No.

BOSTON

MEDICAL LIBRARY
ASSOCIATION,

19 BOYLSTON PLACE.

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ANNUAL

OF

SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY:

OB

YEAR-BOOK OF FACTS IN SCIENCE AND ART

FOR 1857. .

EXHIBITING THE

MOST IMPORTANT DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS

MECHANICS, USEFUL ARTS, NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, CHEMISTRY,

ASTRONOMY, METEOROLOGY, ZOOLOGY, BOTANY, MINER-

ALOGY, GEOLOGY, GEOGRAPHY, ANTIQUITIES, ETC.

TOG-ETHEB WITH

A LIST OF EECENT SCIENTIFIC PUBLICATIONS 5 A CLASSIFIED LIST OF

PATENTS ; OBITUAJEIES OF EMINENT SCIENTIFIC MEN ; NOTES OM

THE PEOGEESS OF SCIENCE DUEINGr THE TEAE 1856, ETC.

ED ITED BY

DAVID A. WELLS, A.M.,

EDIT03 OF THE "YEAR-COOK OF AGRICULTURE," "FAMILIAR SCIENCE,"

"KNOWLEDGE is POWER," ETC.

BOSTON:

QOULD AND LINCOLN,

59 WASHINGTON STREET.

KSW YORK: G. r. PUTNAM & co. ; SHELDON*, BLAEEMAX & co.
LONDON: TRUBNER & co.

1857.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by

GOULD AND LINCOLN,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of J'assachueelts.

R. CRAIGHE.AD. PRINTER AND STEREOTYPED

Caccton 93utlbins,

81, 83, and 85 Centre St., N. Y.

NOTES BY THE EDITOR

ON THE

PEOGEESS OF SCIEXCE FOE THE YEAE 1856.

THE Tenth Meeting of the American Association for the Promotion
of Science was held at Albany, commencing August 20th, Prof. Hall
in the chair. The meeting was by far the largest which has thus far
been held, and the citizens of Albany, both in their public and private
capacity, received the members with a most generous hospitality.
The session continued until the 28th, when it adjourned to meet on
the 12th of August, 1857, at Montreal, in compliance with an invita-
tion from the City Council and Natural History Society of that city.
The officers appointed for the ensuing year are Prof. J. "W. Bailey of
"West Point, President ; Prof. A. Caswell of Providence, Vice-Presi-
dent ; Prof. John Le Conte of South Carolina, General Secretary ;
and Prof. J. Levering of Cambridge, was continued as Permanent
Secretary.

The whole number of Papers contributed was one hundred and six-
teen : 65 in the section of Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry ; 44
in the section of Natural History ; and 7 in Ethnology.

In addition to the usual sessions of the Association there were two
exercises of extraordinary character, and indeed of extraordinary inte-
rest for the country. On the 27th, the inauguration of the State Geo-
logical Hall took place. Addresses were made by Profs. Agassiz,
Hitchcock, Dewey, Henry, and others. A merited tribute was paid to
the memory of the late Dr. T. Komeyn Beck of Albany, and resolu-
tions of respect to his memory w^ere passed by silently rising.

On the following day (Thursday) there was the inauguration of the
Dudley Observatory, when the Hon. Edward Everett delivered to an
audience of five thousand, an oration of great power, admirably adapted
to the occasion.

The following resolutions were passed by the Association :

IV NOTES BY THE EDITOR

Eaising the salary of the Permanent Secretary from $300 to
$500.

That a Committee be appointed to memorialize the Legislature
of Ohio to cause a complete geological survey of that state to be
made.

That foreign learned societies be invited to attend the meetings of
the Association.

Some steps were also taken for obtaining the protection of the Na-
tional Government, as well as of the State government of California, for-
th e gigantic specimens of trees, Washing tonia gigantea, which exist
in the above named state. It is feared that, unless some measures are
taken, these most wonderful specimens of vegetable growth will be
soon sacrificed by the cupidity of private individuals.

Notwithstanding the unusually large attendance, and the number of
Papers presented, the meeting of the American Association for 1856
was not eminently successful, so far as the progress of science and the
promotion of good feeling among the members was concerned. Of the
great majority of the papers presented, comparatively few contained
any really new contributions to science. Many, when examined criti-
cally, will be found to contain little else than a repetition of facts and
theories which have been before published in the proceedings of the
Association and of other societies. It may be very pleasant and agree-
able for some individuals to discourse popular science by the hour to
popular audiences ; to indulge in fulsome adulations of one another ;
for one to designate the other as a second Kepler, and for another to
rise in his place and " thank God that such men as Profs. X., Y., and
Z. existed." These occurrences may be well enough in a mutual
admiration society, but do not properly belong to the proceedings of
an American Association assembled for the discussion of abstract
science.

The subject of the alterations of the Constitution, postponed from a
previous meeting, was brought up and discussed, with much feeling
and division of sentiment. The disagreement which existed in relation
to these matters, was augmented by the non-familiarity on the part of
the Chair with parliamentary laws and usages.

The constitutional question was, however, settled at this meeting,
and it is to be hoped that no further difficulty will originate from this
source.

There is much of truth in the following comments on the transac-
tions of the Albany Meeting, as expressed by one of the leading New
York Journals. " The undue prominence given by the Association to
papers of no practical utility whatever characterized the meeting.
The great mass of the papers presented were ponderable in quan-
tity, but imponderable in quality. No papers were read on new dis-

OX THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. V

coveries in chemistry relating to its applications to the arts ; none on
any of the great manufacturing interests of our country, which require
so much real science to conduct and carry on ; none on civil or mecha-
nical engineering ; none on practical mining ; none on shipbuilding ;
none on any of the useful arts whatever."

The twenty-sixth Annual Meeting of the British Association was
held at Cheltenham in August, 1856, Dr. Daubeny in the Chair. The
attendance was not large, but the papers presented were more practi-
cal and valuable than usual. The meeting for 1857 was appointed to
be held at Dublin, Dr. Lloyd, of Trinity College, Dublin, being the
President elect.

The following were among the resolutions adopted by the Associa-
tion, which we publish as indicative of the proposed fields of scientific
research to be occupied :

That Prof. Buckman and Prof. Yoelcker be requested to continue
their researches into the effects of external agents on the growth of
plants.

That a Deputation be named to wait upon her Majesty's Secretary
for Foreign Affairs, to urge the desirableness of sending out an Annual
Expedition to the Niger, at the period of the rising of the waters of
that river (which has been proved to be the most healthy season), as
proposed by Dr. Baikie, supported by the Eoyal Geographical So-
ciety, and advocated by persons deeply interested in establishing a
regular commercial intercourse with the inhabitants of that portion
of Africa.

That a memorial be presented to the Admiralty, praying for the
complete publication, in a minute form, of the results of the trials of
Her Majesty's steamships.

That Mr. Eennie be requested to prosecute his experiments on the
velocity of the screw propeller.

That the Earl of Harrowby, and other gentlemen, be requested to
continue their efforts for amending the patent system of England,
so that the funds arising may be available to the reward of meritorious
inventors.

That Mr. Henderson, and others, be requested to consider the best
mode of improving the system of measurement for tonnage of ships,
and the estimation of the power of steam engines.

Mr. Fairbairn was requested to complete his report on boiler explo-
sions; Mr. Thompson, his report on the measurement of water by
weir boards ; and these two gentlemen to concur in experiments on
the friction of disks in water, and on centrifrugal pumps.

A donation of $100 was voted to Madame Ida Pfeiffer to aid hei
proposed exploration of Madagascar.

In the Geological section an exciting debate occurred between Prof.

VI NOTES BY THE EDITOR

H. D. Rogers, of Boston, Mass., and Sir E. I. Murchison, the latter
claiming and upholding the priority of certain English geological
nomenclature, a point that was manfully and stoutly opposed by
Prof. K.

The Institute of France held its Annual Meeting on the 14th of
August, at Pari^ under the presidency of M. Berenger, President of
the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. What is called the
Institute, consists of five great Academies of France Francaise, Fine
Arts, Sciences, Inscriptions et Belles Lett-res, and Moral and Political
Sciences which during the year meet apart, and pursue their respec-
tive walks with little or no communication with another. The annual
meeting of these learned bodies united is generally an affair of great
interest, and this year it was not less so than usual. M. Berenger, as
President, delivered a long harangue, in which he touched on a multi-
plicity of subjects, literary, scientific, economic, governmental, &c.
Amongst other things, he stated that the different academies are in
possession of a capital producing 6,000 sterling a year, for distribu-
tion in prizes, without counting 1,200 which the government gives
them to disburse in the same way. He said that the Academy of
Sciences, in the course of last year, received not fewer than 165 manu-
script treatises on scientific problems proposed by it for public com-
petition; the Academie Franaise a far greater number on literary
subjects which it proposed ; and the Academy of Moral and Political
Sciences thirty-four, most of them of great length, for a Manual of
Political Economy, which it demanded. The great prize of 1,200,
offered by the Emperor for the new work or discovery best calculated
to do honor to the country, was awarded to M. Fizeau, for his import-
ant and interesting experiments on the rapidity with which light
travels.

The German Association for the Promotion of Science held their
Annual Meeting at Vienna, September 15th, Prof. Haidinger, Director-
General of the Geological Survey of Austria, acting as the general
presiding officer. The attendance was quite large.

At the opening of the Congress the following sections were formed :

Mineralogy, Geology and Palaeontology, Botany and Vegetable
Physiology, Zoology and Comparative Anatomy, Natural Philosophy,
Chemistry, Geography and Meteorology, Mathematics and Astronomy,
Anatomy and Physiology, Medicine, Surgery.

In the course of the meeting several sections subdivided themselves
into sub-sections ex. gr. for Entomology, Vegetable Geography, Peri
odical Phenomena in Organic Life, &c. ; others occasionally combined,
according to the nature of the communications and discussions.

The Anniversary Meeting of the Eay Society was held during the
meeting of the British Association at Cheltenham. It appears from

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. Vll

the Report of the Council that they have now published their two
great serial works, Agassiz & Strickland's Zoological and Geological
Bibliography, and Alder & Hancock's beautiful work on the Naked
Marine Mollusca. The report announced that the next work to be
published is one by Prof. Allman, of Edinburgh, on the Fresh "Water
Polyps of Great Britain. Several other works were also announced
on various departments of British Natural History. Amongst them
are Prof. Williamson's British Foraminifera, Mr. Bowerbank's British
Sponges, and Mr. Black wall's British Spiders.

The American Pharmaceutical Association held their third Annual
Meeting in Baltimore in September. During the three days in which
the Association was in session, much interesting matter was discussed,
in regard to the professions of the pharmaceutist and druggist, and
their relations to the physician and public in general. Committees
were appointed to report at the meeting to be held next year in Phila-
delphia, upon home adulterations, a standard for weights and measures,
statistics of pharmacy, scientific papers, and regulations in regard to
the sale of poisons.

During the past summer the Dudley Observatory, at Albany, has
been formally inaugurated, and now takes its place as one of the best
endowed and furnished observatories in this country or Europe. The
Dudley Observatory originated in the munificence of Mrs. Dudley, of
Albany, lady of the late Charles E. Dudley, of that city, formerly
member of Congress. Her donations to its foundation and support
have been as follows : for its building, $12,000 ; instruments, $14,500 ;
endowment, $50,000 ; total, $76,500. In addition to the above, Mr.
Thomas W. Olcott, of Albany, has given $10,000; Hon. Erastus
Corning a superb astronomical clock and other instruments, while
liberal subscriptions have been also made by Mr. De "Witt, J. H. Rath-
bone, and others. Mr. Rathbone, also, in addition to the liberal sums
previously tendered by him, has recently given the amount requisite
for the purchase of the celebrated calculating engine of Mr. George
Scheutz, of Stockholm, which was on exhibition at the Palace of In-
dustry at Paris in 1855. In addition to the above, twelve gentlemen
of Albany have pledged themselves to defray the future expenses of
publishing Gould's Astronomical Journal.

The Dudley Observatory is to be placed under the charge of Dr. B.
A. Gould, the well-known editor of the Astronomical Journal.

From the annual report of the Astronomer Royal of Great Britain,
we learn that the Greenwich Observatory still maintains its pre-emi-
nence for meridional and lunar observations, and the magnetical and
meteorological observations are kept up with praiseworthy diligence.
The galvanic method of recording transits succeeds to perfection ; and
the distribution of the time signals to different parts of the king-

Vlll NOTES BY THE EDITOR

dom is continued, and promises to develope itself into an important
branch of commercial astronomy. Two noteworthy facts are mentioned
in the report : one is, that the hill on which the observatory stands is
in a state of tremor, whereby the trough of mercury in which stars
are observed by reflection, is so much agitated as to make observation
impossible. To overcome the difficulty, a well ten feet deep was dug,
and filled with "incoherent rubbish," on which the trough was placed,
resting on stages suspended by strips of caoutchouc, " leaving the
image practically," as Mr. Airy says, " almost perfect." The other is,
that fluctuations were found to occur in the zero of the altazimuth
circle, and simultaneously with, a sudden and marked change of atmo-
spheric temperature a phenomenon which the Astronomer Koyal can-
not account for, "except by supposing that in sudden atmospheric
changes the gravel rock of Greenwich Hill does suddenly change its
position."

During the past year the trigonometrical survey of Great Britain,
commenced in 1784, has been completed. The object which the
government had chiefly in view in 1784 was the determination of the
difference of longitude between the observatories of Greenwich and
Paris. The geodetical problems have been satisfactorily solved, but the
survey has assumed a wider scope as it advanced, and its important
results, both in scientific and national points of view, are familiarly
known.

In India, under the auspices of the British Government, a trigono-
metrical survey has been undertaken, and above fifty sheets of an
Indian Atlas, based on the survey, have been already published.

In a discussion which took place at the Albany Meeting of the
American Association, relative to the utility and comparatively small
expenditure of the coast survey, Prof. Alexander stated that he had
taken pains to compute the cost, square mile by square mile, of that
work, and had found that its cost did not exceed that of the crude
surveys of the public lands.

At the last Meeting of the American Association, Mr. W. P. Blake
called attention to the very gross inaccuracies existing in a map recently
published by M. Marcou, of France, of the geology of the region
between the Mississippi and the Pacific. Mr. Blake enumerated
several of the prominent errors, among them the representation of the
rocks of San Francisco as granitic and metamorphic, they being tertiary,
and making Fremont's Peak into a volcano, when in his official report
it was clearly and fully stated to be granitic. Proofs were brought for-
ward to show that the formation called Jurassic, &c., by M. Marcou was
not so, but was cretacious. There was no evidence by fossils to show
that the triassic formations were found under the cretacious ; they
might be, but no fossils had been obtained, and the age could not yet

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. ix

be affirmed. M. Marcou bad, however, made four great divisions of
tbe strata, corresponding with those abroad, but this was entirely
arbitrary, and a generalization beyond all these facts which had been
obtained. Mr. Blake protested against the reception of the western
portion of the map as a fair exhibition of the knowledge which had
already been published, and stated that his criticisms were not upon
local details of the map, but upon erroneous representations extending
for hundreds of miles. Moreover, M. Marcou had not availed himself
of the printed documents and reports upon American Geology in his
possession, but his representations were in many cases directly opposite
to those made by the explorers of regions where he had never been.
The view taken by Mr. Blake was also sustained by all the geologists
present.

The second annual report of the Geological Survey of North Caro-
lina, by Prof. E. Ernmons, has been presented to the Legislature of that
state and published. The results of the survey, thus far, have been
most interesting, and throw much light upon the age of the red sand-
stone rocks, extending from the Valley of the Connecticut to North
Carolina. Some of the fossils described by Dr. Einmons most resem-
ble those obtained from the Permian strata of Europe. Many new
and undescribed species have, in addition, been brought to light, which,
at present, it is difficult to classify. The final result when developed
and worked out, as it will be by Dr. Emmons, will form one of the
most valuable contributions ever made to American Science.

During the past year the first volume of the Proceedings of the
Philosophical Society of Victoria, published at Melbourne, Australia,
has been received in this country. It is difficult to realize that a
scientific and learned society should be in full and vigorous action in a
land which so recently was considered a terra incognita, and which, at
the present time even, is so far removed from European or American
influences.

The following suggestion, which is especially worthy the attention
of all friends of American scientific progress, was made at the last
Meeting of the American Association by President Hitchcock : So
large a portion of our country has now been examined, more or less
thoroughly, by the several State Governments, that it does seem to
me the time has come when the National Government should order a
survey geological, zoological, and botanical of the whole country,
on such a liberal and thorough plan as the surveys in Great Britain are
now conducted ; in the latter country it being understood that at least
thirty years will be occupied in the work.

Mr. Stainton, the well known Entomologist, of England, proposes to
issue an " Entomologist "Weekly Intelligencer," of eight octavo pages,
as a medium among entomologists for the prompt registration and dis-

1mm
*

X NOTES BY THE EDITOR

semination of their discoveries. Each observer, says the editor, has
but to write to him, and in ten da} T s his discovery will be in print, and
in the hands of every entomologist in the kingdom. Mr. Stainton's
penny journal, which marks a step in entomological science highly
characteristic of the times, is deserving of the warmest encourage-
ment.

One of the most valuable of recent publications is Schubarth's
Eepertorium, or a " Subject Matter Index of Patents, with Published
Inventions of all Nations, from 1823 to 1853, inclusive." Mr. Schubarth
is one of the Prussian Commissioners of Patents, and the work in ques-
tion is the result of thirty years' labor.

Schubarth's Kepertorium has been ordered to be printed in Prussia
at the public expense, by the Minister of Commerce. It embraces a
period of thirty-one years, from 1823 to 1853, inclusive. It is intended
to publish a Supplementary Index in 1859.

It is an advantageous circumstance that this Index, although written
in the German language, is printed in English type, by which it is
made intelligible to any European who may wish to consult it ; but in
order to render the Eepertorium perfectly available to the general
public of England and America, an English translation and a new
alphabetical arrangement of its 644 general heads has recently been
made. This Mr. Bennet "Woodcroft, Superintendent of English Pa-
tents, has done, adding at the same time, in parallel columns, to each
of Mr. Schubarth's heads, the corresponding references to the subject
matter Indexes of British Patents.

Schubarth's Eepertorium, in conjunction with Mr. B. Woodcroft's
Indexes of British Patents, affords to intending patentees, or their
agents, a facility of reference and consultation which leaves little doubt
that the great desideratum of placing the entire mass of the industrial
information of the world within the reach of every mechanic will
ultimately be attained. At least, two very important preliminary steps
towards this end have been taken simultaneously, yet independently,
by the two gentlemen already named.

The Geographical Society at Paris, in its first Annual Meeting for 1856,
awarded its prize, for the most important discovery during the last
year, to Dr. Heinrich Barth. The next prize, of a golden medal, was
adjudged to Mr. E. Georgj3 Squier, of the United States, for his Central
American Eesearches.

The Founders' Gold Medal of the Eoyal Geographical Society, Eng-
land, has been awarded to Dr. Kane for his discoveries in the Polar
Eegions.

The International Association for the Uniformity of Weights, Mea-
sures, and Money, which recently assembled at Paris, is slowly but
surely effecting its objects, and achieving results which will hereafter

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. XI

be of the utmost importance to reciprocal trade and the more enlarged
interchange of commerce. The Permanent International Committee
now comprises influential and intelligent members from Portugal,
Mexico, England, the United States, Austria, and France. Sweden,
Belgium, and other countries are also working in the common cause.
The press of every nation has been requested to consider first, the
question of unity in the denomination of moneys ; secondly, unity of
standard ; and, thirdly, unity of weights and measures of all kinds,
whether economical or scientific.

No two countries have the same weights and measures, though the
same name to designate them may be used in many countries. Take
the mile measure, for instance. In England and the United States,
a mile means 1,760 yards; in the Netherlands it is 1,093 yards; while
in Germany it is 10,120 yards, or nearly six English miles; in France
it is 3,025 yards. The Scotch mile is 1,984, and the Irish 2,038
yards; the Spanish is 2,472 yards, and the Swedish mile 11,700 yards.
These are computed in English yards ; but the yard itself, of three feet
in length, has divers significations in different places. The English
yard is 36 inches ; the French, 39*13 inches ; the Geneva yard, 57*60;
the Austrian, 37*35; the Spanish yard, 33*04; the Prussian, 36*57;
the Kussian, 39 -51. For measures of capacity, the dissimilarity is
wider and more perplexing.

There is no necessity, however, for introducing the French metrical
system into Great Britain and the United States, as with much less
trouble and confusion a decimal system can be introduced on the esta-
blished units. Thus the pound and the foot may be decimally divided
without introducing the kilogramme or the metre, or, what would be
the very sure form of the operation, a " usuel" pound and foot, being
respectively half a kilogramme and one-third of a metre, and thereby
defeating the benefits of a decimal system of calculation. It is not a
little remarkable that with a decimal currency system acknowledged
to be practically the best in operation the people and the government
of the United States have been content so long to continue the use of
the antiquated scale of weights and measures with which trade has
been embarrassed in England and its dependencies the pound as the
unit of weight, with its heterogeneous multiples and divisions, of ounce,
pennyweight, and grain, of stone, quarter, hundredweight, and ton;
moreover, occasionally duplicates of these, as the pound troy, and the
pound avoirdupoise the stone of 14, and the stone of 8 pounds, &c.
Nor has the lineal unit better recommendation. Its division into feet
and inches, and its multiples, those of pole, furlong, and mile, are of an
antiquity that renders them always cumbrous and incongruous, and, in
the main, practically unsuited to the age.

There appears to be no reason why a decimal system should not

Xll NOTES BY THE EDITOK

afford equal advantages if applied, as it no doubt will be ultimately, to
the scale of weights and measures. " The adoption of such a system,
however simple it may appear in the abstract, would nevertheless
entail little less than an entire revolution in all the transactions of
commerce, and, like all other innovations upon established usage,
would have its opponents and its victims, as well as its interested
advocates, and should, therefore, be approached with great caution.

The second Annual Report of the Geological Survey of New Jersey,
by Prof. Kitchell, the first and second Annual Report of the Geological
Survey of Missouri, by Prof. Swallow, and a Geological Reconnoissance
of Tennessee, by Prof. Safford, have all been published during the past
season.

The Board of Trustees of the University of Mississippi have author-
ized the erection of a first class Astronomical Observatory at Oxford,
Mississippi, and have contracted for a transit circle similar to that
introduced by Prof. Airy at Greenwich. If the enlightened policy,
thus inaugurated by the Board of Trustees, be fully carried out, Missis-
sippi, through her University, will soon place herself in a very honor-
able relation to the progress of intellectual improvement in the world.

The sum of fifteen thousand pounds has been voted by the British
Parliament for the exploration of Northern Australia, under the direc-
tion of the Royal Geographical Society, and an expedition, under the
charge of Mr. Gregory, left New South "Wales for the interior during
the past year. The objects of the expedition are, briefly to trace the
Victoria river to its source, and to determine the character of the
north-western interior, and afterwards to endeavor to find out a more
direct tract than the circuitous route traversed by Leichardt, from the
head of the Gulf of Carpentaria to the settlements on the eastern
coast, comprised under the general name of Moreton Bay. The time
required to do this is estimated at not less than three years.

M. Petermann, in a recent publication on the Explorations of Central
Africa, says, the country lying south of five degrees is one wide, flat
plain, over which isolated mountains or groups of mountains are scat-
tered, but that, north of that latitude, a chain of mountains, about
seventy-five geographical miles in length, runs from east to west.
Tracts of mountains, many rising into the regions of eternal snow,
extend from these across the equator.

The mystery of the Nile is about to be attacked on every side.
Capt. Burton is preparing a new expedition ; the East India Company
having granted him two years' leave with full pay, and the English
Government having allowed 1,000 towards the expenses. The
Pasha of Egypt has also ordered a new expedition to be organized to
ascend the Nile, under M. de Lauture, an experienced African traveller.
The expedition will be accompanied by twelve Europeans. This expe-

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. Xlll

dition is undertaken entirely at the cost of the Viceroy of Egypt, and
the members will receive, in addition to their rations, the sum of 10
to 14 per month during the time employed on it, which is computed
at two years. Count de Lauture and Capt. Burton will advance in
friendly rivalry from opposite quarters towards the sources of the Nile,
and perhaps meet on a common ground to solve the most attractive of
geographical problems.

A successful attempt has been made during the past year to ascend
Mount Ararat (a feat but once before successfully accomplished), by a
party of English officers and tourists. The height of this mountain is
17,323 feet above the sea-level, and 14,300 feet above the plain adjoin-
ing. Major Stuart, of the British army, one of the party, says :

" The whole surface of Mount Ararat bears evidence of having been
subject to violent volcanic action, being seamed and scored with deep
ravines. The rocky ridges that protrude from the snow are either
basalt or tufa ; and near the summit we found some bits of pumice on
a spot which still emits a strong sulphurous smell. The summit itself
is nearly level, of a triangular shape, the base being about 200 yards in
length, the perpendicular about 300. The highest point is at the apex
of the triangle, which points nearly due west ; separated from it by a
hollow is another point of nearly equal altitude, and the base of the
triangle is an elevated ridge, forming a third eminence. These three
points stand out in distinct relief on a clear day. The snow on the top
is almost as dry as powder, and in walking over it we did not sink
more than half-way to the knee. The impression left on my mind is,
that the summit is an extinct crater filled with snow. We experienced
no difficulty of respiration, except being sooner blown by exertion than
we should have been at a lower level. The cold was intense."

During the past season Prof. Piazzi Smyth, Astronomer Royal of
Scotland, through assistance generously offered by Eobert Stephenson,
the well known engineer, visited the Peak of Teneriffe, for the purpose
of astronomical observation.

The immediate object of this expedition was to determine how far
astronomical observation may be improved. by the elevation of telescopes
into the higher regions of the atmosphere. Prof. S. carried with him
the great equatorial telescope of the Edinburgh Observatory, and a full
supply of all other minor instruments of the very best character. The
party having reached their destination in safety, two stations were suc-
cessively occupied : one 8,870 feet above the sea-level, the other 10,900
feet.

At both these stations, the nights were almost constantly clear, and
the purity of the atmosphere was abundantly proved by the bright-
ness and definition of the stars examined. In proof of the advantage
of the elevation, Prof. Smyth states that the limit of vision of the

XIV NOTES BY THE EDITOK

smaller telescope was extended from the stars of the tenth to those of
the fourteenth degree of magnitude ; and as to fineness of definition,
while at Edinburgh he had never seen good images of stars in that
instrument, at the lower station it exhibited such clear and perfect
stellar disks as he had never before seen in any telescope at or near
the level of the sea.

The astronomical conclusions as to the purity of the atmosphere
were confirmed by other observations, some of them attended with
unforeseen and untoward accidents. A radiation thermometer was
broken in a few minutes by the intense power of the sun, for which its
maker, in foggy England, had made no provision. Two other thermo-
meters that had been prepared according to Arago's ideas, and the
greater strength of the sun in France, though marking 180, were
insufficient to register the extraordinary intensity of the solar rays ;
for, by 10 A.M., the top of the scale was reached, and the upper bulb
began to fill to an unknown extent. More successful was the observa-
tion of the radiation of the moon by means of the Admiralty delicate
thermo-multiplier lent by Mr. Gassiot.

" The position of the moon was by no means favorable, being on the
night of the full, 19 south of the Equator ; but the air was perfectly
calm, and the rare atmosphere so favorable to radiation, that a very
sensible amount of heat was found both on this and the following night.
The absolute amount was small, being about one-third of that radiated
by a candle at a distance of fifteen feet ; but the perfect capacity of
the instrument to measure still smaller quantities, and the con-
firmatory result of groups of several hundred observations, leave no
doubt of the fact of our having been enabled to measure here a
quantity which is so small as to be altogether inappreciable at lower
altitudes."

Of the other observations made at Guajara, the abstract given in
the Report attests the excellence of this station for various scientific
researches :

" Closely connected with radiation is the quantity of the light emitted
by the heavenly bodies, and this was examined frequently, in the case
of the sun and moon and different parts of the sky, by observations of
Frauenhofer's lines in the spectrum. Stokes's spectrum was also
examined, as recommended by the Royal Society, and was found to
be traceable beyond the furthest point previously ascertained else-
where. Means of photographing this spectrum were also prepared,
and some pictures of it on glass obtained, showing many of the dark
lines beyond II, the usual limit of vision.

" At the upper station, with the larger telescope, the definition proved
admirable ; so much so, that not only once, but every night for a week,
I could see thut difficult test, B and C of Y Andromeda, as two distinct

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. XV

stars ; nor could I find any objects in the lists of the ' Cycle' that were
not separated by the telescope and with ease.

" Equally with regard to the range of visibility did the atmosphere
approve itself; for the very faintest star to the practised eye and pow-
erful telescope of the observer of the ' Cycle,' proved easy to even an
inexperienced person in the Pattinsou equatorial.

" Directing them to planetary bodies, the fine division of Saturn's
ring a much contested matter came out unmistakeably, and revela-
tions of clouds appeared on Jupiter's surface which were eminently
similar in form, and as continually interesting in their changes as those
of the sea of lower clouds brought about Teneriife daily under our eyes
by the Isf.E. trade- wind."

The expedition returned to England in October after an absence of
117 days, of which 36 were spent at sea, 18 in the lowlands of Tene-
riffe, 37 at the height of 8,870 feet, and 26 at the height of 10,900 feet.
The reduction of the observations is now in progress, and a detailed
report is being drawn up for presentation to the Admiralty. If the
expedition should be renew r ed another year for which the present
report gives every encouragement the experience of Prof. Smyth will
enable him to take fuller advantage of the time and instruments that
may be at his disposal.

Astronomers are now eagerly on the look-out for the expected return
of the comet of 1556. The evidence of the identity of that comet
with the one Avhich appeared in 1264 is now generally admitted.
From the computation of the perturbations due to planetary attraction
between 1264 and the present time, it is believed that the course of the
comet has been accelerated, and therefore a speedy re-appearance is
probable. Mr. Hind published in the " Monthly Notices of the P.oyal
Astronomical Society," in 1847, an orbit, founded upon a rough chart
of its path, copied into various works from an original publication by
Paul Fabricius, attached to the court of Charles V. Subsequent inqui-
ries, through the aid of Prof. Littrow, the Director of the Imperial
Observatory at Vienna, led to the recovery of the original chart of
Fabricius, and brought to light a still more important treatise, by
Joachim Heller, astronomer, of Nuremberg, copies of which exist in
the ducal libraries of "Wolfenbuttel and Gotha. The observations of
Fabricius extend over less than a fortnight : whereas those of Heller
give the positions of the comet during an interval of fifty-three days.
The exact alterations in the orbit required by the calculations founded
on Heller's observations are not yet determined ; but the principal cor-
rection is a diminution of the comet's path to the ecliptic to the extent
of about one degree, which Mr. Hind views in connexion with the
acceleration of its return.

At- a late meeting of the Royal Society, a communication was read

XVI NOTES BY THE EDITOR

from Prof. Phillips, entitled, " Observations on a Drawing of the Lunar
Mountain, Copernicus," by Professor Secchi, Director of the Observa-
tory at Borne. This drawing is the result of a long series of observa-
tions made by means of the fine telescope at the command of Professor
Secchi. The drawing is on a scale of ten geographical miles to an
inch, and all the objects are laid down by triangulation. This is by far
the most perfect representation of any portion of the moon's surface
that has been executed, and is highly honorable to Professor Secchi.
Prof. Phillips remarks : Drawings of this nature are of priceless value,
and if engraved and circulated among astronomers, it would be a most
effectual stimulant to further research.

A bill to incorporate and endow an Agricultural College in Mary-
land, appropriating six thousand dollars annually from the State Trea-
sury in support of the same, has been passed during the past year by
the Legislature of that State. Commissioners have also been appointed
to locate the proposed institution, and establish regulations concerning
it. As an illustration of what the Maryland Legislature expect their
Agricultural College to do, we quote Section 6 of the act of incorpora-
tion :

" And ~be it enacted, That it shall be the duty of the said board of
trustees to order and direct to be made or instituted on said model
farm annually a series of experiments upon the cultivation of cereal
and other plants, adapted to the latitude and climate of the State of
Maryland, and cause to be carefully noticed upon the records of said
institution the character of said experiments, the kind of soil upon
which they were undertaken, the system of cultivation adopted, the
state of the atmosphere and other particulars which may be necessary
to a fair and complete understanding of the result of said experiments;
and they shall also require the instructor of chemistry, as far as may
be consistent with his other duties in said institution, to carefully
analyze all specimens of soil that may be submitted to him by any
citizen of this State, free of charge, and specially furnish the applicant
with an accurate statement of the result."

The Legislature of New York has passed a bill to loan to the New
York State Agricultural Society $40,000 without interest, for the pur-
pose of aiding in the purchase of a farm, and the erection of buildings
for a College. The citizens of Ovid, Seneca County, have raised
$40,000 additional towards the object, and there is no longer a doubt
in regard to the establishment of an Agricultural College and Model
Farm in the Empire State.

The State of New York has also erected for the use of the Agricul-
tural Society and the State Collection of Natural History, a spacious
new building. It is represented as an imposing edifice, 81 by 50 feet,
with a wing 68 by 40 feet, the whole four stories high.

ON THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE. XV11

ISTew York also, following in the footsteps of Massachusetts, has
recently made liberal appropriations for the purpose of disseminating
correct and practical information relative to the insects of that State
which affect vegetation injuriously or beneficially. The task was
assigned to Dr. Asa Fitch, and his first report has been recently pub-
lished. Instead of classifying the insects by their scientific divisions,
Dr. Fitch first considers the insects which infest fruit trees, commenc-
ing with those which occur in the apple, and noticing in succession the
varieties which affect the root, the trunk, the twigs, the leaves, and
the fruit. In the same order insects which occur upon the pear, the
plum, the peach, cherry, &c., are successively taken up. From fruit
trees, a transition is made to the species of insects infesting forest
trees, field crops, and garden vegetables.

This method of arrangement of the several topics is perfectly intelli-
gible to every reader, and with the assistance of a brief heading which
precedes the account of each species, he is enabled to turn at once to
any insect which he wishes to find, and which is described in the
report.

This report is included in the transactions of the New York State
Agricultural Society, but is also printed separately.

A new Museum has recently been projected in London under fair
auspices, to be called the Scriptural Museum; and its purpose is to
afford a series of illustrations of Bible history, geography, and manners.
The Society propose to embrace the following subjects in their collec-
tion: Landscape Scenery of Palestine Models of Jerusalem Pro-
ductions, Vegetable, Animal, and Mineral Illustrations of the Civil
and Ecclesiastical Polity of the Hebrews Military Discipline Sacred
Antiquities of the Israelites, Assyrians, Egyptians Tabernacle Tem-
ple, Proseuchce, and Synagogues Dress of Priests High Priests and
Levites Temple Vessels Musical Instruments Domestic Antiquities
Tents, Houses, and Furniture Dress Coverings for the Head,
Phylacteries, Kaiment of Camel Hair Signets, Rings, Sandals Litera-
ture, Science, and Art Writing Materials and Implements Sinaitic
and other Inscriptions Manuscripts Poetry Painting and Music
Agricultural Implements Arms and Chariots of "War Weights, Mea-
sures, Coins, and other articles relating to Commerce Treatment of
the Dead, and Funeral Rites. It is proposed to establish a library in
connexion with the Museum ; and also to organize courses of lectures
on the topics illustrated by the articles in the Society's collection.

The Herbaria, belonging to the London Horticultural Society, have
been brought to the hammer ; they were the collections of the officials
sent abroad, and were made in order that the officers might be able to
ascertain the names and value of the seeds which were sent home ;
that purpose served, they became mere records of past discovery, of

XV111 NOTES BY THE EDITOR.

very great botanical interest, but with no further bearing upon the
objects of their owners. Douglass's collection, formed in Northwest
America and California, amounting to 500 species, was purchased by
the British Museum for $150. Hartweg's, for $100. The whole
realized about $1,200.

The last priced catalogue, published by Groom, lately deceased, near
London, contained three varieties of the tulip, at the enormous figure
of five hundred dollars each ; they were all of his own raising ; there
is also one at two hundred and fifty dollars, twelve at a hundred
dollars, and four at fifty dollars each. Mr. G. succeeded best by
mixing large quantities of coarse river sand in his soil. His whole
stock has been dispersed since his death.

The Imperial Agricultural Society of Paris has been trying to dis-
cover why seeds, apparently all alike, do not germinate all at the same
time. The conclusion is that the latest are so tightly inclosed in their
envelope, as to prevent or check the penetration of moisture, and they
are now inquiring whether the tardy seeds are the heaviest or the
lightest, and whether they are obtained from one part of a plant more
than another.

The Belgian Government offers a prize of two thousand dollars to
any one who will discover a way to make starch for manufacturing
purposes from a non-alimentary substance. Enormous quantities of
flour are used in the cotton manufacture alone.

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AETS.

THE KECEXT PKOGEESS OF SCIENCE.

AT the meeting of the British Association, at Cheltenham, for 1856, the
President, Dr. Daubeny, presented, as the subject of his annual address, the
following retrospective view of the recent progress of Natural Science.

CHEMICAL PROGRESS.

Beginning then with Chemistry, let me remind you that at a period not
remote, all of it that could be quoted as really worthy the name of a science
was comprehended within the limits of the mineral kingdom. Here at least
the outline had been traced out with sufficient precision the general laws
established on a firm basis the nomenclature framed with logical exactness
the facts consistent with each other, and presented in a scientific and luminous
form. Thus a philosopher, like Sir Humphrey Davy, who had contributed hi
so eminent a degree to bring the science into this satisfactory condition,
might, at the close of his career, have despaired of adding anything worthy of
his name to the domain of chemistry, and have sighed for other worlds to
subdue. But there was a world almost as little known to the chemists of that
period as was the Western Hemisphere to the Macedonian Conqueror a
world comprising an infinite variety of important products, called into exist-
ence by the mysterious operation of the vital principle, and therefore placed,
as was imagined, almost beyond the reach of experimental research. This is
the new World of Chemistry, which the Continental philosophers hi the first
instance, and subsequently those of our own country, have during the last
twenty years been busy in exploring, and by so doing have not only bridged
over the gulf which had before separated, by an impassable barrier, the king-
doms of inorganic and of organic nature, but also have added provinces as

20 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT.

extensive and as fertile* as those we were in possession of before, to the patri-
mony of Science.

It is indeed singular, that whilst the supposed elements of mineral bodies
are very numerous, the combinations between them should be comparatively
few; whereas amongst those of vegetable and animal origin, where the ultimate
elements are so limited in point of number, the combinations which they form
appear almost infinite. Carbon and hydrogen, for instance, constitute, as it
were, the keystone of every organic fabric ; whilst oxygen, nitrogen, and less
frequently sulphur and phosphorus, serve almost alone to build up their super-
structure. And yet what an infinity of products is brought about by ringing the
changes upon this scanty alphabet ! Even one series of bodies alone, that known
by the name of the Fatty Acids, comprises several hundred well ascertained
combinations, founded however upon a single class of hydro-carbons or com-
pound radicals, in which the carbon and hydrogen stand to each other in equal
atomic proportions, and are in each case acidified by the same number of
equivalents of oxygen. These acids are all monobasic, or combined with only
one proportion of base ; but add to any one of them two equivalents of car-
bonic acid, and you obtain a member of a second series, which is bibasic, or
is capable of forming two classes of salts. The above, therefore, constitute a
double series, as it were, of organic acids, the members of which are mutually
related in the manner pointed out, and differ from each other in their mode
of combining according to the relation between their respective elements.
But already, by the labors of Hofmann and of other chemists, two other double
series of acids, the one monobasic, the other bibasic, mutually related exactly
in the same manner as those above, have been brought to light ; each series
no doubt characterized by an equally numerous appendage of alcohols, of
asthers, and of aldehydes, to say nothing of the secondary compounds result-
ing from the union of each of these bodies with others.

Hence, the more insight we obtain into the chemistry of organic substances,
the more we become bewildered with their complexity ; and in investigating
these phenomena, find ourselves in the condition of the explorer of a new con-
tinent, who, although he might see the same sun over his head, the same
ocean rolling at his feet, the same geological structure in the rocks that were
piled around him, and was thus assured that he still continued a denizen of
his own planet, and subject to those physical laws to which he had been
before amenable, yet at every step he took was met by some novel object, and.
startled with some strange and portentous production of Nature's fecundity.
Even so the chemist of the present day, whilst he recognises in the world of
organic life the same general laws which prevail throughout the mineral king-
dom, is nevertheless astonished and perplexed by the multiplicity of new
bodies that present themselves, the wondrous changes in them resulting from
slight differences in molecular arrangement, and the simple nature of the
machinery by which such complicated effects are brought about. And as the
New "World might never have been discovered, or, at all events, would not
have been brought under our subjection, without those improvements in naval
architecture, which had taken place prior to the age of Columbus, so the

rets of organic chemistry would have long remained unelicited, but for the

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 21

facilities in the methods of analysis which were introduced by Liebig. Before
his time the determination of the component elements of an organic substance
was a task of so much skill as well as labor, that only the most accomplished
analysts such men, for instance, as Dr. Prout, or the great Berzelius
could be depended upon for such a work ; and hence the data upon which we
could rely for deducing any general conclusions went on accumulating with
extreme slowness. But the new methods of analysis invented by Liebig
have so simplified and so facilitated the process, that a student, after a few
months' practical instruction in a laboratory, can, in many instances, arrive at
results sufficiently precise to be made the basis of calculation, and thus to
enable the master mind, which is capable of availing itself of the facts before
it. to breathe life into these dry numerical details. And as the established
laws and institutions of the Old World have been modified may I not say in
some instances rectified ? by the insensible influence of those of the New, so
have the principles that had been deduced from the phenomena of the mineral
kingdom undergone in many instances a correction from the new discoveries
made in the chemistry of the animal and vegetable creation. It was a great
step indeed in the progress of the science, when Lavoisier set the example of
an appeal to the balance in all our experimental researches, and the Atomic
Theory of Dalton may be regarded as the necessary, although somewhat tardy,
result of the greater numerical precision thus introduced. But no less impor-
tant was the advance achieved, when structure and polarity were recognised
as influencing the condition of matter, and when the nature of a body was felt
to be determined, not only by the condition of its component elements, but
also by their mutual arrangement and collocation a principle which, first
illustrated amongst the products of organic life, has since been found to extend
alike to ah 1 chemical substances whatever.

Formerly it had been the rule to set down the bodies which form the con-
stituents of the substances we analysed, and which had never yet under our
hands undergone decomposition, as elementary ; but the discovery of cyano-
gen in the first instance, and the recognition of several other compound
radicals in organic chemistry more lately, naturally suggest the idea that
many of the so-called elements of inorganic matter may likewise be compounds,
differing from the organic radicals above mentioned merely hi then' consti-
tuents being bound together by a closer affinity. And this conjecture is
confirmed by the curious numerical relations subsisting between the atomic
weights of several of these supposed elements ; as, for example, between
chlorine, bromine, and iodine ; an extension of the grand generalization of
Dalton. which, although it might very possibly have been repudiated by him,
had it been proposed for his acceptance, will be regarded by others as esta-
blishing, in a manner more conclusive than before, the soundness of his ante-
cedent deductions.

"What, indeed, can be a greater triumph for the theorist, than to find that a
law of nature winch he has had the glory of establishing by a long process of
induction, not only accommodates itself to all the new facts which the progress
of discovery has since brought to light, but is itself the consequence of a still
more general and comprehensive principle, which philosophers, even at this

22 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

distance of time, are still engaged in unfolding ? It is also curious to reflect,
that whilst the bold speculations of Demc-oritus have been realized by the
Manchester philosopher, the reveries of the alchemists derive something like
solid support from the minute investigations of his successors. "We may
remark, indeed, as not a little remarkable, how frequently the discoveries of
modern days have served to redeem the fancies of mediaeval times from the
charge of absurdity. If the direction of a bit of steel suspended near the earth
can, as Colonel Sabine has proved, be influenced by the position of a body like
the moon, situated at a distance from it of more than 200,000 miles, who shall
say that there was anything preposterously extravagant in the conception,
however little support it may derive from experience, in the influence ascribed
to the stars over 'the destinies of men by the astrologers of olden time ? And
when we observe a series of bodies, exhibiting, as it would seem, a gradation
of properties, and, although as yet undecompounded, possessing a common
numerical relation one to the other, who will deny the probability that they
are composed of the same constituents, however little approach we may have
as yet made towards the art of resolving them into their elements, or of form-
ing them anew ? Organic chemistry has also considerably modified our views
with respect to chemical affinity. According to one view, indeed, which has
been supported of late with considerable talent and ingenuity, the law of
elective attraction, to which we have been in the habit of referring all the
changes that are brought about by chemical means, is a mere figment of the
imagination ; and decomposition may be accounted for, without the interfer-
ence of any such force, by regarding it simply as the result of that constant
interchange which is supposed to be going on between the particles of
matter the atoms even of a solid body being, according to this hypothesis,
in a state of incessant motion. But passing over these and other speculations
which have not as yet received the general assent of chemists, let me advert
to others of an older date, possessing, as I conceive, the strongest internal
evidence in their favor which the case admits, from the harmony they tend to
introduce into the chaos of facts which the late discoveries in organic
chemistry have brought to light. Amongst these, one of the most generally
received, and at the same time one of the most universal application, is that
which represents the several combinations resulting from organic forces, as
being put together according to a particular model or type, which impresses
upon the aggregate formed certain common properties, and also causes it to
undergo change most readily through the substitution of some other element
in the place of one of those which already enters into its constitution. And
this principle, having been established with regard to one class of bodies, has
since been extended to the rest ; for it now begins to be maintained, that in
every case of chemical decomposition a new element is introduced in the place
of one of those which constituted a part of the original compound, so that the
addition of a fresh ingredient is necessarily accompanied by the elimination
of an old one. The same doctrine, too, has even been extended to the case
of combination with a body regarded as elementary, for here also the particles
are considered as being in a state of binary combination one with the other,
owing perhaps to their existing in opposite electrical conditions, and therefore

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 23

possessing for each other a certain degree of chemical affinity. Thus, when
we unite hydrogen with oxygen, we substitute an atom of the latter for one
of the former, previously combined with the same element. The type there-
fore remains, although the constituents are different. "When, in the formation
of alcohol, we combine the oxide of the compound radical sethyle with water,
there is stih 1 only a substitution of the former for one of the atoms of water
previously united together, two and two; and when we form ether, we
eliminate the second atom of water, and replace it by another atom of the
same compound radical. Thus the type of water still remains, although none
of the materials of the original fabric continue ; or, if I may adopt the meta-
phor of a building, although the original bricks which composed the structure
may have been all replaced by other materials, the latter, however differing
in their nature, always correspond, in point of shape, dimensions, and number,
with the parts of the edifice which have been removed to make way for them.
It is on this principle that Prof. Williamson has propounded a new theory of
setherification, regarding the process as resulting from the alternate replace-
ment of hydrogen by sethyle, and of sethyle by hydrogen, in the sulphuric acid
concerned, a view which best harmonizes with the composition of the new
sether he hit upon in the course of his investigations. The same principle may
even be extended to bodies of the same type as ammonia ; for inasmuch as
this body is made up of a union of an atom of nitrogen with three of hj'dro-
gen, it is easy to conceive that a variety of different compounds might be
formed by the substitution of one, two, or three atoms of other radicals for the
same number of atoms of the original hydrogen. How beautifully this idea
has been carried out in the recent researches of Hofmanu, and how happily it
serves to elucidate the formation of the various vegetable alkaloids, which,
from their energetic action upon the animal economy, have of late excited so
much interest in the public mind, is sufficiently known to those who are
chemists, and could not be rendered intelligible to those who are not, without
entering into details which would be out of place on the present occasion. I
must not, however, pass over this part of the subject without remarking, that
the adoption of Prof. Williamson's sethyle theory would establish a still nearer
analogy between the constitution of organic and of mineral compounds than
is at present recognised, since in that case alcohol and ether would stand in
the same relation one to the other, and belong to the same class or series, as
the acids and their salts.

ARTIFICIAL FORMATION OF NATURAL PRODUCTS.

To some, however, it may be more interesting to consider those practical
results bearing upon the arts of life, which have either been actually deduced,
or may be anticipated as likely to accrue, from the discoveries in question. Of
these perhaps the most important is the possibility of forming by art those com-
pounds, which had been formerly supposed to be only producible by natural
processes, under the influence of the vital principle. The last two years have
added materially to the catalogue of such bodies artificially produced, as in
the formation of several species of alcohol from coal gas by Berthelot, that of
oil of mustard by the same chemist, and the generation of taurine, a principle

24: ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVEK

.

elaborated in the liver, by Strecker. And if the above discoveries should
strike you at first sight rather as curious than practically useful, I would
remark, that they afford reasonable ground for hope, that the production of
some of those principles of high medicinal or economical value, which Nature
has sparingly provided, or at least limited to certain districts or climates, may
lie within the compass of the chemist's skill. If quinine, for instance, to which
the Peruvian bark owes its efficacy, be, as would appear from recent
researches, a modified condition of ammonia, why may not a Hofmann be able
to produce it for us from its elements, as he has already done so many other
alkaloids of similar constitution ? And thus, whilst the progress of civilization,
and the development of the chemical arts, are accelerating the consumption
of those articles, which kind Nature has either been storing up for the uses of
man during a vast succession of antecedent ages, or else is at present elabo-
rating for us in that limited area, within which alone the conditions would
seem to be such as to admit of their production, we are encouraged to hope
that Science may make good the loss she has contributed to create, by herself
inventing artificial modes of obtaining these necessary materials. In this case
we need not so much regard the exhaustion of our collieries, although Nature
appears to have provided no means for replenishing them ; nor even be con-
cerned at the rapid destruction of the trees which yield the Peruvian bark,
limited though they be to a very narrow zone, and to a certain definite eleva-
tion on either side of the equator. Already, indeed, chemistry has given token
of her powers, by threatening to alter the course of commerce, and to reverse
the tide of human industry. Thus she has discovered, it is said, a substitute
for the cochineal insect, in a beautiful dye producible from guano. She has
shown, that our supply of animal food might be obtained at a cheaper rate
from the antipodes, by simply boiling down the juices of the flesh of cattle
now wasted and thrown aside in those countries, and importing the extract
in a state ot concentration. She has pointed out, that one of the earths which
constitute the principal material of our globe contains a metal, as light as glass,
as malleable and ductile as copper, and as little liable to rust as silver ; thus
possessing properties so valuable, that when means have been found of
separating it economically from its ore, it will be capable of superseding the
metals in common use, and thus rendering metallurgy an employment, not
of certain districts only, but of every part of the earth to which science and
civilization have penetrated.

AGRICULTURAL IMPROVEMENTS.

