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slowly and uniformly; 3, the temperature of the oil at the beginning of the test must be at least 18° Fahr. below its flashing-point as approximately determined; 4, the size and intensity of the flame or spark used to produce the flash must be the same in all tests; 5, the distance of the flash-flame or spark from the surface of the oil must be the same; 6, the time during which the flame or spark acts must be reduced to a minimum; 7, on account of the practical purpose for which the tests are made, the conditions under which the vapor is formed in the tester should correspond as closely as possible to those which determine its formation and explosion in lamps, etc. It can not be affirmed that all the conditions under which explosions in lamps are liable to occur are provided for in any single testing instrument of this class. The oil-reservoirs in our lamps differ much in size and shape, and hence have different capacities. The quantity of oil, its surface, and the amount of air in the reservoir with which the vapor mingles, are constantly changing while the lamp is in use and the danger is greatest. Moreover, it is not only in quietly-burning lamps that accidents occur. Probably half the accidents are due to upsetting or breaking, and the oil, which would have been safe otherwise, gives rise to explosion or flames under these more dangerous circumstances. It is important to employ, if possible, a test which shall indicate the lowest temperature at which, under any conditions, inflammable vapors can be evolved, rather than be satisfied with trusting to a method which merely proves an oil safe under certain arbitrary conditions. Certain testers have been proposed, based upon the principle of ascertaining the elastic force or tension of the vapor of the oil at a given temperature: they are deceptive and worthless, for it has been conclusively shown

that no definite relation exists between the vapor-tension and the flashing-point of a kerosene. Another method of testing, by distillation, is exact, and has the additional advantage of defining the quality of the oil as an illuminating material. The oil is separated by the distillation into three fractions: a light oil distilling below 150° C.; illuminating oil, coming over between 150° and 270° C.; and a heavy oil which boils above 270° C. The first fractional distillate represents the dangerous constituents, and should not exceed 5 per cent. of the whole. The heavy oil affects the freedom with which kerosene burns, and should not form more than 15 per cent. of the whole. Victor Meyer has introduced an exact method of determining the minimum flashing-point of kerosene by saturating the air with oil-vapor at the test-temperature. His apparatus consists of a glass cylinder which is partly filled with oil, is stoppered with a cork through which a thermometer passes, and is heated by plunging into warm water. When the temperature is reached at which the test is to be made the cylinder is briskly shaken, the stop

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per is removed, and a small flame is introduced. Flashing-points obtained by this plan are considerably lower than those given by the former methods, and are largely independent of the conditions that are considered essential to the accuracy of the determinations by them. Haas's method is the same in principle as Meyer's, but employs an electric spark instead of a flame, and the apparatus is difficult of construction and costly. Both methods require repeated shaking of the oil as the heat rises from degree to degree, which is very inconvenient. Liebermann has made a simple, successful, and practical application of the same principle in his tester, in which, Fig. 2, the

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cock e. The best results by this method are obtained when the diameter of the cylinder is between 2 and 4 centimetres. The length is of no consequence, provided the cylinder is always filled with oil to within the same distance of the top; but different results are given when the distance of the oil, or rather of the foam into which its surface is broken by the aircurrent, is allowed to vary. Prof. John T. Stoddard, of Smith College, makes in "The Popular Science Monthly " the following statements and directions concerning the use of this method: 1. The oil-cylinder should have a diameter of from 2 to 4 centimetres. It may be of any convenient length, provided it holds, when filled for the tests, not less than 50 c. c. of oil. With a diameter of 24 centimetres, the length should be at least 16 centimetres; with a diameter of 3 centimetres, the least length should be 13 centimetres. A good tester may be made from the chimney of a student-lamp by cutting off the lower part a little above the contraction; or the whole chimney may be made to serve as an oil-cylinder by corking the large end. 2. The cylinder is filled with oil to a point where, when the air-current is running, the top of the foam is 4 or 6 centimetres below the mouth. 3. The oil is heated by means of a water-bath, into which the cylinder is plunged to the end of the oil. The temperature of the oil should not rise faster than two degrees a minute. 4. Air is forced through the oil with such velocity that about (and not less than) one centimetre of foam is maintained on the surface, and a flash-jet is brought to the mouth of the cylinder at every half degree, or oftener, in the vicinity of the flashing-point. The approach of the flashingpoint is announced by the appearance of a faint blue halo of burning vapor around the flashjet; this finally detaches itself and runs down to the surface of the oil. The reading of the temperature at this instant gives a trial flashing-point, which may be a little too high if the current of air has been running too long, or not long enough. The test should now be repeated with a fresh sample of oil, the air-current being started in full strength, not less

than one nor more than three or four minutes before the flash occurs. It is well, however, to let a very slow current of air bubble through the oil from the time that the tester is put in the water-bath, so as to secure regularity in the heating of the oil. This method has the advantages of simplicity in apparatus and manipulation, and of securing a trustworthy determination of the lowest flashing-point, independently of arbitrary conditions. We have seen that 116° Fahr. is the very lowest flashing-point consistent with safety. The statements so often put forth, that our best kerosenes are "150° or 160° test" oils, are misleading; for it has reference, not to the flashingpoint, but to the fire-test, or burning-point, which, as has been shown, gives little indication of the character of the oil. The best oils sold flash at about 109° Fahr., while the cheaper grades have much lower flashing-points at least as low as 85° Fahr.

