May, 1879.
'45
AN APPARATUS TO MEASURE THE
VARIATIONS OF DAYLIGHT.
It is greatly to be desired that a good ami
implo method be found of recording ami mean
tiring, with soma accuracy, the variationa of
daylight throughout the day. Thia would ren
der the weather reoord more complete, ami it
has an important apecial bearing on plant
physiology. An attempt of the kind haa lately
been made by a (ierman, Herr Kreualer, who
haa bad made for him, by Liebertx, in Bonn, an
apparatui with the following arrangement: It
constat of a drum, fixed with ita axia iu the
nlano of the meridian, and adjuatable ao aa to
lie at right anglea to the aun'a raya. Thia
drum haa ita border divided into 24 houra 12
noon and 12 midnight lioiug in tho meridian
piano. A atrip of paper, eenaitizod with aolu
tion of bichromate of potaaiium, and having
diviaiona which correspond to thoae on tho
drum, ia placed round thia. A aeoond drum
closely surrounds tho first, and is turned by
clock-work (from which it can be detached)
once in 24 houre, in the direction of the sun'a
apparent course. The aecond dmm haa a alit
for admitting light to the paper; its width ia
such that any point on the paper ia exposed 21)
soconda as the slit passes over. Tho whole
apparatus ia placed iu theo)en air underaglaaa
bell jar. Ita arrangement givoa little trouble;
the paper atrip has merely to lie placed iu its
right position at night or under artificial ahado
(to avoid coloration), and the outer drum slid
over and ao attached to the rotating axis that
the "insolation alit" ia opposite tho hour then
present. The slit then begins to move round
the inner drum correspondingly to the aun'a
courae. The itnpresaod slip, when removed in
the evening, may lie "fixed by shortly dipping
in water and drying lietween blotting aper, or
it may not, lieing quickly read; it ahows a
mostly continuous suooesaion of banda of varinua
ahadea of black, or rather brown. For com
ariaoii, Herr Kreualer made a scale of 10 de
grees of darkening, expiaiug strips of the par
a given time under different anglea of iucideuta
of light, Hands of the exeriiueuUl atrip that
apiiear homogeueoua are uow measured with
reference to breadth and intensity, and the
aum of tho products of those quantities ia taken
aa a measure of the action of light raya falling
on the inatrument in a given time. The reeulta
are conaidered highly aatiafactory.
A !IW HTKAM WAtiON.
A now style of vehicle, deaigned to bu propelled
by ateam, has recently made its apearanoe in
luidon. The carriage closely resembloa an
ordinary dog cart; tho shafts are very short,
ami ita line together, meeting two feet in front
of the dashboard; between them there is a third
wheel, working upon an upright shaft, which
1. 1 be turned by a handle plaoed the same as
that of a bycycle; thia handle ia worked by
reina in the handa of the driver. Tho fuel used
ia benxine, and the burner used is described as
being no larger than an ordinary hat The
ateam ia generated in a coil boiler of copper.
The tube of which the boiler ia oomxaMd ia
atatad to have been tested Ui a pressure of 2, DUO
pounds per square inch. This is, however, an
unimportant matter, as the explosion of a ooil
trailer ia never dangeroua, and only result in
putting out the tire and skipping tbe engine.
The ordinary steam pressure ia about IK) pounds
The vehicle is described aa working very handily
anil being under very complete control. Aa
only three or four persona are to be carried,
the amount of power required ia merely nominal.
The speed, if we are not mistaken, was reported
at something like 10 miles per hour. II there
was any market for tleem road wagona, or
rathe? ateam pleasure carriage, there would
not be the least difficulty in producing them.
The machinery Beaded Is very light and can be
towed away beneath the seats or ia the box,
while tbe quantity of ooal or bennu nailed is
very assail Tbe a peed ol each machine is
almost unlimited. Ntean ooachea on good roads
THE WEST SHORE.
