Scientific American Supplement, No. 417

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One on top opening drawing valve, on the top end of the drawing pipe
prevents the return of the water by the going down of the piston; and a
barring valve, which is lifted by the lowering of the piston, obstructs
the return of the water by the ascent of the piston, while the drawing
valve is lifted by means of water absorbed by the small drawing
pipe.--_Illustrirte Zeitung_.

* * * * *

FAST PRINTING PRESS FOR ENGRAVINGS.

_Uber Land und Meer_, which is one of the finest illustrated newspapers
published in Germany, gives the following: We recently gave our readers
an insight into the establishment of _Uber Land und Meer_, and to-day we
show them the machine which each week starts our paper on its journey
around the world--a machine which embodies the latest and greatest
progress in the art of printing. The following illustration represents
one of the three fast presses which the house of Hallberger employs in
the printing of its illustrated journals.

With the invention of the cylinder press by Frederick Koenig was verified
the saying that the art of printing had lent wings to words. Everywhere
the primitive hand-press had to make way for the steam printing machine;
but even this machine, since its advent in London in 1810, has itself
undergone so many changes that little else remains of Koenig's invention
than the principle of the cylinder. The demands of recent times for
still more rapid machines have resulted in the production of presses
printing from a continuous roll or "web" of paper, from cylinders
revolving in one given direction. The first of this class of presses
(the "Bullock" press) was built in America. Then England followed,
and there the first newspaper to make use of one was the _Times_. The
Augsburg Machine Works were the first to supply Germany with them, and
it was this establishment which first undertook to apply the principle
of the web perfecting press (first intended for newspaper work only,
where speed rather than fine work is the object sought) to book
printing, in which far greater accuracy and excellence is required, and
the result has been the construction of a rotary press for the highest
grade of illustrated periodical publications, which meets all the
requirements with the most complete success.

[Illustration: IMPROVED FAST PRINTING PRESS FOR ENGRAVERS]

The building of rotary presses for printing illustrated papers was
attempted as early as 1874 or 1875 in London, by the _Times_, but
apparently without success, as no public mention has ever been made of
any favorable result. The proprietor of the _London Illustrated News_
obtained better results. In 1877 an illustrated penny paper, an
outgrowth of his great journal, was printed upon a rotary press which
was, according to his statement, constructed by a machinist named
Middleton. The first one, however, did not at all meet the higher
demands of illustrated periodical printing, and, while another machine
constructed on the same principle was shown in the Paris Exposition of
1878, its work was neither in quality nor quantity adequate to the needs
of a largely circulated illustrated paper. A second machine, also on
exhibition at the same time, designed and built by the celebrated French
machinist, P. Alauzet, could not be said to have attained the object.
Its construction was undertaken long after the opening of the
Exposition, and too late to solve the weighty question. But the
half-successful attempt gave promise that the time was at hand when a
press could be built which could print our illustrated periodicals more
rapidly, and a conference with the proprietors of the Augsburg Machine
Works resulted in the production by them of the three presses from which
_Uber Land und Meer_ and _Die Illustrirte Welt_ are to-day issued. As
a whole and in detail, as well as in its productions, the press is the
marvel of mechanic and layman.

As seen in the illustration, the web of paper leaves the roll at its
right, rising to a point at the top where it passes between two hollow
cylinders covered with felt and filled with steam, which serve to dampen
the paper as may be necessary, the small hand-wheel seen above these
cylinders regulating the supply of steam. After leaving these cylinders
the paper descends sloping toward the right, and passes through two
highly polished cylinders for the purpose of recalendering. After this
it passes under the lowest of the three large cylinders of the press,
winds itself in the shape of an S toward the outside and over the middle
cylinder, and leaves the press in an almost horizontal line, after
having been printed on both sides, and is then cut into sheets. The
printing is done while the paper is passing around the two white
cylinders. The cylinder carrying the first form is placed inside and
toward the center of the press, only a part of its cog-wheel and its
journal being shown in the engraving. The second form is placed upon the
uppermost cylinder, and is the outside or cut form. Each one of the form
cylinders requires a separate inking apparatus. That of the upper one is
placed to the right at the top, and the bottom one is also at the right,
but inside. Each one has a fountain the whole breadth of the press,
in which the ink is kept, and connected with which, by appropriate
mechanism, is a system of rollers for the thorough distribution of the
ink and depositing it upon the forms.

