Another floor was made in quite a similar manner. All soil and loam was removed from the interior of the building; the whole surface was brought up to the grade with a puddle of gravel and ashes; stakes two and a half by four inches, and thirty inches in length, were driven down; and nailing strips were secured to them. Over this puddled surface a coat of concrete eight inches thick was laid, the top being flush with the upper surface of the nailing strips. This concrete was made of pebbles about two inches in diameter, well coated with coal tar, and laid in place when hot. It was then packed together by being tamped and rolled, and a thin covering of the tarred sand placed upon the top, forming a smooth, hard surface. The first floor consisted of two inches of matched spruce, grooved on both sides, and fitted with hard pine splines, five-eighths by one and one-fourth inches. On the top of this a hard pine 11/4 inch floor was laid over a course of building paper. Another method, which is certainly more novel than either of the others, consists in supporting a floor upon a bed of resin. The underlying earth was removed, and replaced with spent moulding sand, leaving trenches for the floor timbers, which were placed upon bricks laid without mortar. Melted resin was poured into the space alongside and underneath the timbers. The floor planks were then laid upon the timbers, the tops of which were about half an inch above the level of the sand. Holes were bored into the floor plank about four feet apart, and melted resin then poured into the holes, so as to interpose a layer of resin underneath the floor plank and beams. Upon this floor a top floor of hard wood was laid in the usual manner. This floor has been used for a number of years to support a large quantity of heavy machine tools, principally planers, without yielding or depreciation due to decay, and has proved to be most satisfactory. In some instances asphaltum or coal tar concrete floors are not covered with wood, although it is much more agreeable for the help to stand upon wooden floors. It should be remembered that all these compounds are readily softened by means of oil, and they should be protected from oil by a coat of paint when not covered with wood; the preferable method being to first apply a priming containing very little oil, or a coat of shellac, and follow with some paint mixed up with boiled linseed oil. (_To be continued._) * * * * * THE MECHANICAL EQUIVALENT OF HEAT. BY DE VOLSON WOOD, PROFESSOR OF ENGINEERING IN STEVENS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY.