Part 3

The specimen here figured was found in a miscellaneous collection of fishes, etc., in alcohol, furnished the Museum of Comparative Zoology by Professor H. A. Ward, who purchased them in Japan. It was soon recognized as not only belonging to a new family, but one closely allied to certain forms supposed to have become extinct in the Carboniferous time. This discovery displaces _Ceratodus_ from the position of the oldest living type of the vertebrata.

The term Chlamydoselachus is applied on account of the curious frill-like mantle that surmounts the first gill cover. The term is made up of two Greek words implying mantle and shark. Six gill openings, and certain structure of the brain, remove this form from the present known sharks. Its affinity to some of the earliest known sharks, those of the middle Devonian, render it of great interest and importance to science. The family characters which this form represents, under the term _Chlamydoselachidæ_, are: Body elongate, with a depressed head. The eyes are lateral, with no nictitating membrane. The nasal cavity is separate from that of the mouth. The mouth is situated anteriorly, like that of some fishes. The teeth have broad, backward extended bases and slender cusps. The spiracles are present. One dorsal fin, spineless, is present. There is also an anal fin, and a caudal with no pit at its root. The first gill cover is free across the isthmus. The intestine has a spiral valve.

The generic characters are: Six gill openings, opercular flap, first gill cover, broad. Teeth similar in both jaws; each with three slender, curved, subconical cusps, separated by a pair of rudimentary denticles or a broad base. There is no median upper series of teeth in front, but there is a series below, on the symphysis. The mouth is wide, and has no labial folds at the angles. The pupil is horizontally elongate; the fins are broad, the caudal without a notch.

The total length of this shark is nearly five feet. Its greatest width, across the ventrals, is seven inches. Its resemblance to a snake is very striking. Its elongated body, long, flattened head, anterior mouth, and sinister expression of the eyes are quite suggestive of the ophidians. There are fifty-one rows of teeth, and six teeth in each row; the whole number at one time in function is 306. The brain is very small.

The present state of icthyological science recognizes eliminations that have been made from its main body. Comprehensively, a fish is a cold-blooded vertebrate, adapted for life in the water, breathing by means of gills, having the limbs, if present, in the form of fins, the smaller members being represented by cartilaginous rays connected by membrane. One or more fins are developed on the median line of the body.

The lancelets, myzonts, myxinoids, hag fishes, lampreys, sharks, and rays are recognized as differing sufficiently from the true fishes to entitle them to places of class distinction.

The true fishes form one class; the elasmobranchs, sharks, and rays, another class; the marsipobranchs, myxinoid fishes, hag fishes, and lampreys, a class; and the lancelets and cirrostomes, a class. It will be seen, then, that technically there are four classes of fish-like vertebrates, where but one--fishes--has heretofore been recognized. The lancelets, as is well known, are the lowest in the scale, their structure being extremely simple. The skull in this class is undeveloped, the brain not distinctly differentiated, nor is there any heart.

The term Leptocardii, which designates this class, means thin heart, in reference to the simplicity of this portion of the arterial system.

At first sight of the mouth of the frilled shark, which is figured here, the teeth have a singular and wholly unnatural appearance, appearing like indented, leaf-like organs; but it is seen that there are three fangs, serpent-like, on a base, and several rows of them give the peculiar appearance, arranged as they are consecutively from before inward.

The Port Jackson sharks, of the family _Heterodontidæ_, have long been regarded as of great interest to paleontologists, from their being closely related to some extinct sharks. Under the term Cestracion (now _Gyropleurodus_), these sharks are known to naturalists. A species, _G. francisci_, is now found off the coast of California.

_Cestracion phillipi_ is found in the Australian seas. The term cestracion is from the Greek _kestra_, a weapon. Many of the extinct species are known by the preservation of this spine, which being of more durable structure is preserved after all other traces of the creature have passed away.