The rapidity with which the impressions follow each other does not allow
any time for the printing on the first side to dry, and as a consequence
the freshly printed sheet coming in contact with the "packing" of the
second cylinder would so soil it as to render clean printing absolutely
impossible. To avoid this, a second roll of paper is introduced into the
machine, and is drawn around the middle cylinder beneath the paper which
has already been printed upon one side, and receives upon its surface
all "offset," thus protecting and keeping perfectly clean both the
printed paper and the impression cylinder. This "offset" web, as it
leaves the press, is wound upon a second roller, which when full is
exchanged for the new empty roller--a very simple operation.

The machines print from 3,500 to 4,000 sheets per hour _upon both
sides_, a rate of production from twenty-eight to thirty-two times as
great as was possible upon the old-fashioned hand-press, which was
capable of printing not more than 250 copies upon _one side_ in the same
time.

The device above described for preventing "offset" is, we believe, the
invention of Mr. H.J. Hewitt, a well known New York printer, 27 Rose
Street.

* * * * *

FRENCH CANNON.

Five new cannons, the largest yet manufactured in France, have been
successfully cast in the foundry of Ruelle near Angouleme. They are made
of steel, and are breech loading. The weight of each is 97 tons, without
the carriage. The projectile weighs 1,716 pounds, and the charge or
powder is 616 pounds. To remove them a special wagon with sixteen wheels
has had to be constructed, and the bridges upon the road from Ruelle to
Angouleme not being solid enough to bear the weight of so heavy a
load, a special roadway will be constructed for the transport of these
weapons, which are destined for coast defences and ironclads.

* * * * *

WOODLANDS, STOKE POGIS, BUCKS.

The illustration represents a house recently reconstructed. The
dining-room wing was alone left in the demolition of the old premises,
and this part has been decorated with tile facings, and otherwise
altered to be in accordance with the new portion. The house is
pleasantly situated about a mile from Stoke Church of historic fame,
in about 15 acres of garden, shrubbery, and meadow land. The hall and
staircase have been treated in wainscot oak, and the whole of the work
has been satisfactorily carried out by Mr. G. Almond, builder, of
Burnham, under the superintendence of Messrs. Thurlow & Cross,
architects.--_The Architect_.

[Illustration: WOODLANDS, STOKE POGES, BUCKS]

* * * * *

CHINA GRASS.

The following article appeared in a recent number of the _London Times_:

The subject of the cultivation and commercial utilization of the China
grass plant, or rhea, has for many years occupied attention, the
question being one of national importance, particularly as affecting
India. Rhea which is also known under the name of ramie, is a textile
plant which was indigenous to China and India. It is perennial, easy of
cultivation, and produces a remarkably strong fiber. The problem of its
cultivation has long being solved, for within certain limits rhea can
be grown in any climate. India and the British colonies offer unusual
facilities, and present vast and appropriate fields for that enterprise,
while it can be, and is, grown in most European countries. All this has
long been demonstrated; not so, however, the commercial utilization of
the fiber, which up to the present time would appear to be a problem
only partially solved, although many earnest workers have been engaged
in the attempted solution.

There have been difficulties in the way of decorticating the stems of
this plant, and the Indian Government, in 1869, offered a reward of
L5,000 for the best machine for separating the fiber from the stems and
bark of rhea in its green or freshly cut state. The Indian Government
was led to this step by the strong conviction, based upon ample
evidence, that the only obstacle to the development of an extensive
trade in this product was the want of suitable means for decorticating
the plant. This was the third time within the present century that rhea
had become the subject of official action on the part of the Government,
the first effort for utilizing the plant dating from 1803, when Dr.
Roxburg started the question, and the second from 1840, when attention
was again directed to it by Colonel Jenkins.

The offer of L5,000, in 1869, led to only one machine being submitted
for trial, although several competitors had entered their names. This
machine was that of Mr. Greig, of Edinburgh, but after careful trial
by General (then Lieutenant Colonel) Hyde it was found that it did not
fulfill the conditions laid down by the Government, and therefore the
full prize of L5,000 was not awarded. In consideration, however, of the
inventor having made a _bona fide_ and meritorious attempt to solve
the question, he was awarded a donation of L1,500. Other unsuccessful
attempts were subsequently made, and eventually the offer of L5,000 was
withdrawn by the Government.

