22 arc lamps at a yearly cost, including renewals of carbons, cleaning, and all attendance, of £1,195 per annum, on the assumption that half that number of lamps would be extinguished at midnight. As, however, the increase in cost over the present system of lighting by gas would be more than 100 per cent., the Board decided not to adopt the electric light until it became cheaper.

Keighley. The subject of electric lighting was discussed by the Town Council on Tuesday on the occasion of the recommendation of the Gas Committee to apply for borrowing powers to the extent of £30,000 for gasworks extension purposes. It was urged that the committee should take steps towards furnishing a supply of electric light, but Alderman Brigg said they were carefully watching experiments, and it might be possible to find some system cheaper and better than that in use in many places. But however that might be, it was generally found that the adoption of electric lighting did not diminish, but rather increased, the consumption of gas. The recommendation was adopted.

Eccles. The electric lighting order promoted by the Town Council has received the Royal assent, and copies of the order have been furnished to members of the Borough Council. The second schedule to the order provides that within two years sufficient and suitable mains shall be laid to light various streets. The first schedule states that the area of supply shall be the whole of the borough of Eccles, and in addition to the mains specified the Corporation shall at any time after the expiration of 18 months after the commencement of the order lay down suitable and sufficient mains for general supply through every street of the borough upon being required to do so in the manner provided by the order. Aberdeen. The Gas Committee of the Town Council have recommended the Council to fix the price for the supply of electricity to private consumers at 7d. per Board of Trade unit. The Gas Committee, at a meeting of the Town Council on Monday, submitted a list of candidates for the appointment of electrical engineer, and stated that one of the applicants, Mr. A. H. Gibbings, Sussex, had withdrawn, having received an appointment in Hull. A vote was taken between the other three candidatesviz., Mr. J. Christie, Glasgow; Mr. E. T. Ruthven Murray, Larne, co. Antrim; and Mr. A. C. Nixon, Belgravia, London. On a division, Mr. Murray was declared to be elected, the remuneration being £200 per annum.

The

Rugby School Electric Lighting Company.-Under this title a company has been registered to supply electricity to the boarding-houses and to the buildings of or connected with the school, and all buildings occupied by persons residing in Rugby holding appointments in the school or in connection therewith. nominal capital is £5,500, divided into 110 shares of £50 each. The registered address is Dunchurch-road, Rugby. The subscribers to the articles of association are: J. Percival, J. Collins, F. D. Morice, A. E. Donkin, W. Gordon Michell, W. Parker Brooke, G. Stallard, C. Godfrey Steel, and R. Whitelaw. At present it is only intended to supply the schools and boarding. houses. The necessary buildings are being erected, and most of the plant is said to have arrived.

Fareham.-At a meeting of the Local Board, the question of the contract with the electric lighting company for supplying light for the streets came on for consideration. The clerk read the contract as amended since the last meeting, and it was pointed out that the only difference was that the lights were now described, and that the penalties for inefficient lighting were reduced from 3d. to 11⁄2d. per hour for arc lights, and d. per hour for incandescent lamps. The company agreed to give the same number of lights-20 are lamps of 1,200 nominal candle-power each, and 92 incandescent lamps of 20 nominal candle-power each, for the sum of £549 per annum for a period of three years, the contract to be terminable by six months' notice if the light did not reach the proper standard. After a discussion, it was resolved that the contract be sealed with the company.

Rochdale Sanitary Works.-The sanitary works of the Corporation have been electrically equipped by Messrs. Laing, Wharton, and Down, and the switching on of the light took place on the 4th inst. There are about 80 lights of various powersranging from 16 candles to 50-and they illuminate the whole of the works, stables, offices, yard, etc. The lamps are arranged so as to suit their varied positions. A slow-speed incandescent light dynamo is worked by the waste power of the engine which drives the machinery, so that there is practically no extra cost for motive power. The engine is equal to about 100 h.p., and since the stoppage of the pulsometer at the sewage works it is quite capable of doing more work than it does now. The boiler fuel consists entirely of rubbish, no coal being used. The arrangements are made so that the number of lights could easily be doubled if necessary. The Health Committee of the Corporation met to start the lighting, and Councillor Hardman said these were the only sanitary works in the world in which the electric light was in use. He also remarked on the fact that the driving power was obtained from refuse which in other towns was thrown away and wasted. The Health Committee were to be congratu lated on their economical and progressive policy.

