546 ANNUAL RECORD OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



chine, into a sort of leather-wool, which was then mixed with 

 caoutchouc and different chemical reagents, kneaded by ma- 

 chinery into a thick pasty mass, and formed in metal moulds, 

 dried, and subjected to a gradually increasing pressure until 

 it w T as finished, under 6000 to 10,000 pounds to the square 

 inch. The appearance of leather is imparted to it by a light 

 coatino:. Articles manufactured from this material are said 

 to be 50 per cent, cheaper than those from leather, and can 

 be made in the same manner, while they are also perfectly 

 water-proof. Chemical investigation shows it to consist of 

 about 40 per cent, caoutchouc and 60 per cent, leather. 14 

 C 9 CCXXIIL, 1874, 81. 



MANUFACTURE OF COPPER AND BRASS WIRE. 



In order to produce very long strips of brass or co]3per, to 

 be drawn into wire, Laveissiere & Son, of Paris, have devised 

 a plan of cutting them from circular plates in spiral form by 

 means of circular shears. 14 (7, CCXV., 1875, 377. 



NEW TREATMENT OF HIDES IN TANNING. 



The following preliminary treatment of hides, patented by 

 Sainte-Marie, is said to materially shorten the time required 

 for tanning, and in the one case to afford a soft, pliable ma- 

 terial, and in the other to render the hides more suitable for 

 the reception of dyes. The hides, after being freed from 

 hair and flesh by caustic alkalies, are immersed in an aque- 

 ous solution of sulphate of ammonia, 6 to 11 pounds to from 

 800 to 1000 quarts of water, or in a solution of 11 pounds 

 of sulphate of ammonia, and 22 pounds of sulphate of soda, 

 in 800 to 1000 quarts of water. 15 (7, XVIII, 1874, 288. 



CUTTING AND BORING CAOUTCHOUC CORKS. 



By moistening the knife or borer with a moderately strong 

 solution of caustic soda and potash, instead of water or alco- 

 hol, it is said that India rubber may be cut with as much ease 

 as ordinary cork-wood. 9 C,Jiilp, 1874, 106. 



A WRITING-MACHINE. 



It is said that in Austria there exists an official Bureau of 

 Stenography, and that a uniformity in stenographic writing 

 is imposed upon all the profession. Usually the writing of 