But although the prize was withdrawn, invention did not cease, and the
Government, in 1881, reoffered the prize of L5,500. Another competition
took place, at which several machines were tried, but the trials, as
before, proved barren of any practical results, and up to the present
time no machine has been found capable of dealing successfully with this
plant in the green state. The question of the preparation of the fiber,
however, continued to be pursued in many directions. Nor is this to be
wondered at when it is remembered that the strength of some rhea fiber
from Assam experimented with in 1852 by Dr. Forbes Royle, as compared
with St. Petersburg hemp, was in the ratio of 280 to 160, while the wild
rhea from Assam was as high as 343. But, above and beyond this, rhea has
the widest range of possible applications of any fiber, as shown by an
exhaustive report on the preparation and use of rhea fiber by Dr. Forbes
Watson, published in 1875, at which date Dr. Watson was the reporter on
the products of India to the Secretary of State, at the India Office.
Last year, however, witnessed the solution of the question of
decortication in the green state in a satisfactory manner by M.A.
Favier's process, as reported by us at the time.

This process consists in subjecting the plant to the action of steam for
a period varying from 10 to 25 minutes, according to the length of time
the plant had been cut. After steaming, the fiber and its adjuncts
were easily stripped from the wood. The importance and value of this
invention will be realized, when it is remembered that the plant is
cultivated at long distances from the localities where the fiber
is prepared for the market. The consequence is, that for every
hundredweight of fiber about a ton of woody material has to be
transported. Nor is this the only evil, for the gummy matter in which
the fiber is embedded becomes dried up during transport, and the
separation of the fiber is thus rendered difficult, and even impossible,
inasmuch as some of the fiber is left adhering to the wood.

M. Favier's process greatly simplifies the commercial production of the
fiber up to a certain point, for, at a very small cost, it gives the
manufacturer the whole of the fiber in the plant treated. But it still
stops short of what is required, in that it delivers the fiber in
ribbons, with its cementitious matter and outer skin attached. To remove
this, various methods have been tried, but, as far as we are aware,
without general success--that is to say, the fiber cannot always
be obtained of such a uniformly good quality as to constitute a
commercially reliable article. Such was the position of the question
when, about a year ago, the whole case was submitted to the
distinguished French chemist, Professor Fremy, member of the Institute
of France, who is well-known for his researches into the nature of
fibrous plants, and the question of their preparation for the market.
Professor Fremy thoroughly investigated the matter from a chemical point
of view, and at length brought it to a successful and, apparently, a
practical issue.

One great bar to previous success would appear to have been the absence
of exact knowledge as to the nature of the constituents of that portion
of the plant which contains the fiber, or, in other words, the casing or
bark surrounding the woody stem of the rhea. As determined by Professor
Fremy, this consists of the cutose, or outer skin, within which is the
vasculose containing the fiber and other conjoined matter, known as
cellulose, between which and the woody stem is the pectose, or gum,
which causes the skin or bark, as a whole, fiber included, to adhere to
the wood. The Professor, therefore, proceeded to carefully investigate
the nature of these various substances, and in the result he found
that the vasculose and pectose were soluble in an alkali under certain
conditions, and that the cellulose was insoluble. He therefore dissolves
out the cutose, vasculose, and pectose by a very simple process,
obtaining the fiber clean, and free from all extraneous adherent matter,
ready for the spinner.

In order, however, to insure as a result a perfectly uniform and
marketable article, the Professor uses various chemicals at the several
stages of the process. These, however, are not administered haphazard,
or by rule of thumb, as has been the case in some processes bearing in
the same direction, and which have consequently failed, in the sense
that they have not yet taken their places as commercial successes. The
Professor, therefore, carefully examines the article which he has to
treat, and, according to its nature and the character of its components,
he determines the proportions of the various chemicals which he
introduces at the several stages. All chance of failure thus appears to
be eliminated, and the production of a fiber of uniform and reliable
quality removed from the region of doubt into that of certainty. The two
processes of M. Favier and M. Fremy have, therefore, been combined, and
machinery has been put up in France on a scale sufficiently large
to fairly approximate to practical working, and to demonstrate the
practicability of the combined inventions.

