Volume 29 (1874) (428 pages)

August 8, 1874.} MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS. 83 Mf ecHanicaL P roaREsS Straw-burning Engine. There was exhibited at Vionna doring the Exposition lest year a straw-buruing engine which attracted mach attention. Ap exchange, in speaking of it, says: This engine is one of the povelties of the exhibition. A 10-horse power engine was used for the experiment, making140 revolutions per miuute, and the hrake was loaded for duty of 19 horae power; 355 Ibs. of straw waa carefally weighed, consisting partly of stright rye and partly of loose, brokeu wheat straw, purposely mixed iu order to test the capabilities of the engiue for burning all kinds of fuel of this description. It required 46 wiautes to consame the straw, steam being kept np duriug the whole time at a pressnro of 70 lha, per squaro iuoh with the greatest regularity. This resnlt gives a cousnmption of abont 24,5 ths. of straw per horeo power per bour, aud as an ongino burning average coal nuder similar circumstances would have required ahout 6.4 tbs. per horse power psr hour, it appears that rather less than 4 bbs, of straw are equal to 1 th. of coal. In threshing, about pine sheeves of atrawarerequired to thresh 100 sheaves of wheat or barley. Everybody present was highly satisfied with the results of the experiment, as it has long been the desire tho Essteru farmer to find eure means of nsing steam power without iueurring the enormoas expense of bringing coal and wood from n long distanco. This invention completes another link in the history of the stesm eugine, and will enable every farmer who raises more straw than he requires for the nse of his estate, and who is miles from a coal mine or forest, to n-e steam instead of animal power, and at far less cost thau hitherto. To Ouliforuia farmers, however, this engine will not be so great a novelty. Tur Sczazocn, A NEW Russtan PROJECTILE. A new shell, under the above name, has just heen adopted by the Rassian artillery, which seems to hsve certain advantages. When the old sphsrical shell was replaced by the elongated shell, now entirely in nse, the argument was the necessity of obtaining a higher initis] velocity, which was possible only with rifled guns. There was not an artillery msn who did not regret the sacrifice thns made of the ricochet shot; a shot extremely useful in certain cases, and apparently quite impossible with an elongated projectile. Some two years ago a Russian officer devised a shell whioh was a time or percnssion shell and at the same time could give tho result of a ricochet shot. The sezaroch, a3 it is called, is an elongated shell, the head of which is completely spherical; a round shell upon the end of an iron cylinder. The two parts are nnited together by a comparatively elight thickness of metal. When fired, the sezaroch leaves the gun like an ordinary shell; but when it burste, the cylindrical part nlone flies in pieces, while the spherical head continues its flight intact and may ricochet for hundreds of yards further. The advantege of such a shell against artillery, for example, is very great, After bnrsting and seattering its fragments among the gnne of the enemy, the head goos on to plunge into the infantry still further back. It is only to be used in Russia, however, for cannou of moderate size. New Frencx Ririx.—A guumaker of Limoges has submitted to the military commission at Vincennee a rifle of very novel construction. It is thua descrihsd in a Paris jonrnal: The new gun preseats nothing remarkable extariorly, but the lock is so arranged that the breech is opened by cocking the piece, and the charge being introduced, the breech is closed and the gnu fired hy touching the trigger. The cartridge coneists of a hollow, leaden cone filled with powder, and olosed at the base by means of ‘a piece of cork. At the moment the cartridge is introduced into the breech the powder escapes by a small hole in the cork, and an imperceptible bell of fulminating powder, which forms the priming, takes its proper position. The triple action of oocking, loading and firing is thus effected simultencously, so that 1 man with very little experience can fire twenty ronnds a minnte. The cartridges are stored in an iron tube, which is plsced parallel with the barrel, and contains 30 balls, so that the piece muy be fired as many timés almost without any interval, and withont removing the stock from the shoulder, ns there is nothiag to he done but to cock and pull the trigger. Dancer Sionau.