purpose, and parsley, which is neither bitter nor sweet, but the most
popular of all flavoring plants, comparatively few other leaves are
used. Perhaps I ought also to except the sweet bay, which is popular
in rice and other puddings, and certainly imparts one of the most
pleasant and exquisite flavors; but, on the other hand, what a waste
there is of the flavoring properties of peach, almond, and laurel
leaves, so richly charged with the essence of bitter almonds, so
much used in most kitchens! Of course such leaves must be used with
caution, but so must the spirit as well. An infusion of these could
readily be made, either green or dry, and a tea or table spoonful of
the flavoring liquid used. One of the most useful and harmless of all
leaves for flavoring is that of the common syringa. When cucumbers are
scarce, these are a perfect substitute in salads or anything in which
that flavor is desired. The taste is not only like that of cucumbers,
but identical--a curious instance of the correlation of flavors in
widely different families. Again, the young leaves of cucumbers have a
striking likeness in the way of flavor to that of the fruit. The
same may be affirmed of carrot tops, while in most gardens there is
a prodigious waste of celery flavor in the sacrifice of the external
leaves and their partially blanched footstalks. Scores of celery are
cut up into soup, when the outsides would flavor it equally well or
better. The young leaves of gooseberries added to bottled fruit give
a fresher flavor and a greener color to pies and tarts. The leaves of
the flowering currant give a sort of intermediate flavor between black
currants and red. Orange, citron, and lemon leaves impart a flavoring
equal to that of the fruit and rind combined, and somewhat different
from both. A few leaves added to pies, or boiled in the milk used to
bake with rice, or formed into crusts or paste impart an admirable and
almost inimitable bouquet. In short, leaves are not half so much used
for seasoning purposes as they might be."
* * * * *
NEW SHUTTER FASTENER.
We give herewith an engraving of a new shutter fastener, recently
patented by Mr. P. F. Fernandez, of San Juan, Porto Rico, West Indies.
This fastener is designed for holding doors or window shutters in
position when open, to prevent them from closing or swinging in the
wind.
[Illustration: IMPROVED SHUTTER FASTENER.]
To the wall is secured a plate to which is pivoted the spring-acted
hook, A, and upon the shutter in the proper position for engaging the
hook, A, there is a rigid hook, B. A coil spring is attached to the
plate that supports the hook, A, and when the shutter is open is
engaged by a boss formed on the end of the hook, B. By this means the
hook, B, is pressed forward into close contact with hook, A, thereby
preventing all jarring and rattling.
The hook, A, is provided with an eye for receiving the cord, C, which
extends to the window casing and is within easy reach, so that when
it is desired to close the shutter the hook, A, may be readily
disengaged from the hook, B, by simply pulling the cord.
Further information may be obtained by addressing the inventor as
above.
* * * * *
AN IMPROVED GARDEN SPRINKLER.
A novel garden sprinkler, which may be carried on the back, is shown
in the accompanying engraving. The cylindrical vessel has a removable
cover, and contains a perforated plunger which is operated by a hand
lever from without. The cylindrical vessel is provided with shoulder
straps, and it has two sprinkling nozzles connected with it by
flexible tubes.
[Illustration: HODEL & STAUBER'S GARDEN SPRINKLER.]
This sprinkler is especially designed for applying insect-destroying
poison to plants. The operator, as he goes through the field or
garden, takes one nozzle in each hand and distributes the liquid upon
the plants. From time to time the liquid will be agitated by moving
the perforated plunger.
This invention was recently patented by Adolf Hodel, of Jefferson, and
F. A. Stauber, of Chicago, Ill.
* * * * *
A NEW FOOT POWER.
In our issue of November 9 we illustrated and described a sewing
machine having W. F. Lane's improved foot power applied. We give
herewith views of the foot power in detail, Fig. 1 being a side
elevation, and Figs. 2 and 3 sectional views. The device is designed
for application to any light machinery that can be propelled by
foot power. A is the shaft to which motion is to be imparted by the
treadles, B, the latter being pivoted to oscillate on the shaft,
H. Two ratchet wheels, C, are secured to the shaft, A, and are each
worked by pawls, D, which are pivoted to a carrier, E, which turns
loosely on the shaft. The pawls are in the form of an elbow lever, and
the movement of their tooth ends is limited by lugs or shoulders on
the carrier, E. The outer ends of the pawls are received between lugs
that project from the plate, F, which turns loosely on the shaft,
A, and has attached to it the rope pulley, G. When the plate, F, is
turned in one direction the pawls are raised and ride loosely over
the teeth, but when the plate turns in the other direction the pawls
engage the ratchet teeth and carry them and also the shaft, A. A
guide pulley, I, is pivoted below the shaft, A, with its axis at right
angles to the shaft.
