The Southern Architect 3, no. 10 (August 1892)

THE President of the British Institute of Civil Engineers claims to have discovered that the fogs of London, which have hitherto been looked upon as an intolerable and unmitigated nuisance, are really one of London’s greatest blessings and more than anything else the source of its general healthfulness. He says that it is the sulphur emanating from ’combustion of coal which causes fog; that in London about 350 tons are thrown into the air on one winter’s day, and that it is just this large quantity of sulphur which counteracts the effects of the death-laden germs discharged from refuse heaps and sewers, by its deodorizing and antiseptic properties. THE CAPITOL’S BAD SANITARY CONDITION. LAST March a commission of sanitary experts were appointed to investigate the alleged unsanitary condition of the National Capitol at Washington. This report has just been submitted to the Senate. They rec ommend extensive changes in the ventilating arrangements of the Senate chamber in particular, and that the whole system of plumbing of the building, which was put in from forty to ninety years ago, be overhauled and remodeled. The plumbing of the toilet-room of the Supreme Court chamber is specially condemned as a “sanitary curiosity and little better than a pest hole.” They recommend also a new kitchen for the Senate’s restaurant. The improvements suggested will cost $33,500. VINES ON WALLS. IN a recent report of the Secretary of Agriculture it is asserted that the common notion that vines covering walls tend to produce or promote dampness is so far from being true that the contrary is the case, such covered walls being drier than those exposed. A moment’s reflection would suggest that a thicket of leaves acts as a thatch, throwing off rain and keeping walls dry. They also have the further effect of preventing walls from being heated by the sun, so that in case of dwellings where the walls are covered during the summer the rooms are perceptibly cooler in consequence. The ivy, in climates suited to it, is probably the finest evergreen for clinging to and covering the walls, but the persistency of its foliage has been objected to, inasmuch as it prevents the sun from warming the walls during clear days in winter. A vine which possesses an abundance of foliage in summer and becomes deciduous in winter is therefore to be preferred, and the best plant to meet these requirements is the Japan ivy. This plant is nearly allied to the Virginia creeper, which adorns and enriches the wood with its rich autumn columns. In the year 1829 the Chinese completed an imperial canal that traversed a distance of 1,000 miles, a forty days sail for the Mongolian junk. EATING BEFORE SLEEPING. IT used to he considered prejudicial to good health to partake of food just before going to bed. But many physicians now recommend to their patients alight meal before retiring. On this subject Dr. W. T. Cathell, in Md. Med. Jour, says : Many persons, though not really sick, keep below par in strength and general tone, and I am of the opinion that fasting during the long interval between supper and breakfast, and especially the complete emptiness of the stomach during sleep, adds greatly to the amount of emaciation, sleeplessness and general weakness we so often meet. Physiology teaches that in the body there is a perpetual disintegration of tissue, sleeping or waking; it is therefore logical to believe that the supply of nourishment should be somewhat continuous, especially in those who are below par, if we would counteract their emaciation and lowered degree of vitality ; and as bodily exercise is suspended during sleep, with wear and tear correspondingly diminished, while digestion, assimilation and nutritive activity continue as usual, the food furnished during this period adds more than is destroyed, and increased weight and improved general vigor is the result. All things except man are governed by natural instinct, and every being with a stomach, except man, eats before sleep, and even the human infant, guided by the same instinct, sucks frequently day and night, and if its stomach is empty for any prolonged period, it cries long and loud. Digestion requires no interval of rest, and if the amount of food during the twenty-four hours is, in quantity and quality, not beyond the physiological limit, it makes no hurtful difference to the stomach how few or how short are the intervals between eating; but it does make a vast difference in the weak and emaciated one’s welfare to have a modicum of food in the stomach during the time of sleep, that, instead of being consumed by bodily action, it may during the interval improve the lowered system. lam fully satisfied that were the weakly, the emaciated and sleepless to take a light lunch or meal of simple, nutritious food before going to bed for a prolonged period, nine in ten of them would be thereby lifted into a better standard oi health. In my specialty (nose and throat) I encounter cases that, in addition to local and constitutional treatment, need an increase of' nutritious food ; and I find that by directing a bowl of bread and milk, or a mug of beer and a few biscuits, or a saucer of oatmeal and cream before going to bed, for a few months, a surprising increase in weight, strength and general tone results. On the contrary, persons who are too stout or plethoric should follow an opposite course. It is proposed to cover the surface of the sea around an endangered vessel with a thin cotton or silken net, rendered unsuhmersible and even floating by means of being dipped in a special chemical preparation. The idea is due to the fact that, when crossing the track of the gulf stream, it has been noticed that the vast spreading fields of floating seaweed within the confines of the stream, though upheaved by the swell, remain glossy and smooth. The net acts in the same manner as the seaweed. An invitation is extended to all the architects in the South to join the Southern Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. A BLESSING IN DISGUISE. 249 THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECT.

