Various

“ The mode of testing a high pressure gun, upon which all authorities agree, is to fire it, round after round, until it bursts or shows weakness. There is authority for the statement that there is not a 12 inch steel gun in Europe which has been fired two hundred rounds, and yet, just as soon as these cast iron guns gave promise of withstanding successfully such a test, a peremptory order came from the Ordnance Bureau to cease firing and stop further experiment. ”

“ There is the pneumatic gun, capable now of throwing 300 lb. of nitro-glycerine, which amount could easily be increased to 1,000 lb. For the value of one modern ironclad, 150 steamers with such a gun could be put in service in two weeks by the United States, because any steamer of 100 feet or over would answer; while the gun, being a mere tube, subjected to but 1,000 lb. of air per square inch, with air-compressing machinery, is all so available and quickly built that a month would put the United States into possession of 500 of them. ”

“ The lime is added to prevent fusion, for were the mass to melt, the carbon would float on the top, and could no longer attack the soda. The new process differs from the old principally in working with a fused mass of soda compound, this operation having been rendered feasible by the most ingenious device of weighting every particle of carbon with iron, so that the two chemicals—soda and carbon—are kept in perfect admixture, and are continually presenting fresh surfaces to each other as the liquid circulates in the crucible under the action of the heat. ”

“ Though brought actually to a state of rest, the surrounding water is under the influence of great pressure, which by the law of fluids is transmitted equally in all directions. When a vessel is sufficiently near the explosion to be struck by the water which has been so violently disturbed, it will act upon her like a huge projectile, and it is obvious this range will be in proportion to the amount of explosive employed. ”

“ Indeed, the cast-iron smooth bore guns which have been converted into rifles by the insertion of wrought iron rifled cylinders have been fired under a pressure fully three times as great as it has been thought advisable to subject steel guns of the same caliber to. An authority says: "Cast iron guns have often been fired hundreds of rounds under pressure of nearly seventeen tons to the square inch of bore, yet there has never been a failure, nor a sign of one. The United States has now a 121⁄2 in. ”

“ If, after this brilliant exhibition of inventive genius, we do not bow down and worship him as the "licker" of creation, we may consider ourselves lost to all sense of what is proper under the circumstances.—Iron. ”

“ As fogs come on very suddenly, and give so little warning that it is often impossible to get the engine into action before the vision is entirely obscured, it is customary to keep a store of air in the receiver at two or three times the usual working pressure, and it is from the accumulation of this pressure that the smaller pump is provided.
The furnace is a closed receiver, and is fed with coke. Air is pumped into it at a pressure of about 30 lb. to the square inch, part being delivered below the fuel and part above. ”

“ It is true that the birds, which were so numerous during the summer, have left us and gone to their winter homes, but as they departed an entirely different fauna started from a colder climate, and gradually took their place. I refer to the birds of the northern part of Canada and the fur countries, whose summer homes are in these desolate regions, and which on the approach of winter are driven southward, making a temporary stay with us until the rigors of an Arctic winter shall have departed, and once more left their homes in an inhabitable condition. ”

“ The higher rate of speed, which not only cuts faster, but, in the case of the vulcanite emery wheel, prolongs the life of the wheel, is concededly safe with the vulcanite wheel. Thus run, it is not likely to wear out of true, the operator does not have to bear on so hard, and the wheel retains its shape much better than when run at a slow speed. ”

“ Thirty shells would mean the explosion of 12,000 pounds of nitro-glycerine about the enemy.
In fixing the gun permanently in its place, the designer has followed out the old idea of making the ship simply a floating gun carriage. The new British cruiser Polyphemus is built on the same idea, and there are other floating gun carriages. In this cruiser the firing is entirely under the control of the officer in the pilot house. He has simply to head his boat for the enemy, dash ahead at full speed, and blaze away. ”

“ Few persons outside of the chemical profession are aware of the commercial existence of the metal sodium or of its uses, and even among those following that profession but little is known, except that it is used in the manufacture of aluminum, and is very expensive. Much has lately been published in various scientific journals throughout the world upon the subject of alleged new processes, whereby that highly interesting metal—aluminum—might be cheaply produced without sodium, and thus be made to take in the commercial world a place to which its varied valuable properties entitle it. ”

“ A small amount of heat is sufficient to vaporize the liquid to the extent required to secure the desired action. The instrument is provided with a glass tube bent twice at right angles, and having a bulb blown on each end. The tube and the bulbs are partly filled with water, and a vacuum is secured by boiling the water in the bulbs before sealing them. The center of the tube is furnished with V-pivots, which rest in bearings in the top of the forked column. The column also supports a metal screen, which is bright one side and black on the other. ”

“ One can now find birds entirely different from any that he has heretofore seen, and at the same time learn several facts of interest concerning birds with which he considers himself well acquainted; as, for instance, the American goldfinch, which is supposed to migrate in the fall, will be found in the swampy woods in large flocks, but with plumage so changed that they will probably not be recognized, being of a somber brown color, and sexes undistinguishable. ”

“ Steel Rail Capacity of the United States. PENBERTHY INJECTOR.
At last a mechanical combination and device has been produced, and a man's labor and study crowned with success, in the production, for the convenience of engineers, of a simple and compact device known as the Penberthy injector or boiler feeder.
Its mechanical construction is very simple, but perfect. All its parts are movable and convenient of access (not being screwed in) , its working so complete that an inexperienced person can operate it with success and perfectness. ”

“ The engine is regulated by a governor, which varies the proportion of air admitted above and below the fuel, and thus alters the temperature of the gases admitted to the cylinder. The distributing valves are of the conical type, worked by tappets, and the fall is regulated by an air cushion.
These engines, for there are a pair, have been constructed by the Pulsometer Engineering Company, Limited, London, for the Northern Lights Commissioners, and will be erected on a lightship, probably at the North Carr. Each engine is nominally of six horse power, but actually gives ten horse power. ”

“ A window frame and sash has been patented by Mr. John E. Jones, of New York City. The construction is such that the sashes when closed are to all intents and purposes air tight, and wear and friction are removed from the packing strips, so the sashes may be raised and lowered without injury to the packing, the invention being an improvement on a former patented invention of the same inventor. ”

“ The boiler is of steel, for a working pressure of 90 lb. per square inch. The bucket ladder works through a well formed in the center of the vessel, and dredges to a depth of 33 ft. below the water level, and the buckets are made wholly of steel, and are capable of lifting 250 tons of free soil per hour. Triple-geared winches are supplied at bow and stern for working the mooring chains, the barrels of which can be worked independently or conjointly, as required. ”