materials, as titanium for j'ellow, platinum sponge for gray,
oxide of cobalt for bright blue, and oxide of gold for red, ore
TOOTH-BRUSH.
2596
TOP.
also used for tingeing the boJy of the tooth anti its enamel.
The variety of shades which nifiy be produced by the use of
ditlerent colored bodies aad eimiiiels is almost influiie ; 40 dif-
ferently coloi*ed bodies and 130 stiindard shades of teeth, elasoi-
tied by number-, are known in the trade.
The feldspar is heated to a red heat, plunged into water,
biokeu to pieces by the hammer, and foreign mutters, such as
mica or irou, sepanited ; it is then coarsely pulverized, and
afterward ground to an almost impalpable powder. The silex
is subjected to the same process, and the colors are also
thoroughly ground
The materials, having been dried and sifted, are taken to the
mising-room, where they are properly proportioned, and again
ground, in combination with water, into the various mixtures
desired; the body to the consistence of putty, the point enamel
to a thick batter, and the outside and gum enamels, of cream.
Small platinum pins, with solid heads and jagijed ends, are
formed from platinum wire by a machine, and are inserted
into the matrices previous to the teeth being formed ; these are
for the purpose of holding each tooth to its plate.
The molds are of brass, and are made in two parts. The
pins are inserted by one workman, and the mold transferred
to another, who takes up a small ijuantity of the point enamel
on a spatula and presses it into tne matrix ; a third workman
fills the mold with the body composition, and then closes it.
It is now pressed in by machinery and placed in the drying
oven.
W^hen sufficiently dry it is taken out and the teeth trans-
ferred to clay slides and brought tn a cherry-red heat in a fur-
nace. This process is called bisciiitin^. They are now soft,
like chalk, and may be cut or filed as desired. Having been
arranged into sets, they are next trimmed and smoothed, and
receive a coating of enamel, laid on with a brush, and also an
enamel which, afler heating, assuuies the natural color of the
gums. Any surplus enamel is then removed, and the teeth are
laid carefully on beds of quartz sand, in trays of fire clay,
which are then placed in a mutHe contained in the furnace and
surrounded by a miuss of incandescent fuel. After remaining
from fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the stxite of the
fire, the teeth are removed finished, the material bavin:; been
thoroughly hardened and the various colors brought out by che
beat.
Fig. 6546.
ArtiJicicU Teeth.
Artificial teeth are attached to the artificial gum by platinum
pins, a, incisor tooth ; 6, canine ; c d e, molars ; /, pin.
See also Denture.
Tooth-brush. A Iniish, usually of biistles, for
cleaning teetli. A tooth-brusli of spongy rubber is
desciibed in Francis's patent, 1869. Sponge also is
cited.
Tooth-cem'ent. Oxide of zinc mixed with a
solution of tlilc>ri.l(' of zinc, used for filling teeth.
Toothed "Wheel. A co^-wheel. See list under
Tooth'ing. Bricks left projecting at the end of
a wall for the imrpose of building on an addition
thereto.
Tooth'ing-plane. A plane in which the i7'on
has a Sfiratfil eJge and is placed upright. It is
used for scoring surfaces which are to be veneered.
Thf scoring helps the bond of the glue.
Tooth-key. The tourniquet, or lever tooth-
draw ci-.
Tooth-net. A large, anchored fishing-net.
Tooth'pick. Agathocles was poi.soned by a
medicated toothpick hainled him after dinner,
2S9 B. c.
The toth-gare of the Anglo-Saxons. Made anciently, as now,
of silver, wood, quill, and what not.
Magnetic toothpicks were made at the end of the seventeenth
century
Tooth-pow'der. Apuleius recommended cliar-
coal ; cam]thotated chalk is good.
Tooth-plug'ger. See Dental Plugger, page
6Sti : Pi.n;.;Ei:, pa^'cs 1749, 1750.
Tooth-sa'w. The dental saw is a fine frame-
saw, used for cutting off the natural teeth for the
attachment of pivot teeth ; for sawing between the
teeth ; or for sawing off the wires of artificial teeth
to detach them from the plate.
