N file in the archives of the United States
0 patent office in Washington are a number
of Sensational documents, some of them
dating from the year 1855, which prove almost
conclusively that the radio was invented by an
American long years ago. This man was a cer-
tain Dr. Mahlon Loomis, a dentist in Washington,
Whose struggles against adversity is a sad chap~
ter in the romance of invention. Dr. Loomis was
characterized as a wild, impractical dreamer. and
his claims and ideas were ridiculed and belittled.
Al a matter of fact, he was a faithful, kind-heart-
ed, mild~tempered man with a persistency that
This Diagram, ilepcpduced from Dr. Loomis's
Notebook, Corfesponds in a Way with Radio
Today and Shows That He Knew That
Wireless Currents Passed Through the.
Ground for the Return Circuit.
commanded the greatest respect. lie walked
steadfastly into the teeth of opposition, never
once losing sight of his object and finally was
granted a patent on his wireless telegraph on
July 30, 1872.
As a pioneer in radio Dr. Loomis's work pre-
sents an epoch«making chapter in the develop—
ment of civilization :md forms one of the most
sensationally interesting events in the history of
invention and the perfection of wireless communi-
cation.
Back in the sixties Dr. Loomis had a dental
office in Washington at 907 Pennsylvania avenue.
The man had missed his calling. He was an in~
ventivc genius and a practical dreamer. Conse-
quently, the gentle art of extracting aching mo-
lars and the manufacture of “store teeth” did
not appeal strongly to him. He was a keen stu—
dent of electricity and he gradually became ob-
sessed with the idea that it was possible to trans-
mit intelligence between two points without the
use of metallic wires. He set about the develop-
ment of a system which gave some results long
before Marconi was born.
The personal records of Dr. Loomis are set
forth in a recent volume entitled, “The Complete
Radio Book," published by the Century Company
of New York City. The authors of this book. Ray-
mond Francis Yates and Louis Gerard Parent, in
Did American Dentis
Invent the Radio Sixt‘
Years Ago? ‘
. zsil-Jtfi ’
m
Drawings of His Invention W'hich Are on File in the United States Patent Ofl'ice at Washington.
reviewing the personal records of Dr. Loomis’s
work, have taken the greatest care to choose the
notes that are most pregnant with facts, and they
are presented in an effort to give "honor where
honor is due." In their presentation of Dr.
Loomis’s work as a pioneer in radio the authors
make it clear that they do not wish to be mis-
understood. They are by no means asserting that
Dr. Loomis discovered radio telegraphy, as it is
understood today. ,The interesting records are
presenter] for what they are worth.
In Loomis’s day electrical science was in its
infancy, and it is therefore very difficult to give
Loomis's notes the proper interpretation. ~Quite
naturally he speaks vaguely in many instances,
and even the most thoughtful consideration does
not seem to reveal the facts that he had in mind.
As the authors point out later successful radio
telegraphy was finally brought about through the
use of high-frequency currents. Such currents
were not known at the time of Loomia's experi-
ments. It cannot be said with certainty that he
did not use such currents. If Loomis did use
them, he is, without doubt, the discoverer of radio
telegraphy. In his patent specifications it is inter-
esting to note that he mentions the .word “pulsa-
tions," but the specifications, in the light of pres-
ent-day knowledge, are so ambiguous that it is
difficult to get their real meaning.
It Dr. Loomis did not use high-frequency cur-
rents, he must at least be credited with an idea
that marked him as a genius. According to his.
records the system of radio telegraphy that he
evolved was successful in transmitting signals
over no small distance, and the world owea this
wonderful man a great debt, which unfortunately
it has never paid. . '
Dr. Loomis called his system "aerial teleg~
rnphy.” His first public demonstration was made
in 1866 from two peaks of the Blue Ridge moun-
tains in Virginia. These peaks were 18 miles
apart. The following notes, which describe this
The Honey BEE“ as
Hid average person's conception of the bee
is that it is a thing which gathers honey
and has a sting. Now, the bee does not
really gather honey, but’ merely the nectar, out
of which honey is made. The conversion of this
mum:- into honey is one of Nature’s subtle pro-
W15; of which even the scientific mind has but
1 lmzy conception.
its value in life's economy is not to be gauged
in. the amount of honey which the. bee produces——
"m in itself is valuable—abut by the fertilizing
"lower it. vrerts on fruit crops throughout the
wintry. No insect is of greater value than the
iww w1'in.ut it the fruit crops are an uncertain
l‘lfllliilly. ‘ ' ,
if you bear in mind that a bee during its
nun-t life of set weeks must take nectar from
mutytwo tlwu,..ind clover blossoms to produce
rvne p-vlmrl of lwney involving two million seven
hundred and nflyfbrbusand visits, you can to
some orient m-aiiz'e how impartant they areiboth
tn nnr‘iw:f',n.~is and agriculturists.