The experimental works are situated in the Route d'Orleans, Grand
Montrouge, just outside Paris, and a few days ago a series of
demonstrations were given there by Messrs. G.W.H. Brogden and Co., of
Gresham-house, London. The trials were carried out by M. Albert Alroy,
under the supervision of M. Urbain, who is Professor Fremy's chief
assistant and copatentee, and were attended by Dr. Forbes Watson, Mr.
M. Collyer, Mr. C.J. Taylor, late member of the General Assembly, New
Zealand, M. Barbe, M. Favier, Mr. G. Brogden, Mr. Caspar, and a number
of other gentlemen representing those interested in the question at
issue. The process, as carried out, consists in first treating the rhea
according to M. Favier's invention. The apparatus employed for this
purpose is very simple and inexpensive, consisting merely of a stout
deal trough or box, about 8 ft. long, 2 ft. wide, and 1 ft. 8 in. deep.
The box has a hinged lid and a false open bottom, under which steam is
admitted by a perforated pipe, there being an outlet for the condensed
water at one end of the box. Into this box the bundles of rhea were
placed, the lid closed, steam turned on, and in about twenty minutes it
was invariably found that the bark had been sufficiently softened to
allow of its being readily and rapidly stripped off by hand, together
with the whole of the fiber, in what may be called ribbons. Thus the
process of decortication is effectively accomplished in a few minutes,
instead of requiring, as it sometimes does in the retting process, days,
and even weeks, and being at the best attended with uncertainty as
to results, as is also the case when decortication is effected by
machinery.

Moreover, the retting process, which is simply steeping the cut plants
in water, is a delicate operation, requiring constant watching, to say
nothing of its serious inconvenience from a sanitary point of view, on
account of the pestilential emanations from the retteries. Decortication
by steam having been effected, the work of M. Favier ceases, and
the process is carried forward by M. Fremy. The ribbons having been
produced, the fiber in them has to be freed from the mucilaginous
secretions. To this end, after examination in the laboratory, they are
laid on metal trays, which are placed one above the other in a vertical
perforated metal cylinder. When charged, this cylinder is placed within
a strong iron cylinder, containing a known quantity of water, to which
an alkali is added in certain proportions. Within the cylinder is a
steam coil for heating the water, and, steam having been turned on, the
temperature is raised to a certain point, when the cylinder is closed
and made steam-tight. The process of boiling is continued under pressure
until the temperature--and consequently the steam pressure--within the
cylinder has attained a high degree.

On the completion of this part of the process, which occupies about
four hours, and upon which the success of the whole mainly depends,
the cementitious matter surrounding the fiber is found to have been
transformed into a substance easily dissolved. The fibrous mass is then
removed to a centrifugal machine, in which it is quickly deprived of its
surplus alkaline moisture, and it is then placed in a weak solution of
hydrochloric acid for a short time. It is then transferred to a bath
of pure cold water, in which it remains for about an hour, and it is
subsequently placed for a short time in a weak acid bath, after which it
is again washed in cold water, and dried for the market. Such are the
processes by which China grass may become a source of profit alike to
the cultivator and the spinner. A factory situate at Louviers has been
acquired, where there is machinery already erected for preparing the
fiber according to the processes we have described, at the rate of one
ton per day. There is also machinery for spinning the fiber into yarns.
These works were also visited by those gentlemen who were at the
experimental works at Montrouge, and who also visited the Government
laboratory in Paris, of which Professor Fremy is chief and M. Urbain
_sous-chef_, and where those gentlemen explained the details of their
process and made their visitors familiar with the progressive steps of
their investigations.

With regard to the rhea treated at Montrouge, we may observe that it was
grown at La Reolle, near Bordeaux. Some special experiments were also
carried out by Dr. Forbes Watson with some rhea grown by the Duke of
Wellington at Stratfield-saye, his Grace having taken an active interest
in the question for some years past. In all cases the rhea was used
green and comparatively freshly cut. One of the objects of Dr. Watson's
experiments was, by treating rhea cut at certain stages of growth,
to ascertain at which stage the plant yields the best fiber, and
consequently how many crops can be raised in the year with the best
advantage.