And may I not also say, that she has contributed materially towards the
advancement of those arts in which an agricultural county like this is especially
interested ? Who has not heard of the work of Baron Liebig, which, at the
time of its first appearance, made such a sensation, and stirred up the dor-
mant energies of the agricultural public, not less thoroughly than the subsoil
plough, of which he explained the advantages, elicited the latent treasures of
the land ? It is well known that a controversy has been going on for some
time past, between this distinguished foreigner and certain experimental agri-
culturists of England, with regard to the principles upon which the manur-

MlX'HANlt - \ND USEFUL ARTS. 25

ing of oui' laud ought to be regulated. In this dispute, however, you will not
expect me to take part, for it would be obviously improper. But I may be per-
mitted to remark, that whilst some points of difference between them still
remain open for further investigation, a much nearer correspondence of opi-
nion exists with respect to others, than the public in general, or even perhaps
the disputants themselves, are inclined to allow. In so far, indeed, as relates
to the relative advantages of mineral and ammoniacal manures, I presume
there is little room for controversy ; for although most soils may contain a suffi-
ciency of the inorganic constituents required by the crop, it by no means fol-
lows that the latter are always in an available condition ; and hence it may
well happen that hi most cases in which land has been long under cultivation,
the former class of manures becomes, as Baron Liebig asserts, a matter of para-
mount necessity. Now that the same necessity exists for the addition of
ammoniacal manures, can hardly be contended, when we reflect, that at the
first commencement of vegetable life, every existing species of plant must
have obtained its nourishment solely from the gaseous constituents of the
atmosphere, and from the mineral contents of the rock in which it vegetated.
The only divergence of opinion, therefore, that can arise, relates to the degree
of their respective utility in the existing state of our agriculture, and to the
soundness of Baron Liebig's position, that a plant rooted in a soil well charged
with all the requisite mineral ingredients, and in all other respects in a condi-
tion calculated to allow of healthy vegetation, may sooner or later be able to draw
from the atmosphere whatever else is required for its full development. And
does not, I would ask, this latter position derive some support from the luxu-
riant vegetation of the tropics, where art certainly contributes nothing towards
the result ? and is it not also favored by such experiments as those carried on
at Lois "Weedon in Northamptonshire, where the most luxuriant wheat crops
have been obtained for a number of consecutive years without manure of any
kind, simply by following out the Tullian system of stirring up and pulveriz-
ing the soil ? How, too, are we to explain that capacity of subsisting with-
out any artificial supply of ammonia, which Mr. Lawes is led by his experi-
ments to attribute to turnips, and other plants of similar organization, unless
we assume that the power residing in the leaves of absorbing ammonia from
the air may render plants, in some cases at least, independent of any extra-
neous aid ? Be this, however, as it may, there is at least a wide distinction
between this opinion and the one attributed to Baron Liebig by many, who
would seern to imagine, that according to Ms views, ammonia, if derived from
artificial sources, was in a manner useless to vegetation. As if it could be a
matter of any moment, whether the substance which hi both cases afforded the
supply of nitrogen, and which hi both cases also was primarily derived from
the decomposition of organic substances, had been assimilated by plants
directly upon its being thus generated, or had been received into their syste.ni
at a later period, after having been diffused through the atmosphere ? To
suppose that Baron Liebig should have attached any moment to this distinc-
tion seems inconsistent with many passages hi his work, in which, although
the paramount importance of mineral manures may be insisted upon, and the
success which had in certain cases attended the use of one compounded only

2

26 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

of mineral ingredients may be put forward as a motive for further trials, the
utility of ammoniacal substances in all their several forms is at the same time
distinctly admitted. Still the practical question remains, whether, admitting
the theoretical truth of Baron Liebig's position, a larger expenditure of capital
will not be required for bringing a given farm into a condition to dispense with
ammoniacal manures, than for procuring those materials which contain that
ingredient ready for use. And here experimental researches, such as those
conducted on so extended and liberal a scale by Mr. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert,
come in aid of theory. They stand, as it were, midway between the abstract
principles winch science points out to the farmer, and the traditional usages
with respect to his art which have been handed down to him from one gene-
ration to another. They bear the same relation to the farmer, which the
records of the clinical practice in a large infirmary do to the general principles
of medicine expounded by the modern physiologist. It is true, that the expe-
rience of a particular hospital may not at all times coincide with the anticipa-
tions which science holds out ; but this discrepancy only suggests to. us the
imperfections of our present knowledge, and it is not allowed to disturb the
confidence of the physician in principles already established on incontroverti-
ble evidence. On the contrary, whilst he modifies his practice from time to
time by the experience he has gained by actual observation, he feels at the
same time the fullest conviction, that these results will be found eventually
reconcilable with the general principles which a still more extended series of
induction may have established. I need not occupy your time by applying
the same method of proceeding to the recent researches alluded to, but I will
carry the analogy between the science of Agriculture and Therapeutics one
step further. You may recollect, that in a report on the progress of husban-
dry, drawn up some years ago by one of the most enlightened and zealous
promoters of the agricultural interest in Great Britain, it was asserted that
chemistry had done nothing for the farmer, except in teaching him to use sul-
phuric acid with his bones, and to take advantage of the refuse flux liquor for-
merly thrown away and wasted. Now a statement of this kind, although it
might be literally true in the narrow sense in which the author doubtless
intended it, namely, as referring merely to the introduction of new specifics
or recipes into farming was calculated, when put forth on such high authority,
to foster that tendency in the human mind to which we are all more or less
prone, that of sparing ourselves the trouble of thought and reflection in shap-
ing the course of our conduct, by leaning blindly upon certain rigid and
unvarying rules already chalked out to us by others. Grant that science has
as yet supplied us with only two infallible recipes for the improvement of our
land, the agricultural chemist may derive credit from the reflection, that medi-
cine too, since the days of Hippocrates, has lighted only upon two or three
specifics for the cure of disease ; and that the most enlightened physicians of the
present day, in the spirit which we would fain see actuating the leaders of the
agricultural body, depend not upon the efficacy of nostrums, but upon their
sagacity in referring the varying conditions of each case which comes before
them to those principles of physiology which modern science has established.
And has not science also unfolded principles which may be called in to aid and

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 27

direct the practical labors of the agriculturist ? I need not go further than
the works of Baron Liebig for an answer to this question. I may appeal, for
instance, to the extensive employment of guano at the present time, first intro-
duced in consequence of his suggestions ; I may refer to the substitution of
mineral phosphates for bones, founded upon his explanation of the sources
from which the latter substance derives its efficacy as a manure ; and I may
allude more especially to his refutation of the humus theory, to which even
the great Saussure gave his adhesion, and the reception of which was calcu-
lated to vitiate, not a few processes only, but the entire system of our husban-
dry.
But it is time to hasten on to certain other departments of Natural Science-

DISCOVERIES IX BOTANICAL SCIENCE.

In Botany and Vegetable Physiology it cannot perhaps be said, that whole
provinces have been added to the domain of the science within twenty years,
as we have seen to be the case in our review of the progress of chemistry.
The improvements in the microscope which have since taken place render us
familiar with particulars relating to the structure and functions of the vege-
table creation, which the ruder methods of investigation before resorted to
would never have revealed to us. We owe to them the interesting dis-
coveries of Brown and Adolphe Brongniart, as to the mode in which the
pollen is brought into immediate contact with the ovules, by means of the
tubes which it protrudes by a prolongation of the innermost of its two invest-
ing membranes. Thus much, at least, appears to be fully ascertained ; but,
in alluding to the observations of others, who have endeavored to push their
scrutiny still further, it becomes me to speak with more diffidence, inasmuch
as the office which the pollen discharges hi the act of fecundation is still a
matter of dispute between such men as Schleiden and Schacht on the one
side, and Hofineister, Moll, &c., on the other. Whilst, however, this contro-
versy continues, it is something at least to know that the vivifying principle,
whatever it may be, is actually transmitted to the part where its influence is
to be exerted, and not kept apart from it, as we were formerly compelled to
assume, by that long intervening plexus of fibres, or tubes, which constitutes
the style. To the microscope also we owe ah 1 that is as yet known with
respect to the reproductive process in cryptogamous plants, which are now
shown to possess a structure analogous to that of flowering ones hi respect to
their organs of reproduction ; not, indeed, as Hedwig supposed, that parts
corresponding to stamens and pistils in appearance and structure can be dis-
covered in them, but that as the primary distinction of sexes seems to run
throughout the Vegetable Kingdom, new parts are superadded to a structure
common to all as we ascend in the scale of creation, until from the simple
cell, which, in consequence of some differences of structure, to our eyes
inappreciable, appears to exercise in one case the function of the male, in an-
other of the female, as is found the case in certain of the Confervas, we
arrive at length at the complicated machinery exhibited in flowering plants,
in which the cell containing the fecundating principle is first matured in the
stamen, and afterwards transmitted, through an elaborate apparatus, to the

28 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

cells of the ovule, which is in like manner enveloped in its matrix, and pro-
tected by the series of investing membranes which constitutes the seed-vessel.
Thus, as Goethe long ago observed, and as modern physiologists have since
shown to be the case, the more imperfect a being is, the more its individual
parts resemble each other the progress of development, both in the Animal
and Vegetable Kingdom, always proceeding from the like to the unlike, from
the general to the particular. But, whilst the researches of Brown and
others have shown that there is no abrupt line of division in the Vegetable
Kingdom, and that one common structure pervades the whole, the later
inquiries of Suminski, Hofmeister, Unger, Griffith, and Henfrey, have pointed
out several curious and unlooked-for analogies between plants and animals.
I may mention, in the first place, as an instance of this analogy between
plants and animals, the existence of moving molecules, or phytosperms, in
the antheridia of ferns and oiher Cryptogams, borne out, as it has been in so
remarkable a manner, by the almost simultaneous observations of Bischoff
and Meissner on the egg, confirmatory of those formerly announced by Barry
and Newport, and by the researches of Suminski, Thuret, and Pringsheim,
with respect to the ovule of plants. I may refer you also to a paper read at
the last Meeting of the Association, by Dr. Cohn, of Breslau, who adduced
instances of a distinction of sexes which had come under his observation in
the lower Alga3. In like manner a curious correspondence has been traced
between the lower tribes of animals and plants, in the circumstance of both
being subject to the law of what is called alternate generation. This consists
in a sort of cycle of changes from one kind of being to another, which was
first detected in some of the lower tribes of animals ; a pan- of insects, for
example, producing a progeny differing from themselves in outward appear-
ance and internal structure, and these reproducing their kind without any
renewed sexual union, the progeny in these cases consisting of females only.
At length, after a succession of such generations, the offspring reverts to its
primaeval type, and pairs of male and female insects, of the original form, are
reproduced, which complete the cycle, by giving rise in then 1 turn to a breed
presenting the same characters as those which belong to their own pro-
genitors. An ingenious comparison had been instituted by Owen and others
between tin's alternation of generations in the animal, and the alternate pro-
duction of leaves and blossoms in the plant ; but the researches to which I
especially allude have rendered this no longer a matter of mere speculation
or inference, inasmuch as they have shown the same thing to occur in ferns,
in lycopodia, in mosses, nay, even in the confervas. We are indebted to
Prof. Henfrey for a valuable contribution on these subjects, given in the form
of a Report on the Higher Cryptogamous Plants ; from which it at least ap-
pears that the proofs of sexuality in the Cryptogamia rank in the same scale,
as to completeness, as those regarding flowering plants did before the access
of the pollen tubes to the ovule had been demonstrated. Indeed, if the ob-
servations of Pringsheim with respect to certain of the Algre are to be relied
upon, the analogy between the reproductive process in plants and animals is
even more clearly made out in these lower tribes than it is in those of higher
organization. It also appears that the production in ferns and other Acrogens

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 20

of what has been called a pro-embryo ; the evolution of antheridia and arche-
gonYa, or of male and female organs, from the former ; and the generation
from the archegouia of a frond bearing spores upon its under surface, is
analogous to what takes place hi flowering plants hi general ; where the seed,
when it germinates, produces stem, roots, and leaves; the stern for many
generations gives rise to nothing but shoots like itself: until at length a
rlower springs from it, which contains within itself for the most part the
organs of both sexes united, and, therefore, occasions the reproduction of the
same seed with which the chain of phenomena commenced. This is the
principle which a learned Professor at Berlin has rather obscurely shadowed
out hi his treatise on the Rejuvenescence of Plants, and which may perhaps
be regarded as one. at least, of the means by which Nature provides for the
stability of the forms of organic life she has created, by imparting to each
plant a tendency to revert to the prirnceval type.

blSTKIBUTIOX OF PLANTS.

To the elder De Candolle we are also indebted for some of our most philo-
sophical views with respect to the laws which regulate the distribution of
plants over the globe, views which have been developed and extended, but
by no means subverted, by the investigations of subsequent writers ; amongst
whom Sir Charles Lyell, in his "Principles of Geology," and the younger De
Candolle, a worthy inheritor of his father's reputation, in his recently pub-
lished work on Botanical Geography, have especially signalized themselves.
But it is to the late Prof. Edward Forbes, and to Dr. Joseph Hooker, that we
have principally to attribute the removal of those anomalies, which threw a
certain degree of doubt upon the principles laid down by De Candolle in
1820, in his celebrated article on the Geography of Plants, contained in the
" Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles," where the derivation of each species
from an individual, or a pair of individuals, created hi one particular locality,
was made the starting-point of all our inquiries. These anomalies were of
two different kinds, and pointed in two opposite directions ; for we had hi
some cases to explain the occurrence of a peculiar Flora in islands cut off
from the rest of the world, except through the medium of a wide intervening
ocean ; and hi other cases to reconcile the fact of the same or of allied species
being diffused over vast areas, the several portions of which are at the
present time separated from each other in such a manner, as to prevent the
possibility of the migration of plants from one to the other. Indeed, after
making due allowances for those curious contrivances by which Nature has in
many instances provided for the transmission of species over different parts
of the same continent, and even across the ocean, and which are so well
pointed out in De Candolle's original essay, we are compelled to admit the
apparent inefficiency of existing causes to account for the distribution of the
larger number of species; and must confess that the explanation fails us
often where it is most needed, for the Compositse, in spite of those feathery
appendages they possess, which are so favorable to the wide dissemination
of then* seeds, might be inferred, by their general absence from the fossil
Flora, to have diffused themselves in a less degree than many other families

30 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

have done. And on the other hand, it is found, that under existing circum-
stances, those Composites, which are disseminated throughout the area of* the
Great Pacific, belong in many cases to species destitute of these auxiliaries to
transmission. But here Geology comes to our aid ; for by pointing out the
probability of the submergence of continents on the one hand, and the eleva-
tion of tracts of land on the other, it enables us to explain the occurrence of
the same plants in some islands or continents now wholly ^unconnected, and
the existence of a distinct Flora in others too isolated to obtain it under
present circumstances from without. In the one case we may suppose the
plants to have been distributed over the whole area before its several parts
became disunited by the catastrophes which supervened ; in the other, we
may regard the peculiar Flora now existing as merely the wreck, as it were,
of one which once overspread a large tract of land, of which all but the little
patch upon which it is now found had since been submerged. However,
upon tin's subject our opinions may in some measure be swayed by the nature
of the conclusions we arrive at with respect to the length of time during
which seeds are capable of maintaining their vitality ; for if after remaining
for an indefinite period in the earth they were capable of germinating, it
would doubtless be easier to understand the revival, under favorable circum-
stances, of plants which had existed before the severance of a tract of land
from the continent in which they are indigenous. An inquiry has accor-
dingly been carried on for the last fifteen years under the auspices of
this Association, the results of which, it is but fair to say, by no means
corroborate the reports that had been from time to time given us with respect
to the extreme longevity of certain seeds, exemplified, as it was said, in the
case of the mummy-wheat and other somewhat dubious instances ; inasmuch
as they tend to show, that none of the seeds which were tested, although
they had been placed under the most favorable artificial conditions that
could be devised, vegetated after a period of forty-nine years ; that only twenty
out of two hundred and eighty-eight species did so after twenty years ; whilst
by far the larger number had lost their germinating power in the course of ten.
These results, indeed, being merely negative, ought not to outweigh such
positive statements on the contrary side as come before us recommended by
respectable authority, such, for instance, as that respecting a Nelumbium seed,
which germinated after having been preserved in Sir Hans Sloane's Herbarium
for one hundred and fifty years ; still, however, they throw suspicion as to the
existence in seeds of that capacity of preserving their vitality almost indefi-
nitely, which alone would warrant us in calling to our aid this principle in
explaining the wide geographical range which certain species of plants affect.
Let us then be content to appeal to those ingenious views which were first
pat forth by the late Professor Forbes. By the aid of the principles laid down,
he was enabled to trace the Flora of Great Britain principally to four distinct
sources, owing to the geological connexion of these islands at one period or
other with Scandinavia, with Germany, with France, and with Spain! And
it was by a similar assumption that Dr. Joseph Hooker explained the dis-
tribution of the same species throughout the islands of the Great Pacific, and
the contiguous continents, tracts which, as Darwin had shown, were formerly

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 31

united. Nor is this mode of explanation limited to the case of the above
regions; for in the "Flora Indica." Dr. Hooker, in conjunction with his
fellow traveller, Dr. Thomson, has discussed the same problem with regard to
the whole of India, extending from Afghanistan to the Malayan peninsula.
And amongst the many services rendered to the Natural Sciences by these
indefatigable botanists, one of the greatest I conceive to be, that they have
not only protested against that undue multiplication of species, which had
taken place by exalting minute points of difference into grounds of radical and
primary distinction, but that they have also practically illustrated their views
with respect to the natural families which have been described by them in the
volume alluded to. They have thus contributed materially to remove another
difficulty which stood in the way of the adoption of the theory of specific
centres, I mean the replacement of forms of vegetation in adjoining coun-
tries by others, not identical, but only as it should seem allied : for it follows
from the principles laid down by these authors, that such apparently distinct
species may after all have been only varieties, produced by the operation
of external causes acting upon the same species during the long periods of
time.

But if this be allowed, what limits, it may be asked, are we to assign to
the changes which a plant is capable of undergoing, and in what way can
we oppose the principle of the transmutation of species, which has of late
excited so much attention, and the admission of which is considered to in-
volve such startling consequences ! I must refer you to the writings of
modern physiologists for a full discussion of this question. All that I shah 1
venture to remark on the subject is, that had not Nature herself assigned
certain boundaries to the changes which plants are capable of undergoing,
there would seem no reason why any species at all should be restricted
within a definite area, since the unlimited adaptation to external conditions
which it would then possess, might enable it to diffuse itself throughout the
world, as easily as it has done over that portion of space within which it is
actually circumscribed. Dr. Hooker instances certain species of Coprosma, of
Celmisia, and a kind of Australian Fern, the Lamaria procera. which have
undergone such- striking changes in their passage from one portion of the
Great Pacific to another, that they are scarcely recognisable as the same,
and have actually been regarded by preceding botanists as distinct species.
But he does not state that any of these plants have ever been seen beyond
the above-mentioned precincts ; and yet if Nature had not imposed some
limits to their susceptibility of change, one does not see why they might not
have spread over a much larger portion of the earth, in a form more or less
modified by external circumstances. The younger De Candolle, in his late
admirable treatise, has enumerated about 117 species of plants which have
been thus diffused over at least a third of the surface of the globe, but these
apparently owed 4heir power of transmigration to their insusceptibility of
change, for it does not appear that they have been much modified by the
effect of climate or locality, notwithstanding the extreme difference in the
external conditions to which they were subjected. On the other hand, it
seems to be a general law that plants whose organization is more easily

32 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

affected by external agencies, become, from that very cause, more circum-
scribed in their range of distribution ; simply because a greater difference in
the circumstances under which they would be placed, brought with it an
amount of change in their structure which exceeded the limits prescribed to
it by Nature. In short, without pretending to do more than to divine the
character of those impediments, which appear ever to prevent the changes
of which a plant is susceptible from proceeding beyond a certain limit, we
seem to catch a glimpse of a general law of Nature, not limited to one of her
kingdoms, but extending everywhere throughout her jurisdiction, a law,
the aim of which may be inferred to be that of maintaining the existing order
of the universe, without any material or permanent alteration, throughout all
time, until the fiat of Omnipotence has gone forth for its destruction. The
wih 1 which confines the variations in the vegetable structure within a certain
range, lest the order of creation should be disturbed by the introduction of an
indefinite number of intermediate forms, is apparently the same in its motive
as that which brings back the celestial luminaries to their original orbits,
after the completion of a cycle of changes induced by then- mutual perturba-
tions. The whole, indeed, resolves itself into, or at least is intimately con-
nected with, that law of symmetry to which Nature seems ever striving to
conform, and which possesses the same significance in the organic world,
which the law of definite proportions does in the inorganic. It is the prin-
ciple which the prophetic genius of Goethe had divined, long before it had
been proved by the labors of physiologists to be a reality, and to which the
poet attached such importance, that the celebrated discussion as to its merits
which took place in 1830 between Cuvier and Geoffrey St. Hilaire so engrossed
his mind, as to deprive him, as his biographer informs us, of all interest in one
of the most portentous political events of modern days which was enacting at
the very same epoch, I mean the subversion of the Bourbon dynasty. It
is, indeed, not less calculated to subserve the gratification of our sense of
the Beautiful, than to provide against too wide a departure from that order of
creation which its great Author has from the beginning instituted ; and which
manifests itself, not less in the geometrical adjustment of the branches of a
plant, and of the scales of a fir-apple nay, even as they have wished to
prove, in the correspondence between the form of the fruit and that of the
tree on which it grows than in the frequent juxtaposition of the com-
plementary rays of the spectrum, by which that harmony of color is produced
in Nature which we are always striving, however unsuccessfully, to imitate
in Art. The law, indeed, seems to be nothing else than a direct consequence
of that unity of design pervading the universe, which so bespeaks a common
Creator of the existence in the mind of the Deity of a sort of archetype, to
which His various works have all, to a certain extent, been accommodated;
so that the earlier forms of life may be regarded as types of those of later
creation, and the more complex ones but as developments of rudimentary
parts existing in the more simple.

GEOLOGICAL PROGRESS.
I will only further detain y<>u l>v noticing one other field of inquiry, in which

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 33

I have ever felt a lively interest, although it has only been iu my power to
bestow on it a casual attention, or cultivate one limited portion of the wide range
which it embraces. Indeed Geology, the science to which I now allude, has,
during the last twenty years, made such rapid strides, that those who endea-
vored from an early period of life to follow at a humble distance the footsteps
of the great leaders in that science, have, if I may judge of others by myself,
been often distanced in the race, and when they endeavored to make good
their lost ground, found themselves transported into a new, and to them an
almost unknown region. Thus the thorough exploration which has taken
place of the Silurian and Cambrian systems, has added a new province
ought I not rather to say, a new kingdom ? to the domain of Geology, and
has carried back the records of the creation to a period previously as much
unknown to us as were the annals of the Assyrian dynasties before the dis-
coveries of Sir Henry Rawlinson. I might also be disposed to claim for the
recent investigations of botanists some share in fixing the relative antiquity
of particular portions of the globe, for from the Floras they have given us of
different islands in the Great Pacific, it would appear that the families of
plants which characterize some groups are of a more complicated organization
than those of another. Thus, whilst Otaheite chiefly contains Orchids, Apocy-
nese, Asclepiadese, and Urticeee ; the Sandwich Islands possess Lobeliacese
and Goodenovias; and the Galapagos Islands, Xew Zealand, and Juan
Fernandez, Composite, the highest form, perhaps, of dicotyledonous plants.
In deducing this consequence, however, I am proceeding upon a principle
which has lately met with opposition, although it was formerly regarded as
one of the axioms in Geology. Amongst these, indeed, there was none which
a few years ago seemed so little likely to be disputed as that the classes of
animals and vegetables which possessed the most complicated structure were
preceded by others of a more simple one ; and that when we traced back the
succession of beings to the lowest and the earliest of the sedimentary forma-
tions, we arrived at length at a class of rocks, the deposition of which must be
inferred, from the almost entire absence of organic remains, to have followed
very soon after the first dawn of creation. But the recognition of the foot-
steps and remains of reptiles hi beds of an earlier date than was before as-
signed to them, tended to corroborate the inferences which had been previously
deduced from the discovery, in a few rare instances, in rocks of the secondary
age, of mammalian remains ; and thus has induced certain eminent geologists
boldly to dispute, whether, from the earliest to the latest period of the earth's
history, any gradation of beings can in reality be detected. Into this con-
troversy I shall only enter at present, so far as to point out an easy method
of determining the fact, that organic remains never can have existed in a
particular rock, even although it may have been subjected to such a meta-
morphic action as would have obliterated all traces of their presence. This
is simply to ascertain, that the material in question is utterly destitute of phos-
phoric acid; for inasmuch as every form of life appears to be essentially
associated with this principle, and as no amount of heat would be sufficient
to dissipate it when in a state of combination, whatever quantity of phos-
phoric acid had in this manner been introduced into the rock, must have

2-

34: ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

continued there till the end of time, notwithstanding any igneous operations
which the materials might have afterwards undergone. But as the discovery
of very minute traces of phosphoric acid, when mixed with the other ingre-
dients of a rock, is a problem of no small difficulty, an indirect method of
ascertaining its presence suggested itself to me in some experiments of the
kind which I have instituted, namely, that of sowing some kind of seed, such
for instance as barley, in a sample of the pulverised rock, and determining
whether the crop obtained yielded more phosphoric acid than was present in
the grain, it being evident that any excess must have been derived from the
rock from which it drew its nourishment. Should it appear by an extensive
induction of particulars that none of the rocks lying at the base of the
Silurian formation, which have come before us, contain more phosphoric acid
than the minute quantity I detected in the slates of Bangor, which were
tested in the above manner, it might perhaps be warrantable hereafter to
infer that we had really touched upon those formations that had been
deposited at a time when organic beings -were only just beginning to start
into existence, and to which, therefore, the term azoic, assigned to these rocks
by some of the most eminent of our geologists, might not be inappropriate.
The proofs of the former extension of glaciers in the northern hemisphere,
far beyond their actual limits, tend also to complicate the question which has at
all times so much engaged the attention of cosrnogonists with respect to the
ancient temperature of the earth's surface ; compelling us to admit that at
least during the latter of its epochs, oscillations of heat and cold must have
occurred to interfere with the progress of refrigeration which was taking
place in the crust. On the other hand, facts of an opposite tendency, such ay
the discovery announced by Captain Belcher of the skeleton of an ichthyo-
saurus in latitude 77, and of the trunk of a tree standing in an erect position
in latitude 75, have been multiplying upon us within the same period : inas-
much as they appear to imply that a much higher temperature in forrnei
times pervaded the Arctic regions than can be referred to local causes, and
therefore force upon us the admission, that the internal heat of the nucleus
of our globe must at one time have influenced in a more marked manner than
at present the temperature of its crust. On the causes of this increased
temperature, whether local or cosmical, much elaborate research has been
brought to bear by Sir Charles Lyell and by Mr. Hopkins. The most
extensive collection of facts, however, having reference to this subject, is con-
tained in the Reports on Earthquake Phenomena, published by Mr. Mallet,
supplying, as they do, data of the highest importance to the full elucidation
of the subject. For although the evidence I have myself brought together
in my work on Volcanoes might be sufficient to establish in a general way the
connexion of earthquakes with that deep-seated cause which gives rise to
the eruptions of a volcano, yet our interest is thereby only the more awakened
in the phenomena they present, just as Dr. "Whewell's inquiries into the
local variations of the Tides were valued all the more hi consequence of the
persuasion already felt, that lunar attraction was their principal cause. But
if earthquakes bring under our notice chiefly the dynamical effects of this
r .idden cause of movement and of change, those of volcanoes serve to reveal

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 35

to us more especially their chemical ones ; and it is only by combining the
information obtained from these two sources, together with those from hot
springs, especially as regards the gaseous products of each, that we can ever
hope to penetrate the veil which shrouds the operations of this mysterious
agent ; so as to pronounce with any confidence, whether the effects we witness
are due, simply to that incandescent state in which our planet was first
launched into space, or to the exertion of those elective attractions which
operate between its component elements, attractions which might be sup-
posed to have given rise, in the first instance, to a more energetic action, and
consequently to a greater evolution of heat, than is taking place at present,
when their mutual affinities are in a great measure assuaged. "Within the last
twenty years much has been done towards the elucidation of this problem
through the united investigations of Boussingault, of Devflle, and above all
of Bunsen, with respect to the gases and other bodies evolved from volcanoes
in theh- various phases of activity ; the results of which, however, do not
appear to me to present anything irreconcilable with that view of their
causes which was put forth many years ago in the work I published.
Whilst, however, the latter is offered as nothing more than as a conjectural
explanation of the phenomena in question, I may remind those who prefer
the contrary hypothesis, on the ground that the oblate figure of the earth is
in itself a sufficient proof of its primaeval fluidity, that this condition of things
could only have been brought about in such materials by heat of an intensity
sufficient, whilst it lasted, to annul ah 1 those combinations amongst the elements
which chemical affinity would have a tendency to induce, and thus to render
those actions to which I have ascribed the phenomena not only conceivable,
but even necessary consequences, of the cooling down of our plaaet from its
original melted condition.

Such are a few of the additions to our knowledge which have been made
in the course of the last twenty years in those sciences with which I am most
familiar. Whilst, however, the actual progress which has taken place in them
is in itself so satisfactory, the change which the sentiments of the public have
undergone with respect to their claims to respect, affords no less room for
congratulation.

The extension, indeed, which is now given to the name of Museum in the
language of naturalists, and even by the public at large, is hi itself an indica-
tion of correcter views than were formerly entertained, with regard to the
uses of such establishments. Few, for instance, have such a notion of a
Museum as Horace Walpole gave utterance to at the close of the last cen-
tury, when he defined it " a hospital for everything that is singular whether
the thing has acquired singularity from having escaped the rage of time, from
any natural oddness, or from being so insignificant that nobody thought it
worth w T hile to produce any more of the same." " The stuffed ducks, the
skeleton in the mahogany case, the starved cat and rat which were found
behind the wainscot, the broken potsherd from an old barrow, the tattooed
head of the New Zealand chief, the very unpleasant-looking lizards and
snakes coiled up in the spirits of wine, the flint stones and cockle-shells, &c.,
will no longer be seen jumbled together in heterogeneous confusion," as

36 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

might have been the case at the period alluded to. The Ipswich Museum has
set an example, which I have no doubt will be generally followed, of selecting
for such Institutions a series of types illustrative of the mineral, vegetable,
and animal kingdoms ; and a Committee of this Association is now employed in
the useful undertaking of preparing a list of objects best adapted to this purpose.

It begins, indeed, to be generally felt, that amongst the faculties of mind,
upon the development of which in youth success in after life mainly depends,
there are some which are best improved through the cultivation of the Physical
Sciences, and that the rudiments of those Sciences are most easily acquired
at an early period of life. That power of minute observation those habits
of method and arrangement that aptitude for patient and laborious inquiry
that tact and sagacity in deducing inferences from evidence short of demon-
stration, which the Natural Sciences more particularly promote, are the fruits
of early education, and acquired with difficulty at a later period. It is during
childhood, also, that the memory is most fresh and retentive ; and that the
nomenclature of the sciences, which, from its crabbedness and technicality,
often repels us at a more advanced age, is acquired almost without an effort.
Although, therefore, it can hardly be expected, that the great schools in the
country will assign to the Natural Sciences any important place in their
systems of instruction, until the Universities for which they are the seminaries
set them the example, yet I cannot doubt, but that the signal once given, both
masters and scholars will eagerly embrace a change so congenial to the tastes
of youth, and so favorable to the development of their intellectual faculties.
And has not, it may be. asked, the signal been given by the admission of the
Physical Sciences into the curriculum of our academical education ? I trust
the question may be answered in the affirmative, if we are entitled to assume,
that the recognition of them which has alreadjr taken place will be consistently
followed up, by according to them some such substantial encouragement,
as that which has been afforded hitherto almost exclusively to classical
literature.

At any rate, I trust the time has now passed away, when studies such as
those we recommend lie under the imputation of fostering sentiments inimi-
cal to religion. In countries, and in an age in which men of letters were
generally tinctured with infidelity, it is not to be supposed that natural
philosophy would altogether escape the contagion ; but the contemplation of
the works of creation is surely in itself far more calculated to induce the
humility that paves the way to belief, than the presumption which disdains
to lean upon the supernatural.

When indeed we reflect within what a narrow area our researches are of
necessity circumscribed when we perceive that we are bounded in space
almost to the surface of the planet in wliich we reside itself merely a speck hi
the universe, one of innumerable worlds invisible from the nearest of the fixed
stars when we recollect, too, that we are limited in point of time to a few
short years of life and activity that our records of the past history of the
globe and of its inhabitants are comprised within a minute portion of the
latest of the many epochs which the earth has gone through and that with
regard to the future, the most durable monuments we can raise to hand down

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 37

our names to posterity are liable at any time to be overthrown by an earth-
quake, and would be obliterated, as if they had never been, by any of those
processes of metamorphic action which geology tells us form a part of the
cycle of changes which the globe is destined to undergo, the more lost in
wonder we may be at the vast fecundity of Xature, which within so narrow
a sphere can crowd together phenomena so various and so imposing, the
more sensible shall we become of the small proportion which our highest
powers and their happiest results bear, not only to the cause of all causation,
but even to other created beings, higher in the scale than ourselves, which we
may conceive to exist.

It is believed that every one of the molecules which make up the mass of
a compound body is an aggregate of a number of atoms, which, by their
arrangement and mutual relation, impart to the whole its peculiar properties ;
and, according to another speculation which has been already alluded to,
these atoms are not absolutely motionless, but are ever shifting their position
within certain limits, so as to induce corresponding changes in the properties
of the mass. Indeed, it has been imagined, that the production of different
compounds from the same elements, united hi the same proportions, may be
one of the consequences resulting from the different arrangement of particles
thereby induced. If this hypothesis have any foundation in fact, what an
example does it set before us of great effects brought about by movements
which, to our senses, are too minute to be appreciable ; and what an illustration
does it afford us of the limited powers inherent hi the human race, which are
nevertheless capable of bringing about effects so varied, and to us so important ;
although, as compared with the universe, so insignificant ! We also are atoms,
chained down to the little globe in which our lot is cast ; allowed a small field
of action, and confined within definite limits, both as to space and as to time.
We, too, can only bring about such changes hi nature, as are the resultants
of those few laws which it lies within the compass of our power to investigate
and to take advantage of. We, too, can only run through a certain round of
operations, as limited hi their extent, in comparison with those which He
within the bounds of our conception, as the movements of the atoms, which
serve to make up a compound molecule of any of the substances around us,
are to the revolutions of the heavenly luminaries.

And as, according to Prof. Owen, the conceivable modifications of the ver-
tebral archetype are very far from being exhausted by any of the forms which
now inhabit the earth, or that are known to have existed here at any former
period ; so likewise the properties of matter with which we are permitted to
become cognizant, may form but a small portion of those of which it is sus-
ceptible, or with which the Creator may have endowed it, in other portions of
the universe. We are told, that in a future and a higher state of existence,
the chief occupation of the blessed is that of praising and worshipping the
Almighty. But is not the contemplation of the works of the Creator, and the
study of the ordinances of the Great Lawgiver of the universe, in itself an act
of praise and adoration ? and, if so, may not one at least of the sources of
happiness which we are promised hi a future state of existence one of the
rewards for a single-minded and reverential pursuit after truth in our present

38 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

state of trial, consist in a development of our faculties, and in the power of
comprehending those laws and provisions of Nature with which our finite
reason does not enable us at present to become cognizant?

REQUISITES FOE IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANICAL CONSTRUCTIONS.

What we want is iron of great strength, free from seams, flaws, and hard
places. Inferior iron (with the use of other defective and improper materials)
is, perhaps, the mam cause of one of the greatest errors committed hi the con-
struction of whatever in mechanism has to be kept in motion. I mean the
increase of size of the parts of a machine or carriage, hi order to get strength,
thereby adding weight until they are considered to be strong enough. In our
vehicles of draught and carriages this is strikingly the case. Now, this ought
not to be. Lightness is the thing to ami at, and safety should be sought in
the elasticity, form, and good quality of the material. Should a carriage be
found to twist and get out of form, that would be a proof of its being too
light. But to prevent a carriage breaking down by increasing the size of
its parts, and thereby adding weight, is mechanically wrong. Indeed, it is
quite distressing to see the enormous weight of our carriages, particularly
those drawn by animal power. It should be an axiom in mechanics, that what-
ever has motion should be as light as circumstances will admit, and this
applies equally, whatever the source of power may be, whether the motion is
produced by human, horse, or steam power. I think no estimate can be
fonned of our national loss from the over-multiplication of sizes. Take, for
instance, the various sizes of steam-engines stationary, marine, and locomo-
tive. In the case of marine-engines, the number of sizes up to 100 horse-
power will probably not be short of thirty, where ten perhaps would be
ample. If so, look at the sums expended hi patterns, designs, and hi the
number of tools for their manufacture. Nor is this all ; for, if there were only
ten sizes instead of thirty, there would be three times the number made of
each pattern ; and, as you know, the very soul of manufacture is repetition.
Mr. WhitivortJi's Address before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Glasgow.

BERDAN'S COMPRESSIBLE LIFE-BOAT.

A committee appointed by the Secretary of the Navy, several months since,
to test and report on the different life-boats offered to the public, has com-
pleted its experiments and made its report to the Department ; the boat which
received the commendation of the committee was one invented by Mr. H.
Berdan, of New York City. A large number of boats were tested by the
Committee, and its report describes them at length ; but we simply copy a
portion concerning the one to which they gave their preference, viz. Berdan's:

" This boat comes nearer the object required in our instructions than any
boat presented. She is of a very ingenious construction, and may prove valu-
able in the mercantile marine from her compactness and buoyant properties.
Her buoyancy may be judged by the following test to which she was sub-
jected in smooth water: Fifteen men were placed in the boat offered for
inspection (being twelve feet long) and two sixty-four pound weights sus-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 39

pended on one side, with which she floated with great ease. There was
afterwards placed in the boat 500 pounds of iron, then she was filled with
water, and four sixty-four pound weights suspended on one side, under which
pressure she floated with her gunwales six or eight inches above water. She
was put together and launched in two minutes. The following is a brief
description of the boat ; She is made of a strong frame of wood, modelled like
an ordinary boat, covered with canvas coated with gutta-percha, a large air
compartment in the shape of a cylinder outside the boat, i*unning from, stem
to stern along the gunwales. .The gunwales and ribs are hinged to the keel,
so that when the boat is not required for use, the ribs can be thrown parallel
with the keel, and thus allow the gunwales to fall down on both sides close
to the keel, compressing the boat in about a fifth its size when ready for use."

:NEW PLAN FOE LOWEBIXG BOATS AT SEA. ,

Mr. Clifford, of London, has invented an ingenious plan for lowering boats
from a vessel's side in perfect safety at sea, in any weather. The unlashing,
lowering, and disengaging are done by one man only in the boat, whose sim-
ple weight is made to hold hi equilibrium, the weight or descending momentum
of the boat with its entire crew, which he has thus the power to check or con-
trol at will. The process is as follows : One man in the boat unhitches a rope
from a cleet (on the boat's seat) over which he slackens it off. The boat
descends levelly, both laterally and longitudinally, frees itself from the gripes,
by which it was firmly lashed to the ship's side (if there is not time to unfasten
them), and letting go the rope disengages the boat from the ship. The lowering
may be effected as well from one as two davits, or from a yard or spar, and with
any degree of velocity, which can be checked at any part of its descent, and
with the vessel going at any speed. A hollow rotary plug fixed at the bottom
of the boat allows the free ingress or egress of water, which a half-turn stops ;

the plug is consequently never out of its place.
*

IMPKOVEMEXTS ES" NATAL AECHITECTCTIE.

Iron Tubular Ships. James Hodgson, of Liverpool, England, is now build-
ing iron screw steam-ships on a principle for which he has taken out a patent.
These vessels are constructed without frames, side-frames, floorings, &c., in
dispensing- with which it was found necessary to increase the strength of the
plating for the sides ; but to double the strength it is not necessary to double
the thickness of the plate, as the strength of the materials increases as the
square of the thickness. The strength is further increased by a bulkhead
being placed in the widest part of the ship, amidships, and by other bulk-
heads placed midway between the midship bulkhead and the bow and stern, .
and again by the interposition of stiffening plates, so as to spread the strain
along the vessel's side from one to four feet from the bulkhead. As the
sides of the ship, under ordinary circumstances, are much weakened by the
holes cut for the bulkheads to be secured to, the patentee extends the butting
'piece, usually placed over the joint, along the line or strake of plates, and
spreads the rivets over a wider area. By the construction of a ship in this
manner in fact, on the principle of a huge steam-boiler or tube, with rounded

40 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

top and sides, capable of sustaining great pressure the usual appendages,
knees, angle-iron plates, and rivets, for gunwale fastenings, are entirely dis-
pensed with.

Straining of Ships in Launching and Docking. The late George Steers,
who was considered the most eminent ship-builder of our own or any other
times, contended that it is a common evil to strain and " hog" large ships, by
supporting them too exclusively by their keels in docking. The case is nearly
as bad in launching, the bilgeways being so near the keel on each side that
the whole weight of the vessel is supported on a narrow line. He argued
that much of the distortion observed in vessels a short tune hi service is due
to the straining received in this manner before their completion. The steam-
frigate Niagara was built without much regard to the old rules of the naval
constructors, and is lighter timbered but heavier fastened than ordinary war
vessels of her size ; and to avoid the evil alluded to, she was strongly truss-
ed on the inside to support the bilge before launching. The same bracing,
which consisted of strong chains from the bilge passing over a tall, stiff
framework erected upon the keelsons, remained in the ship during her dock-
ing, and the result was that the hull is not bent more than one inch hi any
direction from her form as moulded.

Hirundine Propeller. This propeller, for which great results are claimed
hi England, is thus constructed : A flat, many-jointed or elastic band, repre-
senting the leech, is extended edgewise to the horizon in a curved undulated
line, within a square-sided chamber or tube, formed through the whole length
of the vessel below the water line, and open at both ends. The vessel is
built without distinction of stem or stern to move in either direction. The
undulatory action is produced by rods passing at regular distances from the
band to cranks or eccentrics, set hi a spiral series on a shaft, which runs
parallel to the tube, and this at each revolution raises and depresses the band
in a continuous wave-like movement throughout its entire length. By this
process, the whole column of water in the tube is discharged with great impe-
tus from one of the ends, and the ship is impelled onwards in the opposite
direction.

Robinson's Screw and Side-Lever Steering Gear. In this arrangement the
steering wheel is set a little out of the keel line of the ship, on the port side ;
and its spindle, which is carried in two-end pedestal bearings, is cut with a
stout square screw thread. This screw spindle has upon it a long traversing
nut, fitted with a pah 1 of diametrically opposed joint stud pins, for connexion
with the end of the sliding lever, which forms the actual tiller. The joint end
of this lever is made with a fork and straps, for embracing the stud-pins of the
nut. The remaining portion of the lever is a plain cylinder, and it is entered
freely through a long inclined eye-piece on the rudder-head, which is, of
course, on the starboard side of the screw spindle, and opposite to the longi
tudinal centre of the latter. The eye on the rudder-head works on a stud
pin, so that, in all circumstances, the action is easy and free from strain.
As the screw spindle nut traverses forward or aft, in obedience to the turn of
the steering wheel, it carries with it the outer end of the tiller, which thus
acts as a lever to turn the rudder ; and as the nut must always move in a

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 41

straight line, the sliding tiller traverses back and forward in the eye of the
rudder-head, to reconcile the right line action of the nut with the rotatory action
of the rudder-head. The effective leverage of the tiller thus becomes greater
as the rudder is moved from amidships to either the starboard or port side,
and hence the steersman's power is increased in proportion to the external
fluid resisted.

Dempster's Triangular Yacht. A few years since Mr. Henry Dempster, of
England, invented a boat of triangular shape, the stern post of which was made
to rake at the same angle as the stem, so that both met and terminated at a
triangular point under water, and thus formed simply an angular keel. The
yacht was twenty feet in length, and had six feet beam, was iron built, aud
ballasted with lead. It was rigged with three masts, the main-mast being
placed exactly in the centre, and in an upright position : the fore-mast had
considerable rake forward, and the mizen-mast the same proportion of rake
aft. Two square sails were set on the mam-mast, one above the other, and a
triangular sail on each of the other masts ; these triangular sails were on the
revolving principle, the booms being secured at the central gravity, one to a
pivot on the stem, and the other to a similar pivot on the top of the stern-
post ; by which means they would run round and round clear of the masts,
and could be trimmed to any degree upon a circle. The sails possessed a
double advantage over the common rig, and with the help of the triangular
huh 1 could perform many rapid revolving evolutions. Amongst other experi-
ments of this triangular yacht was one frequently repeated, in which two
stakes were driven into the ground at low water mark, to which a strong iron
bar was lashed horizontally like a leaping bar. A pole or gauge was erected
alongside the stake-s, marked to feet and inches, to indicate "the depth of
water. TVhen the tide rose sufficiently high to show that there was one foot
and a half less water than was required to sail clear of the obstruction, con-
sequently that the vessel would strike it with her angular keel, she was sailed
stem on at the bar, a stiff breeze blowing at the tune, when she went over it
by rise and fall, similar to a horse jumping a gate.

New Methods of Raising Shif)s. A new method of raising ships has been
invented by Mr. Foreman, of New York, in -which he employs cast-iron
generators, containing wet gunpowder. These are connected with a cast-iron
retort or purifier, filled with water, from which passes a coil of cast-iron tube.
The whole apparatus is placed in a box about six feet square and two feet
high, which is filled with water. From the end of a coil, a hose, dividing in
two parts, passes to casks lashed to the sides of the vessel to be operated on.
The power in the generator is then ignited, and the gases generated by its
combustion pass by means of the hose and pipe into the casks, and displace
the water with which they are filled, holes having been made in the bottom
of the cask. The buoyancy thus produced by the confined air is what raises
the vessel.

A novel variety of lifting tanks for raising sunken vessels has recently been
invented by Capt. Bell, These, combined, are a novel and curious apparatus
being two separate water and air-tight tanks, with straight or square sides,
each having on its outer side the form of an acute angle ; while the inner

4:2 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

surface resembles an arch, which would best compare with a narrow breast-
hook timber of a vessel. They are four feet six inches deep by five feet six
inches wide the whole length being fifty-seven feet, with forty-five feet from
the span of the arch to the ends, and eighteen feet wide across the crotch. A
bulkhead, also water and air-tight, is placed through the crotch, dividing the
tank into three separate chambers, with a valve under each to admit and let
out the water. The valves are opened simultaneously by a lever attached to
them all, and, by letting go the lever, are closed by the pressure of the water.
The tanks are to be attached one to the bow and the other to the stern of a
sunken vessel, each one receiving so much of the vessel within its arch. A
sufficient weight is applied to submerge them when filled with water, and
when made fast to a vessel or any sunken body, the water within them is
expelled by the force of air on its surface, which is to be applied by means of
a pump, and which will then give to the tanks their lifting power. They are
constructed in the most substantial manner, having heavy timbers with thick
planking inside and out, and fastened with two hundred and one inch bolts,
from five to seven feet long, over and down the sides, and four two and a
quarter inch bolts, eighteen feet long, athwart the crotch. They are calcu-
lated to raise under water a barge or other vessel containing four hundred
tons of cargo.

INCREASING THE SPEED OF STEAM-BOATS.

At a recent meeting of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, a paper on the
above subject was read by Robert Aytoun, of which the following is an
abstract :

Mr. Aytoun stated that the proposition in hydraulics, that the power
required to impel a boat increases as the square of the velocity, has exer-
cised a pernicious influence over the minds of shipbuilders in making them
look upon it as hopeless to attempt any great increase of speed, which was to
be attended by such enormous increase of power. This proposition, by show-
ing the impossibility of greatly increasing speed with any of the known forms
of boats, by giving them increased power, clearly indicated that the path of
improvement, if any, must lie in new forms, calculated to take advantage of
the new power of the marine steam-engine. It at once occurred to him,
that by elongating the bow of the vessel, that water which our present steam-
boats dash aside from their path with great force and velocity, and the rapid
removal of which absorbs the whole power of the engine, might be laid aside
comparatively slowly and gently, like the sod from a plough, however great
the speed of the vessel. A diagram was shown, exhibiting three steam-
boats, whose midship sections were all equal, but the lengths of whose bows
were, respectively, 1, 2, 3. It was pointed out that when No. 2 had twice
the speed of No. 1, it dashed aside the water in its path with no greater
velocity than did No. 1, and therefore did not require more steam power
though proceeding at double speed. That when No. 3 had thrice the speed
of No. 1, it dashed aside the water in its path with no greater velocity than
No. 1, and therefore did not require more steam-power, though proceeding at
three times the speed. It thus appeared that the well known proposition

MECHANICS AXD USEFUL AKTS. 4:3

above referred to. which has so long paralysed the efforts of shipbuilders,
must now give place to the more hopeful one, namely, that the resistance to
the motion of boats may be made the same for ah 1 velocities, by suiting the
form of the boat to the velocity required of it. A similar proposition, in
regard to railway?, was early made by Mr. Maclaren, with the happiest
results, at a time when eight or ten miles an hour was the greatest speed
they were thought capable of achieving. The author stated, that it was to
be hoped that enterprising shipbuilders would not be slow in realizing the
same speed in steamboats which the railway engineers have done in the rail,
and that by the elaboration of the self-same proposition, namely, that the
resistance to motion may be made the same for all velocities. A considerable
advance in speed has been attained of late years by fining the lines of steam-
boats, by cutting them in two, and inserting an addition to their length
amidships, or by increasing their original length, though this last is often
marred by a proportionately increased breadth of beam. These were all steps
in the right direction, and tend to support the principle just stated ; but
nothing short of an attempt to reach thirty or forty miles an hour will satisfy
the occasion. Various members discussed the subject of the paper at some
length ; and while they admitted, as mathematicians, ftie correctness of the
principle advanced by Mr. Aytoun, they considered that that gentleman had
not given sufficient weight to other sources of resistance to the motion of
boats, such as friction, which would become very formidable when boats
of the great length which he advocated, were urged to great speed.

IXTEEESTIXG EXPERIMENTS WITH STEA3I BOILERS.

Mr. William Radway, of England, published in the London Mining Journal
the following detail of experiments recently made by him on the explosion of
steam boilers :

He had a cylinder 4^- feet long, 12^ inches diameter, of an inch thick, of
good iron, and capable of standing a pressure of 480 pounds to the square
inch. This he sometimes used as a steam boiler, and had a furnace under
it of 2J square feet. A short time since it was worked till it was empty,
while a powerful fire was under it, and as a consequence, one-third of the
lower surface became red hot. In this state 4 gallons of hot feed water were
let into it slowly, which produced a roaring sound, but not sufficient steam to
raise a safety valve of 10 Ibs. weight to the inch. As the steam rose, the gas
in the boiler was collected and tested, and was found to be only atmospheric
air not an inch of hydrogen. Shortly after this he evaporated nearly all the
water in the boiler, and then left it to cool, with the safety valve. open, to
allow the free entrance of air. Xext day he replaced the safety valve, loaded
it with 30 Ibs. to the square inch, and forced in a cubic foot of impure hydrogen
gas.

He then, by a contrivance, ignited and exploded this hydrogen gas and
air mixture in the boiler ; a puff came through the safety valve, and a small
. steam engine was worked for 42 strokes by it, but the boiler was neither
burst nor strained.

