NOTES.

- Prague. The electric railway to the Baumgarten commenced running on July 18.

Electric Cars.-It is stated that there are now over 800 electric cars running regularly in the city of Boston (U.S.).

Chicago is to have an underground railway, and a company with a capital of 10 million dollars has been formed to carry out the work.

Electric Railways.-A practical treatise on "Electric Railways and their Working," is in preparation by Dr. Louis Bell and Mr. O. T. Crosby.

Whitechapel. The Whitechapel Vestry, having determined to obtain their own provisional order, have instructed their clerk to take the necessary proceedings.

Personal. Mr. J. T. Niblett, recently with Mr. Pitkin, has joined the Mining and General Lamp Company (who own the FitzGerald lithanode patents) as general manager. British Association. The new president-elect of the British Association is to be Sir Archibald Geikie. The meeting is to be held in Edinburgh, commencing 3rd August.

Early Telegraph Companies.-The well-known financial paper the Oracle is publishing a series of very interesting articles on the early financial and commercial history of the Atlantic telegraph companies.

Appointment. Mr. T. Smith, five years engaged at Messrs. Immisch's works at Kentish Town, has been appointed secretary to the General Electric Traction Company, which position was rendered vacant by the sad death of Mr. Mackenzie.

Lowestoft. The town clerk of Lowestoft has been instructed to report to the Town Council as to the cost of obtaining a provisional order under the Electric Lighting Acts; and also as to the charges made for electric current in other towns.

Maidstone.—The Maidstone Local Board are giving their earnest attention to the subject of the electric lighting of the town, and have appointed the Mayor, ex-Mayor, and Alderman Long as a committee to make enquiries as to the proposed provisional order.

Spain. An electric central station is shortly to be erected at the mill belonging to one of the large capitalists in Aranjuez. A water power of 180 h.p. will be applied to light 31 arc lamps and 600 incandescents. Three Siemens four-pole dynamos are to be used.

City Lighting.-The Board of Trade have given their final consent to the transfer to the City of London Electric Lighting Company, Limited, the provisional orders granted to the Brush Electric Engineering Company, Limited, and the Laing, Wharton, and Down Construction Syndicate, Limited.

Edinburgh. On Tuesday, at a meeting of the Edin burgh Town Council, a representation was made by the town clerk, submitting the Edinburgh Electric Lighting Order, and craving a remit to the Lord Provost's Committee to consider and report what steps should be taken under the order.

Telephone Wire Struck by Lightning. In the storm passing over the City on August 19 the telephone wire at 56, Paternoster-row was struck by lightning, which set the bell ringing. The flash was very vivid, and the bell had ceased before the peal of thunder was heard. The time was about 1.43.

Edinburgh.-At Edinburgh Town Council, on Tuesday, a representation by the town clerk, submitting the Edinburgh Electric Lighting Order, was remitted to the Lord Provost's Committee to consider and report what steps should be taken under the order to institute the commencement of electric lighting.

Hissing of the Arc.-In order to suppress the disagreeable noise in the arc, an inventor of the name of Allison has devised the plan of mixing an alkali silicate with the carbon. The evaporation of this as the arc burns forms a conducting vapour which is stated to overcome the inconveniences of hissing.

Electric Motor Outfit.-We notice in an American paper a cut of an electric motor and battery mounted on one stand. Such a thing as this is at once a novelty and useful piece of apparatus that is sure to find favour, and would be worthy of the attention of manufacturing electricians for small sizes of motors.

New Buildings.-Nunwick Hall, near Penrith, is about to be reconstructed for Mr. R. Heywood Thompson, the architect being Mr. Charles J. Ferguson, F.S.A., Carlisle. This should be a favourable time for introducing the "new illuminant." The same with the Armagh Asylum, which is to be added to. Address, Secretary, Board of Control, Dublin.

Bilston. At the last meeting of the Bilston Town Council, the clerk (Mr. J. D. Wassell) was directed to advertise for tenders for lighting the Market Hall by electricity; also to ascertain from the Bilston Gas Company what sum they would pay the Commissioners for the privilege of lighting the hall, the company to provide all gas fittings.

