6 4 4 



SCIENTIFIC NEWS. 



[Dec. 28, iE 



very slight alteration. The last word or two can be 

 easily seen, if needed, by merely pushing the paper 

 away from the inking tape. The method of giving the 

 blow ensures that each impression is exactly of the 

 same strength ; but it cannot be made to " manifold " 

 well, as the blow required needs so strong a tension of 

 the spring that a considerable amount of friction is in- 

 troduced. It has been asserted that the difficulty of 

 stopping the type segments, dead at the right spot, and 

 of overcoming the momentum and vibration, have been 

 so completely overcome that it can be worked (we 

 presume by some mechanical contrivance) "at the 

 astonishing rate of from 400 to 500 characters per 

 minute." The present writer has used a Hammond 

 type-writer constantly for more than a year, and writes, 

 when in a good light, at an average of 38 to 40 words 

 per minute, and if pressed, can write 50 words against 

 time. At the former speed, the letters situated at the 

 outside ends of the keyboard often show signs of vibra- 

 tion, or that the type has rebounded. The appearance 

 of the work produced by this machine is excellent. This is 

 due to the good alignment, the uniform blow, and the 

 well-designed type. In the other key machines, it is 

 necessary to strike an / or an * with less force than an 

 m or a w. The blow in this machine is given from the 

 back of the paper, the inking ribbon being on the other 

 side, between the paper and the type. It might be 

 imagined that it would not print on stout paper, but it 

 will just give a fair impression on a thin post-card. The 

 feed for moving up the paper for a fresh line is effected at 

 the same time as the pushing back of the carriage, by 

 merely pressing on a lever. It would seem that even 

 this might be improved by providing an arrangement 

 for moving it by a cord, passing down to a treadle, to 

 be moved by the foot ; thus leaving the fingers entirely 

 free for the manipulation of the keys. 



We have had less opportunity of examining the Cran- 

 dall type-writer than any other machine, having only 

 heard of it since this article was in type. It has two 

 rows of keys, arranged radially as in the Hammond, 

 which it resembles in several respects. The type are 

 arranged on the surface of a brass cylinder. This has 

 three different motions— a rotatory and an axial motion, 

 as in the Hammond, produced by the letter keys and 

 the shifting keys respectively; it also has a striking 

 motion, rocking forwards to impress the type on the 

 paper. At the back of the machine is a segment of a 

 wheel, having grooves on its periphery. These grooves 

 are more or less curved. Into each one the end of a key 

 lever fits. When the key is depressed, the back end of 

 it rises, and in so doing causes the segment to turn, the 

 amount of motion depending on the curvature of the 

 groove. The type cylinder is geared to the segment, and 

 moves with it. The first action then of the key, as in 

 the Hammond, is to bring the proper type forward into 

 the printing position. Continuing the depression of the 

 key, the cylinder is rocked forwards, and a small taper 

 pin which is fixed in the frame of the machine imme- 

 diately under the printing point, enters a hole in the 

 cylinder immediately below the type which is to be 

 printed. As the type cylinder moves forward, the pin 

 entering the hole locks it, and finally the type strikes the 

 paper. The system seems an improvement on the 

 stop motion of the Hammond, but we have had no 

 opportunity to give the machine a test, or to minutely 

 examine the other parts. The whole of the written 

 matter may be seen by depressing a key provided for 



that purpose, but one of the lines is completely hidden 

 by a|bar, as in the Barlock. An inking tape is provided, 

 and passes between the type and the paper. 



Passing now to the wheel and plate machines, we 

 come to lighter, cheaper, and more portable type-writers ; 

 but what we gain in these advantages, we lose in speed. 

 In a busy office, or for transcribing shorthand reports for 

 the press, speed may be of the greatest desideratum ; 

 and a practised operator will, as we have said, write 

 eighty words a minute. Many clerks who spend most of 

 their time in writing with a Remington, can produce 

 sixty to seventy words a minute, though these will pro- 

 bably include several blunders which have to be cor- 

 rected afterwards. The strain of such work is, however, 

 more than most authors would find compatible with their 

 intellectual efforts, or most secretaries with their dignity. 



The Columbia is a neat little machine, only 9 by 6 by 5 

 inches, and weighs 3 J lbs. The work produced by it is 

 superior to that of other type-writers, for it has an auto- 

 matic spacing arrangement, which allows a smaller side 

 motion of the carriage for a narrow letter than for a wide 

 one. A test for this is the writing of the words 



committee, commission, willing, 



which most type-writers print as above, but which are 

 produced by the Columbia in a style which much 

 more nearly resembles ordinary print. 



The motion is quite unlike that of any other machines, 

 and is rather difficult to learn. A type-wheel carries the 

 type in a single row round its periphery. A handle 

 projecting from the wheel is twirled backwards and for- 

 wards by the finger and thumb ; a movement which 

 can be produced with any amount of rapidity, but 

 which is rather hard to effect with certainty of stopping 

 at the right point. An improved form of this machine 

 has an adjusting screw, by which a certain amount 

 of friction can be applied, and which must be ar- 

 ranged to suit the strength of the operator's fingers. 

 The type-wheel is geared to an index which travels round 

 on a dial facing the operator. The upper part of the 

 machine, as in all those of the second class, travels along 

 step by step to the right. The distance travelled is 

 regulated by the thickness of the type-wheel at the point 

 where the type, which is in the printing position, is set. 

 This method of regulating the feed is very simple, and 

 does not complicate the machine, though it would be 

 very difficult to apply it to most type-writers. The type- 

 wheel is carried on an axis which is hinged at the left- 

 hand side of the machine, and which can be depressed so 

 as to bring the type down on the paper, the pressure being 

 applied by the handle which is used for twirling the 

 wheel. 



The Columbia does not profess to be a fast machine. 



The type are of metal, and are inked by a wheel 

 covered with cloth. When the type-wheel is at rest, the 

 inking-wheel hangs between the type and the paper ; 

 when the handle is depressed, the inking-wheel moves 

 out of the way, returning when the type-wheel rises. 

 Each letter is thus inked before and after printing, and 

 the same letter may be repeated a number of times with 

 uniformly black impressions, with the exception of the 

 first, which is generally darker. This somewhat defeats 

 the object. The writing can be seen tolerably well. 



The use of ink gives a much sharper impression than 

 can be obtained from a tape, but the writing is equally 

 liable to be blurred by rubbing, unless copied in a copy- 

 ing press as soon as it is written. This has a drawback 



