PATENTS. 



743 



35 per cent. The claim of 93 per cent., made 

 for the balance motor, is, therefore, very 

 high, and, if sustained in practice, should com- 

 mand the attention of those who are interested 

 in water-power. A glance at the diagram will 

 indicate the principle involved. N early the 

 whole weight of water is obviously economized, 

 and maintained during the entire descent, some 

 slight waste occurring, of course, from leak- 

 age. On a small and imperfect scale, the fa- 

 miliar endless-chain pump illustrates the See- 

 ly-Allin motor. Every one who has used such 

 a pump must have noticed its reversed action 

 when the crank is released, the weight of water 

 in the pipe carrying the chain down with it. 

 If a stream of water were turned into the 

 pipe, the movement of the chain would be- 

 come constant. In the case of the motor un- 

 der consideration, the pipe is made as large as 

 the water-supply will warrant, the floats cor- 

 responding as closely as possible with its cross- 

 section. The stream fills the alternating sec- 

 tions at the top of the pipe, and the weight 

 of water carries them down as in the case of 

 the chain-pump. Apparently, this system is 

 applicable to almost any conceivable water- 

 power. 



Wave-Power, Utilization oft The enormous 

 waste of mechanical force along the sea-coast 

 and on the shores of all bodies of water large 

 enough for waves, created either by natural 

 causes or by passing steamers, has long tempt- 

 ed inventors. Many devices have been made, 

 some of them very elaborate, but most of them 

 were conceived with an eye to the lifting- 

 power of the waves upon a buoyant body, 

 whereas the tremendous force of a wave is in 

 its momentum. The simplest and most effi- 

 cient plan that has yet been devised is shown 

 in the illustration. It was invented and con- 

 structed by S. B. Palmer, and pumped water 



WAVE-POWER. 



from the St. Lawrence river to his cottage, 

 through a f-inch pipe, 200 feet long, to a tank 

 40 feet above the water-level. The construc- 

 tion is clear from the illustration. The posts 

 were anchored in crib-work deep enough to 

 allow the in-coming waves to pass freely be- 

 tween them. The plank float suspended at the 

 ends of the arms was six inches wide and six 

 feet long. The rod attached to the middle arm 



worked the pump. Very small waves sufficed 

 to keep the arms in effective motion, and larger 

 ones had a correspondingly greater effect. It 

 would seem that, with more scientific methods, 

 this simple device might be developed into a 

 highly efficient and economical engine, not 

 only for pumping water, but possibly for ail 

 compression or other mechanical appliances. 

 For tidal waters, it would only be necessary 

 to lengthen the arms and attach the float to 

 them, so that it would rise and fall by its own 

 buoyancy, keeping all the time at or near the 

 surface of the water, and free at any stage of 

 the tide to swing with the motion of the waves. 

 Wire Fences. The very general use of wire 

 fences, especially such as are made with barbs, 

 has developed some objections to them. Valua- 

 ble animals have been thrown down and injured, 

 in some cases fatally, by becoming entangled in 

 the wires. These accidents have led to the 

 adoption of various devices for rendering such 

 fences at once stronger, more easily seen, and 



WIRE FENCES. 



less likely to cause injury. A fence consist- 

 ing of three or four single wires may be im- 

 proved by inserting pickets alternately on one 

 side and the other of the successive wires, as 

 at A. With such a fence the work can be 

 easily done by hand, but the pickets are not 

 held very firmly unless otherwise fastened, or 

 forced closely together. A better fence is 

 made with double instead of single wires, the 

 pickets being placed as at B, and held firmly 

 by the wires alone. Such a fence can not very 

 easily be constructed with the unaided hands, 

 and many devices have been patented to do the 

 work. One of the simplest of these is shown 

 at B. The wires pass through eyes in collars 

 fitted to the upright crank-shaft. The effect 

 of giving the crank a half-turn is to open the 

 wires as shown. Another half- turn changes 

 the position of the wires those on the left 

 shifting to the right, and vice versa. Between 

 the half-turns the pickets are placed in posi- 

 tion, and as the fence progresses they are in- 

 terwoven firmly by the alternating wires. The 

 crank with its standard is moved along when- 

 ever necessary. This device is the invention 

 of George L. Sutton, of Platteville, Iowa. 



Wire-Painting Machine. The wide introduc- 

 tion of wire fences, some of which require 

 painting from time to time, has led to the in- 

 vention by K. Quatermass, of Moline, Kansas, 

 of a double rotary brush, which revolves in a 

 trough partly filled with paint. The wire to 