44 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

On another occasion he was conducting an experiment which required the
steam to be kept up at a pressure of 50 Ibs. per inch for 36 hours consecu-
tively, but using a very small quantity of steam. The boiler was filled to
within two inches of the top (10 inches of water) and it was not fed during
the 36 hours; at the end of that period it was only reduced 4i inches,
and contained 6. The feed pump was then set in motion to fill the boiler,
and although the steam only fluttered gently at the safety valve all day, at
the very first stroke of the feed water, the boiler commenced to roar, the
engine bounded off with a higher velocity, and with the second and third
strokes of the pump the safety valve was forcibly raised, the steam burst from
two joints in the top of the boiler, and Mr. R. declares that had he not
quickly opened a f -inch steam way, he believes the boiler must have ex-
ploded, as it exhibited great spasmodic action. He did not anticipate such
a result, and the peculiar fact led him to reflect as to the cause. He came to
the conclusion that, the water in the boiler might have attained to a higher
temperature than 2.80 Fah. the heat at 50 Ibs. pressure and if so, a rapid
evaporation of steam would be caused when the feed water was supplied,
thus suddenly generating a great pressure. He, however, could not satisfy
himself of this withotft an experiment. As he required more steam than his
smah 1 boiler furnished, he put up two others, side by side, in line with it, and
placed the furnace under the end of one of the new ones, which we will call
No. 1 ; then the flues were deflected and passed under the middle one, No. 2,
then returned under No. 3, and into the chimney. The feed water entered
No. 3 only, and passed thence by a pipe to No. 2, and from it by a pipe to
No. 1. The steam was carried by a small pipe from each, and was collected in
a larger one for use. A thermometer was placed in each boiler through a
stuffing-bpx, and dipped low down into the water. The boiler No. 1, with
the furnace under it, had its steam up in 1 hour ; No. 2 had its steam up in
1 hour 40 minutes; No. 3 in 2 hours, at which period the three ther-
mometers indicated 212 an equality of heat. At the end of the first six
hours the thermometer in No 3 indicated 280 Fah., in No. 2, 288, in No. 1,
290. The bulbs of the three thermometers were then slid upwards to raise
them out of the water, when the temperature of each fell to 280 that of the
steam in each boiler at 50 Ibs. pressure. The thermometers were slid down
into the- water again, and the experiment continued for 6 hours longer, when
they were examined again. The thermometer in No. 3 indicated 282, in
No. 2, 290, in No. 1, 300 Fah. The thermometers were again raised out
of the water, when they ah 1 fell to 280. This, he states, convinced him of
the rationale of many mysterious steamboat explosions; but his chemical
experiments not being finished, he again restored the thermometers, and left
them for 18 hours longer. On examining them again, thermometer No 3 was
standing at 285, No. 2 at 298, and No. 1 at 312. They were again raised
out of the water and fell to 280 the steam in each boiler being at the same
pressure, although there was a difference of 27 between the water in No. 1
and No. 3.

From the above experiments Mr. Radway deduces the following conclu-
sions :

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKT8. 45

" Here we have conclusive data suggesting certain rules to be rigorously
adopted by all connected with steam boilers who would avoid mysterious
explosions : First, never feed one or more boilers with surplus water that has
been boiled a long tune, hi another boiler, but feed each separately. Second,
when boilers working singly or fed singly are accustomed, under high pres-
sure, to be worked for a number of hours consecutively, day and night, they
should be completely emptied of water at least once every week, and filled
with fresh water. Third, in the winter season the feed water of the boiler
should be supplied from a running stream or well."

ON THE USE OF HIGH PRESSURE STEAM.

The following views have been recently expressed by Mr. Fairbairn, the
eminent English engineer, on the use of high pressure steam for economic pur-
poses :

" Taking into consideration the superior economy of high steam, worked
expansively, it is quite evident that in ah 1 future construction, either of boilers
or engines, we must look forward to the use of a greatly increased instead of a
reduced pressure of steam. Indeed, I am so thoroughly convinced of the
advantages inseparable from this application, as to urge upon you the neces-
sity of preparing for greatly increased progress, and greatly increased pressure
hi ah 1 the requirements, appliances, and economics of steam as a motive
power. It must appear obvious to every reflecting mind, that steam gene-
rated under pressure, and compressed into one-fifth or one-sixth the space that
it formerly occupied, and that again applied to an engine of little" more than one-
third the bulk, must be a desideratum in the appliance of an agent so power-
ful and so extensively used. Look at our locomotives at the present day,
and tell me whether we are or are not successfully progressing in effecting a
clearer alliance betv: 3en the two sister sciences of mechanics and physics ; and
tell me whether or not the community is secured equally weU from risk, and
greatly benefited by the change ? Let us calculate, for example, the duty
performed and the force applied to one of our largest class of locomotive
engines, travelling with a tram at the rate of 45 miles an hour, and we shall
find the amount of power given out to exceed that of 700 horses, or as much
as would be required to drive the machinery in some of our largest factories.
And why not work our factories upon this principle ? and why not propel our
largest ships by engines of this description? There is no reason why it
should not be done, and that with greatly increased economy, by introducing
a well directed system of condensation along with that of highly attenuated
steam."

THEEMOGEXIC ENGINE.

The above name has been given to an arrangement invented by Messrs.
Beaumont & Mayer, for producing heat sufficient to generate steam capable of
application to practical purposes by mere friction,

The construction is simple enough. A boiler is made, traversed by a coni-
cal tube of copper. 30 inches diameter at the top, 35 inches at the bottom,

46 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

inside of which a cone of wood of the same shape is fitted, enveloped in a pad-
ding of hemp. An oil vessel keeps the hemp continually lubricated, and the
wooden cone is so contrived as to press steadily against the inside of the cop-
per, and to rotate rapidly by means of a crank turned by hand or horse-power.
The whole of the boiler outside of the copper cone is filled with water.
Thus constructed, the machine, with 400 revolutions a minute, makes 400
litres* of water boil in about three hours by the mere effect of the friction of
the oiled tow against the copper. When once the boiling point is reached, it
may be maintained for any length of tune, or as long as the movement is con-
tinued. It is quite easy to keep the steam in the boiler at a pressure of two
atmospheres.

SIEMENS' REGENEBATIVE ENGINE.

The following is a description of Siemens' Eegenerative Engine, as given by
the inventor at a late meeting of the Royal Institution, London. The engine
described was the result of experiments instituted to endeavor to produce
an engine as far as possible a practical application of the dynamic theory of
heat. After giving a sketch of the gradual improvements in the application of
steam as a source of power from the time of Hero to Watt, and allud-
ing to the researches of Joule, Thomson, and others on heat, he proceeded to
consider the identity of heat and mechanical force, to which end their researches
lead. He supposed a hammer suspended in vacua, without any friction on its
bearings, to fall on a perfectly elastic anvil, and which would rise to precisely
the point from which it started. If a piece of copper were placed on the
anvil, the hammer would cease to rebound, the copper becoming the recipient
of its force. Let now a machine be applied to raise the hammer to its first
position ; let it strike the copper any number of times ; and let the copper be
turned on the anvil, and made to assume the same shape at the end of the
operation as it had at the beginning. In this case the sole expression of the force
which has been used to lift the hammer will be found in the heat which has
been conferred upon the copper by the repeated blows. If it were possible to
use the Tieat thus produced as the motive power of the machine which lifts the
hammer, a perfect dynamic engine would be obtained, and such an engine
would consume only one-fourteenth part of the fuel required by a perfect Boul-
ton & Watt's condensing engine. Mr. Siemens then explained in detail the
engine of which he was the inventor. The principal parts are the following,
viz. 1. A cylinder termed the Regenerator, having a piston moving in it. This
cylinder, into which the steam from the boiler is first admitted, is connected at
the top with 2. A cylinder of cast iron, of peculiar form (the end of which is
exposed to the direct action of the fire, but the temperature of which is mode-
rated by the proximity of the boiler), inclosing another open cylinder, which
also contains a piston. The regenerator is connected at the bottom with an-
other cylinder, exactly similar to the preceding. These two are the Working
Cylinders. 3. An apparatus termed a Respirator, disposed around each work-
ing cylinder, being the communication between the cylinders and the regene-

* A litre is about a quart.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 47

rator. The respirator consists of a number of layers of wire-gauze, or metal
plates, which become highly heated at one end from their proximity to the fire.
High-pressure steam being admitted into the regenerator, passes through the
respirator into the working cylinder. Arriving there in a highly-heated and
compressed state it raises the piston. Becoming cool by expansion, it again
passes into the regenerator, at the temperature of saturated steam and of
atmospheric pressure. Being pressed back into the working cylinder after the
piston has recovered its return stroke, it is mixed with a small additional
amount of steam from the boiler. It thus recovers its tension, and again
expands and becomes heated in the working cylinder. Although high tem-
perature is resorted to in this engine, all its working parts are of the ordinary
temperature of saturated steam. Mr. Siemens stated that this engine would
consume much less fuel than TTatt's, and that several engines had been
erected in France, Germany, and England, which had hitherto worked very
satisfactorily.

RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM ENGINES.

Stevens 1 Improved Steam Boilers. A patent has been recently granted to
J. Lee Stevens, a well known English inventor, for an improved combina-
tion of the parts of a boiler by which air is to be more advantageously
applied and combined with the products of combustion ; the boiler is formed
with a water space above the furnace, and above this space there is a return
flue through which the products of combustion pass to a chamber called " the
igniting box." From this chamber the tubular flue passes to a chamber flue
at the opposite end of the boiler. In front of the " igniting chamber" there
is a double cover pierced with holes through which streams of air pass, to
mix with the products of combustion before they pass through the tubular
flues.

New Method of Stopping Steam Engines. Mr. Dugdale of Paris, France,
has invented some improvements in the construction of locomotive engines,
applicable in part to marine and stationary engines, which relate to a novel
mode of stopping or retarding the progress of locomotive steam engines. In
effecting this object, the steam is converted from a propelling to a resisting
medium, and thereby suddenly presents an elastic obstruction to the advan-
cing piston in the steam cylinder. Over the steam ports of the working
cylinder a slide valve is applied, composed of iron and steel plates attached
together, the steel face being to receive the ordinary brass cut-off and supply
valve, and the iron face lying close to the planed face of the steam ports.
This intermediate valve is so arranged, that when the break is required to be
put into action, it shall slide on its seat, and intercept the passage of the
steam to the exhausted side of the piston, and permit the steam to be sup-
plied to the opposite side. A cushion of steam will thus be opposed to the
advancing piston, and if displaced by the impetus of the engine acting on the
piston, a similar obstruction will then be offered to the other side of the piston
as it advances, and so on until the action of the engine is suspended. This
composite valve the inventor proposes to apply to steam engines generally,

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

using it merely as a valve seat, which, when worn, may be readily replaced,
and at little cost.

Heating the Exterior of Steam Cylinders. Tlie Glasgow Practical Mechanics 1
Journal gives a well attested case serving to illustrate the utility of the
"jacket" formerly used to surround the cylinder with steam. A large
engine tried alternately with and without steam in the "jacket" required but
twenty pounds pressure to perform in the first named case the same labor as
required twenty-five pounds in the second.

Improved Packing for the Slide Valves of Marine Engines. This improved
packing is the invention of Mr. Robert "Waddell, of Liverpool, for several
years chief engineer of the Africa, and other vessels of the Cunard line of
Atlantic steamers. In these vessels, and generally in the large English steam-
ers, the D slide valve is used for supplying the steam to the cylinders ; the
interior of the valve between the ports of the cylinder communicates
with the boiler, and the steam escapes to the condenser beyond the end
of the valve. The valve is ordinarily packed with a single strip of pack-
ing at the back opposite each port of the cylinder, to prevent the steam blow-
ing through into the condenser ; but with this arrangement, the total pres-
sure between the valve and the port faces, on which it slides, varies from
nothing to several tons in the large engines at different points of the stroke.
The result is an unequal wear of the two edges of the port, which have
been worn so much out of level in a single voyage across the Atlantic and
back, as to cause serious leakage of steam into the condenser, and much
trouble in the repairs. The new plan of packing consists in employing two
strips, instead of a single strip, one opposite to each edge of the port, a free
communication being maintained between the port and the space between the
packings. By this means the valve is perfectly balanced, and the pressure
between the rubbing faces is reduced to merely the amount required to
preyent the steam blowing through, causing a great reduction in the wear of
the faces. The new mode of packing is applicable also to single slide valves,
and has been tried for more than a year in the Columbian, with complete
success.

Horizontal Cylinder Engines. The horizontal single cylinder engine is
gaining ground in Europe on the double cylinder vertical engine. At one
time, the great objection to horizontal engines was the excessively unequal
wear of the piston upon the lower side of the cylinder ; but owing to the
accuracy with which pistons are now made, the wear and tear upon cylinders
is greatly reduced. In France the consumption of coal per horse power, in
the most common steam engines, is very low only about three pounds, and
the makers of them guarantee that they will not exceed that amount. The
steam is used at about 50 Ibs. pressure on the square inch, and is cut off at
one-fifth of the stroke ; and, so far as economy of fuel goes, they are equal to
an engine with two cylinders, the one for high pressure, and the other for
expansion the well known "Wolfe principle.

New Safety Valve. The following is a description of a new safety valve,
recently brought out in England. A small cylinder, occupying the place of
the common safety valve, is bolted to the top of the boiler, -ml it has a small

MECHANICS A XI) USEFCL ARTS. 49

flange on its top, carrying a standard on which is secured the end of a lever*
working on a pin. In the small cylinder there is a packed piston, having its rod
connected to the lever mentioned, a short distance from its jointed end. This
lever is extended horizontally forward, and its other end secured to a spring-
balance. There is a small chamber in which there is-a plunger valve inserted in
a vertical tube passing down to the bottom of the boiler and open to the water.
The rod of the valve is also connected with the lever mentioned. This valve
covers the mouth of a bent tube, which passes down into the fire box. The
spring balance is set at the pressure to be carried 60 or 80 Ibs. and the valve
then covers the tube leading into the furnace. Whenever the pressure in the
boiler on the small piston exceeds that at which the spring holds it down, the
piston will rise, and also the valve which covers the mouth of the tube leading
to the furnace. The superincumbent pressure of the steam then forces the
water in the boiler through the tube into the furnace, and extinguishes the fire.

Improvement in the Construction of the Governors of Steam Engines. In the
ordinary steam engines, no provision is made for the control of the engine in
case the governor becomes suddenly inoperative. If, by reason of its driving
belt or gear giving way, or by other accidental causes, the governor is stopped,
it leaves the throttle-valve wide open, and the steam full on the engine. An
increase in the speed at once takes place, which often results in doing much
injury to the machinery. An invention by John Tremper, of Philadelphia, Pa.,
has for its object the detachment of the governor entirely from the valve the
instant it becomes inoperative, and at the same time to close the valve by
means of a spring or weight applied for that purpose, and thus stop the
engine. Another object is to regulate the movement of the valve w.hile the
governor is in operation.

Improved Engine Connection for Transmitting Motion to Shafts. An invention
for effecting the above purpose, by Thomas Doyle, of Xew York, consists
in the arrangement of two beam engines in line with each other that is to
say, with their beams in the same plane and with the cylinder ends of the
engines contiguous to each other, and connecting their piston rods or beams
by an intermediate beam. By this means the two shafts which are parallel
with, and at some distance from each other, are caused to rotate at a uniform
speed. The mam object of this invention is its application to drive two pairs
of paddle wheels to propel a vessel, but it may also be used .for driving two
parallel shafts for other purposes. "With the above method of connecting the
engines, the cranks of the two shafts are always kept in opposite positions,
and when one piston is descending the other is always ascending. This
mode of connecting the engines appears to form a simple and effective arrange-
ment for driving two shafts, to which it causes the power to be transmitted
equally, if .the resistance be equal, or always in proportion to the relative
amount of resistance. -

Packing Pistons for Steam Engines. An improvement, patented by J. T".
Pettis, of Hillsdale, Michigan, is intended to enable the engineer to tighten
the packing of the piston, without going to the trouble of removing the
cylinder head, and various other appurtenances. This is done by making
the piston rod hollow, and passing a solid rod down its centre to the

50 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

piston head. The packing is metallic; within the head are four arms,
connected by joints at one end with the packing, and at the other with
the central rod before named ; by raising or lowering the rod, the packing
will be loosened or tightened ; the engineer, therefore, when he desires to
move the packing, merely turns a nut at the top of the piston rod.

Improved Slide Valve for Steam Emjines. In this invention, by E. D.
Leavitt, Jr.. of Lowell, Mass., the back of the valve is fitted to the cover of
the steam chest, between which and its seat it works steam-tight. The
improvement consists in a certain method of compensating for the wear of the
valve and the two faces between which it works. There is an arrangement
whereby the valve is more perfectly balanced than by the ordinary method.
The valve is made tapering in a transverse direction, but in a longitudinal
direction its two faces are parallel By thus tapering the valve, one of its
sides is caused to have a greater area than the other, and the steam, by
exerting a greater pressure on the larger area, tends to force the valve between
the faces in which it moves, and thus keeps it always tight.

RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILEES.

Neiv Condenser for Marine Steam Boilers and Furnaces. James Biden, of
Gosport, England, has obtaineda^pateat-fhr feeding fresh water to marine
steam boilers, which water be^fibt^i^ by'th_e condensation of the steam after
it has been employed iny^^cylindjTs^of > the e'ngingk This he carries into
effect as follows : He lGraa pipe from the cylinde^ mto the water outside
of the ship at one side, |aQ3 after ^anyiog it round the srem of the vessel, he
causes it to enter the vassel atVMre'athersid4^ftH"* open iJto a reservoir in the
hold of the ship. A pipfc opes from the reservoir t&tha^itrnosphere, to allow
any uncondensed steam tXjtaf^Cfcfij Xs tne.s^e^i rami the cylinders passes
through the water of the oceaTi^(rlffl(^Mhe%n^4fDeconies condensed, and
the fresh . water thus produced fiowsnnto" tne reservoir, from which it is
pumped into the boilers. This invention is really an outside condenser the
ocean being made the grand cooler. The condenser pipe must be set on
an incline, to allow the condensed water to flow into the reservoir.

Duppd's Furnace. An improvement by Thomas Duppa, of France, con-
sists in arranging and combining -several upright cylinder boilers in a circle.
Each boiler has its furnace at the lower end. At the upper part of each fire-
box a series of tubular flues rise to the upper part, where they communicate
with a chamber which is surrounded with the steam in the upper part of the
boiler. The heated air and products of combustion then pass down from
each boiler to the outside of a cylindrical vessel, into which the steam from
the series of boilers is conducted, then they pass off to the chimnc} r . The
object of this arrangement of boilers is to superheat the steam, and economize
horizontal space, by employing a number of vertical boilers instead of
horizontal ones.

Safety Boiler Apparatus. The following is a description of an arrange-
ment recently brought out in England for preventing explosions in steam
boilers. The apparatus consists of an elbo\v-pi;>e. connecting the furnace

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 51

with the side flue ; it is fixed just below the water level in the boiler, but
may be fixed at any elevation, or in any position requisite, and can be
applied to any kind of boiler, as an opening into a side or centre flue is all
that is required. The pipe is perforated with a number of holes, half an inch
in diameter, so placed as to be subject to the immediate action of the furnace
fire. In these holes are metal plugs, more or less fusible, according to the
working pressure of the boiler. The moment the water in the boiler, from
neglect or otherwise, is below the level and leaves this pipe bare, the heat
from the furnace acts upon the plugs, which melt, and the steam, oozing
through the holes, immediately relieves the pressure in the boiler and ex-
tinguishes the fire, thus preventing the possibility of an explosion.

Smoke Consumer for Steam Boilers. Mr. J. L. Jeffree has secured a patent
in England for placing at the back of the fire-box of tubular marine boilers
hollow flattened pipes, which communicate, through air flues, with the
atmosphere. These tubes become hot and heat the air which flows in to
mix with the smoke from the fires, thus supplying it with sufficient oxygen
to promote perfect combustion and consume the smoke. It is applicable only
to steamers using bituminous coal.

Prevention of Boiler Incrustations. An invention by Thomas Sloan, of St.
Louis, consists in providing a tank or vessel, the upper part of which is hi free
communication with the steam space of the boiler, and the lower part with
the water space thereof. The vessel is furnished with a certain arrangement
of pipes and other appliances, by which the feed water is introduced near the
top of the said vessel, and caused to descend in a thin sheet through the
steam space. During this transit through the steam, the water becomes
heated to 212, at which temperature the mud and other impurities separate
and fall to the bottom of the vessel, which is cooler, and there remain, while
the purer water above is fed into the boiler. The purifying tank may be
cleaned of its deposits without trouble, as often as required. "We are
informed that this invention renders Mississippi river water so pure, before it
reaches the boiler, that scarcely any trouble is experienced from incrustation.
Scientific American.

PRESSURE OF STEA^I IX BOILERS.

A pamphlet has been published in England, by Mr. Anderson, the well
known machinist, on the management of steam boilers, in which he says that
the pressure within a boiler is greater than is generally supposed. With a
pressure of 50 pounds per square inch, it amounts to 7200 pounds on every
part of the surface exposed to the steam, amounting frequently to many
thousands of tons in the boiler, thus accounting for the enormous havoc made
by explosions. The joints are weaker than the solid parts ; good solid plate
will withstand from 56,000 to 60,000 pounds per square inch of sectional
area the joints will give way at about 34,000 pounds, which shows the
importance of seeing that the rivets and other fastenings are always in sound
condition. Mr. Anderson divides explosions into four classes, viz. from want
of strength, deficiency of water, heating of plates, and the variety of other
circumstances.

52 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

GOLD'S AUTOMATIC STEAM HEATING APPARATUS.

There has recently been introduced into the Irving House, New York, a
wanning apparatus, the invention of Mr. S. J. Gold, of New Haven, which
involves a new method of managing the boiler and also of dispensing the heat
to the apartments. In parting with its heat steam changes into water, and
provision is made for allowing the water to trickle back to the bo' 1 from all
parts of the building without difficulty.

We will describe each portion separately, and first the automatic or self-
regulating boiler. The ash-pit is closed by a tight-fitting door, and all the
air allowed to enter is drawn in through a tin pipe some four or five inches in
diameter. The pipe is crooked. It first leads up nearly to the ceiling, nest
descends nearly to the same level as that of the water within the boiler, and
then ascends again, leaving the end open. A connection is made by a small
pipe from the lower bend to a point in the boiler somewhat below the proper
water level, and the moment the pressure of the steam becomes sufficient to
force the water up and fill the bend of the air-pipe, the draught is entirely
stopped. As usually operated, the bend is partially filled, and every fluctua-
tion of pressure is followed by a change in the draught, which by checking or
increasing the fire restores it to its proper- condition. Water may be poured
at any time in the open end, and it immediately passes through the small
pipe into the boiler. The coal is supplied to the furnace in the usual manner
about two or three times a day, and if by any possible carelessness, such as
leaving the ash-pit open, too much steam is generated, the only effect will be
to throw out at the open end of the air-pipe first a quantity of water, and
then all the steam which is generated.

The steam, thus uniformly maintained at the very moderate pressure of
one-half pound or less per square inch above that of the atmosphere, is con-
veyed in pipes of from one to two inches in diameter to all the apartments or
halls to be heated. In each room is placed a " radiator," any portion or the
whole of which may be made to diffuse heat like a stove, but with less inten-
sity. These radiators consist of broad flat plates set on edge and supported by
indentations and rivets. Each is perhaps 6 feet long, 3 feet high, and half an
inch thick. The heat is adjusted by hand. There are two cocks at the base
of each radiator, one connecting with the steampipe and the other with the air
of the apartment. By opening both the steam drives out the air and fills the
whole of the thin space ; but by closing the air-cock at a proper moment a
quantity of air may be retained which by its greater specific gravity fills the
lower portion and only allows the upper parts to be warmed. If less heat
be required, the steam-cock is shut and the air-cock opened, and in this
condition, as the steam gradually condenses, air is drawn in to any extent
desired.

The addition of a small cock to permit the steam continually to escape and
moisten the air of the apartment, would probably be a valuable improve-
ment ; and with tin's or some similar means of regulating the hygrometric
condition of the vital fluid, the apparatus would be nearly all that could be
desired.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 53

FACTS IX KAILEOAD MANAGEMENT.

The following facts regarding eight of the principal railroads of Massachu-
setts are developed by the recent reports to the Legislature of that State :

1. The cost of passenger transportation is 1.062 cents per passenger per
mile.

2. The cost of merchandise transportation is 3.095 cents per ton per mile.

3. In passenger transportation $41 98 per cent, of the receipts therefrom
are absorbed in expenses.

4. In merchandise transportation $89 52 per cent, of the receipts therefrom
are absorbed hi expenses.

5. The expenses of railroads are almost invariably determined by the
weight carried over the rails. For instance ; The Eastern road, upon which
passenger traffic predominates, is operated at an expense of $3,670 per mile
of the length of the road ; whilst the Lowell, upon which merchandise tr affic
predominates, is operated at an expense of $12,478.

6. The cost of renewal of iron upon railroads is an infallible index of the
magnitude of expenses. For the preceding reasons, the cost of that item on
the Eastern road is but $390 per mile of the length of the road, while upon
the Western it 'is $1,390.

7. Of the expenses of railroads, thirty per cent, is absorbed in mainte-
nance of way, or road bed ; twenty per cent, in fuel and oil ; twenty per
cent, in repair of engines, tenders and cars ; ten per cent, in special freight
expenses, and the remainder in passenger, incidental and miscellaneous
expenses.

8. The weight of the engines, tenders and cars upon passenger trains is
nine-fold greater than the weight of the passengers.

9. The weight of the engines, tenders and cars upon freight trams, is
scarcely one-fold greater than the weight of the merchandise.

10. For cheapness, railroads cannot compete with canals, in transportation
of heavy descriptions of merchandise ; the cost of carrying merchandise upon
the Erie canal ranges from two to sixteen mills per ton per mile ; whilst
upon several of the principal railways of New York and Massachusetts the
cost of carrying merchandise ranges from thirteen to sixty-five mills per ton
per mile.

COAL BURNING LOCOMOTIVES.

Mr. D. K. Clark, author of the valuable treatise on locomotives known as
" Clark's Railway Machinery," states, as the result of recent experiments on
English railways, that the perfect combustion of coal and the consequent pre-
vention of smoke in locomotives can be secured by the adoption of very
simple means of equalizing the temperature. He employed fire bricks, which
serve to absorb the heat when in excess, and give it out when, by reason of

a fresh supply of fuel or otherwise, the temperature of the smoke was too
low. A pile of fire bricks through which the products of combustion must

pass was deposited in a combustion chamber joining the fire box and the
tubes, and the hind compartment of the fire box was also arched over with

54 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

fire bricks. This is known as Beattie's system, and he urges that it is com-
pletely successful, and that it raises the efficiency of coal to an equality with
coke, pound for pound. The fire brick lining in the back side of the fire box
would seem necessarily to prevent the generation of an equal amount of
steam in the same time, but the performance of the engine as given in the
recorded experiments seems to have been very nearly or quite equal to the
average of locomotives burning either of the jnore combustible fuels, coke or
wood.

RAILWAY IMPROVEMENTS.

Loughridge's Self-acting Car Brake. Mr. William Loughridge, of Wever-
ton, Maryland, is the inventor of a method of stopping a train of cars at the
will of the engineer, radically different from any of the several inventions for
the purpose heretofore described. The cars are stopped by the friction
of the ordinary brakes, but the power actuating them, is derived directly
from a drum shaft on the locomotive. This shaft, or rather a pulley keyed
thereon, is pressed into contact with the flange of the driving wheels, and is
thus compelled to revolve and wind up a stout chain running the length of
the train. This chain applies the brakes of all the cars. TO prevent pulling
too severely, and fracturing some portion of the mechanism, provision is made
for limiting the extent of its action by causing it to release its hold of the
driving wheel so soon as a certain portion of the chain is taken up. The
point at which this unshipping movement comes into play is previously
arranged by the engineer, so that however excited in view of danger, or care-
less and bungling, he cannot endanger the integrity of any important part. A
somewhat ingenious arrangement is adopted for causing one continuous chain
to supply all the brakes. A stout lever, some three or four feet long, is hung
under each car, and provided with sheaves or pulleys at each end, around
which the chain makes a curve like the letter S, and continues on to the next.
When the chain is pulled by the winding of the shaft, this lever is moved by
the tension, and forces the brakes into contact with the wheel.

Safety Attachment to City Cars. Mr. C. Mahan, of Washington, D. C., has
recently patented a device for removing obstructions from before the wheels,
and thus to prevent the possibility of crushing any unfortunate child or adult
who may fall in a dangerous position beneath the car. It consists of a plough-
like attachment on each brake which, by the aid of a point travelling in the
groove of the rail and provided with two small wheels, one placed horizon-
tally and one vertically to diminish the friction, throws out with a kind of
plough-like action every obstacle of whatever nature. In a trial recently made
in New York City, the effigy of a man was made up of heavy material so as
to weigh 150 pounds, and repeatedly thrown in various positions upon the
track, but was in every instance quietly removed without injury to itself or
the apparatus. Stones of various sizes were also placed in the grooves and
were removed with the same ease.

Railroad Car Springs. India rubber came quite rapidly into use for car
springs a few years ago, but appears now to be going into disfavor. Vege-
table gum is not the thing ; it is too lively, and dances a car about too much'

MECHANICS AND USKFTL ARTS. 55

it is short -lived becoming dead or crushed down to an inelastic mass in a
little over a year ; it is liable to accident from cracking or bursting open, and
it freezes stiff when it is needed most, when the track is rigid with frost, and
when the rails, wheels, and axles are brittle as pipe stems. The single
elliptic spring, steadily used in England, and the double elliptic, frequently
used in our own country, are free from most of these objections, but are more
expensive, and occupy more space, as they require to be of considerable
length. The friction of the plates of steel upon each other prevents the
occurrence of the repeated boundings observed with the gummy supports ;
and. although slightly stiffer and brittler in severe cold weather, the difference
in this respect is not practically appreciable. The volute spring recently
patented and introduced by Mr. F. M. Ray, of New York, appears to com-
bine all the qualities desired in a very high degree being a stout steel ribbon
coiled up into as compact a form as a rubber spring, and possessing the fric-
tional qualities desired in the very best degree. The pressure comes upon
the centre of the coil, and tends to push it through an action which not only
brings into play to a proper degree all the elasticity of the metal, but, by a
happy coincidence, tends to bind the coils of steel together, so that the fric-
tion increases with the load. This action, also, by constantly tending to coil
the steel tighter when the strain is applied, humors the nature of the metal,
which, having its particles compressed, or " upset," on the inner side of each
coil in the act of manufacturing the spring, would be soon broken by any
force tending to straighten the same. A form of volute spring has also been
used to a limited extent for some time in Great Britain ; but the American
form is understood to be far superior in the form of the ribbon, which is
swelled in the middle, instead of flat, before winding up, and in the provision
for equalizing its action by allowing it a partial support under its base as
the load is increased, so that its action is pretty nearly the same under all
loads.

Improved Railway Apparatus fur Ascending Grades. A gentleman of the
name of Henfrey has taken out a patent, in Piedmont, for a very ingenious
method of carrying railway trains over Mont Cenis, or any other similar
mountain pass. A rah 1 way, of the usual description, wiU be laid down in a
direct line from the bottom to the top of the ascent. The acclivity in the
case of Mont Cenis, will be from one in ten to one in twelve. Between these
two rails a canal is to be dug, three feet nine inches in width, and about
thirty inches in depth, which is to be lined and made completely water-tight
with iron plates of the description called by engineers 4i boiler plate." The
motive power to be employed is a stream of water, about a foot deep, flowing
or rather rushing down this canal. It is clear, therefore, that an abun-
dant supply of water on the summit to be reached is a necessary condition of
the scheme. Mont Cenis, however, affords every facility in this respect. On
the outside of the railway another cogged rail will be laid down on either
side. On the arrival of the train at the bottom of the hill, the steam engine,
which has so far brought it on its journey, will be exchanged for a machine
of a very simple and -far from costly construction. In the middle of a frame,
about the size of an ordinary steam engine without its tender, a water wheel.

56 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVEKY.

adapted to the above-described canal, will be fixed, having- a diameter of
twelve feet. On 1 the same axis will be fixed two cogged wheels, to work in
the cogged rails, of six feet diameter. "With this apparatus it seems clear
that the descending stream must force the water wheel to make revolutions
towards the top of the hill, and to carry round with it the cogged wheels in
the same direction. As the diameter of these is to be hah' that of the water-
wheel, the rate of ascent will, of course, be half that at which the diameter
of the water wheel moves. It is calculated that the latter speed will be ten
miles an hour, and the former therefore five. It is further calculated, that a
machine of these dimensions will carry up the proposed acclivity a weight of
from fifteen to twenty tons, or say from sixty to eighty passengers. Should
it be required to transport a greater weight, as many other such engines may
follow each other, at intervals of 150 feet, as may be required. Reckoning
the ordinary present rate of travelling up the mountain at two miles and a
half an hour, and considering that the direct rail will, between the bottom and
the top, traverse a space not more than half the length of the winding post
road, it will be seen that the ascent will be achieved in one quarter of the
time now occupied. For the descent, the water wheel, moving through and
against the stream, will act as a restraining force to moderate and regulate the
speed.

Improvement in the Manufacture of Eailroad Rails. Mr. "W. Bayton, of
Staffordshire, England, has patented a highly important improvement in the
manufacture of T rails, by which it is claimed that the base, or flange, of the
rail may be made at once from ordinary puddle iron, instead of from re-heated,
as at present ; or by using the same quality of iron as is now employed, the
rail may be made with a much deeper web and wider flange than is now
attainable, while the loss from cutting up rails with torn flanges, patching, &c.,
is wholly avoided. For this purpose differently shaped grooves are employed
in the rolls, both roughing and finishing. The pile, in passing through the
rolls on its flat, is made to present on both its upper and lower surfaces
(which are subsequently to become the head and flange of the rail) a hollow
and concave, instead of a plane and straight surface ; which hollow concavity
is filled up by the iron displaced from the throat of the rail in finishing it on
its edge. A much more regular draught is thus obtained, and all danger of
ripping the flange avoided.

Railway Wlieels. S. Sudbrook, of London, has recently obtained a patent
for an invention which consists in forming the periphery or outside edge of
railway wheels with wood, forced and pressed into and between suitable
plates and chambers in such a manner as to form a very hard and compact
surface, with the end of the wood so placed as to run on the rail ; it is the
same application of wood to the tread of railway wheels that has been applied
to the bearing boxes of shafts.

Iron Block Railway Chair. Mr. Stephen Reed, of England, Las directed
his attention to the construction of iron railway chairs and sleepers, to be
substituted for wood. In lieu of only a 4-inch bearing of the ordinary rail
upon the sleeper, the bearing is increased to 21 inches, with permanent sta-
bility so insured at the joints, that three chairs are enabled to be fixed instead

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 57

of four, now required, according- to the old method. Mr. Reed's block chair of
cast iron spreads so as to occupy a resisting surface of 462 inches superficial,
being 22 inches long by 21 inches in breadth, f in. in thickness, and turned
up with a margin f in. high. The boss which carries the chair is hollow ;
the sides and brackets are f in. thick; the 21 -inch bearing is inch thick.
The weight of the joint chairs is 1 cwt. 1 qr. 7 Ibs. each, and that of the inter-
mediate chairs 1 cwt. qr. 26 Ibs. The weight and size, however, can 'be
modified according to circumstances. This system requires neither spikes,
tie-bars, wood pins, nor screw bolts. The permanent way may be made even
of sand in the absence of ballast, and the chairs, once imbedded, will continue
firm and undisturbed in wet weather, or during frost or thaw. By a judicious
arrangement of the permanent way, and the formation of a bed of sand below
the sleeper, all rigidity is removed, and a smoothness of transit is afforded for
the trains, which very considerably tends to the diminution of the tear and
wear of the rolling stock. Tune has tested the value of this mode of construc-
tion, it having been extensively used in the north of England. Timber laid
lines require re-laying almost periodically, and although the cost of the iron
chair in the first instance may be greater than wood, on the ground of dura-
bility, the advantage in the long run is with the iron sleeper. London Mining
Journal.

New Girder Bail. A new girder rail lias been invented by Mr. "W. B.
Adams, of London. It is similar to the ordinary one, but two inches deeper,
being seven instead of five inches. There is a flange at the top and bottom,
and on each side angle brackets, one side of which fills up the space between
the flanges, secured to the rail by bolts, the other extends outwards, forming
a sort of longitudinal shelf at each side, level with the ballast, so that when
packed, all that is seen is two and a half inches rising above the brack-
ets. These form a secure bearing of thirteen inches wide. The ballast is
packed from each side, and thus secures the permanent way. The gauge
is kept correct by the rods, about nine feet apart, no wooden sleepers are
employed, and the entire rails and appendages, consisting of rails, brackets,
bolts, and tie-bars, are of wrought iron the whole, when complete, forming-
one compact mass. This rail is expensive at first, but is said to be the cheap-
est in the end, enduring longer and requiring less repairs.

Cast Iron Sleepers for Railways. An improved cast iron sleeper, the inven-
tion of a Mr. H. Greaves, of England, has been applied with success of late
on many of the English and continental railways. The form of the sleepers
is semi-spherical, which thus admits of the smallest amount of metal for a
given strength. Those intended to receive the tie-bars are cast with an
opening through them, and the ties have but to be keyed to secure the rails
firmly at the proper distance apart. These sleepers, by this method of tying
them, are suitable for any gauge, and allow of the rails being laid with
remarkable facility. The chairs to receive the rails are so formed as to allow
of the removal of a defective or worn out rail, without disturbing the sleeper.
The oscillation of rails causes the wear and tear of locomotives and cars, but
these sleepers are stated to preserve the rails perfectly firm, and as not being
liable to spring like wooden ones. As these sleepers have a broad base, they

3*

58 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT.

tend to impart solidity to the whole track. The rails are fastened in the chairs
with wooden keys ; each sleeper weighs 100 Dos., and is buried a consider-
able distance in the ground, which, with its great breadth of surface, tends to
prevent all lateral motion.

Excluding Dust from Cars. The following is a device of Joseph Woods, of
Jersey City, JST. J., for excluding dust from railway cars . He incloses ah 1 the
open space below the car with lattice work, arranged like the lattices of com-
mon Venetian blinds. The inclosure extends from the base of the car
down as near to the ground as safety permits, the wheels, &c., being covered
in.

The inventor alleges that the dust is raised by the air which rushes in to
fill the vacuum occasioned by the rapid passage of the car, as it sweeps over
the surface of the ground. It is also said, that the lattice-work serves to
cause a suction from both sides inward, underneath the car, and that the two
currents of air, when they meet, unite, and rush backwards to the rear end of
the train. The dust, as fast as it rises, is thus drawn in beneath the cars,
carried back, and discharged at the rear. The improvement is applicable, at
very small expense, to all of the ordinary passenger cars.

Railway Night Signals. The following improvement in night signals has
been introduced on the South Western Railroad of England. Two lights, one
red and the other white, are to be fixed to an arm at a certain distance from
each other, and at a certain angle, and to be connected with the axle of one
of the wheels of the last carriage of each night train, and caused to revolve by
the motion of the train. The speed at which they turn will be governed by the
speed of the train, which it will also indicate, to warn and guide the drivers
of trains coming after. The present lights on railway carriages can at a
distance be scarcely distinguished from fixed lights, and it is impossible at
times to guess, until a collision is imminent, whether the light seen ahead is
the one attached to the first or last carriage of a train, and consequently
whether the train with such a light is coming towards or going from another.
To obviate this inconvenience and danger the revolving lights will be most
effectual, for even if a train is stopped and the revolving lights are at rest, the
angle at which they are placed will render them distinguishable and easy of
recognition.

HOT AIR LOCOMOTIVE.

Captain Phineas Bennett, of New York, is the inventor of a new loco-
motive constructed within the last few months, and which has been tried to
some extent on the New York and Erie track, but we regret to say so far
without any strong prospect of final success. It is a full sized, very hand-
somely finished engine, with two pairs of six feet driving wheels adapted to
the broad 6 feet gauge, and is driven partly by air and partly by steam, the
two elements being mingled together and worked off in the usual manner
by the aid of cylinders and pistons. The steam is generated in a stout
chamber immediately over the fire, the water being kept up in the usual
manner by a force pump connected with the machinery. The air is heated by
passage <7/V<r//// 1hrmi<jh the fire. It is in fact the same air which usually

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 59

enters the fire through the grate to support combustion, and which usually
escapes, highly heated, through the chimney. In order to make this heat
available in impelling the engine, this air is compressed to a high tension,
and forced in under the grate by a large pump connected directly to the
piston-rod, and is not allowed to escape into the chimney until it has passed
through the cylinder and impelled the piston. By this means all the expan-
sion due to the change of temperature serves to develop power in the propul-
sion of the machine, and if, as is the case in fact, the mixture of steam and
heated air be cut off early, and consequently be worked very expansively in
the cylinder, so as to reduce it nearly to the pressure of the external atmo-
sphere, the gain due to the use of the air is very considerable. One great evil
arising from this arrangement is the too high temperature of the air. It was
contemplated to overcome tin's by diluting it with a greater or less quantity
of equally compressed air not passed through the furnace, and also by
showering upon it a smaU quantity of water, which, by absorbing the heat
and changing to steam, would cool the gaseous matter, and w.ould itself impel
the engine in the usual approved style. These latter features are new, we
presume, and peculiar to the inventor, but the use of smoke or air heated in
this manner has been treated before, and like Ericsson's, abandoned as im-
practicable, although affording undoubtedly some degree of economy over the
yet triumphant steam. The difficulties experienced in former trials arose from
the scratching and destruction of the interior surface of the cylinder, and in
spite of ah 1 the precautions described, the same difficulty exists in the machine
under notice, to such extent as to render its success extremely doubtful
unless some new expedient can be adopted either to free the gases from
particles of coal and grit, or more efficiently and constantly to lubricate the
w r orkmg surfaces. In short, the results so far have demonstrated that, as
has been the case with ah 1 previous efforts in this direction, the saving in fuel
by the introduction of heated air, has been far more than counterbalanced by
the increased expense and rapid destruction of the machinery.

LEE AND LAENED'S STEAM FIRE ENGINE.

A new steam engine, differing in almost every respect from all others
within our knowledge, has lately been constructed in New York, and several
tunes exhibited with apparently the most complete success.

As originally constructed the steam could not be kept up to the proper
point, but rapidly declined whenever the full power was applied, so that its
performance resembled that of the usual man-power machines, requiring
intervals of rest. This difficulty has now been overcome by fixing a grate in
the furnace, an addition not previously supposed necessary with wood fuel,
and it is now able without any artificial draught to generate steam as fast as
it is consumed, while throwing to a great height a steady stream through
a one and a quarter inch nozzle for a half day at a time. Messrs. "Wellington
Lee and J. G-. E. Lamed, of New York, are the inventors of this combination,
the whole of which weighed, before the grate was added, but 6.500 Ibs., and
is designed to be easily and rapidly hauled in any ordinary condition of the
streets by two horses, without assistance from the firemen.

60 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The boiler is of course the most important element in the combination.
This is the invention of Mr. Larned alone, and consists almost entirely of
tubes through and around which the flame is carried in such a manner as to
generate steam in the most rapid manner possible. It is common to employ
tubes to a great extent in steam boilers, the same serving in some instances,
as in the common locomotive, to carry the flame through the water ; and in
others, as in some ocean steamships, to carry the water through the flame.
Either plan presents great heating surface, and when, as in the barrel of a
locomotive boiler, the space is nearly filled with tubes, and the quantity of
water is consequently small, steam is generated very quickly, and supplied
very efficiently. There is an additional advantage, however, growing out of
the use of tubes in the other form containing the water inside ; this is the
diminished danger in case of explosion. The rupture of a small tube is of
little moment, so far as danger to the surroundings is concerned, and it is for
this reason that Mr. Fisher, the great modern advocate of steam carriages,
makes his boiler a mere cage of tubes with the fire in the inclosed space.
The boiler now under notice is a compound of both. A wall of upright tubes,
tightly packed together, surrounds the fire, while above the furnace the flame
acts both on the inside and outside of a double tube. By a double tube is
meant, in this case, a large tube inclosing a small one ; the annular space
between being filled with water, and the whole provided with every facility
for rapid circulation by receiving water freely, laterally, and from below.
A strong water bottom, liberally punctured with short tubes to supply air to
the fire, and a large chamber above to separate and dry the steam, completes
the description of this boiler, which is probably the most powerfully efficient,
for its size and weight, in the world. Economy of fuel, the great point aimed
at in most steam apparatus, has been entirely set aside in this construction,
and although from its arrangement the amount consumed is not probably
excessive, the whole end and aim is attained in a boiler, light, strong, and
durable, which will generate dry steam at a high pressure with the greatest
possible rapidity. The time elapsing between the lighting of the fire and the
starting of a vigorous stream has varied from ten to twelve minutes, so that
steam would probably be raised while the machine was being hauled a mile.

A steam fire engine must embrace three distinct parts, the boiler, the
engine or engines, and the pump or pumps. The machine under notice
emplo}^ two of Reed's patent oscillating engines, one of the simplest forms
known, both connected at right angles to the same crank. The shaft requires
no balance-wheel, but is keyed directly to a large and strong rotary pump,
Carey's patent, the effect of which is to force a continuous stream of water
through the hose without racking the machine or exhibiting violent action of
any kind. "With dry pine fuel, little smoke or other annoyance is experienced ;
and as a means of subduing extensive fires, or all such as cause a signal of
general alarm, the steam machine may be considered as having to a great
extent established its reputation.

THE DRAINAGE OF THE LAKE OF HAARLEM.

M. D'Endegeest, President of the Commission for the Drainage of the

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 61

Haarlem Lake, has published a final report on the condition of the enterprise.
The total expense of the undertaking, from 1839 to 1855 inclusive, has been
8,981,344 florins; the revenue proceeding from the land redeemed and sold
is estimated at 8,000,000 florins. The land was at first valued at 200 florins
per hectare (2.471 English acres). Subsequent examination proved that the
soil laid bare by the draining operations was of far greater value than was
originally supposed. Thus in 1853, 784 hectares brought 575,000 florins, or
733 florins per hectare ; and though subsequent sales have not realized such
large prices, yet the land commanded a much higher price than the first valua-
tion. "This result," says M. D'Endegeest, " surpassed all expectation, inas-
much as the grand object of the drainage was rather to put an end to the
encroachments of the lake, than to make a lucrative speculation of it." It is
stated that a great number of farms are springing up on all sides, and that
the cultivation of the rich land is affording employment to many hundreds of
laborers. The total amount of land available for agriculture is estimated at
18,000 hectares ; and by proper care and supervision it is confidently expected
that no water overflows will take place.*

BEARINGS FOE JOURNALS.

Boxes composed of brass, or of brass lined with soft metal, have long been
used for supporting revolving shafts, but of late years iron boxes have been
considered by many nearly as good, if kept well oiled. The very latest
change seems to be a tendency to go back to the still more ancient practice of
employing hard wood as the material for this purpose. The British steamer
Himalaya, having had the old brass bearings removed, substituted lignum
vitse bearings to her screw shafting, which have operated much better. A
correspondent of the London Artisan thus describes the results of their
application :

"Since the apph'cation of this material the vessel has run about 30.000
miles, during wliich time the engines have made about 8,000,000 revolutions.
The total wear down in the stern post does not exceed ^ inch, which is, of
course, very trifling for the work done. The screw shaft is lined with brass
at the part bearing on the wood, and this bearing is 18 inches diameter by
four feet long. The lignum vita? is inserted into the cast iron stern pipe in
segments, each piece being the whole length of the bearing, and about 3
inches wide by inch thick, so that the segments combine into the form of
the pipe, in a somewhat similar way to the staves of a cask. The abutting
edges of these segments are rounded off to form water-ways, and their sur-
faces are also scored in several places, to allow a free circulation of water on
every part of them. These segments are prevented from running round with
the shaft through its friction by a strip of metal, wliich is pinned on to the
upper side of the stern pipe, and against the edges of which the lignum vitas
segments abut. They are kept in at the inner end by a shoulder in the
stern pipe, and at the outer end by a ring, wliich is screwed on to the
stern post."

* See Annual of Scientific Discovery, 1853, pp. 31-84.

62 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The question has also been recently tested in New York, on a small scale,
by running a shaft with one end between wood and the other between brass
bearings, both equally loaded by levers like safety valves, and covered with
water to insure coolness. During 18 hours the brass wore off about 1-1 6th
of an inch, while the wood had not worn to any extent that was appreciable.
It is now being tried with a harder kind of brass.

PERRY'S VALVE MOTION.

The engines employed in the screw propellers on our Upper Lakes have
usually been single high-pressure cylinders, mounted perpendicularly over the
crank, but this style is now giving way for the introduction of the more com-
pact oscillatory. An extremely simple valve-motion for this style of engine
has been lately devised by Mr. H. 0. Perry, and which has become very
popular. An oscillating engine is hung on trunnions like a cannon, and its
rocking motion as the crank revolves seriously deranges all the usual methods
of working the valve. Mr. Perry employs a rotating or partially rotating
valve, serving its purpose in a manner precisely similar to the ordinary slide-
valve employed on locomotives and small stationary engines. The ports are
arranged as usual, but the cylinder-face, on which the valve rests, is curved
instead of flat, and the valve is in short a slide bent to fit the cylinder-face.
These curved surfaces form a portion of a true cylinder, and the desired
sliding motion is obtained by partially revolving a shaft which extends along
its axis. It must be understood that this shaft extends across and not length-
wise of the main working cylinder, and projects at the side rather than at the
end of the steam-chest. On the projecting portion of this shaft is a sweh 1
containing a socket in which the starting bar may be inserted for working by
hand, and also two arms extending in nearly opposite directions, with a wrist-
pin at each extremity. By connecting one of these wrist-pins to any fixed
point the rocking of the cylinder gives a motion to the valve which would
be exactly the motion desired except for the absence of what is technically
termed " lead." To obtain just the proper motion the pin is connected by a
suitable rod, not to a fixed point, but to a small excentric on the main shaft,
the excentric being keyed in such position as to give the lead, or in other
words, make the valve uncover the port and admit steam to the cylinder a
little before the commencement of the stroke. In backing the engine this rod
is thrown out of use, and the other wrist-pin is connected in a similar manner
to another excentric, by which means a perfect reverse motion is obtained.

The great simplicity of the arrangement will at once be obvious. A steam-
chest of little more than rtie ordinary height, with a slight shaft protruding
through a stuffing-box in its side, a couple of short arms thereon (that
extending upward being somewhat the longer to compensate for the
increased motion of that point, due to its greater distance from the line of the
trunnions), and two excentrics, with suitable excentric rods and hooks con-
nected together, constitute the whole of this ordinarily complex apparatus.
The overhanging end of the rocking shaft being of considerable length an
additional support is usually provided, consisting of a suitable arm rising
from the trunnion.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS.

THE FRENCH FIELD HOSPITALS, OR AMBULANCES.

The word Ambulance, or field, or flying hospital, is very familiar to most
of our readers ; but many are, perhaps, not aware of the actual manner in
which these hospitals are organized and conducted.

