Periodicals Books

STEAM ENGINE VALVES. By THOMAS HAWLEY. In considering the slide valve in its simple form with or without lap, we find there are certain limitations to its use as a valve that would give the best results. The limitation of most importance is that its construction will not allow of the proper cut off to obtain all the benefits of expansion without hindering the perfect action of the valve in other... more...

THE NAVAL FORGES AND STEEL WORKS AT ST. CHAMOND. With the idyls and historic or picturesque subjects that the Universal Exposition gives us the occasion to publish, we thought we would make a happy contrast by selecting a subject of a different kind, by presenting to our readers Mr. Layraud's fine picture, which represents the gigantic power hammer used at the St. Chamond Forges and Steel Works in... more...

TURPENTINE AND ITS PRODUCTS. By Edward Davies, F.C.S., F.I.C. In treating this subject it is necessary to limit it within comparatively narrow bounds, for bodies of the turpentine class are exceedingly numerous and not well understood. In this definite class turpentine means the exudation from various trees of the natural order Coniferæ, consisting of a hydrocarbon, CH, and a resin. The constitution... more...

GUN PRACTICE IN THE FRENCH NAVY. The gunners of the French fleet are possessed of a skill which is recognized by all the maritime powers, and these picked men proved this at the siege of Paris, where they made themselves illustrious, not only by their courage and their coolness, but also by the accuracy of their firing. Nothing is neglected, moreover, to keep up the precision of hand and eye that... more...

I have the honor this evening of addressing a few remarks to you upon the subject of influence machines, and the manner in which I propose to treat the subject is to state as shortly as possible, first, the historical portion, and afterward to point out the prominent characteristics of the later and the more commonly known machines. The diagrams upon the screen will assist the eye to the general form... more...

MOLECULAR WEIGHTS. A new and most valuable method of determining the molecular weights of non-volatile as well as volatile substances has just been brought into prominence by Prof. Victor Meyer (Berichte, 1888, No. 3). The method itself was discovered by M. Raoult, and finally perfected by him in 1886, but up to the present has been but little utilized by chemists. It will be remembered that Prof.... more...

THE COMPOUND STEAM TURBINE. Last year the whole of the lighting of the Newcastle Exhibition was effected by the agency of seventeen of these motors, of which four were spare, giving in the aggregate 280 electrical horse power. As the steam was provided by the authorities of the exhibition, it was good proof to the public that they had satisfied themselves that the consumption would not be extravagant... more...

NOTE ON THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DISTILLERY CHIMNEY. FIG. 1—ELEVATION. At a recent meeting of the Industrial Society of Amiens, Mr. Schmidt, engineer of the Steam Users' Association, read a paper in which he described the process employed in the construction of a large chimney of peculiar character for the Rocourt distillery, at St. Quentin. This chimney, which is cylindrical in form, is 140 feet... more...

BRISTOL CATHEDRAL. BRISTOL CATHEDRAL. An Augustinian monastery, founded by Robert Fitzhardinge in 1142, had its church, of Norman architecture, to which additions were made in the early English period. When Edmund Knowle was abbot, from 1306 to 1332, the Norman choir was replaced by that which now exists. His successor, Abbot Snow, built the chapels on the south side of the choir. Abbot Newland,... more...

DR. MORELL MACKENZIE. The name of the great English laryngologist, which has long been honored by scientists of England and the Continent, has lately become familar to everyone, even in unprofessional circles, in Germany because of his operations on the Crown Prince's throat. If his wide experience and great skill enable him to permanently remove the growth from the throat of his royal patient, if... more...