Machinery and Appliances.

Progress, 1 November 1905, Page 17

Machinery and Appliances.

A new type of helmet experimented with by the Fire Brigade authorities of Manchester, England, is decidedly interesting. The equipment includes incandescent electric lamps, while an air current is directed upon the eyes and nostrils to protect them from smoke. A telephone apparatus is also provided, so that a fireman, when he enters a building, can always maintain communication with the force outside, and, if necessary, summon assistance. The helmet is specially designed to facilitate the penetration of dense masses of smoke. ****** Owing to the rapid destruction of the world's great forests, the preservation of timber from insects and decay is becoming a question of vital impor-

tance. Many efforts have been made to perfect a process for this purpose. One of the most successful is adopted by the Ayer & Lord Tie Co., of Chicago. The timber is placed in airtight cylinders, where it is first subjected to steam under pressure to remove all air from the pores of the wood, after which the air and steam are exhausted by a Deane wet vacuum pump. When all the vapours and gases have been removed, creosote is admitted into the tank, and forced into the wood by a pressure pump of the Deane duplex type. A Clayton air compressor is next used to force air into the tank, displacing the creosote, and returning it to an elevated storage reservoir.