TRAP VENTING DENOUNCED. THE plunger water closet was the cause of ventilating traps under all fixtures. When the plunger closet was at its best, it took the place of the pan closet, and was found to be much inferior to the pan closet. Very few soil pipes were carried through the roofs in those days, and the result was the plunger closet, which held about ten gallons of water, was discharged through a four-inch opening and filled the soil pipe to its full capacity, and would pull out the water from the basin and bath traps, which were always connected to the trap of the closet; sometimes on the house side and sometimes on the sewer side. Sewer-gas would enter the house and kill the inmates. It was not an uncommon thing to hear of from one to five hundred deaths per day. The sewer gas crank was authority on vital statistics then. As a dead sure thing, a trap at the curb or lot line was suggested, but this was only a job for a laborer and would not give the sanitary fakir a chance to get his fine work in. By carrying the soil pipe through the roof air would follow the gush of water from the plunger reservoir instead of the water in the bath and basin traps, but the soil pipe would freeze at the roof and the basin and bath traps would empty. A new remedy was discoyered. Ventilate the trap also. Now a pipe is run from the sewer side of the traps above the roof. It is a two-inch pipe. The four-inch pipe froze, but for some reason only known to the sewer gas crank, the two-inch will not freeze. However, they all freeze and sewer gas fills the house. The old tenants die off and make room for new ones, while graveyard space is at a premium, and the plumber and sewer gas crank are thinking of some new schemes to work on the bed-ridden public. I have it. Ventilate the vent pipe and also put in a local vent, so in case all pipes fail, the local vent will carry off the most deadly germs and microbes, while the gibles will die of loneliness. In a house which was fitted up with the latter named improvement, a terrible smell was found. All the pipes were cut off and plugged except the local vent. The smell was just the same. The local vent was taken apart and ten dead sparrows were found. To make plumbing simple and substantial should be the aim of all plumbers. Trap venting on modern flushing closets is not only unnecessary, but idiotic. When the soil pipe is carried through the roof and increased at the roof in cold climates, with a lj-inch flush pipe from a tank to a closet, it will have no effect whatever on an adjoining closet or other trap, and it will not have the slightest tendency to syphon anything. Place ten water closets side by side, all supplied with a \\ inch flush pipe, as for example, in a plumber’s show room. They all empty into a 4-inch horizontal pipe. Discharge the ten closets all at the same instant, and the water will not rise 1-| inches in the bottom of the soil pipes. More harm comes from trap venting than the benefit that is intended. Should trap venting be insisted upon, do the venting from the lead bend under the floor or the trap. Trap venting at the closet is dangerous and also disfigures the earthenware. At a sink in the Union League Club house the writer discovered a trap vent filled with grease ; the pipe was plugged with it higher than the top of the sink. This left the vent useless. The ice boxes on the same job were connected to the soil pipe without even a trap. This letter may bring out a criticism, but the critics must talk from knowledge and experience and not from what others tell them. I will go to any job fitted up with flushing closets, and cut off all the air pipes and plug up the openings, except the soil pipe at the roof, and if any man can syphon any trap on the job by ordinary means I will give him a certified check for $l,OOO. There is not a day passes but vent blunders are exposed, and there are thousands of cases of by-passes that will never be heard of. A man with a patent check valve to furnish air instead of running pipe uses a two hundred gallon tank to show how a common trap can be syphoned. Even then the trap gives air and the water rolls back and leaves a seal. Trap venting is an imposition on the plumber and on the public.