SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN

A WEEKLY JOURNAL OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION, ART, SCIENCE,
MECHANICS, CHEMISTRY, AND MANUFACTURES.

NEW YORK, July 3, 1880.

Vol. XLIII.—No. 1. [NEW SERIES.]

$3.20 per Annum [POSTAGE PREPAID.]

Contents:

(Illustrated articles are marked with an
asterisk.)

AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS.

Mr. Sterling A. Millard, of Clayville, N. Y., has invented
a scythe blade that contains much less weight of metal and
possesses equal or greater strength than the ordinary scythe
blades. It is made in the usual manner from what is termed
by scythe makers a “scythe rod,” and is wrought and shaped
in such form that a proper thickness is left to serve as the
back of the blade. A longitudinal auxiliary rib or supplementary
back is formed on the blade, which stiffens the
scythe without requiring the same weight of metal as those
of the usual construction.

Mr. George C. Winslow, of Kalamazoo, Mich., has patented
an improvement in spring harrow teeth, which consists
generally in hinging the harrow tooth in the forward
end of a rectangular frame bolted to the harrow bar, and
combining therewith a spring, which at its back end is
clamped to the harrow bar by the same bolts which secure
the rectangular frame, and which spring then curves upward
and forward, and then down through the slot or opening
of the rectangular frame, and is jointed at its extremity,
near the bottom of the harrow tooth, so that its tension
serves to throw the harrow tooth forward, but allows it to
yield to obstruction.

A Rare Specimen Lost.

Captain Ingalls, of the schooner Chalcedony, has let slip
an opportunity to make a small fortune and at the same time
settle the long vexed question
as to the reality of the
elusive and possibly mythical
sea serpent. His story, as
told in the Argus, of Portland,
Maine, June 8, runs as
follows:

“Last Saturday, about one
o’clock in the afternoon, we
were slowly sailing past Monhegan,
there being very little
wind, about twenty miles
southwest of the island, when
we caught sight of what
looked like a large schooner
floating bottom up. As the
object lay almost dead ahead,
we made directly for it, but
before we got very close a
Cape Ann schooner lay to
and sent a boat’s crew to
inspect what now plainly
appeared to be a monstrous
carcass of some species or
other. We finally hove to,
about a ship’s length off, and
took a leisurely survey of
the thing. It was dead, and
floated on the water, with its
belly, of a dirty brown color,
up. Its head was at least
twenty feet long, and about
ten feet through at the thickest
point. About midway of
the body, which was, I should
guess, about forty feet long,
were two fins, of a clear
white, each about twelve feet
in length. The body seemed
to taper from the back of the
head down to the size of a
small log, distinct from the
whale tribe, as the end had
nothing that looked like a
fluke. The shape of the creature’s
head was more like a
tierce than anything I can
liken it to. I have seen almost
all kinds of shapes that
can be found in these waters,
but never saw the like of this
before.

Two years ago, off Seguin,
I saw shooting through the
water a thing which, I think,
resembled this creature
considerably, but I didn’t get
close enough to it to say for
certain. The men from the
Cape Ann schooner got on
this dead creature, and one of
the boys cut a double shuffle on its belly, which for all the
world looked like the bottom of a schooner covered with
barnacles and seaweed by the weather. We should have
towed the thing to Portland had there been any wind, but
as there wasn’t, we steered away and left it. What sort of
a sea monster this was I can’t say for sure, but in my opinion
it was the original ‘sea serpent,’ which has been seen once
in a while for years past, and which, when alive, was too
swift a swimmer for any sailing vessel to get alongside of.”

The report of the captain of the “Cape Ann schooner”
will be in order now.

SIMPLE AND CHEAP PROCESS OF GAS MAKING.

MAXIM’S NEW GAS MACHINE.

When a current of air is passed over the surface of gasoline
it becomes carbureted or charged with its vapors to
saturation. Air thus charged is somewhat heavier than pure
air, and when passed through an Argand or bat’s wing burner,
it burns with a brilliant white flame. Nothing would
seem easier than to make a machine that would force a current
of air through, over, or on some material saturated
with gasoline, and this apparently simple process has
led many into attempts to make a successful gas machine.
Many fortunes have been spent by the unscientific in the
chase after this, to them, ignis fatuus. The stumbling block
which has wrecked so many enterprises in this line has been
the cold produced by the evaporation of the gasoline. One
pound of gasoline, in passing from a liquid to a vapor, requires

about as much heat as would be required to melt two pounds
of cast iron. It is therefore obvious that where no heat is supplied,
the gasoline, air, and machine must soon become very
cold when any considerable quantity of gas is being made.
The heat must come from somewhere, and as none is supplied,
it is taken from the apparatus, air, and gasoline, making
them very cold. A beautiful and simple experiment to
illustrate this refrigeration can be made as follows: Place a
gill of water in a common washbasin, then pour over it one
pint of light gasoline; shake the basin, and blow the liquids
vigorously, when very soon the basin will become intensely
cold—the water will freeze, and may be taken out in the
form of a snowball. If the water and basin are hot, and
the experiment performed in a hot room or in the sun, it is
much more striking.^*

          ^* This experiment should not be
tried in the vicinity of a gaslight
or fire.

This refrigeration operates upon the gas as follows: Air
will take up and hold in suspension any volatile liquid in
proportion to the square of its temperature, so that when
the temperature of the gasoline and air have fallen off one
half, the quantity of gasoline in the air has fallen off three
quarters, and the light is destroyed. The quality of the
gas in such machines varies from a rich smoky flame to a
pale blue and blowing flame in a short time. Every change
of quality in the liquid, temperature of the apparatus, or
number of burners used causes a vexatious change in the
quality of the gas. If heat is applied at the right time
and in the right quantity it is not so bad, but too much
heat, or neglecting to regulate
it properly, converts the
machine into a still, the condenser
of which is the pipes
of the building lighted, when
danger is added to vexation.
About ten years ago a machine
was illustrated in these
columns that obviated all
these troubles; it was the invention
of the well known
mechanical engineer, Hiram
S. Maxim, of this city. His
machine was on an entirely
new principle, and has since
gone into general use. It
was intricate and somewhat
expensive, but it performed
its work well. Messrs. A. T.
Stewart & Co. use them
largely in their mills and
hotels. Mr. Maxim made one
of six thousand burner capacity
for the Grand Union
Hotel, Saratoga Springs, it
being the largest gas machine
ever built. It has supplied
gas of an unvarying quality
for six years, and is as good
as new to-day.

To reduce the cost as far
as possible, Mr. Maxim has
designed a new machine on
another principle, which we
herewith illustrate. Fig. 1
shows the machine in perspective,
and Fig. 2 is a sectional
view. The vertical cylinder
is a common gas holder
of sheet brass. It is 36 inches
in diameter for a thousand
burner machine. The operative
parts of the machine are
best shown in the sectional
view, which represents the
portion of the machine called
the injector. A is a steam
chamber supplied with four
or more pounds of steam
through the pipe, K. B is
the gasoline supply pipe, and
C the air supply. D is an index
valve. The operation is
as follows: Steam being in
the chamber, A, the descent
of the holder opens the valve,
M, and allows the steam to

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NEW YORK, SATURDAY, JULY 3, 1880.

TABLE OF CONTENTS OF

THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT

No. 235,

For the Week ending July 3, 1880.

Price 10 cents.           For sale by all newsdealers.

THE SUPERIORITY OF AMERICAN WATCHES.

The extract from the report of the judges in horology, at
the Sydney International Exhibition, with the diagrams
showing the comparative merit of the watches tested, given
on other pages of the current issue of Scientific American,
cannot fail to interest our readers. There were
ten exhibitors, and the inherent and comparative merits of
the various exhibits were rated under ten heads on the basis
of 100 points “for the highest degree of excellence.” There
were British, German, French, Swiss, and American competitors;
and while the scores of the nine European exhibitors
footed up totals ranging from 76 to 686, their average
being 389⅓, the total of the Waltham Watch Company was
981. In detail this remarkable score stood thus: Originality,
98; invention and discovery, 95; utility and quality of material, 95;
skill in workmanship, 93; fitness for purpose intended, 100;
adaptation to public wants, 100; economy, 100;
cost, 100; finish and elegance of cases, 100; timekeeping
qualities, 100. Total, 981.

The timekeeping tests were made, as the report points
out, by Prof. H. C. Russell, Astronomer Royal at the Sydney
Observatory; and it is especially noted that while the
majority of the watches tested had been made for exhibition
purposes, and specially prepared for that end, the exhibit
of the American company was the ordinary and regular
product of the factory, such as is finished every day. Another
evidence of the superiority of the American system,
as emphasized in the report, is the fact that a sixth grade
Waltham watch, one of the cheapest tested, showed a better
performance than many very expensive and otherwise
first class watches of other makes.

The moral of the victory is happily drawn in the following
editorial review of the contest and its lessons, by the
Sydney Morning Herald of April 14, last:

“The report of the judges in horology, which we published
on Saturday last, was a document of more than ordinary
interest. The slightest glance at it will show that the
judges brought no small amount of ability and industry to
their task. In many other classes of exhibits judging must,
to no small extent, be a matter of opinion. There is no
absolute test by which one photograph, for example, or one
oil painting can be decided to be superior to another. In
exhibits of this kind much must be left to the taste of the
critic. Watches and chronometers, on the other hand, can be
submitted to the minutest tests. The care and trouble which
these require are not small, but the issue is sufficiently
important to warrant all the labor which the judges in horology
brought to their work. Time-keepers that can be relied
upon in all weathers and in all climates, and that are within
reach of all classes, are a luxury of no common order, but
to a large number of persons they are a necessity also. In
these fast days, when everything must be done to time, it is
for a variety of purposes found necessary to make accurate
divisions, not merely of the days and hours, but of the
minutes and seconds also. The verdict which the judges in
our Exhibition have pronounced on the Waltham watches is
one of which any company might be proud; but the facts
on which the verdict is based are as interesting to the
public at large as to the parties immediately concerned. One
of the secrets of American progress lies first in the invention
of machinery, and then in its application to almost all
descriptions of industry. It is the bringing of machinery
to every branch of watchmaking that is enabling Americans
to beat the world in this as well as in many other things.

“There has been a general belief that a machine-made
watch is not to be compared to one that is hand-made, and
that on this account the English watch must always hold its
own against the American. This belief will have to be given
up, if it is not given up already. It has now been established
that machinery can be used for the purposes of watchmaking
with quite as much success as for those of agriculture.
The Americans are showing that they can make better
watches than the Swiss or the English, but, what is of
equal importance, they are showing that they can make
them for less money. The boast of the Yankees is that they
can turn out work cheaper and better than anybody else,
and that for that reason the world must take their products.
It would be difficult to prove that in some departments the
boast is wholly without foundation. The American mechanic
is paid better than the English mechanic, and yet
the work which he turns out can, as a rule, be sold for less.
The reason is, not only that he works harder, but that the
assistance of machinery enables him to produce the largest
result by the smallest amount of labor.

“Mr. Brassey, who believes that the workmen of his own
country are equal if not superior to any in the world,
maintains that an English mechanic can do more work than an
American mechanic. The American really does more, because
the inducements to industry are greater, and because
he has better machinery. The success of the Waltham
Company has furnished a striking instance of this. This
company has now not only well-nigh driven foreign watchmaking
companies out of America, but it has shown that it
can more than compete with them on their own ground.
This arises partly from the fact that it can turn out the best
work on a large scale, but also from the fact that the principle
on which it operates enables it to do all this economically.
The Waltham Company claims to have arrived at
simplicity, uniformity, and precision in the manufacture of
watches, and the report of our judges shows that its claim
is well founded. One of its discoveries was that a simple
instrument, where simplicity is possible, will cost less and
be worth more than a complicated one. Another was that

the making of all instruments of the same grade exactly
alike, so that the part which belongs to one belongs to the
whole, will not only facilitate manufacture, but will greatly
economize it. A third was, that these properties of simplicity
and interchangeability are the best guarantees of
perfect exactitude. The success which the Americans have
reached in this as well as in other branches of industry,
ought to excite the gratitude rather than the jealousy of the
world. Any company or nation that shows how a maximum of
efficiency can be reached by a minimum of labor
confers a benefit on mankind. This our American cousins
have done in other spheres besides that of watchmaking.
There are branches of the prosperity of the Americans that
are traceable to the extent of their territory and the fertility
of their soil; but the triumph of their machinery has been
the result of their inventiveness and of their enterprise, and
for that reason it points a moral that Australians might
profitably observe.”

A REMARKABLE LITTLE STEAMER.

There is soon to set sail from London for New York a
new and remarkable little steamer of 70 tons gross burden,
named the Anthracite, designed to exhibit the advanced
engineering ideas of Mr. Loftus Perkins, of England. The
distinctive peculiarities of this steamer are the very high
steam pressure that she carries—350 to 500 lb. to the square
inch, and the small consumption of fuel—one pound of coal
per hour per horsepower. A trial trip of this new little
boat was lately made of 46 miles, during which 350 lb. steam
pressure was steadily maintained, 132 revolutions per minute
of propeller, and a speed of eight knots per hour. Other
vessels, some of larger size than the above, have been built
on the Perkins system, and are running in England. One of
them, the yacht Emily, carries 500 lb. boiler pressure. Most
of our readers are familiar with Mr. Perkins’ system, which
has been fully described in our columns. Those who may
wish to refer thereto are directed to an interesting article by
Mr. Perkins, with engravings, published in the Scientific
American Supplement, No. 81, July 21, 1877; also to the
description of the steam ferry boat, run on this principle,
given with three pages of engravings in our Supplement
No. 217.

Engineering theory and practice have for a long time
plainly pointed to high steam pressures as one of the surest
ways to economy of fuel. Twenty five years ago our ocean
steamers carried only 16 lb. pressure to the inch, and burned
5 to 6 lb. of coal per hour per horse power. To-day they are
carrying 75 lb. pressure, and burning 2½ to 3 lb. of coal per
hour per horse power.

In 1840 the Britannia, one of the finest steamers of the
Cunard line plying between this country and England,
burned 5,291 lb. of coal for each ton of paying freight
she carried, her speed, then considered fast, being 8½ knots
per hour. In 1877 the Britannic, speed 15.6 knots per hour,
burned only 551 lb. of coal per ton of freight carried.

Although our present steamers are making fast time and
are very economical as compared with earlier vessels,
still it is a lamentable fact that on the largest and finest of
them, furnished with all the latest improvements and best
appliances to secure economy, worked by the most careful
and intelligent engineers, we succeed in putting into our
steam only about one tenth of the heat realized in our boiler
fire, the remaining nine-tenths of the heat being lost. Only
in proportion as we make our steam hotter, and expanding
it more, shall we economize in fuel. In this respect the
voyage of the Anthracite is designed by her owners, we
presume, to be an eye-opener for steamboat owners, not only
in this country but throughout the world. If a little bit of
a boat like this, 84 feet long, 16 feet beam, and 10 feet deep,
can carry its own coal and water across the Atlantic, with a
pressure of 350 to 500 lb. to the inch, and on one pound of
coal per horse power, the natural inference is that our great
steamers, when fitted with the same system, will realize far
better results. The change from three pounds of coal to one
pound per horse power means a shaving of two thirds in the
coal bill, which is always an enormous item in the expenses
of large boats. We ought to add that another peculiarity of
the Anthracite is that she uses the same boiler water over
and over, only a trifle of fresh water being supplied to make
good the slight waste. Our New York steamboat men, who
have to pay so dear for Croton water, will be likely to examine
the water tank of the Anthracite with interest.

A STRANGE EPIDEMIC.

On the night of Tuesday, June 15, a remarkable epidemic
fell upon several towns in western Massachusetts, the town
of Adams suffering most severely. Out of a population of
6,000, several hundred—variously estimated from 600 to over
1,000—were prostrated by a disease resembling cholera morbus.
The symptoms were first dizziness, then great nausea,
followed by vomiting and prolonged purging, and in some
cases delirium. A belt of country two or three miles in
width and several miles long was thus afflicted, beginning at
the west, the whole number of victims being estimated at
from 1,200 to 1,500. No deaths are reported.

The cause of the epidemic is not known, but seems most
likely to have been atmospheric. For some time the weather
had been dry and hot. A heavy local rain fell during the
evening, and was followed by or attended with a sudden and
great lowering of the temperature. A chilly fog hung over
the belt of country invaded by the disease, and a heavy
“swampy” odor and taste were in the air.

The malady reached its climax in about twenty-four

hours. It was first suspected that the water supply had been
somehow poisoned, but many people who had not used the
water were prostrated, while others who used it freely escaped.
Adams has hitherto been regarded as an exceptionally
healthy town, and the surrounding country is high and
wholesome.

CANNONADING OF OIL TANKS.

On the morning of Friday, June 11, lightning struck an
oil tank belonging to the Tidioute and Titusville Pipe Line,
at Titusville, Pa. The fire thus kindled, raged until Sunday
night, consuming 200,000 barrels of oil, crude and refined,
and destroying property to the amount of $1,500,000. The
most appalling feature in this fire was the successive “boiling
over” of oil from burning tanks of the liquid. To
empty rapidly a tank containing 20,000 barrels of oil, while
the latter is on fire, is no easy matter. The pipes connected
with the tanks were utterly inadequate to remove the oil
rapidly enough to rob the “boiling over” of its terrors. A
happy thought suggested itself on Friday to Mr. D. R. Herron,
of the Titusville Battery. Obtaining permission, Mr. Herron
brought out one of the Parrott guns of the battery, loaded
it with solid shot, and began firing against the three-eighths
iron sheets of the distant blazing tank. The first shot glanced,
but subsequent volleys pierced the shell of the tank, releasing
a large quantity of oil that otherwise would have fed
the flames. The battery then moved on to the Emery tank,
also burning, and lastly to the Acme tank. Large rents
were made in all these, and the liberated oil ran harmlessly
down into a stream. This novel target practice greatly
shortened the duration of the fire at these tanks, and so
drained them that the flames died out for want of fuel, and
no “boiling over” resulted.

