Scientific American Supplement Volumes 481, 483, 484, 488, 492, 497, 508, 514, 520, 530 and 531

The Righi Railroad

In the year 1864, the well-known geographer, Heinrich Keller, from Zurich, on ascending to the summit of the Righi Mountain, in the heart of Switzerland, discovered one of the finest panoramic display...

High Speed Steam Engine

The use of rapidly rotating machinery in electric lighting has created a demand for engines running from 400 to 1,200 revolutions per minute, and capable of being coupled directly to a dynamo machine....

The Chinese Pump

If a glass tube about three feet in length, provided at its upper extremity with a valve that opens outwardly, and at its lower with one that opens inwardly, be dipped into water and given a series of...

The Water Clock

To the Editor of the Scientific American: Referring to the clepsydra, or water clock, described and illustrated in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT of December 20, 1884, it strikes me that the inge...

New Torpedo

We illustrate a new form of self-propelling and steering torpedo, designed and patented by Mr. Richard Paulson, of Boon Hills, Langwith, Notts. That torpedoes will play an important part in the next n...

Dupuy De Lome

M. Dupuy De Lome died on the 1st Feb., 1885, at the age of 68. It may be questioned whether any constructor has ever rendered greater services to the navy of any country than those rendered by M. Dupu...

The Use Of Gas In The Workshop

At a recent meeting of the Manchester Association of Employers, Foremen, and Draughtsmen of the Mechanical Trades of Great Britain, an interesting lecture on Gas for Light and Work in the Workshop w...

The Use Of Gas In The Workshop. Part 2

LOSS OF LIGHT BY GLASS SHADES. You will see on one of the lights I have here, a new swivel joint, which has been patented only within the last few days. The peculiarity of this swivel is that the ...

The Use Of Gas In The Workshop. Part 3

I will now show you by a practical utilization of the well known flameless combustion, how to light a coke furnace without either paper or wood, and without disturbing the fuel, by the use of a blo...

The Use Of Gas In The Workshop. Part 4

For irregular work and comparatively small powers, gas-engines have special and great advantages; and in this respect they may, perhaps, class with gas melting furnaces. If I wanted 1, or 10, or 20 lb...

The Gas Meter

The gas meter was invented by Clegg in 1816. Since that epoch no essential modification has been made of its structure. Fig. 1 shows the principle of the apparatus, mnpq is a drum movable around a hor...

Dobson And Barlow's Improvements In Heilmann's Combers

Next to the mule, there is no doubt that the most beautiful machine used in the cotton trade is Heilmann's comber. Although the details of this machine are hard to master, when once its action is unde...

The Municipal School For Instruction In Watch-Making, At Geneva

When, in 1587, Charles Cusin, of Autun, settled at Geneva and introduced the manufacture of watches there, he had no idea of the extraordinary development that this new industry was to assume. At the ...

Machine For Polishing Boots And Shoes

The principle of an apparatus for blackening boots and shoes dates back to 1838, the epoch at which a machine of this kind was put into use at the Polytechnic School. Since then it seems that not many...

Personal Safety With The Electric Currents

To the Editor of the Scientific American: In your paper of the 21st of February there is an article on personal safety with electric currents, by Prof. A.E. Dolbear. He says that a Holtz machine may ...

A Visit To Canada And The United States In The Year 1884

By Mr. W.H. PREECE, F.R.S. I do not know what the sensations of a man can be who is about to undergo the painful operation of execution; but I am inclined to think his sensations must be somewhat sim...

A Visit To Canada And The United States In The Year 1884. Part 2

The subjects brought forward were not of intense interest. We had a paper by Dr. Traill, describing the Portrush Railway, and there were various other papers; and I can pass over some of the other sub...

A Visit To Canada And The United States In The Year 1884. Part 3

The meeting of the American Association, again, was not distinguished by any particular electrical paper, or any new electrical subject. The main subject that was brought before us was the peculiar ef...

Telegraphs

When I spoke to you in 1878, my remarks were almost entirely confined to telegraphs, for at that day the telephone was not, as a practical instrument, in existence. I brought from America on that occa...

Telegraphs. Part 2

The Americans, again, adopt electrical contrivances for all sorts of domestic purposes. There is not a single house in New York, Chicago, or anywhere else that I went into, that has not in the hall a ...

Telegraphs. Part 3

This practice of running overhead wires has great disadvantages when the wires are used for electric-lighting purposes as well as for ordinary telephone or telegraph purposes. No doubt the high-tensio...

The House Of A Thousand Terrors, Rotterdam

THE HOUSE OF A THOUSAND TERRORS, ROTTERDAM. This building, which is situated at the corner of the Groote Market and the Hang, is one of the oldest houses in Rotterdam, besides being one of the mos...

On The Origin And Structure Of Coal

The origin of coal, that combustible which is distributed over the earth in all latitudes, from the frozen regions of Greenland to Zambesi in the tropics, utilized by the Chinese from the remotest ant...

On The Origin And Structure Of Coal. Part 2

H. C. O. N. Coke. Ashes. Density. Peat 5.63 57.03 29.67 2.09 ---- 5.58 ---- Lignite 5.59 70.49 17.2 1.73 49.1 4.99 1.2 Bitumin. coal 5.14 87.45 4 1.63 68 1.78 1.29 Anthracite 3.3 92.5 2.53 ---- 8...

On The Origin And Structure Of Coal. Part 3

If, then, lignites have not become soft coal, and if the latter has not become anthracite, it is not that time was wanting, but climatic conditions and environment. Most analyses of specimens of coal ...

On The Origin And Structure Of Coal. Part 4

A thin section of a piece of Commentry cannel coal shows that this substance consists of a yellowish-brown amorphous mass holding here and there in suspension very different plant organs, such as frag...

On The Origin And Structure Of Coal. Part 5

FIG. 5. - Boghead from New South Wales, X500. From what precedes it seems to result, then, that anthracite is in a much less appreciable state of preservation than cannel coal, and that it is only...

On The Origin And Structure Of Coal. Part 6

Still, if we limit ourselves to a comparison of the same carbonized wood, preserved on the one hand by petrifaction, and on the other hand non-mineralized, we find a very perceptible diminution in bul...

Ice Boat Races On The Mueggelsee, Near Berlin

The interest in sports of different kinds is increasing considerably in the capital of the German Empire. Oarsmen and sailors show their ability in grand regattas; roller-skating rinks are very, popul...

Labor And Wages In America

By D. PIDGEON. The United States of America are, collectively, of such vast extent, and, singly, so individualized in character, that to speak of their labor conditions as a whole would be as impossi...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 2

Such was the character of native American labor, less than forty years ago, and such, almost, it still remains in those, now few, centers of industry where it has been little diluted with a foreign el...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 3

The city of Lowell, whose brilliant past is so well known, exemplifies, on that very account, better than any other manufacturing town in the States, the character of recent alterations in American la...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 4

It has already been said that the average rate of inhabitancy is six persons per house in the State of Massachusetts, but the presence of the French in Holyoke actually doubles the inhabitancy of the ...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 5

I wish that time permitted me to sketch, however briefly, the mills to which I have last alluded. It must suffice to say that the devoted labors of Col. Barrows, President of the Willimantic Thread Co...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 6

Table A. Industries. Massachusetts. Great Britain. Total Agricultural implements 4 1 5 Artisans' tools 3 4 7 Boots and shoes 18 2 20 Brick 3 1 4 Building trades 32 24 56 Carpetings 1 1 2 Carr...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 7

But the question of wages forms only one side of the working man's account; on the other stands the cost of living, and no comparisons of prosperity, in given industrial communities, are of any value ...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 8

Referring to the words Free Trade, the speaker in question begins by asking, What is the essential nature of that which we call trade? And answers himself as follows: The grim, ugly fact is that...

Labor And Wages In America. Part 9

Shortly to recapitulate all that has been advanced, I have endeavored to show: 1st. That a great change has occurred in the social condition of labor in the United States during the last forty years,...

Theodor Billroth, Professor Of Surgery At Vienna

The well known surgeon, Theodor Billroth, was born on the island of Rgen in 1829. He showed great talent and liking for music, and it was the wish of his father, who was a minister, that he shou...

How Cholera Is Spread

DR. JOHN C. PETERS, of this city, in a recent contribution to the Medical Record, gives the following interesting particulars: I have read many brilliant essays of late on these topics, but not with ...

Sulphurous Acid And Sulphide Of Carbon

Much attention has been paid in recent times to disinfecting agents, and among these sulphurous acid and sulphide of carbon must be placed in the list of the most efficient. Mr. Alf. Riche has recentl...

The Determination Of Graphite In Minerals

By J.B. MACKINTOSH. In many instances the accurate determination of the amount of graphite present in a rock has proved a rather troublesome problem. The first thought which naturally suggests itself...

Sulphocyanide Of Potassium

The elements of cyanogen, combined with sulphur, form a salt radical, sulphocyanogen, CNS, which is expressed by the symbol Csy. The sulphocyanide of potassium, KCsy, is prepared by fusing ferrocyanid...

Foucault's Apparatus For Manufacturing Illuminating Gas And Hydrogen

The illuminating gas and hydrogen apparatus, illustrated herewith, is adapted to all cases in which it is desirable to manufacture gas upon a small scale. Through the use solely of oil or water, it p...

Sugar Nitro-Glycerine

A new explosive has been discovered by M. Roca, a French engineer, who communicates an account of it to Le Gnie Civil. The discovery was due entirely to scientific induction from some experime...

The Circle-Divider

This little apparatus, invented by Prof. Mora, of Senlis, permits of dividing circumferences or circles into equal or proportional parts. It consists (Fig. 2) of a rule, A, divided into equal or propo...

Soluble Glass

Although the manufacture of soluble glass does not strictly belong to the glass maker's art, yet it is an allied process to that of manufacturing glass. Of late soluble glass has been used with good e...

The Jet Ventilator

KORTING'S JET VENTILATOR. Messrs. Korting bros., of London, induced by the interest that has been directed to the separate ventilation of mines in which fire-damp is apt to form, have adopted for ...

On Remelting Of Cast Iron

From trials conducted by Ledebur, it appears that cast iron is rendered suitable for foundry purposes - i.e., to fill the moulds well and to yield sharp and definite forms free of flaws, to be cut wit...

Feeding Boilers At The Bottom

One of the most important things to be considered in boiler construction is the position and arrangement of the feed apparatus, but it is, unfortunately, one of the elements that is most often overloo...

Microscopical Journal. Iron Printing And Microscopic Photography

By C.M. VORCE, F.R.M.S. I. Formulas For Printing Solutions Blue Prints The best formula for this process, of many that I have tried, is that furnished by Prof. C.H. Kain, of Camden, N.J., in which ...

Practical Directions For Making Lantern Transparencies

By T.N. ARMSTRONG. When the season for out-door work closes, amateurs begin to look about for means of employment during the dark evenings. There is, fortunately, no necessity for being idle, or to r...

Practical Directions For Making Lantern Transparencies. Continued

Just a word as to the preparation of the glasses before coating. It is very generally considered that it is better the glasses receive either a substratum of albumen or very weak gelatine. I use the l...

