring them back to their vertical position popi llou for this thin purpose a number of bars of iron having screws and nute nut on each end were let lee through the opposite walls au aik 1 t across acron the intervening space between them the nuts and screwed portion of the bars were outside the bars were now nor heated by a number of lamps suspended below them until they had expended as much as possible and the nuts screwed up against the outsides out sides aidea ot the two opposite walls the lamps were next dext removed when the heated bars in cooling coolin gradually contracted in their length bringing the walls very gently but with irresistible force into in to their normal position now if some thoughtful person of scientific bent or otherwise sufficiently endowed would but drop into our midst a plain speedy and adequate means of 1 building our long proposed sod and much talked ot of railroad to deep creek he be would confer a boon upon local humanity we have the means the ability and the right of way we only need some one to take hold bold in the right manner and with the needed spirit |