Nov. 7, 1884.] 



. KNOWLEDGE . 



393 



(Buy Jnbrntor5' Column. 



So great is the number of inventions noiv patented that inany good 

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

 therefore, by an Expert, of all invent ioiis of really popular interest 

 and utility must he advantageous both to the public and the 

 Inventor, enabling persons to hear of inventions already desiderated 

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

 and demand. 



A GOOD GREENHOUSE BOILEE. 



We are now iu full view of those night frosts which occasion 

 such anxiety to all who have choice plants in their conservatories 

 and greenhouses. Such horticulturists as may not be satisfied with 

 their existing warming arrangements will, doubtless, be interested 

 to know that Mr. J. Watson, florist, of St. Albans, Herts, has 

 invented what is known as Watson's Patent Double-Action Suspen- 

 sion Arrangement. It is stated that quite half the usual cost in 

 fuel is saved by using this boiler, which is claimed by the inventor 

 to possess all the good qualities of the single-action patent (of 

 which about 200 have been sold, without a failure), while it has 

 nearly double the heating surface in the same size boiler. The cost 

 of this boiler is economised, it is stated, in fuel, and it is claimed 

 to be far superior to the saddle and wedge for large quantities of 

 piping. It is manufactured, we understand, from the very best 

 i-iii. wrought iron, and has the additional advantage of requiring 

 the most simple setting. Orders for those boilers should be sent 

 to Messrs. S. E. Ransome, 10, Essex-street, Strand, who are, we 

 understand, the sole agents for \\^atson's well-known patent hot- 

 water apparatus. 



AN ECONOMISER WATERING-CAN. 



Many persons fond of gardening, more particularly invalids 

 having indoor plants, would, we fancy, like to know of a can that 

 does not spill water over the ground or carpet, and which is capable 

 of entire regulation as to flow with perfect ease. Messrs. J. Kaye 

 & Sons, of 93, High Holborn, have invented a watering-pot of this 

 description, for which the following advantages are claimed : — A 

 neat and handy shape, favouring the admission of the pot (without 

 catching) over and between plants closely arranged. Repeated 

 tilting is needless, as the flow is let off by a touch of the valve, 

 and the water can be so controlled (measured practically to the 

 drop) that no overflow occurs nor does the foliage get wetted. The 

 flow can be so regulated that vexatious and unsightly stages from 

 the displacement of soil of newly-potted things may be entirely 

 avoided. There is a total absence of " flushing." Then, again, 

 secondary advantages accrue from the foregoing, as the saving of 

 water and carrying ; dry floors, so essential in winter, and desirable, 

 too, in summer, until the watering is finished, in order to keep 

 the feet dry. Among those for whom these improved watering- 

 cans are specially calculated to be really serviceable are ladies 

 and amateurs who wish to avoid the annoyance of escaping 

 water, also those growing plants in carpeted rooms. The pro- 

 fessional gardener, too, will find it a handy pot for such things 

 as orchids, ferns, &c., requiring moisture carefully given. Finally, 

 invalids, who so much enjoy the pastime of flower-growing, -will 

 find it the very article they need. 



AN IMPROVED LAMP-BURNER. 



Messks. Hixks & Sox, of Birmingham, and the Holborn Viaduct, 

 London, have invented an interchangeable, lever-action, duplex 

 burner (Joseph Hinks's patent), which supplies a facile means of 

 lighting and trimming a lamp without removing the cone, globe, or 

 chimney. The new burner possesses neither spring, bolt, hinge, nor 

 ■other complication, so that it cannot readily get out of order, while 

 it will accurately fit any of Hinks's ordinary past or present duplex 

 lamps. A slight turn of the lever-key causes cone, globe, and 

 chimney to smoothly ascend, thus giving free access to the wicks 

 for trimming and lighting. The movement being perpendicular, 

 the danger of o%'er-balancing, breakage of glass, smoking of cone, 

 or straining of mechanism (inseparable from all tilting or hinge 

 arrangements), is obviated. With this arrangement a full light is 

 maintained to the last drop of oil. By removing screws from 

 bottom of slide-rods and of lever-rod, the burner can be taken to 

 pieces. All persons using ordinary lamps will appreciate this in- 

 vention, and accept it as a long-sought desideratum. 



FURNACE SLAG AS A FINE ART MATERIAL. 



