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T H E C H E M A W A A M E R IC A N
CLIMBS H IG H EST T H E N FA LLS
A fter b reak in g th e w o rld ’s record for h eig h t at Day-
to n , O ., M aj. R. W . Schroeder co ntinued to b attle his
w ay upw ard foot by foot in a b itter cold atm osphere
and ag ain st a w ind blow ing 100 miles an hour in ten t
upon o b tain in g his objective, an a ltitu d e of 40,000
feet, u n til his su p p ly of oxygen became ex h au sted and
he lost consciousness. T h e airplane dropped 5000
feet, doing a tail spin.
Maj. S ch ro ed er’s eyelids were frozen to g eth er in
th e sudden d ro p , b u t the quick change from an air
pressure of less th a n th ree pounds to th e square inch
to one of about 15 shocked him back to consciousness
and he reg ain ed control of his m achine w hile still
2000 feet above the ea rth . H e m ade a safe landing
an d th en collapsed. W hen atten d a n ts ru sh ed u p they
found him sittin g in th e m achine apparently lifeless.
H e is now being treated in a h o sp ita l.
In stru m e n ts in th e m achine show ed th a t Maj.
Schroeder had reached an altitu d e of 36,020 feet, 1410
feet above th e w o rld ’s record. H is th erm o m eter re g
istered 67 degrees below zero. T h e officer w as b etter
prepared for the cold th a n any explorer in th e polar
regions. H is suit w as lined w ith fu r and u n d er th is
were flexible electric heaters connected by silk-covered
w ires w ith th e dynam o of th e engine. H is headgear,
gloves and m occasins were sim ilarly heated.
He
wore an o x y g en m ask of his own design.
T h e flig h t and fall of the airm an caused consider
able excitem ent at D ayton. In ascending th e airplane
left a trail of ex h au st gas w hich was condensed in the
frigid air and was m istaken by m any for th e ap p ear
ance of a com et. Some suggested th a t a stran g e body
was com ing w ith a message from M ars. T h e tele
scope at St. M ary ’s college was b ro u g h t into use, and
th e airp lan e was discovered. T h o u san d s of persons
w atched d u rin g the period of two h ours the plane was
in the air, and so w itnessed the fall.
In A u g u st, 1919, M aj. Schroeder broke th e w o rld ’s
speed record for high altitu d e by flying 137 miles an
hour at a h eig h t of 18,400 feet. In S eptem ber, 1918,
he m ade a w o rld ’s record for heig h t at D ayton by g o
in g u p 28,900 feet. T h is record was surpassed by
R oland R ohlfs, who reached a height of 34,610 feet
at th e R oosevelt flying field, L. I ., last Septem ber.
T h e n ex t g reatest h eig h t was m ade hy th e F rench
pilot A d ju ta n t Casale whose barograph registered
33,136. A lm ost as soon as M aj. Schroeder was able
to talk after his great fall he announced his in ten tio n
of try in g again for the lecord of 40,000 feet.
W A X -M A K IN G H A R D WORK FOB. BEES
N atu ralists tell us th a t w hen a sw arm of bees need
w ax to build new com bs a delegation of w orkers gorge
them selves and clin g together in a dense m ass, su s
pended from som e point overhead.
W ithin 24 hours
w ax begins to ooze from the w ax-plates on th eir a b
dom ens, being secreted by glands uear th e plates.
T hese plates, on th e under surface of th e
abdom en,
can be veiwed readily w ith the aid of a m icroscope,
even one of low pow er.
M aking w ax is h arder w ork for th e bees th a n m a k
ing honey; to produce a single pound of w ax 21 pounds
of honey is co n su m ed . In order to obtain th e m axim um
am ount of honey, m any up-to-date bee-keepers use a
m achine to e x tra c t the honey from the com b and then
p u t th e latter back in th e hive to be refilled repeatedly,
th u s not only conserving honey b u t m ak in g m ore of
th e bees’ tim e available for g ath erin g and storing new
stocks of the sw eet liquid
T h e w ax as it exudes from the plates on a w o rk e r’s
abdom en is th in and fluid but soon hardens in co n
tact w ith the air, form ing a coating on the outer s u r
face of the plate, w hich g radually th ick en s as fresh
w ax is secreted. W hen a com paratively large mass
of w ax has accum ulated th e bee begins scrap in g it off
w ith its hind legs w hich are fitted w ith sh a rp hairs
or spines, know n as pollen com bs. O ften o th e r bees
assist in rem oving th e w ax, stabbing their spine-arm ed
legs in to it and pulling it loose.
As the w ax is torn off in the form of scales it is
passed forw ard to the m andibles of the insects and
w’ith some assistance from th e fore legs w orked into a
sm ooth soft m ass w hich is finally used to build up
six-sided cells of com b for honey, for eggs or for bee-
bread.
TH E TROUBLE W ITH AM ERICA
“ W hat is the m atter w ith A m erica these days?”
asks th e F argo, N . D ak., F orum and then it proceeds
to answ er, as follows:
Too m any diam onds, not enough alarm clocks.
Too m any silk sh irts and not enough blue flannel ones.
Too m any pointed-toed shoes and not enough square-
toed ones. T oo m any serge suits and not enough
overalls. T oo m uch decollete and not eno u g h aprons.
Too m any satin upholstered lim ousines and not
enough cows.
T oo m any consum ers and not enough producers.
Too m uch oil-stock and not enough savings accounts.
T oo m uch envy of th e results of h a td w ork and too
little desire to em ulate it. Too m any d esiring short
cu ts to w ealth and too few w illing to pay th e price.
Too m uch of the sp irit of “ get w hile th e g ettin g is
g o o d ” and not enough of th e old-fashioned C hristian
ity . Too m uch d iscontent th at vents itself in m ere
com plaining and too little real effort to rem edy con
ditions. T oo m uch cla js consciousness and too little
com m on dem ocracy and love of hu m an ity .