The peculiar attraction for lightning which these iron oil
tanks appear to possess has been several times referred to in
our columns. Whenever a thunderstorm passes fairly over
one of them it seems to be devoted to destruction. Millions
of dollars’ worth of property have thus been destroyed. No
practical safeguard has yet been suggested.

Ordinary buildings, when properly provided with rods
that are well grounded in the earth, are comparatively safe
from lightning. Structures made of iron and simply resting
upon the earth, without rods, are also exempt from electrical
damage. Such structures always present a continuous
body of conducting material for the free passage of electricity
to earth. Why is it, then, that iron oil tanks form
such conspicuous exceptions to our common experience with
lightning? Rods put on other structures save them; but
rods have been put on oil tanks, masts with rods have surrounded
the tanks, but the tanks were exploded by lightning
all the same.

We will repeat a possible explanation which we have
heretofore given. From every oil tank, according to our
theory, there is a constant escape of light hydrocarbon
vapor, which forms a permanent cloud or column, rising to
a great height above the tanks, far above any rod that could
be erected. This vapor rod is a conductor, which the lightning
naturally follows, sets on fire the vapor, and explodes
the tank.

A column of heated air or vapor rising from a chimney is
well known to be a conductor for lightning; the rise of
hydrocarbon vapors is illustrated by the balloon.

If the theory we have outlined is correct, the remedy for
the electrical explosion of oil tanks is to be found in such a
treatment of the oil, or such a construction of tank, as shall
prevent any escape of the light vapors.

NAVIGATION IN FOGS.

The disastrous collision of the Sound steamers Narragansett
and Stonington was quickly followed by one at sea, by
which two great passenger ships escaped instant destruction
almost by a hair’s breadth.

Shortly after noon, Monday, June 12, the National Line
steamship Queen, bound from London to New York, and
within 300 miles of her journey’s end, ran into the Anchor
Line steamship Anchoria, on the way from New York to
Glasgow. The bow of the Queen struck the Anchoria on
the port side, about twenty feet abaft the foremast, smashing
a great hole through the iron hull. Two compartments
of the Anchoria filled immediately, but the partitions stood
firm, and the other compartments sufficed to keep the vessel
afloat. The bow of the Queen was badly crushed, and her
forward compartment was flooded. Fortunately the bulkhead
proved stanch, and the ship was saved. The fog
was very thick, and both ships were going at full speed. It
is said that the captain of the Anchoria mistook the whistle
of the Queen for that of the Anchoria’s companion vessel,
the Victoria, which left New York at the same time, and
was probably not far away, and before the error was discovered
the ships were too close to avoid the catastrophe. Had
the sea been rough or the partitions less stanch, both ships
must have gone to the bottom almost instantly.

The passengers of the Anchoria were transferred to the
Queen, which was least hurt, and the two ships sailed together
for New York, arriving Tuesday noon.

These two collisions, coming in such quick succession
and imperiling so many lives, give terrible emphasis to the
dangers attending navigation in foggy weather. They
make very pertinent also the query whether the means now
employed for discovering the position and nearness of unseen
vessels are at all commensurate with the necessities of
the case, or with the means already known, and known to
be well calculated to prevent such dangers. In a dense fog

the ordinary ship’s light is visible scarcely more than a
ship’s length; and as it proved in the case of the Narragansett
and Stonington, the time between thus sighting an approaching
vessel and the instant of collision is fatally brief.
The recent test of electric headlights for ships in this harbor
clearly demonstrated the possibility of projecting a beam
of electric light through the densest fog for a thousand feet
or more, and through ordinary fogs a distance several times
as great.

Except in very rough weather the steam whistle can be
heard a long distance, but it is liable to be a treacherous
guide. It is not always possible to determine by the ear
alone the direction from which a sound comes; and it would
seem that a mistake of this nature was made on the Stonington,
since the order intended to change her course away
from that of the Narragansett only served to precipitate the
collision. Had the whistle of the Queen signaled her
course it could not have been mistaken for that of a ship
sailing in the opposite direction, and the safety of two great
floating hotels and their occupants would not have been imperiled
thereby.

Means for the better penetration of fogs, for determining
the direction of unseen sources of sounds, and for enabling
steamers to announce to all within hearing the course they
are pursuing, seem therefore to be imperative necessities on
shipboard. The first is furnished by the electric headlight,
with a system of projection similar to but more efficient than
that used on locomotives. The last would be provided by
an efficient code of whistle signals to indicate the several
points of compass. The second need is supplied by the instrument
figured in the accompanying illustration.

PROFESSOR MAYER’S TOPOPHONE.

The aim of the topophone, which was invented and patented
by Professor A. M. Mayer, last winter, is to enable
the user to determine quickly and surely the exact direction
and position of any source of sound. Our figure shows a
portable style of the instrument; for use on ship-board it
would probably form one of the fixtures of the pilot-house
or the “bridge,” or both. In most cases arising in sailing
through fogs, it would be enough for the captain or pilot to
be sure of the exact direction of a fog horn, whistling buoy,
or steam whistle; and for this a single aural observation
suffices.

Every one has twirled a tuning fork before the ear, and
listened to the alternate swelling and sinking of the sound, as
the sound waves from one tine re-enforce or counteract those
from the other tine. The topophone is based upon the same
fact, namely, the power of any sound to augment or destroy
another of the same pitch, when ranged so that the sound
waves of each act in unison with or in opposition to those
of the other.

Briefly described, the topophone consists of two resonators
(or any other sound receivers) attached to a connecting bar
or shoulder rest. The sound receivers are joined by flexible
tubes, which unite for part of their length, and from which
ear tubes proceed. One tube, it will be observed, carries a
telescopic device by which its length can be varied. When
the two resonators face the direction whence a sound comes,
so as to receive simultaneously the same sonorous impulse,
and are joined by tubes of equal length, the sound waves received
from them will necessarily re-enforce each other and
the sound will be augmented. If, on the contrary, the resonators
being in the same position as regards the source of
sound, the resonator tubes differ in length by half the wave
length of the sound, the impulse from the one neutralizes
that from the other, and the sound is obliterated.

Accordingly, in determining the direction of the source of
any sound with this instrument, the observer, guided by the
varying intensity of the sound transmitted by the resonators,
turns until their openings touch the same sound waves simultaneously,
which position he recognizes either by the great
augmentation of the sound (when the tube lengths are equal),
or by the cessation of the sound, when the tubes vary so that

the interference of the sound waves is perfect. In either
case the determination of the direction of the source of the
sound is almost instantaneous, and the two methods may be
successively employed as checks upon each other’s report.

It is obvious that with such a help the pilot in a fog need
never be long in doubt as to the direction of a warning signal;
and if need be he can without much delay, by successive
observations and a little calculation, determine, approximately
at least, the distance of the sounding body.

EFFECT OF AGE ON THE QUALITY OF IRON.

Professor Bauschinger, in 1878, tested iron taken from a
chain bridge built in 1829, and found that fifty years of use
had not perceptibly altered its quality—either its strength
or its elasticity—as reported at the time of its erection. He
also examined metal from another bridge built in 1852, and
found that the average quality remained as given by Von
Pauli at the time of its erection.

Professor Thurston, testing pieces of the wire cable of the
Fairmount Suspension Bridge, recently taken down at
Philadelphia, after about forty years’ use, found the iron to
have a tenacity and elasticity and a ductility fully equal to
the best wire of same size found in the market to-day.

He therefore concludes that iron subjected to strains such
as are met with in properly designed bridges does not deteriorate
with age.

A COLLISION BETWEEN LARGE PASSENGER STEAMERS.

During a fog near midnight, June 11, two of the large passenger
steamers plying on Long Island Sound, Stonington
line, between New York and Boston, came in collision,
while running at considerable speed. One of
the boats, the Narragansett, was struck near
the middle, her side cut open, and a smoke-pipe
knocked over, which made a down
draught through the furnace, driving out a
great sheet of burning gas into the cabins and
between decks, by which the vessel was set
on fire, at the same time the opening in her
side caused her to begin to sink. Some three
hundred passengers were on board, and a
frightful scene of confusion followed. Happily
there was a plentiful supply of life-preservers,
some life-rafts, and a few life-boats.
There was delay in lowering the boats, but
the rafts, life-preservers, chairs, and other
floatables served to support most of the unfortunate
people, who, to escape the flames, were
obliged to leap quickly into the water. About
fifty lives were lost; the remainder were rescued
by boats from another steamer, the New
York, also by help sent from the other damaged
vessel, the Stonington.

It seems remarkable that so many were
saved. This calamity illustrates the necessity
for further effort on the part of inventors
to discover new and improved means for fog
signaling, saving life, preventing the spread
of fires, and keeping vessels afloat. Most of
the large local steamers that communicate
with New York are veritable palaces, built regardless
of expense, and supplied with every
known reliable appliance for safety; but the occurrence
of accidents like this and their disastrous results show that
much remains to be done before navigation, even upon
smooth waters, can be considered secure.

The life-rafts of the Narragansett seem to have proved
more useful than the life-boats in rescuing the drowning people,
the rafts being more quickly and easily launched, requiring
less skill, etc.

The upperworks of our river and Sound passenger steamers
consist at present of a mass of light, dry woodwork,
forming cabins that are very comfortable and commodious
for travelers, but highly dangerous in case of fire.

The collision of river steamers above described was followed
a few hours later by a collision between two great
ocean steamers, accounts of which we give in another
column.

Honors to an Aged Chemist.

The chemists of Germany are collecting money for the purpose
of presenting a gold medal to Prof. Woehler on his
eightieth birthday, which will be July 31, 1880. Prof.
Woehler is one of the most distinguished as well as the oldest
of living chemists. Himself a pupil of old Berzelius, a contemporary
of Liebig, and the loved instructor of many of
our best chemists, his name is equally respected on both sides
of the Atlantic. Profs. Jay and Chandler, of Columbia College,
New York city, two of his former pupils, are receiving
contributions from those who wish to join in this well deserved
memorial.

Perseverance under Difficulties.

A good lesson to young people inclined to exaggerate the
hinderances to their success in life, and to think that their
chances are too poor to justify honest exertion, is furnished
by a young colored man of Columbus, Ohio, F. P. Williams
by name, now serving in that city as census enumerator.
Several years ago he was run over by a train of cars, his arms
being so mutilated that both had to be taken off near the
shoulder. Lacking hands he learned to write legibly by holding
his pencil between his teeth. He writes quite rapidly,
and in his work as enumerator takes an average of 200 names
a day.

MAXIM’S NEW GAS MACHINE

[Continued from first page.]

escape through the jet, L. This produces a partial vacuum
at L, and draws air in at C. The air and steam pass with
great rapidity through the tube, G. The action of the air
and steam produces another partial vacuum at N, which
draws gasoline in through the pipe, B. The adjustment of
the opening is such that one pound of steam draws in air
sufficient for two pounds of gasoline. The heat of the steam
is taken up by the refrigeration caused by the evaporation
of the gasoline, so that at E the compound is carbureted air
and cold water. The
tube, F, presents the
curious phenomenon
of being hot at a and
cold at b. In one
short piece of tube we
have a hot retort and
a cold condenser. The
supply of gasoline is
regulated by the valve,
D. The dash pot, H,
prevents a too rapid
action of the valve, I.
Gas of any desired
density may be made,
and when once adjusted
the gas does not
vary. The burner
used with this machine
is made to produce
the very best results
attainable, and
then the gas is regulated
to a density and
pressure to suit the
burner. The nuisance
of an adjustable burner
is thus obviated.

The holder closes off
the supply when full,
and lets on a supply
when nearly empty.
Gasoline has been
much improved within
a few years. It is
now so very cheap
that the equivalent of
one thousand feet of
coal gas of standard
quality may be equaled
for sixty cents. Where
no steam is at hand
these machines are run
with a small oil burner.
They are being
made by the Pennsylvania Globe Gas Light Co., 131 Arch
St., Philadelphia, Pa., of from 100 to 10,000 burner power.

This machine was patented June 8, 1880.

Fig 2.: MAXIM’S GAS MACHINE—SECTION OF INJECTOR

Return

PREVENTION OF BOILER EXPLOSIONS.

This vexed problem has occupied the minds of engineers
and inventors since the introduction of steam as a motive
power, and there are several theories of boiler explosions,
each having its adherents. Of course there are conditions
under which a boiler explosion is involved in no mystery;
as, for example, when the water is dangerously low, when
the safety valve is of insufficient capacity, or when it is
unduly loaded; but there are other cases where an explosion
cannot be rationally explained in the light of the well known
theories.

Mr. Daniel T. Lawson, of Wellsville, Ohio, has recently
patented, in this and several other countries, a device for
preventing boiler explosions, which appears practical, and
according to the testimony of scientific men the claims of
the inventor are well founded.

The inventor, in explaining
his invention, says that when
water is superheated it becomes
as explosive as gunpowder,
exploding by bursting
into steam from a reduction
of pressure. When the
engineer opens the throttle
valve the cylinder is instantly
filled with steam, creating a
vacuum to that extent in the
boiler. The superheated water
then immediately rises to
fill the vacuum, and is met
by the valve, instantly cutting
off the escape into the
cylinder; this causes a concussion
on every square inch
in the boiler much greater
than the regular pressure of
the steam. There is abundant
reason to believe that it is
this concussive action which causes the numerous and mysterious
boiler explosions, and which cause is wholly independent
of the amount of water in the boiler; in fact, the
greater the amount of water in the boiler the more terrific
the explosion.

This invention, which is based upon this theory, consists
in reducing the concussive strain produced by the impulsive
and intermittent escape of steam to the cylinders to an approximately
uniform pressure, by rendering the evolution or
passage of steam from the water to the steam space approximately
constant and independent of the intermittent discharges
from the steam space to the cylinder. The means
for accomplishing this consist in a boiler constructed with
a partition, A, intervening between the water space and the
space from which the steam is taken to supply the cylinder,
and feeding the steam as it is generated through valves or
orifices, B, in the partition, of a smaller size than the port or
opening through which the steam passes into the cylinder.
By this means the normal steam pressure or steam supply,
when thus intermittently or alternately reduced, is restored
gradually by reducing the flow from the water space to the
steam space, so that the transformation of water into steam
is made approximately uniform in spite of the intermittent
escape of steam through the cylinders, and the boiler is thus
relieved of the constant wear and strain of the concussion.

LAWSON’S IMPROVED STEAM BOILER.

In supplying steam from the water compartment to the
steam compartment, the inventor intends using a number of
small perforations, not amounting in the aggregate to more
than about one twentieth the size of the cylinder port, in
connection with a number of small valves to be under control
of the engineer, so that the amount of steam required
can be readily regulated, yet carefully avoiding the possibility
of all, when opened to their utmost capacity, forming
as large an opening as the valve through which the cylinder
is supplied. A number of small valves and perforations in
the partition sheet between the water and steam compartments,
will remedy that hitherto very general annoyance of
water rising to and through the valves, which is occasioned
by pressure of steam upon the surface of the water, and
when one large valve is opened, the pressure is partly removed

from the water immediately under it, consequently
the water rises through the valve. A number of small openings
for the liberation of steam from the superheated water
will remedy this difficulty.

MISCELLANEOUS INVENTIONS.

Mr. Niels C. Larsen, of Sacramento, Cal., has patented a
purse or satchel fastening which can be securely locked and
present a smooth and unbroken surface without projections.

A combined dental speculum and shield has been patented
by Mr. Alfred W. Edwards, of New York city. The object
of this invention is to
facilitate the performance
of dental operations,
such as the filling
of teeth. It consists in
a combined dental
speculum, gag, and
shield formed of a flaring
or bonnet-shaped
shell of metal, having
a longitudinal slot in
its lower side to receive
the teeth, and an
arched wire attached
to its lower part, upon
the opposite sides of
the forward end of the
slot, to rest upon the
teeth and support the
forward part of the
shell.

An improved coupling
for the shafts of a
wagon, which can be
readily fastened to or
unfastened from the
axle, has been patented
by Mr. William W.
French, of Stockbridge,
Mass. The invention
consists in the combination
with the axle
clip and knuckle joint
of a sliding bearer and
spring catch to facilitate
the opening and
closing of the coupling.

Mr. Joseph Kintz, of
West Meriden, Conn.,
has patented an improved
process for
bronzing iron surfaces,
which consists in cleaning
and buffing the iron
surfaces, then electroplating
with copper, then dipping in acid solution, then
again buffing, then boiling in a salt of tin solution, and then
finishing by subjecting the article to heat until the copper
and spelter coatings are fused into bronze.

A simple device for extending the steps of passenger cars,
for the convenience of passengers getting in and out of the
car, and for protecting at the same time the treads of the
permanent steps from sparks, cinders, snow, etc., during the
passage of the car from one station to another, has been
patented by Mr. Benjamin F. Shelabarger, of Hannibal,
Mo.

Mr. Luther C. Baldwin, of Manchester, N. H., has patented
a new and improved automatic heat regulator, simple in
construction and so arranged as to operate, under the smallest
changes of temperature, upon the valves of the source
of heat.

An improved cigar lighting stand has been patented by
Mr. Joseph Kintz, of West Meriden, Conn. This improvement
relates to lamp stands for cigar lighting, and has for
its object the production of a
stand of ornamental character
which may be packed
closely for transportation and
readily put together for use.