Stafford. Last week, at a quarterly meeting of the Town Council, the Electric Lighting Committee recommended the carrying out of the scheme proposed by Mr. Bell, gas engineer, and endorsed by Dr. John Hopkinson, and that application be made to the Local Government Board for authority to borrow £20,000 for the erection of buildings and an electrical installation, £12,000 of which was to be spent at once. Alderman W. H. Peach (chairman of the committee) proposed the adoption of the report. Dr. Hopkinson did not suggest any street electric lighting at

present, but only to supply private consumers. He gave it as his opinion that they could supply the electric light at a small profit with 15,000 to 20,000 lamps. Mr. Peach pointed out that they had got customers who would have 15,000 lamps at the price of 7d. per unit, which was the price which the committee proposed to charge. The system recommended was the continuous current low tension one. This was thought to be the best for Stafford, as it lent itself most readily to extension when required. Councillor Wormal seconded, and after some discussion the report of the committee was carried. On the recommendation of the Gas Committee, it was resolved that sufficient land be set apart at the gasworks for a site for the electric supply station, and that Mr. Bell be requested to prepare plans, etc., for the necessary works.

Bolton.-A central station is to be erected in Spa-road, and tenders are now being obtained by the architects, Messrs. Hinnell and Murphy. The station is to be erected on land belonging to the Gas Committee, the offices having a frontage to Spa-road, and the engine and dynamo house, boiler-house, chimneys, sheds, etc., being erected at the rear. The office buildings will be two storeys in height, the ground floor comprising enquiry, drawing, and engineers' office, with lavatory and other accommodation. The first floor will contain committee-room, testing and accumulator room, and also a passage from which admittance is gained to the switchboard gallery. The offices are to be built with brick, faced with stone, the floors are to be of concrete and wood blocks, and the roof, which is of timber, is to be ventilated by means of tube inlets and flue outlets. The works buildings will consist of boiler-house, 83ft. 6in. by 50ft., for accommodating six boilers, the requisite coal-shoots, bunkers, and concrete water-tanks; also circular chimney, 50 yards high, engine and dynamo house, repairing shop and storeroom, closed shed for stores, open shed in yard for carts, tools, etc., and railway siding. The engine and dynamo house and boiler-house are to be built of brick, the floors being of concrete, and the roofs of wrought iron, that of the boiler-house being louvred. The chimney is to be built of brick with stone capping, and provided with lightning conductor. The flues are arranged so that any number and any of the boilers may be worked at the same time. The engine and dynamo house will be provided with machinery entrance, iron ladder to switchboard gallery, with suitable foundations of concrete and stone.

Richmond Electric Lighting.-At the Richmond Town Council last week, the Electric Lighting Committee reported as follows: "The committee have been in communication with Latimer Clark and Co. on the subject of the lighting of the public street between the Kew road railway bridge and the bridge over the river, and the matter is now referred to Messrs. Urquhart and Small, the newly-appointed electrical engineers to the Corporation, for consideration and report. The feeding mains for the electric light have been laid in Eton-street, and the distri buting mains are now being laid on one side of Georgestreet, leaving the other side to be done when the fire call cables are ready to be laid, thus avoiding the reopening of the pavement trenches. Mr. Shoolbred has declined the offer of the Council to pay him £105 in respect of his charges against the Corporation, and the matter having been placed in his solicitor's hands, is left with the town clerk, who has received a communication from the solicitor, and the committee will be able to report further hereon hereafter. Meanwhile the clerk was instructed to ask for all plans and papers in Mr. Shoolbred's possession, which have been obtained." Councillor Christie urged the need of watching the manner of the erection of the electric lighting works now in progress, with a view to what the Council might have to pay for them when eventually taking them over. The Mayor said that at the end of 30 years the Corporation would take over the works at a valuation, and not upon the basis of what they cost. Councillor Ryan had a notice upon the paper, to move "That the reports of and correspondence with Mr. Shoolbred, C.E., and the Electric Lighting Committee, be printed." He consented to adjourn his motion, as the Council had been sitting for more than four hours.