—MM. Lartique and Lsforest have recently invented a novel device, iutended as a danger signal, which is now in succeeeful nse on eome of the French railroeds. A whistle is arrenged on the locomotive so thet it will, when once opened, continue eonnding nutil shut bytbe engineer. The same device which tnrns the dise signal, so aeto show the danger side, ie intended to transmit a current of electricity to a little projection between the rails. When the engine passes over this spot, a metellic hrush hanging between ite wheele strikee on the projection and eweeps over it, at the same time transmitting the current to an electro-magnet which pnils the whistle open. The latter, by continuously eounding, warns the engineer. ¢ A Nove wetch hae been invented by a Swiss watohmaker of Aargau. The motive power is compressed air. The Sand Blast. Some uew and interesting applications of this invention were lately descrihed at a mseting of the students of the Polytechnio collego, Philadelphia. Samples of raised Istteriug on marble, also of gronnd uncolored and of stalned glass ornamented hy the process were exhihited. Samples of thick plate glass, perforated by the aaud hisat with woll defined holes one-fourth inch in diameter, were shown. The holes for the axles of the glaes plates of electrioal machines can be safvly oat in this way. The lettering of the blook of marhla had been done hy first grinding and polishing one of its surfaces, attaching the stenoils (letters of the size and shape required ent out of plate metal), aud then blowing sand, by means of a jet of steam, on the snrface, natil, where nnprotected by the stencils, it is out away to the required depth, leaving the lettersin bold relief. ‘The stone to be out is placed upon a small trnok, and then moved baokward aud forward upon a horizoutal table, directly under the nozzle through . which the sand is blown. The nozzle, which etaud3 vertioally over the table, has the pipe for the sand, entering the npper end, passing in the line of its axis, towards its lower openiug. The steam enters through the side of the nozzle near its upper end, so that, when in operation, steam surrounds the tube through which the saudruus, A rabher pipe conveys the sand from an elavated box to the tubs. Testinc Steam Gauces.—That will he an expensive gauge which government is to have in one of the towers of the Smithsonian Institate, with its costly column of mercnry one inch in dism¢ter and 150 feet in hight. It is to be the standard gange whereby all mannfucturers of steam prassure-gauges, and all supervising inspectors, may test the correctness of the instraments which they make or nse. By means of this appsratus any geuge mey be eubjected to a mercurial pressure of 800 ponnds to the sqnare inch, and as it isto be constructed without regard to cost, it will be as nearly accurate in its graduations as hnman skill can make it. But as it cennot be expsected that every gange hereafter manafactured or now in use can be seut to the Smithsonian Institute, for the purposs of being tested, there will have to be many other staudard gauges—fac similes of the Government one—erected in different localities, 0 as to Jeave no excuse for neglect or doubt; and when these standard gauges have hecome readily accessible, those who are found running their steam machinery with incorrect gauges should he severely dealt. with,—Technologist. Preventing Ramaway Accrpents.—An Englisb inventor, Mr. O. Jordan, proposes to make the msin lines withont the usnal awitches, turnouts and crossings, being continuous from end to end, 2nd to work snch road by transferring trains where necessary from the main line to the adjaceut siding, hy lifting bodily from one line to the other. The lifting will only be an inoh or two, and the hydranlic apparatns as now constructed will make nothing of the weight ; while, as to time, Mr. Jordsn calculates that a few minntes will suffice to transfer a train from one road to another withont disturbing a psssenger. The whole work, as regards the hydraulio apparatus, mey be done by one or two lads, Pree Joints.—Mr. J. Phillips, of Hemmersmith, has received a patent fora new method of msking tight joints for pipes. The joint is of the spigot and faucet kind, the spigot and fancet being made with tepering parts fitting or nearly fitting cach other at the front and back of the joint, with an annulsr cavity between the fitting perts, which cavity is filled with cemeut of fused material iutroduced through aperturesin the periphery of the faucet. To prevent escspe ot the fillingein, rings of yarn or other yielding materials may be placed in annulsr grooves iu the tapering parts of the spigot and faucet. Tue Larogst Locomotive mm THE Worzn. It is stated that the lergest locomotive in tbe world is the '‘Pennsylvania,’’? on the Philadel. phie and Reading railroad. The principal dimensions of this engine are as follows: Diameter of oylinders, 20 inches; length of stroke, 26 inches; number of driving wheels, 12; diameter of drivers, 4 feet; and the weight of the engine alone is 60 tons. STEAM on our oanals seems tobe an accomplished fact. Six boats are now plying on the Erie oanal aud twelve others will shortly be added, all capable of making the trip from New York to Buffalo in five days. It is believed that the grain trsde of tbe fell will be considerably affected by the increased cheapness of transportation,—Scientific American. TurovoH Many Hanps.—In viewing that tiny bit of steel called o needle, it is hard to realize that seventy pairs of hande ere required to make it perfect. Seventy pairs of hends to meke a needle! and eaoh pair necessary to make the needle perfect. THE deepest boring tbat has ever been made for coal was mede in 1853-7, at Mouille-longe, where the drills reached a depth of 1,00614 yards, when the toole broke at the bottom of the hole, and tbe work had to be abandoned. Cororen Lenses yor Lamre.