The Honigmann Fireless Engine

The invention of a self propelling engine, capable of working without fuel economically and for a considerable time, has often been attempted, and was, perhaps, never before so nearly accomplished as ...

The Honigmann Fireless Engine. Part 2

FIG. 3. FIG. 4. Table 100 kilogs. Soda Lye containing 20 parts Water with a corresponding boiling point of 220 deg. Cent. absorb Steam as follows: +----------------------------------+------...

The Honigmann Fireless Engine. Part 3

Another certificate concerning the tramway engine illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6 is of equal interest, and runs as follows: Aix la Chapelle, Jan. 5, 1885. A fireless soda engine, together with evapora...

Simple Methods Of Calculating Stresses In Girders

By CHARLES LEAN, M. Inst. C.E. Bowstring Girders Having had occasion to get out the stresses in girders of the bowstring form, the author was not satisfied with the common formulae for the diagonal ...

A Spring Motor

An exhibition of a spring car motor was given at a recent date at the works of the United States Spring Motor Construction Company, Twelfth Street and Montgomery Avenue. As a practical illustration of...

Casting Chilled Car Wheels

We show herewith the method employed by the Baltimore Car Wheel Company in casting chilled wheels to prevent tread defects. The ordinary mode of pouring from the ladle into the hub part of the mould, ...

Electricity And Prestidigitation

The wonderful ease with which electricity adapts itself to the production of mechanical, calorific, and luminious effects at a distance, long ago gave rise to the idea of applying it to certain curiou...

Portable Electric Safety Lamps

One of the most difficult problems that daily presents itself in large cities is how to proceed without danger in the search for leakages in gas mains, or in attempts to save life in houses accidental...

The Electric Discharge And Spark Photographed Directly Without An Objective

The study of the form and color that electric discharges exhibit, according to the different ways in which they are produced, has already enticed a certain number of amateurs and scientists. Every one...

The True Constant Of Gravity

Many of the readers of this journal may like to participate in the discussion of the following proposition. The statement is this: The space through which a body, near the surface of the earth, at me...

Origin Of Thunderstorms

At the recent congress of German medical men and physicists, Dr. S. Hoppe, of Hamburg, read a paper in which he sought to show that the electricity of thunderstorms is generated by the friction of vap...

Improvised Toys

Do our readers remember all those ingenious toys which our mothers and sisters improvised in order to amuse us? We took a walk into the country, and our eldest sister or our mother picked a wild poppy...

The Aeolian Harp

The aeolian harp is a musical instrument which is set in action by the wind. The instrument, which is not very well known, is yet very curious, and at the request of some of our readers we shall herew...

Physics Without Apparatus. Manufacture Of Illuminating Gas

FIG. 1. - PRODUCTION OF ILLUMINATING GAS. Burn a piece of paper of about the size of the hand upon a clean porcelain plate, and this will serve to show the phenomena of carbonization and the forma...

Elasticity Of Bodies

FIG. 2. - EXPERIMENT ON THE ELASTICITY OF BODIES. Mould a piece of fresh bread with the fingers so as to give it the size and shape shown in Fig. 2. If this object be placed upon a wooden table, a...

Scientific Amusements. The Dance Of The Electrified Puppets

We have already pointed out a means of obtaining electrical manifestations without recourse to a machine, and shall now describe a very easily performed experiment - the dance of the electrified puppe...

How To Break A Cord With The Hands

Our readers have often seen grocers' clerks or employes of business houses break the string with which they had tied up a package, by seizing it with the hands, bringing the latter close together, and...

An Aquatic Velocipede For Duck Hunting

The curious apparatus that we represent in Fig. 1, from an old English engraving of 1823, is an aquatic velocipede which was utilized with success during the entire winter of 1822. An amateur employed...

A Sunshine Recorder

The apparatus is of simple construction. It consists of a glass sphere silvered inside and placed before the lens of a camera, the axis of the instrument being placed parallel to the polar axis of the...

Skeleton Of A Bear Found In A Cave In Styria, Austria

In the limestone mountains of the Austrian Alpine countries, numerous large caverns and caves are found, some of which are several miles long. They have been formed by the raising, lowering, and slidi...

The Hardness Of Metals

The German Verein zur Bedfrderung des Gewerbefleisses offers the following, among other prizes, for essays on technical subjects: One thousand marks (50) for a comparative examination of ...

Steam Yachts

Although the racing of steam yachts as a recognized sport has not made the progress that was at one time expected, yet the owner and crew of a crack vessel will take as much interest in her performanc...

Blaauw Krantz Viaduct In Cape Colony

This viaduct is built over a rocky ravine on the railway from Port Alfred to Grahamstown, at a height of about 200 ft. from the bottom. Its length is 480 ft. 6 in., and the width of the platform is 15...

Torpedo Ships

Commander Gallwey lately delivered an interesting lecture on the use of torpedoes in war before the royal U.S. Institution, London, discussed H.M.S. Polyphemus, and urged as arguments in her favor: 1....

A Plumbing Test

A recent trial of a smoke rocket for testing drains, described by Mr. Cosmo Jones in the Journal of the Society of Arts, is deserving of interest. The one fixed upon is 10 in. long, 2 in. in d...

The Gas Engine

By DUGALD CLERK. In earlier days of mechanics, before the work of the great Scottish engineer, James Watt, the crude steam engines of the time were known as fire engines, not in the sense in which ...

The Gas Engine. Continued

In 1791 John Barber obtained a patent for an engine producing inflammable gas, mixing it with air, igniting it, and allowing the current so produced to impinge upon a reaction wheel, producing motion ...

Rapid Construction Of The Canadian Pacific Railway

By E.T. ABBOTT, Member of the Engineers' Club of Minnesota. Read December 12, 1884. During the winter of 1881 and 1882, the contract was let to Messrs. Langdon, Sheppard & Co., of Minneapolis, to con...

The Osgood Mammoth Excavator

In the accompanying illustration, we present to our readers a mammoth excavator, built by the Osgood Dredge Company of Albany, N.Y., for the Pacific Guano Company of California, for uncovering their p...

The Osgood Excavator

At a recent meeting of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, Mr. John C. Trautwine, Jr., exhibited and described drawings of a large land dredge built by the Osgood Dredge Co., of Albany, New York, for...

Capstan Navigation On The Volga

On several of the large rivers on the Continent, with rapid currents, cable towage has been introduced in addition to the older methods of transporting merchandise by sailing and steam boats or by tow...

Steamboat Equipment Of War Vessels

The larger ships in the navy, and some of the more recent small ones, such as the new cruisers of the Phaeton class, are fitted with powerful steam winches of a type made by Messrs. Belliss and Co. Th...

Improved Steam Trap

The illustrations we give represent an expansion trap by Mr. Hyde, and made by Mr. S. Farron, Ashton-under-Lyne. The general appearance of this arrangement is as in Fig. 1 or Fig. 3, the center view, ...

Critical Methods Of Detecting Errors In Plane Surfaces

By JOHN A. BRASHEAR. In our study of the exact methods of measurement in use to-day, in the various branches of scientific investigation, we should not forget that it has been a plant of very slow gr...

Critical Methods Of Detecting Errors In Plane Surfaces. Part 2

FIG. 5. If any error of convexity exists in the plate, the focal plane is disturbed, and the eyepiece must be moved out. If the plate is concave, it must be moved in to obtain a sharp image. Irreg...

Critical Methods Of Detecting Errors In Plane Surfaces. Part 3

I have not had occasion to use this instrument in my own work, as a more simple, delicate, and efficient method was at my command, but for one measurement of convex surfaces I know of nothing that can...

Journal Of Gas Lighting. Photometrical Standards

In carrying out a series of photometrical experiments lately, I found that it was a matter of considerable difficulty to keep the flames of the standard candles always at their proper distance from th...

Bleaching Or Dyeing-Yarns And Goods In Vacuo

Many attempts have been made to facilitate the penetration of textile fabrics by the dyeing and bleaching solutions, with which they require to be treated, by carrying out the treatment in vacuo, i...

On The Moulding Of Porcelain

By Chas. Lauth. The operation of moulding presents numerous advantages over other methods of shaping porcelain, for by this process we avoid irregularities of form, twisting, and visible seams, and c...

On The Moulding Of Porcelain. Continued

The desired thickness having been obtained, it becomes a question of allowing the paste to descend and at the same time to support the piece by air pressure. The flange spoken of above is quickly cut,...

Photo-Tricycle Apparatus

A PHOTO-TRICYCLE APPARATUS. This consists of a portable folding camera, with screw focusing arrangement, swing back, and an adapter frame placed in the position of the focus screen, allowing the d...

A New Actinometer

A selenium actinometer has been described in the Comptes Rendus in a communication from M. Morize, of Rio de Janeiro. The instrument is used to measure the actinic power of sunlight when the sun is at...

Astronomical Photography

During the last few years, or rather decades of years, it has become rather a trite saying that to advance far in any branch of physical research a fair proficiency in no inconsiderable number of the ...

Electricity As A Preventive Of Scale In Boilers

The mineral sediment that generally sticks to the sides of steam boilers, and the presence of which is fraught with the utmost danger, resulting in many instances in great injury to life and property,...

Alphabet Designed By Godfrey Sykes

Suggestions In Decorative Art ALPHABET DESIGNED BY GODFREY SYKES. Among the many designs which have been issued by the South Kensington Museum authorities is the alphabet which we have illustrate...

Old Wrought Iron Gate

OLD WROUGHT IRON GATE This gate forms the entrance to Scraptoft Hall, a building of the eighteenth century, now the seat of Captain Barclay, and which stands at about five miles from Leicester, En...

Brief Sanitary Matters In Connection With Isolated Country Houses

By E.W. BOWDITCH, C.E. I am unable to tell you what is generally considered the best practice, for I am not sure there are any definitely established rules; therefore I can only explain my ways of do...

Brief Sanitary Matters In Connection With Isolated Country Houses. Continued

On 4 extra heavy pipe my results have been as follows: Percentage passed as good, single hub. 60 per ct. to 70 per ct. Percentage passed as good, double. 20 per ct. to 80 per ct. Percentage pa...

Sanitary Cooking

By VIRGINIA L. OPPENHEIMER, M.D., Seymour, Ind. We may live without poetry, music, and art, We may live without conscience, and live without heart, We may live without friends, We may live without b...

Sanitary Cooking. Continued

The art of serving and arranging dishes for the table is an accomplishment in itself. It is very reasonable that all things that go to make up beauty and harmony at the dinner table should add their f...

Time Required To Digest Different Foods

The Monitor de la Salud contains in a recent number the results of some experiments lately made by E. Jessen on the time required for the digestion of certain kinds of food. The stomach of the person ...

The Organization And Plan Of The United States Geological Survey

By J.W. POWELL. A Scientific institution or bureau operating under government authority can be controlled by statute and by superior administrative authority but to a limited extent. These operations...

A Topographic Map Of The United Status

Sound geologic research is based on geography. Without a good topographic map geology cannot even be thoroughly studied, and the publication of the results of geologic investigation is very imperfect ...

A Topographic Map Of The United Status. Part 2

Paleontology Before giving the outline of the plan for the general geologic survey, it will be better to explain the accessory plans and organizations. There are in the Survey, as at present organize...

