Part 7

Among the papers which we could not very well do without is the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN, issued from the well-known office of Munn & Co., 37 Park Row, New York. Carefully edited, nicely printed, well illustrated, it is not only a complete record of the progress of useful inventions, but a trustworthy guide to many of the scientific topics that enlist attention at the present day. No one can be a reader of this most valuable journal, without being kept well informed as to current matters of scientific discovery.--_Congregationalist_ (Boston).

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THE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.--In another column we publish the prospectus of this great paper, and would direct our readers to it. It should be on the work bench of every mechanic, and particularly the young men of our country, upon whose intelligence and mechanical skill depends the future dignity of labor and prosperity of American arts and sciences.--_Monitor_ (Huntington, Pa.)

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We could fill our pages with similar notices, but will close with the following from our cotemporary _De Hope_, published at Holland, Mich., which we doubt not will be read with interest:

Wij plaatsen in dit Nummer het prospectus van den SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Het is een zeer schoon blad, dat vooral behoort gelezen te worden door Handwerkslieden. Nieuwe uitvindingen, verbeteringen op het terrein van werktuigkunde, enz, worden daar steeds in vermeld en beschreven. De prijs is zeer matig voor zulk cen blad; drie dollars per jaar. Dat belangstellenden de advertentie lezen.

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CHINESE METHODS OF PRESERVING EGGS.

As much has been said of late about the mode of preserving eggs, it may not be uninteresting to say a few words about the Chinese methods, as related by a French chemist, M. Paul Champion, who has lately visited that country, and published a very interesting book on the ancient and modern industries of that curious people. A very common method is to place the eggs in a mixture of clay and water; the clay hardens around the eggs, and is said to preserve them good for a considerable time. But another and much more elaborate method is also commonly practiced. An infusion of three pounds of tea is made in boiling water, and to this are added three pounds of quicklime (or seven pounds when the operation is performed in winter), nine pounds of sea-salt, and seven pounds of ashes of burnt oak finely powdered. This is all well mixed together into a smooth paste by means of a wooden spatula, and then each egg is covered with it by hand, gloves being worn to prevent the corrosive action of the lime on the hands. When the eggs are all covered with the mixture, they are rolled in a mass of straw ashes, and then placed in baskets with balls of rice--boiled, we presume--to keep the eggs from touching each other. About 100 to 150 eggs are placed in one basket. In about three months the whole becomes hardened into a crust, and then the eggs are sent to market; the retail price of such eggs is generally less than a penny each. These eggs are highly esteemed in China, and always served in good houses; but they have undergone a strange transformation, which certainly would not recommend them to English palates; the yolk has assumed a decidedly green tinge, and the white is set. When broken, they emit that unpleasant sulphurous smell which would certainly cause their instant banishment from our breakfast-tables. However, the Chinese are admitted, even by Frenchmen, to be great _gourmets_; and we can only say, therefore, that in questions of eating there is certainly no disputing about tastes.

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STEAM BOILER INSPECTION.

Mr. Alfred Guthrie, U.S. Inspector, informs us that the following resolution was recently adopted by the Board of Supervising Inspectors:

Resolved, That a special committee be appointed, to whom shall be referred the subject-matter of steam boiler explosions, who shall be requested to take up the subject in all its varied complications, and present the result of their inquiries, with their opinions of the real causes of such explosions, accompanied by such information as may be of practical benefit and general interest, to be reported at the next annual meeting of the board for its consideration.

Mr. Guthrie, whose address will be at Washington, D.C. until January 10, desires to receive suggestions from practical engineers upon the subject of boiler explosions.

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EDITORIAL SUMMARY.

Darkness of complexion has been attributed to the sun's power from the age of Solomon to this day. "Look not upon me because I am black, because the sun hath looked upon me." And there cannot be a doubt that, to a certain degree, the opinion is well founded--the invisible rays in the solar beams, which change vegetable color, and have been employed with such remarkable effect on the daguerreotype, act upon every substance on which they fall, producing mysterious and wonderful changes in their molecular state, man not excepted.

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The three companies under whose protection Chinese are brought into California, keep an accurate account of the condition and employment of the persons they import. From these books it appears that 138,000 Chinese have been brought into California. Of these, 10,426 have died, 57,323 have returned to China, and about 91,000 still remain on the Pacific coast. But only 41,000 live in California. Of these 41,000, 9,300 are women, children, old and decrepit, or criminals confined in the jails. The California authorities have at length decided to admit Chinese testimony in the courts.