A simple, safe, and efficient
device in which light oils may
be used as fuel for heating
sad irons for domestic use, or
for the use of tailors, dressmakers,
etc., has been patented
by Mr. Harvey L. Wells,
of Evansville, Ind. It consists
essentially of an iron
box divided longitudinally
into two chambers, the lower
being the combustion chamber
and the upper the heating
chamber.

An improvement in electric
light has been patented by Mr.
Charles J. Van Depoele, of
Detroit, Mich. The object of
this invention is to automatically regulate the feed of the
carbon in electric lights according to the changes of resistance
in the current caused by the consumption of the carbon
points, so as to prevent flickering and variations in intensity
of the light.

Chloroforming during Sleep.

The possibility of chloroforming a person in sleep, without
waking him, having been disputed in a recent murder
trial, Dr. J. V. Quimby, of Jersey City, was led to test the
question experimentally. The results were presented in a
paper before the section of medical jurisprudence at the
meeting of the American Medical Association a few days
ago. Dr. Quimby made arrangements with a gentleman to
enter his room when he was asleep and apply chloroform to
him. He did this with entire success, transferring the person
from natural to artificial sleep without arousing him.
He used about three drachms of Squibb’s chloroform, and
occupied about seven minutes in the operation. The second
case was a boy of thirteen who had refused to take
ether for a minor operation. Dr. Quimby advised the
mother to give the boy a light supper and put him to bed.
She did so, and Dr. Quimby, calling when the boy was
asleep, administered the chloroform and performed the
operation without awakening the boy. The third case was
a boy of ten years suffering from an abscess, and the same
course was pursued with equal success. Two important
inferences may be drawn from these cases, Dr. Quimby
said. Minor surgical operations may be done with perfect
safety and much more pleasantly than in the ordinary way,
and, secondly, a person somewhat skilled in the use of
chloroform may enter a sleeping apartment and administer
chloroform with evil intentions while a person is asleep.
Hence the use of this drug in the hands of a criminal may
become an effective instrument in the accomplishment of
his nefarious designs.

IMPROVED WATERING DIPPER.

HARRISON’S WATERING DIPPER

A convenient vessel for watering plants, sprinkling floors,
and for other similar purposes is shown in the annexed engraving.
It is simply a dipper of the usual form, partly
covered at the top by a shield, at the center of which is fixed
a sprinkler spout. The utility of this improvement will be
recognized without further description. It was recently
patented by Mr. R. Harrison, of Columbus, Miss.

IMPROVED ELECTRIC LAMP.

The lamp shown in the engraving will be recognized as an
Edison lamp, the vacuum globe and the carbon horseshoe
being the principal elements. Mr. John H. Guest, a well
known electrical inventor of Brooklyn, N. Y., judging from
his own experience in fusing platinum with glass in the
manufacture of thermostatic fire alarms, concluded
that the principal trouble with the
Edison lamp would be the entrance of air
around the wires passing through the glass
of the vacuum globe, devised a simple plan
of sealing the joint between the wires and the
glass by means of mercury, thus interposing
an effectual barrier to the entrance of air at
that point.

GUEST’S IMPROVED ELECTRIC LAMP,
Fig 1 and Fig 2

 

The invention is so clearly shown in the engraving
that scarcely a word of explanation
is necessary. In the lamp shown in Fig. 1,
the wires that convey the current to the carbon
horseshoe are sealed in the ends of
curved glass tubes communicating with the
globe, and these joints are inclosed in small
globes formed on the ends of the glass tubes
and filled with mercury.

In this lamp Mr. Guest has made provision
partially or wholly preventing the circulation
of air, should any remain in the globe after
exhaustion with the air pump. The device
by which this is accomplished is simply a small
globe connected with the lower portion of
the lamp globe by a contracted passage, the
theory being that the cooler and heavier portion
of the air will be drawn into the auxiliary
globe by its own gravity.

Fig. 2 shows a lamp in which the tubes
that support the wires extend downward into the lamp globe.
These tubes at their junction with the vacuum globe are
fused to the platinum conducting wires, and the tubes act
simply as lateral supports to the wires inside the globe,
allowing the wires to expand freely lengthwise. The tubes
are sealed outside the globe in the manner shown in Fig. 1.

Another improvement made by Mr. Guest consists in inclosing
the ends of the platinum wire conductors in the ends
of the material of the carbon before it is carbonized, the wire
being formed into a loop to increase the conducting surface
and to insure a good connection with the carbon.

FRUIT-PRESERVING APPARATUS.

APPARATUS FOR PRESERVING FRUIT.

The annexed engraving represents a simple apparatus for
preserving fruit in its natural state, by means of a partial
vacuum. The vessel is especially designed for the purpose,
and is provided with an absorbent which takes up whatever
moisture may emanate from the fruit. The vessel is preferably
made of glass or earthenware, and is provided
with a cover having a packing ring and a device for receiving
the stems of the fruit. The cover is secured to the vessel
by an adjustable screw clamp. In the bottom of the
vessel there is an absorbing ring made of burnt or dried
clay, which absorbs the moisture escaping from the fruit.
The air in the vessel is rarefied either by heat or by the application
of an air pump to the opening in the bottom.

This apparatus was recently patented by Mr. Carl J. Renz,
of Hudson, N. Y.

New Process for Printing Gold and Silver Colors on
Carpetings and other Textiles.

(Translated for the Commercial Bulletin.)

Gold and silver designs for carpeting and oilcloths have
been hitherto prepared in the following manner: The gold
or silver were put in leaves or bronze powder on the designs,
which were printed with a varnish of linseed oil, or similar
adhesive. The bronze thus attached did not possess much
firmness, and the method was necessarily expensive. The
method recently adopted by Wohlforth is as follows: The
bronze powder is united at once to printing material. The
liquid silicate of potash, or of oxide of sodium, answers this
purpose. One part, by weight, of gold, silver, or bronze
powder, along with two parts of the silicate, will give a
print color, which is easily transferable by rollers to paper,
oilcloth, and woods and metals. The bronze thus printed
dries very rapidly, and cannot be taken off by oil or water,
unless they are boiling. It bears light and heat equally well,
and especially sulphureted hydrogen, which has such a destructive
effect on bronzes put on in the form of powder. It
is recommended to thin the mass by an addition of warm
water, 10 to 20 per cent, so as to keep it from becoming too
hard during the process of printing. An addition of glycerine
or sirup, of 5 to 10 per cent, will be even preferable.
The bronze color remaining on the printing forms can be
taken off by warm water.

The Edison Ore Separator Not New

To the Editor of the Scientific American:

In your issue of June 19, 1880, I notice an illustration of
an electro-magnetic ore separator invented by Mr. Edison,
and patented June 1, 1880.

A device absolutely identical with this has been in use for
the past ten or fifteen years at the emery works at Chester,
Hampden county, Mass. I there saw it in use myself in
November, 1876, and was informed, I think by Mr. Ames,
that it was not patented, and that no valid patent could be
granted upon it by reason of its long continued public use.

My uncle, John S. Williams, of this city, president of the
Ore Knob Copper Company, had heard of the machine, and
sent me to Chester with a view to purchasing the right to
use it at the Ore Knob Copper Works, in Ashe county,
North Carolina. On my return to Baltimore I had the magnets
constructed by Watts & Co., electricians, on November
24, 1876, for a large machine, similar to the one at Chester,
which machine was completed about December 10, 1876,
and practically tested at No. 52 Commerce St., Baltimore.
It was sent to the Ore Knob Mine about Christmas, 1876, to
be used in separating magnetic oxide of iron from the copper
ore, and, for aught I know to the contrary, is in use
there yet. This is a striking instance of how history repeats
itself in inventions. Mr. Edison is doubtless an original
inventor of the device, but he most certainly is not the
first inventor.

R. D. WILLIAMS.

Baltimore, Md., June, 1880.

SMITH’S SLATE WASHER.

NOVEL SLATE WASHER.

Few articles meet with a readier sale or more promptly
remunerate the inventor than the class of inventions adapted
to the use of children either in their school life or in their
amusements. One of these useful little novelties is shown
in our engraving. It is a slate washer, consisting of two
pieces of metal stamped up so as to form a holder for the
sponge at the top and the cloth drier at the bottom. They
also form a tubular receptacle containing a supply sponge,
which is moistened by removing the corks at the ends.

This invention was recently patented by Mr. Jacob A.
Smith, of Salem, Ohio.

The Utilization of Genesee Falls.

The plan to furnish Rochester, N. Y., with power for
manufacturing and for running street cars
through the utilization of the falls of the Genesee
in compressing air, was described in
this paper some weeks ago. All the power of
the lower falls, save what is needed to run
two wheels for factories already in operation,
has been purchased by the inventor of the
system, and a promising beginning has been
made. According to the Rochester Union, a
large gang of men are at work building the
crib just below the falls on the east side of
the river in a cove which seems to have
been made by nature for this purpose. This
foundation is 100 feet long by 75 feet wide,
and will have an average depth of 13 feet.
It is being constructed of solid logs of oak
timber bolted together, and the center will be
filled with stone. On the top of the crib will
be erected the derrick, 125 feet high, and the
water will pour into it from the top of the
falls through the bulkheads at one end of the
dam. The stand pipes will run from the top
of the derrick to the cylinders on the crib,
which will be in the neighborhood of 500 feet
long. The whole machinery will be roofed
in. The difficulty in the way of getting the
materials to the place, they all having to be
lowered over the falls, makes the work of
construction somewhat slow. It is expected,
however, that the first application of the system to the propulsion
of street cars will be possible in September
next.

Stevens Institute of Technology.

The commencement exercises took place on June 16 and
17, and were of a very interesting nature. On the 16th
President Henry Morton delivered an able address before the
graduating class on “Popular Fallacies in Engineering.”
We intend to publish the address in full in our next week’s
Supplement.

NEW PORTABLE SHOWER BATH.

Fig. 1.
VANSANT’S PORTABLE SHOWER BATH.

Fig. 2.
SECTION OF SHOWER BATH.

We give herewith perspective and sectional views of an
improved portable shower bath, recently patented by Mr.
James E. Vansant, of Covington, Ky. It consists of a
spherical vessel, having at the bottom a supporting rim which
admits of setting it on the floor when occasion requires. The
top is provided with a screw cap, perforated with numerous
small holes for discharging water in fine streams. In the
center of the cover there is a filling tube, which extends
nearly to the bottom of the vessel. A float is provided to
indicate when the vessel is filled, and shot contained in the
two side tubes serves as ballast to keep the device either in
an upright or inverted position.

The vessel is pivoted in a light jointed frame that admits
of hanging it up or setting it down. In use it is tipped by
means of the cords attached.

Mines and Railroads of Leadville.

To the Editor of the Scientific American:

Nearly every person interested in geology sets up a theory
of his own with regard to the carbonate deposits of Leadville,
immediately on arriving in this famous district. There
is, however, but one theory which has been generally adopted
by scientific men, formulated by W. S. Keyes, General
Manager of the Chrysolite Iron and Little Chief Mines, and
substantiated by the mute testimony of the fossil remains
that fix the geologic data. The theory is substantially as
follows:

A shallow sea overspread this entire region. An even
bed of limestone, dolomitic, was formed by the myriads of
shell-fish that subsisted in this shallow sea. From some
natural convulsion the waters flowed off, leaving the sedimentary
deposits. Subsequently the porphyritic rock
flowed over the surface in a pasty mass, covering the limestone.
There then followed two processes of ore making.
The first was through the mineralizing action of heated and
ore depositing waters, coming up out of the depths, and impregnating
and permeating the hanging and foot walls of
the contact. No free oxygen was contained in these waters;
neither did they carry any chlorides or chlorobromides,

wherein consists the present richness of Leadville’s ores;
but in the first process the ore was entirely in the form of
sulphurets.

The second process was initiated by the uplifting of the
mountain ranges to their present height, at which time the
diorites, those ore indicators of the globe, uprose through
the sedimentary strata. Thus was the original surface of
deposit bent and folded, and not unfrequently entirely
broken. The surface waters carrying free oxygen and free
carbonic acid now penetrated along the contact, and oxidized
the sulphurets, which formed free sulphuric acid, giving
rise to the sulphates and sulpho-carbonates. The irresistible
law of gravity distributed these sulphates, these oxides, and
these carbonates in vast bonanzas, that have been the wonder
of the world. The fossil trilobites of this region identify
it with the silver lead districts of Nevada, Utah, and Mexico.
It is not anomalous, but simply richer than its sister regions
to the West and South.

The output of ore from the Leadville mines last year
(1879) aggregated 122,483 tons, which represents a value of
$11,477,046. That is to say, there was an average yield at
$90 per ton, or just $31,443.96 each day. On the first day
of May of the present year (1880), the returns from thirty-seven
of the leading mines gave a total daily output of 899½
tons of ore, yielding, at the low average of $90 per ton,
something like $80,955 per day. The world’s history of silver
mining in the past shows nothing like this for so young
a camp. Scarcely a month passes without opening up some
new and vast carbonate deposits. The territory has not
even been thoroughly prospected; and the future yield of
the royal metal will far eclipse its past production.

It might not be uninteresting in this connection to give
something regarding the sampling and milling of ores. One
of the most complete concerns engaged in this business anywhere
in the country is that of Augustus R. Meyer & Co.
This establishment has grown with the growth and development
of this carbonate district. The business was first established
as long ago as the year 1877 (before Little Pittsburg was
dreamed of). A little log house, a relic of seventeen years
previous, was found sufficiently ample for the needs of the
business of that period. However, it was not long before
additions had to be made and new buildings erected. In the
year 1879 the present company was incorporated with a
capital stock of $50,000, and every preparation that money
and business sagacity could effect was made to meet the demands
of the prosperous era, that has built a mining metropolis
10,240 feet above the sea level, at the base of the
great continental divide. As at present constituted the premises
of the company comprise seven and one-half acres of
ground, upon which six buildings have been erected, including
ore houses and crushing and sampling buildings. During
the busy season of summer from thirty-five to forty men
are employed, who alternate their work in two shifts, day
and night. At this season it frequently happens that the
ore houses, which hold 1,500 tons, are insufficient for the
accommodation of the mineral sent from the mines to be
crushed, and large quantities have to be stored outside. In
sampling ores from the various mines about Leadville
this establishment pursues the most careful methods. The
different ores are first deposited in large bins holding from
25 to 100 tons. One-tenth of each load is taken and run
through a Dodge crusher, which well adapts it for the furnaces.
A fifth of the tenth already indicated is put through
heavy rollers, and one half of this finely crushed ore is subjected
to the Bucking hammer and powdered to an eighty-sieve
grade. One sample of this powder, consisting of a
fourth, is given to the miner, two samples are kept for reference,
and the other is sent to the assayer, who takes his
“assay ton,” upon which the company buys and sells. The
capacity of the works are all the way from 80 to 150 tons

per day. For samples, $7.50 is charged for silver and lead
per ton, and $10 per ton for gold; but in large quantities a
less charge is made. In job crushing, the market value of
silver is allowed, with from five to ten per cent deducted.
The Meyer works enjoy an excellent patronage from the
best mines of the camp, including such as the Chrysolite,
Carbonate, Vulture, Duncan, Matchless, Climax, Morning
Star, Crescent, and J. D. Dana, some of which have all
their crushing done at these sampling works.

AUGUSTUS R. MEYER AND COMPANY’S ORE MILL.

RAILROADS.

In order to furnish better transportation facilities for the
mineral of this district, and to emancipate it from the freight
embargo that has virtually fettered its commerce, citizens of
Leadville have determined to construct a broad gauge railway
down the Arkansas Valley to Pueblo. This will enable
Leadville merchants to ship goods through from the East
without breaking bulk, and lay them down in their warehouses
as cheaply as the same commodities could be laid
down in Denver. This will insure Leadville the control of
the business of the Gunnison country, whose mineral developments
are spoken of in the highest terms. Propositions
from Eastern railroad contractors have already been
received, preliminary surveys have been made, and $200,000
guaranteed to the stock subscription. It now seems to be
only a question of what method to pursue in constructing
the road.

Growing out of the broad gauge movement, to some extent,
two or three narrow gauge enterprises have been organized.
One is projected from Leadville to Salt Lake City,
following the carbonate belt, as shown in Hayden’s Geological
Map, around through the Eagle River, Roaring Fork, and
White River Agency districts, into Utah. Such men as H. A. W.
Tabor and C. B. Rustin stand at the head of this project.
Another narrow gauge road is organized to be built
into the “Ten-Mile” and Breckenridge districts, where the
famous Robinson Mine is located. Should the broad gauge
be built this summer to Pueblo, there is little doubt but that
narrow gauges would ramify out from Leadville into every
mineral bearing gulch that was found accessible.

W.

Leadville, May 6, 1880.

MECHANICAL INVENTIONS.

Mr. William B. Hickman, of Sterling, Kan., has patented
a swage to be used in welding the triangular bar which is
to form the flange of a plow point or share to the body of
the same.

Mr. Lucius S. Edleblute, of Cincinnati, O., has recently
patented what he calls the rubber cushioned spoke and hub.
This is an improvement in the class of vehicle wheel hubs
having an elastic band or annular portion which surrounds
the journal box and on which the butts of the spokes rest,
so that the wheel is rendered elastic and more durable, also
comparatively noiseless when running on stony pavements,
roads, or streets.

Mr. George Richards, of Boxbury, Mass., has patented a
steam muffler composed of two plates of a diameter very
much greater than the diameter of the pipe through which
the steam escapes from the boiler, so that the steam has
room to expand before escaping to the outer air, its expansion
effectually deadening the noise caused by the passage
through the contracted escape pipe.

