POPULAR SOIElsrOE NEWS. 



[January, 1888. 



changed from finely silky to crystalline, while the 

 fracture produced by a blow gradually becomes 

 more like that of tool steel as silicon increases. 

 The hardness increases with the increase of sili- 

 con, but appears to be closely connected with the 

 tenacity. With four-tenths per cent of silicon and 

 two- tenths per cent of carbon, a steel was obtained 

 difficult to work at high temperatures, but tough 

 when cold, capable of being hardened in water, 

 and giving a cutting edge which successfully re- 

 sisted considerable hard usage. In some cases sili- 

 con was present in the oxidized condition; the 

 effect is then very different, and the mechanical 

 properties of the metal more nearly resemble those 

 of the original Bessemer iron. 



In the second series of experiments various pro- 

 portions of silicon have been added to ingot metal, 

 containing manganese and carbon, as ordinarily 

 met with in commerce. The results are not yet 

 quite ready for publication; [but they show that 

 manganese greatly modifies the effect of silicon in 

 producing red-shortness, and hence enables the 

 metal to be readily rolled and otherwise worked, 

 even in presence of several tenths per cent of sili- 

 con. The low extension, however, though not 

 nearly so marked as before, is still observed despite 

 the presence of manganese; and hence, for the 

 majority of the applications of mild steel, silicon 

 does not appear to be advantageous. — Chemical 

 News. 



PURIFICATION OF RECOVERED ALCOHOL. 



Mr. R. D. Peyton, in a paper read before the 

 Kentucky Pharmaceutical Association, gives the 

 following methods, which have proved successful 

 in his experience : — 



Recovered alcohol 1 gallon. . 



Bichromate potash .... 4 ounce. 

 Dilute sulphuric acid ... 2 fluid drachms. 



Let it stand three days (with occasional agita- 

 tion), and filter; then add lime, half an ounce, 

 and after twenty-four hours filter through animal 

 charcoal, and distil. Or the following: — 



Recovered alcohol 1 gallon. 



Permanganate potash 40 grains. 



Let it stand five days, and filter; then add lime, 

 half an ounce ; allow it to stand twenty-four hours, 

 filter through animal charcoal, and distil. 



INDUSTRIAL MEMORANDA. 



A Wonderful Water-Clock. — Haroun-al- 

 Raschid, the principal hero of the Arabian Nigkls 

 Entertainments, sent to Charlemagne, in the eighth 

 century, a water-clock in the dial of which a door 

 opened at each hour; and when at noon the twelve 

 doors were thrown open, as many knights on horse- 

 back issued forth, paraded round the dial, and, 

 then returning, shut themselves in again. 



Electrical Ballast. — It is well known that 

 some of the large yachts have a great many tons 

 of lead stowed away in their keels. The Engineer 

 suggests that this lead could be utilized in the 

 shape of accumulators that could thus be made to 

 carry several horse-power, which, with the inter- 

 vention of a motor, could be utilized in working 

 the windlass, hauling in the main sheet, etc., and 

 furnishing light as well. As is remarked, it would 

 be rather a novelty to have the ballast weighing 

 the anchor or hauling at the ropes; but stranger 

 things than that have been done before. 



The New Steam Tricycle. — La Nature re- 

 cently described and illustrated a steam tricycle 

 designed by MM. Roger de Montais and L'Heritier. 

 It states that the machine will go nine to eleven 

 miles per hour with one person, and eight to ten 

 with two. In front is a small petroleum-heated 

 boiler, and a petroleum reservoir is placed under 



the seat, holding ten liters, and said to be enough 

 to last ten hours. A water reservoir, which holds 

 thirty-four liters, is mounted, carrying a supply for 

 two and a half hours. 



The Autographometkr. — M. Floran de Ville- 

 pigne has devised an instrument, the autographom- 

 eter, which records automatically the topography 

 and difference of level of all places over which it 

 passes It is carried about on a light vehicle ; and 

 those who wish to use it have nothing to do but to 

 drag it, or have it dragged, over the ground of 

 which they desire to obtain a plan. 



An Electric Trumpet. — An electric trumpet 

 has been recently devised by M. Zigang. It con- 

 sists, says the London Electrical Review, of a short 

 brass tube mounted on wood, and containing an 

 electro-magnet whose ends face a vibrating plate, 

 on which is fixed a small piece of soft iron. Against 

 the plate-armature rests a regulating screw with 

 platinum point, which serves for automatic inter- 

 ruption, by vibration of the armature. With two 

 Leclanchd elements a musical sound is obtained, 

 which may be varied in pitch, intensity, and 

 timbre by means of the screw. This instrument 

 may be usefully employed in signalling on ships, 

 railways, tramways, etc. ; it may also serve as a 

 receiver for signals of the Morse type. 



The Steamers of the World. — Recent sta- 

 tistics show that the number of steamers existing 

 in the world in 1886 was estimated at 9,969, of an 

 aggregate burden of 10,531,813 tons. In the pre- 

 vious year the number was stated at 9,642, of an 

 aggregate burden of 10,291,241 tons. The world's 

 steam shipping in 1886 was thus distributed: Iron 

 steamers, 8,198, of an aggregate burden of 8,911,406 

 tons; steel steamers, 770, of an aggregate burden 

 of 32,820; and wooden steamers, 822, of an aggre- 

 gate burden of 380,655 tons. Of the steamers 

 afloat in 1885, 5,792 were owned by the United 

 Kingdom and its colonies, their aggregate burden 

 being 6,595,871 tons. 