—John Kelly in Domestic Evgineering. CANNIBAL IRON WORKERS. A GENTLEMAN, for thirty years a missionary to the Fan tribe of Africa, has presented to the University of Pennsylvania one of the most important archa3ological collections ever made. The Fans are the powerful race of cannibals mentioned by DuChaillu as the ruling people of the equatorial region. The collection shows a considerable degree of civilization and high mechanical skill, especially in metal work. Native iron, it seems, is plentiful, lies near the surface, and is smelted by simply building a fire over the exposed ore. A queer looking bellows is used and is said to be effective. The iron hammers weigh about twenty-five pounds, but the anvils, strange to say, are made of stone. The Fans are the only people in equatorial Africa who have a currency and they are strong monometalists. The money is of iron, wrought into pieces resembling rusty hairpins with flat heads. They are put up in bundles of ten, and 100 bundles is the market price of a wife.— Exchange. THE GREATEST INVENTION OF THE AGE IN WOODWORKING MACHINERY. THE self-cleaning mortise chisel is a patented chisel and the sole property of the Self-Cleaning Mortise Chisel Company, Limited, of this city. This chisel makes the mortise and takes out the chips at the same time. The old style chisel now in use makes the mortise, but instead of taking the chips out, packs them in so tightly that it requires two men behind each chisel to punch them out, a steel punch and mallet being used for that purpose. This self-cleaning chisel, however, does away with the work of two men. There are over 25,000 wood-workmg manufactories in the United States which use not less than twenty chisels each every year. A fair estimate can be formed of the value of this self-cleaning chisel when its net saving in labor in two days is sufficient to repay its value. The cost to us of this chisel is a mere trifle, its value being entirely in the patent, and the stock will soon be worth from five to six times its present value. The machine is now in operation at No. 34 Magazine street, and the public is invited to call and see the work. The stock is $lOO per share. Parties wishing to subscribe will please call in person or address for full particulars, Self-Cleaning Mortise Chisel Company, Limited, 34 Magazine street, New Orleans, La.— N. 0. Picayune. 250 THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECT.

Heating- Questions Answered. BY FRANCIS A. HERENDEEN, GENEVA, N. Y. How shall I heat my house ? Everybody sooner or later asks this question. The answer: Use a Hot-air furnace, Steam heat or a Hot-water system. Many people combine the last two. Which is the cheapest ? First cost only considered,—Hot-air,—unless you use stoves. Then why is the use of other systems constantly increasing? Easily told, because, leaving out the question of first cost, they are admittedly the most healthful and give a far pleasanter and evener heat with an abundance of pure fresh air, and besides are vastly more economical in fuel. In selecting a Steam or Hot-water apparatus, what is the most importantfeature to consider ? The Boiler, as it is the very heart and life of the entire system. Are n’t all boilers about alike ? For instance, examine the difference between “packed joints” and “screwed joints.” The former never can be relied upon and sooner or later are bound to give out and leak. Only lathe turned screwed joints are safe, iron to iron; the longer used the tighter they become. Remember this above all others, that the weakest pointe about all boilers or radiators are their joints. Therefore look to them critically. What is a “packed joint?” A packed joint is a connection made between two water openings by means of a gasket or washer of paper, asbestos, rubber or some other “spongy” material, placed around the opening between the two parallel faces of the iron and the entire joint made tight by pressure, generally by bolting the two faces together. Then why is a “packed joint” unreliable ? Because the constant strain it is subjected to by expansion and contraction soon deadens the elasticity of the packing; the constant heat dries it out, and sooner or later it becomes worthless, leakage and incurring the trouble and expense of repacking. Frequently they give out in the middle of winter. Remember also, that all boilers of this type contain from ten to twenty-five of these joints. Then why are n’t boilers made without joints? Because it is impossible to produce a boiler made in one piece that would be practicable and burn the fuel economically, and therefore it must be made in sections and connected together by joints of some-kind. What kind of joints are best? Lathe-turned screwed joints throughout; they will never leak. How else do boilers differ ? Well, in some, the water surfaces are horizontal —arranged over the fire; and in others, they are vertical. Are horizontal surfaces better ? Decidedly not. All horizontal surfaces are soon covered with a layer of fire ashes and soot and so prevent the heat being absorbed easily by the water, causing immense