Part 3
"With the exception of sweet and bitter herbs, grown chiefly for the purpose, and parsley, which is neither bitter nor sweet, but the most popular of all flavoring plants, comparatively few other leaves are used. Perhaps I ought also to except the sweet bay, which is popular in rice and other puddings, and certainly imparts one of the most pleasant and exquisite flavors; but, on the other hand, what a waste there is of the flavoring properties of peach, almond, and laurel leaves, so richly charged with the essence of bitter almonds, so much used in most kitchens! Of course such leaves must be used with caution, but so must the spirit as well. An infusion of these could readily be made, either green or dry, and a tea or table spoonful of the flavoring liquid used. One of the most useful and harmless of all leaves for flavoring is that of the common syringa. When cucumbers are scarce, these are a perfect substitute in salads or anything in which that flavor is desired. The taste is not only like that of cucumbers, but identical--a curious instance of the correlation of flavors in widely different families. Again, the young leaves of cucumbers have a striking likeness in the way of flavor to that of the fruit. The same may be affirmed of carrot tops, while in most gardens there is a prodigious waste of celery flavor in the sacrifice of the external leaves and their partially blanched footstalks. Scores of celery are cut up into soup, when the outsides would flavor it equally well or better. The young leaves of gooseberries added to bottled fruit give a fresher flavor and a greener color to pies and tarts. The leaves of the flowering currant give a sort of intermediate flavor between black currants and red. Orange, citron, and lemon leaves impart a flavoring equal to that of the fruit and rind combined, and somewhat different from both. A few leaves added to pies, or boiled in the milk used to bake with rice, or formed into crusts or paste impart an admirable and almost inimitable bouquet. In short, leaves are not half so much used for seasoning purposes as they might be."
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NEW SHUTTER FASTENER.
We give herewith an engraving of a new shutter fastener, recently patented by Mr. P. F. Fernandez, of San Juan, Porto Rico, West Indies. This fastener is designed for holding doors or window shutters in position when open, to prevent them from closing or swinging in the wind.
To the wall is secured a plate to which is pivoted the spring-acted hook, A, and upon the shutter in the proper position for engaging the hook, A, there is a rigid hook, B. A coil spring is attached to the plate that supports the hook, A, and when the shutter is open is engaged by a boss formed on the end of the hook, B. By this means the hook, B, is pressed forward into close contact with hook, A, thereby preventing all jarring and rattling.
The hook, A, is provided with an eye for receiving the cord, C, which extends to the window casing and is within easy reach, so that when it is desired to close the shutter the hook, A, may be readily disengaged from the hook, B, by simply pulling the cord.
Further information may be obtained by addressing the inventor as above.
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AN IMPROVED GARDEN SPRINKLER.
A novel garden sprinkler, which may be carried on the back, is shown in the accompanying engraving. The cylindrical vessel has a removable cover, and contains a perforated plunger which is operated by a hand lever from without. The cylindrical vessel is provided with shoulder straps, and it has two sprinkling nozzles connected with it by flexible tubes.
This sprinkler is especially designed for applying insect-destroying poison to plants. The operator, as he goes through the field or garden, takes one nozzle in each hand and distributes the liquid upon the plants. From time to time the liquid will be agitated by moving the perforated plunger.
This invention was recently patented by Adolf Hodel, of Jefferson, and F. A. Stauber, of Chicago, Ill.
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A NEW FOOT POWER.
In our issue of November 9 we illustrated and described a sewing machine having W. F. Lane's improved foot power applied. We give herewith views of the foot power in detail, Fig. 1 being a side elevation, and Figs. 2 and 3 sectional views. The device is designed for application to any light machinery that can be propelled by foot power. A is the shaft to which motion is to be imparted by the treadles, B, the latter being pivoted to oscillate on the shaft, H. Two ratchet wheels, C, are secured to the shaft, A, and are each worked by pawls, D, which are pivoted to a carrier, E, which turns loosely on the shaft. The pawls are in the form of an elbow lever, and the movement of their tooth ends is limited by lugs or shoulders on the carrier, E. The outer ends of the pawls are received between lugs that project from the plate, F, which turns loosely on the shaft, A, and has attached to it the rope pulley, G. When the plate, F, is turned in one direction the pawls are raised and ride loosely over the teeth, but when the plate turns in the other direction the pawls engage the ratchet teeth and carry them and also the shaft, A. A guide pulley, I, is pivoted below the shaft, A, with its axis at right angles to the shaft.
