The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1891-08-20
SCIENCE AND PROGRESS.
USEFUL INFORMATION FOR IN
CURING MINDS.
Improved Fire-ESCape Devices
Electrical Utilization of Mag
ara--Automatic Adding
and Recording Ma
chimes
Animated Lampllghters

! Ter matches were not the common ar
a few years ago that they were so ex-
pensive as to cause substitutes to be
largely used where possible. Many
readers remember rolling up the
leaves of their old copybooks, when
boys, into lamplighters, and the man
tel shelf in the kitchen OF the old house
in the country had its dish filled with
nicely made ones ready to convey the
flames from the fireplace to the lamp
or candle.
The youngsters of the present day
have no use for these articles, unless
it may be to play trick with them
like the following:-Take q strip OF
quite heavy writing paper, about six
or eight inches long and two inches
wide. With a common table knife
curl this strip, by drawing the paper
between the thumb and edge OF the
knife
Now carefully unroll the strip and
bend it in the middle lengthwise the
inside Of the roll outward. BE careful
in bending not to take the curl out
any more than possible.
After bending cut a slit along the
bend to within half an inch OF each end.
Then hand to the person upon whom
the trick is to be played, OF course
not letting him see any OF the prelim-
mary preparations. Light II match and
touch TO the end OF this lamplighter
and set it on fire Perhaps a better way
would be to have one of the lighters,
also, without the victim SIN a mo-
ment the end will burn off and release
the culled side, which will fly back to
the hand OF the holder and cause
him a lively jump.
The trick is an amusing one and not
the least dangerous, for the victim
does not generally hold the paper long
enough to get burned.
Improved Fire Escape Devices,
A decided acquisition to the means
available for the saving of life and
property from fire is a new extension
ladder and fire escape which can be
readily raised or lowered by q steel
wire cable operated by windlass.
The ladder can be taken from the
truck on which it is brought to the
scene of the fire by eight men, extend
ed to 66 feet in length and secured in
1orty-slX seconds, or, when lying on
the ground, IN thirty-seven seconds.
1T is constructed of Upland spruce
timber, and the iron and steel work
is made as light as is consistent with
strength and safety. Excellent as is
the work done by the fire brigades in
tins country we have still something
TO learn IN some departments of the
service. This is shown by the credit
able record which the adoption
OF improved appliances has enabled
the Fire Department of Vienna to
make. In that city the fremen are
provided with q sort of divers suit
and fine mask by means of which
they can make their way into n burn
ing building in spite of steam and
smoke and effect rescues that would
be impossible without these devices.
The danger of suffocation is greatest
where the fire occurs in the cellar.
and in such cases even the firemen
have to use the utmost caution. The
smoke will often collect in such dense
masses that any ordinary light would
be extinguished, but this difficulty is
overcome by the use of a zinc fam
beau invented by the chief of the de
partment. Vienna is said to have
one of the best organized and most
efficient fire departments in Europe.
Electrical Utilization of Niagara
1t has been supposed that all the
work looking toward the electrical
utilization of Niagara was being done
on the American side, and the truth
is that so far the practical operations
have been confined to the New York
shore, where the borings have been
steadily pushed for some time Inv n
company which has 81, 500, 900 be-
hind it. But there is a. Canadian
scheme also on foot, and our cousins
take so kindly to it that they have al
ready invested 100000 in buvino
up some of the Niagara and Oueens7
ton Land and Electric COMPANIES
real estate. The broad idea involved
IN this Canadian project is to tap the
chippewa river, on the Canadian side.
carry the water across country bv
canal, distance of about two miles.
TO the Queenston Heights, and there
discharge 1T into the the Niagara river
as It swlrls along below, a drop of
80 feet being thus secured, which is
double the drop obtained at the
ais. BY this means the company
expects to furnish not less than 100
ooo horsepower at Queenston at the
modest rate of $40 per horsepower
a new manufacturing city of Queens
ton is to be developed on the mao
highlands traversed bv the
canal, as, has been said. the nlan is
looked upon with no small favor in
the Dominion and in Europe. There
seems, IN fact, to be no good reason
why 1T should not be carried out ex-
cept, the absence in Canada of a large
such as is provided in Ameri-
ca, Tor manufactures.
automatic Adding and Recording
Machine.
a remarkable machine, STYLED ..the
romptograph," has recently been pain
TED. by Its means figures may be placed
IN tabular order with the rapiditv of
ordinary typewriting, and their
can at the same time he
automatically added with absolute
certainty. The machine 10 a1,,.A1