At the conclusion of the paper, Prof. W.G. Adams and Prof. G.C. Foster could not refrain from expressing their high admiration of the ingenious and able manner in which Mr. Boys had developed the subject.

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A CANAL BOAT PROPELLED BY AIR.

A novelty in canal boats lies in Charles River, near the foot of Chestnut street, which is calculated to attract considerable attention. It is called a pneumatic canal boat and was built at Wiscasset, Me., as devised by the owner, Mr. R.H. Tucker, of Boston, who claims to hold patents for its design in England and the United States. The specimen shown on Charles River, which is designed to be used on canals without injuring the banks, is a simple structure, measuring sixty-two feet long and twenty wide. It is three feet in depth and draws seventeen inches of water. It is driven entirely by air, Root's blower No. 4 being used, the latter operated by an eight-horse-power engine. The air is forced down a central shaft to the bottom, where it is deflected, and, being confined between keels, passes backward and upward, escaping at the stern through an orifice nineteen feet wide, so as to form a sort of air wedge between the boat and the surface of the water. The force with which the air strikes the water is what propels it. The boat has a speed of four miles an hour, but requires a thirty-five-horsepower engine to develop its full capabilities. The patentee claims a great advantage in doing away with the heavy machinery of screws and side-wheels, and believes that the contrivance gives full results, in proportion to the power employed. It is also contrived for backing and steering by air propulsion. Owing to the slight disturbance which it causes to the water, it is thought to be very well adapted for work on canals without injury to the sides.—Boston Journal.

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HEAD LININGS OF PASSENGER CARS.

The veneer ceilings are considered as much superior to cloth as cloth was to the roof-ceiling. They are remarkably chaste, and so solid and substantial that but little decoration is necessary to produce a pleasing effect. The agreeable contrast between the natural grain of the wood and the deeper shade of the bands and mouldings is all that is necessary to harmonize with the other parts of the interiors of certain classes of cars—smoking and dining cars, for example. But in the case of parlor and dining-room cars, the decorations of these ceilings should be in keeping with the style of the cars, by giving such a character to the lines, curves, and colors, as will be suggestive of cheerfulness and life. While these head linings are deserving of the highest commendation as an important improvement upon previous ones, they are still open to some objections. One barrier to their general adoption is their increased cost. It is true that superior quality implies higher prices, but when the prices exceed so much those of cloth linings, it is difficult to induce road managers to increase expenses by introducing the new linings, when the great object is to reduce expenses. Another objection to wood linings is their liability to injury from heat and moisture, a liability which results from the way in which they are put together. A heated roof or a leak swells the veneering, and in many cases takes it off in strips. To obviate these objections, I have, during the past eighteen months, been experimenting with some materials that would be less affected by these causes, and at the same time make a handsome ceiling. About a year ago I fitted up one car in this way, and it has proved a success. The material used is heavy tar-board pressed into the form of the roof and strengthened by burlaps. It is then grained and decorated in the usual manner, and when finished has the same appearance as the veneers, will wear as well, and can be finished at much less cost.—D.D. Robertson.

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IMPROVED MORTAR MIXER.

The engravings herewith illustrate a new form of mixing or pugging machine for making mortar or any other similar material. It has been designed by Mr. R.R. Gubbins, more especially for mixing emery with agglutinating material for making emery wheels; and a machine is at work on this material in the manufactory of the Standard Emery Wheel Company, Greek Street, Soho. The machine is shown in perspective in Fig. 1 with the side door of the mixing box let down as it is when the box is being emptied; and in Fig. 2 it is shown in transverse section. The principle of the machine is the employment of disks fixed at an angle of about 45 deg. on shafts revolving in a mixing box, to which a slow reciprocating movement of short range is given.



In our illustrations, C is a knife-edge rail, upon which run grooved wheels supporting the pugging box. To the axle of one grooved wheel a connecting rod from crank arm, F is attached to effect the to-and-fro motion of the mixing box, B. G is the door of the box, B, hinged at H, and secured by hinged pins carrying fly nuts. A cover and hopper and also a trap may be supplied to the box, B, for continuously feeding and discharging the material operated upon. L, L, are the pugging blades or discs on shafts, M. The shafts, M, pass through a slot in the box, B, and the packing of these shafts is effected by the face plate sliding and bearing against the face on the standard of the machine. P is a guide piece on the standard, against which bears and slides the piece, Q, bolted on to box, B, to support and guide the box, B, in its movement. The forked ends of a yoke engage with the collars, S, on the shafts, M, this yoke being set by a screw so that the shafts may be easily removed. The machine is driven from the pulleys and shaft, T, through gearing, T2 and T3, and by the Ewart's chain on the wheel and pinion, V and U.—The Engineer.

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[Continued from SUPPLEMENT, No. 311, page 4960.]



PRACTICAL NOTES ON PLUMBING.[1]

[Footnote 1: From the London Building News.]

BY P.J. DAVIES, H.M.A.S.P., ETC.

TINNING IRON PIPES, COPPER OR BRASS-WORK, BITS, ETC.

Previously, I described the method of tinning the bit, etc., with resin; but before this work on joints can be considered complete, I find it necessary to speak of tinning the ends of iron pipes, etc., which have within the last fifty years been much used in conjunction with leaden pipes. This is done as follows: Take some spirits of salts (otherwise known as hydrochloric acid, muriatic acid, hydrogen chloride, HCl), in a gallipot, and put as much sheet-zinc in it as the spirit will dissolve; you have then obtained chloride of zinc (ZnCl). A little care is required when making this, as the acid is decomposed and is spread about by the discharged hydrogen, and will rust anything made of iron or steel, such as tools, etc. It also readily absorbs ammoniacal gas, so that, in fact, sal ammoniac may also be dissolved in it, or sal ammoniac dissolved in water will answer the purpose of the chloride of zinc.

Having the killed spirits, as it is sometimes called, ready, file the end of your iron or bit and plunge this part into the spirits, then touch your dipped end with some fine solder, and dip it again and again into the spirits until you have a good tinned face upon your iron, etc.; next you require a spirit-brush.

SPIRIT-BRUSH.

You can make this by cutting a few bristles out of a broom or brush, push them into a short piece of compo tube, say 1/4 in., and hammer up the end to hold the bristles; next cut the ends of the bristles to about 3/8 in. long, and the brush is ready for use.

SOLDERING IRON TO LEAD.

Suppose you want to make a joint round a lead and iron pipe. First file the end of your iron pipe as far up as you would shave it if it were lead, and be sure to file it quite bright and free from grease; heat your soldering-iron; then, with your spirit-brush, paint the prepared end of your iron, and with your bit, rub over the pipe plenty of solder, until the pipe is properly tinned, not forgetting to use plenty of spirits; this done, you can put your joint together, and wipe in the usual manner. Caution.—Do not put too much heat on your iron pipe, either when tinning or making the joint, or the solder will not take or stand.

DUMMIES FOR PIPE-BENDING.



Figs. 38 and 38B. This tool I had better describe before proceeding to the method of bending. To make it take a piece of, say, 1/2 in. iron pipe, 3 ft. long, or the length required, bent a little at one end, as shown at A B in Fig. 38 and Fig. 38B. Tin the end about 2 in. up, make a hole with a small plumbing-iron in some sand, and place the tinned end of the iron pipe, B, into this hole; fill the hole up with good hot lead, and the dummy, after it has been rasped up a little, is ready for use. It will be found handy to have three or four different lengths, and bent to different angles, to suit your work. A straight one (Fig. 38B.) made to screw into an iron socket or length of gas-pipe, will be found very handy for getting dents out of long lengths of soil-pipe.

BENDS AND SET-OFFS.

Before you begin bending solid pressed pipes always put the thickest part of your pipe at the back. Lead, in a good plumber's hands, may be twisted into every conceivable shape; but, as in all other trades, there is a right and a wrong way of doing everything, and there are many different methods, each having a right and wrong way, which I shall describe. I shall be pleased if my readers will adopt the style most suitable for their particular kind of work; of course I shall say which is the best for the class of work required.

For small pipes, such as from 1/2 in. to 1 in. "stout pipe," you may pull them round without trouble or danger; but for larger sizes, say, from 11/4 in. to 2 in., some little care is necessary, even in stout pipes.

Fig. 37 illustrates a badly made bend, and also shows how it comes together at the throat, X, and back, E; L is the enlarged section of X E, looking at the pipe endways. The cause of this contraction is pulling the bend too quickly, and too much at a time, without dressing in the sides at B B as follows: After you have pulled the pipe round until it just begins to flatten, take a soft dresser, or a piece of soft wood, and a hammer, and turn the pipe on its side as at Fig. 37; then strike the bulged part of the pipe from X B toward E, until it appears round like section K. Now pull your pipe round again as before, and keep working it until finished. If you find that it becomes smaller at the bend, take a long bolt and work the throat part out until you have it as required.



BENDING WITH WATER (LIGHT PIPES).

Fig. 39. This style of bending is much in use abroad, but not much practiced in London, though a splendid method of work.



It is a well known fact that, practically speaking, for such work, water is incompressible, but may be turned and twisted about to any shape, provided it is inclosed in a solid case—Fig. 39 is that case. The end, A, is stopped, and the stopcock, B, soldered into the other end. Now fill up this pipe quite full with warm water and shut the cock, take the end, A, and pull round the pipe, at the same time dressing the molecules of lead from the throat, C, toward D E, which will flow if properly worked.

You can hammer away as much as you please, but be quick about it, so that the water does not cool down, thereby contracting; in fact, you should open the cock now and then, and recharge it to make sure of this.

SAND BENDING.

This is a very old method of bending lead pipes, and answers every purpose for long, easy bends. Proceed in this way: The length of the pipe to be 5 ft., fill and well ram this pipe solid with sand 2 ft. up, then have ready a metal-pot of very hot sand to fill the pipe one foot up, next fill the pipe up with more cold sand, ramming it as firmly as possible, stop the end and work it round as you did the water bend, but do not strike it too hard in one place, or you will find it give way and require to be dummied out again, or if you cannot get the dent out with the dummy send a ball through (see "Bending with Balls").

