[APRIL 24, 1891.

From the above figures it will be seen that the four watt lamp is the cheapest to operate under the conditions given, but the advantage is so trifling that in practice the 3-1-watt lamp would be the best to use, since the lamps fall off in candle-power somewhat in long use. and with lamps having an average life of 600 hours, the average condition of the total number of lamps on a plant would be that due to 300 hours of burning, whereas the average condition of lamps having an average life of 1,500 hours would be that due to 750 hours use, and it is evident that it will be preferable to have lamps which have averaged 300 hours of use, rather than lamps which have averaged 750 hours of use.

It will be seen by the figures given that the life alone is a por measure of the economy of incandescent lamp, and that in order that a four watt lamp should equal in quality a 3'1 watt lamp, its life should be 24 times as long, and that its average candle-power in burning it 1,500 hours should equal the average candle-power of the 31 watts lamp in burning its 600 hours.

In all instances quoted thus far we have assumed a cost of power based upon its production for 10 hours per day under extremely favourable conditions. In the case of incandescent lighting plants, the load changes widely, and the maximum load is on for only two or three hours. The production of power is much more expensive under such conditions than when the load is constant. Statistics from a very large number of central station incandescent lighting plants, charging an average rate of 1 cent per 16 candle lamp hour, show that the total cost of power for operating a 16 candle-power 31 watt lamp is 04 cents per hour. The relative economy in the use of lamps of different efficiencies under average conditions of central station practice is, therefore, shown by the following table :—

For 16 C.P. lamps of 4 watts per candle and 1,500 hours average life.

Lamp renewals

•129 cts. .146 cts.

•140 cts. 073 cts.

•170 cts. *049 cts.

*190 cts. 029 cts.

Thus, under the conditions given, the most economical lamps to use will be those of 31 watts per candle and 600 hours average life.

Now, let us suppose that the cost of power varies, as it will in different locations and under different conditions. It will be noted that of the $52.15 per year for the production of one horse-power, $28.09 or 54 per cent. is independent of the cost of fuel. Let us suppose. that the cost of fuel is nothing, and that the only expenses in the production of power are those due to labour, repairs, insurances, taxes, &c.

Total cost per 16 candle lamp hour when the power to run a 16 C.P. 3.1 watt lamp cost 0'4 cents per hour, and lamps cost 44 cts, each.

It will be noticed that the operating expenses are 8 per cent, less in the case of a plant using 31 watt 600 hour lamps than in the case of a plant using 36 watt 900 hour lamps. This is equivalent to an increase in the net profits of 12 per cent. in the case of an incandescent electr lighting company whose expenses are 60 per cent. of the total receipts, which is an average relation between the expenses and receipts in properly operated stations.

Attention is called to the fact that if the life of the incandescEGÍ lamp be increased, or the price of the lamp be reduced, the import ance of using the high efficiency lamp rather than the low efficiency lamp becomes even more marked than in the present instance.

Thus, if the average life of a 16 candle-power lamp of 31 watts be 1,200 hours, and the cost of the lamp be 40 cents, it will be found that higher economy will result by operating the lamp at 277 watts per candle, which will reduce the life to 600 hours. This s shown by the following table:

In all systems having a fairly good regulation and distribution of pressure, and where coal costs from $2 upward for the equivalent ! one ton of anthracite coal, the 31 watt lamp is the most economical In alternating systems as ordinarily installed, the variation of pressure is often too great to use the 31 watt lamp economically, and th 36 watt lamp should be used. Also in cases when the cost of power is extremely low, the 36 watt lamp should be used. It will not found economical to operate the best makes of lamps at more than se watts per candle under any conditions met with in practice.

The majority of 16 candle-power incandescent lamps on the market day require from 57 to 65 watts; that is, to have an efficiency of fr 36 to 4 watts, and attention is called to the fact that in order to e pare in quality with a lamp of 50 watts with a guaranteed average of 600 hours, there should be a guarantee of 900 hours average for the 57 watt lamps, and of 1,500 hours average life for t 65 walt lamps, and that even then the consumer will not be rating at the highest economy as shown above. Furthermore, it be borne in mind that by the use of 31 watt lamps, the capacity plant already using 36 watt lamps, will be increased 16 per cent.. in the case of a plant using 4 watt lamps, the capacity will increased 30 per cent.