"Punch" on

Electric Lighting.--Punch has a vigorous cartoon this week showing a British householder contemplating the imp "Electricity" seated on an indescribable heap of picks, stones, and cables, and holding up his dear little chap like me?" HOUSEHOLDER: lamp. ELECTRIC LIGHT: "What, won't you let me in—a "Ah! You're a little too dear for me-at present."

formed at Solothurn, with a capital of 800,000f., to construct Utilisation of Water Power.-A company has been

a canal between the Rivers Emme and Aar: the fall of water so made will be used to drive electric machinery. Two companies have been formed in the Jura for the utilisation of the power of the waterfall "Saut du Doubs " for the electric transmission of power.

Electric Miner's Lamp.—We are glad to learn that bright. Several of the larger collieries in the North of the prospect of work in electric miners' lamps is distinctly England are in negotiation for the extensive introduction of a storage battery lamp, and one colliery owner-subject to a test which the lamps are well calculated to withstandis understood to have given an order for 600 of these electric miners' lamps.

Gas Engine Storage Cars.-The curious combination of gas engine, dynamo, motor, and storage batteries, all placed on a car, advocated by Mr. W. H. Palton, is stated to have been tried at Pullman "with much success." It seems an absurdity to engineering minds. There is one theoretical advantage, however, that the kinetic or potential energy of the car going down hill can be recovered and stored in the accumulators.

Liverpool Electric Railway.-The electric power for the Liverpool Overhead Electric Railway is, we understand, to be obtained from motors on each car, and not from an electric locomotive. The reason for this is the greater economy of traction, there being plenty of room in the overhead railway for the fitting of motors under the

carriages, an arrangement which could not be carried out in the restricted space in the tunnel of the South London line.

Electric Pinnaces. We are pleased to learn from the General Electric Traction Company that they have received a third order for an electric pinnace from the Russian Government. The field for these electric pinnaces is very extensive, and it is understood that it is intended to fit several ironclads which have already electric light machinery on board entirely with these electric boats. Their use for the large Atlantic liners is also under contemplation.

Mont Blanc Observatory.-M. Imfeld, a Swiss engineer, has been engaged to examine the nature of the summit of Mont Blanc for the construction of M. Jansen's proposed observatory. Tunnels through the ice are being made at a point where it is thought that the ice is not over 40ft. thick. The conditions may be imagined from the fact that, in spite of the coke stoves, the temperature never rises above zero; the ink freezes, and water boils at 83deg. C., so that they cannot properly cook their meals.

The Barmen-Elberfeld Elevated Electric Railway. It is stated that the difficulties in the way of giving a practical outcome to the projected elevated electric railway from Barmen to Elberfeld appear to have been overcome, as Messrs. Siemens and Halske, of Berlin, have now received instructions to proceed with the construction of the line. The railway will start from Barmen parallel with the River Wupper, which, near Elberfeld, will be spanned by a massive wrought-iron bridge to carry the railway.

New Insulation.-A new insulating material is manufactured by M. E. Legrand, composed of leather cuttings reduced to an impalpable powder, afterwards agglomerated by a special process under considerable pressure. The The leather thus treated is no longer spongy, and is absolutely impermeable, having an insulation resistance, according to the Bulletin International, of about 1,000 megohms. It is incombustible, and stands the great currents that can be carried by the wires which it covers without melting or burning.

Deep Mining.—It is proposed at Wheeling, Virginia, to bore a hole direct into the earth for 20 miles or so, and 10ft. a day is now being constantly achieved. It is imagined that rich metal will be struck at some point lower down than usual, perhaps melted metals-copper, iron, or even gold and platinum-when the ore would spout up of its own accord without expense of mining. Fear is expressed that they may cause a miniature volcano, but it is more likely that they will strike water or oil before great depth is attained.

Electric Walking-Stick. The ingenious M. Trouvé has again distinguished himself by the construction of an electric walking-stick, of which the knob consists of a small electric lamp in thick glass bulb, and the battery being two cells of a peculiar shape down the cane itself. The lamp gives sufficient light to read a newspaper in a train, or to light one'self upstairs at night. The genus "masher" will now have a chance to learn something about electrical science, and at the same time greatly amuse, interest, and astonish their friends.

