Scientific American Supplement No 362

[Illustration] SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 362 NEW YORK, DECEMBER 9, 1882 Scientific American Supplement. Vol. XIV, No. 362. Scientific American established 1845 Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year. Scientific American and Supplement, $7 a year. * * * * * TABLE OF CONTENTS. I. ENGINEERING AND MECHANICS–Recent Improvements in Textile Machinery.–Harris’s revolving ring spinning frame.– New electric stop motion.–New positive motion loom. 6 figures. Spinning Without a Mule.–Harris’s improvements in ring spinning. New Binding Machines. 3 figures. Flumes and their construction. 1 figure. Chuwab’s Rolling Mill for Dressing and Rounding Bar Iron. 9 figures. Burning of Town Refuse at Leeds. 6 figures.–Sections and elevations of destructor and carbonizer. II. TECHNOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY.–Friedrich Wohler.–His labors and discoveries. New Gas Burner. 3 figures.–Grimstone’s improved gas burner. Defty’s Improvements in Gas Burners and Heaters. 4 figures. The Collotype in Practice. Determination of Potassa in Manures.–By M. E. DREYFUS. III. HYGIENE, MEDICINE, ETC.–The Air in Relation to Health. By Prof. C. F. CHANDLER. The Plantain as a Styptic. Bacteria. IV. ELECTRICITY, ETC.–Gustavo Trouve and his Electrical Inventions. –Portrait of Gustave Trouve.–Trouve’s electric boat competing in the regatta at Troyes. Domestic Electricity.–Loiseau’s electric naphtha and gas lighters.–Ranque’s new form of lighter with extinguisher. Theiler’s Telephone Receiver. 2 figures. An Electric Power Hammer. By MARCEL DEPRETZ. 1 figure. Solignac’s New Electric Lamp. 3 figures. Mondos’s Electric Lamp. 2 figures. V. METALLURGY AND MINERALOGY.–Aluminum.–Its properties, cost, and uses. The Origin and Relations of the Carbon Minerals. By J.S. NEWBERRY.–An elaborate and extremely valuable review of the genesis of carbon minerals, and the modes and conditions of their occurrence. Estimation of Sulphur in Iron and Steel. By GEORGE CRAIG. 1 figure. VI. ARCHITECTURE, ETC.–The Armitage House. Suggestions in Architecture.–An English country residence. VII. BOTANY, HORTICULTURE, ETC.–The Soy Bean. 1 figure.– The Soy bean (Soja hispida). Erica Cavendishiana. 1 figure. Philesia Buxifolia. 1 figure. Mahogany. VIII. MISCELLANEOUS.–Our Hebrew Population. The Mysteries of Lake Baikal. Traveling Sand Hills on Lake Ontario. Animals in the Arts.–Corals.–The conch shell.–Living beetles, etc.–Pearls.–Sepia and silk. * * * * * GUSTAVE TROUVE. The accompanying portrait of M. Gustave Trouve is taken from a small volume devoted to an account of his labors recently published by M. Georges Dary. M. Trouve, who may be said to have had no ancestors from an electric point of view, was born in 1839 in the little village of Haye-Descartes. He was sent by his parents to the College of Chinon, whence he entered the Ecole des Arts et Metiers, and afterward went to Paris to work in the shop of a clock-maker. This was an excellent apprenticeship for our future electrician, since it is in small works that electricity excels; and, if its domain is to be increased, it is only on condition that the electric mechanician shall never lose sight of the fact that he should be a clock-maker, and that his fingers, to use M. Dumas’s apt words, should possess at once the strength of those of the Titans and the delicacy of those of fairies. It was not long ere Trouve set up a shop of his own, whither inventors flocked in crowds; and the work he did for these soon gave up to him the secrets of the art of creating. The first applications that he attempted related to the use of electricity in surgery, a wonderfully fecund branch, but one whose importance was scarcely suspected, notwithstanding the results already obtained through the application of the insufflation pile to galvano-cautery. What the surgeon needed was to see plainly into the cavities of the human body. Trouve found a means of lighting these up with lamps whose illuminating power was fitted for that sort of exploration. This new mode of illumination having been adopted, it was but natural that it should afterward find an application in dangerous mines, powder mills, and for a host of different purposes. But the perfection of this sort of instruments was the wound explorer, by the aid of which a great surgeon sounded the wounds that Italian balls had made in Garibaldi’s foot. [Illustration: GUSTAVE TROUVE.] The misfortunes of France afterward directed Trouve’s attention to military electricity, and led him to devise a perfect system of portable telegraphy, in which his hermetic pile lends itself perfectly to all maneuvers and withstands all sorts of moving about. The small volume of which we have spoken is devoted more particularly to electric navigation, for which M. Trouve specially designed the motor of his invention, and by the aid of which he performed numerous experiments on the ocean, on the Seine at Paris, and before Rouen and at Troyes. In this latter case M. Trouve gained a medal of honor on the occasion of a regatta. Our engraving represents him competing with the rowers of whom he kept ahead with so distinguished success. We could not undertake to enumerate all the inventions which we owe to M. Trouve; but we cannot, however, omit mention of the pendulum escapement that beats the second or half second without any variation in the length of the balance; of the electric gyroscope constructed at the request of M. Louis Foucault; of the electro-medical pocket-case; of the apparatus for determining the most advantageous inclination to give a helix; of the electric bit for stopping unruly horses; and of the universal caustic-holder. He has given the electric polyscope features such that every cavity in the human body may be explored by its aid. As for his electric motor, he has given that a form that makes the rotation regular and suppresses dead-centers–a result that he has obtained by utilizing the eccentrization of the Siemens bobbin. Although devoting himself mainly to improving his motor (which, by the way, he has applied to the tricycle), M. Trouve does not disdain telephony, but has introduced into the manufacture of magnets for the purpose many valuable improvements.–Electricite. [Illustration: TROUVE’S ELECTRIC BOAT COMPETING IN THE REGATTA AT TROYES, AUG. 6, 1882.] * * * * * FRIEDRICH WOeHLER. At the age of eighty-two years, and full of honor, after a life actively devoted to scientific work of the highest and most accurate kind, which has contributed more than that of any other contemporary to establish the principles on which an exact science like chemistry is founded, the illustrious Woehler has gone to his rest. After he had worked for some time with Berzelius in Sweden, he taught chemistry from 1825 to 1831 at the Polytechnic School in Berlin; then till 1836 he was stationed at the Higher Polytechnic School at Cassel, and then he became Ordinary Professor of Chemistry in the University of Goettingen, where he remained till his death. He was born, July 31, 1800, at Eschersheim, near Frankfort-on-the-Main. Until the year 1828 it was believed that organic substances could only be formed under the influence of the vital force in the bodies of animals and plants. It was Woehler who proved by the artificial preparation of urea from inorganic materials that this view could not be maintained. This discovery has always been considered as one of the most important contributions to our scientific knowledge. By showing that ammonium cyanate can become urea by an internal arrangement of its atoms, without gaining or losing in weight, Woehler furnished one of the first and best examples of isomerism, which helped to demolish the old view that equality of composition could not coexist in two bodies, A and B, with differences in their respective physical and chemical properties. Two years later, in 1830, Woehler published, jointly with Liebig, the results of a research on cyanic and cyanuric acid and on urea. Berzelius, in his report to the Swedish Academy of Sciences, called it the most important of all researches in physics, chemistry, and mineralogy published in that year. The results obtained were quite unexpected, and furnished additional and most important evidence in favor of the doctrine of isomerism. In the year 1834, Woehler and Liebig published an investigation of the oil of bitter almonds. They prove by their experiments that a group of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms can behave like an element, take the place of an element, and can be exchanged for elements in chemical compounds. Thus the foundation was laid of the doctrine of compound radicals, a doctrine which has had and has still the most profound influence on the development of chemistry–so much so that its importance can hardly be exaggerated. Since the discovery of potassium by Davy, it was assumed that alumina also, the basis of clay, contained a metal in combination with oxygen. Davy, Oerstedt, and Berzelius attempted the extraction of this metal, but could not succeed. Woehler then worked on the same subject, and discovered the metal aluminum. To him also is due the isolation of the elements yttrium, beryllium, and titanium, the observation that silicium can be obtained in crystals, and that some meteoric stones contain organic matter. He analyzed a number of meteorites, and for many years wrote the digest on the literature of meteorites in the Jahresbericht der Chemie; he possessed, perhaps, the best private collection of meteoric stones and irons existing. Woehler and Sainte Claire Deville discovered the crystalline form of boron, and Woehler and Buff the hydrogen compounds of silicium and a lower oxide of the same element. This is by no means a full statement of Woehler’s scientific work; it even does not mention all the discoveries which have had great influence on the theory of chemistry. The mere titles of the papers would fill several closely-printed pages. The journals of every year from 1820 to 1881 contain contributions from his pen, and even his minor publications are always interesting. As was truly remarked ten years ago, when it was proposed by a Fellow of the Royal Society that a Copley medal should be conferred upon him, “for two or three of his researches he deserves the highest honor a scientific man can obtain, but the sum of his work is absolutely overwhelming. Had he never lived, the aspect of chemistry would be very different from that it is now.” While sojourning at Cassel, Woehler made, among other chemical discoveries, one for obtaining the metal nickel in a state of purity, and with two attached friends he founded a factory there for the preparation of the metal. Among the works which he published were “Grundriss der Anorganischen Chemie,” Berlin, 1830, and the “Grundriss der Organischen Chemie,” Berlin, 1840. Nor must we omit to mention “Praktischen Uebringen der Chemischen Analyse,” Berlin, 1854, and the “Lehrbuch der Chemie,” Dresden, 1825, 4 vols. At a sitting of the Academy, held on October 2, 1882, M. Jean Baptiste Dumas, the permanent secretary, with profound regret, made known the intelligence of the death of the illustrious foreign associate, Friedrich Woehler, professor in the University of Goettingen. He said: “M. Friedrich Woehler, the favorite pupil of Berzelius, had followed in the lines and methods of work of his master. From 1821 till his last year he has continuously published memoirs or simple notes, always remarkable for their exactness, and often of such a nature that they took among contemporaneous production the first rank by their importance, their novelty, or their fullness. Employed chiefly, during his sojourn in Sweden, in work on mineral chemistry, he has remained all his life the undisputed chief in this branch of science in German universities. This preparation and preoccupation, which one might have thought sufficient to occupy his time, did not, however, prevent him from taking the chief part in the development of organic chemistry, and of filling one of the most elevated positions in it. “His contemporaries have not forgotten the unusual sensation produced by the unexpected discovery by which he was enabled to make artificially, and by a purely chemical method, urea, the most nitrogenous of animal substances. Other transformations or combinations giving birth to substances which, until then, had only been met with in animals or plants, have since been obtained, but the artificial formation of urea still remains the neatest and most elegant example of this order of creation. All chemists know and admire the classical memoir in which Woehler and Liebig some time after made known the nature of the benzoic series, and connected them with the radicals of which we may consider them as being the derivatives comparable with products of a mineral nature. Their memoirs on the derivatives of uric acid, a prolific source of new and remarkable substances, has been an inexhaustible mine in the hands of their successors. “This is not a moment when we should pretend to