The principle upon which the whole arrangement rests is that the medical
officer viz. the scientific man, should not be harassed with anxiety about
stores and packages, and that those matters should rest entirely with
responsible agents, whose duty it is to attend to his directions, within the
limits of the regulations. Hence we have the following practical divisions:

The medical officer at the bedside is invested with the whole control and
management of his patient. The pharmacien, upon the surgeon's prescrip-
tions, prepares the medicines ; the clerk sees to the procuring and proper use
of the required articles of furniture, and to the carrying out of the diet cards
filled up by the medical officer; the ward attendant takes the immediate
charge of the sick or wounded man ; the Sisters of Charity and chaplains aid
in the work of benevolence and kindness ; the assistant-commissariat officer,
who receives orders from his superior, watches over the management of
the whole ; and the regular working of all these secures a perfect unity of
action.

The ambulances, temporary hospitals, and convalescent depots are intended,
during a campaign, for the reception of the wounded or sick soldier. If the
seat of war is too distant from the frontier of France, where hospitals are
organized for the reception of the sick or convalescent, an eligible locality is
chosen for the erection of temporary hospitals ; hence the great central noso-
comical establishment of Constantinople. Xow. these various modes of relief
for the soldier viz. the ambulance, the temporary hospital, the convalescent
depot and the permanent hospital, have each a peculiar organization.

The ambulance is the movable hospital which follows the army in all its
movements. There are ambulances for the infantry, and others for cavalry
all connected with the different divisions. At head quarters there is, besides,'
a reserve of surgeons, and two ambulances of infantry and one of cavalry,
always ready to go forward at a moment's notice. It was important, in order
to insure lightness and rapid movements from one place to another, to
arrange the packages so that they might not prove cumbrous under any cir-
cumstances. Everything must, therefore, be reduced to the least volume, and
all the requisites for dressing wounds are disposed hi panniers, the weight of
which is so calculated as to suit the strength of the pack horse, in case the
usual wagon breaks down, or cannot be got through a difficult country.

Only five carriage boxes are allowed for the reception of the following
articles: amputation and trephining cases, tents, fitters, splints, solidified
broth, brandy, linen and lint, medicines, &c. These five boxes or cases con-
stitute an infantry ambulance, and provide 8900 dressings. Three cases, with
4900 dressings, form a cavalry ambulance. These ambulances are sub-
divided into active and reserve sections. The reserve section, which com-
prises two cases for the infantry, and 3500 dressings ; and one case, with

64 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

1500 dressings, for the cavalry, remains generally with the wagons attached
to the corps, and is kept ready to supply the active section with any article
that may be wanted. The latter is again subdivided into ambulance depot
and flying ambulance.

The depot ambulance settles down at a convenient distance from the
battle-field, and the attendants immediately take down the cases from the
wagons, prepare the linen, lint, dressings, &c. They light a fire, and imme-
diately make, with their solidified broth, a good saucepanful of soup. This is
called the precaution soup, and thus they have at once what we should call
beef tea for the wounded. Everything being thus prepared, a red flag is un-
furled, to apprise the wounded men where they can get relief. The flying
ambulance goes, in the meanwhile, to the immediate rear, within the enemy's
range, to attend to the men who receive dangerous wounds. At the same
time clerks, under the command of commissariat officers, and accompanied by
medical officers, proceed along the lines, and cause the wounded to be taken
up by the attendants and the drivers. This latter arrangement is especially
intended to prevent the soldiers from yielding to compassion, and succoring
their fallen comrades, no man being allowed to leave the ranks, however
desirous of aiding the wounded.

The ambulances just described are called the European ambulances, but
there is another kind, called African ambulances, which latter have been in-
stituted to servd in countries devoid of roads and destitute of accommodation.
An ambulance of this kind, calculated for a corps of 10,000 men, contains
6500 dressings, and requires 364 pack mules. Twenty-four of these carry
iron litters, on which soldiers who have had a limb amputated may be placed ;
and 250 carry little arm chairs made of iron and leather, which may be
unfolded, slung, and fastened to the pack saddle, and will take a patient on
each side of the mule. The rest of the mules carry the casks of diet drinks,
the stretchers, the blankets, the leather covers for the sick, the tents, the
surgical boxes, the cases containing the drugs, &c. Sixteen medical officers,
seven clerks, and 104 attendants on the sick or wounded, are attached to this
'ambulance, which is mainly intended by its fleetness for vanguard service
and for picking up the wounded on the field of battle. Both the European
and African ambulances were used in the Crimea with the best effects.

Light carts have also been sent to the seat of war. Three wounded men
can be accommodated on the front seat ; there is a case behind, properly
secured, which is so made as to contain two stretchers; and boxes, sur-
rounded by wire work, are intended for the guns and sacs of the soldiers.

Such are the characters of the ambulances, the peculiarity of which is to move
rapidly from place to place, and to be ready for ah 1 the emergencies of war.

DEVELOPMENT OF HEAT IN STEAM BOILERS.

The editor of the Railroad Record thus describes the results of some expe-
riments undertaken by him, for the purpose of testing the alleged rapid
development of heat in steam boilers when covered according to Harshman's
method with a loose copper casing. He says: Our boiler is an upright
tubular one, with flues of one inch opening each. The boiler was thoroughly

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 65

cleaned and put in the best possible order. The engineer was then directed
to run for one week, carefully weighing his coal, as well that used in getting
up steam as the consumption to do the work. The result of the week's ex-
periment was an average of 750 Ibs. of coal consumed per day, the quan-
tities varying from 25 to 50 Ibs. per day according to the work to be done.
"We should here state that the engine had also been put in good repair. At
the expiration of the week, having satisfied ourselves of the average consump-
tion, we directed the copper casing to be tied around the boiler ; the engi-
neer continuing as before to weigh carefully the fuel consumed.

The result of the first week's consumption after the copper was put on was
475 Ibs. per day. The second week and each succeeding week showed an
average of 450 Ibs. per day. The consumption of fuel and the comparative
advantages gained by the copper covering, would therefore be represented as
follows :

Consumption without copper casing .... 750 Ibs.

Do with copper casing ..... 460 ,,

Saving 300 Ibs.

or 40 per cent, of the ordinary consumption of fuel in the furnace.

This result was to us, who paid the coal bills, highly satisfactory. But
apart from its economy, it presents an interesting subject for consideration.
That a steam boiler does not radiate 40 per cent, of the heat received must be
evident. If it did, inclosing the boiler in wood or other non-conducting sub-
stances would show an equal saving in the consumption of fuel. Yet such is
not the fact. "We are informed by practical men that a wooden case effects a
saving of from 5 to 10 per cent. It is also stated that a sheet iron casing will
effect about an equal saving. The saving of 40 per cent, by a copper casing
wrapped loosely around the boiler is a fact for the consideration of the curious
and philosophical.

BLANCH ARD'S TIMBER BENDING PEOCESS.

By Blanchard's timber bending process (see Ann. Sci. Dis. 1855, p. 38), now
effectually proved and established, it is stated that the strength of the wood
is increased at least seventy-five per cent, at the point where strength is
most required. The curve, moreover, never relaxes. The timber, as in the
old process, is first subjected to the influence of steam, which softens the
whole mass, and puts it in a fit state for the action of a machine. The prin-
ciple of bending, as employed in this new application, is based on end-
pressure, which, in condensing and turning at the same time, destroys the
capillary tubes by forcing them into each other. These tubes are only of use
when the tree is growing ; and their amalgamation increases the density of
the timber, the pressure being so nicely adjusted that the wood is neither
flattened nor spread, nor is the outer circumference of the wood expanded,
though the inner is contracted. Now, the error of the former process, as
expounded by competent judges, has arisen from the disintegrating of the
fibre of the wood by expanding the whole mass over a rigid mould. "Wood
can be more easily compressed than expanded ; therefore, it is plain that

66 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

a process which induces a greater closeness in the component parts of the
piece under operation which, as it were, locks up the whole mass by knitting
the fibres together must augment the degree of hardness and power of resist-
ance. The wood thus becomes almost impervious to damp and to the depre-
dations of insects, whilst its increased density renders it less liable to take
fire; and the present method of cutting and shaping timber being superseded,
a saving of from two to three-fourths of the material is brought about. The
action of the machine throws the cross grains into right angles ; the knots
are compelled to follow the impulse of the bending ; the juices are forced out
of the cells of the wood, and the cavities are filled up by the interlacing fibres.
In the same way, you may sometimes see in the iron of which the barrels of
muskets are made, a kind of dark grain which indicates that the particles of
the metal, either in the natural formation or in welding, have been strongly
clenched in one another. These specimens are always greatly valued for their
extraordinary toughness, as well as for a certain fantastical and mottled beauty.
Another of the good results of this new method is, that the wood is
seasoned by the same process as that which effects the bending. The season-
ing of the wood is simply the drying of the juices, and the reduction of the
mass to its minimum size before it is employed, so that there shall be no
future warping. The compression employed in the process of bending at once
expels the sap ; and a few hours are sufficient to convert green timber into
thoroughly seasoned wood. Here is an obvious saving of time, and also of
money, for the ordinary mode of seasoning, by causing the wood to lie
waste for a considerable period, locks up the capital of the trader, and of
course enhances the price to the purchaser. Time also will be saved in
another way, in searching for pieces of wood of the proper curve, for carrying
out certain designs. An English engineer (Mr. Charles Ma} r hew) remarks
that one of the advantages of the American method is that, "in its applica-
tion to all circular, wreathed, or twisted work, it not only preserves the con-
tinuous grain of the wood, which is now usually and laboriously done by
narrow slips of veneer glued on cores cut across the grain, with many un-
sightly joints, ill concealed at best ; but it will materially reduce the cost of
all curved work, which now varies according to the quickness of the sweep,
and will give the artist greater freedom in his design, by allowing him to
introduce lines which are now cautiously avoided in order to prevent the cost
of their execution."

IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM PUMPS.

BaWs Steam Safety Pump. This is a contrivance for making the supply of
feed water in a steam boiler self-regulating. The pipe through which the
steam is received for impelling it is connected with the boiler at just the level
where the water surface should be. When the water rises too high the pipe
takes water instead of steam, and as the contents are compelled to travel
through cocks nearly closed, so little of the heavy fluid passes in any given
time that the pump works very slowly ; but the moment the water gets a
little low, so that steam is supplied, the superior ability of this subtle fluid
to crawl through small passages guarantees a liberal supply, and the pump

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 67

works rapidly. Whether it be steam or water which comes from the boiler,
it is alike discharged into a feed heater, together Avith the additional water
required, and is finally pumped back into the boiler at a temperature nearly
up to the boiling point.

Holly s Elliptic Rotary Pump and Steam Engine. In this invention the
principle is that of two gear-Avheels meshing into each other within a tight
case, and bringing up at each revolution as much water as can be contained
in the cavities between the teeth ; but there are several points in which it
differs from this ancient device, one of Avhich is the giving of the gear-wheels
substantially an elliptic form, the points, so to speak, of one touching against
the flat or rather the Iwllow sides of the other, and vice versa. The Avhole is
ingeniously and carefully packed, especially Avhen to be used as a steam
engine, and a very novel idea is adopted in working the steam condensingly
Avhen the steam engine and pump are intimately connected. For this pur-
pose the exhaust steam, instead of being discharged into the atmosphere, is
turned into the suction-pipe, where it is instantly condensed, and all the suc-
tion or vacuum there existing is felt on the exhaust side of the pistons to aid
the working of the engine.

IMPROVEMENTS IX GRATES AXD FURNACES.

Xcel Fire G-rate. By B. F. Foering. of Philadelphia, Pa. Certain kinds
of anthracite coal, when burned in stoves, produce a clinker, or laA~a, that
adheres to the sides of the stove, or fills the interior, and prevents good com-
bustion. The clinker generally forms at the lower part of the fire. If there
were any means of holding up the fire so that the ash grate could be
removed, the clinker stuff might all be easily taken out from below at plea-
sure. At present, the clinker cannot be weh 1 removed until the fire is
extinguished, and it is then hard, flinty, and liable to injure the lining of the
stove in being broken off. This improvement is intended to remedy the
above defects. Apertures are made in one side of the stove, just above
where the clinkers form, and through these holes suitable bars are intro-
duced ; when the bars are pushed in they form a temporary grating, which
supports the fire while the ash grate below is taken out for the removal of
the clinker refuse.

Cramptoris Improved Furnace. T. R. Crampton, of London, has pa-
tented an improvement hi locomotive and other boiler furnaces, which con-
sists in employing a series of flat bars arranged transversely in a furnace of a
steam boiler, one bar below another, and somewhat forward of each other,
thus producing a shelving grating, with spaces for the passage of air horizon-
tally between the bars. At the lower part of such series of shelving bars is
a series of ordinary fire bars, which receive the well ignited fuel descending-
down the shelving bars, and which are so connected with an axis as to allow
fire to be dropped upon them when desired.

Improvement in Smelting Furnaces. A patent has been taken out in
England, by Mr. A. Jenkins, for the following improvements in the above-
named furnaces :

The principal feature in the improved reverberatory furnace is, that one fire

68 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

serves the double purpose of reducing and calcining the ore. The fire is con-
tained in an ordinary fireplace situate at one end of the double furnace.
The gases and flame from this fire pass through a lateral opening or flue into
the reducing or flowing furnace, and, after passing over the surface of the ore
contained therein, enter by another opening or openings into the calcining
furnace, which is placed upon the same level, or nearly so, with the flowing
furnace, the gases passing off by a suitable flue or flues to the chimney. In
the passage or passages which conduct from the flowing furnace to the cal-
cining furnace there are placed suitable doors or dampers, which are so
arranged that by opening or closing certain of them, the gases or flame may
either be directed into the calcining furnace or cut off and turned intq a waste
flue leading to the chimney.

Spence's Furnace for the Consumption of Smoke. In this furnace, invented
by Messrs. Spence & Sons, of Boston, the smoke and gases, when the
furnace damper is closed, are kept revolving directly over the fire in a large
dome, and can escape only through a tapering tube, the bottom of which is
very near the fire, and only one and a half inch in diameter. It is evident
there must always be a slight escape of smoke and gases to keep up a
draught to the fire ; but this tube, being so small in diameter, allows only
enough to escape to keep up the draught ; the remainder of the smoke and
gases is consumed. The power and economy thus gained are surprising.

MACKENZIE'S BLOWING MACHINE.

The blowers now in use are of two classes : the bellows and the fan. The
fan blower in various forms and proportions is driven at a high velocity, and
drives a large vclr.nie of air with a force sufficient for ventilating mines or
buildings, blowin- y the chaff in winnowing grain, or enlivening the
fires of a blacksmitn's open forge. But where the air is to be driven with any
considerable pressure or force, as in supplying divers at considerable depths
in the sea, or blowing blast furnaces for making iron, some form of the
bellows or of the pumping cylinder is almost invariably employed. The
interior of a blast furnace is filled some forty feet in height with a mingled
mass of ore, coal, and limestone, and the blast forced in near the base requires
a pressure of from one and a half to nine pounds per square inch to rise
through it. Fan blowers rarely yield a pressure of more than from three to
ten ounces per square inch, but the pumping cylinder may compress the
elastic fluid to any extent desired. The fan is, however, much smaller and
cheaper a fact which has induced an attempt to increase the pressure by
blowing from one fan into another, thus raising the pressure a few inches
with each lift. This is an English plan, and the effect observed was an
increase of pressure pretty nearly equal for each fan passed through. In this
country our blast furnaces are generally blown by pumping, and our cupola
furnaces, which require less pressure, by fans.

Mackenzie's blower includes two cylinders placed eccentrically, one within
the other. The outer one is fixed, but the inner revolves, and hi doing so
protrudes blades or wings to such an extent as always to just wipe the
interior of the first. The ends being closed, and two liberal openings made

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 69

\

in the sides of the external cylinder, the air is drawn through one opening
and expelled through the other, whatever may be the degree of resistance
interposed.

The fixed cylinder or external case of a blower at Hoe's foundry, in New
York, is forty inches in diameter, and thirty-six inches long. The internal
cylinder is thirty inches in diameter, and carries three wings of half-inch
boiler iron. The centre on which the internal cylinder revolves is five
inches from the true centre of the case, and the surfaces, consequently, are in
contact at one point, while on the opposite side they are ten niches apart.
The protrusion and withdrawal of the wings is performed by a very simple
device, in which consists the chief novelty of the invention as compared with
other winged rotary devices. The inner cylinder is penetrated by a fixed
shaft, which shaft is bent to one side after passing through the end until it
coincides with the centre of the large cylinder or outer case. To this portion
of the fixed shaft the wings are connected, and their extremities are thus
made to travel hi a perfect circle in close contact with the inside of the outer
case. The inner cylinder thus gives motion to the wings, and in every revo-
lution its periphery is slid outward and again contracted upon them. It is
not strictly true that the wings are thrust outward and withdrawn, although
it is so relatively to the inner cylinder. The passage of the wings through
the latter is packed in a very ingenious and perfect manner, to allow for the
varying angle which it continually assumes, and the whole machine appears
to involve but a moderate degree of cost, either for construction or repairs.
The inlet and outlet openings are made, of course, near the point where the
two cylindric surfaces are in contact ; and the blast of" wind is very nearly
steady and continuous, a slight fluctuation of pressure occurring with the
commencement of each wing to cross the delivery opening. This fluctuation
is due to the regurgitation or back flow of the air until the space between the
wings is compressed to the extent required for delivery. The air in the
blower at Hoe's is compressed to about one pound plus of pressure, and the
variation alluded to in the intensity of the blast, is too slight to be any annoy-
ance. The blower described is driven about seventy-five turns per minute,
and requires only from one-fifth to one quarter the power formerly consumed
in obtaining the same effect from a very large and well constructed fan.

Cooper's Improved Blast Pipe. Mr. "W. E. Cooper, of Dunkirk, N. Y.. has
introduced a form of blast nozzle which has been applied to several engines
on the Xew York and Erie Kailroad with great success. It has heretofore
been common to discharge the steam into the chimney through a round
opening. Mr. C. simply forms it into a ring or annular passage, so that the
escaping current presents a great surface both on its exterior and ulterior
sides to act on the smoke and drag it up the chimney.

IMPROVEMENTS IX GEARINGS AND BEARINGS.

New Factional Gearing. Where high speed and little force are required in
transmitting power from one wheel to another it is common to provide no
teeth, but simply to let their smooth surfaces rub together. A Mr. James
Robertson has lately introduced in Scotland a " grooved surface frictional

70 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

gearing 1 ' similar to the above, except that the surfaces are let into each other
in grooves. Messrs. Dron and Lawson, of Glasgow, are using this gearing
with great success in driving large planers, as it never slips, and is parti-
cularly well adapted to easy reversing, &c.

Leather Bearings for the Axles of Carriages. A recent English patent
proposes to use bearings of leather in the place of metallic bearing surfaces ;
the object being to render the bearing surfaces of blummer blocks and axle
boxes more durable and less costly than heretofore. In carrying out tliis
invention, ox or cow hides are preferred, either tanned, tawed, or otherwise
prepared ; and for one class of bearing the hides are cut up into pieces of
suitable size for lapping half, or nearly half, round the journals to which they
are to be applied. These pieces are compressed in half round moulds to bring
them severally to shape ; and the required thickness of bearing is obtained by
cementing two, three, or more thicknesses of leather together, piling them in
layers one above the other, and then submitting the combined thicknesses of
leather to pressure in a suitably shaped mould for the purpose of solidifying
the same. These bearing surfaces may be backed or cased with metal.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF RAILWAY BARS,

AXLES, &C.

Improvements in the Manufacture of Railway Bars. In the process of manu-
facturing malleable iron rails as at present practised, the small fragments of
puddled iron which are collected together to form a puddle ball are more or
less oxidized on then* exterior surfaces, and are otherwise coated or mixed
with scoria and other extraneous matters. In the squeezing or rolling pro-
cess which follows, a large proportion of these extraneous matters are driven
out, but so much of them is often retained as to prevent an equal and perfect
union of the surfaces of all the numerous pieces of which the mass of iron is
composed. In the operation of rolling, a considerable elongation of the metal
takes place, and consequently those parts of the iron which are prevented from
uniting by the scoria, oxide, or other matters, are also much elongated, form-
ing what are called flaws or sand cracks, and giving a more or less detached
or feebly coherent lamellar texture to those parts of the iron. The rolling of
heavy wheels over such a material, tends to elongate the upper stratum,
which ultimately becomes loosened and detached from the general body of the
rail, and which defect is augmented by the soft and malleable condition com-
mon to iron that is entirely deprived of its carbon. Mr. H. Bessemer, of Lon-
don, proposes to lessen or remove these defects, and produce, as nearly as may
be, a homogeneous mass of metal, free from the admixture of oxide, scoria,
&c., and at the same time combined with as much carbon as will give it
greater hardness and power to resist the laminating action of the wheels which
pass over it. In practice, refined iron is put into the ordinary puddling fur-
nace, where it is at first treated in the usual way, being raked about until it
has thrown off the greater part of its carbon; but care should be taken not to_
carry this process of decarbonization too far ; about 1 per cent, of carbon should
be retained. A knowledge of the most advantageous point to leave oft* the
puddling operation will be readily acquired in practice, a good test to the work-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 71

men being the facility with which the metal will fuse in the succeeding opera-
tion. The metal having- been brought to the desired point of decarbonization,
is raked out of the puddling furnace and allowed to cool ; these products may
be mixed in large quantities to equalize the quality, or it may be drawn into
the fire clay crucibles, arranged in furnaces such as are now commonly em-
ployed for melting steel ; a little charcoal, or other carbonaceous matter, is to
be thrown into the crucibles among the pieces of metal, which will assist in
reducing the oxide formed by the previous operation. The fires in the melt-
ing furnaces are to be kept up vigorously until the complete fusion of the metal
takes place ; it is then to be poured in a fluid state into iron ingot moulds,
placed vertically, or nearly so, with open tops, the shape of the mould being
such as to give the ingot of cast steel more or less the intended form of the
rail ; the ingot being, however, much more massive, in order that it may after-
wards be reduced in thickness and increased in length, by rolling, in a similar
manner to that already practised in rolling railway bars formed of malleable
iron. The raw ends of the steel bars may be cut off and remelted by mixing
them with fresh portions of the metal from the puddling furnace. The combi-
nation of such a quantity of carbon with the iron as to constitute steel will
greatly increase its power of resisting the laminating action of the engine and
carriage wheels, and at the same time add to its stiffness and cohesive strength,
as compared with malleable iron rails of the same sectional area. In carrying
out a second modified process, the puddling operation is continued until the
carbon is dissipated as far as practicable, the iron being reduced to a dry and
powdery state, when it is to be raked out of the puddling furnace, and after-
wards converted into steel by cementation with powdered charcoal in close
vessels, after the manner employed in the making of blister steel, or, by pre-
ference, by a continuous operation in vertical retorts. In lieu of the puddled
iron, small pieces of scrap iron may be used alone, or mixed with a portion of
puddled iron, and then converted into steel by cementation with char-
coal.

EOLLIXG EAILEOAD RAILS.

An invention by Mr. John W. Brown, of Mount Savage, Md., has for its
object the rolling of the rails into such forms successively as to cause all parts
of the rail to be submitted, in the rolling process, to a uniform degree of
drawing and compression, thereby preventing the separation of the head and
flange, making all parts of the rail of equal density, &c. It enables rails to be
made perfectly sound with crystalline iron in the heads, which is far superior
to fibrous iron, as the latter laminates or peels off, as many of our readers will
doubtless have noticed on roads that have been in use for some time.

The present improvement consists in forming a groove or cavity along the
centre of the base of the rail after the reduction to form the head has been, to
a certain extent, effected by the rollers, but before the further reduction to
form the neck is commenced. By the subsequent operation of the rolls the
middle of the bar is reduced, to form the neck which brings the rail nearly to
the proper shape, drives the metal towards the base, and fills the cavity in the
base before mentioned.

72 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

IMPROVED CONSTRUCTION OF GIRDERS, AXLES, AND SHAFTS.

A patent has been taken out in England by Mr. James Fenton for a mode
of manufacturing axles, piston rods, and shafts, girders, and other like articles,
by rolling up or coiling a plate of iron, of any required thickness and size, into
a compact roll or coil ; next bringing it to a welding heat in a suitable furnace,
and then drawing it to the required shape under a hammer ; or by passing it,
when at a welding heat, through a pair of rolls. The welding may be carried
completely through or only partially, say half, through the mass ; if the latter,
a compound axle or other article will thus be formed, neither solid nor hollow,
which it will be nearly impossible to break. The mode of operating- is as fol-
lows: A plate of iron is prepared, of a suitable length, width, and thickness
to form a compact roll or coil, containing sufficient metal for the production of
the intended axle or other article. The thickness, and consequently the other
dimensions of the plate, will depend upon the quality of the iron employed.
This plate is heated to a red heat (when needful), and two or more workmen
with tongs or pincers, turn up one of the edges ; hammer men then bend down
this turned up edge on to the side of the plate, so as to form the commencement
of a roll or coil ; after which the operation is continued in the same manner
until the whole of the plate has been rolled up ; and it may then be passed
through a pair of rolls, if considered necessary. A compact roll or coil of
metal being thus produced, it is heated to a welding heat in an air or other
suitable furnace, and then welded and drawn down under a hammer to the
required form. The welding and shaping of the axle or other article may also
be performed by passing the roll of metal, when at the welding heat, between
a pair of rollers, having sets of grooves of gradually decreasing diameter, in
the manner commonly practised when rolling bars and rods of iron ; or the roll
or coil may be submitted first to a hammering process, and then passed
between grooved rollers until it is reduced to the required shape. The plate
of iron employed for forming a coil or roll which is to be manufactured into an
axle or other like article, may be a compound one that is, it may be com-
posed of iron of different qualities, and hi this case the plate should be so rolled
up as to bring the iron of superior quality at the outer surface. In some cases,
also, a smah 1 solid or hollow core or centre may be employed, and the plate of
iron may be coiled around it, until a mass has been produced of sufficient size
for the production of the intended axle or other light article. The process of
manufacture is then concluded as above directed.

PRESENT ANNUAL PRODUCTION OF IRON.

Mr. Hewitt of New York, hi a paper recently presented to the Geographi-
cal and Statistical Society, furnished the following memoranda respecting the
production and manufacture of iron. Cast iron can only be traced back to
the 13th century. Previously, the ore and charcoal were placed in alter-
nate layers in a rude oven, and there smelted by a blast injected by a
bellows worked by hand. Even so late as 1740, the total annual product of
England was but 17.350 tons, made by 50 furnaces at the rate of 294 tons

MECHANICS ANl5 USEFUL ARTS. 73

per annum to each furnace say one ton per furnace for each working day.
Mr. Hewitt estimates the entire annual product of Europe at that time at
100,000 tons, 60,000 of which were made hi Sweden and Russia, and one
half of this exported to England. The total consumption of iron hi England
at that day (only 116 years ago, or since the birth of some persons yet living)
was not 15 pounds per head per annum, and that of all Europe but two
pounds per head. The whole human race did not then annually require or
produce so much as one pound of iron per head. Now Mr. Hewitt produces
data showing an annual production of seventeen pounds per head for the whole
human family, or seven millions of tons in the aggregate, of which Great
Britain produces rather more than one-half, and consumes at least one-fourth.
The total product of 1856 is estimated by Mr. H. from imperfect data as
follows :

Tons. Tons.

Great Britain 3,585,000 United States 1,000,000

France 650,000 Prussia. 600,000

Belgium 255,000 Germany (baL of ) 200,000

Eussia 300,000 Austria 200,000

Sweden and Norway 179,500 Spain 2T,000

Italy and Elba 72,000 Denmark &c. 20,000

Total 6,889,000 tons.

Asia, Africa, and America outside of the United States, may possibly raise
this aggregate to 7,000,000 tons.

The annual production and consumption of the several countries is estimated
as follows :

Produces. Consumes,

per head, Ibs. per head, Ibs.

Great Britain 287 144

UnitedStates 84 117

Belgium 136 70

France 40 60

Sweden and Norway 92 30

Germany, including Prussia 50 50

Austria. 12 15

Eussia. 10 10

Switzerland 22

Spain - 4 5

The rest of the world too little to be computed.

The intimate relations of iron to industrial progress and efficiency, as
exhibited by this table, need here only be suggested.

Iron is now relatively one of the cheapest of metals, costing from about a
cent a pound hi its crudest and lowest state (pig), at the points of its cheapest
production, up to five or six cents per pound for its purest and rarest qualities.
In its refined and carbonized form of steel, it was not long since worth
twenty-five cents per pound at retail hi this country ; but the cost of the
steel making processes has been rapidly reduced by recent discoveries and
improvements, until steel is hardly double the value of the better qualities of
iron. New steel making processes several of them originating hi this
country have recently been patented and are now being reduced to practice,
by which it is believed that the price of steel will be still further reduced

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

and the qualities essentially improved. How any one of these processes may
succeed, we know not ; but there is great inherent probability that bar iron
may within a lifetime be converted into steel at least as cheaply, pound for
pound, as pig is now transformed into bar.

Unless we are greatly misinformed, the difficulties under which the manu-
facture of steel labors in our country, arise entirely from the small scale on
which it has so far been conducted. The English steel works, although, we
believe, possessing to a great extent a monopoly of the famous Danamora
iron, are able to command the market only by the superior uniformity of the
product, and not by any actual superiority in the metal when properly car-
bonized. In the cast steel, for example, each bar, as broken and mixed in
England, is rapidly assorted into several varieties, some of which are finally
made into different qualities of steel, or if not, are compelled to undergo
somewhat different processes in the manufacture. The American Works, on
the contrary, too often adopt the temporary system of waiting for an order
and then carbonizing as well as may be and mixing all together a process
which cannot produce as uniform results. Different bars of iron even from
the same bloom will become steelified in different degrees, but it is easy to
see that all the lack of uniformity ever charged upon the American article
springs directly from the moderate scale on which the business is conducted,
and this again from a feeling of insecurity and uncertainty in the protection.
The great fact established beyond a doubt that we have the materials and
the skill, a settled feeling that the duties on iron and steel are not to be
meddled with, and giant establishments may be expected gradually to develop
themselves, which would soon put the business beyond the fear of foreign
competition.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE QUALITY OF IRON.

At a time when so much competition is springing up in the iron and hard-
ware as well as most other trades, it is important that every hint that science
affords for the improved manufacture of such goods should be regarded with
every attention. The truth is now rapidly gaming ground that wherever
mechanical strength is desired, an alloy is preferred to a pure metal. One of
the greatest obstructions to the mechanical value of iron is its tendency to
crystallize. Whether the article be a monster gun or a ship's cable, the
result is the same. One would have thought that the success of Mr. Muntz's
" yellow sheathing" which has for ever superseded pure copper for shipping
purposes, would have turned the attention of the manufacturers of iron and
iron goods into the direction to which we point ; but much movement has not
yet been made by them towards that point. Now, the tendency of iron to
crystallize, there is no question, may be prevented by the admixture of other
metals. In almost every direction "Nature has placed certain metallic
masses, to which the name ' meteoric iron' has been given, on the supposition
that these masses have fallen from the atmosphere." The composition of
meteoric iron, wherever found, is chiefly of iron and nickel, the latter varying
from two to ten per cent., with small quantities of cobalt and (it is said)
chromium. Science has made artificial meteoric iron, and it has been tested.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 75

Its qualities have proved identical with those of the native compound. In
addition it is more ductile and has more tenacity than pure iron, and is not so
liable to rust or oxidize. Possessing such qualities, meteoric iron is certain to
become a branch of national industry. A mixture of ninety-eight parts of
iron and two of nickel has ah 1 the peculiarities of best meteoric iron. A few
years ago an ore of sulphuret of nickel, devoid of arsenic, was found in
Inverary, in Scotland, and by its means meteoric iron has been made of the
best quality. London Engineer.

It is stated, as a curious fact in the iron manufacture, that within the last
twelve or fifteen years cast-iron contracts less by one-half than it did for-
merly. Experts are disposed to attribute this to a difference in the mode of
manufacturing iron employed in the present day from that which formerly
prevailed. Editor.

PRESENT POSITION OF THE IRON MANUFACTURE.

From a paper recently read before the Society of Arts, by Mr. J. K. Black-
well, " Qn the present position of the iron manufacture," we derive the fol-
lowing extracts:

Mr. Blackwell sets the total annual production of pig or crude iron at
6,000,000 tons, of which Great Britain produces 3,000,000, France 750,000,
the United States 750,000, Prussia 300,000, Austria 250,000, Belgium 200.000,
Russia 200,000, Sweden 150,000, the smaller German States 100,000, and
other countries 300,000.

Mr. Blackwell thinks that in Great Britain the most favorable localities
for the iron industry are already fully occupied, but that in Ireland there
exist immense deposits of clay carbonate of excellent quality, which are now
entirely unworked, and he suggests it as a very important subject for inquiry
whether the immense resources of vegetable fuel in the form of peat with
which Ireland abounds, might not be advantageously applied to the produc-
tion of first-rate iron from them. He enforces this suggestion by stating that
pig iron is smelted with carbonized peat hi Bohemia.

The iron produced in France is smelted in nearly equal proportion with
coke and charcoal ; that a large proportion of the charcoal pig iron is subse-
quently converted into bar iron solely with charcoal ; and that the charcoal
pig iron is for the most part made in close proximity to some of the most
important coal fields in France. This latter consideration points, in Mr.
Blackwell's opinion, to an early transformation in the French iron industry.
From the limited extent of Belgium he anticipates that the production of iron
will remain nearly stationary there ; whereas in Prussia he states that it is
rapidly increasing, the chief obstacles being the nature of her widely spread,
ill connected territories, and the want of facilities of intercommunication and
of access to markets. The latter class of drawbacks he notices as restricting
the production in Styria, Carinthia, and Bohemia : and from similar causes,
and the absence of mineral fuel, he anticipates that the iron manufacture in
Russia and Sweden neither of which countries possesses mineral fuel con-
veniently situated will long remain comparatively stationary.

The iron industry of the United States is already highly important, and

76 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

capable of great extension, which must in a great degree be determined by
the available means of transport, and the facility with which the ore can be
brought .in proximity with the fuel.

He next proceeds to an examination of the various processes adopted in
the manufacture of iron and to their susceptibility of improvement. Mr.
Blackwell says that the differences in chemical nature of the various elements
forming, on the one hand vegetable, and on the other mineral fuel, are only
hi degree, and not in kind, except in so far as regards the composition of the
earthy residuum of ashes left after the volatilization of the other elements. It
may therefore be in the different nature of the substances present in the ashes
of wood and of coal that we must seek for the explanation of the causes
which produce such a widely different quality in iron smelted with these two
species of fuel. He considers that sufficient attention has not been hitherto
paid to this subject, or to the mechanical operations by which a large part of
the earthy impurities of all coal seams of a caking nature, might be separated
from them before they are converted into coke. Again, he says that, not-
withstanding the great extent to which raw coal and partially torrefied wood
have been long used in the blast furnaces both in England and abroad, on a
careful consideration of the process to which both coal and wood must be
subjected before the carbon they contain can be utilized in the reactions of
the furnace, it appears that their carbonization may be effected with most
economy, and that the quality of the charcoal or coke which results from this
process will be best, when effected in close ovens prior to the introduction of
the fuel into the blast furnaces, and not within the furnace itself. After
pointing out the source of some of the losses sustained by iron masters in
England and in South "Wales, especially from imperfect smelting, he remarks
that much controversy has taken place with respect to the difference in
quality supposed to exist between pig iron smelted with cold and with hot
blast. It was generally considered that the pig iron smelted with hot was
inferior in quality to that produced with cold air, but he had attributed this
impression to ignorance of the facts of the case. Furnaces blown with heated
air exerted so great a reducing power, that refractory ores calculated to pro-
duce inferior iron were now easily smelted, and thus had arisen the opinion
alluded to. At the same time, he admitted that the more elevated tempera-
ture of the hot blast furnace had a tendency in a slight degree to increase the
quantity of silicium and other cognate metals which formed alloys with pig
iron in the smelting process.

In treating of the operations for converting carbonized crude iron into
malleable, he mentioned that at several works on the Continent the attempt
to arrest the process of decarburation in the puddling or boiling furnace at
that point at which the conversion has proceeded so far as to leave the iron
in the state of steel or subcarburet, was believed to have been successful, and
that a valuable natural or puddled steel, not requiring cementation before
conversion into refined cast or steel, had been the result. He cited as a proof
of the faultiness of the present mode of operating, that in some of the largest
iron making districts of Great Britain, the production of one ton of inferior
wrought iron was only obtained by the consumption of one and one half tons

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 77

of pig iron. The crude iron from which wrought iron of the best quality is
produced, is that possessing a medium degree of rarburatiou, usually termed
grey pig iron, while iron which possesses an inferior degree of fluidity, is
what is generally used for the manufacture of wrought iron, especially when
the conversion is effected by the single operation of boiling in the puddling
furnace ; but it is always more impure than grey, and does not produce the
best wrought iron. In those countries where the pig iron is smelted with
charcoal, and where coal is available for conversion into malleable iron, the char-
coal refinery is generally abandoned for the puddling furnace, it being found
that the quality of the iron is sufficiently insured by its previous treatment.
In Great Britain, where the smelting process is almost exclusively conducted
with coal or coke, nearly the same result is obtained with reference to the
quality of the bar iron produced by the treatment of .the pig iron in the char-
coal refinery with charcoal; it therefore becomes an important subject for
investigation, to ascertain what are the precise causes to which this ameliora-
tion of quality from the use of vegetable fuel is due, when used in the treat-
ment of iron in processes which have no analogy to each other. He considers
that the circumstances of the two cases point to the possibility, that the
eliminated effect exercised as fluxes in both instances by the ashes of the
vegetable fuel employed, may have some influence in producing this improve-
ment in quality, and that, should such be the case, we may replace charcoal
as fuel with advantage by artificial fluxes producing an equivalent effect.
The charcoal refinery in general use in those countries where mineral fuel
is not accessible for the conversion of crude into malleable iron, is still"
extensively employed in Great Britain, when it is desirable to produce iron
of the best quality. Mr. Blackwell points out that grey pig iron smelted
with coke may be converted into malleable iron by the boiling process, there-
by avoiding the serious waste from oxidation in the coke refinery, and it
becomes important to inquire whether any ameliorations can be introduced
which would enable it to be more universally adopted than it hitherto has
been. He remarked, however, in general terms, that the principal mechanical
agents hi these operations are the hammer and the rolls, and that it is by a
proper combination of both that all the requisite qualities of weh 1 manu-
factured iron can be obtained. He observed that in England latterly, there
had been a tendency to supersede the use of the hammer by that of the rolls,
not only in small sizes, where the immense command of power rendered it
practicable to do so, but in larger sizes also as, for instance, rails, large bars,
plates, and thick sheet iron, where it was not practicable, if soundness was
to be secured.

TEST OF STEEL 3IANUFACTUKES.

A correspondent of the Journal of the Society of Arts (London) publishes
the following method of testing the quality of steel by means of nitric acid. " I
first carefully clean the articles from ah 1 grease with a little turpentine, as
grease resists the action of acid on metals, and then immerse about two
inches of their length in acid, which should be slightly warmed, as it ' bites '
better when tepid. If the acid be too strong, its biting will be rather slow.

78 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

in which case a little water can be added. After they have been in the acid
about ten minutes, the ac^will be found to have penetrated to nearly the six-
teenth of an inch, according as the steel is good, bad, or indifferent. They
should be then taken out, and carefully immersed in water, to stop the action
of the acid, and then examined as to the quantity of carbon each contains,
which should be duly notified a sufficient quantity will be left on the etched
steel for this purpose the carbon undergoing no change from the action of
the acid. I would then rinse and dry them ; after this they can be safely
examined; the faults of each will be plainly palpable. The best will be
evenly etched, and dark in color, from the exposure of the carbon. The next
will be more uneven in surface, with more or less of carbon, according to its
manufacture. The next and worst will be rougher still, scabby, rough, or
rotten, as the case may be. If one should be found to be iron, it will be
deeper etched, whitish colored, and stringy in the grain. These are a few
of the distinguishing peculiarities which the acid brings to light. By this
process all the properties of steel or iron are exposed. If the steel be ' burn-
ed,' one or two minutes' immersion will be sufficient to detect it, its surface
will be etched in lines considerably apart, corresponding to the patched surface
which the steel exhibits previous to polishing."

Purchasers of either iron or steel in large quantities should invariably use
it, as no imposition can be exercised without detection. Critical expedients
for detecting the qualities of metal are rather numerous as weight, for
instance. No two pieces of metal of exactly equal bulk, if of different quali-
ties, are of the same weight, &c.

By the acid process, it will be seen that either natural or cemented steel
can be advantageously subjected to this test hi its manufacture. The process
of decarbonization hi the former, and of carbonization in the latter case, instead
of being left, as is now done, to the doubtful skill of the workman, can be
subjected to the unerring test of the acid. The manufacturer of steel might
get a scale of qualities which have been subjected to this test, marked Nos. 1,
2, &c., with such remarks to each piece as may be a guide to the workman
as to the time in its manufacture, the quantity of carbon found, and foreign
matter introduced, &c. Such remarks, with the decided peculiarities of each
quality of metal, will be a guide to any intelligent workman.

WHAT IS THE ANNUAL WASTE OF IRON ON A FARM ?

The London Mark Lane Express publishes the following communication
from an eminent English , ironmaster and agriculturist, in answer to the
question, " What is the annual waste of iron per acre in the cultivation of
land ?" the answer being based upon the careful examination of the accounts
of a farm in Bedfordshire, England. The farm consists of 330 acres of arable
land and 120 acres of meadow or permanent grass. The following is the list
of the implements employed upon it:

6 Iron ploughs 1 Reaping machine

2 Ridging do. 2 Horse hoes

2 Double furrow do. 10 Carts

1 Broad share do. 1 "Waggon and 1 van

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS.

79

I Clod crasher

1 Iron and 8 wood cylinder rollers
4 Sets of iron harrows

2 Scarifiers or cultivators
8 Sets of iron whiffletrees

Land marker
Corn drill
Liquid drill
Turnip drill
Grass seed drill
Liquid manure cart
Water cart
Liquid manure pump

"Weighing machine and weights
Horse rake
Hay-making machine

1 Steam engine

1 Combined threshing machine

1 Flour mill

1 Linseed mill

1 Bean splitter

2 Chaff machines

1 Cake breaker

2 Winnowing machines
1 Corn blower

1 Barley hummeller
4 Turnip cutters and pulpers
20 Iron troughs
Shepherd's field house
Sheep racks and cribs
Hand tools, chains, &c.

The estimated weight of iron in these implements is 20 tons, and to it there
may be added at least 4 tons for iron work in farm buildings, gates, &c. The
estimated annual consumption of iron in order to keep these implements good
is about 6^ cwt., or rather more, per annum of wrought iron, and 7 cwt. of
cast iron. The number of horses kept is 14 ; each of them on an average
uses 32 shoes per annum, weighing about 2 Ibs. each of them ; about one-
eighth are lost, and the average weight of the old shoes worked up is about Ib.
each. From these data it is calculated that nearly 5 cwt. of wrought iron
are annually used hi horse shoes alone. This makes the total consump-
tion of wrought iron 12 cwt., and of cast iron 7 cwt. per annum. YTe are not
informed as to the quality of the soil the number of horses would lead one
to suppose it heavy but from their being spoken of as "pairs," and from the
use of double furrow ploughs, we suppose it to be light, and the latter is more
probably the case.

On this farm hi Bedfordshire it appears that on 450 acres there is a con-
sumption of rather more than 4 Ibs. of iron per acre per annum. It must
be remembered, however, that the relative proportions of arable and pasture
on this farm are not those which obtain over the country generally, and that
the stock of iron implements upon this farm very far exceeds the quantity
generally in use. On both these grounds we have little doubt that in this
experience there is nearly double the consumption of iron which generally
obtains per acre ; and, therefore, that this, over the country generally, ought
to be assumed rather as being between 2 and 3 Ibs. per acre yearly than
as between 4 and 5.

ON THE UTILIZATION OF CAST IRON TURNINGS.

It is common to consider the fine turnings, clippings, and filings of iron
nearly or quite valueless, on account of their disposition to blow up the
chimney or stick and clog the draught, on attempting to remelt them ; but
two methods have been lately invented, either of which renders it perfectly
practicable to remelt these particles, even if, as usual, there are considerable
quantities of wrought iron and dirt intermingled. The first is by Mr. Abiel
Pevey, of Lowell, and consists hi providing a lot of cheap hollow castings, of

80 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

any convenient form, and filling them with the fine particles and placing them
in the furnace, where the whole melts together. The second is by Mr. Edward
Lyon, of New York, and consists hi merely piling the fine particles hi a com-
pact mass as near as possible to the centre of each charge, so that the draught
may rise freely through the coal around it. Both methods are successful hi
practice, and patents, we believe, are granted or pending for each. The
latter and obviously cheaper method is probably somewhat more wasteful of
the metal than the former, but the material is cheap, and the Lyon process
may be generally preferred. Turnings are valued, at many shops, at only
$4 or $5 per ton, while pig iron of the same kind is worth $30.

In this connexion we would notice a well founded prejudice which is
beginning to prevail against the use of scrap iron for the construction of axles,
shafts, &c. Scrap iron has been generally well worked over, and is in that
respect superior to that just from the puddling furnace, but the unequal cha-
racter of the fragments, causing some to burn before others are soft enough
to weld, induces, in many cases, the most fatal accidents by failure, where it
could not by any care have been anticipated. Good American iron which,
by the way, is somewhat softer and considerably stronger and tougher than
English well worked over by repeated rolling and piling, is, without doubt,
the most reliable material. Scrap is liable to contain all manner of faults, and
is notoriously too unequal in texture to bear case hardening without warping.

Steel Castings. The well known establishment ofNaylor&Co., at Sheffield,
England, is now producing " cast steel forgings" of large size by a new pro-
cess of casting the fluid metal in sand somewhat like cast iron. The product
is reported in Tfie Glasgow Practical Mechanics' 1 Journal as a new material
stronger and sounder than perfect wrought iron, and free from the imperfec-
tions to which heavy masses of the latter are often subject. It would seem
to be a great desideratum for steamship shafts and the like.

IMPROVED CHAIN MAKING MACHINE.

An ingenious machine for the manufacture of chains, has recently been
invented by Edw>ard Weisenborn, of New York City. The chain made by
this machine is not like that in common use, but is of a peculiar kind, which
may be called " double link chain;" it is made, not of pairs of links, but
strictly of double links, each consisting of only one piece of metal. The
links are faggoted and welded before being put into the chain, and to
make them inclose each other, only require to be bent. It is in a great
measure owing to the manner of making the links which gives the chain the
superiority which it is claimed to possess over the common kind of chain.
This machine performs the whole of the process of making this chain from the
forging of the links to putting them together. The first operation which
takes place at one end of the machine, is that of winding up a small piece of
small flat iron rod till it forms a coil of several thicknesses of metal. This
coil is taken to a proper fire and heated to a welding heat, and then put in
another part of the machine, by which it is welded into a ring which is
equally strong at all points. From the last named part of the machine the
ring is taken by automatic devices to another part, where it is elongated in

MECHANICS AXD USEFUL ARTS. 81

one direction and closed in a direction at right angles to it, till it forms a link
which resembles the figure 8, except that the two sides do not cross in the
middle. It is then taken by other devices and bent at the middle of its length,
and then, by hand, put through another link and placed in another part of the
machine, by which its looped extremities are drawn close together, which
finishes it. The next link passing through these looped ends secures them, and
thus the chain is formed. All the operations are performed with great rapidity.

HAKDEISTQfG CAST STEEL FOE CUTTING.

Kieser, of Issy, in Switzerland, prepares admirable hardened razors, pen-
knives, &c., from English cast steel, by plunging the blades at a dark cherry
red heat into a bath made of fourteen parts by measure, of yellow rosin in fine
powder, two parts of fish oil, and one part hot molten tallow ; they are then
allowed to cool perfectly, and, without wiping them, are reheated to a low red
heat and immersed in water, in the usual way of tempering such articles.
The edge of the blade treated in this manner is said to be very fine, and the
hardening more uniformly done than by any other process.

IEOX CHUECHES.

Mr. Skidmore, a gentleman who is celebrated in England for the extreme
beauty and excellence of his ecclesiastical metal works in the Mediaeval style,
has excited considerable interest by a proposal to erect churches of iron
instead of stone. In the course of a recent address he says : " I will under-
take to make a church capable of holding eight hundred, with enrichment
equal to a church costing, in stone, 7,000, for one-third less than this
amount. If iron is to be considered a material of our age and locality and
to be used as our forefathers used every material of their day, giving it its
natural expression, adding art and beauty to the constructive form, it would
be unlike their actions and unworthy of ourselves to use a new for, consider-
ing the facility of its production in this day, and its great and extended use,
it may fairly be ranked as a new material, only as a cheap expedient,
instead of giving to it that development in Christian art of which it is so
capable. The ulterior would afford ample scope for carrying out that floral
treatment so much used in the fourteenth century. The iron also would
require coating with pigments to preserve its surface, and would form a ready
means of illumination ; the renewed use of crystals and gems, as in ancient
metal work ; the use of enamels would present facilities which permit to a
greater extent even than in ancient work ; the covering of the wall surfaces
with tapestry having historical subjects, reredos of brass, or silver and brass
combined, are also objects to be aimed at." It is thought that by a liberal
use of crockets and finials, executed in sheet or wrought iron, properly
foliated, the great objection which has been urged against the use of cast
iron for structural purposes can be avoided, namely, the expense of patterns
which necessarily involved endless repetition, and thereby to a certain extent
either ignored or limited the exercise of the ideal faculty. The mouldings
may be cast, but they can also be rolled with due attention to their relief and

4*

82 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

projection, and fitted together in parts. Rusting can be prevented by the
use of the new metal aluminum as a coating, and this process, if not too
costly, would be far more effective even than galvanizing. By the electro-
deposit process the spire might be gilt upon its entire surface.

ELLITHORP'S IKON PAVEMENT.

This form of pavement, said to be the best yet brought out, is made of a
series of groined arches, alternating in position in each adjoining row, to
make a surer foothold for horses travelling over it, and to prevent the wheel
of a vehicle from jamming in it. The blocks are kept in place by a flanged
projection catching over one block and under the next, so that when once
properly placed, there is no chance of then 1 being disturbed by the travel upon
them, while* they can be readily taken up and replaced when required.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF GUNPOWDER.

E. Hah 1 , of Dartford, England, has obtained a patent for an improved
method of sprinkling the gunpowder materials while under the mining pro-
cess. Under the old system of wetting with a watering pot, the distribution
of the water was not uniform, and the powder was not properly damped. Mr.
Hall's apparatus consists of a pump, which slowly conveys water to a cistern
above each mill, and having a series of sprinkling pipes, connected with an
index nicely adjusted, and a stop cock to take off the supply while one is
being taken off and another put on.