—A recent English patent covers the invention of coating white gless lenses witb a film of colored glase _ must climb or go arouud. we ACIENTIFIC (Procress. Geology of the West. Among the geologioal deductions of the Wheeler expedition are the following: All that portion of the United States west of the plaina is oharacterized by corrugation, that is, the geological formatious once horizoutal have been beut and broken and thrown into ridges 80 as to produce a mountainous conntry. The ridges vary greatly as to hight and length, hut sgree ina general northerly trend; so that in traveling north and south itis generally easy to follow valleys, while in going east or west one is confronted by renge after rauge that he In the lower parts of this grest mountain system, the slow but indefatigahble agencies of rain and stream have acoumulated 60 great an amount of detiitns that the valleys are ologged and the mountains nearly or qnite buried. In this way have been produced the great desert plains of Utah, Arizona and Southern Californis, vast seas of sand and saline elay, from the surfaces of which a few half sunken peaks jut forth as islands. These intermissions of the mountainous character sre mere coucealments, not interruptions, of the corragated structure; hut that stracture is iuterrupted in oue place— perhape in others, but in ono notahly—by a tract in which the strata are almost undisturbed, The general surface of this exceptional region lies from 6,000 to 8,000 tset ahove the ocean, aud it is intersected hy the celebrated cafions of the Colorado and its tributaries. By these gorges and by other modifications, chiefly dependent on erosion, it is divided into o great number of plateaus which the surveys now in progess are defining and neming. The gsolo‘gista of the expeditions heve found it convenient to designete the region, considered as a geological province, as the region of the plateaus, or the Colorado plateau system. It is surrounded ou all sides by areas of oorrugation, the ranges at the east constituting the Rocky Mountain system proper, and those at the west having been designated as the Cordilleras. At the north and south, these mountain areas coalesce, ‘ Luminous Sienat,—M. Laussedat proposes, for the above purpose, to direct a spy glass from one stetion towerd a second point, to which the signal isto be transmitted. In the focns of the instrument, he places a diaphragm having a very small aperture; so that, on looking throngh, the field of vision will bs restricted to the tower, steeple or other locelity at whioh the receiver of the signal is etationed, The eye piece of the telescope is then removed, leaving the diaphragm, and hebind the latter is placed, in the axisof the instrument, a light, the conjugate imege of which, produced hy the conveying glass, falls precissly on the opening of the diaphragm. The luminous ray transmitted through the telescope will full directly on the edifice comprised on the restricted field of vision, and not elsewhere, and the light is therefore invisible to all without that field. The obsarver will perceive the objective of the telescope illuminated over all its surface; and necessarily the Isrger the diameter of the glass, the farther will the signal be visible. Sremens' method of converting iron into steel consists in melting wrought-iron in a hath of liquid pig-iron, the whole being made into steel by means of very high temperature and the non-oxidizing flame of the regenerative gas furmace. The deearbnrized iron is thrown in measured quantities at regular intervals into the bath of pig-iron, the operation being completed by an addition of pig-iron which contains msnganese in known proportion. New Mernop ror Preservinc MEeat.—According to Endeman, meat cut in slices and plsced in a room, tba air of which is heated to 140°, and only allowed to enter and ‘escape throngh cotton filterers, becomes so dry in three -hours thst it can be ground, and, sinoe the alhumen and fibrin ere not coagulated, it loses none of its nutritive properties. Mizz suger can be prepsred by coagulating the casein, and removing that slong with the fat, and then evaporstiug the whey to crystallization, and purifying hy filteration through animal chaicoal. It is manufactured principelly in Switzerland, and comes into market erystallized on strings, when it somewhat resembles an ear of corn, Buacx PxHosrpHonvs —The essential feeture of this body, saye M. Blondlot, is thet in a state of fusion it does not differ from normel phosphorue. At the moment of solidification, however, it suddenly hecomes black. On retusing, it again turns white, and so indefinitely. Strenots or Iron Puargze. — From experimente upon the etrength of plates to resist rupture from pressnre from a blunt body, it has been ehown that a wrought iron plate of only a quarter of an inch in thicknees is able to reeist a force or pressure eqnal to that required to rupture a three-inch plank. NeYrReNeUF has ascertained by experiments instead of making them of colored glase} that negative electricity attracts flame, which throughont. positive eleotricity repels. Circular Compass. Mention has