The motion from the alternately-oscillated treadles, B, is transmitted
to the pulleys, G, by means of a rope (shown in dotted lines), both
ends of which are fastened by hooks to some fixed point. This rope
runs from one of the hooks down under a pulley pivoted in the toe
of one of the treadles, thence around one of the pulleys, G, thence
around the pulley, I, over the other pulley, G, and downward around
the pulley in the other treadle, and upward to the second fixed hook.
The depression of one of the treadles causes the shaft to rotate, and
also lifts the other treadle into position to be operated.
[Illustration: LANE'S FOOT POWER.]
For further information address Wm. F. Lane, Elgin, Ill.
* * * * *
NEW INVENTIONS.
Mr. Samuel Heaton, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has patented an improved
Iron Fence Post, which is particularly adapted for wire fences. It
is formed of a slotted iron bar, constituting the post proper, and a
triangular brace, which is so connected with said bar that it may be
easily adjusted at different angles, corresponding to the undulation
or unevenness of the ground surface where the post is used.
Mr. Thomas S. Alexander, of Meriden, Conn., has patented an improved
Drawer Pull, which is neat, strong, and durable, and is less expensive
than when made in the usual way.
An improved Earth Scraper has been patented by Mr. Benjamin Slusser,
of Sidney, Ohio. This is an improvement in that class of earth
scrapers which are arranged to revolve for the purpose of dumping the
load, and during the intervals, or while being filled, are locked in
rigid position.
An improvement in Wagon Bodies has been patented by Mr. James H.
Paschal, of Camden, Ark. This invention consists, essentially, in a
frame provided with spurs projecting therefrom for engagement with the
bales to prevent them from slipping, and the combination therewith of
removable extension side and end pieces, for enabling the wagon to be
used for other purposes when not employed for hauling cotton bales;
there is an extension of the frame forming a feed trough for the
horses employed to draw the vehicle.
An improved Scraper has been patented by Mr. George Eiteman, of Round
Grove, Ill. This is a double-ended scraper hung at its center on a rod
connected to the handle arms, whereby either end of the scraper may be
used. It has catches to prevent the scraper from revolving backward,
and spring actuated dogs on the handle frame to retain the scraper in
position and prevent it from turning over until released.
* * * * *
AMATEUR MECHANICS.
For amusement, exercise, and profit we commend, to those who are
mechanically inclined, the practice of working with tools of the
smaller sort, either in wood or other of the softer materials, or in
metals, glass, or stone. This practice renders the hands dexterous,
the muscles strong, and the head clear, with the further advantage of
producing something for either ornament or use. Of course a bench with
a vise and a few wood working and iron working tools will be required;
but the most expensive as well as the most essential tool is a lathe.
With this tool, not only turning in wood, metal, ivory, rubber, etc.,
can be accomplished, but it may also be used for screw-thread cutting,
gear cutting, drilling metals, boring wood, spinning metals, milling,
sawing metal and wood, grinding, polishing, moulding, shaping, and
other purposes. A first class plain lathe of small size cannot be
purchased for less than $50 or $60, and one of inferior quality will
cost $20 to $30.
While the purchase of a lathe is recommended there may be many who
would prefer to make one. A lathe that will do admirably and which
may be easily made is shown in the accompanying engravings, Fig.
1 representing in perspective the lathe complete; Fig. 2 is a
perspective view of the lathe without the table; Fig. 3 is a vertical
longitudinal section of the lathe, showing the manner of securing the
head and tail stocks to the bars which form the bed or shears.
In making this lathe one pattern only will be required for the two
standards of the head stock, and the support of the ends of the bars.
