The Wonder Book Of Knowledge Part 39

The latter, made of the same material as the bed cloth, is cut to fit.

One edge is tucked into the groove just described, with the outside, or face, downward. A tight-fitting ferule is then forced into the groove, thus holding the cloth firmly between the cushion and the rail. The cloth is then drawn over the top of the ferule, hiding the latter from sight, and is drawn down over the rubber and fastened on the under side of the rail with steel tacks. Great care and much experience is necessary to successfully conduct this apparently simple operation; for it is quite easy to pull the cloth so tightly at different points as to bend out of shape the apex to the rubber triangle. On the other hand, not to pull it tight enough will leave the cloth loose, which is not only unsightly, but will impair the rubber and destroy the accuracy of the b.a.l.l.s rebounding from it.

The completed rail is then covered with a finishing strip, known as the blind rail, which covers the unsightly bolt heads and adds to the artistic effect of the table. On the cheap grades there are no blind rails, the bolts being decorated with bra.s.s caps.

The final operation is the construction of pockets.

The pocket irons are semi-circular pieces of metal with flat f.l.a.n.g.es extending at right angles at both ends of the arc. Stout black leather is st.i.tched around the round part of the iron, thus hiding the latter, and affording a good hold to which the leather, or worsted knitted, baskets are attached, and protection for billiard b.a.l.l.s when striking.

The f.l.a.n.g.es are sunk flush into the top of the rail; thus the pocket iron spans the interstices between the rails. The half of the pocket net not attached to the irons is tacked to the edge of the frame, underneath the bed, and covered with red leather, to withstand wear and for decorative effect.

Four hooks are then fastened to the frame, underneath the table, near the corner legs. These are termed bridge hooks and are for the purpose of having the cue-bridge ready of access for the players when necessary.

The table is thus completed for playing use. There are ingenious devices, termed the "return gutters" and convertible rails, which are worthy of description.

In tables thus equipped, the base of the pocket is opened--a stiff leather, funnel-shaped contrivance being subst.i.tuted for the woolen or open leather pocket. This funnel opening leads into a wooden ca.n.a.l or gutter, the main stem of which runs on an incline the length of the table underneath. From this center gutter debouches branch to each of the pockets. The gutters are lined with rubber, to render noiseless the b.a.l.l.s as they roll from the pocket openings into and along the gutters, at the lowest point of which--the head of the table--they fall into the "receiver." The latter is a specially designed box, felt lined, with sufficient capacity to contain the fifteen b.a.l.l.s used in the pocket game.

The gutter return is a great convenience in collecting the b.a.l.l.s to rack them for a new game.

Carom tables have no pockets.

Carom and pocket billiards are so different that either they must be played on separate tables, or else the rails are so constructed as to be interchangeable. The billiard expert is not satisfied unless the whole rail is changed. This is done by building the table without the regular rails, and by having a separate set of rails for each game, which are held in position by clamps and quickly interchanged. They conform to the general design and decoration of the table.

Another method is merely to change the cushions. The back of the rubber is reinforced by a wood strip, into which are placed metal sockets.

Bolts or ratchets are inserted through the rail, and clamp the cushion to the wall of the rail. The convertible rails, however, because of their rigidity, are more desirable than the convertible cushions.

The cheapest and most unsatisfactory device is known as pocket plugs. On a permanently constructed pocket table, right-angled plugs of the rubber cushion are screwed to the corner pocket irons and straight sections are screwed to the side pocket irons. These, however, never perfectly fit at the cushion joints, consequently carom play at those points is out of the question.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A MODERN HIGH-CLa.s.s POCKET BILLIARD TABLE]

Cheap cues are made in one continuous piece; or a special piece for the "b.u.t.t" and one for the shaft of the cue. The "b.u.t.t" and body are dovetailed together.

In making a high-grade cue, a choice piece of imported wood, such as ebony, mahogany, or rosewood, is cut into blocks about three inches square and twenty inches long. One of these is then roughly turned down on a lathe until it is round and slightly tapers all the way from one end to the other. At the narrow end it is then sawed four ways toward the thicker end, a distance of seven inches. This is the "b.u.t.t." The next section of either domestic or imported hard wood is forty-four inches long. This, too, receives a rough rotundity and tapering on a lathe. At the thicker end, a sawing-out process creates an opening, so that the "b.u.t.t" and shaft can dovetail to a depth of seven inches.

The cue is then sawed across into halves. On the base of the upper half a hard wood screw is inserted and at the top of the b.u.t.t a threaded hole is bored. To strengthen the joint, the hollow screw-hole end is capped with an ivory ferule sunk flush with the surface. This is the jointed cue--a great convenience to the player who travels or carries his cue home when he plays at the club or public academy.

At the narrow end of the cue, the tapering ceases about three-quarters of an inch from the end and f.l.a.n.g.es out according to the kind of "tip"

the player prefers. This end is capped with an ivory ferule and upon the top of the latter, the leather tip is glued.

Before this latter operation, the finished tapering, smoothing, varnishing and polishing is done by hand.

Sometimes a flat surface a few inches long is planed on the circ.u.mference of the cue, extending up from the b.u.t.t end and a mother-of-pearl name plate is sunk into the handle.

Cues run in weight from fifteen to twenty-two ounces. This means the manufacture of cues according to weight, as well as taper, material, finish and quality of the tip. Each of these embrace a ma.s.s of detail too voluminous for recital here.

_The b.a.l.l.s._--In the past, as far as we can historically trace, billiard b.a.l.l.s were made of ivory. Until recently no superior subst.i.tute had been invented, but it is the consensus of opinion among expert billiardists that the newly manufactured synthetic ivory ball is equal, if not superior, in action and wearing quality, to real ivory.

