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velop the industry in Canada successfully, except for vessels of small size or of a design necessitated by local requirements. It is stated that a Nova Scotia steel company intends to manufacture plates; if so, the duty of 25 per cent will attach, and the price likely advance. This would probably cause the suspension of steel shipbuilding in Canada unless sustained by duty or bounty.

The Steam

THE STEAM TURBINE is making large gains in public favor. The immense power station of the Pennsylvania, New York Turbine & Long Island Railroad, and the Philadelphia Rapid Transit Subway system of Philadelphia, are being equipped with steam turbines, aggregating at the start 33,000 K. W. capacity. Also, the Interborough Rapid Transit Company of New York and the Brooklyn Rapid Transit system have both adopted steam turbines of the WestinghouseParsons type for extensions in power. The equipment of these systems will be in units of 5,500 K. W. each, thus conforming to the precedent established by the Pennsylvania and Philadelphia systems in regard to the capacity of their largest main generating units. The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company have also recently extended their original order for 16,500 K. W. in WestinghouseParsons turbines, by 6,000 K. W., in four units of 1,500 K. W. each. A contract has recently been closed with the Merchants' Light, Heat & Power Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, for two 750-K. W. turbine units for general light and power service. At the Cactus Mines, Utah, turbines furnish electric power for lighting the buildings and mines, and for all other forms of power throughout the company's property.

REAR-ADMIRAL MELVILLE has returned from Europe, where, as representative of Opposed to the Navy Department, he the Steam investigated the present Turbine relation of the steam turbine to marine service. The admiral expressed himself in the following words:

"I shall oppose the building of warships with turbines, except for experimental purposes. The whole thing is in its infancy, and there is not an engineer living who is willing to swear by it. In London I had many interviews with Lord Selborne, First Lord of Rear-Admiral the Admiralty; Sir John Durston; Admirals May and Oram; Sir William H. White, the naval architect; and with members of the Cunard Commission, appointed to study the turbine. The Cunard people were not very communicative, being pledged to secrecy; but the naval officials gave me much information. I visited yards in the United Kingdom where turbines are building, and saw five of the vessels in process of construction. These boats were of moderate speed, of the triple-screw type. I found no one who was satisfied with the claim of economy of coal and weight made in behalf of the turbine. As to space, there seemed to be no question in the minds of the shipbuilders; and, while all are anxious to build, none are ready to guarantee anything but moderate speed, and I am surprised that the Cunard Line should make an experiment on such a large and expensive scale. In my visits to foreign shipyards I went to Stettin, Hamburg, Flushing, and through some French yards. I found the French yards dabbling in the turbine to a small extent only. Of all the engines that I examined, I found the Westinghouse 'doubleflow' the best."

India Rubber

MORE THAN 50,000,000 POUNDS of India rubber, valued at over $30,000,000, were imported into the United States last year. In 1890 the quantity was only 33,000,000 pounds; in 1880, 16,000,000 pounds; in 1870, 9,000,000 pounds; and in 1882, the earliest date at which rubber was shown in the import statistics, it was only 2,125,516 pounds.

This rapid growth in the importation of crude India rubber is, of course, due to the great increase in its use in manufacturing for rubber garments, shoes, etc., and its use in machinery and as tires for vehicles. Over $100,000,000 worth of manufactures from India rubber is now turned out from the factories of this country every year, and about half of this total is in the form of boots and shoes.

So great is the demand for India rubber for use in manufacturing, that not only has the importation vastly increased, but, in addition to this, the forests of the East Indies are called upon for several million pounds each year of a new substitute for gutta percha, known as “gutta

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joolatong;" while the highways and byways of Europe and other parts of the world are also ransacked for cast-off rubber, from which rubber is "reclaimed" to be used in conjunction with new rubber from the forests of Brazil, Africa, and the East Indies.

A STATEMENT issued by the Bureau of Statistics of the Department of ComJapanese Im- merce and Labor shows ports of Electric- that the exports of elecal Machinery trical machinery to Japan for the eleven months ended May 31, 1904, were valued at $715,057, as compared with $426,562 for the corresponding period of last year. The exports of scientific instruments for the same periods decreased from $255,833 in 1903 to $131,605 in 1904. Increases are shown in other articles-cars and carriages, from $133.402 to $250,446; builders' hardware, from $129,449 to $148,133; locomotives, from $275,042 to $499,073; typewriters, from $14,357 to $21,042; and a substantial increase in most other articles is noted. The war has not thus far had any appreciable effect on Japan's demand for modern things.

THE Electrical Review contains the following interesting item:

"Our foreign exchanges report that at one of the meetings of the South African LightReduction ing Association, to account of Municipal for the shrinkage in the conExpense sumption of gas, it was explained that the Government of Cape Colony has adopted a standard time which moved forward the day one hour. Now, the people of South Africa regulated their daily affairs by the clock before this change, and they still do so. They rise one hour earlier and go to bed accordingly. This shifting forward of the day in effect extends twilight into the night. Street lamps are lit an hour later-according to the clock-and, as they are extinguished at the regular time, an hour of lighting is saved. It does not appear that the new life is less enjoyed than the old, as doubtless the chickens, cats, and other domestic animals have also adopted the new day. This is surely an exceedingly simple and effective method of reducing one item of municipal expense; and we recommend it to those towns which, owning municipal plants, each year have the hard problem of making the income meet the expenses."