review the work which M. Woehler has done in mineral chemistry. Among the 240 papers which he has published in scientific journals, there are few which the treatises of chemistry have not immediately turned to account. We need only confine ourselves to the discovery of aluminum, to which the energy and inventive genius of our confrere, Henry Deville, soon gave a place near the noble metals. United by a rivalry which would have divided less noble minds, these two great chemists carried on together their researches in chemistry, and joined their forces to clear up points still obscure in the history of boron, silicium, and the metals of the platinum group, and remained closely united, which each year only strengthened. “The reader will pardon me a souvenir entirely personal. We were born, M. Woehler and I, in 1800. I am his senior by a few days. Our scientific life began at the same date, and during sixty years everything has combined to bind more closely the links of brotherhood which has existed for so long a time.” * * * * * OUR HEBREW POPULATION. The United Jewish Association has made a canvass of the denomination in this country, finding 278 congregations, and a total Jewish population of 230,984. New York has the largest number–80,565. Then follows Pennsylvania, with 20,000; California, with 18,580; Ohio with 14,581; Illinois, with 12,625, and Maryland, with 10,357. The Jewish population in the largest cities is as follows: New York 60,000 San Francisco 16,000 Brooklyn 14,000 Philadelphia 13,000 Chicago 12,000 Baltimore 10,000 Cincinnati 8,000 Boston 7,000 St. Louis 6,500 New Orleans 5,000 Cleveland 3,500 Newark 3,500 Milwaukee 3,500 Louisville 2,500 Pittsburg 2,000 Detroit 2,000 Washington 1,500 New Haven 1,000 Rochester 1,000 This total Jewish population of 230,984 has six hospitals, eleven orphan asylums and homes, fourteen free colleges and schools, and 602 benevolent lodges. Of the free schools maintained by the Hebrews, five are in New York, four in Philadelphia, and one each in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Chicago, and San Francisco. Their hospitals are in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Chicago, while their orphan asylums, homes, and other benevolent institutions are scattered all over the country. * * * * * THE MYSTERIES OF THE BAIKAL. The Angara is cold as ice all the summer through, so cold, indeed, that to bathe in it is to court inevitable illness, and in winter a sled drive over its frozen surface is made in a temperature some degrees lower than that prevailing on the banks. This comes from the fact that its waters are fresh from the yet unfathomed depths of the Baikal, which during the five short months of summer has scarcely time to properly unfreeze. In winter the lake resembles in all respects a miniature Arctic Ocean, having its great ice hummocks and immense leads, over which the caravan sleds have to be ferried on large pieces of ice, just as in the frozen North. In winter, too, the air is so cold in the region above the lake that birds flying across its icy bosom sometimes drop down dead on the surface. Some authors say that seals have been caught in the lake of the same character as those found in the Arctic seas; for this assertion I have no proof. An immense caravan traffic is carried across the frozen lake every season between Russia and China. To accommodate this the Russian postal authorities once established a post house on the middle of the lake, where horses were kept for travelers. But this was discontinued after one winter, when an early thaw suddenly set in, and horses, yemschliks and post house all disappeared beneath the ice, and were never seen more. In summer the lake is navigated by an antiquated steamer called the General Korsakoff, which ventures out in calm weather, but cannot face the violent storms and squalls that sometimes rise with sudden impetuosity. Irkutskians say, indeed, that it is only upon Lake Baikal and upon this old hull that a man really learns to pray from his heart. The lake is held in superstitious reverence by the natives. It is called by them Svyatoe More, or the Holy Lake, and they believe that no Christian was ever lost in its waters, for even when a person is drowned in it the waves always take the trouble to cast the body on shore. Its length is 400 miles, its width an average of 35 miles, covers an area of 14,000 square miles and has a circumference of nearly 1,200 miles, being the largest fresh water lake in the Old World, and, next to the Caspian and the Aral, the largest inland sheet of water in Asia. Its shores are bold and rugged and very picturesque, in some places 1,000 feet high. In the surrounding forests are found game of the largest description, bears, deer, foxes, wolves, elk and these afford capital sport for the sportsmen of Irkutsk. Around the coasts are many mineral springs, hot and cold, which have a great reputation among the Irkutskians. The hot springs of Yurka, on the Selenga, 200 versts from Verchore Udevisk and not many miles from the eastern shore of the Baikal, which have a temperature of 48 degrees Reaumur and whose waters are strongly impregnated with sulphur, are a favorite watering place for natives as well as Russians and Buriats.–Herald Correspondent with the Jeannette Search Expedition. * * * * * TRAVELING SAND HILLS ON LAKE ONTARIO. An interesting example of sand-drift occurs near Wellington Bay, on Lake Ontario, ten miles from Pictou. The lake shore near the sand banks is indented with a succession of rock-paved bays, whose gradually shoaling margins afford rare bathing grounds. East and West Lakes, each five miles long, and the latter dotted with islands, are separated from Lake Ontario by narrow strips of beach. Over the two mile-wide isthmus separating the little lakes, the sand banks, whose glistening heights are visible miles away, are approached. On near approach they are hidden by the cedar woods, till the roadway in front is barred by the advancing bank, to avoid which a roadway through the woods has been constructed up to the eastern end of the sand range. The sand banks stretch like a crescent along the shore, the concave side turned to the lake, along which it leaves a pebbly beach. The length of the crescent is over two miles, the width 600 to 3,000 or 4,000 feet. Clambering up the steep end of the range among trees and grapevines, the wooded summit is gained, at an elevation of nearly 150 feet. Passing along the top, the woods soon disappear, and the visitor emerges on a wild waste of delicately tinted saffron, rising from the slate-colored beach in gentle undulation, and sleepily falling on the other side down to green pastures and into the cedar woods. The whole surface of this gradually undulating mountain desert is ribbed by little wavelets a few inches apart, but the general aspect is one of perfect smoothness. The sand is almost as fine as flour, and contains no admixture of dust The foot sinks only an inch or two in walking over it; children roll about on it and down its slopes, and, rising, shake themselves till their clothing loses every trace of sand. Occasionally gusts stream over the wild waste, raising a dense drift to a height of a foot or two only, and streaming like a fringe over the steep northern edge. Though the sun is blazing down on the glistening wilderness there is little sensation of heat, for the cool lake breeze is ever blowing. On the landward side, the insidious approach of the devouring sand is well marked. One hundred and fifty feet below, the foot of this moving mountain is sharply defined against the vivid green of the pastures, on which the grass grows luxuriantly to within an inch of the sand wall. The ferns of the cedar woods almost droop against the sandy slope. The roots of the trees are bare along the white edge; a foot or two nearer the sand buries the feet of the cedars: a few yards nearer still the bare trunks disappear; still nearer only the withered topmast twigs of the submerged forest are seen, and then far over the tree tops stands the sand range. Perpetual ice is found under the foot of this steep slope, the sand covering and consolidating the snows drifted over the hill during the winter months. There is something awe-inspiring, says the correspondent of the Toronto Globe, in the slow, quiet, but resistless advance of the mountain front. Field and forest alike become completely submerged. Ten years ago a farm-house was swallowed up, not to emerge in light until the huge sand wave has passed over. * * * * * RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN TEXTILE MACHINERY. At the recent exhibition at Boston of the New England Institute, several interesting novelties were shown which have a promise of considerable economic and industrial value. Fig. 1 represents the general plan and pulley connections of the Harris Revolving-Ring Spinning Frame. The purpose of the improvements which it embodies is to avoid the uneven draught of the yarn in spinning and winding incident to the use of a fixed ring. With the non-revolving ring the strain upon the yarn varies greatly, owing to the difference in diameter of the full and empty bobbin. At the base of the cone, especially in spinning weft, or filling, the diameter of the cop is five or six times that of the quill at the tip. As the yarn is wound upon the cone, the line of draught upon the traveler varies continually, the pull being almost direct where the bobbin is full, and nearly at right angles where it is empty. With the increasing angle the drag upon the traveler increases, not only causing frequent breakages of the yarn, but also an unequal stretching of the yarn, so that the yarn perceptibly varies in fineness. The unequal strain further causes the yarn to be more tightly wound upon the outside than upon the inside of the bobbin, giving rise to snarls and wastage. [Illustration: RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN TEXTILE MACHINERY.–1, 2.–SPINNING WITHOUT A MULE–THE HARRIS REVOLVING RING SPINNING FRAME. 3, 4, 5.–NEW ELECTRIC STOP MOTION FOR DRAWING FRAMES. 6.–NEW POSITIVE MOTION LOOM.] These difficulties have hitherto prevented the application of ring spinning to the finer grades of yarn. They are overcome in the new spinning frame by an ingenious device by which a revolving motion is given to the ring in the same direction as the motion of the traveler, thereby reducing its friction upon the ring, the speed of the ring being variable, and so controlled as to secure a uniform tension upon the yarn at all stages of the winding. The construction of the revolving ring is shown in Fig. 2. C is the revolving ring; D, the hollow axis support; H, a section of the ring frame; E, the traveler. To give the required variable speed to the revolving ring there is placed directly over the drum, Fig. 1, A, for driving the spindle a smaller drum, B, from which bands drive each ring separately. The shaft, which is attached by cross girts to the ring rail, and moves up and down with it, is driven by a pair of conical drums from the main cylinder shaft; and is so arranged with a loose pulley on the large end of the receiving cone as to remain stationary while the wind is on or near the base of the bobbin. When the cone of the bobbin diminishes so as to materially increase the pull on the traveler, the conical drums are started by a belt shipper attached to the lilt motion. By the movement of the belt on these drums a continually accelerated motion is given to the rings, their maximum speed being about one-twentieth the number of revolutions per minute as the spindle has at the same moment. This action is reversed when the lift falls. The tension of the wind upon the bobbin is thus kept uniform, the desired hardness of the wind being secured by the use of a heavier or lighter traveler according to the compactness of cop required. The model frame shown at the fair did its work admirably well, spinning yarns as high as No. 400, a fineness hitherto unattainable on ring frames. It is claimed that this invention can do whatever can be done with the mule, and without the skilled labor which mule spinning demands. This invention is exhibited by E. & A. W. Harris, Providence, R.I. NEW ELECTRIC STOP MOTION. Figs. 3, 4, and 5 illustrate some of the applications of the electric stop motion in connection with cotton machinery. The merit of this invention lies in simplifying the means by which machinery may be stopped automatically the instant, its work, from accident or otherwise, begins to be improperly done. The use of electricity for this purpose is made possible by the fact that comparatively dry cotton is a nonconductor of electricity. In the process of carding, drawing or spinning, the cotton is made to pass between rollers or other pieces forming parts of an electric circuit. So long as the machine is properly fed and in proper working condition, the stopping apparatus rests; the moment the continuity of the cotton is broken or any irregularity occurs, electric contact results, completing the circuit and causing an electro magnet to act upon a