The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-08
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

There Is some doubt as TO the origin of
the name. Old Glory" as applied to the
flag OF the United States. says the St
Louis Globe-D Democrat, but one Of the best
authenticated stories declares that the
name was bestowed 10 Washington a few
months after the outbreak of the civil war.
1t Is said that new and very large flag
was being raised on the Senate end of the
capitol as a regiment of Massachusetts,
soldiers was passing beneath. ana one of
the soldiers cried out as the flag went up:
There goes Old Glory" The name
caught the fancy of the army and "Old
Glory soon became the common synonym
of the flag with the troops of the United
States.
Success in transmitting sound to con
siderable distances by artificial means had
been attained long before the invention of
the electric or magnetic telephone. BY
means of a wire Robert Hooke, in 1867,
succeeded In transmittlng sounds and in
reproducing or rendering them audible al
the other end of the wire. In 1921 Wheat
stone made a series of very interesting ex-
periments with wooden rods, by which he
transmitted the playing of a music box
from the cellar to the upper rooms of
house. The invention of the electric tele-
phone Is a disputed honor, for, as is usual
in cases where many men are experiment
ing along the same line, several arrived a
a similar result at nearly the same time,
and consequently the invention has been
claimed for Gray, Bell Edison and others.
The experiments of Prof Bell were con-
unued during many years before he ar
rived al complete success in 1877 estab-
fishing company for the manufacture
and use of the telephone in the following
year. Prof. Bells first exhibition of his
telephone was Feb. 70. 1873, at Salem,
Mass, at which a short speech shouted
into a similar phone at Boston, sixteen
miles distant, was rendered distinctly aud
lble TO an audience of 500 people.
The Berlin correspondent of the Lon
don Times has given some particulars of
new invention by one Carl Wegener.
which has for it's object the elimination Of
smoke from a furnace, accompanied Ky
notable saving in the consumption of coal
Ihis invention, we are told Is shortly to
be brought before the British public in the
form OF the usual limited company. The
success of the system depends upon feed
ing the furnace with powdered coal, IN
stead of the 'well-screened" Jumps which
nave hitherto been regarded as the most
advantageous form of such fuel The coal
dust is fed into the fire from a contajner
in front by means of a tube which termi-
mates in a revolving sieve. This sieve is
Kept in motion by the draught, and has
the effect of scattering the fuel over the
furnace in such a way that it is at once
lnf1amed without smoke and with very
little ash. Coal of comparatively low quail
ity can be economically used in this pow
dered from, and the only drawback to the
process seems to be the necessity for using
a separate machine for the grinding of the
coal to powder. On the other hand. the
slack or dust which forms a necessary by
product of the coal industry, will find here
field for employment which will be much
appreciated by owners of mines and mer-
chants generally
The diving bell is said, on somewhat
doubtful authority, to have been the in
vention of Roger Bacon in 1910 says the
st. Louis Globe-Democrat. There is no
doubt however. that a diving apparatus
was in use in 1885, for at that date an eff
fective machine for enabling men to work
beneath the water was exhibited in the
presence of Emperor Charles V. The cum
brousness of the diving bell however, las
always made it Objectionable and often
rendered it worthless for practical purpoS-
es. As early as 1864 an aquatic dress was
invented to enable men to walk about and
work beneath the surface of the water.
There were tubes attached to provide Tie
necessary current of fresh air. The dress,
consisting of a helmet and sort of plate
armor, was extremely cumbersome, and
not until the present century was it SO inn
proved as to enable the work of a diver
to be really practical. During the last
100 years many small improvements nave
been introduced in the helmet and other
articles of diving dress, and the diver is
now enabled to descend to a depth be-
tween 100 and 200 feet. At greater depths
than this the pressure at 100 feet the div
ers suffer great inconvenience. The occu-
patton is considered very unhealthy and
men who follow it are sure of the water
L. III
ed.
The city of Buffalo appears to have
been completely electrified by the Nj
agara Buffalo transmission and now ev-
cry new power plant for a factory no
matter of what description, is operated by
electricity, and this, too, whether the DOW
er is obtained from the Niagara transmits
sion, or whether an individual plant is
necessary. A very novel and interesting
illustration of this fact is to be found n
a large candy factory recently erected
there, which has a capacity of several
tons day, and in which all the machiu-
cry from top to bottom is operated by cleo
trlc motors. The chocolate dipping ma
chimes, exceedingly ingenious contriyances,
are operated by small five horsepower
electric motors. These machines dip the
drops as rapidly as a girl can feed them
t. the Each.ne Two of these machines
are capable of dipping three tons of can
dy day. The chocolate is kept in
melted condition by the use of Steamboat
ed pots. In the hard boiled and stick
candy departments huge revolving mixers
for making drops, smooth almonds. etc.
are operated by other motors the pans
being reVolved and mixing paddles opera
ted by their power. One machine In .hts
department. which turns out old-fashion-
cd lozenges is driven by a thirty horse
power motor This machine not only cuts
lozenges of all kinds and shapes, but also
prints, flutes ard embosses them at the
same tiroe. In fact. every machine in the
place has its individual motor, whether
Its junction is a mixer, stirrer, beater,
moulder or ceposItng machine
Now that summer has arrived, when
people will be visiting the country. camp
ing out, etc, and when it will be necessary
for them to pass upon the potabilitv of
new supplies of water a few trustyvort,,,