622 



PATENTS. 



ing retreat for bedbugs during their hours of 

 idleness. Immersion in scalding water, or burn- 

 ing the block bodily, will effectually destroy 

 the catch. The inventor is F. F. Baggesen, of 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. 



Rubber Heel-Cushion. This invention is 

 designed to relieve the shock that results from 

 walking on hard pavements or from constant 

 standing in moving vehicles. In effect, the 

 device is a small rubber mat, backed with light 

 leather, which is fixed in the heel of the shoe. 



RUBBER HEEL-CUSHION. 



This mat or cushion, about one quarter the ac- 

 tual size, is shown at the right. The rubber 

 structure magnified is at the left. Railroad 

 men, and others who are subjected to the con- 

 stant jarring of travel, are liable to spinal com- 

 plaints, which some such contrivance as this 

 might wholly prevent. C. J. Bailey, of Newton, 

 Mass., is the patentee. 



Cyclone Refuge. In what is known as " the 

 cyclone belt " it has become common to con- 

 struct subterranean retreats near dwelling- 

 houses, wherein the family may take refuge 

 when the dreaded tornado cloud appears in the 



circular seat surrounds the central area. Suf- 

 ficient ventilation is afforded by small holes near 

 the apex of the structure, and a ventilating pipe 

 opens through the floor passing under the ex- 

 terior wall. The structure, it is believed, will 

 afford perfect security against any storm how- 

 ever violent, and although it might be crushed 

 by the impact of a sufficiently heavy body, the 

 chances are largely in its favor. The structure 

 has been patented by its inventor. 



Electric Reading-Lamps. The question of 

 lighting railway carriages is rather complicated, 

 some passengers preferring just enough light to 

 enable them to enter and leave the train, and 

 others demanding enough to read by while the 

 train is in motion. Of course, the railway com- 

 panies naturally lean to the side of economy. 

 The Metropolitan District Railway of London 

 has adopted a system which seems to give the 

 public just what it wants, and at the same time 

 permits a satisfactory profit. The invention is 

 neither more nor less than a penny-in-the-slot 

 light. A Mr. Tourtel is the inventor, and pre- 

 liminary experiments are said to have given sat- 

 isfaction. The mechanism of the lamp is very 

 simple, being contained in a box three inches by 

 five inches. A penny is dropped into the slot at 

 the top of the box, and on subsequently pressing 

 a knob an electric light is turned on, ample for 

 all purposes of reading, which burns brightly 

 for half an hour. At the end of that time it 

 is automatically extinguished, but can be re- 

 lighted at the expenditure of another penny. 

 The light is about three-candle power, and is 



CYCLONE REFUGE. 



vicinity. Such hiding-places, however, are apt 

 to be damp and uncomfortable, and an improve- 

 ment has been attempted by Reuben Quater- 

 mass, of Moline, Kan. Several heavy posts are 

 sunk in the earth and securely anchored to beams 

 laid horizontally several feet below the surface 

 of the ground. The posts incline together, form- 

 ing a conical framework, which is covered with 

 heavy planking securely bolted and with the 

 lower ends sunk a few inches below the surface. 

 An outside sheathing of sheet metal forms an 

 earth connection for electrical currents, and con- 

 ductors lead still farther into the earth. A 

 heavy door affords access to the interior, where a 



concentrated by a shaded reflector, so that only 

 he who is entitled to its benefits can receive the 

 direct rays. A most remarkable and commend- 

 able feature of the device is its honesty, for if 

 the supply of electricity fails, the penny drops 

 out into the hands of the customer. Should 

 these lamps prove as successful in practice as 

 the preliminary experiments indicate, their use 

 will not be confined to railways. 



Improved Dam or Levee. The country has 

 had such terrible warnings regarding the inse- 

 curity of earthen embankments, whether used 

 as dams proper or for levees to confine rivers to 

 their courses, that an invention which promises 



