Nature As An Inventor

Most of the skillful devices invented by men for doing fine work rapidly can be traced to nature, where for countless ages they have been operating, says the Pittsburgh Dispatch. ïhe discoverer of each new appliance of mechanism might be shown that his idea was as old as the hills. It is suggested that the inventors of the future will be those who carefully study the natural world. The stones of the milis are another style of the molar teeth, which grind all the grist that feed men and beasts. The hoofs of horses are made of ! allel plates like carriage springs. The finest file of human manufacture is a rough afïair compared with the Dutch rush used by cabinet makers. The jaws of the tortoise turtle are natural scissors. The squirrel carries chisels in his mouth and the hippopotamus ia provided with adzes which are constan tly sharpened as they are worn. The carpeuter's plane is found in the jaws of the bee. The woodpecker has a powerful trip-hammer. The diving bell imitates the water spider which constructs a small cell under the water, clasps a bubble of air between its hind legs and dives down to its submarine chamber with the bubble, displaeing the water gradually until its abode with the fislies contains a large airy room surrounded by water. In leaving its eggs on the water the gnat fashions them into the shape of a j boat which it is impossible to sink without tearing it to pieces. The iron mast of a modern ship is s,treng"thened by deep ribs running along its interior. A porcupine's quill is strengthened by similar ribs. When engineers found that hollow pillars were stronger than solid ones they only discovered a principie that is very commonly seen in nature. A wheat straw if solid could not support its head of gTain. The bones of higher animáis are porous; those of birds, where lightness and strength are most beautifully combined, are hollow. The framework of a ship resembles the skeleton of a herring. Aeronauts try to copy the structure and movements of birds. The shipworm is an admirable tunneler, boring his way through any submerged timber and lining the round passage with a hard casing. Brunei, the engineer, took a hint from this animal and was the first to suceeed in tunneling under water.