While for the time being the hopes that China held out of the development of the interior, requiring powerful plant, operating factories or providing treat lighting and tramway systems, have been nullified, there has also been a disappointment during 1925 in respect of lighter material. Until 1924 there had been a growing demand for such apparatus as lighting sets for isolated houses, both from foreign and Chinese residents, The sets to which we refer are generally actuated by a small motor or other engine, and are designed for a capacity of about 60 lamp:
It is a remarkable commentary on the situation that the inquiry for such taliations has fallen to zero duri the period under review, and this can ; cribed to the almost constant which is being waged and has as its reflexion the refusal of those in the zone of possible hostili ties to spend money on permanent im-
TEMPING Excixe ar Tum Wareaawonis, provements or conveniences. Against conditions such as these has trade to compete to-day, for whenever the potent-. ial consumer feels that security is lacking, he declines to spend money.
In the lighter class of electrical machinery a certain amount of business has been done, but it has generally not fallen to the lot of the larger firms. It may be doubted whether the volume has been at all satisfactory, in fact all the conditions suggest the reverse. We come here to a disadvantage under which the biggest engineering firma labour, They are prepared to undertake tasks of supreme magnitude, and have accordingly to employ a highly paid staff ready to design machinery capable of taking the highest known loads. The machinery in their works is built on a scale accordingly, and it is inevitable that overhead expenses are high. Against this the Continent has developed a type of manufacturer who, for instance, specializes in motors of not more than 50 H.P. The latter has not had to install the expensive machinery of the other, and his expenses are comparatively small, In the case of French and Belgian manufacturers, who are also working on a depreciated currency, this gives a di tinct advantage as compared with their British or American competitors, It is of interest to note that such an advantage generally disappears after a piece of machinery designed for over 500 kilowatts is in question, and import-firms find themselves on more or levs the same footing when it comes to competing for these, Ax we have said, however, business caution insists that no long eredils can for the time being be given for such expensive pivees of machinery.
While so many unfavourable factors have to be recorded, one brighter aspect of the electrical industry must be commented upon. the generally me creasing use in households, both fore eign and Chinese, of the apparatus of domestic utility to which cleetriclay hax been applied, Perhaps the best known of these for many years has been the electric iron, and its success has paved the way to the introduction of innumerable other devices all of a labour saving variety and tending to eliminate the dust, ete., inseparable from the use of coal fires. accordingly the show-room of an electrical firm is a place of ever increas ing interest.
Modern Appliances ance one finds that the time-honoured hot-water bottle is seriously threatened by the electric warming-pad. This latter looks little more than a bag of fleecy wool, empty for the most part, but inside are Gvo resistance tubes which give the necessary heat. The electric "coffee percolator rows daily in popularity, and there are such devices as immersion heaters which will bring a tumblerful of water to the boil in a very short time, A development of such apparatus as has been mentioned is seen in the electric cooking rang:
various clockwork and other appli-and the use of the time-tables provided it is only necessary to put, the food to be cooked into this range, which will start the heating process in time to have everything ready by the hour fixed for " particular meal.
To mention only one other piece of apparatus, the motorist can be provided at the cost of two or three taels with a heater—consisting principally of a resistance coil, which can be hung in side the bonnet of his car, and which will warm up the engine sufficiently to make starting an easy matter even on the coldest morning.
All apparatus such as the above men tioned, are finding a greater' sale every ud the range of prices can be purchased fs Some Continental firms can offer an article such as an iron xt less than half the prise at which s from other countries tain amount of this is to the yates force, but the aw: material and workmanship is much the greater factor.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.