_ .l .. Minot-it impossible to produce healthy
cmvrr wwl, or to secure fruit fertilization,‘apart
{rum :nH-cr life. _ Bees are therefore the most
an AID to CROPS
useful workers in this field of Nature’s economy.
Watch them enter the flowers, gather their wads
of pollen, even rolling themselves in the rich dust.
Watch them fill their baskets and flit from flower
to flower, distributing from atamen to pistil the
essentials for the making of mature fruit.
But for this bee activity many trees and
flowers would remain entirely barren. It is well
known that in certain districts from which bees
have disappeared fruit trees have ceased to bear,
or bear very indifi‘erently. _
It is possible, of course, for the grower of
' fruit crops to assist materiallydn the prod tion
of healthy fruit by hand fertilizing. Thi can
only be done in gardens where fruit growing ls
practised on the bush principle, the blossom be-
ing within easy reach from the ground. It will
surprise anyone who has never tried the experi-
ment, which is described by a writer in London
Answers, to note the much better results ob-
tained when Nature is assisted in distributing
the pollen. . ii
A small brush fastened to a stick is the method
of hand fertilization. With this the blossoms are
gone over from time to time when the pollen .
is in a dry state.
I
demonstration, have been extracted from Dr.
Loomia's personal diary: ‘
“From two mountain peaks of the Blue Ridge
in Virginia, which are only about 2000 feet nbcva
tidewater, two kites were let up——one from each
summit-18 or 20 miles apart. These kites had
each a small piece of fine copper wire gauze about
15 inches square attach: 1 their under side and
connected also with the wire 600 feet in length
which held the kites when they were up. The day
was clear and cool in the month of October, with
breeze enough to hold the kites firmly at anchor
when they were flown.
"Good connection was made with the ground
by laying in a wet place a coil of wire one end of
which was secured to the binding post of a gal—
vanometer. The equipments and apparatus at
Does a'LIBERAL MEAT DIET Make KIEN GROW TALL?
vegetarians, science has proved the great
value of animal proteins in tissue building
and in the substance of life when consumed in
reasonable quantity. There is a quality in ani-
N OTWITHSTANDING the contention 0
‘mal proteins that stimulates cell life and func-
tion and promote; physical and intellectual dea
velopment that does nOt exist in fats, carbohy~
dratcs or minerals, unassisted, probably operat—
ing through pituitary stimulation. The popula-
tion of the central powers in the recent war suf-
feted intensely from the lack of fats and proteins
especially, and now it la found, after the starva-
tion period. that an abundance of fats and carbo-
dydrates does not rebuild without the addition of
meats. Even when inbreeding, selection and re-
strictions of climate are considered, it must be ad-
mitted that the Japanese stature has been limited
by their age-long restrictionto vegetarianism.
Dr. J. S. Landford, writing in the New .York
Medical Journal, points out that in moderately
cold countries, where large quantities of meat are
consumed, other things being equal. man is of
large stature, as the North Chlnamen, some or
the Russians, the Teutonic peoples. Anglo~Saxong
and other North country mixed breeds. _
The same proposition applies to other island
peoples similarly situated, and many less atrik— ‘
in exam les can be found. A‘fact of angular
inferest isp that where oriental races have drifted
away in early periods to more productive lauds,
where game and fruit were abundant, a larger
growth has been attained. No finer physical anon
exist than some of the Pacific Islanders, especially
the Polynesian New Zealanders.
The mall stature and slender build of most
Asiatic peoples, such as the Chinese, the Hindus
and others, as related to load supply, is due to
several causes; our-population and hunger over
long periods; a monotonous rice diet; the lack- of
animal proteins, the meat animal in theorienc
being absent or held sacred, aesthetic taste. bar-
‘ ring animal {00(15-
at have attained the best deveIOp-
mfihfnfiafjgd?thc greatest intellectual and com-
mercial progress have been favorably located,
with ports Open to all the world, “cl-“hp: Imple
supplies of a great variety of foods, including
proteins, as the Greeks and Romans, and the well
favored modern peoples.