Mr. Henry Drayson, of England, has patented an improvement in the
manufacture of gunpowder, which consists in dissolving the saltpetre used in
its manufacture, and combining the solution with the charcoal and sulphur,
and then grinding the mixed ingredients under the mill, in place of grinding
undissolved saltpetre with the other ingredients. For this purpose, the salt-
petre, having been dissolved by heat in as little water as may be, the charcoal
and sulphur in a pulverized state are immediately and intimately mixed
therewith. The mixed materials are then ground under the mill, until the
combination of them has become sufficiently intimate, and the manufacture is
then completed in the ordinary manner. The saltpetre is dissolved in about
half its weight of water, and the temperature of the solution raised to the
boiling point, but the inventor does not confine himself to this particular
temperature or proportion of water. It is preferred to employ saltpetre that
has not been melted, but only purified and crystallized. The requisite process
of milling may be shortened by first artificially drying off part of the moisture
in the mixed materials.

TO ASCERTAIN WHEN A NEW BUILDING IS DRY ENOUGH TO

BE INHABITED.

The Foerstkr Bauzeitung states that the Administration of Jails at Geneva,
after a careful examination of the subject, establishes the following rules:

1. In the newly erected building, sundry rooms, apparently the most dry,
and sundry others, apparently the most humid, are to be selected.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 83

2. In the neighborhood of the new house, several rooms are selected, which
have been inhabited already a considerable time, so that the sanitary con-
dition of the latter can be ascertained ; after that, of their inhabitants. In
this selection, care must be taken that among the inhabited rooms in which
the experiments are to be made, there be both those which are well ven-
tilated, dry, and healthy, as well as so badly ventilated, and so damp, that
the effects thereof be apparent on the inhabitants.

3. Twenty or more rooms in the new house and in the neighborhood being
thus selected, an equal quantity of vessels of precisely the same capacity,
form, and opening, are filled either with fresh-burned quicklime, coming
from the same kiln and finely pulverized, or with sulphuric acid of com-
merce ; five hundred grains is about the right charge for a vessel, either for
lime or for the acid ; but it is necessary, in either case, that the charges be
weighed with the most exact balance.

4. The vessels thus filled have to be placed in all the selected rooms.
Trustworthy persons have to care that said vessels be placed in the
midst of the rooms, and that windows, chimneys, and doors, be carefully
closed as soon as the vessels are thus placed. In rooms to be furnished
with bedsteads close to the walls, the above vessels are to be placed close to
such walls.

5. Twenty-four hours after the exact moment of the location of the first
vessels, the removal of all the vessels is to take place in the very order of the
location, and all of them are to be transferred into a room where each in its
turn is to be weighed. This is to obtain the exact weight of each, twenty-
four hours after its location. The weights at the moment of location, and
those twenty-four hours after, are carefully recorded for each vessel, each of
them being marked with a separate number corresponding with the number
of the room hi which it was located.

If the numbers recorded by this process be then examined, it will be found
that the weight has increased ; and if then the amount of the increase in the
rooms of the house newly built, be compared with the amount of the increase
hi the several rooms of the neighborhood, due consideration taken of the
sanitary condition of the latter, such comparison will indicate at once and
with infallible security, whether any part of the new building, and which part,
is dry enough to be used as a dwelling without danger to the inhabitants.

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF MILITARY IMPLE-
MENTS, &C.

In the recent Crimean war, great difficulty was experienced by the English
Ordnance Board, in transporting gunpowder to great distances in a dry con-
dition. Some of the powder hi the Crimea having become damp in its transit,
had to be removed from the barrels with pickaxes. The powder is now sent
over in vulcanized canvas bags contained in barrels. The bags subsequently
served many useful purposes.

Among other recent improvements in Military Science brought out in Eng-
land are the following : wooden barrack buildings are rendered fire proof, or
nearly so, by successive applications of soluble glass and lime wash. Minie

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERT.

rifle bullets are made by moulding, from perfectly pure, and consequently very
soft lead, obtained by Pattinson's process. A million and a half of these bul-
lets may now be made per week by machinery. Shrapnel shell bullets are
cast from an alloy of lead and antimony. The crude alloy is obtained from
Hamburg, and is cheaper than either lead or antimony. The English mis:
chlorate of potash, the French nitrate of potash, with the fulminating mercury
used for filling percussion caps. The English caps are less liable to corrosion
than are the French. The substitution, in the percussion cap department, of
methylated spirit for pure spirit, has prevented that imbibition of alcohol by
the work-people which it was formerly impossible to prevent. English gun-
powder is as a rule denser and more uniform in its composition and effects
than foreign gunpowder, and keeps much better. From the more porous con-
dition of the foreign powder, the whole of the charge is invariably consumed ;
whereas, with the English powder, portions of the unconsumed charge fre-
quently escape from the aperture of the gun, and are occasionally blown back
upon the gunners by the force of the wind. The French method of purifying
nitre by washing has been substituted for the English process of crystallization
and fusion, with great advantage.

The subject of the recent applications of science to the art of war, is thus
reviewed by a recent lecturer before the Ijondon Royal Institution :

Infernal machines want but little to be brought to destructive perfection.
Incendiary and poisonous materials have been concocted with Satanic inge-
nuity* and only not used because men hesitated to have recourse to such ter-
rible instruments of killing. Gunpowder has undergone the ordeal of extended
experiment with a view to its improvement ; it has received powerful pres-
sure, and thus been rendered superior hi its uniformity and power of resisting
the effects of transport and of exposure to the atmosphere, although the softer
powder used on the Continent is superior in an economic point of view, pro-
vided it is required for rapid consumption, and also for its greater inflamma-
bility. New explosive materials have been introduced ; thus, fulminate of
mercury has been demonstrated to possess advantages over other detonating
mixtures. Alcohol and methylated spirits have been employed in large quan-
tities for moistening highly combustible compositions. Resin, bituminous
coal, pitch, boiled oil, Venice turpentine, zinc, antimony, and coal tar naphtha
have been employed or recommended as incendiary or smoke-producing
agents. "In endeavoring to prepare a compound of the chlorate of cop-
per with ammonia, as a material for a brilliant purple fire, Mr. Nicholson
obtained a beautifully crystalline compound of so powerfully explosive cha-
racter that even its syrupy solution detonated sharply when struck with a
hammer upon an anvil."

Improvement in the Manufacture of Gun Barrels. An English patent recently
granted to Samuel Pearson, refers to the manufacture of twisted barrels and
pipes. According to the method of forming such barrels as now practised, a
strip of metal is wound spirally round a centre, the edges of the strip form-
ing butt or scarf joints, which are found in practice to be faulty. . Now this
improvement consists in forming barrels and pipes of two Y-shaped strips of
metal, which are wound spirally round a centre ; the base of the V in one

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 85

strip being- placed nearest the centre, while the apes or narrow part of the
upper Y-shaped piece is placed downwards, or nearest the centre, whereby
the spaces between the first strip will be filled up, and after being rolled and
welded in the usual manner, or otherwise finished, will form a perfectly tight
and solid barrel or pipe.

Improvements in the Manufacture of Ordnance Shells and other Hollow Ves-
sels. An invention of Richard Peters, London, consists in the employment of
a hollow mould, made in two or more parts, into which the metal or other
material to be moulded, is poured through a pipe, which descends about
midway into the mould, and imparting to the mould, after a sufficient amount
of metal or other substance in a fluid or a semi-fluid state has been poured
therein, two centrifugal motions at right angles or nearly so to each other.
The centrifugal force acting in all directions, distributes the contents of the
mould evenly all round the inside thereof, while the internal pipe acts as a
vent for the escape of air and gases, and prevents any considerable quantity
of material (if any) being forced therefrom. On stopping the two motions and
opening the mould, the hollow article will drop out, perfectly formed. When
making a shell, a ferrule, threaded on its inside, is set round the internal pipe,
and being incorporated with the shell, it will be ready for receiving a fuse
threaded with a corresponding screw.

Volcanic Repeating Firearm. There has lately been commenced in New
Haven, on an extensive scale, the manufacture of a rifled arm, the joint inven-
tion of Messrs. Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson. As the novelty
consists more hi the ball than in the gun itself, this may first be described.
It is a complete cartridge, cased water tight hi metal. The ball is hi the
cylindro-conoidal or Hinie form, with a deep cavity hi the backside in which
is inserted both the powder and the percussion cap. A coating of cork inter-
venes between the cap and the thin metal which forms the outer covering,
the softness and elasticity of which material removes all possibility of explod-
ing the powder by any ordinary violence.

The rifle or pistol is provided with a thin case extending the whole length
under the barrel. This, by a simple movement, is filled with balls which are
pressed backward by a coiled spring. The barrel is open at each nd, and is
chambered somewhat larger at the breech to receive a bah 1 easily. By a for-
ward movement of a suitable lever just front of the trigger, the breech phi is
drawn directly backwards, and a bah 1 is carried up and placed hi line with the
bore. Next, by drawing the same lever back to its original position, the
breech phi is forced to its place, driving the ball into the barrel, and at the
same time puncturing by a point on its end quite through both the metallic
Covering and the cork, and pressing fairly upon the percussion portion of the
inclosed cartridge. The gun is now loaded, and on pulling the trigger the
hammer strikes fair upon the hinder end of the breech-pin and transmits a
sufficient shock to discharge the piece.

The movement of the lever described in charging the rifle also pushes back
the hammer, or in other words cocks the gun, but hi the smallest pistols it is
found easier to place the thumb on the hammer and draw it back while some
of the fingers work the lever beneath. The mechanism by which the whole

86 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

is accomplished is very simple and apparently durable, the movement of the
breech-pin being effected by a toggle joint which is so nearly straight at the
tune of the discharge that the reaction produces little strain. The breech-phi
fits very tightly, and it has been proved by trial that the pressure and inertia
of the hammer alone will keep the breech-pin in place even if the toggle joint
and all the other parts are removed. The penetration of the bans thus con-
structed and projected appears about equal to those of the Minie rifle, or all
that need be desired. The balls are prepared at a profit for $1 per hundred,
and may be discharged at the rate of one per second. The rifles hold thirty
and the smallest pistols seven balls each.

Improvement in Shot Guns. By Buckel and Dorsch, of Monroe, Mich.
This invention consists in giving the barrel of the gun a slightly undulating
form, for the purpose of causing all the shot to strike within a certain circle,
and prevent its indiscriminate scattering. The barrel is divided into an odd
number of parts, say five, seven, or nine, according to the length, the said
parts being made alternately of larger and smaller diameter. The parts next
the breech and at the muzzle are of the larger diameter, and the intervening
parts smaller and larger alternately, thus producing an undulating bore.
Many experiments, we are told, have been made with shot guns of this con-
struction, and the result in all cases is, that the shot fall within and evenly
cover a certain sized circle, never scattering beyond.

New Bullet Machine. Mr. "Win. H. Ward, of Auburn, N. Y., has recently
invented a machine for manufacturing bullets from lead wire. The wire is
coiled upon rests at the top of the machine, and suspended by means of arches,
from which the lead is fed downwards into the machine, where it is measured
and cut off as required for each bullet, after which it is forced forward into dies,
and formed into the desired shape by compression. It makes musket, rifle,
and pistol, elongated, hollow, and conical expansion bullets; also round or
shell balls all at the same time. At one corner it makes round balls,
at another musket, at another rifle, at the other rule and pistol elongated
bullets each corner being double, with two sets of dies and punches, which
gives eight bullets to one revolution of the machine. The machine is capable
of being worked up to twenty-five turns in a minute, which is equal to 200
bullets per minute, 12,000 per hour, or 120,000 per day.

Improved Primer for Fire Arms. In this invention, by Lieut. J. N.
Ward, U. S. A., the percussion hammer is made hollow, and the priming
paper rolled up and placed within. Whenever the hammer is cocked the
paper is fed out for a little distance, and then cut off and exploded on the
nipple by the descent of the hammer. It is certain in its operation, and
the mechanism is~ simple. The improvement can be applied to all guns hi
use at a very small cost, without any alteration hi the lock part, the only
change being in the form of the hammer.

Reeves' Breech Loading Rifle. In this English invention, a movable
breech -is employed, which is made to fit into the end of the rifle barrel, and
is held in close contact with it by the lateral pressure of a wedge piece,
which is hinged to the barrel and the lock frame, and which drops between
the end of the breech and a false breech. To charge the rifle, this wedge

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 87

piece is first withdrawn, and the breech slid back clear of the barrel into
the space vacated by the wedge piece. A small finger lever at the side
slides back to the breech, which is then turned up and receives the charge ;
then it is brought down again into line with the barrel, slid forward, and
forced into position by the wedge piece described. The movable breech in
this rifle is a charge chamber, and appears to be a supplementary device to
Sharp's rifle.

Monster Gun. Messrs. Horsfall, of Liverpool, England, have during the
past year constructed and presented to the British Government, a piece of
ordnance of most enormous dimensions. The process of fabricating this
huge mass was very simple. Square slabs of metal, of about 3 feet long by
14- broad, were welded together, and as layer after layer was added to the
mass the slabs were reversed in various directions, till the bulk presented to
the eye the appearance of a huge, solid lump of iron, slightly conical in form,
15 feet long, 3 feet 10 inches diameter at the thick end, and tapering to about
2 feet 10 inches at the small or muzzle end. It then weighed nearly 26 tons.
Great care was taken, and all that science could suggest was brought to bear
upon the process of fabrication, which lasted seven successive weeks, day and
night ; but the material was during that tune regularly allowed to cool from
Saturday night to Monday morning. Great care was taken to prevent the
mass from receiving the blows of the hammer, or percussion from any other
cause, while it was cold, or in a semi-heated state, in order to avoid the
disintegration known to be produced in iron when hammered cold. Forty
men were at times employed upon it, and the hammer used weighed nine
tons, striking at every blow equal to a force of twelve tons.

After the mass had been roughly shaped, the process of boring was com-
menced, the first bore being with an eleven-inch cut. The material proved
to be all that could be wished not the slightest indication of crystallization,
brittleness, fault, or looseness of texture w r as manifested. There had not
been the slightest imperfection in the forging. It was next bored with a 121-
inch cut, and finally with a 13-inch the distance bored being 13| feet. After
this process, the piece was finished in the ordinary manner, though in
superior style. The nett weight of this piece of ordnance, after comple-
tion, was 21 tons 18 cwt., having been diminished a little over four tons
by turning and boring. This was nearly three tunes the weight of the
great Stockton gun, which weighed 7 tons 17 cwt. Its diameter at the
breech is 44 inches; at the muzzle 27 inches; thickness of metal at the
breech from the bore to the outside, 15 inches; thickness at the muzzle 7
inches.

The gun is discharged by means of a percussion hammer affixed at the
breech, and such is the machinery connected with the raising and lowering
of the instrument that a child might almost elevate it or depress it when in
the stocks. It is capable of receiving a ball 302 pounds in weight, which,
with a discharge of 90 pounds of powder, is expected to be projected at
least five miles. The capacity of the Princeton's gun was for a bah 1 of 219
pounds.

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

MOVABLE TAEGET.

The following ingenious contrivance has been adopted in the experimental
gunnery ships of the British Navy : It consists of a circular target, fitted on a
ball and socket support, and capable of being moved in ah 1 directions, but so
arranged that upon a string being pulled its movements are suddenly arrested.
The target is placed at one end of the deck, and a wooden gun pointed towards
it at the other. The manual exercise is performed at tin's gun as at any other.
"When the captain of the gun comes to the final operation of pointing, he seizes
the end of a long string attached to the apparatus which arrests the target, and
which is passed through a ring near the screw fixing the lock to the gun : and
as soon as, in his estimation, the gun bears directly on the bull's-eye of the
target, he pulls this string, as he would the lock -lanyard ; and in one instant
the target becomes stationary. The officer superintending the exercise has
now the means of examining the position of the gun, and of ascertaining
whether or not it has been well pointed. This appears to form an admirable
introduction to the real practice with shot.

This wooden gun, it may be mentioned, is fitted with a small eye-hole right
through its length, by which an object may be looked at along the axis of
the bore, and the difference of pointing by the line of metal and by a gun dis-
parted is made at once apparent. This device was first suggested by Sir
Samuel Pechell, who remarks, that "in the first place it is necessary to con-
vince sailors practically that the thing you wish to teach them is absolutely
necessary." Until, therefore, " they are shown why the line of metal will not do
for a point blank shot so well as a line produced by disparting, and which shall
be parallel to the axis of the bore, they will not care whether they use a sight
or not."

IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTUEE OF PAPER.

Paper from Refuse Tanned Leather. Lazare Ochs, of Belgium, has obtained
a patent for making paper from the cuttings, waste leather, and scraps of
tanned leather. The manufacture of paper from leather is an old story, as an
American patent was obtained for such paper many years since ; but
M. Ochs' method of treating his leather to take out the tanning is worthy of
attention for its simplicity. The scraps of tanned leather are placed in sieves
on the ends of arms or spokes on a wheel, and are made to revolve in a
stream of water, which operation, when continued long enough, washes out
the tannin from the leather. After this about 20 per cent, of old hemp rope
is mixed with the scraps, and the whole is cut up and reduced to pulp, from
which the paper is made. A very strong coarse wrapping paper is made in
this manner.

Paper from the Bark of the Cotton Stalk. Experiments have been recently
made to develop a hemp, suitable for paper manufacture, from the bark of
the cotton stalk, with a fair prospect of success. The best period for pre-
paring this cotton hemp is as soon as practicable after the picking of cotton
has been finished. The plants should then be pulled up and dew-rotted like

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 89

hemp or flax, and afterwards broken up and the bark separated from the
wood of the stalk.

The following is the claim for a patent recently granted for improvements
in making paper to William Clark, of Dayton, Ohio : " I do not claim the use
of lime or other alkalies in the preparation of vegetable material used in the
manufacture of paper. But I claim .the boiling of coal tar with the straw
or other vegetable material for the manufacture of paper, in the manner and
form set forth, and for other similar purposes, or purposes substantially the

same."

Improvement in preparing Paper pulp from the Fibres of Endogenous
Plants. The object of this invention by Francis Burke, of Montserrat, West
Indies, is to convert the fibres of vegetables into pulp, without having recourse
to the process of separating the fibrous matter from the other component
parts of vegetable substances ; and to effect this object, he adopts means for
simultaneously or in one process reducing the fibres to pulp, and separating
the pulp from the gummy and other vegetable matters with which they are
combined. The vegetable substances to which the process is applicable, are
the plants known as the plantain, the banana, and the aloe, and any other
vegetable substances containing fibrous matters, from which the other matters
contained therein can be separated by water, whilst undergoing the operation
hereinafter described.

When necessary, the vegetable matter to be operated upon is first cut,
crushed, or bruised, for the purpose of reducing it to such a state of division
as will permit of its introduction into a mill to be ground. If the vegetable
be plantain, banana, aloe, or any other similar vegetable substance in a green
state, it is preferred to crush it between rollers, so as to deprive it of its fluid
matters. To reduce the vegetable matters to pieces of a convenient size, a
chaffcutter, saw, or other convenient means may be used, according to the
nature of the material. The material thus prepared, is ground hi a mill
made of a pair of plain stones, similar to those of an ordinary flour mill, with
the eye of the runner or upper stone somewhat enlarged, so as to facilitate
the admission of the material. Either the upper or the lower stone of the
mill may be made the runner ; but it is most convenient to have the upper
stone the runner, and motion may be given to it in the same way as hi
ordinary flour mills. The material to be ground is fed simultaneously with a
stream of water into the eye of the mill; the supply of water being sufficient
to convert the vegetable material when ground into a fluid pulp.

The water used may be either hot or cold, but cold water is preferred, and
when necessary, any chemical agent may be dissolved in it to facilitate the
separation of the fibres from the other vegetable matters with which they may
be mixed. The vegetable fibres, as they are ground to a pulp, are thrown
out at the periphery of the stones, round which a trough is placed to receive
it ; from whence it runs into suitable sieves, by which the fibrous pulp is
separated from the water, which passes away carrying with it the soluble
matters, and also many minutely-divided insoluble or non-fibrous matters
which may have been separated from the fibrous matters by the action of the
mill.

90 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

M'BRIDE'S NEW FLAX SCUTCHING MACHINE.

A new flax scutching machine has been recently brought out in Ireland,
which has elicited the highest encomiums for effectiveness and economical
working.

The space the machine occupies is about 17 by 10 feet ; the holding of the
flax is effected by means of a horizontal wheel of about three feet hi diameter,
having on its circumference two grooves, in which grooves, by endless ropes,
kept tight by a counter-weight, the flax straw is held firmly between the
grooves and ropes, to be taken slowly round to the breakers, or scutching
blades. It is here that the great improvement occurs ; these blades are fixed
in a peculiar manner on the horizontal shafts, parallel to each other, but on
different levels; each shaft carries arms, placed opposite to each other, so
contrived as to pass each other without coming in contact ; to these arms the
scutching blades are fixed, passing each other in intersecting circles, the inter-
section taking place immediately below the circumference of the holding wheel.
The blades strike the flax rapidly, but gently, on either side alternately, whilst
it is slowly passed under their action in the grooves of the holding wheel ;
being thus cleaned at one end, it is grasped at the proper moment by the hold-
ing apparatus of the second pair of the scutchers, being counterparts of the
first, but so set, that the other end of the straw is effectually cleaned, and thus
the finished fibre passes out ready for the manufacturer.

The machine is perfectly self-acting, merely requiring the flax straw to be
put in on one side, and the flax finished is taken from the other side. From
the moment the straw enters into the machine, no further attention is neces-
sary, and no skilled workmen are required, as any boy or girl of fourteen or
fifteen can be taught to feed it in two or three hours, the machine does it
all, and delivers the flax well scutched. All clasps, or holders for fastening
the straw, are dispensed with, the attendants are not liable to accidents, and
the important object security from the annoyance of dust is attained, for by
simply elevating the machine a few feet, the whole of the tow and scutching
dust pass away beneath.

CALICO PRINTING.

Mr. Mercer of Manchester, England, is now engaged in superintending one
of the most curious historical and scientific works of the day, viz. a " History
of Calico Printing." Of the interest of such a history, even to idle readers
there cannot exist a doubt, for the history of calico printing connects itself
intimately with the history of dress, of manners, and of taste, in a large por-
tion of the habitable globe. The Manchester designer has to please the Greek
prince and the Australian savage : to satisfy the King of Dahonry and the fish-
wife of Billingsgate. Such of our readers as have seen the magazines of a
wholesale Printseller, and have noticed how curiously the taste in Fine Art
varies with latitude from the warmth of Lima and Rio to the chastity of
Montreal and Dantzic, will feel how much a series of pattern books may sug-
gest in the way of national manners. The horseman of the Pampas and the

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 91

rine dresser of Brazil the Amokota of the Cape and the Raj of the Himalaya
has e^ch his own style, his own color, his own pattern. Calico Printing has
to adapt itself to the Greek of Athens, the Arab of the wilderness, the priest
of Benares : the taste of the ladies of Canton, of the Court beauties of Siam, of
the harems of Persia and Turkey must be remembered under pain of loss.
The records of a manufacture which has to consult so many tastes, and to
satisfy such various whims, cannot fail, we repeat, to interest many persons,
and to claim a place in every good library. A History of Calico Printing
would be a curious, valuable, and appropriate present for Manchester to make
to our Library of Contemporary History.

The plan proposed is as follows : The work is to be divided into six parts ;
the first part would be an introductory history of the art from the year 1750,
including every department ; the .second would comprise the history of the
mechanical department by Mr. Bennet Woodcroft; the third would embrace
the history of the coloring matters, chemical compounds, and other materials
used in calico printing, by Dr. E. Schunck ; the fourth would be the history
of the dyeing process, including color mixing, and the actual printing, by Mr.
J. Graham ; the fifth, the artistic department ; the first part of it being
devoted to engraving, by Mr. Joseph Lockett, and the' second to include pat-
terns, and all particulars relating to taste : the sixth, statistics of calico print-

ing.

CBEXXILLE CARPETS.

At a recent meeting of the N". Y. Mechanics' Club, Mr. Thomas Crossley
of Boston exhibited a model of a color printing machine intended to be used in
the manufacture of Crennille carpets. The machine was patented in 1854 in
our own and foreign countries, but had been allowed to remain quiet until a
large one could be finished and tried. This had now been accomplished with
snch success that the first yard of stuff passed through the machine unex-
pectedly came out absolutely perfect. The manufacture of rich, many colored
carpetings is usually very slow and expensive. Colors dyed in the wool are
fast or transient according both to the kind of drug and the degree of heat
employed in steaming. Scarlet is a fast color, as it is heated to 212 ; but a
buff produced by the same drug is heated only to blood-warm, or thereabouts,
and is liable to fade when in use. It was very difficult to weave a large
number of colors, and only a, small quantity of the wool employed came in
sight. To remedy all these evils, a Mr. Whytock of Edinburgh invented a
process for printing tapestry carpets, and Messrs. John Crossley & Sons of Hali-
fax had engaged very largely in the manufacture. The method was that of
printing the warp alone by a slow process on a large cylinder, and afterwards
weaving it as carefully as possible. In printing, the tints were impressed on
the goods, and the steaming process equally applied to the whole, which
rendered printed colors more enduring than dyed. The steaming in either
case was supposed to open the pores of the wool and allow the coloring effect
to penetrate. Rollers cannot print heavy carpets well, as the coloring matter
cannot be retained, but squeezes forward as the rolls draw in the fabric. Flat
blocks must be loaded very heavily with colors, and pressed very powerfully

92 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

for some time upon the goods. This is now done by hand in the Crennille
carpet making ; but the machine under notice had proved itself capable of
printing perfectly at the rate of 4,000 yards per day.

The full-sized machine weighs 30 tons, and is some 40 feet long and 12
high, and prints 6 colors. The width is such that the blocks or carved
" forms " may be moved bodily out to one side after each impression to be
supplied with a fresh coat of color. These blocks, when hi use, are in abso-
lute contact, and press side by side upon the carpet, but to afford sufficient
room for applying the color, and also to strengthen the framing, the forms are
moved out, three to one side and the alternate three to the other, so that the
coloring sieves are separated by a space much wider than is necessary to,
prevent mixing. Mr. C. considered the machine capable of producing very fine
dress goods and very rich paper hangings, ^uch as are now only imported. He
had counted on one piece of very expensive foreign goods 130 distinct colors.
The great point in the goods so produced is the perfect "register " or fitting
of each impression exactly to its place without any of the overlapping and
distortions generally observed. This is partly owing to a peculiar method of
holding and moving forward the fabric after each impression, which insures
the absence of any stretch or irregularity. Another point is the practicability
of printing paper hangings so far heating the table over which it moves that
the color first printed would be dry before reaching the last form, ready to
receive another color upon the first when necessary. It is in this way that
the veins are displayed in a darker tint upon the surface of green leaves.

/

SEAMLESS GAEMENTS.

An invention has been patented, and is now in operation for the manu-
facture of seamless clothing by the Seamless Garment Manufacturing Com-
pany, at Winchendon, Mass. The process is as follows: The wool, as it
passes through the carding machine, is woven upon cylinders of peculiar
shape, the layers of wool crossing each other at different angles, the fibres
being stretched to then- utmost, making a close, well woven batt, which can
be formed into coat bodies ; others into sleeves, pantaloons, mittens, shoes,
leggings, and the like. Over these cylinders are drawn closely-fitting bags, or
coverings of cloth ; the whole is then immersed in water, whence they are
taken and dropped into metallic tubes heated by steam. A slight vibratory
motion is there given them, which felts the wool in a few minutes, leaving,
when coats are to be made, the ends of the sleeves and the arm holes of
the coat soft; they are then joined and firmly felted together, producing
a coat perfect in shape and even in texture. They are then fulled until they
become firm and solid. Most of those garments are dyed in the wool before
carding; those that are not are at this stage ready for the dyer. Next
they are dried on copper forms in the shape of men, heated by steam.
While upon these forms they go through a finishing process, which gives
them the appearance of the goods known as Beaver Cloth. They are now
ready for lining and trimming, which is done according to the taste or design
furnished.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 93

REWORKING WASTE FIBRE OF CLOTH.

A patent has recently been secured in England by Mr. S. C. Lister, for
reducing hard waste fibre with a twist in it, like cord, or woven cloth of
cotton, silk, &c., to be worked over again. The waste is first cut in a
machine in short lengths, then it is put into a machine having revolving
arms, like a rotary flail, and beat for some time. This loosens the several
strands in the same manner that plasterers loosen the hair used to mix with
their first coat for walls. After this beating it is placed hi a chamber and
exposed to the action of steam, then taken out, dried, and submitted to the
action of the common carding engine of a cotton factory. This process is
stated to be a great improvement in the way of treating shoddy, or waste
cotton twists, to be reworked and put into new fabrics.

Another foreign invention, applicable to tissues or other fabrics (whether
rags or pieces of new goods) composed partly of wool and partly of vegetable
fibres, consists in a mode of removing the vegetable from the woollen fibres,
and thereby obtaining the latter in a suitable state for manufacturing pur-
poses ; the same, consequently, offers an easy mode for removing the threads
from rags with which the seams, button holes, or other parts have been sewn.
The rags or other goods, after having been cleaned to a certain extent, by
any of the known means, are put into an acid bath (whether cold or suitably
heated) containing one hundred parts (by measure) of water; from four to
five parts of common sulphuric acid of commerce ; and about one part of
alcohol ; and in this bath they are left as long as required for disintegrating
sufficiently the vegetable fibres. The goods are then removed from the acid
bath; after which, the greater part of the liquid is pressed out, and the
goods dried by any suitable means care being taken to spread them out as
evenly as possible. When dried, they are submitted to a beating engine, or
other contrivance, for removing the woollen fibres from the partly decomposed
vegetable fibres that may still adhere to them ; after which the wool is
thoroughly washed in water, or in a weak alkaline or soap bath, in order to
deprive it of acid ; it is then again dried, and in this state is ready to be pre-
pared for spinning or other manufacturing purposes.

The patentee claims the mode of submitting tissues or other fabrics, com-
posed partly of woollen and partly of vegetable fibres, to a bath of diluted
sulphuric acid, to which a small portion of alcohol is added ; by the action of
which bath, and of the processes above described, the vegetable fibres are
readily removed from the wool, and leave it in a fit state for being again
employed for spinning or other manufacturing purposes.

IMPROVEMENTS IN MACHINERY FOE MANUFACTURING TEXTILE

FABRICS.

Carding Machinery. "W. Stevenson and "William Crawford, of Lochwinnoch,
Scotland, have obtained a patent for improvements in carding machinery,
which appear to be novel and good. In its main details their carding engine
resembles those in common use, having a feeding in and carding apparatus.

94 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

The wool or cotton passes through the machine in the usual manner, as far
as the main carding cylinder, but instead of doffing or removing the sliver, as
at present practised, a disk card is employed for this purpose. This is a disk
of metal covered with card teeth, and set upon a vertical rotating spindle in
such a position that the card face of the disk works with a part of its area
against or in contact with the wire card teeth on the horizontal main cylinder.
The respective surface motions of the main cylinder and the disk card are thus
at right angles with each other, and as the main cylinder revolves, the disk
card revolving also across the path, as it were, of the main cylinder card
surface, strips and carries away the wool or cotton from the main cylinder.
The fibrous material is thus carried round by the disk clear away from the
main cylinder, and one or more doffing combs being arranged to work upon
the disk card face, the fibrous material is stripped off the disk card, and passed
forward to a duplex endless apron arrangement. The apron arrangement has
a -continuous forward traverse, in the usual manner, for the conveyance of
the fibrous material away from the actual carding apparatus. But in addition
to this traverse it has also a lateral vibrating action horizontally, for the
purpose of giving a rubbing rolling action to the fibrous material, to com-
plete the sliver oV roving. To give greater effect to this slubbing rolling
process, the endless aprons are made double, the fibrous material being passed
along between the two contiguous lengths of aprons, the lateral action of which
is in opposite directions, and gives the requisite rubbing rolling action to the
fibres, and condenses the slivers for further preparation and manufacture.
And to aid the rolling or condensing action for solidifying the sliver as it
issues from the endless aprons, it may be passed through a revolving tube,
for the purpose of adding a further condensing twist to the fibres. Instead
of traversing aprons, duplex action rollers may be used for traversing and
rolling the slivers. It is intended to employ this improved machinery for
textile manufactures, but it is particularly applicable in wool carding, so as to
produce slivers of any length hi a convenient manner.

Bag Looms. The weaving of bags without seam is becoming quite _an
extensive branch of manufacture. An improvement recently patented by
Messrs. Jilson and Sparhawk of Lewiston, Me., has for its object the regulating
automatically the operation of the harness so as to weave a bag of any length,
then to close the bottom, afterwards to commence weaving open again, and so
on. It can be applied to a common loom, four or six leaves of harness being
required, according to whether a plain or twilled bag is desired. The principal
feature of the invention consists in a studded pattern cylinder having the
studs attached to movable slides, arranged longitudinally to the cylinders.
By shifting these slides in one direction, the studs are brought to a proper
position to cause the harness to operate in a suitable manner to weave the
open part of the bag, and by shifting them in the opposite direction, the studs
are brought into a position to cause the harness so to operate as to close the
bottom. These movements are all effected by self-acting devices, and can be
so varied as to weave bags of any length desired.

Harvey's dead Spindle. A spindle invented by Mr. M. B. Harvey, of Staf-
ford, Ct., differs from any heretofore introduced among cotton spinners. It

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 95

is a short spindle, costing fifty cents less per spindle in a frame than the live
spindle costs. A \varve is fitted to the spindle revolving around it. Pro-
jecting from the upper end of the warve is a tube, which, entering the
base of the bobbin, gives motion to the bobbin in part, the other part being
secured by a pin in the base of the bobbin, suited to, and entering into, a
hole in the upper plane of the warve. Motion is communicated to the warve,
and thus to the bobbin, in the same way as it is given on a frame of live
spindles.

Improvement in Hat Felting Machines. In a patented improvement of Jas.
S. Taylor of Danbury, Conn., there is a large cylinder, having on its periphery
a series of rollers, and over these is placed an elastic cover or jacket. The
large cylinder rotates in one direction and the rollers in another. The hat
bodies are carried around and felted by rubbing between the rollers and the
jacket, and are discharged at the mouth of the machine, where they are put in.
The machine is adapted especially for felting the finer quality of fur hats, for
it gives a light easy motion to the felts, and works them in hot water. We
are informed that two men can do three times more work with one of these
machines than they can by hand. Scientific American.

Flock Renovator. An ingenious machine has recently been constructed by
Mr. Charles Holt, of Stafford, Ct, for renovating the flocks used in the manu-
facture of woollen goods. It consists of a cyh'nder, fourteen inches long and
twelve in diameter, covered with cast iron plates, on the outer surface of
which are small conical teeth, one half inch in length. This cylinder revolves
about two hundred turns per minute, hi juxtaposition to an apron of iron,
between which and the rotating cylinder the flocks pass, and from which they
fall. While falling, they are pervaded by a strong tide of air from a blower,
which runs about 800 turns per minute. By the wind of the blower the flocks
are carried out through a prepared orifice, while other more ponderous and
foreign matters fall under the machine. In this manner the flocks are reno-
vated. The machine is made of iron, and costs about fifty doUars.

Napping Cloth. Sir Charles E. Grey of England has taken out a patent for
raising the nap of, and dressing woollen goods, by substituting a new material
for the common teasels, which have been used from time immemorial for this
purpose. He employs the prickly parts of plants known in the "West Indies
by the name of "nicker bush," and by some botanists called Guilandina Bon-
due. These prickly burrs are stated to be far superior, for napping, to the
teasels, and can be obtained in any quantity, and are cheaper.

Double Weaving. William Xorton of York, Eng., has secured a patent for
weaving two webs of cloth at once in one loom. He employs two founda-
tions of warps, and two shuttles, and these are placed one above the other
with separate warp and breast beams. There are two shuttle raceways on
the same lay, and a double dent reed is used. The two shuttles work across
the jveb, one above the other, at the same time, and the operations are per-
formed simultaneously. Two webs of cloth are thus produced at the same
time in one loom, and thus, in a factory, space is economized by the double
amount of work being- executed in the same space in one loom. The looms,
also, nm-t ea-t less than single looms, in proportion to the amount of work

96 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

they can execute. These looms, however, have this serious defect ; the opera-
tive or weaver cannot well tie broken threads of notice defects in the lower
web.

Twilled and Plain Weaving in one Loom. R. A. Whytlaw and James
Steven, of Glasgow, have obtained a patent for a self-acting mechanical
arrangement in looms, whereby alternate twill and plain weaving can be
executed in power looms. Four heddles are used, which are operated by
four levers that are depressed by cams on a revolving shaft, which makes
a revolution during the time that four picks are thrown by the shuttle. "When
the twilling action is required, the four heddle levers are worked separately
in the proper rotation to make the twill : but when plain weaving is required
on the web, the heddle levers are coupled in pairs, and the cam, as it comes
round, actuates each pair at once, as with two heddles in plain work ; the
four heddles are then arranged precisely as in plain cloth weaving. In the
loom of the inventors, the change from plain to twilled work is done by a self-
acting device, and peculiar fashionable fabrics, part twilled and part plain, are
thus woven.

PAPER HANGINGS IN OIL COLORS.

Mr. Peter Trumbull has secured a patent in England for the manufacture
of paper hangings with oil instead of water colors. By the use of oil colors
several objections to the use of paper hangings made from water colors can be
obviated, such as the expedition with which the latter are obliged to be
printed the paper being necessarily wet, and each color printed separately
and which, therefore, does not admit of the proper working and classification
of the colors employed, and although when dry they look rich and sightly,
yet when varnished the colors sink and present a harsh appearance. The
patentee, though using the ordinary paper, double coats it with composition
made with a solution of india rubber, tallow, japan, soap, and size, in certain
proportions, rendering the paper impermeable, strong, elastic, and durable.
The paper thus prepared and dried is then (in the manner usually practised
by grainers in wood) marbled, or otherwise ornamented with colors, com-
posed of the following ingredients: Oxichloride of lead or zinc, japan, tur-
pentine, and raw linseed oil, mixed in the ordinary manner, to produce the
desired colors. When dry they will have a gloss almost equal to one coat of
varnish. Varnish can be applied to enhance the beauty of the paper, which
does not require any preparation to receive it.

SUBSTITUTE FOR WOOD AND OTHER HARD SUBSTANCES.

Mr. F. C. Lepage has lately obtained a patent in England for a new com-
position of materials which may be employed as a substitute for wood, leather,
bone, metal, and other hard or plastic substances, and the method of manu-
facturing which is as follows :

It consists of a combination of sawdust and albumen. The sawdust may,
if preferred, be mixed with vegetable, mineral, or metallic powders, and the
albumen with any other glutinous substance : or instead of mixing the saw-
dust with albumen, the sawdust may be combined witli any other glutinous

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 97

or gelatinous substance, such as gelatine, or size, or with aluminous salts.
Pure albumen extracted from eggs, blood, &c., is preferred for the purpose of
the invention. The method of manufacturing the improved composition is as
follows: The patentee first soaks the sawdust (mixed with other powders or
not) in pure albumen, slightly diluted and liquefied by water or otherwise.
He then dries it well, and subjects it to pressure in an hydraulic press, or by
any suitable means. He next places the substance hi a mould of the required
shape (preferring a mould made of steel) hi such quantity that after forcing it
into the mould it may exactly fill it, neither more nor less. While the pres-
sure is being effected, heat is applied to the mould until the moulding is com-
pleted, by a steam jacket, hot plates, surrounding it with hot bars, by direct
or radiated heat, or otherwise. As soon as the moulding is completed the
mould is suddenly cooled by being immersed in cold water, by pouring water
over it, or in any other suitable manner. Coloring or other substances may,
if desired, be added to the sawdust and albumen. Metal castings or orna-
ments hi relief hi metal or other material may be applied on the composition
before pressure, or the articles may be ornamented by engraving the inner
surfaces of the moulds in which they are shaped. The new composition may
be applied to the manufacture of a variety of articles for which wood, ivory,
gutta percha, and other hard and plastic substances are now employed, such,
for example, as pipes, chess men, picture frames, boxes, cornices, furniture,
combs, knife and other handles, book covers, brooches, and various ornamental
articles.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFACTUEE OF SHIRRED INDIA

RUBBER GOODS.

In manufacturing common shirred goods the rubber is cut up into threads
by a machine which causes much waste of stock at the sides and ends of the
sheet from which the threads are cut ; much time is also lost in examining the
threads, to see that none but perfect ones are used, and much labor is
expended in the frequent sharpening required by the cutters. The threads
produced by the machine are placed in a stretched state at a short distance
apart between the cemented surfaces of two sheets of cambric or other cloth,
and the whole is then passed through rollers, which cause the two sheets of
cloth to adhere together hi the spaces between the threads of rubber ; but
there is little or no adhesion of the rubber and the cloth, and the consequence
is, that the durability of the goods is much less than it would be if all the
parts of the rubber adhered to the cloth.

Mr. Richard McMullen, of Xew Brunswick. N". J., has recently invented an
improved process whereby he is enabled to produce shirred goods with a sheet
of india rubber lining the entire surface of the cloth, thereby obviating waste,
and employing a much less weight of rubber to produce a fabric of greater
strength, elasticity, and durability. This object has long been sought after,
but all attempts to make every part of a sheet of rubber adhere between two
sheets of woven fabric have failed.

The improved process is as follows : In the first place both sides of the

5

98 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

sheet of rubber are roughened in its manufacture, by placing it between
two coarse cloths and then passing it through calender or spreading rollers
between the coarse cloths after it leaves the rollers ; or by passing the sheet,
before it becomes hard or set, between the surfaces of two rough rollers or
any other surfaces suitable to produce a roughness or a series of minute cavi-
ties all over both surfaces of the sheet. It is next vulcanized, and afterwards
boiled in a solution of potash to remove the sulphur which is precipitated on
the surface after vulcanization, and which would prevent adhesion. After
this the cement is spread over both surfaces of the rubber, and the cloth is
applied in the usual way, while the rubber is kept at such a tension as is
necessary to give the goods the degree of elasticity required, and the whole is
passed between rollers which have plain smooth surfaces. Plain smooth rol-
lers are the best for this purpose, as they insure better adhesion of all parts of
the surface of the rubber and cloth ; but a rib or figure may, if desired, be
produced on the surface of the goods by grooving, embossing, engraving,
indenting, or otherwise ornamenting the periphery of one of the rollers and
covering the other roller with felt or some yielding substance. This rolh'ng
operation completes the process.

PEEFOEATED OE SOLID BEICKS.

Some experiments have lately been instituted at Belfast, Ireland, on the
comparative sustaining power of patent perforated bricks and bricks of
the ordinary kind. In each case a pier of four courses of the bricks to be
tested was built, hi Roman cement, on the table of a powerful hydraulic press,
and allowed at least 24 hours thoroughly to set. A light scale board was
suspended to the safety-valve lever of the press, on which there were placed
successive weights, until the pier of bricks on the table of the press was
crushed. The number of weights was increased a quarter of a pound at a
time (being an equivalent to an increment of 10 tons on the press), com-
mencing at 30 tons, this starting point being the effect due to the united
weights of the level and scale board. The pump was worked very slowly, to
eliminate the concussion produced otherwise by the inertia of the water. The
first experiment was made with good ordinary brick, in a pier of 18 in. square,
built in four courses. This showed symptoms of failing with 110 tons, and
was crushed with 150 tons. A pier of the same dimensions of perforated
bricks began to crack with 270 tons, and was crushed with 350 tons. Sir
John M'Neil having expressed a desire to witness a repetition of these expe-
riments, at his request a pier of 9 in. square of each kind of bricks was built
in cement, in four courses as before, and with especial care to have the joints
as thin as possible. The common bricks failed with 40 tons, whereas the
pier of patent bricks sustained 120 tons before it was crushed. Reducing the
result of these experiments to the effect upon a superficial foot, common
bricks, in the first experiment, were crushed by 66| tons to the square foot,
and by 71 1 tons to the second, the mean being 68f tons. Patent perforated
bricks were crushed in the first experiment by 1551 tons per superficial foot,
and in the second by 213 tons, the mean being 184| tons.

A paper on the manufacture of bricks was recently read before the English

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 99

Society of Arts, and the importance of the trade to the country was illustrated
by the following statement. The quantity of bricks made per annum in
England is 1,800,000,000; Manchester alone making 130,000,000, London
averaging about the same. Taking bricks at the low average of three tons
per 1000, the annual weight would be 5,400,000 tons, and the capital em-
ployed 2,000,000 pounds sterling or nearly ten millions of dollars. The
number of patents connected with the manufacture was stated to be 230.

PLASTIC ZINC FOR ROOMS.

At a recent meeting of the French Academy, M. Dumas communicated the
particulars of a recent invention by M. Sorel, which promises to be of great
advantage to plasterers and workers in stucco. He stated that the invention
consisted in the discovery of a property possessed by oxychloride of zinc,
which renders it superior to the plaster of Paris for coating the walls of rooms.
It is applied in the following manner : " A coat of oxyd of zinc mixedwith
size, and made up like a wash, is first laid on the wall, ceiling, or wainscot,
and over that a coat of chloride of zinc applied, being prepared in the same
way as the first wash. The oxyd and chloride effect an immediate combina-
tion, and form a kind of cement, smooth and polished as glass, and possessing
all the advantages of oil paint without its disadvantages of smell, &c. The
inventor further suggests the employment of oxychloride of zinc as a paint
for iron, and also to stop hollow teeth, for which its plasticity and subsequent
hardness and impenetrability to the moisture of the mouth, render it particu-
larly applicable.

Painting is now done in London by a hose. A reservoir of the paint or
color is set on a parapet, and the workman uses a hollow brush connected
therewith by means of a length of half-inch hose. The consequence is, that
he works away with a never ceasing supply.

THE MECHANICAL ARTS IN JAPAN.

In the practical and mechanical arts the Japanese show great dexterity ;
and when the rudeness of their tools and their imperfect knowledge of ma-
chinery are considered, the perfection of their manual skill appears marvellous.
Their handicraftsmen are as expert as any in the world, and, with a free
development of the inventive powers of the people, the Japanese would not
remain long behind the most successful manufacturing nations. Their curi-
osity to learn the results of the material progress of other people, and their
readiness in adapting them to their own uses, would soon, under a less exclu-
sive policy of government, which isolates them from national communion,
raise them to a level with the most favored countries. Once possessed of the
requisitions of the past and present of the civilized world, the Japanese would
enter as powerful competitors in the race of mechanical success hi the future.
" Every American admired the skilful workmanship of the carpenters as dis-
played in the construction of the wood work in the houses, the nice adjust-
ment and smooth finish of the jointing, the regularity of the flooring, and the
neat framing and easy working of the window casements and movable door-

100 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

panels and screens. The general designs of the houses and public buildings
were very inferior to the execution of the details of construction. The former
were uniform, and probably in accordance with the ancient models, and
showed a constraint of inventive power within rules doubtless prescribed by
Government ; while the latter evinced that perfection of finish which belongs
to progressive experience. As in the carpentry so in the masonry, there was
no freedom nor boldness of conception, but the most complete execution.
Their stone was weh 1 cut, and then- walls strongly and regularly built,
generally in the massive Cyclopean style. The coopers were found to be
very expert at Hakodadi, where a large number of barrels was constantly in
the process of manufacture, for packing the dried and salted fish. The barrels
are firkin-shaped, bulging at the top, and are rapidly and skilfully hooped
with plaited bamboo. There are many workers in metal for ornamental and
useful purposes. The Japanese understand well the carbonizing of iron, and
the temper of much of their steel is good, as was proved by the polish and
sharpness of then 1 sword blades. The cutlery, however, in common use at
Hakodadi was of an inferior kind, and the barber of one of the ships pro-
nounced a razor purchased in the town as being abominably bad, neither cut-
ting nor capable of being made to cut. American Expedition to the Chinese
Seas and Japan.

LIVERMORE'S BARBEL MACHINERY.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to estimate how many millions of kegs,
casks, barrels, butts, hogsheads, &c., in all their varieties, are annually required
throughout the world. It has been said of the Chinese, whose skill in exe-
cuting other impossibilities in wood is unapproachable, that they can make
anything except a barrel ; but throughout the rest of the civilized world we
believe common consent agrees with the experience of ages in demanding for
general packing purposes precisely the qualities found in these constructions,
i.e. convenient size for handling, roundness for rolling, projecting chimes to
be seized in hoisting, and a swelled bilge to allow of tightening by driving the
hoops. Economy demands that the whole shall be of wood in separate pieces ;
but a due regard to efficiency and tightness requires a high degree of per-
fection hi the workmanship. To fulfil all these conditions by machinery, and
manufacture perfect barrels in any other manner than by the cooper's tools
and the cresset fire, has come to be considered almost an impossibility. Ma-
chines for sa,wing out a form tolerably approximating to that of a stave have
been put in use with good success for some purposes ; and a powerful engine
for biting off large shavings or chips in just the form desired has astonished
the curious at all our fairs; and both these, with many others, have con-
tributed their quota to the immense number of hooped and headed cases
which inclose the flour, rice, beans, fruit, and " sundries" in transportation or
storage in our widely-extended country. But the importance of tolerably
tight and well made barrels for flour is plainly apparent in every warehouse,
where the waste of the " double extra," "fancy," "superfine" material can be
observed, and the employment of barrels absolutely water tight, by preserving
the flour from damage, would under many circumstances add a large per-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 101

centage to its value. The hand made barrels generally used for good flour
cost in New York State from 35 to 45 cents each, and in many milling loca-
lities as high as 60 cents ; while barrels made sufficiently tight for containing
oil are sold at nearly or quite five cents for each gallon of cubical contents.

A machine, or rather set of machines, designed for the purpose of manu-
facturing the parts of a barrel with perfection equalling or excelling that of
hand labor, has been lately invented and put in use by Mr. Geo. TV. Liver-
more of Cambridgeport, Mass. The practical working of the invention leaves
no room for doubt that it is capable of producing barrels absolutely perfect in
form, strength, and tightness, as well as in beauty of appearance. This last
element depends in a high degree on the perfection of the planing machine
previously employed upon the stuff, a species of machinery of which the
powers are well understood, and therefore may be passed over very slightly.

In Mr. Livermore's invention the staves are " shaped" by a process some-
what analogous to the steaming and bending in common use, or perhaps still
more to the ship timber bending about which some noise was made a few
years since, but which, like the electric telegraph in the country legislator's
grave opinion, " would do well enough for small bundles, but never for large
packages." In one vitally important point, however, it differs from any such
process, and that is its instantaneous action. The bending is accomplished in
a twinkling by passing the flat sawed stave, after smoothing it in a Wood-
worth's planing machine and exposure to a mixture of air and steam at about
310 degrees Fah., through a series of some half dozen pairs of slowly revolving
rollers, so shaped and disposed as to curl it both edgewise and endwise, and
at the same time slightly compress and fill its pores. The wood slightly
straightens itself again as it leaves the rolls, and then retains its form under
all circumstances with a very commendable pertinacity. The previous sawing
of the stuff is done as usual by circular saws, and the seasoning by a few
hours' exposure in a suitable kiln. The previous planing having reduced the
stuff to an uniform thickness, the only remaining operations of interest are
crozing the grooves across the ends to receive the heads, bevelling the chimes,
and jointing and planing the edges. These operations are all performed by
the same machine, each stave being separately clamped in a horizontally
swinging frame, an operation which springs it into its correct form, whatever
may be the tendency of its own elasticity. This clamping is performed very
rapidly by a single movement of a lever operated by hand ; and by urging the
frame first against a rapidly working vertical plane on one side, and then against
a similar planing device on the other, the edges are jointed with perfect
smoothness, and in the perfect varying bevel desired, while the operations of
crozing, sawing off, and chamfering at each end, are done by circular cutters
revolving on a vertical shaft, past which the stave is compelled to move in the
transition. The heads are turned in a lathe, being chucked in as many sepa-
rate pieces as desired, by a very simple and familiar arrangement.