lever or other device, and the machine is stopped. The current is supplied by a small magneto-electric machine driven by a band from the main driving shaft, and is always available while the engine is running. Fig. 3 shows the general arrangement of the apparatus as applied to a drawing frame. In the process of drawing down the roll of cotton–the sliver–four things may happen making it necessary to stop the machine. A sliver may break on the way from the can to the drawing rollers, or the supply of cotton may become exhausted; the cotton may lap or accumulate on the drawing rollers; the sliver may break between the drawing rollers and the calender rollers; or the front can may overflow. In each and all of these cases the electric circuit is instantly completed; the parts between which the cotton flows either come together, as when breakage occurs, or, if there is lapping, they are separated so as to make contact above. In any case, the current causes the electro-magnet, S, against the side of the machine to move its armature and set the stop motion in play. Figs. 4 and 5 represent in detail the manner in which electric connection is made in two cases requiring the intervention of the stop motion. In Fig. 4 the upper part of a receiving can is shown. When the can is full the cotton lifts the tube wheel, J, until it makes an electrical connection, and the stop motion is brought into instant action. In Fig. 5, the traction upon the yarn holds the hook borne by the spring, F, away from G, and the electric circuit is interrupted. A breakage of the yarn allows this spring to act; contact is made, and the stop motion operates as before. This simple and efficient device is exhibited by Howard & Bullough & Riley, of Boston. NEW POSITIVE MOTION LOOM. Fig. 6 shows the essential features of a positive motion loom, intended for weaving narrow fabrics, exhibited by Knowles, of Worcester, Mass. The engraving shows so clearly how, by a right and left movement of the rack, the shuttle is thrown by the action of the intermediate cogwheels, that further description is unnecessary. * * * * * SPINNING WITHOUT A MULE. At the recent semi-annual meeting of the New England Cotton Manufacturers’ Association, held at the Institute of Technology, Boston, the following paper on the Harris system of revolving ring spinning was read by Col. Webber for the author: It is well known that one of the most serious difficulties in ring spinning is the variable pull upon the traveler, caused by the difference in diameter of the full and empty bobbins, and this is especially noticeable in spinning weft, or filling, when the diameter of the quill at the tip is not over 3-16 of an inch, while that of the base of the cone, or full bobbin, is from an inch to an inch and one-eighth. This variation in diameter causes the line of draught upon the traveler, which, with the full bobbin, forms nearly a tangent to the interior circle of the ring, to be nearly radial to it with an empty one, and this increased drag upon the traveler not only causes frequent breakage in spinning, but also stretches the yarn, so that it is perceptibly finer when it is spun on the nose of the bobbin than when it is spun on the bottom of the cone. Endeavors have been made to compensate for this difficulty by making a less draught at that period of the operation; but we believe the principle of curing one error by adding another to be wrong, and aim by our improvement to avoid the cause of the trouble, which we do by giving a revolving motion to the ring itself in the same direction as that of the traveler, at a variable speed, so as to aid its slip, and reduce its friction on the ring. This we accomplish by means of a shaft with whorls on it, located directly over the drum for driving the spindle, from which bands drive each ring separately; and attached by cross-girts to the ring-rail, and moving up and down with it. This shaft is driven by a pair of conical drums from the main cylinder shaft, and is so arranged with a loose pulley on the large end of the receiving cone as to remain stationary while the wind is on or near the base of the bobbin, or nearly parallel to the path of the traveler. When the cone of the bobbin begins to diminish to such a point as to materially increase the radial pull on the traveler, these conical drums are put in operation by a belt shipper attached to the lift motion, which moves the belt on to the cones, and gives a continually accelerated motion to the rings, so that when the wind reaches the top of the bobbin the rings will have their maximum speed of about 300 revolutions per minute, or about one-twentieth the number of revolutions of the spindle at this point, if the latter make 6000 revolutions per minute, and this we find in actual practice to produce results which are highly satisfactory. As the lift falls again, the belt is moved back on the cones, giving a retarding motion to the rings, until it reaches the point at which it began to operate, and is then either moved on to the loose pulley, and the rings remain stationary, or for very fine yarn are kept in motion at a slow speed. We are often asked if this does not affect the twist, but answer that it does not in the least, as the relative speeds of the rolls and spindles remain the same, and the only thing that can be affected is the hardness of the wind upon the bobbin, and this is adjustable by the use of a heavier or lighter traveler, according to the compactness of cop required. We claim by means of this improvement the ability to use a much smaller quill or bobbin, and consequently holding as much yarn in a less outside diameter, enabling us to use a smaller ring, thus saving power both in the weight of bobbin to be carried and in the distance to be moved by the traveler; and we believe the power to be saved in this manner and by the diminution of the dead pull on the traveler, when the wind is at the tip of the bobbin, to be more than sufficient to give the necessary motion to the revolving rings. We are as yet unable to answer this question of power fully, as we have not yet tested a full size frame, but we propose to do this in season to answer all questions at the next meeting of your association. The same invention is also applicable to warp spinning, by giving the ring a continuous accelerating and retarding motion, in which the maximum speed is given to the ring at the first start of the frame when the bobbin is empty, sufficient to diminish the strain on the yarn, and gradually reducing the motion at each traverse of the rail, as the bobbin is filled; but we claim the great advantage of our invention to be the capability of spinning any grade of yarn on the ring frame that can be spun on the hand or self-operating mule, and in proof of this we call your attention to the model frame now in operation at the fair of the New England Manufacturers’ and Mechanics’ Institute, where we are spinning on a quill only 5-32 inches diameter at top, and where we can show you samples of yarn from No. 80 to No. 400 spun on this frame from combed roving from the Conant Thread Company and Willimantic Linen Company, which we believe has never before been accomplished on any ring frame. We invite you to examine this invention at the fair, and also call your attention to the adjustable roller beam, by means of which the rolls can be adjusted at any desirable angle or pitch, so as to throw the twist more or less directly spinning, and an improvement in the quality of the yarn from the same cause, which will increase the production from the loom, and finally eradicate other objectionable features of the labor question, which so often disturb the peaceful harmony between labor and capital. Mr, Goulding asked if it had been demonstrated whether more or less power was required for the same numbers than effect of running the machine a little out of true, and the reply was that the advantage of the new method over the old would be more apparent in such a case than with a perfect frame. In regard to speed, the inventor proposed as a maximum rate, when the wind was at the tip of the bobbin, 300 revolutions per minute, but from this point the speed would diminish. Conant Thread Company and Willimantic Linen Company, which we believe has never before been accomplished on any ring frame. We invite you to examine this invention at the fair, and also call your attention to the adjustable roller beam, by means of which the rolls can be adjusted at any desirable angle or pitch, so as to throw the twist more or less directly into the bite of the rolls, according to the character of the yarn desired, or the quality of the stock used. Finally, we claim, by the use of this invention, to be able to spin any fibrous material which can be drawn by draught-rolls, of any required degree of softness of twist, such as can be spun by any mule whatever, and to do this with the attention only of children of from twelve to fourteen years of age. We also claim an increased production, owing to less breakage of ends, from the yarn not being overstrained in spinning, and an improvement in the quality of the yarn from the same cause, which will increase the production from the loom, and finally eradicate other objectionable features of the labor question, which so often disturb the peaceful harmony between labor and capital. Mr. Goulding asked if it had been demonstrated whether more or less power was required for the same numbers than by other methods, and Col. Webber replied that no more power was required to move the rings than was saved by friction on the ring and the saving of weight of the bobbins. He thought it required no more power than the old way. The method of lubricating the ring.–The inventor, who was present, stated, in response to a query, that he claimed an advantage for his ring in spinning all numbers from the very coarsest up, both in quality and quantity, and especially the former. Mr. Garsed inquired of Col Webber what would be the effect of running the machine a little out of true, and the reply was that the advantage of the new method over the old would be more apparent in such a case than with a perfect frame. In regard to speed, the inventor proposed as a maximum rate, when the wind was at the tip of the bobbin, 300 revolutions per minute, but from this point the speed would diminish. It was suggested by a member that the only advantage of a revolving ring was to relieve the strain on the traveler just to the extent of the ring’s revolutions. If the ring were making 300 revolutions per minute, and the traveler 6,000, the strain on the latter would be equal to 5,700 revolutions on a stationary ring. Col. Webber, however, thought that the motion of the ring gave the traveler a lift that prevented its stopping at any particular point, and cited the fact that all numbers up to 400 could be spun with this ring as proof of its superiority over the old method. * * * * * NEW GAS BURNER. Speaking at the last meeting of the Gaslight and Coke Company, Mr. George Livesey said many things with a view to inspire confidence of the future in the minds of timid gas proprietors. Among others he mentioned the advances now being made by invention in regard to improved appliances for developing the illuminating power of coal gas, with especial reference to a new burner just patented by Mr. Grimston. Mr. Livesey passed a very high encomium upon the burner, and this expression of opinion by such an authority is sufficient to arouse deep interest in the apparatus in question. It is therefore with much pleasure that we present our readers with the following early account of Mr. Grimston’s burner, for which we are indebted to the inventor and Mr. George Bower, of St. Neots, in whose manufactory the burners are now being made in all sizes. It should be premised, to save disappointment, that the invention is yet so fresh that its ultimate capabilities are unknown. The accompanying illustration, therefore, represents the bare skeleton of one of the first models; and the actual performance of only the very earliest burner, made in great part by Mr. Grimston himself, has been fully tested. Before proceeding to describe the invention, a brief history may be interesting of how it happened that Mr. Grimston, an electric lighting engineer, became a gas burner maker. The story will undoubtedly help to explain the reasons for many of the characteristics of the new burner. [Illustration: IMPROVED GAS BURNER. FIG. 1.