Tooth-sink'ing Ma-chine'. A machine-tool
for making the teeth of .saws. That shown in Fig.
6547 is driven by a pulley at the back. The emery-
Fig. 6547.
Tooth-Sinking Machme.
wliet'l is started or stopped by the foot, and is
brought down upon the saw-blade by the liaud, an
adjustable gage limiting its range of motion, so as to
have the depth uniform. Tiie saw-bed is fed lie-
tween each stroke, by means of a hand- wheel pinion
and rack.
Top. 1. (XauticaL) A platform surrounding
the head of the lower mast, formed of timbers called
cross-trees, which are laid across tiie trcMlf-trwa, the
latter being sujtported by cheeks secured to the -sides
of the mast below the head.
The top serves to form an extended base for securing the
lower ends of the topmast shrouds, and is also a place of rest
for the men aloft.
It is occupied by riflemen during a naval engagement at
close quarters. Nelf^on was killed by a musket-ball from the
top of the French vessel with which the " Victory " was en-
gaged.
2. {Uope-mnking.) A plug with three grooves
us.d to regulate the twist of a rope when three
strands are being laid up (twisted).
Each strand occupies one of the grooves, and the top is held
by a diametrical pin and two pieces of soft rope called tails.
The three stands are attached to the hook of the brrast-board
and to the hook of the s/f/^e ; ro-
tation is given to the cluster from
the former ; the top is forced as far
as possible toward the iledge-hook,
so as to allow the twist to com- i
nience at that end, the top giving
way as the twist crowds it forward
to the head end of the yarns. The
process of twisting shortens the
strands, and the sledge moves for-
ward also, at which time the man
at the sledge commences to rotate
the hook at his end in a direction
contrary to that by which the
strands are twisted together-
The pins by which the block is
held in the angles formed by the
twisting rope are called tvooUlers;
the ropes are tails. These are
wrapped around the Toyte so as to oppose, by thdr friction,
the advance of the top.
The motion of the top is regulated to insure equal hardness
to the rope.
3. (Fiber.) A narrow bundle of slivers of long-
stapled wool, containing about Ih ]»ounds. The
slivers are made by a pair of combs. See Wokstcd.
4. The upjiermost piece in the back of a chair.
A slat-top is mortised at its ends into the sides of the
post.s. A round-b(t4:k is mortised at its lower edf'e to
the tops of the posts. A rim-back is one in which
Fig 6548.
TOP AND BUT.
2597
TORCH.
the back and elbows are formed of a continuous
piece.
5. That |X)rtion of a out gem whicli is between the
girdle, or ixtreuie margin, and the tabic or flat face.
6. A Well-known toy, which has attained its great-
est excellence among the Japanese.
From the steadiness of its motion and its strictly
perpendicular position when at speed, it has been
suggested to place upon it a mirror at right angles
to the axis, to act as an artificial horizon at sea.
Top and Bnt. (Shipbuildiiuj.) A mode of
â– working plank which does not maintain it.s width
from end to end. The top of one plank and the
but of the other are worked togetlier so that the
two layers make a double breadth of even width.
Each plank has one edge straight, the other edge having a
long aod a short slope : the long slope l>eing toward the top,
aorl the short one toward the but of the tree from which the
plankii are sawn.
Top-ar'mor. {Nautical.) A top railing with
po-^t-s and netting on the top-sides.
Top-block. 1. (Xautical.) A single iron-
bouud hook-block ; it hooks to an eye-bolt in the
cap. The top pendants are rove through the top-
blocks when swaying up or lowering down
]?jg. ffi49. the topmasts.
2. {I'chiclc.) A projecring piece on
which the bows of the carriage top rest
irt Jl wlieii down. See Fig. 3971.
Top-chain. (Xauliail.) One of the
Top-Blcci. chains by which the lower yard is sus-
tained if the slings be shot away.
Top— cloth. Tari-ed canvas to cover hammocks
whiii stored away on the top, in action.
