Scientific American Supplement, No. 561

Scientific American Supplement

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Scientific American Supplement, No. 561,
October 2, 1886, by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Scientific American Supplement, No. 561, October 2, 1886
Author: Various
Release Date: July 27, 2005 [EBook #16360]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SUPPLEMENT NO. 561

NEW YORK, OCTOBER 2, 1886
Scientific American Supplement. Vol. XXII., No. 561.
Scientific American established 1845
Scientific American Supplement, $5 a year.
Scientific American and Supplement, $7 a year.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS.
I. BOTANY.--A Century Plant in Bloom.--Interesting account of the recent blossoming of an Agave Americana at Auburn, N.Y. 8965
Alpine Flowers in the Pyrenees.--1 illustration. 8965
II. CHEMISTRY.--Probable Isolation of Fluorine.--Decomposition of hydrofluoric acid by an electric current.--By M.H. MOISSAN.--Production of a new body, possibly fluorine, or perfluoride of hydrogen. 8963
The Determination of Nitric Acid by the Absorption of Nitric Oxide in a Standard Solution of Permanganate of Potash.-- By H.N. MORSE and A.F. LINN. Full description of a new and important volumetric determination.--1 illustration. 8964
Water of Crystallization.--By W.W.J. NICOL, M.A., D.Sc.-- Discussion of the state of water of crystallization in a salt in solution. 8964
III. ENGINEERING.--Combustion, Fire Boxes, and Steam Boilers--By JOHN A. COLEMAN.--Address before the June Convention of the Master Mechanics' Association. 8953
Compound Hydraulic Presses.--Different forms of presses designed for pressing bales for shipment.--Very fully illustrated by 8 figures. 8951
Examination Papers in General Construction.--Eighty-six questions in engineering propounded by the civil service examiners of New York city. 8956
IV. MEDICINE AND PHYSIOLOGY.--A New Apparatus for the Study of Cardiac Drugs.--By WILLIAM GILMAN THOMPSON, M.D.--Ingenious application of instantaneous photography to the study of heart movements.--Apparatus and views produced.--3 illustrations. 8966
Creosote a Specific for Erysipelas,--A new cure for this complaint. 8966
V. METALLURGY.--Primitive Iron Manufacture.--Iron furnace and blowing apparatus in use in Bengal.--2 illustrations. 8962
VI. MINING ENGINEERING.--The Catastrophe at Chancelade.-- Application of photography to investigating mine disasters. --4 illustrations. 8962
VII. MISCELLANEOUS.--Celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the University of Heidelberg. August, 1886. 8957
Useful Bags and How to Make Them.--Interesting paper on the trunk makers' art.--4 illustrations. 8960
VIII. NAVAL ENGINEERING.--Atlantic Steamers.--By W. JOHN.-- Exhaustive comparison of representative Atlantic liners and war ships.--3 illustrations. 8954
Jet Propellers.--Hydraulic propulsion of vessels.-- Mathematical examination of this subject. 8951
IX. ORDNANCE.--The New Army Gun.--Description of the 8-inch steel gun as manufactured at the West Point, N.Y., Foundry.--1 illustration. 8952
X. PHYSICS.--A New Thermo Regulator.--1 illustration. 8959
Cohesion and Cohesion Figures.--By WILLIAM ACKROYD, F.I.C.--Laws of vortex rings examined, and relation of solubility to cohesion. 8963
Pipette for taking the Density of Liquids.--Apparatus and calculations for use.--1 illustration. 8959
XI. TECHNOLOGY.--Impurities in Photographic Chemicals, and Tests for Same.--Table referred to in a paper read before the Birmingham Photographic Society by G.M. Jones, M.P.S. 8957
Molasses, how made.--Work on Plantations Graphically Described.* 8961
Optical errors and human mistakes.--By ERNST GUNDLACH.--On the examination of optical glasses.--A paper read before the Buffalo meeting of the A.A.A.S. 8963
Soap.--By HENRY LEFFMANN, Ph.D. 8962
Somzee's New Gas Burners.--Interesting description of regenerative burners.--9 figures. 8958
The Clamond Gas Burner.--Of value as a supplement to the above named article, describing an incandescent burner. --1 illustration. 8959
Wood Oil.--A new industry worked on the large scale in Sweden. 8962
* Transcriber's Note: "Work on Plantations..." was originally part of TOC entry "Optical Errors..."
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COMPOUND HYDRAULIC PRESSES.
In a hydraulic packing press, the work done by the ram during one stroke may be roughly divided into two periods, in the first of which the resistance, although gradually increasing, may be called light, while in the second the resistance is heavy. The former of these two periods embraces the greater part of the stroke, and it is only a small proportion at the end which requires the exercise of the full power of the press to bring the material to the determined degree of consolidation. Consequently, if a hydraulic press is to be worked so as to waste no time, it requires to be provided with means by which its table may be made to rise rapidly during the portion of the stroke when the resistance is small, and afterward more slowly when the entire power of the pumps is being expended upon the final squeeze. Many methods of obtaining this end have been devised, and are in common use both here and abroad. It is, however, more particularly in the packing of raw material that such appliances are useful, since the goods pressed into bales in this country are not usually of a very yielding nature, and consequently do not require a long stroke to bring them to a high state of compression. In India