KNIT CLOTHS. The idea of knitting other fabrics than hosiery is not new, but the application of the process to the production of certain kinds of cloth has been, by improved machinery, brought apparently to perfection very recently.

Fig. 1 (see page 467) gives a good idea of a machine imported from England in 1883, and set up in Philadelphia by John E. Hanifen & Co. Portions of it were patented in England by Joseph Belshaw, as long ago as 1857; and virtually the same thing was produced by two other English inventors, and by them assigned

FIG. 2.

to John Kent, who patented it in the United States in 1872, but his patent has been contested. Fig. 2 shows (enlarged) a section of the

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needles, which are really hooks with a spring barb. These, about 1,000 in number, are fastened around the edge of the circular horizontal bed, and revolve with it.

At two, three, or four points, just outside of the circumference of the horizontal bed, are fixed groups of wheels, like those shown (enlarged) in Fig. 3 (see page 466). The various threads used pass from the bobbins upward over hooks and then downward to and under these knitting-wheels. When the bed revolves, the needles act as cogs, and turn the knittingwheels. These wheels consist of wings or flanges, so shaped as alternately to lift and depress the threads on and between the needles, thus forming the stitches. The fabric is knit

in the form of a large tube, and is constantly drawn up and wound upon the reel overhead, which also revolves horizontally with the bed. In the engraving a portion of the fabric is represented as cut away, to show the stretcher inside. The fabric is knit with a seam running its entire length, and with a knife the operator cuts it open along this seam, thus reducing it to a flat piece of cloth, of "double width."

The most obvious advantage in the use of this machine, over a loom, is in the matter of speed. It has a smooth, continuous, rotary motion, instead of the constantly interrupted alternating motion of a shuttle, and will produce about double the amount of cloth in a

given time. It is claimed also that the fabric is superior in smoothness of face and evenness of texture. Almost any kind of "backing" can be put on (all in one motion of the ma

LANSDOWNE, Henry Charles Keith Petty Fitzmaurice, Marquis of, Governor-General of Canada, born in England, Jan. 14, 1845. He received his education at Eton, and at Balliol College, Oxford, and became a captain in the Yeoman cavalry of Wiltshire. His father, the fourth marquis, died July 5, 1866, and he succeeded to the titles and estates. His minor titles are in the peerage of Great BritainEarl of Wycombe, of Chipping Wycombe, county Bucks; Viscount Caln and Calnstone, county Wilts; and Lord Wycombe, Baron of Chipping Wycombe, county Bucks; in the peerage of Ireland-Earl of Kerry and Earl of Shelburne; Viscount Clanmaurice and Fitz

MARQUIS OF LANSDOWNE.

maurice; Baron of Kerry, Lixnaw, and Dunkerron. His mother is Baroness Nairne in her own right; holding the title once held by the Scottish poetess who wrote "The Land o' the Leal," though she is not her descendant.

The Marquis was one of the Lords of the Treasury from 1868 to 1872, and then became Under-Secretary for War, which office he held two years. He was appointed Under-Secretary for India when Mr. Gladstone became Premier in 1880, but retired at the end of two months, because he disagreed with the Government's Irish policy. In October, 1883, he succeeded the Marquis of Lorne as Governor

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chine), from a smooth, hard one, to that of the heaviest, shaggy overcoating. Its productions include stockinet, ladies' cloakings, overcoatings, cheviots, astrakhans, and suitings.

General of Canada. He married, in November, 1869, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Abercorn, and has two sons and two daughters.

LASKER, Eduard, a German statesman, born in Jaroczin, Posen, Oct. 14, 1829; died in New York, Jan. 5, 1884. He was the son of a Jewish merchant, was admitted to the bar in Berlin, and passed three years in travel. On returning, he took a place in the Berlin City Court in 1856, and in 1858 became associate justice. He resigned this post in 1870, to practice as an attorney. Later he accepted the post of syndic in the mortgage registry office of Berlin. He was elected deputy in the Prussian Chamber in March, 1865, and reelected in July, 1866. In 1866 he left the Progressive party and became, in association with Karl Twesten, the founder of the NationalLiberal party. From 1868 to 1873 he represented Magdeburg in the House of Deputies. From 1875 to 1879 he was member for Frankfort-on-the-Main. From 1866 till his death he was a member of the Reichstag.

