Nature's Teachings: Human Invention Anticipated by Nature

by J. G. Wood

General Sketch of the Subject.—The Mast of Wood and Iron.—Analogy between the Iron Mast and the Porcupine Quill.—The Iron Yard and its Shape prefigured by the same Quill.—Beams of the Steam-engine.—Principle of the Hollow Tube in place of the Solid Bar.—Quills and Bones of Birds.—Wheat Straws and Bamboos.—Structure of the Boat.—The Coracle, the Esquimaux Boat, and the Bark Canoe.—Framework of the Ship and Skeleton of the Fish.—Compartments of Iron Ship and Skull of Elephant.—The Rush, the Cane, and the Sugar-cane.—“Stellate” Tissue and its Varieties.

HAVING now treated of the raft, the boat, the ship, and their various modes of propulsion and guidance, we come to the subsidiary appliances to navigation, if they may be so called in lack of a better name.

First in importance is necessarily the mast; and the yards, which support the sails, are naturally the next in order. Then there come the various improvements in the building of vessels; namely, the substitution of planks fastened on a skeleton of beams for a mere hollowed log, and the subsequent invention of iron vessels with their numerous compartments, giving enormous strength and size, with very great comparative lightness.

Then we come to the various developments of the ropes or cables, by which a vessel is kept in its place when within reach of ground, whether on shore or at the water-bed. Next come the different forms of anchors which fasten a vessel to the bed of the ocean, of grapnels by which she can be made fast to the shore, or of “drags,” which at a pinch can perform either office, and can besides be utilised in searching for and hauling up objects that are lying at the bottom of the sea.

Next we come to the boat-hook, which is so useful either as a temporary anchor, or as a pole by which a boat can be propelled by pushing it against the shore or the bed of the water; and then to the “punt-pole,” which is only used for the latter purpose.

Lastly, we come to the life-belt and life-raft, which are now occupying, and rightly, so much of the public attention. These subjects will be treated in their order in the present chapter, and I hope to be able to show the reader that in all these points nature has anticipated art.

I presume that most, if not all, of my readers are aware of the rapidly extending use of iron in ship-building, not only in the standing rigging, but in the material of the vessel. First there came iron “knees,” i.e. the angular pieces of wood which strengthen the junctions of the timbers. Formerly these were made of oak-branches, and, as it was not easy to find a bough which was naturally bent at such an angle as was required for a “knee,” such branches were exceedingly valuable. Iron, however, was then employed, and with the best results. It was lighter than the wooden knee, was stronger, could be bent at any angle, and took up much less space.

By degrees iron was used more and more, until vessels were wholly made of that material. Then the masts, and even the yards, were made of iron, and, strange as it may appear, were found to be lighter as well as stronger than those made of wood. Of course, the masts and yards were hollow, and it was found by the engineers that in order to combine lightness with great strength, the best plan was to run longitudinal ridges along the inside of the tube.

A section of one of these masts is given at Fig. B, and taken from the drawings of one of our largest engineering firms. The reader will see that the mast is composed of rather slight material, and that it is strengthened by four deep though thin ribs, which run throughout its length.

When I first saw this mast I was at once struck with the remarkable resemblance between it and the quill of the Porcupine. These quills, as all anglers know, are very light, and of extraordinary strength when compared with their weight. Indeed, they are so light that they are invaluable as penholders to those who are obliged to make much use of their pen. I have used nothing else for a very long time, and the drawing of the Porcupine quill which is here given at Fig. A was made from a small piece cut from the top of the penholder which I have used for some fifteen years, and with which all my largest and most important works were written, including the large “Natural History,” “Homes without Hands,” “Man and Beast,” &c., &c. A portion of the same quill is also shown of its real size.