already beeu made, in this journal, of the new ciroular compass invented hy M. Dochemiu. We now receive farther particnlars concerning the nature and merits of the invention, 88 reported by onr esteemed exchenge, the Journal of the Franklin Institute: The magnetic force resides, not iu a bar or needle, as in tho ordinery instrament, bnt in a flat eteel rlng, maguetized, with its poles at two opposite extremities of the same diameter. Thie ring, supported upon an elomiuum traverse, pivoted on agate at its center, has attached to it the ordinary compass card, and acts promptly and efficiently. The author claims for it the following advautages: (1) a magnetic power double that of the needle whose length ie that of the diameter of the ring; (2) two uentral points instead of one, as in the ueedle; whence it happsns that none of the magnetism escspes, and thst strong sparks, like those from the Holtz msohine, do not derange the poles; (3) a better and more prompt performance of the compass, the cards eeming to float, as it were, in liqnid; (4) a large increase in the sensitiveness of the instrument; (5) the ability to regulate the magnetio intensity of the ring, and tbus to compensate for local canses. This is effected by meaus of a second magnetized steel ring, smaller than, and inside of the first, the position of which— and therefore its neutralizing sotion—may he easily adjusted. M. Daohemin now proposss, as an improvemeut, the nse of a set of such rngs, forming a spherical or spheroidal system of still greater magnetio power. Unrr or Heat.—The introduction of the socalled nnit of heat in matters of research in this hranch of science has bsen of the greatest importance, asitis evident that the degrees of the thermometer are no direct measnre of the amount of hsat present; for instance, there mnst be eight times more heat necessary to raice a gallon of water 10 degs. than to rsisea pint of water to the same temperature; hut the qnantity required to raise a gallon 10 degs. and apint 80 degs. ie the same. This mekes it clear that the amount of the substance heated must he taken into account as well as _the temperatnre; therefore it has been agreed to adopt a nnit, and to mske this equal to the quantity of caloric necessery to heat one pound of water one deg. Fahr. Applying this principle to the heat obtained from coal, it has heen found that the combustion of one pound of anthracite coal gives 14,220 nnits of heat; that is, thet the combustion of one pound of this oosl will heat 14,220 ponnds water one deg., or 1,422 pounds 10 degs.; 142 pounds 100 degs., and 79 pouuds 180 degs., thns raisiug the latter from 32 degs. to 212 degs.; in other words, by means of the perfect combustion of one pound of anthracite coal we may hest 79 pounds of water from the freezing to tho hoiling point, The perfect combustion of one pound of bitnminons coal gives 13,500 nnits of heat, that is, one-twentieth, or five per cant. sss than anthracite.—Manufaeturer and Builder. Tus Frenon Mernio System.—Mr. Sellers read before the Rsilway Master Mechanics’ Association an exceedingly interestiug paper on this subject, in which he examined the oost of making a radical change in the standard messurement at this time, when the use of machine tools, gauges, eto., is universel, estimating the oost of changing and renewing the stock of en estehlishment equipped for 250 machiuists at not less than $27,000, withont any change in drawings, and the complete change at not less than $150,000. Mr. Sellers conelnded that the adoption of the metric standard in this conntry is now neither practicable nor desirable. Important, 1 Trus.—According to a late nnwmher of Les Mondes, two French chemists have succeeded in converting the nitrogen of the air into ammouie witbout expense, withont chemical manipulation, and even without human intervention at all, by the use of certain bituminous schists. These schists contein all the elements necessary for the growth of plants in muoh lsrger proportions than farm-yard manure, Sulphide of carhon is produced at the same time, and itis said tobe ths only remedy for the phylloxera. Crear Manuraotore oF Oxyorn.—Mr., Mallet menufactares oxygen from the sub-chloride of copper. This sslt hss tbe property, when moistened aud exposed to the air, of absorbing oxygen, forming an oxychloride. When this is heated, water is first liherated, then the oxygen, andthe suhb-chloride, in its originel condition, is left behind. Tbe prooess is claimed to be continuous, and 100 pounds of the material will furnish, it isseid, 50 cuhio feet of oxygen at each operation. New Antoy.—A new invention consists in tho production of a metallio alloy resembling silver more closely than any alloys heretofare produoed in color, epeoifio gravity, malleahility, ductility, ring and general charecteristics. For these purposes the following metels are combined: copper, nickel, tin, zine, cobelt and iron. In eome cases, aleo, a emall proportion—say one-helf per cent.—of aluminum is added. VaniuLa FRom Pinn Trees.—There have recently heen enbmitted to the French Academy eome smell cryetals which are the pare aromatio principle of vauilla. ‘These, it is remarkable to note, were extraoted from conifers,

