334 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[April 6, 1888. 



RECENT INVENTIONS. 



The follc'diing list has been compiled especially for the SCIENTIFIC 

 News by Messrs. W. P. THOMPSON and BouLT, Patent Agents, of 

 y2.T„ High Holborn, London, W.C. ; Newcastle Chambers, Angel 

 Row, Nottin^am- ; Ducie Buildings, Bank Street, Manchester ; 

 and 6, Lord Street, Liverpool. 



V^t'.YL^ici Lamp. — Messrs. J. Thorne and E. B. Burr, 

 Gracechurch Street, London, have patented a lamp for 

 railway and other purposes. One feature of the inven- 

 tion is the combination, with a lamp casing of an electric 

 incandescent lamp, a battery, a lens, and a reflector, all 

 arranged in the casing, so that the apparatus can be 

 readily inserted or removed from its place without 

 having to connect or disconnect any wire. Moreover, 

 the casing does not require a ventilator, and can be 

 closed to exclude dust. A parabolic reflector and a lens 

 having a corresponding form are used, and are arranged 

 relatively to each other, so that their foci will correspond 

 with each other, and the rays of light concentrated by the 

 reflector will pass through the lens, and extend there- 

 from in the form of a parallel beam. By the arrange- 

 ment the light and reflector can be placed much nearer 

 the lens, and thus leave space within the casing for the 

 electric battery, and a greater intensity of light is also 

 produced. 



Bed and Bedstead. — Messrs. J. Chorlton and G. L. 

 Scott, of Manchester, have patented a bed and bedstead. 

 To provide for the regular arrangement and spacing of 

 beds in barracks, and to make them more capable of 

 being easily, expeditiously, and neatly stowed away 

 when not in use, the heads of such beds are made, so as 

 to be capable of attachment to hinges upon a circular 

 bar, preferably extending the whole length of the 

 dormitory, and at a suitable distance from the wall. The 

 bedsteads are preferably made with angle iron ends and 

 tubular sides, and provided with elastic metallic mat- 

 tresses. The sides are fitted with legs which rest upon 

 the floor when the bed is in a position to be used. When 

 not in use, the bed, either with or without the bedclothes, 

 is turned up against the wall, by which it is supported in 

 an inclined position, leaving a clear space on the floor. 

 If it be desired to remove the beds to another situation 

 the bolts for attaching the heads of the beds to the hinges 

 are unscrewed, and the beds removed, leaving the hinge 

 attachments for use in conjunction with other beds. 



Apparatus for Cleaning Tennis Balls. — Mr. J. 

 Osmond, of Clifton, has patented an apparatus for clean- 

 ing tennis balls. Within a cylindrical casing a revolving 

 brush is mounted of such diameter that, as it revolves, 

 there is around it an annular space not quite equal in 

 width to the diameter of the balls to be acted on, so thta 

 no ball can pass through this space without causing the 

 bending and consequent rubbing of the bristles on it. In 

 this space is fixed inclined guides along which the balls, 

 acted on by the revolving brush, are caused to travel as 

 they roll, thus presenting a continually changing surface 

 to the action ot the brush. These guides lead the balls 

 from the feeding mouth, to and fro along the length of 

 the cylinder, exposed to the brushing action, until finally 

 they are delivered at another mouth. 



Gas Scrubbers. — A method of washing gases has 

 been patented by Mr. H. C. F. Stormer, Christiania, 

 Norway. This invention relates to apparatus which 

 consists of a horizontal rotating tubular chamber, fitted 



with gutters rotated by any suitable means. The 

 gutters are provided with fine perforations or notched 

 along the edge. The chamber is filled to the required 

 level with water and rotated ; the gas to be treated 

 enters at one end and leaves by the other, after having 

 passed through the showers of falling liquor. When 

 liquors are to be evaporated or concentrated, the chamber 

 is charged therewith and rotated whilst the gases are 

 passed through it. If a sediment be deposited it may be 

 removed by rakes working through apertures at the ends. 



Heating Apparatus. — A radiator for heating by hot 

 water or steam has been patented by Mr. J. Jeffreys, 

 Great Queen-street, Westminster. The radiator is 

 formed with a top and bottom box of any convenient 

 length and width, connected together by double tubes, 

 lozenge-shaped in section, cast hollow to allow the water 

 to circulate freely between the top and bottom boxes, and 

 connected at each end to the latter by a wrought-iron bolt, 

 screwed into the top and bottom of each tube and passing 

 completely through the boxes, and secured by a nut on 

 the outside. A hollow pillar is cast on the inside of the 

 boxes in the centre of each tube, surrounded by a square 

 rebated aperture to receive the end of the tube, and the 

 joint is made between the two with a flat piece of india- 

 rubber fitting tightly into the rebate and completely 

 covering the aperture and the top of the pillar, which 

 has a hole in the centre for the bolt to pass through, and 

 two holes on either side to admit the water to the tubes. 

 The bolt is passed through the central hole in the india- 

 rubber flange and the hole in the pillar beneath, and 

 tightly screwed up from the outside of the box, and the 

 joint made watertight. 



Book Cover. — A cover for books has been patented 

 by Mr. J. Hess, 78, Winston-road, London, N. The 

 invention consists of a metal frame fastened to the inside 

 back of the cover in such a manner as to allow the book 

 to be placed therein and taken out at will, without injury 

 to the book. The metal frame is made with one or 

 more clips on the back to secure it to the cover. It has 

 three sides, and opens at both ends ; two of the sides 

 form jaws to press firmly against the sides of the book, to 

 hold it securely in the cover, and the remaining side forms 

 the back with the aforesaid clips on. 



Electrical Gas-Lighter. — An apparatus for lighting 

 gas by electricity has been patented by Messrs. 

 A. Schweizer and S. Griinwald, Vienna. The lighting 

 device is connected to the ordinary house tele- 

 graph circuit, either by means of a third wire running 

 from the element or by inserting a resistance in advance 

 of the signal. The benzine light is placed in a receptacle 

 which is pivotted to the wall or other place. By pressing 

 a stud, a lever rotates the receptacle, until a projection 

 from the receptacle touches the knob, when the circuit is 

 completed and the light ignited by the platinum coil. 



House Poison. — If the condensed breath collected on the 

 cool window-panes of a room where a number of persons 

 have been assembled be burned, a smell as of singed hair 

 will show the presence of organic matter ; and if the condensed 

 breath be allowed to remain on the windows for a few days, 

 it wiU be found, on examination by a microscope, that it is 

 alive with animalcules. The inhalation of air containing such 

 putrescent matter causes untold complaints which might be 

 avoided by circulation of fresh air. — Philadelphia Bulletin. 