BENDING WITH BALLS OR BOBBINS.

This style of work is much practiced on small pipes, such as 2 in. to 3 in., especially by London plumbers. Method: Suppose your pipe to be 2 in., then you require your ball or bobbin about 1/16 in. less than the pipe, so that it will run through the pipe freely. Now pull the pipe round until it just begins to flatten, as at Fig. 37, put the ball into the pipe, and with some short pieces of wood (say, 2 in. long by 11/2 in. diameter) force the ball through the dented part of the pipe, or you may use several different-sized balls, as at A B C, Fig. 40, and ram them through the pipe with a short mandrel, as at D M. You will require to proceed very carefully about this ramming, or otherwise you will most likely drive the bobbins through the back at L K J. You must also watch the throat part, G H I, to keep it from kinking or buckling-up; dress this part from the throat toward the back, in order to get rid of the surplus in the throat.



THREE-BALL OR LEAD DRIVING BALL AND DOUBLE-BALL BENDING.

Fig. 41 shows a method of bending with three balls, one of lead being used as a driver attached to a piece of twine. This is a country method, and very good, because the two balls are kept constantly to the work. First, put the two balls just where you require the bend, then pull the pipe slightly round; take the leaden ball and drop it on the ball, B, then turn the pipe the other end up and drop it on A, and do so until your bend is the required shape. You must be careful not to let your leaden ball touch the back of the pipe. Some use a piece of smaller leaden pipe run full of lead for the ball, C, and I do not think it at all a bad method, as you can get a much greater weight for giving the desired blow to your boxwood balls.



BENDING WITH WINDLASS AND BRASS BALL.

This is an excellent method of bending small pipes. Fig. 42 will almost describe itself. A is a brass or gun metal ball having a copper or wire rope running through it, and pulled through the flattened part of the pipe as shown. It will be quite as well to tack the bend down to the bench, as at B, when pulling the ball through; well dress the lead from front to back to thicken the back. I have seen some plumbers put an extra thickness of lead on the back before beginning to bend. Notice: nearly all solid pressed pipes are thicker on one side than the other (as before remarked), always place the thickest part at the back.



HYDRAULIC OR CUP-LEATHER AND BALL BENDING.

Fig 43. This is my own method of pipe-bending, and is very useful when properly handled with plenty of force, but requires great care and practice. You must have a union sweated on the end, A, Fig. 43, and the ball, B, to fit the pipe. The cup-leather, E, should have a plate fixed on the front to press the ball forward. Pull up the pipe as you please, and pump the ball through; it will take all the dents out, and that too very quickly.



BENDING BY SPLITTING OR SPLIT-MADE BENDS.

This method of bending is much practiced in the provinces, and, for anything I know to the contrary, is one of the best methods in use, as by it you are likely to get a good substance of metal on the back of the bend whether the plumber be a good or a bad workman. Proceed as follows: Cut the pipe down the center to suit the length of your bend, as shown at A B, Fig. 44. It will be quite as well if you first set out this bend on the bench, then you may measure round the back, as from C to L, to obtain the distance of the cut, which should always be three or four inches longer than the bend. You may also in this way obtain the correct length for the throat, G H I; here you will see that you have a quantity of lead to spare, i.e., from A to E, all of which has to be got rid of in uncut bends—some plumbers shift from front to back, but how many? Not one in twenty. After you have cut the pipe, open the throat part, bend out the sides, and pull this part round a little at a time, then with a dummy, Fig. 38, work the internal part of the throat outward to as nearly the shape as you can. Go carefully to work, and do not attempt to work up the sides, A D B, until your throat is nearly to the proper shape, after which you may do so with a small boxwood dresser or bossing-stick (It is not necessary to explain minutely what a bosser or dressing-stick is, as they can be bought at almost any lead-merchants—the dresser is shown at E, Fig. 1; the bossing-stick is somewhat similar, the only difference being that it has a rounded face instead of flat.) Keep the dummy up against the sides when truing it. If you have proceeded properly with this throat part, you will not require to work up the sides or edges, as in working the throat back the sides will come up by themselves. Next take the back, pull it round a little at a time, the dummy being held inside, with your dresser work the two edges and sides slowly round, and the back will follow. Never strike the back from the underside with the dummy. After you have made a dozen or two you will be able to make them as fast as you please, but do not hurry them at first, as the greater part of this work is only to be learned by patient application, perseverance, and practice.



After you have made the bend it will require to be soldered, but before you can do this you must have the joint quite perfect and the edges true one with the other. A good bender will not require to touch his edges at all, but a novice will have to rasp and trim them up so that they come together. Having your edges true, soil them, take a gauge-hook, which may be described as a shave-hook with a gauge attached, and shave it about 1/8 in. each side; now solder it to look like the solder A, Fig. 45, which is done as follows: With some fine solder tack the joint at A D B, Fig. 44, put on some resin, and with a well-heated copper-bit drop some solder roughly on the point from B to A, then draw the bit over it again to float the solder, being especially careful not to let the joint open when coming off at A. Some plumbers think fit to begin here, but that is a matter of no importance. Do not forget that if your joint is not properly prepared, that is to say, true and even, it is sure to be a failure, and will have a "higgledy-piggledy" appearance. Some difference of opinion exists as to the best method of making these joints: one workman will make a good joint by drawing it while, on the other hand, another one will do it equally well by wiping it. Drawing will be fully explained in a part on pipe making. It may, however, be here mentioned that it is a method of making the joint by floating the solder along the joint with the ladle and plumbing-iron.



It is not uncommon for plumbers to make their bends with only one joint on the back.

PULLING UP BENDS.

In London, it is the favorite plan to make bends without cutting them. Fig. 46. It is done by taking a length of pipe, and, just where you require the bend, lay it (with the seam at the side) upon a pillow, made by tightly filling a sack with sand, wood shavings, or sawdust; have some shavings ready to hand and a good lath, also a short length of mandrel about 3 ft. long and about 1/2 in. smaller than the pipe, and a dummy as shown at A B, Fig. 56. Now, all being ready, put a few burning shavings into the throat of the bend, just to get heat enough to make it fizz, which you can judge by spitting on it. When this heat is acquired withdraw the fire, and let the laborer quickly place the end of the mandrel into the pipe, and pull the pipe up while you place a sack or anything else convenient across the throat of the bend, then pull the pipe up a little, just sufficient to dent it across the throat. Now, with a hot dummy, dummy out the dent, until it is round like the other part of the pipe. Keep at this until your bend is made, occasionally turning the pipe or its side and giving it a sharp blow on the side with the soft or hornbeam dresser; this is when the sides run out as in Fig. 37. Never strike the back part of the bend from inside with the dummy, but work the lead from the throat to the back with a view to thickening the back.



SET-OFFS.

A set-off is nothing more than a double bend, as shown at Fig. 47, and made in much the same manner. D is the long end of the pipe. Always make this bend first and pull it up quite square, as it will be found to go a little back when pulling up the other bend; if you can make the two together so much the better, as you can then work the stuff from the throat of one bend into the back of the other. The different shaped dummies are also here shown: F a round-nosed dummy, G a double bent dummy, H a single bent, I straight, J hand-dummy, ABN a long bent dummy shown at Fig. 38.



BAD BENDS.

These can always be detected by examining them in their backs, as at Fig. 48; take a small dresser and tap the pipe a few times round ABD to test for the thickness. Strike it hard enough to just dent it; next strike the back part of the pipe, E, with the same force, and if it dents much more it is not an equally-made bend. I have seen some of these much-praised London-made bends that could be easily squeezed together by the pressure of the thumb and finger. N.B.—Care must be taken not to reduce or enlarge the size of the bore at the bend.



BAD FALLS IN BENDS.

The fall given in bending lead pipes should be considered of quite as much importance as making the bends of equal thickness especially for pipes, as shown in Fig. 49. In this Fig. you have a drawing of a bad bend. From A to B there is no fall whatever, as also from B to C; such bending is frequently done and fixed in and about London, which is not only more work for the plumber, but next to useless for soil-pipes. Fig. 50 shows how this bend should be made with a good fall from A to J, also from M to N; the method of making these bends requires no further explanation. R, P, and K are the turnpins for opening the ends, the method of which will be explained in a future paragraph on "Preparing for Fixing."



BENDS MADE INTO TRAPS OR RETARDERS.

It will sometimes be found requisite to retard the flow of water when running through soil or other pipes, or to direct it to another course, or even to form a trap in the length of pipe. This has been done in many ways, but Figs. 51 and 52 represent the method that I, after mature consideration, think most preferable. There is nothing new about this style of bending, as it has been long in vogue with provincial plumbers, but more especially in Kent. For many years it has had a run as a sink and slop closet-trap. Mr. Baldwin Latham, in his "Sanitary Engineering," says it was introduced and has been used for the Surrey and Kent sewers from about 1848.



I have also noticed many of these traps in the Sanitary Exhibition at South Kensington, made by Graham and Fleming, plumbers, who deserve a medal for their perseverance and skill, not only for the excellence of their bends, but also for some other branches of the trade, such as joint-wiping, etc., which is unquestionably the best work sent into this Exhibition—in fact, quite equal to that which was shown at the Exhibition of 1862. I shall treat further of these bends in an article on Fixing, in a future part.

BENDS MADE WITH THE "SNARLING DUMMY."

This is an American method of making lead bends. Fig. 53 shows a dummy made upon a bent steel rod, fixed into the bench. The method of working it is by first pulling up the bend, and to get out the dents, strike the rod of the snarling dummy, as shown at A, and the reaction gives a blow within the bend, throwing out the bend to any shape required. This method of working the dummy is also taken advantage of in working up embossed vases, etc.



(To be continued)

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THE GROSSENHAIN SHUTTLE-DRIVER.

The manufacture of fabrics having woofs of different colors requires the use of several shuttles and boxes containing the different colors at the extremity of the driver's travel, in which these boxes are adjusted alternately either by a rectilinear motion, or by a rotary one when the boxes are arranged upon a cylinder. The controlling mechanism of the shuttles by means of draught and tie machines constitutes, at present, the most perfect apparatus of this nature, because they allow of a choice of any shuttles whatever.