August 8, 1874.} MINING AND SCIENTIFIC PRESS. 83 Mf ecHanicaL P roaREsS Straw-burning Engine. There was exhibited at Vionna doring the Exposition lest year a straw-buruing engine which attracted mach attention. Ap exchange, in speaking of it, says: This engine is one of the povelties of the exhibition. A 10-horse power engine was used for the experiment, making140 revolutions per miuute, and the hrake was loaded for duty of 19 horae power; 355 Ibs. of straw waa carefally weighed, consisting partly of stright rye and partly of loose, brokeu wheat straw, purposely mixed iu order to test the capabilities of the engiue for burning all kinds of fuel of this description. It required 46 wiautes to consame the straw, steam being kept np duriug the whole time at a pressnro of 70 lha, per squaro iuoh with the greatest regularity. This resnlt gives a cousnmption of abont 24,5 ths. of straw per horeo power per bour, aud as an ongino burning average coal nuder similar circumstances would have required ahout 6.4 tbs. per horse power psr hour, it appears that rather less than 4 bbs, of straw are equal to 1 th. of coal. In threshing, about pine sheeves of atrawarerequired to thresh 100 sheaves of wheat or barley. Everybody present was highly satisfied with the results of the experiment, as it has long been the desire tho Essteru farmer to find eure means of nsing steam power without iueurring the enormoas expense of bringing coal and wood from n long distanco. This invention completes another link in the history of the stesm eugine, and will enable every farmer who raises more straw than he requires for the nse of his estate, and who is miles from a coal mine or forest, to n-e steam instead of animal power, and at far less cost thau hitherto. To Ouliforuia farmers, however, this engine will not be so great a novelty. Tur Sczazocn, A NEW Russtan PROJECTILE. A new shell, under the above name, has just heen adopted by the Rassian artillery, which seems to hsve certain advantages. When the old sphsrical shell was replaced by the elongated shell, now entirely in nse, the argument was the necessity of obtaining a higher initis] velocity, which was possible only with rifled guns. There was not an artillery msn who did not regret the sacrifice thns made of the ricochet shot; a shot extremely useful in certain cases, and apparently quite impossible with an elongated projectile. Some two years ago a Russian officer devised a shell whioh was a time or percnssion shell and at the same time could give tho result of a ricochet shot. The sezaroch, a3 it is called, is an elongated shell, the head of which is completely spherical; a round shell upon the end of an iron cylinder. The two parts are nnited together by a comparatively elight thickness of metal. When fired, the sezaroch leaves the gun like an ordinary shell; but when it burste, the cylindrical part nlone flies in pieces, while the spherical head continues its flight intact and may ricochet for hundreds of yards further. The advantege of such a shell against artillery, for example, is very great, After bnrsting and seattering its fragments among the gnne of the enemy, the head goos on to plunge into the infantry still further back. It is only to be used in Russia, however, for cannou of moderate size. New Frencx Ririx.—A guumaker of Limoges has submitted to the military commission at Vincennee a rifle of very novel construction. It is thua descrihsd in a Paris jonrnal: The new gun preseats nothing remarkable extariorly, but the lock is so arranged that the breech is opened by cocking the piece, and the charge being introduced, the breech is closed and the gnu fired hy touching the trigger. The cartridge coneists of a hollow, leaden cone filled with powder, and olosed at the base by means of ‘a piece of cork. At the moment the cartridge is introduced into the breech the powder escapes by a small hole in the cork, and an imperceptible bell of fulminating powder, which forms the priming, takes its proper position. The triple action of oocking, loading and firing is thus effected simultencously, so that 1 man with very little experience can fire twenty ronnds a minnte. The cartridges are stored in an iron tube, which is plsced parallel with the barrel, and contains 30 balls, so that the piece muy be fired as many timés almost without any interval, and withont removing the stock from the shoulder, ns there is nothiag to he done but to cock and pull the trigger. Dancer Sionau.