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Post Office Preparing THE Post Office has made for a Prosperous 1 preparations for a record Christmas-. . mail, Some 80,000 extra men
have already been giVen employment. In London alone there are 15,000 additional, compared with 12,000 last year, whilst 62 premises, comprising drill halls, etc., have been hired for use as temporary sorting offices. More than 1,300 extra vans are being employed in the Metropolitan area. Last year's posting figures for the three days prior to Christmas were 260,000,000 letters and .9,000,000 parcels—so the earlier you post the better
Another Haulier En A GAS company asked for Route for the Bankri tenders for carrying
ruptcy Court . . coal from a station, a mile
away, to its works. The price charged in the expiring contract was is. 8d. a ton. A haulier we know went into the matter carefully and found that the coal arrived in 10 or 12 6-ton trucks at a time and had to be cleared in 24 hours to avoid demurrage. It had to be shovelled from the trucks, and only, the first few loads could be tipped at the works, the rest had to be shovelled and thrown up on top. With some misgiving he quoted Is, 9d.—another man obtained the job at is, 6d.
Head Lamp Dipping nRIVING towards London More Prevalent Among 1-•for 150 miles over the Drivers of "Heavies" Great North Road one night, recently, a member of our staff was much impressed by the courtesy of " heavy " drivers in using their statutory dimming devices. -There were fewer black sheep among these than among the drivers of private cars. Incidentally, the fact that dipping was general constituted evidence of the non-dazzle qualities of the Meteor
lamp with which the car used was equipped. He wished that more of the cars encountered had similar flat-top beam illumination, as, pro:bably, do many bus, coach and lorry drivers.
Molasses for Treating potETWEEN Bangalore and Earth Roads in Parts 1-` Mysore is an important
of India . „ thoroughfare carrying mixed, traffic, with a metalled portion 12 ft. wide. Surface treatment with tar or bitumen is too expensive. The metalled surface is, therefore, swept with fibre brooms and a 1 to 1 mixture of molasses and water applied by hand or tank. After 30 minutes, while still damp, the mixture is covered with coarse sand and the road immediately opened to traffic. This produces a smooth, dustless surface in the dry season, although some loosening occurs in the rains, but the road remains harder and closer in texture than before treatment. Experiments are also being conducted with mixtures of molasses, slaked lime and charcoal.
Flow of Petrol May IN the Journatof the Institute Generate Static 1 of Consulting Motor Engin
Electricity . eers, reference is made to
another petrol fire, the origin of which is mysterious. While a tank was being filled flames shot up, and when the vehicle was palled away the trigger on the nozzle was caught and the hose split, allowing the petrol to flow on to the ground. Three other pumps and an oil container then caught fire. It is pointed out that the chance of such an,. outbreak occurring when no naked flame is present is in the order of millions to one, but with a certain combination of circumstances or conditions, the move, ment of petrol is certainly favourable to the generation of static electricity which, in discharging to a body at a lower potential, may cause a spark.. Should Kilometres be--.RECENTLYa foreign: driver Added to our Signin this -.country stiggested posts that distances on :British roads
should. be quoted in kilometres.
as well as in miles. The Decinaal. Association.„ .approving the idea, is including it in itS campaign for the adoption of the metric system. wherever possible in this country.
An Unusual Objection rip the various objections to Double-deck Buses ‘jwhich are raised from time in Rettingdear, to time respecting the type of vehicle whichshall be adopted: by a particular municipality, or which shall be permitted to operate over certain routes, that put forward by Mr. J. E C. Jokes, chairman of the Rottingdean Ratepayers' Association, is certainly unusual. He says that if double-deckers be per. 'mined to run through Rottingdean High Street, apper-deck passengers would he within two or three
feet of 'bedroOns windows. The' main desire; • however, is to preserve the amenities of the diStrict,-particularly that of the High Street, but whether it be to-day or to-morrow, this road will have to be widened, if only to ease the present position.
Special Ball Bearings NAORE informationis avail-. Smaller than a Pin's IVIable regarding really ininia Head tore ball •bearingS. A Swiss
maker has. produced some on a commercial scale which are so small that they canbe substituted. forruby andother bearings in -clock-. weirk, sensitive instruments, etc., and with an, over-al size less than that of the head' of an ordinary pin— in fact„ complete bearings I mm-.. overall may soon be aVailabie. The smallest size contains only three balls. They have an extremely low ca-efficient of Irk-tion, many timesless than pivot bearings, Whilst capable of withstanding shock far better than those Of the jewel type.