–Sectional Elevation.] It appears, then, that Mr. Grimston, who was connected with the electrical engineering establishment of Siemens Bros. & Co., Limited, was some months ago shown the construction and working of the Siemens regenerative gas burner, which is now sufficiently well known to render a description unnecessary here. In common with most spectators of this very ingeniously and philosophically designed appliance, Mr. Grimston was struck with its bulk and the superficial clumsiness of the arrangement whereby the air and gas supply are heated in it by the products of combustion. These lamps have, of course, materially improved of late; but when Mr. Grimston first saw them, perhaps 18 months ago, they certainly could not be called neat and compact in design. He at once grasped the idea embodied in these lamps, and set about constructing an arrangement which should be based on a similar principle, but at the same time avoid the inconveniences complained of. It is not too much to say that he has succeeded in both these aims, and the burner which now bears his name strikes the observer at once by the brilliant light which it produces by the simplest and most obvious means. We may now describe, by reference to the accompanying illustrations, how Mr. Grimston produces the regenerative effect which is likewise the central idea of the Siemens burner. [Illustration: IMPROVED GAS BURNER. FIG. 2.–Section through A B.] The light is simply that produced by an arrangement of a kind of Argand burner turned upside down. The central gas-pipe, a (Figs. 1 and 3), is connected to a distributing chamber, whence the annular cluster of brass tubes, a’, a, (Figs. 1 and 2), are prolonged downward, forming the burner. The burner is inclosed in an iron or brass annular casing, b, b, which forms the main framework of the apparatus. The annular space which it affords is the outlet chimney or flue for the products of combustion of the burner beneath, and is crossed by a number of thin brass tubes, c, c, which lead from the outer air into the inner space containing the burner tubes, a’, a’, already described. The upper openings of the annular body, b, are shown at e, e (Fig. 3), which communicate direct with the chimney proper, e’, e’. The burner is lighted by opening the hinged glass cover, d, which fits practically air-tight on the bottom of the body, so that the air needed to support combustion must all pass through the tubes, c, c, the outer ends of which are protected by the casing, k, k. [Illustration: IMPROVED GAS BURNER. FIG. 3.–Section through C D.] When the gas is lighted at the burner, and the glass closed, the burner begins to act at once, although some minutes are necessarily required to elapse before its full brilliancy is gained. The cold air passes in through the tubes provided for it, and when these are heated to the fullest extent on their outside, by the hot fumes from the burner, they so readily part with their heat to the air that a temperature of 1,000 deg. to 1,200 deg. Fahr. is easily obtained in the air when it arrives inside, and commences in turn to heat the burner-tubes. The air-tubes are placed so as to intercept the hot gases as completely as possible; and also, of course, obtain heat by conduction from the sides of the annular body. It is evident that the number and dimensions of these tubes might be increased so as to abstract almost all the heat from the escaping fumes, but for the limitations imposed, first, by a consideration of the actual quantity of air required to support combustion, and, secondly, by the obligation to let sufficient ascensional power remain in the gases which are left to pass out through the upper chimney. If the gases are cooled too much, they will either fall back into the lamp and extinguish the flame, or will be removable only by the draught of a long chimney. It will probably be the aim of the inventor to balance these requirements, and so to produce burners with very short or longer chimneys, according as appearance is to be consulted or the highest possible effect produced. The burner is a ring of brass tubes of considerable diameter, in proportion to the quantity of gas consumed, and thus provides for the delivery of gas expanded by heat. In connection with this device an explanation may be found of the failure of the British Association Committee on Gas Burners to find any advantage from previously heating the air and gas consumed. The Committee did not make the necessary provision for the increased bulk of the combustible and its air supply, caused by their heightened temperature; and the same quantity of gas measured cold (at the meter) could only be driven through the ordinary small burner holes at a velocity destructive of good results. Herr Frederick Siemens perceived this in his early experiments, and not only increased the orifices of his burners, but provided for the closer contact of the more rarefied gas and air by the use of notched deflectors, which are now an essential part of his apparatus. Mr. Grimston also uses separate tubes of large area for his hot gas, but dispenses with deflectors, save in so far as the same duty may be performed by the plain lower edge of the inner cylinder of the lamp body, and the indentation of the glass beneath, which, as will be noticed, is made to follow the shape of the flame. It only remains now to speak of the flame and its qualities. It is, in the first place, a flame of hot gas, burning at an extremly small velocity of flow, and wholly exposed to view from the exact point which it is required to light. In this latter respect it differs materially, and with advantage, from the Siemens burner, which, while presenting an extremely brilliant and beautiful ball of flame outside its central tube of porcelain, may yet be tailing smokily downward inside this opaque screen, and thereby causing unperceived waste. The flame of the Grimston burner, on the other hand, is quite exposed, and all its light, from the ends of the burner-tubes to the point where visible combustion ceases, is made available for use. As a perfect Argand flame in the usual position has been likened in form to a tulip flower, so the flame of this burner presents the appearance of an inverted convolvulus. So far as he has already gone, Mr. Grimston prefers to keep the tubes of the burner at such a distance from each other that the several jets part at the point where they turn upward, so that the convolvulus figure is not maintained to the edge of the flame. From its peculiar position the light is, of course, completely shadowless as regards the lamp which affords it; and this, of itself, is no small recommendation for a pendant. It shows well for the simplicity and effectiveness of the perfected burners that Mr. Grimston’s experimental example, although necessarily imperfect In many ways, burns with a remarkably steady light, of great brilliancy, which is assured by the fact that the products of combustion are robbed of all their heat to magnify the useful effect, so that the hand may be borne with ease over the outlet of the chimney. With respect to the endurance of the apparatus, it will be sufficient to remark that there is nothing in the gas or air heating arrangements to get out of order, and they are all easily accessible while the burner is in action. The glass is not liable to breakage, although it is in close proximity to the flame, as may be gathered from the testimony of the inventor, who has never broken one, notwithstanding the severity of some of his experimental studies upon his first lamp. The consumption of gas in the first working-model burner made by Mr. Grimston was 10 cubic feet per hour, and its illuminating power averaged 60 candles. The diameter of this burner was 11/4 inches across the tubes. It is scarcely necessary to state that if this high duty, which was obtained with the ordinary 16-candle gas of the Gaslight and Coke Company, can be maintained, to say nothing of being exceeded, in the commercial article, the Grimston burner, with its other advantages over all existing methods of obtaining equal results, has a great future before it. For example, it does not require a separate air supply under high pressure, or any extra material to render incandescent, and it may be turned on full immediately upon lighting. It throws a shadowless light, and lends itself to ventilating arrangements; and it is not by any means cumbersome, delicate in construction, or costly in manufacture. One of the greatest advantages to which it lays claim is, however, the power of yielding almost as good results in a small burner as in a large one. This is a consideration of great moment, when it is remembered that the tendency of most of the high power burners hitherto introduced is to benefit the lighting of streets, large interiors, and, generally speaking, points of great consumption. Meanwhile, the private user of burners, consuming from 3 to 5 cubic feet of gas per hour, has been left to attain as best he might, by the use of burners excellent of their kind, to the maximum effect of the standard Argand. Now, however, Mr. Grimston seeks to make the small consumer partake of the advantages erstwhile reserved for the wholesale user of large and costly Siemens and other lamps, and he even looks to this class of patrons with particular care. The example which we now illustrate, in Fig. 1, is a sectional presentment precisely half the actual size of a 5-foot burner, which it is intended to prepare for the market before all others. Another simple form of the burner, with vertical tubes, will, we understand, be introduced as soon as possible. It will be readily understood that the principle is capable of being embodied in many shapes; and it is satisfactory to learn that the inventor is quite alive to the necessity of producing a cheap as well as a good burner. Gas companies, as Mr. Livesey has expressed it, will be well content with a slower relative growth of consumption, if their consumers are at the same time making their gas go as far again as formerly, by the use of burners which turn nominal 16-candle gas into gas of 30-candle actual illuminating power. How far Mr. Grimston’s invention may succeed in this work it is not for us to say. It is sufficient for the present that he has done excellently well in showing how Herr Frederick Siemens’ scientific principles of regenerative gas burner construction may be carried out yet in another way. There is nothing more common in industrial annals than for one man to begin a work which another is destined to bring to greater perfection. Whether this natural process is to be repeated in the present instance must be left for the future to decide. In any case, Mr. Grimston’s success, if success is to be his reward, though it will be well merited by his ingenuity and perseverance in solving a difficult problem, will never cause us to forget the prior claims of Herr Frederick Siemens, of Dresden, to the palm of the discoverer. Mr. Grimston may or may not be the happy inventor of the best gas-burner of the day; but there is the consolation of knowing that in the same field in which he will find his recompense there is room for any number and variety of useful improvements of a like character and object.–Journal of Gas Lighting. * * * * * DEFTY’S IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS BURNERS AND HEATERS. Among other inventors who have turned their attention to gas consumption is to be found Mr. H. Defty, who has made several forms both of heating and lighting burners. Mr. Defty has sought in the latter to apply the principle of heating the air and gas in a simple manner, with the object of obtaining improved photometrical results. The double-chimney Argand, as tried many years since by Dr. Frankland and others, makes a reappearance in one of Mr. Defty’s models, illustrated in the accompanying diagram (Fig. 1). [Illustration: Fig. 1.] Here we have the double-chimney, a and b, for heating the air supplied to an ordinary Argand, by causing it to pass downward between the two chimneys, and inward to the point of combustion through a wire-gauze screen, c, under the inner chimney; but, in addition thereto, Mr. Defty hopes to gain an improved result by causing the gas to pass through the internal tube, s, which rises up in the middle of the flame. The gas, which enters at e, is made to pass up through the inner tube and down through the annular space to the burner. [Illustration: Fig. 2.] A more important form of lantern is the subject of the next diagram (Fig. 2), which shows a suspended globe lantern in which there is an attempt made to heat the air by the waste heat of the products of combustion. It will be perceived by the diagram that a globe lantern is furnished with a double chimney; the annular space, C, between the inner and outer chimneys allowing for the access of air in a downward direction. At the lower of this annular channel are the tubes D, protected by the graduated mesh, E, and which admit the air to the burner below. The products of combustion of the flame rise through the inner chimney, passing around the tubes, and thereby giving up some of their heat to the incoming air. Farther up, the chimney is partly filled with the convoluted gas-pipe, A, which also takes up some of the waste heat, and delivers the gas to the burner at a correspondingly high temperature. A very simple method of lighting this burner, which in itself does not present anything remarkable, is arranged at the lower part of the globe, where a hole is cut and a loose conical glass plug (which can, of course, be made to partake of the general ornamentation of the globe) may be pushed up to allow of the passage of the lighting agent, and is