Fire Alarms at Richmond. --The Richmond Town Council have decided to have a system of fire alarms instituted throughout the borough, and at the monthly meeting last week the Works electrical apparatus as follows: "Electric Fire Calls.-The comCommittee presented a supplementary report on tenders for

was

mittee have received a number of tenders for these works, the list of which will be laid on the table at the Council meeting. They recommend the Council to accept the tender of Messrs. Blinko and Co., of 34, Leadenhall street, £899. 10s. (the lowest tender), for cables, wires, boxes, etc., and their tender at £153. 10s. for instrusatisfactory, and that the contract be sealed. The committee ments and apparatus, together £1,053, subject to the sureties being also recommend that they be allowed to have the work carried out forthwith." The Mayor said that since the report presented it had been might be better to accept the tender of thought that it Messrs. Callender and Co., £980. 19s. 6d., in preference, for the cables, as they were the makers, and this might ensure more prompt delivery. He moved that that tender should be accepted, and that the question of the tender for instruments should for the present be left over. Councillor Ryan thought the Council would be acting wisely in adopting this amendment. The question of time was very important, and he did not think that it would be well to give the contract simply to the lowest tenderer. He also thought that no tender for instruments should be accepted before the most careful enquiry had been made with regard to the ability of the firm to fill it. The Mayor's recommendation was adopted. Councillor Bickerton enquired what limit of time there was during

which the company would be bound to make good the roads and footpaths disturbed. The Mayor said the surveyor made good the places disturbed at the expense of the contractors.

Cheltenham. The report of the Electric Lighting Committee of the Town Council, presented on Tuesday by Mr. George Norman (chairman of the committee), recommended the adoption of the high-pressure alternating-current system for the town, the supply to be undertaken by the Corporation, using the ashdestructor site for the station. Mr. Norman explained that Mr. W. H. Preece had given the committee the benefit of his advice. In the course of his interview with the committee, Mr. Preece said he had the strongest belief that the only satisfactory system which they could introduce, and which would give proper financial results, was the high-pressure system. The low-pressure system would mean that they would require a central station in a central part of the town, and that they would have to expend a large sum of money in mains. The high-pressure system meant that they could place their station anywhere, and that they would not have to spend so much money in mains. The ash-destructor station was eminently adapted for a central station, as the destructor would always be at work, and this was an element of considerable economy in the working expenses. He had no doubt as to the success of the light. He would not go so far as to say that in the first year they would make sufficient to pay interest on redemption fund, but they would cover their working expenses; and in the second year there was not the slightest question they would clear sufficient to pay interest and provide a sinking fund as well. at Dealing with the question of cost, Mr. Preece said: "Gas at 38. per 1,000 is equivalent to electricity at 6d. per unit. Therefore if you introduce your electricity as you propose, at 6d. per unit, you are introducing a light which is equivalent to gas at 3s. per 1,000ft. If you get a large clientèle and have also a long use for the light, your cost would come to less than 4d. per unit, and you would be in a position to reduce the charge to perhaps even less than 5d. per unit." Mr. Norman having moved the adoption of the committee's recommendation, Alderman Colonel Moyts seconded the motion, which was adopted.

Gas and Electric Lighting in Glasgow. The report by the Committee of Gas Supply and Electric Lighting for the year ending May 31 has been issued. The gross revenue of the gas department for the year amounts to £594,049, and the gross expenditure to £464,449, to which is added depreciation, written off capital, £34,419, leaving a balance of £95,181 to be carried to profit and loss account. After meeting payments for annuities on stock, interest on borrowed money, and sinking fund, there remains a surplus on the year's operations of £29,539. Out of this sum the committee have met the balance at the debit of previous year's accounts of £26,139, the loss on the electric lighting account of £1,773, and have transferred to insurance fund £1,500, leaving a balance of £126. In the electric lighting department the gross revenue from March 1, 1892, to May 31, 1893, amounted to £7,784, and the gross expenditure to £5,416, to which was added depreciation written off capital, £1,328, leaving a balance of £1,039. The committee had to meet interest on loans, £2,012. 18s. 10d., payment to sinking fund, £800; and, deducting these sums from the credit balance, there remained a deficiency of £1,173, which was transferred to the debit of the gas account. The above result was not unexpected by the committee during the first year's operations. The capital expenditure on the new system during the greater part of the year was unproductive of revenue, and in the meantime interest had to be paid upon the money borrowed. The committee fixed the price of electric energy from June 1, 1892, at 7d. per Board of Trade unit, at which price they recommend it should be continued for the current year. During the period of this account the committee had purchased ground at the corner of Waterloo and Mains streets, and have erected thereon a central supply station, which, with machinery and plant, has cost £44,000. The committee were glad to state that not only will these works be fully employed during the winter, but that it had already been found necessary to extend the plant in order to meet the increasing demand for current, and they hope that the future reports of this enterprise will show an increasing prosperity from year to year. The number of consumers when the undertaking was acquired by the Corporation was 37, while the number at May 31, 1893, had increased to 108. Glasgow. The question of the municipalisation of telephones came up for discussion at the quarterly meeting of the Town Council on the 3rd inst. Mr. Starke, in moving the approval of the minutes of the Telephone Committee, and of the relative minute of the Finance Committee, said the committee had resolved to recommend that an application be made to the PostmasterGeneral, in terms of the Treasury minute of May 23, 1892, for a license to supply the community with an efficient telephone service. A deputation of the Telephone Committee afterwards met with the Finance Committee for the purpose of seeing as to ways and means by which the proposal might be carried out. The Finance Committee heard their statement, and gave it a hearty and generous response, and "resolved to concur in the recommendation of the special committee that an application should be made for a license. They further agreed to recommend that the Corporation should advance the sum necessary to start the system, but that, after the license is obtained, the first opportunity should be taken to apply to Parliament for statutory powers." There was a general feeling that this matter must be taken up by the State or by the municipal authorities in connection with the State. Having explained the position of the Government in the matter and that they had erected two great trunk lines between London and Glasgow and one between London and Edinburgh, with branch lines from them