To express this another way, it may be said that a consumer having a plant using lamps of 3·1 watts, and changing to lamps of 4 watts, not only suffers the disadvantage due to the fact that he is not operating at the highest economy, but he also immediately increases his investment, interest, depreciation, &c., per unit of light obtained, to the extent of 30 per cent, and subjects his dynamo to an overload of 30 per ent. with consequent greatly increased trouble and expense due entirely to the use of the low economy lamps, but frequently attributed to a defect in the dynamo as it is there that the overload manifests itself.

PARLIAMENTARY NOTES.

CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY BILL,

In the House of Commons on Thursday last week, on the order for the consideration of this Bill, which has come down from the Select Committee,

Mr. STUART rose to move the first of a series of amendments with reference to the running of workmen's trains on the proposed railway. He said that the Select Committee had inserted a provision for the running of three workmen's trains before seven o'clock in the morning, and three more after six o'clock in the evening. These trains were to run the distance of six miles at the uniform fare of 1d. The reason of the amendments, which he had on the paper, for increasing these facilities was that the class of persons who would avail themselves of these trains were not ordinary artisans and labourers. They were mostly messengers, under-clerks, and warehousemen employed in City warehouses and offices, who were in no better position than day labourers, but who did not begin work, as a rule, till after eight o'clock. The morning trains as provided by the Bill would not, therefore, be a great convenience to them. His first amendment was to change the three trains provided by the Bill to six. It was objected that that number was exceptionally great; but it was justified by the fact that the trains on the Central London Railway would be very short, and incapable of accommodating more than 150 third-class passengers. It was said that the railway would receive no compensation for the obligations thus imposed; but it was to be remembered that the company had paid nothing to the inhabitants of London for their tunnelling rights. When the District Railway was constructed no less than £200,000 was paid for the right to tunnel under the Embankment. He moved to leave out "three" and insert "six."

Mr. HOWELL seconded the amendment. He thought it effected a very reasonable extension.

Mr. BARRON regretted that the chairman of the committee was not present to explain the reasons which had induced the committee to come to their decision. If the company were only able to carry a small number of passengers in each train, it must be evident that it would be much more difficult for them to cover working expenses. The committee had been bound to take into consideration the enormous expense which was necessary for the construction of the railway, and the committee felt that they had no right to ask the company to concede more than three workmen's trains. The railway, if constructed, would relieve the congestion of traffic in Oxford Street and the City, and if unreasonable obligations were laid upon the company the railway would, in all probability, not be constructed at all. He hoped that the House would maintain the committee in their decision.

Mr. ISAACS said that, though the District Railway paid £200,000 for tunnelling under the Embankment, that tunnelling itself would have been impossible, had not the Embankment first been constructed on the old foreshore of the river. It was very easy to appear as the friend of the working classes when it only involved putting a hand into other persons' pockets. The obligation of providing three trains for workmen in the morning and in the evening was as much as could be reasonably expected. These six trains practically meant 12 unremunerative trains, for, at the hours at which they were run, they would generally be empty on the return journeys. Mr. GILES also opposed the amendment.

Mr. GANE said that no fact had been laid before the House which justified the imposition of a heavier obligation than had been imposed by the committee. The committee in what they had done in this case had gone considerably beyond anything previously done under similar circumstances, and in all fairness, before an additional burden was placed on the company, very strong grounds should be shown for doing so. He was in hearty sympathy with the spirit of the proposal to place all the privileges they fairly could within reach of the working classes, but there must be a reasonable limit, and in this case the proposed increase in the number of trains was, in the circumstances, unreasonable.

Mr. COURTENEY would suggest to the House whether it could alter the decision of the committee in this matter with any feeling of selfrespect. The members of the committee had had before them all the evidence and circumstances in the case; they were assisted by an eminent officer of the Board of Trade, backed by all the knowledge and experience of that board in connection with railways, and they deliberately came to the decision reported. Yet the House was now asked, without any means or opportunity at the moment of examining into the facts, and really any basis to go upon, to depart from that decision. He sincerely hoped the House would not do so., The amendment was negatived.'

Mr. STUART then moved the second amendment, to the effect that the hour at which the trains should run in the morning should be 8 o'clock, instead of 7. He contended that this amendment was not open to the objections urged against the previous one, because it would impose no additional obligation on the company. The popula tion of Shepherd's Bush included a large number of persons, such as

529

clerks and porters in City warehouses, messengers, &c., who did not go to work until 8 o'clock in the morning, but who were of the working classes quite as much as mechanics and labourers, and it was for the accommodation of those men in the suburbs that he moved the amend

ment.

