September 27, 1889.] 



SCIENCK 



225 



rtis), that "on the whole, this is a very perfectly formed wing, and 

 is more like that of an ibis than that of a goose, as, indeed, is 

 much of the structure of Phcenicoptertis." 



No less eminent an authority than Professor Huxley has strongly 

 contested the point that the flamingoes are more nearly related to 

 the geese than any other birds known to him ; and I believe here- 



tofore all American ornithologists had the same idea. From my 

 own studies, I am confident that the above opinion of Professor 

 Parker will prevail in the future, and fuller researches into the 

 structure of the several types in question will prove it to be the 

 correct one. R. W. Shufeldt. 



Takoma, D.C., Sept. 19. 



INDUSTRIAL NOTES. 



A Good Record from Buffalo. 



Among the cities which are now adopting electricity as a motive 

 power on their roads is Buffalo, N.Y. The Buffalo Street-Railway 

 Company of that city, about two months ago, made a contract with 

 the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Company of New York 

 for the equipment of four electric cars. This equipment was in- 

 tended only to try the electric system ; and, if the trial should be 

 ■successful, it was contemplated that an equipment of a very large 

 number of cars would be operated upon this road. The cars have 

 been in operation about four weeks, and carry large numbers of 

 passengers. Upon a recent Sunday, the four cars and four trail 

 •cars carried twenty-five thousand passengers without the loss of a 

 single trip. This is a notable record, considering the small num- 

 ber of cars operated and the grades upon this line. The people in 

 Buffalo are enthusiastic over the new system of propelling street- 



motors has been built for a long-distance transmission power plant 

 which the Sprague Company have ordered for erecting in South 

 Africa. Other machines of the same size and type go to other 

 parts of the world through the large demand for motors of this size 

 in long-distance power transmissions, mining-work, and general 

 industries. 



The efficiency of this machine is claimed to be high, while at the 

 same time the speed is kept quite low ; the motor making only about 

 500 revolutions a minute while operating under full load. 



The Thomson-Houston Alternating-Current Dynamo. 

 Unquestionably the most economical and valuable dynamo 

 in central-station use for long-distance lighting is the alternating- 

 current machine ; and its recent adoption for its practical working 

 in this country, although but a matter of a short time, has caused 

 a great change in the methods of supplying illumination by incan- 

 descent lamps. The economy with which the electric light can be 



THE THOMSON-HOUSTON ALTERNATING-CURRENT DYNAMO. 



cars, and say that the management will soon give an order for an 

 increased equipment. 



New 75 Horse-Power Electrical Motor. 



Up to this time, nearly all the electrical manufacturers have con- 

 fined themselves to small motors ; and although all have acknowl- 

 edged that the transmission of power on a large scale is feasible 

 and practicable, yet, so far, it has been found commercially more 

 desirable to keep down the size of motors to something like 25 

 horse-power or less. 



We understand the Sprague Electric Railway and Motor Com- 

 pany of New York has departed from this routine, and that they 

 have received a number of orders recently for a larger motor, which 

 have had the result of calling forth the present new 75 horse-power 

 motor, which is by far the largest electric motor which has ever 

 been built. This machine is not dissimilar in appearance to the 

 ordinary Sprague standard electric motor of smaller sizes. 



The first one of these motors manufatured was fbr the Kearney 

 Paper Company of Kearne, Neb., where about 120 horse-power of 

 electric motors built by the Sprague Company will be used for 

 operating the entire mill. The current for driving these motors is 

 generated by water several miles away. The second of these 



produced is dependent primarily upon the source of power for 

 operating the dynamos, and the use of the alternating current ren- 

 ders it possible to locate a central station with particular reference 

 to coal and water supply ; and the fact that a high-potential cur- 

 rent can be transmitted long distances over a small wire, and at a 

 small loss, renders it possible to make use of available water-pow- 

 ers, which could not be done by any other system. Then, again, 

 the cost of maintenance and construction is greatly reduced, as a 

 current can be conducted to a centre of distribution, from which 

 the circuits for the immediate supply of current to the lamps can 

 be taken. 



We illustrate herewith the improved alternating-current dyna- 

 mo made by the Thomson-Houston Electric Company, which has 

 met with such a deserved success in central-station work. It 

 is a feature of this machine that it is of simple construction, and 

 can readily be taken apart to allow examination, or replacement of 

 any part which may have become injured. This machine embodies 

 most excellent features in construction of the armature, whereby 

 all tendency to overheating is obviated, and its regulation is such 

 that extreme changes in load do not cause any change in the in- 

 tensity of the light. The dynamo has been largely introduced by 

 the company, and has everywhere met with success. 