The apparatus constructed by the Grossenhainer Webstuhl und Maschinen Fabrik, of Grossenhain, and represented in the accompanying cut, is new as regards its general arrangement, although in its details it more or less resembles the analogous machines of Schoenherr, Crompton, and Hartmann. The lifting of the shuttles is effected by two sectors, a1, a2, arranged on the two sides of the loom, and the rotary motion of which acts upon the box, c, by means of the lever, b, the box being caused to descend again by the spring, d. Parallel with the breast beam there is mounted an axle, e, and upon one of the extremities of this is fixed the sector, a1, while the other extremity carries two fixed disks, f1, f2, two loose disks, f3, f4, and the sector, a2, which is connected with the latter. The disks are kept in position by a brake, g. The pawls, h1 and h2, are supported on a lever, i, on a level with the disks, and are connected with the cam, l, by the spring, k. This cam revolves with the axle of the loom and thrusts the pawls against the disk. A draught and tie machine controls the action of the pawls on the disks in such a way that, by the revolution of the sectors, a1 and a2, the shuttle-boxes, I., II., III., are brought at the desired moment in the way of the driver. The pawls, h, are connected by wires with the bent levers, m, of the draught machine, which carry also the pawls, n. The upper position of the pawls, h, is limited by the direct resting of the levers, m, on the tappet, o, and the lower position by the resting of the pawls, n. The plates, p, held by the pattern, M, are set in motion horizontally by means of the eccentric, q, the crank, r, and the bent lever, s. The raised plates abut against the corresponding levers, m, and thus bring about the descent of the pawls, h, which are suspended from these levers. This position is maintained by the resting of the pawls, n, upon the tappet, o, until the lowering of the corresponding plate has set the pawl, n, free. The lever, m, then gives way to the action of the spring, t, and the pawl, h, rises again. The rotation of the cylinder which supports the design, M, is effected by the motion of the bent lever, s.

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INDUSTRIAL ART FOR WOMEN—CARPET DESIGNING.

A meeting of ladies was held in this city recently to consider the possibilities of industrial art in furnishing occupation for women.

Mrs. Florence E. Cory, Principal of the Woman's Institute of Technical Design, which was recently established in this city, advanced the proposition that whatever could be done by man in decorative art could be done as well by women, and she made an earnest plea to her own sex to fit themselves by proper training to engage in remunerative industrial work. Mrs. Cory enjoys the distinction of being the first woman who ever attempted to make designs for carpets in this country. She said that four years ago, when she came to this city, there was no school at which was taught any kind of design as applied to industrial purposes, except at Cooper Union, where design was taught theoretically but not practically. During the past year or two, however, in many branches of industrial design women have been pressing to the front, and last year eighteen ladies were graduated from the Boston Institute of Technology. Most of these ladies are now working as designers for various manufacturers, eight are in print factories, designing for chintz and calico, two have become designers for oil-cloths, one is designing for a carpet company, and one for a china factory. Carpet designing, said Mrs. Cory, is especially fitted for women's work. It opens a wide field to them that is light, pleasant, and remunerative. The demand for good carpet designs far exceeds the supply, and American manufactures are sending to Europe, particularly England and France, for hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of designs yearly. If the same quality of designs could be made in this country the manufacturers would gladly patronize home talent. One carpet firm alone pays $100,000 a year for its designing department, and of this sum several thousands of dollars go to foreign markets. More technical knowledge is required for carpet designing than for any other industrial design. It is necessary to have a fair knowledge of the looms, runnings of color, and manner of weaving. Hitherto this knowledge has been very difficult, if not impossible, for women to obtain. But now there are a few places where competent instruction in this branch of industrial art is given.

There are several kinds of work connected with this business that may be done at home by those who wish, and at very fair prices. The price of copying an ingrain design is from $3 to $6 per sheet. The price for an original design of the same size is from $10 to $20. For Brussels or tapestry sketches, which may be made at home, provided they are as good as the average sketch, the artists receive from $15 to $30. For moquettes, Axminsters, and the higher grades of carpets some artists are paid as high as $200. The average price, however, is from $25 to $100. These designs may all be made at home, carried to the manufacturer, submitted to his judgment, and if approved, will be purchased. After the purchase, if the manufacturer desires the artist to put the design upon the lines and the artist chooses to do so, the work may still be done at home, and the pay will range from $20 to $75 extra for each design so finished. The average length of time for making a design is, for ingrains, two per week; Brussels sketch, three per week; Brussels on the lines, one in two weeks; moquettes and Axminsters, one in two or three weeks, depending of course upon the elaborateness and size of the pattern. When the work is done at the designing-rooms, and the artist is required to give his or her time from 9 o'clock in the morning until 5 in the afternoon, the salaries run about as follows: For a good original ingrain designer, from $2,000 to $3,000 per year. A good Brussels and tapestry designer from $1,500 to $6,000 per year. Copyists and shaders, from $3 to $10 per week.

Mrs. R.A. Morse advocated the establishment of schools of industrial art, in which there would be special departments so that young girls might be trained to follow some practical calling. Mrs. Dr. French said that unskilled labor and incompetent workmen were the bane and disgrace of this country, and she thought that the field of industrial art was very inviting to women. She disparaged the custom of decorating chinaware and little fancy articles, and said that if the time thus wasted by women was applied to the study of practical designing those who persevered in the latter branch of industrial art might earn liberal wages. Miss Requa, of the Public School Department, explained that elementary lessons in drawing were taught in the public schools. Mme. Roch, who is thoroughly familiar with industrial and high art in both this country and in Europe, said that if the American people would apply themselves more carefully to the study of designing they could easily produce as good work as came from abroad. The beauties to be seen in American nature alone surpassed anything that she had ever witnessed in the old countries.

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PHOTOGRAPHY UPON CANVAS.

One of the most extensive establishments for the purpose is that of Messrs. Winter, in Vienna. They say to photographers in general: If you will send us a portrait, either negative or positive, we will produce you an enlargement on canvas worked up in monochrome. The success of their undertaking lies in the circumstance that they do not produce colored work—or, at any rate, it is exceptional on their part to do so—but devote their efforts to the production of an artistic portrait in brown or sepia. In this way they can make full use of the dark brown photograph itself; there is less necessity for tampering with the enlarged image, and natural blemishes in the model itself maybe softened and modified, without interfering much with the true lines of face and features. The monotone enlargements of Messrs. Winter, again, exquisitely as most of them are finished, do not appear to provoke the opposition of the painter; they do not cross his path, and hence he is more willing to do them justice. Many a would-be purchaser has been frightened out of his intention to buy an enlargement by the scornful utterance of an artist friend about "painted photographs," and in these days of cheap club portraits there is certainly much risk of good work falling into disrepute. But a well-finished portrait in monotone disarms the painter, and he is willing to concede that the picture has merit.

"We cannot use English canvas, or 'shirting,' as you call it," said one of our hosts; "it seems to contain so much fatty matter." The German material, on the other hand, would appear to be fit for photography as soon as it had been thoroughly worked in hot water and rinsed. Here, in this apartment, paved with red brick, we see several pieces of canvas drying. It is a large room, very clean, here and there a washing trough, and in one corner two or three large horizontal baths. The appearance is that of a wash-house, except that all the assistants are men, and not washerwomen; there is plenty of water everywhere, and the floor is well drained to allow of its running off. We are to be favored with a sight of the whole process, and this is the first operation.

Into one of the horizontal baths, measuring about 5 by 4 feet, is put the salting solution. It is a bath that can be rocked, or inclined in any direction, for its center rests upon a ball-and-socket joint. It is of papier mache, the inside covered with white enamel. Formerly, only bromine salts were employed, but now the following formula is adopted:

Bromide of potassium................... 3 parts. Iodide of potassium.................... 1 part. Bromide of cadmium..................... 1 " Water................................ 240 parts.

Four assistants are required in the operation, and the same number when it comes to sensitizing and developing, all of which processes are commenced in the same way. The bath is tilted so that the liquid collects at one end, and near this end two assistants hold across the bath a stout glass rod; then the canvas is dipped into the liquid, and drawn out by two other assistants over the glass rod. In this way the canvas is thoroughly saturated, and, at the same time, drained of superfluous liquid.

The canvas is hung up to dry; but as sometime must elapse before this particular piece will be ready for sensitizing, we proceed with another canvas which is fit and proper for that process. The room, we should have mentioned, is provided with windows of yellow glass; but as there is plenty of light nevertheless, the fact hardly strikes one on entering. The sensitizing, with a solution of nitrate of silver, is conducted with a glass rod in the same way as before, the solution being thus compounded:

Nitrate of silver........................ 4 parts. Citric acid.............................. 1 part. Water.................................. 140 parts.

Again the canvas is dried, and then comes its exposure.

This is done in a room adjoining. We lift a curtain and enter a space that reminds one of the underground regions of a theater. There are curtained partitions and wooden structures on every hand; dark murky corners combined with brilliant illumination. Messrs. Winter use the electric light for enlarging, a lamp of Siemens' driven by a six-horse power engine. The lamp is outside the enlarging room, and three large lenses, or condensers, on three sides of the light, permit the making of three enlargements at one end at the same time. (See Fig.)



The condenser collects the rays, and these shine into a camera arrangement in which the small negative is contained. The enlarged image is then projected, magic lantern fashion, upon the screen, to which is fastened the sensitized canvas. The screen in question is upon a tramway—there are three tramways and three screens in all, as shown in our sketch—and for this reason it is easy to advance and retire the canvas, for the purpose of properly focusing it.

Even with the electric light now employed, it is necessary to expose a considerable time to secure a vigorous impression. From ten minutes to half an hour is the usual period, determined by the assistant, whose experienced eye is the only guide. We should estimate the distance of the cameras from the enlarging apparatus to be about fourteen or fifteen feet in the instance we saw, and when the canvas was taken down, a distinct outline of the image was visible on its surface.