A Topographic Map Of The United Status. Part 3

The Bulletins of the Survey are short papers, and through them somewhat speedy publication is attained. Each bulletin is devoted to some specific topic, in order that the material ultimately published...

A Topographic Map Of The United Status. Part 4

Employes The employes on the Geological Survey at the close of September, 1884, were as follows: Appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate (Director), 1. Appointe...

The Garden. The Sunflowers

FLOWER OF HELIANTHUS ARGOPHYLLUS. The genus Helianthus is almost entirely North-American, and for the distinction and limitation of its species we are indebted to the labor of Dr. Asa Gray, now un...

The Garden. The Sunflowers. Continued

HELIANTHUS RIGIDUS (SYN. HARPALIUM RIGIDUM). H. rigidus is well known as the best of the perennial sunflowers, and has many synonyms, the commonest Harpalium rigidum. It need not be described, but...

A Quick Filter

The Druggists Circular recommends chamois skin, free from thin places; cut it of the desired size; wash it in a weak solution of sal soda, or any alkali, to remove the grease, and rinse thoroughly in ...

Lye's Fuchsias

The group of fuchsias shown in our engraving represents a collection of nine specimens raised and exhibited by that well known cultivator, Mr. James Lye, of Clyffe Hall Gardens, Market Lavington, at a...

A Visit To The Creusot Works

Here we are at the great forge (Fig. 1), that wonderful creation which has not its like in France, that gigantic construction which iron has wholly paid for, and which covers a space of twenty-four ac...

A Visit To The Creusot Works. Continued

Will it be possible to keep up the fight long? In order that one may get some idea of this for himself, let us rapidly describe an entirely peaceful contest that took place recently upon the coast of ...

Le Creusot

The members of the American Gun Foundry Board visited these works in 1883, and give the following in their report: The most important steel works in France are situated at Le Creusot, and bear the nam...

Plan For An Elevated Railway At Paris

Elevated railways have been in operation for a long time in New York, Berlin, and Vienna, and the city of Paris has decided to have recourse to this mode of carriage, so indispensable to large cities....

Engineering Inventions Since 1862

By Sir F. J. Bramwell. I propose to devote the very limited time at my disposal to the consideration of some of the most important of those improvements which are obviously and immediately connected ...

Bridge Construction

Pursuing this subject of bridge work, the St. Louis Bridge of Mr. Eads may, I think, be fairly said to embody a principle of construction novel since 1862, that of employing for the arch-ribs tubes co...

Pneumatic Foundations

A noteworthy instance of the use of pneumatic appliances in cylinder sinking for foundations is that in progress at the Forth Bridge. The wrought-iron cylinders are 70 feet in diameter at the cutting-...

Subaqueous Engineering

I regret that time will not admit of my giving any description of the modes of cut and cover which have been proposed for the performance of subaqueous works; sometimes the proposition has been to d...

The Fleuss Diving Apparatus

But one great step has been made in the diver's art by the introduction of the chemical system of respiration, the invention of Mr. Fleuss. He has succeeded in devising a perfectly portable apparatus,...

Construction Of Tunnels

With respect to the subject of tunneling thus incidentally introduced, in subaqueous work of this kind, I have already alluded to that which is done by cut and cover, but where the influx of water i...

Canals And River Improvements

In the days of Brindley and of Smeaton, and of the other fathers of our profession, whose portraits are on these walls, canals and canalized rivers formed the only mode of internal transit which was l...

Military Engineering Appliances

The mention of armor plates inevitably brings to our minds the consideration of ordnance, but I do not intend to say even a few words on this head of invention and improvement - a topic to which a who...

Uses Of Cement

Probably few materials have been found more generally useful to the civil engineer, in works which are not of metal, than has been Portland cement. It should be noticed that during the last twenty-two...

Preservation Of Wood

Reverting to natural materials, there remains to be mentioned that great class, timber. In new countries the engineer is commonly glad to avail himself of this material to an extent which among us is ...

The Cathedral Of The Incarnation

The Cathedral of the Incarnation, at Garden City, N. Y., the memorial of Mrs. Cornelia M. Stewart to her husband, Alexander T. Stewart, was opened April 9, 1885, by impressive religious ceremonies. At...

Movable Market Buildings

The furnishing of food supplies has always been a question of great importance to cities, and there are few of the latter, great or small, where the establishment of markets is not the order of the da...

Dinocrates' Project

Vitruvius relates that the architect Dinocrates proposed to Alexander the Great to carve Mount Athos in such a way as to give it the shape of a man, whose one hand should support an entire city, and w...

The Cruto Incandescent Lamp

An electrical exhibition on a comparatively small scale was opened in Paris, March 22, 1885, with considerable eclat, the President of the Republic being present. Engines to the extent of 200 H. P. ar...

Electric Light Apparatus For Military Purposes

In the first period of the siege of a stronghold it is of very great importance for the besieged to embarrass the first progress of the attack, in order to complete their own armament, and to perform ...

Electricity And Magnetism

By Prof. Francis E. Nipher It was known six hundred years before Christ that when amber is rubbed it acquires the power of attracting light bodies. The Greek name for amber, elektron, was afterward a...

Electricity And Magnetism. Continued

Let us now examine the distinction between positive and negative electricities somewhat more closely, aiding ourselves by two cases which are somewhat analogous. Two air-tight cylinders, A and B, con...

The Hydrodynamic Researches Of Professor Bjerknes

By Conrad W. Cooke We have in former articles described the highly interesting series of experimental researches of Dr. C. A. Bjerknes, Professor of Mathematics in the University of Christiania, whic...

The Hydrodynamic Researches Of Professor Bjerknes. Continued

While the experiments of Professor Bjerknes upon pulsating and rectilinearly vibrating bodies and their influence upon one another illustrate by very close analogies the phenomena of magnetism, those ...

The Xylophone

Like most musical instruments, the xylophone, had its origin in very remote times. The Hebrews and Greeks had instruments from which the one of to-day was derived, although the latter has naturally un...

Electrotyping

This eminently useful application of the art of electrotyping originated with Volta, Cruickshank, and Wollaston about 1800 or 1801. In 1838, Spencer, of London, made casts of coins, and cast in intagl...

Blackleading The Form

The process of electrotyping is as follows: The form is locked up very tightly, and is then coated with a surface of graphite, commonly known as blacklead, but it is a misnomer. This is put on with a ...

A Wet Blackleading Process

In Messrs. Harper's establishment in New York, an improved wet process of blackleading is adopted. The wax mould is laid face upward on the floor of an inclosed box, and a torrent of finely pulverized...

A New Foreign Process

The galvanoplastic process of M. Coblence for obtaining electrotypes of wood-engravings is as follows: A frame is laid upon a marble block, and then covered with a solution of wax, colophane, and turp...

A New Seismograph

All the seismographs that have hitherto been employed have two grave disadvantages: they are either too simple, so that their indications are valueless, or too complicated, so that their high cost and...

Notes On Three New Chinese Fixed Oils

By Robert H. Davies, F.I.C., F.C.S., General Superintendent of Apothecaries' Hall. The three oils that form the subject of the examination detailed in this paper were consigned to a London broker, wi...

Tea Oil (Camellia Oleifera)

In color, transparency, and mobility, this oil considerably resembles olive oil. The odor and taste, though characteristic, are not easy to describe. (1.) Specific Gravity. - The specific gravity at ...

Cabbage Oil (Brassica, Sp.)

Appearance, Etc The sample was of a deep brown color, of a fluidity intermediate between olive and castor oil, and possessed a strong, rather disagreeable odor. The Specific Gravity at 60 Fahr....

Wood Oil (Elaeococcus Cordata)

Appearance, Etc This oil has a decided brown color and a persistent and disagreeable odor. It is rather more fluid than castor oil. Glass vessels containing it soon show a film of apparently resinous...

The Otoscope

Prof. Leon Le Fort has recently presented to the Academy of Medicine, in the name of Dr. Rattel, a new otoscope, which we illustrate herewith. The first person to whom the idea occurred to illuminate...

State Provision For The Insane

By C. H. Hughes, M.D. We live in an age when every uttered sentiment of charity toward the insane is applauded to its remotest echo; an age in which the chains and locks and bars and dismal dungeon c...

State Provision For The Insane. Continued

Liberty need not necessarily be denied him; and to the glory of our age it is not in the majority of American asylums for the insane, because the conditions under which he may safely enjoy liberty, to...

The Courage Of Originality

Most of us are at times conscious of hearing from the lips of another, or reading from the printed page, thoughts that have existed previously in our own minds. They may have been vague and unarranged...

A Circular Bowling Alley

The arcades under the elevated railroad which runs transversely through Berlin are used as storehouses, stores, saloons, restaurants, etc., and are a source of considerable income to the railway compa...

Patent Office Examination Of Inventions

To the Editor of the Scientific American: It is with considerable surprise that the writer has just perused the editorial article in your issue of March the 28th - Patent Office Examinations of Nove...

The Universal Exposition At Antwerp (Anvers), Belgium

Never before was there so striking and remarkable an example of what can be accomplished by private enterprise when applied to a great and useful object. Last year some prominent citizens of Antwerp -...

The Stone Pine. (Pinus Pinea.)

Although not such an important tree in this country as many other conifers, the Stone pine possesses a peculiar interest beyond that of any other European conifer. From the earliest periods it has bee...

The Art Of Breeding

From a paper read by C. M. Winslow, Brandon, Vt., before the Ayrshire Breeders, at their annual meeting, in Boston, Feb. 4, 1885: Sometimes we meet with breeders whose only aim in their stock seem to...

The Babylonian Palace

In a recent lecture on Babylonian and Assyrian Antiquities, at the British Museum by Mr. W. St. Chad Boscawen, the architecture and ornaments of a typical palace were described. The palace, next to ...

New Spanish Artillery

The Spanish Government is now engaged in supplying some of its principal fortifications with heavy guns of the most improved construction. The defenses of Cadiz and Ceuta have been greatly strengthene...

Qualitative Tests For Steel Rails

By Mr. L. TETMAJER. This memoir is the first of a series upon the unification of nomenclature and classification of building materials, undertaken by the author at the request of the Swiss Engineers'...

A New Form Of Small Bessemer Plant

By Mr. A. TRAPPEN. The success of the Bessemer process when carried out on the small scale at Avesta in Sweden, as described by Professor Ehrenwerth, and subsequent experiments of a similar kind made...

Triple Compound Engines

By Mr. A.E. SEATON. My attention was first called to the modern triple compound engine by the published reports of the trial trip of the yacht Isa, and in it I plainly discerned the germs of a succes...

Triple Compound Engines. Continued

So far all the trials had been made with two crank engines; so it was now decided to construct another set of engines for 150 lb. pressure, having a crank to each cylinder. These engines had cylinders...

Early History Of The Steam Jack

To the Editor of the Scientific American: A friend has brought me a copy of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT, of April 18, 1885, containing an article about a steam jack. Says Mr. J.G. Briggs, i...

Bridge At Verona

BRIDGE OVER THE RIVER ADIGE, AT VERONA. The iron bridge which spans the Adige at Verona, of which we publish illustrations, has been recently completed to replace an old masonry bridge built in th...