waste of fuel. The accumulation of a quarter of an inch of soot requires 50 per cent, more fuel than would be necessary if the surfaces were clean. j But can’t they be cleaned ? No, there are scarcely any. two built the same way. Some are made of wrought iron, and some of cast iron; some are tubular, and some are sectional; some are made “with packed joints” and some with “screwed joints;” some have plain grates, from which it is difficult to remove clinkers, others improved rocking grates, and so on. How can I tell which is the best ? By getting thoroughly iinformed on each, under consideration. They can be, yes, but in the average house where the boiler is left to servants they are not. “Cleaning the boiler” is a dirty, disagreeable job, filling the cellar with dust and soot, and the practical result is the boiler is left to “do the best it can” by itself. But what about “vertical surfaces?” They are necessarily perpetually clean. Being vertical, there is no place where dust can lodge and collect, and therefore they greedily absorb heat from the fire, and the smoke passes off cool. But supposing the “vertical surface” are in the form of flues—- verticle flues—what then ? Ah, then these flues will choke up. All flues will choke up, whether horizontal or vertical, and need constant cleaning. What w re mean by vertical surfaces that will be constantly cleaning are convex vertical surfaces, such as the outside of tubes filled with water. Are wrought iron boilers preferable ? Not for heating purposes; for where a boiler lies idle half the year, as in a damp cellar through the summer months, it rusts out rapidly. Cast iron as is well known, is not nearly so susceptible to corrosion as wrought iron, and is therefore practically indestructible. Of what material should a boiler be constructed ? The best of cast iron throughout and every boiler should be tested to a pressure ten times greater than it ever will be subjected to at any time when it is in operation. With ordinary proper care it should last a lifetime. Every inch of its iron in any way exposed to the fire should be constantly backed by solid water so that it cannot burn out or rust out. In a Hot-water system what is most essential ? A rapid flow of water through the pipes and radiators. Why so? Because the faster the water travels the hotter will be its average temperature, and the more heat will it impart to the house. What causes the water to circulate ? Heat. What retards its circulation ? Friction What creates friction ? Sharp turns of the pipe, bad valves, poorly constructed radiators, but most of all a horizontal movement of the water through the boiler. Why does a “horizontal movement” of the water through a boiler create friction ? Because when water is heated, it at once begins to expand and rise —straight up—and if it has to move in a zig-zag way through the boiler before being liberated into the flow pipes, the contact of the water with the horizontal surfaces of each section through which it passes creates great friction, and, consequently, its velocity is greatly retarded. How then should a Hot-water boiler be constructed so as to produce rapid circulation ? It should be constructed so that every particle of water, from the moment it commences to absorb heat until it is discharged into the flow-pipes, must move vertically through the boiler. Thereby the minimum of friction and maximum of velocity of the water are obtained. What makes “Econemy of fuel ? ’ Three things: First, perfect combustion; second, rapid transformation of fire-heat into water-heat; and third, the least waste of heat from the boiler into the cellar. What promotes “perfect combustion?” A fire-box so constructed that the fire will burn evenly, as well at the edge as at the center, and a draft sufficient to give an ample supply of oxygen for the complete combustion of all the gases generated. What promotes “rapid transformation of fire-heat into waterheat. Three things: First, the fire must lie in the midsts of and be surrounded by water surfaces. Second, the flames and hot gases must impinge, or strike, against these surfaces at right angles; and Third, The water must be cut up into small portions so as to rapidly absorb heat. For instance you can boil a quart of water on a stove much faster if you divide it into two portions of a pint each. , What prevents waste of heat from the boiler into the cellar. Setting the boiler in brick-work, or, if it is a “portable style,” then encasing it in easily removable asbestos and iron jackets. Are n’t all portable Hot-water boilers so encased? Very few, scarcely any. 251 THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECT.

