Feb G, 1885.] 



♦ KNOWLEOr, K ♦ 



117 



is. — E. L. G. Next week. — Cn.\s. Dibdix. Received. Thoie 

 is no more vaUmble or mcritorions iiistitntion in the king- 

 dom tlian the Kovat National Lifeboat one; bnt it is impos- 

 sible to make the columns of a journal devoted simply to 

 science the channel of any special charitable appeals. — W. 

 CiBAxnv. I cannot even read it ; what looks like v being pro- 

 l>ably meant for r, and ) written for (presumably) r. It aeem.s all 

 participles, and is certainly untranslatable iu its existing form. 

 Whence did you get it ': — Tno>us Ayers. Will you indicate iu 

 what " processes of chemical change " the heat generated in a wire 

 hammered on an anvil has its origin? The Yarmouth Giizettc is, I 

 regret to say, unknown to me. I hear of it now for the first time. 

 -Dr. Lewins points out, in connection with letter 1573, p. ?4, that, 

 in line 21, " protoplasm" should be "proplasm," that "(etiology " 

 is misprinted for "aniology," and " intercraneal " for "inter- 

 cranial." I am not particularly concerned to defend the com- 

 positors (who don't always treat me with that loving-kindness which 

 I regard as desirable) ; but really your terminology is so compara- 

 tively novel that they, who are used to set up paragraphs " plainly 

 worded," may well be forgiven for a slip or two. — ExcELsroR. I 

 bare no recent ephemeris of Encke's comet at the place whence 1 

 write. You cannot see it though in a 3-inch telescope. It is, I 

 fancy, in Pisces. It will be in Perihelion about 1 a.m. on March 8. 

 — S. L. B. Of Messrs. Khrone and Sefemann, 8 Duke-strcet, 

 London, W. 



(Pur Inbrjitors' Column. 



We jive here, loeel hy wee!;, a terse description of such of the many 

 ini-eniions as tee think may he of use to our readers. Where it is 

 possible, the number of the patent is quoted, to enable those who 

 desire fuller information to procure the specification from the 

 Patent Office in Cursitor-street, Chancery-lane. We shall, gene- 

 rally speaking, confine ourselves to the more recent inventions ; but 

 it often happens that an article comes under our notice which, 

 although not quite novel, is worthy of mention for its utility and 

 ingenuity. In such a case we shottld not hesitate to refer our 

 readers to it. And while we thus iticrease the interest of our pages, 

 tee at the same time assist the inventors by giving greater publicity 

 to their inventions (Knowledge being a popular magazine) than 

 is accorded by the most excellent trade journals. 



CHAMPAGNE WIRE-CUTTER. 



[Patent No. 1,612. 1884.]— Of all the 

 silly, stupid, and absurd things ever 

 patented, this seems to be the silliest, 

 stupidest, and most absurd — at first 

 sight. A little thought, however, shows 

 it to be not only very ingenious, but 

 equally useful. Champagne is a wine 

 which, as is well-known, requires to be 

 well and securely corked. In consequence 

 of this, the cork is generally fastened on 

 with string, which, however, is liable to 

 rot. String is, therefore, never trusted 

 alone, bnt is mostly accompanied by a 

 binding of stout iron wire, so that, if one 

 fails, the other may still serve to keep 

 the cork in its place. Some firms are 

 satisfied with the wire binding only, 

 although they stand a chance of losing 

 their wine if the iron should happen to 

 get rusted through. But inconvenience 

 and danger, often resulting in serious 

 accidents, are experienced in breaking 

 the wire with knives, nippers, or 

 carving forks ; and even these instruments are not aways at hand 

 at the right moment. Mr. Maignen, of London, and M. Moquet, of 

 Kheims, have, therefore, introduced their cutter, which consists of 

 two flat pieces of metal cut into the shape of a fish, and rivetted to- 

 gether near the position of the fish's eye. Holes are made about 

 a sixteenth of an inch in front of the rivet, and through these holes 

 the wire is made to pass in binding the cork. The position and shape 

 of the "fishes" are indicated in the central figure. To cut the wire, 

 all that is necessary is to draw the fishes apart by their tails, as 

 shown in the upper figure. The leverage introduced by this means 

 breaks the wire very readily. The inner sides of the fishes have 



JONES'S PATENT 

 IM?392a 



''<t!L- 



pieces cut out of thcni, wind' allow Vucm to act as cigar-cutters, 

 iu the manner shown in the lower figure. I'rcsuninlily, the cost of 

 this piece of apparatus i.s but a fraction of a penny, and can, there- 

 fore, add practically nothing to the cost of the wine. It is used 

 solely by Messrs. Moutigny & Co. 



TIIK UATIIERLKV STEPS. 



[Patent No. 3,928. 1882.] The accompanying illustrations 

 almost explain themselves. They represent an ingeniously-de- 

 signed pair of steps, patented by 

 ;Mr. C. A. Jones (who has entrusted 

 tlio manufacturing rights to Messrs. 

 Matthews * Co.). It will bo seen 

 that by skilful disposition of the 

 material the weight has been reduced 

 to an exceedingly small amount, a 

 very decided advantage for domestic 

 purposes. They contrast strongly 

 with the heavy, clumsy slylo gene- 

 rally adopted, and one has only to 

 fe> bear in mind tlio mischief wrought 

 by the old form in the library, the 

 dining-room, and the drawing-room to see the advantage pertaining 

 to the invention. A pair 2 ft. 8 in. high weigh under 5 lb., and can, 

 therefore, be sent by parcel-post ! Other sizes are, of course, made, 

 and the better-finished specimens liavc an appeni-anco highly 

 recommending them to owners of libraries. They are exceptionally 

 strong, being able to bear the weight of a man on each step. 



RAISING SUNKEN VESSEL.S. 



[Patent No. 825. 1884.]— Mr. W. P. Thompson, of Liverpool, 

 has patented on behalf of Mr. R. W. Doherty, a device for raising 

 sunken vessels, which consists iu the introduction of a number of 

 llexible bags into the ship, and then inflating them with air sup- 

 plied through detachable pipes, by means of an air-pump carried 

 on board a pontoon. When the requisite amount of air is intro- 

 duced, and a corresponding volume of water, therefore, displaced, 

 the vessel rises to the surface. 



WASHING-MACHINE. 



[Patent No. 1,950. 1884.] — This machine is patented by Messrs. 

 Watson & Whalley, of Keighley. It is iu its construction and 

 action very simple. The clothes are briskly agitated, by moving the 

 upright lever backwards and forwards, by a dolly-head, furnished 

 with pegs so constructed as to minimise the risk of tearing the 



is^m- 



clothes. Gas-jets placed under the machine furnish means for 

 boiling or steaming the clothes. Mangling may also be performed 

 with the machine, which is provided with rollers coated with 

 delta-metal, a substance which is exceedingly tough and durable, 

 takes a brilliant polish, does not oxidise or rust, and which " pro- 

 duces a gloss on the clotheB equal to hand-ironing." 