Top-flat, or Top-card. A .slat or narrow board
having card-teeth on its under surface, placed above
the large central cylinder of a carding-niachine so as
to arrest knots and act eoincidently with the cylin-
der in bringing the tibers into jiaiallelisni, prepara-
tory to drawing, douilitig, and spimiiny. See Card-
INO-MACHIXE.
Top-gal'lant. The mast, rigging, and sail next
above the topmast, as, maintop-gallant mast, foi-e-
top-gallant shrouds, or braces ; niizzen top-gallant
sail. See Siiir.
Top-ham'per. (XaiUicnl.) The masts, spars,
and rigging of a ves-sel. The clutter of a deck.
Boats inboard and on their davits. Horse and gang
ca.sks, anchors, cables, and coiled or belayed ropes
of the running rigging. Sometimes applied to un-
necessary weight above deck.
Top'i-cal Col'or-ing. A term used in calico-
printing to indicate that the color or mordant is ap-
plied to specific portions of the cloth forming the
pattern, in contradistinction to the application of
color to the cloth in a dye-bath.
Top'it. The top-piece of a train of rods in well-
boring. See Well-boring.
Top'mast. (Xauliad.) The mast above the
lower nia,st ; the second from the deck, and below
the top-gallant mast. See SHIP; Sail.
Toj)-mi'uor. (Rope-making.) Tup-mitiors are
holes through which the individual strands are drawn
on the way to the twisting-machine. See Rope.
Top'o-'graph'i-cal Sur-vey'. A mapping of
a country with absolute accuracy and minuteness of
detail, made with elaborate instruments and repeated
careful observations, as distinguished from a rccnn-
noissancc, or hurried survey made with portable in-
struments in a huriied manner.
Top'per. An equilateral, single-ciU tile, or float,
used by cnmb-makers. See Comb.
Top'ping. 1. Reducing to an exact level the
points of the teeth of a saw.
2. (Kaulicol.) Lifting one end of a yard higher
than the other end.
Top'ping-lift (NaxUical.) A tackle for raising
the outer end of a gaff or boom.
Top-rope. (Xautical.) A rope to sway up a
tOpMlllSt.
Top'sail-schoon'er. A vessel otherwise schoon-
er-rigged, but carrying a square sail on the foremast.
Top-sa'w. The upper saw of a pair in a circular
saw-mill. In large logs, the lower and larger saw does
not penetrate to the upper edge. The top or supple-
mental saw cuts through the upper surface and down
I to the kerf of the lower saw. The top-saw is a little
in advance or rear of the under one, to make the
kerf complete without collision of the teeth of the
I respective saws. See d. Fig. 1298.
Top 'side-line. (Shipbuilding.) A sheer line
drawn above the top timber at the upper side of the
gunwale.
Top-sides. (Shipwrighting.) The upper \>a.Tt
of the ship's sides. These, under Feather's system,
are of iron ; the upper frames tenninating in broad
forks or saddles, which sit upon and are fastened to
the wooden parts of the sides.
Top-tack'le. (Xautical.) Used in swaying up
a topmast.
Top-timTjer. (Shipbuilding.) In the ribs of
a shiji '.s .side, the timber next above the futtocks.
See Fkame.
Top-tim'ber Line, or Top-breadth. (Shij)-
building.) A line in the sheer plan drami to the
sheer of the ship fore and aft, at the bight of the
under side of the gunwale amidships.
Top-tooL A blacksmith's tool which has a
flexilile handle,
such as a withe Kg. 6550.
of hazel, and
used above the
work, being
struck byaham-
mer. In t^ontra-
distinction to
the bottom tools,
which are below
the work, and
have a tang
which fits a square hole in the an^^l.
A lop-fuller is a tool with a naiTOW round edge,
like the pane of a hammer, and having the ordinary
hazel-rod handle.
Torch. The torches of the ancients (funalin, be-
cause made of rope) were conical, and bound at in-
tervals. Flambeaux of waxed cords, straw, or l»py-
rus-leaves were also used ; also/ftscesof wooden rods,
fir, oak, ash, hazel, cornel. 'Tubes filled with com-
bustible matter. "The paharia of the thirteenth
century were torches of straw ;
the thyrsus, thread covered Fig- 65ol.
with wax rolled round a staff.