By the way, we ought to mention that the canvas is in a decidedly limp state during these operations. It has just sufficient stiffness to keep smooth on the screen, and that is all; the treatment it has received appears to have imparted no increase of substance to it. Again it is brought into the red-brick washing apartment, and again treated in one of the white enameled baths as before. This time it is the developer that is contained in the bath, and the small limp tablecloth—for that is what it looks like—after being drawn over the glass rod, is put back into the bath, and the developing solution rocked to and fro over it. The whiteness of the bath lining assists one in forming a judgment of the image as it now gradually develops and grows stronger. Here is the formula of the developer:

Pyrogallic acid......................... 10 parts. Citric acid............................. 45 " Water...................................410 "

The developer—which, it will be noted, is very acid—is warmed before it is used, say to a temperature of 30 deg. to 40 deg. C.; nevertheless, the development does not proceed very quickly. As we watched, exactly eight minutes elapsed before Mr. Winter cried out sharply, "That will do." Immediately one of the assistants seizes the wet canvas, crumples it up without more ado, as if it were dirty linen, and takes it off to a wooden washing trough, where it is kneaded and washed in true washerwoman fashion. Water in plenty is sluiced over it, and after more vigorous manipulation still, it is passed from trough to trough until deemed sufficiently free from soluble salts to tone. The toning—done in the ordinary way with gold—removes any unpleasant redness the picture possesses, and then follows the fixing operation in hyposulphite. As canvas is more permeable than paper, these two last processes are quickly got through.

The final washing of the canvas is very thorough. Again it is treated with all the vigor with which a good laundry-maid attacks dirty linen, the canvas, in the end, being consigned to a regular washing-machine, in which it is systematically worked for some time.

When the canvas picture at last is finished, it presents a very rough appearance, by reason of the tiny fibers that stand erect all over the surface. To lay these, and also to improve the surface generally, the canvas is waxed, the fabric is stretched, and a semi-fluid mass rubbed into it, heat being used in the process, which not only gives brilliancy, but seems also to impart transparency to the shadows of the picture. The result is a pleasant finish, without vulgar glare or glaze, the high lights remaining beautifully pure and white.

Of course, the price of these canvas enlargements varies with the amount of artistic work subsequently put upon them; but the usual charge made by Messrs. Winter for a well-finished life-size portrait, three quarter length, is sixty florins, or about L5 sterling as the exchange now stands. Besides working for photographers, Messrs. Winter are reproducing a large number of classic paintings and cartoons by photography on canvas in this way (some of them almost absolutely untouched), and these, as may be supposed, are finding a very large sale among dealers. Such copies must necessarily be of considerable value to artists and collectors, and altogether it would seem that Messrs. Winter have hit upon a novel undertaking, which bids fair to make them a handsome return for the outlay (large as it undoubtedly has been) made upon their Vienna establishment.—Photo. News.

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DETECTION OF STARCH SUGAR SIRUP MIXED WITH SUGAR-HOUSE MOLASSES.[1]

[Footnote 1: A Paper read before the American Chemical Society, September 2, 1881.]

BY P. CASAMAJOR.

In previous communications I have given processes for detecting the adulteration of cane-sugar by starch-sugar. The adulteration of sugar-house sirups by starch glucose is still more extensively practiced than that of sugar, and a great portion of sirups sold by retailers in this market is adulterated with starch glucose. This form of adulteration may be very easily detected by the use of strong methylic alcohol, in which the alcoholometer of Tralles or of Gay Lussac will indicate about 931/2 deg..

A straight sugar-house sirup when mixed with three times its volume of this strong methylic alcohol will dissolve by stirring, giving a very slight turbidity, which remains suspended; while sirups containing the usual admixture of starch sugar give a very turbid liquid, which separates, when left at rest, into two layers, the lower being a thick viscous deposit containing the glucose sirup.

Considerable quantities are sold of a thin sirup, of about 32 deg. Baume, in which the proportion of sugar to the impurities is greater than in common sugar-house molasses. When a sirup of this kind is stirred with three times its volume of methylic alcohol, a marked turbidity and deposition will take place, which consists of pure sugar. The crystals are hard and gritty. They adhere to the sides of the glass, and are deposited on the bottom. There is no resemblance between this precipitate and that due to starch sugar sirup.

It may not be useless to mention that if a straight sugar-house sirup of about 40 deg. B. density is stirred with three times its volume of ethylic alcohol of about 931/2 deg. the sirup will not dissolve. Hence ethylic alcohol of this strength is not suitable for distinguishing a sirup mixed with starch glucose from a straight sugar-house sirup.

The presence of starch glucose in sugar-house molasses may be easily detected by the optical saccharometer when the sirup has the usual density of about 40 deg. B., and when starch sugar has been added in the usual quantities.

For making the test the usual weight should be taken (16.35 grammes for Duboscq's saccharometer, and 26.048 grammes for Ventzke's instrument). The direct test should show a percentage of sugar not higher than the number of Baume degrees indicating the density, and it may be from 2 to 3 per cent. lower. To understand this, we must refer to the composition of cane-sugar molasses of 40 deg. B.:

Sugar.......................................37.5 Insoluble impurities........................37.5 Water.......................................25

If the direct test should indicate 55 per cent. of sugar, and if the molasses were straight, the composition would be—

Sugar...........................................55 Soluble impurities..............................20 Water...........................................25

Now, a product of this composition would not be a clear sirup at 40 deg. B., but a mixture of sirup and crystals. Therefore, if the product is a clear sirup at 40 deg. B., and it tests 55 per cent., it cannot be straight.

The presence of starch glucose in sugar-house molasses may also be detected by the copper test. The possibility of applying this test, as well as those already indicated, rests on the fact that starch glucose is always added in very large quantities for the purposes of adulteration. A very small addition could not be satisfactorily detected.

The detection by the copper test rests on the observation that very nearly one-half of the soluble impurities in sugar-house molasses consists of glucose in the shape of inverted sugar. We have seen above that for a molasses of 40 deg. B. the soluble impurities amount to about 371/2 per cent. We may, then, lay down the rule: that the percentage of glucose shown by the copper test cannot, in a straight sugar-house molasses, be much greater than one-half of the number expressing the density in Baume degrees. The reason is obvious from what has been said of the test by the optical saccharometer.

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FALSE VERMILION.—A curious case has been noticed in Germany, where a small cargo of vermilion was purchased, and, upon being analyzed, turned out to be red oxide of lead colored by eosine. This is an entirely novel sophistication. The eosine was separated from the oxide of lead by digesting the product for twenty-four hours in very strong alcohol. A much shorter time is sufficient to color the spirit enough to enable an expert chemist to detect the presence of this splendid organic coloring matter. Another kind of "vermilion" consists entirely of peroxide of iron, prepared especially to imitate the brilliant and costly sulphide of mercury, which it does very well, and is largely used in England, France, and America.

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THE POSITION OF MANGANESE IN MODERN INDUSTRY.

BY M.V. DESHAYES.

No body among the metals and the metalloids (silicium, titanium, tungsten, chromium, phosphorus, etc.) has occupied a more prominent position in modern metallurgy than manganese, and it is chiefly due to its great affinity for oxygen. When this substance was discovered, more than a century ago (1774), by the celebrated Swedish chemist and mineralogist, Gahn, by treating the black oxide of manganese in the crucible, no one would have thought that the new element, so delicate by itself, without any direct industrial use, would become, in the middle of the nineteenth century, one of the most powerful and necessary instruments for the success of the Bessemer process, as well for its deoxidizing properties as for the qualities which it imparts to steel, increasing its resistance, its durability, and its elasticity, as has been shown elsewhere.

Without entering into a complete history (for it is beyond the task which we have here assumed),[1] it will not be without interest to recall how, when manganese was first obtained in a pure state, that it was supposed that it would remain simply an object of curiosity in the laboratory; but when its presence was proved in spiegeleisen and when it came to be considered an essential ingredient in the best German and English works for cutlery steel (where it is thrown into the crucible as the peroxide), then we find that its qualities become better and better appreciated; and it is surprising that no technologist ever devoted his attention to the production of manganese alloys.

[Footnote 1: See Engineering, May 27, 1881]

It was not till after the investigations of Dr. Percy, Tamm, Prieger, and Bessemer, who employed crucibles for the production of these alloys, that Hendersen received the idea of utilizing it in the Siemens furnace. So important a compound could not remain unemployed. The works at Terre Noire produced, by the Martin furnace, for a number of years, ferro-manganese of 70 to 80 per cent. Shortly afterward, when competition in the market was established, the works at Carniola and at Carinthia, some English factories, and more especially the works at Saint-Louis, near Marseilles, of Terre Noire, of Montlucon, etc., successfully adopted the manufacture of ferro-manganese with the blast furnace, which is without doubt the method best adapted for the reduction of metallic oxides, as well in consideration of the reactions as from an economical point of view. Before very long it was possible to produce, by the blast furnace, alloys of 40, 60, 80, and even 86 per cent., in using the hot air apparatus of Siemens, Cowper, and Witwell, with the employment of good coke, and principally by calculating the charges for the fusion in such a manner as to obtain an extra basic and refractory slag.

Following in the same path, the Phoenix Co., of Ruhrort, sent, in 1880, to the Metallurgical Exposition of Dusseldorf, samples of ferro-manganese obtained in a blast furnace, with an extra basic slag in which the silica was almost entirely replaced by alumina. The works of L'Esperance, at Oberhausen, exhibited similar products, quite pure as to sulphur and phosphorus, and they had a double interest at the exhibition, in consideration of the agitation over the Thomas and Gilchrist process (see the discussions which were raised at the meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute). This process unfortunately requires for its prompt success the use of a very large quantity of spiegel or of ferro-manganese, in order to sufficiently carburize and deoxidize the burnt iron, which is the final product of the blowing.

The production of ferro-manganese by the blast furnace depends upon the following conditions.

1. A high temperature.

2. On a proper mixture of the iron ores and the manganese.

3. On the production of slag rich in bases.

These different conditions may be obtained with but slight variations at the different works, but the condition of a high temperature is one of the most important considerations, not only for the alloys of manganese, but equally as well for the alloys of iron, manganese, silicium, those of chromium, of tungsten, etc. It is also necessary to study the effects produced either in the crucible or in the blast furnace, and to examine the ores which for a long while have been regarded as not reducible.