The Baby Elephant takes a Bath.

It is customary with traveling menageries in hot weather
when convenient to a river to allow the elephants to take a
bath. The London Circus passed through Woonsocket, R. I.,
the other day, when the keeper let loose all the elephants,
including “Hebe” and her baby, for the above purpose. The
mother and her offspring were permitted to approach a river
for the first time since the baby was born, and they were,
therefore, watched with great interest by their keeper. The
mother cautiously approached the Blackstone River, which
flows past the circus grounds, and waded in a short distance,
carefully feeling her way; she then encouraged the baby to
follow her, which the obedient little fellow did. When far
enough in the mother caught the baby between her fore legs,
and then lay down in the water and rolled over, giving the
baby the first bath. The mother then felt perfectly satisfied
with her job, and rising up approached the bank, bringing
the little one with her. On reaching terra firma she drove
the younger before her, and would not allow it to approach
the water again, though it showed a disposition to do so.

PHYLLIRHOE BUCEPHALA.

This little animal belongs to the family of snails, class
Heteropoda, is about an inch long, and is devoid of any shell
or covering whatever. It is flat, and so absolutely transparent
that a person can read through
its body. It is provided with a pair
of feelers. The little animal is very
luminous if placed in fresh water
or disturbed, but this phenomenon
is most beautiful when an ammonia
solution is poured over the animal.
It will shine with a vivid blue light,
which extinguishes with life. But
even after death the nerve cells,
which are directly below the skin
and produce the light, can be irritated
sufficiently to become luminous.
It is a singular fact that
electricity has no effect upon these
nerve cells.

PHYLLIRHOE BUCEPHALA—AS SEEN IN THE LIGHT.

a b, ganglion; c, intestines; d, liver; f, kidneys;
g, generative organs.

PHYLLIRHOE BUCEPHALA—SHOWING IN THE DARK THE LUMINOUS SPOTS.

Care of Trees and Shrubs.

In view of the drought which
prevails in many parts of the country
and its unusual severity over extensive
districts, the Rural New
Yorker suggests to those who have
planted trees or shrubs the past
spring that there is one method, and
so far as we know, says the writer,
only one, by which they may be protected
against injury or death from
that cause. Surface watering has
been shown to do more harm than
good. The ground is made hard
and compact, thus becoming a better
conductor of heat while it becomes
less pervious to air and moisture.
A portion of the surface soil should
be removed, and then pailful after
pailful of water thrown in until the
ground, to a depth of two feet and
to a width about the stem of not less
than three feet in diameter, has become
saturated. Then, as soon as
the water has disappeared from the
surface, the removed soil should be
well pulverized and returned. A
covering of boards, straw, or hay,
or even of sand or gravel, may then
be applied, and the tree or shrub,
thus treated, will pass through ten
days of additional drought in safety.

As soon as rain comes to wet
the earth thoroughly, we think
it is better to remove the mulch. Nothing is then gained
by permitting it to remain. Mellowing the surface soil
about the trees, thus keeping it free from grass and
weeds, is then the most that is needed. We would repeat
that the present is the season when the female borer deposits
her eggs on the stems of fruit trees, and the wash of lime,

potash, sulphur, etc. (darkened with lampblack), should now
be applied and reapplied during June and July, as soon as
washed off by rain.

THE FORCE OF TREE GROWTH.

The disruptive power of tree roots, growing in the crevices
of rocks, is well known. Masses of stone weighing many
tons are often dislodged in this way from the faces of cliffs,
and no one gives them more than a passing glance. When,
however, the sanctity of the tomb is invaded, despite the
graven warning of the occupant, the case is very different,
and superstitious people are apt to think there must be something
in it more than accident and the unconscious expression
of the resistless force of growing vegetation.

The engraving herewith is copied from a photograph sent
to us by a European correspondent, of a grave in the Garten
churchyard, in Hanover, Germany, the invasion of which
by a birch tree has been the occasion of much wonderment

by country people, who come from great distances to examine
it.

The monument, so unfeelingly disrupted, was erected in
1782, and bears on its base the following inscription: “This
grave, which was bought for all eternity, must never be
opened.” A chance birch seed, lodging in a crevice of the
monument, has displayed the irony of nature in slowly yet
surely thwarting the desire of the person who designed it
for a perpetual memorial. All the joints are separated, the
strong iron clamps are broken, and the birch tree has embraced
the upper large block, which weighs about one and
a quarter tons, and the tree is driving its roots below, gradually
but surely tilting the structure.

Perseverance with the Drowned.

In a recent communication to the French Academy, Professor
Fort asserts that he was enabled to restore to life a
child three years old, by practicing artificial respiration on
it four hours, commencing three hours and a half after apparent
death. He mentions also a case in which Dr. Fournol,
of Billancourt, reanimated, in July, 1878, an apparently
drowned person by four hours of artificial respiration begun
one hour after the patient was taken from the water. At
this season, when cases of drowning are apt to be frequent,
the possible benefit that may come from a persevering effort
to revive victims of drowning, should encourage friends not
to despair of their resuscitation, even after several hours of
seemingly fruitless labor.

Simple Test for Chloral Hydrate.

A new test for chloral hydrate has been devised by Frank
Ogston, namely, yellow sulphide of ammonium. On adding
this reagent to a solution of chloral of moderate strength
there is at first no change noticed, but in a short time the
colorless solution acquires an orange yellow color, and on
longer standing turns brown and evolves a gas of very disagreeable
odor. Ogston’s experiments show that a solution
containing ten milligrammes turns brown in six hours, and
gives the peculiar odor. With one milligramme the orange-yellow
color appears in twelve hours, but no odor. Croton
chloral gives the same reactions, but chloroform, chloric
ether, and formic acid do not.

NATURAL HISTORY NOTES.

The Propagation of Oysters.—At the recent meeting in this
city of the American Fish Cultural Association, a paper was
read on the propagation of the oyster, by Dr. W. J. Brook, of
the Johns Hopkins University. The
manner in which this propagation
takes place had never before, he
said, been thoroughly understood.
Through studies made by him last
summer, however, great light was
thrown on the subject. He found
that the American oysters do not
breed their young in the shell, as
had been supposed, and that consequently
the eggs can be impregnated
artificially. An average oyster
contains from six to nine million
eggs, and one of large size may contain
fifty millions. The plan pursued
by him in fertilizing these
eggs was to chop the male and female
oyster up together; thus the
fluids are mixed and the impregnation
is made complete. The
process of development immediately
begins, and goes on so rapidly that
a change may be noted every fifteen
seconds. In a very few hours the
embryo is sufficiently formed to
swim in the water. The shells at
first are very small, and are not adjacent
to each other. They grow
very rapidly, closing down over the
sides, and finally unite and form the
hinge. In the short space of twenty-four
hours the young oyster is able
to take food, and from three days
to a week it attains perfect form.
During its early life it is a swimming
animal. The oyster is able to
reproduce its species at the end of
a year’s growth, and it is marketable
at the age of three years.

S. P. Ruggles.

S. P. Ruggles died at Lisbon, N. H., May 28. He was principally
known as the inventor of the Ruggles
printing press, which was
among the first of machine presses.
His invention was what printers
call an “upside-down press,” the
type being upside down when in
the bed. About twenty-five years
ago Mr. Ruggles sold out his interest
for nearly $200,000, and since then has not been in active
business. He was the inventor of the raised alphabet for the
blind, and always showed great interest in the amelioration
of the condition of the sightless. He was also a great
friend of mechanical education, and has written much on
the subject.

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.—1879-1880.

Extracts from the Report of the Judges in Horology.

DEPARTMENT III.—EDUCATION AND SCIENCE.

Group—Scientific and Philosophical Instruments and Methods.

Class 310.—Chronometric Apparatus, Chronometers, Astronomical
Clocks, Watches, Chronographs, etc., etc.

Judges.—John McGarvie Smith, New South Wales.
P. E. Bound, Switzerland.
H. C. Russell, B.A., F.R.A.S., Great Britain.
E. Beckmann, Germany.
Gregory P. Harte, United States.

To the Honorable Committee on Judging and Awards, Sydney
International Exhibition.

Gentlemen: I have the honor to hand you herewith the
report of the judges of Class 310, as above,

And remain, sirs, your obedient servant,

Gregory P. Harte, Chairman.

____________

The following exhibits were submitted for examination:

U. S. Exhibit, 537, American Watch Company, Waltham,
Mass., U. S. A.—Watches and Chronographs.

British Exhibit, 1,048, Victor Kullberg, London, England—Watches
and Chronographs.

British Exhibit, 1,054, Nicole & Nielsen, London, England—Watches,
Chronographs, etc.

British Exhibit, 1,060, T. Russell & Sons, London, England—Watches,
Chronographs, etc.

British Exhibit, 1,041, Castleberg & Co., London, England—Watches,
etc.

British Exhibit, 1,060a, S. Backschmid, Switzerland—Watches.

.      .      .
     .      .
     .      .

German Exhibit, 36, A. Lange & Sons, Dresden, Germany—Watches,
etc.

Swiss Exhibit, L. Audemars, Brassus, Switzerland—Watches,
etc.

French Exhibit, 146, A. H. Rodanet, Paris, France—Chronometers.

French Exhibit, 177, G. Tribandeau, Besançon, France—Watches.

Swiss Exhibit, 14a, International Watch Company—Watches.

In presenting the following report, the judges desire to
make some explanations, which, we trust, will excuse them
in the minds of the impartial for any apparent neglect in the
form of their report, and for the limited number of tests
made of the horological exhibits.

The judges were appointed too late to do the full amount
required, inasmuch as the number of exhibits was so much
in excess of any reasonable allotment for examination and
report before the closing of the Exhibition.

Commencing their labors, however, immediately after the
first call, the examinations were not complete until March
3d, which only permitted a time test to be made of nine days
in a single position. This single position was objected to by
some of the exhibitors, but ill-advisedly, for the ratings observed
in the watches of the objecting exhibitors were of
such character as to establish in the minds of the judges the
conclusion that their watches would not have made so good
a comparative showing if there had been more time to observe
the ratings in other positions.

Great care was taken by the individual judges in making
up their note books during the examination of the watches,
and scrutinizing the inherent and comparative merits of exhibits
under the ten different heads unanimously agreed upon,
as follows:

• 1. Originality.
• 2. Invention and discovery.
• 3. Utility and quality of material.
• 4. Skill in workmanship.
• 5. Fitness for purposes intended.
• 6. Adaptation to public wants.
• 7. Economy.
• 8. Cost.
• 9. Finish and elegance of cases.
• 10. Time-keeping qualities.

It was agreed the judges should use the number 100 as expressing
the highest degree of excellence in each of these ten
elements of inherent and comparative merit, and adjudge individually
to each of the several exhibits such rating as their
respective judgments would warrant after careful examination;
each set of opinions being made a portion of this report,
and in the résumé the mean average being taken as the
unanimous verdict of the judges.

It was also decided we should take up each exhibit in the
order originally examined, and, beginning with the first element
of merit (originality), each judge should in numbers
express his judgment of the inherent and comparative merit
attaching to each exhibit in this one element; this being
done, to proceed with each succeeding element in order and
in the same manner. The five judgments being complete
and in numbers, the aggregated verdict is arrived at simply
by addition and division.

This is not only a verdict as to the inherent and comparative
merits of each exhibit, but also a full analysis of each
order of merit in any exhibit as compared with all the
others.    .    .    .

In giving this verdict it was absolutely necessary to ascertain
to the fullest extent the time-keeping qualities of the
exhibits. The judges were led to this conclusion from the
fact that in some of the exhibits we were shown watches of
equal finish containing every known application of horological
science in practically the same construction, which should,

as far as they could determine by merely optical examination,
keep quite as good time as watches of double and treble
the costs in other exhibits, thus involving their judgment in
doubt upon several elements of merit.

In justice to themselves and to the exhibitors the judges
determined to make the test in only one position, and give the
whole of the time at their disposal to testing the watches in
what might be considered their normal position, if such
term is allowable—that is, “pendent up,” or hanging.

At the solicitations of the judges Prof. H. C. Russell, Astronomer
Royal at the Sydney Observatory, kindly consented
to make the tests, and each of the exhibitors was requested
to send three watches of his own selection to the Observatory
for this trial.

As will be seen by the report of Professor Russell, eight
of the ten exhibitors availed themselves of this opportunity.
It is proper, however, to state here that none of the exhibitors
apparently anticipated this test, and that it is possible
some of the watches might have made a better record if they
had been differently attended to since the opening of the
Exhibition; but they were in this respect all upon a par.

The majority of the watches had been made for exhibition
purposes and specially prepared to that end; and some had
been previously rated at observatories before sending.

Notably, however, to the contrary of the above, the exhibit of
the American Watch Company was the ordinary and regular
product of the factory, such as is finished every day.

Notwithstanding the possibility that these exhibits might
have been better prepared for observatory time tests, some
of the exhibits, as will be seen by the rating, demonstrate
the wonderful advances made in the application of horological
sciences to the manufacture of watches, and that their
rating is being made equal to that of the best marine chronometers.

The following is the report of Professor Russell, and the
accompanying diagram (see next page) will readily give an
idea of the comparative performance of the different watches.

“Sydney Observatory, 26th February, 1880.

“Gregory P. Harte, Esq.,

“Chairman of the Judges in Horology.

“SIR: I have the honor to report that, in response to
your circular, inviting exhibitors of watches each to send
three watches to the Observatory to be tested, I received on
Monday, February 16th:

“Three watches, Nos. 611, 669, 237, from Mr. Dolman,
agent for Mr. Tribandeau, Besançon.

“Three watches, Nos. 987271, 670068, 1221336, from Mr.
Manson, agent for Waltham Watch Company.

“Three watches, Nos. 3171, 1935, 2526, from Mr. Allerding,
agent for Mr. Kullberg.

“And on the forenoon of February 17th:

“Three watches, Nos. 11527, 19967, 12629, from Mr. Hoffnung,
agent for Lange & Sons.

“Three watches, Nos. 1004, 8632, 8370, from Mr. Jacob,
as agent for Nicole & Nielsen.

“Three watches, Nos. 70690, 23496, 113516, from Mr.
Jacob, as agent for Thomas Russell & Sons.

“One watch, No. 47150, from Mr. Jacob, as agent for
Castleberg.

“Three watches, Nos. 12731, 12483, 11680, from Mr.
Wiesener, as agent for L. Audemars.

“And on 18th February:

“Two watches, Nos. 2724, 3528, from Mr. Jacob, as agent
for Castleberg.

“On the 17th I began rating these watches, keeping them
all in one position (hanging), and subject to the same conditions
of temperature; in fact, they were all hung on one
board, and kept in a compartment locked up so as to avoid
change of temperature, except such changes as were due to
changes in the weather.

“They were rated once a day by the standard clock, which
affords special convenience for this work, and the error of
which was found by daily astronomical observations giving
the absolute time; great care was taken in rating so as to get
the exact error of each watch every day, care being taken at
the same time to avoid errors in the seconds dials, a fault
sufficiently obvious in some of these exhibits.

“In presenting the result of this test in the form of a diagram
(see diagram on the opposite page), it is necessary to
explain that the curves show only the change of rate in each
case, and nothing is shown here of the actual rate, which
was large in several instances.

“In the diagram spaces between faint lines represent seconds;
and the thicker faint lines represent the mean rate in
each case: When the curve rises it shows that the watch
was gaining on its previous rate, and when it falls the watch
was losing on its previous rate. For example, in No.
4 curve the thicker line shows the position of a gaining
rate of 3 sec. per day; on the 18th, watch No. 4 had a gaining
rate of 2.7 sec., and is plotted below the thick line; on
the 19th and 20th it was less than 3 sec., but on the 21st the
rate increased to 4.8 sec., and the curve rises above the line.
The same rule is followed with losing rates; and, therefore,
each curve shows whether the watch was gaining or losing
on its own rate.

“For convenient reference the barometer and temperature
curves are plotted on the same sheet; although from the
short time at command the watches could only be tested in
one position, a glance at the diagram will show that in some
degree at least the temperature adjustment and the isochronal
properties of the balance springs were also tested; and I wish
to call your attention to the fact that the whole of these
show in a more or less degree a marked response to

the change in temperature, some being over and others under
corrected.

“This fact is important, because it adds another proof that
the old form of compensation balance—even when combined
with chronometer spring and escapement and all the refinements
which the best modern workman can add to it—fails
to yield a complete correction for temperature; and I much
regret that the American Watch Company, who claim to have
overcome this fault by means of a balance involving a new
arrangement of the metals, did not send to be tested any of
their first-class watches containing this important improvement.

“Several of the rate curves, especially Nos. 4, 10, 13, 16, 21,
and 24, respond to the change in the barometer in a way that
shows the isochronal properties of their balance springs are
not quite perfect. Looking down the curves it becomes at once
evident that watch No. 5, which is No. 670068, second grade of
the American Watch Company, is remarkably free from these
defects, and presents the best rate of all the watches tested. No.
9, which is No. 2526, Kullberg, is the nearest approach to
No. 5; indeed, the difference between its highest and lowest
rates is 0.1 sec. less than No. 5, but it has not such a steady
rate. The timekeeping of both these watches is remarkably
good, and shows that we have entered upon a new era in the
manufacture of pocket chronometers; for these rates are better
than the majority of marine chronometers.

“Among the cheaper watches tested, No. 6, which is No.
1221336, of the American Watch Company, is worthy of notice;
it is a watch of the sixth grade, yet its performance has been better
than that of many very expensive and otherwise first-class
watches among those tested; such a watch speaks volumes in
favor of the system under which it was made, and is the best comment
upon the accuracy of the machines that produced it.

“There are several watches among those tested which
have kept wonderfully steady rates, but their comparative
merit is shown in the diagrams much better than it could be
by any description. The daily rate of each watch will be
found in a table attached.

“The changes in Nos. 1, 2, 3, 17, and 19 were too great to
plot.

“H. C. Russell,

“Government Astronomer.“

.      .
     .      .
     .

CONCLUSION OF THE REPORT.

In consideration of the facts developed in this examination,
and the preponderance of elements of inherent and comparative
merit adjudged by the judges (each in independent
judgment) being equal to nearly 70 per cent more than the
next highest exhibit, they have found it exceedingly difficult
to make such a classification in degree as will give even-handed
justice to all.

We adjudge to the

AMERICAN WATCH COMPANY, OF WALTHAM, MASS., U. S. A.,

a first-class award, and such other special distinction,
diploma, medal, or award, as is consistent with the duties and
obligations of the honorable Sydney International Commission,
for the largest and most complete exhibit of horological
instruments examined.

They also propose, as the only means by which their appreciation
of the merits of the production of this company
can be adequately or equitably recognized by the Committee
on Judging and Awards, that a separate first-class award be
given for the timekeeping qualities of all grades of these
watches.

Also a separate first-class award for the perfection of this
system of watchmaking and the improvements in the mechanical
parts of the watch, being notably in the main spring
and going barrel, the patent safety pinion, the perfect epicycloidal
form of all the teeth of the train,, in every grade of
watch alike, and the isochronal adjustment of the balance
spring.

Also to Charles V. Woerd, mechanical superintendent of
the American Watch Company, Waltham, Mass., U. S. A.,
a first-class award for his new mode of compensating balances.

Also a separate first-class award for the improvements in
cases, the number of artistic forms and designs used, the
beauty and elegance of their finish, and for their new and
indestructible method of enameling.

VICTOR KULLBERG

The display of marine chronometers by this maker, with
the Observatory ratings, was of the very first order. Every
part of those instruments was remarkably well made, and
the modifications of some of the balance wheels worthy of
special attention. Adjudged a first-class award.

The display of watches by the same maker, although small,
commanded attention from their very nice finish in all parts.
As will be seen from the report and diagram of Professor
Russell, they are good timekeepers, especially the one having
the chronometer escapement. This style of watch, however,
is of too delicate construction and too costly to fully
meet the requirements of any considerable public want. The
same objection will hold good as to the lever escapements as
far as cost or economy is concerned, they being comparatively
too high priced. Representing a certain class of manufacture,
they are of the first order of merit, and adjudged a
first-class award.

The “gas governor” exhibited by the same maker, an instrument
for regulating the amount of heat in the testing of
chronometers, is commended as a useful invention.

RESUME OF THE JURY’S EXAMINATION

FACSIMILE DIAGRAM
SHOWING THE CHANGE IN RATE OF WATCHES
TESTED AT THE OBSERVATORY, SYDNEY,
FEBRUARY 17 TO 26, 1880.

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

[Continued from page 8.]

NICOLE & NIELSEN.

This exhibit, made specially for the Exhibition, comprised
a full line of plain levers, split seconds, chronographs, calendars,
repeaters, etc., and was a representative display of
their peculiar style of manufacture in all its details. The
cost of these watches, compared with others of similar construction
and finish, was excessive; and while they show
good timekeeping qualities, they do not equal that of other
exhibits.

As representing their own methods of construction they
are of the first order of merit, and are adjudged a first-class
award.

THOS. RUSSELL & SONS

exhibit a full line of their manufacture, which, upon comparison
with other exhibits of the same general character
and construction, places them in the third order of merit,
and they are adjudged a third-class award.

S. BACKSCHMID

exhibits a class of cheap watches of very inferior workmanship
and finish, of the last order of merit, and adjudged a
fourth-class award.

N. CASTLEBERG & CO.

exhibit a meritorious line of watches in many respects, of
good finish, and not excessively high priced for their performances;
of the second order of merit, and adjudged a second
class award.

A. LANGE & SONS

exhibit a class of watches possessing many elements of merit,
and of superior finish in many respects and at a cost which
is quite reasonable. That the watches are constructed upon
scientific principles and are intended as reliable timepieces,
is shown from Observatory tests. The variations show that
care has been taken to approximate a perfect adjustment,
and that a partial success has been attained. A peculiarity
in the construction of the balance wheel—having a horizontal
split from the timing second holes each way—is noticeable,
which we fail to understand. This exhibit was made
expressly for this Exhibition, and Observatory rates sent with
each watch, and, as a representative exhibit, although small,
was the second best examined, and is, in its class, of the first
order of merit, and adjudged a first-class award.

.      .      .
     .      .
     .      .

LOUIS AUDEMARS

exhibits a wonderful class of complicated watches, calendars,
repeaters, chronographs, etc., etc., combined in one
watch, and elaborately cased and artistically finished. The
great element of merit in this exhibit is in the combination
of the great number of unusual functions for a watch, and
by skill in workmanship and mechanical science securing a
correct performance.

The enormous cost of these watches is an effectual embargo
on their use to any except the very few, and their utility is,
therefore, very limited. In their class they are, however, of
the first order of merit, and adjudged a first-class award.

G. TRIBANDEAU

exhibits a considerable collection of watches in a great variety
of cases, of a class of workmanship, finish, and performance
calling for the fourth order of merit, and are adjudged
a fourth-class award.

A. H. RODANET

exhibits two marine chronometers only, one of which was
broken and the other out of order; commended.

INTERNATIONAL WATCH COMPANY

exhibit a collection of watches of the third order of merit,
and adjudged a third-class award.

In concluding this report, the judges very much regret
the limitation in time which has prevented them securing
position tests of this very interesting exhibit in horology, as
much on account of the exhibitors as on their own account.
Such advances have in the last few years been made in this
science that, in the interest of the public as well as of the
manufacturers, a sufficiency of time is desirable to make
tests in five or six positions, and fourteen days should be
allowed to each position. Tests for heat and cold, and an
opportunity to carefully note barometric and thermometric
influences upon the various systems of adjustment, would
be very valuable and interesting.

Respectfully, etc.,

Corn Magnets.

Every kind of salve or lotion that is supposed to remove
or relieve corns meets with a large sale. Corn files and pencils
are getting stale, and an enterprising inhabitant of Dresden
has lately brought out what he calls a “corn magnet.”
It is evident that it is as unlike a magnet as possible, for an
examination shows that it is made of sulphur colored with
graphite. The directions are to set fire to one end, and let a
drop of the melted sulphur fall upon the corn. A convenient
and agreeable operation, especially if the corn is on
the bottom of the foot. It is needless to say that the corn
usually survives the slight burn and lives to torment the
owner again. All burns, whether by caustic or otherwise,
should be avoided.

Experiments on the Resistance of Materials.

Prof. J. Burkitt Webb, C.E., now in Europe, writes as
follows:

On the invitation of Prof. Spangenberg we visited the
“Versuchsstation,” at the Gewerbe-Akademie, where the
important experiments upon materials for engineering purposes
are being made. These tests are of two kinds—trials
of strength and trials of endurance. The first are made by
means of very heavy and accurate machinery, mostly new
within the last two or three years; the latter are the celebrated
“Dauer-Versuche,” a description of which we will
reserve for another letter.

The main machine, of which there are three or four duplicates
at work at various points in Germany, is housed in a
special building in the interior court of the academy. It consists
of heavy iron “ways,” some fifty feet long, accurately
planed and secured to a stone foundation, with a hydraulic
pump and scales at one end, and a number of massive attachments
for subjecting the piece of iron or other material to
various kinds of strains. There are also other instruments
which belong to the machine as delicate as it is heavy, and
which are used for adjusting the parts of the apparatus,
reading the results of a test, or making calculations. This
machine differs from others in the way of measuring the
force used. It has been the custom to take the pressure on
the liquid in the hydraulic cylinder, as shown by a manometer,
as the basis of calculation. This introduces an inaccuracy,
as part of this is due to the friction on the piston packing,
and the true pressure is less than that shown by this irregular
quantity. To avoid this difficulty a massive lever is
introduced between the hydraulic press and the point where
its pressure is applied. One arm of this lever is one-eighth
inch long, and the other five hundred times as long, so that
to measure a pressure of one hundred tons, four hundred
pounds must be placed on the scale pan which hangs from
the end of the long end of the lever. The fulcrum rests
against the piston, and the short end of the lever is connected
by heavy links with the apparatus by means of which the
strain is applied. Technically speaking the fulcra of scales
are “knife edges,” but to convey a pressure of one hundred
tons and remain free to move, these edges must be very obtuse,
perhaps 160° to 170°; they must be as long as possible,
some fifteen inches, of the best hardened steel, accurately
ground, and must rest against a hardened plate of steel.
Made with the greatest care the sharp edge under such a
pressure will sometimes make a dent in the plate and the scales
are clogged. As it is very difficult to measure the one-eighth
inch with accuracy, another lever is provided with a ratio
of one to ten, and with a short arm long enough to be made
of a certain length with but a small percentage of error. To
test the main lever this occupies essentially the same place as
a sample of iron to be stretched; it is loaded with, say, two
hundred pounds, which it multiplies to a ton; this pressure
is then weighed by placing four pounds upon the main scale
pan, and the fulcrum of the main lever is adjusted until the
two weights balance.

The attachments consist of: I. Jaws for holding round,
square, and flat bars to be submitted to tension. II. Arrangements
for holding beams and columns in various ways at
their ends, and compressing them until they are crushed or
“buckle.” III. Two massive graduated iron beams, which
are placed crosswise on the “ways,” and used for twisting
shafts, railroad axles, etc. IV. A face plate, about four feet
square, for holding plates of boiler iron nearly as large by the
perimeter, and crushing in the middle by forcing various
shaped pieces against it. V. Apparatus for bending a beam
by crushing an angular piece into it; and in the same connection,
VI. Shears for cutting off bars of metal and measuring
the force required.

In connection with this main machine were some, quite
old, which had been used in the infancy of the subject by a
former professor, and a new special machine for the same
purpose as attachment V., and which seemed to “kink” a
piece of railroad iron as if it were only lead. In this the
pressure was obtained by screws.

Among the instruments used for the adjustment of the
parts of the main machine we saw the finest cathetometer
we had ever seen. This instrument, by Breithaupt, in Cassel,
has two telescopes, with micrometer screws with more
than one hundred and twenty-five threads per inch, and
scales graduated on glass with more than six hundred and
twenty five divisions to the inch. Another instrument for
measuring the deflection, in two directions at once, of a column
under pressure, has micrometer screws with more than
two hundred and fifty threads per inch. We saw also a
planimeter, which not only calculated mechanically the area
of a figure, but gave also its center of gravity, moment of
inertia, etc. We saw also a French calculating machine;
the other apparatus is, we believe, all German. If one is,
however, critical, it will be found in many lines of business
that all the fine goods here are imported, though naturally
the Germans are slow to acknowledge it.

We witnessed the experiments on a sample of round iron
over an inch in diameter, and on a piece of iron plate three
inches wide by half an inch thick. It is perhaps needless to
say that they seemed to stretch like putty and to break like
thread. The pressure is put on a few hundred pounds at a
time, and the elongation is read by two telescopes and a scale,
which multiply the distance five hundred times. At the same
time the first “elastic limit” is watched for. Before this is
arrived at the piece will return to its original length when
the tension is removed; after this the stretching is in part
permanent. One of the facts brought out is that there are

several elastic limits, in copper seven or eight. The appearance
of the surface after the elastic limit is passed and the
iron stretches is peculiar. A wavy appearance is seen, and
longitudinal ridges begin to form, due to the changes going
on in the crystals, by which they adapt themselves to the increased
length. After a further general adaptation of structure
becomes impossible, these appearances culminate in the
weakest part. The apparatus for measuring the increase in
length has long since been removed, and the places where it
was attached have been filed smooth to avoid introducing the
weak point artificially. The diameter of this part now reduces
rapidly, and the surface becomes rough and the iron
hot—you can see it stretch. When it has reduced twenty-five
or more per cent it gives way suddenly with a sharp
crack. The percentage of reduction before breaking is now
recorded with the observations on the elasticity and the
breaking strain, and the experiment is at an end. It suggested
itself to see if the work done in pulling the iron apart
was fully accounted for by the heat generated. We could
easily calculate the work up to the point of maximum tension,
but after this the force required was not measured;
however, a rough calculation showed that the iron was as hot
as required, or at least that the data would require to be quite
complete if any residual was to be found.

Berlin, May 13, 1880.

ENGINEERING INVENTIONS.

An improved wheel guard, which will push any obstacles
on the track aside, and which can be adjusted to a greater
or less height above the rails, has been patented by Mr.
Solomon Brisac, of New York city. It consists in a wheel
guard formed of a metallic box with a beveled front side,
which box is adjustably fastened to the front end of a recessed
plate resting on and partially surrounding the grease
box. The box is braced by means of a rod attached to its
forward end and passing into a socket fastened to the bottom
of the car.

An improved water motor, constructed on the general
principle of a rotary engine, in which two compartments
are arranged side by side, with a partition intervening, and in
which the sliding pistons in the piston wheels in the two
compartments are arranged at right angles to each other, has
been patented by Mr. William E. Seelye, of Anoka, Minn.

Mr. Stephen Barnes, of New Haven, Conn., has invented
a vibrating propeller, adapted to small boats and vessels to
be operated by either hand or steam power. The floats are
arranged so that they will offer no resistance on the return
stroke.

An improved device for removing snow from railway
tracks, and especially from between the rails, has been patented
by Mr. David M. Horton, of Fishkill Village, N. Y.
It consists of a revolving brush, a mould board in juxtaposition
thereto, and a fan blower, in combination with suitable
driving gear for propelling the brush and fan.

An improvement in steam traps, patented by Mr. Hugh
O. Ames, of New Orleans, La., consists in combining with
a vibratory arm carrying a water receiver, a side apertured
hollow trunnion, a discharge pipe, a jacketed standard, and
an outlet pipe.

An improved cotton press has been patented by Mr. Alfred
A. Janney, of Montgomery, Ala. This invention relates
to an improvement in the class of cotton and hay
presses in which the follower is worked by a screw that
passes through a nut, to which the required rotary motion is
imparted by means of lateral sweeps or levers. It consists in
the means for supporting and securing the levers and forming
a vertical guide for the screw, so that the levers are prevented
from rocking or swaying as power is applied in the
operation of packing.

Improved Steam Canal Boat.

The late experiments in canal steamboats bid fair to be a
complete success. The Baxter steamers were not sufficiently
remunerative to continue the building of that kind of boat.
They do not carry a sufficient load, owing to their build, and
that is made necessary by the form and arrangement of the
machinery and propelling power, the propeller being that
form used by the tug in Buffalo. The new style, which bids
to pay handsomely, is as full a bow and stern as the ordinary
first-class canal boat. The propelling power is radically different
from the tug propeller. The wheel is eight feet in
diameter and placed close to the stern; the boiler is upright,
with a single engine, very compact machinery, taking up no
more room than the stable in many boats, and enabling the
boat to carry 7,500 bushels of corn and coal for the trip.
With this cargo they run from Buffalo to New York in seven
days on five and a half gross tons of coal, saving river and
harbor towing. One returned from New York to Buffalo in
one hour less than seven days, bringing one hundred and
thirty tons of freight. The outlook now promises to supersede
mule and horse towing. The Belgian system of cable
towing will take that large number of boats now relying on
the mule, and deliver them promptly as consigned and in
much less time and cost than can be done by the mule. Both
systems are necessary for rapid movement on the canal, and
to cheapen the transfer from the West to the seaboard.
Steam is sure to supersede animal power on the canal, as
everywhere else. The canal steamboats are at last so far perfected
as to insure a handsome profit in running them, and
a large number will soon be at work on the canal. Two are
to be constructed in Lockport as speedily as possible by one
of our most enterprising boat builders, and the machinery is
contracted for, thus opening up a new industry for our
numerous and worthy mechanics.—Lockport (N. Y.) Journal.

Astronomical Notes.

OBSERVATORY OF VASSAR COLLEGE.

The computations in the following notes are by students
of Vassar College. Although merely approximate, they are
sufficiently accurate to enable the ordinary observer to find
the planets.

M. M.

POSITIONS OF PLANETS FOR JULY, 1880.

Mercury.

On July 1 Mercury sets a few minutes after 9 in the evening.

Mercury can be readily found, early in July, a few degrees
south of the point of sunset; the planet moves rapidly southward,
but can be followed, and may be seen as late as the
20th. On July 18 Mercury has nearly the declination of
Regulus.

Venus.

Venus keeps nearly the path of the sun, setting after the
sun late in July, but so nearly with it that the planet is not
likely to be seen.

Mars.

Mars has moved from its position nearly in line with Castor
and Pollux toward Leo. It sets on July 1 at 9h. 44m.
P.M. On the 31st Mars sets at 8h. 32m.

On the 31st, at meridian passage, Mars and Uranus are
nearly together. Uranus is east of Mars and half a degree
south.

Jupiter.

Jupiter is coming into the evening hours.

On July 1 Jupiter rises a few minutes after midnight. On
July 31 Jupiter rises a few minutes after 10 P.M. It will
be known at once by its brilliancy.

Besides the ordinary belts of Jupiter the planet still shows
at this time (June 10) the large ruddy spot spoken of by
many persons some weeks since. This spot is elliptical in
shape; its longest diameter is about one-fifth that of Jupiter.
A small glass will show it, and the ordinary observer can,
by watching its appearance and disappearance and reappearance,
determine the time of rotation of Jupiter on its axis,
or the length of the planet’s day.