Sir M. HICKS-BEACH said he heartily agreed with every word the Chairman of Committees said a few minutes ago. All matters connected with the Bill had been enquired into by the Select Committee, and he trusted, in the interest and safety of the public, that the House would not alter the hour that had been fixed by them.

Mr. BARRON opposed the amendment.

Mr. O. V. MORGAN said the amendment would entail no additional expense on the company, but would confer an immense boon on a large number of persons who would use the railway. He hoped, therefore, it would be adopted.

Mr. HOWELL said the men referred to by the hon. member for Shoreditch belonged in every sense to the working classes, and needed the accommodation proposed quite as much as mechanics and labourers did the earlier trains. Moreover, the more trains the company ran the more likely they would be to make the line pay, and he believed the extension of the hour to 8 o'clock, as proposed, would be largely to their advantage.

Mr. ADDISON protested against the House being called upon in the absence of evidence and full information to alter the deliberate decision of a committee who had thoroughly enquired into the whole matter.

Dr. CLARK said it had been admitted that the particular point in question did not come before the committee, and, therefore, he thought the House was free to deal with it. The matter was one f public interest, for it was of great importance, for sanitary and other reasons, that every facility should be given to the working classes to enable them to live in the suburbs. He supported the amendment. The House divided, when the numbers were

Mr. RAIKES said: The number of first-class telegraphists at an office is regulated by the number of first-class duties to be performed at that office. The maximum salaries are regulated by the importance and position of each office, and the cost of living in the different towns. The hon. member gives certain figures showing the numbers of the classes at five towns. The reason why the numbers were so fixed at the last revision was because the figures represented the number of duties at that date. A continual process of adjustment is necessary as business develops, and several of these towns will come under review. Nottingham and Sheffield are much more important offices than Dundee, and this is the reason why the maxima are greater there. I am advised that the duties on the postal side at Dundee require the higher appointments, and that the vacancies occurred on the postal side.

THE BOY MESSENGERS AND DISTRICT SERVICE COMPANIES. Dr. CAMERON asked the Postmaster-General to explain to the House the nature of the arrangements into which he had entered with the Boy Messengers and District Service Companies for the carrying on of their business under license from the Post Office.

Mr. RAIKES: In reply to the hon. member, I have to state that the arrangements in question are as follows:-The Postmaster-General grants licenses for the electric call system in London (such system not to include telephones), and, if requested, to connect the offices of the company or other persons licensed with the police stations and fire brigade stations on the same terms as those in force in private wires. The license to be for 12 years, and a royalty of £25 per annum and 2s. 6d. per instrument to be paid by the licensees. The company (or other licensees) will act as agents of the Postmaster-General to deliver single letters stamped with the penny rate of postage, provided that a messenger of the company may carry any number of letters (not exceeding six) handed in by the same sender. The company is not to make collection of letters. The costs of the legal proceedings have been ordered to be paid by the companies. I should, perhaps, add that a private Bill promoted by the Boy Messengers' Company has been withdrawn.

THE TELEGRAPH STAFF.

In answer to Dr. Kenny,

Mr. RAIKES said: In reply to the hon. member I have to state that I have before me now the cases of the Dublin and Edinburgh telegraph staffs. Some important questions connected with them have arisen, which present difficulty and require careful consideration. Until the difficulties are removed I can come to no conclusion, and 1 am therefore not in a position to say more than that I am giving to the subject my earnest attention, and shall endeavour to settle it as soon as practicable. I fear I can at present make no promises as to dates of commencement.

LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL, 2

CENTRAL LONDON RAILWAY BILL.*rt!!

"

The Parliamentary Committee reported on this Bill. They said the Bill, as amended by the Select Committee of the House of Commons, was considered on the 16th inst., and the next step was the third reading. They reported on April 7th the decision of the Select Committee with regard to the preamble, and especially referred

to the fact that they had refused to entertain the question raised in the council's petition of the ultimate purchase of the undertaking by the local authority. They had considered to what extent the opposition of the council to the Bill should be carried in the House of Lords, and, having regard to the decision above mentioned as to purchase, they did not think it advisable to raise the question again. They were of opinion that the opposition should be limited to the protec-. tion of the council's general interests, and to securing the insertion of any alterations or additions which might be necessary in the clauses of the Bill as passed by the House of Commons. They recommended that a petition be presented to the House of Lords against the Central London Railway Bill, to protect the general interests of the council in regard to sewers and other matters, which was agreed to.