then dropped in its place again. Formal tests of the performances of these burners are not available; and the same may be said of the heating burners which are shown in the following diagrams. [Illustration: FIG. 3.] The first of these (Fig. 3) is called by Mr. Defty a “pyramid heater,” and is designed to heat the mixture of air and gas before ignition, by conduction from its own flame. The inventor claims to effect a perfect combustion in this manner with considerable economy of fuel. It is evident, however, that a good deal of the gas consumed goes to heat the burner itself. [Illustration: FIG. 4.] The next and last of Mr. Defty’s productions to be at present described is the so-called “crater burner,” shown herewith (Fig. 4). This is an atmospheric burner which is purposely made to “fire back,” as well as to burn on the top of the apparatus. The body of the burner, like the pyramid heater just described, is full of fire-clay balls, which become very hot from the lower flame, and thus, after the burner has been for some time in action, a pale, lambent blaze crowns the top, apparently greater in volume than when it is first lighted. Here, again, there is a lamentable absence of reliable data as to economic results, which will, perhaps, be afforded when the apparatus in question is ready to be offered to the public. Whether one inventor or another succeeds in distancing his rivals, it is matter, says The Journal of Gas Lighting, for sincere congratulation among the friends of gas lighting that so much attention is being concentrated upon the improvement of gas burners for all purposes. This is an open field which affords scope for more workers than have yet entered upon it, and there is the certainty of substantial reward to whoever can realize a worthy advance upon the established practice. * * * * * NEW BINDING MACHINES. The accompanying cuts represent two new machines for binding together books and pamphlets. They are the invention of Messrs. Brehmer & Co., and are now much used in England and Germany. The material used for binding is galvanized iron wire. Machine Operated by Hand (Fig. 1).–This machine serves for fastening together the pages of pamphlets through the middle of the fold, or for binding together several sheets to form books up to a thickness of about half an inch. It consists of a small cast-iron frame, with which is articulated a lever, i, maneuvered by a handle, h. This lever is provided at its extremity with a curved slat, in which engages a stud, fixed to the lower part of a movable arm, c, whose extremity, d, rises and descends when the lever handle, h, is acted upon. This maneuver can be likewise performed by the foot, if the handle, h, be connected with a pedal, X, placed at the foot of the table that supports the machine, as shown in Fig. 2. The lever, i, is always drawn back to its first position, when left to itself, by means of the spring, z. [Illustration: IMPROVED BINDING MACHINE.] The staples for binding have nearly the form of the letter U, and are placed, to the number of 250 or 300, on small blocks of wood, m. To prepare the machine for work, the catch, a, is shoved back, and the whole upper part of the piece, b, is removed. The rod, e, with its spring, is then drawn back until a small hole in e is perceived, and into this there is introduced the hook, f, which then holds the spring. The block of wood, m, filled with staples, is then rested against a rectangular horizontal rod, and into this latter the staples are slipped by hand. The upper part of the piece, b, is next put in place and fastened with the catch, a. Finally, the spring is freed from the hook, f. When it is desired to bind the pages of a pamphlet, the latter is placed open on the support, g, which, as will be noticed, is angular above, so that the staple may enter exactly on the line of the fold. Then the handle, h, is shoved down so as to act on the arm, c, and cause the descent of the extremity, d, as well as the vertical piece, b, with which it engages. This latter, in its downward travel, takes up one of the staples, which are continually thrust forward by the rod and spring, and causes it to penetrate the paper. At this moment, the handle, h, makes the lever, n, oscillate, and this raises, through its other extremity, a vertical slide whose head bends the two points of the staple toward each other. The handle, h, is afterward lifted, the position of the pamphlet is changed, and the same operation is repeated. When it is desired to form a book from a number of sheets, the table, l, is mounted on the support, g, its two movable registers are regulated, and the sheets are spread out flat on it. The machine, in operating, drives the staples in along the edge of the sheets, and the points are bent over, as above indicated. The axis on which the lever, i, is articulated is eccentric, and is provided on the side opposite the lever with a needle, k, revolving on a dial. The object of this arrangement is to regulate the machine according to the thickness of the book. [Illustration: FIG. 1.] Machine to be Operated by a Motor (Fig. 3).–This machine, although working on the same principle, is of an entirely different construction. It is designed for binding books of all dimensions. It consists of a frame, a, in two pieces, connected by cross-pieces, and carries a table, u, designed to receive the sheets before being bound together. Motion is transmitted by means of a cone, c, mounted loose on the shaft, b. To start the machine, the foot is pressed on the pedal, m, which, through the intermedium of links and arms, brings together the friction plates, d, one of which is connected with the shaft, b, and the other with the cone, c. When it is desired to stop the machine, the pedal is left free to itself, while the counterpoise, s, ungears the friction plates. The machine fastens the paper with galvanized iron wire wound round bobbins placed at the side of the apparatus. This wire it cuts, and forms into staples. [Illustration: FIG. 2.] The book to be bound is placed on the support, h, and the arms, k, that carry the fasteners cause it to move backward and forward. It also undergoes a second motion–that is, it moves downward according to the number and thickness of its pages. This motion, which takes place every time the operator adds a new sheet, is regulated by a cog-wheel register, l, which is divided, and provided with a needle. The iron wires pass from the bobbins on a support to the left of the machine by means of feed rollers, which thrust them through the eight clips. In the interior of these latter there is a double knife, which, actuated by one of the cams of the wheel, e, cuts the wire and bends it thus [Inline Illustration]. The extremities of the staples are thrust through the back of the half opened leaves, and then bent toward each other thus [Inline Illustration], by the front fastener. This motion is effected by means of two levers, p (moved by the cams, e), whose extremities at every revolution of the machine seize by the two ends a link that maneuvers the fasteners. The binding of one sheet finished, the lower arms of the machine again take their position, the wires move forward the length necessary to form new staples, a new sheet is laid, and the same operation is proceeded with. The number of staples and their distance are changed, according to the size of the book, by introducing into the machine as much wire as will be necessary for the staples. To prevent their number from increasing the thickness of the back of the book (as would happen were they superposed), the support, h, moves laterally at every blow, so as to cause the third staple to be driven over the first, the second over the fourth, etc. * * * * * FLUMES AND THEIR CONSTRUCTION. In crossing ravines in this State, flumes or wrought iron pipes are used. Many miners object to flumes on account of their continual cost and danger of destruction by fire. Where used and practicable, they are set on heavier grades than ditches, 30 to 35 ft. per mile, and, consequently, are proportionately of smaller area than the ditches. In their construction a straight line is the most desirable. Curves, where required, should be carefully set, so that the flume may discharge its maximum quantity. Many ditches in California have miles of fluming. The annexed sketch, drawn by A. J. Bowie, Jr., will show the ordinary style of construction. [Illustration: SKETCH OF FLUME.] The planking ordinarily used is of heart sugar pine, one and a half to two inches thick, and 12 to 18 inches wide. Where the boards join, pine battens three inches wide by one and a half thick cover the seam. Sills, posts, and caps support and strengthen the flume every four feet. The posts are mortised into the caps and sills. The sills extend about 20 inches beyond the posts, and to them side braces are nailed to strengthen the structure. This extension of the sill timbers affords a place for the accumulation of snow and ice, and in the mountains such accumulations frequently break them off, and occasionally destroy a flume. To avoid damage from slides, snow, and wind storms, the flumes are set in as close as possible to the bank, and rest, wholly or partially, on a solid bed, as the general topography and costs will admit. Stringers running the entire length of the flume are placed beneath the sills just outside of the posts. They are not absolutely necessary, but in point of economy are most valuable, as they preserve the timbers. As occasion may demand, the flume is trestled, the main supports being placed every eight feet. The scantling and struts used are in accordance with the requirements of the work.–Min. and Sci. Press. * * * * * CHUWAB’S ROLLING MILL FOR DRESSING AND ROUNDING BAR IRON. This new forge apparatus has been devised for the purpose of finishing up round irons of all diameters while hot, as they come out of the ordinary rolling mill, by rendering them perfectly circular, cylindrical, straight, smooth, and level at the extremities, as if they had passed through a slide lathe. Such a high degree of external finish is a very valuable feature in those round irons that are employed in so great quantity for shafting, cylindrical axles, etc., as well as in the manufacture of bolts and locks. Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the opposite engraving will allow it to be seen that this apparatus which is usually installed at the side of the finishing cylinder is, in part, beneath the general level of the forge floor. It may be placed parallel with or perpendicular to the apparatus that it does duty for, this depending upon the site at disposal or the mode of transmission. The apparatus consists essentially of two tempered iron cylinders, A, 0.5 of a meter in diameter by 1.5 meters in length, revolving in the same direction (contrary to what takes place in ordinary rolling mills) between two frames, B, that are open on one side to allow of the entrance of the finishing bar. This latter is held between the cylinders, A, which roll it so much the faster in proportion as its diameter is smaller, and by a scraper guide, C, of the same length as the cylinder table, and which may be regulated at will by bolts, c, fixed to the frame, B. The bottom cylinder remains always in the same position, while the axle, D, which carries the intermediate wheels, E, moves about to gear in all the relative positions of the cylinders. The displacement of the upper cylinder is effected through the clamping screws, b, which are actuated by toothed disks that gear with two endless screws keyed at the extremities of one shaft in common, d, which is set in motion by hand through the winches, m m. The scraper guards, e e, take up and throw aside all scales that might become attached to the cylinders, which are constantly moistened by small streams of water coming from an ordinary conduit. [Illustration: CHUWAB’S DRESSING AND ROUNDING ROLLING MILL. Fig. 1–Elevation and Longitudinal Section. Fig. 2–Side View. Fig. 3–Transvers Section. Fig. 4–Plan View. Figs. 5 & 6–Saws for Dressing the Extremities of the Bars. Fig. 7–Diagram Showing the Motion of the Wheels and Guide. Figs. 8 & 9–Apparatus for Shifting tha Bars.] As the driving belts are mounted on pulleys, G, of a diameter proportioned to the velocity of the shafting, the iron pinions, h, in order to produce 60 revolutions per minute in the first shaft, H, gear on each side with the intermediate wheels, E, and these actuate the two bronze pinions, a a, that are mounted on the extremities of the cylinders, A A. The axle, D, of the intermediate wheels does not revolve with them, but is capable of rising and descending in the elongated aperture that traverses the frames, B. The displacement of this axle is secured through the arms, L L, whose extremities articulate on the one hand with the cylinders, A A, and on the other with D. The result of this is that every displacement upward of the top cylinder corresponds to a different position of the intermediate shaft, and one that is always equidistant from the centers of the cylinders, A A, thus