It is similarly true in this country, for too many believe that the English ironclad is invincible, and this impression makes cowards of too many. Give the nitro-glycerine gun and submarine boat a trial, if occasion arises, and England's ironclads will succumb as easily as Napoleon when sufficient power of the right kind was brought to bear on him. The right kind of power to apply to England is nitro-glycerine and dynamite, which could be ready with guns and boats in a month or less. One hundred days sufficed to build the first Monitor many years ago, and much less time will be needed for dynamite guns.
Wayne.
Electroplating with Platinum.
Platinum has not been much used in electroplating, notwithstanding its hard, durable, and protective properties. This is, perhaps, chiefly owing to the practical difficulty of obtaining a good firm "reguline" deposit. A process for effecting this has, however, been brought out recently by a Mr. Bright, whose patents have been acquired by the Bright Platinum Plating Company, and are in actual operation in London at works established there. Platinum has the advantage of keeping its color where silver, brass, or copper becomes discolored, and will, to some extent at least, replace the use of these metals in electrotyping. It will be highly useful in plating chemists' crucibles and so on. German silver, for example, plated with platinum can be used to manipulate strong acids. By the Bright process, platinum can be deposited on any surface which can be electroplated with other metals.
COMBINED BRUSH AND COMB CLEANER.
The invention herewith illustrated relates to a device for cleaning brushes and combs. It consists of a handle or body of suitable form, provided at one end with a brush, and at the opposite end with thin curved fingers of metal, or equivalent elastic material, adapted to enter between the teeth of the comb or the bristles of the brush. In making use of the device the hooks are employed to loosen and remove, as far as possible, the hairs or other foreign matter, after which the brush is employed to complete the operation. It is intended to afford a cheap, simple, and efficient means of cleaning articles in daily use in every household, and is virtually sure, considering the low cost at which it can be manufactured, to become a staple article of merchandise. The invention has been patented by Mr. J. O. Brookbank, of Driftwood, Cameron County, Pa., to whom all particulars relating to purchase of rights for the United States and Canada should be addressed.
BROOKBANK'S COMBINED BRUSH AND COMB CLEANER.