The motion from the alternately-oscillated treadles, B, is transmitted to the pulleys, G, by means of a rope (shown in dotted lines), both ends of which are fastened by hooks to some fixed point. This rope runs from one of the hooks down under a pulley pivoted in the toe of one of the treadles, thence around one of the pulleys, G, thence around the pulley, I, over the other pulley, G, and downward around the pulley in the other treadle, and upward to the second fixed hook. The depression of one of the treadles causes the shaft to rotate, and also lifts the other treadle into position to be operated.
For further information address Wm. F. Lane, Elgin, Ill.
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NEW INVENTIONS.
Mr. Samuel Heaton, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has patented an improved Iron Fence Post, which is particularly adapted for wire fences. It is formed of a slotted iron bar, constituting the post proper, and a triangular brace, which is so connected with said bar that it may be easily adjusted at different angles, corresponding to the undulation or unevenness of the ground surface where the post is used.
Mr. Thomas S. Alexander, of Meriden, Conn., has patented an improved Drawer Pull, which is neat, strong, and durable, and is less expensive than when made in the usual way.
An improved Earth Scraper has been patented by Mr. Benjamin Slusser, of Sidney, Ohio. This is an improvement in that class of earth scrapers which are arranged to revolve for the purpose of dumping the load, and during the intervals, or while being filled, are locked in rigid position.
An improvement in Wagon Bodies has been patented by Mr. James H. Paschal, of Camden, Ark. This invention consists, essentially, in a frame provided with spurs projecting therefrom for engagement with the bales to prevent them from slipping, and the combination therewith of removable extension side and end pieces, for enabling the wagon to be used for other purposes when not employed for hauling cotton bales; there is an extension of the frame forming a feed trough for the horses employed to draw the vehicle.
An improved Scraper has been patented by Mr. George Eiteman, of Round Grove, Ill. This is a double-ended scraper hung at its center on a rod connected to the handle arms, whereby either end of the scraper may be used. It has catches to prevent the scraper from revolving backward, and spring actuated dogs on the handle frame to retain the scraper in position and prevent it from turning over until released.
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AMATEUR MECHANICS.
For amusement, exercise, and profit we commend, to those who are mechanically inclined, the practice of working with tools of the smaller sort, either in wood or other of the softer materials, or in metals, glass, or stone. This practice renders the hands dexterous, the muscles strong, and the head clear, with the further advantage of producing something for either ornament or use. Of course a bench with a vise and a few wood working and iron working tools will be required; but the most expensive as well as the most essential tool is a lathe. With this tool, not only turning in wood, metal, ivory, rubber, etc., can be accomplished, but it may also be used for screw-thread cutting, gear cutting, drilling metals, boring wood, spinning metals, milling, sawing metal and wood, grinding, polishing, moulding, shaping, and other purposes. A first class plain lathe of small size cannot be purchased for less than $50 or $60, and one of inferior quality will cost $20 to $30.
While the purchase of a lathe is recommended there may be many who would prefer to make one. A lathe that will do admirably and which may be easily made is shown in the accompanying engravings, Fig. 1 representing in perspective the lathe complete; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the lathe without the table; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the lathe, showing the manner of securing the head and tail stocks to the bars which form the bed or shears.
In making this lathe one pattern only will be required for the two standards of the head stock, and the support of the ends of the bars. The lower part of the tail stock is made in two parts, so that they may be clamped tightly together on the shears by means of the bolt that passes through both parts, and is provided with a nut having a lever handle. The rest support is also made in two parts, clamped together on the ways in a similar way.
The patterns may be easily sawed from 1¼ inch pine. The holes that receive the round bars should be chambered to receive Babbitt metal, used in making the fit around the bars forming the shears, around the head and tail spindles, and around the shank of the tool rest. The smallest diameter of the holes that receive the round bars should be a little less than that of the bars, so that the several pieces that are placed on the bars may be fitted to hold them in place while the Babbitt metal is poured in.
The dimensions of the lathe are as follows:
Length of round bars forming shears, 24 inches; diameter of bars, 1 inch; distance from the upper side of upper bar to center of spindle, 3 inches; between bars, ¾ inch; between standards that support the live spindle, 3½ inches; size of standard above shears, ¾ x 1¼ inch; diameter of head and tail spindles, ¾ inch; diameter of pulleys, 5 inches, 3½ inches, and 2 inches; width of base of standards, 5 inches; height of standards, 7 inches.
The live spindle should be enlarged at the face plate end, and tapered at both ends, as indicated in the engraving.