In the size ordinarily wrought sixteen staves of equal size are required for
a barrel. A set of machines consists of one shaper, one head-cutter, and four
jointing machines. The shaping is performed at the rate of twenty staves, or
1 barrels per minute. The jointers each finish four staves per minute, and

102 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the whole operation is so conducted that eight men and four boys are able to
manufacture, under favorable circumstances, the staves and heads for about
four hundred barrels a day, at a cost of about six cents per barrel, to which
an amount, varying with the location from 4 to 16 cents, should be added
for the expense of the lumber, and about 10 cents for hoops and putting
together.

NEW GRINDING MILLS.

Mr. Thomas Blanchard, the well known inventor, has recently constructed
a grain mill on an entirely new and novel principle. Instead of grinding, it
saws the gram or whatever substance is put into the hopper.

For a handmill, steel disks, about two inches diameter, are struck out of
sheet steel, with serrated edges, so as to make a notch or tooth every half-
inch or inch around the edge. These disks are put upon an arbor with plates
or washers between each pair, of the same thickness as the saws, till the
arbor is covered about an inch in length. Another set exactly like this is
placed upon another arbor, so arranged that the edges come between the
saws on the other arbor ; the two being geared together so as to make them
revolve towards each other. These sets of plates may be continued to an
indefinite length, each set being finer than the preceding.

The hopper is made to discharge fast or slow by the same motion of the
driving crank, to suit the strength of the operator. It is also made to slide so
as to bring the opening over each set of disks. Now, supposing you want to
grind corn just fine enough for hominy, the hopper is set over the coarsest set
of disks, and the corn run through, falling upon a shaking screen that sifts
out all the finer portion. Now if you wish to grind that still finer, push the
hopper forward and run the meal through again and again.

As the teeth can never touch each other, so as to wear off dull by the
grinding operation, like the cast iron mills or burr stones, they will continue
sharp until worn out by the grain itself, which they have failed to do in six
months' use. As before remarked, the grain is not ground ; it is cut up by
these little circular saws, and whatever comes in contact with them is
reduced to sawdust, either coarse or fine, according to the saws in operation.
A mill can be built upon a large scale to go by power, so as to grind gram of
half a dozen degrees of fineness at the same time.

The inventor fully believes that this principle of reducing grain to fineness
will take less power than any other ever before applied to that purpose, and
we believe that every one present fully concurred in this opinion. It grinds
every description of grain with equal facility, and will not clog with wet oats
or buckwheat.

A new mill for grinding wheat, recently patented in England, has its pecu-
liarity in combining, in one mill, steel and stone grinding surfaces. The first
and upper grinding surface is formed of a vertical steel cone which revolves hi
a correspondingly shaped fixed cone, and below these cones ordinary grinding
stones are fitted horizontally. The corn or other grain is fed into and between
the steel cones from a hopper, and in its passage through them becomes very
quickly bruised and converted into meal, for which purpose it is well known

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 103

that steel mills are better adapted than stones. After being so converted, the
meal falls between the horizontal grindstones which reduce the meal into
flour. The great advantage consists in apportioning each of the grinding
surfaces to perform the portion of the grinding operations to which they are
best adapted, the steel for converting the grain into meal, and the stones the
meal into flour.

CHEAP ROOFING FOR HOUSES.

In all new settlements, whether timbered land or prairie, there is a difficulty
in procuring building materials, and the most difficult of all is a good mate-
rial for roofs, something as a substitute for shingles where shingles cannot be
easily obtained. Sawed boards are often substituted, but they form a very
unreliable protection ; and unless the board roofs are built very steep, they
are only a make-believe, and are withal quite liable to take sailing orders from
a " norther" as it sweeps unobstructed across the prairie. The best substi-
tute for shingles, probably, is a roof made of tarred paper ; and it has this
great advantage, that the work can be done by any common hands, and the
transportation is not heavy, or the material expensive. There is a tarred
paper sold at five cents a pound, one pound of which will cover a yard square,
or say half a cent a foot ; but we think this paper is rather too thin ; we
should prefer to have it twice the thickness, such as the thin, spongy straw
board paper used for light cheap boxes. It does not require to be strong,
and perhaps the cheap article alluded to will answer perfectly ; if so, a roof
can be made for one cent a foot. This paper comes in rolls, and may be laid
in courses up and down or across the roof, so that the edges are lapped, and
tacked with common No. 6 tacks, which would be very much improved by
using leather under the heads, as is often done in tacking carpets. The com-
position for covering a paper roof is made of the following ingredients : good
clean tar, 8 gallons ; Roman cement, 2 gallons ; rosin, 5 Ibs. ; tallow, 3 Ibs. ;
boil and stir, and thoroughly mix ah 1 together, and use hot, spreading it evenly,
in a thick coat, over the paper, which should be tacked upon thoroughly
seasoned boards kiln-dried are best well nailed up and down on lath
fastened to the rafters. The roof may be quite flat, rising only one foot in
twelve. In nailing on the paper, lap the courses as you would shingles, and
commence putting on the composition at the upper edge and work down, and
while the coating is still hot, let a hand follow and sift on sharp grit sand,
pressing it into the tar with a trowel or back of a shovel. When the first
coat is cool, go over with a second, and again with a third, and afterwards
once in five or six years, as long as your house stands, and you will have
a tight roof.

In place of the Eoman cement, you may use very fine, very clean sand,
that is, silex in a state of impalpable powder. The paper is such as is used
under the copper in sheathing ships ; it is a soft spongy paper that soaks up
the tar, which penetrates through and glues it to the boards, and the sand
seems also to penetrate the substance of the paper, making it like stone. The
paper should be nailed on with short tacks with flat heads. The principal
objection to a paper and tar composition roof is its combustibility; but that

104: ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCO VEEY.

is easily remedied, for it can be very cheaply made incombustible with Blake's
paint, or with a paint made of common water lime, mixed with any cheap
oil ; or with the following cheap preparation. Slake good stone lime under
cover, with hot water, till it falls into a fine dry powder. Sift and mix six
quarts of lime with one quart of salt, hi two gallons of water, and boil and
skim off any impurities. Now to 5 gallons of this mixture add 1 Ib. of alum,
Ib. of copperas, and slowly, while boiling, Ib. of potash, and 4 quarts of
clean sharp sand, and afterwards any coloring matter desired, and apply the
mixture with a brush, as you would any paint, only thicker, and it forms a
strong surface, impenetrable to water, and incombustible from heat or sparks
that would ignite any ordinary wooden roof.

The raiters for such a roof should be stiff, but may be made of stuff 1 in.
by 8 in., if well supported, and placed 6 feet apart, with ribs 1 in. by 2 in., set
edgewise, and well nailed to the rafters, not over 18 in. apart. The boards
may be thin, if well nailed to the ribs, but must be absolutely weh 1 seasoned,
and if put on and covered while hot from the kiln, ah 1 the better. One of the
advantages of such a roof is the ease with which it can be moved in after
years, either on the building, or by transferring it in sections to another, which
in ah 1 border towns is no small item of advantage. New York Tribune.

INDUSTRIAL EESOUECES OF MASSACHUSETTS.

The increase in the industrial resources of Massachusetts within the past
ten years is one of the most remarkable facts connected with the history of
our country during this period. When the industrial statistics of the State
were first collected, in 1837, they exhibited an annual production amounting
to $86,282,616. In 1845 the amount was $124,749,457. It has now swelled
to $295,820,681 an increase of one hundred and thirty-eight per cent, since
1845, and two hundred and forty-two sine* 1837 ; and this while the increase
of population has been only thirty-four per cent, since 1845, and sixty-two in
the longer period named. "And yet this result," says the Secretary, in his
report, "so surprising in itself, falls manifestly below the reality. Leaving out
of the account those branches which were unfortunately omitted in the specific
inquiries, and making all possible allowance for the greater accuracy attained
in the collection of the information embodied in the accompanying pages, it is
still apparent that the truth has not been reached. It is next to impossible
for the taxpayer, when called upon by the assessor to answer such questions
as were propounded under the law, to divest his mind of the impression of an
intimate connexion between his answers and the assessment of his taxes.
Hence the general tendency to understate results, and an absolute refusal in
numerous instances to answer at all. Had those branches which were over-
looked been included in the returns, and honest and truthful answers obtained
in all cases to the questions proposed, I am fully persuaded that instead of
two hundred and ninety-five millions, we should have had an aggregate of at
least three hundred and fifty millions, or considerably over one million of
dollars per day of every working day in the year. As it is, the result exhibits
a rapid and substantial growth in our industrial resources which is believed
to be without a parallel in the history of the world."

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 105

MEANS OF ARRESTING FIRES.

Mi\ D. J. Murphy of Cork, Ireland, publishes the following plan for
arresting and extinguishing fires.

"It is simply saturating the water discharged from fire engines with a
certain proportion of chloride of sodium (common salt) and potash, both cheap
articles; and, indeed, the former alone will be found quite effectual in all
ordinary cases. The proportion of these ingredients to be employed may vary
from one-tenth to one-thirtieth of the weight of the water so discharged, of
which it will be found that a considerably less quantity will be required,
from being so saturated. In low elevations, and where the flame has not
reached a great height, the stronger impregnation may be used with advan-
tage ; but when the flame has arrived at a considerable elevation, the weaker
impregnation can only be employed, arising from the greater resistance of the
air, the increased weight of the materials, and the augmented difficulty of the
stronger impregnation passing through the valves of the fire engine : though,
even then, it can be successfully discharged to attack the flame at its root or
base, which is, perhaps, the best course to adopt in all cases. A fireman, hi
his ordinary dress, and simply armed with an elastic tube conveying this
stronger impregnation, may boldly and securely face the strongest and fiercest
flame, and make himself a passage through it, by commencing cautiously
at first to discharge the impregnation on each side of him; for, where it
falls, it not only subdues the flame, but, by leaving a coating of the
materials, it prevents it from readily catching again the substance on which
it previously fed ; the result being that the muriatic acid becomes volatilized,
and flies off, while the soda, which is indestructible, is converted into a glaze
on the surface. The root or base of the flame is therefore the point to which
the force, power, and efficacy of the impregnation ought always to be directed.

" This impregnation, it is to be observed, can be so managed, by the addi-
tion of other ingredients, when found necessary, or where the expense is
disregarded, such as the diluted mineral acids and their salts, as to produce a
temperature approaching, and even considerably below, the freezing point on
Fahrenheit's scale, and yet preserve its fluidity ; for it is by its chemical com-
bination it acts against the flame, and also in serving to reduce the temperature
of the surrounding heated atmosphere. The effect of several engines acting
at the same time, by the weaker and stronger impregnations, must be all
powerful, as may be easily conceived ; and no fire, whatever degree of head it
may have previously attained, can resist the power and efficacy of this impreg-
nation for any period exceeding half an hour. Even water, saturated with
finely powdered clay, chalk, slaked lime, &c., all cheap articles, and slow
conductors of heat, may be employed with great advantage on flames of low
elevation ; for it is to be impressed that water is alone used as a medium for
conveying these substances, as well as the others, to the body of the flame, or
rather to its source such as the substance on which it feeds. Let this be
completely coated with these ingredients; for the water will be quickly
evaporated by the intense heat, and the effect sought namely, the extinction
of the fire will be the immediate and necessary consequence."

106 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

IMPKOVEMEXTS IN MUSICAL INSTKUMENTS.

Driggs's Improved Piano. In the Annual for 1856, we briefly called atten-
tion to an improvement in the piano, invented by Mr. S. B. Driggs, of New
York. (See Annual Sci. Dis., 1856, pp. 128, 129.) The foUowing is an
additional notice of this improvement:

Before speaking directly of the new piano, it will be as well to examine the
points in the old, which the patents are intended to supersede. The case in
the old system is made very stoutly, the wood upon which the whole strain of
the strings rests being some two inches in thickness ; this is aided materially by
an iron plate or upper frame. It must be understood that the tuning phis, to
which one end of the strings is attached, are inserted in a pin block or wrest
plank, and pass through holes drilled in the iron frame much larger than the
pins, so that there the iron frame bears no portion of the strain, which is all
upon the wrest plank attached to the case. If that gives in the least, the whole
instrument is disorganized, and whether it gives or not, depends upon the ever
variable quality and the seasoned age of the wood. To guard against this as
much as possible, and to counterbalance the strain, which is all on the top, a
bottom six inches thick is put to the piano, and heavy sustaining blocks of
wood fill up the whole interior, leaving only space sufficient for the working
of the action. "We here find a vibrating instrument with a monstrously thick
non-resonant bottom a non-resonant case, and lumbered to its utmost pos-
sible capacity with non-resonant blocks of wood, the only actual vibrating
surface being the single sounding board. Upon the slightest reflection this
seems all wrong ; for we might as well fill up a fiddle with blocks of wood, or
stuff up the interior of a drum, and expect them under such circumstances to
produce a pure and resonant tone.

In Mr. Driggs's pianos is found the exact opposite of all this. The case is a
mere shell half an inch in thickness, which merely surrounds the frame. This
frame is composed of upper and lower light iron plates and bars, bolted
firmly together by means of connecting arms. These arms pass through the
wrest plank or pin block, which is entirely disconnected from the case, and
thus the whole strain of the strings is borne by the perfect iron frame (not
merely an upper plate), and all the strength derived from the wood, which
must ever be uncertain, and subject to changes from temperature, is avoided
and dispensed with. Solid, compact, and self-sustaining, the iron frame
neither yields nor gives, and the strings, when once settled to their proper
tension, will remain at that pitch for months, and, practical tuners say, for
years.

Instead of a bottom six inches in thickness, the bottom of Mr. Driggs's
piano is but one eighth of an inch thick. It is pressed tightly into a slight
frame of scantling, which gives it a convex form, like the back of a violin, and
renders it as stiff and sonorous as a drum head. The sounding board proper is
pressed into a light iron frame, and is retained stiffly in a form, convex to the
bottom like the belly of a violin, and all the space between the bottom and the
sounding board is clear and open. Not a block of wood encumbers its area ;
it is a vast sound box, with vibrating sides, vibrating top, and vibrating bot-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 107

torn A wooden sound post passes from the bottom to the sounding board,
so that the slightest vibration on either sensitive surface is instantly commu-
nicated to the other.

One other point, and the two modes of manufacture are contrasted.

To produce a clear, pure tone a tone which will remain clear and pure
when forced with the utmost power, there should be no impediment to dis-
turb the direct vibration of the strings. In the general system of manufacture,
when the string reaches the bridge, its straight line is diverted by two pins
which receive it to the right of one, and to the left of the other, thus forming
a zig-zag, which was thought to be necessary to keep the string in its place,
and prevent rattling at the bridge. This produces what is called a side
bearing ; that is, the direct up-and-down vibration is stopped at the bridge, a
side motion given, and the struggle of the two motions resulting eventually
in a disturbed rotary vibration, which is more impure the more it is enforced,
and producing much loud sound, but no true note.

In Mr. Driggs's piano all this disturbing influence is obviated by means of
saddles placed over the bridge, and fastened at each end to the sounding
board. These saddles have two ridges ; the foremost one is drilled, and the
string passes through this, and over the other, thus preserving the tension,
obviating all rattle, and allowing the string a direct unbroken run from end
to end. The result of this invention is, that the blow of the hammer pro-
duces a clear, pure, and undisturbed vibration, and, no matter how hard the
blow received by the string, it is not possible to knock out noise ; and increased
power will be obtained in proportion to the blow, but it will be tone, pure
tone, rich, deep, and sonorous.

In this connection, we would also notice an improvement claimed in Eng-
land for the construction of .the sounding board, which is described as follows :

One of the greatest improvements in the construction of pianofortes has
been the efficient support of the sounding board, without impairing its powers
of vibration. Being a large thin piece of wood, it is peculiarly liable to be
acted upon by the weather ; moreover, the bridge, over which the strings are
strained, exercises an enormous pressure, requiring adequate resistance to
prevent starting. But every endeavor to support the sounding board against
this pressure, and to keep it flat in all weathers, has hitherto interfered with
its vibratory power, and injured the tone and touch of the instrument. It has
been reserved for Mr. Dreaper, of Liverpool, to overcome the difficulty, and to
discover a means of supporting and regulating every portion of the sounding
board, in such a manner as greatly to increase the vibratory power, and, in
consequence, to improve the tone throughout, and to obtain other correlative
advantages. He has taken out a patent for it, and we have no doubt he will
reap from his discovery as great benefit, pecuniarily, as he has conferred on
the lovers of music by his improvement of that soul of private harmony the
pianoforte. Like most real improvements, it is so simple as to make eveiy
one wonder that it should not have not been discovered before. The supports,
instead of being solid, as hitherto applied, are hollow, and in themselves vibra-
tory. Mr. Dreaper calls them "harmonic chambers" and "compensating bars,"
which are elastic, and are so contrived as to force them against the sounding

108 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

board, wherever support or resistance may be required. The sounding board
is thus protected from the pressure of the bridge and the effect of the atmo-
sphere ; and, being kept more true in its relation to the strings, the sounds
produced by the striking of the keys are more uniform in their results, have
less tendency to get out of tune, and, from the additional vibratory structure,
are fuller, rounder, and more musical in quality. The touch is correspondingly
improved, as the strings respond to the slightest touch of the hammer.

Improved Violin Bow By Samuel F. French, of Franklin, Vt. When the
musician wishes to execute a delicate passage upon the violin, he turns the
bow over, so that only the edge hairs will scrape the strings. The present
improvement consists in attaching the ends of a few of the hairs to a spring
pin, placed in the handle of the bow ; whenever a fine tone is wanted the
operator compresses his hand and pushes out the phi, and thus separates, or
throws out beyond their fellows, those hairs that are connected with the
pin. The music produced by the separated hairs will be of the most delicate
nature. By loosening the hand the pin instantly flies in, and brings all the
hairs instantly together again. This improvement does not interfere with the
straining of the bow.

Musical Notation. Mr. W. Striby, of London, has recently taken out a
patent for a new system of musical notation, the object of which is to reduce
ah 1 the musical clefe, scales, and systems to one single scale; or, rather, a
single system of scales. A new shaped set of clefs is adopted, by which a
given note will retain the same relative position upon the staves for ah 1 instru-
ments and clefs ; and, instead of using only five hues in a stave, he employs
a greater number, having one called a "union line, "differing from the others
in size or color, to render it conspicuous, to enable a person to distinguish the
position of the notes more readily.

Registering Music. Composers and extemporizers of pianoforte music have
long been hi want of some contrivance that should register the notes of a
musical composition as fast as they were struck upon the instrument. Many
attempts have been made to produce such an apparatus, but never, we believe,
with real practical success. Then: parts have generally been too complicated
and uncertain for utility. An invention, by Joseph C. Day, of Hackettstown,
N. J., seems to effectually overcome all difficulties. It consists in placing
across the top of the piano a frame, in which an endless apron of paper or
other substance is made to revolve by means of a weight or spring. A series
of light perpendicular rods extend down from the frame, the lower ends of
which rest, one upon each key. The upper ends of the rods are furnished
with markers ; whenever a key is pressed the rod which rests upon it also
falls, and its marker touches the revolving paper, leaving a mark indicative of
the note touched. When the finger is removed, the key rises and carries up
the marker away from the apron. If the paper is lined off laterally and lon-
gitudinally, the composition may be easily read and copied by the operator.
The length of the notes will be shown by the length of the mark.

Portfolio for Binding Sheet Music. In an invention for the above purpose,
patented by James Shaw, of Providence, R. I., a roller, constructed of wood,
is permanently attached to the back of the portfolio, on the inner side of the

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 109

covers. The roller is equal in length to the covers, and has a longitudinal
groove cut in it its entire length ; it also has grooves cut in it circumferentially
at equal distances apart. Metallic rings are fitted loosely into the grooves.
The music sheets, maps, engravings, or other articles, are secured to the rings
within the portfolio, by means of a needle and thread.

Improvement in Melodeon-s. In ordinary -melodeons the keys are quite
short ; they do not extend back like piano keys, but terminate just at the
fulcrum. Attached to the under side of each key, in a melodeon, is a wire
projecting downwards, known as a "push-down pin;" when a key is pressed,
this phi comes hi contact with a pah* of corresponding reed valves, opens the
same, and musical sounds result. In the best melodeons each push-down pin
opens two valves, so that for each pressure of a key, two different sounds
are produced. An invention, by T. F. Thornton of Buffalo, N. Y., consists
hi elongating the rear end of the key, and placing upon the upper surface
of the extended part a " push-up pin," arranged in connection with an
additional set of reeds and valves. The result is that whenever a key is
touched, four musical sounds, forming a chord, are produced, instead of two,
as heretofore.

SEROPYAN'S PROTECTIVE PROCESS AGAINST COUNTERFEITING.

In the plan proposed by Mr. Seropyan, the paper, before the printing, is
tinted over the whole surface by means of an oil color, excepting that in
certain parts of each bill, five or more, the denomination is indicated in large
letters or figures, which are left white like the uncolored paper. After this
comes the printing of the engraved plate. To alter such a bill, it is necessary
to color up, precisely to the general tint, the white letters and figures,
expressing the denomination, so as completely to obliterate them, and, at the
same tune, not obscure the engraving over them.

The new plan prevents photographic copying by means of the peculiar
color and nature of the ink, and also of the color of the paper ; and from the
results of trials with Seropyan's bills which have been examined, as well as
from known principles with regard to the impossibility of obtaining distinct-
ness hi a photograph when the object copied has certain shades of color, it is
believed that the method is a complete protection.

In copying a print by any anastatic process, the ink of the letters, or of the
engraved lines, does not absorb the corrosive liquid with which the paper is
moistened, and upon this difference between the clean paper and the ink
lines, the possibility of anastatic copying depends. Now hi the Seropyan
mode of printing bills, the general face of the bill being covered with oil
color, there is no such distinction as is here required ; whatever means may
be used to remove the oil will obliterate the printing. Hence the anastatic
method cannot possibly be used in copying such bills.

POWERS' SYSTEM OF MODELLING.

The following is a description of the new method of modelling recently
introduced by Powers, the American sculptor : The original block is con-
structed hi a masonry of small bricks of " gesso." laid in plaster, and of

110 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

dimensions varying from three to four inches long by two to two and a half
inches wide, and about three quarters to one inch thick. These, piled toge-
ther, become a homogeneous mass of sulphate of lime, and an easily workable
artificial stone. The block so made is next chipped down to the required
size, the component limbs and trunk being hewn out of the solid, principally
by the aid of small and light chisels and hammers. Upon the scaly chipped
surface of the figure in this state (when it resembles a lepidodendron more
than anything else) the modelling of the muscles and features is effected in a
paste of plaster, dabbed on with trowels, floats, and finally spuds of various
sizes. The finished surface of the nude is lastly worked up by hollow files,
pierced at one end, like a colander, with holes, half round which a tooth is
raised. These files are extremely effective ; they are made by the artist him-
self, of every shape, size, and curvature, and rasp the dry plaster away
beautifully, leaving a pleasant texture of surface.

In the fingers and extremities of the plaster model copper wires are
inserted, being the only representatives of the unwieldy mass of iron frame-
work necessary for the setting up and support of a clay model ; these wires,
by their ductility, afford sufficient liberty for changing the pose and attitude
of members, if, as the work proceeds, occasion arises for so doing. A finger,
for instance, requires to be more bent; it is sawn through to the wire at
the joint, the wire is twisted into the required position, and a fresh modelling
of the joint muscles is alone required. The wires, in fact, take the place of
bones.

For finishing the limbs of his figures with that extreme nicety which he
does, Mr. Powers adopts a bold and novel mode. He has invented a vice,
which is set upon a ball and socket joint, and has, by virtue of raising and
depressing screws, every possible variety of motion. This instrument is the
perfection of ingenuity. The sculptor cuts off from his figure an arm, a head,
a leg, when modelled sufficiently for his purpose, and, fixing it in the vice,
turns, twists, scrapes and polishes it at his ease, to the most detailed finish.
In cutting off, a dowel is inserted into one side of the cut, and a mortice
hole left in the other, and these are so arranged, with regard to a groove
which is first made on the outside of the linib, as to insure an absolute
accuracy in refitting. By arrangements of this kind the working of the
torso is rendered much less difficult than when covered in part by limbs
stretching before it, and the finishing of the nude to that exactness which
Mr. Powers always adopts before touching the drapery, becomes a less tedious
operation.

The several advantages obtained by this s} T stem are, the saving of one
whole operation, viz. casting, the model itself being used for the points ; the
convenience of being able at any time to put aside or resume a study without
that intervening watchfulness, and care in moistening and covering up, which
a clay model requires; the more absolutely sculpturesque nature of the
designing itself; the facility of bending the extremities when modelled by
means of their central wiry bones, which would only cut through instead of
moving the clayey limbs ; the saving of time and labor, by remodelling a
portion only, instead of a whole limb, when slightly altered in position; and,

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. Ill

lastly, the better anatomical exactitude with wlu'ch members detached from
the body may, as members, be worked.

SUBMARINE AND SUBSOIL MAPS.

As far back as the year 1852, Professor Forchhammer, of the University
of Kiel, suggested in a speech to the assembled savans of Germany at their
annual gathering at Wiesbaden, the possibility of constructing submarine
charts on the same principle as the common geographical maps, with a
shading of greater or less strength to denote the mountains and other in-
equalities of the bed of the sea. That gentleman has just now had a map
on tliis principle engraved. It is intended to illustrate a work of his now in
the press on the Ruins of Troy, and represents the sea between the Island of
Tenedos and the opposite coast of Asia Minor, including therefore the classic
spot where the Greek fleet lay at anchor, the rendezvous of the different naval
contingents to the memorable expedition to Troy. This submarine map is
partly based on the soundings taken by H. B. M. surveying ship Beacon, and
published in the Admiralty charts, and partly from the observations made on
the spot by the learned professor himself, who spent a long time in those
classical parts for the purpose of studying their topography. He proposes to
call the charts constructed on his new system, " Bentheographical Maps."

Subsoil Mo.p. M. Durnon, of Paris, has recently constructed, by order of
government, a map, exhibiting the nature and character of the subsoil for
the whole 'of France. It is designed to be used with, and to accompany
another map descriptive of the geographical and geological features of the
surface. The one map exhibits with the greatest accuracy all information
pertaining to the surface, while the other reveals what lies immediately below
the surface, thus affording indications of great value to the agriculturist, and
to those engaged hi searching for minerals or building materials.

COOKING WITHOUT FIRE.

Mr. W. "W. Albro, of Binghamton, N. T., has invented a contrivance fo_r
this purpose, which consists in a combination of tin cooking dishes placed
above each other, the bottom of one vessel fitting into the top part of the dish
below, &c. In the lower dish of ah 1 , the inventor places a small quantity of
quicklime, and then by means of a tube introduces a little cold water; a
strong chemical action ensues, and intense heat is instantly generated, where-
by articles of food, such as meat, vegetables, &c., placed hi the other dishes,
will be cooked hi a very short tune. The inventor states, that a tin con-
trivance of this kind, not occupying greater space than an ordinary bandbox,
will do the cooking of a family of five persons. It is also adaptable for work-
ing men's dinner pails, enabling them to enjoy freshly cooked and warm
meals.

GAS AND ATMOSPHERIC AIR COOKING.

There is probably no greater popular error than the idea that the brighter
the light is the greater the heat, since it is a well known fact that many sub-

112 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

stances which give scarcely any light, are remarkable for their heating pro-
perties. Thus alcohol and pure hydrogen gas give but little light, while their
heat is very much greater than that of the bright, shining flame of a candle
or lamp. It is evident, then, that the production of light and heat involves
principles which require entirely different contrivances when we desire to
obtain the best effects.

"When carbureted hydrogen gas is used for illumination, the light is due to
the combustion of the carbon with the hydrogen of the gas, and the oxygen
of the atmosphere. As the action of the oxygen is confined to the exterior
surface of the gas, the greater the surface exposed, in proportion to the bulk
or volume of the gas, the more brilliant will be the light ; to attain this
object, the gas is usually thrown from the jet in the form of a thin sheet, as
in the "bat wing," or in a thin ring, as in the "argand" burner. There is,
however, a limit to the tenuity of this sheet or ring, from the necessity of
having a sufficient volume of gas, to allow a large number of particles of
carbon to become ignited at the same tune, because it is from their ignition
that the light proceeds.

Under these circumstances, more gas generally passes through the jet than
is consumed, and the proportion which is thus wasted depends upon the purity
of the gas, and the construction of the jet from which it is burned. It is a
natural inference, therefore, that the most wasteful method of using gas, either
for light or fuel, would be to burn it from separate, round-hole jets, because in
this form there is less of the gas exposed to the action of the oxygen than in
any other.

Having thus explained the process of illuminating by gas, let us now
examine how these principles should be modified so that the gas may be used
to the best advantage for fuel. In this case, heat is the sole object, and the
perfection of any process would be to consume all the gas, and be able to con-
trol all the heat which it evolves. To obtain this result, as far as possible, it
is essential, 1st. That not the surface only, but all the particles of the gas,
should be brought in contact with the oxygen. 2d. A due regard to economy
requires that no draft should be created around the jet by heat or otherwise,
by which the gas will issue irregularly, causing a greater consumption of gas
at one tune than another. 3d. The products of consumption should be made
to add to the heat, or be so disposed of as to prevent any unpleasant or
noxious effluvia from passing off.

IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS APPARATUS.

Shades for Lamps and Gas Lights. H. Gillen, of London, has taken out a
patent for making globes and shades composed of prisms of glass. They are
strung together, and made to assume the proper form on a frame. By
varying the shape of these prisms, very beautiful and novel effects are
produced.

Improved Gas Apparatus. Mr. A. Longbottom, of London, has obtained a
patent for constructing retorts for making gas from oil, with an interior cone
hi each, and convex on the outside, to contain the fire. Each retort has also
a false perforated bottom, under which is placed a mixture of charcoal and

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AUTS. 113

lime. The oil is permitted to enter the retort and drop on the red hot apex
of the cone, when it is converted into gas. The gas cannot get out without
passing through the perforated bottom and amongst the heated mixture of
charcoal and lime, which tend to purify it. From the retort it passes to the
cooler, where it is washed with water, and from- thence into a receptacle
for use.

Improvement in Gas Retorts. The object of an invention by J. G-. Hock, of
Newark, N. J., is to enable the heads of the retorts to be more handily and
quickly attached and detached than the mode of fastening them at present hi
general use admits. Another object is, to enable the fastening to be readily
detached from a worn out retort and applied to a new one. The neck of the
retort is cast with a strong lug on each side, close to the mouth, said lugs
having a square hole through them to receive the square shanks of two
hook headed bolts, which, with a bail and an inclined projecting rib, on the
outside of the retort, constitute the fastening.

Improved Gas Burner. An improvement has been recently brought for-
ward designed to be used hi connection with burners where the flame is pro-
duced by the combustion of two jets of gas issuing simultaneously from
the top of the burner. The improvement consists in placing a small blade of
metal on top of the burners, between the gas orifices, so as to more fully
separate and spread the two jets, and cause the flame to be broader; the
metallic blade is also alleged to act as a receiver, and by becoming itself
highly heated, to impart additional caloric to the gas, and thus produce better
combustion. The blade is quite small, and the two jets unite above it in one
common flame, in the usual manner, excepting that it is broader and larger
than it would otherwise be. The invention is said to be applicable to nearly
ah 1 burners now hi use, and it is claimed for it that it effects an important
purpose, that of increasing the illuminating power of the gas without aug-
menting the consumption.

KNIGHT'S SAFETY ENVELOPES.

Mr. E. T. Knight, of Philadelphia, has recently patented an improvement in
envelopes for valuable and important letters, with the double purpose of
making the envelope, post-mark, &c., a part of the letter, and of preventing
any clandestine opening of the same. It is, for some purposes, quite a defect
in the present envelope that the gum may be moistened and the letter opened
without discovery. Wafers may be soaked nearly as easily, and wax is
liable to melt hi hot climates. In Mr. Knight's invention a little more paper
is used, and the flaps being locked together by a species of dovetailing in
addition to the gum, a metallic clasp or eyelet is put through the lower por-
tion near the edge, which effectually secures the whole package. An eyelet
through a letter folded in the ordinary manner would not only prevent its
removal from the envelope, but would interfere with its unfolding when pro-
perly opened. To avoid this difficulty the paper is to be folded with its edge
projecting, and this edge, rather than the folded portion, is allowed to receive
the eyelet. By this arrangement the soaking or tearing open of the usual flap
of the envelope does not release the letter, and the process required is a

114 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

tearing or cutting around on three sides of the envelope, after which it may
be opened like the cover of a book, and the contents unfolded. The letter
thus goes on file carrying the envelope with it, as a testimony of the time and
place of mailing, and also of any misdirection, returning, &c., which often
might render such a matter of importance.

INDIA RUBBER BUTTONS.

A style of button for overcoats and general business clothing has been
introduced within the last two years, which grows more shiny w r ith age and
wear, and in its every quality seems to be an admirable button. It is made
from one of the Goodyear varieties of prepared rubber, and a manufactory is
now in operation in New Brunswick, which gives employment to some two
hundred hands, male and female. The buttons have until this season been
held at so high a price as to a great extent to prohibit their introduction, but
a material reduction has, we learn, been lately made, which bids fair to
render them the standard style for the class of clothing described.

IMPROVED TOILET GLASS.

An improved toilet glass exhibited at a recent exhibition of the London
Society of Arts, presents the peculiarity of reflecting the back of the head as
perfectly as it does the face, on one surface at the same time, thereby ena-
bling a lady to arrange her back hair with the greatest ease and precision. A
brass telescopic rod with a circular mirror suspended from it, is attached to
the top of an ordinary toilet glass by means of a thumb screw, and when the
rod is drawn out, the back of the head is at once reflected in the glass ; when
not required for use, the circular mirror can easily be placed back at the top
of the glass out of the way, so as not in the least to interfere with the ordinary
use of the glass.

NEW WAY TO CLEAR A HOUSE OF RATS.

A correspondent communicates a novel plan adopted by him to free his
house from rats, and which proved perfectly successful. His house had been
completely overrun by them, and he had tried every means to get rid of the
vermin but without success, until he hit upon the following expedient:
Kaising a small board hi the garret floor, he opened a communication between
the floor and ceiling beneath, which interior communicated with the spaces
between the side walls and the laths and plaster over the whole house. Into
this opening he placed a dish containing finely pulverized black oxide of
manganese, and poured over it a suitable quantity of strong hydrochloric
(muriatic) acid. The floor-board was then replaced. The effect of the chemi-
cal mixture of black oxide of manganese and hydrochloric acid is to disengage
slowly in the cold that most powerful, deodorizing, fumigating gas, chlorine.
In common with all gases, it gradually diffuses itself through the air, but
having a greater weight than atmospheric air, it accumulates at the low-
est levels. The tendency of the gas liberated, therefore, was to penetrate

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 115

every vacant space between the walls and ceilings, and at last found exit in
the cellar.

It may be here stated that the quantity of gas so liberated can exert no
injurious effect upon the house or its inmates indeed the result is rather
beneficial than otherwise upon the general health. In the case hi question,
the odor was not noticed to any extent in the body of the house, but after a
while was veiy perceptible in "the cellars. In a concentrated condition,
chlorine, it is well known, is most offensive, irrespirable, and destructive of
animal life. It, at the same time, neutralizes and destroys all other odors
and infectious matters. EDITOR.

PATENT DKESS FASTENING.

An English patent has just been issued for a style of fastening very similar
to the studs often employed in shirt bosoms, but much easier to operate.
One head is smaller than the other, and is rounded, so that it may be easily
thrust through round holes or metallic eyelets in the cloth, and hold until it
is pulled with considerable force to remove it. To facilitate both the apply-
ing and removing as also to insure the staying hi its place until the hole
becomes worn considerably too large the smaller head and also the shank
which connects it with the other is split into four parts, which spring slightly
by ttyeir elasticity, so that it contracts on entering or leaving the holes, but
extends to its full size when fairly in place. It would seem a very desirable
improvement for shirt bosoms, as it would dispense with much of the crum-
pling and soiling now unavoidable in fixing the ordinary studs.

IMPROVED FISH HOOK.

Mr. J. T. Buel, of Whitehall, N. T., has invented a new fish hook, the
improvement in which consists in having the upper part of the shank of the
hook, which is made solid or in two parts, terminate in a small barb, whereby
a " minnie" can be secured upon the hook more permanently, and hi a position
to insure the capture of the fish as surely as he bites. Also in having the
hook thus constructed, made in two parts, so as to allow of the lower barb
being turned out of line with the upper one, and so constructing the upper
barb that an elastic eye shall be formed by it and the shank, whereby an arti-
ficial minnie may be conveniently placed on or removed from the shank, and
a natural minnie substituted for it and twisted spirally, and thus caused to spin
similar to an artificial bait when hi the water. Also combining with the lower
barb of the improved hook, one or more minnie barbs, in a manner to form a
"minnie gang," and having one of the minnie barbs turn free of the lower
barb of the improved hook, so that, when desirable, a spiral twist may be given
to the natural minnie.

IMPROVED SUGAR PAN.

A new sugar pan has been invented in England of which the improvement
consists in introducing into the body of the vacuum pan a series of vertical
tubes, through which steam is admitted to facilitate the operation of evapo-
ration and crystallization. The tubes are inclosed within a cylindrical casing,

116 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

and between the sides of the pan a vacant space is left. This arrangement
causes an upward current of the solution in the pan at the centre of the series
of tubes, whilst a gentle descending current is produced between the cylinder
and pan, by which compound motion the contents in the pan are prevented
from burning.

NEW INSTRUMENT FOR THE ADMINISTRATION OF CHLOROFORM.

M. Duroy, of France, has invented what he calls the Anasthesimeter, an
instrument to be used, in the application of chloroform. It is a circular stand
of wood bearing a close cylindrical vase, into which descends a tapering stem
from a bottle-like reservoir fixed above it. This reservoir is graduated with a
scale, each division corresponding to one gramme of chloroform ; so that the
quantity of chloroform poured in can be accurately measured. Then, by turn-
ing a tap, according to the indications of another scale, the chloroform descends
through the tapering stem at the rate of four, ten, twenty-five, or more drops
a minute, into the vase beneath, from whence it is breathed, mingled with
air, by a flexible tube leading to the patient's* mouth. Thus, the quantity to
be inspired can be determined beforehand according to the nature of the case.

BLANC'S PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING THE FIBRES OF PLANTS.

The following is M. Blanc's (of New Orleans) recently patented process
for extracting the fibres of various endogenous plants : "I cut the plants in
August or September, close to the ground, and sink a pit in the field where the
plants grow, from six inches to two feet deep, throwing the earth outside,
forming an embankment around the pit. I then commence in the centre of
the pit, and set the plants in a perpendicular position with their butts down-
wards (as soon as the plants are cut, before they have time to die, and
while they are stiH green and alive), and continue to set up around the same,
keeping them as near perpendicular as I can, and pressing them closely toge-
ther until I have filled the pit with the plants or the sprouts of the trees, which
I cut when young and tender.

I then commence covering the sides of the same with leaves or straw,
so as to surround it perfectly ; I then throw the earth against the sides on
the leaves or straw, making it several inches thick, until the whole is
encased in a wall of earth as high as the tops of the plants, leaving the top of
the stack or pile uncovered. My reason for doing so is, that by excluding
the surrounding current of the atmosphere and the heat of the sun from the
plants, I cause the gas contained in the natural state of the plants to be evolved
by degrees, or slowly, and as it is carried off at the top of the plants, the
moisture of the earth rises up and through the plants, and destroys the glu-
tinous particles thereof, and causes the fibre to separate from the woody
substance, preserving its strength and elasticity, and changing the color to a
light yellow. After I have prepared my pit or stack, which may be of any
size that the quantity to preserve may indicate, I let it remain in this state
from eight to fifteen days, when the process will generally be sufficient ; this
may be known by taking from the stack at different points and trying it, if
the bark will separate easily from the woody substance, and a light mouldy

MECHANICS AND FSEFUL ARTS. 11 7

appearance is visible, then it is tune to break up the pit and spread it on the
ground to dry.

When the plant is dry, which will be in from five to ten days, the woody
portion is separated by passing the plants through any ordinary rollers or
bearers, or by horses treading on them. By this process I get the fibre from
the wood, and have all its strength and elasticity preserved, and am now able
to manage it without having such great quantities to handle. Several of the
fibres of the finest qualities will be perfectly prepared by this process for
manufacturing. The coarser fibres can be water-rotted for a few days, say six
to eight, when they can be fitted for market or manufacturing by the common
process of breaking, scutching and hackling flax or hemp.

PLASTER CASTS OF LEAVES AND FLOWERS.

The following process is recommended by an eminent English engraver, for
obtaining accurate and beautiful casts from the leaves and other parts of
plants. The leaf, as early as convenient after being gathered, is to be laid on
a fine-grained, moist sand, hi a perfectly natural position, with that surface
uppermost which is to form the cast, and being banked up by sand in order
that it may be perfectly supported. It is then, by means of a broad camel-
hair brush, to be covered over with a thin coating of wax and burgundy
pitch, rendered fluid by heat. The leaf is now to be removed from the sand
and dipped in cold water; the wax becomes hard, and likewise tough, to
allow the leaf to be ripped off without altering its form. This being done,
the wax mould is placed in moist sand, and banked up as the leaf itself was
previously ; it is then covered with plaster of Paris, made thin, due care being
taken that the plaster be nicely pressed in all the interstices of the mould; by
means of a camel hair brush. As soon as the plaster has jKt, the warmth
thus produced softens the wax, which, hi consequence of the moisture of the
plaster, is prevented from adhering to it, and, with a little dexterity, it may
be rolled up. parting completely from the cast, without injuring it in the
least. Casts obtained in the manner thus described are very perfect, pos-
sessing a high relief, and form excellent models, either for the draughtsman
or for the moulder for architectural ornaments.

MARINER'S TIME COMPASS.

This new instrument, invented by Mr. Reeder, of Cincinnati, consists of a
chronometer, and a horizontal dial, with a style on its face, and a stationary
equatorial brass ring laid out hi degrees, minutes, and seconds. These are
supported on a movable axis, forming the focus of a vertical quadrant laid out
in angles at each side, so that the angle of dial and ring can be changed by a
thumb screw. Below the dial is the common mariner's compass, with a
spirit-level on its table or standard top. The instrument is designed to be
used with the compass in steering ships, and its object is to indicate the
position of the ship at any hour of the day when the sun shines, thus ope-
rating as a corrector of the compass, which is liable to be affected by local
attraction in iron ships, and by masses of metal, such as a cargo of wrought
or pig iron .

118 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCO VERY.

PURIFYING COTTON SEED FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF OIL AND

OIL CAKE.

Heretofore the efforts made to render the seed of the cotton plant available
for the production of Oil, or for the purpose of feeding man or domestic animals,
have not been productive of perfect results, owing to the nature of the sheU
by which the kernel of the seed is inclosed, as some fibres of the cotton
adhere to it, and both the shell and the fibres of cotton absorb a considerable
portion of the oil, and also render the cake unsuitable for feeding purposes.

A patent has recently been taken out by Daniel "W. Messer, of Boston,
Mass., for an improvement in preparing cotton seed, having for its object the
removal of the above evils. The nature of this improvement consists in the
separation of the shell of the seed from the kernel, previous to expressing the
oil, by which a greater quantity of oil is obtained from the same amount of
seed, whilst the residuum, or oil cake, is left free from shell and cotton fibre,
and is therefore rendered much superior for feeding cattle. This he accom-
plishes as follows :

The shell of the cotton seed is first softened by soaking it in water, or by
subjecting it to the action of low steam. When boiling water is employed,
about five minutes' immersion of the seed in it is sufficient ; when cold water
is employed, a much longer time is necessary ; and the time required to soften
different varieties of seed, varies with the amount of moisture in the seed.
After the seed is thus softened, it is passed through proper rollers, or sub-
jected to gentle pressure in a press in small quantities. By this means the
shell is broken, and the kernel is forced out. Both the kernels and shells of
the seed are then dried in the sun, or by very low artificial heat. If the oil
is to be used fc%culinary purposes, great care must be taken not to dry the
kernels under a high heat. "When dry, the kernels and seeds are separated
from one another by sieves, and the oil is then expressed from the clear
kernels by passing them between revolving pressure rollers, or any suitable
oil pressing mill. The residuum, or skin, of the pure kernels forms beautiful
oil cakes for feeding cattle.

Oil from Cotton Seeds. The following is the claim of a patent recently
granted to Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston, for extracting oil from the cotton
seed : " I do not claim any mode of crushing the matured seed or expressing
the oil from the kernels. I claim the maturing of the cotton seed, after it
has been separated from the cotton by heat, artificially applied so as to render
the husk brittle and easily separable from the kernel."

NEW DRAWING AND SURVEYING INSTRUMENTS.

New Drawing Instrument. A new instrument has been invented by Mr.
"W. J. Kammerhueber, of "Washington, for facilitating the draughtsman in the
construction of linear perspectives. It consists in providing the sides of the
drawing board with raised edges of circular form, the sweep of the circle cor-
responding with the distance of the vanishing point. The lines are drawn
with a common T-square, the base or cross piece of which is provided with ?

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 119

couple of pins. The pins rest against one of the circular edges above named,
and on being moved around against the circle, the blade of the square will
always indicate the direct line of perspective.

CrandalTs Surveying Instrument. Mr. E. A. Crandall, of Friendship,
Alleghany Co., N. Y., has invented an instrument for indicating distances by
inspection, winch will, if completely successful, be of great value to surveyors
everywhere, and particularly in rough districts, where it is desirable to
measure across rocks and chasms, creeks and lakes. The principle is that of
triangulation a method always adopted in extensive and accurate measure-
ments, as in the Coast Survey, but which requires too much figuring for
ordinary field-work, and especially for the mass of excellent practical but
rather unlettered backwoods surveyors. Triangulation consists in taking two
observations of an object, either at the same instant or successively, from
stations a short distance apart, so that the lines in which the object is viewed
shall taper in a proportion corresponding according to a certain law with the
distance of the object. Mr. Crandall's instrument carries two small tele-
scopes, each provided with the usual cross wires for very accurate pointing.
One of these is firmly fixed to the instrument, but the other is free to swivel
horizontally, and is ingeniously provided with very delicate and accurate
verniers for reading off the angle. The distance apart of the two telescopes
is only one foot, but even with this narrow base the triangulation may be
made to indicate distances as great as a mile with a degree of accuracy
depending of course on the correctness of the instrument and the keen obser-
vation of the operator. To facilitate the measurement of considerable
distances, the extremely slight motion of the telescope is magnified as the
distance increases, by employing levers which voluntarily and successively
come into play, and make the very slight change of position for every ten or
one hundred feet very sensibly readable. The base of the triangle being
uniformly one foot, it follows that the instrument may be graduated not with
degrees, minutes, and seconds, but with the distances themselves, in plain
figures. The value of such an instrument, in denoting at once the distance
of any inaccessible as well as familiar object, can hardly be overrated.

Proportional Dividers. An invention, by H. M. Parkhurst, of Perth
Amboy, N. J., consists in providing each of the legs of common dividers with
a short adjustable secondary leg, jointed at right angles to the middle of the
primary legs, and so arranged as to open and close parallel with the latter.
"When the dividers are opened or closed, the secondary legs will move, more
or less, proportionate to the distance of their points from the joint of the
original legs. If the points of the secondary legs are set at precise right
angles to the other legs, the secondary pointers will move just one half the
distance of the other points. The secondary legs can be set so as to exhibit any
desired proportion with the utmost exactness. There is a scale, set screw, &c.,
for adjusting the angle of the secondary legs, wlu'ch facilitate accuracy.

IMPROVEMENTS IN SAWS AND SAWMILLS.

BarlovJs Improved Saw. Mr. Nelson Barlow is the inventor of a saw for
either cross cutting, splitting, or bevel cutting any kind of wood, with all the

120 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

rapidity and ease of the ordinary saws, and yet leaving a nearly perfect
planed surface. It is a trifle thinner, requires little "set," and consequently
makes a thinner " kerf," or takes away less of the wood in cutting, than the
ordinary varieties.

Saws are usually set by bending the alternate teeth laterally in opposite
directions ; no such set is put hi this saw. The general outline of the teeth
is that known as the "gullet," or "brier," and the peculiarity consists in
hollowing out or grooving the cutting face of every tooth, or of every alter-
nate one, in a line extending from the point inward. This form enables the
tooth to act as a gouge so as to cut smoothly rather than to tear away the
material, and by slightly spreading the acute edges at each side, a sufficient
width of kerf is attained to relieve the body of the saw. The grooves are
formed and renewed by clamping a small steel cutter-wheel upon the tooth
and turning it by a crank attached. The edges are spread by a blow or two
transmitted through a steel set or punch of suitable shape, and the sides are
" erased " or smoothed in the usual manner by touching lightly with a stone
while running.

Previous attempts to widen the points of saw teeth have generally
failed, we think, from the teeth anchoring in the wood. The gouging pro-
pensity, or rather the clean cutting action due to the peculiar form, seems
to prevent any such evil, and if the thin edges can be made to endure, the
improvement will probably come into great favor.

Attends Variable Feed for Sawmills. Soft wood nnay be fed up to a saw
much faster than hard, and there are in most logs inequalities which call for
different rates of feed every few seconds. Common sawmills can only be
adjusted so that the feed shall be moderate enough for the hardest knots, and
consequently too slow for the clear portions of the wood. Mr. Z. G. Allen, of
Buffalo, has lately invented a variable feed, of which the variation in the rate
is produced by allowing one wheel to turn by the friction alone or "rolling
contact" with the face or side of another, and letting the first move endwise
on its shaft at the will of the sawyer. By this means (the face- wheel being
on the end of its shaft, and supposed to revolve with any uniform velocity),
the number of turns per minute of the driven shaft varies with every new
position of the movable wheel. If its periphery is allowed to press against
the centre only of the face- wheel, no motion results ; but when moved ever so
little from that position, a degree of speed is obtained which increases with
every successive removal of the wheel from the centre, until, at its periphery,
the fastest rate of speed is attained. By means of a suitable lever held in the
hand of the sawyer, the rate at which the log is fed up may be varied with
every indication (by sound or otherwise) of a changing character in the wood.
The periphery of the driven wheel in this feed is made of hard wood, placed
in such manner that the end of the grain is always presented to rub against
the face- wheel.

Barlow's Patent Circular Saw. This improvement consists in grooving the
faces of the saw teeth from their points inwardly, forming thereby acute
cutting edges or double fleams at their sides. Thus constructed the teeth act
upon the wood like so many gouges, cutting their way through, not tearing

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 121

it, as do the common saws. The result is that the stuff comes from the saw
with its surface planed off about as smooth as can be done with a smoothing
plane. Saws thus made are adapted for all kinds of work, splitting, cross-
cutting, &c., no change at all in the set being required.