Weymersch Battery. During the past few months the Weymersch Electric Battery Syndicate, of 2, Victoriamansions, Westminster, have made considerable improvement in the design of their battery and the method of its application to various technical purposes. They propose giving an exhibition of the capabilities of the battery to-day (Friday) and on Tuesday, 1st September, when the battery

may be seen charging accumulators, running a 24in. Blackman fan, and working a Merryweather pump of 12 gallons a minute capacity.

Oil v. Electricity at Helston.-The Town Council of Helston last week appointed a committee to "take all necessary steps forthwith to invite tenders for the lighting of the town with oil lamps in an efficient manner, and, if necessary, on account of urgency, to enter into necessary contracts for carrying out the lighting, avoiding, if possible (in view of electricity in future), the purchase of any oil lamps." The committee were also allowed £10 for the purpose of consulting an electrical engineer as to the probable cost of lighting the streets by electricity.

Cost of Electric Lighting Acts.-We note that at the last meeting of the Edinburgh Town Council, on the representation of the city chamberlain, the sum of £272. 13s. 3d., the cost of the promotion of the Edinburgh Corporation Electric Lighting Order, 1891, was transferred from the general police purposes account to the special account opened in the municipal department for advances of expenses in connection with the promotion of the order. The cost of obtaining a provisional order is often put at from £300 to £400. It will be seen from the above that the cost to the Edinburgh Corporation has been less than the former figure.

Deptford Station. The statement recently issued that Mr. Ferranti had left the London Electric Company and gone abroad, resolves itself into the fact that the Deptford station now being completed for 100,000 lamps, of which only 30,000 are yet taken up, and the need for economy pressing, the engagement of Mr. Ferranti as chief engineer to the corporation (which was coincident with his post as contractor) has in due course come to an end. Mr. Ferranti is now devoting his whole energies to the development of his business at Charterhouse-square, which has naturally received only a portion of his attention during the great work at Deptford.

Substitute for Platinum.—It was recently announced that Captain Walters, of Vienna, had invented a substitute for platinum for incandescent lamp manufactures. The alloy seems to consist of tin 95 parts and copper five parts by weight, but other ingredients may be employed. It may be mixed with half to 1 per cent. of lead or zinc. The alloy adheres strongly to glass surfaces, and is of the same coefficient expansion as glass-a property hitherto only possessed by platinum, which is of course the cause of the use of this otherwise far too precious metal. The new alloy melts at 360deg. C., and if its promise be carried out should be of the utmost utility in electric lamp manufacture.

Course of Reading.-Dr. Louis Bell, in the Electrical World, has a chatty and useful article on a "Course of Electrical Reading.". Whilst giving the names of some of the most useful books, he gives also much practical advice. "There is no royal road," he says, "to electrical knowledge, and he who seeks it is bound for continued and exasperating disappointments. The natural tendency is to begin reading special works before the general ones have been mastered, and the result of this, too often, is a sort of half-baked electrician, neither capable of avoiding difficulties nor, what is more important, of extricating himself if he has the misfortune to run foul of them."

British Association Grants.-The British Association have adopted the following money grants, among others, to be appropriated to scientific purposes: Electrical standards (partly renewed), £27; meteorological observations on Ben Nevis, £50; photographs of meteorological phenomena, £15; Pellian equation tables (partly renewed), £15; tables of mathematical functions, £15; electrolysis,

£10.

Cork. Says the Gas World: "From what the chairman of the Cork Gas Consumers' Company said to the shareholders at the half yearly meeting last week it is apparent that the directors of the company mean business by their proposal to acquire powers to supply the electric light. We hope they will persevere with the scheme, and so give the gas world generally an opportunity of judging what the prospects are of a gas company being able profitably to supply the electric light. It will be observed that the idea of the directors is to use gas engines for the generation of the electric current. They are fortunate in having a secretary in Mr. Denny Lane who has made a thorough study of both gas engines and the electric light."

Manchester. The arrangements for supplying the public with the electric light are being rapidly pushed forward by the Electric Lighting Committee of the Manchester Corporation. This committee had a meeting last week, and decided to make certain recommendations

to the Gas Committee with reference to the details of the scheme. If the Gas Committee approve the recommendations, then the sanction of the Council will have to be obtained. They recommend, in the first place, that an engineer be appointed to prepare plans and specifications for carrying out the work. The committee do not as yet

intend to interfere at all with the existing plan of street lighting; and the electric supply will be for houses, shops, and public buildings generally.