Fig. 6551 is a gas-lighting torch.
A spirit-lamp a is .«et in a ca^e b.
This case has an oritice at the bot-
tom, which is placed over the
burner in order to light the gas-jet.
The lamp can be triuiinej through
a door in the case, and is protected
from the weather
In the torch. Fig. 6552. the lamp
a is inclosed within a case b for
protection, bnt the wirk tube may
be protruded through an opening
at the top for the purpose of hght-
ing a lamp, the handle having mo-
tion in a sleeve at the bottom of
the case, r is a wrench for opening
the gas-cocks, and a slot acro,ss
the top of the case is for the same
purpose. Gas-Lighter's Torch.
a. Top-Tool.
6. Top-PMer.
TORCULAR.
2598
TORPEDO.
Fig. 6552.
Fig. 6553.
Plumbers Torch.
Pig. 6553 is a plumber's torch. See also
Electrophords.
2. Toiches for military purposes
are made of a number of strands
of twine, sli,ii;htly twisted, or of old
Torch. rope, covered with a composition
to give light, consisting of tallow,
wax, and rosin, or equivalent ingredients.
Tor'cu-lar. {Sm-gcry.) A tourniquet or band-
age
Tor-ment'or. {Uashandry.) A heavy harrow
with euttiiiLC teeth, Tised in English husbandry for
ln'eaking down stiff clods, or tearing up the surface-
turf. It resembles a Iiarrow, but runs on wheels,
and each tine is a hoe or cutting-share.
Tor-pe'do. A movable chamber or mine charged
with an explosive which is fired by contact or by fuse.
They are here divided into
1. Nautical. 4. Railway.
2. Military. 5. Fishing.
3. Oil-well. 6. Toy.
1. {Nautical.) Torpedoes are of four classes, —
a. Drifting. c. Boom,
b. Anchored. d. Maneuvered.
Tlie drifting and anchored preceded the boom and
maneuvered, and are adapted for circumstances and
positions where {a) they may be allowed to drift
with the stream or tide against a vessel in a river or
channel or at anchor ; or {b) may be placed in the
path of a vessel, or in the line of attack.
The maneuvered class is adapted to be navigated
usually beneath the surface of the water, its course
and depth being determined and regulated by variou.'j
devices to bring it in contact with the ship against
which it is directed. Tiie torpedo perishes in the
ex]dosion ; the torpedo-ho-dt, on the contrary, carries
a torpedo, and either explodes it against the enemy's
vcs.sel in such a manner as not itself to snifer in the
contaet, or launches it against the vessel after attain-
ing such a degree of proximity as to in.sure the aim
and power of navigation of the torpedo. See Tor-
TEPO-BOAT.
Several terms used in practice are rather general
than accurately technical, as they denote whole
classes. Such are, — â–
Magnetic toipedo, one exploded by electro-mag-
netism, by spark, wire, or ignited pencil-line in a
fuse ; iu contradistinction to one fired by contact,
clock-work, etc.
Submarine torpedo, one placed beneath the sur-
face of the water.
CrtH- torpedo, one in a metallic caisson.
Lamard-tov[nii.\o, one pulled olf by a laniard, etc.
The torpedo is so namotlfrmn a species of ray found in the Med-
iterranean, which has the power ol' imparting an eU^ctric shock
^vben touched. The Gijrnnolus eleclricus, a fresh-water eel of
South America, has a similar power. The torpedo-ray has long
been known. Theophrastus, in his " Treatise on Poisonous An-
imals,'" says that " the torpedo can send the power which pro-
ceeds from it through wood and through harpuons, so as to pro-
duce torpor in those who have them in their hands."' Athe-
njeus, in the " Deipnosophists," says: " Clearchus the Solen-
sian has explained the cause of this in his ' Treatise on Torpor,'
but since bis explanation is rather a long one, I do not recolleit
his exact words." Theauthor of the" Banquet of the Learned"
goes on to say : —
" Plato, the philosopher, says in the * Meno,' ' you seem very
much to reseiuble the sea-torpedo, for that fish causes any one
who comes 'near it to become torpid ' ; and an allusion to the
name occurs also iu Homer, where he says, —
" ' Ilis hand was torpid at the wrist.'