[APRIL 24, 1891.

LEGAL.

Oriental Telephone Company.-On behalf of a holder of vendors' shares in this undertaking, Sir Horace Davey, Q.C., applied tò Mr. Justice Kekewich last Friday to declare the meaning of an agreement dated January, 1881. He said this agreement, which preceded the incorporation of the company, and formed part of the memorandum and articles of association, provided that if the holders of preferred shares did not receive a dividend of 6 per cent. for five years, any deficiency should be paid out of the profits of the company in priority to the rights to dividends of the holders of vendors' shares. For several years following the expiry of the five years the directors proceeded on the construction of the agreement for which he argued; but they had since proposed to declare dividends upon the deferred and preferred shares alike. This would defer for a considerable time the receipt of the total of 30 per cent. He submitted that if 30 per cent. was not raid during the first five years of the company's existence the after accruing profits ought to go to. the preferred shareholders, postponing the dividend on ordinary shares until this amount was paid.

Mr. COZENS HARDY, for the company, said that since the expiration of the five years the company had issued further ordinary shares, which were not entitled to the guarantec. The view of the directors was that vendors' and ordinary shares were both part of the original capital, and that as such they were now bound to declare a dividend on them share per share.

In the result, Mr. JUSTICE KEKEWICH, observing that the agreement included the holders of ordinary shares then issued or to be issued, said he should, as argued by the defendants, treat all the shares as being on the same footing; in other words, he declared that any deficiency in the 6 per cent. for the five years ought to be paid not out of the dividend attributable to the vendors' shares, but out of the general profits earned by the company, all the shareholders ranking alike as to the amount of dividends they received.

AN IMPROVED ENGRAVING MACHINE.

MESSRS. TAYLOR, TAYLOR AND HOBSON, of Leicester and London, have given much attention during the last few years to the development of their patent machinery for engraving and for the mathematical division of the circle; and the efficiency of the apparatus has been fully attested by their receipt of repeat orders from the manager of the Postal Telegraph Factory, the Silvertown Company, and others of the many users of their machines. The principal features of the engraving machines were described in the ELECTRICAL REVIEW a few years ago, but their general convenience and efficiency have been very much advanced by many improvements in detail which experience has suggested.

The capacity of the machine for engraving upon articles of large dimensions has been much increased by the re-arrangement of the frame, so that it is now possible to engrave the rims of wheels and drums of several feet diameter.

10

A new pattern vice has been added to the attachments for securing articles to be engraved.

A very perfect system of sharpening cutters is adopted, so that there is no difficulty in engraving even vulcanite without raising a burr; and thus, while machine engraving has the merits of great neatness, accuracy, and cheapness, it also obviates the difficulties always attending the subsequent finishing of surfaces which have been engraved by hand.

A patented gear is used to feed the cutter to its work, and to ensure uniformity in the depths and thicknesses of cuts, even on curved or other irregular surfaces.

The principle upon which this acts is that of advancing the cutter any fixed distance below the surface engraved; the distance being adjustable by a stop, and means being provided for quickly withdrawing the cutter and replacing it

recently a complete circular dividing engine has been placed on the market.

The racks of the revolving tables for dividing are cut in a machine kept sacred to that purpose, and the makers can guarantee a high degree of accuracy.

NOTES.

The Barnet Electric Lighting.-Messrs. Henry F. Joel & Co. are at arbitration with the Barnet. Local Board for damages for breach of agreement. The board agreed te support Messrs. Joel's application for a license or provisional order, and this was clearly set forth in the contract, but although the Board of Trade pressed, and they (the Loca Board) also pressed, the firm to obtain Parliamentary powers, yet after Messrs. Joel had prepared their license, the last moment the Barnet Local Board rescinded ther own resolution and refused to give their consent. Messrs Joel & Co. have tried every year to obtain these powers, of course now their contract is expiring it is too late. Th is said to be the real misfortune and the main cause of no success at Barnet, and Messrs. Joel are now going for o pensation. The moral of this, to electric light engineers "Put not your trust in local boards or town authorities