Mine Pumping Machinery

By E.D. LEAVITT, JR., Cambridgeport, Mass. One of the earliest steam engines, of any size, introduced into America, was erected about the year 1763, at the Schuylkill copper mine, situated upon the P...

Mine Pumping Machinery. Continued

In the same building with the mine pump gearing is a duplicate arrangement for operating the man engine. In order to operate the mine pumps and man engine for the Hecla mine, it was necessary to use r...

Improved Gun Pressure Gauge

The following description of the construction and mode of action is by Thomas Shaw, M.E., Philadelphia, the inventor. IMPROVED GUN PRESSURE GAUGE. Fig. 1 represents the gauge secured to small ord...

Improved Plaiting Machine

The principal object the inventors of the machine we illustrate herewith had in view in designing it was to arrange a mode of working the grip motion positively, so that the cloth shall be received fr...

Self-Acting Shuttle Guard

SELF-ACTING SHUTTLE GUARD. The annexed illustration shows the essential parts of Hahlo and Liebreich's improvement, the loom being now at work. The handrail, shuttle race, and starting handle can ...

Ruler And Triangle For Hatching

The instrument shown in the cut is the invention of Mr. Maginnis, and is designed for producing equidistant hatchings. It consists of a short ruler, A, and a triangle, B, supposed to be one of 45...

The Distillation Of Sea Water

The supplying of the troops at Suakim and in the Soudan with water is one of the most important items in the whole conduct of the Egyptian war. Even in cold or temperate latitudes fresh water is a fir...

Aids To Correct Exposure On Photographic Plates

With good plates, and intelligent development, a practiced photographer may within certain limits correct the effects of an over or under exposure; but you have all, doubtless, found out that there is...

Aids To Correct Exposure On Photographic Plates. Continued

We have another factor to consider now: that is, the rapidity of the plate. If you use plates by a maker who has a name to sustain, you may be pretty confident that they are of fairly uniform rapidity...

Isochromatic Photography

By FRED. E. IVES. It is well known that the ordinary photographic processes do not reproduce colors in the true proportion of their brightness. Violet and blue photograph too light; green, yellow, or...

Distortion From Expansion Of The Paper In Photography

The effect of the unequal expansion of paper, when wetted, in causing distortion of the photographic image impressed upon it, has, in the case of ordinary photographs upon albumenized paper, been well...

Measuring The Thickness Of Boiler Plates

An ingenious process for determining the thickness of iron plates in boilers, or places where they cannot otherwise be measured without cutting them, has been invented by M. Lebasteur. He spreads upon...

Groups Of Statuary For The Pediment Of The House Of Parliament In Vienna

The pediment of the central pavilion and the two side pavilions of the new House of Parliament, at Vienna, are to be ornamented with groups of statuary. The group in the middle pediment represents the...

On The Fritts Selenium Cells And Batteries

By C.E. FRITTS, 42 Nassau St., New York, N.Y. In all previous cells, so far as I am aware, the two portions or parts of the selenium at which the current enters and leaves it have been in substantial...

On The Fritts Selenium Cells And Batteries. Part 2

The system I have adopted is the Wheatstone's bridge arrangement, with equal sides, never using multipliers except for some experimental purpose. In each multiplier wire I have 500 ohms resistance. Wh...

On The Fritts Selenium Cells And Batteries. Part 3

--------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE C. SENSITIVENESS TO CHANGE OF BATTERY POWER. -----------------------+------------+------------+------------- | Resistance | R...

General Observations On The Properties Of Cells

From the number of different properties possessed by my cells, it might be anticipated that the different combinations of those properties would result in cells having every variety of action. This is...

Electricity Applied To The Manufacture Of Varnish

Messrs. Mthel & Ltche, of Berlin, recommend the following process for the manufacture of varnish: The oils are treated by gases or gaseous mixtures that have previously been submitted to t...

Naglo Brothers' Telephone System

We borrow from the Elektrotechnische Zeitung the following details in regard to the telephonic installations made by the Brothers Naglo at Berlin. Fig. 1 gives the general arrangement of a station, wh...

The Gerard Electric Lamp

In the Gerard incandescent lamp the carbons have the form of a V. They are obtained by agglomerating very finely powdered carbon, and passing it through a draw plate. At their extremity they are cemen...

A New Reflecting Galvanometer

Fig. 1 shows an elevation of the instrument and a horizontal section of the bobbins. Two pairs of bobbins, cc, cc, are so arranged that the axes of each pair are parallel and in the same vertical plan...

Histological Methods

A cat, dog, rabbit, or Guinea pig will furnish parts from which sections can be cut for the study of histology. Whichever animal is selected should be young and well developed. Put it under influence ...

Histological Methods. Continued

Paraffin is the agent usually employed for embedding purposes. Melt it, and add a little lard to soften it; the addition of a little clove oil renders it less adhesive. Melt the paraffin at as low a ...

Life History Of A New Septic Organism

At a recent meeting in London, of the Royal Miscroscopical Society, Dr. Dallinger gave his annual address to what was probably the largest gathering of Fellows ever assembled on a similar occasion. Af...

Winter And The Insects

For a number of years previous to 1878 we had in Pembroke but little or no severe cold, owing to the prevalence of southeast, south, west, and especially southwest winds. In many places, fuchsias that...

Silk Worm Eggs

Prof. C.V. Riley, entomologist, announces that the Department of Agriculture, Washington, will purchase during the coming summer such quantities of silk worm eggs as may be deemed necessary for the di...

Nature. Determining The Mean Density Of The Earth

In Nature for March 5 (p. 408) Prof. Mayer suggests an improvement in our method of determining the mean density of the earth, from which it appears that our plan has not been properly understood. Thi...

Physics Without Apparatus

The Porosity And Permeability Of Bodies Take two tumblers of the same size, place one of them upon a table, and pour into it a small quantity of nearly boiling water. Cover this glass with a sheet of...

The Casino At Monte Carlo

The little city is situated about half way between Nizza and Mentone, and it formerly was the chief city of a principality that belonged to the family Grimaldi. Prince Florestan sold in 1860 his royal...

On An Express Engine

It is a somewhat unpromising morning - the river is dark with fog and the huge arch of the station nearly hidden by mist and steam. A cold, damp wind makes the passengers hurry into the carriages, and...

A Better Way to Affix Postage Stamps to Envelopes

The mucilage on postage stamps may not be unhealthy, but persons having a good many to affix to letter envelopes, circulars, newspapers, or other wrappers every day, will consume considerable gum duri...

Erythroxylon. Coca

The condition of the principal markets of the world for this drug has recently been exceptionally bad. That is, whether good coca was sought for in the ports of Central and South America, or in London...

Erythroxylon. Coca. Continued

The testimony in regard to the effects of tea, coffee, Paraguay tea, Guarana and Kola nuts, is all of a similar character to that upon coca. Each of these substances seems to have come into use indepe...

The Melloco. Ullucus Tuberosa

Early last year two tubers of this plant were received at Kew from Caracas, and from out of doors in a prepared bed in June. The result of this experiment, together with a few particulars as to the es...

Foundations In Quicksand

Foundations in quicksand often have to be built in places where least expected, and sometimes the writer has been able to conveniently span the vein with an arch and avoid trouble; but where it cannot...

Lift Bridge Over The Ourcq Canal

This bridge, which was inaugurated in 1868, was constructed under the direction of Mr. Mantion, then engineer-in-chief of the Belt Railway. Fig. 1 shows the bridge raised. The solution adopted in thi...

St. Petersburg A Seaport

The Emperor and Empress of Russia, on Wednesday, May 27. 1885, the second anniversary of their coronation at Moscow, opened the Maritime Canal, in the Bay of Cronstadt, the shallow upper extremity of ...

St. Petersburg A Seaport. Continued

THE ST. PETERSBURG AND CRONSTADT MARITIME CANAL, OPENED BY THE EMPEROR OF RUSSIA, ON WEDNESDAY, MAY 27, 1885. The dredging between the embankments of the canal was done by an improved process, wh...

The New French Dispatch Boat Milan

The Milan, a new dispatch boat, has recently been making trial trips at Brest. It was constructed at Saint Nazaire, by the Societe des Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire, and is the fastest man-of-wa...

The Launching And Docking Of Ships Sidewise

The slips of the shipyards at Alt-Hofen (Hungary) belonging to the Imperial and Royal Navigation Company of the Danube are so arranged that the vessels belonging to its fleet can be hauled up high and...

Improved High-Speed Engine

This engine, exhibited at South Kensington by Fielding and Platt, of Gloucester, consists virtually of a universal joint connecting two shafts whose axes form an obtuse angle of about 157 degrees. It ...

The National Transit Co.'s Pipe Lines For The Transportation Of Petroleum To The Seaboard

While Englishmen and Americans have been alike interested in the late project for forcing water by a pipe line over the mountainous region lying between Suakim and Berber in the far-off Soudan, few me...

Pipe Lines For The Transportation Of Petroleum To The Seaboard. Part 2

Among the very first, if not the first, pipe lines laid was one put down between the Sherman well and the railway terminus on the Miller farm. It was about 3 miles long, and designed by a Mr. Hutchins...

Pipe Lines For The Transportation Of Petroleum To The Seaboard. Part 3

The line-pipe is laid between the stations in the ordinary manner, excepting that great care is exercised in perfecting the joints. No expansion joints or other special appliances of like nature are u...

The Fuel Of The Future

By GEORGE WARDMAN. The practical application of natural gas, as an article of fuel, to the purpose of manufacturing glass, iron, and steel, promises to work a revolution in the industrial interests o...

The Fuel Of The Future. Part 2

An interesting reference to the fire-worshipers of the Caucasus is contained in the History of Zobeide, a tale of the wonderful Arabian Nights Entertainment. It runs thus: I bought a ship at Balso...

The Fuel Of The Future. Part 3

In Harris' Voyages, published in 1764, an article on the empire of Persia thus refers to petroleum: In several parts of Persia we meet with naphtha, both white and black; it is used in painting an...

The Fuel Of The Future. Part 4

This subject of, the ventilation of rooms in which common gas is ordinarily used is beginning to attract attention. It is stated, upon scientific authority, that a jet of common gas, equivalent to twe...

The Fuel Of The Future. Part 5

Having said thus much of an industry now in its infancy but promising great growth, I submit tables of analyses of common and of the natural or marsh gas, the latter from a paper recently prepared by ...

Closing Leakages For Packing

By L. C. LEVOIR. The mineral asbestos is but a very poor packing material in steam-boilers. Moreover, it acts as a strong grinding material on all moving parts. For some years I have tested the appl...

Luminous Paint

In answer to various inquiries concerning the manufacture of this article, we give herewith the process of William Henry Balmain, the original discoverer of luminous paint, and also other processes. T...

Luminous Paint. Part 2

Heretofore phosphorus has been mixed with earthy oxides, carbonates, and sulphates, and with oxides and carbonates of metal, as tin, zinc, magnesia, antimony, and chlorides of the same, also crystalli...

Luminous Paint. Part 3

If, in the firing of the elements, as above set forth, all of the charcoal does not unite with the other elements, such uncombined portion should be removed from the fused mass before it is ground. I...