—MM. Lartique and Lsforest have recently invented a novel device, iutended as a danger signal, which is now in succeeeful nse on eome of the French railroeds. A whistle is arrenged on the locomotive so thet it will, when once opened, continue eonnding nutil shut bytbe engineer. The same device which tnrns the dise signal, so aeto show the danger side, ie intended to transmit a current of electricity to a little projection between the rails. When the engine passes over this spot, a metellic hrush hanging between ite wheele strikee on the projection and eweeps over it, at the same time transmitting the current to an electro-magnet which pnils the whistle open. The latter, by continuously eounding, warns the engineer. ¢ A Nove wetch hae been invented by a Swiss watohmaker of Aargau. The motive power is compressed air. The Sand Blast. Some uew and interesting applications of this invention were lately descrihed at a mseting of the students of the Polytechnio collego, Philadelphia. Samples of raised Istteriug on marble, also of gronnd uncolored and of stalned glass ornamented hy the process were exhihited. Samples of thick plate glass, perforated by the aaud hisat with woll defined holes one-fourth inch in diameter, were shown. The holes for the axles of the glaes plates of electrioal machines can be safvly oat in this way. The lettering of the blook of marhla had been done hy first grinding and polishing one of its surfaces, attaching the stenoils (letters of the size and shape required ent out of plate metal), aud then blowing sand, by means of a jet of steam, on the snrface, natil, where nnprotected by the stencils, it is out away to the required depth, leaving the lettersin bold relief. ‘The stone to be out is placed upon a small trnok, and then moved baokward aud forward upon a horizoutal table, directly under the nozzle through . which the sand is blown. The nozzle, which etaud3 vertioally over the table, has the pipe for the sand, entering the npper end, passing in the line of its axis, towards its lower openiug. The steam enters through the side of the nozzle near its upper end, so that, when in operation, steam surrounds the tube through which the saudruus, A rabher pipe conveys the sand from an elavated box to the tubs. Testinc Steam Gauces.—That will he an expensive gauge which government is to have in one of the towers of the Smithsonian Institate, with its costly column of mercnry one inch in dism¢ter and 150 feet in hight. It is to be the standard gange whereby all mannfucturers of steam prassure-gauges, and all supervising inspectors, may test the correctness of the instraments which they make or nse. By means of this appsratus any geuge mey be eubjected to a mercurial pressure of 800 ponnds to the sqnare inch, and as it isto be constructed without regard to cost, it will be as nearly accurate in its graduations as hnman skill can make it. But as it cennot be expsected that every gange hereafter manafactured or now in use can be seut to the Smithsonian Institute, for the purposs of being tested, there will have to be many other staudard gauges—fac similes of the Government one—erected in different localities, 0 as to Jeave no excuse for neglect or doubt; and when these standard gauges have hecome readily accessible, those who are found running their steam machinery with incorrect gauges should he severely dealt. with,—Technologist. Preventing Ramaway Accrpents.—An Englisb inventor, Mr. O. Jordan, proposes to make the msin lines withont the usnal awitches, turnouts and crossings, being continuous from end to end, 2nd to work snch road by transferring trains where necessary from the main line to the adjaceut siding, hy lifting bodily from one line to the other. The lifting will only be an inoh or two, and the hydranlic apparatns as now constructed will make nothing of the weight ; while, as to time, Mr. Jordsn calculates that a few minntes will suffice to transfer a train from one road to another withont disturbing a psssenger. The whole work, as regards the hydraulio apparatus, mey be done by one or two lads, Pree Joints.—Mr. J. Phillips, of Hemmersmith, has received a patent fora new method of msking tight joints for pipes. The joint is of the spigot and faucet kind, the spigot and fancet being made with tepering parts fitting or nearly fitting cach other at the front and back of the joint, with an annulsr cavity between the fitting perts, which cavity is filled with cemeut of fused material iutroduced through aperturesin the periphery of the faucet. To prevent escspe ot the fillingein, rings of yarn or other yielding materials may be placed in annulsr grooves iu the tapering parts of the spigot and faucet. Tue Larogst Locomotive mm THE Worzn. It is stated that the lergest locomotive in tbe world is the '‘Pennsylvania,’’? on the Philadel. phie and Reading railroad. The principal dimensions of this engine are as follows: Diameter of oylinders, 20 inches; length of stroke, 26 inches; number of driving wheels, 12; diameter of drivers, 4 feet; and the weight of the engine alone is 60 tons. STEAM on our oanals seems tobe an accomplished fact. Six boats are now plying on the Erie oanal aud twelve others will shortly be added, all capable of making the trip from New York to Buffalo in five days. It is believed that the grain trsde of tbe fell will be considerably affected by the increased cheapness of transportation,—Scientific American. TurovoH Many Hanps.—In viewing that tiny bit of steel called o needle, it is hard to realize that seventy pairs of hande ere required to make it perfect. Seventy pairs of hends to meke a needle! and eaoh pair necessary to make the needle perfect.