How should an idle boiler be encased? It should have three jackets: A heavy inner one of black sheet iron, a middle jacket of pure asbestos, and an outer one of galvanized iron, separated by an inch and a half air space from the inner jacket. Will these three jackets keep in the heat successfully? Yes, almost entirely. The outer galvanized iron jacket should rarely be so warm but that you may comfortly rest your hand on it. How much heat would be wasted in the cellar without such jackets? Sufficient to warm three ordinary good sized rooms. Then why are n’t all portable boilers supplied with them ? Because they add to the cost of the boiler, and unless attention was called to their omission, many people would not know that they were desirable. Which style of boiler is usually preferred ? For office and residence heating the “Portable” style. For larger work such as halls, theatres, churches, large greenhouses, etc., the “Brick-set” style. How can you have a cool smoke pipe ? By making the boiler into a “Base Heater,” so that all the smoke before passing into the chimney is drawn down to the bottom of the boiler in the rear and thereby comes in contact with a great deal of water surface before it enters the chimney. Moreover, this last water it comes in contact with is the cool return water, and so very rapidly absorbs heat from the smoke and reduces its temperature. What do you mean by a “Combination System” of steam and hot water? A system by which you can at pleasure warm your house by either steam or hot-water, simply opening a valve to draw down the water to the proper level when you wish to use steam, and filling up the boiler and radiators again, by opening another valve, when you wish to run as hot water. Hot-water is intended to be used during spring and fall, and steam during zero weather. How do the various systems range in price ? The cheapest is steam, then comes the “combination” and then hot-water. The price of the boiler alone, however, in each case is practically the same. Are there other points to consider before deciding what boiler I shall buy ? Yes, many; for instance, the ease of cleaning from clinkers or dust, the ease of regulating, whether the boiler is sufficiently low in height to go into a low cellar, whether it can be taken apart to go through narrow doors or passages, whether it is a “Base Burner,” whether it is a self-feeder” or a “surface burner,” whether it will prove durable and not need constant repairs, and whether it is simple enough “to run itself” so that any ordinary servant can take care of it with safety. SUGGESTIONS ABOUT RADIATORS. There are prehaps half a dozen different styles of first-class Radiators now on the market, any of which are likely to give satisfaction if they are generously used so as to easily and comfortably warm your house. One of the most common sources of trouble wherever work is let by contract to the “lowest bidder,” is that of insufficient radiation, the contractor taking his chances on a mild winter or his power of persuading you that he has given you enough. The larger your radiators the easier and quicker are your rooms warmed, especially so on a cold winter’s morning. The best plan is to have a distinct understanding with your steam fitter as to the exact number of square feet of radiation he will put in each room, and be sure and have your front hall well heated in any event, for a warm hall goes a long way towards a comfortable house. ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS. Valves.—Use only the best, full-opening, angle valves, with Jenkin’s disc, nickel-plated all over, rough body, wood wheels, with unions. It is economy in the end to use only first-class valves. Have plenty of boiler power, so that you will not be obliged to crowd your boiler in severe weather. The most successful and economically running jobs have ample boiler and radiator capacity. Wherever pipes run through walls, floors or ceilings, use nickel-plated or cast-iron (bronzed) plates to give a neat finish. In calling your attention to the Norris Sash Balance and Norris Pulley, we wi 1 say that the Norris Pulleys are well and favorably know over the entire country. There are but a few, if any, architects in this country or Canada that do not prefer the Norris pulleys to any other pulley made. They are known to be the only pulleys made that do not depend upon screws to hold them in position; the pin being back of the bevel on the lower end of the pulley, causes both the sash and weights to pull back, hence the heavier the weight the more firmly they imbed themselves into the frame. Norris & Co. manufacture pulleys of a 1 sizes and in all the known different finishes. They take great pride in keeping up their well deserved reputation. Their common cheap pulleys are far superior to other pulleys marked noiseless. They have recently put on tlie market a full fine of there pulleys made for ribbon, and we understand that