[Ill.u.s.tration: MAKING CUES]

Elephant-tusk ivory, the only kind used in billiard ball manufacturing, is growing scarcer every year, with a consequent increase in price.

In the ivory storage vaults of one large company, there is held from $150,000 to $300,000 worth of ivory, ranging from the tusk up to the finished product.

Ivory is of cellular, not fibrous, construction. Through the center of the tusk runs the great nerve of the tooth. The structural cells build up around the nerve. Surrounding the nerve, the cells are small and more compact. As the tusk grows in length on the living elephant it also expands; but the cells grow larger and less compact as the tusk expands in circ.u.mference. It is quite apparent, therefore, that the weight centers around the nerve. To have a perfectly balanced ball, one that will roll true in every direction, the ball must be so turned out of the tusk that the nerve center runs exactly through the middle of the ball.

The process is as follows: The tusk is sawed into blocks about 2-3/4 inches in size. These are of irregular cylindrical form, depending on the form of the tusk's circ.u.mference. Only that portion of the tusk can be used, the diameter of which is greater than the intended diameter of the ball. The rest of the tusk is used for ornaments, piano keys, etc.

At least six inches from the point of the tusk must be discarded because the circ.u.mference is too small. The hollow part at the base of the tusk must also be discarded. There are defects discovered only when the ball is being turned or the segments cut. For all of the discarded portions and the fragments and shavings from the segments when the ball is turned, the manufacturer receives less than one-fourth of the price per pound which he paid for the whole tusk.

A segment is placed in a lathe--with the nerve center resting on the lathe point. The ball is then either turned down from the outside or cut out with an ingeniously constructed curved cutter from the inside of the segment. In the latter operation the ball lies loose in the center of the segment, which must be sawed in half to release it. Ivory seasons only to a slight depth. The thin seasoning on the surface seems to act as a sh.e.l.l which keeps raw the substance underneath. For this reason, when a ball is turned out of the tusk and the raw ivory thus exposed, the ball is stored away in a room of even temperature for about a year, that it may properly season before being finished. The red ball is dyed after seasoning, and at the time of final turning called finishing.

Another peculiarity about ivory is the fact that, owing to the cellular construction, in seasoning the ball never contracts at the nerve ends, but always around the other circ.u.mference, termed the "belly."

Therefore, when the b.a.l.l.s are turned, the circ.u.mference around the "belly" is made greater than around the nerve ends, to allow for the shrinkage in the former. Each manufacturer carefully guards the secret of his allowance, which is made according to his experience and knowledge of ivory seasoning variations.

After seasoning, the b.a.l.l.s are smoothed with s.h.a.green and polished.

Except for the cue ball, no ivory b.a.l.l.s are used today on the pocket table. As a subst.i.tute, a great variety of composition b.a.l.l.s are used.

The composition is another trade secret. Having been carefully weighed in a perfectly dry state, the necessary amount of composition is placed in a telescoping steel cylinder, the two ends of which are perfect hemispheres and the diameter of which on the inside is the exact diameter of the proposed ball. The cylinder is then placed in a hydraulic press and under a pressure of 30,000 pounds to the square inch, the cylinder and its contents are telescoped until the ma.s.s inside is perfectly round.

The molded ball is then taken from the press and smoothed. The holes for the number tablets are bored and the tablets forced into position. The tablets are made to conform to the rotundity of the ball and set flush with the surface. The ball is then smoothed and polished.

The cue bridge handle is made in a manner similar to the cue, except that it is not jointed and the span is subst.i.tuted for the tip. The span has four slots along the top, which maintains a contour to a.s.sist the player in striking the ball on either side, or top or bottom of the center facing the player, when the cue ball is too far away to make the bridge with his hand and fingers. The span is made of either hard wood or ivory.

The temperate and torrid zones of the world are ransacked in order to secure the wood, the minerals and the animal substances, all of which are necessary to provide the means of play. Those of us who play the game (none of us, not even Willis Hoppe, know all its possibilities) may well paraphrase Thomas Carlyle's reference to books and say, "Blessings on Herodotus, or whoever it was who invented billiards."

What is the Hottest Place in the United States?

A narrow valley in California, called "Death Valley," between the Panamint and Funeral Mountains, is considered the dryest and hottest place in the United States.

Its central part is three or four hundred feet below sea level and is covered with salt. Its temperature has reached the extreme of 122 F.

It is called "Death Valley" because a party of emigrants perished there in 1849.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WHITE BLACKBERRY]

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE SPINELESS CACTUS IN FRUIT]

What are White Blackberries Like?

The accompanying ill.u.s.trations show some remarkable white blackberries which have been developed by the great horticulturist, Luther Burbank of California. They grow thickly, are large in size and the taste is similar to that of the ordinary variety. Some spineless cactus in fruit are also shown. They make an excellent cattle food.

He has also originated a new fruit, the plumcot, by combining the plum and the apricot; developed very excellent varieties of potatoes and cherries; and produced various new apples and stoneless prunes as well as new peaches, nuts, roses, callas, violet-odored lilies and many other new varieties.

The son of a Ma.s.sachusetts farmer, he became deeply interested in plant life and engaged in experiments on hybridization of plants. Removing to California, he established the Burbank Exposition Farms at Santa Rosa, where he undertook the work of cross-breeding on an extended scale. In 1905 the Carnegie Inst.i.tute granted him $10,000 yearly for ten years to continue his work. He has very many extensive experiments under way and has nearly 3,000 distinct botanical specimens in his plantation.

Why do They Have a Dog-Watch on Shipboard?