i cieutific �lUeticaM. 243 THE HON. BENJAlI:IN BUTTERWORTH. THE POPULATION OF SWITZERLAND. method are (1) that the burning defiles the air, causes The appointment, and confirmation on April 6 by the The population of Switzerland at the last census rain and wind, and is not practicable in a wet sum- United States Senate, of the Hon. Benjamin Butter­ (1888) was 2,917,000, and the average increase of popu­ mer. " worth to the responsible office of Commissioner of lation from 1850-88 was 5'1 per 1,000 inhabitants. The It may be of historical interest to collect other refer­ Patents will, we feel sure, receive the unqualified ap­ same conditions, however, appear to exist in that coun­ ences to the connection between large fires and subse­ proval of all practitioners before the Patent Office. try as in others, namely, that the population of the quent rainfall, says the Monthly Weather Review. The new Commissioner of Patents accepted the com­ industrial districts increases, while that of the agricul­ • Ie' • missionership at the urgent request of President McKin­ tural districts tends to decrease. According to the PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR SOLDERING ALUMINUlI. ley. Great pressure was also brought to bear upon secretary of legation at Berne, the death rate averaged Opinions on the best method of soldering aluminum Mr. Butterworth by the bar of the country without re­ 17'6 per 1,000 in the towns in 1894. Influenza was are always of interest, and the following communica­ gard t.o politics, and it is not without considerable pe­ responsible for 2,275 deaths, as compared with 2,669 in tion from"Solder er " to the Metal Worker is pro­ cuniary sacrifice that he takes the position, for which 1890, and only 268 in 1891. The average of deaths from nounced by aluminum experts to contain some exce�­ he is so eminently qualified. alcoholism waS 6'5 per cent of the total. In 1888 there lent praotical directions for soldering aluminum. The Mr. Butterworth is fifty-nine years old and was born were 229,650 foreigners resident in Switzerland, of whom "Solderer" says: in Ohio. He was admitted to the bar in 1861 and com­ 112,342 were Germans, 13,000 Austrians, 53,000 French, I notice the pictures accompanying the article on menced the practice of law in Cincinnati. The first and 41,000 Italians. The English who come into the the "Specimens of Aluminum Soldering," but my public position which he held was that of United States country, and who do so much to support the hotel attention, however, was more particularly attracted District Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. industry, would seem therefore to be mostly of the to the statement that the samples shown had not been He was elected a member of the Ohio Senate, and tourist class, as there were only 2,577 residents. The subjected to the test of;time, which has in a number of subsequently, in 1878, was sent to Congress from his emigration of Swiss has diminished from 13,502 in 1883 instances destroyed the hopes of those who thought district, which was normally Democratic. He was re­ to 3,849 in 1894, and of these 3,285 went to the United they had successfully solved the problem of soldering elected to the next Congress. States, of whom 1,273 were agriculturists. These offi­ aluminum by a simple method. I have not solved this He was Commissioner of Patents during the adminis­ cial figures do not include the army of Swiss waiters problem, but have accumulated quite a bit of infor­ tration of Chester A. Arthur and made a good record as and hotel servants who go abroad annually for the mation on the subject, which may be of interest to an incorruptible and efficient commissioner. He served winter months, to the Riviera or elsewhere, and who those who are laboring in this field. When exposed to until he resigned to become a member of the Forty­ return home for the summer tourist season. The aver­ the atmosphere an electrical action or chemical action, ninth Congress. He was elected afterward to the age number of suicides per 100,000 inhabitants was as it is sometimes called, begins, and either the alumi­ Fiftieth and Fifty-first Congresses and declined the 22'5. as compared with 7'5 in England and Wales. A num or the metals in the solder start oxidizing, which nomination for the Fifty-second Congress. eventually results in a separation of the While in Congress Mr. Butterworth was ad­ solder from the aluminum. This action is mittedly one of the readiest and ablest de­ more rapid when aluminum has been used baters on the floor of the House and was to manufacture a vessel to contain water. always