Nature's Teachings: Human Invention Anticipated by NatureWood, J. G. (John George)
History
Nature's Teachings: Human Invention Anticipated by Nature
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Inventions; Natural history
Here, again, we have a similar arrangement of teeth, row after row of
which lie with their points directed towards the throat of the fish. As,
however, the pike and the snake swallow their prey whole, their teeth
need be nothing but points. But, as the Shark is obliged to mangle its
prey, and seldom swallows it whole, its teeth are formed on a different
principle, each tooth being flat, wide, sharply pointed, and having a
double edge, each of which cuts like a razor. So knife-like are they,
indeed, that when a whale is killed, the sharks which surround it bite
off huge mouthfuls of blubber, and, as they swarm by hundreds, cause no
small loss to the whalers.
Many a man has lost a leg by a shark, the fish having bitten it
completely through, bone and all, and there have been cases where a
shark has actually severed a man’s body, going off with one half, and
leaving the other clinging to the rope by which he was trying to haul
himself on board.
SPIKED DEFENCES.
This mode of defence is, perhaps, one of the most primitive in
existence, and takes a wonderful variety of forms. The spiked railings
of our parks and gardens, the broken glass on walls, and even the spiked
collars for dogs, are all modifications of this principle.
On the illustrations are several examples of spikes used for military
purposes. The first is known by the name of “Chevaux-de-frise,” and is
extensively used in forming an extemporised fence where no great
strength is needed. The structure is perfectly simple, consisting of a
number of iron bars with sharpened ends, and an iron tube some inches in
diameter, which is pierced with a double set of holes. When not in use,
the bars and tube can be packed in a small compass, but when they are
wanted, the bars are thrust through the holes as shown in the
illustration, and the fence is completed in a few minutes. The
horizontal bars are linked together by chains, so as to prevent them
from being shifted, and a defence such as this is generally used for
surrounding parks of artillery and the like.
* * * * *
ALL who have the least acquaintance with military matters must be
familiar with the “Square,” and its uses in the days of old. I say in
the days of old, because in the present day the rapid development of
guns and rifles has entirely destroyed the old arrangement. So lately,
for example, as the day of Waterloo, troops might manœuvre in safety
when they were more than two hundred yards from the enemy. Now, a
regiment that attempted to manœuvre in open ground would be cut to
pieces by the rifles of the enemy at a thousand yards’ distance.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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