securing a constant gearing of the wheels in all the positions of the cylinders, A A. The diagram in Fig. 7 shows the relative displacements of all these parts, as well as those of the scraper guide, C. The diameter to be obtained is determined beforehand by the two contact screws, P. The whole thus regulated, the bar of iron, still very hot, coming from the ordinary rollers, is straightened up, if need be, by a few blows of a hammer, so that it may roll forward over the pavement, N, between the rounding cylinders, A A; these being held apart sufficiently to allow of its easy introduction. Next, a few revolutions of the winches that control the screws suffice to lower the upper cylinder to the exact position limited by the contact screws, P, and the bar is rolled between the two cylinder tables with a constant velocity in the generatrices. As a consequence, the number of revolutions made is so much the greater in proportion as the diameter of the shaft is smaller with respect to that of the cylinders. It should be remarked that the bar, during its rotation under pressure, is held by the guide, C, so that its diagrammatic axis (Fig. 7) exceeds the line, A A, joining the centers of the cylinders just enough to prevent its escape to the opposite, and so that the pressure upon the said guide (which performs the role of scraper) is merely sufficient to detach the scales which form during the operation. Under such conditions, and at a velocity of 30 revolutions per minute in the two cylinders, it will take but a fraction of a minute to finish a bar the length of the table, that is to say, 1.5 meters. Then, by loosening the upper cylinder, the bar may be easily shoved along in one direction or the other, so as to continue the finishing operation on successive lengths. This moving of the bar forward is further facilitated by the aid of a clamp with rollers and a movable socket, V (Figs. 8 and 9). For large diameters (150 millimeters and beyond) traction is employed by the aid of two small windlasses placed opposite each other, and at a distance apart twice the greatest length of the bars to be finished. The chains of these windlasses are attached to the extremities by clamps that lock by the pulling exerted. The details of the arrangement of the saws (Figs. 5 and 6) show that to make a section of the ends or of any other part of the bar, it is only necessary to lower the lever of one them. By reason of the contrary rotation of the bar, the effective stress on the lever will be very moderate, while the cut produced will be a clean and quickly performed one. It should be remarked that, as a consequence of the cone on the projecting extremity of the cylinder journals (Fig. 5), and on the rollers that control the saws, it is only necessary to move the lever to the right or left in order to stop the motion of each of the saws. These latter, to prevent all possibility of accident, are inclosed within semicircular guards. Finally, the controlling rollers are made of a material which is quite elastic (compressed cardboard, for example), so that they may roll smoothly and adhere well. From what precedes, it will be seen that round iron bars of any diameter will come from this apparatus completely finished. It will be seen also that with cylinders of suitable profile, there might likewise be finished axles, or pieces that are more or less conical as well as those provided with shoulders. The apparatus may, if preferred, be driven by small special motors affixed to the frame. Such an arrangement, which is more costly than the preceding, is, nevertheless, indicated in cases where shafting would be in the way. The weight of the materials entering into the construction of this machine, proposed by Mr. Chuwab, includes about 15 tons of metal, of which 5,000 kilogrammes are for the two tempered cylinders; 250 kilogrammes of iron screws, and 350 of bolts; and 500 kilogrammes of bronze, 90 of which are for nuts.–Revue Industrielle. * * * * * THE BURNING OF TOWN REFUSE AT LEEDS. [Footnote: From selected papers of the Institution of Civil Engineers, London, by Charles Slagg, Assoc. Memb. Inst. C.E.] In large towns it is necessary to adopt some regular system of removal and disposal of the cinders and ashes of house fires, and of the animal and vegetable refuse of the houses, and, in short, of everything thrown away which cannot be admitted into the sewers. In towns where the excreta are separated by means of water closets, the disposal of the other refuse presents less difficulty, but still a considerable one, because the animal and vegetable refuse is not kept separate from the cinders and ashes, all being thrown together into the ash pit or dust bin. The contents, therefore, cannot be deposited upon ground which may afterward be built upon, although that custom obtained generally in former times. Hence the refuse has been removed to a depot where that wretched industry is created of picking out the other parts from the cinders and ashes. [Illustration: FIG. 1.–DESTRUCTOR. Elevation. Section through feeding-holes of cells. Section through air-passages of cells.] But in towns unprovided with water closets, or so far as they are not adopted in any town, where the privies are connected with the ash pits, and where, consequently, the excreta of the population are added to the other contents of ash pits, the difficulties of removal and disposal of the refuse are much increased. Where the privy-ashpit system is in use–as it still is to a large extent–as much of the contents of the ash pits as can be sold at any price, however small, are collected separately from the drier portions, and sent out of town as manure; but what remains is still too offensive to be deposited on ground near the town; and when it is attempted to collect the excreta separately by the pail system, the process is no less unsatisfactory. These difficulties led to the adoption, under the advice of the late Mr. A.W. Morant, M. Inst. C.E., the Borough Engineer at Leeds, of Fryer’s method of destruction by burning–that is, of the dry ashes and cinders and the animal and vegetable refuse. The author was Mr. Morant’s assistant. The first kiln was constructed at Burmantofts, 11/2 miles from the center of the town in a northeasterly direction, and has been in use since the beginning of the year 1878. In 1879 another kiln was constructed at Armley Road, a mile from the center of the town in a west-southwesterly direction, which has been in use since the beginning of 1880. Each destructor kiln has six cells, three in each face of a block of brick work 22 feet long, 24 feet through from face to face, and 12 feet high. Each cell is 8 feet long and 5 feet wide, arched over, the height being 3 feet 4 inches, and both the bottom and arch of the cell slope down to the furnace doors with an inclination of 1 in 3. The lower end of each cell has about 26 square feet of wrought-iron firebars, the hearth being 41/2 feet above the ground. [Illustration: FIG. 2.–CARBONIZER. Section through furnaces. Longitudinal section. Cross section.] There are two floors, one on the ground level, a few feet only above the outlet for drainage, the other floor, or raised platform, being 15 feet above it. The refuse is taken in carts up an incline of 1 in 14 on cast-iron tram plates to the upper floor, and deposited upon and alongside of the destructor, and is shoveled into a row of hoppers at the head of the cells. These hoppers are in the middle of the width of the destructor, and each communicates with a cell on each side of it. The refuse is always damp, and often wet, and after being put into the cells is gradually dried by the heat reflected upon it from the firebrick arch of the cell, before it descends to the furnace. This distinguishes the system from the common furnace, and enables the wet material to be burned without other fuel. No fresh fuel is used after the fires are once lighted. The vapor passes off with the gases of combustion into a horizontal flue between the two rows of cells, through an opening at the head of each cell, alongside that through which the refuse is fed into it, the two openings being separated by a firebrick wall. The refuse is prevented from falling into the flue by a bridge wall across the outlet opening, over which the gases pass into the flue. Between the destructor and the chimney a multitubular boiler is placed, which makes steam enough for grinding into sand the clinkers which are the solid residue of the burnt refuse. At Burmantofts an old chimney was made use of, which is but 84 feet high; but at Armley Road a new chimney was built, 6 feet square inside and 120 feet high. It is necessary to make the horizontal flue large; that at Armley Road is 9 feet high and 4 feet wide. A large quantity of dust escapes from the cells–about 7 cwt. a month–and unless the velocity of the air in the flue between the destructor and the chimney were checked, the dust would be carried up the chimney and might cause complaints; as, indeed, it has done with the 120-foot chimney, but whether with any substantial grounds is uncertain. The dust is removed from the horizontal flue or dust chamber once a month. Experience seems to indicate that there should be some sort of guard or grating to prevent the entry into the chimney of charred paper and similar light substances which do not fall to dust, and which are sometimes carried up with the draught. A six-celled destructor kiln burns about 42 tons of refuse in twenty-four hours, leaving about one-fourth of its bulk of clinkers and ashes. The clinkers are withdrawn from the furnaces five times each day and night, or about every two-and-a-half hours, into iron barrows, and wheeled outside the shed which covers the destructor, and when cold are wheeled back to the mortar mills, of which there are two at each depot, each having a revolving pan 8 feet in diameter, with 27-cwt. rollers, the pan making twenty two revolutions a minute. Forty shovelfuls of clinkers and twelve of slaked lime make 7 cwt. of mortar in thirty-five minutes in each pan, which is sold at 5s. 6d. per ton. The engine driving the two mortar mills has a 14 inch cylinder, 30 inches length of stroke, and makes sixty revolutions per minute with 45 pounds steam pressure per square inch in the boiler, when both mortar mills are running. The boiler is 11 feet long, 8 feet in diameter, and has 132 tubes 4 inches in external diameter, which, together with the external flues, are cleaned out once a month. At first sight it would probably appear that no good mortar could be made from such refuse as has been described, but having passed through the furnace, the clinkers are, of course, perfectly clean, and with good lime make a really strong and excellent mortar. They are also largely used for the foundation of roadways. The number of men employed is as follows: Two furnace men in the daytime and two at night. They work from midnight on Sundays to 2 P.M. on Saturdays, the fires being fully charged and left to burn through the Sundays. One foreman, who attends also to the running of the engine, and one mortar man. A watchman attends while the workmen are off. In addition to a destructor, there is at the Burmautofts depot a “carbonizer” kiln, in which the sweepings of the vegetable markets are burned into charcoal. The carbonizer consists of eight vertical cells, in two sets or stacks of four, separated by a space containing two double furnaces, back to back, there being a double furnace also at each end of the eight cells. Each of the stacks of four cells is 15 feet 6 inches high; the ends and middle parts, forming the tops of the furnaces, being 6 feet high. The block of brick work containing the eight cells and furnaces is 26 feet 6 inches long and 12 feet 4 inches wide at the floor level. Each cell is 3 feet 6 inches by 2 feet, and about 10 feet deep, with a chamber below about 3 feet deep, into which the charred material falls and is completely burned. The top of the cells is level with the upper platform, and they are fed through a loose cover, which is immediately replaced. Inside the cells cast-iron sloping shelves are hung upon the walls so that their upper edges touch the walls, but the lower edges are some inches off, so that the hot air of the furnaces passes upward behind the shelves round the four sides of the cell in a spiral manner, and out near the top into a vertical flue, which conducts it down to the horizontal flue at the bottom, which leads to the chimney. The charcoal is withdrawn from the bottom of the heating chamber through a sliding plate 2 feet above the floor, and is wheeled red hot to the charcoal cooler, which is a revolving cylinder, nearly horizontal, kept cool by water falling upon it, and delivers the charcoal in two degrees of fineness at the end. It is worked by a small attached engine, supplied with steam from the boiler before mentioned. Each cell of the carbonizer can reduce to charcoal 50 cwt. of vegetable refuse in twenty four hours, but at Leeds not quite so much is put through. The quantity of market refuse passed through six cells of the