The Globe-republican., 1891-08-26
m THE ELECTRICAL WORLD.

~ THE ELECTRICAL WORLD.
Two tunnels Of cast iron for an
electric railway have been built in
London and put in operation for rapid
transit They are three miles IN length
and lie between 20 and 20 feet below the
surface Of the eity'S streets.
An Edinburgh man is said to have
invented an ingenious selectromagnetg gas
controller. which will automatically
turn up the gas when the electric light
is turned of. and in case the electric
light Is turned on again the gas will at
once be lowered
North Carolina is to have one Of the
longest electric railway lines in the
world 1t is 10 run from Asheville 10
Rutherfors1ten. = distance of forty-one
miles The power to operate the road
is to be derived from water The line
is intended for both freigh. and pa>sen-
ger service
According to the Electric Railway
Advertiser, late reports show that elec-
trio ears are ru2 successfully on rail-
ways with grades as great rs IA per cent
1T distances Of six miles or more FROM
the power station, and at speeds as
high as 25 TO 80 miles an hour. with
single cars, and trains of from two To
four cars
About a month ago the Office Of .
mercantile company in Pueblo, Col.
was run into and completely demoli>h-
ed by an electric car. A new office. .
duplicate of the one demolished. was
erected and occupied by the firm. who.
in addition to the company sign. has
placed sign with the following notice
on the front Of the building: Here
after electric cars must secure permits
before entering this building
The Electrical Review saws that,
while there has been quite an epidemic
of fires lately in New York city. curl
ously enough not one of them has been
put down to electricity. The Review
comments that it may be that electrical
men are getting to be more careful. and IL
may also be that people whose business
It is to investigate fires and their causes
are getting to be less rash in jumping
at conclusions on insufficient evidence.
hS ANCNlC" - AhSb1ACO W pckicNt III tLl6
latter theory.
Among the numerous electrical ap-
plications introduced Of late into steam-
boats is winch designed for light,
variable cargoes, the aim being TO at
tain great rapidity Of lift with simplic-
". So effective is this machine. that
It will work while immersed in sea wa
ter The motor is enclosed in a stout
casing, and has steelcased coils. such
launches The immense saving in time
and the great ease of handling attained
by this winch constitutes an element OK
great commercial value.
Since the advent of the electric
railway the telephone companies
throughout the country. who use
grounds principally for the re-
turn circuit, have had hard time of il,
owing to inductive noises which are
set up in their wires by the power cur
rent, and which at times are so loud
and persistent as to render all efforts 70
communicate over the wires futile. The
telephone companies have appealed 10
the courts for protection, but the decis-
ions of these conservative bodies have
invariably sustained the rights of the
electric railway companies to operate
their wires in the streets of cities. not
withstanding the prior occupation of
the highways by telephone lines
"A Russian named Spcchneff is said
to have achieved wonderful success
in agriculture by the use of the electric
current TO aid the growing crops. near
ly doubling ordinary results in the
growth of peas, beans, rye, etc. To ac-
complish mis- purpose, he sunk in the
ground large copper and zinc plates
and connected them by iron wires. The
current was produced by pouring dilute
sulphuric acid on the plates The effect
of the current on vegetables is said to
have been prodigious. The aggregate
yield was far above the average. and
some of the vegetables attained re-
markable size. A radish, for instance,
was found to be 17.3 inches long and
3 inches in diameter, while a carrot
10 inches long weighed g pounds
What was almost as surprising as the
size of the vegetables was their fine
ness of grain, and nothing in either
their appearance or flavor gave the
slightest suggestion of coarseness.