We had recently an opportunity of examining the whole of this machinery in detail, and seeing the process of silk reeling in actual operation, Mr. Serrell having put up a complete set of his machines in Queen Victoria Street, London.  Regarded simply as a piece of ingenious mechanism, the performance of these machines cannot fail to be of the highest interest to engineers, the reeling machine proper seeming almost endowed with human intelligence, so perfectly does it work.  But, apart from the technical perfection, Mr. Serrell’s improvements are of great importance as calculated to introduce the silk-reeling industry in this country on a large scale, while at the same time its effect upon India as a silk-growing country will be of equal importance.—­Industries.

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APPARATUS USED FOR MAKING ALCOHOL FOR HOSPITAL USE DURING THE CIVIL WAR BETWEEN THE STATES.[1]

  [Footnote 1:  Read at the Cincinnati meeting of the American
  Pharmaceutical Association.]

By CHARLES K. GALLAGHER, Washington, N.C.

A is an ordinary farm boiler or kettle, with an iron lid securely bolted on; B, a steam pipe ending in a coil within a trough, D. C, D, two troughs made of gum logs, one inverted over the other, securely luted and fastened together by clamps and wedges.  The “beer” to be distilled was introduced at E and the opening closed with a plug.  The distillate—­“low wine”—­was collected at F, and redistilled from a set of similar troughs not shown in above figure, and heated by a continuation of the steam coil from D.

[Illustration]

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CONFEDERATE APPARATUS FOR MANUFACTURING SALTPETER FOR AMMUNITION.

By CHARLES K. GALLAGHER, Washington, N.C.

Any convenient number of percolators, made of rough boards, arranged over a trough after the style of the old fashioned “lye stand,” similar to the figure.  Into these was placed the earth scraped from around old tobacco barns, from under kitchens and smokehouses.  Then water or water and urine was poured upon it until the mass was thoroughly leached or exhausted.  The percolate was collected in a receptacle and evaporated, the salt redissolved, filtered, again evaporated, and crystallized from the mother water.

[Illustration]

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THE TELEMETER SYSTEM.

By F.R.  UPTON.