I 'ATK NTS. 



709 



has devised an improved clamp, which apparently 



is very convenient. The frame or ca>e is made. 

 uf malleable east iron, at out- end of which is a 



clamping lever of 

 the usual t\pe, 

 formed with uu 

 eccentric notched 

 upon its lower 

 surface to engage 

 tlif rope. This 

 lever lias an in- 

 clined slot for its 

 pivotal pin, so 

 that it seizes the 

 rope, forces the 

 lever forward, and 

 causes it to bear 

 outwardly upon 



the rope, thus increasing its holding force. At 

 the opposite end of the frame are two rigid rings, 

 through which the rope passes-, and can be at- 

 tached wherever required (see Fig. 17). 



Ensilage. Processes for the preparation of 

 ensilage are numerous, and are probably more 

 familiar to agriculturists- in European countries 

 than in America. But the building of silos, 

 either below ground or above, is not uncommon 

 in this country. Cuthbert G. Johnson, an Kng- 

 lishman, has patented in this country a process 

 for the preparation of ensilage, which is claimed 

 to be highly efficient, though, so far as known, it 

 has not laeen tested in this climate. The device 

 consists in placing the material in a stack above 



which 



Fio. 17. 



Fio. 18. 



ground. Near the circumference at the foot of 

 the stack, and attached to the solid platform, are 

 fixed blocks on pulleys. Through these, and 

 over the top of the stack, ropes are passed, and 

 the ordinary appliances of mechanics can be 

 used to produce any desired amount of compres- 

 sion upon the stack. Fig. 18 shows a section of 

 the stack, with the pulleys in position. The free 

 ends of the rope pass to cleats or to other blocks, 

 which, with the ordinary combinations, may be 

 used to increase the pressure. The idea of the 

 invention seems to be to avoid the expense of 

 digging deep pits, usually employed, or the ex- 

 pensive structures that are sometimes erected 

 above ground. 



Storm Apron. Anyone who has ridden far in 

 a carriage during a driving storm will appreciate 

 the device reeentlv patented by Dr. P. J. Gibbons 

 nnd David It. Shelley, of Pennsylvania (Fig. 19). 

 The ordina'-v carriage boot, it will be remem- 

 bered, is rolled up and stowed on the inner side 



rio 



of tin- danh-board. The present device i* an 



apioii of ruhtx-r, oil-cloth, or other waterproof 

 material, so cut as to fit over and out-idt- the 

 dash-lxmrd. It ha* 

 hide flaps, 

 comph-tely 

 the Moor of the car- 

 riage or buggy, with 

 elastic, .strips to hold 

 them in position, 

 held fast to the side 

 of the seat, and 

 leather straps to 

 raise it, so as to 

 protect the person 

 of the driver. The 

 old-fashioned boot 

 allowed the water 

 to drain down, and 

 almost inevitably 

 to find its way into 

 the bottom of the 

 vehicle; the present device causes it all to flow 

 outside and fall to the earth. 



Swinging Ships' Berths. The wretchedness 

 that results from sea-sickness and the increasing 

 number of ocean travelers have set inventors to 

 work to alleviate their discomfort. Several in- 

 ventions of the kjnd were shown at the recent 

 Marine Exhibition in Boston. These differed 

 from one another simply in detail. Some of the 

 favorite ocean liners, as the " City of Berlin." 

 " Chicago," " Chester," and " Citv of Richmond," 

 and some of the shins of the North Ger- 

 man Lloyd Company have used these devices 

 with satisfactory results. The berths can be 

 placed in an ordinary state-room ; some of them 

 scarcely occupv more space than is taken by the 

 fixed berth. (5reat ingenuity has been exen.-ix d 

 in securing sufficient swing by reciprocating 

 motion, so that the actual space of the state- 

 room will not be largely diminished. Some of 

 the berths will respond readily to a roll of over 

 50, while in point of fact a vessel in the rough- 

 est sea rarely rolls more than 40 or 45. So 

 nice are the adjustments in the 24-inch berth 

 that it requires, it is said, only 26| inches for its 

 full operation. This is highly important when 

 it is remembered that saloon cabins do not 

 average more than 6 feet 2 inches in length, and 

 27 to 29 inches behind the doors. One of the 

 berths is in appearance almost like a piece of 

 movable household furniture, and scarcely more 

 bulky than a sideboard or an upright piano. 

 Most of these berths are hung so as to swing on 

 pivots at the head and foot : but others are sus- 

 pended from above by a central point of support, 

 so that the pitch, as well as the roll of the Vt* 

 sel, is sensibly modified. Great ingenuity has 

 been displayed in the adaptation of spare cor- 

 ners and nooks of the berths to hold toilet arti- 

 cles, books, a.id the other little necessaries of 

 which every traveler has a troublesome store. In 

 the case of the free-swinging U-rths, rubWr pack- 

 ing and springs are neeessarv to take part of the 

 strain, and practical tests have shown that a 

 glass of water, nearly full, can safely be left for 

 hours in a berth, even when a \e--el is passing 

 through a tempestuous sea. Most of these in- 

 ventions have been tested, and may now be aid 

 to have passed the ex|K-rimental stage. 