The pulleys, which are of hard wood, are made of three pieces glued together, bored, and driven on the spindle, secured by a pin passing through both it and the spindle, and turned off. The bars forming the shears may be either cold rolled iron or round machinery steel; they will require no labor except perhaps squaring up at the ends. The castings having been fitted to the bars, and provided with set screws for clamping them, the two standards that support the live spindle and the support for the opposite end of the bars are put in position, when the bars are made truly parallel, and a little clay or putty is placed around each bar and over the annular cavity that surrounds it, and is formed into a spout or lip at the upper side to facilitate the pouring of Babbitt metal. The metal must be quite hot when poured, so that it will run sharp and fill the cavity. To guard against a possible difficulty in removing the castings from the bars it might be well to cover the side of the bar next the screw with a thin piece of paper. The pieces of the tail stock and tool rest support are fitted to the bars by means of Babbitt metal, the metal being poured first in one half and then in the other. The bolts which clamp the two parts of the rest support and tail stock together are provided with lever handles. After fitting the parts to the two bars by means of Babbitt metal, the tail spindle, which is threaded for half its length, is placed in the tail stock parallel with the bars and Babbitted. A binding screw is provided for clamping the tail spindle, and the spindle is drilled at one end to receive the center, and has at the other end a crank for operating it. A steel or bronze button is placed in the hole in the standard that supports the smaller end of the live spindle, and the spindle is supported in its working position and Babbitted.
The thread on the spindle should be rather coarse, so that wooden or type metal face plates and chucks may be used.
The table shown in Fig. 1 is simple and inexpensive. It consists of two pairs of crossed legs halved together and secured to a plank top. A small rod passes through the rear legs near their lower ends, and also through a piece of gas pipe placed between the legs. A diagonal brace is secured to the top near one end, and is fastened to the lower end of the rear leg at the other end of the table.
A block is secured to each pair of legs for supporting a pair of ordinary grindstone rollers, which form a bearing for the balance wheel shaft. This shaft has formed in it two cranks, and it carries an ordinary balance wheel, to the side of which is secured by means of hook bolts a grooved wooden rim for receiving the driving belt. The cranks are connected, by means of hooks of ordinary round iron, with a treadle that is pivoted on the gas pipe at the rear of the table. The shaft will work tolerably well, even if it is not turned. The cranks must have half round grooves filed in them to receive the treadle hooks. The size of the different diameters of the drive wheel may be found by turning the larger one first and the smaller ones afterward, using the belt to determine when the proper size is reached. The wooden rim may be turned off in position by using a pointed tool.
[LATHES FOR AMATEUR MECHANICS.]
The lathe above described, although very easily made and inexpensive, will be found to serve an excellent purpose for hand work, and if the holes, instead of being Babbitted, are bored, and if the bars forming the shears are turned, the lathe may be converted into a kind of engine lathe by placing a feeding screw between the bars, and putting a small tool post in the rest support.
M.
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MACHINE SHOP ECONOMY.
In times like the present, when even with good management our best machine shops are enabled to exhibit but small margins of profit, and shops with indifferent management exhibit margins on the wrong side, it is a question of paramount importance what kind of economy should be pursued in order to maintain a successful business. The directors of long established machinery enterprises differ widely upon some methods of conducting business, and while one gains success by pursuing a certain plan, another, with perhaps as much ability, cannot pursue the same with satisfactory results.
While in the main there are many different plans upon which successful machinery establishments are conducted, there are some underlying principles that must be observed to avoid meeting with difficulties. The rate of wages paid is certainly a large element of shop economy, but there are so many other elements that should be considered before wages are reached, that we often find proprietors, who pay their workmen at a comparatively high rate, doing a more prosperous business than their competitors who have reduced wages to the lowest possible scale. Many machine shop owners, not having mastered the various economies of management, as soon as profits begin to shorten, pounce directly upon the wages paid to their workmen, and pare them down so as to make up for the deficiency elsewhere. They don't seem to realize that there are important elements of economical management other than closely watching the wages of labor and the cost of material. It is sometimes necessary to reduce the rate of wages, but what a different effect it has upon the men in different shops! In one shop you scarcely hear a murmur--no angry meetings--no threats of a strike--no growling at the head of the establishment. The intelligent workmen understand the reasons for the reduction without a wordy explanation, and accept it, feeling confident that it has not been unjustly made. In another shop it causes ill feeling, angry protests, and perhaps a disastrous strike. The owner often charges his trouble to the character of his workmen. Let him review his course, and see if the great cause is not in his own management. Mechanics are keen and observing. If the business is poorly managed they are not slow to mark it, and when a cut is made in wages can generally cipher out the cause. It is good economy to keep a systematic record of the cost of everything. This record will be found very valuable in making estimates, much more so than guess work. It is not good economy to keep using worn-out tools when any work of consequence is to be performed. The extra cost of labor and spoiled pieces would soon pay for new tools. It is not good economy to keep discharging capable workmen for petty causes, and employing new hands to take their places. It is poor economy to use slow-cutting grindstones to accomplish work that fast cutting emery wheels are suited for. It is questionable economy to employ lathes, planers, and drills to perform work of any extent that a milling machine will do better in less time and at much less expense.
