INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS DURING THE YEAR 1874. cxcix 



a peculiar form of clip, which brought a great amount of 

 friction on the paper, so much so that when the instrument 

 was started the great friction carried the stylus forward. 

 So soon, however, as a current was passed through it, de- 

 composing the paper, all friction appeared to cease, the clip 

 was drawn back, and the pencil slid upon the paper with 

 the utmost ease, and this occurred each time the current 

 passed. Immediately, however, the current ceased, the fric- 

 tion of the paper was restored, and the stylus was drawn for- 

 ward. 



It appears to be a matter of indifference as to the charac- 

 ter of the metal used for the drum, which acts as one of the 

 decomposing electrodes. Of all the solutions tested, potas- 

 sic hydrate was found to give the best results. Lead, thal- 

 lium, and tin, in the order named, are recommended for the 

 stylus. 



The following comments upon the applicability of this 

 discovery of Mr. Edinson, condensed from one of our best 

 scientific journals, will best serve to illustrate its impor- 

 tance : 



The salient feature in Mr. Edinson's present discovery is 

 the production of motion and of sound by the stylus, without 

 the intervention of a magnet and armature. By the motion 

 thus produced he operates any of the ordinary forms of tele- 

 graphic printing or sounding instruments or relays, and is 

 enabled to send messages by direct transmission over thou- 

 sands of miles of wire at the highest speed, without rewrit- 

 ing or delay of any kind. More than this, his apparatus 

 operates in a highly effective manner under the weakest 

 electric currents, and he is enabled to receive and transmit 

 messages by currents so weak that the ordinary magnetic 

 instruments fail to operate, or even give an indication of the 

 passage of a current. Thus, when the common instruments 

 stand still, owing to the weakness of the current, the Edin- 

 son telegraph will work up to its fullest capacity. 



The discovery upon which this new system of telegraphy 

 is based has attracted much attention both here and abroad ; 

 and involving, as it does, a new discovery in science, may 

 undoubtedly be called the most interesting and valuable 

 contribution to telegraphic progress that has lately been 

 made. 



