300 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



regard to what was the matter with them, or what kind of constitutions they had. 



One of the startling propositions of the day is to bring the waters of Lake 

 George and the upper Hudson by an open canal to supply the City of New York. 

 When somebody asked Brindley what rivers were made for, he said: "To feed 

 navigable canals." The answer now would be: "To supply great cities with 

 water." 



Among the subjects to which the attention of the society is now especially 

 turned are Standard Time and the Preservation of Timber. As we expect reports 

 on these, I shall not further refer to them. 



One of the most remarkable of modern implements, one whose powers seem 

 almost miraculous, is the diamond drill, which bores into the hardest quartz con- 

 glomerate and even into chilled iron. It seems to be capable of much wider ap- 

 plication than it has yet had. 



The attachment of a car to a moving wire rope, in the way proposed by Col. 

 Paine, without injury to the rope or risk to the car, will probably revolutionize 

 the mode of traction in very many cases. 



Within the last year or two the load on each wheel of a freight car has been 

 increased from 5,000 pounds to 8,000 pounds, an increase of 60 per cent. Ac- 

 cording to Dr. Dudley's observations on the Pennsylvania Railroad, an increase 

 of 60 per cent, on a wheel made an increase in wear per million of tons of a lit- 

 tle over 30 per cent. We may expect that this recent increase will increase the 

 wear at least 30 per cent.; that is, the rails on a heavy traffic road that would 

 have lasted with the old machinery ten years, will now last 7.7 years. But with 

 the heavier weight on a wheel, the residuary part of the rail after it is worn 

 down to the limit of safety, must be much stronger than formerly required, in 

 order to bear the heavier weight. Suppose the diminution of the consumable 

 part of the rail on this account to be 20 per cent, (which would be only 4 or 5 

 per cent, increase on the whole rail) it reduces the duration to 6.16 years with 

 the same traffic. But as the traffic has increased much more rapidly than was ex- 

 pected, it is now probable that the rails on our heavy traffic roads will not last 

 half as long as they were expected to last three or four years ago. If a rail will 

 last a dozen years where actually used, it would not pay to add more than about 

 30 per cent, to its cost to make it last two dozen years, but it would pay to add 45 

 per cent, to its cost to prevent its duration from coming down from a dozen to half a 

 dozen years. Steel rails were made fifteen years ago with twice the endurance of 

 those made now. Under the new circumstances, it is probable that it will before 

 long be economy for roads with the heaviest traffic to pay the railmakers a price 

 that will enable them to make rails as durable as the best ever made. 



The subject of tests for large members of metallic structures is now receiving 

 our earnest attention. If I should speak of its necessity it would only be to re- 

 peat what is said in our memorial to Congress. I will only again call attention to 

 one point; that is, that the process of manufacture of a large piece of iron or steel 

 may be so different from that of a small piece, and therefore the quality of the 