The best evenings for looking at Jupiter are those of July
23, when the satellite nearest to Jupiter goes across its face,
preceded by its shadow; July 28, when the first and second
satellites will make similar transits; and July 29, when Jupiter
will rise without the presence of its third satellite,
which will be in eclipse, and will come out of the shadow
after midnight.

Saturn.

Saturn follows close upon Jupiter, but keeps further north
in declination by about 2½°.

On July 1 Saturn rises 36m. after midnight. On the 31st
Saturn rises at 10h. 38m. P.M.

The waning moon will pass north of Jupiter and Saturn
on the 27th to 28th.

Any one who has a glass sufficient to show the ring of
Saturn and the largest satellite, Titan, will find this planet
intensely interesting, and the movements of the satellite will
show the time of its revolution in its orbit around Saturn.

Uranus.

Uranus rises after the sun, and sets too nearly with the
sun to be seen.

Neptune.

Neptune may be seen, with a good telescope, in the early
morning hour. Neptune is 2¼° west of Alpha Ceti, and 11°
north. It approaches Alpha Ceti during the month, and if
it can be found, may be known to be a planet by that movement.

Fires in New York.

The report of the Board of Fire Commissioners, just
printed, shows that during the year 1879 there were in this
city 1,551 fires, of which 1,029 were discovered by persons
not connected with the Fire or Police Department. In 1,456
cases the fires were confined to the buildings in which they
originated. Twenty-five buildings were totally destroyed,
and 69 were greatly damaged. Of all the fires, 1,001 were
extinguished by buckets of water and fire extinguishers.
The total estimated loss by fire during the year was $900,280
on buildings and $4,771,300 on stock, making a total of
$5,671,580. The estimated insurances on the buildings were
$7,276,446, and on stock, $14,525,264, making a total of
$21,801,710. The estimated uninsured loss was $180,060.
In three cases the loss was between $100,000 and $115,000;
in one case $168,908; in one case $352,185; in one case
$333,900; and in one case $1,978,991. In 1,066 cases the
loss was less than $100.

Nearly a quarter of all the fires were caused by carelessness,
and 100 are attributed to children playing with matches
and fire. Forty fires were caused by the spontaneous combustion
of oily rags and other materials, and 93 by exploding
kerosene lamps. Four members of the department and 12
citizens died of injuries received at fires during the year,
and 139 firemen and 54 citizens were more or less injured.

There are 729 uniformed members of the department
The pay roll of the whole department for 1879 was $1,030,822.14,
and the appropriation for all expenses was $1,254,970.
The appropriation for the present year is $1,307,670.
The department now possesses 233 horses, 1 marine steam
fire engine, 58 steam fire engines, of which 5 are self propelling,
10 chemical engines, 24 hook and ladder trucks, 108
chemical fire extinguishers, and 4 aerial ladders, together
with other fire apparatus.

The annual inspection of the department showed that the
quickest average time in hitching a team was 3.17 seconds,
and in hitching a single horse, 5.66 seconds. The general

average in hitching all apparatus was, in 1879, 9.54 seconds;
in 1878, 10.26 seconds; and in 1877, 13.03 seconds.

During the year, $30,300 was collected for licenses for the
sale of kerosene oil, each license costing $10. The Fire Department
Relief Fund now amounts to $422,569.07, and the
insurance fund to $12,780.

ASPIRATOR AND COMPRESSOR.

Professor Marangoni, of Pavia, has invented an aspirator
for measuring gases which is much simpler than many now
in use in laboratories, which latter have the defect that the
air or gas ascends through the descending liquid and makes
thus the measuring of the former uncertain. The improved
apparatus is shown in our illustration. It consists of two
vessels attached to a fixed horizontal shaft, FE, which is
placed upon two upright supports. This shaft has several
ways or passages made in it which performs the functions
of the taps. The water of the upper receptacle passes into
the lower one by the passage, A, and thence through the
tube, BC, issuing at its lowest extremity at C. The air
contained in the lower vessel is thus emitted by the channel
DE, cut into the shaft, while the air or gas is aspirated in
the same ratio by the passage and tube, FG. The apparatus
acts thus at the same time as aspirator and compressor.
It is simple, and will be a useful addition to the laboratory.

New Photoglyptic Process.^*

^* A communication to the Photographic Society of France.

Walter B. Woodbury.

It is now thirteen years since I had the honor of introducing
in France my new photoglyptic process, which, up to
the present time, has remained in the hands of very few,
owing to the great expense hitherto necessary to start
the working of it. For some time I have been engaged
in making experiments with a view to discover a system
which should be at the same time simple and inexpensive;
and the process which I have this evening the honor to bring
before your notice is the result of my researches.

The summary of the new system is as follows:

To obtain from negatives reliefs on glass similar to transparencies
by the carbon process, but modified in the quantity
of materials used.

To attach, and keep in absolute contact with the relief so
obtained, a sheet of tin foil.

To solidify this sheet of tinfoil by coating it with copper;
then backing it up with another sheet of plate glass covered
with a composition; and then to detach the whole from the
first relief—the result being a mould ready to place in the
press and print one thousand or more proofs.

I commence by showing you the relief made from the
negative, and explaining how this is obtained.

I take a sheet of plate glass of a convenient size, and place
it in hot water, together with a sheet of paper a little
smaller; then, having driven out the excess of water by
means of a squeegee, I place it on a leveling stand. Having
prepared a solution composed of gelatine 200 parts, water
1,000 parts, glycerine 20 parts, white sugar 30 parts, with
a little Indian ink, and filtered the same, I pour a sufficient
quantity on the paper and spread it up to the corners
with the finger. These plates are then dried in a dry
place and can be kept until wanted.

To sensitize the plates I employ a bath of bichromate of
potash of six per cent, and again dry them. Without doubt
this method is rather long; but one should consider that
each proof made is capable of giving five or ten thousand
prints if necessary, as the same relief will make many printing
moulds. I tried, with the aid of the Autotype Company,
of London, to get a suitable tissue; but as this requires
a uniform thickness of half a millimeter the ordinary system
did not succeed. When the sensitized plate is dry the
edges are cut with a knife, the glasses serving over and over
again. I show you a piece of this prepared paper.

As in the carbon process, it is necessary to place a border
of black paper at the back of the negative, and to cut the
sensitized tissue a little larger than the opening.

After the exposure the gelatine is fixed on a collodionized
glass by placing them both in water and squeegeeing the
surface; but in dry weather it is as well to use albumen in
place of collodion, as used by M. Ferrier for his transparencies
in carbon. The glass holding the gelatine is now
placed in a hot water bath heated to 42° Centigrade, and

left till the paper comes away from the gelatine, when it is
placed in this apparatus by the frame holding the grooves.

By means of this small gas regulator the temperature is
kept always the same, namely, 50° Centigrade. The water
should be now and then agitated by lifting up and down
the frame holding the glasses.

After a space of three or four hours the reliefs will be
sufficiently washed, and can be taken out and placed in
alcohol to dry quickly and sharp at the same time. In this
stage of the process all spots or scratches that may have
been on the negative can be removed (being in relief on the
gelatine) by means of a piece of glass. The relief is now
ready to be covered with the tin. You will observe that up
to the present the operations have been almost the same as
those necessary to produce a transparency in carbon.

As it is of the first necessity that the tin should be kept
in absolute contact with the gelatine relief, I prepare the
latter by rubbing it over with a piece of flannel charged
with a greasy matter (pomatum answers as well as anything).
I then make a border of India-rubber in benzine
round the glass. The effect of this is to prevent any air
from returning between the tin and the relief when once
it has been driven out.

Taking care that the back of the glass is perfectly clean,
it is now placed on the steel or glass bed of a rolling-press.
A sheet of tin foil (without holes) that has been smoothed on
a sheet of glass by a soft brush is now laid on it, and then
three or four thicknesses of blotting paper. The whole is
then passed under the cylinder several times, each time increasing
the pressure. The surface of the tin is now ready
to place in the electrotyping cell, but must first be cleaned
with a solution of caustic potash to remove any grease, and
bordered with shellac varnish to prevent the copper from
depositing where not required.

Electric contact is made by means of the small apparatus,
on removing a small proportion of the lac varnish. After
two or three hours sufficient copper will have been deposited,
and after drying can be then attached to another
glass, on which it will remain.

This glass is covered while hot with a composition of
shellac, resin, and Venice turpentine, and can be prepared
in advance, using an iron plate heated direct by the gas
flame. The same iron plate is employed to again soften the
composition and attach it to the copper; but this time heated
only by boiling water, this temperature being sufficient to
soften it until it enters into all the hollows of the copper.
On placing a weight on the two glasses the excess of the
composition is forced out at the edges. When cold the
glass plate on which the copper and tin are now attached
can be separated from the relief, which can then be used
over and over again to produce fresh matrices.

The matrix or intaglio is now ready to place in the printing
press, and the remaining operations of printing are exactly
the same as those used in the old process of photoglyptic
printing.

In placing the mould in the press it is advisable to place
one or two thicknesses of stout blotting paper, previously
wetted, under the mould to give to it a slight amount of
elasticity and, at the same time, to keep it in place.

As in all other mechanical processes a reversed or pellicle
negative is required; but it is very simple to print upon a
specially prepared transfer paper, and, instead of mounting
the print with the face uppermost, to attach it under water
to the mount, and when dry to detach the paper on which
the print has been made. By this means there remains
only one thickness of paper instead of two, thus doing away
with an objection which has often been found in mounted
photographs for book illustration.

NEW INVENTIONS.

An improved combined cutting and clinching tool has
been patented by Mr. Peter D. Graham, of Black Hawk,
Col. The object of this invention is to provide a new, useful,
and convenient tool for cutting and clinching horseshoe
nails.

Mr. John J. Berger, of Brooklyn, N. Y., has patented an
improved hand perforating or check stamp of the class which
are used to cut or perforate the paper with figures and letters
as a safeguard against alterations of the check; and the
object of this improvement is to perforate the check with
needle points, and at the same time ink the perforations,
whereby the numbers may be clearly marked without cutting
large openings in the paper.

An improved apparatus for the manufacture of nitric acid
has been patented by Mr. Paul Marcelin, of Black Rock,
Conn. The object of this invention is to furnish apparatus
for manufacturing nitric acid so constructed that the stronger
acid may be separated from the weaker acid as the acid passes
from the retort to the receiving bottles, to obtain a strong
acid suitable for use in manufacturing nitro-glycerine.

Mr. Max Rubin, of New York city, has patented an improved
shawl strap, so constructed that either strap may be
wound up alone, or both may be wound up together, or one
may be wound up tighter than the other, by adjusting the
handle.

Mr. Ambrose Madden, of Asbury Park, N. J., has patented
an attachment for use with halters for preventing horses
from cribbing and to cure them of that pernicious habit;
and the invention consists in a combination of rigid arms
and straps hung upon the halter and carrying a spiked plate,
which is retained beneath the animal’s under lip in such manner
that the motions of the horse in the act of cribbing cause
the spikes to prick.

The Charge for Insertion under this head is One Dollar
a line for each insertion; about eight words to a line.
Advertisements must be received at publication office
as early as Thursday morning to appear in next issue.

The publishers of this paper guarantee to advertisers
a circulation of not less than 50,000 copies every
weekly issue.

Lubricene, Gear Grease, Cylinder and Machinery Oils.
R. J. Chard, 6 Burling Slip, New York.

Telephones repaired, parts of same for sale. Send
stamp for circulars. P. O. Box 205, Jersey City, N. J.

The genuine Asbestos Liquid Paints are the purest,
finest, richest, and most durable paints ever made for
structural purposes. H. W. Johns M’f’g Co., 87 Maiden
Lane, sole manufacturers.

The Finger Annunciator, and all other electr. apparatus,
by Finger Annunciator Co., 73 Cornhill, Boston.

The most popular Pens in use are those of the Esterbrook
Steel Pen Company. For sale everywhere.
Everybody send Circular to R. K. Teller, Unadilla, N. Y.

A few pat. Centering and Squaring Attachments for
Lathes, made by R. E. State & Co., entirely new, for sale
cheap. J. & W. State, Lock Box 291, Springfield, Ohio.

Soapstone and Empire Gum Core Packing, the best
for Railroads. Greene, Tweed & Co., New York.

Our new Stylographic Pen (just patented), having the
duplex interchangeable point section, is the very latest
improvement. The Stylographic Pen Co., Room 13, 169
Broadway, N. Y.

Shaw’s U. S. Standard of Pressure. Mercury Gauges,
all pressures, Steam, Hydraulic, and Vacuum. Best for
pumping stations and pipe lines. 915 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia,
Pa.

For Sale low—52 x 17 feet Sidewheel Boat, and one
23 x 5½ feet Launch; best condition. S. E. Harthan,
Worcester, Mass.

Wanted.—Farm Engine, with Steam Plow Attachment.
Address P. O. Box 18, Reinbeck, Iowa.

Advertising of all kinds in all American Newspapers.
Special lists free. Address E. N. Freshman & Bros., Cincinnati, O.

Patent for Sale Cheap.—Entire Patent or State Rights.
Just the thing for the summer. Money can be made out
of it. Other business prevents owner from handling it.
A. H. Watkins, 294 Harrison Ave., Boston, Mass.

We keep a full assortment of Esterbrook’s, Gillott’s,
Spencerian, Perry’s, and Lamar’s Pens. Send for price
list to J. Leach, 86 Nassau St., New York.

For Sale.—A Baltimore City Fire Department Steam
Fire Engine, in complete working order. Address P. O.
Box 676, Baltimore, Md.

Metallic Piston Rod Packing Company, 773 Broad St.,
Newark, N. J. Agents wanted; terms liberal.

Skinner & Wood, Erie, Pa., Portable and Stationary
Engines, are full of orders, and withdraw their illustrated
advertisement. Send for their new circulars.

Asbestos Board on Chimneys prevents their heat from
affecting the temperature of rooms through which they
pass. Asbestos Pat. Fiber Co., lim., 194 Broadway, N. Y.

Sweetland & Co., 126 Union St., New Haven, Conn.,
manufacture the Sweetland Combination Chuck.

Power, Foot, and Hand Presses for Metal Workers.
Lowest prices. Peerless Punch & Shear Co., 52 Dey St., N. Y.

The Brown Automatic Cut-off Engine; unexcelled for
workmanship, economy, and durability. Write for information.
C. H. Brown & Co., Fitchburg, Mass.

Corrugated Traction Tire for Portable Engines, etc.
Sole manufacturers, H. Lloyd, Son & Co., Pittsburg, Pa.

For the best Stave, Barrel, Keg, and Hogshead Machinery,
address H. A. Crossley, Cleveland, Ohio.

Best Oak Tanned Leather Belting. Wm. F. Forepaugh,
Jr., & Bros. 531 Jefferson St., Philadelphia, Pa.

National Steel Tube Cleaner for boiler tubes. Adjustable,
durable. Chalmers-Spence Co., 40 John St., N. Y.

Split Pulleys at low prices, and of same strength and
appearance as Whole Pulleys. Yocom & Son’s Shafting
Works, Drinker St., Philadelphia, Pa.

Stave, Barrel, Keg, and Hogshead Machinery a specialty
by E. & B. Holmes, Buffalo, N. Y.

Solid Emery Vulcanite Wheels—The Solid Original
Emery Wheel other kinds imitations and inferior.
Caution.—Our name is stamped in full on all our best
Standard Belting, Packing, and Hose. Buy that only.
The best is the cheapest. New York Belting and Packing
Company, 37 and 38 Park Bow. N. Y.

For Separators, Farm & Vertical Engines, see adv. p. 382.

Walrus Leather, Emery, and Polishing Goods.
Greene, Tweed & Co., 118 Chambers St., New York.

Nickel Plating.—Sole manufacturers cast nickel anodes,
pure nickel salts, importers Vienna lime, crocus,
etc. Condit, Hanson & Van Winkle, Newark, N. J., and
92, and 94 Liberty St., New York.

Presses, Dies, and Tools for working Sheet Metal, etc.
Fruit & other can tools. Bliss & Williams, B’klyn, N. Y.

Bradley’s cushioned helve hammers. See illus. ad. p. 397.

Instruction in Steam and Mechanical Engineering. A
thorough practical education, and a desirable situation
as soon as competent, can be obtained at the National
Institute of Steam Engineering, Bridgeport, Conn. For
particulars, send for pamphlet.

Hydraulic Jacks, Presses and Pumps. Polishing and
Buffing Machinery Patent Punches, Shears, etc. E.
Lyon & Co., 470 Grand St., New York.

Forsaith & Co., Manchester, N. H., & 207 Centre St.,
N. Y. Bolt Forging Machines, Power Hammers, Comb’d
Hand Fire Eng. & Hose Carriages, New & 2d hand Machinery.
Send stamp for illus. cat. State just what you want.

For Mill Mach’y & Mill Furnishing, see illus. adv. p. 381.

Air Compressors, Blowing Engines, Steam Pumping
Machinery, Hydraulic Presses. Philadelphia Hydraulic
Works, Philadelphia, Pa.

For Patent Shapers and Planers, see ills. adv. p. 380.

For Pat. Safety Elevators, Hoisting Engines, Friction
Clutch Pulleys, Cut-off Coupling, see Frisbie’s ad. p. 316.

Machine Knives for Wood-working Machinery, Book
Binders, and Paper Mills. Large knife work a specialty.
Also manufacturers of Soloman’s Parallel Vise. Taylor.
Stiles & Co., Riegelsville, N. J.

