joint to be effective must be well made, but so must soldered ones. There are no single standards in Copenhagen, all having two or more uprights. They are built of channel and angle iron; are well stayed, and generally strong and well constructed. Fig. 35 shows a typical Danish standard with its details. All housetop fixtures are protected from lightning by a conductor and special earth-plate. The pole routes are substantially built, and many of the ground poles erected within the city limits are of highly ornamental design. In this respect it is strange how far the Danes, in common with most continental peoples, are in advance of us. In Great Britain the mere mention of a telegraph pole conjures up visions of something offensive, both to the eye and the nose; in many cities on the Continent, on the contrary, such a structure evokes no disagreeable feeling because, by means of a graceful outline and regularly-renewed paint, it is made to harmonise with its surroundings. It appears, when so treated, to drop into its natural place, and nobody thinks of objecting to it any more than to a lamp-post. To find anything more obtrusively ugly than a British telegraph pole, it is necessary to view a French railway telegraph or cross the Atlantic to the dominions of Uncle Sam. The present central station fixture is the original wooden one of American design. It will be replaced on the new building by an iron tower with attachments for 4,000 wires. An important feature of the Copenhagen system is the underground work. By virtue of its agreement with the municipality, for which it pays 3887. per annum, the company is allowed, under supervision, to open the streets and put down conduits and cables. The original conduits consist of cement troughs of rectangular section, covered with an arched lid which fits, and is cemented, into grooves formed along the tops of the trough walls. The custom has been, when additions or repairs are necessary, to open the ground, remove the lid section by section, lay in the cable, replace the lid, and make good the ground. This plan, although it permits of the cables being laid. neatly in the trough without friction or chafing, necessitates long lengths of open trench and frequent disturbance of the streets. On these grounds the municipal authorities have objected, and in future the conduits will be permanently buried, and the cables drawn in. The conduits now being laid have an ultimate capacity of 8,000 metallic circuits, and consist partly of cement blocks, with ducts for the cables, and partly of small iron tubes stacked together, the object being in each case to provide a separate channel for each cable, an object which cannot be too strongly commended. The cables, which in the centre of the town convey nearly one-third of the total number of subscribers, have hitherto been chiefly of the 'anti-induction' type, i.e. the single wires are insulated with india-rubber and sheathed with metal foil joined to earth; but in connection with the new exchange the cables will be all paper-insulated, with conductors of 8 mm. copper, and a capacity of 05 microfarad per kilometer, the wires being laid up in twisted pairs. There are a few aerial cables, each containing fifty-two twisted pairs of copper conductors, 8 mm. copper, insulated with paper, capacity 05 microfarad per kilometer, protected by lead, and hung from stranded steel suspenders. OUTSIDE WORK (TRUNK) The trunk lines which radiate from Copenhagen to every town and village of Zealand are mostly metallic circuits built of 2 mm. hard-drawn copper, the wires being crossed at intervals to counteract induction. The poles are wood, and the insulators double-shed; as a rule, the routes, which follow the country roads, are both substantial and neat. The Government line to Sweden, via Vedbok, is of 3 mm. high conductivity bronze wire, twisted on the Moseley-Bottomley plan. On the Swedish side the construction is with 3 mm. hard copper, the two sections being joined by an old four-line telegraph cable with parallel wires. The Danish section of the projected line to Hamburg is to be of 4 mm. high conductivity bronze with twisted wires, but the twelve-mile submarine section between Zealand and Funen will in this instance also be an old telegraph cable. PAYMENT OF WORKMEN The foremen receive 87. 6s. 8d. per month; skilled wiremen 45. 5d., and labourers 3s. 4d. per day, hours being from 7 A.M. till 7 P.M. in summer, with one and a half hours for meals; in the winter the men work only from daylight to sunset, but their pay is not reduced. PAYMENT OF OPERATORS Girls are taken between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four only. After a month or two of probation and a successful examination in common subjects, they begin with 225. 1d. per month, with four hours per day duty. The next step is to 38s. 8d. per month, with six hours' daily duty. The maximum to an ordinary operator, attained after five years' service, is 55s. 7d. per month. The day's duty never exceeds six hours. Night and Sunday duty, for which extra payment is given, is performed by the girls. The chief operators, of course, receive better pay still, but it is subject to no rules. The undersigned, auditor, has examined the books and accounts of the company, and has no remarks to make. AARHUS: February 20, 1894. J. H. FRANK. NOTE.—Since going to press, the accounts for 1894 have been received. They show an amount available for dividend of Kr. 7,200; Kr. 2,700 carried to reserve, and Kr. 399'55 to 1895. The value of the system at January 1, 1895, was Kr. 90,828.80. K VII. FINLAND LIKE the other northern continental countries, the Grand-Duchy of Finland has become the scene of great telephonic activity. There would seem to be something in the Scandinavian blood, to which the inhabitants of the capital and all the more important coast towns mostly belong, which renders the possession of many telephones an essential to their owners' happiness. Wherever two or three Swedes, or Norwegians, or Danes, or Finns of Scandinavian descent, are gathered together, they almost infallibly proceed to immediately establish a church, a school, and a telephone exchange. Whatever else in life that is worth having generally comes after. Thus the inhabitants of Mariehamn in the Aland Islands (the whole group of 300 islands contains only 18,000 souls) support and find uses for a flourishing exchange, while our own islands of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, Arran, &c., incomparably richer and better peopled, show no sign of consciousness of even the existence of such a facility. The telephonic development has been conducted on Scandinavian lines that is to say, by local companies and co-operative societies, which have been formed in every town in the country under concessions from the Finnish Government, which has not dabbled directly in telephones at all. The telegraph lines in Finland belong to the Russian Posts and Telegraphs Department, the only telegraphs owned by the Grand Duchy being those erected along the State railways. The first telephone exchange was opened in Helsingfors in 1882. As a general rule, a member pays for the cost of his line and instrument and for his share of the exchange |