consists essentially of a metallic wheel, divided into two sections by means of a thin insulation of hard rubber. One section of the wheel is connected with the positive pole of the battery, and the other section with the negative pole. A pair of fine metallic brushes, both of which are connected directly with the line, are suspended above the wheel, and are arranged so as to press lightly upon the latter, when desired. When resting on the wheel the circuit is closed, and when raised above it the circuit is broken. The perforated strip is, by a simple piece of mechanism, made to pass over the face of this wheel and under the brushes. While the paper is passing, both brushes are raised from the wheel, and slide over the paper, and the circuit is broken. On passing a hole, one of the brushes drops through and closes the circuit for an instant. On passing two or more holes, arranged in a series close together, the brush closes the circuit for a shorter or longer time, according to the number of holes, and as the perforations on the paper are arranged in two rows, alternating from one to the other, the brushes are used alternately, and the polarity of the current is continually changed with every impulse sent over the line. No special skill is required in sending a message, as the operator has only to put the perforated strip in the machine and turn a hand-crank, to cause it to pass rapidly under the brushes, and with a little practice, a young girl can send messages at the rate of one thousand words a minute, with absolute precision. The receiving apparatus consists essentially of a simple piece of mechanism for causing a strip of chemically prepared paper to pass rapidly under two small needles that are connected with the line. As the paper passes the needles, the electricity sent over the line from the transmitting machine seeks the earth through the wet paper and the machine, and in passing discolours the paper, each stain representing a dot or dash, and the message is printed on the paper in a double row of marks at the same speed with which it was dispatched. In practice, a Morse key and sounder is placed at each end of the line, and on sending a message the transmitting operator calls the receiving station, and when the operator at the distant end replies, both turn the cranks in their machine swiftly, and the message is sent and received at an average speed of one thousand words a minute. The message received is given to a person using a type-writer, and at once translated into print and sent out by the messenger boy. It is found in practice that two operators, one at each end of a single wire of indefinite length, can keep fifteen operators fully employed in preparing the messages, and fifteen girls busy in translating and printing the messages for delivery. The system is of American origin.”