they propose to keep up their Ribbon Pulleys to the same high standard as their Rope and ChainWheel Pulleys. They have also put on the market a superior grade of Aluminum Bronze Ribbon and Galvanized Steel Ribbon, at prices within the reach of all. They claim that their ribbon catches are the only positive holding catch made that does not impair the strength of the ribbon at any point. Their catches do not depend upon a wedge that is so liable to draw out before becoming tightened, as is especially the case with Aluminum Ribbon, which has a smooth oily surface. So little accurate information has been published in regard to this new meta\ that the following description will be of interest. In color pure a'uminum is a beautiful white, with more of a bluish tint than silver; it takes as high a polish as silver and retains the polish, not being affected by moisture or exposure to the gases of the atmosphere. In strength the cast meta’ has about 14 tons tensile strength to the square inch. The mixture that Norris & 00. use for their ribbon has a tensile strength of over 50 tons to the square inch. In conclusion we will say that in our opinion Norris & Co. have succeeded in obtaining what their large interests over this country demand, the best pulleys, ribbons and catches that can be produced in the world. Write C Sidney Norris, Baltimore, Md., for samples, as we have done, and you will be convinced that they have what the public demands.— From the American Builder, April, 1892. I take great pleasure in announcing to you the comp’etion of my five new large furnaces, which, added to my previously increased facilities for bending and beveling glass in the most skillful and workman-like manner, enables me to handle all work in a more expeditious and satisfactory manner, which cannot but prove very gratifying to the trade. Having now the advantage of new, improved and superior facilities over the old method of bending and beveling, I am prepared to bend and bevel glass for coaches, hearses, sho\V cases, steamboats, offices, banks, railway cars, clocks, lamps, bow windows and large bent plates for store fronts, etc. We also carry in stock all sizes of the best selected crystal plates; also 3-16 plates for carriages ; also selected mirror plates, plain and beveled, for the furniture trade. Orders respectfully solicited and promptly executed on the most reasonable terms. Earnestly soliciting a share of your patronage, I remain, Very respectfully yours, M. A. Smith. Newark, N. J., July 1. An ethical study on “ Veracity,” by Herbert Spencer, will be among the contents of the August Popular Science Monthly, 252 THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECT.

IMPROVED BATH HEATER. The Folding Bath Tub Co. of Marshall, Mich., who do a very extensive business in the manufacture and sale of their celebrated Folding and Sanitary Baths, have recently made a great improvement in their Bath Heater consisting of an Elliptic Coil constructed of five-eighths Copper Tubing attached to the bottom of the Heater in such a way as to cause the water to circulate as soon as the burners underneath are lighted. The advantage this Heater has over any other now on the market, is the water is heated both by radiation and circulation at the same time. The Company are using this Heater on all their Folding Baths, and as it is proving itself to be such a success, they have decided to put it on t' e market, and are prepared to furnish any or all dealers on short notice, as there is a demand for a cheaper as well as less complicated Stationary Bath Heater. We are confident that this Heater will soon find its way into many homes, and become a great favorite.—For further information, address Folding Bath Tub Co. Marshal], Mich. An Improved Revolving Chimney Top. To create a better draught in low and poor chimneys, and to stop the stove and grate from smoking on account of wind blowing dorvn the chimney, is the object of the improved revolving chimney top shown in the accompanying illustration. The improvement is designed to be attached to a low sheet iron smoke stack put on the chimney. The device has been on the market for several years and is covered by various patents. It has proved admirably adapted for the purpose designed, and has the warm indorsement of architects and builders generally. Powers Brothers, Streator, 111., are the sole manufacturers. In connection with the coil, we have invented a Three Way Bibb that is so arranged that by raising a lever the circulation through the Heater can be shut off and the water drawn through the coil into the Bath; by so doing the temperature can be raised twenty degrees while running into the Tub. We are having a large demand for not only the Aldine Fire Place but our mantels. We started in to manufacture superior mantels and to place them on the market at lowest possible price and have thus quickly found that people appreciate well made and finished goods