56 



LIGHTING BY ELECTRICITY. 



[1864. 



which it is coated. This gum has been considered the cause 

 of its brittleness, and has hithei'to been only removed by steeping 

 in iiinning water, and by stamping and beating, a very slow, 

 imperfect, and expensive process. The second part of the 

 machine then discharges the macerated leaves into a small 

 stream of water, where the mucilage is washed ofi' by women 

 and children, who merely draw the fibre of each leaf 

 ( through the hand, and wring it out, it is then hung up to dry 

 under cover. It requires 8 tons of green leaves to produce 1 

 ton of fibre ; but the inventor of the machine has Jiad dried 

 leaves from New Zealand ten feet in length, containing an ex- 

 ceedingly coarse but very strong fibre suitable for ropes and 

 cordage. There are several varieties of the plant, the fibre in 

 each varying in quahty, applicable to the manufacture of 

 fabrics for which silk, cotton, flax, wool, and hemp are used ; 

 the fine tow, we are assured, forms a beautiful yarn, and the 

 flax takes colour as well as any textile fibre. Water-power 

 abounds in the colony, and if applied to this machine on a 

 large scale, a supply may be obtained suiScient for every pur- 

 pose. 



The flax has been grown in nurseries in Devonshire, and, 

 we believe, in Wales ; if so, we see no reason v/hy its culture 

 may not be extended in these islands. The Devon leaves, we 

 are assured, average about 6 feet in length, and^ although 

 worked by the machine in the dry and not in the green state, 

 each leaf produced 3 ozs. of green fibre. Paper manufactured 

 from this fibre possesses the sing-ular quality of being 

 impervious to water ; a sheet of paper folded in the shape of a 

 basin, and filled with water, has been kept suspended for 14 

 consecutive days, without any appearance of dampness on the 

 exterior ; for cartridge-paper, therefore, it would prove invalu- 

 able, as well as for preserving polished steel and iron goods. 

 It takes tar as well as European hemp ; the relative strength of 

 rope made from the New Zealand fibre and Russian 

 hemp has been tested at the Eoyal Dockyard, Woolwich, 

 when it was%und that a 42-inch made of the former was 60 

 per cent, stronger than 42-inoh made of the latter. Run- 

 ning gear and ship tackling of cordage made of this invaluable 

 substance has been used in ships trading between London and 

 New Zealand, and highly approved of; and flat-ropes have been 

 made from it for use in the deep coal-pits of Lancashire, where 

 they are preferred to those of Russian hemp, when supplies 

 can be obtained. 



We have thus produced in one of our new colonies, in an 

 unlimited quantity, an article calculated to supersede the hemp 

 of Manilla, America, and above all, of Russia. This invaluable 

 production of the earth covers many thousand acres of the soil 

 to which it is indigenous ; and it is remarkable, that the higher 

 the altitude at which it grows, the shorter the leaf and the 

 finer the fabric it produces. The want of proper machinery 

 for its production has hitherto prevented the shipment of it in 

 ciuantity to Europe ; the proposed plan will probably remedy 

 that evil, and in time ensure an ample supply. We have 

 thought it right to direct the attention of commercial men 

 to this very interesting and important national object: the 

 drain for European labour in Australia renders it desirable that 

 the natives should be employed extensively in this manufacture, 

 the simplicity of the new machinery suits it for being worked 

 by them, and we hope to see the Zealand flax properly and exten- 

 sively prepared by the improved process, attain the position in 

 the European markets which its valuable qualities appear so 

 fully to merit. — Mining Journal 



Incrustation in Eoilers. 



Mr. Washington Jones exhibited to the meeting of the 

 Franklin Institute, July 20, .some specimens of scale, or in- 

 crustation, taken from the boiler of a coasting steamer. One 

 piece about twelve inches long, by eight v/ide, and about 

 three-eights thick, was formed on the outer portion of the 

 furnace crown, and distinctly showed the form of that part of 

 the boiler, with each rivet head a^id the joinings of the sheets. 

 The scale had been deposited in layers that were of various 

 tints, derived from the colouring matter extracted from the 

 substances (such as saw-dust of mahogany, &c.),' that had, from 

 time to time, been put into the boiler to prevent the deposit 

 of scale. Another piece of irregular shape, had been taken 

 from the steam chimney. It is well known that scale is a non- 

 conductor of heat. It forms most rapidly, as a necessary con- 

 sequence, upon those parts of the boiler where the heat and 

 the evaporation is the greatest, and thus increases the liability 

 these parts have to become overheated or burned. 



Mr. Jones also presented a stay bolt taken from the smoke- 

 pipe, where its head had been for over two years exposed to 

 jets of exhaust steam. The part of the head against which the 

 steam impinged, had been cut or worn away by its action ; the 

 texture of the iron was close, and" the wasted part was as 

 smooth as if cut with a keen tool. 



Mr. Jones remarked that the proper construction and 

 maintenance of steam boilers in a safe condition, should be 

 of special importance not only to engineers, but to the whole 

 community. No jjart of the apparatus requires closer attention. 

 As a class, our steamboat engineers are fully competent to dis- 

 charge the duties belonging to their post; but, occasionally, 

 the desire to make a quick run, induces them to carry a little 

 higher steam, and to " blow out" less fraquently, a practice to 

 be deprecated, as it is almost sure to bring upon them the 

 labour of "scaling", as well as risking the efficiency of the 

 boilers. — Journal FranMin Institute. 



Lighting by Electricity- 



Letter of MM. Deleuil ^ Son. to M. Elie de Beaumont. 



We communicated to the Academy, some time ago, a note in 

 reference to the electro-lighting of the Napoleon Docks. M. 

 Regnault, the director-of the telegraph of the Rouen Railroad, 

 who took charge of this lighting, has communicated to us the 

 statement of the expense, of which we herewith send you 

 the details. We thought everything connected with this 

 lighting would be favorably received by the Academy. The 

 apparatus which worked for four consecutive months with great 

 regularity, were composed each of a battery of fifty Bunsen 

 elements of large sizii. 



The expense per day apparatus, was as follows : 



Wages of the workmen, 4-50 francs. 



Mercury, 5' " 



Zinc, 4-50 " 



Charcoal points, 1-40 " 



Nitric Acid, 1-80 " 



Sulphuric Acid, 1-84 " 



19-04 " (§3-80) 

 The expense of lighting 400 workmen was, then, 38-08 francs 



