642 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Dec. 28, iS 



the British Museum, the subject of the address being an 

 account of the general arrangements of the Natural 

 History Museum and the recent additions thereto. In 

 the course of this very lucid exposition a subj ect was touched 

 which must be interesting to all the readers of the 

 Scientific News, viz., that of the much-vexed question 

 of opening our national museums on Sunday afternoons. 

 Readers should note the italics. 



One of the objections commonly urged against this 

 innovation — the only one that, in my opinion, deserves 

 any serious consideration — is that it may throw Sunday 

 work upon the museum officials. Prof. Flower disposed 

 of this by telling us that at least three-fourths of the staff 

 are in favour of opening on Sunday afternoons, and many 

 are so enthusiastic that they say that they will come and 

 take their turns at attendance even without remuneration. 

 In the course of the conversation that followed, Mr. Lant 

 Carpenter told us that his father, the late Dr. Carpenter, 

 and other men eminent in science had offered their 

 services gratuitously as guardians, taking turns on 

 Sunday afternoons. 



This, however, is not necessary. What is demanded is 

 the evolution of parliamentary common sense, in sufficient 

 quantity to enable our legislators to understand that the 

 contemplation of a magnificent panorama of creation is 

 no outrage upon the very sensitive religious scruples of 

 a nation that permits the public sale of unlimited quanti- 

 ties of intoxicating drink at the time in question. 



In reference to the employment of the museum offi- 

 cials, the increase of labour is practically trivial. Some 

 people — including members of Parliament — imagine tha 

 all the staff of the museum is occupied in standing in the 

 rooms with wands in their hands, and staring at visitors. 

 Such people do not, probably cannot, understand that a 

 great collection of tens of thousands of specimens re- 

 quires general and detailed attention involving a vast 

 amount of work, and that besides all this it is part of the 

 duty of the museum officials to assist bona fide students 

 who use the museum for purposes of specific research. 

 Like all others who have done this, I can give personal 

 testimony to the efficiency of such aid and the courtesy 

 with which it is afforded. About two years ago some 

 bones were found in the London Clay, at Harlesden, and 

 given to me. I took them to the museum for purpose 

 of identification, andProfessor Flower himself took them to 

 the skeletons of the animals to which they belonged, and 

 by placing each bone by the side of the corresponding 

 one of each skeleton enabled me to settle the question of 

 their origin in spite of my lack of special skill in com- 

 parative anatomy. Collectors and students in every 

 branch of natural history use the museum lor the pur- 

 pose of identifying their specimens, and much other 

 work. 



The mere guardians are chiefly policemen, some of 

 whom are on duty every Sunday, whether the museum 

 is opened or closed. The additional guardianship de- 

 manded by opening on Sunday afternoon need not afflict 

 the consciences of even the most tenderly constituted 

 and most demonstrative of Sabbatarians. 



As Professor Flower said, the one or two members of 

 the staff and the few attendants will not be expected to 

 sweep and clean, nor to stuff birds, nor arrange tablets, 

 nor write labels ; they will only have to walk to their 

 •ts, walk about a little in the museum, and then walk 

 -■gain ; and these being very few out of a large 

 "r turns to do this on Sunday afternoons would 

 f distant intervals. 



TYPE-WRITERS. 



(Contimied from p. 650.) 



'"PHE difficulty of " alignment," which is experienced in 

 -L some type-writers, has been attacked by the Barlock 

 The mechanical principle resembles that which we have 

 described, but the arrangement of the parts is totally 

 different. The keyboard is provided with seventy-two 

 keys, one to each character, but the levers strike down- 

 wards. This has the great advantage of enabling the 

 printed matter to be seen by the operator, up to within 

 a few letters of the last one printed. 



With the two machines already mentioned the whole 

 paper carriage has to be lifted on a hinge in order to see 

 what has been written. This is a matter of great im- 

 portance to authors, or others who use the type-writer 

 for producing their own compositions direct, since it is 

 easy to fall into errors of tautology, if the last few words 

 cannot be readily seen. The inking tape, which in 

 other machines is gradually fed direct from one roller to 

 another, passes round a wire guide, doubling back on 

 itself, thus allowing all the writing to be seen but the 

 last letter or two. In the only machines of this make 

 which we have seen, this advantage is lessened by a 

 bar which hides the whole of the last line. We under- 

 stand that this is being altered in a new pattern. 



The feature from which the Barlock takes its 

 name is the method by which the alignment of the 

 characters is ensured, even if the levers become slightly 

 bent or worn. A number of tapered pins project upward 

 from a semi-circular plate which surrounds the point 

 at which the type make their impressions. The type- 

 bar, at the end of its stroke, falls between two of 

 these pins, thus locking it, and ensuring that each letter 

 shall fall exactly in the same place. The precautions 

 which it is found necessary to take in the construction of 

 such machines, to ensure their alignment, arise not only 

 from wear of the pivots, but from the effects of an acci- 

 dent to which all machines of this class are liable, viz., 

 the clashing of two type-levers if simultaneously de- 

 pressed. This may occur either from carelessness, from 

 writing at too high a speed, or from inexperience on the 

 part of the operator. These machines are all heavy, 

 and are suitable for use in offices, or for other purposes 

 in which it is not necessary to move them about. They 

 are generally mounted on iron stands, like sewing 

 machines. The parts are numerous; repairs cannot 

 easily be effected, even by a skilful workman ; the type 

 cannot be changed ; and the price is about twenty 

 guineas. 



The Hammond type-writer occupies structurally, an 

 intermediate position between the machines already 

 mentioned and those in which the type are carried on a 

 wheel or plate. This machine has a keyboard of only 

 30 keys, but they each control three characters, or 90 

 in all. The keys radiate from the centre, and are 

 arranged in two rows. The curvature is a slight 

 disadvantage, and might be easily altered to two 

 sets, inclined to each other, thus \/ , one for each hand. 

 The movement of the fingers in this instrument is more 

 like playing on a piano than in other keyed type-writers, 

 which are generally " pounced " upon with the first 

 finger of each hand. Under ordinary circumstances, 

 the keys print small letters and the four most common 

 punctuation marks. On depressing a key marked 

 " Cap." the capitals and four other punctuation marks are 

 ready for work ; and by the use of a key marked " Fig." 



