126 Commendatore G. Marconi [March 18, 



over the question of rates with the telegraph companies working the 

 land-lines between Glace Bay and the principal towns of Canada and 

 the United States, and at present the strange anomaly exists that the 

 rates for press messages on the American land-lines are much cheaper 

 for messages going from England to New York than in the reverse 

 direction. 



On February 3 this service was extended to ordinary messages 

 between London and Montreal. 



The stations at Clifden and Glace Bay are not complete, and the 

 necessary duplication of the running machinery has not yet been 

 executed, but nevertheless communication across the Atlantic has 

 never been interrupted for more than a few hours since the com- 

 mencement of commercial working on October 17 last. 



There have, however, been several serious interruptions at Clifden, 

 due to the unreliability of the land-lines coiniecting Clifden to the 

 ordinary telegraph system. On one occasion one of these interrup- 

 tions lasted from 5.20 p.m. to 10.30 a.m., a duration of 17 hours ; 

 and on another occasion the land telegraph wires were struck by light- 

 ning and disabled for 12 hours. There have also been recorded 

 numerous other interruptions of shorter duration, which resulted in 

 delays to private and press messages. 



Further delays have also been caused through interruptions on 

 the land-lines connected with the Canadian station. 



Daring the first months, on account of imperfections in the 

 auxiliary apparatus connected principally with the operating keys 

 and switches, only a fraction of the available transmitting power was 

 used. In consequence of this the speed of transmission was slow, 

 and short interruptions somewhat frequent. 



Many of these difficulties have now been overcome, and in a few 

 more months, when it should be possible to utilise the full power 

 available, a very much greater speed and efficiency is likely to be 

 attained. 



Messages can now be transmitted across the Atlantic by day 

 as well as by night, but there still exist certain periods, fortunately 

 of short duration, when transmission across the Atlantic is difficult 

 and at times ineffective, unless an amount of energy greater than that 

 used during what I might call normal conditions is employed. 



Thus, in the mornini^ and evening when, due to tlie difference in 

 longitude, daylight or darkness extends only part of the way across 

 the Atlantic, the received signals are weak and sometimes cease 

 altogether. 



It would almost appear as if iUuminated space possessed for elec- 

 tric waves a different refractive index to dark space, and that in con- 

 sequence the electric waves may be refracted and reflected in passing 

 from one medium to the other. It is therefore probable that these 

 difficulties would not be experienced in telegraphing over equal dis- 

 tances from north to south, or vice ver^d, as in this case the passage 



