X NOTES BY THE EDITOR 



and every other country where steam is employed as an agent of 

 power and motive force. 



" We may further observe," continues Mr. F., " that we are far 

 from arriving at that point of economy in the use of steam which an 

 increased pressure and a still greater expansion is calculated to attain. 

 It is true that the danger of explosion may be increased, and so it 

 would be with our present means ; but in our locomotive engines we 

 already work steam at 200 pounds pressure on the square inch with 

 greater safety than is done in our stationary engines at a reduced pres- 

 sure ; it is, therefore, evident that we are behind in this department, 

 and a wide field is still open for improvement. It is not our province 

 to point out how this can be accomplished, but we may safely affirm 

 that the improvements already attained are only the precursors of 

 others of much greater importance in the economy and use of steam." 



The interruption of the accustomed supply of cotton during the 

 last two years has awakened renewed attention throughout the civil- 

 ized world to the subject of procuring new or substitute fibres for 

 cotton, and many fresh projects have been started and old ones re- 

 vived. Thus far, however, little or no success has attended these 

 efforts, and it is a noticeable fact that the " trade " everywhere do 

 not believe in them. Still, there are many who, after living to see 

 the inventions of the last thirty years, have vague impressions that 

 something may come of the many attempts made to find a substitute 

 for the cotton fibre. Some are even sanguine of such a result. 

 " Fabrics may be produced," they say, " which are not identical with 

 cotton, but which it is not improbable may be cheap enough, and of 

 good quality enough, to enter into competition with cotton goods." 

 We propose briefly to discuss this important subject, and to indicate 

 to our readers the present state of our knowledge concerning it. 



New Fibres Proposed. During the past year considerable atten- 

 tion has been given in Great Britain to a proposal to extract a fibre 

 from an abundant marine plant, known as the " Zostera marina" or 

 " grass-wrack." The plant takes its name from the Greek word zos- 

 ter, signifying a ribbon, from the shape of the leaves, which resemble 

 a long, narrow tape, and often reach a length of from three to four 

 feet. In the British Islands it is used as a common material for pack- 

 ing, and by poor persons for stuffing beds and cushions. It has also 

 been included in several patents for paper-making. Fibres extracted 

 from it were exhibited at the last meeting of the British Association, 

 and their value advocated ; but the general opinion seemed to be that 

 they could not be produced in any quantity, and were too weak and 

 brittle to allow of any extensive practical application. 



