St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1892-12-31
m THE ELecrRlcAL WORLD.

m THE ELECTRICAL WORLD.
Tho German telegraph service haa
edopted copper bronze wires and il re-
Iacing all its iron and steel wires BY
the new metal, which is used Of small
diameter and weighs about $50 pounds
to the mile.
"A movement has been osiginated In
the French senate regarding the intro
duction of electrical execution in France
for capital criminals The fiual success
Of the moro recent New York txials is
the direct cause Of this, ap21 promi-
nent member of the French body has
recently been advocating the question in
. manner which may result in its adop-
ton. Tho time honored guillotine
would in such event be relegated TO .
place among other historical relics
1T b said that the more recent forms
Of telephone apparatus produce won
derful results ~ compared with those
in use, but the reason why they arc not
placed in everyday use arises from tho
fac. that TO replace the half.million tel.
sphones now in use in the country
would eoat many millions of dollars OF
the newest Seem Of receiver it is stated
that, II placed On . table In = small
room, it will reproduce speech spoken
over 200 miles away, 10 loudly that it
can be distinctly heard BY persons sit
ting about the room.
Ono of the first effects of introduc.
ing parliaments into Japan has been to
stimulate the inventors to discover
some means Of doing away with lobby
divisions Prof Zamakawa. Of the Uni
versity Of Tokio.- has devised an elec.
trical machine by which each member
can record his vote without leaving his
seat There will be . board placed
back OF the presidents chair, like q ho-
tel bell-board. The yeas being first
called. each member desiring to vote
yea presses his aye button and re-
cords his vote. and the same way with
the noes.
IA thunderbolt from q clear sky is
proverbially rare, but 1t was lately seen
at Oberhauscn, Prussia. The Berlin
correspondent Of the London Daily
News says that while the sun shone
brilliantly and the sky was absolutely
cloudless. several flashes of lightning
were seen striking the earth from
above, and they were followed by un-
usually loud claps Of thunder of . rare
violence. A telegraph pole was struck
and the wires were damaged. and at !
osterfeld. place in the-ncar ncighbor.
hood. lightning struck . house and . |
woman was seriously hurt"
The comparatively rare metal glu- |
cinium has been suggested as . suitable
metal for the construction of electrical |
apparatus II il lighter than alum
inium, resists oxidation. possesses great |
tensile strength and mallca-
bility. and il even . better conductor |
of electricity than silver II il esti-
mated that the metal can b furnished |
At cost Of about one dollar an ounce,
but ON account Of its extreme lightness.
the actual expense Of using il would b |
much less than that Of silver. It is to |
be hoped that experiments may be UNI
TO determine the practical val. |
ne OF the metal for such purposes Pop. |
ular Science News
"A new method 81 counting XQrAsf
in . message WAS instituted some time |
ago, by the Western Union Telegraph
Co. All dictionary words. surnames Of
persons, initial letters, names Of cities, |
states and territories will be counted
and charged each as one word. Figures,
letters. commas and bars Of division or
any combination thereof will be count.
ed, each group being taken separately.
three letters, figures or signs to the
word. and group containing less than
three letters will be counted n one
word. Managers Of the company, it is
said, claim that the new mode OF count
ing will be advantageous to business
men. and that IL win materially lesson
their telegraph tools
"A new underground system for cleo.
trio railway wires was recently exhib.
tied in the New York Chamber of Com.
mcrce. 1t is the invention of Mr.. E w.
Mitchell. and is thus described: The
Iced wire. heavily insulated, is hidden
beneath the surface Of the track in an
ron conduit . foot square. A fcwI
inches above it is . vibrating wire, upon
which hang Mt short intervals 'plung.
rs" From the motor beneath the car
md down through the slab extends an +,
ron rod. ending in . set Of wheels.
which ride the vibrating wire. This
wire is in sections Of two feet each.
The weight Of the car bears the vibrat-
ng wire down sufficiently to bring the
'plungcrs" in contact with the feed
wire. and the current passes up through
wire in the iron rod to tho motor, and :
he power is generated
WonderfuI lSlaalcs.
The most wonderful weapons in his
DRY, uniting miraculous shaFpness with
wonderful elasticity, are undoubtedly
he blades Of Damascus. The sabre of
apan, though rs hard - . diamond,
With IN edge 50 acute that it will 60
through o pillow or . poker rs II Il
we're air, can not compete with the old
,yrian swords. because it has no elas-
lefty. This elasticity Is not altogether
lost art. a. to-day one may see in To
edo. Spain. blades packed in coils like
ratch spring& Swords have been made
uring the present century in Russia
hat rivalled in edge au& bending quail
les the famous Damascus blades, Al
be imperial factory of Ziatoust, in the
trails, some have been turned out which