254 



SCmNGE. 



[Vol. Vin., No. 189 



■type on the printing-press. The following short 

 paragraph is printed from an electrotype made 

 direct from a leaden matrix produced upon the 

 typograph : — 



Although more than four hundred years have 

 elapsed sincethe art was invented, it is a singular 

 fact that the bulk of the world' s printing to-day is 

 done with movable types " set up" on the same 

 plan adopted originally. 



To the eye of the practical printer there are 

 several defects in the above sample paragraph. 

 The first word is not set in far enough from the 

 end of the line. That is the fault of the operator, 

 for which the machine cannot be held responsible. 

 Some of the letters are too close together, and 

 others too far apart ; the letters do not range well, 

 giving an irregular or ' squabbled ' appearance to 

 the line ; some of the letters, notably the e, do not 

 correspond in size with the others ; and some, 

 again, appear to be higher than the rest, giving a 

 blacker impression. All these defects are doubt- 

 less due to imperfect workmanship on the part of 

 machinists and type-cutters, and may easily be 

 overcome in a more perfect machine. Another 

 defect noticeable in the work of this machine is 

 uneven spacing between the words. In the 

 machine as at present constructed, this defect can- 

 not be remedied except by almost superhuman 

 skill on the part of the operator ; but the inven- 

 tors claim that in future machines, and with type 

 cut on a ' unit ' system (the width of face of each 

 type being a known multiple of some unit taken 

 as a standard), justification will be as easily accom- 

 plished as in ordinary type-setting. This remains 

 to be seen. Still another defect, and a veiy grave 

 one, is the difficulty of correcting errors. A wrong 

 letter in a word, or a wrong word in a sentence, 

 if about the same size as the right one, may be 

 corrected by smoothing down the metal and re- 

 punching over the smoothed surface. But the 

 omission of one or more words, or their repetition, 

 can be remedied only by a new matrix, whole or 

 in part. Neither can changes be made in the 

 wording of a sentence, something frequently de- 

 sired by writers upon inspection of their proofs. 

 With ' copy ' prepared exactly as it should be 

 printed, and an operator proof against error, this 

 defect would not be conspicuous ; but perfection 

 Is no more prevalent among writers and operators 

 than among inventors and macliinists. 



But were the machine perfect in all other 

 respects, there is stiU one defect which practical 

 printers who have examined the typograph and 

 its work consider fatal, and one which, in the 

 opinion of experts, will be found extremely diffi- 

 cult if not impossible to overcome. When the 



steel type is forced into the soft metal of the mati'ix, 

 it leaves a perfect impression : but, when the next 

 type is forced in, the metal is pushed aside to a 

 greater or less extent, thereby disturbing the pre- 

 vious impression, and preventing the full face of 

 all the type from ' showing up ' in print. This 

 defect will be readily seen by comparing the sample 

 paragraph with the contiguous paragraphs, which 

 are printed from ordinary type. In the last three 

 words of the sample paragraph, the metal has not 

 been so much disturbed, as the letters are purposely 

 set some distance apart, that there may be a pro- 

 tectmg wall of metal left between them. Of 

 course, it may be possible to discover some material 

 for the matrix that will give better results in tliis 

 respect, or some way may be devised to punch the 

 metal without forcing it aside. These problems 

 remain unsolved. In its present stage, the typo- 

 graph shows an important advance in the direc- 

 tion of cheaper and more rapid book and news- 

 paper work ; but much yet remains to be done 

 before the machine can be placed upon the market 

 as a commercial and typographical success. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 

 From a correspondent in Tokio we leam that 

 on his return from America he ijresented a report 

 on the resolutions of the Washington meridian and 

 time congress. A committee was appointed by 

 the proper authorities to discuss the matter, and 

 on the 12th of July an imperial decree to the fol- 

 lowing purijose was issued : first, the meridian 

 passing through Greenwich shall be the initial 

 meridian for longitude ; second, longitude shall be 

 counted from this meridian in two directions up 

 to 180° ; third, the time of the meridian of 135° 

 east shall be used as the standard time throughout 

 Japan, 



— A fireman on the steamer Alvo, which lately 

 arrived in New York from Central America, was 

 taken sick, and entered St. Vincent's hospital for 

 treatment. The fever from which he suffered 

 simulated yellow-fever to such a degree as to 

 make his removal to the Reception hospital of the 

 health department advisable. The attack proved 

 fatal, and an autopsy revealed a yellow liver, a 

 stomach filled with blood, and the other organs 

 jaundiced. It was the unanimous opinion of the 

 physicians present that yellow-fever was the cause 

 of death. It is as yet unexplained how and where 

 the disease was contracted, as it is reported that 

 the health officer of the port never knew of yellow- 

 fever existing at any port at which the Alvo had 

 been. 



— The report of F. H. Wines, special agent of 

 the tenth census, on the defective, dependent, and 