Improvements in the Manufacture of Saws. The usual method of tempering
saws is to heat and then dip them in oil. This process is slow, laborious,
and costly ; it is also disadvantageous, because the saws become warped, and
require to be hammered up straight again by hand. An improvement
recently introduced by Henry Waterman of Williamsburg, N. Y.. consists in
tempering and straightening the saws at one operation. This is done by
heating the saws to the proper degree, and then pressing them with a sudden
and powerful stroke between two surfaces of cold iron. Drop presses are
employed for the purpose. The mechanism required in this process, it will
have been observed, is quite simple, and not expensive. Its use effects an
important economy in the manufacture of nearly ah 1 kinds of saws, and also
improves their quality.

HORSE BRAKES.

When the animal muscles are employed in overcoming resistance, or, hi
other words, in developing power, certain effects are observed, among which
are a quickened pulse, improved health and spirits, and (if severe or long
continued) exhaustion or fatigue. This is the case in ascending a hill, drawing
a load on a level, giving motion to machinery, and generally wherever work
of any kind is performed ; but hi descending a ladder, or holding back a load
in descending a hill, there is a reverse action of the muscles, a kind of
absorption of power, the effect of which has never, we presume, been investi-
gated, as the phenomenon is comparatively rare, and is seldom prolonged
beyond a very few minutes. Carriages have recently been constructed in a
peculiar manner for the turnpike road over the summit of Mount Washington.
They are made to stand at different angles, so that the floors are always
nearly level, and they are provided with brakes operated at will by the
hand of the driver, or by the backward strain of the horses. The last feature
seems particularly worthy of attention, as it may prove advantageous in
general use. The brakes referred to are operated by a strap passing around
a pulley or ring in the forward extremity of the pole or tongue. At every
declivity the carriage, hi crowding forward upon the horses, tightens the strap
and brings the brakes in contact with the wheels. When it becomes neces-
sary to back the carriage, a bolt is dropped by the driver which renders the
brakes inoperative.

IMPROVEMENT IN GLASSES FOR HOTBEDS, &C.

The following is a recent French invention for economizing space and
expense. Glass plates united by India rubber cloth, are made to fold
up so as to occupy but little space hi transportation, but what is of
more importance, the cost is not a fourth that of bell glasses of the same
capacity.

6

122 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

COMBINED LOG AND SOUNDING LINE.

This instrument, recently patented in the United States by Adolphe
Percoul, of Marseilles, France, and which is designated as a "sounding log,"
serves both the purpose of the common log, viz. that of ascertaining the
speed of the ship, and also to take soundings without " heaving the vessel
to." It consists of a buoy and a lead line, with some other simple appen-
dages. When used as a log, the line is fastened to the bottom of the buoy
with the lead hanging some distance below it, the other end of the line
being wound on a reel like the common log reel. When the lead and buoy
are thrown overboard, the log remains stationary on the surface of the water,
where it is held upright by the weight of the lead, which is held suspended
from it, and the line is unwound by the motion of the vessel, the same as the
common log line. The only difference between this line and that of the com-
mon log is, that it has colored marks in place of knots, as knots would inter-
fere with the operation of sounding. When the instrument is to be used for
taking soundings, the line is allowed to run over a pulley at the bottom of the
buoy, the freedom of its movement being only very slightly checked by the
friction of a spring. The lead is drawn by the line close up to the buoy, and
both are thrown overboard ; the vessel still continues on its course, while the
reel is held for the line to run out. The buoy remains on the surface of the
water where it was thrown in, and the weight of the lead keeps the buoy
upright, and throws the line over the pulley of the buoy until the lead touches
the bottom, which is known by the buoy turning over on one side, in conse-
quence of the weight no longer acting upon it. When the buoy falls over,
the friction of the spring on the line is so much increased that the buoy
remains fast on the line while line and lead are drawn on board the vessel.
The distance from the buoy to the lead is of course the depth of water.

MIXING WHEAT FLOUR WITH PAINTS.

Mr. J. Gattman, of Philadelphia, has discovered a method of manufacturing
paints by grinding crude colors in a composition of water, flour, or its equivalent,
rosin, or its equivalent, fish oil, or any drying or undrying oil, in a proper propor-
tion and manner, and by which the paint thus manufactured may be produced
at a cheap rate, and afterwards thinned with water to the required consistency.

UTILIZATION OF WASTE STEAM.

What may be done by economizing the waste water and steam of engines,
is shown by an experiment recently made in Wales, by Mr. D. Llewellyn,
From a small 8-cnch cylinder engine employed by him for agricultural pur-
poses, he conducted a jet of steam for twenty minutes daily, through an inch
iron pipe, into a bed of rough stones, covered by a glazed frame ; a journal
of the temperature was kept, from which it appeared, first, that although steam
was introduced among the stones for only twenty minutes a day, the ther-
mometer was raised from 51 to 68 in the first twenty-four hours: second,
that the temperature continued to rise for many hours after the second
application of steam, until the thermometer readied 108; third, that at the

MECHANICS AND LSKFUL ARTS. 123

end of nineteen hours the heat of the frame diminished ; yet, fourth, that at
the end of seventy hours the temperature was 69 still. This is a conclusive
answer to those who think that masses of heated water, or heated porous
materials, like rough stones, will become so reduced in temperature by a few
hours' withdrawal of the prime heating power, as to endanger the plants
cultivated in houses thus warmed. The experiment continued to be success-
ful, and enabled pineapples of the most perfect quality to ripen.

ALLEN'S GRIST MILL.

Mr. Z. Gr. Allen, of Buffalo, has recently constructed a superior mill, which
differs in many important respects from those now in use. The spindle, or
the upright shaft through the centre of the stone is continuous, being, by the
peculiar construction of the mill, made in one piece, instead of being divided
as usual in the middle : and the same being made adjustable laterally, both
at top and bottom, allows of much more perfect " tram" than is generally
attained. The method of connecting the stone with the spindle is far more per-
fect than any with which we are familiar being in fact a perfect universal
joint without possible slack. This is attained by slotting through the spindle
and inserting a flat, thin " driver," or bar of iron, edge uppermost, and con-
necting it by a tapering pin in the centre, and by suitable boxes at each
extremity. Each box being secured to the stone by a single bolt, the whole
is as conveniently removed, when necessary, as are the more primitive
arrangements. But the most conspicuous innovation is hi the holding down
of the stone which is done by a lever and weight resembling those attach-
ments to a safety valve. In all rapid grinding with light stones, it is common
to hold the grinding surfaces together by applying a screw to a lever pressing
upon the spindle, and, in the best device of this kind, this screw is so con-
nected that it is always worked to correspond with the elevations of the stone
by the ordinary " lighter screw." By that construction the upper centre is
depressed in proportion as the lower centre (and consequently the stone) is
lowered by the miller in the course of the work, and provided the adjustment
of all the parts is perfect, the operation of the mill is, in this respect, precisely
similar to the one under notice. But such perfection is rarely attainable hi
practice, and the spindle is liable in some positions to be either loose or so
tightly held as to become heated. Another obvious advantage of the new
arrangement is the liberty allowed to the stone to rise in case of dropping any
hard mass, as a nail, into the mill. In brief, the device under notice appears to
be a successful attempt to apply the most perfect of mechanism to the hanging
of mill stones, with the addition of a self-acting means of holding down the
stone without a possibility of ever exceeding the required degree of force. The
stone is as readily removed for picking as under the ordinary arrangements.

TOBACCO PULP CIGARS.

A patent has been taken out in England for reducing those parts of tobacco
leaves left after the finest portions are stripped off for cigars into pulp, by
cutting, them up in a machine, then submitting them to the action of steam in
a close vessel. After this the pulp is made into sheets, by passing it through

124 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

rollers from the pulp engine, or else through fine hair sieves, in the same
manner that paper is made. The sheets of tobacco thus made from pulp are
formed into cigars and cheroots.

COMPOSITION FOB RENDERING FABRICS WATERPROOF.

Payen, the eminent French chemist, has prepared the following composi-
tion to be used in rendering clothing for the French army waterproof:
Dissolve two pounds and a half of alum in four gallons of water ; dissolve also,
in a separate vessel, the same weight of acetate of lead in the same quantity
of water. When both are thoroughly dissolved, mix the solutions together,
and when the sulphate of lead resulting from this mixture has been precipi-
tated to the bottom of the vessel in the form of a powder, pour off the solution,
and plunge into it the tissue to be rendered waterproof. Wash and rub it
well during a few minutes, and hang it in the air to dry.

VENTILATION OF MINES.

The London Mining Journal describes a new method devised for ventilating
mines. It consists of a reservoir, or hydro-pneumatic box, placed on one side the
adit level, supplied with water from a cistern on the surface. A metallic tube
descends from the cistern to the vessel in the adit, and the supply is regulated by
a self-noting valve. At the top of the metallic tube is a glass case, nicely regu-
lated by a slide, which being suspended at a certain point admits no more water
than is necessary. To draw in the largest possible quantity of air, a vortex is
formed, and a continuous stream of air and water, varying in proportion accord-
ing to the distance between the reservoir and the hydro-pneumatic box, is con-
veyed from the former into the latter. Here the water and the air are sepa-
rated, the former escaping at the self-acting valve, and the latter being forced
through a main tube, which branches off to any part of the mine.

CHIMNEY REGISTER AND WEATHERCOCK.

Mr. J. A. Royce, Lee, Mass., has made an improvement in the above by
which to avoid a greater consumption of fuel during windy weather than there
is in fair weather. On the top of the chimney is placed a device similar to an
ordinary slatted hot air register. This register has a vane and rudder, and is
turned to the proper position by the action of the wind against the rudder,
and its slats, after it is thus moved, are closed more or less by the action of
the wind against a sail, which is on a mast projecting up from the slats.
When the wind blows hard, the slats are operated so as to almost entirely
close up the flue of the chimney and thus diminish the draught, and when it
is calm they open the flue and thus increase the draught.

IMPROVED LITHOGRAPHIC PRINTING PRESSES.
In order to give a uniform and forcible impression to all parts of the stone
in lithographing, with the expenditure of but a very small amount of power,
a press with the following improved arrangement has been devised : A wood
or metallic air-tight chamber or tub, containing water or other fluid, with its
bottom or one side composed of india rubber, or some other waterproof, elastic

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 125

or pliable material, is used to give the impression ; said chamber being fur-
nished with a tube and plunger, and the pliable bottom or side of the chamber
serving as a tynipan. By applying pressure to the plunger, an equal amount
of pressure is transmitted by the water or fluid to every part of the tympan,
and by using a small plunger an immense pressure may be obtained with a
small expenditure of power.

Litliograpldc Printing Press. In an unproved French lithographic printing
press the following novelties are embraced. A sliding carriage, which travels
over the stone or other engraving, and carries along the printing scraper, to
take off the impression, and which is moved to and fro by a crank on a shaft ;
a loose tilting frame which carries a plate and sheet to he down upon the
paper that has been put upon the plate to be printed, from the printing scraper
passing over the sheet with the necessary pressure, and the loose tiltmg-frame
being raised or tilted up by the said carriage at the end of each backward and
forward stroke, so as to allow of putting a fresh sheet of paper on the stone
or plate engraved upon.

BURT'S SOLAR COMPASS.

An invention presented to the Franklin Institute hi 1835, improved and
again reported on in 1840, receiving a medal at the London Fair in 1851, and
used hi public surveys for fifteen years, can but with extreme difficulty be
termed a new invention. The solar compass seems, however, to have but
recently been prepared to attract the attention it deserves, and a very brief
notice may not be inappropriate.

The compass is the invention of Mr. "Win. A. Burt of Mount Vernon, Michi-
gan, and seems to occupy a kind of intermediate place between the old Kit-
tenhouse compass and the Theodolite of the present day. It is designed for
extensive land surveys, and is greatly superior to the theodolite in the facility
with which it is used. As compared with the more ordinary compass, in all
mineral regions and in localities where the aberrations of the needle are a
source of frequent difficulty, it appears almost indispensable.

It may be described as a magnetic compass, with every, facility for levelling
and adjustment, and provided additionally with movable arcs and simple
mechanism by which whenever the sun is visible, and its declination known
(which may be found hi any nautical almanac), the time of day, the latitude of
the place, the angle made by any point with the true meridian, and conse-
quently the correct bearing thereof, may be determined by inspection with the
minutest accuracy. Its easy adjustment and entire reliability, enable it to
supply the want long felt by the practical surveyor.

DUMERY'S METHOD OF CONSUMING SMOKE.

Among the prizes awarded during the last year by the French Academy,
was one to M. Dumery for a contrivance for consuming the smoke of chim-
neys, which has worked with complete success in a series of comparative
experiments under the inspection of a commission of the academy.

M. Dumery, in place of throwing hi the fresh coal by the door of the fur-
nace upon the burning combustible, as in ordinary fires, causes it to enter

126 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

below by means of stoking bars worked with the hand in a kind of recurved
funnel, with open sides, and extending to the grating on that side. This
method was long ago suggested by Franklin ; but the arrangements here
adopted are peculiar to this inventor and attain perfectly the end proposed.

IMPROVEMENT IN STEREOTYPING.

One of the persons employed in the State printing office of Vienna has made
the discovery that plates of plaster of Paris will uniformly contract by a repeated
washing with water, and still more if with spirits of wine. On this is based a
process to produce both print (drucksacheri) and woodcuts in various gradations
of type and size, by a calculated diminution of the plaster of Paris plate.
Already print and drawings have been made of a twelfth-part size, reduced
from three inches to one inch in diameter, and yet even, the reduction to the
smallest size does not encroach on the perfect correctness of the impression.

HYDRO-STEAM ENGINE.

A very peculiar and apparently effective combination of the steam engine
and Turbine water wheel called the " Hydro-Steam Engine," has recently been
invented by Mr. 'William Baxter, of Paterson, N. J. The invention, which
is especially adapted for the driving of propellers, is constructed as follows :

Two steam cylinders are placed vertically and parallel to each other, united
at the top by a valve chamber and the steam and exhaust passages, and at the
bottom by the Turbine wheel chamber and valve cases for the induction and
eduction of the water. There is a short stem or rod through the stuffing-box
of each cylinder head, answering to the piston rod of the ordinary steam
engine, intended for the operation of the slide valve, which lies horizontally on
its seat, its stem running through a stuffing-box at each end of the valve chest.
Two quadrant pieces or right angled levers jointed on the outside of the chest
and immediately over the steam cylinders, one at each end, communicate an
alternate motion to the valve, they being struck by the upward motion of the
short stems or rods which pierce the cylinder heads : these rods again are
operated by the upward motion of the pistons, which work without rods or
any outward connexion whatever. Steam is admitted only to one side of the
pistons, the other being in contact each with a column of water ; which water
is continually forced through the Turbine wheel and thus producing a rotatory
motion, proportioned in velocity to the pressure of the steam in the cylinders,
and to the size of the Turbine water -wheel.

The steam acts upon the pistons in the manner of a direct action pump, one
end of the cylinder being used for steam and the other for water. The same
water is used all the time, it being forced alternately through suitable valves,
easily understood by those acquainted with such matters the curvature of the
blades of the deflecting guide wheel directing the water on to the curves of
the wheel buckets. "Water being nearly an incompressible body, an air
chamber is necessary, as in all forcing pumps, to maintain a uniform current,
and also to secure a certain degree of elasticity, without which there would be
some danger of rupturing the parts. The primary object to be gamed by this
new motor is the doing away with a multiplicity of parts.

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AKTS. 127

RECENT IMPROVEMENTS IN AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY AND

PEOCESSES.

Mr. Denison, the well known agricultural writer of England, thus answers
the question, " "What progress has been recently made in agricultural machi-
nery in Great Britain ?" He says :

"A reply may confidently be given that progress has been made on eveiy
side in machinery, in scientific acquirements, in field practice ; and to such
an extent, that beyond all question, the productive powers of these kingdoms
have been more largely increased within the last four years than within an
equal space of time at any former period.

;> In machine making, though some interesting novelties have appeared, the
characteristic feature has been the constant improvement, tending to perfection,
of our established implements, and a great extension of then: use through the
body of the farming community, a fact significant of the superior intelligence
which is now brought to bear on farming affairs, promising a sure and con-
tinued progression.

" First on the list in point of interest, first in its remarkable increase, stands
steam machinery.

Xo farmer who has ever had a steam engine on his farm will ever again be
without one ; no farmer who has ever threshed his corn with steam power
could bear again to see his horses toiling in the wearisome circle, now jerking
onwards when the whip sounds, now brought almost to a stand-still when the
machine is clogged by a careless feeder. The regular stroke of the -untiring
steam engine gives excellence to the work, keeps everybody in his place, and
introduces among men, even the most careless, something of its own exactness
and precision."

The Royal Agricultural Society of England held their annual meeting and
exhibition at Chelmsford in July. This meeting of the society will be memo-
rable, not only on account of the liberal prize which was offered for the best
steam cultivator, but also from the improvement which was made in selecting
a few classes of implements for the ordinary prizes, instead of distributing
them throughout the whole collection thus allowing of a much more careful
series of trials being made than was possible under the former arrangement.
The prizes given on the present occasion were confined to those machines
used hi preparing the land for crops, together with reapers and some tile
machines and draining tools. Next year's list will embrace other classes of
implements, and, in the succeeding year, the list will include ah" such as shall
not have been included in the previous lists.

Mr. Boydell's steam plough, which was noticed in our previous volume, was
a subject of special interest, from the peculiarity of its construction in having
an endless railway attached to the wheels, which enables it to traverse over
ordinary rough ground ; which without such a contrivance as the portable
railway would be almost out of the question. To this engine was attached
the ploughing machine of Mr. Coleman, which consisted of seven ploughs,
arranged so as to advance in a triangular form, the foremost point being

128 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the apex. In the trial, .however, owing to the complicated nature of the
plough itself, it was found impossible to keep all the tools at work at once,
or to regulate the depth according to the form of the ridge. In addition to
the system upon which Mr. Boydell proposes to cultivate the soil, there is the
system of steam ploughing, by means of a stationary engine and windlass ;
the wire ropes used in drawing the ordinary plough across the land being led
through pulleys anchored in the ground, and which are shifted along the
margin of the land as the work proceeds. Of this plan there are two rival
schemes, viz. that of Mr. Fowler, and that of Mr. Smith. Mr. Fowler has a
set of four common ploughs hi a frame, and turns over as many furrows,
evenly, well laid, and at a fan* depth the quality of the work being all that
can be desired. By another arrangement Mr. Fowler makes two furrows at
once, and by trench ploughs, two furrows deep. Mr. Smith does not employ
the common plough, but it performs what is called " baulkploughing," combined
with subsoil ploughing and grubbing all these operations being performed
by one passage of the implement.

The reaping machines were tried upon a piece of half-ripe rye, partially
laid, but to no great extent. There was CrosskilTs Bell's reaper, the same as
exhibited last year, as also the same with an improved delivery, consisting of
two endless straps with wooden cogs upon them, passing from side to side, in
front of a sloping platform. A fly-wheel is added to this machine, which
increases the regularity of the working of the parts. Dray's Hussey's reaper
was also one of the competing ones exhibited, this machine having a tipping
platform.

Chambers's water drop-drill received the approbation of the judges. This is
a new invention ; and a great improvement upon the ordinary liquid manure
drill, as all the liquor is deposited with the seed where wanted, and so is not
wasted by being poured out in a continuous line.

The show of agricultural implements, at the late Paris exhibition, is described
by English visitors as presenting in many of the machines of French and con-
tinental construction much scientific ingenuity, but productive of little practi-
cal utility, and one of the visitors writes that he saw no foreign field imple-
ment which he should consider an advantageous addition to the husbandry of
England. Among machines of a different class, he describes one in the fol-
lowing terms, which he recommends as a simple and useful instrument, viz.
a straw-loom exhibited by M. Guyot, of the Chateau de Sillery, which sells
at a cost of only 80 francs. So simple a machine may deserve the attention
of gardeners hi this country :

" It forms mats with two threads of wire, Xo. 4, woven with straw, or
reeds, or rushes, which will last four years. The machine is worked by a man
like a common hand loom, and the thin web as it is formed passes through
below the machine, and winds itself up behind the workman like a carpet.
This straw web is used for the protection of young vines trained along the
ground, and costs rather less than Id. a yard. The inventor used 60,000
yards of it last year to protect his vires to the 15th of May against white
frosts ; till the 30th of June against cold rain ; and till harvest against the
otherwise slow maturity of a cold season. This invention might be very use-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL ARTS. 129

r ully employed in market gardens and nursery grounds, and the matting can
also be set up in a frame perpendicularly for the protection of wall fruit."

The following are brief memoranda of new agricultural instruments brought
out during the past year :

Iron Harrow. This is in two parts, hi the form of a horse shoe, and is expand-
ing, and when going to a field it may be turned over forward and rides as
though on a sled upon its own frame.

Improved Horse Rake. The rake is on wheels, with wire teeth, discharging
its load by uncatching a latch, and then the teeth are lifted by a strap around
the breast of the horse, and held up until past the winnow, when they drop
into place by their own weight on checking the horse, or giving the wheels a
slight push forward.

An improvement in the straw carrier of threshing machines has been made
by placing strips of iron on the slats, with edges turned up so as to hold the
straw loose and allow the grain to fall, and by bringing some of the slats to
fall down on the underside of the chain, by which rolls of straw drop through
on the back motion.

Tliompsoris Corn Planter. A corn planter recently invented by L. Thomp-
son of Xew Haven. Conn,, has the tollowing peculiarities of construction. It
is mounted on two light wheels, and is worked by a horse with the aid of
one man or boy, who sits on the box, holding the reins. A great fault with
corn planters generally on which, by the way, there are some fifty or more
patents is that of leaving the earth loose instead of nicely covering and
pressing it down like a farmer's hoe ; another is, that the grains are planted too
closely together : both these are avoided in the machine referred to, and the
labor of planting which is always cool and less severe than most agricultural
operations, is by this means rendered decidedly easy and pleasant. Two
rows are planted at once, the earth for each being excavated by a light
plough-like attachment, and replaced by nearly similar scrapers, standing in a
reverse position, while behind the whole are dragged metallic rollers of suita-
ble weight to press the earth together and form a smooth surface. The
ploughs are dragged continuously along, and have no motion except the
ability to yield in case of meeting too great an obstruction. There are no
reciprocating parts to get out of order, except a single valve in each spout,
which regulates the precise moment of depositing the grain in the shallow
furrow. The proper amount for each hill is measured off by a continuous
rotary motion, thrown down into a wide spout, and held near its mouth until
the right moment, when it is dropped behind the forward plough, covered by
the succeeding one, and pressed down by the roller. A stop in reach of the
driver throws the small measuring wheel out of gear while the machine is
turning round at the ends of the rows, and a strong lever in the hand serves
to lift the forward or opening ploughs whenever any formidable obstruction
is anticipated.

Improved Excavator. In an improved excavator recently invented by J.
F. "Willey of Fredonia, N. T., the scoop is formed of two parts connected by
a joint, and the bottom of the two formed of slats which are allowed to turn.
The scoop is suspended by chains to a cart, so that it may be raised bodily.

6*

130 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

As the cart moves along, the scoop may be readily filled and as easily dis-
charged. 'As the scoop is formed of two parts jointed together, each part is
filled separately, therefore there is not such a large quantity of earth to be
forced backward, at once, while filling the scoop. The power required to
work common excavators is great, because of the great amount of earth to be
forced back in the scoop.

Self-acting Barn Door Fastener. An upright bar of strong wood, working-
free in staples, is attached inside of the door, in two parts, with a small rack
upon each, working upon a pinion fast to the door. Lift up the lower part of
the bar, from the outside or in, and it rolls the top down and catches. Shut
the door and the catch is loosened the weight of the lower part of the bar
falls and rolls the pinion, turning the corresponding rack up, thus fastening
the door top and bottom.

Machines for Husking Indian Corn. The annual production of Indian corn
is 600,000,000 bushels, nearly ah 1 of which is shelled by machinery; but the
husking is done by hand. The expense of husking is estimated at 5 cents a
bushel, or $3,000,000 a year! No less than 129 different patents have been
granted for shellers ; but for huskers, only four patents have ever been issued
two of which have long since expired. Not one of them is sufficiently prac-
ticable, we believe, to meet the wants of the community.

Corn huskers are very much needed on every farm throughout the land.
Here is a splendid opportunity for inventors, and we hope they will not be
slow to improve it. Scientific American.

Neio Plough. A correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune gives the following
description of a new plough exhibited at the recent fair of the N. T. State
Agricultural Society : It is what has been long sought for a perfect rever-
sible plough ; that is, reversible by shifting the beam instead of the share, so
as to obtain a side hill plough that works just as well one way as the other,
and just as well as any plough made to work but one way, turning the
furrow either right or left. Fifteen years ago, Barnaby & Moore, of Ithaca,
made a plough that was intended for this purpose, but failed because the
beam never stood hi the exact right position with the point, except when it
was set in the centre, and then it was simply a double mould-board plough.
Consequently, the plough was a failure and went out of use, notwithstanding
the flattering reception it met with at first. Every farmer felt how much
such a plough was needed, and this helped him to believe it had been
invented.

Where Moore left off, A. Barton, a plain, poor, but thinking man, of Onon-
daga county, commenced, and has perfectly succeeded. His beam is attached
to the share by a strong but free joint on the underside, and the point of the
plough is attached to the point of a stiong coulter attached to the centre of the
beam, so that whichever way the beam is turned, right or left, the point goes
with it, and the beam sets exactly as though it was framed into the handle on
that side. It may also be set in the middle, and then is a double mould-board
plough, but its great value consists in its easy conversion from a right handed
to a left handed plough, without any more labor than lifting and shutting the
latch of a door while the team is turning. The point is of steel and self-

MECHANICS AND USEFUL AETS. 131

sharpening. The whole is plain, simple, cheap, strong, and what is more, has
been thoroughly tested.

Proposed Improvement in the Construction of the Plough. The following pro-
posal for an improvement in the construction of the plough, was lately made at
an agricultural meeting in Great Britain. The object proposed to be effected
was to change the present mode of action of the plough, which is hi reality a
wedge forcibly dragged through the soil, lifting up that portion which is above
it, at the expense of hardening or making more compact that portion which is
below it. This mode of action has a tendency to harden and glaze over the
subsoil, or that part of the soil on which the sole of the plough rests in its
passage. The remedy proposed consists hi the adaptation of rollers to the sole
shoe, or in adding a hind wheel, notched or teethed, so that when following
in the track of the sole shoe the notches or teeth may break up the smooth
track formed by its action. The proposer of these two modes of improving
the plough seems to think most favorably of the idea of rollers (whose mode of
action, however, he does not specify), as they would not only prevent the
glazing and hardening, but would, in his opinion, lessen the draught.

Subsoil Plough. This improved agricultural implement, invented by Mr.
"Wilson, of England, consists of an ordinary earth-fork to which is attached a
long handle, bent to about ten inches to the foot out of the straight line, in
the plane of the fork's prongs. A small transverse handle is attached to this
main lever, at about the usual height of a spade handle, on the side opposite
that to which the main lever is inclined. This enables the user to guide
the implement into the earth. The prongs are straight, so that either the
right or left foot may be used. When the prongs have been sunk up to the
neck into the subsoil, the extreme end of the main lever is acted upon to bring
a powerful lifting pressure upon the soil.

Self-Holding Plough. A new self-holding plough, the invention of Mr. Bin-
kerhoof, ef Batavia, N. T., has the following peculiarities. It differs but little
from some other ploughs now in use, but with the addition of a guiding wheel
about two and a half feet in diameter, which runs in the furrow, and guides
the plough, gauging the width of the furrow, while another wheel of less
diameter supports the plough on the opposite side. The grounds ploughed were
a stiff sod with a heavy clay subsoil, and which would try the merits of the
machine most effectually, yet it did its work perfectly, with no assistance from
the driver except in turning at the ends.

Hunt's Horse Power. Dr. Eichard Hunt, of Freeport, 111., lately patented
a simple construction for making horse power available, w T hich, though
involving a large weight of timber, is advertised to cost but $50. From
one to twelve animals may be employed walking in a circle upon the
ground, and turning a heavy horizontal wheel to which they are directly
attached, and which they hi fact walk within. The wheel is geared at its
periphery, and transmits a high velocity without further multiplication. The
principal novelty consists hi making this wheel of such weight that it requires
no framing whatever, and supporting the load on small iron wheels which
travel around on a raised track just within the horse path. The expedient is
simple and admirable.

132 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

A New Theory of Churning. Mr. E. Conkling, through the Ohio Cultivator,
makes the following suggestions on the true philosophy of churning: "The
plan is to inject the cream into itself or against a hard substance, with great
force, by means of a sort of force pump, thereby producing concussion suffi-
cient to rupture the globules, and produce speedy and perfect comminution of
the butterine particles."

Implement for Cutting down Trees. An implement recently*invented by
S. C. Ehrsam, of New York, consists in giving a rotating motion around the
body or trunk of the tree, to a cutting blade ; also, in giving to the blade a
feed motion into the tree, by means of an annular rack or toothed rim, and a
spiral thread. The rack or toothed run is attached to a collar, which is fitted
around the trunk of the tree, the screw thread being cut on the upper edge of
the collar, and fitting in or between corresponding threads on the under side
of the chisel or cutter. Power being apph'ed, the cutter revolves around the
tree, and cuts inward, until the trunk is severed.

1STATUKAL PHILOSOPHY.

THE FUTURE PROGRESS OF PHYSICAL SCIEXCE.

THAT no further improvement is desirable in the means and methods of
ascertaining the ship's place at sea, no one, I think, will from experience be
disposed to assert. The last time I crossed the Atlantic, I walked the quarter-
deck with the officer in charge of the noble vessel on one occasion when we
were driving along before a leading breeze and 'under a head of steam,
beneath a starless sky at midnight, at the rate certainly of ten or eleven
miles an hour. There is something sublime, but approaching the terrible, in
such a scene ; the rayless gloom, the midnight chill, the awful swell of the
deep, the dismal moan of the wind through the rigging, the all but volcanic
fires within the hold of the ship ; I scarce know an occasion in ordinary
life in which a reflecting mind feels more keenly its hopeless dependence on
irrational forces beyond its own control. I asked my companion how nearly
he could determine his ship's place at sea under favorable circumstances ;
theoreticaUy, he answered, I think, within a mile ; practically and usually
within three or four. My next question was, how near do you think we may
be to Cape Eace, that dangerous headland which pushes its iron-bound, un-
lighted bastions from the shore of Newfoundland far into the Atlantic, the
first land-fall to the homeward-bound American vessel. "We must, said he,
by our last observations and reckoning, be within three or four miles of Cape
Race. A comparison of those two remarks, under the circumstances in which
we were placed at the moment, brought my mind to the conclusion, that it is
greatly to be wished that the means should be discovered of finding the
ship's place more accurately, or that navigators would give Cape Race a little
wider berth. But I do not remember that one of the steam packets between
England and America was ever lost on that formidable point.

It appears to me by no means unlikely that, with the improvement of
instrumental power and of the means of ascertaining the ship's time with
exactness, as great an advance beyond the present state of art and science in
finding a ship's place at sea may take place, as was effected by the invention
of the reflecting quadrant, the calculation of lunar tables, and the improved
construction of chronometers.

I have no doubt we live on the verge of discoveries and inventions in every
department, as brilliant as any that have ever been made ; that there are
new truths, new facts, ready to start into recognition on every side ; and it
seems to me there never was an age, since the dawn of time, when men

134 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

ought to be less disposed to rest satisfied with the progress already made,
than the age in which we live ; for there never was an age more distinguished
for ingenious research, for novel result and bold generalization.

In the wonderful versatility of the human mind, the improvement, when
made, will very probably be made by paths where it is least expected. The
great inducement to Mr. Babbage to attempt the construction of an engine,
by which astronomical tables could be calculated and even printed by mecha-
nical means and with entire accuracy, was the errors in the requisite tables.
Nineteen such errors, in point of fact, were discovered in an edition of
Taylor's Logarithms printed in 1796; some of which might have led to the
most dangerous results in calculating a ship's place. These nineteen errors
(of which one only was an error of the press) were pointed out in the Nautical
Almanac for 1832. In one of these errata the seat of the error was stated to
be in cosine of 14 18' 3". Subsequent examination showed that there was
an error of one second in this correction, and accordingly hi the Nautical
Almanac of the next year, a new correction was necessary. But in making
the new correction of one second, a new error was committed of ten degrees.
Instead of cosine 14 18' 2" the correction was printed cosine 4 18' 2",
making it still necessary, in some future edition of the Nautical Almanac, to
insert an erratum in an erratum of the errata in Taylor's Logarithms. (Edin-
burgh Review, Vol. LIX. 282.)

In the hope of obviating the possibility of such errors, Mr. Babbage pro-
jected his calculating, or, as he prefers to call it, his difference machine.
Although tliis extraordinary undertaking has been arrested, in consequence
of the enormous expense attending its execution, enough has been achieved
to show the mechanical possibility of constructing an engine of this kind, and
even one of far higher powers, of which Mr. Babbage has matured the con-
ception, devised the notation, and executed the drawings themselves an
imperishable monument of the genius of the author. Address at the Dedication
of the Dudley Observatory, by Edward Everett.

LAYING THE GUNS OF A BATTERY WITHOUT EXPOSING THE MEN.

Mr. Babbage has published the following method of laying the guns of a
battery without exposing the men to the fire of the enemy :

The numerous casualties, chiefly by rule shot, which have occurred to those
employed in pointing guns at the object of attack, and also in examining their
effect after their discharge, induced me to recur to means which had pre-
viously been devised for reconnoitring with security. The highest skill is
required in the man who points the gun; his safety is, therefore, to be con-
sidered first.

In pointing a gun at the object to be hit, the two sights of the gun and the
distant object must be brought into the same line. To do this, a man stands
behind the gun and looks along that line. But if, instead of a man in that
position, we put a good common looking-glass inclined at an angle with the
line of direction, the coincidence of the two sights and the distant object can
then be made by an observer placed in other positions.

Suppose an officer is placed in the comer of a battery where neither rifle nor

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 135

round shot can reach, he may either point the gun by his eye, may employ a
common opera-glass, or he may use a small telescope, which, if required,
might be fixed to a post.

In laying guns by means of a telescope some little difficulty may occur
from the foci of the sights and the object not being the same. The difficulty
can be much diminished by placing the looking-glass at a greater distance
behind the gun. In fact, with a simple inverting telescope of very low power,
or with a common opera-glass, a very moderate distance will render both
objects sufficiently distinct.

The angular position and elevation of the gun must be adjusted by direc-
tions from the officer to the men attending the gun. These adjustments must
be contrived by screws, or other means, so as to be made by the men when
screened from direct fire.

When the officer is satisfied that all the guns are well laid, he must then
turn to a telescope, attached vertically to the parapet. Fixed to the telescope
by an arm reaching above the parapet must be another small looking-glass,
having an angular motion on its horizontal axis. This telescope may consist
of a single lens of from three to eight feet focus, aud have attached to its eye-
glass a small prism to turn the vertical rays into a horizontal direction.

The officer, having adjusted his telescope on the point he is battering, may
then observe the united effect of all the guns ; or he may cause them to be
fired in succession, waiting between each shot until the smoke has cleared
away, in order that he may judge of the precision with which each gun has
been laid.

The plan of seeing round a corner by means of a small bit of looking-glass
has been long known and described in books on the amusements of science.
A repetition of the combination constitutes the toy by which children are
surprised to find they can see through a deal board. In a different form, by
means of an inclined mirror concealed within the tube, the frequenter of the
theatre points his glass in one direction whilst he surveys the real object of
his attraction in another. Such a telescope, when used behind a wall or a tree,
becomes a safe reconnoitring telescope.

ON SO^tlE OF THE PEIXCTPAL CAUSES OF ATMOSPHEEIC ELEC-

TEICITY. BY M. BECQUEEEL.

The causes which constantly furnish the air with an excess of positive and
the earth with an excess of negative electricity excesses which are capable
of giving rise to storms and other phenomena under certain conditions are
still unknown. In studying this question some years ago, I observed the
electrical effects produced hi the tissues of plants, and at the contact of these
plants- with the soil ; in this contact the soil is constantly positive, and
the plant negative, whatever may be the part of the plant put hi metallic
communication with it. I then indicated this evolution of electricity as one
of the causes of the electricity of the atmosphere. In repeating these experi-
ments, a year ago, I was struck by the anomalies manifested, in operating on
the margin of a river, or in the river itself, or at a certain distance, near the

136 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

plant ; and I was thus led to study the electrical effects produced at the
contact of the soil with a fall or stream of water, of which I then understood
all the importance. This question leads us to one of the principal sources of
atmospheric electricity a question of a most complicated nature, from the
numerous causes which conduce to the general effect. The apparatus
employed in these researches consists of 1. Diaphragms of porous porcelain,
or little bags of sail-cloth, each containing a depolarized plate of gold or
platinum, surrounded by charcoal of sugar-candy, with a view to render the
electrical effects constant during a few moments in order to measure them 2.
Tangent compasses of great delicacy, adapted for experiments of this nature
3. Atmospheric electrometers to collect the electricity of vapors formed above
the soil or water ; and various accessories, such as copper wires, gold and
platinum covered with gutta percha, &c. The electrical effects produced by
the contact of the soil and water are complex, for they vary in direction and
intensity according to the substances which compose the soil, or which are
dissolved in the water ; for the production of electrical effects, it is necessary
that there should be a heterogeneity between the water of the river and that
by which the soil is moistened. "When the waters are slightly alkaline, they
are negative ; when they are acid, as is the case with the earth of heaths,
they are positive. The well waters of Paris often present effects of this kind,
in consequence of the infiltration of drainage waters; which change in nature
from time to time ; thus hi the course of a month the electrical effects are
seen to change hi intensity and sign, without any derangement of the apparatus.
From this state of things it results that sometimes there are no electrical
effects, as is also the case in experimenting with the water of a river and its
sandy banks, or the adjacent lands which are washed during inundations. It
is necessary to establish permanent observations to foUow ah 1 the variations to
which the actions of contact are subject, and to guard against the effects of
polarization, which are always to be found in operating only for a few
moments. Very commonly polarization is destroyed in the course of 24 hours,
and the effects of which we are in search may then be observed. In some
exceptional cases the electrical current has sufficient intensity to cause the
action of a needle telegraph at a distance of several kilometres. When water
evaporates, either from a stream or from the earth, it must necessarily carry
off with it an excess of electricity of the same nature possessed by the one or
other, and this becomes diffused in the atmosphere ; this electricity may arise
not only from the reaction of the water of the river upon that with which the
soil is moistened, but also from the decomposition of organic matter. In the
latter case the electricity is always positive, whether it arises from the river
or from the soil ; in the former the two vapors are of contrary signs ; the
effects are complex. From the foregoing it will be understood why storms
generally take place in summer, at that period of the year when the decom-
position of organic matters and evaporation are at their maximum, and also
why they are so frequent and so violent under the tropics at the period when
the sun approaches the zenith. This is so true, that in those regions there is
always a storm bursting at each instant in a locality suitably placed in
relation to the sun. The phenomena to which I have referred are so varied

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 137

that it is indispensable, before formulating general principles, to multiply
experiments in a place serving as a permanent observatory, then in flat
countries and amongst mountains, on the margins of rivers and water courses,
and on the sea shore, in countries like Holland, where there are large alluvial
tracts, in salt marshes, &c. Then, and then only, shah 1 we be able to judge
of the importance of the subject with which I am occupied, and which is
connected with one of the greatest questions in terrestrial physics.

ON THE FOR3I OF LIGHTNING.

Mr. Nasmyth, at the British Association, 1856, said that the form usually
attributed to lightning by painters and in works of art was very different from
that which he had observed as exhibited in nature, and from observing this
he was induced to call attention to it. He believed the error of the artists
originated in the form given to the thunderbolt in the hand of Jupiter as sculp-
tured by the early Greeks. The form of lightning as exhibited in nature was
simply an irregular curved line, shooting from the earth below to the cloud
above, and often continued from the cloud downwards again to another distant
part of the earth. This appearance, he conceived, was the result of the rapidly
shooting point of light which constituted the true lightning, leaving on the
eye the impression of the path it traced. In very intense lightning, he had
also observed offshoots of an arborescent form to proceed, at several places,
from the primary track of the flash.

This communication gave rise to an animated discussion, as to whether or
not the flash of lightning was the effect of a rapidly moving point of light,
and if so, whether the direction was. as stated by Air. Nasmyth, in nine cases
out of ten from the earth to the cloud, or the contrary. Mr. Kasmyth adduced
the manner in which leaden pipes were burst, they being bad conductors
of electricity, as proofs of his views of which he instanced one which
had been burst in several places, from the bottom to the top, in Edinburgh,
during a thunderstorm, the pieces of which Sir J. Leslie had obtained and
placed in his physical class room. On being questioned, however, by some
members of the sectiot, as to how these distant burstings outwards along the
pipe gave any indication of the direction, it did not appear there were any
decisive marks indicating this.

ON THE APPARENT CONVERSION OF ELECTRICITY INTO 3LECHANI-

CAL FORCE.

The following is an abstract of a paper communicated to the Philosophical
Magazine (London), by "W. E. Grove, detailing a series of experiments, appa-
rently showing the conversion of electricity into mechanical force :

His object was to show, that when electricity performs any mechanical work
which does not return to its source, electrical power is lost. The first experi-
ment was made in the following manner : A Leyden jar, of one square foot
coated surface, has its interior connected with a Cuthbertson's electrometer,
between which and the outer coating of the jar are a pair of discharging balls
fixed at a certain distance (about hah an inch apart). Between the Leyden jar

138 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

and the prime conductor is inserted a small unit-jar of 9 square inches surface,
the knobs of which are 0.2 inch apart. The balance of the electrometer is now
fixed by a stiff wire inserted between the attracting knobs, and the Leyden
jar charged by discharging from the unit-jar. After a certain number of these
(twenty -two in the experiment performed in the theatre of the Institution), the
discharge of the large jar takes place across the -^-inch interval; this may be
viewed as the expression of the electrical power received from the unit-jar. The
experiment is now repeated, the wire between the balls having been removed,
and therefore the " tip " or the raising of the weight is performed by the elec-
trical repulsion and attraction of the power of two pairs of balls ; at twenty-
two discharges of the unit-jar, the balance is subverted, and one knob drops
upon the other, but no discharge takes place, showing that some electricity has
been lost, or converted into mechanical power, which raises the balance.

By another mode of expression, the electricity may be supposed to be
masked or analogous to latent heat, and would be restored if the ball were
brought back, without discharge, by extraneous force.

The experiment is believed to be new, and to be suggestive of others of a
similar character, which may be indefinitely varied.

Thus, two balls made to diverge by electricity should not give to an electro-
meter the same amount of electricity as if they were, whilst electrified, kept
forcibly together : an experiment of this sort I have made since my lecture, in
the following manner:

To a thick brass wire, 2 feet long, insulated and terminated by knobs, are
suspended by fine platina wires, two pairs of discs of paper coated with tin-
foil, and 4 inches in diameter. The apparatus is electrized in a dry atmosphere
by sparks from a machine, and the discs of each pair respectively diverge.

To one of the pairs a silk thread is attached, by which the discs can be
forcibly approximated. As often as this is done the divergence of the other
pair increases.

Another mode of showing the same effect is the folio whig:

On the top of an ordinary gold-leaf electroscope place two brass plates, such
as are commonly used for a condenser, connect them by a long fine wire, and
electrify them by a rubbed rod of glass or sealing wax, so that the gold leaves
diverge.

Now raise the upper plate by a glass handle : the leaves collapse in pro-
portion as it is raised, and again diverge as it is depressed. It should be recol-
lected that the plates are electrified by the same electricity, and are always
metallically connected by the fine wire, in which respect this differs from ordi-
nary induction experiments.

It may be said that here the mechanical force is given by the hand ; but
this is only in part, the repellent effect of electricity does part of the work and
should be therefore expended ; it is analogically as though a man were to add
his force to the piston rod of a steam engine, which would not prevent the loss
of heat by dilating steam.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 139

OX THE USE OF ELECTRICITY AND GALYANISil FOR PRODUCING

EXPLOSIONS.

M. Ebner has laid a report before the Austrian Academy of Sciences, which
relates to the solving of the question, " "Whether electricity or voltaism is pre-
ferable for the exploding of mines in quarries?" &c. The report gives prefer-
ence to the former, because the amount of effect of the voltaic battery depends
on the quality of the conductor through which it has to act ; and whenever a
great effect (force) is required, the alternative presents itself, either to use
colossal batteries, or costly conductors of the usual large dimensions. Electri-
city, on the contrary, operates in consequence of a mechanic action, without
the co-operation of the conductor ; and as the resistance does not exist, con-
ductors of cheap material and small power are sufficient. The apparatus
adopted now by the Austrian Corps of Engineers, consists of two discs or
plates, of 12 inches diameter, and the charge is made without the conductor
being employed, by the mere placing of a point between the plates. A
smaller apparatus can be carried on a strap on the back of a man. The con-
ductor consists of soft brass wire, of half an inch thickness, and each apparatus
is furnished with 2000 fathoms of plain wire, and 400 fathoms of wire coated
with gutta percha, and also materials for constructing isolated conductors.
The explosive substance, a mixture of sulphur, antimony, and chloride of pot-
ash, can be made with ease, and placed in the form of a cartridge at any part
of the conducting line._ "With these apparatuses explosions have been effected
at a distance of 1 German leagues, and fifty mines exploded simultaneously,
on a line of 100 fathoms. Under water explosions were effected at a distance
of 400 fathoms, the conductor extending to the length of 500 fathoms. The
effects of these machines are independent of seasons and weathers. At the
explosions made under water in the Danube, near G-rein, and the marble
quarries near Neustadt, it has been used for two years without the loss of a
single life. According to a signal, the explosion is made when the excavators
and others are absent, and bore holes are mostly exploded simultaneously.
Mechanics 1 Magazine, No. 1688.

PRESENT STATE OF ORGANIC ELECTRICITY.

Professor Goodsir has communicated to the Edinburgh New Philosophical
Journal "A Brief Review of the Present State of Organic Electricity."

The general theory of electricity, says the professor, has rapidly approached
a consistent form through the labors of recent physicists, and particularly by
the researches of Mr. Faraday. The hypotheses of one or of two electric fluids,
however modified, have been found tenable only so far as they involved the
idea of force. In the phenomena of statical, as in those of current electricity,
there is constantly pressed upon the observer the necessity of admitting two
forces, or two forms or directions of a force, inseparable from one another.
And thus "the influence which is present in an electrical condition may best
be conceived of as an axis of power having contrary forces, exactly equal in
amount, in contrary directions."

140 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

This peculiar form of force manifests itself in different kinds of inorganic
matter, under circumstances such as friction, change of temperature, magnetic
influence, and chemical action.

It is also manifested in organized beings, not only under circumstances in
which they stand related to it as masses of mere matter, but more particularly
during the actions performed by their component textures and organs.

Electrical science has been hitherto chiefly prosecuted in the region of inor-
ganic nature ; and although Volta opened up a boundless field of discovery
in the region of inorganic under the influence of organic electricity, the latter
still remains comparatively uncultivated.

In the investigation of electrical force, as manifested in organic nature, the
peculiar economy of the organized being must be taken into account. Each
organized being, although dependent on certain external circumstances as the
conditions of its existence, is, nevertheless, a system per se. Irrespective of
those electrical conditions into which it may be thrown, through surrounding
bodies, or through the medium in which it lives, it undoubtedly contains more
or less numerous sources of electrical disturbance, in the numerous processes
and arrangements productive of currents, in the structures which collectively
constitute its organization. The organized being may be considered electrically
as a system of electrical currents, excited by electrical arrangements in the
disposition of its fluids, textures, and organs.

So far as has yet been ascertained, these electrical currents, with the excep-
tion of those produced by the special batteries in the electrical fishes, are not
employed in the economy of the being. They are merely necessary conse-
quences of the organic process carried on by the different structures ; and
effect, by their arrangement, the distribution of the resulting electricity, and
the maintenance of the general electrical equilibrium of the organic system.
The detection and investigation of these organic electrical phenomena are,
however, important, not only for general electrical science, but also for^ the
elucidation of the organic processes themselves. Residual phenomena, as
such electrical disturbances must generally be considered in physiology, will,
when investigated, indicate the probable nature of the actions from which
they result.

EXISTENCE OF AN ELECTRICAL AETHER THROUGH SPACE.

Mr. G. J. Knox, in a letter to the editors of the London Philosophical
Magazine, says: In a paper, entitled "On the Direction and Mode of Propa-
gation of the Electrical Force traversing Interposed Media'-' (Philosophical
Magazine, 1840), I endeavored to prove, from the experiments of Sir H. Davy,
that an electric current consists in alternate states of induction and equi-
librium of the particles of the medium conveying the current, the intensity of
the current being proportional to the rapidity of change of induction and
equilibrium, and consequently that the mass of oscillating asther surrounding
the particles represents the quantity, while the rapidity of the oscillations
represents the intensity of an electric current.

The Philosophical Magazine, No. 58, contains some very interesting experi-
ments, which were made by Mr. L. Clark, on the transmission of currents of

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

electricity of varying intensity through 768 miles of gutta percha wire, indi-
cating a velocity of propagation of about 1,000 miles in a second, which
velocity is sensibly uniform for all intensities from 31 cells to 500; which
results, Dr. Faraday remarks, "afford a fine argument hi favor of the opinion
of those who suppose the electric current to be analogous to the vibrations of
air under the action of sonorous bodies." The experiments of Professor Grove
on the electro-chemical polarity of gases, where he obtains rings alternately
bright and oxidated, showing effects of oxidation and reduction by the same
current on the same plate, he considers as "analogous to the phenomena of
interference hi light ; though doubtless, if this be a right view, the very dif-
ferent modes of action of light and electricity would present very numerous
phenomenal distinctions." The idea has lately been presented to my mind,
that the oscillations of the electrical aether in combination with the particles
of the medium conveying a current, produce undulations, not only in the
asthers of light and heat, but also hi another aether, which Dr. Draper calls the
tithonic sether, but which, if experiment proves to be the case, should be more
correctly termed the electrical sether.

Dr. Draper, hi the year 1847, undertook a series of experiments upon the
rays of light emitted by incandescent bodies, from which he concluded that
when a platinum wire is heated by the voltaic pile or otherwise, it emits rays
of light, which increase in refrangibility proportionally to the increase of heat,
which he explains thus : "As the luminous effects are undoubtedly owing to
a vibratory movement executed by the molecules of the platinum, it seems
from the foregoing considerations to follow, that the frequency of those vibra-
tions increases with the temperature." Sir David Brewster has observed,
that hi the spectra produced by the electric light, the chemical rays are more
numerous than hi those produced by the lime light. The problem then to be
solved is whether the chemical rays be produced directly by the oscillations
of the electrical asther hi the platinum wire, or indirectly by the heat pro-
duced.

This question might be resolved by observing the effect produced by voltaic
piles of different intensities, the heat remaining constant; and if so, it would
afford a strong argument in favor, not only of an oscillatory movement hi the
electrical sether in combination with the particles of bodies, but also of the

existence of such an asther through space.