Fatality at Bath Electric Light Works.-A sad accident occurred at the Bath Electric Light Works recently. A man named George Phillips, an engine driver, ascended a short ladder resting upon the engine for the purpose of lubricating some parts of the machinery, mounting about three or four steps, and standing with one foot on the ladder and the other in the air. The ladder slipped on the top a few inches to the right, and Phillips attempted to step back to the ground beneath. In doing so he probably miscalculated the distance, overbalanced, and fell upon the eight ropes which transmit the power from the engine to the dynamo. He was immediately drawn under the fly-wheel, the ropes were thrown off, and the engine stopped. The ladder, during the whole of this time, remained standing, and had Phillips maintained his position upon it no accident would have occurred. On being removed from under the fly-wheel, he was found to have sustained severe injuries, although beyond a scratch upon the face, no external wounds were noticeable, and shortly after his admission to the Royal United Hospital he died. Phillips had been in the employ of Mr. Massingham for several months. He leaves a wife and one child.

Proposed Electric Lighting in Manchester. - The Electric Lighting Sub-Committee of the Gas Committee of the Manchester Corporation have prepared a report with reference to electric lighting to be presented at the next meeting of the Council. The report says:-"The subcommittee have had interviews with numerous eminent electric engineers connected with different companies, have also inspected several electric installations, and have obtained valuable information; but the opinions and methods have been found to be so diverse, and the plant so varied, that it is difficult at present for the sub-committee to come to any definite conclusion, or to recommend to the Gas Committee the course to be pursued in carrying out the provisional order. The result of your committee's inspection and enquiries is to convince them that the utmost care will be necessary in carrying out the electric lighting order; and they respectfully suggest that in the initial stages, with view to obviate mistakes as far as possible, the best professional and disinterested advice should be sought to draw up a complete scheme including the most efficient, modern, and economical appliances for the carrying out of such order. They are of opinion that such full information is indispensable, and under these circumstances the sub-committee desire the authority of the General Committee to take such steps as are necessary to carry out these views. It was resolved that the Council be recommended to pass the following resolution That the report upon electric lighting now presented to the Gas Committee be approved, and that the same be referred to them with full power to take such measures as in their judgment may be required to give effect to the recommendations and suggestions contained therein, and to adopt and carry out such other arrangements as may in their opinion be necessary and desirable in carrying out the Electric Lighting Order of 1890."

:

Electric Lighting at Exeter.-The dispute between the electric light company and the Town Council with regard to the earliest period at which the latter authority should have the option of purchasing the company's undertaking has been arbitrated upon by the Board of Trade. The council named 21 years, and afterwards 25 years, as the optional period, but the directors stood out for 28 years. As there was no prospect of an understanding being arrived at the matter was referred to the Board of Trade, which has declared in favour of 26 years being the earliest date, when the council would have to buy the plant as a going concern, with an amount equal to five years' net profits as goodwill. The second period the Board of Trade fix at 34 years, when three years' net profit would have to be paid as goodwill. If the undertaking is not bought, then the corporation can become proprietors at the end of the first term of the order, 42 years, without paying anything for goodwill.

531

Transformers and Spiritual Chameleons.-This is the title of a new work by Major-General H. Aylmer, and we naturally thought that the vexed question of whether open or closed circuit transformers are best would perhaps be solved, but Mr. Swinburne can fancy our editorial feelings when we found that it was only one of a series of recent religious publications, and that the transformers were not of the genus" Hedgehog."

Electric Pumping Plant at Nunuery Colliery.—The electric plant which has recently been installed at the Nunnery Colliery, Sheffield, consists of an Immisch dynamo and motor, the current being transmitted from the former to the latter by means of a cable a distance of 3,500 yards. The dynamo is compound-wound, and gives 22 ampères at 520 volts, the speed being 880 revolutions. It is driven by the fan engine, the speed being obtained by means of a countershaft with pulleys, driving two leather link belts. The power required to actuate the dynamo at full load is 221 horse-power. The large driving shaft is geared to the engine by a spiral form of friction clutch, and 37 revolutions per minute of the engines give a speed of 880 revolutions of the dynamo. There are two 7/16 bitumen insulated cables leading from the dynamo to the motor. The power from the underground motor is transmitted by means of a leather link belt on to a countershaft, which has spun gearing of 5 to 1 on the pump shaft. The pump is a three-throw ram pump, and delivers 50 gallons of water per minute through 2,000 yards of 4-inch pipes with a head of 385 feet, this being equal to 6 H.P. in the water, neglecting friction in the pipes. The cables are taken down the shaft in pipes, and are fixed to the props in the pit with wooden clamps. They are quite slack, so as to enable them to give way in case of a fall of roof.

