Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-07-04
IDEAS LOST TO THE WORLD.
Inventions That Seem to
Have Been Forgotten.

Marvellous Inventions That Seem to
Have Been Forgotten.
A recent issue Of the most promi-
nent exponent Of the steam engineer
ing industry, Power, reviews a num-
ber of interesting instances which can
not do otherwise than convince even
the most doubtful that engineering Is
today very. very far from having reach
ed a pinnacle Of perfection. Among
other notes it states that It Is hard
ly twenty years since John Weymouth,
the Wolverhampton engineer and de-
signer, discovered the motive power Of
heat, exhibited it in one Of the sim
plest, cheapest and most useful en-
gines imaginable and then deprived the
world of it's benefit.
He had produced beforehand round
dozen of excellent inventions, which
still bear his name, including the mod
ern revolving chimney cowl and, hav-
ing made a large fortune, he devoted
himself to harnessing the ordinary heat
Of fire and making q new power Of
1T. The idea was laughed at by all his
friends, but after four years Of study
and experimenting he produced a sta
tionary engine that gave double the
power Of any steam-driven mechanism
at about third of the cost and also a
small model heat locomotive large
enough to draw a truck with man In
it.
He invited a committee Of scientists
and engineers, including Prois, Hux-
ley and Forbes Brown, and showed
them that his two machines worked to
perfection. The affair made a great
stir and it was proved that a great
power Of unlimited scope had been
discovered. Weymouth was flooded
with offers Of huge sums for his in
vention, but for no apparent reason,
except perhaps the alleged madness Of
genius, he absolutely refused to either
bring it out himself or sell the Sc
cret. He announced himself satisfied
with the triumph Of the invention and
before his death, a year later, he de-
stroyed all the papers and plans ex-
planning the system and removed the
essential parts Of the two engines.
These engines are still possessed by his
heirs, but nobody has been able to
make anything Of them.
Still stranger was the famous loss
of the recipe for the manufacture Of
diamonds, some fifteen years ago.
Herbert Warner, who alone discover
ed and held the secret Of diamond
making, did not live to wreck the dia-
mond industry, as people thought he
would, and the circumstances Of the
loss were mysterious and tragic. In
ferior diamonds can still be produced
artificially, but only at a cost Of about
ten times their value. Warner, after
years of experimenting, was able to
turn out a genuine diamond Of large
size and Of the first water at the cost
OF smaller fraction Of the complete
stones worth. He like, Weymouth Of
heat power fame, manufactured his
diamonds before an audience Of scien-
lists and produced three fine stones,
which were tested and pronounced
faultless. Two Of them are still In
existence and are the greatest curiosi-
ties the jewel world has ever seen.
But within a fortnight Of his triumph,
before any new stones were put on the
market, Warner utterly disappeared
from his house on Harley street, Lon
don, leaving no trace whatever. So
complete was his disappearance that
from that day to this not the smallest
explanation has been hit upon.
Then there is the lost secret of the
wonderful new metal called "talium,"
which would certainly have been worth
many millions to the nation and the
inventor. Grantley Adams discover
ed it just eight years ago and during
it's short life it was one Of the greatest
wonders Of the science Of commerce"
world. "Talium" is an alloy of met
ais, electrically treated, nearly SIS per
cent. lighter than Steel both stronger
and tougher and costing 80 per cent.
less to produce. 1t was the fruit OF
four years hard work and study and
eventually Adams completed 1t and
publicly exposed it to every kind OF
test.
Trains or any other vehicles, as 1t
was proved, would be able to travel at
nearly double their present speed II
constructed of "talium," and there was
no kind of edged tool that would not
be as keen as we'll as much lighter If
made of the new metal. The commo-