This question has often presented itself as one of the points to be
determined, and advantage has been taken of the present opportunity with
a view to the solution of the question. Mr. C.J. Taylor also took with
him a sample of New Zealand flax, which was successfully treated by
the process. On the whole, the conclusion is that the results of
the combined processes, so far as they have gone, are eminently
satisfactory, and justify the expectation that a large enterprise in the
cultivation and utilization of China grass is on the eve of being opened
up, not only in India and our colonies, but possibly also much nearer
home.

* * * * *

APPARATUS FOR HEATING BY GAS.

This new heating apparatus consists of a cast iron box, E, provided with
an inclined cover, F, into which are fixed 100 copper tubes that are
arranged in several lines, and form a semi-cylindrical heating surface.
The box, E, is divided into two compartments (Fig. 5), so that the air
and gas may enter simultaneously either one or both of the compartments,
according to the quantity of heat it is desired to have. Regulation is
effected by means of the keys, G and G', which open the gas conduits
of the solid and movable disk, H, which serves as a regulator for
distributing air through the two compartments. This disk revolves by
hand and may be closed or opened by means of a screw to which it is
fixed.

Beneath the tubes that serve to burn the mixture of air and gas, there
is placed a metallic gauze, I, the object of which is to prevent the
flames from entering the fire place box. These tubes traverse a sheet
iron piece, J, which forms the surface of the fire place, and are
covered with a layer of asbestos filaments that serve to increase the
calorific power of the apparatus.

[Illustration: GOMEZ'S APPARATUS FOR HEATING BY GAS.

FIG. 1.--Front View. Scale of 0.25 to 1. FIG. 2.--Section through AB.
FIG.3.--Plan View. FIG. 4.--Section through CD. FIG. 5.--Transverse
Section through the Fireplace. Scale of 0.50 to 1.]

The cast iron box, E, is inclosed within a base of refractory clay, L,
which is surmounted by a reflector, M, of the same material, that is
designed to concentrate the heat and increase its radiation. This
reflector terminates above in a dome, in whose center is placed a
refractory clay box. This latter, which is round, is provided in the
center with a cylinder that is closed above. The box contains a large
number of apertures, which give passage to the products of combustion
carried along by the hot air. The carbonic acid which such products
contain is absorbed by a layer of quick-lime that has previously been
introduced into the box, N.

This heating apparatus, which is inclosed within a cast iron casing
similar to that of an ordinary gas stove, is employed without a chimney,
thus permitting of its being placed against the wall or at any other
point whatever in the room to be heated.--_Annales Industrielles_.

* * * * *

IMPROVED GAS BURNER FOR SINGEING MACHINES.

Since the introduction of the process of gas-singeing in finishing
textiles, many improvements have been made in the construction of the
machines for this purpose as well as in that of the burners, for the
object of the latter must be to effect the singeing not only evenly and
thoroughly, but at the same time with a complete combustion of the gas
and avoidance of sooty deposits upon the cloth. The latter object is
attained by what are called atmospheric or Bunsen burners, and in which
the coal gas before burning is mixed with the necessary amount of
atmospheric air. The arrangement under consideration, patented abroad,
has this object specially in view. The main gas pipe of the machine is
shown at A, being a copper pipe closed at one end and having a tap at
the other. On this pipe the vertical pipes, C, are screwed at stated
intervals, each being in its turn provided with a tap near its base. On
the top of each vertical table the burner, IJ, is placed, whose upper
end spreads in the shape of a fan, and allows the gas to escape through
a slit or a number of minute holes. Over the tube, C, a mantle, E, is
slipped, which contains two holes, HG, on opposite sides, and made
nearly at the height of the outlet of the gas. When the gas passes out
of this and upward into the burner, it induces a current of air up
through the holes, HG, and carries it along with it. By covering these
holes with a loose adjustable collar, the amount of admissible air can
be regulated so that the flame is perfectly non-luminous, and therefore
containing no free particles of carbon or soot. The distance of the
vertical tubes, C; and of the fan-shaped burners is calculated so that
the latter touch each other, and thus a continuous flame is formed,
which is found to be the most effective for singeing cloth. Should it be
deemed advisable to singe only part of the cloth, or a narrow piece,
the arrangement admits of the taps, D, being turned off as
desired.--_Textile Manufacturer_.

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