It is decidedly bad economy to employ engines and boilers that waste fuel and are troublesome to keep in good running condition. It is mistaken economy to buy inferior tools, machines, and shop supplies, because they are low priced.
It is very defective economy to fit the parts of machines together by trial instead of making them by aid of correct drawings and standard tools for accurate measurement. It is faulty economy to practice borrowing and lending working tools.
The idea that economy consists in withholding every expense not absolutely demanded is erroneous. An extra outlay in one or another direction often assures the saving as well as the making of money. Wise economy looks to the future as well as the present, and requires that all work sent out from a shop should be of the best and most reliable character.--_American Machinist._
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THE REWARD OF INVENTION.
_Capital and Labor_ publishes the substance of a letter from Mr. Henry Bessemer with reference to the refusal of the English Government, or of its ambassador in Paris, to allow the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor to be accepted by its countrymen, and in his letter Mr. Bessemer furnishes some autobiographic particulars which cannot fail to be of interest. He tells us that at the age of eighteen he came to London from a small country village, knowing no one, and himself unknown; but his studious habits and his love of invention soon gained for him a footing, and in two years he was pursuing a method of his own invention for taking copies from antique and modern bassi-rilievi in a manner that enabled him to stamp them on a cardboard, thus producing thousands of embossed copies of the highest works of art, at a small cost. The facility for making a permanent die, even from a thin paper original, capable of producing a thousand copies, would have opened a wide door to successful fraud if the process had been known to unscrupulous persons; for by its means, Mr. Bessemer states, there is not a government stamp, or the paper seal of a corporate body, that every common office clerk could not forge in a few minutes at the office of his employer or at his own home. The production of a die from a common paper stamp is the work of only ten minutes; the materials cost less than one penny. No sort of technical skill is necessary, and a common copying press or letter stamp yields most successful copies. There is no need for the would-be forger to associate himself with a skillful die sinker, capable of making a good imitation in steel of the original, for the merest tyro could make an absolute copy on the first attempt. The public knowledge of such a means of forging would, at that time, have shattered the whole system of the British Stamp Office, had a knowledge of the method been allowed to escape. The secret has, however, been carefully guarded to this day.
During the time that Mr. Bessemer was engaged in studying this question he was informed that the government were themselves cognizant of the fact that they were losers to a great amount annually by the transfer of stamps from old and useless deeds to new skins of parchment, thus making the stamps do duty a second or third time, to the serious loss of the revenue. One official in high position said that he believed they were defrauded in this way to the extent of probably £100,000 per annum. To fully appreciate the importance of this fact, and realize the facility afforded for this species of fraud by the system then in use, it must be understood that the ordinary impressed or embossed stamp, such as is employed on all bills of exchange, if impressed directly on a skin of parchment, would be entirely obliterated by exposing the deed for a few months to a damp atmosphere. The deed would thus appear as if unstamped, and therefore invalid. To prevent this it has been the practice as far back as the reign of Queen Anne to gum a small piece of blue paper on to the parchment; and for still greater security a strip of metal foil is passed through it, and another small piece of paper with the printed initials of the Sovereign is gummed over the loose ends of the foil at the back. The stamp is then impressed on the blue paper, which, unlike parchment, is incapable of losing the impression by exposure to a damp atmosphere. But, practically, it has been found that a little piece of moistened blotting paper applied for a whole night so softens the gum that the two pieces of paper and the slip of foil can be removed from the old deed most easily, and be applied to a new skin of parchment, and thus be made to do duty a second or third time. Thus the expensive stamps on thousands of old deeds of partnership, leases, and other old documents, when no longer of value, offer a rich harvest to those who are dishonest enough to use them. A knowledge of these facts led Mr. Bessemer to fully appreciate the importance of any system of stamps that would effectually prevent so great a loss; nor did he for one moment doubt but that government would amply reward success. After some months of study and experiment, which he cheerfully undertook (although it interfered considerably with the pursuit of regular business, inasmuch as it was necessary to carry on the experiments with the strictest secrecy, and to do all the work himself during the night after his people had left work), he succeeded in making a stamp that satisfied all the necessary conditions. It was impossible to remove it from one deed and transfer it to another. No amount of damp, or even saturation with water, could obliterate it, and it was impossible to take any impression from it capable of producing a duplicate.