The mouth of the frilled shark, as seen in our engraving, is peculiar appearing for a shark, as this important part is usually situated far beneath. In this respect, the anterior aspect of the mouth, there is resemblance to that of the great rhinodon, the largest living fish, measuring 70 feet in length. The general appearance of this shark is, however, extremely different from that of the frilled shark. The rhinodon is immensely bulky, the head being quite as deep and wide as any other portion. A very interesting structure, and one little known, belonging to the latter is a set of whalebone-like fringes along the gills, arranged comb-like. These frills have much the same functions of those in the whalebone or right whales. The food of the creature is mostly of sea jellies and other soft pelagic animals, which are strained into the throat by means of this adaptation. The great basking shark has this structure. This shark has been taken off Block Island measuring, according to authority, nearly seventy feet. It is the _Cetorhinus_, or bone shark, also so called. Large as these creatures are, they are harmless, most fortunately, their teeth being very small. Their food being of gelatinous animal matter, the masticating apparatus is not required to be of any considerable size or strength. The more harmful sharks are of moderate dimensions, in which the teeth are very large. In the largest species of "maneater" shark living, the teeth are about two inches in length. Some of the great carcharodon-like fossil sharks have teeth measuring five inches and a half in length. One in my possession has that measurement. Judging from the size of the shark, which has a tooth two inches in length, the extinct species here indicated must have been much over one hundred feet in length. Such enormous size can more readily be accommodated in the vast ocean than that of the great land beasts on their appropriate element. I am indebted to papers on this subject by Mr. Garman, of Cambridge, Mass., for material of this account. J. B. H.

IMMEDIATELY after eating, a person weighs more than before it.

COMBINED BENCH AND IRONING BOARD.

The bench is composed of side pieces, legs, end pieces, and a central cross brace. At one end it is provided with stationary top pieces having curved inner edges, as shown in the upper view, which are covered with a thin strip of angle iron extending up flush with the top and bent to conform with the curved edge. To the upper ends of the legs are hinged supports adapted to extend upward to form continuations of the legs, to engage with and hold an ironing board in a horizontal position. A tongue formed upon the free end of each support enters a socket box fitted in a recess formed in the board, so that the hinged lids of the boxes are flush with the bench surface of the board. When the board is in position to be ironed upon, the hinged lids rest against the sides of the supports, an opening in the lids receiving pins projecting from the sides of the supports. The lids are held in this position by suitably arranged buttons. By this means the ironing board is securely fixed in its elevated position. The rigidity of each support is promoted by another button attached to its inner side, and which enters a slot in the top edge of the side piece. To convert the ironing board into a bench, the board is lifted up and the supports closed down within the bench, as shown in the lower view. The wraps used upon the board are then placed neatly over the supports. The board itself is then turned over and its narrow end slid under the projection of the angle iron to a bearing upon the upper edges of the bench frame. The board now forms a smooth top for the bench. The under side of the ironing board, when forming a seat, is recessed near each side of its square end. Each recess is covered by a metal plate having a diamond-shaped opening to receive the elongated head of a bolt secured to the inner face of the bench side pieces. The square end of the board is thus held to the bench, the narrow end being held by the angle irons.

This invention has been patented by Mr. Daniel H. Weller, of Boyertown, Pa.

IMPROVED BLIND STOP.

By means of the simple attachment here shown, the blind may be securely held in any desired position. Secured to the lower cross bar is a metal plate, bent at right angles to form flanges, the projecting one of which is finely corrugated. The plate is held to the bar by screws passing through the other flange. Across the face of the outer flange is secured a spring retaining strip, which bears against the corrugated face and which carries a set screw. To the end of the slat bar is secured a corrugated strip, which is passed between the flange and its strip, the corrugated faces resting against each other, as shown in the right hand view.

This device will hold the slats in any required position, but when the slat bar is subjected to a positive pull, the strip will slip upon the face of the flange, against which it will be held by the action of the spring strip. By means of the set screw, the parts may be so locked together as to prevent the turning of the slats from the outside.

This invention has been patented by Mrs. Lizzie T. Gulick, of Corsicana, Texas.

The British Armament at Victoria.

Some mistake appears to have been made in the recent announcement that the British Government are sending out a number of eighty ton guns for the coast defense of Esquimault and Victoria. Twelve sixty-four pounders have been sent out from England, not for the armaments of the forts, but to be placed on board the British ships of war belonging to the Pacific squadron or to go into the naval reserves. Some time ago the British Minister of War made application to the Canadian Pacific Railway to know if they could transport one or more eighty ton guns over their road. An estimate of the cost was given, with the model of a car composed of three trucks, which it was proposed to use if the shipment was made. Since then nothing has been heard of the eighty ton guns. The officer in command of the British Columbia district does not speak very creditably of the condition of the armament at that point. The artillery armament is described as old, the carriages and limbers are reported rotten and are falling to pieces, while the guns are without sights. The batteries at Victoria and Esquimault, the officers say, are in a discreditable condition.--_N. Y. Evening Post_.