For Alcott’s Improved Turbine, see adv. p. 297.

Mineral Lands Prospected, Artesian Wells Bored, by
Pa. Diamond Drill Co. Box 423, Pottsville, Pa. See p. 381.

Rollstone Mac. Co’s Wood Working Mach’y ad. p. 380

Improved Solid Emery Wheels and Machinery, Automatic
Knife Grinders, Portable Chuck Jaws. Important,
that users should have prices of these first class
goods. American Twist Drill Co., Meredithville, N. H.

For Standard Turbine, see last or next number.

Burgess’ Non-conductor for Heated Surfaces; easily
applied, efficient, and inexpensive. Applicable to plain
or curved surfaces, pipes, elbows and valves. See p. 284.

Diamond Saws. J. Dickinson, 64 Nassau St., N. Y.

Steam Hammers, Improved Hydraulic Jacks, and Tube
Expanders. R. Dudgeon, 24 Columbia St., New York.

Wanted—The address of 40,000 Sawyers and Lumbermen
for a copy of Emerson’s Hand Book of Saws. New
edition 1880. Over 100 illustrations and pages of valuable
information. Emerson, Smith & Co., Beaver Falls, Pa.

Eagle Anvils, 10 cents per pound. Fully warranted.

For Wood-Working Machinery, see illus. adv. p. 413.

Eclipse Portable Engine. See illustrated adv., p. 413.

Tight and Slack Barrel machinery a specialty. John
Greenwood & Co., Rochester, N. Y. See illus. adv. p. 413.

Elevators, Freight and Passenger, Shafting, Pulleys
and Hangers. L. S. Graves & Son, Rochester, N. Y.

$400 Vertical Engine, 30 H.P. See page 413.

Best American Shot Gun made is the “Colts.” Far
superior to any English guns for the same price. For
description, see Sci. American of May 29. Send for
circular to Hodgkins & Haigh, Dealers in General
Sporting Goods, 300 Broadway, New York.

Telephones.—Inventors of Improvements in Telephones
and Telephonic Apparatus are requested to communicate
with the Scottish Telephonic Exchange, Limited,
34 St. Andrew Square, Edinburgh, Scotland. J. G.
Lorrain, General Manager.

Pat. Steam Hoisting Mach’y. See illus. adv., p. 413.

Hydraulic Cylinders, Wheels, and Pinions, Machinery
Castings; all kinds; strong and durable; and easily
worked. Tensile strength not less than 65,000 lbs. to
square in. Pittsburgh Steel Casting Co., Pittsburgh, Pa.

C. J. Pitt & Co., Show Case Manufacturers, 226 Canal
St, New York. Orders promptly attended to. Send for
illustrated catalogue with prices.

For best low price Planer and Matcher, and latest
improved Sash, Door, and Blind Machinery, Send for
catalogue to Rowley & Hermance, Williamsport, Pa.

Elevators.—Stokes & Parrish, Phila., Pa. See p. 412.

Penfield (Pulley) Block Works. See illus. adv. p. 413.

4 to 40 H.P. Steam Engines. See adv. p. 413.

[OFFICIAL.]

INDEX OF INVENTIONS

FOR WHICH

Letters Patent of the United States were
Granted in the Week Ending;

June 1, 1880,

AND EACH BEARING THAT DATE.

[Those marked (r) are reissued patents.]

A printed copy of the specification and drawing of any
patent in the annexed list, also of any patent issued
since 1866, will be furnished from this office for one dollar.
In ordering please state the number and date of the
patent desired, and remit to Munn & Co., 37 Park Row,
New York city. We also furnish copies, of patents
granted prior to 1866; but at increased cost, as the specifications
not being printed, must be copied by hand.

DESIGNS.

TRADE MARKS.

English Patents Issued to Americans.

From May 25 to June 1, 1880, inclusive.

Inside Page, each insertion – – – 75 cents a line.
Back Page, each insertion – – – $1.00 a line.

(About eight words to a line.)

Engravings may head advertisements at the same rate
per line, by measurement, as the letter press. Advertisements
must be received at publication office as early
as Thursday morning to appear in next issue.

The publishers of this paper guarantee to advertisers
a circulation of not less than 50,000 copies every
weekly issue.

Fifth Edition Just Ready. The Complete Practical Machinist Embracing Lathe Work, Vise Work, Drills and Drilling, Taps and Dies, Hardening and Tempering, the Making and Use of Tools, etc., etc. By Joshua Rose. Illustrated by 130 engravings. Fifth edition, revised. In one vol., 12mo., 376 pages. Price $2.50 by mail, free of postage. CONTENTS: Chapter I. Lathe and Machine Tools. II. Cutting Speed and Feed. III. Boring Tools for Lathe Work. IV. Screw-cutting Tools. V. General Observations on Lathe Work. VI. Turning Eccentrics. VII. Hand Turning. VIII. Drilling in the Lathe. IX. Boring Bars. X. Laps. XI. Twist Drills. XII. Tool Steel. XIII. Taps and Dies. XIV. Vise-work Tools. XV. Fitting Connecting Rods. XVI. Milling Machines and Milling Tools. XVII. To Calculate the Speed of Wheels, Pulleys, etc. XVIII. The Slide Valve. XIX. How to Set a Slide Valve. XX. Pumps Index. We also publish: The Modern Practice of American Machinists and Engineers. By Egbert P. Watson. Illustrated by 86 engravings. 12mo, $2 50 The above or any of our Books sent by mail, free of postage, at the publication price. Our new and enlarged CATALOGUE OF PRACTICAL AND SCIENTIFIC BOOKS—96 pages, 8vo—sent free to any one who will furnish his address. HENRY CAREY BAIRD & CO., Industrial Publishers, Booksellers, and Importers, 810 Walnut St., Philadelphia, Pa. FOR SALE, A full set of Patent Office Reports, from 1849 to 1872. Price $60. Apply to C. M. ALEXANDER, Washington, D. C. 1880 1880     Pittsburgh Exposition Society. THE FOURTH EXPOSITION AND FAIR Will open to the public Thursday, September 2, and remain open day and evening (Sundays excepted) until Saturday, October 9th, 1880. Blank forms of application for space, Prospectus, and Premium list may be had by addressing the secretary. Exhibitors are earnestly requested to make early application for space, thus enabling the managers to better arrange the whole Exhibition. New Machinery Hall; new Engine and Boilers. Manufacturers and Inventors should avail themselves of the unsurpassed facilities offered by this Exposition for the introduction of new machinery to the public. Office, GERMANIA BANK BUILDING, 89 Wood St. P. O. BOX 895. E. P. YOUNG, I. C. PATTERSON, General Manager. Secretary.      JOHN D. BAILEY, Asst. Manager and Cashier. Cigar Box Lumber, MANUFACTURED by our NEW PATENT PROCESS. The Best in the World. SPANISH CEDAR, MAHOGANY, POPLAR. Also thin lumber of all other kinds, ⅛ to ½ in., at corresponding prices. All qualities. Equal in all respects to any made, and at prices much under any to be obtained outside of our establishment. Send for price list. GEO W. READ & CO., 186 to 200 Lewis Street, N. Y. MOSQUITO CATCHER. Will clear your room in a few minutes without smoke, soil, or grease. Price 50 cents. Send for circular. Agents wanted everywhere. Good terms. L. T. JONES, 166 Light Street, Baltimore, Md. Roots’ New Iron Blower. POSITIVE BLAST. IRON REVOLVERS, PERFECTLY BALANCED IS SIMPLER, AND HAS FEWER PARTS THAN ANY OTHER BLOWER. P. H. & F. M. ROOTS, Manuf’rs, CONNERSVILLE, IND. S. S. TOWNSEND, Gen. Agt., { 6 Cortlandt St., 8 Dey Street, } NEW YORK. WM. COOKE, Selling Agt., 6 Cortlandt Street, JAS. BEGGS & CO., Selling Agts., 8 Dey Street, SEND FOR PRICED CATALOGUE. FOUR SIDED MOULDER, WITH OUTSIDE BEARING. We manufacture 5 sizes of these moulders. Also Endless Bed Planers, Mortisers and Borers. Tenoning Machines, Sash Dovetailers. Blind Rabbeting Machines. Also a large variety of other wood working machines. Address LEVI HOUSTON, Montgomery, Pa. STEAM PUMPS. THE NORWALK IRON WORKS CO., SOUTH NORWALK, CONN.

THE BLAKE “LION AND EAGLE” CRUSHER, A patented improvement of the former “New Pattern” Blake machine. Has much greater efficiency than the old. It requires only about half the power to drive, and is transported at much less expense (the size most used weighing several thousand pounds less than the unimproved machine). It requires less than half the time in oiling and other manipulation, and less than half the expense for repairs. Address E. S. BLAKE & CO., Pittsburgh, Pa., Sole Proprietors and Manufacturers.

Delamater Steam Pumps For every variety of work WATERWORKS PUMPING ENGINES DELAMATER IRON WORKS Boiler Makers, Engine Builders, and Founders, Office, No. 10 CORTLANDT ST., Works, Foot of W. 18th St., North River, New York. ESTABLISHED 1841. Model Engines Complete sets of CASTINGS for making small Model steam Engines 1½ in. bore, 3 in. stroke, price, $4; ditto 2 in. bore, 4 in. stroke, price, $10, same style as cut. Gear Wheels and Parts of Models. All kinds of Small Tools and Materials. Catalogue Free. GOODNOW & WIGHTMAN, 176 Washington Street, Boston, Mass. STUTTERING CURED by Bates’ Appliances. Send for description to SIMPSON & Co., Box 2236, New York. SPARE THE CROTON AND SAVE THE COST. Driven or Tube Wells furnished to large consumers of Croton and Ridgewood Water. WM. D. ANDREWS & BRO., 235 Broadway, N. Y., who control the patent for Green’s American Driven Well. THE DRIVEN WELL. Town and County privileges for making Driven Wells and selling Licenses under the established American Driven Well Patent, leased by the year to responsible parties, by WM. D. ANDREWS & BRO., 235 BROADWAY, NEW YORK. For steep or flat roofs. Applied by ordinary workmen at one-third the cost of tin. Circulars and samples free. Agents Wanted. T. NEW, 32 John Street, New York. XX COT (not painted, White Duck) $2. Makes a perfect bed. No mattress or pillows required. Better than a hammock, as it fits the body as pleasantly, and lies straight. Folded or opened instantly. Self-fastening. It is just the thing for hotels, offices, cottages, camp-meetings, sportsmen, etc. Good for the lawn, piazza, or “coolest place in the house.” Splendid for invalids or children. Sent on receipt of price, or C. O. D. For 50 cts. extra, with order, I will prepay expressage to any railroad station east of Mississippi River and north of Mason and Dixon’s line. For 75 cents, in Minnesota, Missouri, and Iowa. HERMON W. LADD, 108 Fulton St., Boston; 207 Canal St., New York; 165 North Second St., Phila.; 94 Market St., Chicago. Send for Circulars. BEST IN THE WORLD For Packing the Piston Rods and Valve Stems of Steam Engines and Pumps. B represents that part of the packing which, when in use, is in contact with the Piston Rod. A the elastic back, which keeps the part B against the rod with sufficient pressure to be steam-tight, and yet creates but little friction. This Packing is made in lengths of about 20 feet, and of all sizes from 1/4 to 2 inches square. JOHN H. CHEEVER, Treas. NEW YORK BELTING & PACKING CO., 37 & 38 Park Row, New York. JOHN R. WHITLEY& CO. European Representatives of American Houses, with First-class Agents in the principal industrial and agricultural centers and cities in Europe. London, 7 Poultry, E. C. Paris, 8 Place Vendôme. Terms on application. J. R. W. & Co. purchase Paris goods on commission at shippers’ discounts. Grain Speculation in large or small amounts. $25 or $25,000. Write W. T. SOULE & CO., Commission Merchants, 130 La Salle St., CHICAGO. ILL., for Circulars. TELEPHONE  Works 1 mile. Price $3.50. Pat’d. Circulars free. HOLCOMB & CO., Mallet Creek, Ohio. Johnson’s Patent Universal Lathe Chuck. Lambertville Iron Works, Lambertville, N. J. Green House       Heating and           Ventilating                Apparatus. Base Burning        Water Heaters. For Small Conservatories. HITCHINGS & CO., No. 233 Mercer Street, New York. Engine Lathes, Planers, Drills, &c. DAVID W. POND, Worcester, Mass. Lathes, Planers Shapers Drills, Bolt and Gear Cutters, Milling Machines. Special Machinery. E. GOULD & EBERHARDT, Newark, N. J.