to the large English cities, Mr. Starke contended that it lay with municipalities to provide an adequate local service. It was becoming, he said, that Glasgow, among all the great corporations, municipal enterprise, should step out and be the first in the direcwith the prestige she held as a bold and successful exponent of tion of dealing with the telephone service. There were other cities watching very carefully what they did that day, and which might follow in their footsteps. The system in Glasgow, which was a single-wire system, was totally unfitted for such a great city. On the financial aspect of the question, Mr. Starke said that so far as they could get reliable estimates they could lay down a new system in Glasgow for 3,500 users for £52,000. As to the financial arrangements, he pointed out that 3,500 subscribers at £5 per head would amount to £17,500, and there would be at least 2,000 private instruments, which would make the income £19,500. The working expenses might be reasonably taken to mean 50 per cent. of the revenue, while the Government license would be 10 per cent. on the net income. Then he proposed that 5 per cent. should be set aside every year as a sinking fund, so that the whole should be wiped out in 20 years. He thought they were entitled to take from that the interest which would accrue on the subscriptions paid in advance. Allowing £2,000 for sundries, he estimated they would have a clear revenue of between £5,000 and £6,000 per annum. Bailie Alexander seconded the motion. Bailie Primrose moved that the whole subject be remitted to a committee for further consideration, with instruction to report fully and in detail. After further discussion, the motion as amended was adopted.

Hampstead. The results of tenders will be found in our last issue, but it may be useful to be able to compare the amounts, so we give the report of the committee on the subject: "1. For the erection of a chimney shaft and buildings for the proposed central electric supply station, with foundations for the machinery, etc. 2. For the plant for the proposed station and the provision of the necessary mains, etc., in the compulsory area. Your committee beg to state: (1) That the following is a list of the tenders received in response to the advertisements issued-viz.: (a) For the buildings (including chimney shaft), 12 tenders: Yerbury and Sons

Killby and Gayford.
Holliday and Greenwood
Simmons Bros....

Reid, Blight, and Co.........
Chessum and Sons
Neil......
Wall Bros....
McCormick and Sons.
Ballard

Allen and Son

Allen and Son

£10,870

10,634

10,555

10,300

10 300

10,185

10,000

9,825

9,700

9,477

9,339

9,189

(2) As to the buildings: The prices being much in excess of the estimate, your committee appointed a sub-committee to examine, in conjunction with Mr. Preece and the architect, the drawings and specifications with a view to see whether, with a due regard to efficient work, any saving in expense could be secured in constructing the buildings and shaft. The result of this examination was that certain modifications were determined upon, the plans and specifications were revised, and the parties tendering also revised their estimates in accordance therewith, the same now being as follows:

After careful consideration your committee have determined to recommend that the tender of Messrs. R. A. Yerbury and Sons, of Birchington-road, Kilburn, for the erection of the chimneyshaft and buildings for the proposed central electric supply station at the parish stoneyard, Lithos - road, with foundations for the machinery, etc., in conformity with the specifications and plans prepared by Mr. Preece, for the sum of £7,350 be accepted. The original estimate for the buildings was £6,000, but the committee considered it advisable to build at once a chimney shaft large enough to accommodate the machinery required for lighting the whole parish, and so to arrange the building as to hold one extra boiler, and to be easily adapted for extensions. The larger shaft was estimated to cost at least £1,000 extra. It will, therefore, be seen that the actual tender recommended for acceptance is only £350 above the estimate. (3) As to the plant :

A long report on these tenders was presented by Mr. Preece, who pointed out that he had found it advisable, in view of future requirements, to add an extra boiler, and also to increase the size of one of the steam dynamos. These alterations entailed an extra cost of about £1,000. After carefully considering the question of efficiency of the machinery proposed, and the experience in the type of machinery required, your committee resolved to recommend that the tender of Messrs. Siemens Bros. and Co., of 12, Queen Anne's-gate, Westminster, for the supply of electric lighting plant, for proposed installation at the parish stoneyard, together with the necessary mains, etc., for the compulsory area in conformity with the specifications and plans prepared by Mr. Preece, for the sum of £19,794, be accepted. Note. This sum of £19,794 represents Messrs. Siemens's tender of £19,914, subject to a deduction of £120." As we stated, the tenders of Messrs. Yerbury and Sons for building and of Messrs. Siemens for plant were accepted, and the Electric Lighting Committee is now left to carry out the work.

Peterborough.-A public meeting was held last week at the Angel Hotel, under the presidency of the Mayor, to consider the question of electric lighting. The Mayor, in introducing Mr. Hammond, said there were some difficulties at present existing in the minds of the Corporation as to whether the time had arrived when they should take up this subject. Hitherto Peterborough had been pretty well to the fore in railways and many other things, and he did not think they would allow the town to be backward in the matter of electric lighting. Mr. Hammond then gave an explanation of how the electric light was generated, and the manner in which it was distributed. He claimed for the light a great superiority over other artificial illuminants, one most important feature being the fact that it did not feed upon the air, as was the case with gas or lamps, which robbed the atmosphere in a room of its life-sustaining properties. Another great advantage of the electric incandescent lamp was its absolute freedom from danger or fire, it being quite impossible to light anything from an incandescent lamp, because immediately the glass containing the light was broken the light went out. The electric light did no damage to ceilings and furniture. Recent improvements insisted on by the Board of Trade had made electric lighting free from the possibilities of serious accidents, the pressure required to light an incandescent lamp being so small that should a person touch the wires so as to bring them into contact, there would be no danger whatever. The electric light was so convenient to turn off and on, no matches being required, that a great difference was thereby saved in the cost. Dealing with the cost, Mr. Hammond said some people were inclined to wait before going in for electric lighting, under the impression that there would would be a marked reduction in the cost in a few years, but this he said was a mistaken notion, for as far as appa ratus was concerned, they had got very nearly to the lowest level. There was every reason to gather from Board of Trade returns that electricity could be produced and distributed at a profit at 6d. per unit, which was equivalent to gas at 3s. and 3s. 4d. per 1,000 cubic feet. Some of the companies were making a profit at 4d. per unit, but 6d. would equal the price paid in Peterborough for gas. The present Act under which electric lighting was carried out was very strict, and there was not a single instance of a system laid down under this Act that had not been a success, and there was not a single house-to-house supply system that had proved a failure. Electrical works at present in operation had absorbed four and a half millions of capital, of which amount four millions was provided by the companies, and half a million by local authorities, but if they considered works at present in hand and others for which sanction had been obtained, they found the capital provided by companies had only increased to £4,188,000, whilst that of local authorities had risen to £2,000,000. The electric lighting business at the present time could be shown to be on a sound basis, and some towns which had allowed private companies to step in and supply the light were already talking of buying the companies out. The cheapening of the incandescent lamp made him confident that in a very short time they would be able to supply electricity at a cheaper price than gas, to say nothing of its other innumerable advantages. In reply to Councillor Nichols. Mr. Hammond said he should say they could make a very profitable beginning in Peterborough with a capital of £9,000 or £10,000 At the close of the proceedings it was decided to memorialise the Town Council to either adopt the electric light or allow a private company to step in.

AUGUST 1.

14715. Improved bell-pull arrangement for electric bells. Edgar Godwin Harcourt, 13, Temple-street, Birmingham. 14742. Improvements in or appertaining to electric light fittings. Frederick William Plumstead and Henry Hatt Hunter, 124, Chancery-lane, London.