Ha}; the ’Injury, “LAWN TEhNIs LEG,” 'Is ' CAUSED
0W a tennis player may develop what in
medical parlance is called a “lawn tennis-
leg” is explained‘bwar. H. Kuttner, wrlt- 4
ms: in the Deutsche iainioyhe Wochenschrift
(Berlin) and quotedsa'sgfollbwrby the 301111131, 01
n. American Medical Association: ‘
In the midst of a tennirgamc, a player sud-
.ienly stops machining a than; pain in the
in” or farther down on the leg, Kuttuer states. A ,
muscle or a tendon (the Achilles 'tendon) has
lwcn torn. Usually the player: inlabloio limp ofl'
the court. but sometimes has to be carried MY-
A roentgenogram will ccnllrni the usually cer-
tain diagnosis, and will reveal tirade ‘ " s in re-
gard to the site and'extent of the tion, as
the tandem?" to}; distinct,sliagow on the roent-
szen plate. e roentgenogram is also useful in
following the healing process in the tendon or .
muscle. Formerly such ‘injurlea were treated
with splints or plaster bandages or even surgical
therapy, ,with operative oxpomn of the injury
and suture, The results were. not good, or at
,least, recovery waa.delayed,zaa is showuv,-by Dr.
Fane’r own experience, ainccnitv was 19 months
beforehe could walk without enhancement. , '
The only correct traumatic that which lays '
stress on the rapid restoratiouof does
notconfinethe patient“ had, und induceshimto
begin walking at once. Inmlld cases, with a par-
tial rupture of a much, this causes no difficulty.
With the aid of a cane, the-.paflent should at once
make an attempt to wuuwhich willbepalnful
,at finch“ dterj into or three days itwill be
easier, and after a- week a" normal gait-can
usually!» reached. ‘ ~ .
In-‘tbe mild capes, bandages are may
and manage in superfluous. rFor nervou’aL:pa-
tlenta, if the pain in severe, a bandagermay be
*uaed. For three or four weeknlall violentexer-
' ' di tennis, should be avoided; cups.
233;? 113;: persons. as the lacerated mmle
or tendon will otherwise break down again: Even
in aévere cases—total rupture of the Achilles
tendon—walking should be begun at once, but
menament. introduced by flood in England
should be instituted. ., ,
The patient reclines on a sofa and the Wu?“
leg is kept in an elevated position, 1'11“an
to check hemorrhage. W bring down theswell.
in; and me the tension. The patient ism“.
vished to walk more animate each day. In the
se . "case! the beam may be renewed until
thepatient feels that he can dispense with‘them. _
, The prognosis is excellent even when the
AchfllestcndmiaMbutparfialruptureof
{
mu sci; heals» much more .npidlyrghoug‘h
Vain-mtgemclemaybefeltformonmsv
;
since the pain is great and the foot isrweak,‘
‘both‘istationa were exactly alike; it mini-ranged
that, at precisely, such an hour and minute the
galvanometer anode station should be attached,
to bein circuit‘with the ground and kite wires.
At the .opp‘osite-statlon’the. ground wire, being
already-fast to the .gnlvanom'eter, three separate
and deliberate‘half-minute connections were made
’with’the kite wire and the instrument. This de-
flated or moved the needle at the other station
with the some vigor and precision as if it had
been attached to an ordinary battery. After a
lapse of five minutes, as previously arranged, the
same performance was repeated with the same
results until the thirdvtime. Then 15 minutes
precisely were allowed to elapse, during which
time the instrument at the first station’was put in ’
circuit with both wires while the opposite one was
detached from its upper wire, thus reversing the
arrangements at each station. ~ .
“At the expiration of the 15 minutes the mes.
sage or signals came into the initial station, a
perfect duplicate of , those sent from it, as by
previous agreement. And although no ‘transmis-
ting key’ was made use of, nor any ‘sounder’ to
voice the messages, yet they were just as exact
and distinctas any that ever traveled over a. me-
tallic conductor. , _
’“A solemn feeling seemed to be impressed
upon those who witnessed the little performance
as if some grave mystery hovered there around
the. simple scene, notwit riding the results
were confidently expected, although the experi-
ments had been continued for nearly two days
before the line would ‘work,’ and even then it con-
tinued to transmit signals only about three hours,
when the circuit beanie suddenly inoperative by
the moving away of the. upper electric body.