the champion of good government It can readily be seen from this that it is ab­ and pure politics. Mr. Butterworth was solutely necessary that the surface of the president of the commission sent by the aluminum must be thoroughly tinned, or United States government to Europe, to protected as far as possible from atmospheric induce the foreign governments to take part influence, in order to solder readily, and if in the Chicago World's Fair. After termin­ the joint is to be a lasting one, the protection ating his connection with the Exposition, he to the surface of the aluminum must be of gave his entire attention to the practice of a permanent nature. The difficulty in sol­ law in connection with Mr. Julian C. Dow­ dering aluminum has been to keep the sur­ ell. The law firm of Butterworth & Dowell face entirely free from oxidation, the fluxes have offices in Washington and Cincinnati. used in soldering other metals not being During his tenure of office as Commissioner adapted for it. of Patents Mr. Butterworth compiled a most Solders that are best adapted for use with comprehensive work on "The Growth of aluminum contain a percentage of zinc, or Industrial Art." This work gives the history spelter, and those who wish to demonstrate of two hundred of the arts from the rude that aluminum can be soldered have only beginnings up to the most complicated ex­ to use stearine as a flux with an ordinary amples of the modern inventors' skill. soldering copper and a solder which con­ Mr. Butterworth's deep interest in the tains a small precentage of zinc, or that has promotion of all public enterprises, indus­ been prepared on purpose for soldering this tries and inventions, his liberal-mindednes3 metal. It is quite possible that those who toward inventors and his influence with the are expert in the use of soldering coppers representatives of the national legislature, can tin the surface and solder the joint with all portend for good in the future, the pos­ half and half solder, with stearine as a flux. sible reform of abuses and the placing of the Those who have soldered tin plate, copper, Patent Office on a higher plane of usefulness. brass, zinc, and black iron, know that black .. � .... iron is much more difficult to solder, because NO BIDS FOR ARMOR PLATE. the surface must be thoroughly cleaned from There were a number of surprised people all oxide and made bright. Those who have at the Navy Department on April 8, when had the most experience do not attempt to bids were opened for supplying the govern­ solder the iron until it is in a perfectly clean ment with 8,000 tons of armor for the battle­ condition. From the fact that aluminum ships Alabama, lllinois, and Wisconsin. It presents a bright appearance. it is too often was the first opportunity of the department assumed by those who experiment in solder­ to test the attitude of the armor plate manu­ ing it that it may be readily soldered, while facturers with regard to the stipulation in in fact as much care must be taken to have the Naval Appropriation bill that the aver­ its surface perfectly clean as is taken in age cost of armor to the government should THE HON, BENJAMIN BUTTERWORTH, COMMISSIONER OF PATENTS. cleauing the surface of a piece of black sheet not be more than $300 a ton. Secretary iron for soldering. Aluminum solder is Long presided at the opening of the bids, made more durable and capable of stand­ and he announced that one bid only had been received. curious coincidence in connection with suicides in ing the ravages of time by the addition of a per­ When the so-called bid was examined, it wasfound to Switzerland is that they are about 5 per cent hiS'her on centage of silver, which immediately adds to the cost be in the form of two propositions from the Illinois 'l'uesdays than on any other day in the week, and for and also to the difficulty of soldering, as it must be Steel Company, a Chicago concern, neither of a regular men hanging, and for women drowning, appears to be done with a blowpipe or by some other means by character in conformity with the advertisement. Both the method of dispatch preferred by each sex.-Jour­ which the high temperature necessary for melting and of these propositions will be rejected. nal of the Society of Arts. fusing the solder can be secured. The company offered to furnish the 8,000 tons at $300 • • • a ton, on condition that Congress would award it a THE GUTTA-PERCHA CROP OF 1896. PRODUCTION OF RAIN BY GREAT FIRES. contract for the entire wants of the United States gov­ The India Rubber World says: Advices from Singa­ ernment for armor plate for twenty years.