The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-04-05

\ very general interest Is exhibited by the
people of Ohio, as we'll as elsewhere. Ia the
plan VI steel wagon roads, so warmly advocat-
eel for some time past by Martin Dodge, Road
Commissioner OF that state. These roads
consist of two rails made of stce, the thickness
OF boiler plate. each formed in the share OF a
gutter five inches wide. with n square pcrpen.
Ocular shoulder half an inch high. then an
angle Of one inch outward. slightly raised. The
gutter forms a conduit Cor the water, and
makes Il easy for the wheels to enter or leave
the track. such Il doublc. track steel road,
sixteen feet wide. filed IN between with bro
ken stone. macadam size, II t. estimated, would
cost about $4,000 ~ against 5000 Icr mile
for q maCudam rOadbed Of the same width. Unt
the cost Of u rural one-truck steel road. it is
estimated. would be only about 1000 per mile.
1t l. claimed that a road Of the description
named would last much longer than stone. and
that one horse will draw on q steel track
twenty times as much AS on Il dirt road and
hNe times a. much a. on macadam.
Some u the results arrived at by recent
tests made by the Government authorities at
the arsenal in Watertown. Mass. may lie
regarded as Of special Importance in relation
to the endurance Of rotating shafts. Thus.
while it has been found that great improve
ments in tensile strength and elastic limit have
been obtained. It has not been shown whether
the limit OF endurance under repeated strains
has been increased. In the rotating tests OF
cylindrical shafts, alternate tensile and com
preSsiye strains are successfully applied. and
under these conditions Of loading. no steel has
yet been experimental with which will endure
a nbre stress OF 10000 per square inch with
without rupturtng, and this result has been
from four TO seven millions for steels OF high
elastic limit and tensile strength.
What seems to be a useful device in engi-
neering construction is due to the ingenuity
OF f. p. Holly OF this city. an expert in such
mechanisms, the design being to reduce steam
from higher to lower pressure ard maintain
the 10 yer pressure automatically As long as
the delivery goes on. Briefly. there IS a cham
Der FOR receiving the steam to be red uced. and
an upper chamber receives the steam and de-
livers it at the redur ed pressure, a passage
being made in the divisions between the
chambers for the steam Ia pass through. \
circular disk has "A Rat surface on its water
side, with the execution Of a small part In
the centre. a little larger than the passage.
the passage It covers: a central stem passes
through the disk. and the part that projects
part Of the chamber. a shoulder on the stem
preventing the disk from. rising too high the
part OF the stem below the disk extending
down and entering a guide, cast integral with
the bottom OF the lower chamber. The mo-
tion OF he stem which enters the guide has a
series Of annular grooves for retaining oil or
water of condensation 10 serve as IA dashpot
TO prevent Gathering OF the disk. and the race
Of the disk is turned Off from its periphery
into n circle larger than the passage.
The distinction Is enjoyed by Springfield.
Mass, Of possessing the largest lumber and
wood. working establishment east OF the Miss
lssippi-P. H. Potter's-and who, 1t seems, is
al ardent and successful advocate OF what is
termed the sense system OF kiln.
drying. q theory which is considered very sim
pie and sound from a practical standpoint.
The kilns are connected by a shaft. in the
MIDDLE or which Is placed a fan. six feet in
ute. The w%htrlinE OF the fan produces a par-
tia, vacuum in the kilns. and the air. laden
with moisture from the partially seasoned
lumber. is drawn through the tues and brought
into contact with cold pipes, which condenSe
the. moisture. then through a steam coil. after
which It is sent. whir!inE back through the
kilns again. subjected to such treatlnent,
lumber, is 'd!narily seasoned to satisfaction
OAK ;M SIX or @"y s;h Out i ie tFy .HTf OK Of f0u i!oscl ib:rdi
wood. sometimes four weeks are required.
There are twelve sets of these drying kiIns.
reaching up two stories. and having a ca.
pacity Of 100000 feet.
In the Nuoro Cimrnto. Sirnor Pettirelli de-
scribes a new determination OF the lowest tenn.
~perature at which a hot body becomes visible.
He heated a cast on cy linder thirty cent?
metres long and fourteen broad, in a wrought
iron jacket over a Bunsen burner to a tempera.
ture OF 46O' c.. "a indicated by an air Their
mometer. and then observed its fiat end in a
dark room from a point sixty fenttmetres above
heat vanished and gave way 10 an indefinite
hay glow. the latter completely disappear
ing at 4O+', and repeated observations giving
an error 81 only -. High emt>sive substances
became visible at the same temperature. but
rejecting surfaces had To be heated 20 higher
before they appeared I" the eye, ami glass still
more. These low tempcrature rays were found
a. tr"y hr, GiTs- ana "at@r M NE s., Y D .sEar
absorption. Different eyes d.ifer slightly in
their Capactty for seeing tltn, TIE maximum
divergence being about -.
In several Of the departments OF the Pullman
Palace Car CumpanY's works compressed air
as a power has now for some time displaced
steam, and the results are said to have So far
satisfied the officials that. in all probability.
tie new force will Ire used in AL the great
shops OF the cooperation a radical chan :e. In
deed, marking a revolution in the manufactur-
InG system ot the immense plant. Tho ron-id-
GRAFTON influencing - vast u change as that in
vowed in the substitution of compressed air
for steam was, IN short, the marked saving
in manual ,ahor, the general economy ability 70
transmit power lung distances without loss 1T
force. simplicity. >afcty. and convenience. It
arrears that an 0ttirltl Of this establishment
was sent e. omaha AMI TupeEH to 20 on an TX.
RmIHlug tour ~ the ! mon Pacific and santa
F. railroads. with n View to making a report
air a there app,ied in the depart
nent ot car making hi report unhe>ttattnsly
tant POINT maize in behalf OF this plan = thar
T., IT. means tie .rerI NJ a." machinc"Y in
u" may he graded, something tnlprH stICable
when a belt j. employed.
In the Mont,ur r ~ ],fyrmtHr It de Ia
V,rrsris, an account il given NJ II now and NJ
~tractive product a glass plate NJ difercut
'olurS- the man"GactUre - which i, a. follows:
Upon a table provided with sey"ra! rolls a ger
tain quantity a.: glass q, lourr', which f., .oy.
e,lsd 20 the desired t.ic<nes, e.tae. b. moyta-
tie table or the lower roll: upon this plato. bur
II hes c0".rt ny, another quantity ~