14756. Improvements in dynamo electric generators and motors. Alfred George Brookes, 55, Chancery-lane, London. (Harris Joseph Ryan.) Complete specification. AUGUST 2.

14816. An improved electromotor for boats and like purposes. Albert Antoine Lateulère, 97, Newgate-street, London. AUGUST 3.

14863. Improvements in electrical resistances. Albert Campbell, Ballynagard House, Londonderry. John Thomson,

14868. Improvements in electricity meters. 87, St. Vincent-street, Glasgow.

14910. A method of and apparatus for electrolytical decomposition while using quicksilver as cathode. Peter Jensen, 77, Chancery-lane, London. (Alf Sinding-Larsen, Norway.) (Complete specification.)

15025. An electric plant pro tector. Francis Alexander James FitzGerald, 27, Upper Merrion-street, Dublin. 15050. Slow-striking electric bells. Hermann Oppenheimer, 55, Redcross-street, London.

15064. An improved electric arc lamp. Frank West Suter and Sydney John Suter, 28, Southampton-buildings, Chancerylane, London.

15073. Improvements in electric arc lamps. Henry Hayes Cooper and the Electrical Installation Company, Limited, 53, Chancery-lane, London.

15074. An improved electric coupling. Henry Hayes Cooper and the Electrical Installation Company, Limited, 53, Chancery-lane, London.

SPECIFICATIONS PUBLISHED.

1892.

13395. Electrical signalling. Mercier.

13543. Electrical installations Siemens Bros. and Co., Limited. (Siemens and Halske.)

16046 Electrolytic decomposition of alkaline salts. Castner. 16489. Electrical rock drill. Taylor. 17691. Cutting glass by electricity. Havaux.

1893.

10347. Battery switches. Spangenberg. 11143. Electrical switches, etc. Dorman and Smith. 11622. Magnetic separation. Sanders and Thompson.

COMPANIES' STOCK AND SHARE LIST.

PROVISIONAL PATENTS, 1893.

JULY 31.

14640. A form of water-actuated electric switch. Alfred Réré Upward, 150, Holland road, Kensington, London. 14643. Beboutoff's automatical and electrical pile or monkey driver. Prince Abessolum Beboutoff, Fincastle House, Queen's-terrace, Middlesbrough.

14647. Improvements in apparatus for working electric tramways by means of underground_cables. Christopher Anderson, Lane House, Jack-lane, Hunslet, Leeds. 14664. Improvements in electromotors for alternating currents. John Augustine Kingdon, 29, Marlborough hill, St. John's Wood, London.

14685. Improvements in and relating to apparatus for heating and warming by electricity. Lionel Herbert Hordern, 70, Chancery-lane, London.

considering, among other matters, the subject of electricity in mining.

Obituary. The death has just occurred at Canonbury of Mr. W. S. B. Woolhouse, F.R.A.S., who was a wellknown mathematician. He contributed to the Philosophical

Bournemouth.-The new Hotel Metropole, opened on Tuesday, is lighted electrically.

Bernburg. Electricity works are shortly to be erected here for lighting purposes, and for the working of an electric tramway.

Motte-Chalencon.-The electric light installation in this town has been experimentally run, and lighting is now being commenced.

Bournemouth.-We understand that a station for the charging of carriage, police, cycle, and portable lamps is to be opened in a few weeks.

Metz.-The military hospital is to be lighted by electricity; the motive power to be obtained from the fall of water at the Sauley Island.

Grasse.—The subject of connecting Grasse with the railway station by means of an electric tramway two miles

long is under consideration.

The Azores.-The steamer "Seine," which has been

chartered to lay the new cable between Portugal and the

Azores, left Lisbon on Sunday.

marine Cables."

Milan.-Operations have already been commenced at Milan by the Edison Company on the work of constructing the electric tramway on the overhead trolley system. The generating station contains steam-engines, driving two dynamos of 150 h.p. each.

Transmission of Power.-A concession has been asked for by a Frankfort company for the utilisation of the water power of the Lech, near Gersthofen. The available water power amounts to 5,000 h.p., and it is proposed to transmit this to Augsburg and the neighbourhood.

Gas, Electricity, and Water.-In Rhineland and Westphalia these subjects are treated at meetings of a society constituted to consider the three interests, and usually information of much value is adduced. At the general meeting, however, just held, nothing of importance as regards electricity or gas was brought forward.

