We learn from a South African newspaper that Natal is at last going to cultivate tea in earnest. The aroma of the samples produced is described as excellent; it has a taste by no means unpleasant, which is not characteristic of China teas, but it is one which would be readily acquired and appreciated. It is anticipated that fifty thousand pounds will be grown this season.
A large German lithographic firm doing a considerable trade in England, it is said has entirely left off printing from stone, and uses zinc plates only. The saving is said to be very considerable, and may partly explain how they are able to print more cheaply than our own lithographers. A Chicago trade journal estimates that if a work is to be printed in ten colours, requiring five double-sized stones of twenty-eight by forty-two inches, the cost of each stone would be about twelve pounds, while a first-class zinc plate costs eight shillings.
Mr H. T. Crewe, 17 Sunning Hill Road, Lewisham, London, S.E., has recently patented a system by which conservatories, the various structures of the horticulturist, and other buildings, can be fitted with glass roofs and walls without the use of putty. The system is an extremely simple one. Panes of glass are laid upon parallel rafters or beams. They are not placed flatly one beside the other, but the upper panes are made to slightly overlap the lower panes. They are fixed together by means of little metal clips, which receive screws, that afterwards pass through holes in the panes and into the rafters or beams. Among the advantages claimed for the new system of glazing are, that it causes the roof to remain perfectly rain-proof, and that the greatest facility and despatch are attained in detaching and replacing panes. Condensation is carried away from the inside of the glass by the grooves which are cut in the rafters or beams.
OCCASIONAL NOTES.
SAFETY IN RAILWAY TRAVELLING.
Mr Edward Harford, general secretary to the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, replying to a request forwarded by peers, members of the House of Commons, and others for information as to the causes of railway accidents, and the means which, in the opinion of the Society, ought to be adopted for the safety of the general public and of railway servants, has issued a list of twenty-three proposals which set forth the necessary requirements. The principal are the following:
‘All railways ought to be worked on the absolute block-system, strictly carried out, so that no two trains shall ever be in one section at the same time.
The blocks and interlocking systems should be electrically combined and controlled, so that the safety of a block-section shall be under the control of two signalmen.
Junction block-working should be adopted at all junctions, so that no two trains which can foul each other at the points and crossings shall ever be allowed to approach a junction at one and the same time. All sidings and goods-lines should be provided with properly interlocked safety-points.
One code of block-system regulations and one pattern of signals should be adopted throughout the kingdom. A red light should be the only danger-signal. The practice of using purple or other lights is highly dangerous.