Hence it: is that high regions must be sought
where disturbing influences cannot invade, where
statical energy is stored in a vast unbroken
element, enabling a line to be worked without
interruption or possible failure- No} speculation
need be indulged as to whether the theory is cor-
rect, for theory and speculation must stand aside
whether they will or not, and square themselves
with the demonstrated truth.”
Many of the sketches made by Dr. Loomis are
very interesting. One of them, given herewith,
shows how he used a kite toelevate‘his aerial.
It is generally believed that Marconi was the first
man to employ an aerial of that type, but here is
definite proof that this American pathfinder,
Momis, used such a device several years before
Marconi was born. Dr. Rogers of Hyattsville,
Delaware, who is the inventor of an underground
telegraph system, pecently said to a relative of
Dr. Loomis:
“Dr. Loomis had the serial and he was the first
one who had it. He sent up kites and hung cop-
per wires on them. He also had the underground
idea, and it was after talking with him that I
A monotonous food. though of animal protein,
is not wholesome, for the Arctic peoples, the
Eskimos, Laps and others, whose food is highly
nitrogenous, are of short stature. It is probable,
however, that this is in part due to the hunger of
the long winters, recurring famine and the age—
longr conflict with the cold. Dr. Helen Churchill
Semple, a profound student of races and a dis-
tinguished authority, says that the dwarf races
of Africa live almost exclusively on most, a mo-
notonous diet, and that the supply is often pre
carious. She ls’referring to the Bushman, who
are desert hunters, the Watmas, who are hunters
- . , __,. ._ -_...._... _..-. una-
t ”WIRELESS MESSAGESFirst SENT With Aid of KITEss
as the AERIALS";
started out to try to perfect the underground sys-
tem of communication which. I finally-iii! and
which assisted considerably in the late war." A
Inspired by the success of Samuel Morse,
Loomis carried his idea to Congress and made an .
appeal for financial assistance- He worked with
that body from 1869 to 1873, when there was
passed a bill incorporating the “Loomis Aerial
Telegraph Company," which was subsequently
signed by President Grant. Congress, however,
overlooked"the matter of‘appropriating $50,000 -
which had been asked for, and which was necec~
sary to cover the experiments that had been '
planned to bring the Loomis apparatus 9‘ u stab ,
of commercial, perfection. . - i
« Dr. Loomis's ambition floundered upon the
rocks of. destiny. He died broken-hearted. 1m—
Iung and unhonored, in 1886. Some time before
his death he made the following remarks to his
brother. They are indeed not only pathetic, but
today are prophecy fulfilled:
“George, I know that I am regarded as a
crank, perhaps a fool, by some, and as to the lat- -
ter possibly I am, for I could have discarded this
thing entirely and accumulated a few thousand
dollars and then be considered a success. But the
time will come when this discovery will be re»
~garded as of more consequence to mankind‘than
was Columbus's discovery of a new world. I
have not only discovered a new world. but’tbe
means of invading it, not with little frail boats
of human build, but with the ‘invisible chariots ‘
of the Almighty.’ I shall never realize a. lung
from it, neither money nor fame-35 to. sure I ’ V
care nothing; so the world gets the benefit of it.
As to money, I only want it for my family. They
have necessarily been neglected more or less while
I have devoted the best energies of my life to this,
the grandest conception that ever occupied a hu-
man mind. My compensation is poverty, con-
tempt, neglect, forgetfulness.
ure, when the possibilities of the discovery (as 1-
see them) are more fully developed, public atten-
tion will be directed to its originator; and the
congressional records will furnish the indispuv~
able evidence that the credit belongs to me. .
“But what good then? Still, there is a present
satisfaction in knowing that some time the
proper credit will be given. In the mean time.
others will reap the benefit in worldly wealth and ‘
worldly honors. Monuments will be reared to
.33
a.
.3
In the distant fut?
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their memory—costly monuments—in token of "
the world’s appreciation of their genius. .I ask
but a rose-bush to mark my grave, affording a
brief resting place for passing song birds, and I
have a feeling that I shall even then be conscious
of their carolings.”
of big game, and to the Hottentota, who are herd-
ers on uncertain grass lands. These races have
all suffered much from scant supply and monot-
ony of food, and while they have not had to con-
tend with intense cold, they may have had to en—
dure a good deal from climatic disease.