The Motive-Force of the World. — The 

 Bureau of Statistics in Berlin has recently issued 

 some interesting information in connection with this 

 subject. It appears that four-fifths of the engines 

 now working in the world have been constructed 

 during the last twenty-five years. France owns 

 49,590 stationary or portable boilers, 7,000 loco- 

 motives, and 1,850 boats' boilers; Germany has 

 59,000 boilers, 10,000 locomotives, and 1,700 ships' 

 boilers; Austria, 12,000 boilers and 2,800 locomo- 

 tives. The force equivalent to the working steam- 

 engines represents, in the United States, 7,500,000- 

 horse power; in England, 7,000,000-horse power; 

 in Germany, 4,500,000; in France, 3,000,0C0; and 

 in Austria, 1,500,0C0. In these figures the motive- 

 power of the locomotives is not included, whose 

 number in all the world amounts to 105,000, repre- 

 senting a total of 3,000,000-horse power. Adding 

 this amount to the other powers, we obtain the 

 total of 46,000,000-horse power. A steam horse- 

 power is equal to three actual horses' power, and a 

 living horse is equal to seven men. The steam- 

 engines of the world represent, therefore, approxi- 

 mately the work of 1,000,000,000 men, or more 

 than double the working population of the earth, 

 whose total population amounts to 1,455,923,000 

 inhabitants. Steam has accordingly trebled man's 

 working-power, enabling him to economize his 

 physical strength, while attending to his intellectual 

 development. 



Japanese Industries. — During the past few 

 years Japanese manufacturing industries have made 

 very considerable progress, and full advantage has 

 been taken of the limited-liability principle. For- 

 eign residents in Japan looked upon the movement 

 with some amount of suspicion, thinking it might 

 be wanting in stability. Recent returns, however. 



have shown that substantial profits have been 

 earned. In a miscellaneous list of thirty-four com- 

 panies, the dividends vary from 4 to 26 per cent 

 for the half-year. The Osaka Spinning Company, 

 with a capital of 600,000 yen, distributes 26 per 

 cent to its shareholders; the Tokio Tram Car Com- 

 pany, 21 percent; and the Osaka Sulphuric Acid 

 Company, 18 per cent. One hundred and sixty-one 

 banks are quoted as paying dividends for the first 

 half of this year varying from 3.2 to 23 per cent, 

 only one bank not paying a dividend at all. Eighty- 

 two paid over 10 per cent, fifteen of these paid 15 

 per cent and over, and a large number 10 per cent. 



WORKSHOP HINTS. 



Lubricant for Brass. — One part of pure 

 india-rubber melted, and two parts of common 

 vaseline, is said to be an excellent lubricant for 

 brass. It is non-corrosive and lasting. 



The Monkey- Wrench. — There is no tool more 

 universally misused than the monkey-wrench. This 

 is usually put on the nut so as to use it backwards, 

 as it is called; that is, so that the strain is brought 

 on the point of the outside jaw: and the shank 

 will be sprung, the jaws opened, and the wrench 

 rendered useless. The bottom of this jaw should 

 receive the strain, as the point of the other is 

 braced so that it is not injured. A monkey-wrench 

 is indispensable to the engineer, and yet their use 

 is limited. As there is so much spring to them, 

 they will not start nuts that are set up hard or 

 stuck, as they spring so as to take off the corners of 

 six-sided nuts, requiring them to be re-dressed, or 

 else replaced by new ones. 



To Remove Iron-Rust. — It is often very diffi- 

 cult, and sometimes impossible, to remove rust 

 from articles made of iron. Those which are more 

 thickly coated are most easily cleaned by being im- 

 mersed in a nearly saturated solution of chloride 

 of tin. The length of time they remain in this bath 

 is determined by the thickness of the coating of rust. 

 Generally twelve to twenty-four hours is long 

 enough. The solution ought not to contain a great 

 excess of acid, if the iron itself is not attacked. 

 On taking them from the bath, the articles are 

 rinsed first in water, then in ammonia, and quickly 

 dried. The iron when thus treated has the appear- 

 ance of dull silver. A simple polishing gives it its 

 normal appearance. 



How to Use Glue. — For glue to be properly 

 effective, it requires to penetrate the pores of the 

 wood; and the more a body of glue penetrates the 

 wood, the more substantial the joint will remain. 

 Glues that take the longest to dry are to be pre- 

 ferred to those that dry quickly; the slow-drying 

 glues being always the strongest, other things being 

 equal. For general use, no method gives such good 

 results as the following: Break the glue up small, 

 put it into an iron kettle, cover the glue with water, 

 and allow it to soak twelve hours ; after soaking, 

 boil until done. Then pour it into an air-tight box, 

 leave the cover off till cold, then cover up tight. 

 As glue is required, cut out a portion and melt in 

 the usual way. Expose no more of the made glue 

 to the atmosphere for any length of time than is 

 necessary, as the atmosphere is very destructive to 

 made glue. Never heat made glue in a pot that is 

 subject to the direct heat of the fire or a lamp. All 

 such methods of heating glue cannot be condemned 

 in terms too severe. Do not use thick glue for 

 joints or veneering. In all cases work it well into 

 the wood, in a similar manner to what painters do 

 with paint. Glue both surfaces of your work, ex- 

 cept in cases of veneering. Never glue upon hot 

 wood, as the hot wood will absorb all the water in 

 the glue too suddenly, and leave only a very little 

 residue. 