Telephone Subscribers' Grievances.-On Wednesday last week a meeting of subscribers to the telephone was held at the Cannon Street Hotel "for the purpose of taking such steps as might be deemed necessary in their own interest. Mr. Hastie, who had convened the meeting, was voted to the chair. He explained that he had an office telephone at £20 a year, and a private one at his house for £12. Many in answering his circular had complained of an ineffective service, but he had a very good service at a very high price. It was absolutely necessary to have the telephone, and he thought they should demand a reduction in rental to £12 a year as a maximum. He had received subscriptions of 5s. each in support of the movement to the extent of £98, representing as near as possible 400 members, and believed it would be possible to get half the subscribers to the United Telephone Company to join. He thought they should form. an association to which members could address complaints. In a letter which he had received in answer to a communication from the Postmaster-General there was this paragraph: "As to any action which the Post Office itself might be prepared to take, I am to say that the Postmaster-General could not be indifferent to a clearly expressed and general demand for the establishment by his department of a telephonic service in London, but that he regards it as premature at present to state what the charges for such a service would be." That showed quite plainly that if the telephone company would not do what they should, the Post Office would take up the matter. Mr. R. W. Leage thought the charge for an ineffective service was excessive, and Mr. G. Clarke said that his firm had inquired of country customers and found that in the provinces the rentals had been reduced from £20 to £15, and in some cases to £5 a year. It was further mentioned that in Berlin the charge was £7 per annum for a much more effective service than that obtained in this country. After further discussion the meeting, which was a large and representative one, decided to support an association for the protection of the subscribers to the National Telephone Company." On a motion that a committee should be appointed, speakers complained that prevarication was often indulged in when subscribers were anxious to get "on" to any business house. A committee was nominated, and it was agreed that it be an instruction to endeavour to obtain the concession of direct communication between subscribers' offices and Paris.

66

532

Telephone in Melbourne.-Telephone subscribers increase rapidly in Melbourne. In 1889 they numbered 1,670, and the receipts were £25,236; in 1890, 1,903, and the revenue was £29,000.

Electric Lighting at Southampton.-The contractors for the Southampton Electric Light and Power Company have, by way of influencing business, resolved to supply the first 50 consumers with the electric light free of charge from the date of opening, April 27th.

Electric Lighting at Poole.-At a meeting of the Town Council last week, a letter was submitted from the Board of Trade with reference to a proposal made by the promoters of the Poole and Bournemouth electric lighting provisional order. The board stated that they would be glad to be favoured with the observations of the urban sanitary authority on the subject at their earliest convenience. The company proposed to form a local syndicate for the district, and asked the council for their consent, which was granted.

The Use of Electricity in the Suez Canal.—The British Consul at Port Said, in his report gives further statistics, showing how rapidly the electric light is being adopted to shorten the passage through the canal. To take extreme examples, we find for the nine months of 1887, when the regulations came into force, that 395 used the light, while last year it was utilised by 2,836 out of a total of 3,389 vessels passing through. Most of the vessels obtain the apparatus from the shipping agents at Port Said at a uniform rate of £10.

