202 abstracts: electrical engineering 



ANTHROPOLOGY.— Coos texts. L. J. Frachtenberg. Columbia 

 University Contributions to Anthropology 1 : 1-216. 1913. 

 These texts represent the Coos myths obtained in 1909 and those 

 obtained by H. H. St. Clair, 2d, in 1903. The latter are normalized 

 by Frachtenberg in his own phonetic scheme, save such words as are 

 problematic. In these cases the correct form is given usually in foot- 

 notes. Interlinear translations accompany the first two myths, and 

 these, as well as the vocabulary at the end, the list of suffixes, and the 

 references to Frachtenberg's sketch of Coos grammar (Handbook of 

 American Indian Languages, Bulletin 40, part 2, Bur. Amer. Ethnology, 

 pp. 297^29) make it easy to follow the native text. L. J. F. 



ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING.— ^//ec^roZys/s from electric railway 

 currents and its prevention. An experimental test on a system of 

 insulated return feeders in St. Louis. E. B. Rosa, B. McCollitm 

 and K. H. Logan. Bureau of Standards Technologic Paper 

 No. 32. (In press.) 

 The paper describes a comparative test on electrolysis conditions, 

 first under a system of uninsulated return feeders, and then under an 

 insulated feeder system, the same amount of copper being used in each 

 test. Rail gradients were taken on a measured length of four feet of 

 rail on all rails on both sides of each feeder tap. The average rail 

 gradient with uninsulated feeders was 0.91 volts for the twenty-four 

 hour period, and for the insulated feeders, 0.47 volts. Potential wires 

 were placed 4 feet apart on 14 water and 7 gas pipes at points where the 

 current on the pipes would probably be the largest. The average 

 Current flow on the pipes when the uninsulated feeder system was in 

 operation was 5.7 times greater than under the insulated feeder system, 

 there being no metallic connections between pipes and rails in either 

 case. Potential differences between water pipes and rails observed at a 

 large number of points, show a marked improvement under the insulated 

 system. Twenty-two over-all potentials were measured between the 

 tracks at the substation and the most distant feeding points. The 

 average of those values was 10.4 volts with uninsulated and 2.6 volts 

 with insulated feeders. The corresponding gradients in volts per thous- 

 and feet were 2.6 and 0.35 volts respectively. There is comparatively 

 little difference in net cost of the two systems, while a summary of the 

 test data shows that electrolysis conditions are very much better under 

 the insulated return feeder system than under the uninsulated system. 



G. K. Burgess. 



