February 28, 1890.] 



SCIENCE. 



•39' 



our dwelling-houses will be entirely done away with. Already, 

 within a few months past, companies have been formed, for the 

 purpose of introducing this important and necessary invention, 

 in Washington, D.C., Boston, Mass., and Portland, Me ; and 

 others are in process of organization in Providence, R. I. , New 

 York City, and Hartford, Conn. Parties wishing information 

 on the subject can addi-ess the secretary of the New England 

 Heating and Ventilating Company, 85 Water Street, Boston, 



AN ELECTRICAL DIAMOND-DRILL. 

 The electric motor is rapidly winning an important place for 

 itself in mining operations. Already there are electric coal- 

 cutting machines, electric hoists, electric mine locomotives, 

 and electric drills, some of which have been described and 

 illustrated in these columns. One of the latest devices in this 







AN ELECTRICAL DIAMOND-DRILL. 



line, the Sullivan electric diamond-drill, operated by a 

 Thomson-Houston motor, is shown in the accompanying illus- 

 tration. In the form shown, the drill is intended mainly for 

 prospecting, though of course it is equally well adapted to 

 underground work. One of the difficulties heretofore encoun- 

 tered in using diamond-drills in underground work, as 

 well as in prospecting where the ground is rough or moun- 

 tainous, has been that of getting power to operate the machine. 

 By the use of electric power, however, this difficulty is entirely 

 overcome. The dynamo may be located at any convenient 

 point, and the current transmitted to the drill by insulated 

 wire in the usual manner. 



This machine is compact, occupies but little space, and may 

 be operated by any intelligent workman. It will drill a hole 

 to a depth of three hundred feet, and in any direction, the 

 drill being fed forward by a friction feeding device at a speed 

 proportioned to the hardness of the material operated upon. 

 The machine is manufactured by the Diamond Prospecting 

 Company of Chicago. 



THE ELECTRIC-LIGHT CONVENTION. 

 The eleventh convention of the National Electric-Light As- 

 sociation was held at Kansas City, Mo., on Feb. 11 to 14, the 

 sessions being held in the Coates Opera House. When the con- 

 vention was called to order by the president, E. R. Weeks, there 

 were about one hundred and fifty members and guests present,, 

 the attendance increasing to three hundred before the convention 

 ended. After an addi-ess of welcome by the mayor of Kansas 

 City, President Weeks briefly reviewed the growth of the associa- 

 tion, and outlined the programme arranged by the executive 

 pommittee. The rest of the session was taken up by routine 

 business. 



On the 12th the committee on the abolition of duty on copper 

 presented its report, and recommended that all members place 

 themselves in communication with their respective members of 

 Congress, with the view of securing the removal of the duty on^ 

 copper. The committee on standardizing potentials on electric- 

 street-railways and that on harmonizing insurance and electrical 

 interests presented reports, which were^ full of interest, and 

 evoked considerable discussion. The papers read at this session 

 were one on central-station constniction, by C. J. H. Woodbury, 

 and one on the history and theory of the steam-engine, by F. E. 

 Sickel. 



On Thursday the 13th, after the reading of communications 

 and action thereon, George E. Palmer read a paper on the eco- 

 nomic generation of steam, written by George H. Babcock. 

 After this and the papers of the previous session had been dis- 

 cussed and commented on by the members, a paper entitled ' 'A 

 Recent Edison Central Station and the Results thus far obtained' ' 

 was read by C. J. Field. This paper brought out a long and in- 

 teresting discussion. T. Carpenter Smith followed with a paper 

 on a universal system of central-station accounts. At the after- 

 noon session the following papers were read and discussed : ' 'The 

 Cost of the Products of Central Stations," by A. J. DeCamp; 

 ' 'Nine Years with the Arc-Lamp, " by M. D. Laws ; ' 'Arc-Light 

 Carbons, "by E. F. Peck ; ' 'How our Paths may be Paths of 

 Peace," by H. W. Pope; and "Safety and Safety Devices in 

 Electrical Installations," by Professor Elihu Thomson The 

 report of the committee on data was then received, and a resolu- 

 tion adopted petitioning Congress to authorize and direct the 

 superintendent of the census to collect certain data in relation to 

 the electi-ical industry in addition to that already provided for 

 by law, and asking for a special appropriation of fifty thousand 

 dollars to caiTy on the work. 



On Friday, the last day of the convention, the following papers 

 were read and discussed : ' 'Electricity as applied to Street-Rail- 

 ways, " by F. J. Sprague ; ' 'Prodigality in Economy, " by C. C_ 

 Haskins ; ' 'Line Insulation from the Standpoint of Practical Ex- 

 perience, " by C. A. Harber ; and ' 'How to locate Grounds on 

 Arc-Light Circuits," by J. E. Lockwood. At the afternoon 

 session, after an exhibition of and address upon the phonograph 

 and gi-aphophone, by E. H. Jolmson, committees were appointed 

 on the revise of the by-laws and constitution of the association^ 

 on underground conduits and conductors, and on the relations 

 between parent companies and sub-companies. 



The officers for the ensuing year are as follows : president, M, 

 J. Pen-y of Providence, R.I. ; first vice-president, E. A Maher, 

 Albany, N.Y. ; second vice-president, C. L. Edgar, Boston; ex- 

 ecutive committee, C. R. Huntly (Buffalo, N.Y.), chairman, E. 

 R. Weeks (Kansas City) , James E. English (New Haven.- 

 Conn.), J. J. Burleigh (Camden, N.J.), M. D. Law (Philadel- 

 phia), M. J. Francisco (Rutland, Vt.), A F. Mason (Boston), 

 J. A. Seely (New York), H. K. Thurber (New York). The 

 semi-annual meeting next August will be held at Cape May^. 

 N.J. 



During the four days of the convention there was an extensive" 

 collection of electric apparatus on exhibition in Casino Hall, near 

 the headquarters of the association. The hall was brilliantlv 

 illuminated by both arc and incandescent lights, and the attend- 

 ance was good. Electric motors of various sizes were exhibited 

 by the Sprague, the Crocker- Wheeler, and the C. & C. motor 

 companies of this city, the Elektron Company of Brooklyn, the- 

 Detroit Motor Company of Detroit, the Baxter Company of Bal- 



