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SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Dec. 2i, iE 



plates, operated by means of an index. The former class 

 are provided with keys arranged in rows like an organ. 



The inking is effected by means of a tape or ribbon, 

 which is gradually reeled off from one spool to another. 

 The inking arrangements of the second class sometimes 

 give a good deal of trouble; for though only requiring 

 a few drops of aniline ink, such as is used for rubber 

 stamps, they alter considerably with changes in the 

 weather. The Hall, for example, supplied with ink 

 specially prepared for it, may be in good condition in the 

 evening, and the next morning, being rainy, the inking 

 pad may have become so wet that the writing is quite 

 blurred and blotted. There is, however, considerable 

 convenience in being able to obtain ink almost anywhere 

 for a few pence a bottle, compared with the key machines 

 for which inked tapes are supplied, in some cases at 

 fancy prices ; the process of inking being kept a secret, 

 to ensure that they shall be sent back from time to time 

 for re-inking ; the type-writer meanwhile standing idle for 

 several days. We are assured by the representative of 

 a certain type-writer that not only is there no one in this 

 country who understands how to ink a ribbon, but that 

 there is only one individual in America who can do it 

 properly. And our informant is his agent ! 



We propose to give a brief description of the various 

 machines to which we have alluded, without attempting 

 to give a complete list of the advantages of each, or 

 weigh to their comparative merits. 



The Remington is naturally the first that claims our 

 attention, since it was practically the earliest in the field, 

 and is the most generally known. Until competition 

 arose a few years ago, it was only provided with capital 

 letters, figures, and stops. The machine shown in fig. i 

 has 41 keys, each of which prints two characters. The 

 keys are arranged in four rows, and are supplemented 

 by a spacing bar, running the whole length in front of 

 the keys ; and two changing keys, by which either the 

 capitals or the small letters are thrown into action. The 

 keys are pivoted at the back of the machine, and attached 

 to each is a pull-down wire, connected to a lever which 

 hangs nearly vertically. These levers are arranged in 

 an oval, and are so proportioned that when a key is 

 struck the lever to which it is attached is thrown up- 

 wards. The end of the lever carries the type, and each 

 impression is made at the same spot. The upper part of 

 the machine consists of a carriage provided with a rubber 

 roller round which the paper passes. The carriage is 

 moved one step to the left immediately after each im- 

 pression has been made, or by a depression of the 

 spacing bar. The movement is effected by a spring, 

 which is wound up by the act of pushing the carriage 

 back at the end of the line. The handle projecting 

 downwards towards the keys serves both for pushing 

 back the carriage, and, by pulling forwards, turns the 

 roller, and moves the paper on for a fresh line. When 

 the end of a line is approached, a bell rings at each de- 

 pression of a key, warning the operator that there is room 

 for only a few more letters, and that he must either stop 

 at the end of the next word, or divide it, and use a 

 hyphen. The difficulty of ending the lines evenly 

 makes the right-hand margin of n type-written sheet 

 more uneven than ordinary manuscript. In 

 setting up type for ordinary printed matter, the com- 

 positor "justifies " each line, or brings the end of it to 

 an even margin, by selecting spaces of different widths. 

 This can be done after the type is arranged ; but with a 

 type-writer it is not until the last two or three letters 



that it can be seen how the line will end. Where a 

 particularly neat copy is desired, the sheet may be copied 

 again on the machine, using a rather longer line, to allow 

 for a double space here and there. With the Remington 

 typewriter, a sharp " staccato " is required, but not much 

 force is needed. An improved pattern has just been 

 brought out, having provision for a wider sheet of paper, 

 together with other improvements which we have not 

 had an opportunity of inspecting, as there was not one 

 to be seen at the depot when we called for that purpose. 



A very important advantage offered by the Remington 

 over most other machines is one which is not due to any 

 inventive skill ; this is, that the agents have the means 

 for effecting repairs, and can supply broken or worn-out 

 parts, and have skilled men to send out to put their 

 machines in order, while most other typewriters labour 

 under the disadvantage which was so much felt when 

 sewing machines were first introduced, viz., that no 

 repairs could be made without sending to America for 

 the new parts ; and then there was the risk of some im- 

 provement having superseded the very part which had 

 proved defective. It is to be regretted that large numbers 

 of type-writers have been sold in this country before they 

 had been properly worked out. Defects were said to be " 

 due to the want of skill of the operator, when they were 

 really faults of construction in the machines. The 

 agents having a few more in stock, and being quite 

 unable to effect repairs, frequently had to take them back 

 again. 



The agents for the Remington are alive to the fact that 

 a type-writer is not of much use without paper, though, 

 as with other machines, we are assured that " its appear- 

 ance is ornamental, and it is a beautiful piece of furni- 

 ture for any library." They have accordingly made 

 arrangements tor providing suitable material for writing 

 on, though any type-writer will write fairly well on 

 almost any ordinary paper. It is, however, of great im- 

 portance for producing manifold copies that the proper 

 kind of paper be used. Six or eight copies can be pro- 

 duced at the same time by placing carbon paper between 

 the sheets. Ordinary thin post paper and common 

 carbon paper are quite useless for the purpose. The 

 agents of other type-writers are following this example, 

 and it would be well if they would also be as ready to 

 admit defects in the machines they sell, and to execute 

 repairs themselves, instead of asserting that an accident 

 is so rare that they do not find this to be necessary. 



The Caiigraph may be noticed next, since it pro- 

 fesses to be an improved Remington, and resembles the 

 older machine closely, at first sight. The levers are 

 made of sheet steel, like the ribs of an umbrella, and 

 the joints are provided with adjusting screws to take up 

 the wear. The levers in the earlier forms of Remington 

 were liable to get loose, and the levers being long com- 

 pared with the length of their pivots, wrote an uneven 

 line. A polygonal roller is provided, so that the type may 

 strike against a flat, instead of a round surface. There 

 are no less than seventy-two keys, each of which prints 

 one character ; they are placed on a level, instead of in 

 steps. (To be continued.) 



International Congress of Meteorologists. — The 

 French Meteorological Society has announced its inten- 

 tion of holding or trying to hold an International Congress 

 of Meteorologists by the inopportunity of the Paris Ex- 

 hibition of 1889. 



