Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-24

one-half that of cast iron and one-third that
of steel. Its presence in iron is stated to
be deleterious, and 1t is said not to lower
the melting point Of steel, statements to the
contrary Notwithstanding Softness in
aluminium, however, Is said to be overcome
by alloying it slightly with hardening
metal or hammering.
The establishment of M. Mantois in Paris
is said to furnish all the glass ground for
telescope lenses in the far-famed shops of
the Messrs. Clark, in Cambridge, Mass,
whose celebrity in this line has long been
unrivalled. Their practice is to import the
material in the shape of large disks, which
are generally fiat on both sides. The first
grinding is done by machinery, the abrading
| material being Tilghman's chilled iron glo-
bules, which are found to be more effective
than sand, and the finer grinding is accom-
plished BY means of varying grades of
emery; but it is in the finishing process
that the American operations take rank
over the foreign. The final touches and
the polishing are all done by hand. the
rouge being applied on the tip of the finger
1t is necessary to employ constant tests
during the course of the grinding, these at
| first being all mechanical and made with a
| spherometer, but such tests simply insure
accurate curvature, and BY their very nature
can take no account of irregularities in the
texture of the glass, these being detected
and remedied only by means of optical tests
When the preliminary polishing is finished
the lens is roughly mounted and submitted
to the most rigid examination-that is,
beam of light from what is called at the
workshops an artificial star" is transmitted
through the lens, and enables the workmen
to locate defects of all sorts; the remedy is
ten matter of touch and try. and is long
and tedious process.
An improvement in the construction of
annealing furnaces is announced in Lon
don journal, by which a prompt action and
considerable saving are insured, the method
being applicable alike to sheet annealing,
hollow ware, malleable iron and sheet tin or
steel-in the case of the first named the time
being shortened by some so per cent, be-
sides other advantages. The furnace con-
sists of four outer walls, within which, by
the erection of two side walls and one end
wall, is q second furnace or annealing oven;
the flames and heated gases from the outer
space pass through numerous perforations
in the two side walls into the middle cham
Der, and, after travelling through this space,
escape by bottom fues furnished with
dampers, to the chimney stack. Only one
fire is used, and the pot containing the arti-
cles to be annealed is by this arrangement
subjected to a uniformly distributed heat;
hence the pot does not suffer from undue
strains or buckling, and therefore lasts
longer. The uniform distribution of the
heat insures annealing in shorter time,
and likewise causes reduced fuel con-
sumption.
At the Blochain works, near Glasgow, of
the Steel Company of, Scotland, what is
known as magnolia metal has for some time
been resorted to with view to obviating
the trouble caused by the heating of roll |
necks, and the rapid wear of the journals |
due to this cause, the plan being entirely |
successful, it is stated. More positive still, |
perhaps, is the result reached by the Malle- |
able Iron and Steel Company, of Stockton
on-Tees, in the application of the plan to |
their 31-inch steel-plate mill with phosphor-
bronze bearings at one end of the |
rolls and magnolia metal at the |
other the former being worn out after
IA weeks, while the latter was scarcely |
worn at all. In their use of this metal by |
the Stockton Company the bearing is cast |
first, and is of a special phospor-bronze for
bottom chilled plate roll necks and other
bottom roll necks. After the bearing is
cleaned and dressed in the ordinary way,
segment of loom core Of proper radius Is
placed against the bearing, and the mag
uOua - tucu Iuu lutO tuc ICCtSS pIONlucu
for it. This is believed to be the very best
kind of bearing for the heaviest possible
work, as it is also the cheapest. If the
bearings were not of the best phosphor-
bronze, the end thrust of the rolls would
wear the collar away and cause the bearing
to he changed when the magnolia face Of
the bearing was quite good nor worn away.
An original and important industry IL
carried on at Kansas City in the manufact-
ure of soap from the wild and prickly plant
of the prairies known as the Mexican soap
weed and, as described, its treatment af-
fords a notable illustration of the modern
utilization of waste products. Since the
Kansas prairie was an inland sea, says the
Kansas City Times, this weed has thrust its
roots deep into the soil of the unsheltered
plains, and to gather these sharp spade
is driven down deeply by the side of the
plant, the earth is broken, and the
thick, brown. root secured, the top, with
Its long. spines, being thrown aside.
The root has been known to extend as far
8 feet of the upper portion, which is about
2 inches thick, is of practical service in the
production of soap. In the manufacture Of
the latter, the roots are first washed then
cut up and boiled out in q big vat, where
other ingredients are also placed, and, when
this is dried out to such degree that it will
solidity, it is nodded into scmi-transparent
cakes, which possess all the desirable quail
ties of toilet soap. A peculiar character
istic said to pertain to this weed is that,
it grows in a region where
alkali roots dot the ground, and where the
soil is white with the chemical. none of it
is found in the root.
One of the long-sought inventions is now
reported to have been realized, namely,
machine by which Sisal hemp is rendered
suitable for commercial purposes, and this
without the disproportionate expense which
1as usually characterized contrivances for
his purpose. The object of the machine
hat of working out in good condition the
iber from the plants said to be salts
actorily realized in its makeup and action
% degree only partially attained herefore
hus, it is stated, some English-made
machines have been in use in San Domingo.
n the Bahamas. and at other points, but |
wing to the fact of their cutting the fiber
Fhen operating, their employment has
proved undesirable. This new machine is |
IN American invention, and one of its i'm
,ortant advantages is that, when the fiber
caves it, it is ready for the market except
Trying.
tsMELLIN's Food and I are old friends, it
laving fulfilled all the conditions demanded |
# it at my hands, is the testimony of a
vell-known physician. W
HORSES, WAGONS AND HARNESS