carbonizer varies from 3 to 10 tons a day, and averages about 41/2 tons, from which 15 cwt. of charcoal is obtained. The fuel for burning the charcoal is derived from the ash pit refuse, some selected loads being for that purpose passed over a sloping screen fixed between the upper platform and the furnace floor, the fine ashes which pass through the screen being taken away to the manure heaps, and the combustible parts to the furnaces of the carbonizer. In this way a good deal of the ash pit refuse is got rid of; it is often one-twelfth part of the whole quantity. The carbonizer and the destructor are set 33 feet apart, to allow room for drawing the furnaces and for the mortar mills, but the space is hardly sufficient. One man is employed in attending to the carbonizer. Besides the openings at the top of the destructor through which the ash pit refuse is fed into the cells, there is a larger opening in each cell, kept covered usually, through which bed mattresses ordered by the medical sanitary office to be destroyed can be put into the cells. These openings are midway between the central openings and the furnace doors, and whatever is put into the cells through these comes into immediate contact with the fire. Advantage is taken of these openings for the destruction of dead animals and diseased meat, and as much as 20 tons in a year have been passed through the destructor. The whole works are roofed over. The lower floor is open on two sides, but the upper one is closed in, with weather boarding at Burmantofts and with corrugated iron at Armley Road. At the former place the works were in some measure experimental, and the platform was constructed of timber, but at Armley Road it is of plate-iron girders, with brick arching, weight being considered advantageous in reducing the vibration of carting heavy loads over it. The cost of each depot has been L4,500, exclusive of land, of which about an acre is required for the destructor, carbonizer, inclined road, weigh office, and space. A supply of water is necessary, a good deal being required for cooling the clinkers. The population of the two districts belonging to these works is about 160,000. The author has no longer any connection with the works described, and for the recent experience of their working he is indebted to Mr. John Newhouse, the superintendent of the sanitary department of the corporation. * * * * * GREEN WOOD. The specific volume of the different constituents of green woods has been estimated by M. Hartig to be as follows, per 1,000 parts: Hard green wood, fiber stuff, 441; water, 247; air, 312. Soft green wood, fiber stuff, 279; water, 317, air, 404. Evergreen wood, fiber stuff, 270; water, 335; air, 395. A certain amount of water–7 or 8 per cent in all–is included with the fiber stuff, showing that about one-third only of the mass of the wood is solid stuff; the remainder is either water or air space. * * * * * THE ARMITAGE HOUSE. This house is now in course of erection under the superintendence of Messrs. Salomons and Ely, in the Claremont road, Pendleton, near Manchester. The walls are faced in the lower part with red bricks, and red stone, from the neighborhood of Liverpool, is used for the window-dressings, etc. The upper part of walls will be faced with red tiles and half-timber work, and the roof will be covered with Staffordshire tiles. Lead lights will be largely used in the windows. Internally, the finish will be almost entirely in real woods, including walnut for the dining-room and vestibule, pitch-pine for the large hall, staircase, and billiard-room, ash for the morning-room, and oak for Mr. Armitage’s own room. In all these the ceilings and dados are to be in wood. The contract for the whole of the above work, amounting to L6,507, is let to Mr. James Herd, of Manchester.–Building News. [Illustration: SUGGESTIONS IN ARCHITECTURE.–AN ENGLISH COUNTRY RESIDENCE.] * * * * * THE COLLOTYPE PROCESS IN PRACTICE. That theory and practice are two very different things holds good in photography especially, and perhaps in no other branch of our art have so many theoretical formulae been promulgated as in the collotype or Lichtdruck process. As our readers are aware, we have had an opportunity of seeing collotype printing in operation in several European establishments of note, and have, from time to time, published in these columns our experiences. But requests still come to us so frequently for information on the process that we have deemed it well to make a practical summary for the benefit of those who are working–or desire to work–the method. The formulae and manipulations here set down are those of Loewy, Albert, Allgeyer, and Obernetter, four of the best authorities on the subject, and we can assure our readers there is nothing described but what is actually practiced. Glass Plate for the Printing Block.–Herr Albert, of Munich, uses patent plate of nearly half an inch in thickness, as most of his work is printed upon the Schnell press (machine press). Herr Obernetter, of Vienna, since he only employs the slower and more careful hand press, prefers plate glass of ordinary thickness as being handier in manipulation and better adapted to the common printing-frame. Herr Loewy, of Vienna, again, uses plate glass a quarter of an inch thick, as his productions range from the finest to the roughest. Preliminary Coating of the Glass Plate.–Herr Albert’s original plan was to apply a preliminary coating of bichromated gelatine to the thick glass plate, the film being exposed to light through the back of the glass, and thus rendered insoluble and tightly cemented to the surface; this film serving as a basis for the second sensitive coating, that was afterward impressed by the negative. This double treatment is now definitely abandoned in most Lichtdruck establishments, and, instead, a preliminary coating of soluble silicate and albumen dissolved in water is used. Herr Loewy’s method and formula are as follows: The glass plate is cleaned, and coated with– Soluble glass. 3 parts. White of egg. 7 “ Water. 9 to 10 “ The soluble glass must be free from caustic potash. The mixture, which must be used fresh, is carefully filtered, and spread evenly over the previously cleaned glass plate. The superfluous liquid is flowed off, and the film dried either spontaneously or by slightly warming. The film is generally dry in a few minutes, when it is rinsed with water, and again dried; at this stage the plate bears an open, porous film, slightly opalescent–so slight, however, as only to be observed by an experienced eye. Application of the Sensitive Film.–We now come to the second stage of the process, the application of a film of bichromated gelatine to the plate. Herr Loewy’s formula is as follows: Bichromate of potash. 16 grammes. Gelatine. 21/2 ounces. Water. 20 to 22 “ According to the weather, the amount of water must be varied; but in any case the solution is a very fluid one. An ounce is about 35 grammes, as most of our readers know. A practical collotypist sees at a glance the quality of the prepared plate, without any preliminary testing. A good preliminary film is a glass that is transparent, yet slightly dull; the film is so thin, you can scarcely believe it is there. The plate is slightly warmed upon a slate slab, underneath which is a water bath; it is then flooded with the above mixture of bichromated gelatine, leaving only sufficient to make a very thin film. When coated, the plate is placed in the drying chamber. Drying the Sensitive Film.–Much depends upon the drying. A water bath with gas burner underneath is used for heating, and a slate slab, perfectly level, receives the glass plate. The drying chamber is kept at an even temperature of 50 deg. C. The object to be attained is a fine grain throughout the surface of the gelatine, and unless this grain is satisfactory the finished printing block never will be. If the gelatine film be too thick, then the grain will be coarse; or, again, if the temperature in drying be too high, there will be no grain at all. The drying is complete in two or three hours, and should not take longer. The Negative to be Printed from.–The sensitive film being upon the surface of a thick glass plate, it is necessary that the cliche or negative employed should be upon patent plate, or not upon glass at all, so as to insure perfect contact. Best of all, is to employ a stripped negative, in which case absolute contact is insured in printing. It is only in these circumstances that the most perfect impression can be secured. If the negative is otherwise satisfactory, and only requires stripping, it must be upon a leveling stand, and fluid gelatine of a tolerable consistence is poured over it. When dry, a pen-knife is run around the margin, and the film leaves the glass without any trouble. Herr Obernetter says that many of the negatives he receives have to be reproduced before they can be transformed into Lichtdruck plates, and he employs either the wet collodion process or the graphite method, according to circumstances. If the copy is desired to be softer than the original, collodion is employed; if vigor be desired, graphite is used, and here is his formula: Dextrine. 62 grains. Ordinary white sugar. 77 ” Bichromate of ammonia. 30.8 “ Water. 3.21 ounces. Glycerine. 2 to 8 drops. The film is dried at a temperature of 130 deg. to 140 deg. F. in about ten minutes, and while still warm is printed under a negative in diffused light for a period of five to fifteen minutes. In a well-timed print the image is slightly visible; the plate is again warmed a little above atmospheric temperature in a darkened room, and then fine levigated graphite is applied with a fine dusting brush, a sheet of white paper being held underneath to judge of the effect. Breathing upon the film renders it more capable of attracting the powder. When the desired vigor has been attained, the superfluous powder is dusted off, and the plate coated with normal collodion. Afterward the film is cut through at the margins of the plate by means of a sharp knife, and put into water. In a little while–from two to five minutes–the collodion, with the image, will be detached from the glass; the film is at once turned over in the water, and brought out upon the glass plate. Under a soft jet of water any air-bubbles that may exist between the collodion and the glass are removed, and then a solution of gum arabic (two grammes of gum dissolved in one hundred grammes of water) is poured over, and the film is allowed to dry spontaneously. Exposure of the Printing Block under the Negative.–The exposure is very rapid. Any one conversant with photolithographic work will understand this. At any rate, every photographer knows that bichromated gelatine is much more rapid than the chloride of silver he generally has to do with. There is no other way of measuring the exposure than by the photometer or personal experience, and the latter is by far the best. After leaving the printing frame, the plate is immersed in cold water. Here it remains at discretion for half an hour, or an hour; the purpose, of course, being to wash out the soluble bichromate. It is when the print comes out of this bath that judgment is passed upon it. An experienced eye tells at once what it is fit for. If it is yellow, the yellowness must be of the slightest; indeed, Herr Furkl (the manager of Herr Loewy’s Lichtdruck department) will not admit that a good plate is yellow at all. A yellow tint means that it will take up too much ink when the roller is passed over it. The plates of Herr Obernetter, however, are rather more yellow than Herr Loewy’s–certainly only a tinge, but still yellow; and Herr Obernetter’s work proves, at any rate, that the yellowish tinge is by no means inseparable from good results. The washed and dried plate should appear like a design of ground and polished glass. The ground glass appearance is given by the grain. If there are pure high-lights (almost transparent) and opalescent shadows, the plate is a good one. Printing from the Block.–We have now a printing-block ready for the press. If it is to be printed by machinery–that is to say, upon a Schnell press–the surface is etched; if it has to be more carefully handled in a hand press, etching is rarely resorted to; it is moistened only with glycerine and water. To etch a plate for a Schnell press, it is placed upon a leveling stand, and the following solution is poured upon it: Glycerine……………………….. 150 parts. Ammonia………………………….. 50 ” Nitrate of potash (saltpeter)………. 5 ” Water……………………………. 25 “ Another equally good formula, recommended by Allgeyer, who managed Herr Albert’s Lichtdruck printing for some years, is: Glycerine……………………….. 