'* ' The torpedo,' says Aristotle, ' is one of the cartilaj^inous
and viviparous fishes ; and, to provide it.'^elf with food, it hunts
after Httle fish, touching them and causing them all to become
torpid and motionless.'
" Archestrus says in his ' Demetrius,' —
" ' Then I took a torpedo, calculating
If my wife touched it with her tender fingers
That they would get no hurt.' "
For an account of the Gymnotus, see Humboldt's *' Cosmos."
In the early instances, floating mines were used in brenUing
booms, bridges, or other obstructions to navigation, as well as
iu breaking a cordon of ships or destroying a tieet in port-
Tn I.5S5 four floating mines were sent from Antwerp by Zam-
belli, against a bridge across the Scheldt, erected by the Duke
of Parma. Each Hat-boat of about eighty tons' burden was
stowed with 7,(H)0 pounds of powder confined by mason-work
and heavy stones. The mine-i were to be exploded by a match-
rope and by clock-work. One was successful, and made a breach
of 200 feet in the bridge, doing immense damage in the vicinity.
September 30, 1(528, the English employed tioating tin cais-
sons of powder against the French at Rochelle. One exploded
against a vessel without seriously damaging it. The others
were intercepted.
*' In the afternoon come the German, Dr. Knuffler, to dis-
coui'se with us about his engine to blow up ships. W'v doubted
not the matter of fact, it being tried in Cromwell's time, but
the safety of carrying them in ships." —Pepys's Diary, ItiiS.
In ItJl^S an iinuieu.'-e Hoating bomb was prepared by the French
against the port of Algiers, but was not used.
In 1693 - y.'i similar contrivances wore used by the English in
besieging St. Malo, Dieppe, and Dunkirk, without serious dam-
age.
In 1770 the llussians burned the Turkish fleet in the port of
Tchesme, and destroyed the fortifications by the shock of the
explosion.
In 1804 the loaded catamarans of PuUon were used by the
English against the French tieet off Boulogne But little "dam-
age was done.
The experiments were repeated again and again against Le Forte
Rouge at Calais, 1804 (Fulton blew up the brig " Dorothea "'
in Walmer Roads, October, 1805. See Fulton's " Torpedo
War," and " Torpedoes, their Invention and Use," by W. R.
King, U. S. A., 186(3, Plates XVIII., XIX.); Uochefort, 18(t9 :
the pontoon bridges of the French on the Danube, at Essling ;
in 1813, by the Austrians in attempting to destroy the bridges
across the Elbe at Kcenigstein.
About 1843 Colonel S. Colt constructed a torpedo with which
he blew up a ship in the Eastern Branch of the Potomac River,
near the Washington Navy Yard \ it is believed that the most
important feature of thi.s consisted in the application of elec-
tro-magnetism as a means of exploding the contained powder.
Torpedoes wore extensively employed by the Russians during
the Crimean war as a defense for the harbor of Cronstadt.
These were suspended from buoys to which they were connected
by pipes inclosing at their upper part a small glass tube con-
taining sulphuric acid ; on the buoy being touched by a pass-
ing vessel, the tube would be broken and the sulphuric acid
come in contact with chlorate of potash iu the lower part of the
pipe, causing its immediate inhammation and consequent ex-
plosion of the gunpowder in tlie magazine
The experiment of the " Louisiana '' before Fort Fisher in
1864 is one of the latest instances. Two hundred and fifteen
tons of powder were stowed on board. A tier of barrels, with
the upper heads removed, were covered by 60-pound canvas
bags. A Gomez fuse was woven through the mass. Throe
modes of explosion were adopted. — clock-work and percussion,
candles, slow-match. The vessel was towed within 851 yards of
the works, and exploded in one hour and fifty-two minutes,
without doing any damage whatever to the fort. See itijra^
Fig. 6560.
a. The drifting torpedo is of various forms, and
in its mode of action it is carried against the ene-
my's works or vessels by the current of the river,
the set of the tiih% or the drift of the wind.