Electrical Accessories.-A company was formed a year or so ago under the name of the Electrical Accessories Company, in connection with Messrs. Drake and Gorham, and has been carried on from the same office. A great many useful and ingenious fittings were designed and manufactured, and a considerable measure of success has been attained, but the definite connection of a manufacturing with a contracting company rather militated against wider extension, and we now learn that the interest of Messrs. Drake and Gorham in the company has now been transferred, with all patterns, models, and patent rights, to the company, which is now entirely distinct. The Electrical Accessories Company will carry on business under the same name, and will shortly remove to another address.

Continuous-Current Transmission at Frankfort.-Besides the alternate-current transmission at Frankfort, the commencement of which we announce elsewhere, an installation of considerable importance has been almost at the same time started from Offenbach to Frankfort by continuous-current transmission. This has been carried out by the Lahmeyer Company, of Frankfort, and consists in the transmission of 100 hp. a distance of six miles. The current is a continuous one from a drum armature compound-wound dynamo of 2,000 volts, transformed in a secondary dynamo at the exhibition to 70 volts for supplying electric light and motors. The Lahmeyer system of directcurrent transformers is patented. The same firm, as already mentioned, exhibits the Haselwander rotary-current motor, besides a distribution of power on a low-tension

circuit.

Wynward Park.-A large installation has just been completed by Messrs. Drake and Gorham for the Marquis of Londonderry, comprising upwards of 1,000 lights of different candle-powers. The plant consists of two Davey Paxman Lancashire boilers, which provide steam for two

Disappearing Lampposts.-An ingenious suggestion has been made to the Brussels authorities with regard to the electric lighting of their principal streets, and particularly of the Grand' Place, in which the Hôtel de Ville is situated. It has hitherto been objected to the plans for the electrical illumination of this square, that the poles on which the lights were hung, and all proposed improvements in the lamps, were out of harmony with the surrounding architecture, which is of an exceedingly interesting character (many of the buildings being in the old style), and were apt to be an eyesore in the daytime. It is now proposed that the light shall be shed upon the square from tall steel standards, which will be sunk in deep sheaths underground in daylight, and elevated by hydraulic pressure at dusk. Prizes of 1,000f. and 500f. are offered for the best design of lamppost.

An Enormous Microscope.-The Poeller Physical

Optical Institute of Munich have under construction an It will magnify to 16,000 diameters, or, as ordinarily fitted, enormous microscope for exhibition at Chicago in 1893. be used for illuminating the image, which is to be projected to 11,000 diameters. An electric light of 11,000 c.p. is to on a screen. As the heat from this powerful light would derange the focus by expansion of the metal, an ingenious device is used to cool the metal. This is a small copper cylinder filled with liquid carbonic acid under a pressure of 350lb. to the square inch. It is connected with the microscope in such a manner that an electric regulator automatically opens a valve and allows a drop of the acid to escape in a spray on the metal to be cooled; the liquid immediately evaporates and produces intense cold. The whole cost of the instrument is said to be nearly £2,000.

High-Tension Continuous-Current System.-A

correspondent of the Times, writing with reference to the officially) that the Electric Installation and Maintenance use of high-tension continuous currents, states (apparently Company, Limited, are about to supply the Crystal Palace and district with electricity on the system of a high-tension continuous current, with transformers and a reserve of accumulators, and that a similar system is also about being carried out for lighting the city of Oxford. The advantage of the system consists in being able to supply a whole town from one generating station, the low-tension distribution into the houses of consumers available both for light and power being made from small subsidiary stations, working automatically, and with little or no supervision. The first cost of this system is not greater than that of any other, while the cost of working, from the fact of the machinery being always on full load, is very economical.

