98 Telephone Systems of the Continent of Europe 



porcelain, it having been found, as in this country, that dark or 

 dull insulators offer far less enticing targets than brilliant white. 

 With a few exceptions the Belgian trunks are telegraph wires made 

 up into metallic circuits with condensers and induction coils 

 on the well-known Van Rysselberghe system. Consequently the 

 lines are used simultaneously for telegrams and telephonic talk- 

 ing. The communications, nevertheless, appear quite satisfactory 

 the distances in Belgium are not of course great and free from 

 telegraphic noises. The author spoke perfectly between Brussels 

 and Ostend (76 miles) on wires which were at the same time 

 transmitting Hughes telegraph signals between London and 

 Brussels via the Dover-Ostend cable. It is, however, admitted 

 that slight faults on the wires, which would have no sensible effect 

 on a telephonic metallic circuit pure and simple, upset the balance 

 of resistance and capacity which it is absolutely necessary to 

 maintain in order to avoid telegraphic interference with the tele- 

 phoning ; and until such faults are removed the communications 

 suffer. Another weak point is the facility with which the con- 

 densers used are pierced by lightning, an occurrence which is 

 calculated to stop both telegraphing and telephoning. But, in 

 spite of these drawbacks, the Belgian engineers conduct practically 

 seven-tenths of the trunk work of the kingdom on the telegraph 

 wires with results that give satisfaction to the subscribers, and 

 which, according to the author's observations, are superior to those 

 obtained in some other countries not saddled with such compli- 

 cations. Unquestionably the Van Rysselberghe system has had a 

 stimulating effect on telephony in Belgium, for had the State been 

 compelled to face the cost of erecting special wires for telephonic 

 purposes at the outset, the linking up of the various towns would 

 have been seriously delayed. The Brussels-Paris trunks, three in 

 number, are exclusively telephonic and are composed on the 

 Belgian side of 3 mm. bronze wire of 95 per cent, conductivity. 

 The wires are revolved on the Moseley - Bottomley system 

 adopted by the British Post Office. The revolutions on the 

 Brussels-Paris lines are in Belgium made by aid of the fixtures 

 shown in fig. 30, the former effecting the vertical and the latter 

 the horizontal changes. Such fixtures require the tops of poles ; 

 consequently their definitive adoption would limit the number of 



