The Ketchum keystone. (Ketchum, Idaho) 1881-1884, 1882-08-10
A BURNING sEnsAr1on.
Something That Takes the Shine
Out Of Electricity.
TChicago Herald.1

"A lASHlOHhuIo CIdLc HAS 5ciZcu
hold of the citizens of Washington,
which bids fair to spread as widely
throughout the country as did the
blue grass 'sfad' Of several years
ago. The person primarily respon-
sible for what promises to be an
iniiction on the community, is
resident of the city and an inventor,
but the Washington Post has con-
tributed largely toward popularizing
that gentleman's discovery and in
converting the young and the aged
of both sexes and all colors into ex-
perimentors. A few days ago it
appears that the Patent Office is
sued papers to Wm. Calver for a
discovery which, If it possesses all
the merits the patentee and the
Post claim for it, will be hailed with
gratitude by both busy manufac-
turers and toiling housewives. The
invention is no less than the
PRODUCTION CT INTENSE HEAT
BY peculiar arrangement of mir
rors. Meanwhile, as the ordinary
looking glass is common to every
dwelling, and the testing Of Mr..
Calver's claims can go on without
expense, tho city seems determined
to Judge of the virtue of his discov-
cry. In the Smithsonian grounds,
in the vicinity of the Capitol, and on
4 many of the avenues the test has
been made by those who have had
their curiosity aroused concerning
the strength of the suns rays. In
the negro quarter even bits of
broken mirror can be seen cleaning
in the duslly hands of colored ur-
chins, who mischievously turn the
focus full in the face Of the passer-
by. What the results OF rif these
experiments may have been has not
transpircd. but it IS evident tnsrr ene
society of all grades has caught a
new tangled idea which will, if it
does nothing else, afford it some
amusement. Mr.. CaIver, the gentle
. man who has so distinguished him
scli.7is brother of Dr. Calver, at A
street Northwest. Dir. Calver was
born in England, but came to this
country wheu very young For 9
number of years he resided in New
York lie has been citizen o,
the District for upwards of ten years
and during that time has been alb
sent much in Arizona, looking aftel
his mining property. He has beer
a looking for u long time for some
method of working mines and re
: ducing the ore by cheaper process
than that in vogue. By a happy
chance, equally as singular as tina
which befell Newton, he stumbled
|, on his discovery. The whole inven
ton simply consists of an arranee
ment whereby the rays of the SUI
are reflected
I. FROM ANY NUMBER OF MIRRORS
{ Upon common focus. Happenin
to direct the light from two ordir
ary looking glasses upon the sam
surface he noticed that the resultan
heat was about doubled lie prt
ceeded with his experiments, an
> succeeded in reducing wood to ashe
and metal to liquid state by sin
n ply concentrating upon them til
ht reflected hight of the sun from twer
at tv small mirrors with fiat surface
The principle is an unexplainab
one. 1t has never hitherto bee
suspected that tapping one ray I
sunlight upon another increased Il
J. heat. The model patented by NJ
Calver consists Of number of sma
looking glasses, arranged in ROY
upon frame so fixed that they es
X be converged upon any one poin
y. A working model, OF which he h
number, was exhibited to repe
ter in the yard in the rear of b
y residence. Forty innocent, gull
less looking fitteen-ccnt framed M
rors, each three and three-quart
:, inches by five and thrcc-quart
=. inches were arranged upon trar
.rs propped up like an artists easel, Al
bearing striking resemblan
thereto. Facing the easel was
3I. fragments Of what was once a ba
door, also propped up and part
covered with worn and faded she
of zinc that bore unmistakable e
- dences OF having been burn
through in several places. 1t W
but the work of a minute to &C
verge the forty mirrors upon spa