The lower part of the tail stock is made in two parts, so that they
may be clamped tightly together on the shears by means of the bolt
that passes through both parts, and is provided with a nut having
a lever handle. The rest support is also made in two parts, clamped
together on the ways in a similar way.
The patterns may be easily sawed from 11/4 inch pine. The holes that
receive the round bars should be chambered to receive Babbitt metal,
used in making the fit around the bars forming the shears, around the
head and tail spindles, and around the shank of the tool rest. The
smallest diameter of the holes that receive the round bars should be a
little less than that of the bars, so that the several pieces that
are placed on the bars may be fitted to hold them in place while the
Babbitt metal is poured in.
The dimensions of the lathe are as follows:
Length of round bars forming shears, 24 inches; diameter of bars, 1
inch; distance from the upper side of upper bar to center of spindle,
3 inches; between bars, 3/4 inch; between standards that support the
live spindle, 31/2 inches; size of standard above shears, 3/4 x 11/4
inch; diameter of head and tail spindles, 3/4 inch; diameter of
pulleys, 5 inches, 31/2 inches, and 2 inches; width of base of
standards, 5 inches; height of standards, 7 inches.
The live spindle should be enlarged at the face plate end, and tapered
at both ends, as indicated in the engraving.
The pulleys, which are of hard wood, are made of three pieces glued
together, bored, and driven on the spindle, secured by a pin passing
through both it and the spindle, and turned off. The bars forming the
shears may be either cold rolled iron or round machinery steel; they
will require no labor except perhaps squaring up at the ends. The
castings having been fitted to the bars, and provided with set screws
for clamping them, the two standards that support the live spindle and
the support for the opposite end of the bars are put in position, when
the bars are made truly parallel, and a little clay or putty is placed
around each bar and over the annular cavity that surrounds it, and is
formed into a spout or lip at the upper side to facilitate the pouring
of Babbitt metal. The metal must be quite hot when poured, so that
it will run sharp and fill the cavity. To guard against a possible
difficulty in removing the castings from the bars it might be well to
cover the side of the bar next the screw with a thin piece of paper.
The pieces of the tail stock and tool rest support are fitted to the
bars by means of Babbitt metal, the metal being poured first in one
half and then in the other. The bolts which clamp the two parts of the
rest support and tail stock together are provided with lever handles.
After fitting the parts to the two bars by means of Babbitt metal, the
tail spindle, which is threaded for half its length, is placed in the
tail stock parallel with the bars and Babbitted. A binding screw is
provided for clamping the tail spindle, and the spindle is drilled at
one end to receive the center, and has at the other end a crank for
operating it. A steel or bronze button is placed in the hole in the
standard that supports the smaller end of the live spindle, and the
spindle is supported in its working position and Babbitted.
The thread on the spindle should be rather coarse, so that wooden or
type metal face plates and chucks may be used.
The table shown in Fig. 1 is simple and inexpensive. It consists of
two pairs of crossed legs halved together and secured to a plank top.
A small rod passes through the rear legs near their lower ends, and
also through a piece of gas pipe placed between the legs. A diagonal
brace is secured to the top near one end, and is fastened to the lower
end of the rear leg at the other end of the table.
A block is secured to each pair of legs for supporting a pair of
ordinary grindstone rollers, which form a bearing for the balance
wheel shaft. This shaft has formed in it two cranks, and it carries
an ordinary balance wheel, to the side of which is secured by means
of hook bolts a grooved wooden rim for receiving the driving belt. The
cranks are connected, by means of hooks of ordinary round iron, with a
treadle that is pivoted on the gas pipe at the rear of the table. The
shaft will work tolerably well, even if it is not turned. The cranks
must have half round grooves filed in them to receive the treadle
hooks. The size of the different diameters of the drive wheel may be
found by turning the larger one first and the smaller ones afterward,
using the belt to determine when the proper size is reached. The
wooden rim may be turned off in position by using a pointed tool.
[Illustration: Fig. 1]
[Illustration: Fig. 2]
[Illustration: Fig. 3]
[LATHES FOR AMATEUR MECHANICS.]
The lathe above described, although very easily made and inexpensive,
will be found to serve an excellent purpose for hand work, and if the
holes, instead of being Babbitted, are bored, and if the bars forming
the shears are turned, the lathe may be converted into a kind of
engine lathe by placing a feeding screw between the bars, and putting
a small tool post in the rest support.