A SIMPLE DEVICE FOR CRIMPING BOOTS OR SHOES.

The crimper herewith illustrated has a yoke-shaped stationary portion, the jaws of which are formed with transverse corrugations. The top of this yoke has a longitudinal slot, in which are pivoted the upper reduced ends of movable inner jaws, whose operative faces have transverse corrugations, arranged to always meet and fit within the corresponding corrugations of the outer jaws. These inner jaws are normally held open by a spring. The operating or crimping screw slides freely through the slot in the yoke, extending between the inner jaws, and on its lower portion fits a wedge-shaped clamping block, which is drawn up between the inner jaws by turning the operating screw. The outer end of this screw being placed in an aperture in the heel of the last, or in other suitable position relative to a form over which the leather is to be crimped, and the edges of the leather placed between the jaws, the leather may be strained about its forming block as desired by simply rotating the screw.

This invention has been patented by Mr. Elery B. La Follette, of Flemington, West Va.

PLASTERER'S HAWK.

The object of this invention, which has been patented by Mr. Geo. W. Jaques, of Burton, O., is to provide a plasterer's hawk in which the board on which the mortar is received, and which is subjected to expansion and contraction due to alternate moistening and drying, may be rendered light and rigid and, at the same time, be free to expand and contract without warping or cracking. In the center of the board is secured a bolt, upon which is received a handle having a nut in its outer end fitting the end of the bolt. A circular concave plate is placed on the bolt, between the handle and board, with its concave side toward the board. Between the plate and board is held an elastic rubber washer, which is compressed by screwing the handle down.

The plate has a plane edge, which is secured to the board by screws, and in the edge are four notches for receiving the ends of wire frames that extend a short distance under the plate, by which they are clamped to the board. Each frame consists of a wire, bent to the shape shown in the upper view in the engraving. Through the end loops are passed screws, projecting from the board, and the center of each frame is secured to the board by a clip, the clips and bolt being arranged in a line parallel with the grain of the wood. The frames support the edges of the board, and the loops permit of the lateral movement of their screws and the portions of the board by which they are carried. This hawk weighs, even when thoroughly soaked, only one pound and a half, the old style weighing from three to five pounds.

ADJUSTABLE WOOD MEASURING RACK.

By means of this device wood may be measured by the cord or fractional parts of a cord, as occasion may require. The sill frame consists of two longitudinally ranging timbers connected by cross bars. Near one end of the timbers are fixed uprights, braced to each other and to the timbers. To the inner faces of the sills are screwed a series of headed pins, the first one being exactly one foot from the inner face of the end posts, and the others being spaced one foot apart. Two posts, braced together by rods, are adapted to stand on the sills, and to the inside face of each post is attached, by coach screws, a metal plate provided with a hook at its lower end, adapted to engage with the shank of one of the headed screw pins of the sills. Attached to each post is a brace with two arms, and formed at its lower end with a notch to engage the pins on the sills. The metal plates and braces are slotted for the passage of the screws, so that the movable frame may be quickly and easily set perfectly plumb, whichever opposite pair of the sill pins may be engaged by the hooked plates. The posts are exactly four feet high, and one is marked by cross lines one foot apart. It is apparent that, to measure a cord, the frame is moved to the eighth set of pins and the wood is piled to the tops of the posts. To measure half a cord, the hooks are engaged with the fourth pins. By adjusting the hooks to the first pair of pins, and filling the wood in between the end posts up to the first cross line on the post, a single foot of wood can be measured, or up to the second line for two feet, and so on. Thus a cord or any fractional part can be readily measured. To disengage the frame, it is only necessary to tilt it forward toward the fixed posts, when it may be shifted to any point along the sill frame.

This invention has been patented by Mr. Horace L. Broughton, whose address is P. O. box 320, Marblehead, Mass.

Steel Rail Capacity of the United States.

