238 



SCIENTIFIC NEAVS. 



[Mar. 9, i5 



TECHNICAL EDUCATION NOTES. 



Benevolent Society of St. Patrick. — Lord Macnaghten 

 will preside at the anniversary festival to be held at Willis's 

 Rooms on the 17th of March. Additional interest attaches 

 to the proceedings this year, from the fact that the governors 

 are known to have under consideration plans for introducing 

 practically some kind of technical instruction suited to the 

 children in their schools and the ranks oi society from which 

 these are drawn. 



National Association for the Promotion of Techni- 

 cal Education. — A conference between the Executive of 

 the Association and representatives of various large towns, 

 in which branches of the organisation have recently been 

 formed, was held on February 29th in the Conference Room 

 of the House of Commons. Lord Hartington presided, and 

 amongst those present were Lord Ripon, Sir Henry Roscoe, 

 Sir J. Lubbock, Mr. A. H. Dyke Acland, Mr. Muriro Ferguson, 

 and Sir F. Mappin, and delegates from Manchester, Notting- 

 ham, Leeds, Newcastle, Luton, etc. The discussion turned 

 mainly on what authorities should have the direction of tech- 

 nical education, and from what sources the funds for such 

 instruction should be derived. Resolutions were agreed to 

 on these subjects, and will be considered at the next meeting 

 of the General Council. It was also decided to press the 

 Government for grants from the Imperial Exchequer in aid of 

 the higher university colleges. 



North of London.— A meeting of the provisional sub- 

 committees representing Hackney, Stoke Newington, and 

 Islington, in furtherance of technical instruction was held at the 

 Islington Vestry Hall, on Thursday evening, with a view of 

 discussing whether the several parishes constituting the north 

 of London shall unite in a joint scheme, or shall each support 

 one for itself Mr. W. T. Paton, well known from his con- 

 nection with the Polytechnic, was in the chair, and introduced 

 the subject, expressing his regret at the absence of represen- 

 tatives from St.Pancras,who had been invited, and, indeed, as 

 he understood, had expressed the intention of being present. 

 It was ultimately resolved, on the motion of the Rev. A. 

 Brooke, rector of Hackney, "that in the opinion of this 

 conference it is desirable that the North of London should 

 accede to the suggestion of the Charity Commissioners in 

 favour of a scheme for a technical institution or institutions, 

 so that the scheme be settled as to benefit directly the poorer 

 classes, both as regards its educational and social aspects." 

 It was further agreed, at the instance of Mr. J. E. Viney, that 

 the four parishes of Hacknej', Stoke Newington, Islington, 

 and St. Pancras should be invited each to appoint represen- 

 tatives with power to meet and formulate a joint scheme in 

 furtherance of the previous resolution. 



■•-^S^rt^*tf-» 



Mechanical Glass-Blowing. — A novel process for 

 moulding and blovi^ing glass bottles has been brought 

 into successful action at the works of Messrs. Sykes, 

 Macray, and Co., of Castleford. A comparative 

 description of the old system (blowing by mouth) and of 

 the new process cannot be here given without too great an 

 introduction of technicalities. But it may be mentioned 

 that the use of the new machines will increase the pro- 

 ductive power of the works ten-fold. The firm estimate 

 that in place of the 420 gross capable of being produced 

 daily at their works they will be able to produce 4,200 

 gross, and this by employing only 180 hands in place of 

 300 as at present. Work will, however, we learn, be 

 found for the remainder. As regards the cost of pro- 

 duction it is said that the present labour-cost, which is 

 3s. 6d, per gross, will be reduced to the low figure of 3d. 

 per gross. A collateral advantage is that glass-blowing 

 by mouth is an unsanitary calling, being decidedly 

 injurious to the lungs. Thus on the score of public 

 health we may rejoice at its prospective cessation. It is 

 hoped that the novel process will enable this country to 

 recover its lost glass-bottle trade. 



RECENT INVENTIONS. 



The following list has been compiled especially for the Sci'e.N'ClFlc 

 News, by Messrs. W. P. Thompson and Boult, Patent Agetits, of 

 323, High Holborn, London, IV.C; Newcastle Chambers, Angel 

 Reno, Nottingham ; Ducie Buildings, Bank Street, Manchester ; and 

 6, Lord Street, Liverpool. 



Utilisation of Coal Slack. — A method of using the 

 waste of coal for fuel has been patented by Mr. L. A. 

 Erode, St. Andrew's-road, Glasgow. The coal waste is 

 ground to a powder and placed in a mixing machine. To 

 the powder is added a sufficient quantity of a solution, 

 which is formed by mixing boiling water, ground rice 

 waste and silicate of soda. The whole of the powder and 

 solution having been mixed produces a thick, clayey 

 substance, which is then moulded into blocks, dried, and 

 used as fuel. 



Hat Ventilator. — A ventilating band for hats has 

 been patented by Mr. W. Whittaker, Seymour Street^ 

 North Denton. A perforated metal band, covered on 

 one side with any suitable material, and on the side 

 worn next the head with a grease-proof material, is sewn 

 to the inside of the leather or other lining of the hat, and 

 secured to the hat body by projecting metal pieces, at 

 such a distance as to leave an air space between the band 

 and hat body, the dimensions of which space can be 

 regulated by the fold of the projecting piece. The hat 

 lining is perforated. ^^_^ 



A Dynamo Electrical Machine. — Mr. S. Z. de Fer- 

 ranti. West Kensington, London, has patented a dynamo 

 electrical machine. The armature is made of a number 

 of coils ranged around the circumference of a disc, but in 

 place of making each coil from a flat strip of metal it is 

 made from a strip of metal which is hollowed in cross 

 section, so that the outer coils overlap the inner ones. 

 In this way the overlying coils are kept from shifting 

 sideways, and a much stronger coil is obtained which 

 will retain the form in which it is originally coiled, and 

 will not elongate away from the centre of the disc, when 

 the latter is rapidly rotated. 



Pianoforte. — Mr. R. Davidson, 2, West Newington 

 Place, Edinburgh, has patented a pianoforte. This in- 

 vention has for its object to increase the variety of 

 tone in the instrument, and consists in applying to the 

 pianoforte a series of stops actuated by one, two, or 

 several pedals, which are pressed upon the cords of the 

 instrument, and their position is such that when pressed 

 upon the cords they virtually divide each cord into 

 halves, so that the length of cord vibrating and sounding 

 when struck is one-half of the whole length of such cord^ 

 and the tone of the sound is thereby raised an octave 

 higher, besides being softened in quality. 



Pneumatic Railway Alarm. — An alarm apparatus 

 for railway trains has been patented by Mr. A. Mathey, 

 Rue Henri IV., Bordeaux, France. The alarm appara- 

 tus is worked by com.pressed air. In each passenger's 

 compartment of a carriage is placed a handle, which on 

 being pulled out admits compressed air from a chamber, 

 or from the air supply working the brake apparatus, 

 into a cylinder containing a piston which is driven for- 

 ward by the compressed air and exposes a signal outside 

 the carriage from which the alarm is given. The piston 

 in its movement opens an aperture through which the 



