The Portland daily press., 1896-10-31
ELECTRICAL WONDERS.
Some of the Latest Deve lopments in the
World of Sc fence.

Accounting bu the experiments Oh LIE.
Hertram Thornton, the telephone prom
Ges to be of material use in the education
those de AT mutes who possess a frag-
snt Of hearing power, and it has the fol-
wing important advantages over the
Dgle speaking tube that is sometimes
Sc /: With it teacher can instruct a
up of children at the same time. AS
se is not necessary for the teacher to ap-
llT his mouth close to the transmitter,
he pupils have full view of his feat
which ia not the case when he bas to di-
rect his attention and his voice into the
mouth of the speaking tube or trumpet.
1t is we'll known that in most cases of
deafness the actual hearing part of the
apparatus. SO to speak, is capable of per-
form its function, but the mechan-
Ism for collecting the sound waves and
transmitting them to the ooehlea-the
spiral cavity of the inner ear-and it's
appendages Is defective. This is lso
the case In large proportion of instances
of deaf mutism. In using the ordinary
speaking tube the voice of the speaker is
increased in Intensity to an almozt pain
full degree. and the lips have to be placed
close TO the mouthrieoe. By using the
telephone AN intensiflcation of the voice
at least equal to the most improved form
of ear trumpet is obtained at distance
varying from six inches to one foot from
the mouth of the transmitter. DR..
Thorn tor. has found this fact an immense
help in the teaching of deaf mutes. He
mentions two cases in which the utility
tested. The first was that Of young
woman with nerve deafness so extreme
that it was necessary to speak at the top
of ones voice within two or three inches
of her ear to enable her to hear. With
the telephone he was able to conye rse
mouth twenty-six inches away from the
transmitter. In this case she received
assistance from reading his lips, though
she was only a beginner in the accom-
plish ment. In another case man with a
similar degree of deafness was able to
hear his wife and another person con-
versing with him in tone raised hardly
above whisper, they being inside the
room and he outside with the door shut.
The value of the telephone in deafness
is not yet half appreciated, and many
progressive aurisrs are now devoting
good deal Of time to the study of the
subject.
The latest novelty in electrical ma
chimes is bottle filler. The operator
places range of bottles communicating
by pipes with the liquid to be bottled
and provided with electrically controlled
valves. The flow of the liquid is estab-
lished and shut off automatically, the
machine being set in action by the pres
sure of a button. The operations of
OF euing and closing the valves are &C.
complished by two sets of electro-mag-
nets, the two circuits of which are easily
under the control of the operator. When
siie bottles are filled the flow is instantly
cut off, and they are replaced by empty
bottles and corked by an attendant. The
machine is increasing in its use by beer
bo5tles, ink and medicine manufac-
turers. 1t is claimed to be more rapid
waste, and it fills every bottle to exactly
the same height, without any attention
from the operator.
A washerwoman in st. Petersburg
Russia, ran a broken needle into her
hand, and was unable to extract it. At
ter two months, when the hand. had be-
come SO MANNED and painful as to bs USE
less, she called in her doctor. He imme-
diately said it was no case for him, but
for an electrician. The electrician was
sent for, and the hand of the woman was
placed on the pole of weak electro
magnet, which WAS excited by three
cslls. The object was to draw the needle
out. point FIRST and by degrees. Accord
ingly. the experiment was repeated day
after day for an h0nr or two at a time
the current being Interrupted SO as to
urge the needle forward. At the end of
nine days it issued from the skin, with
out the loss Of drop of blood. and stuck
to the magnet. The current acted for
twenty hours altogether and there was
little OF no pain. 1t may be noted that
the electro-magnet is now an indispen sa-
Bile part OF the equipment of the oeulist.
by whom it is used for extraction of
metallic substances from the eye.
A handy way of making an ordinary
incandescent lamp serve as a show sign is
being turned to account by many store
keepers. A nickel wire spring clamp,
which grips the built Oh either side, car
res q transparent disc, upon which any
required letters or inscription can be
painted. When the lamp Ia in place and
burning the disc is illuminated and the
ms eriptiou is distinctly seen. Another
form of the same device is a emi-opaque,
natural glass disc upon a frosted back
ground. AS the signs are entirely sepa-
rate from the lamps they never require
renewal. and the combinations OF the
devices can be changed every day. This
is found an excellent medium for out
side OF show window signs. The "ice''
lamp ts another decorative bulb which
gives a beautiful and artistic effect. The
entire surface of the bubl is broken by
hundreds of crystals that flash from
Thousand facets when illuminated. 1t
looks exactly like mass of snow and ice.
In England the telephone is much less
used than 1T Is in this country. Indeed
in many countries the majority of people
have never spoken into the instruments.
Is Is, therefore, as may be imagined,
good deal of a mystery to the simple
country folk. and some amusing stories
of its Introduction into new districts are
toid. The very vague ideas that still ex-
ist as to the powers and limitations OF
the telephone were illustrated at re-
cent meeting OF hospital board in one
of the northern shires, when q PROPOSAL