The works of Terre Noire especially made at the same time, in the blast furnace, ferro-silicon with manganese, alloys which are daily becoming more important for the manufacture of steels tempered soft and half soft without blowing.

These alloys, rich in silicon, present the peculiarity of being poor in carbon, the amount of this latter element varying with the proportions of manganese. In addition to the alloys used in the iron and steel industry, we shall proceed to relate the recent progress obtained in the metallurgy of other materials (especially copper) by the use of cupro-manganese:

+ -+ -+ -+ -+ -+ + Mn. C. Si. S. P. per cent. + -+ -+ -+ -+ -+ + A 18 to 20 2 to 3 10 to 12 Traces Extra Quality for soft metals. B 15 to 18 3.00 10 to 8 scarcely About } Medium Quality C 15 to 10 3.25 8 to 6 percep- 0.100. } D 5 to 10 3.50 4 to 6 tible. Ordinary for hard metals. + -+ -+ -+ -+ -+ +

The first alloys of manganese and copper were made in 1848, by Von Gersdorff; soon after Prof. Schroetter of Vienna made compounds containing 18 or 20 per cent. of manganese by reducing in a crucible the oxides of copper and manganese mixed with wood charcoal and exposing to a high heat.

These alloys were quite ductile, very hard, very tenacious, and capable of receiving a beautiful polish; their color varies from white to rose color, according to the respective proportions of the two bodies; they are particularly interesting on account of the results which were obtained by adding them to certain metallic fusions.

It is well known that in the fining of copper by oxidation there is left in the fined metal the suboxide of copper, which must then be removed by the refining process, using carbon to reduce the copper to its metallic state. M. Manhes, taking advantage of the greater affinity of manganese for oxygen, found that if this last element was introduced into the bath of copper during the operation of refining, the copper suboxide would be reduced and the copper obtained in its metallic condition. For this purpose during these last years real cupro-manganese has been prepared, occupying the same position to copper as the spiegel or the ferro-manganese does toward the manufacture of steel. M. Manhes used these same alloys for the fusion of bronze and brass, and recommended the following proportions:

3 to 4 kilog. of cupro-manganese for 100 kilog. of bronze. 0.250 to 1 do. do. do. brass. 0.150 to 1.2 do. do. do. copper.

In every case the alloy is introduced at the moment of pouring, as is the case in the Bessemer or Martin process, taking care to cover the fusion with charcoal in order to prevent the contact with air, together with the use of some kind of a flux to aid in the scorification of the manganese.

According to M. Manhes a slight proportion of manganese added to bronze appears to increase its resistance and its ductility, as is shown in the following table, provided, however, that these different alloys have been subjected to the same operations from a physical point of view; that is, pouring, rolling, etc.

- - Weight Cu. Sn. Mn. of Elongation fracture - - Ordinary Bronze 90 10 20 kil. 4.00 Bronze with Manganese, A, 90 10 0.5 24 " 15.00 Do. do. B, 90 10 1.0 26 " 20.00 - -

The White Brass Co., of London, exhibited at Paris, in 1878, manganese bronzes of four grades of durability, destined for different uses and corresponding to about 20 to 25 kilos of the limit of elasticity, and 36 to 37 kilos of resistance to fracture; the number 0 is equivalent after rolling to a resistance to fracture of 46.5 kilos, and 20 to 25 per cent. of elongation.

Such results show beyond contradiction the great interest there is in economically producing alloys of copper, manganese, tin, zinc, etc. In addition, they may be added to metallic fusions, for deoxidizing and also to communicate to the commercial alloys (such as bronze, brass, etc.) the greatest degree of resistance and tenacity.

While many investigators have tried to form alloys of copper and manganese by combining them in the metallic state (that is to say, by the simultaneous reduction of their oxides), the Hensler Bros., of Dillenburg, have found it best to first prepare the metallic manganese and then to alloy it in proper proportions with other metals. Their method consisted of reducing the pure pyrolusite in large plumbago crucibles, in the presence of carbon and an extra basic flux; the operation was carried on in a strong coke fire, and at the end of about six hours the crude manganese is poured out, having the following composition:

Manganese 90 to 92 Carbon 6 to 6.5 Iron 0.5 to 1.5 Silicon 0.5 to 1.2

By refining, the manganese can be brought up to 94 to 95 per cent. of purity. It is from this casting of pure manganese that is obtained the substance used as a base for the alloys. This metal is white, crystalline, when exposed to the damp air slowly oxidizes, and readily combines with copper to form the cupro-manganese of the variety having the composition—

Copper 70 Manganese 30

Cast in ingots or in pigs it becomes an article of commerce which may be introduced in previously determined proportions into bronze, gun metal, bell metal, brass, etc. It may also be used, as we have already mentioned, for the refining of copper according to Manhes's process.

Tests made from this standpoint at the works of Mansfield have shown that the addition of 0.45 per cent. of cupro-manganese is sufficient to give tenacity to the copper, which, thus treated, will not contain more than 0.005 to 0.022 of oxygen, the excess passing off with the manganese into the scorias.

On the other hand, the addition of cupro-manganese is recommended, when it is desirable to cast thin pieces of the metal, such as tubes, caldrons, kitchen utensils, which formerly could only be obtained by beating and stamping.

The tenacity obtained for tubes of only three centimeters in diameter and 1.75 millimeters in thickness is such that they are able to withstand a pressure of 1,100 pounds to the square inch.

The manganese bronze, which we have previously referred to, and which is used by the White Brass Company of London, is an alloy of copper, with from one to ten per cent. of manganese; the highest qualities of resistance, ductility, tenacity, and durability are obtained with one to four per cent. of manganese, while with twelve per cent. the metal becomes too weak for industrial uses.

- - - - Manganese Weight of bronze. Copper. Manganese. fracture in Elongation. kilos per square mm. - - - - A 96.00 4.00 19.00 14.60 B 95.00 5.00 20.62 10.00 C 94.00 6.00 20.80 14.60 D 90.00 10.00 16.56 5.00 - - - -

The preceding table gives some of the experimental results obtained with the testing machine at Friedrich-Wilhelmshuette on the crude cast ingots; the resistance is increased, as with copper, by rolling or hammering.

The manganese German silver consists of

Copper................ 70.00 Manganese............. 15.00 Zinc.................. 15.00

But as this alloy often breaks in rolling, the preference is given to the following proportions:

Copper................ 80.00 Manganese............. 15.00 Zinc.................. 5.00

This results in a white, ductile metal, which is easily worked and susceptible of receiving a beautiful polish, like the alloys of nickel, which it may in time completely replace.

The bronzes of manganese, tin, and zinc were perhaps the first upon which important investigations were made; they were obtained by adding to an alloy of copper, zinc, and tin (ordinary bronze) a definite quantity of the cupro-manganese of the type indicated above (Cu 70, Mn 30). By this means the resistance is increased fully nine per cent., probably in the same way as the copper, that is, by the deoxidizing effect of the manganese, as both the copper and the tin are always more or less oxidized in ordinary bronzes.

Manganese combines with tin just the same as it does with copper, and the proportion which is recommended as giving the highest resistances is three to six per cent. of cupro-manganese.

However, notwithstanding the use of cupro-manganese, the tin, as in ordinary bronzes, has a tendency to liquate in those portions of the mould which are the hottest, and which become solid the last, especially in the case of moulds having a great width.

From a series of experiments made at Isabelle Huette, it has been found that the metal which has the greatest resisting qualities was obtained from

Copper......................85.00 Manganese................... 6.00 Zinc........................ 5.00

5 per cent. of cupro-manganese = manganese 1.00 remaining in the metal.

The best method of procedure is first to melt the copper in a crucible, and then to add the tin and the zinc; finally the cupro-manganese is added just at the moment of pouring, as in the Manhes process; then the reaction on the oxides is very effective, there is a boiling with scintillation similar to the action produced in the Bessemer and Martin process when ferro-manganese is added to the bath of steel.

The following are some of the results obtained from thirteen alloys obtained in this manner. These samples were taken direct from the casting and were tested with the machine at Friedrich-Wilhelms-huette, and with the one at the shops of the Rhine Railroad. Their resistance was considerably increased, as with the other alloys, by rolling or hammering.

-+ + + -+ -+ -+ + + -+ Weight Limit of of Elong- Nature elasticity fracture ation, of Cupro- in kilos in kilos per- Numbers mould. Copper Tin. Zinc. manganese per mm. per mm. centage -+ + + -+ -+ -+ + + -+ 1 Sand 85.00 6.00 5.00 11.30 16.00 2 85.00 6.00 5.00 4.00 13.00 16.10 2.00 3 Cast. 87.00 8.70 4.30 4.00 19.40 4 85.00 6.90 5.00 6.00 18.80 6.00 5 85.00 6.00 5.00 6.00 19.75 7.00 6 85.00 6.00 5.00 10.00 17.15 4.00 7 Sand 87.00 5.20 4.33 3.47 19.70 8.70 8 87.00 5.20 4.33 3.47 19.70 8.90 9 85.00 6.00 5.00 3.00 16.80 22.00 10 74.00 10.00 5.00 3.30 13.80 18.70 (7.66 Pb) 11 78.70 8.00 ( 8 Pb) 3.30 13.80 20.70 12 82.00 9.80 4.90 3.30 14.75 19.75 13 86.20 16.50 3.30 14.30 24.70 -+ + + -+ -+ -+ + + -+

The results of the tests of ductility which are here given, with reference to the cupro-manganese, manganese bronze, the alloys with zinc and tin, are taken from M.C. Hensler's very valuable communication to the Berlin Society for the Advancement of the Industrial Arts.

These various alloys, as well as the phosphorus bronze, of which we make no mention here, are at present very largely used in the manufacture of technical machines, as well as for supports, valves, stuffing-boxes, screws, bolts, etc., which require the properties of resistance and durability. They vastly surpass in these qualities the brass and like compounds which have been used hitherto for these purposes.—Bull. Soc. Chim., Paris, xxxvi. p. 184.

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THE ECONOMICAL WASHING OF COAL GAS AND SMOKE.