M.
* * * * *
MACHINE SHOP ECONOMY.
In times like the present, when even with good management our best
machine shops are enabled to exhibit but small margins of profit, and
shops with indifferent management exhibit margins on the wrong side,
it is a question of paramount importance what kind of economy should
be pursued in order to maintain a successful business. The directors
of long established machinery enterprises differ widely upon some
methods of conducting business, and while one gains success by
pursuing a certain plan, another, with perhaps as much ability, cannot
pursue the same with satisfactory results.
While in the main there are many different plans upon which successful
machinery establishments are conducted, there are some underlying
principles that must be observed to avoid meeting with difficulties.
The rate of wages paid is certainly a large element of shop economy,
but there are so many other elements that should be considered before
wages are reached, that we often find proprietors, who pay their
workmen at a comparatively high rate, doing a more prosperous business
than their competitors who have reduced wages to the lowest possible
scale. Many machine shop owners, not having mastered the various
economies of management, as soon as profits begin to shorten, pounce
directly upon the wages paid to their workmen, and pare them down so
as to make up for the deficiency elsewhere. They don't seem to realize
that there are important elements of economical management other than
closely watching the wages of labor and the cost of material. It is
sometimes necessary to reduce the rate of wages, but what a different
effect it has upon the men in different shops! In one shop you
scarcely hear a murmur--no angry meetings--no threats of a strike--no
growling at the head of the establishment. The intelligent workmen
understand the reasons for the reduction without a wordy explanation,
and accept it, feeling confident that it has not been unjustly made.
In another shop it causes ill feeling, angry protests, and perhaps
a disastrous strike. The owner often charges his trouble to the
character of his workmen. Let him review his course, and see if the
great cause is not in his own management. Mechanics are keen and
observing. If the business is poorly managed they are not slow to
mark it, and when a cut is made in wages can generally cipher out the
cause. It is good economy to keep a systematic record of the cost
of everything. This record will be found very valuable in making
estimates, much more so than guess work. It is not good economy
to keep using worn-out tools when any work of consequence is to be
performed. The extra cost of labor and spoiled pieces would soon pay
for new tools. It is not good economy to keep discharging capable
workmen for petty causes, and employing new hands to take their
places. It is poor economy to use slow-cutting grindstones to
accomplish work that fast cutting emery wheels are suited for. It is
questionable economy to employ lathes, planers, and drills to perform
work of any extent that a milling machine will do better in less time
and at much less expense.
It is decidedly bad economy to employ engines and boilers that waste
fuel and are troublesome to keep in good running condition. It is
mistaken economy to buy inferior tools, machines, and shop supplies,
because they are low priced.
It is very defective economy to fit the parts of machines together by
trial instead of making them by aid of correct drawings and standard
tools for accurate measurement. It is faulty economy to practice
borrowing and lending working tools.
The idea that economy consists in withholding every expense not
absolutely demanded is erroneous. An extra outlay in one or another
direction often assures the saving as well as the making of money.
Wise economy looks to the future as well as the present, and requires
that all work sent out from a shop should be of the best and most
reliable character.--_American Machinist._
* * * * *
THE REWARD OF INVENTION.
_Capital and Labor_ publishes the substance of a letter from Mr. Henry
Bessemer with reference to the refusal of the English Government, or
of its ambassador in Paris, to allow the Grand Cross of the Legion of
Honor to be accepted by its countrymen, and in his letter Mr. Bessemer
furnishes some autobiographic particulars which cannot fail to be of
interest. He tells us that at the age of eighteen he came to London
from a small country village, knowing no one, and himself unknown; but
his studious habits and his love of invention soon gained for him
a footing, and in two years he was pursuing a method of his own
invention for taking copies from antique and modern bassi-rilievi in
a manner that enabled him to stamp them on a cardboard, thus producing
thousands of embossed copies of the highest works of art, at a small
cost. The facility for making a permanent die, even from a thin paper
original, capable of producing a thousand copies, would have opened
a wide door to successful fraud if the process had been known to
unscrupulous persons; for by its means, Mr. Bessemer states, there is
not a government stamp, or the paper seal of a corporate body, that
every common office clerk could not forge in a few minutes at the
office of his employer or at his own home. The production of a
die from a common paper stamp is the work of only ten minutes; the
materials cost less than one penny. No sort of technical skill is
necessary, and a common copying press or letter stamp yields most
successful copies. There is no need for the would-be forger to
associate himself with a skillful die sinker, capable of making a good
imitation in steel of the original, for the merest tyro could make
an absolute copy on the first attempt. The public knowledge of such a
means of forging would, at that time, have shattered the whole system
of the British Stamp Office, had a knowledge of the method been
allowed to escape. The secret has, however, been carefully guarded to
this day.
