Oct. 17, 1884.] 



♦ KNOWLEDGE 



329 



reveal on recovering to its normal state, and " consequently the 

 soul caunot put itself in evidence." — Miss L. W. Tojii.iNsox and 

 others send accounts of the afterglows, which appear to be once 

 more increasing in intensity. — W. H. H.vrrison. Many thanks, but 

 our columns are crowded to an extent in excess of any previous expe- 

 rience. The puzzle is really what to do with matter already in type. 

 B. M., F.R.C.S., M. C. X., E. W. J., Rev. F. S. Lka, C. E. D., W. C.P., 

 F., A. E. S., A. Be>-nett, W. H., H. B. L., W. H. S. Monck, W., 

 and others writing on the subject of " Life after Death," one 

 and all reiterate, in various forms, the argument from the 

 analogy of the condition of the drowned man to that of a person 

 unconscious from sleep, the effect of narcotics or ana,'sthetics, 

 or from disease. — John Bell. Your letter on the same subject 

 is excluded by its length. This remark applies, too, to the very 

 clever and well-reasoned letters of Lancashire Mox, Chas. Rose, 

 W. T. E., and J. T. Routledge. The present pressure on our 

 limited space is tremendous. — T. Common. You run dangerously 

 near the boundary liuo — even if you do not actually cross it. — 

 H'sETT tells a story of a wealthy Jew who won a bet of £10, and 

 £80 besides, at poker of a Califorcian gambler while crossing the 

 Atlantic. — Alfred Kitson. You ignore the fact that I most care- 

 fully investigated tlie subject for myself. I will not waste too 

 precious space by admitting its discussion here. Vour attempt to 

 do so indirectly is shrewd enough, but " I think not," said the 

 Iamb. — Dr. Cory. I inserted the letter of " F. S." solely on the 

 principle Audi alteram partem, albeit I am absolutely in accord 

 with you that vaccination is "one of the most benificent medical 

 appliances that has ever been used." I wish that you could see 

 your way to a material condensation of your argument, as the 

 great length of your communication entirely precludes its inser- 

 tion. With — as I have said elsewhere — 100 columns of matter 

 actually standing in type ; with " Editorial Gossip," Reviews, lic, 

 hopelessly crowded out, it will be impossible, for some time to 

 come, to insert any letters but those very briefly worded. — Chas. J. 

 Ryan. Undoubtedly. A small spectroscope fitted to a 5i in. 

 reflector would show you the lines in the solar prominences. A 

 rainband one would do so perfectly. Yon might even see the pro- 

 minences themselves if you chose to risk blinding yourself. 

 Alcyone is not " the central sun round which the solar system re- 

 volves." — A. E. CoNTE. Your postal order and stamps forwarded to 

 the Publishers. The Editor has nothing to do with such matters. 

 — Nigel Dohle. No, the data are insufficient. Y'ou cannot even 

 find the hour angle of a star from the meridian without knowing 

 the latitude and its declination, as well as its altitude. Given the 

 declination of a star, its hour angle, and the latitude of the place, 

 though, its altitude and azimuth may be determined. — Theodore 

 Bell. No, the motion of the sea or air might be converted into 

 heat, bat the converse is impracticable. Difference of temperature 

 is a nine qud non in the development of mechanical energy. If 

 every part of a steam-engine, for example, were equally heated, it 

 would cease to act. — W. I had many scores of solutions of the 

 Figure Puzzle, which I wish, with all my heart, now had been sent 

 to " The Family Tea-tray." Any succinct explanation of its theory 

 would have been inserted, but noue such reached us. With refer- 

 ence to "Coincidences" it may — or may not — be that the two 

 multitudes were identical. This in no way affects the fact that 

 they were, or are, multitudes. — Knowledge addresses readers of 

 the most diverse possible tastes. One man wants it to consist 

 mainly of mathematical papers ; another thinks it should be tilled 

 with tricycling ; a third (with, I fear, much more reason) that 

 geology is neglected, and so on. Do you remember the fable of the 

 old man and his ass ? 



[The "Life after Death" controversy must now terminate, as 

 it is seriously encroaching on our space, to the exclusion of other 

 subjects of interest. A few more letters (already marked for inser- 

 tion, on account of their containing more or less novel contributions 

 to the discussion) ,will appear, but none subsequently received will 

 do so.] 



The International Electrical Exhibition at Philadelphia, which 

 was highly successful, the receipts largely exceeding the expenses, 

 was closed on Saturday night. 