THE deepest boring tbat has ever been made for coal was mede in 1853-7, at Mouille-longe, where the drills reached a depth of 1,00614 yards, when the toole broke at the bottom of the hole, and tbe work had to be abandoned. Cororen Lenses yor Lamre.—A recent English patent covers the invention of coating white gless lenses witb a film of colored glase _ must climb or go arouud. we ACIENTIFIC (Procress. Geology of the West. Among the geologioal deductions of the Wheeler expedition are the following: All that portion of the United States west of the plaina is oharacterized by corrugation, that is, the geological formatious once horizoutal have been beut and broken and thrown into ridges 80 as to produce a mountainous conntry. The ridges vary greatly as to hight and length, hut sgree ina general northerly trend; so that in traveling north and south itis generally easy to follow valleys, while in going east or west one is confronted by renge after rauge that he In the lower parts of this grest mountain system, the slow but indefatigahble agencies of rain and stream have acoumulated 60 great an amount of detiitns that the valleys are ologged and the mountains nearly or qnite buried. In this way have been produced the great desert plains of Utah, Arizona and Southern Californis, vast seas of sand and saline elay, from the surfaces of which a few half sunken peaks jut forth as islands. These intermissions of the mountainous character sre mere coucealments, not interruptions, of the corragated structure; hut that stracture is iuterrupted in oue place— perhape in others, but in ono notahly—by a tract in which the strata are almost undisturbed, The general surface of this exceptional region lies from 6,000 to 8,000 tset ahove the ocean, aud it is intersected hy the celebrated cafions of the Colorado and its tributaries. By these gorges and by other modifications, chiefly dependent on erosion, it is divided into o great number of plateaus which the surveys now in progess are defining and neming. The gsolo‘gista of the expeditions heve found it convenient to designete the region, considered as a geological province, as the region of the plateaus, or the Colorado plateau system. It is surrounded ou all sides by areas of oorrugation, the ranges at the east constituting the Rocky Mountain system proper, and those at the west having been designated as the Cordilleras. At the north and south, these mountain areas coalesce, ‘ Luminous Sienat,—M. Laussedat proposes, for the above purpose, to direct a spy glass from one stetion towerd a second point, to which the signal isto be transmitted. In the focns of the instrument, he places a diaphragm having a very small aperture; so that, on looking throngh, the field of vision will bs restricted to the tower, steeple or other locelity at whioh the receiver of the signal is etationed, The eye piece of the telescope is then removed, leaving the diaphragm, and hebind the latter is placed, in the axisof the instrument, a light, the conjugate imege of which, produced hy the conveying glass, falls precissly on the opening of the diaphragm. The luminous ray transmitted through the telescope will full directly on the edifice comprised on the restricted field of vision, and not elsewhere, and the light is therefore invisible to all without that field. The obsarver will perceive the objective of the telescope illuminated over all its surface; and necessarily the Isrger the diameter of the glass, the farther will the signal be visible. Sremens' method of converting iron into steel consists in melting wrought-iron in a hath of liquid pig-iron, the whole being made into steel by means of very high temperature and the non-oxidizing flame of the regenerative gas furmace. The deearbnrized iron is thrown in measured quantities at regular intervals into the bath of pig-iron, the operation being completed by an addition of pig-iron which contains msnganese in known proportion. New Mernop ror Preservinc MEeat.—According to Endeman, meat cut in slices and plsced in a room, tba air of which is heated to 140°, and only allowed to enter and ‘escape throngh cotton filterers, becomes so dry in three -hours thst it can be ground, and, sinoe the alhumen and fibrin ere not coagulated, it loses none of its nutritive properties. Mizz suger can be prepsred by coagulating the casein, and removing that slong with the fat, and then evaporstiug the whey to crystallization, and purifying hy filteration through animal chaicoal. It is manufactured principelly in Switzerland, and comes into market erystallized on strings, when it somewhat resembles an ear of corn, Buacx PxHosrpHonvs —The essential feeture of this body, saye M. Blondlot, is thet in a state of fusion it does not differ from normel phosphorue. At the moment of solidification, however, it suddenly hecomes black. On retusing, it again turns white, and so indefinitely. Strenots or Iron Puargze. — From experimente upon the etrength of plates to resist rupture from pressnre from a blunt body, it has been ehown that a wrought iron plate of only a quarter of an inch in thicknees is able to reeist a force or pressure eqnal to that required to rupture a three-inch plank. NeYrReNeUF has ascertained by experiments instead of making them of colored glase} that negative electricity attracts flame, which throughont. positive eleotricity repels. Circular Compass. Mention has already beeu made, in this