Electric Light at Dunston Flour Mill.-The Cooperative Wholesale Society's flour mill at Dunston-on-Tyne has been lighted throughout by Messrs. Ernest Scott and Mountain, of Newcastle. This installation is the largest in a flour mill in the United Kingdom, and is very complete in its details, the total installation consisting of about 600 16-C.P. incandescent lamps. The generating plant consists of three vertical engines, two of which are compound, and each capable of working up to from 60 to 70 indicated horsepower. The third engine has a single cylinder, and works up to 15 horse-power. The two larger engines drive on to two of Messrs. Ernest Scott and Mountain's Tyne compoundwound self-regulating dynamos, each constructed to run, when lightly loaded, 400 16-C.P. incandescent lamps, but is capable of working up to 600 incandescent lamps in case of emergency, so that under ordinary circumstances one dynamo and engine would be powerful enough to feed the whole of the incandescent lamps ordinarily used. When the whole of the lights are required, both engines and dynamos will be run lightly loaded, and in case of a breakdown occurring, one engine and dynamo would then be able to carry the whole load. The jetty and mill-yard is lighted with ten 2,000 C.P. Tyne arc lamps, the current being supplied by a compound-wound Tyne dynamo, driven by the small vertical engine. By a special method of dividing the circuits, the different portions of the mill are independent of each other, and can be switched on or off by the dynamo attendant from the engine room, and in the event of any accident occurring to any of the circuits, this would not affect the general lighting of the mill. A very complete system of electric bells has also been fitted by the same firm. There are in all 30 bells with 5-inch gongs and two bells with 9-inch gongs. The small bells are placed in the different departments throughout the mill, the two large bells being placed in the engine room. When it is proposed to start the engine the engine driver presses the push which rings the whole of the bells in the north mill, and a second push rings the bells in the south mill. The men in charge of the various departments then ring back to an indicator, when the engine driver sees that all the drops are down he knows everything is clear, and his engine can be started. In the event of an accident, a man in any portion of the mill can ring one of the large gong bells, when the engine is at once stopped. The installation throughout has been carried out in a most complete and satisfactory manner, and has given great satisfaction to the officials connected with the co-operative society and their engineer, Mr. John Thompson, under whose supervision the work has been ried out.

[APRIL 24, 1891.

Electric Light in Bombay.-There is some talk of lighting the streets of Bombay by electricity.

The Compensation Case.-The compensation case mentioned in our last issue, brought by the Rochester Company against the South-Eastern Railway Company, has resulted in an award of £7,000.

Lectures on the Dynamo.-Prof. Silvanus Thompson continued his lectures at the Royal Institution last Saturday. The lecturer dwelt chiefly on the design and construction of modern dynamos, and the principle of the magnetic

circuit.

O.S.A. Association.-A smoking concert will take place this evening at Mason's Hall Tavern, Basingball Street, at 7.30 o'clock. A good programme has been provided, and we hope that members and their friends will assemble in force.

Coastguard Communication. It is said that Sir Edward Birkbeck has given notice in Parliament of a resolu tion for the establishment of telephonic and telegraphic communication on the coasts between all coastguard and signal stations. It is certainly necessary that steps should be immediately taken to give greater facilities for the more speedy employment of lifeboats and rocket apparatus.

The Fire at West Drayton.-Owing to the disastrous fire which occurred at the beginning of the year in the West Drayton works of the Electrical Engineering Corporation, Limited, it has been resolved to go into voluntary liquida tion with a view to reconstruction. The damage was esti mated at £21,000, but one of the fire offices contests the claim; at the best it is expected there will be a very considerable loss.

Oil Insulation for High Tension Transformers.Prof. Elihu Thomson remarks that reference is made to the use of oil in converters, in connection with the accounts of the high-pressure experiments of Mr. C. E. L. Brown, at the Oerlikon Works. It may be interesting to our readers to learn that the use of oil in converters was the subject of a patent applied for by him on May 9th, 1887, or about four years ago, the number of the United States patent being 428,648.

An Entirely Novel Proposal.-A certain J. T. N has written an article in a recent number of the English Mechanic, under the heading "A New Bi-Metallic Conductor." As an instance of much-ado-about-nothing. written by a writer who must have kept his eyes and ears fast closed for some years past, the article in question affords an excellent example. The idea of compound wire approaching in strength that of steel with the conductivity of copper is ancient history; as almost every telegraphist knows. it was first put forth and carried into effect. by Siemens, and more recently a line of compound wire manufactured by electro-depositing copper on a steel core was erected for telephonic purposes between New York and Chicago, a fact which is pretty generally known. Why then do we hear at the present day so little of this compound wire? For the simple reason that hard drawn copper is found to answer the object in view far better than anything else. In the article re ferred to we are informed that "An entirely novel proposal has recently been made by a French engineer-Mons. Edouard Martin-which, it is alleged, is likely to become rapidly and widely adopted, since it refers to a really practical solution of the problem of wire conductors, and is not merel another new scientific nostrum.' Mons. Martin has devise a compound or bi-metallic wire, which consists of a steel cor sheathed in copper. This, it is said, combines the desirat advantage of lightness, high mechanical resistance, ar cheapness, with a sufficiently low resistance to current for al ordinary practical purposes. The figure (a section of wire will give our readers at once a clear idea of this inventio. which, like so many other good things,' appears to b extremely simple, and one is led to wonder that it has " been adopted long ago." We wonder also!