Boxwood And Its Substitutes

[Footnote: Prize essay written for the International Forestry Exhibition, Edinburgh.] By JOHN R. JACKSON. A.L.S., Curator of the Museums, Royal Gardens, Ken. The importance of the discovery of a har...

Boxwood And Its Substitutes. Part 2

In 1880, Messrs. Churchill and Sim reported favorably on some consignments of Indian boxwood, concluding with the remarks that if the wood could be regularly placed on the market at a moderate figure,...

Boxwood And Its Substitutes. Part 3

Natural Order Sapindaceae 8. Acer saccharinum, L. (sugar or bird's eye maple).--A North American tree, forming extensive forests in Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. The wood is well known as a...

Boxwood And Its Substitutes. Part 4

20. Diospyros virginiana, L. (the persimmon of America).--A good-sized tree, widely diffused, and common in some districts. The wood is of a very dark color, hard, and of a fairly close grain. It has ...

Composite Portraits

Not long since we gave a figure from a drawing by Mr. Grallieni, which, looked at from a distance, seemed to be a death's head, but which, when examined more closely, was seen to represent two childre...

Hand-Craft And Rede-Craft.--A Plea For The First Named

[Footnote: Read before the Worcester Free Industrial Institute, June 25, 1885.] By DANIEL C. GILMAN, President of the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. I cannot think of a theme more fit for this...

Hand-Craft And Rede-Craft.--A Plea For The First Named. Part 2

The touch of Phidias was his own, and so inimitable that a few months ago, an American, scanning, with his practiced eye, the galleries of the Louvre, recognized a fragment of the work of Phidias, lon...

Hand-Craft And Rede-Craft.--A Plea For The First Named. Part 3

Play, as well as work, may bring out hand-craft. The gun, the bat, the rein, the rod, the oar, all manly sports, are good training for the hand. Walking insures fresh air, but it does not train the bo...

Hand-Craft And Rede-Craft.--A Plea For The First Named. Part 4

1. Kindergarten work should be taught in the nurseries and infant schools of rich and poor. 2. Drawing should be taught in schools of every grade, till the hand uses the pencil as readily as the pen....

Making Sea Water Potable

[Footnote: Read lately before the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society] By THOMAS KAY, President of the Stockport Natural History Society. The author called attention to the absence of rese...

The Acids Of Wool Oil

All wools contain a certain amount of animal oil or grease, which permeates every portion of the fleece. The proportion of oil varies with the breed of sheep. A difference in climate and soil material...

A New Absorbent For Oxygen

OTTO, BARON V.D. PFORDTEN.--The author makes use of a solution of chromous chloride, which he prepares as follows: He first heats chromic acid with concentrated hydrochloric acid, so as to obtain a s...

Gaiffe's New Medical Galvanometer

In this apparatus, which contains but one needle, and has no directing magnet, proportionability between the intensities and deflections is obtained by means of a special form given the frame upon whi...

The Suspension Of Life

Every one knows that life exists in a latent state in the seeds of plants, and may be preserved therein, so to speak, indefinitely. In 1853, Ridolfi deposited in the Egyptian Museum of Florence a shea...

The Suspension Of Life. Part 2

On the 10th of November, 1812, during the fatal retreat from Russia, Commandant Tascher, desiring to bring back to France the body of his general, who had been killed by a bullet, and who had been bur...

The Suspension Of Life. Part 3

It will be conceived that by submitting themselves to such gymnastics from infancy, certain men, already predisposed by atavism or a peculiar conformation, might succeed in doing things that would see...

Convallaria

By OTTO A. WALL, M.D., Ph.G. Cnovallaria Majalis is a stemless perennial plant, found in both the eastern and western hemispheres, with two elliptic leaves and a one-sided raceme bearing eight or ten...

Flight Of The Buzzard

During my visit to the Southern States of America, I have had several opportunities of watching, under favorable conditions, the flight of the buzzard, the scavenger of Southern cities. Although in mo...

An Assyrian Bass-Relief 2,700 Years Old

There was exhibited at the last meeting of the Numismatic and Antiquarian Society, in Philadelphia, on May 7, an object of great interest to archaeologists, with which, says The Church, is also connec...

Depositing Nickel Upon Zinc

By H.B. SLATER. To those interested in the electro deposition of nickel upon zinc, the formula given below for a solution and a brief explanation of its use will be of service. The first sample of t...

Permeability Of Sand Rock

By FREDERICK H. NEWELL, M.E. Among oil producers, there has been much discussion as to whether the sand rock in which petroleum occurs is of necessity fissured or is still in its original unbroken co...

The Grotto Of Gargas

The grotto of Gargas is located in Mount Tibiran about three hundred yards above the level of the valley, and about two miles southeast of the village of Aventignan. Access to it is easy, since a road...

Deep Shafts And Deep Mining

A correspondent of the New York Sun, writing from Virginia City, Nevada, describes the progress of the work there on the Combination shaft of the Comstock lode, the deepest vertical shaft in America, ...

Remarkable Wells And Caverns

Yucatan is one of the most interesting States of Mexico, owing to the splendid ancient palaces and temples of once grand cities, now hidden in the forests. That country also presents great attractions...

The Cabbage Butterfly

A patch of eggs and the minute caterpillars or larvae nearly emerged from them are seen on the leaf. These tiny eggs are at first quite white or pale yellow, and form an object for the microscope of r...

The Peacock Butterfly

Another well known insect is illustrated in the figure in the upper portion - the peacock butterfly (Vanessa Io). The curious spiked and spotted caterpillar feeds upon the common nettle. This beautifu...

The Bhotan Cypress. Cupressus Torulosa

This cypress, apart from its elegant growth, is interesting as being the only species of Cupressus indigenous to India. It is a native of the Himalayas in the Bhotan district, and it also occurs on th...

The Pitcher Plant

The variety of the pitcher plant (Sarracenia variolaris) found in North America is carnivorous, being a feeder on various animal substances. Mrs. Mary Treat, an American naturalist, made, a few years...

What Is A Plant?

Mr. Worsley-Benison has been discussing this question in a very interesting way, and he says in conclusion that physiologically the most distinctive feature of plant-life is the power to manufacture ...

Camellias

Next to the rose, no flower is more beautiful or more useful than the camellia. It may readily be so managed that its natural season of blooming shall be from October to March, thus coming in at a tim...

Arisaema Fimbriatum. Mast.; Sp. Nov

Arisaema Fimbriatum: Leaf, Spathe, And Floral Details. Some few years since we had occasion to figure some very remarkable Himalayan species of this genus, in which the end of the spadix was prolon...

Striking A Light

In the new edition of Mason's Burma we read that among other uses to which the bamboo is applied, not the least useful is that of producing fire by friction. For this purpose a joint of thoroughly d...

Experiments In Memory

When we read how one mediaeval saint stood erect in his cell for a week without sleep or food, merely chewing a plantain-leaf out of humility, so as not to be too perfect; how another remained all nig...

Sinking Of The Quievrechain Working Shaft

The sinking of mine shafts in certain Belgian and French basins, where the coal deposit is covered with thick strata of watery earth, has from all times been considered as the most troublesome and del...

Sinking Of The Quievrechain Working Shaft. Continued

As a usual thing it is not easy to use more than four or six such jacks, since the number of beams that can be employed is limited, owing to the danger of obstructing the mouth of the shaft. Yet twelv...

On The Elementary Principles Of The Gas-Engine

By Denny Lane, of Cork. Among the most useful inventions of the latter half of the nineteenth century the gas-engine holds a prominent place. While its development has not been so brilliant or so sta...

On The Elementary Principles Of The Gas-Engine. Part 2

Now the practical question for all designers and employers of heat-engines is to determine how the greatest quantity of motive force can be developed from the heat evolved from a given kind of fuel; a...

On The Elementary Principles Of The Gas-Engine. Part 3

Before explaining the principle upon which the gas-engine and every other hot-air engine depends, I shall remind you of a few data with which most of you are already familiar. The volume of every gas ...

On The Elementary Principles Of The Gas-Engine. Part 4

The very large percentage of heat absorbed by the water-jacket should point out to the ingenuity of inventors the first problem to be attacked, viz., how to save this heat without wasting the lubrican...

On The Elementary Principles Of The Gas-Engine. Part 5

Mr. Foulis asked what proportion the power indicated on the diagram bore to the power indicated on the brake in the atmospheric engine. Mr. Holt said unfortunately he had not any figures with him whi...

M. Meizel's Reciprocating Exhauster

At the recent Congress of the Societe Technique de l'Industrie du Gaz en France, M. Meizel, Chief Engineer of the St. Etienne Gas Works, described a new exhauster devised by him on the reciprocating p...

Automatic Siphon For Irrigation

When, at an elevated point in a meadow, there exists a spring or vein of water that cannot be utilized at a distance, either because the supply is not sufficient, or because of the permeability of the...

Assay Of Earthenware Glaze

Lead oxide melted or incompletely vitrified is still in common use in the manufacture of inferior earthenware, and sometimes leads to serious results. To detect lead in a glaze, M. Herbelin moistens a...

On The Electrical Furnace And The Reduction Of The Oxides Of Boron, Silicon, Aluminum, And Other Metals By Carbon

By Eugene H. Cowles, Alfred H. Cowles, and Charles F. Mabery. The application of electricity to metallurgical processes has hitherto been confined to the reduction of metals from solutions, and few a...

The Cowles Electric Smelting Process

The use of electricity in the reduction of metals from their ores is extending so rapidly, and the methods of its generation and application have been so greatly improved within a few years, that the ...

Optical Telegraphy. Cryptography. - Preservation Of Telegrams

Optical telegraphy, by reason of its very principle, presents both the advantage and inconvenience of leaving no automatic trace of the correspondence that it transmits. The advantage is very evident ...

Optical Telegraphy. Cryptography. - Preservation Of Telegrams. Continued

The apparatus shown in Figs. 21 and 22 permits of signaling in three ways: 1. Upon the Clouds. - In this case the mirror, A, is removed, and the projector inclined above the horizon in such a way as ...

A New Style Of Submarine Telegraph

Mr. F. Von Faund-Szyll has devised an original system of submarine telegraph, which is based upon the well known property that selenium exhibits of modifying its resistance under the influence of lumi...

A New Circuit Cutter

Messrs. Thomson & Bottomley have recently invented a peculiar circuit cutter based upon the use of a metal whose melting point is exceedingly low. Recourse is had to this process for breaking the curr...

New Micro-Telephonic Apparatus

Despite the simplicity of their parts, and the slight value of the materials employed, the existing micro-telephonic apparatus keep at relatively high prices, and the use of them is often rejected, to...

Messrs. Kapp And Crompton's Measuring Instruments

We give herewith, from the Elektrotechnische Zeitschrift, a few interesting details in regard to the measuring apparatus of Messrs. Kapp and Crompton. It is evident that when we use permanent magnets...

The Chemical Action Of Light

Professor A. Vogel, in a communication to the Sitzungsberichte der Munchener Akademie, brings into prominence the fact that the hemlock plant, which yields coniine in Bavaria, contains none in Scotl...

Eutexia

By Thomas Turner, Assoc. R.S.M., F.C.S., Demonstrator of Chemistry, Mason College. There are a number of interesting facts, some of which are known to most persons, and many of them have been long re...