Errata. — Page 302, first paragraph of Editorial Gossip, for 

 " decensus " read "descensus." Page 303, Review of "Techno- 

 logical Examinations, &c.," delete comma after "devoted," and 

 read " devoted the money " ; delete also the word " and " after 

 " Brompton." Page 306, column two, " Ephermeris " should be 

 "Ephemeris"; and, in reply to Roland Ellis, "'his surface" is 

 printed for "her surface." In footnote to Letter 1449 (p. 306), 

 delete the comma after " laterally," and for " and it is in " read 

 " than it is in." 



COr Jnbrntors' Column. 



So great is the nuniber of inventions now patented that many good 

 things are comparatively lost in the crowd. A succinct account, 

 therefore, by an Expert, of all inveyitions of really popxUar interest 

 and utility must be advantageous both to the public and the 

 Inventor, enabling persons to hear of inventions already desiderated 

 by them, and thus acting reciprocally as a stimulant on supply 

 and dimand. 



AN IMPROVED SASH-FASTENER. 



Irrespective of the want of security in ordinary window- 

 catches, they do not even exclude draught or prevent the sashes 

 from rattling. Wedges are clumsy and inconvenient contrivances, 

 and the proper remedy is undoubtedly an invention like one 

 patented by Mr. John Bennett, of 149a, Great Hampton-row, Bir- 

 mingham. The device in question is simple enough. The knob of 

 the ordinary fastener is converted into a screw-nut, which cannot 

 become detached, and by merely turning, draws the sashes together 

 so closely that a sheet of tissue-paper cannot be interposed. This 

 arrangement is absolutely thief-proof and draught-proof. It is, 

 moreover, very cheap, and should come into universal household 

 use. 



IMPROVED GLAZING. 



SKTLionTs of all kinds are notoriously troublesome, on account of 

 leakage, notwithstanding the many patented systems of improved 

 glazing. Mr. George Deacon, of 103, Lower Thrift-street, Northamp- 

 ton, has, however, invented a method of glazing suited for all kinds 

 of roofs and horticultural buildings, which is claimed to be a perfect 

 remedy for all the evils incidental to ordinary skylights. In this 

 invention the rafters to carry the glass are made with a circular 

 groove down the centre of the top edge, to carry off any water that 

 may force a passage between the squares of glass which are laid 

 down edge to edge on the centre of the rafter. The glass is secured 

 by means of a galvanised iron, or, it may be, a brass, nut, provided 

 with an indiarubber washer underneath, to prevent the breaking of 

 the glass under pressure. The panes are made to pass the screw 

 for the nut by cutting off the top corners under the lap. The ver- 

 tical glazing is secured by a small round-headed screw. The glass 

 butts each way. Under this system any leakage is said to be 

 impossible. 



AN IMPROVED SPANNER. 



A NEW spanner is now being introduced by Messrs. Turner, 

 Naylor, & Marples, of Leeds, and is claimed to be superior to the 

 ordinary screw-wrench in several respects. Fitted, as it is, with 

 the Clybnrn-spanner motion, it can be adjusted to the work in hand 

 with ease and correctness, and, when so adjusted, it cannot be 

 shifted bj- being laid aside or thrown down. In the ordinary 

 ■m-ench the screw on the leg and the cutting in the body to admit 

 the ring, weakened the tool where strength is most required. In 

 this wreuch these weaknesses are avoided, and the whole strength 

 of the tool is made available. Another defect of the ordinary 

 appliance is avoided, we are told, in the improved wrench by 

 making the handle fast to the body, thus giving the user a firm grip 

 of the tool and a thorough command of his work. The jaws are 

 not cut, and the wrench can, consequently, be applied to bright- 

 work without injury. 



PATENT TROUGHS F(iR HOLDIN"G AND KEEPING CUT 

 GRAPES. 



Mb. George Ward, the well-known grape-grower of Bishop 

 Stortford, has patented an invention which entirely abolishes the 

 objections of the "bottle" method, and relieves the grower of 

 grapes of every kind of difiiculty in properly keeping grapes after 

 they are cut. This invention is characterised by extreme simpli- 

 city. The troughs employed are oblong in shape, and about 17 in. 

 long, and are made single and double, of glazed earthenware, which 

 possesses the advantage of being non-porous, cleanly, and cheap ; 

 but they could be made in many other materials. Each trough 

 has a flange or ledge, against one of its sides in the single trough, 

 and in the middle of the double trough. The manner of using 

 them is as follows : — The trough is filled with water nearly up to 

 the brim. The shoot bearing the bunch of grapes is cut from the 

 vine suflBciently long to admit of the bunch hanging free of the 

 trough in its natural position, while the end of the shoot is in- 

 serted under the ledge or flange. The shoot acts as a lever 

 working on the edge of the trough as a fulcrum ; the weight of 

 the grapes thus presses the end of the shoot firmly up against the 

 ledge or flange, and the bunch then holds itself in position without 

 any tying or fastening whatever. All grape-growers will appre- 

 ciate this invention. 



