Information on Brooks insulator response

PHILADELPHIA, October 9th, 1866.

IN No. 37 you request information respecting the Brooks Insulator, and desire to know what has been the result of recent experiments upon this invention. I have obtained the testimony of responsible parties who, from long experience and a thorough knowledge of their business, are best qualified to judge, and their views, together with my own observations, assure me that these insulators have not been over-praised.

There is a line now in operation between Philadelphia and Corry, Pa., a distance of over four hundred miles, insulated by the Brooks patent. This wire works, with but a very trifling escape, throughout the most protracted rains. There has never been a necessity for either intermediate or increased end batteries, and a repeater has never been thought of in connection with the working of this line. The same can be said of the wires extending from Philadelphia to Pittsburg, on which the Brooks Insulator is used. Recent experiments upon this circuit have verified the statement made by a prominent House operator, viz., that the Combination Instrument would work at its full speed over seven hundred miles of wire insulated by the Brooks patent (from Philadelphia to Pittsburg and return) during the most unfavorable weather.

These statements may appear exaggerated, but I assure you they are substantiated by the evidence of honest and reliable men who have daily experience upon those wires. I am not employed by that company, and have but a limited personal acquaintance with Mr. Brooks; therefore my opinion is not biased by either business or social considerations.

It is well known that glass, after having been exposed to rain or a very moist atmosphere, will collect upon its surface a thin film of water; but the composition used in the Brooks Insulator is of such a nature that moisture adheres to it in distinctly separated drops, and thus preserves a perfect insulation.

This is by no means the only point of superiority over those in common use. There are many others of equal importance, which I will furnish in a future letter, when it is purposed to give a thorough description of this insulator, together with the various substances composing its different parts.

I cannot close without making some reference to its form, which is certainly best adapted to all requirements. It constitutes the safest means of suspending wires; besides being protected from missiles which so frequently break the ordinary kind.

Mr. Brooks is a man of long experience, and possesses a thorough knowledge of the telegraphic business. Much time and study have been devoted by him in bringing this invention to its present perfect condition, and the success which has crowned his persevering efforts will be appreciated as a public good.

PROGRESS.