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One of our subscribers residing in Maine has read our article "How to Spend the Winter Evenings," and writes to us that up in his section they have no trouble on that score. As soon as the day's work is over the inhabitants commence the job of trying to get their rooms warm, and as soon as a comfortable temperature is reached it is time to go to bed.

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DESIGN PATENT DECISION.--We publish elsewhere a recent elaborate decision of Commissioner Fisher, in which he reviews the laws and former practice of the office in regard to applications for patents for designs, with the view to the establishment of a uniformity of practice in regard to design patents. The decision is one of much interest to inventors and agents, and fully warrants its publication.

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OIL PAPER HANGINGS.--A kind of oil paper hangings called "Oleo Charta" is now made in England, which, it is asserted, is impervious to wet, may be placed on new or damp walls without risk of damage or discoloration, may be washed with soap and water as often as required, and will last twenty years. The process of manufacture is not explained.

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THE STEVENS BREECH-LOADING RIFLE.

This new arm, a patent on which, was obtained through the Scientific American Patent Agency, June 11, 1867, is destined, in our opinion, to become a formidable rival to the breech-loading rifles which have already attained popularity. It is one of the most simple and effective guns we have yet seen. Only three motions are required to load, discharge the piece, and throw out the shell of the cartridge. The breech-block is side-hinged, and it is opened and the shell is thrown out by simply bringing the gun to half cock. The gun may, however, be cocked without opening the breech by pressing the trigger while cocking.

The gun, when held in position, may be fired at the rate of forty shots per minute. All the movements of the parts are directly backward and forward; in our opinion the best that can be employed for this purpose, and the least liable to get out of order. In short, the gun possesses all the essentials of a first class rifle, and has advantages which we think are not ordinarily met with in arms of this character.

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A NOVEL FRENCH HAND VISE.

In using ordinary hand vises several inconveniences are met with. For instance, if it is desired to work a piece of metal of a certain length, it must necessarily be presented obliquely on the side of the jaw of the vise, because of its screw, which is horizontal and forms a knob in the axis of the vise. The consequences are, first, that on tightening the nut of the horizontal screw vise the pressure is only exerted on the side, and greatly tries the vise itself while obtaining an irregular pressure; secondly, that as the piece to be worked is held obliquely, however skilled the workman may be, he always finds himself cramped in the execution of his work, particularly if of a delicate nature.

To avoid these inconveniences a Parisian mechanic has designed and lately patented in England the neat form of hand vise of which we annex illustrations, Fig. 1 being an elevation and Fig. 2 a longitudinal section. In these views, A, is a wooden or metal handle pierced throughout its length; this handle of metal may be made in one piece, with the nut, and the conical ferrule. B is the ring or ferrule of the handle; and C are the jaws of the vise worked by the adjusting screw, D, and the springs, r r. E is a conical ferrule or shoulder, fixed or movable, and serving to open or close the jaws of the vise accordingly as the handle is turned right or left; this conical shoulder is protected from wear by a tempered steel washer, v. G is a nut with collar carrying the conical ferrule or shoulder, E, and the steel washer, v, while H H are the joints of the jaws of the vise held by a screw, I, which serves as a support to the adjusting screw.

This hand vise may be applied to a number of uses, and among others it may be readily converted into a haft or handle for any kind of tailed or shanked tool, such as files, wrenches, olive bits, chisels, or screwdrivers, and may also serve as pincers or nippers. It is of very simple construction.

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THE MOUND-BUILDERS IN COLORADO.

New evidence of the existence of the Mound-Builders in the mountain ranges of Colorado, similar to those in Montana, Utah, and Nevada, have recently been discovered by Mr. C.A. Deane, of Denver. He found upon the extreme summit of the snow-range structures of stone, evidently of ancient origin, and hitherto unknown or unmolested. Opposite to and almost north of the South Boulder Creek, and the summit of the range, Dr. Deane observed large numbers of granite rocks, and many of them as large as two men could lift, in a position that could not have been the result of chance. They had evidently been placed upright in a line conforming to a general contour of the dividing ridge, and frequently extending in an unbroken line for one or two hundred yards. The walls and the mounds are situated three thousand feet above the timber line. It is, therefore, hardly supposable that they were built for altars of sacrifice. They were not large enough for shelter or defense. The more probable supposition is that, like the large mounds in Montana and elsewhere, they were places of sepulture.

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THE WOVEN-WIRE MATTRESS.