Induction -The working of the electric tramway started between Herstel and Wandre, Belgium, a short time ago, has caused disturbances in the telephone wires carried alongside the line.

Oil Insulation.-We are glad to learn that the oilinsulated system of underground mains is working satisfactorily. The mains can now be laid for the transmission of current at any voltage.

Franco-Swiss Telephony.-The conditions under which telephonic communication is to be carried on between France and Switzerland have been published by the Government of the former country.

Villa Borghese.-An electric tramway just over one mile in length has been put in operation to connect the Porte Pinciano and the Villa Borghèse. There are three cars in service on the storage battery system.

Hamburg. The preparations for the working of the tramways by electric power have been well advanced by the Union Electricity Company, and the belt line

proposed to be set in operation in November.

is

Paris. The formation of a new company is spoken of in Paris for the electrical transmission of power over long distances. For this purpose it is intended to utilise water power in the midlands and south east of France.

Underground Conduits.-The large orders mentioned in another column as having been obtained for the Johnstone system of underground conduits show that this system has obtained a firm footing in this country.

Commerce. The furtherance of technical education and the adoption of the decimal system will be considered at the autumn meeting on September 26 and 27, to be held at Plymouth, of the Associated Chambers of Commerce.

Miners and Electricity. The members of the society frequenting the Bergmannstag at the meeting at Klagenfurth, Austria, on Wednesday and yesterday, are

Simultaneous Contrast Colours.-The very interesting article by Mr. Alfred M. Mayer on "Simultaneous Contrast Colours, and a New Photometer for Measuring Lights of Different Colours," which we recently mentioned, is given in the Philosophical Magazine for this month. It is certainly worth reading in full by those interested in photometrical studies.

The Remscheid Tramway.-The popularity of this electric tramway is shown by the fact that during the first four weeks that the line has been at work, no less than 65,674 passengers have been carried. A third generating set-boiler, engine, and dynamo-is to be laid down and five new cars put into service. This is good progress considering that the tramway was started only at the beginning of July.

Electrical Purification of Sewage.—Some interest

ing experiments in this direction are being carried out in the most populous and unhealthy part of Havre, and they liquid and solid sewage. Hopes are entertained that the concern the destruction of the impure elements in both

results of the experiments will facilitate a solution of the problem relating to the drainage of Havre, upon which the municipality is about to spend £400,000.

Switches.-A revised price-list of fittings has been issued by Mr. A. P. Lundberg, of Bradbury-street, Kingsland, N. One of the chief specialities made is the "Unique" switch, which we described some time ago, and the popularity of which is shown by the fact that since its introduction last year nearly 30,000 have been disposed of. Illustrated descriptions are given of the "Unique” main and other switches, sockets, ceiling roses, etc.

Electricity in Mining.—An important installation has been carried out at the Ziegler pit of the Blattnitz steam coal mines at Nurschan, near Pilsen. On the surface is arranged a steam-engine of 120 h.p., which drives. a continuous-current dynamo used for lighting the under

ground roads. Here the current is employed to actuate various motors which operate hauling engines, ventilators, pumps, and a chain tramway. It is shortly intended to increase the plant and lay down two rock-drills.

Price of Gas.-The members of the Gas Consumers'

Protection League, recently formed to obtain a reduction in the price of gas supplied by the Gaslight and Coke Company, and generally to protect the interests of gas consumers north of the Thames, met on Wednesday at the Foresters' Hall, Clerkenwell-road. The members would do well to support an electric light scheme, and although they may have to pay more for the light, they would not grumble about that, because of its superior advantages over gas illumination.

Crystal Palace School of Engineering.-On Saturday the thirty-third session was terminated, and the successful students received their first-class certificates. The examiners' report specially dwelt on the importance of the electrical section. The following were the most successful students: H. A. Bailey, W. Collins, G. Stirling, R. H. Pocklington, P. H. J. Bishop, W. C. Gravely, T. A. S. Dyer, D. Clark, J. Braby, H. T. Creasy, R. H. Hayne, F. H. Hodson, J. C. Lyell, R. F. Skinner, H. F. Deslandes, A. D. O. Travers, and M. G. Bradford.