I. Cryohydrates

If a dilute aqueous saline solution be taken at ordinary temperatures, and then slowly cooled to some point below zero on the Centigrade scale, the following series of changes will in general be obser...

II. Eutectic Salt Alloys

Although it has been long known that on mixing certain salts the resulting substance possessed a lower melting-point than either of the constituent salts alone, still but few determinations of the mel...

III. Eutectic Metallic Alloys

Although many fusible alloys have been long known, I believe no true eutectic metallic alloy had been studied until Dr. Guthrie6 worked at the subject, employing the same methods as with his cryohydra...

Chinoline

Dr. Conrad Berens, of the University of Pennsylvania, reaches the following: 1. Chinoline tartrate is a powerful agent, producing death by asphyxia. 2. The drug increases the force and frequency of ...

Method For Rapid Estimation Of Urea

Being called upon to make a good many brief and rapid analyses of urine on clinic days of our medical department, I devised the following modification of Knop's method of estimating urea; and after ...

Roman Remains At Leicester, England

The Roman tessellated pavement in Jewry Wall Street, Leicester, discovered in the year 1832, is well known to archaeologists; it has also been known as difficult of access, and hardly to be seen in a ...

The Barbara Uttmann Statue At Annaberg, Saxony

The question whether Barbara Uttmann, of Annaberg, Saxony, was the inventor of the art of making hand cushion lace, or only introduced it into Annaberg, in the Saxon mountains, has not yet been solved...

Improvements In Concrete Construction

Portland cement concrete if made with a non-porous aggregate is impervious to moisture, and yet at the same time, if not hydraulically compressed, will take up a sufficient quantity of moisture from t...

Improvements In Concrete Construction. Part 2

FIG. 21.-FIG 25. The plastic concrete filling or beton which the shells are made to contain may be deposited between the slabs when any number of courses (according to convenience) have been built...

Improvements In Concrete Construction. Part 3

CONCRETE CONSTRUCTION There is, however, a more decided difference between West's system and those previously in use, for it is marked by the fact that the slabs composing the shell of the whole s...

The Blue Print Process. R.W. Jones

1. Cover a flat board, the size of the drawing to be copied, with two or three thicknesses of common blanket or its equivalent. 2. Upon this place the prepared paper, sensitive side uppermost. 3. Pr...

Reproduction Of Drawings In Blue Lines On White Ground. A.H. Haig

The following process for making photographic copies of drawings in blue lines on white background was invented by H. Pellet, and is based on the property of perchloride of iron of being converted int...

Relative Costs Of Fluid And Solid Fuels

By JAMES BEATTY, JR., Member of the Club. During the past twenty-five years there have been numerous efforts to introduce fluid fuels as substitutes for coal, for the evaporation of water in boilers,...

The Manufacture Of Steel Castings

At the opening meeting for the winter session of the Iron and Steel Works Managers' Institute, held at Dudley on September 12, Mr. R. Smith-Casson in the chair, Mr. B.F. McCallem, of Glasgow, read a p...

Science In Diminishing Casualties At Sea

At the recent meeting of the British Association, Don Arturo de Marcoartu read a paper on the above subject. He stated that he wished to draw special attention to increasing the safety of navigation ...

A Plan For A Carbonizing House

The operation of carbonizing woolen rags for the purpose of obtaining pure wool, through the destruction of the vegetable substances contained in the raw material, maybe divided into two parts, viz., ...

Apparatus For Evaporating Organic Liquids

According to Mr. D'A. Bernard, it is especially important, in the dry distillation of distiller's wash in a closed vessel, for the production of methyls, ammonia, acetates, and methylamine, that the m...

Improved Leveling Machine

In the American Court of the Inventions Exhibition, London, we find a leveling machine for sheet metals exhibited by Mr. J.W. Britton, of Cleveland, Ohio, and which we illustrate. This apparatus is i...

The Scholar's Compasses

Among the numerous arrangements that have been devised for drawing circles in diagrams, sketches, etc., one of the simplest is doubtless that which is represented in the accompanying figure, and which...

The Integraph

In scientific researches in the domain of physics we often meet with the following problem: Being given any function whatever, y = f(x), to find a curve whose equation shall be Let us take an exam...

Apparatus For Manufacturing Gaseous Beverages

The apparatus represented in the accompanying cuts is designed for the manufacture of gaseous beverages, and is of Messrs. Boulet & Co.'s make. Fig. 1 represents the apparatus complete, with gasometer...

Apparatus For Measuring The Force Of Explosives

Among the numerous apparatus that have been devised for determining the power of powder, those designed for military purposes are the ones most extensively used. Up to the present, very few experiment...

Sandmann's Vinegar Apparatus

For obtaining anhydrous or very concentrated vinegar directly from pyrolignite of lime or other acetates by a single distillation, Mr. D. Sandmann, of Charlottenburg, employs the apparatus shown in th...

Field Kitchens

We illustrate the field kitchens of Captain J.C. Baxter, R.E., in the Inventions Exhibition. Figs. 1 to 3 represent Captain Baxter's Telescopic Kitchen, both open for use and packed up for traveling. ...

A New Cop-Winder

In Germany extensive use is made of a cop-winding machine in which the wooden spindle consists of a cone moved by a screw, and the position of which is horizontal. Fig. 1 shows the primitive type of t...

The Preservation Of Timber. Boucherie, Or Sulphate Of Copper

2. Report Of The Committee Of The American Society Of Civil Engineers On The Preservation Of Timber, Presented And Accepted At The Annual Convention, June 25, 1885. The name of Dr. Boucherie is gener...

Comments On Sulphate Of Copper Experiments

The first experiment was carried out by Mr. W.W. Evans, on the Southern Railway of Chili, in 1857, and he informs your committee that in 1860, when he left that country, the ties were still good and i...

Comments On Miscellaneous Experiments

Experiments Nos. 1, 2, and 3 relate to the Earle process, from which great results were expected from 1839 to 1844. It consisted in immersing timber, rope, canvas, etc., in a hot solution of one pound...

Comments On Miscellaneous Experiments. Part 2

In 1868 Mr. S. Beer patented a process for preserving wood by simply washing out the sap from its cells. Having ascertained that borax is a solvent for sap, he prepared a number of specimens by boilin...

Comments On Miscellaneous Experiments. Part 3

Some shingles were prepared for a railroad freight house at East St. Louis, but all the carpenters who put them on were taken very ill, and one of them died. The arsenic and corrosive sublimate efflo...

Decay Of Timber

Pure woody fiber is said by chemists to be composed of 52.4 parts of carbon, 41.9 parts of oxygen, and 5.7 parts of hydrogen, and to be the same in all the different varieties. If it can be entirely d...

The Span Of Cabin John Bridge

To the Editor of the Scientific American Supplement: Your issue of 17th October contains the fifth or sixth imprint of Mr. B. Baker's, C.E., recent address at the British Association of Aberdeen whic...

The German Corvette Augusta

On the 3d of June of this year, the German cruising corvette Augusta left the island of Perrin, in the Straits of Bab el Mandeb, for Australia; and as nothing has been heard of her since that day, the...

Improvement In Metal Wheels

In the Inventions Exhibitions may be seen a good form of metal wheel, the invention of Mr. H.J. Barrett, of Hull, Eng., and which we illustrate. FIG. 1. FIG. 2. FIG. 3. Fig. 1 is a perspective vi...

Apparatus For The Production Of Water Gas

The apparatus shown in the accompanying engraving is designed for the manufacture of water gas for heating purposes, and is described in a communication, by Mr. W.A. Goodyear, to the American Institut...

Lighting And Ventilating By Gas

By WILLIAM SUGG, of London. Ever since the introduction of electric lighting, the public have been assured, by those interested in the different kinds of lamps - arc, glow or otherwise - that hencefo...

Lighting And Ventilating By Gas. Part 2

The reason of the change was simple. The stratum of air lying up at the ceiling was comparatively cold. The column of heated air from the bodies of the twenty guests, joined to the heat produced by th...

Lighting And Ventilating By Gas. Part 3

It must be remembered here that the degree of diffusion of the vitiated air into the lower fresh air contained in the remaining 8 feet of the height of the room depends very materially on the differen...

Lighting And Ventilating By Gas. Part 4

With improvements in gas burners, we may expect to light rooms perfectly with a less expenditure of gas than we now do. But we cannot light a room without in some measure creating heat; and I think I ...

Anders' Telephone

Mr. G.L. Anders' telephone, shown in the accompanying cut, combines in a single apparatus a transmitter, A, a receiver, B, and a pile, C. The transmitter consists of a felt disk, a, containing several...

Brown's Electric Speed Regulator

When the sea is rough, and the screw leaves the water as a consequence of the ship's motions, the rotary velocity of the screw and engine increases to a dangerous degree, because the resistance that t...

Magneto-Electric Crossing Signal

We illustrate to-day a new application of electricity to railroad crossing signaling which the Pennsylvania Steel Company, of Steelton, Pa., has just perfected. By its operation an isolated highway cr...

The Sizes Of Blood Corpuscles

Professor Theodore G. Wormley, in the new edition of his work, gives the following sizes of blood corpuscles, as measured by himself and Professor Gulliver. We have only copied the sizes for mammals a...

The Absorption Of Petroleum Ointment And Lard By The Skin

E. Joerss has investigated the question whether ointments made with vaseline or other petroleum ointments are really as difficult of resorption by the skin, or of yielding their medicinal ingredients ...

The Tails Of Comets

I. - If we throw a stone into the water, a wave will be produced that will extend in a circle. The size of this wave and the velocity with which it extends depend upon the size of the stone, that is t...

The Double Role Of The Sting Of The Honey Bee

Very important and highly interesting discoveries have recently been made in regard to a double role played by the sting of the honey bee. These discoveries explain some hitherto inexplicable phenomen...

Chlorides In Rainfall Of 1884

We are apt to regard the rain solely as a product of distillation, and, as such, very pure. A little reflection and a very slight amount of experimental examination will quickly disabuse those who hav...

The Chromatoscope

Some time ago Mr. J.D. Hardy devised an instrument, which he has named a chromatoscope, so easily made by any one who has a spot lens that we take the following description from the Journal of the Roy...

Preservation Of Insects

To remove the verdigris which forms upon the pins, the pinned insects should be immersed in benzine and left there for a time; several hours is generally long enough. The administration of this bath c...

Quadriga For The New House Of Parliament, At Vienna

QUADRIGA FOR THE NEW HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT, AT VIENNA. The new House of Parliament at Vienna is known as one of the finest specimens of pure Greek architecture erected in this century; and throughou...

Glazed Ware Finial

GLAZED WARE FINIAL. This grand 16th century finial is a fine example of French ceramic ware, or glazed terracotta, and it is illustrated both by geometrical elevation and a cross sectional drawing...

Wage Earners And Their Houses. Manufacturers As Landlords

Among the more prominent movements of the day for the improvement of the condition of the working men are those which are growing into fashion with large manufacturing incorporations. Their promise li...

Hotel De Ville, St. Quentin

This charming building has an uncommonly well-designed facade, picturesque in the extreme, rich in detail, and thoroughly dignified. We are indebted to M. Levy, of Paris, for the loan of M. Garen's sp...

