The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1870-05-04
Great Inventions.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THEM.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THEM.
1t would appear as if the greatest
discoveries, once put into action, ma
ture very rapidly, and almost "con-
summate at their BIRTH" The electric
telegraph was popular not only in this
country, where it was first practically
employed, but in a very short time
throughout Europe. AS soon as Ro-
bert Fulton had gone from New York
to Albany in a boat propelled by
steam, and thereby shown that steam
navigation was a reality, Henry Bell
applied the same principle to naval To-
comotlon on the river Clyde at Glas-
gov, and steam vessels became COM
mon first on British waters and then
among the various maratine nations of
Europe. Within six months alter the
late Baron Daguerre communicated to
the French Government his discovery
of photography on prepared metallic
plates, there were sun-painting bureaus
in full play throughout the principal
parts of Europe and still more general
ly in the United States-not the least
singular circumstance being that, as
afterwards fully established, precisely
at the time when the French chemist
had made his great discovery of max
ing sun-pictures on sensitive metal,
MIR. Fox Talbot, an English gentleman
of large estates in Wiltshire, had also
produced photographs upon prepared
paper. SO, in like manner, with cleo
tro-metallurgy (more generally called
electrotyping,) which was made pub JIG
by Mr.. Thomas Spencer, q picture
frame glider in Liverpool, in 1889, it
happened that Professor jacob, OF ST..
Petersburg, had arrived at the same
conclusion about the same time, nei-
ther eSperimentalist having any OPP
portunity OF knowing what the other
was doing. The fact of gliding and
plating by means of the electric fluid,
excited by the voltaic battery, once
known, new branch of art manufac-
ture was established in most of the
great cities Of the world. At once, as
it were, great practical discoveries, ca
silly adopted, take sudden and deep
root and overshadOw the earth.
Among these, railwayism has been
most generally ditfused. In the au-
tumn of 1880, the Liverpool and Man
chester line was opened, and, though
George Stephenson constructed his
steam locomotives with power of
running 80 miles an hour, it had been
gravely doubted whether anything like
that speed could be safely or cOntinu-
ously employed, and even very clever
men (among whom was the late Eail of
Derby, then Mr.. Stanley,) gravely
doubted whether any locomotive could
draw train at higher rate than the
best mail coach, four-horse speed,
which averaged from 10 to IL miles an
hour, on the English turnpike roads,
which, constructed on McAdam's plan,
We're nearly as smooth AS bowling
green's, and as firm as rock. If higher
speed was looked for, it was declared,
by members of Parliament in album
dance and many engineers, that the
wheels of the locomotive would turn
round ON the rail, and not advance
Indeed, to remedy this, some profess
sional and amateur wiseacres plausibly
proposed that the rails should be pre-.
pared for cog-wheels to be attached tc
the steam locomotives. Railwayisn
has extended almost everywhere, and
| the ordinary express or mail trains il
the British islands are propelled at the
rate of fifty miles an hour. Indeed, or
the Great Western railroad, between
Bristol and London, the express train!
have run at speed of nearly sixt,
miles an hour, including rest of tel
minutes at Swindon, a halfway re
freshment station. We have travelled
Oh American railroads, at rate ex
ceeding this, but not maintained for al
extended period.
TO show what can be done in thi
way, let MS give the latest importe,
fact. So lately as the early part of tn
present century the journey from Ed
inburg to London, a distance of 49,
miles, was performed in mail coache
in six days, which was considered yer,
creditable speed, as it probably was
considering the Indifferent cattle, th
heavy vehicle, and. the miserabl
roads. Railwayism has come in here
and the result is that by it's means til
journey between the Scottish and til
English capitals is easily done in min
hours, in which time are included tw
or three rests, for meals, at stations o
the lime-say tine time occupied
eight hours and twenty-five minutes
in which time distance of nearly fou
hundred miles is traversed. But ther
is now in course Of formation, to b
finished next year, line called til
Team Valley extension, to run into tn
east coast route, in an almost straigl
direction from north to south, and b
this line the journey from Edinburg
London will be done in about 81
hours, or at d rate, including stoI
pages, of one mile per minute! Thr
; q traveller bleakfasting at six wi
!, reach London at noon, do his bushes
there, eat his dinner, and, getting I'M
the return car at three p. NJ, be
J. home in Edinburgh by nine, to tai
: his tea, as comfortably as if he la
never left the house. We have dor
!; wonders already on the railway-line
= the Pacific, but, ere long, most prob;
. bly, will come up, there and elsewheI
to the English speed.
Even in Japan there has been an a
cession of railroad enterprise. In tn;
g country a great aptitude for adoptiI
e American and European inventio,
$ has been displayed. The Governmel
y of the Millado, fully aware of the in
n portance Of keeping pace with the Gu
J rent of public opinion, has shown itse
t as much enlightened as its most a
t vanced subjects. 1t has been dete
5 mined to introduce railways throug