Birmingham Electric Cars.-The proceedings at the annual meeting of the Birmingham Central Tramways Company on Wednesday were of an animated character. As the chairman mentioned, the conclusions of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Electric Traction Powers had removed the restrictions which the telephone company had sought to place upon them. The company had been encouraged to proceed with negotiations which had been held in suspense, and which they believed would mean a profit to the company upon the Bristol-road line of not less than £2,000 per annum.

Richmond.—A correspondent complains of the erection by the electric light company of a high chimney in the centre of Richmond, and which he regards as an eyesore. He states that: "It may be urged, perhaps, that the lower part of the town is unpicturesque and commercial, and therefore that the interests and the feelings of the inhabitants are unworthy of consideration; but when this monster chimney is completed the dwellers on the hill will find that they too have their part in the nuisance, and that, intersecting the fine northward view and the wooded valley of Kew and Isleworth, there will stand a hideous shaft more suggestive of Oldham or Warrington than of a favourite West-end

suburb,"

Electric Cautery.-This subject was referred to in the evidence given before the Select Committee on the Marking of Foreign Meat. In their report, issued on Monday, the committee state that they are disposed to believe that after public attention has been called to the system of marking by electric cautery, the improvements of inventors and the experiments of agricultural societies and other bodies interested in this matter may develop a plan which, either alone or combined with that of affixing metal tags through the shank bones, would still further protect the customer. The committee were impressed with the fact that, owing to the greater thickness of the skin, the application of cautery to the sides of the animal was attended with considerably less injury both to skin and flesh than was the case with the shoulders or legs.

The National Telephone Company.-The Pall Mall Gazette states: "For recuperative energy the National Telephone Company is a difficult corporation to beat. It has survived the execrations of its London subscribers;

seen the birth and ignominious extinction of the New Telephone Company, which was organised to crush it; passed through unsuccessful lawsuits that would have ruined any other company, and successful ones that would have broken a bank; it is in a fair way to elude the action of the new model tramway (electric) clauses for at least three years; and now an uneasy feeling is abroad that it has diddled the whole country over the negotiations for the national purchase of trunk lines, pocketing no inconsiderable portion of the sum voted, and handing over in return the one portion of its system which could not by any possibility ever pay by itself, and which it would be glad to be rid of at any price."

Technical Education.-The London County Council has issued circulars relating to their scheme of technical education, which is under the supervision of Prof. Garnett. Beside giving 200 minor scholarships to pupils from elementary schools, and inaugurating classes for cookery and dressmaking, it is intended to aid the evening science classes held within the administrative county of London. This aid will take the form of a payment for each student attending certain classes a stated number of times, also an additional grant for maintenance of laboratory. These payments are made in addition to the grants received from the Science and Arts Department. The special subjects mentioned for which assistance is to be given are mathematics, theoretical and applied mechanics, practical geometry, building construction, machine drawing, naval architecture, chemistry (inorganic and organic), physics, botany, geology, mineralogy, steam, navigation, and nautical

astronomy.

Long-Distance Telephony. In the Philosophical Magazine for August, Prof. Perry, assisted by H. A. Beeston, has a paper on "Long-Distance Telephony," treated from the mathematical point of view. As it is

given to few men, he says, to discuss complicated mathematical formula without making mistakes, he has instructed his pupils to experiment with their formulæ, using numerical values for their variables. Some of his students have recently obtained numerical results which are embodied in tables given in this paper. The tables show the limiting distances in millions of centimetres for various amounts of leakage and self-induction (one million centimetres is equal to about six miles). Other tables give numbers which, divided by r for any allowable variation), considered suitable, will give the telephonic line, and also by the value, m (depending on the limiting distances for that conductor. These tables neglect

terminal conditions.

Towards

Electric Light and Cooking by Gas. the conclusion of a paper on "Cooking by Gas," read by Gas Managers, the author said: "One thing is certain, Mr. J. Ballantyne before the North British Association of that should the electric light become the light of the future (as it no doubt will to a certain extent in the course of time) those towns which have been fostering cooking and heating by gas will come out of the struggle with least loss. In our case, suppose we lost the whole 20 million cubic feet of gas now required for lighting purposes, 12 millions for our gas stoves. This, then, is the weapon still require to manufacture at with which to fight the electric light. If this branch of our business were pushed as it might be, we need have no fear of seeing the electric light introduced, because all that would be more than regained by the gas required for cooking and heating purposes." This is a very candid statement, but the author has left out of consideration the subject of cooking by electricity.

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