ON THE OEIGIN OF THE AUEOEA BOREALIS.

An important paper on the Aurora Borealis has recently been published
by the Smithsonian Institution, entitled, "The Eecent Secular Period of the
Aurora Borealis," by Professor Olmstead, of Yale College. The folio whig
extract from this paper will sufficiently explain its nature :

" It has appeared to me incumbent on some one devoted to the studies of
nature, who has witnessed this exhibition of the Aurora Borealis, probably
among the most remarkable that have ever occurred since the creation of the
world, to write its history, to give an accurate history of its varieties, to pre-
sent at one view a classification of the principal facts, in order, if possible, to
ascertain the laws of the phenomenon ; and finally to determine the origin,

142 ANNUAL OF SCIP^NTIFIC DISCOVERY.

or primary cause to which it may be referred. I am the more encouraged to
undertake this labor, from having enjoyed peculiarly favorable opportunities
for observing these exhibitions from their commencement, and from having
amassed from the accounts published in the periodicals of the day, and from
an. extensive correspondence, a greater amount of facts, than, so far as I
know, any other person has taken the trouble to accumulate.

" I know of no other method of successfully investigating a subject of this
kind, than first, to examine all the facts of the case ; secondly, to bring to-
gether into one view, in separate groups, such as are similar, forming a full
and accurate classification ; thirdly, to inquire what general facts these truths
reveal, since these deductions form the proximate laws of the phenomenon ;
and, finally, to make the laws the groundwork of a general theory, which
shall assign the true cause of all."

The " Secular Period" embraces the exhibitions of the Aurora Borealis
during the years 1827, '35, '36, '37, '48, '51, '52, and '53. Professor Olmstead
classifies the Auroras by six different names ; Aurora Twilight, the Arches,
the Streamers, the Corona, the Waves, and the Auroral Clouds.

IMPROVED ELECTRICAL AND GALVANIC APPARATUS.

Breton's Galvanic Battery. A battery arranged by M. Breton, of Paris, for
medicinal purposes, is maintained in a constant moisture with chloride of
calcium. For one of the poles there is a mixture of copper filings with
sawdust, the latter designed to separate the metallic particles, the filings are
mixed with a solution of chloride of calcium. The other pole is a similar
mixture, in which the copper is replaced by zinc filings. These two prepara-
tions placed in a vase, and separated by a porous cell, make a battery, which
has always the same intensity of action, on account of its constant humidity,
and the indefinite number of its elements.

Improved Electro-Medical Apparatus. Mr. 'W. P. Piggott, of London, has
patented some improvements in galvanic, electric, and electro-magnetic
apparatus, and in the mode of then' application as a curative and remedial
agent. The inventor constructs a brush consisting of a mixture of bristles
and metallic wires or ~plates, or coats a portion of the bristles forming the
brush with metal by electric deposition, and these metallic wires, plates, or
electrotyped or metallized bristles, communicate with and receive their elec-
tricity, galvanism, or electro-magnetism, from a battery or electrical apparatus,
fixed in the back, or some other convenient part of the frame, of the brash, or
otherwise, as may be required, thus causing what is commonly known as
positive or negative currents of electricity to pass from the ends of the w r ires,
plates, or metallized bristles, when moved in contact with the hair or skin.
Secondly, in the construction of a bath for the administration of galva-
nism, electricity, or electro-magnetism, one part of which bath will communicate
positive, and the other negative electricity, and this is effected by forming the
bath of a combination of elastic or flexible waterproof material and metal, in
such a way that when a part of the waterproofing material is caused to enve-
lope any required part of the body, two distinct currents of electricity, galva-
nism, or electro-magnetism, are created in the same bath.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 143

Instrument for determining the Value of Intermittent, or Alternating, Electric
Currents, for Telegraphic Purposes. At the British Association Meeting
for 1856, Mr. E. 0. "Whitehouse demonstrated that the effect of a weak
electric current, say after it had traversed 100 miles of wire on an ordinary
magnetic needle, was altogether inappreciable ; and even the effect of strong
currents at short intermitted periods, caused the needle so to vibrate as to
render the observing of the arcs quite impossible ; but by transmitting a very
feeble current in such a way as to excite a powerful coil, and produce an
electro-magnet by soft pieces of iron hi the axes of the coils, he showed that,
by a strongly framed and accurately constructed steelyard, he was able actu-
ally to weigh the feeblest currents, and to compare them with even the most
powerful current transmitted through short distances. The exhibition of the
apparatus, which worked admirably, and, as it were, weighed the force of
each current as transmitted during the ordinary rapid working of the tele-
graph, seemed to afford much satisfaction to the section.

Substitute for the CopperWire in the Construction of Helices. The cost of heli-
ces of fine wire, and the limit of thickness to which the fine wire can be covered
with silk for insulation, are two impediments which M. Bonelli has sought to
set aside by very simple means. He takes a band of paper of the height of
the helix of an electro-magnet, or of the corresponding part of the galvano-
meter ; tlois band carries parallel to its edge, metallic lines a a', & &', etc., pass-
ing from one extremity to the other ; these lines, placed in the circuit, will
give passage to the current, while they are also insulated from one another by
the paper that separates them ; so that the current will pass uninterruptedly
provided the lines of metal are unbroken. The number of these lines which
may be put on a band of paper is almost indefinite. Leaving their extremities
free, the current may be made to pass, either along the lines united, or in all
of them at the same time and in the same direction.

Globotype Telegraph. The London Artizan has recently published an
illustrated description of a new and peculiar telegraph bearing the above name,
invented by David McCallum, of Stonehouse, England. The leading cha-
racteristic of this invention consists in releasing small glass balls of three
different colors white, black, and blue in such a manner as to faU over a
series of inclined planes, and drop into their proper places, where, by their
color and the way that they are made to arrange themselves, they form a
message. These balls are thrown out one by one at the will of the operator,
and as multiplied and intermixed they form the alphabet, like Professor
Morse's dots, spaces, and dashes.

THE LAW OF THE SQUARES IS IT APPLICABLE OR NOT TO

THE TRANSMISSION OF SIGNALS IN SUBMARINE CIRCUITS ?

The following is an abstract of a paper read before the British Association,
by Mr. E. 0. Whitehouse, the well known electrician and physicist. Mr.
TV., in commencing, stated that it was for the purpose of determining the
force of either intermitting or alternating currents, whose duration was not
sufficient to admit of the needle assuming a position of rest, that he proposed
the use of the magneto-electrometer an instrument rendering available the

144: ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

force of magnetic attraction instead of the deflection of the needle as a
means of measuring the amount of current circulating. This force was, he
said, until we approach the point of magnetic saturation of the iron, strictly-
proportioned to the energy of the current under examination. The number
of grains thus lifted on the arm of the lever the author proposes to call the
practical "value" of the current for telegraphic purposes. The most striking
features of this instrument are 1st. The facility of determining the value of
currents which do not admit of being tried by the galvanometer. 2nd. The
very great range which this instrument has (viz. from unity up to half
a million), as well as the deflniteness and accuracy of the results, even the
extremes of the register being strictly comparable with each other.
3rd. Unlike the degrees upon the galvanometer, these grains of force are
units of real "value" and of practical utility, as was shown by a telegraphic
instrument hi circuit being worked perfectly by a current of four grains.
Referring to the proceedings of the association last year, the author showed
that a wire six tunes the length of the Varna and Balaklava wire, if of the
same lateral dimensions, would give thirty-six times the retardation, and
thirty-six times the slowness of action. If the distinctness of utterance and
rapidity of action practicable with the Varna and Balaklava wire are only
such as not to be inconvenient, it would be necessary to have a wire of six
times the diameter, or better, thirty-six wires of the same dimensions, or a
larger number of small wires twisted together, under a gutta-percha covering,
to give tolerably convenient action by a submarine cable of six times the
length. Although the subject of submarine telegraphy had many points of
the highest importance requiring investigation, and to the consideration of
which he had been devoting himself recently, Mr. "Whitehouse proposed to
confine his remarks on this occasion to the one point indicated in the title,
inasmuch as the decision of that one, either favorably or otherwise, would
have, on the one hand, the effect of putting a very narrow limit to our pro-
gress in telegraphy, or, on the other, of leaving it the most ample scope. He
drew a distinction between the mere transmission of a current across the
Atlantic (the possibility of which he supposed everybody must admit) and the
effectual working of a telegraph at a speed sufficient for " commercial success."
The author then gave a description of the apparatus employed in his
researches, of the manner hi which the experiments were conducted, and,
lastly, of the results obtained. The wires upon which the experiments were
made were copper, of No. 16 gauge, very perfectly insulated with gutta-
percha spun into two cables, containing three wires of equal length (eighty-
three miles), covered with iron wires and coiled in a large tank hi full contact
with moist earth, but not submerged. The two cables were subsequently
joined together, making a length of 166 miles of cable, containing three
wires. In addition to this, in some of the latest experiments he had also the
advantage of another length of cable, giving, with the above, an .aggregate of
1,020 miles. The instruments, one of which was exhibited, seemed to be of
great delicacy, capable of the utmost nicety of adjustment and particularly
free from sources of error. The records were all made automatically, by
electro-chemical decomposition, on chemically-prepared paper. The observa-

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

145

tiona of different distances recorded themselves upon the same slip of paper,
thus, O'SS and 249 miles were imprinted upon one paper, 0'83, 498 miles
upon another slip, 0'249, 498 upon another, and 0-535, 1,020 upon another.
Thus, by the juxtaposition of the several simultaneous records on each slip,
as well as by the comparison of one slip with another, the author has been
enabled to show most convincingly that the law of the squares is not the law
which governs the transmission of signals in submarine circuits. Mr. White-
house showed next, by reference to published experiments of Faraday's and
"VYheatstone's (Philosophical Magazine, July, 1855), that the effect of the iron
covering with which the cable was surrounded was, electrically speaking,
identical with that which would have resulted from submerging the wire, and
that the results of the experiments could not on that point be deemed other-
wise than reliable. The author then addressed himself to the objections
raised against conclusions drawn from experiments in " Multiple" cables.
Faraday had experimented, he said, upon wires laid in close juxtaposition,
and with reliable results ; but an appeal was made to direct experiment, and
the amount of induction from wire to wire was weighed, and proved to be as
one to ten thousand, and it was found impossible to vary the amount of
retardation by any variation in the arrangement of the wires. Testimony,
also, on this point was not wanting. The Director of the Black Sea Tele-
graph, Col. Biddulph, was in England, and present at many of the experi-
ments. He confirmed our author's view, adding, li that there was quite as
much induction and embarrassment of instruments hi this cable as he had
met with in the Black Sea line." The author considers it. therefore, proved
"that experiments upon such a cable, fairly and cautiously conducted, may
be regarded as real practical tests, and the results obtained as a fair sample
of what will ultimately be found to hold good practically in lines laid out in
extenso. At the head of each column in the annexed table is stated the
number of observations upon which the result given was computed, every
observation being rejected on which there could fall a suspicion of careless-
ness, inaccuracy, or uncertainty as to the precise conditions ; and, on the
other hand, every one which was retained being carefully measured to the
hundredth part of a second. This table is subject to correction, for variation
in the state of the battery employed, just as the barometrical observations
are subject to correction for temperature.

Amount of Retardation observed at various Distances.

stated in Parts of a Second.

Voltaic Current. Time

Mean, of
550
observations.

Mean of
110
observations.

Mean of
1840
observations.

Mean of
1960
observations.

Mean of
120 simultaneous
observations.

83 miles
08

166 miles
14

249 miles
36

498 miles
79

585 miles
74

1C20 miles
1-42

Now it needs no long examination of this table to find that we have the
retardation following an increasing ratio. that increase being very little be-

7

ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

yond the simple arithmetical ratio. I am quite prepared to admit the possi-
bility of an amount of error having crept into these figures, in spite of my
precautions ; indeed, I have on that account been anxious to multiply obser-
vations in order to obtain most trustworthy results. But I cannot admit the
possibility of error having accumulated to such an extent as to entirely over-
lay and conceal the operation of the law of the squares, if in reality that law
had any bearing on the results. Taking 83 miles as our unit of distance, we
have a series of 1, 2, 3, 6, and 12. Taking 166 miles as our unit, we have
then a series of 1, 3, and 6. Taking 249 miles, we have still a series of 1, 2,
and 4, in very long distances. Yet even under these circumstances, and
with these facilities, I cannot find a trace of the operation of that law."
The author then examined the evidence of the law of the squares, as shown
by the value of a current taken in submarine or subterranean wires at
different distances from the generator thereof, . which he showed were strongly
corroborative of the previous results. He next examined the question of the
size of the conducting wire; and he had the opportunity of testing" the appli-
cation of the law, as enunciated by Prof. Thomson last year. The results, far
from confirming the law, are strikingly opposed to it. The fact of trebling
the size of the conductor augmented the amount of retardation to nearly
double that observed in the single wire. The author, however, looked for
the experimentum crucis in the limit to the rapidity and distinctness of
utterance attainable in the relative distances of 500 and 1,020 miles. 350
and 270 were the actual number of distinct signals recorded in equal times
through these two lengths respectively. These figures have no relation to
the squares of the distance. "Now, if the law of the squares be held to be
good in its application to submarine circuits, and if the deductions as to the
necessary size of the wire, based upon that law, can be proved to be valid
also, we are driven to the inevitable conclusion that submarine cables of
certain length, to be successful, must be constructed in accordance with these
principles. And what does this involve ? In the case of the Transatlantic
line, whose estimated length will be no less than 2,500 miles, it would
necessitate the use, for a single conductor only, of a cable so large and
ponderous, as that probably no ship except Mr. Scott Eussell's leviathan
could carry it, so unwieldy in the manufacture, that its perfect insulation
would be a matter almost of practical impossibility, and so expensive, from
the amount of materials employed, and the very laborious and critical nature
of the processes required in making and laying it out, that the thing would
be abandoned as being practically and commercially impossible. If, on the
other hand, the law of the squares be proved to be inapplicable to the trans-
mission of signals by submarine wires, whether with reference to the amount
of retardation observable in them, the rapidity of utterance to be obtained, or
the size of conductor required for the purpose, then we may shortly expect to
see a cable not much exceeding one ton per mile, containing three, four, or
five conductors, stretched from shore to shore, and uniting us to our Transat-
lantic brethren, at an expense of less than one-fourth that of the large one
above mentioned, able to carry four or five times the number of messages,
and therefore yielding about twenty times as much return in proportion to

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 147

the outlay. And what, I may be asked, is the general conclusion to be drawn
as the result of this investigation of the law of the squares applied to sub-
marine circuits ? In all honesty, I am bound to answer, that I believe nature
knows no such application of that law ; and I can only regard it as a fiction
of the schools, a forced and violent adaptation of a principle in physics, good
and true under other circumstances, but misapplied here."

DE. SCOEESBY'S OBSEEYATIONS ON THE YAEIATION OF THE

COilPASS.

Dr. Scoresby, of England, has, it is well known, devoted much time and
attention during the last few years to an examination of the phenomena of
magnetism in relation to the compass, and published several able communi-
cations on the same subject. During the latter part of the year 1855, with a
view of aiding research, the British and Australian Steam Company tendered
to Dr. S. a free passage in an iron steamer, the Eoyal Charter, to Australia,
and extraordinary facilities for conducting experimentation and research.
The proposition so made was accepted, and the voyage having been success-
fully completed, Dr. Scoresby has recently published a report of the results, of
his magnetical researches during the voyage of the Royal Charter to Australia
and round the world. The Eoyal Charter, it should be noted, is an iron ship,
of the clipper class, with auxiliary steam power, belonging to the Liverpool
and Australian Navigation Company. She is 334 feet hi length on deck, and
42 hi breadth, and 2,787 tons measurement. The compasses of the Royal
Charter, observations on which were an important object of Dr. Scoresby's
inquiries, were four in number ; the steering compass, adjusted by magnets on
Mr. Airy's principles, 68 feet from the stern ; another adjusted compass (called
the " companion compass") 89 feet ; a standard compass on the deck house,
unadjusted, 181 feet from the stern ; and a compass aloft, 42 feet above the
poop deck.

The leading objects contemplated by Dr. Scoresby in his recent undertaking
were, to verify or test his theoretic views and results of inductive researches
on the phenomena of magnetism with relation to the compass, especially as to
the ' retentive quality" so highly developed in iron ships in the process of con-
struction, with the changes in such magnetism views which he had first
placed before the public at the meeting of the British Association at Oxford in
1847, and since then in his "Magnetical Investigations" published in 1852,
and in various other forms ; and to test also his plan of a compass aloft, first
proposed in his account of discoveries on the eastern coast of Greenland hi
1822, for the avoidance of the ship's attraction, and for obtaining correct com-
pass guidance, so essential to safety in navigation. Four plans or processes
were adopted by Dr. Scoresby for the determination of the facts, as to the
nature and changes of the ship's magnetic condition, viz. comparisons, almost
daily, of the four compasses described; experiments on the ship's external
magnetism, as indicated by her deviating action on a compass placed first near
the upper edge of the top plating, and then gradually let down towards the
water's edge, such experiments being made in different parts of the ship's

148 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

length on the poop and forecastle ; the determination, from time to time, of
the polarity of iron bars, standards, &c., having an upright position; and,
finally, the ascertaining of the position taken by a Fox's dipping needle in
different stations about the deck, and comparing the results with the known
terrestrial clip.

By these several appliances, the whole of the objects contemplated in the
voyage were satisfactorily and completely attained ; and to Dr. Scoresby it
was necessarily most gratifying to find that not one of the conclusions he had
been led to by inductive research was in any measure contravened ; but, on
the contrary, all the leading propositions he had for years been urging on the
attention of navigators and men of science were distinctly verified. Thus,
just as he had predicted, the ship retained her original magnetic condition,
and the adjusted compasses preserved very nearly their original state, so long
as the ship was on courses not very remote from the direction of the ship's
head when building ; but when she came into a south-westerly direction, the
reverse of that on the stocks, under a heavy sea, just as had been predicted,
the compasses changed, and there was an error, temporarily, in the steering
compass, of a point or more. On reaching a position of considerable southern
dip, the adjusted compasses went wrong one of them to the extent of a point
and three quarters a moderate change only in comparison with many ships,
due, no doubt, to the favorable position of the Eoyal Charter's compasses in
being removed so far from the stern, and entirely above the iron plating of
the sides. On swinging the ship at Melbourne, the standard compass was
found to have lost nearly one half of its original errors, and the two adjusted
compasses to have attained considerable deviations ; whilst the compass aloft
was, to all practical ends, quite correct. But the most striking change
exactly consistent with theoretic deductions was the complete inversion of
the ship's magnetic polarity the whole of the top sides having changed from
southern to northern, externally; and every standard, stanchion, davit, or
other mass of iron about the deck, including also four iron capstans, had
attained at the upper parts northern polarity, which, northward of the equator,
had been tested as having their southern poles upward. Approaching the
magnetic equator, on the homeward passage, the two ends of the ship, as had
also been predicted, attained polarities corresponding with the action of ter-
restrial induction, the stem aloft, as well as below, changing to southern
polarity, and the head becoming more intensely magnetic with the contrary
polarity. The gradual travelling of the southern polarity, from the stern
forward, as the ship advanced northward towards the line, was a fact which
Dr. Scoresby watched with great attention and interest, until, after reaching
some distance within the northern tropic, the whole of the ship's sides had
changed again their polarity, so that from stem to stern, as when the ship first
set out, the upper plating had all acquired the southern polarity. Finally,
as to these corroborating facts of previous deductions, it was mentioned
that, though the upper polarity of the ship had changed, yet some general
influence, derived from the previous inversion of polarity, or, more particularly,
from the earth's inductive power, while the ship's head was continually directed
northward from the passing of Cape Horn, had been received or retained.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 149

Hence, on swinging the ship at Liverpool, immediately on her return to
port, the adjusted compasses were found not merely to have retained their
southern errors, but that the maximum of the steering compass had increased
up to about two points ; whilst correspondently, in a theoretic view, the
standard compass had become still more correct than when at Melbourne, its
errors on a large number of points being now trifling and unimportant.

The most important fact remains to be noticed viz. that such was the
general accuracy of the compass aloft in this case of the Royal Charter, and
such the instruction derived from the repeated swinging of the ship, that the
course actually made good on every occasion during the voyage was accu-
rately known that is, far within the limits of the defects of steering, and that
numerous determinations by azimuths and amplitudes of the variation of the
compass in the Pacific and North and South Atlantic, were obtained with
perhaps as much accuracy as had ever been had even in ships built of
timber.

COEEECTION OF COMPASSES.

A late Glasgow invention seems to promise something of importance in ena-
bling the compass to work with certainty on iron vessels, although it is difficult
to understand the principle. It consists solely in covering the ordinary box
with cork or the pith of elder wood, with several coats of resinous varnish or
sealing was. The bowl in which the compass is suspended is also lined with
the same, and the result is not a complete annihilation, but a very great dimi-
nution of the effect of all local attractions.

OX THE HEAT PEODUCED BY THE INFLUENCE OF THE MAGNET
ON BOILEES IN MOTION, BY M. FOUCAULT.

In 1824, M. Arago observed the remarkable fact of the attraction of the
magnetic needle by conducting bodies in motion. The phenomenon appeared
singular ; it remained unaccounted for until Faraday announced the important
discovery of induced currents. From that time it was proved that, in Arago's
experiment, motion gave rise to currents, which, reacting on the magnet,
tended to associate with it the mobile body and to attract it in the same
direction. It may be said, generally, that the magnet and the conducting
body tend, by mutual influence, towards relative repose.

If, notwithstanding this influence, it be desired that the motion should con-
tinue, a certain amount of labor must be bestowed upon it, the movable part
seems to be restrained, and this work necessarily produces a dynamic effect,
which I have thought, according to the new doctrines, must be attributed to
heat.

TTe arrive at the same conclusion by observing the induced currents which
follow in the interior of the body in motion ; but this mode of considering
things could give only, with great trouble, an idea of the quantity of heat
produced, whilst by considering this character as due to a transformation of
work, it appeared to me certain that we should easily produce, in a decisive
experiment, a considerable elevation of temperature.

150 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

Having at hand everything necessary for a prompt verification, I proceeded
as follows :

Between the poles of a powerful electro-magnet I partially engaged the
solid of revolution belonging to the rotatory apparatus which I have called a
gyroscope, and which I had previously used in experiments of quite another
nature. This solid was a torse of bronze, connected by means of a toothed
pinion to a moving wheelwork, and which, turned by means of a handle,
may attain the speed of 150 to 200 turns per second. To render the action
of the magnet more efficacious, two pieces of soft iron superadded to the
bobbins prolong the metallic poles and concentrate them in the vicinity of the
turning body.

When the apparatus is at full speed the current of six Bunsen elements
directed into the electro-magnet, arrests the motion in a few seconds, as if an
invisible bridle had been applied to the motive power ; this is Arago's expe-
riment developed by Faraday. But if we then strain at the handle, in order
to restore to the apparatus the motion which it had lost, the resistance expe-
rienced, compels us to exert a certain degree of force, the equivalent of which
reappears arfd is effectively accumulated in heat in the interior of the turning
body.

By means of a thermometer buried in the mass we follow, step by step, the
progress in elevation of temperature.

Having taken, for example, the apparatus at the surrounding temperature
of 16 C. (60 8' R), I saw the thermometer rise gradually to 20 C. (68 P.),
25 C. (77 R), 30 C. (86 R), and 34 C. (93 2' R) ; but the phenomenon
was so much developed as not to require the employment of thermometrical
instruments ; the heat produced had become sensible to the hand.

A few days afterwards the battery being reduced to two elements, a flat
disc formed of red copper was raised in two minutes' action to the temperature
of 60 C. (140 R).

If this experiment appears interesting it will be easy to arrange an
apparatus for fully developing the phenomenon which I have noticed. Un-
doubtedly, by a suitably constructed machine composed only of permanent
magnets, we may produce elevated temperatures and exhibit to the public
assembled in lecture theatres a curious example of the conversion of labor
into heat.

TERBESTRIAL MAGNETISM.

As early as 1825, Col. Sabine had inferred, that an influence was exerted
by the sun and moon on terrestrial magnetism. In a set of observations
taken at the whiter station of one of the polar expeditions, where the declina-
tion was about 90, and discussed by him, it was remarked that when the
sun and moon were on the meridian at the same time, the diurnal variation
reached 5, but when they were at right angles to each other, this quantity fell
as low as 20. The sagacity Col. Sabine exhibited in his inference from this
isolated set of observations has been sustained by the laborious and patient
observations and investigations of fifteen years. Some quantities so minute are
developed in the researches, that a less time would hardly have served to

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 151

separate them from the larger quantities in which they are involved. The
results set forth by Col. Sabine to the British Association are as follows:

1. The diurnal variation following in all places the order of solar time, and
being at its maximum about two hours after noon, changes its sign at the time
of the two equinoxes. Thus, while the maximum diurnal deflection from the
magnetic meridian is eastward in all places up to the 21st of March, a change
in the amount of deviation begins on the 22d, and is completed hi about ten
days, after which the maximum daily variation is to the westward, and at a
mean equal to the eastern variation of the preceding six months.

2. There is an annual variation in the intensity of terrestrial magnetism,
of small amount indeed, but affecting both the northern and southern hemi-
sphere in the same manner, the intensity being greatest when the sun is in
perigee and least when it is in apogee.

3. It is well known that all the instruments used in magnetic observation
are from time to time affected by disturbances, or storms as they are often
called ; these storms have been found to be subject to a periodic fluctuation,
and this period has been discovered to correspond with that assigned by
Schabe to the spots on the solar disc.

4. It has been clearly shown that there is a variation in magnetic declina-
tion, dependent on the change of the moon's position in relation to the
meridian of the place of observation, and having therefore for its period, the
lunar day. This, although first inferred by Sabine from a single set of observa-
tions, has been since fully proved by Kriel. Finally, the hypothesis which
ascribes the variations in the phenomena of terrestrial magnetism to local
variations of temperature is completely refuted.

May we not hope that the relations of the magnetism of the earth with the
heavenly bodies, which exert the greatest influence in other respects upon
our planet, having been thus conclusively shown, a basis is now provided
upon which to erect a science, that will be as simple in its laws and as
fertile in its results as the theory of universal gravitation ? Up to the present
time terrestrial magnetism as a science has had no other foundation than
vague or unsupported hypotheses, or empiric propositions, which, although
true, have been founded on no general law. Henceforth it would appear to
be as closely within the reach of mathematical methods as the tides. Proc.
British Association.

ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF THE SUBMARINE

ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.

A recent writer in the London Times, reviewing the proposed construction
of the Submarine Atlantic Telegraph, sketches out the details and prospects
of the enterprise as follows:

" The cable, to allow for the inequalities of the ground and other exigencies
of the case, will be 3,000 miles long. The wires will be isolated in gutta-
percha coatings ; and all the improvements which science can afford will be
applied to give durability, strength, and efficacy' to the cable. To lay so
enormous an amount of coil, two ships will proceed to the mid-ocean, each

152 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

carrying half the line. They will then separate, and continue to lay out the
cable until they shall have reached their respective destinations. The wires
will enable them during the entire process to telegraph each to the other at
will, so that their combined movements will be, as it were, at the direction of one
mind. Hitherto, almost all the cables which have been lost have been sacrificed
from being placed in sailing vessels towed by steamboats. These have become
unmanageable in bad weather, and, to save themselves, have been obliged to
throw the coil overboard. This could not occur, if the countries most interested,
England and the United States, were to contribute first-rate steam men-of-war.
At all events, it is well to think, that in this instance, as there will be two ves-
sels, the line can scarcely be lost, for, even if one were obliged to sacrifice her
freight, the other could wind it up from the deep. The number of wires to be
used is not determined upon, and here again modern science has achieved a
great triumph. Of course, in a line of such length the amount of copper used
in the wire becomes an object of the gravest consideration in determining its
expense. Now, in telegraphs above ground, it has been found that the faci-
lity of transmitting a current has increased with the enlarged size of the wire.
The electricity has, as it were, a broader path to move on. Thus an imperfect
conductor can compensate for its defective state of conduction, by increase of
volume. Take, for instance, the two metals, copper and iron. Iron offers
seven times the resistance of copper to the passage of an electric current, but
by proportionally increasing the size of the iron wire, electricity will be as
readily transmitted through it as through the better conducting metal ; and
consequently iron wires, one-sixth of an inch in diameter, are used in the tele-
graphs of this country. It was dreaded, from such a course of reasoning, that
so enormous a line should not only be of the best conducting material, but
that it should also be of great thickness, which would vastly enhance the
expense, but Dr. Whitehouse has, in a series of over 4,000 experiments,
demonstrated that not the same, but rather an opposite condition operates in
submarine lines. It is to be remarked that the wires here are thoroughly isolat-
ed. so that the charge sent into one resembles the charging of a Leyden jar,
and, consequently, the smaller, within certain limits, the wire which is to be
charged, the more effective the operation of the electricity will be. This is a
result of the most important character, for otherwise the company would have
been put to enormous cost in employing larger wires, which would, in fact,
have been only operative to retard the telegraphic action."

" So far. indeed, as regards the wire connection between the two countries,
there seems no doubt that it can be made; but that mechanical difficulty over-
come, there will remain the question whether telegraphic signals can be trans-
mitted through a submerged wire, of that length, however carefully it may be in-
sulated. On this point electricians and mathematicians are at variance. It is not
a simple question whether an electric current can be transmitted, but whether
the wire can be discharged, after transmission, quickly enough for the repetition
of telegraphic signals.

" This difficulty first presented itself in the telegraph from Harwich to the
Hague. It was found that the water surrounding the wires prevented them
transmitting distinctive signals, the action of each one being prolonged so as to

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 153

interfere and blend with the signal preceding. The difficulty was quite
unexpected. Faraday brought his wonderful power of investigation to bear on
the subject, and ascertained that the conducting property of sea water on the
outside of the gutta-percha has the effect of converting the coated wire into an
elongated Leyden jar. and causes it to retain a portion of the charge, hi the same
manner as an ordinary Leyden jar retains a part of the electricity after it has
been discharged. This difficulty, which seemed to present an effectual bar to
the use of Professor Morse's instruments in which the electric current tra-
verses continuously in the same direction was overcome by reversing the
direction of the current after each signal, by which process the wire was pre-
pared to transmit another. That plan has answered from London to the
Hague, but doubt is entertained whether the remedy will apply across the
Atlantic. Experiments, so far as they can be made, show that the obstacle
may be overcome ; but theoretical philosophers are not wanting, who, armed
with arrays of figures, contend that the thing is impossible."

During the past summer, the U. S. steamer Arctic, was sent out to run aline
of soundings from Newfoundland to the nearest point on the Irish coast, with
a view of affording information relative to the laying of the proposed tele-
graph. The result of the expedition has been stated by one of the party as
follows :

"Not a single rock had been met with, not a particle of gravel or sand had
been brought up, but it appears as if nature had provided a bed ' soft as a
snow bank,' to use Maury's own words, for the express purpose of receiving a
telegraph cable.

"Lieut. Berryman says that he is satisfied that the lead, with the sounding
apparatus, has frequently buried itself ten or fifteen feet deep in this soft
material, and he doubts not that the cable will likewise sink and imbed itself
in a similar manner. The greatest depth attained has been two thousand and
seventy fathoms (about two and a third miles) ; but perhaps the most remarkable,
and at the same tune the most satisfactory result, is the perfect confirmation
which these soundings give of the opinion expressed by Lieut. Maury as to the
existence of a great flat or level at the bottom of the ocean, unparalleled by
anything on the surface of the earth, and which he proposes to name the
' Telegraph Plateau.' For more than thirteen hundred miles the body of the
Atlantic, in the direct line of our track, is found by these soundings to present
an almost unbroken level plain. Nature has thus placed no obstacle in the
way of this great undertaking, which may not, by cautious perseverance, be
overcome ; nay, rather (if we except the enormous length of the cable which
will be required) it would seem that the line to be followed by the Atlantic
cable presents absolutely fewer engineering difficulties than the shorter
route (though more complex, from the nature of the bottom) on which the
Mediterranean cable must be laid."

During the last few weeks of the year, the enterprise of constructing the
Transatlantic telegraph has been pushed forward with vigor. The whole
amount necessary for the construction of the work has been subscribed in
England and the United States, and contracts for the manufacture of the cable
have been made. By the terms of the contracts, the cable is to be completed

154 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

and deposited on board a vessel by the 31st May next, in order that it may be
laid down during the succeeding months of June and July. The English
Government has acted with the utmost liberality. It has directed a vessel to be
sent out at its own expense, to make further and thorough soundings, and to
examine the coasts of Ireland and Newfoundland, with a view to select the
best places for landing the cable. It has also agreed to guarantee an interest
of four per cent, per annum on the entire amount of capital required to manu-
facture and lay down the cable.

It is proposed to construct the cable of seven copper wires, covered with three
separate layers of gutta-percha, over which is to be bound hemp saturated
with tar and other materials, the whole being inclosed in 126 iron wires.

ON THE EXTERNAL TEMPERATURE OF THE EARTH AND OTHER
PLANETS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM.

"We obtain the following paper by Mr. Hopkins, on the above subject, from
the Proceedings of the Cambridge (England) Philosophical Society:

"We have not sufficient data to determine the superficial temperature of
any planet except our own. "We know, however, that it must mainly
depend on the temperature of the planetary space, and on the heat which
the nearer planets at least receive directly from the sun, but modified, and
possibly in a far greater degree than has been generally supposed, by the
particular circumstances by which each planet may be characterized. No
astronomer, judging from the appearances which Mars and Jupiter present to
us, would entertain any serious doubt as to the existence of atmospheres
surrounding those planets, and the probability would seem to be almost
equally strong of Saturn being likewise enveloped in a similar manner. The
obliquity of the axis of rotation is known with considerable accuracy in the
case of Mars and Jupiter, and also in that of Saturn, if it coincide with the
axis of rotation of his ring. Venus presents great difficulties to the observer,
but it appears now pretty satisfactorily determined that the period of rotation
about her own axis is nearly the same as that of the earth, and that the
obliquity of her axis is large, amounting to as much as about 75. This
must produce an extraordinary difference between the changes of annual
temperature in that planet and those which we experience. The author has
endeavored, in this paper, to estimate numerically the effect of this anomalous
obliquity. Practical astronomers have entertained the opinion that Yenus
likewise has an atmosphere. Of Mercury we know too little by direct obser-
vation to form any opinion on those points founded on observed facts, and
the same remark will apply to the remoter planets beyond Saturn ; but most
astronomers probably feel much the same conviction that Mercury, Uranus,
and Neptune, have atmospheres of greater or less extent, as that they revolve
round their own axes with greater or less angular velocity. The earth's
atmosphere is known to be almost completely diatherrnanous for heat radiat-
ing directly from the sun ; and it is assumed to be equally so for the heat
which proceeds directly from the fixed stars, and to which the general tem-
perature of space is due.

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 155

This 'radiating heat, therefore, has little or no effect in heating the atmo-
sphere during its transmission to the earth's surface ; but after falling upon,
and heating terrestrial objects, it loses the power of radiating completely
through the atmosphere, and is transmitted back into space through the
atmosphere by conduction, conversion, and partial radiation to limited dis-
tances. But for any of these modes of transmission, it is essential that the
temperature of the atmosphere should be greater hi its lower than ha its upper
portions, and in a degree greater as the quantity of heat to be transmitted is
greater. The temperature (r v ) of the upper portion must be determined by
the condition, that in a given time a quantity of heat must radiate from it
into surrounding space equal to that which falls upon it from external sources
in the same time, and is transmitted back after reaching the surface of the
earth or objects near to it. Consequently r 2 must be independent of the
height of the earth's atmosphere. At lower points the temperature will
increase till we reach the surface of the Earth ; and if we denote the tempera-
ture there by T, , it is manifest that r, will be greater, the greater the
height of the earth's atmosphere.

It must here be particularly observed, that T Z is the proper temperature of
the component particles of the atmosphere, and is probably widely different
from the temperature which would be indicated by a thermometer placed at
the upper extremity of the atmosphere, since the instrument would not only
be affected by the exchange of heat between its bulb and the atmospheric
particles, but also by the heat radiating upon its bulb from every source of
heat in surrounding space ; while the atmosphere, on account of its diather-
mancy, would remain unaffected by this radiating heat.

Conceive now a thermometer to be placed at a point sufficiently above the
earth's atmosphere. If the bulb were sheltered from the direct influence of
the solar rays, the thermometer would indicate the temperature of that point
of space, independent of the effect of radiation from the central luminary of
the solar system, but dependent on the radiation from all other sources of heat
hi the universe. If the instrument thus sheltered were sufficiently remote
from the sun and every planet, it would indicate very nearly the same tem-
perature at every point within the solar system, assuming the absence of all
unknown centres of heat within that system or near to it.

This is what may be understood by the general temperature of planetary
space. Let it be denoted by T. We shall then have T greater than r 2 ;
and therefore if we now conceive the thermometer to be transported to the
upper limit of the atmosphere, it will be affected by the lower temperature
there, and wall indicate a temperature intermediate to T and r 2 . If the
instrument be brought still lower within the atmosphere, it will indicate a
still lower temperature, from its being entirely surrounded by a portion of the
atmosphere more dense than at the extreme boundary, till this tendency to
lower the indications of the thermometer is counteracted by the greater
temperature of the atmospheric particles as we descend towards the earth's
surface. At some point, consequently, within the earth's atmosphere the
indication of the thermometer would attain its minimum; after which, in
descending continuously towards the earth, the temperature indicated

156 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

would constantly increase, omitting variations due to temporary or local
causes.

Thus it follows, that the existence of an atmosphere like that of the earth,
enveloping a planet, may, according to its extent, either elevate the superficial
temperature of the planet above, or depress it below that of surrounding
space independently of the direct solar radiation. "With respect to our own
globe, we are entirely ignorant of the height to which the thermometer, in
ascending, would continue to indicate a decreasing temperature, but we are
sure that such height is great. This is important with reference to the ulti-
mate object of this paper ; for if the height of a planet's atmosphere were too
small to allow a thermometer descending in it to attain its minimum indica-
tion, it is manifest that an increase of atmosphere would cause a decrease in
the planet's superficial temperature ; whereas, if the height of the atmosphere
were great enough to allow the thermometer to attain the minimum, any
increase of atmosphere would necessarily cause an increase in the superficial
temperature of the planet.

In the earth's atmosphere, we are sure (as just remarked) that the indica-
tions of the thermometer would constantly increase in its descent from a very
high point above the earth's surface ; and therefore it follows, that if a planet
be enveloped in an atmosphere similar to that of the earth, supposing both
to exist in the planetary space unaffected by the heat which radiates from
the sun, the superficial temperature of the planet would necessarily be less,
under the same conditions, than that of the earth, if its atmosphere were
smaller, unless it should be so small as not to allow a thermometer descend-
ing in it to reach its minimum indication. If the planet were entirely with-
out atmosphere, its superficial temperature (in the assumed absence of solar
radiation) would be that of surrounding space ; but we have no means of
determining what relation that temperature bears to existing terrestrial tem-
perature, or what this latter temperature would become in the absence of
solar radiation.

The author has calculated from Poisson's formulae, the increase of tempe-
rature in the superficial crust of the earth, due to the amount of heat received
by direct radiation from the sun, in different latitudes, above that temperature
which would be common to all parts of the earth's surface in the absence of
solar radiation, and with a uniformity of intensity of stellar radiation m all
directions upon our globe.

But this increased temperature must produce an augmentation of tempera-
ture in the atmosphere, which must react on the terrestrial temperature till
equilibrium of temperature be established. The author has endeavored to
estimate the amount of this indirect effect of solar radiation by means of the
data furnished by M. Dove's work on terrestrial temperatures, combined with
calculations based on Poisson's formulas. He concludes that the whole effect
of solar heat at any proposed place is very nearly double that due to the
immediate and direct effect of solar radiation.

Having thus ascertained this entire effect, he finds the temperature which
would pervade the whole surface of the earth if solar heat were extinguished.
He estimates this temperature at 39. 5 C. The annual variation of tempe-

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 157

rature in any latitude is found to be nearly the same in amount for the
terrestrial surface and for the part of the atmosphere resting upon it. This
must be understood as applying to those places at which the temperature is
not materially affected by the horizontal transference of heat by marine or
aerial currents, or any local causes, which disturb the dependence of tempe-
rature on latitude alone.

The author also points out the dependence of the annual inequalities of the
terrestrial temperature (and consequently of those also of the atmosphere) on
the conductivity and specific heat of the matter wlrich constitutes the earth's
crust.

If these were much greater, the annual changes of temperature would be
much less. Before applying these results to other planets, the author states
that he does not admit the notion, that the remoter planets may derive a con-
siderable superficial temperature from the remains of that internal heat which
they probably possessed in the earlier stages of their existence. It is a weh 1
established conclusion, that the superficial temperature of our own globe has
arrived at that point below which it can never descend by more than the
small fraction of a degree, so long as all external conditions remain the same
as at present ; and the superficial temperature of the remoter planets will in
ah 1 probability be reduced to the corresponding limit. To these external con-
ditions, therefore, and not to their primitive heat, must the existing tempera-
tures on the surface of these planets be attributed, assuming always that they
are not of less antiquity than our own globe. Hence the superficial tempera-
ture of the earth, with its present atmosphere, placed at the distance of
Neptune, Uranus, or Saturn, would be very nearly 39. 5 C., since the effect
of our solar radiation at those distances would be nearly insensible. But if the
extent of the atmosphere were increased the superficial temperature would
be augmented in a corresponding degree. Judging by the decrements of
temperature observed by Mr. Welsh, the author concludes that an increase in
the height of the earth's atmosphere of 35,000 or 40,000 feet, would elevate
her superficial temperature, if placed in the remote planetary regions, to
nearly the mean temperature of our present temperate zone. The same con-
clusion will hold with respect to the three planets above mentioned, if we
suppose them to have atmospheres similar to that of the earth, and of suffi-
cient extent. Their temperatures must be sensibly uniform over the whole
of their surfaces, not being subject to any appreciable annual variation.

The same conclusions will apply to Jupiter, except that there will be a
small augmentation of temperature arising from solar radiation, which the
author calculates might amount to about 2|- C. at his equator. Hence, the
author concludes, that those views which assign a necessarily low temperature
to the above mentioned planets, in consequence of their distance from the sun,
are altogether untenable.

The conditions under which Mars is placed approximate more nearly to
those of the earth than for any other planet. The author calculates, that
with an atmosphere similar to that of the earth, and exceeding it in height by
about 15,000 or 20,000 feet, the equatorial temperature of Mars may be about
60 P.. or 15 C., and his polar temperature about 10 C. The extent of the

158 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

annual variations would be about half those on our own planet in correspond-
ing latitudes, supposing the conductivity, specific heat, and radiatory power
of the matter composing his superficial crust to be the same as for the earth.

Again, if the earth, with ner present atmosphere and obliquity, were placed
in the orbit of Venus, the mean equatorial temperature would be upwards of
90 C., subject to the reduction, which would doubtless in this case be great,
due to the horizontal transference of diminution in the atmosphere, which
would reduce these temperatures in any assigned degree. But the obliquity of
Venus, though not satisfactorily determined, is considered to be much greater
than that of the earth, amounting, according to the estimate of some astrono-
mers, to as much ag 75, as heretofore stated.

This would, of course, render the character of her seasons entirely different
from those of the earth. The greatest mean annual temperature would be at
the pole. Independently of the horizontal transference of heat by aerial cur-
rents or other causes taking the extreme obliquity of 75, and supposing the
atmosphere of Venus to be exactly like that of the earth, her mean tempera-
ture at the equator would be about 56 C., and at the pole 95 C.

This latter would probably be much lowered by currents ; but if the height
of the atmosphere of Venus be less than that of the earth's atmosphere by
25,000 feet, the author considers that the mean temperature of Venus in her
equatorial regions would not exceed that of the temperate regions of the
earth ; while the mean polar temperature would probably be about 40 C., or
about 12 or 13 C. higher than the earth's equatorial temperature.

The heat of sunshine may be moderated by an atmosphere more laden
with vapor than that of the earth.

Supposing the atmosphere of Venus like that of the earth in its nature and
magnitude, the temperature at her poles, with the supposed obliquity, must
be subject to an enormous annual inequality, amounting to between 70 and 80
C. above or below the mean temperature, liable, however, to a great reduction
by horizontal transference of heat. It may also be considerably reduced by
the nature of the matter which constitutes her outer crust.

The moon is under the peculiar circumstances of the absence of a sensible
atmosphere, and her long period of rotation about her axis. Assuming her
to have no atmosphere at all, the mean temperature of her outer crust,
in the absence of the sun, would be the general temperature of that portion
of planetary space in which the solar system is situated. How much this
might differ from the superficial temperature which the earth would have with
the like absence of the sun, and which the author estimates at 39. 5 C., as above
stated, it is impossible to determine ; but whatever it may be, the influence of
the sun's heat would be to increase by about 40 C. at the mooivs equator, and
by a small amount only at her poles. This must be attended by an enormous
monthly inequality, amounting to nearly 60 C., supposing the matter of
which her superficial crust is composed to have the same conductivity, specific
heat, and radiating power as the crust of the earth.

If these be much greater for the moon, this inequality might be consider-
ably diminished. At the poles it must be comparatively small.

The lunar temperatures here spoken of, are those which would be indicated

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 159

bj a thermometer placed in her immediate vicinity, and affected by the
moon (in the assumed absence of an atmosphere) only by her direct radiation.
"We have not the means of determining what this temperature may be.

HEAT OF THE SUN's KAYS.

At the Albany Meeting of the American Association, Judge Foot read a
paper on the heat of the sun's rays, as determined by experiment. He com-
menced by a discussion of the proper mode of measuring the heating power of
the ray. He had repeated some of the experiments of Cavendish, and had
come to the conclusion that ihe true measure could be obtained by adding to
the difference of temperature in the sunlight and in the shade a correction for
increased temperature in the air. His first result was that the heating power
of the sun's rays is not uniform, but varies constantly with the temperature
of the place into which the rays fall. He then gave an account of experi-
ments with a burning glass, which confirmed this result the heating power
of" the focus not varying with the temperature of the glass, but of the place
where the focus formed. Furthermore, he thought he had proved that the
temperature of air is raised by sunshine passing through it. He found that of
two jars of heated air, one placed in the sunlight would retain its heat
the longest. Heat did not come from the sun, but light capable of exciting
heat.

Prof. Henry then read a paper by Mrs. Eunice Foote, prefacing it with a
few words, to the effect that science was of no country and of no sex. The
sphere of woman embraces not only the beautiful and the useful, but the true.
Mrs. Foote had determined, first, that the action of the rays increases with
the density of the air. She has taken two glass cylinders of the same size,
containing thermometers. Into one the air was condensed, and from the
other it was exhausted. When they w r ere of the same temperature the cylin-
ders were placed side by side in the sun, and the thermometers in the con-
densed air rose more than twenty degrees higher than those in the rarefied air.
This effect of rarefaction must contribute to produce the feebleness of heating
power in the sun's rays on the summits of lofty mountains. Secondly, the
effect of the sun's rays is greater in moist than in dry air. In one cylinder
the air was saturated with moisture, in the other dried with chloride of lime ;
both were placed in the sun, and a difference of about twelve degrees was
observed. This high temperature of sunshine in moist air is frequently
noticed ; for instance, in the intervals between summer showers. The isother-
mal lines on the earth's surface are doubtless affected by the moisture of the
ah* giving power to the sun, as well as by the temperature of the ocean yield-
ing the moisture. Thirdly, a high effect of the sun's rays is produced in
carbonic acid gas. One receiver being filled with carbonic acid, the other
with common air. the temperature of the gas in the sun was raised twenty
degrees above that of the air. The receiver containing the gas became very
sensibly hotter than the other, and was much longer in cooling. An atmo-
sphere of that gas would give to our earth a much higher temperature ; and
if there once was, as some suppose, a larger proportion of that gas in the air,
an increased temperature must have accompanied it, both from the nature of

160 ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY.

the gas and the increased density of the atmosphere. Mrs. Foote had also
tried the heating effect of the sun's rays on hydrogen and oxygen, and found
the former to be less, the latter more, susceptible to the heating action of
sunlight.

SOUECE OF THE SUN'S HEAT.

The following is an abstract of Prof. Thompson's (of England) article,
published some time -since, and often referred to (see Annual of Sci. Dis.,
1854, pp. 144-148), in which he advocates the hypothesis, "that meteors
falling into the sun give rise to the heat which he emits."

All the theories that have yet been proposed to account for the heat of the
sun, he remarks, as well as every conceivable theory, must be one or other,
or a combination of the following three :

1st. That the sun is a heating body, losing heat.

2d. That the heat emitted from the sun is due to chemical action among
materials originally belonging to his mass, or that the sun is a great fire.

3d. That meteors falling into the sun give rise to the heat which he emits.

It is demonstrable, that unless the sun be of matter inconceivably more
conductive of heat, and less volatile, than any terrestrial meteoric matter we
know, he would become dark in two or three minutes, or days, or years, at
his present rate of emission, if he had no source of energy to draw from but
primitive heat.

The object of the communication is to consider the relative capabilities of
the second and third hypotheses to account for the phenomena.

In the first place it is probable that there are always meteors falling to the
sun, since the fact of meteors coming to the earth proves the existence of such
bodies moving about in space. It is easy to prove that meteors falling to the
sun," must enter his atmosphere or strike his surface, with immensely greater
relative velocities, than those with which meteors falling to the earth, enter
the earth's atmosphere, or strike the earth's surface. Now, Joule has shown
that immense quantities of heat must be generated from this relative motion
in case of meteors falling to the earth, and it is all but certain that, in a vast
majority of cases, this generation of heat is so intense as to raise the body in
temperature gradually up to an intense white heat, and cause it to burst ulti-
mately into sparks in the air, and burn, if it be of metallic iron, before it
reaches the surface. Such effects must be experienced to an enormously
greater degree before reaching his surface, by meteors falling to the sun, if, as
is highly probable, he has a dense atmosphere. Hence, it is certain that
some light and heat radiating from the sun is due to meteors.

It is estimated that the quantity of matter that would be required to strike,
is about a pound to the square foot every five hours. At this rate, the surface
would be covered to a depth of thirty feet in the year, if the density of the
deposit is the same as that of water. We find the source of meteors princi-
pally within the earth's orbit ; and we actually see them there as the " zodiacal
light," according to Herschel, an illuminated shower, or rather tornado of
stones. The inner parts of this tornado are always getting caught in the sun's
atmosphere, and drawn to his mass by gravitation. The outer edge of the

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

161

zodiacal light appears to reach nearly to the earth at present ; and in past time
it may be that the earth has been in a dense enough part of it to be kept hot,
as the sun is now, by drawing in meteors to its surface. This calculation is
according to Mr. Waterson's form of the theory, but, according to Prof.
Thompson's, the fall of meteors must be twice that determined above. Then
the whole surface would be covered annually to the depth of sixty/ feet, and
the sun would grow in diameter a mile in eighty-eight years. Even at this
rate, it would take 4,000 years to grow sufficiently to make the change appa-
rent to the most refined observations.

A body of such dimensions as the sun might, by entering a cloud of
meteors, become incandescent intensely in a few seconds, and on again
getting to a