346 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



under the electric light. In a few other instances the connection of exhibits with 

 the central purpose of the fair may be even more obscure ; still the display of 

 gas-lighting apparatus can at least be regarded as a useful foil to electric illumin- 

 ation, while that of gas engines may be designed to shown that gas has yet new 

 missions in prospect. 



The literature of electricity is represented by a large collection of books, 

 which will pass into the possession of the Franklin Institute at the close of the 

 fair. Great maps hung on the walls of the lecture-room show the lines of sea 

 cable, present and prospective. The history of electrical appliances is set forth 

 by exhibits of old-fashioned voltaic piles, an electric machine constructed by 

 Franklin, the famous instrument of Morse, and so on ; and certainly one of the 

 most striking portions of the whole display is the contribution by the United 

 States Patent-ofhce of the original models on which patents were granted to the 

 most famous of existing American electric devices. 



For spectacular effect, night, when all the multitudinous flames of this palace 

 of light, both within and without the building, are flashing, is the time most favor- 

 able. Within, disposed at all available points, hanging from girders and arranged 

 in rows along the thirteen arched rafters of the main building, are no fewer than 

 5,600 incandescent lights and 350 arc lights. Of the former, 1,200 are contrib- 

 uted by the United States Company and 3,800 by the Edison, other companies 

 furnishing the remainder. The dazzUng noonday splendor of this illumination 

 is enhanced by a large fountain in the centre, which throws an upward jet from 

 a mass of stone, against .which shoot other great jets from the rim of the basin. 

 The spray, illuminated by the surrounding lights, transmitted through glasses of 

 different colors, reflects prismatic hues at every point, and falls in a perpetual 

 shower of jewels. Beds of flowers around the basin add to the efl'ect, as do the 

 other decorations of the hall. While the eye is thus gratified, the electric organ 

 attracts the ear from its position in the gallery, the key-board with which the per- 

 former plays it being on the main floor, a hundred feet below. 



From an exhibition so largely devoted to practical mechanism, occupying 

 200,000 square feet of space, and actuated by steam-engines aggregating 1,800 

 horse-power, not only pleasure but scientific profit should be expected. There 

 are about 250 separate exhibitors, and from six to eight times that number of 

 exhibits. These cover a very wide range of electrical application, and the com- 

 mittees who are to examine and report upon them are mostly well-known experts, 

 who will doubtless put them to a thorough test. — Harper's Weekly. 



RECENTLY PATENTED IMPROVEMENTS. 



J. C. HIGDON, M. E., KANSAS CITY, MO. 



Manufacture of Separable Lap-Links. — This invention relates to im- 

 provements in that article of utility commonly known as a lap-hnk, and to the 

 manner of attaching it to the single-tree of a vehicle. 