During the time that Mr. Bessemer was engaged in studying this
question he was informed that the government were themselves cognizant
of the fact that they were losers to a great amount annually by
the transfer of stamps from old and useless deeds to new skins of
parchment, thus making the stamps do duty a second or third time, to
the serious loss of the revenue. One official in high position said
that he believed they were defrauded in this way to the extent of
probably L100,000 per annum. To fully appreciate the importance of
this fact, and realize the facility afforded for this species of fraud
by the system then in use, it must be understood that the ordinary
impressed or embossed stamp, such as is employed on all bills of
exchange, if impressed directly on a skin of parchment, would be
entirely obliterated by exposing the deed for a few months to a damp
atmosphere. The deed would thus appear as if unstamped, and therefore
invalid. To prevent this it has been the practice as far back as
the reign of Queen Anne to gum a small piece of blue paper on to the
parchment; and for still greater security a strip of metal foil is
passed through it, and another small piece of paper with the printed
initials of the Sovereign is gummed over the loose ends of the foil at
the back. The stamp is then impressed on the blue paper, which, unlike
parchment, is incapable of losing the impression by exposure to a damp
atmosphere. But, practically, it has been found that a little piece of
moistened blotting paper applied for a whole night so softens the gum
that the two pieces of paper and the slip of foil can be removed from
the old deed most easily, and be applied to a new skin of parchment,
and thus be made to do duty a second or third time. Thus the expensive
stamps on thousands of old deeds of partnership, leases, and other old
documents, when no longer of value, offer a rich harvest to those who
are dishonest enough to use them. A knowledge of these facts led Mr.
Bessemer to fully appreciate the importance of any system of stamps
that would effectually prevent so great a loss; nor did he for one
moment doubt but that government would amply reward success. After
some months of study and experiment, which he cheerfully undertook
(although it interfered considerably with the pursuit of regular
business, inasmuch as it was necessary to carry on the experiments
with the strictest secrecy, and to do all the work himself during the
night after his people had left work), he succeeded in making a stamp
that satisfied all the necessary conditions. It was impossible to
remove it from one deed and transfer it to another. No amount of
damp, or even saturation with water, could obliterate it, and it
was impossible to take any impression from it capable of producing a
duplicate.
Mr. Bessemer says that he knew nothing of patents or patent law in
those days; and adds that if he had for a moment thought it necessary
to make any preliminary conditions with government he would have at
once scouted the idea as utterly unworthy, thinking his interests
absolutely secure. In this full confidence he sought an interview with
the then chief of the Stamp Office, Sir Charles Presley, and showed
him by numerous proofs how easily all his stamps could be forged, and
also the mode of prevention. He was greatly astonished, and at a later
interview he suggested that the principle of the invention should be
worked out fully. This Mr. Bessemer was only too anxious to do; and
some five or six weeks later called again with a newly designed stamp,
which greatly pleased him. The design was circular, about 21/2 inches
in diameter, and consisted of the Garter with the motto in capital
letters surmounted by a crown. Within the Garter was a shield with the
words "five pounds." The space between the shield and the Garter was
filled with network in imitation of lace. The die had been executed in
steel, which pierced the parchment with more than 400 holes, each one
of the necessary form to produce its special portion of the design.
Since that period perforated paper of this kind has been largely
employed for valentines and other ornamental purposes, but was
previously unknown. It was at once obvious that the transfer of such
a stamp was impossible. It was equally clear that dampness could not
obliterate it; nor was it possible to take any impression from it
capable of perforating another skin of parchment.