Ipswich. The chairman of the Ipswich Lighting Committee last week read a letter from Messrs. R. D. and J. B. Fraser, in which they agreed to erect at their own expense two electric arc lamps and brackets on their premises, each lamp to cost them £30. They also agree to provide electricity, necessary carbons, and attendance, for the said two arc lights of 500 c.p., and keep the same alight during the same hours as the other public lamps, for the next 10 years, if the committee pay £15 per annum. This

is a fraction over 14d. an hour with an average of 10 hours per day. The present lamp and fittings to become Messrs. Fraser's absolute property, as those it is proposed to erect shall be. It was stated that some time since an arrangement was made for one lamp, the first cost of which was £26, and that the present lighting cost £10. 17s. 6d., against the proposed £15; but if two or three other street lamps could be extinguished, for each another £3 would be taken off. It was unanimously agreed to accept Messrs. Fraser's offer.

Growth of Electric Lighting.-Mr. W. H. Massey, writing to the Times with reference to the recent articles on the growth of electric lighting in London, says that it is an open secret that some of the existing companies cannot earn a dividend unless the price per Board of Trade unit is raised. The number of incandescent lamps may increase, but there is a decided tendency towards economy amongst the users of them, so that the earning power, so to speak, of each lamp will be steadily reduced; and extensions may lead to actual loss instead of gain to the supply companies. Makers of dynamos, steam engines, and other apparatus are interested in showing the contrary; but the fact is (Mr. Massey adds), nevertheless, as stated. With regard to the relative positions of England and America, he says that when in the United States last winter, he was surprised to find that even then in London alone there were more incandescent lamps than could be heard of in five of their largest cities (including New York) all put together.

Obituary.—We are sorry to have to report the death of Hon. Henry Cecil Raikes, the Postmaster-General of the United Kingdom, at the comparatively early age of 53. Mr. Raikes had long been ill, owing doubtless to the severe strain of Parliamentary Post Office duties, to say nothing of his other commercial work, for he was director in several companies. It was reported that he had been struck by lightning while riding in Hyde Park, and though it is perfectly true he was riding in the park during the thunderstorm, it is by no means certain that he really suffered a shock. It would, indeed, have been too grim that the chief user of electricity in England had suffered from the effects of electric shock. Mr. Raikes only came before the technical world by reason of his position as chief of the Post Office, and it would be idle to deny that considerable friction existed under his rule. He endeavoured to do his duty faithfully to his employer, the Government, and in him they have undoubtedly lost a painstaking and devoted servant.

Willson Dynamos.-Industries is sharply taken to task by Mr. Thos. L. Willson-the designer of the immense Willson dynamo for manufacture of aluminium in Americafor its description and remarks thereon. In the first place, the output of the machine is 7,500 amperes at 100 volts instead of 15,000 at 50 volts, as incorrectly stated, and the current density is therefore only 2,500 amperes per square inch instead of 5,000 as stated. Again, with regard to Foucault currents, where enormous waste of power and great sparking was expected, Mr. Willson states that the Foucault currents are not a serious matter, as evidenced by the fact that the dynamo gives an efficiency of conversion of over 95 per cent. and runs absolutely without sparking. Where there is only one convolution of armature winding (as in this dynamo) there is minimum of sparking, and, as a fact, he says, the machines run quite sparkless at any load within their limits of capacity. Other little matters are also explained, demonstrating the worthiness of workmanship and design of this dynamo.

South Shields.-The Corporation of South Shields is desirous of receiving proposals from electric lighting com

panies and others for the laying down, manufacture, supply, and working of the electric light in the borough, in pursuance of the provisional order granted by the Board of Trade to the Corporation, and which has recently received the Royal assent. The Corporation is authorised to lay down distributing mains within certain streets within a period of two years, and offers are invited for supplying certain streets with electric light, for a term of years and at a price per annum, and with such conditions as may be stated in the proposal, and the tender may contain proposals for supplying the remainder of the town or any parts thereof. Proposals to be sealed and sent to Mr. J. M. Moore, town clerk, 35, Market-place, South Shields, by September 16, endorsed "Proposals for Electric Lighting." Any person may obtain a copy of the Act of Parliament confirming the order from Messrs. Eyre and Spottiswoode, printers to the Queen, Fetter-lane, London, E.C.