In a recent number of the Journal des Usines a Gaz appears a note by M. Chevalet, on the chemical and physical purification of gas, which was one of the papers submitted to the Societe Technique de l'Industrie du Gaz en France at the last ordinary meeting. This communication is noticeable, apart from the author's conclusions, for the fact that the processes described were not designed originally for use in gas manufacture, but were first used to purify, or rather to remove the ammonia which is to be found in all factory chimneys, and especially in certain manufactories of bone-black, and in spirit distilleries. It is because of the success which attended M. Chevalet's treatment of factory smoke that he turned his attention to coal gas. The communication in which M. Chevalet's method is described deals first with chimney gases, in order to show the difficulties of the first class of work done by the author's process. Like coal gas, chimney gases contain in suspension solid particles, such as soot and ashes. Before washing these gases in a bath of sulphuric acid, in order to retain the ammonia, there were two problems to be solved. It was first of all necessary to cool the gases down to a point which should not exceed the boiling-point of the acid employed in washing; and then to remove the solid particles which would otherwise foul the acid. In carrying out this mechanical purification it was impossible, for two reasons, to make use of apparatus of the kind used in gas works; the first obstacle was the presence of solid particles carried forward by the gaseous currents, and the other difficulty was the volume of gas to be dealt with. In the example to which the author's attention was directed he had to purify 600 cubic meters of chimney gas per minute, or 36,000 cubic meters per hour, while the gas escaped from the flues at a temperature of from 400 deg. to 500 deg. C. (752 deg. to 932 deg. Fahr.), and a large quantity of cinders had frequently to be removed from the main chimney flues. After many trials a simple appliance was constructed which successfully cooled the gases and freed them from ashes. This consisted of a vertical screen, with bars three mm. apart, set in water. This screen divided the gases into thin sheets before traversing the water, and by thus washing and evaporating the water the gases were cooled, and threw down the soot and ashes, and these impurities fell to the bottom of the water bath. The gases after this process are divested of the greater part of any tarry impurities which they may have possessed, and are ready for the final purification, in which ammonia is extracted. This is effected by means of a series of shallow trays, covered with water or weak acid, and pierced with a number of fine holes, through which the gas is made to bubble. The washing apparatus is therefore strangely similar in principle to that designed by Mr G. Livesey. M. Chevalet states that this double process is applicable to gas works as well as to the purification of smoke, with the difference that for the latter purpose the washing trays are filled with acid for the retention of ammonia, while in the former application gas liquor or water is used. The arrangement is said to be a practical success.—Journal of Gas Lighting.

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DETERMINATION OF NITROGEN IN HAIR, WOOL, DRIED BLOOD, FLESH MEAL, AND LEATHER SCRAPS.

BY DR. C. KRAUCH.

Differences obtained in the estimation of nitrogen in the above substances are frequently the source of much annoyance. The cause of these discrepancies is chiefly due to the lack of uniformity in the material, and from its not being in a sufficiently fine state during the combustion. The hair which is found in commerce for the manufacture of fertilizers, is generally mixed with sand and dust. Wool dust often contains old buttons, pieces of wood, shoe pegs, and all sorts of things. The flesh fertilizers are composed of light particles of flesh mixed with the heavier bone dust.

Even after taking all possible precautions to finely comminute these substances by mechanical means, still only imperfect results are obtained, for the impurities, that is to say, the sand, can never be so intimately mixed with the lighter particles that a sample of 0.5 to 0.8 gramme, such as is used in the determination of nitrogen, will correspond to the correct average contents. In substances such as dried blood, pulverization is very tedious. A very good method of overcoming these difficulties, and of obtaining from the most mixed substances a perfectly homogeneous mass, is that recommended by Grandeau[1] of decomposing with sulphuric acid—a method which as yet does not seem to be generally known. From a large quantity of the substance to be examined, the coarse stones, etc., are removed by picking or sifting, and the prepared substance, or in cases where the impurities cannot be separated, the original substance, is treated with sulphuric acid; after it is decomposed, the acid is neutralized with calcium carbonate, and the nitrogen is determined in this mass.

[Footnote 1: Handbook d. Agrict. Chem. Analyst., p. 18.]

In order to operate rapidly, it is best to use as little sulphuric acid as possible. If too much sulphuric acid is used, necessarily a large amount of calcium carbonate is essential to get it into proper condition for pulverizing. Under such circumstances the percentage of nitrogen becomes very low, and a slight error will become correspondingly high.

20 c.c. of concentrated sulphuric acid and 10 c.c. are sufficient for 30 to 40 grammes of material. After the substance and liquid have been thoroughly stirred in a porcelain dish, they are warmed on a water bath and continually stirred until the mass forms a homogeneous liquid. The sirupy liquid thus obtained is then mixed with 80 to 100 grammes of pulverized calcium carbonate (calcspar), dried for fifteen minutes at 40 to 60 deg. C., and after standing for one to two hours the dish and its contents are weighed. From the total weight the weight of the dish is subtracted, which gives the weight of the calcium sulphate and the calcium carbonate, and the known weight of the wool dust, etc. This material is then intimately ground, and 2 to 3 grammes of it are taken for the determination of the nitrogen, which is then calculated for the original substance.

Although the given quantities of water and sulphuric acid hardly appear sufficient for such a large quantity of hair or wool, still in the course of a few minutes to a quarter of an hour, after continual stirring, there is obtained a liquid which, after the addition of the calcium carbonate, is readily converted into a pulverized mass. Frequently a smaller quantity of sulphuric acid will suffice, especially if the material is moist. The chief merit of this process is that in a short time a large quantity of material, having a uniform character, is obtained. Its use is, therefore, recommended for general employment.

When the coarser stones, etc., are weighed, and the purified portion decomposed, absolutely correct results are obtained, and in this way the awkward discrepancies from different analysts may be avoided.—Chemiker Zeitung, v. 7, p. 703.

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TESTING WHITE BEESWAX FOR CERESINE AND PARAFFINS.

BY A. PELTZ.

The method which is here recommended originated with Dr. M. Buchner, and consists in preparing a concentrated solution of alcoholic caustic potash—one part caustic potash to three of 90 per cent. alcohol—and then boiling one to two grammes of the suspected wax in a small flask with the above solution. The liquid is poured into a glass cylinder to prevent solidification of the contents, and it is then placed for about one half hour in boiling water. With pure wax the solution remains clear white; when ceresine and paraffine are present, they will float on the surface of the alkali solution as an oily layer, and on cooling they will appear lighter in color than the saponified mass, and thus they may be quantitatively estimated. The author likewise gives a superficial method for the determination of the purity of beeswax. It depends on the formation of wax crystals when the fused wax solidifies. These crystals form on the surface on cooling, and are still visible after solidification when examining the surface from the side. The test succeeds best when the liquid wax is poured into a shallow tin mould After cooling another peculiar property of the wax becomes apparent. While the beeswax fills a smaller volume, that is, separates from the sides of the mould, the Japanese wax, without separating from the sides, becomes covered with cracks on cooling which have a depth corresponding to the thickness of the wax.—Neuste Erfindungen und Erfahrungen, viii., p. 430.

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THE PREVENTION OF ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION BY FUNGI.

BY PROF. E. REICHARD.

The manager of a well directed brewery, which was built according to the latest improvements and provided with ice-cooling arrangements, found that the alcoholic fermentation of lager beer did not advance with proper regularity. The beer did not clarify well, it remained turbid and had a tendency to assume a disagreeable odor and taste. Microscopic examination of the yeast, however, showed the same to be bottom yeast. After some time its action apparently diminished, or rather, the fermentation, which began well, ceased, and at the same time a white foam formed in the center of the vat. The manager observing this, again submitted it to microscopic examination. The instrument revealed a number of much smaller forms of fungi, similar to those of young yeast, and some which were excessively large, a variety never found in bottom yeast. Fully appreciating the microscopic examination, and aware of the danger which the spread of the fungi could cause, the manager resorted to all known means to retard its pernicious influence. Fresh yeast was employed, and the fermenting vats throughly cleaned, both inside and out, but the phenomena reappeared, showing that the transmission took place through the air. A microscopic examination of a gelatinous coating on the wall of the fermenting room further explained the matter. Beginning at the door of the ice cellar, the walls were covered with a gelatinous mass, which, even when placed beneath the microscope, showed no definite organic structure; however it contained numerous threads of fungi. Notwithstanding the precautions which were taken for cleanliness, these germs traveled from the ceiling through the air into the fermenting liquid and there produced a change, which would ultimately have caused the destruction of all the beer.

For a third time and by altogether different means, it was demonstrated that the air was the bearer of these germs. The whole atmosphere was infected, and a simple change of air was by no manner of means sufficient, as has already been shown. In addition, these observations throw considerable light on the means by which contagious diseases are spread, for often a room, a house, or the entire neighborhood appears to be infected. It must also be remembered how, in times of plague, large fires were resorted as to a method of purifying the air.

With the infinite distribution of germs, and as they are always present in all places where any organic portions of vegetable or animal matter are undergoing decomposition, it becomes, under certain circumstances, exceedingly difficult, and at times even impossible, to trace the direct effect of these minute germs. The organism is exposed to the destructive action of the most minute creation; several changes in this case give to them the direct effect of the acting germs. The investigation of the chemist does not extend beyond the chemical changes; nevertheless these phenomena are directly explained by the microscope, without which, in the present case, the discovery of the cause would have remained unknown.—Arch. der Pharm., 214, 158.

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NEW REACTION OF GLYCERINE.

If two drops of phenic acid are diluted with three thousand to five thousand parts of water, a distinct blue color is produced by one drop of solution of perchloride of iron.

The addition of six or eight drops of glycerine entirely removes the color, and if any glycerine was present in the liquid the reaction does not take place at all. By this test the presence of 1 per cent. of glycerine can be detected. It may be applied to the analysis of wines, beers, etc., but when there is much sugar, extractive or coloring matter, the test can only be applied after evaporating, dissolving the residue in alcohol and ether, evaporating again, and then redissolving in water. Alkaline solutions must be first acidulated.—Pharm. Zeit. fuer Russ.

