21

H.—23

dress-stuffs, with silk-mixed stripe check for ladies' costumes, and light summer tweed and flannels for gentlemen's wear, to heavy twilled melton and twist merino whipcord saddle tweeds. There are coatings of the fine worsted and woollen makes; tweeds adapted for suits in a great variety of patterns and texture ; fancy vestings of spotted and light-check designs ; trouserings in worsted and woollen makes, both in various plain mixtures and in stripe and check patterns; blue and scarlet cloths for uniforms, of both the twill, buckskin, and the melton finish, which are used for the police and the Permanent Militia and Volunteers of New Zealand. There are some excellent samples of shepherd-checks, a pattern which is considered one of the most difficult to weave so as to be perfectly clear in check and colour. These are most successful, the pattern, even in the smallest checks, coming out clear and sharp. There is also a variety of hairline trouserings, and of rough long-wool cloths for suits; homespun heathery mixtures and natural undyed woor"niixtures, suitable for the hottest weather, with fine crossbred woollen cloths for light suits, of new designs in check and stripe. The tennis flannels, with light grounds and bright stripes, make a good contrast with the darker and more subdued patterns of many of the cloths. Besides having a large and w^llassorted collection in the large case, the company has done well to have a variety of cloths outside, which can be handled and closely examined by visitors, the value of the touch being well understood by experts. The flannels of white and natural wools, together with blankets and soft serges, are shown within the case. The white fabrics are really admirable for the purity and brightness of their colour, and they are all made of genuine wool, combining lightness with warmth. Many so-called " woollen" blankets can be made to sell at a price actually lower than is given for scoured wool, but this is done by using broken fibres from the combining-machines and blending cotton with the wool. The Mosgiel Company's blankets, however, are of pure wool, and they have long been highly and justly appreciated in New Zealand by those who know a really good article. Bugs, plaids, and shawls are shown in great variety. The rugs are deserving of thejiighest admiration for quality of wool, texture, and colouring. They are beautifully soft to the' touch, while in pattern and brightness of hue they can scarcely be surpassed. Among them the reversible " Wakatipu" in clan tartan is specially noticeable. The "cosie" rug is admirably adapted for travellers by train, having a double-lined pocket to put the feet in, and another outside to put the hands in. Within the glass-case are to be seen a large assortment of fine white and natural wool hosiery and underclothing, fancy wool, knitted shawls, scarfs, &c. The plain-ribbed hose and half-hose, men's pants, and under-vests are made chiefly by new patent steam-power knitting-looms, which can turn out from four to fifteen articles at a time on one machine, enabling the company to produce them at a lower price than would otherwise be possible. It should be mentioned that one end of the ease is taken up by a very large variety of three- and four-ply coloured yarns for knitting-purposes ; while among them is to be seen a capitally-prepared figure of a Cheviot ram, whose fleece shows the raw material that is worked up by the company to such excellent purpose. On the whole, the company is entitled to great credit for the manner in which the exhibit has been arranged. It is undoubtedly the most varied and interesting display of manufactured woollens to be seen in the Exhibition, and will probably open the eyes of a good many visitors to the degree of excellence that it is impossible to attain in these colonies in one of the most important branches of manufacturing industry. Inventions. The New Zealand Court is rich in its display of newly-invented contrivances for various purposes, the following being a few of the most striking:— A Hydraulic liailway-lift. —A model of a hydraulic railway-lift, which is the invention of Mr. George Ashcroft, of Wellington, is at present attracting attention. It occurred to Mr. Ashcroft while he was manager of the Wellington-Wairarapa line of railway, in which the Fell system is used to cross the summit-level, that such a contrivance would be of great utility in connection with railways in mountainous countries. By its use portions of a line can be formed at different levels, the trains being raised or lowered from one level to another. Tunnels and steep inclines are thus avoided, and the cost of instruction, as well as the expenses of working, are materially reduced. The admirable way in which Mr. Ashcroffc's model works proves that he has carried his idea into practical fulfilment. When the lift is brought into operation, long pipes are laid between the lines so as to act as hydraulic cylinders. The cylinders are furnished with pistons and suitable traction-gear for lifting a strongly-constructed steel bridge. A train runs upon the bridge, and is properly secured. Water is then admitted under pressure from accumulators, causing the bridge, with the whole train upon it, to ascend to the higher level. The same apparatus is used for lowering the train. Mr. Ashcroft estimates that, had the invention been available at the time of the construction of the Wellington-Wairarapa Eailway, £200,000 might have been saved in the formation of the portions at Eimutuka, where there is a steep incline. Moreover, the working-expenses would, he contends, have been reduced by at least £6,000 a year, for the present construction of the line necessitates the use of five different engines on a run of eighty-three miles. The accumulators in connection with the lift can be worked with a ten-horse-power engine, with a set of four pumps. It is not improbable that the lift will be used on the Midland Railway through Canterbury, New Zealand. A New Form of Tide-gauge. —A new form of self-regulating tide-gauge, which is the invention of Sir James Hector, and is constructed by Messrs. Littlejohn and Sons, Wellington, is to be seen at work, a syphon being used to produce an artificial rise and fall of water in a tank. The invention is an adaptation of compound parallel levers, which are moved vertically by the direct action of the rise and fall of-the tide, the difference in the number of parallelograms above and below a certain point determining the scale to which the tidal motion is reduced by an automatic pen marking a diagram on paper carried forward by clock-work. In a paper which the inventor read to the Philosophical Society, he pointed out the reasons for accuracy in the records of sea-level, instancing its bearings on the value of property, as it is the datum-line from which all land surveys