The Invention of Fuses.-Here is the account of the invention of the fusible strip, as given in the American technical press. Early in November, 1879, Edison had invited a number of prominent men to see his three-wire system and the carbon filament. Someone asked, "What would happen if anyone put a bar of metal across the wires ? " "It would short-circuit the whole business, and the thing would be a fizzle." Edison pondered thereon, saw the importance of the question, especially as some of the guests were known to be not too favourably disposed. Finally he ordered the wire to be cut in several places, and these breaks were connected with little strips of lead, the whole laboratory being kept busy casting strips. complete the story, it is said that a now well-known electrician did actually suggest the playing of a joke by laying a bar across the wires, to which the assistant assented, the only effect being that two or three lamps went out, but the rest went on as usual. We wonder whether this was the first use of the fusible strip, and more, why he didn't patent it.

To

Electroculture.-Experiments have been carried out in France, in Lot-et-Garonne, by M. Barat, upon the application of electricity to the culture of potatoes, tomatoes and hemp. A row of hemp, subjected to the influence of the electric current, produced a row of stalks 18in. higher than those not electrified in the same time. A kilogramme (2-21b.) of potatoes planted in the path of the current produced 21 kilogrammes of very large and healthy tubers, while the unelectrified patches only gave 12 kilogrammes of medium size. The electrified tomatoes also became ripe some eight days before the others. A curious fact has been remarked by M. Barat in his experiments. If a quantity of manure is near the positive pole, the constituent parts of this manure are transported towards the negative pole, and their effects make themselves felt around a distance of some yards. This would seem to be a fresh proof of the opinion long advanced upon the part played by electricity in the growth of plants, an opinion also adopted by M. Specnew, who has given some attention to these phenomena: this is, that the action of the electric current upon plants seems to consist in the more active dissolution of the organic principles existing in the soil which are thus brought within the reach of the roots.

Electric Welding Company. We have several times alluded to the fact that a large company was to be floated to work the electric welding patents of Prof. Elihu Thomson. This company, under the name of the Electric Welding Company, has been brought out this week, with a capital of £460,000 in 45,000 ordinary shares, taking 10 per cent. cumulative dividend, and 1,000 founders' shares of £10 each, taking half the profit over 10 per cent. The first

issue is of £260,000, one-third of which will be taken by the vendors. The applications close on Saturday. The directors are Sir Geo. Barclay Bruce (Past Pres. I.C.E.), E. Ashmead Bartlett, M.P., Captain A. H. Chapman (Messrs. Clarke, Chapman, and Co.), William F. Gooch, J.P. (Vulcan Iron Works), and Joseph Kincaid, M.I.C.E.; consulting engineer, Sir Frederick Bramwell; office, 2, Tokenhouse-buildings, E.C. We have already commented several times upon the enterprise. It is stated that besides the machine which the London and North-Western Railway Company has running at Crewe, welding plants have been installed or are in course of installation on approbation or exhibit, as follows: One at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Works at Horwich; three at the works of Messrs. Mather and Platt, at Salford; one at the works of the Liverpool Condenser Company, Liverpool; one at the works of Messrs. Clarke, Chapman, and Co., Gateshead; one at Messrs. Dobson and Barlow's, of Bolton; one at Messrs. Stewart and Clydesdale's, at Coatbridge, near Glasgow; one at Sir George Elliott's, at Cardiff; one has been ordered for Palmer's Shipbuilding and Iron Company, Limited, of Jarrow-on-Tyne; and one may be seen in full work at Fanshawe-street, Hoxton.