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LYCOPODINE.

While the phanerogams or flowering plants annually contribute to the list of newly discovered alkaloids, with the exception of muscarine and amanitine, no alkaloid has as yet been definitely recognized among the cryptogams.

Karl Boedeker, of Goettingen, has opened the road in this direction, and gives in a paper sent to Liebig's Annalen der Chemie, August 15, 1881, the following account of an alkaloid, which, from the name of the plant in which it occurs, he calls lycopodine.

The plant yielding the alkaloid, Lycopodium complanatum, belongs to the group of angiospermous cryptogams. It is distributed throughout the whole of north and middle Europe, and contains the largest proportion of aluminum of any known plant. Its bitter taste led the author to suspect an alkaloid in it.

To prepare the alkaloid the dried plant is chopped up and twice exhausted with boiling alcohol of 90 per cent. The residue is squeezed out while hot, and the extract, after being allowed to settle awhile, is decanted off, and evaporated to a viscid consistency over a water bath. This is then repeatedly kneaded up with fresh quantities of lukewarm water until the washings cease to taste bitter, and to give a reddish brown coloration when treated with a strong aqueous solution of iodine. The several washings are collected and precipitated with basic lead acetate, the precipitate filtered off, and the lead in the filtrate removed by sulphureted hydrogen. The filtrate from the lead sulphide is evaporated down over a water bath, then made strongly alkaline with a solution of caustic soda, and repeatedly shaken up with fresh quantities of ether so long as the washings taste bitter and give a precipitate with iodine water. After distilling off the ether, the residue is treated with strong hydrochloric acid, the neutral or slightly acid solution filtered off from resinous particles, slowly evaporated to crystallization, and the crystals purified by repeated recrystallization. To prepare the pure base a very concentrated solution of this pure hydrochlorate is treated with an excess of a very concentrated solution of caustic soda, and pieces of caustic potash are added, whereupon the free alkaloid separates out at first as a colorless resinous stringy mass, which, however, upon standing, turns crystalline, forming monoclinic crystals similar to tartaric acid or glycocol. The crystals are rapidly washed with water, and dried between soft blotting paper.

Thus prepared, lycopodine has a composition which may be represented by the formula C{32}H{52}N{2}O{3}. It melts at 114 deg. to 115 deg. C. without loss of weight. It is tolerable soluble in water and in ether, and very soluble indeed in alcohol, chloroform, benzol, or amyl alcohol. Lycopodine has a very pure bitter taste.

The author has formed several salts of the base, all of a crystalline nature, and containing water of crystallization.

The hydrochlorate gives up a part of its water of crystallization at the ordinary temperature under a desiccator over sulphuric acid, and the whole of it upon heating.—Chemist and Druggist.

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CONCHINAMINE.

Some years ago, O. Hesse, when preparing chinamine from the renewed bark of Cinchona succirubra, found in the mother liquid a new alkaloid, which he then briefly designated as conchinamine. He has lately given his attention to the separation and preparation of this alkaloid, and gives in Liebig's Annalen der Chemie, August 31, 1881, the following description of it:

Preparation.—The alcoholic mother lye from chinamine is evaporated down and protractedly exhausted with boiling ligroine, whereby conchinamine and a small quantity of certain amorphous bases are dissolved out. Upon cooling the greater part of the amorphous bases precipitates out. The ligroine solution is then first treated with dilute acetic acid, and then with a dilute solution of caustic soda, whereupon a large quantity of a resinous precipitate is formed. This is kneaded up with lukewarm water to remove adherent soda, and then dissolved in hot alcohol. The alcoholic solution is saturated with nitric acid, which has been previously diluted with half its volume of water, and the whole set aside for a few days to crystallize. The crystals of conchinamine nitrate are purified by recrystallization from boiling water. On dissolving these pure crystals of the nitrate in hot alcohol of 60 per cent., and adding ammonia, absolute pure conchinamine separates out on cooling.

Composition.—Conchinamine may be represented by the formula C{19}H{24}N{2}O{2}, without water of crystallization.

Properties.—Conchinamine is easily soluble in hot alcohol of 60 per cent., and in ether and ligroine, from which solutions it crystallizes in quadrilateral shining prisms. It is extremely soluble in chloroform, but almost insoluble in water. It melts at 121 deg. C., forming crystalline stars on cooling.

Salts.—The salts of conchinamine, like the base itself, have much in common with chinamine, but are, as a rule, more easily crystallizable. They are prepared by neutralizing an alcoholic solution of the base with the acid in question.—Chemist and Druggist.

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CHINOLINE.

The valuable properties of which chinoline has been found to be possessed have led to its admission as a therapeutic agent, and the discoverer of these properties, Jul. Donath, of Baja, in Hungary, in a paper sent to the Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft, September 12, 1881, gives the following further details as to this interesting substance.

Antiseptic Properties.—Chinoline appears to be an excellent antiseptic. The author found that 100 grammes of a Bucholze's solution for the propagation of bacteria, charged with 0.20 g. of chinoline hydrochlorate, had remained perfectly clear and free from bacteria after standing forty-six days exposed to the air, while a similar solution, placed under the same conditions, without chinoline, had turned muddy and contained bacteria after only twelve days' standing.

Antizymotic Properties.—Chinoline, even in the proportion of 5 per cent., does not prevent alcoholic fermentation, while in as small a quantity as 0.20 per cent. it does not prevent lactic acid fermentation.

Physiological Effects.—The author gave a healthy man during several days various doses of chinoline tartrate, which in no way affected the individual operated on, nor was any trace of chinoline found in his urine. The author, therefore, considers that the base is oxidized by the blood to carbopyridinic acid, which is a still more powerful antiseptic than chinoline itself. Chinoline taken internally would, therefore, be a useful and safe agent in cases of internal putrid fungoid or other growth.

Chemical Reactions.—Chinoline yields very characteristic reactions with a number of chemical reagents, for a description of which we refer to the original paper.—Chemist and Druggist.

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PREPARATION OF CONIINE.

Dr. J. Schorm, of Vienna, the author of this paper, after remarking that in spite of the increase of the consumption of coniine, the methods hitherto in vogue for preparing it yielded an article which darkened on exposure to the air, and the salts of which crystallized but badly, gives the following method for preparing pure coniine and its salts:

PREPARATION OF CRUDE CONIINE.

A.—100 kilogrammes of hemlock seed are moistened with hot water, and after swelling up are treated with 4 kilogrammes of sodium carbonate previously dissolved in the requisite quantity of water (caustic alkalies cannot be used). The swollen seed is worked up uniformly with shovels, and then placed in an apparatus of 400 kilogrammes capacity, similar to that used in the distillation of ethereal oils, and charged with steam under a pressure of three atmospheres. Coniine distills over with the steam, the greater part separating out in the receiver as an oily stratum, while a part remains dissolved in the water. The riper the seeds, the greater is the percentage yield of oily coniine, and the sooner is the distillation ended. The distillate is neutralized with hydrochloric acid, and the whole evaporated to a weak sirupy consistence. When cool, this sirup yields successive crops of sal-ammoniac crystals, which latter are removed by shaking up the mass with twice its volume of strong alcohol, and filtering. This filtrate is freed from alcohol by evaporation over a water bath, the approximate quantity of a solution of caustic soda then added, and the whole shaken up with ether. The ethereal solution is then cooled down to a low temperature, whereby it is separated from conhydrine, which, being somewhat difficultly soluble in ether, crystallizes out.

B.—The bruised hemlock seed is treated in a vacuum extractor with water acidulated with acetic acid, and the extract evaporated in vacuo to a sirupy consistence. The sirup is treated with magnesia, and the coniine dissolved out by shaking up with ether.

The B method yields a less percentage of coniine than A, but of a better quality.

RECTIFICATION OF THE CRUDE CONIINE.

The solution of crude coniine in ether obtained by either of the above processes is evaporated over a water bath to remove the ether, mixed with dry potassium carbonate, and then submitted to fractional distillation from an air bath. The portion distilling over at 168 deg. C. to 169 deg. C. is pure coniine, and represents 60 per cent. of the crude coniine.

Coniine thus prepared is a colorless oily liquid, volatile at the ordinary temperature, and has a specific gravity of 0.886. At a temperature of 25 deg.C it absorbs water, which it gives up again upon heating. It is soluble in 90 parts of water. It is not altered by light.

The author has formed a number of salts from coniine thus prepared, and finds them all crystallizable and unaffected by light.—Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellschaft.—Chem. and Druggist.

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STRONTIANITE.

Since it has been shown by Professor Scheibler, of Berlin, that strontium is the most powerful medium of extraction in sugar refining, owing to its capacity of combining with three parts of saccharate, the idea suggests itself that the same medium might be successfully employed in the arts, and form a most interesting subject of experiment for the chemist.

Hitherto native strontianite, that is, the 90 to 95 per cent. pure carbonate of strontium (not the celestine which frequently is mistaken by the term strontianite), has not been worked systematically in mines, but what used to be brought to the market was an inferior stone collected in various parts of Germany, chiefly in Westphalia, where it is found on the surface of the fields. Little also has been collected in this manner, and necessarily the quality was subject to the greatest fluctuations.

By Dr. Scheibler's important discovery, a new era has begun in the matter of strontianite. Deposits of considerable importance have been opened in the Westphalian districts at a very great depth, and the supply of several 10,000 tons per annum seems to be secured, whereas only a short time ago it was not thought possible that more than a few hundred tons could in all be provided.—Chemist and Druggist.

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PARANGI—A NEWLY DESCRIBED DISEASE.

A peculiar contagious disease, called framboesia, or the yaws, has long been known to exist in Africa, the West Indies, and the northern parts of the British Islands. It is chronic in character, and is distinguished by the development of raspberry-like tumors of granulation tissue on different parts of the body.

A disease of a somewhat similar, but severer type, has for many years prevailed in Ceylon. Even less was known of this affection than of its supposed congener, until a recent careful report upon the subject by Mr. W.R. Kinsey, principal civil medical officer of Ceylon.