Most of our readers who attended the last Fair of the American Institute, will recall an article in the furniture department, which attracted much attention on account of its novelty and utility. We refer to the wire mattress, or bed, manufactured by the Woven Wire Mattress Company, of Hartford, Conn. To the ordinary mind a new invention is interesting or not, in proportion to the probability of its coming into every-day use, and many a good housewife lingers in admiration over an improved sewing machine or cooking stove, to whom a new steam engine has no attraction. For this reason it was that the wire mattress was sat on and lain on by the numerous visitors at the Fair.

The engraving presented herewith will give the reader, who has not seen the article, a good idea of its appearance. It consists of a fabric represented below, half an inch thick, composed of fine wire springs, each one the length of the bed; all the three hundred spirals, being so woven and braided together, in a double "weave," by machinery, that a sort of wire cloth is produced. It differs from any other material hitherto made, in that it has great strength and elasticity. There is, in fact, no other device, except the air or water bed, which can compare with it in its elastic properties.

We are informed that nine hundred pounds of dead weight of wire were placed on it for nearly five days, without injurious effects. This fabric is stretched on a frame, as seen in the first engraving, the proper tension is secured to suit the fancy, and the mattress is ready for use. It is then set into the bedstead, like the ordinary spring bed, except that only two slats are used to support it. Thus, with a slight covering in summer, and a thin hair mattress for warmth in winter, a most perfect sleeping arrangement is secured.

The first adaptation of the wire mattresses was for private houses, but they have been found to have special advantages for hospital use. They have been largely introduced into the Hartford Hospital, the Bellevue Hospital, New York, and the Marine Hospital, Brooklyn, and have proved to be, after months of the severest use, with all classes of patients, a very great success for such purposes. The elastic flexible mattresses yield to every motion and part of the body, much to the relief of the suffering patient.

Another very great advantage is, that when carefully painted they are always clean.

Pillows of the same materials are made soft and pliable by using a fine wire and small coil. They are always cool, and afford the opportunity of placing bags of ice under the head in case of sickness.

One of these mattresses and a bedstead and pillows complete--all of which the Company make--furnish, with the addition of a folded blanket or comfortable, a perfect outfit for hospital use.

They are particularly useful for ships' berths, as they dispense with the ordinary bottom, and the sacking and thick mattress. Shippers know this.

We are assured that a coating of paint, carefully applied to the well-tinned wires will protect them from rust.

There can be no question but that these beds, with a light covering--scarcely more than a sheet--are especially adapted for hot climates. The Company have already orders for them for the Brazilian market, and they have been introduced into many of the Southern States.

This wire fabric is adapted to other articles of furniture, and is used in place of the ordinary springs in chairs, sofas, etc. For out-door settees, lounges, car seats, and other like purposes, it is well adapted.

Three patents have been issued to the Company on the wire mattress, through the Scientific American Patent Agency. [See advertisement of the Woven Wire Mattress Company on another page.]

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Flouring Mill Hazards.

A correspondent, in discussing the causes of fires in flour mills, gives the following facts and queries:

"F. Bertchey's mill, at Milwaukee, burned in September last. The fire originated from a candle held near a bran or feed spout, reaching from the upper to a lower floor. The ignition was instant, and attained different points of the building at about the same moment.

"On November 20, 1868, Schmidt & Co's mill, at St. Louis, burned in a similar manner, the light in this case being in a globe lamp, but the conflagration was, nevertheless, quite as sudden and general as in the first case cited. Other instances of like character have occurred quite recently. And now the query is, What caused the disaster? Whence the combustion?

"It has been conjectured that the bran-dust, or fine and dry powder, passing down or up these conductors, may be the kindling cause of the fire in these cases; but bran is not over combustible in itself, nor do we know why it should become so when thus reduced to an impalpable powder.

"Another theory is that a gas arises from the transmuting grain, which, excluded from surrounding atmosphere in these close conduits, becomes inflammable, and hence the results, as recited above, whenever a lighted flame is brought in contact therewith.

"Be the cause gas or dust, the disaster is the same: and is it not a phenomenon worth studying and remedying, so far as within the province and control of those most interested?"

Some similar instances came under our personal observation while adjuster for the Aetna at its western branch. The Star Mills at Mascoutah, Ill., burned about the year 1864. They were grinding middlings. About three o'clock in the morning the miller in charge went up to the chamber (a large box extending through several stories), as he had often done before, to jar the middlings down, they having clogged. He carried a small, open oil lamp, which he placed on a beam, just behind and above his head. He then opened a slide and thrust in a shovel, which started the middlings down with a thump, raising a great dust. As this dust issued in a thin cloud from the slide, it approached and touched the lamp, when instantly, as if it had been coal gas, it flashed, burning the miller's hair and beard, and filling the middlings box with a sheet of flame, which spread with great rapidity and destroyed the mill.

