Nov. 2, 1888.] 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS, 



457 



THE GORTON BOILER. 



T N the construction ot the Gorton heaters, one of 

 which we show in our illustration, the plan of the 

 upright tubular boiler has been wisely retained, and 

 the additional advantages of self-feeding as well as 

 surface burning have been incorporated by an in- 

 genious device, enabling it to work well either way. 

 The coal reservoir is between the lower outside 

 surface of the boiler and the water leg, thus econo- 

 mising a space of from 9 to 12 ins. in diameter 

 in the centre of the boiler for active heating purposes, 

 while the tubes are directly above the fire, the heat 

 passing up through them to the top, and thence down on 

 the outside between the boiler and jacket to the smoke 



pipe at the back. The reservoir will hold enough fuel to 

 keep up a steady fire for fromtwelve to twenty-four hours. 

 The boiler is designed to generate steam in an economical 

 and effective manner, the tubes being placed as thickly 

 as will admit of proper circulation, and its evaporative 

 efficiency is calculated as fully equal to that of the return 

 tubular boiler. The coal pockets in the Gorton are 

 placed sufficiently low down to enable any one, even a 

 child, to put on fuel, and thus there is no reaching up over 

 one's head with a scuttle of coal, as is so very often the 

 case with other styles of boilers, especially centre-feed 

 boilers. 



The grate, which is " cupped," or lower in the centre 

 than at the periphery, has its outer or main part resting 



on ball bearings, so that it can be easily shaken, this 

 allows the coal to feed down as it is needed and distribute 

 itself uniformly ; the centre part is independent and 

 arranged to open on one side for removing clinkers. A re- 

 cent improvement in this grate, and one possessed by no 

 other steam-heating boiler, consists of additional air 

 spaces, which provide for the free circulation of air at all 

 times to the combustion chamber. It is known that the 

 amount of steam produced is in proportion to the regu- 

 larity and intensity of heat employed to generate it; that 

 hence it is easy to understand, that if the temperature of 

 the fire be lowered through clogging of the grate with 

 ashes, the temperature of the premises is proportionately 

 affected. With the improved grate as now furnished to 

 this boiler, clogging is impossible, as in whatever manner 

 the ashes may fall upon the grate, they cannot interrupt 

 the draught. This ensures perfect combustion and a uni- 

 form temperature. These boilers are made of wrought 

 iron, and are simple, of superior construction, and 

 are particularly adapted for warming private dwellings, 

 public buildings, hotels, apartment houses, and office 

 buildings. They can also be used for manufacturing pur- 

 poses as well as for heating buildings, and are fully 

 guaranteed for a working pressure of one hundred pounds. 



STORAGE OF MATERIAL AND FORCE 

 IN PLANTS. 



T F we take a pea-seed and place it in moist ground in 

 -L the spring-time, it will soon begin to grow. First 

 the root protrudes and passes downwards, then a little 

 stem appears and ascends into the air towards the light, 

 and a small group of leaves opens at its extremity. The 

 stem continues to grow, more leaves are put out, they 

 become of a deep-green colour, and if the plant be 

 placed where light, air, and moisture act upon it we 

 soon have a plant some feet in height, with a long stem, 

 many leaves, and at length flowers appear. When the 

 autumn comes the fruits are full of ripe seeds, and at 

 length the leaves wither and dry tip, losing their green 

 colour, and the plant dies. Now if we carefully remove 

 the plant entire, with its root, and leaves, and fruit, dry 

 it and weigh it, we shall find that it weighs . many 

 hundred times as much as the seed from which it grew. 

 Where has the material which makes up the difference 

 in these weights come from ? If the dried plant and all 

 its parts be now completely burnt the weight of the ash 

 or inorganic matter is ascertained. This was derived 

 from the ground. The rest of the weight of the dried 

 plant was manufactured by the leaves of the living plant, 

 from the carbonic acid gas taken in from the atmosphere 

 to the cellular tissue of the leaf, and there, through the 

 agency of the cells of the leaf, under the stimulus of 

 light, the carbonic acid gas absorbed was decomposed, 

 the oxygen being returned to the atmosphere and the 

 carbon united with the elements of water to form a new 

 organic material called starch, which accumulates in the 

 cells which were the agents for its production. This 

 process of manufacturing starch in vegetable cells under 

 the stimulus of light is termed assimilation. There is a 

 substance in the cells which perform this work called 

 chlorophyll, which is formed previous to the manufac- 

 ture of starch, and the quantity of starch made by 

 healthy leaves is, within certain limits, proportional to 

 the quantity of light that illuminated the leaves. Now, 

 as to the storage ot this new organic material, starch, 