The disease in question is called "parangi," and is defined by Mr. Kinsey (British Medical Journal) as a specific disease, produced by such causes as lead to debilitation of the system; propagated by contagion, generally through an abrasion or sore, but sometimes by simple contact with a sound surface; marked by an ill-defined period of incubation, followed by certain premonitory symptoms referable to the general system, then by the evolution of successive crops of a characteristic eruption, which pass on in weakly subjects into unhealthy and spreading ulcers whose cicatrices are very prone to contraction; running a definite course; attacking all ages, and amenable to appropriate treatment.

The disease seems to develop especially in places where the water supply, which in Ceylon is kept in tanks, is insufficient or poor. The bad food, dirty habits, and generally unhygienic mode of life of the people, help on the action of the disease.

Parangi, when once developed, spreads generally by contagion from the discharges of the eruptions and ulcers. The natural secretions do not convey the poison. The disease may be inherited also.

In the clinical history of the disease there are, according to Mr. Kinsey, four stages. The first is that of incubation. It lasts from two weeks to two months. A sore will be found somewhere upon the body at this time, generally over some bony prominence. The second is the stage of invasion, and is characterized by the development of slight fever, malaise, dull pains in the joints. As this stage comes on the initial sore heals. This second stage lasts only from two to seven days, and ends with an eruption which ushers in the third stage. The eruption appears in successive crops, the first often showing itself on the face, the next on the body, and the last on the extremities. This eruptive stage of the disease continues for several weeks or months, and it ends either in convalescence or the onset of a train of sequelae, which may prolong the disease for years.

Parangi may attack any one, though the poorly fed and housed are more susceptible. One attack seems to confer immunity from another.

Although some of the sequelae of the disease are most painful, yet death does not often directly result from them, nor is parangi itself a fatal disease. Persons who have had parangi and passed safely through it, are not left in impaired health at all, but often live to an old age.

The similarity of the disease, in its clinical history, to syphilis, is striking. Mr. Kinsey, however, considers it, as we have stated, allied to, if not identical with framboesia.—Medical Record.

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A CASTOR OIL SUBSTITUTE.

So far back as 1849, Mr. Alexander Ure investigated the purgative properties of the oil of anda. The specimen with which the experiments were tried had not been freshly prepared, and had indeed been long regarded as a curiosity. Twelve ounces were alone available, and it was a yellowish oil, quite bright, about the consistence of oleum olivae, devoid of smell, and free from the viscid qualities of castor oil. There was a small supply of anda fruits differing a good deal in appearance one from the other, but we are not aware whether these were utilized and the oil expressed; as far as our recollection serves, the subject was abandoned. It was known that the natives of Brazil used the seeds as an efficient purgative in doses of from one to three, and it was in contemplation to introduce this remedy into England, though it was by no means certain that under distinctly different climatic influences equally beneficial results might be expected. Mr. Ure determined, by actual experiment, to ascertain the value of the oil in his own hospital practice. He found that small doses were better than larger ones, and in several reported cases it appeared that twenty drops administered on sugar proved successful. Oil of anda-acu, or assu, therefore, would stand mid-way between ol. ricini and ol. crotonis. These researches seem to have been limited to the original sample, although the results obtained would appear to justify a more extended trial. M. Mello-Oliveira. of Rio Janeiro, has endeavored to bring the remedy into notice under the name of "Huile d'Anda-Assu," and possibly may not have been acquainted with the attempt to introduce it into English practice. He describes the anda as a fine tree (Johanesia princeps, Euphorbiaceae), with numerous branches and persistent leaves, growing in different parts of Brazil, and known under the name of "coco purgatif." The fruit is quadrangular, bilocular, with two kernels, which on analysis yield an active principle for which the name "Johaneseine" is proposed. This is a substance sparingly soluble in water and alcohol, and insoluble in chloroform, benzine, ether, and bisulphide of carbon. Evidence derived from experiments with the sulphate of this principle did not give uniform results: one opinion being that, contrary to the view of many Brazilian physicians, this salt had no toxic effect on either men or animals. Local medical testimony, however, was entirely in favor of the oil. Dr. Torres, professor at Rio Janeiro, using a dose of two teaspoonfuls, had been successful. Dr. Tazenda had obtained excellent results, and Dr. Castro, with a somewhat larger dose (3 ijss.), was even enthusiastic in its praise. It might, therefore, be desirable at a time when new remedies are so much in vogue, not to abandon altogether a Brazilian medicament the value of which is confirmed both by popular native use and by professional treatment. M. Mello-Oliveira comes to the conclusion that oleum anda assu (or acu) may be employed wherever castor oil is indicated, and with these distinct advantages: first, that its dose is considerably less; secondly, that it is free from disagreeable odor and pungent taste; and thirdly, being sufficiently fluid, it is not adherent to the mouth so as to render it nauseous to the patient. In this short abstract the spelling of the French original has been retained. As this therapeutic agent claimed attention thirty years ago, and has again been deemed worthy of notice in scientific journals, some of our enterprising pharmacists might be inclined to add it to the list of their commercial ventures.—Chemist and Druggist.

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HOUSEHOLD AND OTHER RECIPES.

Mr. Jas. W. Parkinson gives in a recent number of the Confectioner's Journal the following useful recipes:

CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING.

Stone a pound of bloom raisins; wash and clean a pound of Zante currants; mince finely a pound of beef suet; mix with this, in a large pan, a pound of stale bread crumbs and half a pound of sifted flour. Beat together in another pan six eggs, and mix with them half a pint of milk. Pour this over the suet and flour, and stir and beat the whole well together; then add the raisins, currants, and a seasoning of ground cinnamon, grated nutmeg, powdered ginger, and a little ground cloves, a teaspoonful of salt, one pound of sugar, and a glass of Jamaica rum. This pudding may now be boiled in a floured cloth or in an ornamental mould tied up in a cloth. In either way it requires long and constant boiling, six hours at least for one such as the above. Every pudding in a cloth should be boiled briskly, till finished, in plenty of water, in a large pot, so as to allow it to move about freely.

To take the boiled pudding out of the cloth without breaking it, dip it into cold water for a minute or two, then place it in a round bottomed basin that will just hold it, untie the cloth and lay bare the pudding down to the edge of the basin; then place upon it, upside down, the dish on which it is to be served, and invert the whole so that the pudding may rest on the dish; lastly, lift off the basin and remove the cloth. The use of the cold water is to chill and solidify the surface, so that it may part from the cloth smoothly.

Plum pudding may also be baked in a mould or pan, which must be well buttered inside before pouring the pudding into it. Two hours' boiling suffices.

PLUM-PUDDING SAUCE.

Put into a saucepan two ounces of best butter and a tablespoonful of flour; mix these well together with a wooden spoon, and stir in half a pint of cold water and a little salt and pepper. Set this on the fire and stir constantly till nearly boiling; then add half a tumbler of Madeira wine, brandy, or Jamaica rum, fine sugar to the taste, and a little ground cinnamon or grated nutmeg. Make the sauce very hot, and serve over each portion of the pudding.

NATIONAL PLUM PUDDING.

An excellent plum pudding is made as follows: Half a pound of flour, half a pound of grated bread crumbs, a pound of Zante currants, washed and picked; a pound of raisins, stoned; an ounce of mixed spices, such as cinnamon, mace, cloves, and nutmeg; an ounce of butter, two ounces of blanched almonds, cut small; six ounces of preserved citron and preserved orange peel, cut into small pieces; four eggs, a little salt, four ounces of fine sugar, and half a pint of brandy. Mix all these well together, adding sufficient milk to bring the mixture to a proper consistency. Boil in a floured cloth or mould for eight hours.

THE SAUCE FOR THE ABOVE.

Into a gill of melted butter put an ounce of powdered sugar, a little grated nutmeg, two wine glasses of Madeira wine and one of Curacoa. Stir all well together, make very hot, and pour it over the pudding.

EGG-NOG, OR AULD MAN'S MILK.

Separate the whites and yolks of a dozen fresh eggs. Put the yolks into a basin and beat them to a smooth cream with half a pound of finely pulverized sugar. Into this stir half a pint of brandy, and the same quantity of Jamaica rum; mix all well together and add three quarts of milk or cream, half a nutmeg (grated), and stir together. Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth; stir lightly into them two or three ounces of the finest sugar powder, add this to the mixture, and dust powdered cinnamon over the top.

EGG FLIP.

Beat up in a bowl half a dozen fresh eggs; add half a pound of pulverized sugar; stir well together, and pour in one quart or more of boiling water, about half a pint at a time, mixing well as you pour it in; when all is in, add two tumblers of best brandy and one of Jamaica rum.

ROAST TURKEY.

The turkey is without doubt the most savory and finest flavored of all our domestic fowls, and is justly held in the highest estimation by the good livers in all countries where it is known. Singe, draw, and truss the turkey in the same manner as other fowls; then fill with a stuffing made of bread crumbs, butter, sweet herbs rubbed fine, moistened with eggs and seasoned with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg. Sausage meat or a forced meat, made of boiled chicken meat, boiled ham grated fine, chopped oysters, roasted or boiled chestnuts rubbed fine, stewed mushrooms, or last but not the least in estimation, a dozen fine truffles cut into pieces and sauted in the best of butter, and added part to the stuffing and part to the sauce which is made from the drippings (made into a good brown gravy by the addition of a capful of cold water thickened with a little flour, with the giblets boiled and chopped fine in it). A turkey of ten pounds will require two and a half hours' roasting and frequent basting. Currant jelly, cranberry jelly, or cranberry sauce should always be on the table with roast turkey.

WOODCOCKS AND SNIPE.

Some epicures say that the woodcock should never be drawn, but that they should be fastened to a small bird spit, and should be put to roast before a clear fire; a slice of toast, put in a pan below each bird, in order to catch the trail; baste them with melted butter; lay the toast on a hot dish, and the birds on the toast. They require from fifteen to twenty minutes to roast. Snipe are dressed in the same manner, but require less time to cook. My pet plan to cook woodcock is to draw the bird and split it down the back, and then to broil it, basting it with butter; chop up the intestines, season them with pepper and salt, and saute them on a frying pan with butter; lay the birds on toast upon a hot dish and pour the saute over them.