500 parts. Water…………………………… 500 ” Chloride of sodium (common salt)…… 15 “ In lieu of common salt, 15 parts of hyposulphite of soda, or other hygroscopic salt, such as chloride of calcium, may be employed. The etching fluid is permitted to remain upon the image for half an hour. During this time, by gently moving the finger to and fro over the surface, the swelling or relief of the image can be distinctly felt. The plate is not washed, but the etching fluid simply poured off, so that the film remains impregnated with the glycerine and water; at the most, a piece of bibulous paper is used to absorb any superfluous quantity of the etching fluid. After etching, the plate is taken straight to the printing press. The inking up and printing are done very much as in lithography. If it requires a practiced hand to produce a good lithographic print, it stands to reason that in dealing with a gelatine printing block, instead of a stone, skill and practice are more necessary still. Therefore at this point the photographer should hand over the work to the lithographer, or rather the Lichtdruck printer. It is only by coaxing judiciously, with roller and sponge, that a good printing block can be obtained, and no amount of teaching theoretically can beget a good printer. To appreciate how skillful a printer must be, it is only necessary to see the imperfect proofs that first result, and to watch how these are gradually improved by dint of rolling, rubbing, etching, cleaning, etc. In all Lichldruck establishments, two kinds of rollers are used, viz., of leather and glue. In some establishments, too, they employ two kinds of ink; but Herr Loewy manages to secure delicacy and vigor at the same time by using one ink, but rolling up with two kinds of roller. Collotype printing is not merely done by hand presses, but is also done by machinery. At Herr Albert’s a gas engine of six-horse power is employed to drive the machines, and each machine requires the attention of a skilled mechanic and a girl. The press is very like the lithographic quick press. Upon a big steel bed lies the little collotype block. The glass printing block, with its brownish film of gelatine, moves horizontally to and fro, and, as it does so, passes under half a dozen rollers, which not only supply ink, but disperse it. Some of the rollers are of leather and others of glue, and, whenever the printing block retires from underneath them, an ink slab takes the place of the block, and imparts more ink to the rollers; sometimes as many as eight rollers are used, for the difficulty of machine printing is to apply the ink as delicately and equally as possible. It is necessary at intervals to damp the block, and when the printer in charge finds this to be the case, he stops the press, and applies a little glycerine and water with a cloth or sponge; then a leather roller is passed over to remove superfluous moisture, and the press is again started. Herr Obernetter relies upon the Star or Stern press–a small lithographic press–one man sufficing to manage it, who turns a wheel with large spokes, reminding one of the steering wheel of a ship. The Lichtdruck plate, gelatine film upward, is laid upon a sheet of plate glass by way of a bed, the plate having first been treated with a solution of glycerine and water; it is then inked up as previously described, except that Herr Obernetter uses two kinds of ink–a thick one and a thin–applied by two rollers of glue. In the first place, a moist sponge is rubbed over the surface; then a soft roller covered with wash-leather, and of the appearance of crepe, is passed over two or three times to remove surplus moisture; then a roller charged with thick ink is put on, and then another with thin is applied. It takes fully five minutes to sponge and roll up a plate, the rolling being done gently and firmly. A sheet of paper is now laid upon the plate, the tympan is lowered, and the scraper adjusted with due pressure; a revolution of the wheel completes the printing, the well-known scraping action of the lithographic press being used in the operation. [Illustration: FIG. 1.–ORDINARY NAPHTHA LIGHTER OF MR. LOISEAU.] Some Lichtdruck prints are printed upon thick plate-paper, and are ready for binding without further ado, these being for book illustrations. Other pictures, that are to pass muster among silver photographs, are, on the other hand, printed upon fine thin paper, and then sized by dipping in a thin solution of gelatine; after drying, they are further dipped in a solution of shellac and spirit.–Photo. News. * * * * * DOMESTIC ELECTRICITY. Among the most valuable, and, up to the present time, the least generally appreciated services that electricity can render for domestic purposes is that of its application in lighters. At the present epoch of indifferent matches, to have, instantaneously, a light by pulling a cord, pressing on a button, or turning a cock, is a thing worthy of being taken into serious consideration; and our own personal experience permits us to assert that, regarded from this point of view, electricity is capable of daily rendering inappreciable services. According to the nature of the application that is to be made of them, the places in which they are to be put, and the combustible that they are to inflame, etc., electric lighters vary greatly in form and arrangement. We shall limit ourselves here to pointing out the simplest and most practical of the numerous models of such apparatus that have been constructed up to the present time. All those that we shall describe are based on the incandescence of a platinum wire. A few have been constructed based on the induction spark, but they are more complicated and expensive, and have not entered into practical use. Before commencing to describe these apparatus, we shall make a remark in regard to the piles for working them, and that is that we prefer for this purpose Leclanche elements with agglomerated plates and a large surface of zinc. In order to bring about combustion in any given substance, it is necessary to bring near it an incandescent body raised to a certain temperature, which varies with the nature of the said substance, and which is quite low for illuminating gas, higher for petroleum, and a white heat for a wax taper or a candle. We have said that we make use exclusively of a platinum wire raised momentarily to incandescence by the passage of an electric current. The temperature of such wire will depend especially upon the intensity of the current traversing it; and, if this is too great, the platinum (chosen because of its inoxidizability and its elevated melting point) will rapidly melt; while, if the intensity is too little, the temperature reached by the wire will itself be too low, and no inflammation will be brought about. Practice soon indicates a means of obviating these two inconveniences, and teaches how each apparatus may be placed under such conditions that the wire will hardly ever melt, and that the lighting will always be effected. For the same intensity of current that traverses the wire, the temperature of the latter might be made to vary by diminishing or increasing its diameter. A very fine wire will attain a red heat through a very weak current, but it would be very brittle, and subject to break at the least accident. For this reason it becomes necessary to employ wires a little stronger, and varying generally from one to two-tenths of a millimeter in diameter. The current then requires to be a little intenser. The requisite intensity is easily obtained with elements of large surface, which have a much feebler internal resistance than porous-cup elements; and since, for a given number of elements, the intensity of the current decreases in measure as the internal resistance of the elements increases, it becomes of interest to diminish such internal resistance as much as possible. The platinum wires are usually rolled spirally, with the object in view of concentrating the heat into a small space, in order to raise the temperature of the wire as much as possible. There is thus need of a less intense current to produce the inflammation than with a wire simply stretched out. In fact, the same wire traversed by a current of constant intensity scarcely reaches a red heat when it is straight, while it attains a white heat when it is wound spirally, because, in the latter case, the cooling surface is less. [Illustration: FIG. 2–RANQUE’S NEW FORM OF LIGHTER WITH EXTINGUISHER.] We shall now proceed to the examination of a few practical forms of electric lighters. In Fig. 1 will be seen quite a convenient spirit or naphtha lighter, which has been devised more especially for the use of smokers. By pushing the lamp toward the wall, the wick is brought into proximity with the spiral, and the lamp, acting on a button behind it, closes the current. Pressure on the lamp being removed, the latter moves back slightly, through the pressure of a small spring which thrusts on the button. Owing to this latter simple arrangement, the spiral never comes in contact with the flame, and may thus last for a long time. Mr. Loiseau, the proprietor of this apparatus, employs a very fine platinum wire, flattened into the form of a ribbon, and it takes only the current from a single element to effect the inflammation of the wick. The system is so arranged that any one can easily replace in a moment the spiral that has accidentally got out of order; and, in order that this may be done, the maker has placed the spiral on a small, distinct piece that he styles the “conflagrator.” The latter consists of two small, thin tubes of brass, held parallel and firmly by means of a brass cross-piece. A small bit of paper wound round each tube in front of the cross-brace insures insulation. The outer extremity of the two tubes supports the platinum spiral, which is fixed to them very simply by the aid of two small brass needles of conical form, which pinch the wire in the tube and hold it in place. There is nothing easier to do than replace the wire. All that is necessary is to remove the two little rods with a pair of pincers; to make a spiral of suitable length by rolling the wire round a pin; and to fix it into the tubes, as we have just explained. With two or three extra “conflagrators” on hand, there need never any trouble occur. In Fig. 2 we show a new and simple form of Mr. Ranque’s lighter, in which an electro-magnet concealed in the base brings the spiral and the wick into juxtaposition. The extinguisher, which is balanced by a counterpoise, oscillates about a horizontal axis, and its support carries two small pins, against which act successively two notches in a piece of oval form, fixed on the side of the movable rods. In the position shown in the cut, on the first emission of a current the upper notch acts so as to depress the extinguisher, but the travel of the rods that carry the spiral is so limited that the latter does not strike against the extinguisher. On the next emission, the lower notch acts so as to raise the extinguisher, while the spiral approaches the wick and lights it. It is well to actuate these extinguishing-lighters, which may be located at a distance, not by a contact button, but by some pulling arrangement, which is always much more easy to find in the dark without much groping about. There might be used for such a purpose the very motion of the front door, when opened, for lighting the hall; but that would offer the inconvenience of operating likewise in the daytime, and of thus needlessly using up the pile and the naphtha. In all these spirit or naphtha lighters it is important that the spiral shall not touch the wick, but that it shall be placed a little above and on the side, in the mixture of air and combustible vapor. Several apparatus have likewise been devised for lighting gas by electricity, and a few of these we shall describe. The simplest form of these is Mr. Barbier’s lighter for the use of smokers, for lighting candles, sealing letters, etc. It consists of a small gas-burner affixed to a round box, seven to eight centimeters in diameter, and connected to the gas-pipe by a rubber tube. By maneuvering the handle, the cock is opened and an electric contact set up of sufficient duration to raise to a red heat the spiral, and to light the gas. It is well in this case, for the sake of economizing in wire, to utilize the lead gas-pipe as a return wire, especially if the pile is located at some little distance from the lighter. In the arrangement generally in use the key is provided with a special spring, which tends to cause it to turn in such a way as to assume a vertical position, and with a tooth, which, on engaging with a piece moving on a joint, holds it in a horizontal position as soon as it has been brought thereto. In order to extinguish the burner, it is only necessary to depress the lever, and thus allow the key to assume again the vertical position, that is to say, the position that closes the aperture through which the gas flows out. In a new arrangement, the notch, spring, and the lever are done away with, the cock alone taking the two positions open or closed. Another very ingenious system is that of Mr. Loiseau, consisting of an ordinary gas-burner (fish-tail, bat’s-wing, etc.), carrying at its side a “conflagrator,” analogous to that of the spirit-lighter (Fig. 1), but arranged vertically. One of the rods of the “conflagrator” is connected with the positive of the pile, and the other with the little horizontal