of this character. Our trade in the Aldine Fire Place is large, especially throughout New England and the northwest. We were recently called upon to fill an order for a dozen grates for government use. Were notified at the same time that sixteen more would be required for the new quarters soon to be completed. Jackson grates and Baltimore heaters were formerly used. Being enabled, however, to produce the required agreeableness of heat and sanitary conditions with cleanliness and economy the Aldine was given the preference. We also received a large order during the past week from Switzerland. After thorough trial and investigation of the first grate shipped there, we have the assurance of the parties of a large trade from that country as soon as its practical merits have become known. Many people in our own country have an idea that the Aldine is a new and untried thing. On the contrary it is in extensive use in every state in the union and in many foreign countries. We desire our patrons to be made familiar with the fact that we ship our mantels under positive guarantee of their being superior both as regards workmanship and finish. The finish given even the lower priced is equal to that given the finest furniture, and we ship them with the understanding that if they are not found fully up to our representation they be returned to us at our own expense. In relation to the Aldine Fire Places, we ship then under our standing offer to refund for any grate returned to us which does not fulfill our claims for it when provided with a chimney flue containing good draft, set and operated as per our instructions and although this has been our offer for the past five years, as yet we have never been called upon to refund for a single grate. Aldins Manufacturing Co. The Pittsburg Terra-Cotta Lumber Company among their late contracts have secured the Postal Telegraph & Cable Company’s building a thirteen story structure located at the cor. Murry St. and Broadway, New York City; and also the Metropole Hotel, a nine stor}' structure located on Broad St., Phi adelphia Pa. These contracts were secured by reason of this company making better porous terracotta than any manufactured by any other concern in the country. Their fuel in Pittsburg (Natural Gas) insures a uniformity in their tile. Their clay is the strongest and will with stand more fire than any clay which is made in the porous tile so far manufactured. The capacity of their factory is the largest, which insures to Owners, Architects and Bin ders the most rapid completion of their work. To parties who are contemplating putting up a fire-proof building it would be well for them to send for a descriptive catalogue of this company’s manufacture which can be had by addressing Pittsburg Terra-Cotta Lumber Co., 559 Bedford Avenue, Pittsburg, Pa. The Cushman Iron Co., Architectual & Ornamental Iron Works, Roanoke, Va., have just received the contract for furnishing all of the ornamental work, stairs, etc., for the Chamber of Commerce Building at Richmond, of which Mr. M. J. Dimmock is the architect and W. 0. Burton is the contractor. This Company has also lately signed contracts for the comdlete iron structure and ornamental work for the Bluefield Bank Building, Bluefield, W. Va., of which Mr. W. L. Reid, Roanoke, is the architect and J. C. Jones & Co., of Basic City, the contractors. Besides this they are furnishing the iron construction for the Lemley & Jacobs Building at Winston, N. C. and have just shippod a car-load of iron fencing to Philadelphia. It is astonishing how quickly some people f >rget their dead. It has has been said that you can judge people by the way in which they take care of their dead. It is a disgrace, and a shame to civilization, the condition in which many graves are left unprotected, to grow up in weeds and brush. You can go right out here in Oakland and see this neglect, and in a very few years those noglected graves will be lost altogether, and it would not surprise ns to hear that others were being buried in the same place as those forgotten and neglected grave. There is no need in neglecting the graves in such an unchristain like manner, when you can protect them thoroughlyand cheaply with a “Hartman” Steel Picket fence, a fence that is practically everlasting, handsome, very strong, and does not obscure the view of the lot, flowers, etc., much more than if you had no fence. When you go to Oakland again, examine the handsome fence recently erected, enclosing the lot of Mrs. P. H. Owens; this fence is admired very much by all who have se.n it. Before purchasing a fence for any purpose, write us for catalogue and book of testimonials of the “Hartman” specialties, which contains cuts of our Steel Wire door mats, tree guards, our new panel wire for farms, etc., Hartman Manufacturing Co., 51 and 53 South Forsyth street, Atlanta, Ga. Iron Mountings Only. Cover and Vane Complete, 253 THE SOUTHERN ARCHITECT.