Steel Castings From ¼ to 15,000 lb. weight, true to pattern, of unequaled strength, toughness, and durability. 15,000 Crank Shafts and 10,000 Gear Wheels of this steel now running prove its superiority over all other Steel Castings. Send for circular and price list. CHESTER STEEL CASTINGS Co., 407 Library St., Phila, Pa. The attention of Architects, Engineers, and Builders is called to the great decline in prices of wrought STRUCTURAL IRON. It is believed that, were owners fully aware of the small difference in cost which now exists between iron and wood, the former, in many cases, would be adopted, thereby saving insurance and avoiding all risk of interruption to business in consequence of fire. Book of detailed information furnished to Architects, Engineers, and Builders, on application. Wood-Working Machinery, Such as Woodworth Planing, Tonguing, and Grooving Machines, Daniel’s Planers, Richardson’s Patent Improved Tenon Machines, Mortising, Moulding, and Re-Saw Machines. Eastman’s Pat. Miter Machines, and Wood-Working Machinery generally. Manufactured by WITHERBY, RUGG & RICHARDSON, 26 Salisbury Street, Worcester, Mass. (Shop formerly occupied by R. BALL & CO.) Shafts, Pulleys, Hangers, Etc. Full assortment in store for immediate delivery. WM. SELLERS & CO.,      79 Liberty Street, New York. PORTER MANUF’G CO. The New Economizer, the only Agricultural Engine with Return Flue Boiler in use. Send for circular to PORTER MFG. Co., Limited, Syracuse, N. Y. G. G. YOUNG, Gen. Agt., 42 Cortland St., New York. Forster’s Rock & Ore Breaker and Combined Crusher and Pulverizer. The simplest machine ever devised for the purpose. Parties who have used it constantly for six years testify that it will do double the work of any other Crusher, with one-third the Power, and one-half the expense for keeping in repair. The smaller sizes can be run with Horse Power. Address TOTTEN & CO., Pittsburgh Pa. STEAM PUMPS. HENRY R. WORTHINGTON. 239 Broadway, N. Y. 83 Water St., Boston. 709 Market St., St. Louis, Mo. The Worthington Pumping Engines for Water Works—Compound, Condensing or Non-Condensing. Used in over 100 Water-Works Stations. Worthington Steam Pumps of all sizes and for all purposes. Prices below those of any other steam pump in the market. Water Meters. Oil Meters. KNOW THYSELF. The untold miseries that result from indiscretion in early life may be alleviated and cured. Those who doubt this assertion should purchase the new medical work published by the PEABODY MEDICAL INSTITUTE, Boston, entitled THE SCIENCE OF LIFE; or, SELF-PRESERVATION. Exhausted vitality, nervous and physical debility, or vitality impaired by the errors of youth, or too close application to business, may be restored and manhood regained. Two hundredth edition, revised and enlarged, just published. It is a standard medical work, the best in the English language, written by a physician of great experience, to whom was awarded a gold and jeweled medal by the National Medical Association. It contains beautiful and very expensive engravings. Three hundred pages, more than 50 valuable prescriptions for all forms of prevailing disease, the result of many years of extensive and successful practice, either one of which is worth ten times the price of the book. Bound in French cloth; price only $1, sent by mail, postpaid. The London Lancet says: “No person should be without this valuable book. The author is a noble benefactor.” An illustrated sample sent to all on receipt of 6 cents for postage. The author refers, by permission, to Hon. P. A. BISSELL, M.D., prest. of the National Medical Association. Address Dr. W. H. PARKER, No. 4 Bulfinch Street, Boston, Mass. The author may be consulted on all diseases requiring skill and experience. HEAL THYSELF EXTRA BARGAINS. Town rights, $10; county, $25. Best novelty yet manufactured. If you want to make money, address, with stamp, J. H. MARTIN, Hartford, N. Y. “The 1876 Injector.” Simple, Durable, and Reliable. Requires no special valves. Send for illustrated circular. WM. SELLERS & CO., Phila. CAVEATS, COPYRIGHTS, LABEL REGISTRATION, ETC. Messrs. Munn & Co., in connection with the publication of the Scientific American, continue to examine Improvements, and to act as Solicitors of Patents for Inventors. In this line of business they have had over thirty years’ experience, and now have unequaled facilities for the Preparation of Patent Drawings, Specifications, and the Prosecution of Applications for Patents in the United States, Canada, and Foreign Countries. Messrs. Munn & Co. also attend to the preparation of Caveats, Registration of Labels, Copyrights for Books, Labels, Reissues, Assignments, and Reports on Infringements of Patents. All business intrusted to them is done with special care and promptness, on very moderate terms. We send free of charge, on application, a pamphlet containing further information about Patents and how to procure them; directions concerning Labels, Copyrights, Designs, Patents, Appeals, Reissues, Infringements, Assignments, Rejected Cases, Hints on the Sale of Patents, etc. Foreign Patents.—We also send, free of charge, a Synopsis of Foreign Patent Laws, showing the cost and method of securing patents in all the principal countries of the world. American inventors should bear in mind that, as a general rule, any invention that is valuable to the patentee in this country is worth equally as much in England and some other foreign countries. Five patents—embracing Canadian, English, German, French, and Belgian—will secure to an inventor the exclusive monopoly to his discovery among about one hundred and fifty millions of the most intelligent people in the world. The facilities of business and steam communication are such that patents can be obtained abroad by our citizens almost as easily as at home. The expense to apply for an English patent is $75; German, $100; French, $100; Belgian, $100; Canadian, $50. Copies of Patents.—Persons desiring any patent issued from 1836 to November 20, 1866, can be supplied with official copies at reasonable cost, the price depending upon the extent of drawings and length of specifications. Any patent issued since November 20,1866, at which time the Patent Office commenced printing the drawings and specifications, may be had by remitting to this office $1. A copy of the claims of any patent issued since 1836 will be furnished for $1. When ordering copies, please to remit for the same as above, and state name of patentee, title of invention, and date of patent. A pamphlet, containing full directions for obtaining United States patents sent free. A handsomely bound Reference Book, gilt edges, contains 140 pages and many engravings and tables important to every patentee and mechanic, and is a useful handbook of reference for everybody. Price 25 cents, mailed free. Address MUNN & CO., Publishers Scientific American, 37 Park Row, New York. BRANCH OFFICE—Corner of F and 7th Streets, Washington, D. C. FOR SALE.—PLYMOUTH MACHINE Works, Engine, and Saw Mill. Patterns on hand. Locality good. For particulars, call on or address the works. Plymouth Machine Works, Plymouth, Richland Co., O. Holly’s Improved Water Works. Direct Pumping Plan. Advantages: 1. Secures by variable pressure a more reliable water supply for all purposes. 2. Less cost for construction. 3. Less cost for maintenance. 4. Less cost for daily supply for all use of Holly’s Improved Pumping Machinery. 5. Affords the best fire protection in the world. 6. Largely reduces insurance risks and premiums. 7. Dispenses with fire engines, in whole or in part. 8. Reduces fire department expenses. For information, address the HOLLY MANUFACTURING CO., Lockport, N. Y., Or PARK BENJAMIN & BRO., Gen. Agents, 49 and 50 Astor House, N. Y. City. Established 1844. _______ JOSEPH C. TODD, Successor to TODD & RAFFERTY, PATERSON, N. J., Engineer and Machinist. Flax, Hemp, Jute, Rope, Oakum, and Bagging Machinery. Steam Engines, Boilers, etc. Sole Agent for Mayher’s New Patent Acme Steam Engine and Force Pumps combined. Also owner and exclusive manufacturer of THE NEW Baxter Patent Portable Steam Engine. These engines are admirably adapted to all kinds of light power for driving printing presses, pumping water, sawing wood, grinding coffee, ginning cotton, and all kinds of agricultural and mechanical purposes, and are furnished at the following low prices: 1 Horse Power, $150 1½ Horse Power, $190 2 Horse Power, 245 2½ Horse Power, 275 3 Horse Power. 290 4    Horse Power, 350 Send for descriptive circular. Address J. C. TODD, PATERSON, N. J. Or No. 10 Barclay St., New York. The Asbestos Packing Co., Miners and Manufacturers of Asbestos, BOSTON, MASS., OFFER FOR SALE: PATENTED “ “ “ “ “ “ “ ASBESTOS “ “ “ “ “ “ “ ROPE PACKING, LOOSE        “ JOURNAL   “ WICK          “ MILL BOARD, SHEATHING PAPER, FLOORING FELT, CLOTH. COLUMBIA BICYCLE. A practical road machine. Indorsed by the medical profession as the most healthful of outdoor sports. Send 3 cent stamp for 24 page catalogue, with price list and full information, or 10 cents for catalogue and copy of The Bicycling World. THE POPE M’F’G CO., 89 Summer Street, Boston, Mass. MACHINISTS’ TOOLS. New and Improved Patterns. Send for new illustrated catalogue. Lathes, Planers, Drills, &c, NEW HAVEN MANUFACTURING CO., New Haven, Conn. LIQUID PAINTS, ROOFING, BOILER COVERINGS, Steam Packing, Sheathings, Fireproof Coatings, Cements, send for samples, illustrated pamphlet, and price list. H. W. JOHNS M’F’G CO., 87 MAIDEN LANE, N. Y. The George Place Machinery Agency Machinery of Every Description. 121 Chambers and 103 Reade Streets, New York. DIES FOR EVERY PURPOSE. STILES & PARKER PRESS CO., Middletown, Ct. BI-SULPHIDE OF CARBON.  E. R. TAYLOR, Cleveland, O. ICE-HOUSE AND REFRIGERATOR.— Directions and Dimensions for construction, with one illustration of cold house for preserving fruit from season to season. The air is kept dry and pure throughout the year at a temperature of 34° to 36°. Contained in Scientific American Supplement, 116. Price 10 cents. To be had at this office and of all newsdealers. BEECHER & PECK, Successors of Milo Peck, Manufacturers of PECK’S PATENT DROP PRESS. Regular sizes. Hammer from 50 to 2,570 Lb. Special attention given to making of Drop Dies, Drop and Machine Forgings. New Haven, Conn. 17-STOP ORGANS Sub-bass and Oct. Coupler, box’d and ship’d only $97.75. New Pianos, $195 to $1,600. Before you buy an instrument be sure to see my Mid-summer offer, illustrated, free. Address Daniel F. Beatty, Washington, N. J.

EMERY WHEELS and GRINDING MACHINES.

	THE TANITE CO., Stroudsburg, Monroe County, Pa. Orders may be directed to us at any of the following addresses, at each of which we carry a stock:
	London, Eng., 9 St. Andrews St.,      Holborn Viaduct, E. C. Sydney, N. S. W., 11 Pitt St. Chicago, 152 and 154 Lake St. Cincinnati, 212 West Second St. Indianapolis, Corner Maryland and      Delaware Sts. New Orleans, 26 Union St.	Liverpool, Eng., 42, The Temple, Dale St. San Francisco, 2 and 4 California St. St. Louis, 209 North Third St.  ”      “       811 to 819 North Second St. Louisville, 427 West Main St. Nashville, 28 West Side Public Square.

The New York Ice Machine Company, 21 Courtlandt Street. Room 54. Low Pressure Binary Absorption System. Advantages over other Machines. Makes 25 per cent. more Ice. Uses only ¼ water of condensation. No Pressure at rest. Pressure in running, 14 pounds. Self-lubricating. No Leaks, non-inflammable. No action on Metals. Easy Attendance. WM. A. HARRIS. PROVIDENCE, R. I. (PARK STREET), Six minutes walk West from station. Original and Only builder of the HARRIS-CORLISS ENGINE With Harris’ Patented Improvements, from 10 to 1,000 H.P. THE BAKER BLOWER. Centennial Judges Report. “Good Design and Material. Very efficient in action. With the special advantages that they can be connected for motion directly with engine without the use of gearing or belting.” SEND FOR CATALOGUE. WILBRAHAM BROS. No. 2318 Frankford Avenue, PHILADELPHIA, PA. BOILER COVERINGS, Plastic Cement and Hair Felt, with or without the Patent “AIR SPACE” Method. ASBESTOS MATERIALS, Made from pure Italian Asbestos, in fiber, mill board, and round packing. THE CHALMERS-SPENCE CO., 40 John Street, and Foot of E. 9th Street, New York. TELEGRAPH  and Electrical Supplies. Send for Catalogue. C. E. JONES & BRO., CINCINNATI, O. WOOD SOLE SHOES. The cheapest, most durable, warm, good looking, and thoroughly waterproof shoe. Particularly adapted to Brewers, Miners, and all classes of laborers. Send stamp for circular and price list. CHAS. W. COPELAND, 122 Summer St., Boston, Mass. BUY NO BOOTS OR SHOES Unless the soles are protected from wear by Goodrich’s Bessemer Steel Rivets. Guaranteed to outwear any other sole. All dealers sell these boots. Taps by mail for 50 cents in stamps. Send paper pattern of size wanted. H. C. GOODRICH, 19 Church St., Worcester, Mass. SPY  Glasses, Field & Opera Glasses, MICROSCOPES, McALLISTER  Magnifying Glasses. Circulars free. Mfg Optician, 49 Nassau St., N. Y. PAINTERS attention: send for circulars. etc. of my latest Metallic Plates for graining oak, walnut, chestnut, ash, etc, in the most rapid and excellent manner, no skill required. J. J. CALLOW. Cleveland. O. HARTFORD STEAM BOILER Inspection & Insurance COMPANY. W. B. FRANKLIN, V. Pres’t, J. M. ALLEN, Pres’t. J. B. PIERCE, Sec’y. The Rodier Patent Single Iron Plane. Made of extra quality iron. A practical labor saving tool. Cuts against the grain equally as well as with it. Can be adjusted instantly to cut a coarse or fine shaving, and excels any double iron plane ever produced. Address LAFLIN MANUFACTURING CO., North Elm Street, Westfield, Mass. Pyrometers,  For showing heat of Ovens, Hot Blast Pipes, Boiler Flues. Superheated Steam, Oil Stills, etc. HENRY W. BULKLEY, Sole Manufacturer, 149 Broadway, N. Y. THE MACKINNON PEN OR FLUID PENCIL. Particulars mailed Free. MACKINNON PEN CO., 200 Broadway, near Fulton St., N. Y. FRIEDMANN’S PATENT INJECTOR, The best BOILER     FEEDER In the world. Simple, Reliable, and Effective. 40,000 IN ACTUAL USE. NATHAN & DREYFUS, Sole Manufacturers,          NEW YORK. Send for Descriptive Catalogue. SUPPLIES FROM HYDRANT PRESSURE the cheapest power known. Invaluable for blowing Church Organs, running Printing Presses, Sewing Machines in Households, Turning Lathes, Scroll Saws, Grindstones, Coffee Mills, Sausage Machines, Feed Cutters, Electric Lights, Elevators, etc. It needs little room, no firing up, fuel, ashes, repairs, engineer, explosion, or delay, no extra insurance, no coal bills. Is noiseless, neat, compact, steady; will work at any pressure of water above 15 lb.; at 40 lb. pressure has 4-horse power, and capacity up to 6 or 8 horse power. Prices from $15. to $250. Send for circular to THE BACKUS WATER MOTOR CO., Newark, N. J. Pictet Artificial Ice Co., Limited, P. O. Box 3083.142 Greenwich St., New York. Guaranteed to be the most efficient and economical of all existing Ice and Cold Air Machines. M ICROSCOPES, OPERA GLASSES, SPY Glasses, Spectacles, Thermometers, Barometers, Compasses. R. & J. BECK, Manufacturing Opticians, Philadelphia, Pa. Send for ILLUSTRATED PRICED CATALOGUE.    J. STEVENS & CO., P. O. Box 28, Chicopee Falls, Mass. Manufacturers of Stevens’ Patent Breech-Loading Sporting and Hunters’ Pet Rifles, Single and Double Barrel Shot Guns, Pocket Rifles, Pocket Shot Guns, Gallery Rifles, Superior Spring Calipers and Dividers, including the New Patent Coil Spring Calipers: also Double Lip Countersinks and Hathaways’ Patent Combination Gauge. Mill Stones and Corn Mills. We make Burr Millstones, Portable Mills, Smut Machines, Packers, Mill Picks, Water Wheels, Pulleys, and Gearing specially adapted to Flour Mills. Send for catalogue. J. T. NOYE & SONS, Buffalo, N. Y. The fact that this shafting has 75 per cent. greater strength, a finer finish, and is truer to gauge, than any other in use renders it undoubtedly the most economical. We are also the sole manufacturers of the CELEBRATED COLLINS’ PAT. COUPLING, and furnish Pulleys, Hangers, etc., of the most approved styles. Price list mailed on application to JONES & LAUGHLINS, Try Street, 2d and 3d Avenues, Pittsburg, Pa. 190 S. Canal Street, Chicago, Ill. Stocks of this shafting in store and for sale by FULLER, DANA & FITZ, Boston, Mass. Geo. Place Machinery Agency, 121 Chambers St., N. Y. Leffel Water Wheels, With recent improvements. Prices Greatly Reduced. 8000 in successful operation. FINE NEW PAMPHLET FOR 1879, Sent free to those interested. James Leffel & Co, Springfield, O. 110 Liberty St., N. Y. City. A PLANING MILL OUTFIT FOR SALE very low for cash. Will sell all together or each machine separate. All first-class machines, good order. J. H. KERRICK & CO., Indianapolis, Ind. B OGARDUS’ PATENT UNIVERSAL ECCENTRIC MILLS —For grinding Bones, Ores, Sand, Old Crucibles, Fire Clay, Guanos, Oil Cake, Feed, Corn, Corn and Cob, Tobacco, Snuff, Sugar, Salts, Roots, Spices, Coffee, Cocoanut, Flaxseed, Asbestos, Mica etc., and whatever cannot be ground by other mills. Also for Paints, Printers’ Inks, Paste Blacking, etc. JOHN W. THOMSON, successor to JAMES BOGARDUS, corner of White and Elm Sts., New York.   Printing Press Print cards labels &c. (Self-inker $5) 13 larger sizes For business or pleasure, young or old. Do your own advertising and printing. Catalogue of presses, type, cards, &c., for 2 stamps. Kelsey & Co. Meriden, Conn. Patents for the process of Dry Copying have been issued to us, dated May 18 and June 1, 1880. The Hektograph is now the only gelatine copying pad which can be used without infringing. All infringements will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. HEKTOGRAPH CO., 23 and 24 Church Street, New York. THE TANITE CO., STROUDSBURG, PA. EMERY WHEELS AND GRINDERS. LONDON—9 St. Andrews St., Holborn Viaduct, E. C. LIVERPOOL—42 The Temple, Dale St. Metallic Shingles Make the most DURABLE and ORNAMENTAL ROOF in the world. Send for descriptive circular and new prices to IRON CLAD MANUFACTURING CO., 22 CLIFF STREET, NEW YORK.      SHEPARD’S CELEBRATED $50 Screw Cutting Foot Lathe. Foot and Power Lathes, Drill Presses, Scrolls, Circular and Band Saws, Saw Attachments, Chucks, Mandrels, Twist Drills, Dogs, Calipers, etc. Send for catalogue of outfits for amateurs or artisans. H. L. SHEPARD & CO., 331, 333, 335. & 337 West Front Street, Cincinnati, Ohio. WANTED.—FIRST-CLASS PARTIES IN cities to sell Wing’s Fan Ventilators. A great success. Rare chance to make money. See Sci. Am., Jan. 31, 1880, or send for pamphlets, etc. L. J. WING, or The Simonds Mfg. Co., 50 Cliff Street, New York. CENTENNIAL AND PARIS MEDALS. Mason’s Friction Clutches and Elevators. “New and Improved Patterns.” VOLNEY W. MASON & CO., Providence, R. I., U. S. A. The Most Popular Scientific Paper in the World. _______ VOLUME XLIII. NEW SERIES. _______ Only $3.20 a Year, including postage. Weekly. 52 Numbers a Year. _______ This widely circulated and splendidly illustrated paper is published weekly. Every number contains sixteen pages of useful information, and a large number of original engravings of new inventions and discoveries, representing Engineering Works, Steam Machinery, New Inventions, Novelties in Mechanics, Manufactures, Chemistry, Electricity, Telegraphy, Photography, Architecture, Agriculture, Horticulture, Natural History, etc. All Classes of Readers find in The Scientific American a popular resume of the best scientific information of the day; and it is the aim of the publishers to present it in an attractive form, avoiding as much as possible abstruse terms. To every intelligent mind, this journal affords a constant supply of instructive reading. It Is promotive of knowledge and progress in every community where it circulates. Terms of Subscription.—One copy of The Scientific American will be sent for one year—52 numbers—postage prepaid, to any subscriber in the United States or Canada, on receipt of three dollars and twenty cents by the publishers; six months, $1.60; three months, $1.00. Clubs.—One extra copy of The Scientific American will be supplied gratis for every club of five subscribers at $3.20 each; additional copies at same proportionate rate. Postage prepaid. One copy of The Scientific American and one copy of The Scientific American Supplement will be sent for one year, postage prepaid, to any subscriber in the United States or Canada, on receipt of seven dollars by the publishers. The safest way to remit is by Postal Order, Draft, or Express. Money carefully placed inside of envelopes, securely sealed, and correctly addressed, seldom goes astray, but is at the sender’s risk. Address all letters and make all orders, drafts, etc., payable to MUNN & CO., 37 Park Row, New York. To Foreign Subscribers.—Under the facilities of the Postal Union, the Scientific American is now sent by post direct from New York, with regularity, to subscribers in Great Britain, India, Australia, and all other British colonies; to France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Russia, and all other European States; Japan, Brazil, Mexico, and all States of Central and South America. Terms, when sent to foreign countries, Canada excepted, $4, gold, for Scientific American, 1 year; $9, gold, for both Scientific American and Supplement for 1 year. This includes postage, which we pay. Remit by postal order or draft to order of Munn & Co, 37 Park Row, New York. T HE “Scientific American” is printed with CHAS. ENEU JOHNSON & CO.’S INK. Tenth and Lombard Sts., Philadelphia, and 50 Gold St. New York. Transcriber’s Note: Some archaic (Early American) spellings have been retained. Obvious punctuation errors have been repaired. The remaining corrections made are indicated by dotted lines under the corrections. Scroll the mouse over the word and the original text will appear. TRADE MARKS.: Flour, B. R. Pegram, Jr. … 7,727, 7,728 7,727, 7,728 are as printed. Error ‘pecularities’ corrected to ‘peculiarities’ “The distinctive peculiarities of this steamer are the very high steam pressure that she carries— …” A REMARKABLE LITTLE STEAMER. Return to Top