The Kousmine Diffusion Battery.—The diffusion battery of M. Kousmine has been much used in Russia. By making use of the phenomenon of diffusion, M. Kousmine has succeeded in overcoming the increase in internal resistance of the bichromate of potash battery due to the formation of crystals on the positive electrode. The positive carbon electrode consists of four strips attached to the lid of the battery. The negative zinc electrode consists of a circular grating resting on the bottom of the battery. By means of a funnel a 15deg. Beaumé solution of sulphuric acid is introduced until it just reaches the lower end of the carbon strips. A 6 to 7 per cent. solution of bichromate of potash is next introduced. The two liquids do not mix on account of the great difference in their densities. When the battery is short-circuited it is easy to see that chemical action only takes place close to the lower end of the carbon strips, which are gradually surrounded by a violet ring two or three millimetres deep. Above this region the bichromate solution retains its original colour. The bichromate solution being very weak, the chromic crystals dissolve as soon as they are formed, and the positive electrode is not covered by a deposit as in other batteries. The solution of these crystals, having a greater density than the surrounding liquid, falls to the bottom. The sulphate of zinc also falls to the bottom of the cell, causing more sulphuric acid to rise. A cell having the following dimensions has been tested by a committee of experts: Height, 20 centimetres; diameter, 15 centimetres; surface of zinc, 176 square centimetres; bichromate solution, 6 per cent.; sulphuric acid, 15deg. Beaumé. The committee reported that after having been circuited for 8 hours on an external resistance of 32 ohm, and then left on open circuit for 10 hours, the cell continued to work for 4 hours, when the circuit was again closed, and that it gave during 13 hours 36 ampere-hours for an expenditure of 48 grammes of zinc. Gas v. Electricity in Ireland.-Mr. Ross, of Dungannon, president of the North of Ireland Association of Gas Managers, made some pertinent remarks as to electric lighting in the annual address last week at Belfast. He still decried the electric light as the "light of the future" in more than one sense, but seemed to think it a blessing in disguise, and that, in the end, the electric light will be found to have been of service to gas companies rather than the reverse. "On the one hand," said Mr. Ross, "a needed stimulus has been given to the improvement of the

apparatus for burning gas; and, on the other hand, there has been created a demand for improved light, which we are in a condition to supply. The residents in large towns and cities especially will no longer be content with the modicum of street lighting which was considered quite satisfactory before the era of electric light experiments. Let the public be made aware that it is the local authorities, and not the gas companies, who are responsible for the street lighting, and that it rests with the former whether it shall be good or defective. The gas companies can supply light to any extent that may be ordered and paid for. No reasonable effort should be spared to secure the goodwill of the general body of consumers. Since writing the above, I observe that the electric light has been introduced into Carlow by Messrs. J. E. H. Gordon and Co. The same company have obtained the contract for lighting Larne; and water is to be the motive power. Of course, we shall have our eyes on Carlow in order to see whether or not it will be more successful than Dundalk. more successful than Dundalk. I also notice that the same firm have obtained a contract from the Portadown Town Commissioners to light several of the leading streets in that town. The electric light seems, therefore, to be advancing. Well, be it so. There is room enough for both it and gas, and I am not, and never was, the least doubtful that gas would still 'forge ahead,' and its consumption increase."

Stafford County Asylum.-A complete installation of electrical communication has lately been completed at the County Asylum, Stafford, which with regard to increased facilities for an alarm being given in case of fire and for the purposes of intercommunication between the various officials, will make it one of the foremost institutions in the country. The installation, which has been carried out by Messrs. W. A. Shaw and Co., of Heaton Chapel, near Stockport, electrical engineers, under the superintendence of Mr. Nevett, the resident clerk of works, consists of a system of fire alarm pulls, which are fixed in selected portions of the buildings. One of these being pulled out an alarm is immediately given by the ringing of 11 powerful electric bells, of special manufacture, which continue ringing until the pull is replaced. The position of the alarm is also indicated on six distinct indicators at the principal points of the buildings. In addition to this, the officials and attendants (who are members of the fire brigade) are alarmed separately of the danger by bells fixed near their rooms. There is also a complete telephone system by which the medical superintendent can communicate with the various officials throughout the buildings, and these instruments are arranged for intercommunication between the officials as may be desired. One of Gent and Co.'s inkmarking watchman's clocks, which registers the time when an electric push is pressed by the night watchmen, is also a feature of the installation. This registers from 18 different positions in the building. The work and material is of high quality, much of the latter having been specially manufactured, and from the tests that have been made by Mr. W. H. Cheadle, county surveyor, everything has been found to work satisfactorily and ready for use at any moment when required. The wire is of No. 16 gauge throughout, and upwards of 12 miles has been used in the work. Several false alarms of fire have been given to test the working and to exercise the fire brigade. It is hardly necessary to say how serious an event a fire would be at any institution of this kind, and any effort to minimise the danger of such an occurrence should be encouraged to the highest degree of perfection. Great praise is due to the asylum committee and Dr. Christie, the medical superintendent, for this and many other necessary and important improvements.