FH i 1 1 LT n ; i
imtu ....... aa oigli a ,k or eu ....... 111 an hour,
and from 12 to 18 wore ratee that were regularly
maintained by some of the Kngliah ateam pa,
aenger ooaohea before the railwaya drove them
off from tho common roada.
Tux PrjatT Sim Bumi in Aiona v. Iu
rangemimta have Won concluded by lien l.
I). Smith, chief engineer of the Chicago A Alt,.,,
railway, for tioiiilructiiig tho first all eteol bridge
in America, lien. Smith will be lotiicmliorod
by his connection with the United Slates (lov
eminent Hoard for Toating the Strength of Iron
and Steel, experiiuenta which were carried tut
by him several yeara ago. Ilia reaearehea have
at last brought him to the coiiuliiaiou that ateel
bridge can bo built cltoaicr than iron, and be
equal in durability. The bridge will lie erected
over the Missouri rivur on the Chicago A Alton
WafMIMWIM rim lrviiikh. A good er
tide may he made by uaing paralllnc melted
with the requisite quantity of dr)ing oil, ami
casting it into auitablu hlocka for eulieUeiit
us. Thia I icing aofteiird by heat, the leather
of aha manufactured article., aa ahoe and liar
iiosa, ia coated with it, ami placed near a lira
I ur in a warm place, until the composition haa
Imwii alieorlicd. When leather baa been I in
iireguated with the mixture it ia not only per.
leetly waterproof, but It ia also rendered aofter
and more durable Shoe retain all their firm.
MM ami natural elasticity, and hlackimt make
upon litem a Utter mliali than before. Thia
name cotuHiettioti ia alao iiaeful for waterproof,
mi; woven giMida. It ia placed on the under
id of cloth for garments, either by malting
ami applying nmdoratoly with a bniah, or by
aaV mtl " aBBaaafl
WummMt 9f lift I I HI II I nj attw
aaV iMrailaV II I I I I K I I H W
sBtaa H
AN
AI'ACHK HVU AW AND I'AI'ltlUHK.
railway. It will be of live apana of Xt feel rubbing with a block of Dm nrriaratioa Tha
each. The elevation over high water mark will ...mi.lete ,iltuo,t ol it lliimml, 11,-. t,,i, 1.
not be lees than M) leet, at which hight tbe effected by paaalng the loth Viet
light atee.1 nla of tbe "II .we truaa1' will look ere rebrna ii.ii.. in n,la manner while
Ilk silver cohweda, glimmering in the iimahinc Un , repel water, are perfectly pr e.n. t. . , r
For all it frail appearance, the bndga will bave lor Una reason they are eupermr to ordinary
a strength rracheii by but few exialiug elruc ml loth and rubber gooda. fliey ajaa aj lt
lures in the world. The total amount of leel ' tcr than garments made ol rubber aa Ilia lie
I 111 tie .Limine 1. ..11 will 1- aliout I, a) ulnd aioaraaea of the . loth u 1
looa, equivalent to alnowt double that quantity
of iron. - Amrrttttn J"rmil 0 lm-lulr;
Dtw. Mr. lieorga Itmae, who baa Mad X
teoslve experiment and nlaarvetiona oa tb
formation of daw, tinda that the depth of de
vaut la Koglaod m aa eveaing rarely n.oeda a
lundmlth part of aa iex.lt; and that the average
annual depth of the dew deposited upon the eur
(ao ol Um earth doe not exceed an inch and a
halt
ai.iKaraac
; d b the tree
too i t
way
hanged
A iLuaau child had a fall from a eaennd
atury - la I llw other day, and hi mnthsr, iu
relaUng l 11. el. 1. 1 al a griry store, aatal 1
" Iter dal chibl was a cvmiiig down feat fast,
wid every rherv.. ol be,ag kilUaJ. wlwa d Uw.S
He turned him over, it ohll etraak oa Ml
head, sail dere wasn't an mach a a Im'.ton nw
at.