Consul-General Guenther, of Frankfort, writes that German papers report that Mr. Cowper Coles, an Englishman, has invented a new process of galvanization, and has recently demonstrated the same with samples of iron, copper, aluminum, and other metals. The objects to be galvanized are simply heated to 260° in a bath of zinc vapor, the duration of which depends upon the desired thickness of the coating, but which is always short. After heating the objects are thoroughly coated with a layer of zinc, which on the surface has formed an alloy with the other metal by penetrating into it to a considerable depth. A copper rod can in this way be almost entirely transformed into brass, while the temperature employed remains far below the melting point of both metals. A great advantage of the process lies in the evenness of the coating, which is so perfect that such zinc-galvanized screws and bolts afterward fit perfectly into the nuts, while with other methods they have to be polished. It is also very convenient that the objects to be galvanized have not first to be cleaned.

The retorts in which the heating takes place are of iron, and are heated from the outside. Another peculiar advantage is that the zinc does not adhere to the walls of the retort, but that these, after months of use, are entirely clean. The explanation for this is that the walls of the retort are heated most, so that no zinc vapor condenses on them. Experiments to use the the process with metals other than zinc have been so far made with copper and antimony, and have been partly successful, but not to a degree to make them of practical use.

One of the recent patents in the gas engine line is a starting device using superheated steam as the motive power. The starter contains a series of coils of pipe of small size which aggregate about 60 feet of heating surface. A pint of water injected into these coils by a small force pump, within 10 seconds is converted into steam at a pressure of from 100 to 1000 pounds, as desired. There is no reservoir, and the steam is released automatically into the gas engine cylinder before it reaches the tested capacity of the starter.