Alpine people are of short statiire, and the
higher the altitude the shorter the measurements.
' In the more moderately. high altitudes they have
a little meat and some vegetables, butfin the high-
er altitudes the lack of pasturage makes it too ex- ~
pensive to raise food stock, and they subsist
_ largely on dairy products.
LOVE Story WILLOW Ware TELLS
N nearly every household throughout the land
may be found one or more pieces of china bear-
ing the traditional willow-tree pattern. This
quaint Chinese design which has existed hundreds
of years, tells a simple love story from the dim
at.
D If you will examine one of these plates you
will see that its blue pattern is made up of
numerous pictures. To the right you see a lordly
mandarin’s country house. In the foreground is
\
Two Thousand Years
to ImproVe an Idea
RCHIMEDE‘S is credited with the invention
A of the screw. Since 236 B. C. metal screws
, have hen made. The shank of the screw
has been turned from a bar of metal having the
diameter of the acrewhead, literally wasting a
largeipercentage of the metal .by reducing it to
shavings. . , _
How an American screw manufacturer has de-
5:2.
A Metal Bar, '
the Diameter of
the Shank, ‘h
Subjected “Great,
Pressure in a
Matrix to Form
the need, of the
Suns. . The Only
Waste 1.. in ~
Throadinx and _
Shaping the Head
, of the Screw-
ililil _.
l
ililiiillll
ii
«iii
aided to change this practice. is dacmd in Poun-
lar Science Monthly. A metal bar the diameter
offlzeshauklaputlnumatrixandeubjecudto
enormous pressure. The head ofthesémvris
thus expanded in the confined. compartment,
which gives it the desiredshapc. :The ordinate
la in martingale screwgand‘ anhhing'ihe head.
for en improvem' ‘eah‘fteouxh:
\
Twothousandyeazsaeemsalongtimetowaitw
, Why Men‘ Say,
a pavilion, in'the background an orange tree, and
to the right of the pavilion a peach tnee'in full
bloom. There is also a bridge and at the,endl of
that a humble willow tree. On the water is a
boat and on the other side is a peasant’s cottage,
lowly, poor and neglected. At the top of the pat-
tern scheme, on the left-hand side, is an island
with a cottage. The two birds on the landscape
are, of course, turtle doves. Thethree figures
on the bridge are the haughty mandarin”: lovely
- daughter, thefond, true lover and the, cruel man
darin. ‘ .
The story which, according» Chinese tradi
tion, originated this pattern is'this: Once there
was a mandarin whose only daughter fell in love
with a poor young man. The. labterlivedcn the
island home pbrtrayed on the top of the plate;
He was employéd by the mandam- ’Onc‘dey the
mandarin heard the two pledging their lave‘under
the orange tree and forbade the match. How-
ever, they eloped “when the willow began to shed
its leaves" and hid themselvea‘in the gardener-’5 ,
cottage.
The mandarin followed, so they made their
waybyboattotbe island home. madam..-
dariu still pursued them vowintto beat them
both to death. He anally caught them but the
gods of old China saved, the loving couple by
changing them into the doves that'are pictured;
on your‘ willow-tree ware.
“Go
HEN, in ancient days, the weaving indus-'
_ try of Halifnxlwaa a cottage craft—a
‘ farmer‘s family working on clumsy baud-
looms—the f‘pieces" used to be spread out on
the hillsides, and were therefore peculiarly liable
“ to theft.
»Particular crimes load to particular remedies.
and a custom, which had theauthority of a local
ling-rowan), thatanyeneconvictedofstealing
cloth to thcr(theu) value of .tflrteen pence half-
penuy was liable to immediatecxecufion, a dras-
tic law which naturally safeguarded the cloth
industry. \
Punishment was confident, not by hanging.
,butbyasortofgnillofinc. Thiswaathe Halifax
Gibbet Law, the name of which iapteauved by a .
still standing street lathe town, while the actual
knifecfthegibbetmaybes‘een inthe oldMauor
“town in minim! dads-able to visit. Andte
dine hen «new,» __
—»
«
ismsaummmww.
tellsnyonetogotofialifaxiaequlvalent'hbid-V
Norwalk Chronicler