They may be divided into can or buop torpedoes, according to
shape ; /fif/imrry-torpedoes, which are pulled off by a cord ; lujilro-
g-«n-torpedoe8. which, when the can strikes a vessel, turn a
stream of hydrogen on tu a piece of spongy platinum and ex-
TORPEDO.
2599
TORPEDO
plode the charge; horological torpedoes, exploded by clock- i fVhil^henfl torpedo, from the names of two persons intimately
work after the expiration of a given time.
The Boule «le Venlun is the name given to a crawling torpedo
which was to have been launched at Verdun with the purpose j
of destroying a bridge which the Prussians had thrown across ;
the Mouse, about three miles below the city. It was a nearly
spherical chamber, about 4U inches in diameter, and contained
a clock-work niechanisin for pulling the trigger of a double- '
barreled pistol which ignited the primary powder. It was based
upon the priiici[ile that a spherical body of a weight slightly
greater than the displaced water, and having its center of grav-
ity and magnitude coincident, will seek and keep the deepest
portion and current of the river. It was not used, as Verdun
capitulated just before it was to be launched.
A drifting spar-torpedo intended to overcome obstructing
chains or booms was invented by Lewis, of the British Royal
Fig. 6554.
Spar'Torpedo.
Engineers. It had a spar weighted' to float nearly vertically,
and when the upper end met with an obstruction, the lower
end pas^-ed underneath, and, the weight being dropped by the
action, the lower end, carrying the torpedo, rose rapidly and
struck agaiust the vessel's bottom.
h. Anchored torpedoes are attached to mooring
piles or anchors. Tlicy are firmly connected to sub-
nierrjed structures, or by a cable or swaying boom
Avhich allows them some lateral play.
-torpedoes. The spar-torpedo is carried on
c. Spa.
the end of a spar ricccied overboard from the bows of , The bow-piece containing the chargt- is detachable,
concerned in its suggestion and invention.
The body of the Ericsson torpedo con- Fig. 6557
sists of a box of thin steel plates, 8 feet 6
inches long, 30 inches deep, and 20 inches
wide The explosive is placed at the bow.
The propellers are two-bladed, 3 feet 2
inches in diameter, with a pitch of 5 feet.
Both revolve around a common center in
opposite directions. The motive power is
a small double-cylinder oscillating-engine,
di-iven by compressed air, which is sup-
plied by a 25 horse-power steam-engine oa
shore, and transmitted through a tubular
cable, connected just abaft the stern, as
shown in Fig. 6558. The air-pressure
also governs an equipoise rudder, secured
under the bottom and near the bow. The
steering is effected by applying the force
of the air against the tiller on one side,
counteracted by the tension of a spring on
the opposite side. ,
The submersion is regulated by two 3
horizontal rudders turning on a trans-
verse axle which projects from each side
near the bow. These wings or rudders
are so contrived and governed that they
keep the torpedo at a depth of from 7
feet to 12 feet below the surface, and are
provided with automatic devices, so that
the latter limit cannot be exceeded. la
order to note the course of craft, a light
steel mast is secured to the deck. This
is 12 feet in length, and terminates above
in a wooden ball, the forward side of
which is painted sea-green, so as not to
be perceptible to the enemy, and the rear
white, so as to be easily distinguished
above the water by tho?e dispatching Wonri and Lay
the torpedo. Openings are made in the Torpedo.
engine-compartment, through which the
water enters, completely filling the interior space. The ma-
chinery is made of bronze with boxwood bearings, so that the
water serves as a lubricant to every portion, thus doing away
with stuffing-boxes at the rudders The apparatus is launched
overboard by means of swinging-davits, as shown in the figure.
a vessel, as seen in Figs. 6555 and 6556, or attached
to tlie prow.
It is of sheet-copper with brazed joints. It has a sensitive
primer, wirh a cylindro-conical head communicating \vith the
magazine of the torpedo. The head is in contact with and pro-