Fire Doors In Mills

There are few parts in fire construction which are of so much importance, and generally so little understood, as fire doors. Instances of the faulty construction of these, even by good builders and ar...

Steel Structures

At a recent meeting of the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia, Mr. James Christie presented a paper upon The Adaptation of Steel to Structural Work. The price of steel has now fallen so low, as compare...

A Method Of Measuring The Absolute Sensitiveness Of Photographic Dry Plates

By WILLIAM H. PICKERING. Within the last few years the subject of dry plate photography has Increased very rapidly, not only in general popularity, but also in importance in regard to its application...

Natural Gas Fuel And Its Application To Manufacturing Purposes

By Mr. ANDREW CARNEGIE, New York. In these days of depression in manufacturing, the world over, it is specially cheering to be able to dwell upon something of a pleasant character. Listen, therefore,...

Natural Gas Fuel And Its Application To Manufacturing Purposes. Part 2

I spent a few days very pleasantly last autumn driving with some friends to the two principal fields, the Murraysville and the Washington county. In the former district the gas rushes with such veloci...

Natural Gas Fuel And Its Application To Manufacturing Purposes. Part 3

The following extract from the report of a committee, made to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers at a recent meeting, gives an idea of the value of the new fuel: Natural gas, next to hydrog...

Natural Gas Fuel And Its Application To Manufacturing Purposes. Part 4

Hydrogen................................ 22.00 Nitrogen................................. 3.00 Now, by the specific gravity of these gases we find that 100 liters of this gas will weigh 64.8585 gra...

A Gas-Engine Water-Supply Alarm

A very useful contrivance for the purpose of reporting automatically the failure of the water supply to a gas-engine has been arranged by Professor Ph. Carl, of Munich. What led to the adoption of ...

Soldering And Repairing Platinum Vessels In The Laboratory

By J.W. PRATT, F.C.S. It frequently happens in the laboratory that platinum vessels, after long-continued use, begin to show signs of wear, and become perforated with minute pinholes. When they have ...

The Helicoidal Or Wire Stone Saw

The sides of solid bodies, whatever be the degree of hardness, and however fine the texture, possess surfaces formed of a succession of projections and depressions. When two bodies are in contact, the...

Portable Prospecting Drill

PORTABLE PROSPECTING DRILL. The Aqueous Works and Diamond Rock-boring Company, Limited, of London, show at the Inventions Exhibition, London, a light portable rock-boring machine for prospecting f...

Automatic Safety Gear

Among the safety appliances which are to be found in the Mining Section of the Inventions Exhibition is a model of an ingenious contrivance for the prevention of overwinding, the joint patent of Mr. W...

The Water Supply Of Ancient Roman Cities

As the supply of water to large populations is one of the most important subjects in connection with sanitary matters, and one upon which the health of the populations to a very large extent depends, ...

The Water Supply Of Ancient Roman Cities. Part 2

In order to supply this city with water, standing as it did on the side of a hill at the junction of two great rivers (now Rhone and Saone), it was necessary to search for a source at a sufficient hei...

The Water Supply Of Ancient Roman Cities. Part 3

The remains of this bridge leave no doubt that it was purposely destroyed by barbarians; some of the arches near the end of it remain, while the rest have been thrown down, some on one side and some o...

Steam Engine Economy

By Chief Engineer JOHN LOWE, U.S. Navy. The purpose of this article is to point out an easy method whereby any intelligent engineer can determine the point at which it is most economical to cut off t...

Electricity In Warfare

By Lieut. B.A. FISKE, U.S.N. Lieutenant Fiske began by paying a tribute to the remarkable pioneer efforts of Colonel Samuel Colt, who more than forty years ago blew up several old vessels, including ...

Electricity In Warfare. Continued

The telephone is also used with success in warfare, and in fact sometimes assists the telegraph in cases where, by reason of the haste with which a line has been run, the current leaks off. A telephon...

Meucci's Claims To The Telephone

Our readers have already been informed through these columns that, notwithstanding the refusal of the Attorney-General, Mr. Garland, to institute suit for the nullification of the Bell patent, applica...

An Electrical Centrifugal Machine For Laboratories

By ALEXANDER WATT, F.I.C., F.C.S. The late Dr. Mohr7 of Bonn, advocated the use of a centrifugal machine as a means of rapidly drying crystals and crystalline precipitates; but although they are admi...

Transmission Of Power By Electricity

The experiments of M. Marcel Deprez have entered on a decisive phase. The dynamos are completed, and were put in place on the 20th October, when M. Deprez carried out some preliminary tests in the pre...

The Locked And Corded Box Trick

The trick with the locked and corded box, I believe, is an old one, though perhaps not in its present form. In late years it has been revived with improvements, and popularized by those clever illusio...

The Locked And Corded Box Trick. Continued

The end containing the movable panel being arranged, make up the rest of the box to it, taking care to make the rebates of the top and bottom frames to correspond with those of the end. The other pan...

Prices Of Metals

The Metallarbeiter remarks that metals have in most cases experienced a reduction in value of late years, this depreciation being attributed in some measure to the cheaper methods of obtaining metals ...

A Perpetual Calendar

The annexed figure represents a perpetual calendar, which any one can construct for himself, and which permits of finding the day that corresponds to a given date, and conversely. The apparatus consi...

An Accomplished Parrot

Around the door of a Sixth Ave. bird store near Twenty-third St. was gathered the other day a crowd so large that it was a work of several minutes to gain entrance to the interior. From within there p...

The Roscoff Zoological Laboratory

The celebrated Roscoff zoological station was founded in 1872, and has therefore been in existence for thirteen years; but it may be said that it has changed appearance thirteen times. Those who, for ...

The Muraenae At The Berlin Aquarium

Of all fish, eels are probably the most interesting, as the least is known of them. Electricians are now examining the animal source of electricity in the electric eel (Gymnotus electricus); zoologist...

Metamorphoses Of Arctic Insects

In the chapter entitled Das insektenleben in arktischen lndern, which Dr. Christopher Aurivillius contributes to the account of A.E. Nordenskild's Arctic investigations, published this y...

A Year's Scientific Progress In Nervous And Mental Diseases

By L.A. MERRIAM, M.D., Omaha, Neb., Professor Of The Principles And Practice Of Medicine In The University Of Nebraska College Of Medicine, Lincoln, Neb The records of the Nebraska State Medical Soci...

A Year's Scientific Progress In Nervous And Mental Diseases. Continued

Mr. Victor Horsley has recently demonstrated the existence of true sensory nerves supplying the nerve trunks of nervi-nervorum. Prof. Hamilton, of Aberdeen, claims that the corpus callosum is not a c...

Scaring The Baby Out

Dr. Grangier, surgeon in the French army, writes from Algeria: A few days after the occupation of Brizerte, when the military authorities had forbidden, under the severest penalties, the discharge of...

"Elastic Limit" In Metal

The Engineering and Mining Journal raises the question whether steel, which is becoming so popular a substitute for wrought iron, will, when it is subjected to continuous strain in suspension bridges ...

Hon. Hiram Sibley

Hon. Hiram Sibley, of the city of Rochester, a man of national reputation as the originator of great enterprises, and as the most extensive farmer and seedsman in this country, was born at North Adams...

Hon. Hiram Sibley. Continued

Mr. Sibley was duly complimented by the members of the royal family and others present, including the ambassadors of the great powers. Mr. Collins, his colleague in the telegraph enterprise, shared in...

The Ethics Of Engineering Practice

At the Pittsburg meeting of the American Institute of Mining Engineers, held from the 16th to the 19th of February, Mr. James C. Bayles, the President, delivered the following address: GENTLEMEN OF T...

The Ethics Of Engineering Practice. Part 2

The young man who is tendered a commission will naturally ask himself whether he can accept and retain it, and may, perhaps, reason somewhat in this way: My professional advice was given without expe...

The Ethics Of Engineering Practice. Part 3

In making reports for contingent fees or fees of contingent value, the young engineer needs to exercise great discretion. This may be done without impropriety if done openly; but it is safe to assume ...

Lifting A Forty Inch Water Main

RAISING A FORTY INCH MAIN ON THE BOSTON WATER WORKS. The sketch below, reproduced from a photograph, shows the general method adopted for lifting a 40 inch water main on Brookline Avenue, in Bosto...

The Interoceanic Canal Question

Mr. J. Foster Crowell lately read a paper before the Engineers' Club of Philadelphia upon the Present Situation of the Inter-oceanic Canal Question, presenting the subject from a general standpoint. H...

The Mersey Tunnel

The Mersey Tunnel was lately opened by the Prince of Wales, and, as the London Standard says, after an infancy of troubles and failures, and a ten years' middle age of inaction, the Mersey Tunnel emer...

Improved Revolver

The Kynoch revolver, manufactured by the Kynoch Gun Factory, at Aston, Birmingham, is the invention of Mr. Henry Schlund. It may be regarded as the most simple in respect of lock mechanism of any exis...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways

Results Of Experiments On Mechanical Motors For Tramways Made By The Jury On Railway Appliances At The Antwerp Exhibition By Captain DOUGLAS GALTON, D.C.L., O.B., F.R.S. An interesting feature of th...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways. Part 2

The Wilkinson (Black and Hawthorn) engine had a vertical boiler and machinery. The cylinders were on the opposite side of the boiler from the door of the fire box, and mounted independently; the motio...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways. Part 3

Under the carriage attached to the framing are four reservoirs, holding about three and a half cubic feet of water, of which water space one-half acts as a reservoir for cold feed water, and half for ...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways. Part 4

In an experiment made on charging the reservoir in the motor, the pressure in the fixed reservoirs, at the time of charging the reservoirs on the motor, was 63.8 atmospheres, at a temperature of 68&de...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways. Part 5

The speed was fixed at 4 meters per second (which corresponds with a speed of nearly 9 miles per hour) for 1,000 revolutions of the dynamo; and it was regulated by cutting a certain number of the accu...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways. Part 6

The original programme of the conditions which were laid down in the invitation to competitors, as those upon which the adjudication of merit would be awarded, contained twenty heads, to each of which...

Journal Of The Society Or Arts. Motors For Street Railways. Part 7

As regards the steam motors, the following were the results from the time of lighting the fires: The Rowan - In 34 minutes 3 atmospheres. 36 4 At this pressure the vehicle could move - In...

On The Theory Of The Electro-Magnetic Telephone Transmitter

By E. MERCADIER.1 The first point to be studied in this theory is the role performed by the iron or steel diaphragm of the telephone, both as regards the nature of the movements that it effects throu...

On The Theory Of The Receiver Of The Electro-Magnetic Telephone

By E. MERCADIER. On a former occasion I described some experiments that had led me to a theory of the telephone transmitter; a few words will suffice to expose that of the receiver. Such theory gave...

Decomposition And Fermentation Of Milk

Dr. F. Hueppe, who has paid great attention to this subject, describes five distinct organisms which he finds to be invariable accompaniments of lactic fermentation. One of these he isolated on nutrie...

The New "Burgtheater" In Vienna

At last the new Burgtheater in Vienna is completed. We say at last, for work was begun on this new theater more than ten years ago. One after another, monumental architectural works have been erec...

The New German Bookdealers' Exchange In Leipzig

It seems strange that book-printing and the book trade in general should have developed so slowly in the busy city of Leipzig, where a university was established as early as the beginning of the fifte...

Alizarine Dyes

Notwithstanding the unprecedented progress of the coal-tar dyestuff industry during the past few decades, the time-honored indigo, logwood, fustic, etc., have been only partly displaced by the coal-ta...

Cement Paving

The streets of Old London at the recent Inventions Exhibition at South Kensington were paved with a material in imitation of old, worn bowlder stones and red, herring-boned brickwork, all in one pie...

A New Bleaching Process

In the spring of 1883 a Mr. J.B. Thompson, of New Cross, London, patented a new process of bleaching, the main feature of which consisted in the use of carbonic acid gas in a closed vessel to decompos...

Instruments For Drawing Curves. I. The Hyperbola

By Prof. C.W. MacCord, Sc.D. We are free to express the opinion at the outset, that for various reasons the draughtsman is likely to gain very little advantage by the use of mechanical devices for de...

Experiments With Fibers

By Dr. THOMAS TAYLOR. As Microscopist of the United States Department of Agriculture, I am frequently called upon to make investigations as to the character of textile fibers and fabrics, not only fo...

Improved Pyrometer

Mr. John Frew, Langloan Iron Works, Coatbridge, has been successful in perfecting a most ingenious pyrometer, an instrument which is capable of continuously indicating every variation of temperature w...

From Photographische Correspondenz. Orthochromatic Plates

By CH SCOLIK. Since the emulsion process has taken root, no improvement has awakened such a lively, steadily increasing interest as photography of colored objects in their correct tone proportions; a...

A New Photographic Apparatus

This apparatus consists of a box containing a camera, A, and a frame, C, containing the desired number of plates, each held in a small frame of black Bristol board. The camera contains a mirror, M, wh...

Meteorites.The Dhurmsala

In our SUPPLEMENT No. 529 we gave an abstract of Prof. Dewars recent series of lectures on the above subject at the Royal Institution. We now present an abstract of the last and concluding lecture. T...

Telescopic Search For The Trans-Neptunian Planet3

In the twentieth volume of the American Journal of Science, at page 225, I gave a preliminary account of my search, theoretic and practical, for the trans-Neptunian planet. I say the trans-Neptunian p...

American Annals Of The Deaf And Dumb. Notes On Manual Spelling

The inestimable value of speech-reading and the practicability of its acquisition under favorable conditions is a matter of common experience and observation but justice to the deaf requires a recogni...

American Annals Of The Deaf And Dumb. Notes On Manual Spelling. Continued

It is not the purpose of the writer to attempt even a catalogue of the numerous finger alphabets, common, tactile, phonetic, phonomimic, phonodactylologic, and syllabic, which have been proposed f...

Fruits And Seeds For Dress-Trimming

The use of natural flowers for decorating the person is instinctive among certain peoples, and a question of fashion among others. It is in Oceanica especially that this taste seems to be nationally d...

Dew

The first point referred to in this paper is the source of the vapor that condenses to form dew. A short historical sketch is given of the successive theories from time to time advanced on this point,...

Dew. Continued

All these different methods of testing point to the conclusion that during dewy nights, in this climate, vapor is constantly being given off from grass land, and almost always from bare soil; that the...

The Use Of Iron In Fortification

Roumania is thinking of protecting a portion of the artillery of the forts surrounding her capital by metallic cupolas. But, before deciding upon the mode of constructing these formidable and costly a...

The Use Of Iron In Fortification. Continued

Seeing the destructive power of these modern engines of war, it may well be asked how many pieces the defense will be able to preserve intact for the last period of a siege--for the very moment at whi...

High Speed On The Ocean

To the Editor of the Scientific American: Although not a naval engineer, I wish to reply to some arguments advanced by Capt. Giles, and published in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN of Jan. 2, 1886, in regard...

Principles And Methods Of Balancing Forces Developed In Moving Bodies

Sibley College Lectures. By The Cornell University Non-Resident Lecturers In Mechanical Engineering. By Chas. T. Porter. Introduction On appearing for the first time before this Association, which,...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force

The first of these forces is exerted by every moving body, whatever the nature of the path in which it is moving, and always in the direction of its motion. The latter force is exerted only by bodies ...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force. Part 2

Now a revolving body, also, has the same tendency to move in a straight line. It would do so, if it were not continually deflected from this line. Another force is constantly exerted upon it, compelli...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force. Part 3

When writers who understand the subject talk about the centripetal and centrifugal forces being different names for the same force, and about equal action and reaction, and employ other confusing expr...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force. Part 4

The best we are able to do is to conceive of a polygon having an infinite number of sides, and so an infinite number of angles, the versed sines of which are infinitely small, and having, also, an inf...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force. Part 5

We come now to the reason for the fourth law, that, with a given actual velocity, the centrifugal force varies inversely as the diameter of the circle. If any of you ever revolved a weight at the end ...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force. Part 6

The standard from which all computations are made of the distances passed through in given times by bodies whose motion is uniformly accelerated, and from which the velocity acquired is computed when ...

Momentum And Centrifugal Force. Part 7

[Footnote 1: A body revolving with a uniform velocity in a horizontal plane would present the only case of uniformly accelerated motion that is possible to be realized under actual conditions.] I now...

Compressed Air Power Schemes

By J. STURGEON, Engineer of the Birmingham Compressed Air Power Company. In the article on Gas, Air, and Water Power in the Journal for Dec. 8 last, you state that you await with some curiosity my ...

Compressed Air Power Schemes. Continued

CASE 2 | 140.4 | 0.702 | 0.667 | 7 17 11 | 7 10 0 | CASE 3 | 178.2 | 0.891 | 0.847 | 10 0 5 | 9 10 5| CASE 4 | 170.2 | 0.851 | 0.809 | 9 11 5 | 9 1 10| CASE 5 | 258....

The Berthon Collapsible Canoe

An endeavor has often been made to construct a canoe that a person can easily carry overland and put into the water without aid, and convert into a sailboat. The system that we now call attention to i...

The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Opening Of The First German Steam Railroad

There was great excitement in Nrnberg on the 7th of December, 1835, on which day the first German railroad was opened. The great square on which the buildings of the Nrnberg and Furth Lud...

Improved Coal Elevator

An illustration of a new coal elevator is herewith presented, which presents advantages over any incline yet used, so that a short description may be deemed interesting to those engaged in the coaling...

Steel-Making Ladles

The practice of carrying melted cast iron direct from the blast furnace to the Siemens hearth or the Bessemer converter saves both money and time. It has rendered necessary the construction of special...

Apparatus For Demonstrating That Electricity Develops Only On The Surface Of Conductors

Mr. K.L. Bauer, of Carlsruhe, has just constructed a very simple and ingenious apparatus which permits of demonstrating that electricity develops only on the surface of conductors. It consists (see fi...

The Colson Telephone

This apparatus has recently been the object of some experiments which resulted in its being finally adopted in the army. We think that our readers will read a description of it with interest. Its mode...

The Meldometer

The apparatus which I propose to call by the above name (, to melt) consists of an adjunct to the mineralogical microscope, whereby the melting-points of minerals ma...

Touch Transmission By Electricity In The Education Of Deaf-Mutes

Progress in electrical science is daily causing the world to open its eyes in wonder and the scientist to enlarge his hopes for yet greater achievements. The practical uses to which this subtile fluid...

Touch Transmission By Electricity In The Education Of Deaf-Mutes. Part 2

TOUCH TRANSMISSION BY ELECTRICITY. The matter now to consider, and the one of greater interest to the teacher of deaf children, is, Of what utility can the device be in the instruction of deaf-mut...

Touch Transmission By Electricity In The Education Of Deaf-Mutes. Part 3

There are the same obstacles in the use of the written or printed word as have been mentioned in connection with dactylology, namely, lack of rapidity in conveying impressions through the medium of th...

Water Gas. The Relative Value Of Water Gas And Other Gases As Iron Reducing Agents

By B.H. THWAITE. In order to approximately ascertain the relative reducing action of water gas, carbon monoxide, and superheated steam on iron ore, the author decided to have carried out the followin...

Antiseptic Mouth Wash

Where an antiseptic mouth wash is needed, Mr. Sewill prescribes the use of perchloride of mercury in the following form: One grain of the perchloride and 1 grain of chloride of ammonium to be dissolve...

Annatto

[Footnote: Read at an evening meeting of the North British Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society, January 21.] By WILLIAM LAWSON. The subject which I have the honor to bring shortly before your notic...

Annatto. Continued

The full process followed consisted in determining the moisture by drying 100 grains at 212 F. till constant, and taking this dried portion for estimation of the resin in the way just stated. The...

Japanese Rice Wine And Soja Sauce

Professor P. Cohn has recently described the mode in which he has manufactured the Japanese sake or rice wine in the laboratory. The material used was Tane Kosi, i.e., grains of rice coated with the...

Aluminum

[Footnote: Annual address delivered by President J.A. Price before the meeting of the Scranton Board of Trade, Monday, January 18, 1886.] By J.A. PRICE. Iron is the basis of our civilization. Its su...

Aluminum. Part 2

Returning again to France some time during the years between 1854 and 1858, and under the patronage of the Emperor Napoleon III., we behold Deville at last forcing Nature to yield and give up this pre...

Aluminum. Part 3

This important material is to be found largely in nearly all the rocks, or as Prof. Dana has said, Nearly all rocks are ore-beds of the metal. It is in every clay bank. It is particularly abundant i...

The Origin Of Meteorites

On January 9, Professor Dewar delivered the sixth and last of his series of lectures at the Royal Institution on The Story of a Meteorite. [For the preceding lectures, see SUPPLEMENTS 529 and 580.] ...

Candelabra Cactus And California Woodpecker

By C.F. HOLDER. One of the most picturesque objects that meet the eye of the traveler over the great plains of the southern portion of California and New Mexico is the candelabra cactus. Systematical...

Cereus Giganteus

This wonderful cactus, its colossal proportions, and weird, yet grand, appearance in the rocky regions of Mexico and California, where it is found in abundance, have been made known to us only through...

How Plants Are Reproduced

[Footnote: Read at a meeting of the Chemists' Assistants' Association. December 16, 1885.] By C.E. STUART, B.Sc. In two previous papers read before this Association I have tried to condense into as ...

How Plants Are Reproduced. Part 2

The lichens have a very peculiar method of gemmation. The lichen-thallus is composed of chains or groups of round chlorophyl-containing cells, called gonidia, and masses of interwoven rows of elonga...

How Plants Are Reproduced. Part 3

For example, the so-called gills of the common mushroom have their surface composed of the ends of the threads of cells constituting the hyphae. Some of these terminal cells push out a little finger...

How Plants Are Reproduced. Part 4

Thus I have endeavored to sum up the processes of asexual and of sexual reproduction. But it is a peculiar characteristic of most classes of plants that the cycle of their existence is not complete un...

How Plants Are Reproduced. Part 5

This description of the analogies of the pollen and embryo-sac of dicotyledons assumes that the general vegetative structure of this class of plants is equivalent to the asexual generation of the high...