Morning journal and courier., 1881-10-05
Price Four Cents.

operator With one Of these machines can do the work of nearly score working by the | old process with needle and thread render 1 ing possible the production of the elaborate 1 ly stitched boot of the present day at moder- ate cost. These inventions, and many others l Of minor importance, have revolutionized
 the shoe manufacturing industry so that to-
 day the machinery employed in the prose- | cutloI represents an amount of individual labor which it would be difficult exactly to compute.
 l A process has recently been patented in | the United States by which shot is made at
 low elevation by forcing strong current of
 air upon 1t as it fslls into the water Anoth- CT important use to which lead is put is the | preparation of oxide of lead or white lead as l a pigment. In this branch of the lead indus try this country takes prominent and prob-
 ably the leading position, as the practice of painting dwelling houses is more common | than any other country.
 The safety drum, another new invention,
 IS safety device which guards against acci- dents arising from some derangement in | elevator machinery, or some obstruction in 1 the hatchway, whereby the ropes may be un- | eolled from the main drum of the engine
 while the car remains temporarily lodged at ! greater or less distance from the bottom. It IS also perfect safeguard against the too l rapid descent of the car, in case the belt or l any part Of the gearing connected with tho engine should give way, or if run too fast by l the carelessness of the operator. The safety drum takes the place of the ordinary sheaver l wheels, and acts as the medium through I which motion IS communicated from the en- ! zine to the car. All ropes connecting from
 the engine to the car are arranged to act upon ! thls drum Tn such manner that any de-
 rangement in their bearings, or change in l their action, or increase of their motion be- yond that prescribed as the regular working rate, will immediately bring into astion two I powerful brakes, and thus instantly stop the entire apparatus.
 Great improvements have been made in the methods of construction used for iron safes. making them impregnable to almost any ap- pliance in use by the most expert burglars. The doors, which are generally the weak point of safe, are constructed of plates, so dove tailed and fitting correspondingly into the jambs, that the wedge, the most effective im- plement used by the burglar, is perfectly powerless against them, while the accuracy with which they fit offers no opportunity for any crevlce into which nitro -glycerine or any other explosive fluid can be introduced. The body of the safe being also constructed of alternate plates of iron, welded iron and steel, carbonized and decarbonized steel and crystal steel, fastened together by bolts from the inside effectually prevents them being forced by sledge hammers, jimnies, jack screws, or any other burglarious instrument Their fire-proof qualities are also secured by filling of concrete, which makes them ab- solutely proof against both fire and damp. In addition to the fre-proof filling, the safes are furnished with improved combination locks, varied for each safe, many of which are supplied with automatic rotary move
 ment, and consequently operated without any arbor or spindle passing through the door in- to the lock, rendering it impossible to pick
 them by any process yet invented. The material produced by this new process possessed peculiar qualities. It was more n6rfact1V than resisted the action of the ordinary solvents of that material, was better able to resist the
 wear and tear of its surface. and preserved
 its fexibility at all temperatures. Then Mir.
 Nelson Goodyear patented process for sol
 idifying rubber, making it susceptible to any form of process of manufacture.
 In 1S49, Dr. Gathny invented method of
 transmitting power by means of compressed
 air driven through pipes. Up to ten years
 ago his application for patent for this pro- cess from the United States was rejected by
 the commissioner on the ground that it was a discovery, and not an invention. Patents
 have, however, been obtained for it in
 Europe; and it is by means of this method that the tunnel of Mont Cenis has been worked.
 The process was used in the work on the
 Hoosac Mountain tunnel. The refusal to grant him patent called his attention from this valuble idea, though it is unquestionable that by it. in the future, power will be thus created and distributed in cities, avoiding the
 bother, expense and complication of indivi- duals having their own sources of power
 Like-the distribution of gas and water, this
 method of distributing power is at glance so advantageous that it's merits are evident.
 In 1872 Dr. Gatling invented and patented a steam plough, or earth pulverizing machine, to be propelled by steam and animal power combined The failure of his health, and the low price of grain at that time, prevented his bringing this invention into practical use. Dr. Gatling has devoted his time and atten- tion to improving the gun which bears his name, and the success which has attended his labors seduced him from the more congo nial field of peaceful invention.
 Within twenty years, since collodion came to be prominent chemical in photography, there have, of course, been a thousand deli cate and strictly chemical Improvements in every step of the process. During the last ten years the quality of the coating material has been carefully studied, and artists have dis covered just the right combinations of gun cotton, alcohol and ether to The best mode of making this film sensitive, the best. material for developing the shadows when thrown upon it, the manipulation best adapt ed to remove defects in the impression, the
 both that will set the hnes and, more than all, the most approved and skillful handling of the glass as type to print with and the
 various modes of toning, softening, intensi- flying and piercing the pictures thrown from the glass to the paper have been studied with persistent enthusiasm.
 Inventive talent has also been brought to bear upon soap. Several materials have been avowedly and openly mixed with soaps as improvements. The use of resin has been utilized. Silex, either as sand or in the form of 'water- glass" I" solubles glass (silicate of soda), is one of the most common, and some of the soaps made in this way are extremely efficient and useful. Modified soaps for vari- special purposes are now made by mixing lime water, dissolved alum, etc., with soap d. ready made.
 It will be remembered that soon after the commencement of the civil war, in 1861, Congress appropriated $1, 500, ,0O0 for the construction of one or more armored ships. Plans were presented by seventeen different inventors, manufacturers or companies, and of these three were accepted-the corvette Galena, plated with iron three inches thick, and hulled through and through by ten-inch shot in the attack on Fort Darling the fri gate New Ironsides, which, with her battery of eleven inch guns, proved very effective in attack, and Ericsson's Monitor, which intro duced the principle upon which all the suc- cesslve and successful ironclad batteries were :. built. Several leading inventors are now en- gagged in further improving the existing sys- tems of constructing naval armors that will be completely shot and shell proof.
 It is gratifying fact to note that inventors are taking advantage of the great capabilities of iron for beautiful forms, as shown in it's use for architectural purposes. Its strength makes it suitable for structures and tracery of light and graceful effect, altogether be- yond what is possible in wood or stone. In 1t can now be rendered both the simpler and the richer beauties of the Greek orders, the characteristic arches and stratifications of Rome, the points and pinnacles of Gothic de- sign, and the tracer1es and arabesques, domes and pinnacles of the Moors. Some of the combinations recently produced by union of light castings and wire or road work in trelises and verandas are wonderfully rich and light in effect.