A mill at Dover, Ky., had accumulated a large quantity of middlings in an upper story, when the weight caused some sagging, and a man was sent up with a shovel to "even" the bin. His pressure was the "last straw," and the floor under the man broke through, pouring out a cascade of middlings, which flowed down from story to story, filling the mill with its dust. In a very few minutes it reached the boiler room, and the instant it touched the fire it ignited with a flash, and the mills was in flames instantly. It was totally destroyed.

In this last named case the gas theory will not apply. The dust was not confined in a spout, but was floating free in the air throughout the mill. The phenomenon was like the others mentioned, and seems to indicate that the fine dust itself, when floating in the air, is the fatal incendiary.

The subject is worthy of a scientific analysis, such as we have never seen bestowed upon it. The facts are well authenticated, but the philosophy of such ignition is not generally understood.--_Insurance Monitor_.

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Fire-Proof Buildings.

"It has long been a vexed problem with architects and builders, how to make a building completely fire-proof without the enormous expense of iron beams and girders, and even this has sometimes failed to prove a complete protection. In the building of the National State Bank, the architect estimated that it could not be made fire-proof in the ordinary style for less than $6,000, and while hesitating as to the expense and seeking to provide some remedy against the dampness incident to iron beams, Mr. Fowler learned from the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN that Edwin May, of Indianapolis, the well-known architect of our county jail, had taken letters patent on a fire-proof lath for ceilings and inside partition walls, together with a concrete floor for the protection of the upper edge of the joist which by actual test had been demonstrated to be fire-proof. After a critical examination of the invention upon its merits, it was adopted, and the workmen are now engaged in putting it in. Our citizens engaged in, or contemplating building, will be interested in an examination of the work while in progress."

[We copy the above from the _Lafayette_ (Indiana) _Courier_, and in this connection we make the following extract from a letter just received by us from Mr. May, the inventor:

"You will see by the above notice one result of my advertisement in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. This is only a _mite_. I have more than I can do, and I would say to inventors who are not realizing what they expected from their patents, that one _illustrated advertisement_ in the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN will effect more than a notice in all the newspapers in the United States. This is saying a good deal but such is my belief."]

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The Decline of American Shipping.

At a meeting of the New York Chamber of Commerce, held December 16, to consider means for reviving American commerce, the following resolutions were adopted:

Resolved, That this Chamber recommend to the Congress of the United States, about to assemble, the modification of existing laws, so that

I. Foreign-built steamers may be imported free of duty, and privileged to carry the American flag, provided they are American owned and not to be employed in our coastwise trade.

II. That iron plates and such other material for the construction of steamers as may be deemed advisable, be admitted free of duty.

III. That on all ship stores procurable in bond, drawback be returned, as upon goods shipped for sale to foreign lands; and

Finally, That ample subsidies be granted to lines of steamers built in American yards, to the end that competition with powerful foreign organizations may be successfully inaugurated and sustained.

The Chamber ordered the resolutions engrossed, accompanied by a memorial forwarded to Congress.

These resolutions, in our opinion, embody the solution of the question under consideration, and we trust they may be speedily and favorably acted upon by Congress.

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Young men out of employment can easily obtain enough subscribers for the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN to receive a cash prize of sufficient magnitude to insure them a good salary for six weeks' work. Send for prospectus and circulars.

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CORRESPONDENCE.

_The Editors are not responsible for the Opinions expressed by their Correspondents_.

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Aerial Navigation--A Suggestion.

Messrs. Editors:--As a constant reader of your invaluable paper, many subjects of deep interest come under my observation, and doubtless no journal throughout the land contains more instructive reading--that which tends to accelerate the progress of scientific investigation, and promote the general interest of the people--than the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. The series of articles under the head of "Aerial Navigation," commenced on page 309, volume XXI., has, perhaps, been read with as much pleasure and interest as anything published in your valuable journal. I say with pleasure--because it is really gratifying to mark the advancing steps which inventors are making in this branch of science; and with interest--because every new idea set forth, calculated to further the success of aerial navigation, should be, and no doubt will be, regarded as of great importance by every one. And, as the more suggestions placed before the minds of those working for the improvement of any invention, the greater number will they have from which to choose or experiment upon, I would like to make one suggestion here, which may be of some importance in the construction and operation of the "Aeroport," under the supervision of Mr. Porter, of your city, a description of which is given on pages 346-7, volume XXI., of your paper.