journal, of the new ciroular compass invented hy M. Dochemiu. We now receive farther particnlars concerning the nature and merits of the invention, 88 reported by onr esteemed exchenge, the Journal of the Franklin Institute: The magnetic force resides, not iu a bar or needle, as in tho ordinery instrament, bnt in a flat eteel rlng, maguetized, with its poles at two opposite extremities of the same diameter. Thie ring, supported upon an elomiuum traverse, pivoted on agate at its center, has attached to it the ordinary compass card, and acts promptly and efficiently. The author claims for it the following advautages: (1) a magnetic power double that of the needle whose length ie that of the diameter of the ring; (2) two uentral points instead of one, as in the ueedle; whence it happsns that none of the magnetism escspes, and thst strong sparks, like those from the Holtz msohine, do not derange the poles; (3) a better and more prompt performance of the compass, the cards eeming to float, as it were, in liqnid; (4) a large increase in the sensitiveness of the instrument; (5) the ability to regulate the magnetio intensity of the ring, and tbus to compensate for local canses. This is effected by meaus of a second magnetized steel ring, smaller than, and inside of the first, the position of which— and therefore its neutralizing sotion—may he easily adjusted. M. Daohemin now proposss, as an improvemeut, the nse of a set of such rngs, forming a spherical or spheroidal system of still greater magnetio power. Unrr or Heat.—The introduction of the socalled nnit of heat in matters of research in this hranch of science has bsen of the greatest importance, asitis evident that the degrees of the thermometer are no direct measnre of the amount of hsat present; for instance, there mnst be eight times more heat necessary to raice a gallon of water 10 degs. than to rsisea pint of water to the same temperature; hut the qnantity required to raise a gallon 10 degs. and apint 80 degs. ie the same. This mekes it clear that the amount of the substance heated must he taken into account as well as _the temperatnre; therefore it has been agreed to adopt a nnit, and to mske this equal to the quantity of caloric necessery to heat one pound of water one deg. Fahr. Applying this principle to the heat obtained from coal, it has heen found that the combustion of one pound of anthracite coal gives 14,220 nnits of heat; that is, thet the combustion of one pound of this oosl will heat 14,220 ponnds water one deg., or 1,422 pounds 10 degs.; 142 pounds 100 degs., and 79 pouuds 180 degs., thns raisiug the latter from 32 degs. to 212 degs.; in other words, by means of the perfect combustion of one pound of anthracite coal we may hest 79 pounds of water from the freezing to tho hoiling point, The perfect combustion of one pound of bitnminons coal gives 13,500 nnits of heat, that is, one-twentieth, or five per cant. sss than anthracite.—Manufaeturer and Builder. Tus Frenon Mernio System.—Mr. Sellers read before the Rsilway Master Mechanics’ Association an exceedingly interestiug paper on this subject, in which he examined the oost of making a radical change in the standard messurement at this time, when the use of machine tools, gauges, eto., is universel, estimating the oost of changing and renewing the stock of en estehlishment equipped for 250 machiuists at not less than $27,000, withont any change in drawings, and the complete change at not less than $150,000. Mr. Sellers conelnded that the adoption of the metric standard in this conntry is now neither practicable nor desirable. Important, 1 Trus.—According to a late nnwmher of Les Mondes, two French chemists have succeeded in converting the nitrogen of the air into ammouie witbout expense, withont chemical manipulation, and even without human intervention at all, by the use of certain bituminous schists. These schists contein all the elements necessary for the growth of plants in muoh lsrger proportions than farm-yard manure, Sulphide of carhon is produced at the same time, and itis said tobe ths only remedy for the phylloxera. Crear Manuraotore oF Oxyorn.—Mr., Mallet menufactares oxygen from the sub-chloride of copper. This sslt hss tbe property, when moistened aud exposed to the air, of absorbing oxygen, forming an oxychloride. When this is heated, water is first liherated, then the oxygen, andthe suhb-chloride, in its originel condition, is left behind. Tbe prooess is claimed to be continuous, and 100 pounds of the material will furnish, it isseid, 50 cuhio feet of oxygen at each operation. New Antoy.—A new invention consists in tho production of a metallio alloy resembling silver more closely than any alloys heretofare produoed in color, epeoifio gravity, malleahility, ductility, ring and general charecteristics. For these purposes the following metels are combined: copper, nickel, tin, zine, cobelt and iron. In eome cases, aleo, a emall proportion—say one-helf per cent.—of aluminum is added. VaniuLa FRom Pinn Trees.—There have recently heen enbmitted to the French Academy eome smell cryetals which are the pare aromatio principle of vauilla. ‘These, it is remarkable to note, were extraoted from conifers,