80 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



Experimenting upon the sulphate of ammonia, as recommended by Guy- 

 Lussuc, they further state that a solution containing seven per cent, of the 

 crystals, or sixty-two per cent, of anhydrous salt, is perfectly anti-flamma- 

 ble, and add : " Tungstate of soda ranges among the salts which can be manu- 

 factured on a large scale, at a cheap rate. A solution containing twenty 

 per cent, renders the muslin perfectly non-inflammable. It acts, apparently, 

 by firml}' enveloping the fibre, and thereby excluding the contact with the 

 air. It is very smooth, and of a fatty appearance, like talc, and this prop- 

 erty facilitates the ironing process, which all other salts resist." And again: 

 "For all laundry purposes the tungstate of soda can only be recommended." 



The following formula is given as having proved efficacious, and will 

 simplify the application : " A concentrated neutral solution of tungstate of 

 soda is diluted with water to twenty-eight degrees Twaddle, an alkalio- 

 mcter so called, and then mixed with three per cent, of phosphate of soda. 

 This solution was found to keep and to answer well. It has been intro- 

 duced into her Majesty's laundry, where it is constantly used." 



The solution can be applied to any fabric. It is only necessary to dip the 

 cleansed article in the prepared fluid, and then drain and dry it, after which 

 it may be ironed ; or, if preferred, the solution may be incorporated with 

 the starch to be used in the stiffening. Although the above are not the only 

 experiments that have been tried in Europe, yet they are, perhaps, the most 

 successful, and the result should be accepted, and the advice followed, 

 wherever these fabrics are used. The lightest materials, when submitted to 

 this preparation, may char and shrivel, but they will not blaze. As the 

 usual solicitude and warnings will not avert the fatal consequences, it 

 would seem that the only method of saving life from ignition of clothing 

 consists in wearing those articles only which have been steeped in this life- 

 saving fluid. 



INTERESTING FACTS IN REGARD TO THE VALUE OF SEWING- 

 MACHINES. 



In the recent contest before the Commissioner of Patents for the extension 

 of Howe's patent for sewing-machines, the following facts were proved in 

 relation to the value of the patent, which, at first thought, are certainly 

 astonishing. 



Ezra Baker states that the amount of the boot and shoe business of 

 Massachusetts is $55,000,000 annually, and the ladies' and misses' gaiter 

 boot and shoe business is at least one-half of the whole boot and shoe busi- 

 ness in that state; and is, therefore, equal to $27,500,000. He also states 

 that about one-eleventh of these $55,000,000 is paid for sewing labor. From 

 this proportion it appears that the annual sewing labor upon ladies' and 

 misses' gaiter boots and shoes is $2,500,000, and that it would cost four 

 times as much if done by hand; so that the annual saving by this inven- 

 tion in the manufacture of ladies' and misses' boots and shoes in one state 

 is $7,590,000. The price of these shoes has been reduced to the consumer 

 one-half by the introduction of sewing-machines the price of material 

 remaining the same. 



Oliver F. Winchester is a manufactm-er of shirts at New Haven, Conn. 

 He says that his factory turns out about eight hundred dozen per week; 

 that he uses four hundred sewing-machines, and that a machine, with an 

 attendant, will do the work of five hand-sewers at least, and do it better. 