What is claimed to be a marvel of inventive science has just 

 formed a rather prominent exhibit at the late Brewers' Exhibition, 

 and consists in a, utilisation of that waste product, blast-furnace slag, 



into a material capable of being wrought up into a variety of art 

 works. Slag is a mixture of minerals and silicates fused by the 

 furnace, and so beautifully coloured by metallic oxides as to rival 

 the finest marbles. Its extraordinary hardness, however, defied all 

 tools, and it was only after seven years of experiments that a 

 German chemist invented the means for softening the slag chemi- 

 cally, and while thus plastic, forcing it into steel moulds under 

 hydraulic pressure. The substance then, while taking the finest 

 art forms, retains all its delicate grain and variegated markings 

 which constitute its special beauty. The Artistic Pottery Com- 

 pany, of Churson Works, Western-road, Wood-green, N., have taken 

 up the conversion of slag into a great variety of ornamental and 

 artistic articles, and as these range in price from sixpence to five 

 guineas, it may be inferred that the range of the company's pro- 

 ductions is very wide. 



THE "CESTUS" BOILER. 



At the recent Brewers' Exhibition, among the new inventions 

 exhibited was one known as the " Cestus " boiler, for which the 

 following important advantages are claimed ; — Simplicity of con- 

 struction, facility of access for examination or repairing, and, 

 finally, great evaporative efficiency, and, as a resultant, economical 

 use of fuel. Details may be had of the sole licensee, Mr. H. 

 Fletcher. The only agents iu London for these boilers are Messrs. 

 Stevenson & Davies, of 11, Queen Victoria-street, E.G. 



A PORTABLE KITCHEN. 



Maltum in Parvo is undoubtedly a guiding principle with much of 

 the invention of the day, and it is very emphatically the case with 

 the '* Patent Compactum Cuisine," the invention of Mr. Alfred 

 Parkes, of Zoar Works, Wolverhampton. This is quite like a 

 conjuror's puzzle, for in a neat case resembling a rather large tin 

 collar-box there are stowed away a saucepan and a kettle, each 

 holding two pints, a basin, a frying-pan, a stand for lamp, tea and 

 sugar caddies, tea-strainer, two cups, two teaspoons, a spirit-flask, 

 two enamel plates, two knives, two forks, a water-pail, a spirit- 

 container, a matchbox, and last, but by no means least, a "Hecla" 

 lamp, with measure. This lamp is a well-constructed article, made 

 of yellow metal ; by the peculiar action of the methylated spirits, 

 it produces a gas which is practically unextinguishable by wind or 

 rain. The "Compactum" contains, in point of fact, just 25 

 articles, all well made and thoroughly fit for use. 



LIFE-SAVING APPLIANCES. 



Th.1T deaths from drowning — one of the most preventible forma 

 of casual mortality — multiply is well known, and this fact has hap- 

 pily stimulated invention to furnish means for minimising water- 

 risks. Cork has hitherto been greatly relied on, but it is not, we 

 think, generally known that that material loses its buoyancy when 

 exposed to damp. Even and granulated cork, so much relied on, 

 loses, soon after immersion, one-fourth of its sustaining power. 

 Mr. Joseph Sexton, of 3 and 4, Great Winchester-street, London, 

 E.C., uses vaselin to treat cork, and by this simple means renders 

 its buoyancy permanent. He encloses the cork, too, in waterproof 

 cylinders, thus doubly protecting it. Experiments with life-belts 

 made upon Mr. Sexton's principle have been tried at several of our 

 sea-ports, and have given the most satisfactory results, the testi- 

 mony of all who witnessed the tests being emphatically in favour 

 of these belts. Mr. Sexton has also perfected an improved deck- 

 seat on this principle for use in passenger vessels. 



AN IMPROVED UMBRELLA. 



Greatly as umbrellas have been improved of late years, there is 

 still room for further progress. For one thing, umbrella-sticks are 

 never strong enough to resist a really high wind properly unless 

 when, on quite a clumsy scale, inadmissible in the case of those de- 

 signed for ladies. Mr. William Temple Stephens, of 115, Wood- 

 street, Cheapside, London, has, however, invented what seems to 

 be a decided improvement in the springs and attachments of the 

 same to the sticks or canes of umbrellas, parasols, or sunshades. 

 The improved spring, of iron, steel, brass, or other metal, may be 

 flat or round, and is secured by simply drilling two holes in the 

 stick. One end is passed through one hole and rivetted in the usual 

 manner. The spring may lie along the stick, for neatness, in a 

 shallow groove, its other end terminating in a hook, shorter than 

 in general to enable it to work in the other hole, which is slightly 

 slanting and pierces the stick only for two-thii'ds of its diameter. 

 The usual stop-wire is put across to keep the spring in position. 

 The point of this invention is that the improved spring obviates the 

 necessity for cutting the ordinary slit, which so greatly weakens 

 the stick. This invention can be adapted to any size of umbrella, 

 parasol, or sunshade. 