During the nineteen years of Lasker's parliamentary activity there was no important legislative work in which he did not take part, and which does not bear the impress of bis knowledge and acumen. His activity centered in the Reichstag. The unification of the German Empire on a representative basis was the aim of his life. In the civil consolidation of the empire he bore as conspicuous a part as Count Bismarck in the sphere of dynastic and international politics. The great NationalLiberal party, of which he was the chief founder and parliamentary leader, united the liberal thought and hopes of the country in favor of the policy of Bismarck, until the time when by its support the latter had overcome the particularist elements and was able after the French war to repudiate the constitutional doctrines which he had temporarily professed. A great part of Lasker's work was inconspicuous. He was regularly placed on the committees, in the Reichstag and the Prussian Landtag, which were appointed for the elaboration of legislative projects, and was almost invariably intrusted with the preparation of the report. In taking so prominent a part in the practical work of legislation, however, he became the most frequent speaker and proponent of motions in the legislative halls, and thus was a familiar figure before the public. Next to the ideal of German unity, the cause of legality and the abolition of arbitrary police powers was nearest to his heart. In this sense the Prussian local administrative regulations

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were amended through his efforts. The same idea underlay the German industrial laws of 1869, one of the greatest works of his life. In 1870 he introduced in the Reichstag the proposition to incorporate Baden in the North German League. In 1871 and the following years he advocated the proposition to extend clause 13 of the fourth article of the German Constitution to the civil law, i. e., to unify the laws of the German states into a single imperial system. In this most important part of the process of transforming the league into a nation, the chief share of the labor fell to him, and it remains a monument of his historical services and juristic genius. The imperial judiciary, which was introduced in October, 1879, the common code of procedure, and the codification of the civil laws, were the laborious fruits of this period of his life.

Lasker's greatest popular success was his speech in the Prussian Diet on Feb. 7, 1873, in which he laid bare the jobbery of promoters and the corruption of officials in connection with railroad concessions and the establishment of fraudulent joint-stock companies. His proposal of an investigating commission was approved; and, although the results of the investigation were not equal to the expectations, the law officers of the Government kept a closer watch, the commercial schemers and their aristocratic accomplices took alarm, and no such scandals have occurred again.

Lasker's literary labors were confined to contributions in Oppenheim's "German YearBook" on Prussian constitutional history (1875). He wrote the report of the National-Liberal party for the legislative period of the Reichstag, Customs Union, and Prussian Diet ending in 1870, which was printed in Hirth's "Annals" (1870). His most noted oratorical efforts outside the legislature were a commemoration address on Karl Twesten.

In support of Prince Bismarck's policy, Lasker advocated fixing the military budget for seven years in advance. He also co-operated in bringing about the Prussian administrative law. Yet as soon as the aims of the Chancellor ran counter to his political principles, he opposed the Government with such energy that it often came to parliamentary duels between the two. Their differences were repeatedly composed, until Bismarck's economical and tax-reform projects separated them completely. Lasker upheld the free-trade principle, and withdrew from the National-Liberal party. In the sitting of May 2, 1879, be declared that by the economical policy of the Government he was driven into the opposition. He was followed in August, 1879, by Forkenbeck, Stauffenberg, and Bamberger, and the Secessionist fraction became the most vigorous antagonists of the Chancellor.

Dr. Lasker's health was broken for two or three years before his death, and he visited Switzerland several times, with the object of recuperating his strength. From the same

motive he came to America late in the summer of 1883, and made a tour of the United States. After visiting his brother in Texas, he returned to New York. On the evening of his death he dined with Mr. Seligman, the banker, and was taken with heart-disease while walking back to his boarding-place, dying in a stable, into which he was taken, directly after the arrival of a physician.

LAW, CONSTITUTIONAL. International Arbitration.-An important opinion on this subject was rendered by the United States Supreme Court on Jan. 7, 1884, in the noted Weil and La Abra cases. In 1868 a convention between the United States and Mexico was concluded for the arbitration and payment of claims of citizens of either country against the Government of the other. These claims were to be submitted to a mixed commission, which was to take testimony and hear counsel. The treaty stipulated that "the President of the United States and the President of the Mexican Republic hereby solemnly and sincerely engage to consider the decision of the commissioners conjointly, or of the umpire, as the case may be, as absolutely final and conclusive upon each claim decided upon by them or him respectively, and to give full effect to such decision without any objection, evasion, or delay whatever." It was then provided that the aggregate of all the amounts awarded to citizens of one country should be deducted from the aggregate awarded to citizens of the other, and that $300,000 of the balance should be paid by the debtor to the creditor Government within twelve months from the close of the commission, and that the rest should be paid in yearly installments, not exceeding $300,000 each. It was further stipulated:

The high contracting parties agree to consider the result of the proceedings of this commission as a full, perfect, and final settlement of every claim upon either Government arising out of any transaction of a date prior to the exchange of the ratifications of the present convention; and further engage that every such claim, whether or not the same may have been presented to the notice of, made, preferred, or laid before the said commission, shall, from and after the conclusion of the proceedings of the said commission, be considered and treated as finally settled, barred, and thenceforth

inadmissible.

When the work of the commission ended, it was found that the balance against Mexico was about $1,200,000, and annual payments were duly made by that Government in accordance with the terms of the convention. Among the claims presented to the commission by citizens of the United States was one of Benjamin Weil for cotton alleged to have been seized in Mexico and confiscated by the Mexican authorities in 1864, and one by the La Abra Silver Mining Company for the loss of a mine in the State of Durango, which the owners alleged they were forced to abandon in consequence of illegal acts on the part of Mexican officers. On Oct. 1, 1875, an award of $489,810 was made in favor of Weil against Mexico, and on December

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