110 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



An effective method of remedying the evils arising from organic 

 matter deposited on public thoroughfares is becoming daily a 

 serious matter for consideration with sanitary authorities, as much 

 sickness is believed to arise from the malaria emanating from 

 this source. The disgusting odor and dangerous nature of some 

 of the deodorizing agents used were strong evidence that they 

 would not be used at all if the necessity for some determined 

 action to prevent the spread of contagion and disease was not 

 fully recognized. The deliquescent chloride of aluminum, re- 

 cently introduced to public notice by Professor Gamgee, seemed 

 to meet all the requirements needed in the antiseptic of the 

 future. It was non-poisonous, and free from any odor; it pre- 

 vented decomposition, and arrested it when commenced. It 

 absorbed noxious gases resulting from putrefaction, and de- 

 stroyed parasites and germs. It was also not to be surpassed as a 

 precipitant and deodorizer of sewage, and was only one-third the 

 cost of carbolic acid. Mr. Cooper proposed to add a sufficient 

 percentage of this chloride to the salts for street-watering, and 

 thereby afford a means of thoroughly and effectually purifying 

 public thoroughfares without additional cost to the rate-payers, 

 the value of the water and labor saved being more than sufficient 

 to pay for the use of the chlorides. 



There seems to be considerable activity in invention abroad. 

 The stimulating . effect of the war on military invention seems, 

 however, to be gradually subsiding. 



Interesting to nautical men is a newly patented Steering Gear, 

 which is an ingenious application of hydraulic pressure to move 

 the rudder. The rudder-head is provided with a strong tiller, 

 which is actuated by means of a pair of hydraulic rams placed 

 horizontally on each side of the tiller athwart the ship. These 

 rams are connected together at their inner ends, between which 

 they carry a block or bush, which works on the turned cylindri- 

 cal end of the tiller, and which permits the tiller to slide radially. 

 These hydraulic cylinders have branches attached to their outer 

 ends, to which strong hydraulic pipes terminate in a slide valve 

 chest having three ports, namely, one of the end ports, commu- 

 nicating with one of the above-named hydraulic cylinders, which 

 the inventor calls the port cylinder, the other extreme part with 

 the other or starboard cylinder, and between these two ports the 

 exhaust port is laid. 



Mr. E. Weare, of Stonehouse, England, has patented a method 

 of Utilizing Waste Thread in the manufacture of textile fabrics. lie 

 accomplishes the end sought by returning the waste threads to 

 the condensing carding engines by means of mechanism, the 

 greater part of which is attached to one of the scribblers, in pref- 

 erence to the last. Over the end of the carding engine, rollers 

 are fixed, over which rollers the waste thread from one side of 

 the engine is conducted to the other side, and the threads from the 

 two sides of the engine thus brought side by side. The waste 

 threads are taken up by, or coiled upon, a roller or spoon driven 

 by any convenient gearing from the carding engine or otherwise ; 

 and the said roller or spool, when filled with the waste threads, 