The Telephone Industry

ACCORDING to the United States Census Bureau, the telephone industry in the United States represents a capital of over $450,000,000, covering slightly over 4,000 systems, with 2,371,044 telephones of all kinds, over which were exchanged during the year 1902 the extraordinary number of more than 5,000,000,000 telephone conversations. This industry employed 64,628 wage-earners, to whom was paid $26,369,735; and 14,124 salaried officials and clerks, who received $9,885,886. The revenue derived from the industry reached the immense total of $86,825,536. The expenses for the year were $61,152,823. The interest on bonds was $3,411,948, and the dividends paid were $14,982,719. It would appear that, exclusive of the interest on bonds, the expenses were just about 70 per cent of the income.

THE DEMAND for motors and all other electrical apparatus, in Scotland, is steadProfitable Field ily increasing; and Amerifor Electrical can companies prepared Eng'ring Firms to compete in these lines of manufacture have now their best opportunity. The application of electricity as a motive power in various industries— for urban lighting and traction, as light and power for coal mines, and for other uses, examples of which are numerous, mark the real dawn of the electric-power era in this part of Great Britain. American manufacturers have in the past few years furnished some of the heavy machinery for municipal generating stations and private plants, and also a considerable number of dynamos, motors, etc. American-English concerns have done much in this line-in fact, they seem to be well ahead of all others.

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From Cairo the railroad now penetrates far into the Soudan. Roughly speaking, two-thirds of the "Cape-to-Cairo" line is already completed; and in a few more years Africa will be traversed from one end to the other by rail. A railway trip through equatorial Africa does not appear to offer any advantages over transportation by the Southampton liners; but, as a commercial undertaking, the road will be of the greatest importance in opening up the resources of Central Africa. Its strategical and political importance to the British Empire, as another link of intra-imperial communication, goes, of course, without saying.

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The commercial agent of Canada, representing the Dominion's trade interests in Australia, reports that the towns and settlements of Tasmania, Victoria, and South and West Australia are rapidly introducing calcium carbide lighting calcium carbide lighting plants and implements.

A branch railroad is to be constructed between Alberdi and Sudbeste in Argentina.

The breweries at Pilsen, Bohemia, will erect a large electric central station to furnish that noted industry with power.

The Russian Ministry of Roads and Traffic has decided to operate a branch of the Baltic Railway by electric power. The municipality of Venice, Italy, has resolved to purchase electric-motor boats.

tina, are to be extended, at a cost of $338,167.

The value of artificial and chemical fertilizers annually used in Italy is estimated at $8,250,000, among which mineral superphosphate, Thomas slag, Chile saltpeter, and ammonia sulphate are the principal items.

Owing to great losses of cattle by the rinderpest in Egypt, the large plantations and farmers there are about to introduce steam plows and automobile machines for the cultivation of grain and cotton.

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Dutch Draught Dogs

IN HOLLAND AND BELGIUM the dog occupies the place which the donkey does in several other countries. In the former, the sight of a couple of dogs dragging along a pushcart loaded with vegetables, flowers, or shining milk-cans is a familiar one. The dogs trot along underneath the cart, within easy reach of the blunt toe of the sabot worn by the woman who walks behind to guide the cart by the handles attached at the rear. In Belgium the dogs are hitched in front, three abreast, and are guided by a pair of rope reins fastened to a muzzle about the nose of the middle dog. Recently the National Cart Dog Association held its first exhibition of cart dogs. The Flemish breeders have found that, in crossing Belgium mastiffs with Great Danes, with the idea of increasing the size of cart dogs, and so securing additional strength, they made a mistake. The result proved to be animals with weak hind quarters and disproportionate limbs. Now the breeders are endeavoring to revive the

The waterworks of San Juan, Argen- original stock.

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ative work in science, in letters, in art, in exploration, in historical researchwork of the type we most need in this country, the successful carrying out of which reflects most honor upon the nation.

We do not admire the man of timid peace. We admire the man who embodies victorious effort; the man who

never wrongs his neighbor; who is prompt to help a friend; but who has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of actual life. It is hard to fail; but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort. Freedom from effort in the present merely means that there has been stored up effort in the past.

OLD

Science and Art

LD ALEXANDER, the porter of the Royal Institution in London, was quite a distinguished character in his way, and from his long experience was on terms of more than ordinary familiarity with the professors and visitors. One day he was assisting Professor Huxley to hang the diagrams for his lecture. The screen on which the diagrams were hung was not very large, and Huxley, do as he would, could not succeed without the blank corner of one diagram overlapping the illustration of another one on which he placed great importance. What was to be done? The professor asked Alexander to bring a pair of scissors. The scissors were brought; but, as the joint was somewhat loose the professor was not able to cut the paper, and he threw the scissors down in disgust, adding that they were useless. "Vera guid shears, Professor," said Alexander. "I tell you they won't cut," said Huxley. "Try again," said Alexander. "They will

cut.

The professor tried again, and, not succeeding, said somewhat angrily: "Bring me another pair of scissors." Lord (then Sir William) Armstrong stepped for

ward and ordered Alexander to buy a new pair. "Vera guid scissors, Sir William," persisted Alexander, and, picking up the scissors from the table and placing his thumb and forefinger into the handles, he stepped forward and asked Huxley how he wanted the paper cut. "Cut it there," said Huxley somewhat tartly, at the same time indicating the place with his forefinger.

Alexander took hold of the paper, and, inserting the scissors, pressed the blades together and cut off the required portion as neatly as if he had used a straightedge; then, turning to the professor with a rather significant leer and twinkle of the eye, said: "Seeance an' airt dinna aye gang thegither, Professor." Huxley and all present collapsed. Huxley put his hand into his pocket, and, taking out a sovereign, gave it to Alexander, adding at the same time, "You have done me." The same evening Alexander related the story with great gusto to a friend. When asked how he dared make so free with such a distinguished man, he replied with great emphasis: "Lord, mon, they bits o' professor bodies ken naething at a' except their buiks."

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