Name. Capacity in Tons. Springfield Iron Company 12,000 Indianapolis Rolling Mill Company 75,000 Joliet Steel Company 200,000 Lackawanna Coal and Iron Company 216,000 Troy Steel and Iron Company 120,000 Montour Iron and Steel Company 90,000 California Mills 50,000 Lochiel Iron and Steel Works 65,000 Cleveland Rolling Mill Company 200,000 Roane Iron Company 50,000 Union Steel Works, Chicago 168,000 Colorado Coal and Iron Company 125,000 Cambria Works 100,000 Western Steel Company 132,000 South Chicago Plant 250,000 Bay View Plant 50,000 North Chicago Plant 200,000 Carnegie, Phipps & Co. 125,000 Union Iron Mills, Pittsburg 50,000 Edgar Thomson Plant 450,000 Cranston Steel Company 175,000 Pennsylvania Steel Company 300,000 Bethlehem Iron Company 250,000 Worcester Steel Works 50,000 --------- Total apparent rail capacity 3,671,000

PENBERTHY INJECTOR.

At last a mechanical combination and device has been produced, and a man's labor and study crowned with success, in the production, for the convenience of engineers, of a simple and compact device known as the Penberthy injector or boiler feeder.

Its mechanical construction is very simple, but perfect. All its parts are movable and convenient of access (not being screwed in), its working so complete that an inexperienced person can operate it with success and perfectness. Its adaptability to all classes of boilers, such as stationary, portable, traction, marine, and locomotive, and its working on each, makes it very desirable, and recommends it to all classes of engineers. The automatic working of this injector is of very great advantage, as by this mechanical construction it works under all conditions of shakes, jars, and concussions. In case of a break, or the suction is to be removed and then returned, it picks up or begins working without any aid, assistance, or attention from the engineer, thereby relieving of much care and annoyance. Its convenience of access is of very great consideration and importance, owing to the advantage of cleaning and examining its interior parts.

The working parts of this injector are stationary in their work, thereby causing comparatively no wear in its mechanical parts. The inventor seems to have combined common sense with mechanical science, by leaving out all complications, and combining in the injector every convenience of operating, getting at, and putting it on the boiler.

The body is of a single cylinder or barrel, with two jets inside, "steam and combining," and governed by an automatic swinging overflow. The injector is operated by the opening or closing of the globe valves. It is connected to the boiler and pipes with uniform and interchangeable square centered unions, and can be put on or taken off very quickly without any annoyance or injury, and the only tool required being an ordinary wrench.

Another great point gained in this injector is its great range of working capacity. It will lift water twenty-five feet perpendicular, or take it a hydraulic pressure and force it into the boiler at a temperature of from 140° to 180° Fah. It will work under a steam pressure of from 20 to 140 lb. It will also lift and force water at a very warm temperature (say 120° Fah.) in tank or well, and under all circumstances and at all points it works automatically. The inventor and manufacturers of the Penberthy injector have great confidence in its working qualities, and to satisfy engineers of its merits and perfectness of work, solicit a trial. From observation, a brilliant future is in store for this little wonder of simplicity and compactness, which is a model of mechanism in appearance and finish.

For prices, etc., address Jenkins Bros., 71 John St., New York, 13 So. 4th St. Philadelphia, and 105 Milk St., Boston, agents for this injector.

PROTECTOR FOR LADIES' HATS.

This simple and readily adjustable protector may be quickly applied to and removed from a hat or bonnet, without injuring its delicate trimmings, and may be adjusted to fit large or small hats. The main portion of the protector, which alone will be used to cover hats of small or medium size, consists of a piece of some light waterproof fabric strengthened about the margin with an inside facing. At the inner face of the body are secured a couple of narrow strips of suitable fabric (Fig. 2), forming casings for drawing strings. At the opposite edges of the facing are attached small rings, through either series of which a drawing string may be passed.

The extension piece (Fig. 1) of the protector consists of an endless band of waterproof fabric, like that of the body, provided at its edges with bindings, to which rings for drawing strings are secured. The protector can readily be adjusted and held upon a small or medium sized hat by properly manipulating the drawing strings. To adapt the protector to a large hat, the extension piece is united to the main piece by a string passed through the inner series of rings on the facing and through one of the series of rings on the extension piece. A string is then passed through the other rings of the extension piece, when the protector can be held to the hat by adjusting the drawing strings. It is evident that this protector may be applied over a hat without danger of crushing the most delicate trimmings.

This invention has been patented by Mrs. W. H. Hopkirk, of Agency, Iowa.

IMPROVED STUMP PULLER.